In the Basement of the Abandoned Factory.
Conan rammed the door for a while, making no progress. The cold iron door stood before him, making him regret for the umpteenth time not picking up something like Karate from his Little Partners.
"No, this can't go on." Conan clutched his aching shoulder and stopped, panting. "I should look for another exit first."
He turned to feel his way around the dark Basement, but just then, an increasingly heated conversation drifted down from above.
Conan immediately held his breath and strained his ears to listen.
He had assumed the kidnappers were having a disagreement, but on closer listening, they seemed to be arguing about something else.
Then, in the middle of the argument, someone suddenly lashed out. After a heavy thud, all movement fell silent.
Conan: "..." Had he heard wrong?
Why had that sound just now been so much like an iron rod striking the back of someone's head? Was a brutal Murder Case taking place upstairs?
Just as curiosity was gnawing at him, a rustling sound suddenly came from outside, as though the murderer were dragging a body over.
Conan: "..."
Conan: "!" He had it!
Kataoka Residence.
Inspector Megure looked at the unharmed children and breathed a sigh of relief. Turning to Mr. Kataoka, he said, "No matter what, it's good that everyone is safe—the thirty million yen ransom and the kidnappers, uh, the scammers, we'll help you recover them as soon as possible."
Then he looked at his colleagues. "That's all for today. Next—"
"Wait!" Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko had finally figured out what was going on. As a clever child with plenty of experience around cases, he sorted through the situation in his head and quickly arrived at a Horrifying guess.
He gestured as he explained to the