MTLNOVEL Chapter 242: bang
**Bang!**
The wooden sword struck the wrist with pinpoint accuracy.
The spring-loaded knife slipped from the man's grasp and clattered to the floor.
Seeing this, Fujino thrust his wooden sword forward, the tip slamming into the man's chest.
**"Ugh!"**
Even though the wooden sword couldn't cause real harm, the sharp pain from the strike spread through the lanky kidnapper's chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
Seizing the moment, Fujino withdrew the sword and followed up with a sweeping kick.
The kidnapper, still reeling from the strike, had no time to react before he was sent flying into the office wall, crashing through it and leaving a gaping hole.
**"Die, you bastard!"**
Behind him, the burly kidnapper, who had just been knocked unconscious with a kick, was now awake. He pulled a spring-loaded knife from his pocket and lunged straight for Fujino's back.
But Fujino had sensed it coming.
He was just about to turn around and deliver a solid kick to the guy's kidney—enough to put him in the hospital for months—
Then suddenly—
A crackling sound erupted behind him.
A black leather shoe, crackling with electricity, whizzed through the air like a bullet.
**BAM!**
It struck the kidnapper square in the back of the head.
**"You sure that won't kill him?"** Fujino muttered, shaking his head before stepping forward and landing another powerful roundhouse kick on the dazed man.
The impact sent the kidnapper flying again, crashing into a metal filing cabinet with such force that it crumpled like tin foil.
---
## **Chapter 238: Do You Have the Address? I Want to See It.**
**"Hey, Sonoko, wake up. It's morning already."**
Fujino untied the ropes binding Sonoko and poked her cheek.
**"Mmm?"**
Sonoko rubbed her sleepy eyes, her vision slowly clearing to reveal Fujino's calm and familiar face.
**"Fujino-senpai? Why are you in my house?"**
She mumbled groggily before her cheeks flushed red.
**"Your house?"**
Fujino frowned, wondering if this forehead-heavy girl was still half-asleep. He sighed and explained, **"You were kidnapped. We're in the kidnappers' hideout."**
**"Kidnapped?"**
Sonoko blinked, nodding absentmindedly like a pecking chick. **"Oh yeah… I think I was kidnapped… Wait—KIDNAPPED?!"**
It finally clicked. She jumped to her feet in a panic—only to lose her balance and tumble off the sofa, landing with a loud thud.
She clutched her sore backside and burst into tears. **"Waaah! Fujino-senpai, I was so scared!"**
**"Wait, wait, don't wipe your snot on me!"**
Fujino quickly pushed away the tearful, snot-dripping Sonoko, feeling utterly exasperated. As expected, this girl was as clueless as ever. He sighed, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, and handed it to her. **"Alright, stop crying. The kidnappers are already taken care of."**
**"Really?"**
Sonoko took the handkerchief, wiped her tears, and looked up at him with big, watery eyes.
Fujino simply pointed to the side.
Sonoko followed his gaze and saw the two kidnappers—one embedded in the wall, the other slumped over a destroyed filing cabinet, looking absolutely miserable.
**"..."**
She turned back to Fujino, swallowing nervously. **"You… didn't kill them, did you?"**
**"Probably not."**
Fujino thought about it for a second. He had hit them pretty hard, but after assessing their injuries, he murmured, **"At worst, they're just crippled."**
**"Um… excuse me."**
An old man, who had been silently watching the scene unfold from the couch, finally spoke up in a weak voice. **"Could you, uh, untie me too? The rope's really tight..."**
---
**Ten minutes later, the police arrived.**
The two kidnappers were hauled away in ambulances, sirens blaring.
Preliminary diagnosis?
Pretty much what Fujino had guessed. One had a few broken ribs and a concussion from the shoe to the head. The other had more broken ribs. Neither were dead—just in a world of pain.
Meanwhile, Sonoko, after walking out of the warehouse with Fujino and Sato Miwako, spotted Ran. The moment she saw her best friend, she burst into tears again and threw herself into Ran's arms, sobbing like a storm.
Her tears and snot smeared all over Ran's shirt.
Ran, unfortunately, was not spared.
She instinctively reached for a handkerchief—then just smiled helplessly and shook her head.
---
On the way home, riding in Sato Miwako's car—
**"Fujino-senpai, did your motorcycle break down?"**
Sonoko, sitting in the back seat, curiously asked, **"I saw a tow truck hauling it away earlier."**
Fujino thought for a second and replied, **"Not really. Just the brake disc wore out."**
Technically, it was just the brake disc.
After all, hitting speeds of over 300 km/h? Regular brake pads wouldn't stand a chance.
**"Wait, your brake disc wore out?"**
Sato Miwako raised an eyebrow. **"I don't know much about bikes, but aren't brake discs supposed to be pretty durable?"**
Ran thought back to the skid marks on the ground and the glowing-hot brake pads when Fujino had arrived.
**"It's probably because he rushed here the moment he heard Sonoko was kidnapped,"** she guessed. **"He arrived just a few minutes after getting the call."**
**"Is that so?"**
Sonoko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She had no idea how far Fujino's house was, but to arrive that quickly, he must've been flying—fast enough to wear out his brakes.
Feeling a warmth in her chest, she said, **"In that case, let me cover the cost of your new brake discs—"**
**"No need."**
Fujino chuckled. **"I already called my insurance company. They'll reimburse me for an even better set."**
**"Wait, insurance covers brake discs?"**
Ran was surprised.
**"It's not the first time. I've already made claims a couple of times before. Since they're the ones who covered the previous ones, technically, it's their fault for using subpar parts."**
Sonoko sighed. **"Wow, insurance payouts are so unreliable!"**
Fujino: **"..."**
(He wanted to say he was using Suzuki Zaibatsu's insurance. But… on second thought, never mind.)
---
A moment of silence passed before Sonoko frowned in thought.
**"Still… why did they kidnap me in the first place?"**
**"Probably because you were carrying Ran's bag."**
Conan, sitting nearby with his hands behind his head, explained, **"There were two kidnappers, and the one who grabbed you wasn't the same one who saw Ran before. They were actually after a floppy disk, but since he didn't know what Ran looked like, he grabbed the wrong person."**
**"Tch. Idiots."**
Sonoko clicked her tongue and clenched her fist. **"If they had actually tried to take Ran, she'd have given them a taste of karate!"**
Hearing this, Ran looked guilty. **"Sonoko, this is my fault. If you weren't carrying my bag—"**
**"What are you talking about?"**
Sonoko patted Ran's shoulder, her usual cheerful energy back. **"The only ones to blame are the kidnappers! Besides, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been saved so quickly."**
She turned and grinned at Fujino. **"Right, Senpai?"**
Fujino nodded. **"Exactly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have even known about it."**
With that, Ran felt much better.
Fujino, however, shot a glance at Conan, narrowing his eyes.
(Seriously, this kid has maxed out his deduction skills, but his emotional intelligence? Absolute zero.)
---
**[Kaito Kid strikes again with a new announcement! This time, his target is the world's largest ruby—the Crimson Tear—owned by the leader of a magic troupe touring Japan!]**
"Front-page news about Kaito Kid again, huh?"
Fujino stared at the headline in the newspaper. "Wonder if I can make a big score this time too…"
He kept reading the reports:
**[Two employees from the Dragon God Economic Research Institute, a subsidiary of Mihua Construction Group, kidnapped an elderly whistleblower and a teenage girl to steal evidence of a crime. A high school detective bravely stepped in to save the day…]**
**[Bribery scandal rocks Mihua Construction Group! Multiple companies are implicated, and the police have launched an investigation.]**
**[The Mihua Batman removes his mask! His no-kill rule is broken—draped in a white robe, is he still fighting for justice or has he turned to evil?]**
**[The aging Beika Art Museum is set to be demolished with explosives on July 30th. Farewell to the Beika Art Museum that's been with us for years!]**
The first few stories were all about him.
Back in the day, seeing his name in the papers might've gotten him hyped, but after all this time, he was pretty used to it by now.
Still… getting upstaged by Kaito Kid stealing the spotlight?
Yeah, he could kinda relate to how Jirokichi Suzuki must feel. 😅
"But the Beika Art Museum, huh?"
Fujino's eyes lingered on the last report.
He actually had some vague memory of this place…
Lost in thought, he pulled out his phone and checked the time: **[July 10th]**
"…"
Yup, he still couldn't wrap his head around the messed-up timeline of this Conan world.
*Beep beep beep…*
Right then, his text message tone went off.
A new message popped up on his screen from Haibara Ai: **[We're rehearsing a play today, so I might be home a bit late. Dinner's on you tonight!]**
Fujino paused, thought for a sec, and quickly tapped out a reply: **[A play rehearsal? Where at? I wanna check it out.]**
Haibara Ai, holding her crimson flip phone, froze for a few seconds.
She glanced up at the little gang getting ready for their rehearsal, then back at Fujino's text.
*'This childish performance… if he sees it…'*
She hesitated, feeling a bit torn.
But after a moment, she typed back a response anyway.
…
"Yep, just like I figured."
Fujino glanced at the address Haibara sent him and tucked his phone away.
Beika Art Museum + the kids rehearsing = Satou Miwako in trouble.
The address Haibara gave him was right next to the abandoned building beside the soon-to-be-blown-up Beika Art Museum.
In Fujino's memory, while the Detective Boys were practicing their play, they'd stumble into a fugitive who'd escaped from Satou Miwako and Takagi.
The guy climbed up the abandoned building, then made his way to the roof of the Beika Art Museum.
But after all that effort, he still couldn't slip away from the agile, badass… er, Satou Miwako.
She pulled off an epic move—flying across the buildings using a drainage pipe, cornering him in the men's bathroom, and slamming him with an over-the-shoulder throw that smashed the stall wall.
This time, Satou didn't hesitate—she slapped the cuffs on him right away.
Only after cuffing him did she realize the handcuff chain had gotten tangled around a broken piece of the stall door, looping around the bathroom wall's plumbing.
And just like that, both of them ended up cuffed together in the men's restroom. 😂
"New detective mission detected—check it out!"
A system alert snapped Fujino out of his thoughts.
With a wave of his hand, a glowing screen popped up in front of him:
**[Detective Mission Detected: True Culprit or Wrongful Accusation?]**
**Mission Summary:** Is the fugitive who escaped from the police really the killer? Or is there more to the truth?
**Mission Objective:** Uncover the real mastermind behind the murder case.
**Mission Rewards:** 500,000 yen, 200 detective reputation points.
**Mission Location:** Fugitive's position has been marked.]**
…
Following Haibara's address, Fujino made his way to the building next to the soon-to-be-demolished Beika Art Museum.
In his memory, Satou Miwako and the fugitive would be stuck there until tomorrow—saved at the last second by Conan kicking a police light to knock them out, with Dr. Agasa swooping in for the rescue.
Yep, the one supplying the explosives for this demolition? None other than Dr. Agasa.
Fujino couldn't quite wrap his head around it—how does Dr. Agasa even get his hands on stuff like explosives?
Maybe in the future, they wouldn't need to confiscate gunpowder for bombs—just raid Dr. Agasa's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse instead. 😆
Fujino pulled up to the old Beika Art Museum in his Ford Taurus.
He stepped out, glancing at the police tape around the area.
Turning, he headed toward the abandoned building next door.
Inside, Fujino activated his Eagle Eye, but he couldn't spot the kids anywhere.
"Looks like they've already gone off with Takagi to clear the suspect's name."
Mulling it over, Fujino climbed up to the roof of the abandoned building.
"About four or five meters, huh?"
He peeked over the parapet at the gap between the two buildings, then eyed the twisted drainage pipe nearby.
"…"
Rolling his eyes for a sec, Fujino shrugged off his suit jacket, stashed his weighted gear in his inventory space, and muttered, "This distance? Should be doable."
"Phew…"
He glanced at the museum's rooftop, took a deep breath, and thought, "Better play it safe and activate Detective Boost."
With a mental nudge, he turned it on.
**[Detective Boost activated: Host physical abilities increased by 225%. Countdown: 8 minutes…]**
As the system chime rang in his ears, Fujino took a few steps back, sprinted forward, and planted a foot on the parapet.
*Boom!*
The parapet cracked under the massive force.
Fujino soared through the air, clearing nearly six or seven meters, before landing hard on the museum roof with a roll to break his fall.
*(End of Chapter)*