[Inorin's Note: Hey everyone, quick apology for the quiet week here! Over the last few days, we've been working behind the scenes to officially launch our own dedicated reading site.
Moving forward, Elysian Reads (elysianreads[.]com) is going to be our primary hub for all novel releases. (P.S. Just swap the [.] with a regular dot . to open the link!) It's packed with some really neat custom features designed to make reading way more enjoyable.
That being said, Webnovel isn't getting left behind. I'll be dropping a mass release here shortly to clear out the missed chapters, and our regular updates will be right back on track. Thanks a ton for hanging in there with me!]
Chapter 207: Disappearing from the Air Again
The moment the unnatural gust of wind died, the room fell into a sudden, unnerving silence. Shuichi Akai's eyes snapped toward the hospital bed. Only after confirming Mizunashi Rena was still there, untouched, did his gaze shift to the spot where the mysterious youth had stood.
As expected, the space was empty. The window stood open, its curtains fluttering gently in the aftermath.
"He's gone!" Jodie Starling rushed to the window, leaning out to frantically scan the grounds below. There was no sign of him—no figure scrambling away, no trace of a landing. Nothing.
She pulled herself back into the room, her voice a low mutter of disbelief. "No way… How could he vanish that fast?!" Her mind immediately flashed back to another impossible escape. "Is disappearing from mid-air some kind of secret technique everyone in the Organization knows? First Cointreau, now him…" She shook her head. "And that wind… Are we sure that wasn't just straight-up magic?"
Ignoring her speculation, Akai walked over to the two colleagues who had been knocked unconscious. He knelt, checking their pulses and the state of their injuries. The good news: they were breathing. The bad news: they had both taken heavy blows to the head and were likely concussed. They were out of the operation. That meant they were down two more agents.
His assessment complete, Akai rose and finally addressed Jodie's question, his tone serious and grounded. "It's not magic. At least, not without concrete evidence. I don't believe in it. As for the wind, I suspect it was caused by some kind of unique device."
Meanwhile, Conan's sneakers slapped against the concrete as he raced into the designated stairwell. Just as the youth had warned, he found the FBI agents sent to disarm the bomb lying unconscious on the landing. He quickly performed a simple check, feeling for the steady pulse in their necks. They were alive. A small knot of tension in his chest loosened.
He didn't waste another second, immediately bolting towards the room the youth had directed him to—the one holding the supposed hostage. He found the door already ajar. From the crack, Conan could hear the distinct sounds of a struggle: the thud of impacts, the sharp clatter of something metallic hitting the floor, and muffled grunts.
He slowed his approach, pressing his body against the wall and gently pushing the door open, moving with painstaking quietness to avoid alerting anyone inside.
But just as the gap widened enough for him to catch a glimpse of the scene, the chaos within abruptly ceased. Two heavy, final thuds echoed, followed by a deadening silence.
Conan held his breath, his small body rigid, and slowly peered into the room.
The worst-case scenario had materialized. The two figures crumpled on the floor were the very FBI agents sent to rescue the hostage. It had been too fast. Before he could even begin to formulate a plan or aim his tranquilizer watch, his side's combat strength had been neutralized.
Dark trails of blood were already beginning to snake out from under the fallen agents. Conan's eyes locked onto their chests, desperately searching for any sign of life. He saw it—the faint but steady rise and fall of their breathing—and let out a silent, shaky sigh of relief.
Just then, two light, unhurried footsteps broke the silence. Conan watched as a figure calmly walked over to stand beside the downed FBI agents.
His heart seized. If this person discovered the agents were still alive, they might not remain so for long.
Instinct took over. Conan raised his left wrist, flipping the cover of his watch. He peered through the targeting sight, aiming through the narrow crack in the door. His gaze traveled slowly up from the figure's polished shoes, past their tailored trousers, until he had a clear view of the man's face.
Alhaitham!
Conan's breath hitched, shock flaring in his eyes. How could it be him?
Ai Haibara had told him Alhaitham's name, though she hadn't known his codename. According to her, he was a researcher—a scientist. What was he doing here, taking down two armed FBI agents with brutal efficiency?
But this was no time for questions. Through his scope, Conan saw Alhaitham's head begin to turn, as if he'd sensed the unseen eyes on him.
There was no time to think. Conan made a split-second decision and fired. The tranquilizer needle shot silently through the air, aimed directly at Alhaitham's neck.
What happened next left Conan staring in bewilderment. In a blur of motion too quick to properly track, Alhaitham turned his head, and the needle zipped harmlessly past his ear.
Conan's blood ran cold.
A moment later, he met the calm, turquoise-and-gold gaze directed straight at him. There was no surprise in those eyes, only a flat, analytical curiosity. Under that placid stare, Conan's body stiffened, a deer caught in the headlights.
He could only watch, frozen, as Alhaitham walked toward him and pulled the door fully open.
"It's you…"
The situation was dire. Utterly, catastrophically dire. Caught red-handed by a member of the Organization, in the middle of an FBI operation. If Alhaitham connected him to Kogoro Mouri, it would spell disaster for them all.
Yet, even amidst the surging panic, a sliver of confusion cut through. Does he recognize me?
Seeing that the man hadn't attacked him immediately, Conan seized a sliver of an opportunity. He looked up, his face morphing into one of wide-eyed innocence, and pitched his voice into its most childish register. "Big brother, do you know me?"
The hope was razor-thin, but he clung to it. Maybe, just maybe, Alhaitham would dismiss the tranquilizer dart as a child's prank, an accident.
A single eyebrow rose on Alhaitham's face as he observed Conan's blatant act. "No," he said, his tone dry. "But I saw you interacting with Kaeya before. You two should know each other."
Though phrased like a question, his tone was one of absolute certainty.
Conan's mind instantly flashed back to their brief meeting after the magic show. He hadn't thought he'd made much of an impression.
He then watched as Alhaitham raised his left hand, glancing at a device on his wrist that looked remarkably like a watch. "Ah," he murmured in a low voice, almost to himself. "Time to clock off. I can finally leave."
With that, Alhaitham completely ignored Conan standing at the door and turned to walk toward the window.
Conan watched, baffled, as the man prepared to evacuate. Seeing Alhaitham's back as he decisively turned to leave, he couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "Um… Big brother, you're just leaving like this? What about me?"
Though he didn't ask it explicitly, Alhaitham understood the unspoken question. He paused without turning around, his voice calm and utterly detached. "My work assignment only involved dealing with the FBI agents sent here. You fall under extra content. I have no intention of handling an excess workload."
Before Conan could process the sheer absurdity of that statement, Alhaitham leaped cleanly out of the window and vanished from sight.
Stunned into silence for a moment, Conan quickly shook himself out of it and ran to the side of the fallen agents. He confirmed that while they had been injured by a sharp weapon and lost a fair amount of blood, the wounds weren't in critical areas. They would be fine if they received timely treatment.
Finally letting his guard down completely, Conan immediately used his own device to notify the hospital staff to come and treat the wounded.
At that same moment, in another part of the hospital, Shuichi Akai felt a prickle of anxiety. The youth had disappeared, and while Mizunashi Rena was secure, he couldn't shake the feeling that the situation on Conan's end was likely not optimistic.
But there was no time to worry. Time waited for no one. The plan was already in motion, the vehicles were ready. The top priority now was to get Mizunashi Rena into Cameron's van.
Manpower was critically low. With the help of other agents who had just arrived, Akai and Jodie loaded Mizunashi Rena onto a stretcher, pushed her to Cameron's vehicle, and after a quick disguise, settled her inside.
Next, three identical vans drove up to James Black one by one, each driver signaling him in turn.
"Car One, ready."
"Car Two, ready."
Finally, Cameron's vehicle rolled up. "Car Three, ready."
James nodded, his expression grim. "Alright, everything is set. Keep your communicators on. Report any situations immediately."
With his command, the three vans peeled off, heading in three different directions.
At the same time, a new message lit up the screen of Gin's phone.
`Did not retrieve Kir. The package has been loaded as planned.`
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