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Chapter 214: The Magician of the Silver Wings
"Blake."
"Blake?"
Okiya Subaru frowned.
He quickly ran through the list of all Organization members known to the FBI in his mind, including fragmented information sent back by undercover agents.
None.
There was absolutely no such codename.
"Are you sure it's a codename, not a real name?"
"I'm not sure," Conan said urgently. "But I eavesdropped on his call with Gin. From the conversation, his status is even higher than Gin's."
Conan paused, his voice turning dry. "Mr. Akai, do you believe someone can use a blunt steak knife to pierce through a hand from ten meters away and embed it into a reinforced concrete wall?"
Okiya Subaru's tapping finger stopped abruptly.
Steak knife?
Piercing a hand and embedding into concrete?
The kinetic energy required for that would probably exceed that of a large-caliber pistol. If relying on a mechanical launching device, it wasn't impossible. But if it was bare-handed...
"Are you joking with me, little detective?"
...
Meanwhile.
Beika Town, top floor of the Central Garden Apartment.
Master Blake, having been busy all day, had shed his disguise. He stood naked before the massive floor-to-ceiling window, like a lion surveying his territory.
He placed the empty wine glass on the marble bar counter and turned to walk toward the luxurious leather sofa in the center of the living room. Sinking into the soft leather, Blake picked up the remote and pressed the power button.
The huge LCD screen lit up.
The time slot usually reserved for late-night soap operas was now occupied by breaking news. The red words "Breaking News" scrolled frantically at the bottom of the screen.
In the footage, a helicopter hovered in the night sky, its searchlight beam sweeping back and forth across the dome of the Suzuki Grand Museum.
"Good evening, viewers! This is Nichimai TV bringing you an exclusive live report!" The field reporter's voice was sharp with excitement, the background filled with sirens and the noise of the crowd. "Just ten minutes ago, the man who gives police worldwide a headache—Kaitou Kid—sent out another calling card!"
Blake raised an eyebrow, adjusting his lazy posture slightly.
Kaitou Kid?
The thief who likes to wear a white suit, wear a monocle, and posture under the moonlight?
If he remembered correctly, this was a popular character in the Detective Conan world, and one of Kudo Shinichi's destined rivals.
The TV screen cut to a close-up of the calling card. It was a white card with a Q-version avatar, on which cryptic codes were written in fancy script:
[When the lion of twilight closes its eyes before dawn, I will ride on silver wings to take away the sleeping 'Deep Blue Dream'. — Kaitou Kid]
"Deep Blue Dream?"
Blake searched for this term in his mind. A deep-sea sapphire recently acquired by the Suzuki Financial Group, said to be invaluable, currently on display at the Beika Museum.
The camera shifted to a middle-aged man with a small mustache and a flushed face. The consultant of the Suzuki Financial Group, Suzuki Jirokichi.
He was waving his fist at the camera, spittle flying as he roared, "Kid! You thief who only knows petty tricks! This time I have set up an inescapable net! Come and take it if you can! My 'Deep Blue Dream' will never be touched by you!"
Behind Suzuki Jirokichi, the young lady Suzuki Sonoko, wearing her signature hairband, was screaming with hearts in her eyes, "Lord Kid! You must come! I'll cheer for you!"
Watching this farce filled with déjà vu, the smile on Blake's lips widened.
Interesting.
Too interesting.
He thought the entertainment for tonight was over, but someone rushed to deliver more to his door.
Night fell low, and the neon lights of downtown Beika dyed the sky a strange dark red.
Several police helicopters circled over the Suzuki Grand Museum, giant searchlight beams splitting the night like sharp swords, crisscrossing over the glass dome. The deafening roar of propellers mixed with the sirens of police cars below, creating an annoying clamor.
A long yellow police line had been set up around the perimeter of the museum. But this did not dampen the crowd's enthusiasm in the slightest. Outside the line, thousands of young girls holding glow sticks and support signs were packed tight.
"Lord Kid! Look over here!"
"Kid-sama! Steal my heart tonight too!"
Screams rose one after another, the waves of sound even drowning out the noise of the helicopters at times.
Blake stood at the edge of the crowd, hands in his trench coat pockets, looking up at this fanatical scene.
"Is this the so-called 'Lupin of the Heisei Era'?"
A playful smile played on his lips as his gaze swept over the girls flushed with excitement. This kind of star treatment was even more exaggerated than the travel arrangements for some heads of state.
If that high school student, who got chased and beaten by Aoko at home, saw this scene, who knew if he'd explode from an inflated ego.
"Young people these days are really too crazy."
Nice.
Just then, the big clock on the top floor of the museum began to chime.
Dong—Dong—
The dull bell sound echoed between the buildings. Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to the hands of the clock tower.
Eight o'clock sharp. The time on the calling card.
Click.
Without warning.
The originally brightly lit museum instantly plunged into dead darkness. Not just the museum, but the streetlights and billboards in the surrounding blocks also extinguished at the same time. The entire area seemed to have its power cut by an invisible giant hand.
"What happened?!"
Suzuki Jirokichi's roar was exceptionally harsh in the dark. "Where's the backup power? Why hasn't it started?!"
"Report, Consultant! The main line was cut! The backup power system has been invaded by an unknown program and cannot be taken over for the time being!" The panicked voice of a technician came from the walkie-talkie.
A commotion erupted in the crowd, but it wasn't fear, it was even crazier anticipation.
"He's here! Lord Kid is coming!"
"Ahhh! I knew it! A blackout is Lord Kid's exclusive prelude!"
In this pitch-black darkness where you couldn't see your fingers.
A strong light suddenly descended from the sky. It was the searchlight of a police helicopter, scanning frantically over the museum dome, trying to find the white figure.
"Over there!"
Someone shouted.
Everyone's eyes followed the direction of the light beam.
At the very top of the museum's spire, a figure had appeared at some point.
White top hat, white cape fluttering in the wind. And that signature monocle, flashing with a strange light under the reflection of the searchlight.
Kaitou Kid.
He appeared abruptly in the center of everyone's vision like a ghost violating the laws of physics.
"Good evening, lovely ladies, and... the police officers sweating over there."
A clear and magnetic voice spread throughout the square via loudspeakers. Kid elegantly took off his top hat and performed a standard gentleman's bow to the crowd below.
"Yaaah! Lord Kid looked at me!"
"So handsome! Really so handsome!"
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