Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

"it is good."

Upon hearing this, the pink-hatted robber finally breathed a sigh of relief and hung up the phone.

"How about it?"

The robber who was watching the passengers asked him a question.

"Yes, Yajima has been released."

"Is everything alright?"

"The boss said we'd get together at the usual place in three days, and it's definitely me..."

"That's good."

After a brief conversation, the blue-hatted robber's tense expression vanished. He winked at the woman in the back row who was chewing gum as usual, then raised his gun and pressed it against the driver's head once again.

“Listen, the capital city is on the central avenue.” He directed the bus route according to plan. “Slow down once the bus enters the Little Buddha Tunnel.”

"Hehe, don't worry, we will definitely release the passengers as promised."

The robber's laughter sounded somewhat sinister.

......

The bus was traveling along the route planned by the robbers and was about to enter the elevated bridge with height restrictions.

"Hey, you guy with the cold," the pink-hatted robber pointed his gun at Shuichi Akai, "and that pretty boy with glasses..."

Tohno glanced at "Dr. Araide" sitting next to Judy.

That robber really knows how to pick his targets...

"What are you looking around for? Come to the front!"

Unexpectedly, the newcomers also turned their gazes in his direction at the same time.

"I?"

Tohru Tohno pointed at himself in disbelief.

"Who else could you be? Stop dawdling and come here now." The robber impatiently pointed his gun at him.

"..."

Tohru Tono squeezed Shiho Miyano's hand in a comforting gesture, then stood up helplessly.

He remembered that Vermouth was chosen in the anime, right? What does that have to do with him?

Does he look weaker than Shinichi?!

Well, from the robber's perspective, being handsome equals being weak, so it's understandable that he might say that.

Tohru Tohno casually came up with some seemingly plausible reasons and exchanged a glance with Shuichi Akai, who had also obediently stood up behind him.

Those two bastard robbers really have a keen eye for talent.

"Hurry up, what's going on? Hurry up!"

The blue-hatted robber turned around, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

“Being obedient will only benefit you,” the pink-hatted man chimed in.

"..."

The two walked forward in silence.

Just then, Conan finally showed an "I see" expression.

He took out his detective's notebook and wrote a line on it.

Then, taking advantage of the moment when the robbers' attention was focused on Tohru and his companion who had stood up, they threw them forward from under the seats.

It landed right in front of him, at Judy's feet.

Judy felt the hard object against her boots and looked down in confusion.

'notebook?'

She picked it up and opened it with some curiosity.

"Did you bring lipstick?"

The page number in the middle of the notebook had this line of text written in still-wet ink.

Judy thought for a moment, then reached into her pocket and took out the lipstick she always carried with her.

He bent down slightly and threw it behind him without looking back.

Although it's unclear what Conan, who was sitting right behind her, wanted the lipstick for, she must have come up with some idea.

Who exactly is this child?

Conan's hand, which had been waiting for a long time, caught the lipstick flying at low altitude with perfect accuracy.

'very good.'

The plan was half successful, and Conan was very excited.

He glanced at his tense-looking friends from the Junior Detective Club, then pulled out the "Detective Badge" made by Professor Agasa from his pocket.

'Now we just have to wait for those two robbers to call away their accomplice who was acting as an inside man in the last row...'

Conan gripped the detective badge and slowly smiled.

......

Toru Tono and Shuichi Akai were forced to switch clothes with the two robbers.

It was only then that Toru Tono realized why he had been called over. Compared to Dr. Araide, who was of average height for Japanese people, he and Shuichi Akai were indeed closer in stature to the two tall and burly robbers, and wearing ill-fitting ski suits wouldn't look too out of place.

Of course, if the bomb is detonated according to the robbers' plan, it doesn't matter whether the clothes on the bodies blown to pieces fit or not; the robbers are simply trying to minimize the possibility of being discovered.

Chapter 192 Director Ke's Script

In fact, the robbers' escape plan was very meticulous and cruel. They had considered everything that needed to be considered. According to Japan's household registration system, the probability of them escaping completely afterward was extremely high, and there was a high chance that they would not be investigated at all later.

If it were any other bus, they probably would have succeeded...

Unfortunately, no matter how meticulous the plan, it can't keep up with changes.

Who would have thought that a random bus hijacking would result in half of the passengers being anything but ordinary people?

Tohru Tono put on his ski goggles, preventing Shuichi Akai, who had been watching him closely, from observing his expression.

This person stopped pretending and, when led to the front, didn't show any panic at all; instead, he kept staring at me.

So there really were suspicions?

Shuichi Akai is indeed as perceptive as one might expect.

As the bus was about to enter the tunnel, the robbers, who had changed out of their ski suits and into everyday clothes, gradually became tense.

Tono glanced back subtly, and Conan was already eager to try.

Great, it seems like I won't have to do anything from now on, and things will be resolved perfectly...

probably.

......

"You two will have to take our place temporarily to buy us time to escape," the robber said to Toru Tono and Shuichi Akai, pointing his gun at them. "We'll pretend to be passengers and get off the bus first. We're counting on you two."

"But you don't need to worry about being mistaken for robbers. The other passengers will naturally clear your names afterwards, so don't worry."

The pink-hatted robber, who took off his mask to reveal a sinister face, spoke with apparent sincerity, but in reality, his mind was full of schemes.

Once they get off the bus, they'll detonate the bomb and kill all the passengers; then there won't even be any need to get them exonerated.

"As for whether we brothers can escape smoothly, it's up to you, driver." The burly robber in the blue hat pressed the muzzle of his gun against the bus driver's temple.

"Once we two get out of the car, you keep driving forward to distract the cops. Of course, to ensure you obey our orders, we'll take a hostage with us..."

As he said this, he slowly stepped down from the driver's seat and approached the passengers.

In the dimly lit tunnel, his eyes scanned the surroundings.

The passengers all lowered their heads, like high school students who dared not look up for fear of attracting the teacher's attention when asked a question in class, silently wishing, "It can't be me."

The blue-hatted robber pretended for a while, and only after seeing the passengers' frightened expressions did he look at the last row with satisfaction.

"The woman chewing gum at the very back," he pointed his gun at his accomplice, "that's you, come up to the front."

The woman feigned fear and hesitated for a moment, but she didn't slow down at all when she stood up.

Conan glanced at the watch on her wrist as she passed by, and was pretty sure she was one of those people's accomplices.

So, while the robber held a gun to the woman's head and pretended to threaten the driver, he activated the communication function of the detective badge.

"Beep beep beep beep"

The sound of the detective badge kept ringing out, clearly audible in the dim and quiet back seat of the car.

However, the robbers near the driver were all in a state of high tension, and since the man in the blue hat was instructing the driver on what to do next, no one heard the commotion behind them.

The members of the Junior Detective League all looked at Conan, who had made the commotion.

Conan pointed to his ear, and after they understood and put the badge to their ears, and Professor Agasa also leaned in, Conan brought his mouth close to the detective badge and whispered.

"Listen, from now on, do exactly as I say, until we emerge from the tunnel..."

Conan made arrangements for the next steps.

At the same time, Toru Tono suddenly felt something inside his trouser leg.

He didn't even need to look to know that it was that bastard Shuichi Akai who planted the bug.

This person is facing a life-or-death situation, and he still has the leisure to set a trap for himself?

Tohru Tohno didn't even glance at him, pretending to be unaware.

He was mentally calculating how to legitimately and smoothly remove this miniature eavesdropping and locator, which was most likely produced by the FBI.

In fact, logically speaking, there's no need to pay attention to this kind of locator that's obviously used for fishing. Once you get home, you can easily break the bugging device under the pretext of taking a shower and doing laundry, without revealing that you have strong counter-surveillance capabilities.

The problem is, this thing might also have eavesdropping capabilities, and on the way back, Shuichi Akai might overhear something he shouldn't hear.