Chapter 163 Loop Bomb
Chapter 164: Loop Bomb
"Sorry to have kept you waiting. This is the meal you ordered. Please enjoy it." About two hours later, I followed Xiaolan and Sonoko to a fast food restaurant in the Mika City Building to have afternoon tea. As time approached, Xiaolan's face became more and more excited. In order to have a romantic date with Kudo, Xiaolan had to wear a red coat with a lavender shirt inside. However, the one thing that did not change was that she still had an orchid brooch on her chest. This seemed to have become a habit. No matter when and where, Xiaolan would never forget her brooch, of course, when swimming, doing karate, etc., it was another matter.

"I have to say, Xiaolan, the dress you picked is really beautiful. It matches the red one on you very well." Opposite Xiaolan, Sonoko smiled at her while sipping coffee.

"Thank you." Xiaolan said with blushing cheeks. "Because Shinichi and I's lucky colors this month are both red. So I wore this dress."

"Hey... no wonder you want to wear red too. It turns out it's not just for matching couple shirts." Sonoko teased. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Shinichi for a long time. I'll go with you."

"Eh?! But, but the movie we are going to watch is very boring, and that person is also very uninteresting. So..." After hearing what Sonoko said, Xiaolan immediately became panicked.

"Okay, I was just kidding you." Sonoko said slyly. "Who wants to be your light bulb? You take everything I say seriously, so it's really fun to tease you, hehe."

"Woo... Sonoko, you're so annoying." Xiaolan said angrily.

"But I never thought that your dad would agree to let you go to the midnight movie," Sonoko said curiously.

"Well... although he has some opinions, I don't care about him. I think he should be discussing what to eat tonight with Conan now?" Xiaolan thought happily.

Um... Conan is now in the hospital. As for what to eat... let's wait until he solves the case at hand. I squinted my eyes and thought unscrupulously.

"By the way, Ran, you're dating Kudo, so what about this child?" Sonoko pointed at me sitting next to her. "How about I take this child home to stay for two days~"

"Eh? That...this..." Xiaolan couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Thank you for inviting me, Sonoko-san, but aren't you going home at nine tonight? It would be boring for Xiaolan-san to wait for Kudo-san alone for the next hour, so I want to stay here with her." I hastily rejected Sonoko's invitation. Of course, I'm here to help Conan save the situation today. What if I leave first?
"Hey... you really care about Xiaolan, Masaka... you little brat has fallen in love with Ran?" Sonoko poked my cheek with a gossipy and cunning look on her face.

"Eh?! Sonoko, don't talk nonsense. Xiaoxun is just a child." Xiaolan looked at Sonoko in embarrassment.

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding." Sonoko waved her hand. "But kids these days are really precocious. Not only does Conan seem mentally mature, but even Kaoru feels like someone of my age. It's incredible."

"That's because Sister Sonoko, your mental age is still at the level of an elementary school student." I squinted my eyes and complained. By the way, I dispelled Xiaolan's doubts about Sonoko's words.

"What?! You little brat. Let me show you how I'm going to deal with you." Sonoko was obviously irritated by what I said, and she kept rubbing my hair. Xiaolan was sitting opposite, watching the two of us fighting with a gentle smile... Well, okay, I was bullied unilaterally. But I glanced at Xiaolan and saw her happy smile. It can be seen that Sonoko's words just now did not have any effect on Xiaolan. Alas... At this time, I have to be careful in all aspects and not instill any information into Xiaolan. Otherwise, if something really happens, how can I make it right? Kudo has been suspected once. I don't want it to happen again.

————The scent of orchids, the scent of lavender, the scent of home & the wings of angels, the wings of demons, the wings of guardians————

【So Thank You For Everything，ここから変わり开める．真っすぐな道などないと気づいた强さ见つけた. . . 】

I was just halfway through my afternoon tea with Xiaolan and Sonoko when a phone call came into my cell phone. I picked it up and saw that it was Conan's number. I stood up and left Xiaolan and the others, and walked to a floor-to-ceiling window to answer the phone.

"Awake?" I asked first, picking up the phone. "I just heard from the news and Dr. Agasa that you were injured. How are you now?"

"Ah, I just woke up not long ago." Conan didn't say much and went straight to the point. "There is no time now, Xun, the criminal installed five bombs on the Toudou Loop Line. It will start at 4 o'clock this afternoon. If the train is less than 60 kilometers, it will explode. If the bomb is not defused after sunset, it will also explode. The original hint given by the criminal is [I installed the five bombs at the "XX of X" on the Toudou Loop Line. Each X represents a Chinese character.] It is already 4:30, and the current situation is that the speed of all trains is maintained at more than 70. It is estimated that there are only two hours left before the sun sets. Xun, although it is a bit sorry to ask you this, but from experience, you should know more about installing bombs than me. I want to hear your opinion."

"Well... although I am a little upset that you said it so bluntly, I won't pursue it because you are injured." I chuckled and said, "I won't help you analyze the motive, after all, I was not there when the criminal made the call. As for the "XX of X" you just mentioned, I think it should be more than just the connection within the loop. Judging from your injury, the criminal can detonate the bomb anywhere without mercy, so as long as it can cause the effect he thinks it will be possible."

"You mean... the bomb shouldn't be in the car?" Conan frowned.

"Yes. The detonation methods of plastic bombs can be divided into remote control, voice control, light control, wind control, timing, thermal sensitivity, vibration firing pin detonation, fuse, etc. Since the criminal has set a speed limit, then remote control, firing pin, fuse and other control methods can be ruled out. Similarly, this can rule out the possibility of the bomb being left in the car, because in the car, no matter what the speed is, it will not affect the detonation of the bomb."

"But, if it's remote controlled, it's still possible, right?" Conan thought about it.

"It is indeed possible. But if it was remote control, why would the criminal call you to leave a hint and mention so many unnecessary restrictions?" I said calmly. "Although I have no idea about the motive, I can still guess a little about the bomber's mentality. So I don't think it is likely to be remote control. Unless the criminal is crazy and just wants to play a big game." "Indeed... The criminal specifically wanted to fight me this time, but when the uncle answered the phone in the hospital just now, the criminal didn't mind too much. This shows that the criminal's goal this time is not to fight me, and the fight with me is just a cover?
"No, that's not necessarily the case. By the way, how did you get hurt?"

"Ah, the first bomb was a striker bomb placed on a remote-controlled plane, but Genta and his friends took the plane to play with it. Fortunately, no one was injured. After I talked to him as Conan, he asked where Kudo was. But when I wanted to adjust the bow tie voice changer, the criminal said that a child could do it. Then he gave me a hint about the location of the next bomb."

"The prisoner was watching you at the scene?"

"Yes, on top of an abandoned building. But in the blink of an eye, the person disappeared."

"...continue."

"The second bomb was placed in a cat cage under a tree at the train station. It was a timed remote-controlled bomb. It was taken away by an old lady. When I caught up with her, the bomb had only 16 seconds left to detonate, but it inexplicably stopped at seconds. After I rode my bicycle with the bomb out of the residential area, the bomb started again. When I let go and threw the bicycle into the river, the bomb exploded, and I was injured."

"Eh? When the criminal placed the bomb in the residential area, he manually paused the bomb's timer, and started the timer again after leaving that area?" I frowned. "The bomb could be detonated mercilessly, but it was paused in the residential area. Does that mean there was something near the residential area that forced the criminal to pause the bomb's timer?"

"Ah, Officer Megure has already sent people to search the area. I don't know what the result will be." Conan said solemnly. "By the way, have you thought of anything about the purpose of the criminal we just talked about?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure yet. This criminal's logic is too chaotic. But what I can be sure of is that all the crimes committed by this bomber are targeted and purposeful."

"How to say?"

"First of all, this criminal stole a large amount of gunpowder, but he called you first after the news report. This proves that this criminal is indeed targeting you, Kudo Shinichi. If he just wanted to cover up his tracks, then it would be more direct for the criminal to go directly to the police or the TV station." I fixed my eyes. "Second point, the toy plane you just mentioned. And the time bomb in the cat cage. Both bombs exploded, and they didn't care how many people were around. So this criminal doesn't care how many people were killed or injured, but he didn't detonate all the bombs at once, which further proves that he is targeting you. However, when you talked to him as Conan, he gave up questioning Kudo. In other words, it doesn't matter who defuses the next bomb, or you angered the criminal by using Conan's identity. If the first bomb means that the criminal wants to tell you that he is serious, then the second bomb is a provocation and disdain for Kudo Shinichi."

"Is that so... So what you mean by purposefulness is that the second bomb will be suspended?"

"That's right," I answered immediately. "As mentioned before, the criminal didn't care about the size of the crowd, but he paused the bomb, which means that there was something in that area that would destroy his purpose. Or something he didn't want to destroy. So he chose to pause. That could be where the criminal was, or he was trying to protect something from the explosion. Otherwise, he would never make such a mistake that would expose his true identity."

"Ah, just as I thought." Conan's mouth curled up slightly. "So what about the loop line now?"

"To be honest, I don't know. Because the criminals didn't target the crowd, I can't figure out why the bomb was installed on the loop." I pondered. "Maybe we have overlooked some other clues, but you can solve those puzzles by yourself. I am only responsible for this loop bomb incident." I responded calmly. "Let's get back to the point. We just talked about the control of the bomb. So we have ruled out a lot. As for the explosion when the sun sets, I think it may be related to light. Or something that controls light."

"You mean... inside the headlights?"

"No, that doesn't meet the requirements of the first speed limit."

"So the detonation conditions of this bomb could be wind control caused by speed and light control caused by sunlight? No, because it is a loop, if there is a headwind at the turn, it cannot be accurately controlled. If this is the case, then even wind control can be ruled out."

"Yes, this way the range is much smaller. Considering that it is a loop, the area under the car body and the side of the car body can be ruled out. Then the only thing left is..."

"On the roof, in front of the front, behind the rear? No, these places are too conspicuous and can be easily discovered. Maybe..."

"Maybe the bomb isn't in the car at all, but in..."

"Between the tracks!"

"Between the tracks!"

　I will try my best to finish the skyscraper first, and then I will start to brush the angels. I will put the demons aside for a while, please understand. I don’t have more time after I come back. I will still update irregularly.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)