The atmosphere in the maintenance corridor had grown tense. The two men, each occupying a corner on opposite sides, silently faced off from several meters apart.
Having roughly guessed the other man's intentions, Shuichi Akai sighed inwardly.
It wasn't that he had deliberately wanted to head into the giant wheel. It was simply a sniper's instinct that made him seek out the highest point in an area, making observation and movement easier.
Before he could contact Conan to confirm their location, Shuichi Akai had never expected that he would run into an acquaintance while climbing toward a sniper's perch.
Still, relying on his completely new face, Shuichi Akai remained fairly composed. After confirming that the voice changer around his neck was working properly, he directly asked, "Are you from one of the equipment suppliers? I thought today wasn't a scheduled maintenance day..."
When neither side was legitimate staff, whoever answered first and played dumb first had the stronger position.
"...Yes, I'm a maintenance worker from the screen supplier." After looking the man opposite him over from head to toe, Tooru Amuro quickly raised his head, a perfectly natural look of confusion appearing on his face. "It isn't inspection time yet, but someone notified me to come check the screens today. They said there was flickering and unstable voltage?"
As he spoke, he made a show of reaching into the maintenance bag hanging at his waist.
Knowing that he was definitely carrying a gun, Shuichi Akai instinctively tensed his back before quickly forcing himself to relax.
If I want Bourbon to truly stop suspecting me, I can't assume his identity. I have to look genuinely relaxed, like an ordinary person...
Tooru Amuro, who had been quietly observing his reaction, slowly rummaged through his bag for quite a while before finally pulling