I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 762 Kill Them All

The roar of the explosion still echoed in my ears, smoke and dust filled the opera house, and shattered decorative panels and bricks kept falling from above like a deadly rain.

Panicked audience members and staff surged forward like a burst dam, crying, pushing and shoving, desperately trying to escape the magnificent cage that had instantly transformed into a purgatory.

Amidst this extreme chaos, Conan's sharp gaze swept across the surging crowd like a hawk's.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on an inconspicuous corner to the side—a figure dressed in dark overalls with the brim of a hat pulled low, silently slipping out of the staff control room behind the stage, trying to blend into the fleeing crowd.

The figure's movements were so deliberate that they formed a stark contrast with the terrified people fleeing around them.

His steps were steady and his purpose was clear, as if he had anticipated the explosion, or even orchestrated it himself.

"Something's not right!" Conan's detective instincts instantly sounded the highest alarm.

Without the slightest hesitation, his small figure shot out like an arrow, rushing against the flow of people towards the suspicious target.

"Stop right there! Jack the Ripper!!" Conan shouted with all his might, trying to intimidate the other party.

However, upon hearing the sound, the figure did not stop. Instead, it seemed to be injected with new energy, suddenly accelerating and penetrating the dense crowd at an even faster speed. Using the bodies of those around it as cover, it rushed out of the theater.

"Shiraishi!! I've found him!!" Upon seeing this, Conan knew he probably couldn't stop him on his own, so he immediately shouted a warning in Shiraishi's direction.

As he shouted, he didn't stop moving. With his petite and agile body, he quickly moved through the gaps in the crowd, relentlessly pursuing the dark figure that was about to disappear outside the door.

On the other side, Shiraishi Egan escorted the still-shaken Irene Adler to a team of police officers who were trying to maintain order and direct the crowd.

“Just stay with them and the police, and you’ll be fine,” he instructed quickly.

Although Eileen's face was still pale, her eyes had regained their composure.

She understood that the man before her bore a more important mission, so she nodded firmly, her azure eyes filled with concern: "I understand. You... must be careful."

Shiraishi E said no more, only giving her a reassuring look before turning around and disappearing into the chaotic crowd, chasing after the direction Conan had vanished.

A fierce chase broke out outside the dilapidated opera house and quickly spread into the streets of London at night.

Jack the Ripper was extremely familiar with the terrain, and he would deliberately choose to navigate through dark, narrow, and maze-like alleys in an attempt to shake off his pursuers.

But Conan at this moment seemed to transform into the most persistent hunting dog. He brought his tracking and reasoning skills to the extreme, relying on the occasional hurried footprints left on the ground, the knocked-over debris, and the faint tension in the air to lock onto his target. No matter how the target wandered around in the alley, he could never shake him off.

Finally, after a series of dazzling maneuvers, the view ahead opened up dramatically.

They rushed out of the dark alley and returned to the relatively wide streets bathed in the dim light of gas lamps.

Not far away, at midnight, the Charlie Cross station came into view. An old steam train was belching out thick white smoke, its wheels making a heavy clanging sound. The figure fleeing for his life quickly slipped into the train.

"He's on the train!" Conan thought anxiously, and with another burst of speed, he jumped onto the train as it started moving.

Shiraishi E followed closely behind Conan with agile movements, and amidst the roar of the train wheels accelerating, she narrowly leaped onto the footplate connecting the carriages.

He steadied himself, brushed off non-existent dust from his coat, and surveyed the steel behemoth speeding through the night. His tone carried a hint of knowing ease: "Looks like this is the final boss scene. Saves us the trouble of chasing them all over London."

Conan braced himself on his knees, panting heavily. The extreme run he had just completed had exhausted him.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping across the enclosed carriage, and nodded firmly: "Yes...once you're on this one-way train, Jack the Ripper has no chance of escape!"

Without saying another word, Shiraishi E reached out and pushed open the heavy wooden door leading into the carriage.

Conan followed closely behind and also stepped into the carriage.

The scene inside the carriage was completely different from the tense atmosphere of the chase outside.

The gas lamps cast a warm, dim glow, illuminating the elegant space adorned with mahogany paneling and red velvet chairs.

Several well-dressed passengers were sitting comfortably in their seats, some reading newspapers, others staring blankly at the night view rushing past the window, as if the horrific explosion at the opera house had nothing to do with them.

Conan's sharp gaze swept quickly across the faces and figures of each passenger, like a scanner.

However, to his disappointment, he did not see the figure in work clothes who was acting suspiciously.

"He's changed his clothes!" Conan immediately realized this.

Jack the Ripper apparently used the brief gap between jumping off the train and them catching up to quickly change his appearance and blend into the group of ordinary passengers.

Time was of the essence, so Conan acted immediately. He raised his voice and asked all the passengers in the carriage, "Ladies and gentlemen! Who was the last person to board this carriage? Did anyone notice?"

However, the passengers' reactions made the clues even more perplexing.

Someone shook their head blankly and said, "I was so busy reading the newspaper that I didn't pay attention."

A gentleman wearing a top hat frowned as he recalled, "I was bumped by someone, but I didn't see their face clearly." Another elderly lady confidently stated, "The passengers in this row all boarded and sat down very early; they were definitely not the last to get on."

These contradictory and ambiguous testimonies caused Conan to frown deeply.

He habitually pressed his index finger against his chin and began to work his brain rapidly, trying to piece together the truth from these fragmented pieces of information.

But after a moment of analysis, he felt a thorn in his side—he couldn't be sure if the cunning Jack the Ripper was among the passengers, or even deliberately spreading false information to mislead them.

Just then, Conan caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that Shiraishi E was not participating in the questioning, but was standing at one end of the carriage, pointing her finger seemingly casually, and counting in a low voice.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Conan asked, walking over in surprise.

Without looking up, Shiraishi E continued his work and calmly replied, "I'm counting heads."

Conan was speechless for a moment, then couldn't help but retort, "I know that... I'm asking you what you're trying to do by counting people?"

Shiraishi E finally stopped what she was doing, turned her head, and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Let's see if we have enough bullets."

Conan was taken aback at first, then instantly understood the other party's plan, and was so shocked that he almost jumped up: "You...you don't mean to kill them all?!" His voice rose a few decibels because of his shock.

Shiraishi E nodded, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes: "You really know me."

"No! Absolutely not!" Conan waved his hands repeatedly in opposition, his face full of disapproval. "What you're doing... is inhumane! They might be innocent passengers!"

This time, it was Shiraishi E's turn to be speechless. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "It's just a game. What kind of humanity are you talking about with a bunch of data?"

Conan immediately retorted, trying to awaken the other person's sense of morality: "What if this isn't a game? What if it's real life? Would you still do this?"

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi E scoffed and replied, "If this were reality, I would have already told the train conductor to stop the train, then called Scotland Yard to surround the entire train, and then drag everyone off one by one for separate interrogation. Why go through all that trouble?"

These words left Conan speechless. He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't refute them at all.

Yes, this is ultimately a virtual game built by Noah's Ark. They are subject to too many restrictions. There is no police support, no time for detailed investigation, and even "death" is just a burst of white data.

He could only mutter under his breath, trying to hold onto his last line of principle: "But if you do this... then it's not solving a case."

Shiraishi drew her revolver from her waist and said irritably, "If this were a fair and pure game, I could certainly play along with you and solve the mystery."

"But the problem isn't that... it's that Noah's Ark cheated first! It unilaterally changed Jack the Ripper's behavior pattern and gambled with the lives of all the other children!"

"It can cheat, but I can't? If it's so capable, let it release everyone else right now, and I promise to play along to the end, even until its data overflows!"

These words were spoken with absolute certainty, carrying a sharp edge of tit-for-tat.

Conan found himself unable to refute her again, and deep down, he even felt that Shiraishi E's words... weren't entirely unreasonable.

In such an unfair, life-or-death gamble where the rules are arbitrarily changed by the other side, perhaps unconventional methods are the only way to survive.

Shiraishi E no longer hesitated, a resolute glint flashing in her eyes.

He immediately raised his pistol and fired at several passengers in the carriage who he considered to be the most suspicious in terms of build and demeanor!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several sharp gunshots shattered the silence of the carriage, as revolvers spat out flashes of light.

The passengers who were hit by bullets collapsed to the ground, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.

However, there was no horrific scene of blood splattering everywhere. The moment their bodies touched the ground, they turned into several soft yet dazzling white lights and then disappeared—proving that they were just ordinary NPCs in the game, and Shiraishi E guessed wrong.

Shiraishi's expression remained unchanged, as if he had merely smashed a few insignificant targets.

With a flick of his wrist, he aimed the gun at the remaining, trembling passengers once again.

Two more gunshots rang out, and the two passengers were instantly reduced to white light.

Just as Shiraishi E was about to point her gun at the third passenger who was leaning against the window, wearing a black trench coat and keeping his head down, something unexpected happened!

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, the passenger suddenly rolled to the side just before Shiraishi E pulled the trigger, his movement so fast that only a blur remained, narrowly avoiding the fatal bullet!

The bullet struck the heart-shaped wooden board behind him, leaving a charred bullet hole.

"Shoot-"

Before Shiraishi could fire a second shot, the passenger deftly smashed the car window next to him with his elbow.

Without hesitation, like a slippery eel, he nimbly leaped out of the broken window and nimbly climbed onto the roof of the speeding train!
"It's him! Jack the Ripper!" Upon seeing this, Conan had no more doubts.

Without any hesitation, he rushed to the broken window, climbed out, and resolutely chased after the deadly figure on the roof of the car!

(End of this chapter)