Lest I forget, i also thanked Sanajyaaa71_14 and harbringer_so for their continuous support of powerstones. Here's some extra chapter for you!
----
"Well? Is it complicated to disarm?"
"Not too complicated, but Date, can you find someone you trust? The special thing about this bomb is... it requires two people to disarm it simultaneously. Otherwise, it'll detonate."
Hearing that, Wataru froze for a moment.
After a brief hesitation, he looked toward Natalie, who was sitting with Ran. Natalie's hand was already injured. A delicate task like bomb disposal was out of the question for her.
That left only Ran, the girl who had remained calm throughout the ordeal and was still comforting others.
"I have someone in mind. I'll bring her over."
Turning toward the rest area, Wataru called out, "Mouri-san, could you come over for a moment?"
"Huh? Okay."
Shinichi was startled when he heard Wataru call Ran's name. He was about to object when Ritsu shook his head from the side.
This wasn't the time for discouraging words.
Besides, if they didn't act quickly, the fire would spread to the rest area. At that point, even if the bomb never exploded, everyone would die in the fire.
Using the gentlest tone he could manage, Wataru said, "Mouri-san, there's something I'd like to ask of you.
"I need your help disarming a bomb."
"A bo—"
Ran immediately covered her mouth. She couldn't say that word out loud. It would only plunge everyone in the rest area into panic.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she nodded seriously.
"Okay. I can do it."
'She's really brave.'
"Relax," Wataru reassured softly. "Onizawa will guide us through the process. The bomb's structure isn't particularly difficult. It just requires two people to operate it at the same time."
"Okay!"
"Then I'll pass the tools over."
Ritsu took out the bomb-disposal pliers he had prepared beforehand. At moments like this, he was glad he always carried a spare. Otherwise, they would have been in real trouble.
Wataru handed the second pair of pliers to Ran and said, "We're ready on our side. We can begin."
"Okay."
Studying the bomb photos on the phone, Ritsu instructed,
"First, remove the outer cover. Be careful not to move it too much. You'll see a lot of wiring inside. Start by cutting the yellow wire connected to the small phototube trigger."
Wataru and Ran exchanged a glance. After silently counting to three, they cut the yellow wire together.
Bomb disposal really was delicate work.
When nothing happened, Ran let out a sigh of relief. At the same time, her eyes grew even more determined. She was carrying the lives of everyone in the theater on her shoulders.
"Onizawa, we're ready for the next step."
"Good. The next wire is connected to the current supply. Near the yellow wire, there should be two white wires. Cut the one on the right that's connected to the power tube. Leave the one on the left alone."
They successfully cut the white wire. But at that exact moment—
BOOM!
An explosion echoed from somewhere below.
Ran flinched.
"Um... did we cut the wrong wire?"
"No."
Ritsu's voice remained calm. "There's just a crafty bastard trying to scare whoever's disarming the bomb. Don't panic. We're all getting out of here alive."
"Ran, relax! It'll be fine!"
"Shinichi..."
Ran smiled slightly. "Okay! Onizawa-san, what's the next step?"
Ritsu carefully examined the photo again.
"Next is the green wire connected to the night-view display. There'll only be two wires left after that. We're almost done."
The bomb's design was surprisingly simple. There was no signal transmitter, no mercury switch. Cutting four wires should have been enough to disarm it.
When the final black wire was cut, Shinichi let out a long breath of relief.
"All we have to do now is wait for the firefighters to rescue us. Ran, you did great!"
"B-But, Shinichi..."
Ran stared at the bomb. "It hasn't stopped. The countdown is still going!"
"What?!"
Wataru frowned and looked inside the bomb. There, hidden beneath the others, were two intertwined wires,
One red.
One blue.
"Onizawa," he said grimly, "there are still red and blue wires hidden inside. Looks like this is the final choice."
'Impossible... How could there still be two more wires?'
Only then did Ritsu finally understand why the bomb's structure had been so simple.
So this was the trap.
The person disarming it was being forced into a final life-or-death choice.
"...Cut whichever color you like."
"Onizawa, are you serious?"
"Sensei, what are you talking about?!"
Ritsu shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Moriya did this on purpose. He wants the person disarming the bomb to make a fifty-fifty choice during the final minutes of the countdown."
"If you're lucky, the bomb gets disarmed."
"If you're unlucky, you die."
"So make your decision quickly. After the explosion downstairs, if we don't disarm it soon, we'll all burn to death anyway."
'Cut the color you like...'
Ran lowered her gaze toward the red wire.
Red was her favorite color.
Was she really supposed to cut it?
"Onizawa-san... I want to cut the blue wire."
Wataru looked at her and asked lightly,
"You really like blue?"
Ran shook her head. "Actually, my favorite color is red. But... for some reason, I don't really want to cut it."
"Because of the Red String Legend?"
Wataru blinked.
"Natalie? When did you come over here?"
Had he been so focused that he hadn't even noticed his girlfriend standing behind him?
Natalie smiled shyly. "I've been right beside you the whole time, Kou. You were just too focused to notice."
After a brief pause, she looked at Ran and smiled knowingly.
"You don't want to cut that red wire, right? Because it's..."
"N-Natalie-san, that's not what you think!" Ran's face instantly turned bright red.
Shinichi was right on the other side of the wall. If he heard this, it would be a disaster.
"Then perhaps I misunderstood."
Natalie crouched beside Wataru and gently rested against his shoulder.
In a soft voice, she said, "Go ahead and cut it."
"Okay."
Ritsu lowered his head in thought.
If he remembered correctly, Ran had told Teiji that she and Shinichi were planning to watch a movie together.
The only movie playing at 10:00 PM in the Beika City Hall theater was The Legend of the Red String.
Had Moriya intentionally designed the bomb around that?
Red and blue wires...
If that was the case, then cutting the blue wire should be the correct answer.
Ran slowly inhaled and exhaled. She looked once more toward the door hidden behind the rubble. Then she extended the hand holding the bomb-disposal pliers.
There was no hesitation.
Because the red wire connected her and Shinichi.
Just as Natalie had said.
She couldn't bear to sever the red string between them.
Snip.
The blue wire was cut.
No explosion followed.
The countdown stopped.
They had succeeded.
The final bomb had been disarmed.
The crisis was over.
"YES!!!"
"Onizawa-san, now we can go get the firefighters, right?!"
"Yeah. Wait there. We'll bring the firefighters over and get the door open!"
...
Far away at the Metropolitan Police Department, Teiji stared blankly at the cold tile floor.
There had been no explosion.
How was that possible?
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Moriya. You have a phone call."
Expressionless, Moriya picked up the receiver. A familiar voice came from the other end.
"So, how are you feeling now, Moriya-san?"
"You... It's you! You damned variable!"
Having already guided the firefighters to the trapped victims, Ritsu leaned against a wall and smiled faintly.
"A variable? Even without me, she would've cut the blue wire. You underestimated how much she cares about him."
Moriya remained silent.
Ritsu continued, "Someone as insane as you probably wouldn't understand."
"Enjoy spending the rest of your life in a dark prison cell, great architect."
The call ended.
Ritsu didn't stay any longer. After leaving everything else to Hayasaka, he covered the wound that had started bleeding again and drove away.
When he had kicked the door open earlier, the twisting motion had torn his injury open.
The white dress shirt underneath was already stained crimson.
Fortunately, the darkness of the night had concealed the wound from everyone else.
...
After being rescued by the firefighters, Wataru sent Natalie to receive proper medical treatment for her injuries.
Looking around, he realized he couldn't find Onizawa anywhere. Left with no other option, he patted Shinichi on the shoulder.
"Have you seen Onizawa?"
"Hm? Sensei told me he was going home to see his girlfriend."
After saying that, Shinichi wore a rather mischievous grin. The teenage boy had clearly imagined something strange.
For example, he had just discovered a critical piece of information.
'Sensei actually lived together with his girlfriend!'
"He already went home? Well, alright then."
After saying goodbye to Shinichi, Wataru returned to Natalie's side. "Onizawa left ahead of us. I'll thank him properly another time."
"We're both police officers, so we'll probably see each other every day anyway."
Natalie smiled.
"In that case, invite him over to our place next time. I'll cook a meal myself to thank him."
Wataru nodded.
"Okay. Sounds good."