Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Lin Xiuyi and the others followed Miss Grey, stumbling and rushing into the nearby laboratory building.

The hallway was already crowded with panicked American students, most of them huddled behind sturdy shelters such as load-bearing walls and lab benches, their hands covering their heads, barely daring to breathe.

Unlike their fear, the students at Teitan Junior High School, after the initial panic, gradually found that curiosity overcame their fear.

Although Japan does not ban guns, gun control is extremely strict. Ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to even see a gun, let alone experience gunfights.

Several boys couldn't resist pressing their faces against the window, peering cautiously in the direction from which the gunshots were coming, whispering amongst themselves.

"Look, there seems to be someone lying on the ground over there in the auditorium..."

"Who is the gunman, and why did he shoot?"

"Get away from the window!"

Upon seeing this, Miss Grey immediately issued a loud warning.
"Don't stand in a conspicuous place, watch out for stray bullets!"

As she spoke, she quickly stepped forward, trying to pull the student by the window back.

Lin Xiuyi first shielded Fei Yingli behind a thick cement pillar, then turned around and, together with Murakami Yui, quickly walked to the window and forcibly dragged the curious classmates behind the cover.

"Don't want to die?"

Lin Xiuyi's tone was somewhat stern.

"Stray bullets don't have eyes; what if we get hit?"

The students, who had been pulled back, realized the danger and lowered their heads, falling silent.

The crowd gathered around the pillar. Eri Kisaki gripped Hideaki Hayashi's hand tightly, her face pale, and asked, "Why haven't the police arrived yet? With something this serious happening, they should be here soon."

Miss Grey glanced at her watch, her tone tinged with helplessness: "The nearest police station is a five-minute drive from the school, and with the need to deploy police forces and prepare bulletproof equipment, they won't be able to get here so quickly."

"All we can do now is hide ourselves as much as possible and wait for rescue."

"Luckily we left the auditorium early."

Yui Murakami patted her chest, her face full of relief.
"If it had been a few minutes later, we might have run into the gunman. Just thinking about it makes me shudder."

Lin Xiuyi did not join the discussion; he frowned and listened intently to the sounds outside.

Through the glass windows of the laboratory building, he could clearly hear the intermittent gunshots, which seemed to be getting closer and closer.

“Something’s not right,” Lin Xiuyi suddenly said, her tone grave. “Didn’t you guys notice the gunfire getting louder? It seems like the gunman is moving this way.”

"No way?"

Murakami Yui's face turned deathly pale instantly, and the other students also showed expressions of horror.

Eri Kisaki instinctively gripped Hideaki Hayashi's hand tightly, her palms covered in cold sweat.

"I'll go check," Lin Xiuyi said, and before anyone could react, she walked towards the window.

Eri reached out to grab him, but only managed to catch a glimpse of his clothes. She could only watch helplessly as he approached the window, her heart filled with worry.

Lin Xiuyi went to the window and cautiously looked in the direction from which the gunshots were coming.

On a tree-lined path not far away, a man wearing a black hoodie was carrying a backpack and holding a black automatic rifle, aimlessly firing as he walked towards the laboratory building.

At this moment, he was less than thirty or forty meters away from the entrance of the laboratory building, and the ferocious expression on his face was faintly visible.

"Oh no! He's really coming this way!"

Lin Xiuyi immediately shrank back and quickly returned to the group, saying in a rapid-fire voice, "The gunman is downstairs, he has an automatic rifle, and he'll be at the door soon!"

"We can't stay here!" Miss Grey exclaimed, stamping her feet in frustration. "We have to get out of here right now!"

“We definitely can’t go out the front door; we’ll be discovered as soon as we do,” Lin Xiuyi looked around, quickly thinking of a solution. “Does this building have a back door? Or are there windows in other directions along the corridor?”

“This is the laboratory building, with many expensive instruments. The laboratories on the first floor are locked during the summer vacation, and the back door has long been sealed off,” Miss Grey said with a bitter face. “The windows in the corridor all face the main door, and there are no other exits at all.”

"Then let's run upstairs!" Lin Xiuyi decided immediately. "This building has five floors; there must be places to hide upstairs. Let's avoid the gunmen first!"

“Yes, run upstairs!” Miss Grey immediately agreed and took the lead, running towards the stairwell.

The students followed behind, their faces pale with fright, but they dared not stop for a moment.

Lin Xiuyi pulled Fei Yingli along in the middle of the group. Just as they stepped onto the third-floor stairs, they heard a loud "bang" from downstairs.

The gunman had already kicked open the door to the laboratory building, shouting at the same time, "You damned Japanese, come out here! I'm going to kill you all!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, freezing everyone in place.

The students of Teitan Junior High School looked at each other in disbelief, finally realizing that the gunman's target was them!

Murakami Yui's legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground, but luckily she was caught by Hayashi Xiuyi who was next to her.

The gunman shouted a few times in the lobby on the first floor. Suddenly, an American student hiding behind a lab bench shouted, "I saw those Japanese running upstairs!"

"Thanks, brother!"

The gunman shouted in the direction the sound came from, and then heavy footsteps came up the stairs, getting closer and closer.

"He's catching up! What should we do?"

One of the girls couldn't hold back her tears and the line instantly descended into chaos.

"Don't panic, everyone!" Lin Xiuyi steadied himself. "Keep running upstairs and find somewhere to hide. I'll try to lure him away!"

"No! I don't agree!" Eri Kisaki immediately interrupted him, her eyes red-rimmed. "It's too dangerous, you can't go!"

"Don't worry, I'm just distracting him, I won't confront him directly," Lin Xiuyi gently hugged the girl. "Trust me, I'll be back soon."

To be honest, if it weren't for Eri Kisaki and Yui Murakami, who always took extra care of him, he would never have chosen such a risky approach.

"But……"

Before Eri could say anything more, Hayashi Shuichi pushed her to Miss Grey's side: "Please, take good care of her."

After saying that, he didn't hesitate any longer, turned around and ran downstairs, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the stairs.

"Shuichi!"

As Eri watched his retreating figure, tears finally streamed down her face. She wanted to chase after him, but was held back tightly by Grey and Yui Murakami.

"Do not impulse!"

Murakami Yui leaned close to her ear, her voice urgent.

"If you chase after him now, you won't be able to help him, and you'll only distract him from protecting you, which will only make things more dangerous! Don't let his good intentions go to waste!"

(End of this chapter)