Liu A'dou baited the robbers with that one line—'one less person means one extra share'—and managed to force all three to reveal themselves. But they didn't immediately turn on each other or start killing.
'Looks like I'll have to fan the flames a bit more,' Liu A'dou thought. He stared at the hijackers with eyes full of pity, making their skin crawl.
"You little bastard, you're asking for it. Believe it or not, I'll shoot you right now!"
"Go ahead and kill me. I just think you're pitiful, that's all."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Your whole crew's stuck here, right? Nobody went to pick up your boss?"
"So what?" The robbers were already wary, afraid Liu A'dou might stir up more distrust.
He clicked his tongue. "You guys have zero brains for crime. If I were your boss, I'd have taken the jewels and bolted already. Why the hell would I bother coming back for you?"
That one hit them hard. Their hearts sank. Because the truth was—they couldn't contact their boss at all. What if he really had run off with the jewels? What then?
The three froze. They didn't want to believe it, but the fear was there. And Liu A'dou pressed on, voice sharp and cutting.
"You lot are too young, too naïve. Licking blood off the knife's edge, but you can't even consider the basics. If I were your boss, I'd have killed you long ago. Think about it—there's barely any money in the first place. Selling it off takes effort, and who knows if you can even sell everything? Even if you do, who knows how much you'll actually get? Of course it's better to enjoy it alone. Don't you see? If I were you, I'd stop the bus right now and kill the other two. And as for her? Even if she pushes the detonator, so what? From the look of it, it's not a one-minute fixed timer, it's a countdown. You'd have a full minute to get away. Then go find your boss, tell him you only want 40%, and give him 60%—because from the look of you, none of you even understand jewels. That way, instead of just a quarter or less, you get more than a third. Isn't that better?"
His words were like a devil's whisper, cold and merciless. Every phrase sank straight into their hearts.
And the truth was, this group wasn't made up of hardened pros. They weren't elite at all. Liu A'dou's words hit harder than before. Earlier he'd only suggested they might get less than expected. Now he was saying they might get nothing at all. And every step he laid out made sense, perfectly logical, like he was truly thinking on their behalf.
The robbers couldn't hold back anymore. "Stop the bus, stop it now!" They weren't about to leave empty-handed. They needed to find their boss and get the jewels.
"What the hell are you doing?" the calmest one asked.
"I'm not leaving with nothing. Stop the bus! I need to see my cut with my own eyes. Stop now!"
With a gun pressed to his temple, the driver slammed the brakes. The tires screeched, rubber burning against asphalt, leaving long black skid marks.
The bus stopped. One robber whipped around and shot the calm one point-blank, dropping him instantly. "One less person means one extra share." Then he turned toward the woman in the back—and fired without hesitation.
Before she collapsed, she smashed the detonator. The countdown began.
The gunman didn't even look back. He jumped off the bus and bolted, desperate to find his boss and grab the money.
Liu A'dou just smiled. "Alright everyone, you can get off now!"
Following behind the bus, Sato Miwako hadn't expected it to stop so suddenly. Then a man stumbled out, panicked, trying to run. But her sharp eyes caught the pistol still in his hand. Without hesitation, she fired, dropping him on the spot.
Inside, the passengers scrambled out in a rush, shouting, "Officer! There's a bomb, it's about to go off!"
Professor Agasa, Dr. Araide, and the passengers worked together, struggling to drag the wounded robber out and toward cover by the roadside.
"Hey—where's Haibara?" The Detective Boys, scrambling in panic, suddenly realized she was missing.
Not good. Conan rushed toward the bus, but there was no time left. From the moment the bomb was triggered to detonation was only 1 minute, 60 seconds. Getting everyone off the bus had already eaten more than 40 seconds. Running away took another 10 seconds. Going back would take another 10. There was no time at all.
"Haibara————!"
Conan's cry rang through the air.
Boom—
The blast answered him, two plastic explosives going off. Orange flames swallowed the bus in an instant.
Haibara had chosen death again. The fear of sensing Organization members so close crushed her completely. She knew the Organization would do anything to eliminate traitors, just like those programmers in the Twin Towers—innocents dragged down together.
She couldn't let Professor Agasa or the Detective Boys get hurt. So she chose self-destruction, a way to disappear quietly. To appear suddenly, vanish suddenly, without taking anything or hurting anyone.
"Hey kid, can you return my cup? I like that cup a lot."
Liu A'dou grinned brightly.
Haibara Ai's eyes snapped open in shock. She thought everyone had already escaped—why was someone still on the bus? "Get out, it's about to explode!" She didn't want to drag anyone down. Let her die quietly alone.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're thinking of Jingjing right now."
"??" What? Haibara couldn't understand his weird humor. Sometimes Liu A'dou's brain just wasn't wired the same as normal people's.
Without explaining, Liu A'dou scooped her up in a full-on princess carry. Then with a sharp kick, he sent the emergency hammer hanging by the window flying. His movements were smooth, clean, and almost unreal—the hang time of his body defied reason. He kicked once, then while still in midair switched feet and kicked again.
The flying hammer smashed through the glass like a cannonball. Liu A'dou leapt out with Haibara in his arms, landing lightly. Without pausing, he jumped again, vaulting over a sedan, and took cover behind it.
Boom!
"Haibara!" Conan's voice reached them from the other side of the car. Liu A'dou set her gently on the ground. "See? There's someone who really cares about you."
Haibara heard Conan shouting her name. But then Liu A'dou added with a grin, "Hey hey, I meant me. I'm saying I care about you, kid."
She gave him a strange look, completely unable to read him.
Liu A'dou set her down and instantly shifted moods, turning unserious again. "That was fun. This is gonna be the best excuse for being late ever."
"Hey, Dr. Araide, I think I'm hurt." Liu A'dou knew this "Dr. Araide" was actually an Organization member, so as long as he stuck to her, Haibara wouldn't be exposed.
"Where are you hurt?"
"Internal injuries. My chest hurts. I think you should let me nap in the school infirmary. Oh, and you'll need to back me up as proof for why I was late."
Vermouth knew Liu A'dou was a transfer student, so when she checked his background, there was no record of him being connected to Dr. Araide. But Liu A'dou acted as if they were close friends, and she played along, smart enough to fake the intimacy of old companions.
The truth was, Liu A'dou and Araide had only been familiar in a parallel Earth. On Earth-13 they had only just met, nowhere near close. She'd slipped up. But Liu A'dou didn't expose her. As a big-sister type friend, he wasn't about to put Vermouth—the one with the longest shelf life—into danger.