"Bang, bang!"
The armed individuals who invaded Shuchi'in Academy were not fools.
After discovering the cameras installed around the campus, they immediately opened fire and destroyed them.
One camera after another shattered, and on the computer screen in front of Toru, many signal feeds went dark.
However, besides the obvious cameras, there were also many hidden ones. These armed men did not notice those, so about a quarter of the cameras were still functioning.
Among them, the most important was the camera located inside the main Auditorium.
Under Toru's watchful gaze, just as he expected, this group of armed men from Colombia gathered the captured students of Shuchi'in Academy and drove them all into the Auditorium.
At this moment, the Auditorium of Shuchi'in Academy, which was even larger and more luxurious than Tokyo University, revealed a huge problem.
It was too large.
It was more than enough to hold all the teachers and students.
All the other large doors of the Auditorium were shut and locked, leaving only the main entrance guarded.
Then, with just ten armed men standing on the second floor overlooking the hall, they could control hundreds of hostages.
"Great, this group didn't randomly kill people. They kept the hostages alive."
Conan stood on his tiptoes beside Toru.
Seeing the scene on the monitor, he showed a look of relief.
As long as the armed men were not randomly killing people, it meant they had demands. That meant there was still a chance to rescue the hostages.
However, looking at these terrorists who were nearly the size of a company and fully armed, Conan also felt a heavy weight in his heart.
Could they really eliminate or capture all of these armed men without harming a single hostage?
Could everyone really be rescued safely?
Emotionally, Conan hoped someone could accomplish it.
But rationally, he knew it was impossible.
With the capabilities of Japan's police and self-defense personnel, it was absolutely impossible.
This time, it was likely to become a major case that would shock the world and be remembered every year.
Toru's gaze sharpened as he quickly scanned the remaining monitors.
If possible, he would very much like to save all these teenagers.
Regardless of anything else, it was basic human instinct.
Furthermore, these armed men were actually targeting him. These students were innocent victims.
More importantly, behind these students was a vast and unimaginable network of connections throughout Japan.
If he could make this network owe him a favor, he would become unstoppable.
Wait... this is...
Toru's expression tightened.
Among the hundreds of hostages, he saw familiar faces.
Soyo and Mutsumi were wearing casual clothes, crouching in a corner with their hands covering their heads.
Tears filled both girls' eyes. Their fear was obvious.
Even Mutsumi, who usually appeared expressionless, was not truly emotionless. She was also terrified in the face of such danger.
Toru took out his phone.
If he were using assassination methods, he was confident he could eliminate nearly a company of armed men.
But now that he had been exposed and the enemy would certainly use suppressing fire, Toru was not Superman.
Eliminating them all while rescuing hostages was almost impossible.
With dozens of assault rifles firing at the same time, unless someone was truly immune to bullets, anyone would die.
Right now, Toru needed troops.
He did not have soldiers.
But he did have a high tech AI drone swarm.
The drone technology itself was not particularly advanced.
However, the AI technology provided by the system was far beyond the level of this world.
Toru turned around.
Chika, Kaguya, and the others had already moved the bookshelf aside.
"Fujiwara-kun, come here quickly!"
Kaguya usually appeared arrogant and cold, but now she could not maintain that composure. She anxiously called out to him, urging him to hide as well.
Toru shook his head and said to everyone, "You all take the children and hide properly."
"Brother, are you staying here?"
Moeha cried out.
Even Chika stopped acting silly at this moment and looked at him nervously.
"Don't waste time here."
"We broke into this building through a window."
"Those armed men are searching the entire school. They will definitely discover that opening."
"If I hide too, and they search the building, this hidden attic will very likely be discovered."
Drug dealers often dug tunnels and built hidden compartments to store contraband. How could they fail to find such a simple hidden attic door?
Toru had already noticed that besides the armed men guarding the Auditorium, the rest were searching through Shuchi'in Academy.
Whenever they found students hiding, they beat them and dragged them back to the Auditorium.
More importantly, these men were not scattered. They operated in squads of at least twelve.
This clearly showed that they were actually looking for him.
Everyone thought Toru intended to sacrifice himself to draw the armed men's attention.
The girls' eyes turned red, filled with admiration and emotion.
None of them offered to go with him.
They knew very well that they would only become a burden.
Especially with so many elementary school children present. Even for the sake of those children, they could only grit their teeth and follow his instructions.
"Kaguya-sama, please listen to Young Master Fujiwara."
Hayasaka held Kaguya's hand tightly.
She had personally witnessed how powerful Toru was and trusted his strength more than anyone else.
Seeing that even Hayasaka trusted him so much, Kaguya bit her lip and forced back her tears.
"Fujiwara-kun... please be careful."
Seeing the girls almost crying, Toru felt depressed.
Why did it feel like everyone thought he was about to die?
He urged them again and guided everyone into the attic.
"There are snacks and drinks here. Enough for two or three days."
"The chances of resolving such a large scale hostage situation quickly are very low."
"Set your phones to silent. You can contact the outside world, but try to use text messages instead of voice messages or calls."
After giving a few more reminders, Toru waved his hand.
He pushed the bookshelf back into place, completely sealing the entrance to the hidden attic.
Facing nearly a company of armed men while trying to rescue hostages as much as possible was a huge challenge for him.
"I wonder if this incident will become a CS map in the future."
Toru muttered to himself.
He took out his pistol and checked the magazine.
It was impossible to deal with so many enemies with just a pistol.
Even Hollywood would not film something like that.
First, he had to eliminate some of the armed men and seize their weapons.
...
The phones at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department were ringing nonstop.
All departments were mobilizing.
Megure's division, which was always on the front line of major cases, immediately began preparations as well.
"What? A kidnapping incident? Students from Shuchi'in Academy were kidnapped?"
Megure was shocked when he received the report.
What kind of place was Shuchi'in Academy?
It was Tokyo's most famous elite school.
The parents and families of the students there were either wealthy or powerful.
Any incident involving that school would be a massive blow to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
"Are the police officers stationed near Shuchi'in Academy just slacking off?"
Megure shouted angrily.
Because of the school's importance, the police presence around it had always been strong.
"Inspector, an urgent call from an official of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology."
"Inspector, an urgent inquiry from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare."
"The Ministry of the Environment."
"The Ministry of Finance."
"Suzuki Zaibatsu."
"Yatsui Zaibatsu."
"..."
Hearing the names of the officials and corporate leaders calling in, Megure felt his scalp go numb.
He roared, "Can someone tell me what exactly happened at Shuchi'in Academy?"
"Inspector, look at the internet!"
Megure quickly took out his phone.
The moment he saw the video, he nearly fainted.
The footage had been uploaded simultaneously to social media platforms such as YouTube, X, and Instagram.
The video was filmed inside the main Auditorium of Shuchi'in Academy.
In the footage, hundreds of students and teachers were kneeling on the ground with their hands covering their heads, while more than a dozen heavily armed terrorists guarded them.
A tall and thin armed man wearing a black mask stood in front of the camera and announced,
"Japan, Tokyo, Shuchi'in Academy has been completely occupied by us."
"We solemnly warn the Japanese government not to attempt any rescue operations. Otherwise we will kill one person every hour."
"We now present our demands to the Japanese government."
"The government must immediately pay a ransom of thirty billion US dollars."
"We do not want cash. We only want gold."
"You have three days to prepare."
"If the gold is not ready after three days, we will kill all the hostages here."
The message was delivered in multiple languages including Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
In an instant, the entire world was shocked.
A kidnapping of this scale was no longer something the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department could handle alone.
Japan immediately mobilized its self-defense forces.
Most of Tokyo's police force was also dispatched to the area around Shuchi'in Academy.
The streets surrounding the academy were blocked by police cars.
Helicopters circled overhead, and a large number of armored vehicles arrived as well.
"Let me through! Let me through! My daughter is in that school!"
Kogoro's eyes were red as he desperately tried to rush inside, but several police officers stopped him.
"Mouri, calm down."
"Do you know about the Beslan hostage crisis?"
"Back then, thirty two armed terrorists took five thousand teachers and students hostage in Beslan."
"Many parents ignored the police blockade and rushed into the school with weapons."
"The result was that more than three hundred hostages died."
"This time, the armed group is even larger and better equipped."
"You don't want the Beslan hostage crisis to happen again, do you?"
Kogoro clenched his teeth.
He knew Megure was right.
But he still could not accept it.
...
Langley, CIA Headquarters, United States.
"Director, Japan has requested access to our intelligence satellites."
Spencer sat in his chair, frowning.
"Those idiots. How did they create such a huge mess? They really can't be trusted."
Even he felt slightly uneasy.
After forcing himself to calm down, he said,
"Send the satellite feed over."
"I want to see how Adam dies."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)