Cry! Hold Each Other and Cry!

Jiang Xia remembered that the cause of the "25 Million Yen Gift Incident" had been a surgery Dr. Ogawa performed on August 3, three years ago.

The patient had been a five-year-old child named Ogino Tomoya. He had been sent to the hospital too late for appendicitis; resuscitation failed, and he died.

After his death, Ogino's Dad received 25 million yen in insurance money.

But Ogino's Dad did not want the money. He only wanted the doctor to experience the pain of losing a son.

As it happened, Dr. Ogawa also had a young son.

Ogino's Dad sent the 25 million yen to Dr. Ogawa in installments. He had also decided to kill the boy when the doctor's son turned five.

Now, two years had passed, and Dr. Ogawa's son was exactly five years old—he attended the kindergarten right in front of them.

Ogino's Dad sat on a bench, watching the kindergarten.

Jiang Xia stood ten meters away, watching him.

Seeing the fluffy Killing Intent around Ogino's Dad, Jiang Xia's mood went +1, +1, +1...

This time, the choice between Killing Intent and a Shikigami was not difficult.

—The children in this world seemed to be protected by some strange aura. Their death rate was extremely low.

And when innocent children were killed by murderers in confusion, their faint, muddled obsessions were not enough to form Shikigami.

...It would be safer to set his target directly on "knocking Ogino's Dad's Killing Intent loose."

Jiang Xia eagerly grasped the collapsible baton hidden on his body, but after hesitating for a moment, he did not take it out right away.

—This case was different from an ordinary murder case.

Ogino's Dad's obsession ran deep. He could casually give away even 25 million yen. And this involved his son...

It felt like simply beating him up would make it difficult to knock his Killing Intent apart.

Better to wait for a suitable opportunity.

At the same time, at Beika Yakushino Hospital.

Files were piled up like mountains in the records room.

After a round of deductions, Conan finally used an old Game Machine to identify "Ogino Tomoya"—the child who had died of appendicitis—among the many patients Dr. Ogawa had treated.

He also guessed Ogino's Dad's eye-for-an-eye plan.

The moment Dr. Ogawa heard this, he panicked.

He hurriedly called the kindergarten, only to hear that his son had just been picked up by his "father."

The doctor's heart instantly turned ice-cold, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Calm down! Since they were just picked up, they probably haven't gone far." Mouri Kogoro forcefully pulled him up and said in a stern voice, "Take us to the kindergarten immediately! We still have a chance to find them."

"...Okay!" Dr. Ogawa wiped his face hard, gritted his teeth, and rushed out of the hospital, turning grief and rage into running speed.

The four hurried toward the kindergarten.

Perhaps it was the bond between father and son.

As they ran onto a stretch of overpass, Dr. Ogawa inadvertently glanced down to the right.

...There, in the park below, he saw his son clutching a Remote Control Plane and smiling happily.

Behind his son stood a grim-faced middle-aged man holding a sharp knife, gesturing as though he were about to slash down.

Dr. Ogawa was scared out of his wits and let out a useless scream from far away. "Yuta—!!!"

Mouri and the others turned to look, and their hearts instantly leapt into their throats.

Conan crouched down with a grave expression and twisted open the switch on his Shoes.

—They were new equipment made by the professor. They could greatly enhance his kicking strength and make up for his low Combat Power.

As the Shoes crackled with Lightning, Conan grabbed a Soccer Ball from an innocent child nearby, intending to kick it at Ogino's Dad.

But before he could.

Someone suddenly stepped out from behind a tree beside the attacker beneath the overpass.

The four on the bridge froze slightly.

"..." Jiang Xia?!

Jiang Xia maintained his usual style—swiftly taking Ogino's Dad's knife from behind, then kicking the back of his knee.

Ogino's Dad had not even processed what was happening before he dropped to his knees with a thud, startling the child playing with the plane in front of him.

Seeing the attacker subdued, the four on the bridge let out a huge sigh of relief.

Just as they happily prepared to run down and join Jiang Xia,

they suddenly saw Jiang Xia raise a hand and flick his wrist, snapping out a section of collapsible baton.

The next second, the young man raised his hand without warning and slammed the baton heavily into Ogino's Dad's shoulder.

Ogino's Dad was sent flying, crashed headfirst into the nearby tree trunk, then slid dazedly to the ground.

Dr. Ogawa and the Mouri Father and Daughter: "..."

Conan on the bridge: "..."

...He knew it would turn out like this!

Conan held the Soccer Ball in his arms, his feet planted in the Power-Enhancing Shoes crackling with Lightning, and fell into deep thought.

...A few days ago, with this same set of equipment, one kick had sent the ball straight through a tree.

Using that kind of force on Jiang Xia did not seem like a good idea.

But if he did not kick... would that Ogino father be beaten to death? No matter what, that was still a human life, and Jiang Xia might end up facing charges over this.

The four on the bridge fell silent in unison.

In just a few seconds, Ogino's Dad below had already been beaten so badly that he could no longer get up.

Mouri Ran was the first to snap out of it. She shouted anxiously, "Stop hitting him!"

The instant her voice rang out, Jiang Xia casually struck again below, focused and happy, without even looking up.

The four on the bridge: "..."

This stretch of overpass was especially long. By the time they went around and got down there, Ogino's Dad might already be dead.

After worrying for a moment, Mouri Ran suddenly remembered something.

She bent over and leaned out over the bridge, examining the structure along the side of the overpass.

A moment later, Mouri Ran's eyes lit up. She straightened up and hurried toward the nearest support.

In the park.

Jiang Xia had not actually used his full strength. He had merely struck a few probing blows.

Yet Ogino's Dad's Killing Intent had not loosened at all. His murderous resolve was extremely firm.

Jiang Xia immediately lost interest.

So his next strikes became even more perfunctory.

More than beating the man, he was trying to create a suitable opportunity for Dr. Ogawa's son beside them to "save the hero"—and thereby move Ogino's Dad into voluntarily giving up murder.

As Ogino's Dad was seeing stars from the blows.

Jiang Xia secretly raised his eyes and looked expectantly at the child nearby.

—According to his script, the kind little boy should have rushed over at this point, bravely hugged Jiang Xia's leg, and told him, "Don't hit Uncle anymore! Uncle is a good person!"

Then, this goodwill from a child would awaken Ogino's Dad's loving fatherly heart.

And once Ogino's Dad gave up the murder, all his Killing Intent would naturally drop...

However, the script was perfect.

But after waiting for a long time, the child still did not rush over.

Instead, after meeting Jiang Xia's gaze, he suddenly shuddered, backed away several steps while hugging his toy plane, and tears of fright appeared in his eyes.

Jiang Xia: "...?"

...Perhaps he had been frightened by Ogino's kitchen knife?

Thinking this, he casually tossed the kitchen knife he had seized aside. He also knocked Ogino's Dad, who was struggling to raise his head, back down, preventing him from shaking the child's courage.

Then he tried giving the child a friendly smile.

This time, the child shuddered violently, shot far away, hid behind a tree, and refused to peek out again.

Jiang Xia looked at the rough tree trunk. "..."

...Something was wrong.

The script clearly was not supposed to go like this!