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Meanwhile, over on the other side, Hanabumei led the kids up to the third floor and stopped in front of a door. Genta pressed his ear to it and, hearing nothing inside, gently pushed it open and stepped in first.
At the same time, in the room next door—
The man who had been tailed was kneeling on the floor, trembling and kowtowing to a woman dressed in black.
"Big Sis, I was wrong! Please, I'm begging you, let me go!"
The woman, who was being called Big Sis, looked down at him like a god judging a mortal.
"You tried to spend fake bills that weren't even finished yet. I'm being generous by not killing you right now!"
There were quite a few people in the room. The woman in black was clearly the boss. Junya's older brother was sitting at the table, being forced to draw under threat by a few other black-clad thugs.
Suddenly, one of the surveillance monitors on the table showed Hanabumei and the kids entering the next room. The man in charge of the feed jumped up and shouted, "Boss! We've got intruders next door—six brats just broke in!"
Junya's brother looked up, saw Junya in the monitor, and his face went pale.
"Junya!!" he yelled.
A thug quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. The boss lady stared at the screen and gave a cold smile.
"They actually came all the way here looking for his brother. How touching..." she murmured, pulling out a handgun, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Meanwhile, in the room next door, Hanabumei suddenly sensed a wave of killing intent. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
Out on the street, Conan had turned back only to find everyone gone, leaving him stunned.
After asking the officer on duty, he froze.
"What?! You're saying they all ran into that building?"
Not wasting another second, Conan dashed into the building.
Idiots! What if those people are the ones who framed me—the ones in black?! You're walking straight into a trap! What the heck were Genta and the others thinking? I told them not to leave the front of the police station!
Inside the office, Ayumi had a bad feeling too. She tugged nervously at Genta's sleeve.
"Genta... let's get out of here..."
By now, Conan had reached the door. Hearing his friends' voices on the other side, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were still okay...
He was just about to open the door when something cold pressed against the back of his head.
A gun.
He froze in place, every hair on his body standing on end.
"Game over, little detective..." a chilling voice whispered behind him.
A man in black had crept up behind him.
Back inside, no one had noticed anything unusual yet—except for Hanabumei. He quietly pulled out a few small steel balls, ready to strike at any moment.
Just then, Mitsuhiko spotted a sheet of paper covered in fake bills and his eyes lit up.
"Guys, check this out!" he shouted.
The kids all gathered around, super excited.
But before they could react further, several people dressed in black stepped through the door. Leading them was a woman in a wide-brimmed black hat. Her face was mostly hidden in shadow.
Genta trembled as he asked, "Wh-who are you guys?"
The woman gave a calm, faint smile. "We're just here to witness a heartwarming family reunion."
Right after she spoke, a man dragged Junya's older brother into the room.
Junya froze for a second, then bolted toward him, yelling, "Big bro!!"
Seeing the woman pull out a handgun, Hanabumei decided it was time to act.
He flicked his fingers—several steel balls shot through the air and struck the black-clad thugs right in the chest. Just moments ago they'd looked strong and alert, but now it was like someone had hit pause. They froze completely, unable to move a muscle.
Junya threw himself into his brother's arms, and the two were finally reunited.
The kids stared at the woman in black, shocked that she hadn't stopped them. But then they noticed something even weirder—the bad guys weren't moving. Not even blinking.
"What the..." Mitsuhiko started to ask, but he didn't get to finish.
He suddenly lost consciousness too.
"....."