funbook-pk Chapter 243 London Film: The Education of Love
Chapter 243 London Film: The Education of Love
Chapter 243 London Film: The Education of Love
"Sister Xiaolan—"
Damn it, we've been searching for half an hour already, and we still can't find them!
Conan ran to every last corner, his bad premonition growing stronger, and he leaned against the wall in frustration.
It's not the opera house's working hours now, and there are hardly any people in the empty back area to begin with. Plus, with Miss Akemi attracting attention, it's practically impossible to find anyone who knows where Ran and the others are.
'I just hope they encountered a clue along the way, rather than being attacked.'
A figure approached, and Kuromon Haruya pressed down his top hat with one hand, looking at Conan: "I just asked the nearby patrol officers to increase their vigilance when I heard that Ms. Mori has gone missing."
"So, have you found them?"
Conan shook his head and sighed: "Not yet."
Akemi Miyano was extremely familiar with the structure of the opera house, and the three elementary school students were able to catch up by taking shortcuts using their size advantage, but it wasn't so easy for the other adults with varying physical abilities.
...If only we hadn't split up, and if Mr. Mycroft and the other adult men hadn't been sent away, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"This is really bad."
Yoruichi stroked his chin, a hint of seriousness creeping into his eyes: "The fact that they were able to take away two adult ladies so quickly and silently shows that the prisoner is also familiar with the opera house environment, able to bypass all irrelevant personnel, and has been observing us for a long time. Their operational efficiency is extremely high."
"In this situation, either it's an acquaintance like me who steps forward, or it's a large criminal gang, and the only one capable of doing this is..."
"Hmm," Conan replied.
“I’ve suspected Moriarty from the very beginning, after all, his appearance was just too coincidental.” His expression was calm, his glasses gleaming with a steady white light. “So I’ve already asked Haibara to investigate Miss Akemi, about the rumors about the opera house, and also about the truth that Professor Moriarty is trying to hide.”
[Game Time: 5 PM on the second day]
Kuromon Haruya chuckled lightly: "It seems I underestimated you... But there are only five hours left before the performance, so we need to hurry up and search."
"Five hours!"
"How could this be!" Conan ran to the nearest clock, and the hands did indeed point to 5 PM. But judging from his sense of touch, the search shouldn't have lasted very long!
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Under Conan's watchful gaze, the second hand on the clock ticked away, and time seemed to pass at two to three times the normal speed.
This isn't a problem with the clock; the game itself is accelerating!
Realizing this, Conan's breath hitched, and he grabbed Haruya Kuromon abruptly: "Mr. Mycroft, I'm afraid we don't have enough time! I'll go to the staff room to find Ai Haibara. Could you please ask Miss Adler to come over?"
“No problem.” Yoruichi Kuromon readily agreed.
......
On the other side of the theater.
Kudo Yusaku turned his back to avoid the probing gaze, patted Ayumi's head encouragingly, and said, "Use your 'talent' to observe your surroundings. If you find any clues, let me know immediately."
Ayumi immediately understood his meaning: he explicitly mentioned talent, but implicitly suggested using more skills!
"Okay! Leave it to me and Genta!"
The two children trotted away and disappeared from sight. Kudo Yusaku's amiable mustache immediately fell away, and he showed no delight towards the doctor behind him.
"So, what's the purpose of the infamous Professor Moriarty following me? After those two little girls, does he want to kidnap me too?"
"Is curiosity wrong?"
Miwa Kuromon did not deny his accusation, but deliberately moved closer, her fingertips tracing the jawline of Yusaku Kudo:
“You are the only woman Holmes admires, and even I, his nemesis, have become interested. If I can control you, Holmes will naturally show up.”
"But I'm not interested in you."
With a cold, hard object pressed against her back, Miwa Kuromon, holding a gun, immediately turned sour from her previous amiable expression: "That's not up to you."
As she spoke, she looked down the corridor on her right: "Moran, what's going on?"
Atsushi Miyano bowed and reported, "The kid named Conan said there's a lead in the staff room, and he wants Ms. Adler to go there immediately."
......
With no one guarding the outside, Conan looked around and pushed the door to the staff break room open a crack.
Ai Haibara was leaning on Akemi Miyano's shoulder, and the two were talking through pen and paper, laughing and chatting, their expressions gentler than ever before.
Ai Haibara's expression hardened when she noticed Conan entering.
"Haibara, how's the investigation going? The situation is urgent, time is ticking away." Conan stood on tiptoe and quickly explained the situation to her.
Hearing this, Ai Haibara frowned, reluctantly leaving her sister's side and handing over the note she had secretly written down.
[Opera House Rumors:]
Legend has it that a mysterious figure lurks in the opera house, sometimes appearing once every few years, sometimes every other day. What is certain is that each appearance is linked to a specific opera, and afterwards, a female employee of the opera house disappears.
An employee once tried to follow the phantom's footsteps, but it moved faster than the wind. The employee, breathless, ran to the very end of the blockade, hoping to expose the phantom, only to find a high wall with no way out. The employee was terrified and went insane; from then on, no one dared to investigate the matter again.
"Dead end..." Conan pondered for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him. He excitedly grabbed Ai Haibara's arm, "I know! It's a secret passage! There's a secret passage in this old opera house! Come on, let's go quickly..."
An unshakeable resistance came, and he was suddenly startled, turning around.
Ai Haibara firmly removed his hand, standing between him and Akemi Miyano: [I want to spend more time with my sister, and also ensure her safety.]
Her gaze was both precious and resolute, and she couldn't bear to look away for even a moment.
The pool of blood in the center of the warehouse where the fire had spread, the Miyano Akemi who couldn't be saved in the video... all these things began to flash back in my mind.
Conan paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "Okay, then you all must be careful! Especially Professor Moriarty and Manager Miyano."
He turned and closed the door, leaving the last bit of warmth to the two sisters who were now separated by death.
"Then next, we need to reunite with Dad, investigate the secret passage, deal with Jack, and rescue Xiaolan and the others as soon as possible..."
As time accelerated, a series of unexpected events left Conan breathless, his brain already sluggish from overworking...
Snapped!
A pair of cold, large hands, wet with water droplets, slapped on Conan's face, making him shudder in surprise.
Standing behind his son, Yusaku Kudo grinned mischievously, spouting an eyesore:
"Little Holmes, cheer up!"
Conan: ...
Yue, I'm using the secret stash of money from my dad's black gold card to buy a new pair of glasses!
"Ms. Eileen, you're so slow! Where is Mr. Mycroft?"
“Mycroft? Ms. Adler’s friend?” Miwa Kuromon poked her head in. “I don’t recommend that you involve more people in the sacrifice.”
Yusaku Kudo was taken aback, his face instantly darkening: "My friendships..."
"what!!!"
A muffled commotion and screams could be heard, coming from…
The opera house stage right in front of us!
Conan pricked up his ears, hurriedly jumped backstage following the sound, and pulled back the crimson curtain.
Swah——
"My God, someone hurry and save that girl!" "What's going on! Where's the manager?!"
Actors dressed in various gorgeous costumes, seemingly rehearsing for a performance, gathered on the stage, shouting or marveling, pointing and gesturing upwards with their props.
A very, very bad feeling welled up in Conan's heart.
He was panting, his hands on his knees, and slowly raised his head.
Following the NPCs' directions, we shifted our gaze to the largest crystal chandelier above the opera house.
Dozens of meters in the air, a bright red skirt peeks out from the metal bracket of the chandelier, swaying precariously.
The unconscious black-haired girl was curled up in a fragile ball, her skirt clinging to the crystal pendant like blood-red vines, eager to try and make the girl's life bloom.
Xiaolan!
Under his anxious gaze, Ran Mouri tentatively propped herself up, and the chandelier swayed even more violently.
"To my most beloved detectives."
A heartbreaking tremor echoed through the opera house as the young girl clutched the note in her hand, her voice choked with sobs:
"This is a game, a game I have carefully arranged for you, a game in which I seek your help. For a long time, one question has troubled me, keeping me awake at night. But thankfully, you will provide me with the answer in this education of love."
—Which is more important: the justice you uphold or the person you deeply love?