'Suzuki, here you go.'
After school in the afternoon, Baishi Hui led everyone back home once to return the money box to Sonoko, saying, 'Suzuki, here you go.'
This made Ran, who had come along, smile slightly, feeling very happy!
Seeing a classmate turn over a new leaf, she felt extremely relieved, with an inexpressible sense of fulfillment inside.
Shinichi, who had come along, opened his mouth, really wanting Sonoko to check the banknotes.
To see if that guy had tampered with it and secretly swapped in some counterfeit bills.
But he thought about it and decided against it.
Seeing Sonoko's lovesick look, whatever he said would likely go in one ear and out the other!!
'Oh dear! No need to check! I believe Shirashi-kun, you're not that kind of person.' Sonoko accepted it with a grin, showing no intention of checking at all.
This made Shinichi inwardly scoff, knowing he hadn't guessed wrong at all!
'Sonoko, this box is so heavy, let me help you carry it!' Shinichi found an excuse and took the money box from Sonoko's hands.
He then opened it and took a look, letting out a 'Wow' and saying, 'It's 100 million yen! I've never seen so much money in my life!'
While feigning emotion, Shinichi randomly checked the banknotes.
After checking over ten times consecutively and finding no counterfeit bills, he finally somewhat believed that Baishi Hui had turned over a new leaf.
However... it's also possible that the other party is playing the long game!
If that's the case, then Shinichi would be powerless!
If Sonoko is willing to be deceived, he can't do anything about it!
Who made this girl such a love-struck idiot?
'Shirashi-kun, you can just call me Sonoko, that's what my friends call me!' Sonoko said in a familiar tone, 'Always 'Suzuki, Suzuki', it feels too distant.'
'Okay, then you can just call me Hui.' Baishi Hui wouldn't refuse this opportunity to get closer.
He suggested, 'I know a good dessert shop nearby, how about we go there for afternoon tea together?'
He wanted to get familiar with the main characters as soon as possible, so it would be easier to get involved in cases later.
'Okay, okay!!' Sonoko agreed without hesitation.
'Ah... well... I'm afraid I don't have time.' Ran said with a face full of apology, 'I promised Shinichi I'd go with him to the bookstore to buy mystery novels.'
'Hmm? Did I?' Shinichi didn't react immediately, looking at Ran suspiciously, not remembering when he had said that.
'Yes!! We talked about it on the phone yesterday, did you forget?' Ran quickly gave Shinichi a look.
'Ah! Right, right, right, right, I almost forgot.' Shinichi then realized that Ran was deliberately creating an opportunity for Sonoko, and quickly chimed in.
Seeing that Shinichi had understood her look, Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She rolled her eyes at Shinichi, wondering if his intelligence was entirely focused on deduction?
Even though he was so amazing at deduction, whenever he encountered these kinds of things, he was like a blockhead.
'Ah~~~ In that case, it'll just be Hui and me going.' Sonoko winked at Ran, her gratitude all conveyed in that gesture.
She believed that with their many years of friendship, Ran would understand!!
And Ran understood as well, responding with a smile.
Baishi Hui quietly watched them exchange glances.
Pretending he was blind and hadn't seen anything.
After leaving the apartment, the two walked along the road, planning to part ways after they had exited the residential area.
However, just at that moment, a black van suddenly drove over and stopped in front of the four people.
Clang!
The car door opened, and a masked robber raised a handgun, fired two shots into the sky, and shouted, 'Don't move!! Kidnapping!!'
'What? Kidnapped again??' Sonoko was stunned.
She was just kidnapped yesterday, how could she be kidnapped again today?
Was she born with a fate to be kidnapped?
'What do you want?' Ran immediately shielded Sonoko, urgently saying, 'If you leave now, we can pretend nothing happened!!'
'Huh?' The masked kidnapper looked at the high school girl with some difficulty understanding, thinking there was something wrong with her head.
They had launched their operation after meticulous planning, and you think you can just send us away with a single sentence?
'Get lost!!' The masked kidnapper impatiently got out of the car, waved his hand for Ran to move away, and said, 'My target isn't you, it's Suzuki Sonoko!!'
'I'm not leaving! Just kidnap me too!' Ran resolutely refused to abandon Sonoko.
'Alright! Then I'll have you collect the ransom for me!' The masked kidnapper thought this was a good suggestion and readily agreed.
He urged, 'Get in the car, quickly!!'
Shinichi, standing by, was burning with anxiety, really wanting to do something.
However, he was being stared down by the driver holding a gun, and didn't dare make any moves at all!
And at this moment, Baishi Hui spoke up: 'Wait a minute... I don't think you need to go through all this trouble.'
'Who told you, kid, to speak?' The masked kidnapper suddenly pointed the gun at Baishi Hui, extremely annoyed by these troublemakers who would disrupt their plan!
'I naturally don't want to... Don't you want money? I don't think kidnapping is necessary.' Baishi Hui raised his hands, looked at the money box in Shinichi's hands, and said, 'That box contains one hundred million.'
The clever Shinichi immediately reacted. He clicked open the money box, letting the kidnapper see clearly, and said, 'That's right, that's right! You can just take the money and leave, that way you won't have to bear the risks of kidnapping!!'
After seeing the money, the masked kidnapper was immediately shocked: 'So much money?'
'Idiot! Rich people are just different, they even carry 100 million when they go out!!'
'But... if I kidnap Suzuki Sonoko, won't I be able to demand even more money?'
As he said this, a greedy look flashed in his eyes.
Shinichi quickly used his silver tongue: 'If you do that, you will face retaliation from the Suzuki Group! No matter how much money you have, you'll have nowhere to spend it!'
'Mr. Kidnapper, I think you two wouldn't want to live the rest of your lives in fear of being hunted by the Suzuki Group, right?'
'I suggest you still take this 100 million yen, drive away, and we'll pretend this never happened.'
'100 million yen, that's no small sum... As long as you spend it sparingly, you can live a life free from worries about food and clothing from now on!'
The driver was persuaded.
Even if kidnapping Suzuki Sonoko brought in more money, what then?
If the Suzuki Group targets you, you won't be able to sleep soundly from now on. It's better to quit while you're ahead!
'Brother, I think he's right... I think we should just take this 100 million and leave!' The driver began to persuade.
'...Alright.' The masked kidnapper also suppressed his greed and accepted Kudo Shinichi's suggestion.
'Should I bring the money over, or will you come get it?' Shinichi said, closing the money box.
'You don't need to bring it over! Who knows what Kudo Shinichi might have up his sleeve!' The masked kidnapper snorted coldly, clearly not trusting the other party.
Shinichi was a little helpless. Sometimes being too famous wasn't a good thing; people were already wary of him.
'Then I'll do it.' Ran bravely volunteered herself.
'Mouri Ran, she started learning Karate at age 10 and is now the captain of the Teitan High School Karate Club! I know you're good at fighting!' The masked kidnapper rattled off Ran's details, then sneered, 'When I'm kidnapping Suzuki Sonoko, how could I not do my research beforehand?'
...Ran also had to abandon her little scheme.
'You can't let Sonoko bring it over!' Shinichi directly cut off the other party's thought and said, 'Come and get it yourself!'
The masked kidnapper ignored Shinichi, turning instead to size up Baishi Hui, and nodded with satisfaction, saying, 'You kid, you're fair and tender, with no muscle on you at all. Anyone can tell you're a pretty boy who lives off others!'
'You're the one, bring the money box over to me!!'