A dozen seconds earlier.
Akai Shuichi leaned against the bus, taking cover from any Bullets that might come his way while discreetly surveying the surroundings—the bus would soon explode, and before that happened, he had to find another blind spot for shooting.
But as he looked, something suddenly felt wrong: through the window, there was a motionless figure sitting inside the bus beside him, the one about to explode.
For a moment, recalling Jodie's earlier encounter, Akai Shuichi silently pieced together a complete script in his mind—for instance, perhaps a Murder Case had quietly taken place on that chaotic bus. Once the bomb began its countdown, the living passengers got up and fled, while the corpse from the Murder Case was left behind in its seat.
...But he soon realized that person in the bus seemed to be alive.
Looking more closely, he was even strangely familiar.
Akai Shuichi recognized him. "...Jiang Xia?"
So this explosion Uzo had arranged was not only aimed at him—it was also a plot against that High School Detective?
It was not until he got onto the bus that Akai Shuichi realized there was someone else aboard besides Jiang Xia.
She was a very young girl. Though her hood concealed half her face, her distinctly mixed-race features were still visible.
The moment Akai Shuichi saw her face clearly from up close, he sensed a peculiar familiarity.
His expression shifted slightly. Curious as he was, he quickly realized that now was not the time to investigate such matters—the bomb could explode at any moment!
With no time to think, Akai Shuichi grabbed both of them and leaped out through the wide bus window.
After landing, he steadied himself and was about to rise when someone suddenly slammed on the brakes in front of him.
Akai