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Yukinoshita Yukino opened the book, which looked thick from the outside. She discovered it actually had a hidden compartment inside.
And within that hollowed-out space lay a tightly wrapped package.
Seeing this package, a curious expression appeared on her face. She initially thought the previous owner of this book had hidden something inside.
Then this book somehow ended up in Japan, placed in this corner of the library for who knows how many years.
Yukinoshita Yukino imagined a moving and tragic story. She carefully unwrapped the package and finally saw the contents inside the tightly wrapped cloth bag.
Within the tightly wrapped woven cloth lay a rectangular plastic bag, and inside the plastic bag was clearly filled with... "ice candy"!
"Who would hollow out a book to put ice candy inside?"
This was Yukinoshita Yukino's first thought. She didn't immediately connect these items with drugs.
After all, she was just an ordinary high school student. She wouldn't normally encounter such things in daily life. Seeing these items resembling ice candy, she absolutely wouldn't associate them with illegal goods.
But very quickly, Yukinoshita Yukino reacted.
This stuff definitely couldn't be rock candy.
Otherwise, why would it be wrapped so tightly?
Could this stuff be... the legendary... methamphetamine ("ice")?!
The moment this thought emerged, Yukinoshita Yukino was so scared she quickly closed the book and put it back in its original place.
Clutching her rapidly beating heart, her expression was hesitant.
Should I call the police?
As a good citizen, she should call the police. However, Yukinoshita Yukino was also afraid that it wasn't actually illegal goods, maybe really just someone's joke... rock candy?
If she reported falsely, the police came in force, and ultimately found it was just someone's prank... (0.1)
Then she, who reported ice candy, would have to face the mocking gazes of those around her, especially her sister's sarcastic remarks...
Thinking this, goosebumps rose on her skin.
"Besides, if it really is illegal goods, then it's related to drug dealers! This would be very dangerous! Should I just pretend I didn't see it, act as if nothing happened?!"
Yukinoshita Yukino's expression was hesitant. However, her thoughts were also those of the pushing masses.
After all, anyone encountering such a situation would want to deceive themselves, pretending they saw nothing.
At this moment, Yukinoshita Yukino finally realized her own immaturity. She actually didn't know what she should do right now.
Turns out I'm just an ordinary high school girl. When something really happens, when it comes to major events, I actually have no opinion, don't know how to respond.
In a daze, Yukinoshita Yukino returned to the table where Fujiwara Toru and Haruno were. She sat down absentmindedly, picked up the drink Fujiwara Toru bought for her, and took a few sips through the straw.
Noticing Yukino's mood was off, Haruno asked with concern, "What's wrong, Yukino? Your complexion looks so bad. You're not sick, are you?"
Although she enjoyed making sarcastic remarks to her younger sister, Haruno was actually very concerned about her. She leaned over and touched Yukino's forehead with her hand.
Only then did Yukino snap back to reality. She pushed Haruno's hand away, pouting slightly. "I'm fine."
She made a decision. When leaving the library, she would secretly call the police. As long as she didn't reveal who she was, it should be fine.
But just saying "I found illegal goods in the library," without revealing her identity and not leading the police to find it, would it be treated as a joke and not taken seriously?
Yukinoshita Yukino was extremely troubled. Turns out some seemingly simple things are actually so difficult to do. Stuck between potential ridicule and the qualities of a good citizen, her mind raced back and forth.
Fujiwara Toru at this time was surveying the surroundings.
He wanted to see exactly who would suddenly collapse, resulting in a corpse appearing in this library.
So, who here will be killed?
Hmm, it probably won't be Haruno or Yukino, right?
"Ring ring!"
Library director's office. The library director, whose eyes looked vacant yet cold, appearing stern and unsmiling, suddenly had a change in expression.
He quickly took out his phone, looking at the notification on it.
"Someone moved those books!"
The library director's expression turned to shock and anger.
I clearly hid those drugs in the most inconspicuous corner of the bookshelf area that almost no one goes to! Why were they still moved?
As a drug dealer, he always acted meticulously and cautiously. In the bookshelf area where the drugs were hidden, special alarm devices were placed.
The library director quickly went to the computer and opened the library's internal surveillance system.
In the area where the drugs were hidden, there was a dedicated surveillance camera.
Rewinding the time a few minutes, the director's pupils instantly constricted when he saw what happened earlier.
When he saw Yukinoshita Yukino actually open that book and see the drugs inside, his face turned extremely pale.
Not good! Those goods were actually discovered!
Should I gamble that this girl, who looks young, won't call the police, won't recognize those things?
No, impossible! Absolutely cannot gamble! If I guess wrong, I'm finished!
Although sentencing for drugs in Japan is relatively light, at least not the death penalty, if his entire supply chain and channels were discovered, it would be a huge drug case!
The people above him wouldn't let him off!
He immediately pressed the pause button on the video, captured the video segment of Yukinoshita Yukino, and sent it to an email address.
Simultaneously, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"I'll give you enough money. Immediately send some people over. Kill the girl in the photo I just sent you! Now! Immediately! Right away!"
"Location, you say? She's right here in the library where I work."
"How much money? Is one hundred million yen enough? Two hundred million? Okay, okay! Then I'll give you two hundred million yen!"
"But you must handle things cleanly! Make the Japanese police believe this was an indiscriminate massacre, a terrorist attack! Don't let the police suspect my business!"
Hanging up the phone, the library director paced back and forth on the spot.
His eyes turned fierce; he immediately made a decision.
Material evidence must be destroyed! Witnesses must also be eliminated!
In a rented room in Tokyo, a group of small-statured men gathered together.
They were all shirtless, revealing upper bodies that looked thin but were actually lean and strong. Some were smoking and playing cards, others laughing loudly.
One among them, an expressionless man, was sharpening his two kitchen knives on a whetstone.
A knock came from the door of the rented room.
"Who?"
Instantly, the room fell silent. These men, small like monkeys, exchanged glances, each taking out their weapons.
"It's me."
The door opened, and a burly man dressed in a suit, with a tattoo on the back of his hand, walked in.
Stared at by these pairs of eyes full of killing intent, the burly man also felt chills internally. "The Matsuba-kai has already prepared a boat for you to leave Japan. You can depart tonight."
"However, before departing, there's a big job. Interested in taking it?"
The dark-skinned, small-statured man continued sharpening his knife, asking coldly, "Target, price."
The burly man quickly distributed the freshly printed photos to the people present, saying, "The target is this young girl. However, you cannot reveal that she is the target."
"Therefore, you need to kill some people indiscriminately. Make the Japanese police believe this is a riot, not a targeted assassination."
"One hundred million yen!"
The man sharpening the knife paused, then said, "Too little. Two hundred million!"
"Impossible! This mission has no difficulty! Moreover, our Matsuba-kai has prepared a safe route for you to leave Japan. Two hundred million is too much! One hundred twenty million, take it or leave it?"
The man sharpening the knife stood up, picked up a sleeveless shirt from the side and put it on, his voice hoarse, "Deal!"
"The van is already prepared. You can set off now. The target is in this library."
The thugs didn't waste words, threw their cards on the floor, stubbed out their cigarette butts, picked up their weapons, and swarmed out.
After the rented room was empty, looking at the messy floor, the burly man exhaled. "This group of Filipinos is a bunch of fearless madmen. But have to say, the group the boss found is really useful."
A van stopped in the parking lot of the building where the library was located. Nearly ten men with Southeast Asian features, dark-skinned and small-statured, got out.
Some were expressionless, some wore bloody smiles. They walked up the stairs.
On the floor where the library was located, Fujiwara Toru, chatting with Yukinoshita Haruno, suddenly sniffed the air and frowned. "What's that smell? Something's burning?"
The next instant, his expression changed. Sure enough, he heard someone shout in alarm: "Not good, fire!"
Just as the voice fell, in a corner of this library floor, huge flames erupted with a 'poof', black smoke billowing upwards.
In just a few seconds, a section of bookshelves was already burning, flames licking and spreading around, the fire rapidly expanding (0.70).
Instantly, the building's fire alarm bells rang loudly, along with panicked screams.
Fujiwara Toru looked up at the ceiling, but no water sprayed out from above.
"The fire suppression system didn't activate? This is a library! How did this pass the fire safety inspection?"
"Fujiwara-kun!" Yukinoshita Haruno stood up, her expression somewhat tense. Facing this kind of scene, even she found it hard to remain completely calm.
Beside her, Yukino's face was pale, fear appearing in the usually cool and delicate girl's eyes.
Fujiwara Toru didn't speak. He quickly went to the window and looked down.
On the two floors directly below him, large fires were also burning, thick smoke billowing.
The library occupied a total of four floors in the middle section of this building. If the two floors below caught fire, given the vast amount of books in the library, the fire's spreading speed would surely exceed imagination.
So, going down at this time was dangerous. The correct choice was to go up!
As long as the entire building wasn't burning, then just running to a place without fire and hiding to wait for rescue should be fine.
He quickly said: "Head for the emergency fire escape! Run upstairs! Bend down, keep your head low! Move quickly!"
There was no time now to wet clothes to cover their mouths and noses; they could only lower their bodies as much as possible and leave.
In a fire, most casualties aren't directly burned to death but suffer lung damage from inhaling scorching air or suffocate directly from the thick smoke.
As Fujiwara Toru's words fell, the Yukinoshita sisters seemed to have found their backbone. They quickly bent down, covered their mouths and noses, coughing while looking for the fire escape route.
"Fire! Run quickly!"
"Fire escape! The fire escape is over there!"
The fire in the library raged fiercely; the crowd surged chaotically, filled with screams and pushing.
"This fire spreading speed, plus fires starting simultaneously on three library floors... this is arson!" Fujiwara Toru thought.
Thought I'd encounter a murder case seeing Conan, didn't expect it to be arson instead.
Also realizing this wasn't an ordinary fire but deliberate arson was Conan. He shouted anxiously: "Genta, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi! Quick! We run upstairs!"