Chapter 63: The Arena Indiscriminate Coercion Incident

Nara Hikaru had no idea that Makoto Kusakabe, a prosecutor from the Public Security Bureau, had already arrived in Tokyo.

All he knew was that because Edogawa Conan was worried that Mauri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko might be in danger going out together, he had set out with Mauri Kogoro to attend that magic enthusiasts' gathering involving Kaito Kid.

This was the prologue to the theatrical version "The Magician of the Silver Sky," but strangely enough, Nara Hikaru had found no traces of plot-related events concerning the Silver Sky Magician. Instead, they were replaced by an upcoming art museum exhibition hosted by the Suzuki Financial Group.

The Romanov Dynasty royal family treasure, which should have been exhibited at the Suzuki Museum of Art in Osaka, was now transferred to the newly opened branch of the Suzuki Museum of Art in Beika Town—and so far, no advance notice letter had been received from Kaito Kid.

The plot of another theatrical version, "The Last Wizard of the Century," seemed about to unfold.

The infamous phantom thief Kaito Kid, also known as Kuroba Kaito, would be shot down by a sniper using a rifle during his attempt to steal the Romanov royal treasure, and the assassin known as [Scorpion] had likely already arrived in Beika Town.

All of this seemed to have triggered a chain reaction and changed due to his actions in Beika Town.

However, Nara Hikaru felt no regret.

He was never one to follow the rules blindly or wait passively for death. Now that he had the chance to change everything he knew, he was bound to give it a try. After all, this time was unlike any other in the past—

"Hey, have you heard? The Yomiuri TV director for the Emperor's Cup football match to be held at the Tokyo National Stadium has received a death threat and a crime notice. They're reportedly demanding a ransom of one billion yen, or else they'll blow up the National Stadium on the day of the match!"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki swiped through the messages on her computer and said to Nara Hikaru, who was packing his gear and preparing to leave.

Hearing those words, Nara Hikaru's hand as he packed his equipment suddenly paused.

He turned his head to look at the news mentioned by Koshimizu Nanatsuki—

He cared little for sports events, and as for the so-called Emperor's Cup football match, he had paid zero attention to related news. Consequently, he had been completely unaware of the extortion incident at the Tokyo National Stadium.

Nara Hikaru's gaze lingered on the news for a moment.

He was considering whether this incident was connected to the Black Organization, as this appeared to be a case from the original timeline, known as the 57,000-Hostage Extortion Case or the Stadium Indiscriminate Threat Incident.

The so-called 57,000 hostages were merely a bluff by the culprits.

The actual criminals numbered only two or three, and their only weaponry consisted of handguns. They were simply exploiting their familiarity with the National Stadium, firing shots to create a commotion in order to extort money from the police—all bark and no bite.

However—

"After I see off Asai Narumi and the others, I'll go check out the scene."

"If you want to investigate on your own, please go ahead, but I don't want to end up having to rescue you later."

Nara Hikaru finally said.

He picked up his gun case and pushed open the safe house door.

The morning sunlight spilled into the interior of the safe house, only to vanish from within almost immediately.

The roar of a motorcycle echoed from outside, growing increasingly distant until it faded away completely.

"...Ah, that really is a problem."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki propped her chin in her hand and muttered to herself.

The one thing this world was never short of was ace detectives.

Among them, there were no shortage of ace detectives who fought against various criminal organizations and thwarted all sorts of criminal plots, though that wasn't the usual turf for high school detective prodigies—even though Koshimizu Nanatsuki had already outgrown her high school years.

Dealing with the rather dangerous Black Organization members Nara Hikaru had mentioned would still be somewhat risky if she investigated alone.

Whoosh—

The computer screen suddenly popped up with a corner of a video feed.

The former high school detective raised an eyebrow, then double-clicked it with her mouse. To her surprise, a surveillance feed instantly materialized on the screen, showing a house that was none other than Professor Agasa's research laboratory.

The members of the Junior Detective League were trooping collectively outside Professor Agasa's lab.

Professor Agasa was entertaining the members of the Junior Detective League alongside a cold-looking Haibara Ai.

Moreover, the chubby professor was holding several somewhat familiar tickets in his hand—they appeared to be tickets for the Emperor's Cup football final taking place tomorrow at the Tokyo National Stadium.

"Uh oh, this doesn't feel good at all."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki's gaze turned solemn.

Although Edogawa Conan had already left Tokyo, his little sidekicks were still inside Beika Town. Having gathered together now, they would all show up simultaneously at the site of the Emperor's Cup football final tomorrow—

It gave one the distinct impression that tomorrow the Tokyo National Stadium was simply bound to explode.

The urban legend who usually protected Beika Town had temporarily left Beika Town. Waiting until he returned tomorrow to investigate the Tokyo National Stadium would undoubtedly be too late, which meant the investigation had to be carried out today.

It seemed necessary now to contact those people in the Kanto Alliance as backup reinforcements.

She was just about to call the supreme boss of the Kanto Alliance when, unexpectedly, the supreme boss's phone rang first.

Although somewhat surprised, Koshimizu Nanatsuki answered the call directly.

On the other end, the supreme boss said in a serious tone.

"A secret police officer came over here and asked us to relay a message to Mr. Yan."

"He said that there is a high possibility someone intends to blow up the Tokyo National Stadium during tomorrow's Emperor's Cup football final, and requested that if convenient, Mr. Yan meet him in person at 3:00 PM today at the place where they first officially met, to discuss the details."

Recalling the words spoken by that secret police officer, the supreme boss could not help but frown.

Blowing up the Tokyo National Stadium—that was simply too extreme.

The site of the Emperor's Cup football final would hold at least 57,000 spectators, not to mention the backstage staff, making the count immeasurably high. If it really went up in smoke, a huge swath of Tokyo's social elites would be wiped out.

After all, many elites had purchased VIP box seats to watch the match, including himself.

"The place where we first officially met?"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki's mind raced.

She arrived at a conclusion—it obviously referred to the hotel where Calvados had been shot and killed.

She said.

"I understand, I'll pass the message along to Mr. Yan."

The call hung up.

Originally, seeing the Junior Detective League heading to the Tokyo National Stadium already made the possibility of it being blown up quite high, and now coupled with the information sent over by that Japanese public security officer named Amuro Tooru...

"What on earth is the background of the Black Organization?"

"Are they really this unbridled and lawless? Could they possibly be the US military stationed in Japan?"

The former female high school detective muttered.

She needed to give Yan Shuangying a heads-up first, and then go to the hotel this afternoon to meet this Amuro Tooru.

At the very least, if something happened to her, Yan Shuangying would know who to hold accountable when he returned.