This gang of robbers wasn't exactly top-tier. Only Ryoko had a gun—everyone else was basically there for moral support.
Jiangxia Tongzhi discreetly stationed a ghost next to the bear children, just in case they got too rowdy.
Naturally, he left another ghost in the security room—if Ryoko made a move, the ghost could act immediately.
When you've got enough ghosts to go around, it's easy to multitask. East, west, upstairs, downstairs—coverage on all sides.
After borrowing Haibara Ai's phone, Jiangxia casually observed the Detective Boys.
Seeing that Conan wasn't about to use his powered shoes to blast through a wall, Jiangxia sighed with relief.
He left the kids behind, slipped past the surveillance camera's blind spot, and headed upstairs. Time to check out the robbers in action—maybe he'd get lucky and find some energy cores lying around.
…
Downstairs, the Detective Boys were still hunting for Haibara's missing phone. No luck.
They tried to use other phones, but the public lines had been cut. Employee phones? Automatically disconnected after closing time. Useless.
Conan had to improvise—he scrawled a giant "SOS" on the window, praying some eagle-eyed passerby would call the cops.
Genta stared at the glass thoughtfully.
He had no clue how strong it was, but in his mind, breaking it meant freedom. So he eagerly picked up a stool.
Then he remembered: Jiangxia was technically the building's security guard.
Sure, he was "kidnapped" and unreachable at the moment… but what about later? When he woke up and found someone had trashed his workplace?
Genta suddenly recalled vivid images of past scoldings, people being beaten to the ground and rolling around in pain. His imagination very helpfully replaced those poor souls with himself.
A second later, he put the stool back in place, quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and followed Conan and Haibara away like nothing had happened.
With all other options exhausted, the kids returned to the toy section to resume their phone search. The first floor was mostly toys and cheap household goods—not likely to attract the robbers.
And let's be real, phones don't grow legs. It had to be somewhere nearby, maybe hidden under a plush toy or stuck in some weird spot.
As long as they kept looking, they'd find it… eventually.
…
Meanwhile, Robber No. 3 yanked open a display case and started scooping jewelry into his bag.
After looting half the floor, he wiped his sweaty forehead, patted his now-bulging bag, and smiled in satisfaction. "Jackpot," he thought.
That's when a disapproving voice floated in from behind: "…That's pretty rare."
The robber flinched and looked up, confused. Then something slammed into the back of his neck. No time to scream—he hit the floor like a sack of flour.
Jiangxia casually shoved him aside and dragged the jewelry bag out from under his limp body. He stared at the pile of stolen goods and sighed.
There was an energy core in there.
But… barely. Just a speck—maybe half a sesame seed, if that.
He dropped it into the pattern over his heart. The core fizzled out before he could even enjoy the taste.
Still, better than nothing.
If he wanted real energy returns, maybe it was time to keep an eye on Kaitou Kid instead. That guy was a walking loot box.
There was still one robber left. According to Tengu, the flying shikigami on recon duty, this last one was upstairs, looting antiques.
Jiangxia swung by the first floor again, sculpted a clay cat, and sent it sneaking off to return Haibara's phone—quietly tossing it back into the toy pile.
Then he headed for the antique section. Maybe antiques had better nutritional value than jewelry?
…
Downstairs, just as the Detective Boys were about to give up, Ayumi's hand froze mid-search in the pile of plush toys.
A moment later, she triumphantly pulled a phone out from under a white Muppet-style cat. "Found it!"
Haibara Ai exhaled in relief. "Good job."
She took the phone and quickly dialed Sato Miwako's number.
Haibara had memorized Officer Sato's number the last time she'd been trapped in an abandoned building and needed the kids' help. Seemed useful now too.
Calling 110 might not convey the urgency of the situation. Better to go straight to someone they knew.
While Haibara dialed, Conan frowned at the spot Ayumi had found the phone. He could've sworn he'd checked that area already.
But then he remembered his teammates'… unique approach to searching, and let it go. Besides, the lighting was terrible. Lucky they found the phone at all.
…
Sato Miwako was stunned when she picked up. The department had been investigating a group of robbers targeting department stores—but hadn't cracked it yet. And now here were the Detective Boys, bumping into them mid-crime.
Children with Jiangxia's aura really were… something else. Lucky? Unlucky? Yes.
"We need to move fast," Haibara said urgently. She thought of Jiangxia stuck in the security room, with a gun-toting Ryoko giving him eyes that screamed temporary hostage today, permanent kidnapping victim tomorrow. Her expression turned sharp again.
"They've got hostages—three or four, maybe. And more robbers than that."
Conan took the phone and added, "Five robbers, four hostages. One of the robbers—a woman—has a gun. She's in the security room on the second floor with the hostages. The others went upstairs. We're on the first floor, in the toy area."
Lucky for them, Sato was already working overtime.
Soon, she and a squad of officers had surrounded the entire building.
…
The officers slipped in through the underground parking garage, climbed to the second floor, and quietly approached the security room, ready to bust in and rescue the hostages…
Only to find eight people neatly tied up and lying on the floor like a display set.
Inspector Megure blinked. "…?"
Did the kids miscount?
Based on Conan's info, the only person left standing should've been the ringleader with the gun.
But as Megure and Sato looked around, they couldn't shake the feeling that this "robber leader" lying unconscious in the corner looked… very familiar.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 36/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*