When Director Tsugawa turned around with a grim expression, the elevator had already reached the floor below.
He glared furiously at the changing numbers on the display screen, then lunged towards the stairs, intending to run to the first floor to intercept them.
...
While Director Tsugawa was racing the elevator, inside the elevator, Conan praised the children, “Well done!” while pressing the elevator buttons, intending to make it stop midway to avoid being cornered by the director on the first floor.
However, before he could press the button, the elevator’s downward trend had already slowed, seemingly about to stop.
Conan’s first reaction was that his classmates had finally been clever for once—they knew not to go to the first floor without him telling them.
But upon closer inspection, Conan suddenly realized that the inner floor buttons were not lit up.
...In other words, the elevator was stopping on the second floor not because they had selected the second floor, but because someone outside had pressed the second-floor button for them!
Conan: “?!”
Director Tsugawa’s grim face flashed in Conan’s mind, and a chill ran down his spine.
He had initially thought his plan was good enough to fool Director Tsugawa in his enraged state.
Who knew that this time, the director had anticipated his anticipation, seen through his plan to exit the elevator midway, and was leisurely waiting for him here!
...
Conan’s face was ashen as he frantically slapped the door-close button, trying to prevent the elevator from opening.
It was no use; he could only grit his teeth and watch the elevator come to a complete stop.
At this moment, Conan deeply understood the meaning of ‘regretting not having studied enough when it’s time to use it.’
—If only he had casually grabbed a large book just now, he wouldn't be facing this dilemma of having “power-enhancing kick shoes” but nothing to kick.
...
Under the desperate gazes of the several children, the elevator finally stopped on the second floor.
Conan squatted down and twisted the switch on his sneakers.
—There was no other way; since there was nothing to kick, he could only try another slide kick.
This time, as he passed under Director Tsugawa’s crotch, if he used his power-enhancing kick shoes to forcefully kick his leg, or some other part, there might be a slim chance of survival.
Thinking this, Conan pressed himself against the back of the elevator car, and the moment the door opened, he pushed off the wall with force and slid out with a whoosh.
However, before Conan could deliver his long-planned kick, a baton lightly nudged him.
Conan’s trajectory immediately shifted significantly; he flailed as he slid out and crashed into the wall beside him with a thud.
Conan: “...”
...Wait a minute.
That stick that nudged him, why did it look so familiar?
Conan jumped up with a start, delighted to see that Jiang Xia was standing at the elevator entrance.
...
Jiang Xia held an extended baton and didn't ask Conan why he was suddenly moonlighting as a floor cleaner.
He looked at the three children in the elevator and ordered concisely, “Come out.”
Mitsuhiko and Genta huddled together, looking at Conan, who had been defeated in an instant, feeling that they were no match either, and timidly walked out.
Ayumi, however, was calmer than the two boys.
She recognized Jiang Xia as the person who had saved her and Conan in the dungeon last time.
Now facing danger again, Brother Jiang Xia had appeared again... Ayumi thought, and sparkling stars appeared in her eyes.
...
When the several mischievous children walked out of the elevator, Jiang Xia passed them and entered the elevator.
Then he pressed the first-floor button.
The elevator doors gradually closed under the children’s stunned gazes.
Before the door completely closed, Jiang Xia looked at them through the crack: “Stay put, and don’t make a sound.”
The four children instinctively stood at attention and nodded in unison.
...
In the library’s stairwell, Director Tsugawa, holding a metal water pipe, rushed towards the first floor with a sinister expression.
When he furiously ran to the elevator, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the elevator was still moving from the second floor to the first floor.
He didn’t think too much about why he could run so fast, only assuming that extreme anger had activated his limitless potential.
...
Soon, with a ding, the elevator stopped on the first floor.
Director Tsugawa impatiently reached out and grabbed the elevator door, which had just opened a crack: “Let’s see where you can go this time...”
Thud—
A slender black shadow streaked through the crack in the door, precisely hitting Director Tsugawa on the forehead.
Director Tsugawa’s vision blurred, and before he could recover, his abdomen was immediately struck by a heavy blow.
He flew backward, hitting the wall and sliding down. In the chaos, the director saw a person walk out of the elevator backlit—the person in the elevator was not the “weak mischievous child” he had thought, but rather looked taller than him.
...When did this person enter the library?!
How much did he know about the drugs and the body? What was his relationship with those children?? Was it still possible to silence him?!
Director Tsugawa looked at the approaching Jiang Xia, then at the stick he was raising, panicking: “...What do you want to do?!”
“To return a book,” Jiang Xia tossed the “Detective Handbook” onto him casually, “and to uphold justice.”
Amidst the rustling of pages, the elevator door closed behind Jiang Xia. The bright elevator light narrowed into a thin line, finally disappearing completely. The corridor immediately returned to darkness.
Before the last ray of light vanished, Director Tsugawa saw the “ordinary citizen returning a book” swing the baton in his hand, making a whooshing sound, then look down at him, a strange, expectant smile on his lips.
Director Tsugawa: “...”
...Don’t come any closer!!!
...
Fifteen minutes later, Inspector Megure anxiously arrived with his team and found a bruised pig... no, a swollen Director Tsugawa in the library.
“...” Officer Sato reached out and gently poked Director Tsugawa, eliciting a cry of pain.
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief: thankfully, he wasn't dead.
...
Nearby, the three children stood quietly, their eyes unfocused, as still as chickens.
When Jiang Xia moved, they all shivered in unison, huddling together, not daring to make a sound.
Jiang Xia did not walk towards them.
He merely walked to Sato’s side and said in a low, apologetic voice, “I’m sorry, Director Tsugawa was shouting about silencing the children. It was very dark in the corridor at the time, and he was very familiar with the library. I was afraid he would harm the children if he escaped. In my haste, I accidentally hit him too hard...”
The “several children” simultaneously had a word come to their minds—Liar!
Then they silently swallowed it back.
...“I dare not speak.”
Moreover, although Jiang Xia was a little brutal, he did indeed save them.
The children, relying on their simple emotions, felt that they couldn't betray their benefactor.
...
Miwa Sato did not notice the children’s fear.
She patted Jiang Xia’s shoulder and encouraged him, “You did nothing wrong.”
To be honest, after learning what Director Tsugawa had done, Officer Sato almost wanted to praise Jiang Xia for “a good beating.”
...But unfortunately, police officers cannot say such things.
So she could only kindly remind him, “However, don’t be so impulsive in the future, otherwise, if the culprit dies, you will also be in trouble.”
“Understood,” Jiang Xia nodded gently, “I’ll be careful next time.”