Amuro Toru thought Nishikawa Suimei was just talking nonsense.
He carefully examined the wall where she had appeared from. With one hand free, he tapped on the wall and fiddled with the wall lamp, pressing it down.
The wall swiveled open, revealing a dark passage behind it.
Amuro glanced inside and speculated, "So Jiang Xia got lost, or couldn't find a way out for some reason, and you discovered the passage. That's why you're taking hostages..."
"Isn't that right?" Amuro glanced at Nishikawa Suimei's wrist. "Though you look old, you don't seem like a frail 80-year-old woman who spends all her time in a wheelchair. How dare you sneak attack me? Got some backup?"
Nishikawa Suimei: "..."
Her only regret now was not running away when she had the chance, hiding in the secret passage earlier. But now, it was too late for regrets. All she could do was grit her teeth and sneer. "If you don't believe me, fine."
Amuro stayed silent for a moment. No matter how he looked at it, this weak, frail woman didn't have the ability to kidnap Jiang Xia.
But still, it was strange that Jiang Xia had been missing for so long.
Amuro started to think that there might be hidden traps in the castle's secret passages. Maybe this fake old lady couldn't deal with them directly, so she set up some devices to trap people.
After a moment of thought, he decided to warn Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko. He'd have them hide with the kids to avoid them being taken hostage if things went sideways.
Once the kids were safe, he could lead the old lady into the secret passage to search for Jiang Xia.
But as soon as Amuro turned the corner, a shadow suddenly appeared in front of him. He was startled, about to hide, but then remembered the innocent child nearby. He raised his hand to shield himself.
The expected attack didn't come. Instead, a pile of tablecloths unfurled in front of him, blocking his view.
Amuro was caught off guard, a rare situation for him. It took him a moment to untangle the tablecloth from around himself.
When his vision cleared, he saw that the old lady had disappeared. A few meters away, the secret wall was about to close, and he saw the hem of a dark skirt flashing through the gap.
Amuro rushed over, but it was too late. The revolving wall slammed shut, and he couldn't open it again. It was locked from the inside.
...So, this fake old lady had an accomplice.
Wait, the pattern on that skirt—he'd seen it somewhere before.
Amuro slowly walked back to his spot, grabbed another tangled tablecloth, and started pulling Conan out from under it. The mysterious helper seemed prepared—blocking his sight with the tablecloth while tossing it at the kids. No one was spared. It was... ridiculous.
Amuro felt like he needed a word like "outraged" to describe the situation.
He glanced at the harmless tablecloths on the ground and hesitated.
...Forget it. It was probably a good sign that the helper wasn't hurting anyone. That meant Jiang Xia was probably still alive.
Amuro felt a bit relieved.
Just as he was about to knock on the wall to search for another entrance, Conan suddenly spoke up, "The one who took Mrs. Masuyo is anonymous!"
Amuro raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Conan quickly added, "It's in the newspaper! The anonymous person who jumped out of the train with the bomb!"
Earlier, despite being hindered by the tablecloth, Conan had quickly managed to get a glimpse. When he entered the secret passage, he saw the hem of the mysterious figure's skirt.
Conan's low vantage point, and the fact that he'd almost bumped into the same skirt on the Shinkansen, made him recognize the pattern instantly.
Now both of them were silent. Why had Anonymous shown up in this ancient castle and gotten mixed up with Mrs. Masuyo?
What was even more troubling was that if Anonymous was involved, she might have knocked out Jiang Xia. No one had seen Anonymous fight, but she'd jumped off a bridge with a bomb in hand, so she was no slouch. Even if she used props, she must have had stamina.
Amuro's face grew serious, but he also felt some relief. Based on what they knew, Anonymous wasn't a killer—just someone who liked money.
...Wait a minute. Greed for money?
Could she have been after the feng shui pill Jiang Xia was carrying?!
...But why would she be involved with saving Mrs. Masuyo? The two didn't seem connected.
Hmm? Wait a second. What if Anonymous wasn't working with Mrs. Masuyo at all? What if she found out Jiang Xia was carrying a lot of treasure and came all the way to the castle to rob him? But when she couldn't find him, she kidnapped Mrs. Masuyo instead...
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Xia had no idea his teammates were going off on wild tangents in their heads. He was too busy doing his own thing—after all, this disguise was totally flexible, and he could play it cool.
When he threw the tablecloth at them, it was just to slow down the protagonists, not to keep himself hidden.
Nishikawa Suimei, now pulled into the secret passage, was finally regaining her senses. She looked at the woman beside her, pulling her along in shock. "Who are you!?"
"How do you know so much about these secret passages? And... why are you helping me?"
The mysterious woman turned around, smiling cryptically. She lowered her voice and said, "You want to know where the treasure is?"
Nishikawa Suimei was startled, her eyes widening in excitement. "Where?!"
"The chess piece sculpture on the lawn refers to the old man who left the treasure. There's also a portrait of him in the hall."
The woman's tone was friendly. "Turn it left, and the entrance to the treasure will be revealed behind."
Nishikawa Suimei's eyes lit up, her heart racing. She shrugged off the mysterious woman, pointed in the direction, and ran toward the closest exit of the secret passage leading to the hall.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 40/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:0/10*