Chapter 344: The Life-and-Death Love Broadcast 4
Upon learning that the kidnapping was directly tied to the late Squad Leader Date, Toru Amuro found it physically impossible to remain on the sidelines. His jaw locked tight as he processed the information, the ghosts of his academy days pulling at his conscience. However, the looming threat of Glenlivet's mysterious intelligence network hung over him like a guillotine. He couldn't risk blowing his cover by openly assisting the police. Instead, he operated strictly in the shadows, quietly tracking the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's movements through Matsuda Jinpei while dispatching Kazami Yuya and his Public Security subordinates to dig deep into Natalie's past social circles.
The investigation yielded rapid, albeit tragic, results. The TMPD uncovered a grim piece of the puzzle: Natalie's parents had perished in a fatal car crash while en route to claim her remains. In their absence, an English teacher from her hometown—a man who had treated Natalie with the warmth of a father—stepped in to collect her body. The deduction was swift and absolute: this grieving, vengeful teacher was the mastermind behind Officer Takagi's abduction.
Heavily armed police units quickly mobilized, swarming the suspect's residence. The moment they breached the door, Miwako Sato surged forward, her usual professionalism fracturing under the weight of her desperation. She grabbed the older man by the collar of his shirt, her knuckles turning white. She had barely finished screaming the truth of the situation, demanding Takagi's exact coordinates, when the man's legs gave out.
He had swallowed a lethal dose of poison moments before they breached the perimeter. As Sato's words finally registered, the bitter truth of Date's accidental death shattered his vengeful delusions. His eyes widened in sheer, agonizing shock, but the toxin worked too fast. His throat seized, and he collapsed dead on the floorboards before a single syllable could escape his lips.
Ultimately, the operation was a catastrophic failure.
Sato returned to the precinct, her shoulders slumped in defeat, her eyes glued to the live surveillance feed in a desperate bid for a miracle.
As the afternoon dragged on, the situation on the tablet screen deteriorated rapidly. Takagi had been strapped to that unforgiving wooden plank for nearly twenty-four hours, completely exposed to the biting, relentless wind. His complexion had faded to a sickly, translucent gray. His lips were cracked and bleeding, his breathing terrifyingly shallow. The sheer exhaustion radiating from his haggard frame was agonizing to watch; his life force was visibly draining away.
The sun was beginning its descent, casting long, chilling shadows across the screen. Once night fell, the temperature would plummet drastically. The officers crowding around the monitor exchanged grim looks, their stomachs twisting as they silently questioned if Takagi's heart would even keep beating until tomorrow.
Suddenly, the video feed violently flickered. A collective gasp rippled through the room. Officers leaned in, their hearts hammering against their ribs. The static cleared, revealing that Takagi was still there. The interference had merely been caused by a large, dark bird—a mischievous crow—that had brazenly landed directly on the camera lens, its feathers temporarily obscuring the view.
Conan's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. He stared intently at the bird's distinct plumage. His fingers flew across his terminal, pulling up search results in seconds. "Inspector Megure," Conan's voice cut through the heavy silence, sharp and confident. "I think I know exactly where Officer Takagi is right now."
He didn't wait for the Inspector to prompt him. "He has to be in Hokkaido."
Conan spun his terminal around, displaying a reference image for the room to see. "That bird that just landed on the camera isn't a normal crow. It's a Jackdaw. They're native to Europe. Throughout recorded history, there have only been two documented cases of Jackdaws straying into Japanese territory, and both sightings were exclusively in Hokkaido. Combine that with the fact that both Miss Natalie and the culprit hail from that exact region... Officer Takagi is in Hokkaido right now!"
Conan stated his conclusion with absolute certainty, but Inspector Megure blinked, struggling to process the massive geographical leap.
Matsuda Jinpei, however, didn't miss a beat. He shot the bespectacled boy a deeply calculating look, silently acknowledging the terrifying intellect hidden behind that childish facade. Then, Matsuda turned his sharp gaze back to Megure. "The kid is right. We don't have time to second-guess this. We need to mobilize local Hokkaido units immediately. Have them scan for four-story buildings that match the structural profile in the video."
"And there's something else..." Matsuda leaned over the tablet, tapping the glass. On the screen, a weakly struggling Takagi had managed to kick away a loose piece of tarp covering the underside of the wooden plank. The movement revealed a bundle of explosives wired directly to the wood.
"There's a bomb rigged right beneath him. Judging by the wiring and the casing, it's a time bomb. If we go by the culprit's twisted 'freshness' metaphor, that timer is set to blow by the day after tomorrow at the absolute latest. But honestly? With the sun going down and the temperature crashing, I'm worried he's going to freeze to death long before that timer hits zero."
Matsuda locked eyes with Inspector Megure and Superintendent Matsumoto, his voice hard. "We can't afford to waste another second. We have a location. We move now!"
Superintendent Matsumoto's jaw set in grim determination. He nodded, preparing to bark orders to the dispatchers to coordinate with the Hokkaido prefectural police. But before the words left his mouth, the technician monitoring the feed screamed, "Everyone, look! Takagi is about to be blown over the edge!"
Heads snapped back to the monitors. The audio feed crackled with the deafening roar of a sudden, violent gale. The wooden plank bucked and shuddered wildly under the sheer force of the wind. Takagi's unconscious body slid dangerously close to the precipice, the ropes groaning under the immense strain.
"Takagi..." Sato whispered, her voice trembling. Her beautiful eyes were wide with sheer terror as she watched the man she loved teeter on the brink of a fatal drop, her hands pressing against the glass of the screen as if she could pull him back herself.
The Detective Boys huddled together, paralyzed by fear. Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi squeezed their eyes shut, their tiny fists clenched so hard their knuckles ached, their breathing coming in shallow, panicked gasps.
Standing at the back of the group, Inspector Megure stared at the screen in absolute bewilderment. He scowled, his voice rising over the chaotic murmurs of the room. "What the hell is going on?! The meteorological reports didn't say a damn thing about severe gale-force winds hitting Hokkaido today!"
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