Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"On the way? What a coincidence..."

Lin Xiuyi muttered to himself, clearly not believing Sharon's story.

She must have her own purpose for being here, she just won't tell me.

After sighing, Lin Xiuyi struggled to her feet, her gaze falling on the gunman's corpse on the ground.

He walked over to the body, squatted down, and rummaged through the gunman's pockets for a while, and sure enough, found a few spare rifle bullets.

Lin Xiuyi then loaded the bullets into the rifle's magazine, chambered the round, raised the rifle, aimed at the bullet hole in the gunman's head, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Bang bang bang!"

After several gunshots, the gunman's head was so badly disfigured that it was impossible to recognize his original appearance or identify who had caused the initial fatal wound.

Lin Xiuyi breathed a sigh of relief, dropped his rifle, and sat down at the entrance of the auditorium.

Sunlight streamed through the crack in the door, casting a bright band of light on the floor.

Lin Xiuyi sat at the intersection of light and darkness, pondering why Sharon had appeared in America.

His fingers tapped the ground unconsciously, his brain racing.

Lin Xiuyi would never forget that Sharon had another identity in the Black Organization: Vermouth.

This identity means that every action she takes may be related to the plans of that mysterious organization.

Her return to the United States either means she has finished her business in Japan, or the Black Organization has a mission for her in the United States.

If it's the former, could it be that the Miyano couple have already joined the Black Organization?

This thought weighed heavily on Lin Xiuyi's mind.

He recalled his brief encounter with the Miyano couple at the science fair; the scientist couple were clearly not keen on joining the Black Organization.

If they were indeed forced to join the organization, then Sharon's appearance might be related to monitoring or controlling them.

Or perhaps the Black Organization has other plans in the United States?
Lin Xiuyi recalled the FBI agent she saw at Brian's house that morning, and the coincidence of Sharon suddenly appearing on campus.

Is there some connection between these events?

The sound of police sirens grew closer in the distance, interrupting Lin Xiuyi's thoughts.

He took a deep breath, knowing that he was about to face police questioning and investigation.

She had to explain why she was alive, but she couldn't reveal Sharon's existence, and she couldn't expose the secrets of the Black Organization.

……

In the makeshift interrogation room set up by the police station, the light from the incandescent bulbs was particularly glaring, making Lin Xiuyi's face turn pale.

He sat in a metal chair, his hands trembling slightly, a cup of coffee that had long since gone cold on the table in front of him.

Two policemen sat opposite him. One of them, a middle-aged man with a thick beard, was holding a notebook and staring at him sharply, as if trying to find a flaw in his expression.

"Please describe the situation in more detail."

The bearded policeman pushed up his glasses and asked in a serious tone,

"How did you escape into the auditorium, and how did you clash with the gunman?" Lin Xiuyi took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound even more panicked.

He feigned shock and stammered, "At that time... at that time I ran out of the stadium, but the gunman kept chasing me."

"I could only rush into the auditorium, and he followed me in, yelling that he was going to kill me..."

He paused deliberately, as if still recalling the horrific scene, his eyes filled with fear.

"I had no choice but to hide behind the door. When he got closer, I took the opportunity to rush out and ambush him, kicking away the rifle he was holding. Then we started fighting..."

At this point, Lin Xiuyi's body visibly trembled, as if recalling the intense fighting scene.
"He had a knife, and I was almost slashed by him. Luckily, I reacted quickly and picked up the dropped rifle first, and then... then I fired at him."

He lowered his head, not daring to look the policeman in the eye, his face growing increasingly pale, as if he were still feeling fear and remorse for killing someone.

The bearded policeman nodded and quickly jotted down notes in his notebook. Suddenly, the younger policeman beside him spoke up, asking...
"A witness said they saw a woman in a black trench coat walk into the hall. Did you see her?"

Lin Xiuyi's heart skipped a beat, secretly glad that she had been prepared.

He looked up, a puzzled expression on his face: "Perhaps so. Maybe someone panicked and tried to hide in the auditorium, but she obviously went to the wrong place."

Lin Xiu paused, her tone becoming even more uncertain.
“But I didn’t see the woman. My attention was entirely on the gunman. I was just fighting him and didn’t have time to notice if there was anyone else around.”

His answer was flawless; he neither denied the woman's existence nor misrepresented her as an ordinary refugee, perfectly avoiding the police's suspicion.

The bearded policeman observed him carefully for a while, found nothing unusual, and then stopped asking the question.
"Alright, we have a basic understanding of the situation. You can go out and rest now. We'll contact you again if we need anything."

Lin Xiuyi breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and staggered as she followed the police officer out of the interrogation room.

He knew perfectly well that his actions could be considered self-defense: the gunman had shot and killed someone in public, and there were many witnesses; many people had also seen him chasing him into the auditorium.

The police had no reason to suspect him, much less to make things difficult for a "victim who bravely defended himself."

A young policewoman watched Lin Xiuyi's retreating figure, her face full of sympathy.

"What a pitiful child. He's so young and has already experienced something like this, even killing someone with his own hands. He must be suffering a lot of psychological trauma. Should we find a psychologist to help him cope?"

"That's none of our business."

The bearded policeman who had questioned Lin Xiuyi earlier spoke irritably, his tone clearly prejudiced.
"Aren't the dead gunmen pitiful? If those Japanese hadn't stolen his father's business, he wouldn't be in this state now, and he wouldn't have driven himself to suicide."

"Regardless of whether there were Japanese people involved, the gunman was an extreme racist!"

The Black police officer standing nearby immediately retorted, his tone icy.

"Of those he killed in this shooting, apart from two school staff members who tried to stop him, the rest were all Black students!"

"He was just venting his anger, transferring his hatred for the Japanese onto us Black people!"

The bearded policeman curled his lip, clearly disagreeing with his black colleague's words.

But out of respect for the other party's status, he didn't continue arguing. He just snorted heavily and slammed the notebook on the table.

……

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiu, who was outside, shook her head speechlessly.

He didn't linger, quickly walking towards the adjacent hall, his only thought being to see Eri Kisaki as soon as possible. (End of Chapter)