Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"it's me!"

Officer Matsumoto clutched his left cheek, which had been struck by the whip, the burning pain causing him to grimace.

He subconsciously wiped away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and squinted to try to make out the attacker's appearance.

Lin Xiuyi and Inspector Megure rushed into the warehouse, with the latter reaching out and feeling around on the wall.

"found it!"

With a "snap," the blinding incandescent light instantly illuminated the entire warehouse.

The sudden burst of bright light made everyone instinctively raise their hands to shield their eyes.

As their vision gradually adjusted, the scene before them made the two officers gasp in shock.
The mottled cement wall was splattered with suspicious dark red marks, some of which had dried and turned black, while others remained a fresh dark red.

Scattered on the ground were various rusty instruments of torture: pliers, whips, ropes, and several blood-stained syringes.

The air was filled with a nauseating mixture of smells, including blood, putrid odors, and the stench of excrement.

The two girls, tortured beyond recognition, were even more unbearable to look at.

Standing in the center of the warehouse, Kogoro Mouri still held the blood-stained leather whip in his hand, his wig hanging crookedly on his head, revealing the messy black hair underneath.

His once exquisite makeup was now a mess, with lipstick smeared everywhere.

The woman's clothes were in complete disarray, with a tear in the hem, several holes in the stockings, and a broken heel, clearly indicating that she had just been in a fight.

"Kogoro, are you alright?"

Lin Xiu rushed to her friend's side in three quick steps, looking him up and down.

Upon seeing that the visitors were Hayashi Shuichi and his two companions, Kogoro Mouri's tense nerves finally relaxed.

His legs went weak and he almost knelt down, but fortunately Lin Xiuyi caught him in time.

An unprecedented feeling of exhaustion washed over him, and all he wanted was to find a place to get a good night's sleep.

But when he noticed Lin Xiuyi's worried look, he immediately straightened his back.

"What can happen to me!"

Kogoro Mouri puffed out his chest and deliberately patted it in an exaggerated manner, which aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to grimace in pain.

But he quickly put on his signature smug expression again and burst into laughter.
"Shuichi, you're a step too late this time!"

Mao used his blood-stained fingers to comb his disheveled hair, then casually tossed his head.

"The kidnappers have been subdued by Lord Kogoro Mouri!"

He pointed to the fat woman who was tied up, her mouth stuffed with a rag, and she was glaring at them with resentful eyes.

"By the way, you'll never guess,"

Mori tried to lower his voice mysteriously, but his excitement caused him to completely lose control of his volume.

"That fat woman we met on the tram earlier is actually connected to the kidnappers! With her around, we'll definitely be able to catch the other kidnappers."

“There’s only one kidnapper, where would the others come from?” Lin Xiuyi shook his head with amusement.

"What did you say?" Kogoro Mouri was dumbfounded. "So, Haruko Iguchi and Mizuo Oi were both tortured like this by her? She... she's too cruel."

“I told you so,” Lin Xiuyi sighed, “a woman driven by jealousy is terrifying.” Half an hour later, the ambulance arrived at the scene with sirens blaring.

Medical staff carefully lifted the unconscious Xiaojing Ruixu onto a stretcher and sent her to the ambulance.

According to the medical staff who arrived at the scene, Xiaojing Ruixu was already extremely weak due to prolonged abuse and lack of water and food. If they had arrived a day or two later, it would have been too late to save her.

Even if he is sent to the hospital now, there is no guarantee that he will regain consciousness; further observation and treatment are needed.

Compared to her, Haruko Iguchi, though covered in wounds and in low spirits, was at least still conscious.

Haruko Iguchi was helped into another ambulance.

Just before getting into the car, she turned back to look at Kogoro Mouri, her chapped lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only gave him a grateful look.

"Shouldn't you be running over to kiss the hero who saved you at a time like this..." Kogoro Mouri muttered under his breath, "Ouch, Shuichi, be gentle!"

"Bear with it," Lin Xiuyi said, applying medicine to the whip marks on his back. "Even Iguchi Haruko has trouble walking, how do you expect her to run over? Or should I help you over and give you a sweet kiss?"

As he spoke, he pretended to reach out to help Mori, which startled the man, who quickly waved his hands away.
"No! I was just joking," Kogoro Mouri chuckled dryly. "If Ruri finds out, I'll definitely get scolded again."

"Don't worry, you're not going to escape this scolding," Lin Xiuyi said irritably. "I really didn't expect that you would be seduced by that fat woman's voice."

“I didn’t see her at the time,” Kogoro Mouri couldn’t help but complain. “It’s all your fault, you guys kept saying the kidnapper was a man, which made me completely unguarded against women.”

"Even if we tell you, you'll definitely take the bait,"

As a longtime friend, how could Lin Xiuyi not know Kogoro Mouri's personality?

As a warning, he slapped Kogoro Mouri hard on the back, causing him to let out a strange cry of pain and almost jump off his chair.

"You were lucky this time. If there hadn't been just one of the kidnappers, the fat woman, and we hadn't found her, your fate would have been even worse than those two girls!"

Not far away, Inspector Megure was directing officers to put Nami Furuya into a police car.

Even though she was handcuffed, the fat woman continued to struggle frantically, her enormous body slamming against the police car, and she spewing out a string of vulgar curses.

"It's all those wretched women's fault! Why are they so beautiful, but I have to look like this!"

"If it weren't for them, how could I have failed to meet my Prince Charming!"

"As long as those sluts aren't around, men will definitely flock to me!"

"How will that woman be punished?"

Hearing the other party's hysterical shouts, Kogoro Mori subconsciously touched the bruise on his neck, which was from when he was choked by Nami Furuya during their fight.

“I don’t know,” Lin Xiuyi shook her head, her gaze fixed on the departing police car. “Her mental state is somewhat abnormal; the prosecutor’s office might even withdraw the appeal.”

"No way?"

Mori suddenly turned around, pulling at his wound and wincing in pain.
"Haruko Iguchi and Mizuo Oi were both tortured like that! How come she wasn't punished?"

"That's just how the law is,"

Lin Xiuyi sighed helplessly and reached out to press down on his friend's trembling shoulder.

"Mental patients can have their punishment reduced or even waived. However, even so, her later life won't be easy. The government will forcibly send her to a mental hospital for treatment, which is not much better than prison." (End of Chapter)