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The sunset was beautiful, but dusk was drawing near.
Steven, no longer bothering with disguises, calculated the timing with his fingers. It was almost time.
Soon, Miyano Akemi's car appeared in his line of sight.
Hah.
With a light leap, Steven landed smoothly on the ground and entered the warehouse ahead of her.
Screech—
Moments later, the sound of brakes echoed outside.
"I'm here!"
"Congratulations. You're about to be reborn."
"What do you mean?"
Miyano Akemi stared at him, confused and on guard.
Talk of rebirth coming from an underworld figure usually meant one thing: death.
Could it be…
"You recognize this, right?"
Steven opened a small wooden box and took out the red capsule Vodka had given him earlier.
APTX4869.
The mysterious drug researched by the Miyano couple. There was no way Akemi wouldn't recognize it.
After Shiho's improvements, it had become a poison that killed without a trace.
"You're backing out?"
"If you do, you'll never get that one billion yen."
Miyano Akemi's pupils tightened. One hand slipped toward the gun hidden at her waist, ready to strike back at any moment.
"Relax. I don't want your life. And I don't plan to hand the money over to the organization either. For now, it's safer with you."
"But if you want to escape the organization's pursuit, you have to swallow this pill."
Based on Steven's knowledge of the original story, APTX4869 was indeed a poison. Most test subjects had died.
But ever since Gin forced Kudo Shinichi to take it and he shrank into Conan, no one else who took it had died.
First Akai Mary, then Miyano Shiho. Aside from becoming smaller, their memories, knowledge, and abilities were completely intact.
Steven saw two possibilities. Either Shiho had achieved a major breakthrough in improving the drug, or the shrinking effect was tied to bloodline.
He leaned toward the second theory.
After all, among the three known survivors, Akai Mary and Miyano Shiho were related by blood. As for Conan, that was probably just protagonist luck.
"You liar," Akemi spat. "Holding poison in your hand, talking about mercy, pretending to be some kind of gentleman."
"If you don't hand Shiho over today, I'll drag you to hell with me."
Click. Click.
Fueled by rage and betrayal, Miyano Akemi drew her gun and flipped off the safety.
"No time. Sorry about this."
Steven didn't bother explaining. He activated his bio-mutant ability, extending his arm in a surprise move. In one motion, he disarmed her and yanked her toward him.
In the original story, Conan would soon arrive at the warehouse by following the tracker stuck to Akemi's shoe. Steven had to finish everything before that happened.
"Wai—"
The moment Akemi opened her mouth, Steven seized the chance and forced the APTX4869 capsule down her throat.
The drug took effect instantly.
"Ahhh!"
She screamed once before collapsing, her body shrinking at a visible rate.
"Gotta sell the act completely. I'll borrow your clothes."
Steven lifted the now child-sized Miyano Akemi and tossed her into the back seat of the car, then swiftly stripped off her clothes.
Next, he dragged out the prepared corpse and dressed it in Miyano Akemi's outfit.
"Perfect."
Admiring his handiwork, Steven picked up the gun from the floor and waited quietly for Conan to arrive.
…
Elsewhere—
Just like in the original story, after a series of twists, Conan uncovered Miyano Akemi as the mastermind behind the armored car robbery and followed the tracker to the abandoned warehouse.
When he heard Akemi's scream, his heart clenched.
"Damn it!"
He stomped on the accelerator of his skateboard, pushing it to the limit.
When he reached the warehouse, he saw Steven standing there, gun raised, aimed at Miyano Akemi's head.
"Stop!"
"You're too late, little detective. Watching the suspect die right in front of you, unable to do anything. That has to hurt, doesn't it?"
Without hesitation, Steven pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot tore into Conan's nerves. His pupils dilated as he stared at the scene before him, unable to believe what he'd just seen.
Steven didn't give him a single chance to strike back. He leapt into the car and sped off, snapping his fingers as he went.
The bomb he'd prepared in advance detonated instantly.
Boom!
The violent explosion shook the ground. Conan's short legs were no match for the shockwave, and he was flung several meters through the air.
By the time he struggled back to his feet, the abandoned Warehouse No. 100 in Linglong was already engulfed in raging flames, thick smoke carrying the unmistakable smell of charred meat.
"Damn it… I was so close…"
Conan stared at the corpse swallowed by fire, his teeth clenched as his fists tightened in frustration.
One hour later.
The blaze at the abandoned warehouse had finally been extinguished by firefighters. Police sealed off the scene and began collecting evidence.
"Inspector Megure, the body is badly burned. At the moment, we can only confirm that the victim was female."
Sato Miwako stepped up to Megure Juzo and reported what they had found.
The forensic team had also examined the remains. The damage was so severe that it was highly unlikely they'd be able to extract intact tissue samples, let alone identify the victim with certainty.
"I see," Megure nodded.
Then he crouched down and looked at Conan.
"Conan, what you said earlier… is it true?"
"Yes," Conan replied seriously. "Before I reached the warehouse, I heard a scream. I believe it was Miss Hirota Masami when she was attacked."
"When I got to the entrance, I saw Steven shoot Miss Hirota Masami in the head. After that, he escaped by car and detonated a bomb, setting the warehouse on fire to destroy the evidence."
"It has to be him. The bomber, Steven."
Hirota Masami was the fake identity Miyano Akemi had deliberately created when infiltrating the bank.
Whether it was guilt over failing to save her, or regret at letting Steven escape, both were more than enough to plant a deep shadow in Conan's heart.
"Inspector Megure," Takagi spoke up, "with Conan's testimony, can we issue a wanted notice and begin a manhunt for Steven?"
"Takagi's right," another officer agreed. "We can't let Steven keep running free. We have to arrest him as soon as possible."
Megure thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Beika had never been a peaceful place, and ever since Steven showed up, the crime rate had skyrocketed.
Worse, every time he acted, at least one person ended up dead. He'd even gone as far as bombing the Metropolitan Police Department, turning Tokyo's police force into a laughingstock among their peers.
To reclaim their dignity and finally get a good night's sleep, Megure decided to use this case as an opportunity to reissue a wanted notice and put a bounty on Steven's head.
But just as he finished speaking, a dissenting voice cut in.
"Inspector Megure, shouldn't you think this through more carefully before issuing a wanted notice?"
The speaker was none other than Kudo Yusaku, whom Megure had invited to the scene.
"....."