“Huh? Then where are the people who fled from the third floor?
I mean it the first place… Just how did Shinichi-kun manage to get into the third floor?”
But as she was thinking of ‘why’ the criminals were doing this, another questions dawned upon her – How was Shinichi able to get into the third floor?
“The thing is… It was apparently open when the boy passed through.
According to those who checked, an armed man put the net back up.
They still have hostages, so we could only watch, but…” Kazama said.
“…He couldn’t have… broken through it, could he?” Rinko asked.
Kayama wryly smiled. “Defective goods. Malfunction. Human error.
There are so many things to blame it onto, and yet the first thing you suspect is that, huh.”
The electromagnetic net could have simply been down by coincidence when Shinichi passed through.
But it was more likely that he had something on him that allowed him to break through rather than a lucky story like that.
Regardless, Rinko was surprised to see Kayama so easily accept that.
“…Kayama-dono, did you know about Shinichi?”
“Well…
I thought he knew how to fight, but it was just my intuition.”
That’s why I don’t actually know anything, Kayama said.
Rinko heard that he was originally a skilled detective.
He was asked to become a part of the investigative team, but he wanted to become a part of the mobile force that moved first instead.
He probably saw something in Shinichi as someone who has faced criminals for a long time.
He called it intuition, but an intuition born from amassing experience couldn’t be made light of.
“But enough of that, good news just came in.
The unit that secured the second floor were able to get a response that matched the features of the three children that couldn’t run away in time. It’s just that…”
“They’re with the criminals.”
Kayama unhappily nodded his head, and Rinko nodded as if she expected this.
That was the easiest situation to imagine since they didn’t come back.
But now even if they are able to get the equipment to break through the electromagnetic net, they can’t move carelessly.
“What’s really annoying is we have no idea what their objective is.
It seems they were originally planning on locking themselves in, but they’re not making any demands.
Moreover, they’re using such high-tech tools and yet they’re using old weapons… It doesn’t make sense.”
“There are people that do violence with anti-garesto and anti-society agendas in mind, but this incident doesn’t appear to be that simple…”
It was too different from the things they’ve experienced until now. The criminals were also too well equipped and moved differently.
There was even a sense of discomfort that felt as if they were being made to dance on the palm of some great being.
“But just where could the criminals have gotten all these things… It couldn’t be?”
“You think so too?
But if not for that, then it wouldn’t make sense how they’re able to get so many of Garesto’s equipment.”
Rinko paled at the possibility.
Even Kayama’s tough look twisted bitterly at the thought.
The organization that could easily gather these things with enough funds.
“The terrorist support organization, Mumei.”
That name that could be translated as nameless or no name; an organization without a name.
The most famous organization among the many anti-garesto organizations that is even said to be behind every terrorist incident.
Their members number few, but they are wealthy with a deep well of advanced technology, and every one of their combatants are strong.
They don’t seem to follow any code of justice and tend to act in the shadows as support, lending themselves to become something akin to a merchant of death.
Rumors have it that they are gradually expanding their influence throughout Earth.
“So they’ve finally reached even this country?”
“I don’t know, but they probably don’t have any members at the scene.
These criminals are too sloppy and slow.
Mumei probably just sold them the equipment… Or at least that’s what I’d like to believe.”
If a member of Mumei is really involved, then they alone won’t be enough to handle this.
The two of them anxiously looked up at the department store through the window of the van. All they could do now was wait for reinforcements.
Thanks to the intrusion of an unexpected new group, the uproar came to an end.
The new group had no idea that their intrusion messed up the boy’s plans.
But either way Shinichi couldn’t move due to missing the timing and the hostages increasing; hence, he had no choice but to become a hostage.
Of course, the abusive language he’s been spitting since earlier had to be properly compensated.
“Acting so arrogantly when a brat like you doesn’t know anything!”
“GU.”
“Who were you calling trash!? We’re victims!”
“GAH.”
“As if you could ever understand what it’s like to have everything stolen by them!”
“UGU.”
Even though he should have been driven into a corner, he kept spitting poison at them.
The man aiming to be a boxer, who’d lost his temper earlier, had already left, but the others were also furious with Shinichi, so they took this opportunity to beat him up.
With his hands tied, Shinichi couldn’t even defend.
“Stop it already! That’s a kid for crying out loud! What are you all doing!?”
Daigo yelled, but no one listened to him.
Hurling abuse at them and mocking their circumstances was like setting fire to a salt mine.
The resulting sight was overly unrealistic and revolting – Adults beating up a defenseless child.
It was not something a sane man would do.
“You need to behave already!”
“KU!”
But no one listened to Daigo and instead he found himself pushed to the floor.
When he tried to get up, a gun was aimed at him, and he couldn’t do anything.
“Is this the only hostage you have?” The suited man asked.
“Yeah, I let my guard down.
I didn’t think he would try to resist and help the rest get away,” a young man replied.
The other group of armed men had attacked the food section.
They tried to silence the customers with their guns, but Daigo resisted, and when they tried to suppress him, everyone else got away.
“And here I thought you were a part of the Anti-Garesto team. That’s sad,” the young man said.
He didn’t really look that sad, but the overly familiar manner in which he talked displeased Daigo.
“Mitsuda, are you really with these guys?” Daigo asked.
“Yeah, that’s right,” the young man replied. “You took the interview for work, but I took it for this. So, what are you going to do now?
We can still accept you if you’re willing.”
“Don’t joke with me! Who would work with you people!”
Mitsuda and Daigo had taken the interview at the same time. They worked the same shift too, so they were acquainted quite well.
Who would’ve thought that Mitsuda would be plotting something like this? It was quite a shock.
“Ooh, scary. I guess that’s what you’d expect from someone aiming to be a cop – As rotten as you might be.
Amazing, wow, ha ha ha…”
Just about everything was frustrating.
The fact that Daigo told this guy that without knowing anything.
The fact that Daigo couldn’t save his friend who was being beaten up.
The fact that Daigo couldn’t even punch this guy who was laughing foolishly in front of him.
“Gyan!!??”
As he ground his teeth from anger and frustration, someone suddenly screamed.
The voice belonged to a man, but it was too pathetic, and for some reason, Daigo felt it.
“Beating me up over and over again!
Do you take me for a maso princesss from somewhere!? What do you mean it feels good!? It just hurts!”
When Daigo turned around, he saw Shinichi yelling something incomprehensible.
The person who screamed was holding his crotch in front of Shinichi.
That was enough for Daigo to tell what his childhood friend had done. They were both men, after all.
Clearly, Shinichi had wedged a sensational head butt.
“Y-you little!”
When the giant man saw his friend get hurt, the blood rushed to his head even more.
The giant man raised up his arms, but some of their friends came back with a different look on their faces.
After rendezvousing, these people had left to do something else, and now they came back with an urgent report.
“We have a problem! I can’t contact outside! The phone isn’t connecting!”
“I can’t either! The phone extension couldn’t connect anywhere!”
“The stairs have all been blocked with electromagnetic nets and the elevators aren’t working either!”
“W-What did you say?”
Shocked filled the faces of the criminals.
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