"How is it? Have you found anything?"
Nakasone Ginzo stared intently at the surveillance monitors.
The clock chimed half-past eleven, and the phantom thieves were expected to take the queens tears before midnight.
In this half-hour, everyone's hearts were pounding in their chests.
"Please, can you calm down a bit?"
Inspector Megure looked at him helplessly. He had noticed earlier that these three seemed more anxious than the others.
It was just about catching a few thieves; was it really necessary to be so worked up?
"Of course, it's necessary! They are world-renowned thieves!"
"Is it possible that your abilities aren't up to par?"
Inspector Megure muttered to himself. It was indeed his first time handling such a case. In his opinion, they were just a few thieves. If he couldn't catch them, where would Inspector Megure's reputation go?
He had to catch these thieves today.
However, he didn't voice that thought. Although confident, if he didn't catch them, at least he would have left himself a fallback.
"Conan, what are you looking at?"
Ran curiously leaned next to Conan, watching him intently staring at the surveillance screen. She followed his gaze and looked over as well.
"I'm wondering how they'll get in!"
Conan looked at Ran with an innocent expression, but in his mind, he was still pondering how the culprits would enter under these circumstances.
This was his first encounter with the phantom thieves. Although he had heard of them before, he was still somewhat unfamiliar with these matters.
The area was already under surveillance, and unauthorized personnel were not allowed inside. There were also monitors watching everything, so any clue would be immediately discovered. Under such circumstances, how would the culprits manage to infiltrate?
"Haha, you little brat, don't even bother thinking about it! If a little brat like you figured it out, how would they have remained master thieves for so long without being caught? Only I, the famous detective Mouri Kogorou, can handle this!"
Mouri Kogorou laughed triumphantly. Today was the day Mouri Kogorou would become famous!
"If you, the muddled detective, could catch them, there'd be a ghost!"
Conan rolled his dead-fish eyes and grumbled inwardly.
If Mouri Kogorou could really catch them, every single one of them would have been caught by the police long ago.
"Big sister, we roughly know the situation inside now. Do we need to act?"
Inside the art museum.
The Cats Eye trio, who had already infiltrated and evaded the police search, were waiting in a small room for the right moment.
On a small electronic screen, the queens tears, currently under surveillance, were clearly visible.
Not only had the police placed monitors here, but they had also set up their own in advance.
"How are Kaito Kid and Lupin III doing?"
Kisugi Rui pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Everyone is watching now. The first one to act will likely fail. Kaito Kid and the others are probably also waiting. Let's wait for now."
"Indeed, let's wait and see. It's not about who gets it first."
Kisugi Hitomi chimed in.
"You scoundrel, don't you dare disappoint me!"
Not far from the art museum, inside a tall building, a woman was holding binoculars, her eyes fixed on the gem inside the museum.
Fujiko Mine had already made up her mind: once Lupin III got his hands on the item, she would keep it all for herself!
All the information about this place had been provided by her. As for betraying Lupin III, wasn't that just a casual thing for her?
At the same time, Kid had also made his preparations. Looking at the clock on his wrist, he was ready to make his move once his pre-set time arrived.
Before that, he would just wait and see.
"Not ready yet?"
"Are they coming or not? The time is already here!"
In the plaza.
Many people looked at the big screen with some disappointment. Five minutes had passed, and the art museum remained safe and sound, with no movement whatsoever. This made those who had been expecting to watch a chase between thieves, or between thieves and police, feel a bit bored.
"Say, what do you think about my next book being inspired by a phantom thief girl?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha unconsciously tapped her foot on the ground, then turned her head to Bai Ye and asked.
"Huh? You want my opinion?"
"But didn't Bai Ye-kun always give me ideas when I wrote novels before? Otherwise, how would my book be called the most heart-wrenchwrenching novel? I really didn't expect that a boy like Bai Ye-kun would have so many plot ideas. I was first, whether it was kissing, hugging, or falling in love with that guy. It was my first time having someone I loved, someone I could be friends with for a lifetime..."
A thoughtful glint flashed in Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes: "Has Bai Ye-kun experienced this before?"
"Hmph, that guy even guided me in drawing manga. Did he experience this too?"
Eriri interrupted Kasumigaoka Utaha indignantly.
Hmph!
Don't think only the two of you have a bond!
She has one too!
"Tsk, Bai Ye-kun, when you think about such things, who are you fantasizing about? Me? Or Kato? Or perhaps Sakurajima or that woman Yukinoshita..." As she spoke, noticing Eriri's murderous glare, Kasumigaoka Utaha exaggeratedly added, "It wouldn't be Eriri, would it?"
"Ah!!! You scoundrel!! What do you mean 'it wouldn't be me'? What's wrong with me?!"
Eriri angrily waved her fists, wanting to give Kasumigaoka Utaha a piece of her mind.
But somewhat comically, her arms seemed a bit short. When Kasumigaoka Utaha held her hand against her forehead, Eriri's flailing fists looked like she was punching air.
"It's about to begin."
"Eh? Did Bai Ye-kun say something?"
Kato Megumi, who was sitting right next to Bai Ye, turned her head in confusion. She seemed to have heard Bai Ye murmur something just now, but she hadn't quite caught what he said.
Did he speak just now?
Before Bai Ye could answer, a violent gasp erupted from the surroundings: "They're here!!! They finally made their move!"
"Won't they get caught? And who is that?"
Unlike the Cats Eye, Lupin III, and Kaito Kid they were familiar with.
The person who appeared on the big screen was completely different from anyone they knew.
"Uninvited, I hope you'll forgive me. I am not the three you are expecting, but tonight, I will be taking the queens tears."
On the screen, a man wearing an orange spiral mask and an Akatsuki Organization black and red cloud cloak waved at the screen.
He extended a finger, then lightly tapped the tempered glass.
Crack.
The glass instantly shattered, and the queens tears were in his hand.
"Big sister, what should we do?"
"Let's move!"
Inside the room, Ai Kisugi and Kisugi Hitomi exchanged glances, then prepared to act.
This was such a good opportunity. They believed those two guys wouldn't miss it either. They could just use this unfamiliar guy to draw fire. They had been wondering how to infiltrate, but now it was good; this guy served as a shield, making their infiltration less difficult.
"Tell me, where did that guy come from?!"
No way?!
In the monitoring room, everyone stared dumbfounded at the incredible scene before them.
The surrounding monitors confirmed that nothing was broken.
How could that person have gotten in so stealthily?!
"Conan, where are you going?"
"Hurry over there, that person left!"
Conan was the first to react, rushing out of the monitoring room and running towards the queens tears exhibition hall.
The others, hearing Conan's words, immediately reacted and followed him.
Upon reaching the art museum, the person had already vanished, and the queens tears were gone.
"No way?"
Inspector Megure wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Just like that, it was gone?
"Heh heh, what phantom thieves, they're all just trash. Stealing a fake one and still calling themselves master thieves?"
A hint of disdain flashed across the art museum director's face.
"It seems he knows..."
Conan took a gem from a corner. There was also a piece of paper with it, and this gem was precisely the one that the orange Masked Man had taken earlier.
"Although I knew it was fake, I still wanted to show everyone that I'm not inferior to the other phantom thieves, right? Also, I've taken the real one!"
Looking at the handwriting on the note, the museum director's face instantly turned ugly. He then rushed to the basement without delay.
The moment he received the Notice (notice letter), he immediately placed the real gem in the basement.
He hadn't told anyone!
Arriving at the basement, they saw the opened door and a figure hastily leaving. Everyone followed in a rush, and this path, it turned out, led to the rooftop.
On the rooftop.
The Cats Eye trio, Lupin III, Kaito Kid, and Bai Ye stood at four different positions.
"Raise your hands, surrender now!"
The sudden intrusion of the Metropolitan Police Department broke the silence.
The rooftop door had been closed. Nakasone Ginzo looked at the group with a hint of triumph. Today, even if the King of Heaven himself came, they wouldn't escape.
"Ah, this is troublesome. You clearly knew this was the rooftop, so why did you bring the gem here?"
Kid looked at Bai Ye with some annoyance.
Actually, all five of them knew the true location of the gem, but none of them had acted yet.
They had originally intended to take the gem during the chaos Bai Ye created.
However, they were a step slower than Bai Ye. After Bai Ye took it, they immediately followed, and ended up following him all the way to the rooftop.
But thankfully, he could leave by relying on his hang glider.
Could Bai Ye also be a hang glider enthusiast?
"Because the stage is set, and without an audience, this performance would be a failure. Only a performance will allow me to be at my peak."
In the basement, he could have simply taken the gem and left.
But leaving just like that felt like something was missing. He yearned to be noticed.
Perhaps because he lived in an era of peace, he actually sought something different from other Bai Yes. He liked being admired and also enjoyed those gazes of reverence.
"A stage? The prison is your stage, you guys who pretend to be ghosts! I will now unmask you one by one!"
Nakasone Ginzo looked confident of victory. Seeing the television station's helicopter broadcasting live from the sky, he felt incredibly proud.
Aoko, look! Dad has finally caught Kaito Kid this time!
"Everyone wears a mask, the fleeting joy before the curtain rises. Remember me, this is my beginning. I rise from filth and mud, I am a burning blue lotus, I am unique beauty."
Bai Ye murmured softly, accompanied by a sudden lightning strike in the sky.
Bai Ye clapped his hands together and shouted, "Art is an explosion!!"
Boom!!
The clone exploded, and a cloud of smoke instantly diffused, spreading around and immediately obscuring everyone else's vision.
And when the smoke cleared, Bai Ye's figure had already vanished.
In the plaza, looking at the myriad expressions on the big screen, everyone's disbelieving gazes, and even Kaito Kid running to the edge of the building to look for his glider, Bai Ye lowered his head and touched the queens tears in his left pocket.
"Let's go, it's over."
Bai Ye took one last look at the screen, then looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha and the other two, and turned to leave.
There was nothing left to see.
"Hey! I think you're really suited for this phantom thief image! How about I write a romance novel about a phantom thief and a writing girl, using you as the prototype?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha quickly caught up to Bai Ye. That scene just now had sparked her inspiration. She would cast Bai Ye as the phantom thief and herself as the writing girl.
Since readers said her last book was too 'knife-like' (sad/tragic), she would write a sweet romance novel this time, based on Bai Ye and herself!
"Bai Ye is not a phantom thief!"
Eriri retorted, looking at Bai Ye's back and muttering.
Don't try to sneak away here!
"If it's Bai Ye-kun, it suits him quite well."
Kato Megumi covered her mouth and chuckled. The three of them quickly caught up to Bai Ye, swiftly taking positions on his left and right sides.
"Did they just... run away?"
"What do we do?"
"They're gone!"
Kisugi Rui, Kisugi Hitomi, and Ai Kisugi exchanged glances, then the three of them leaped directly from the building.
Kaito Kid, unwilling to be outdone, followed suit and fled.
This time, it was a huge embarrassment.
He sent an invitation, but not only did he fail to steal it, someone else took it, and they even showed him up before leaving!
"Lupin, don't think you can run!"
"Wouldn't it be foolish not to run?"
Lupin III threw a smoke bomb on the ground, then directly used his hang glider to escape.
Today really was an unlucky start!
The queens tears... if he had gotten his hands on it, he would have made a huge profit again. Thinking about it being taken by that person, Lupin III also remembered Bai Ye.
Next time, he would definitely get his revenge!
"They all just ran away?! Huh?"
Inspector Megure turned his head, dumbfounded. He had come himself, yet he hadn't caught a single person.
"Inspector Megure, I think we'll be on the front page tomorrow. All the police, Kaito Kid, Cats Eye, and Lupin III, all became that guy's background."
Shiratori Ninzaburo rubbed his forehead, feeling that tomorrow's news would be incredibly explosive.