Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 285 Hostage Exchange, Fair Trade

"What if we release your companion and you still shoot and injure people?"

Lin Xiuyi, as a compromise, continued negotiations.
"How about this: you release Master Ruyue, and we'll let you leave too."

"This……"

The blond thug's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and large beads of sweat slid down the edge of his mask.

His gaze darted back and forth between Lin Xiuyi and his two accomplices, clearly caught in a mental struggle.

"Agree now!" the shorter thug suddenly yelled. "Get out of here first! Don't even think about abandoning us! If the police catch us, you'll be in big trouble too!"

“…Okay!” The blond thug took a deep breath. “Let’s go to the art museum entrance together, and then we’ll exchange hostages there!”

Just as Lin Xiuyi was about to agree, suddenly, Master Ruyue, who was being held hostage, began to struggle violently.

"My painting! I can't let them ruin my painting!"

"Oh right, we absolutely have to take this painting with us!" The blond thug suddenly remembered the purpose of their trip, and his voice rose abruptly. "We can't have come all this way for nothing! If you don't agree, then it's a fight to the death!"

The blond thug roared hysterically, the gun barrel pressed against Master Ruyue's temple trembling uncontrollably.

“…Okay!” Lin Xiuyi had no choice but to compromise.

"You!" The blond thug looked at Curator Ochiai, "Go and pick up the painting!"

Director Ochiai struggled to his feet and carefully picked up the painting "Mount Fuji," as if afraid of damaging it in the slightest.

"You two go first!" the blond thug shouted, his gun never leaving Master Ruyue's temple.

Lin Xiuyi and Kudo Yusaku led the two thugs back slowly.

"You come too!" The blond thug glared fiercely at Director Ochiai.

The curator sighed, clutched "Mount Fuji" tightly to his chest, and silently followed behind Hayashi Hideichi and Kudo Yusaku.

As the group walked out of the "Mount Fuji" exhibition hall, Lin Xiuyi saw Tomizawa Chikage standing in a corner protecting three children.

He subtly gave the girl a wink, signaling her to act according to the situation.

The blond thugs also escorted Master Ruyue out of the exhibition hall. The master was clearly terrified, looking around in panic.

Tomizawa Chikage told the three children not to move, while she herself quietly took a step, intending to approach the assailant from the side and behind.

But just as they were about to get close, the blond thug seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and suddenly turned to the side: "What do you want!"

Tomizawa Chikage's movements froze instantly.

She gave an awkward twitch of her lips, raised her hands, and slowly backed away: "I'm just... worried about Master's health..."

"If I find out you're up to these tricks again, I'll kill the hostage immediately!" the blond thug roared angrily.

……

Two groups of people arrived at the entrance of the art museum one after the other. Suddenly, a gray van drove up and stopped next to the blond-haired thug.

"Release them first!" The blond thug leaned against the waiting van. "Don't dawdle, release my two brothers right now, or this master's head will be blown to bits!"

"We only want money and don't want anyone to die! As long as you release the person, I will never harm this master!"

Lin Xiuyi and Kudo Yusaku exchanged a glance. Now that things had come to this, the two had no choice but to release their grip.

The taller thug rubbed his sore wrist, while the shorter thug snatched "Mount Fuji" from Director Ochiai's arms, the rough action causing the frame to groan under the weight.

"Careful!" Director Ochiai exclaimed. "You'll ruin the painting if you do that."

The two thugs, one tall and one short, quickly got into the van.

"It's your turn to release them!" Lin Xiuyi said coldly. "Don't worry, we won't..."

The blond thug was speaking when he suddenly shoved Master Ruyue toward Lin Xiuyi, then turned and tried to climb into the van.

Lin Xiuyi was blocked by Master Ruyue and had no time to react.

"boom!"

A gunshot pierced the sky; Yusaku Kudo had fired!

The blond thug, who had already climbed halfway into the van, suddenly stopped, then fell off the van like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing heavily onto the concrete ground.

"Run!" the tall thug shouted in terror.

The van started up suddenly, its tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground.

Yusaku Kudo fired several shots at the driver's seat of the van. Although the bullets pierced the windshield, the driver inside had already ducked to avoid them.

The van accelerated and sped onto the street, quickly disappearing from sight.

Lin Xiuyi supported the staggering Ruyue Fengshui: "Master, are you alright?"

Master Ruyue's gaze remained fixed on the yellow-haired thug's corpse lying on the ground.

Blood was flowing from the bullet hole in his back, pooling on the ground in a shocking dark red puddle.

Lin Xiuyi handed Master Ruyue over to Director Ochiai, and then went forward to examine the body.

“He’s dead,” he announced briefly. “The bullet hit him right in the heart. There’s no saving him.”

“What a pity,” Yusaku Kudo shook his head, “the van still got away.”

"And that painting..."

Director Ochiai muttered to himself, his eyes vacant as if his soul had been ripped away.

"It's over, it's all over... The art museum is going to go bankrupt..."

His voice was filled with despair and self-blame, and he seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.

“…The curator need not take it too seriously, it’s just a painting,” Master Ruyue suddenly said, her voice surprisingly calm.

He gently patted Director Ochiai on the shoulder: "I will paint another Mount Fuji later and donate it to the museum."

"Really?" Director Ochiai looked up abruptly.

“Of course it’s true.” Master Ruyue smiled. “I can’t just watch the Beika Art Museum go out of business and close down because of me.”

Yusaku Kudo leaned closer to Shuichi Hayashi and said in a low voice, "...Something's not right."

"You mean Master Ruyue, right?" Lin Xiuyi replied softly, his gaze never leaving Ruyue Peak.

"You noticed it too?" Kudo Yusaku pushed up his glasses. "His attitude changed so quickly. Before, he regarded that painting 'Mount Fuji' as a treasure, and he was even willing to run to the robbers for it. But in less than half a minute, he was able to smile and comfort Director Ochiai."

“If he hadn’t suddenly rushed out in the exhibition hall, Director Ochiai would have caught the culprit long ago,” Lin Xiuyi said in a deep voice. “Afterwards, Chikage tried to approach the culprit from the side and rear, but the culprit, without turning around, spotted her. That’s too much of a coincidence!”

Their eyes met in mid-air, and they both read the same suspicion in each other's eyes.

Not far away, Master Kisaragi was still comforting Director Ochiai, his smile gentle yet somewhat eerie.

"Shuichi, something's strange, just now I..."

Tomizawa Chikage walked over, but was stopped by Hayashi Hideaki before she could even speak.

"No need to say anything, I already know."

(End of this chapter)