Chapter 270: Putting the Cart Before the Horse
Kaito Kuroba quickly arrived at Area C-2.
Here, he saw that the display room for the Yuehua Necklace that was originally located in this area no longer existed.
The site of the explosion was devastated, surrounded by the ruins of the collection room.
Although Kaito Kuroba had already stolen Yuehua, this collection room had been abandoned for quite some time.
However, near the Yuehua collection room, there were still a few unlucky tourists affected by the explosion.
The less injured were screaming and running outside.
Two severely injured individuals had already passed out, their lives and conditions unknown.
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'What's going on...?'
'Why was there still an explosion even though the necklace isn't there anymore?'
'Was this Tsukino Takashi's doing? Or was it someone else?'
Kaito Kuroba's eyes widened as he looked at the terrifying scene before him.
This exhibition seemed to have been targeted by terrorists.
Not only had snipers appeared, but there had now been two explosions.
---
Just as Kuroba was about to step forward and check on the condition of the injured, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure.
It was Masumi Sera, who was walking quickly toward the scene, followed closely by Conan.
Kaito Kuroba quickly abandoned the idea of stepping forward and hid among the crowd of panicked tourists fleeing the area.
---
Masumi Sera, upon seeing the scene, immediately quickened her pace.
She ran to the two unconscious tourists lying on the ground and checked their condition.
"Fortunately, both of them are still breathing.
But this one has more severe burns. While they're not life-threatening, they must be treated as soon as possible."
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Conan, on the other hand, had already taken out his phone and called emergency services, explaining the situation to the fire department.
When he hung up, he glanced at the time on his phone.
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"What's wrong, kid?"
Masumi Sera noticed Conan staring at his phone in a daze and asked.
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"I checked my phone right before the explosion in the Scarlet Heart collection room. It was 2:27 PM.
Then Kaitou Kid entered the collection room, unlocked the display case, and the explosion happened. That took about three minutes.
Later, when I heard the broadcast about an explosion in the Yuehua collection room, I checked the time again. It was 3:02 PM.
Considering it takes one or two minutes for the broadcast to relay the information, the second explosion must have occurred at 3:00 PM."
Conan explained.
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"Kid, are you saying the two explosions happened exactly half an hour apart?"
"Exactly."
Conan nodded.
"At first, we all thought it was Kaitou Kid who caused the explosion, but this time there was nothing in the collection room. I don't think there was any reason for the explosion.
Therefore, it's highly likely the bomb wasn't manually detonated, but instead, the explosion time was set in advance, with the second explosion happening thirty minutes after the first."
Conan hypothesized.
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"But with only two explosions, there's no discernible pattern, right?"
Masumi Sera said.
"It's like a serial murder case.
Usually, three similar cases must occur before it can be defined as a serial murder.
The fact that there have been only two explosions doesn't prove there's a pattern."
Masumi Sera thought Conan's assumption was too arbitrary, but she listened as he continued:
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"But as long as there's a possibility, we have to do everything we can to prevent it.
If another explosion happens, it'll be too late to undo the damage."
Masumi Sera also felt that what Conan said made sense. She turned to Ginzo Nakamori, who was running toward them, and said:
"Inspector Nakamori, please evacuate all the tourists immediately, especially those in Area D.
There's a possibility of another explosion in Area D-2 at 3:30 PM."
---
Ginzo Nakamori nodded solemnly and quickly stopped a staff member, asking them to contact the broadcast room for an announcement.
At the same time, he sent three more officers from Division 2 to Arena D to assist in evacuating the crowd.
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After moving the two unconscious individuals away from the ruins of the collection room, Nakamori ordered his men to take them for urgent medical attention.
A short while later, the broadcast began again:
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"All tourists currently in Area D, please evacuate immediately and do not remain in the area.
There's a possibility of another explosion in the Dreamweaver collection room."
---
A familiar female voice echoed throughout the Tokyo International Exhibition Center. It seemed that the staff had successfully contacted the broadcast team.
Some officers from Division 2 hesitated near the recently exploded Yuehua collection room.
After all, they were primarily responsible for economic crimes and lacked the proper equipment to approach the explosion site safely.
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"Seriously, what are the guys from Division 1 doing? Why haven't they arrived yet?"
Ginzo Nakamori couldn't help but complain.
He then saw Masumi Sera walking straight toward the center of the explosion, where the original display case had been blackened.
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"Miss Sera, it's dangerous there!"
Nakamori shouted, but Masumi Sera ignored his warning. She approached the display case and crouched to examine it.
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Sera found that the surrounding walls and the metal base of the display case had been shattered by the explosion.
However, the glass display case used to preserve Yuehua was actually intact.
Aside from the metal base being severely deformed, the glass itself showed no visible damage.
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"As expected, this glass is incredibly strong. Not even an explosion can damage it."
Masumi Sera murmured to herself.
Then she heard Conan's voice from behind her:
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"Yes, it was the same with the Scarlet Heart display case earlier. The glass wasn't damaged in the explosion.
Kaitou Kid managed to remove the gem from the bottom of the case, and the gem remained intact.
In other words, this explosion was never meant to affect the collection inside."
---
Masumi Sera noticed something strange.
"Before the exhibition began, Mr. Tsukino promised that the security level of the exhibition would be very high.
When I saw that they used high-strength glass for the display cases, I thought there was no issue.
But now it seems the security for the collections is completely inadequate.
Choosing such strong glass is truly putting the cart before the horse."
---
It was like spending money to replace all the door frames in a house with aluminum alloy materials, but leaving the doors themselves as wooden ones that could be kicked open.
Now, it seemed highly suspicious.
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"I have a theory," Masumi Sera said, narrowing her eyes.
"Perhaps this glass is more important for resisting explosions than for protecting against Kaitou Kid."
(End of the Chapter)