The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

Chapter 1304 A Ghostly Chapter

Chapter 1304 Ghostly Words

The alley they were walking through was in a residential area, with small detached houses or low-rise apartments on both sides, and the density was very high. It was not only a one-way street, but also had clear height and width restrictions.

The truck coming from behind them was not only going against traffic, but it was also clearly not supposed to be coming in.

You don't need to know the traffic rules here; you can tell directly from the way it keeps hitting the roadside power lines and streetlights, and how its rearview mirrors are broken.

This car drove on purpose, intending to hit someone.

After long-term combat training, Asai Shigemi's physical fitness, if not at its peak, was definitely at the level of a professional athlete. When he ran, he dragged Haga Kyosuke down with him.

"What—" Before Akiba Reiko could react, after only a second of blankness, Haga Kyosuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

The children and a few high school students who were chatting ahead were only a few steps away from the three people, and they quickly noticed the strangeness behind them.

As soon as she turned her head, Sonoko Suzuki screamed in fright. Before she could say anything, she was immediately flanked by Ran Mouri and Karasawa, who rushed over from the side, and her legs were lifted off the ground as she was quickly propelled forward.

Tang Ze didn't pay attention to Shinichi Kudo. Running was one of Shinichi Kudo's few physical skills. Not to mention the larger version of Shinichi Kudo, even the smaller version of him could outrun a truck.

"Ai!" Tang Ze, who always reacts quickly, scooped his sister up from behind and instructed, "They're not coming for you. Take the child and hide to the side!"

"good!"

In that critical moment, Ai Haibara didn't hesitate. Using Tang Ze's momentum, she was thrown through an opening into the nearby apartment door, then shouted to the three people who were thrown next to her, "This truck is trying to hit someone! Let's call the police!"

The reason they were thrown over was that while Tang Ze was holding Suzuki Sonoko's elbow with one hand, he used his other hand to throw the three naughty kids, including the overweight Kojima Genta, one by one towards Haibara Ai.

It wasn't until the four children screamed and were thrown around like dumplings that Shinichi Kudo finally realized what had happened. He sped up and ran to be level with Karasawa.

"They're probably after Miss Akiba!" Even in this unexpected situation, Shinichi Kudo reacted quickly. "The culprit has gone mad!"

He wasn't wrong. Even Tang Ze, who knew the general situation, had to agree. Choosing this option was truly insane.

Putting aside the specific traffic regulations, how are you supposed to avoid surveillance cameras and police sight while driving a big truck? When a truck hits someone, it's really like a speed bump. In a normal truck driver's seat, pedestrians in front are almost completely out of sight. How confident must you be in your driving skills to think you can use this vehicle to accurately injure people without killing them?

This just goes to show that you can't reason with a madman.

After expressing his fear, Shinichi Kudo shouted again, "Don't run in a straight line, turn!"

In such narrow alleyways, even though trucks cannot accelerate as they would on normal roads due to their excessive width, it's still somewhat absurd to expect them to outrun another vehicle in a straight line.

The best approach, of course, is to do what Tang Ze just did: immediately move to the side to prevent the truck from catching up directly.

Reiko Akiba, who was being pulled along and unable to control her own pace, was filled with anxiety.

Shinichi Kudo was able to immediately realize that the car was coming for her, and she wasn't stupid; of course she understood that too.

To be more precise, she chose to offer to take Genta Kojima home because she was worried that the children might be implicated by the criminals because of her.

She wasn't exactly a warm-hearted person, but she wasn't a cold-blooded or selfish one either. When someone suffered because of her, she couldn't turn a blind eye.

At this moment, she knew very well that the most effective way to get the others out of danger was for her to separate from them.

Although Haga Kyosuke wasn't running very fast, he was holding her very tightly, and she couldn't break free for a while, so she was sweating with anxiety.

"Let go, Yuhe—" she said, "If you keep holding onto me—"

"It's alright." Yuga Kyosuke said, trying to catch his breath. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Whether this accident was within Tang Ze's calculations, Yuga Kyosuke was unsure, but he knew that no matter what, the all-powerful leader of the Phantom Thieves would never allow anything to happen to the person he needed to protect.

"But-

—」

As Akiba Reiko hesitated, wanting to say something more, Asai Narumi had already caught up with Karasawa and the others ahead.

After Shinichi Kudo gave her a heads-up, Ran Mouri was ready and turned right into the alleyway as soon as she reached the intersection.

Without hesitation, Asai Narumi pulled Haga Kyosuke and the other man to the left. As they passed each other, she quickly exchanged a glance with Karasawa.

Their long-standing tacit understanding allowed them to quickly grasp each other's meaning even with just a brief glance.

Immediately, Asai Narumi shouted, "Haga, let go!"

Haga Kyosuke reflexively obeyed the order, releasing his grip on Akiba Reiko's wrist. Akiba Reiko, whose wrist was almost lifted off the ground, was stunned. Before she could even figure out if they had decided to use this tactic to kill her, another tremendous force struck from behind.

Taking advantage of the moment when the two groups separated, Tang Ze let go of Suzuki Sonoko's hand, grabbed Akiba Reiko's waist, and then, with a powerful leap, nimbly grabbed the corner mirror used by vehicles to observe the intersection, jumped high, and directly flipped over the green wall next to it.

On the first floor of the small detached house, a child who was playing video games during the holiday hadn't even had time to press the controller when a loud crashing sound came from below.

He looked up in bewilderment and saw Tang Ze, carrying a folded human figure, climb over the wall, kick down his window, and land by the window.

Tang Ze and he stared at each other in silence for two seconds, then Tang Ze glanced at the game screen on the TV in front of him and kindly reminded him, "If you don't dodge, you'll get hit."

Without thinking, the child instinctively pressed a button on the controller, and the game character on the screen slid to the side, accurately avoiding the BOSS's powerful attack.

At this moment, just as bewildered as the defeated BOSS in the game, Pu and Jiang were sitting in the truck, gritting their teeth as they drove.

Trucks are a type of vehicle, but their driving difficulty is on a completely different level from that of ordinary cars.

Putting everything else aside, whether it's steering or braking, the pressure that trucks put on the driver is far greater than that of ordinary vehicles, especially after acceleration. Without a lot of strength, it's really difficult to turn the steering wheel in time.

At his age, forcing himself to drive a truck already put a lot of strain on his body. After finally running over streetlights and power lines, crashing into someone's wall with sparks and lightning all the way, almost hitting someone, in just a second or two, his target unexpectedly dodged his attack and jumped into the wall, making it impossible to target him. Not to mention, the cunning Tang Ze chose the wall diagonally behind him. In that short time, he had already brushed past the front of the truck and couldn't see where he went at all.

Even if he hardened his heart, stomped his foot, and recklessly tried to crash into someone's house, it would be too late to turn around.

Most importantly, if he wasn't already old and his eyesight wasn't failing him, when the young man suddenly rose into the air and briefly came to eye level with the driver's seat, he seemed to have turned his head and glanced in his direction with remarkable accuracy, and even seemed to have a smile on his face, before landing inside the wall.

Pu Hejiang's face twitched. He glanced at the others who had already scattered to the sides and were neither able to locate them nor intend to attack them. He could only grit his teeth and continue driving forward.

What else could they do? The attack missed, there was no time to turn around, and there was no possibility of continuing to attack Akiba Reiko. Now there was only one option left.

That means speeding up and escaping the scene, getting out of the group's sight before the police arrive.

There are other plans to be carried out tonight, and he absolutely cannot be intercepted or discovered here, otherwise his plans will all fall through.

Pu and Takumi were caught off guard, just as Shinichi Kudo and the others, who were focused on escaping, were also caught off guard.

However, after throwing the children like sandbags earlier, Tang Ze's sudden gymnastic move was somewhat unexpected, but in terms of results, it was very effective.

Shinichi Kudo hesitated for a few seconds, then decisively chose to chase after the truck in the direction it was traveling.

This person is very likely the one who drugged Akiba Reiko today, and may also be connected to the guy who caused the explosion.

The most urgent task is, of course, to catch the culprit, as that is the best way to prevent what will happen next.

Following the damage caused by the truck, Shinichi Kudo ran quickly, only to find the empty truck at the end of the alley.

He cursed under his breath, then quickly checked the vehicle's condition. In the end, he could only reluctantly admit that there seemed to be no way to deal with the attackers for the time being.

The truck bed was still full of sand and gravel, clearly raw materials for construction. The key was still in the driver's seat, and even the truck driver's license was left in the messy pile of debris in front.

Clearly, this was not the attacker's own truck; it was most likely a stolen construction vehicle from a nearby site, which was then recklessly used to run people over.

That makes sense. Driving against traffic and damaging houses, such a blatant attack on people—unless the criminal is mentally challenged, they couldn't possibly be using their own vehicle; that would be an admission of guilt.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

After calling the police, the children who had finally caught up were panting and looked around anxiously, not seeing Tang Ze and Qiu Ting Lianzi.

"The police officer will be here soon!"

"Where's Brother Tang Ze? And Teacher Qiu Ting? Is she alright?"

Ran Mouri opened her mouth, looked at the courtyard wall beside her, and then closed it again.

Whether Tang Ze had something to say or not, she really couldn't answer.

After confirming that everyone was unharmed except for being shaken, the group gathered together after Shinichi Kudo returned to check the situation. They then found the door of the house where Tang Ze had jumped in and obediently rang the doorbell to go inside.

The parents, sitting in the living room, opened the door for them in a daze, and even when they led them into the room, they were still doubtful.

Huh? What did you say? A truck just hit someone outside, and then the person who was hit jumped over the wall and ended up in my house? Is there really such an absurd thing?

Then, in the child's bedroom, they found Akiba Reiko, whose expression was even more bewildered than theirs, standing to the side watching Tang Ze help someone play a game.

Reiko Akiba looked at them, then at the children who were completely absorbed in the game and shouting, and then at the shards of glass scattered all over the ground.

Well, the last time she experienced such an emotional shock, to the point that she didn't know what to say for a while, was when she was suddenly told of Soma's death—

She hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, watching Tang Ze calmly push down the last bit of health from the boss for the child before finally managing to squeeze out a dry sentence.

"Well, anyway, I'll take responsibility for the compensation—"

That's roughly the situation.

Facing the police who rushed over, Shinichi Kudo, having barely finished explaining the situation, looked at Karasawa being seen off by other people's children and felt extremely tired.

It's not that he can't accept Tang Ze's outrageous actions, but seeing Tang Ze's calm expression, as if he hadn't done anything extraordinary, he couldn't help but feel a vein throbbing in his forehead.

What do you mean by this? Do you think I've figured something out, so you're not even acting anymore? You've started working together with Asai Narumi directly?

While quick wit and reaction speed could explain what happened, this operation was still a bit too outrageous.

How to describe the sensory experience of this operation? Akiba Reiko herself was like a receiver of serves, being dragged around, and finally passed to Tang Ze, who dribbled past her and scored a basket.

After everything was over, Akiba Reiko herself didn't want to go to the police station, while Tang Ze was still enthusiastically helping her play games as an apology for disturbing her. In the end, only he, as a detective who could be trusted by the police to some extent, could handle the situation.

Honestly, it feels like such a rip-off no matter how I think about it.

The policeman standing in front of him looked up at his face, then down at the notes in his handbook, then back at his face, and solemnly took out his phone to send a text message to his colleague.

This is no longer a matter of explaining or not explaining; the current situation is that if he can't access nearby surveillance footage, he won't even be able to submit his documents.

What do you mean when you're walking down the street and being chased by a truck going the wrong way, and one of you, in order to protect the victim, jumps over a wall, accidentally breaks a window, and ends up in someone's house?

Listen to this, listen to this! If you submit this report, you'll get yelled at by the team leader!

If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of him seemed to be a fairly famous detective, he really wouldn't have been able to continue writing this monstrous tale.

One minute it's a chase scene, the next it's an action movie—what's wrong with Tokyo these days?