Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Shortly after that, she met her 'deceased' sister.

This time…

Thinking of this, Ai Haibara's lips curled up slightly.

Although she never truly understood the man, nor did she uncover the secrets he concealed.

But she knew that she could unconditionally believe what this person said.

……

Upon seeing Ryuno arrive, Conan quickly pulled him aside.

"Takeda, did you see yesterday's news?"

"Of course, isn't this being discussed everywhere—in newspapers, on television, and even online?"

Conan nodded and continued:

"I spoke with Hattori yesterday, and there's something we both find very strange. Why did that terrorist group blow up that research institute before they left?"

"Since their goal is that killer bacterium, why don't they just leave after they get it? Why go through all this trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Longye glanced down at Conan, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Chapter 416 The airship will naturally take off.

Is it fair to say they are the "two pillars" of high school detective stories?

They discovered the 'core' of this 'bacteria theft' incident so quickly.

The terrorist group didn't blow up the lab out of boredom; it was to cover up the fact that they hadn't taken the bacteria with them.

The so-called terrorist groups are actually just mercenaries who work for money.

They have absolutely no professional knowledge of pharmacology and bacteriology. If they actually bring out the so-called killer bacteria, then... whether they can carry out a biological terrorist operation is unknown, but they will definitely be the first to perish.

The reason they pretended to have taken away the killer bacteria was simply to deliberately cause public panic in order to achieve their ultimate goal of 'stealing'.

Thinking of this, Ryuno said calmly, "Kudo, maybe they didn't take the bacteria at all."

"What did you say? While that does explain why they blew up the research institute, if they didn't take the bacteria, then why issue that statement saying they took the bacteria?"

Before the two could continue their conversation, Mitsuhiko and the others rushed over, chattering excitedly:

"Conan, what are you talking about with Ryūno-nii-san?"

"Wow! Will we really be able to fly in the air later?!"

"What time is lunch? I'm starting to feel hungry."

"..."

Seeing this, Conan helplessly shrugged and was forced to end his conversation with Ryuno.

Ran and Sonoko walked up to Ryuno and told everyone that the airship was about to take off.

Upon hearing the news, Longye and the others immediately headed to the restaurant, intending to look at the scenery outside from the windows.

As everyone moved, the airship slowly rose into the air.

Compared to a regular airplane, this takeoff process was extremely slow.

However, precisely because of this, everyone was able to relax and enjoy the process of taking off.

Soon after walking to the window, everyone could see the beautiful scenery on the ground through the window.

Mitsuhiko and the other two were immediately thrilled:

Wow! Isn't that a tropical amusement park?!

"The castle looks so small!"

"The whole park is like a toy model!"

Seeing the children's excitement, Professor Agasa and Fusae smiled and nodded.

After looking at the scenery outside the window for a while, Ran turned to look at Kogoro Mouri, who was sitting with his back to her seat in the high chair, and winked, saying, "Dad! The view down there is really beautiful, it would be a shame if you didn't look!"

“Yes, Uncle Mori, it’s rare to see such a view.” Tatsuno also laughed.

"Stop talking nonsense! I'm sitting here thinking about something important!!" Kogoro Mouri said without turning his head, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Seeing this, Conan walked over to Tatsuno and chuckled, "Well, what can you do? Uncle Mori's afraid of heights~"

"Oh right, I remember now. Mori did say something like that when he was racing in the snow," Professor Agasa recalled.

The group didn't try to control their voices, so Kogoro Mouri heard everything they said.

He immediately started squirming in his chair, "That's not it! I was just thinking about something very important!!"

Everyone glanced at Kogoro Mouri, who didn't even dare to turn his head to the window, and a hint of a smile appeared in their eyes.

Just then, Mitsuhiko and the other two turned to look at Sonoko and asked, "Sonoko-neechan, is that Phantom Thief Kid really coming?"

"He will come; Uncle Jirokichi has already received his reply."

Sonoko took out her phone and showed Mitsuhiko and the other two photos of the Phantom Thief Kid's announcement letter.

In the announcement, Phantom Thief Kid stated that he would take the treasure when the airship passed over Osaka in the evening.

Confirming that Phantom Thief Kid would indeed appear, Mitsuhiko and his two companions became even more excited.

For them, seeing the Phantom Thief Kid in person and riding in a luxury airship are equally important.

Professor Agasa looked at Sonoko apologetically, "Speaking of which, Sonoko, are we the only passengers this time?"

Sonoko paused for a moment, then turned to look around. "I remember there was another journalist named Fujioka... That's right, it's him!"

Everyone looked in the direction Sonoko was looking, and a man wearing a green shirt jacket appeared in their sight.

Sonoko continued, "He said he wanted to write a report on the duel between Uncle Jirokichi and Kid, and he volunteered himself. As for the others..."

Before Sonoko could continue her search, a slightly overweight man wearing a light pink shirt walked up to Kogoro Mouri and handed him his business card.

"Excuse me, you must be Mr. Kogoro Mouri, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Masaki Mizukawa, a program producer at Nichiri TV. Here's my business card."

Seeing Kogoro Mouri reach out and take his business card, the man named Mizukawa continued to introduce his two companions behind him.

"These two are reporter Kasumi Nishitani and photographer Junpei Ishimoto."

"..."

After exchanging greetings, the program producer, Mizukawa, scratched his head sheepishly. "Actually, I originally planned to invest a lot of manpower in the broadcast, but unfortunately, recently..."

"Recently? Oh... you mean that red Siamese cat?" Kogoro Mouri said casually.

"It's all their fault! This time I couldn't even get a helicopter permit to film my autobiographical movie! It's infuriating!"

At that moment, Jirokichi Suzuki entered the restaurant with Lupin and his bodyguards, his words filled with anger towards the 'Red Siamese Cat Group'.

Upon seeing Advisor Suzuki arrive, everyone stepped forward to greet him.

After a few words of casual conversation, photographer Junpei Ishimoto suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, what exactly does that group want to do with that kind of bacteria?"

“Yes, isn’t it said that once you get infected, you’re guaranteed to die?” female reporter Nishitani Kasumi chimed in.

“Yes, and I’ve also heard that it can be transmitted through droplets!” Junpei Ishimoto continued.

A journalist named Fujioka Takamichi also came forward and teased Mitsuhiko and the others.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Who cares about killer germs? I've been to many places teeming with germs before, and I'm still alive and kicking!"

"However, if kids like you really get infected with bacteria, you'd probably die right away! Hahaha!"

"..."

Watching the three of them work together, Longye's lips curled up slightly.

Leaving aside Kogoro Mouri and Jirokichi Suzuki, Mitsuhiko and his two companions were clearly involved in the 'killer bacteria' incident.

If I remember correctly, these two are also members of the so-called 'Red Siamese Cats'.

The reason they casually brought it up was to re-imprint the extremely dangerous impression of the 'killer bacteria' in everyone's minds, thereby reducing the variables in the operation and ensuring that they could successfully control the airship later.

Besides these three, there seems to be another 'red Siamese cat spy'...

Thinking of this, to avoid any errors in his memory, Longye thought to himself, "Xiao Jia, scan this airship for me, especially checking for weapons and dangerous items."

[Received. Scanning mode has been activated. Scanning is expected to complete in five minutes.]

Chapter 417 The Unlucky Guy Favored by the Organization

Not long after, Suzuki Jirokichi summarized everyone's conversation.

He proudly stated that everyone was currently on his prized airship, and that they were safe no matter where the terrorist group was spreading bacteria.

After saying that, Jirokichi Suzuki turned and left the restaurant.

same moment

Metropolitan Police Department First Investigation Division.

Officers Shiratori and Takagi placed the evidence bag they were carrying on Inspector Megure's desk.

Inside the evidence bag was an empty container tube with a red Siamese cat printed on it.

Inspector Megure glanced down at the empty ampoules on the table, his expression grave. "Are we still unable to ascertain the identities of those criminals?"

“Yes, Takagi and I have already spoken with the Red Siamese Cat officer who is currently serving his sentence, and they insist that they know nothing about this matter,” Officer Shiratori nodded.

Officer Sato added, "So far, the only clue we have is this ampoule. But Chiba and I have checked all the manufacturers, both domestic and international, and we haven't found the same model."

"We speculate that this ampoule was probably made by the red Siamese cat himself..."

Upon hearing this, everyone present stared silently at the ampoule in the evidence bag, their brows furrowed.

The empty ampoule was found in the parking lot of that research institute; it was likely the container that the prisoners used to transfer the 'killer bacteria'.

The empty ampoule left in the parking lot was probably accidentally left behind by that terrorist group.

After a moment of silence, Inspector Megure asked, "Speaking of which, why didn't they just take the test tube containing the bacteria instead of making this dangerous substitution?"

"Besides, this group was arrested by us ten years ago, so why would they reappear like ghosts now?"

"What exactly is their goal...?"

Upon hearing this, Officer Takagi and the others all showed thoughtful expressions and began to consider it seriously.