Seeing that after Senichi subdued the criminal, he held the gun with both hands aimed at the front and back of the vehicle. Even Conan was momentarily bewildered.
But soon, he realized the intention behind Senichi's action. Senichi indeed had the exact reason in mind when he made this move.
"Sorry, everyone. The situation unfolded suddenly, and I can't be sure if any accomplices of the criminals have mixed in among the passengers. So, please refrain from making any rash movements until the police arrive to control the situation."
Senichi looked around at the passengers, his tone serious. "For the safety of all passengers on this bus, I will not hesitate to use my gun if any of you take even the slightest action without authorization."
Seeing the fearful expressions and the beginning of unrest among the passengers, Senichi's tone softened as he reassured them in a calm voice, "Please rest assured, I am an Officer from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police, not a suspicious individual.
If you have any doubts, those few children over there can vouch for my identity."
Hearing Senichi's words, the one who understood Senichi's intention immediately played the role of Senichi's "follower" and began to praise him.
"Officer Senichi is an excellent detective from the Metropolitan Police. I believe uncles and aunties have seen Officer Senichi on TV!"
Conan truly lives up to being the main character. That was a clever move.
Directly revealing Officer Senichi's identity and mentioning his TV appearances to increase credibility and soothe the uneasiness of the passengers.
"Yeah! Officer Senichi is amazing!"
"Officer Senichi has caught many criminals before!!"
"That's right! And he would never invite us to eat delicious food if he were a bad person! You can all relax!!"
Seeing Conan take the lead in speaking, the other three little ones also eagerly joined in to support Senichi, praising him one after another.
Especially Genta's final simple and honest remark about eating, unexpectedly had an effect on both Senichi and Conan, causing them both to be dumbfounded.
Even the anxious passengers, upon hearing Genta's words, couldn't help but burst into laughter. For a moment, the tense atmosphere dissipated considerably.
This is the convenience of having the identity of a child.
Words spoken from a child's mouth often come with an innate trust bonus, especially if one doesn't have an in-depth understanding of the child's character.
Especially in such serious situations, what children say actually holds more credibility than what adults say.
"Alright, I believe you all have some trust in my identity now," Senichi chuckled. "I didn't want to resort to this method, but I assume none of you want to take the risk of whether the criminal has an accomplice on the bus due to a momentary lapse in vigilance.
The ski bag contains a bomb powerful enough to blow us up. If there's really an accomplice among the passengers and the bomb goes off, we're done for.
So, for the sake of safety, I ask everyone to bear with it for now."
Hearing Senichi mention the bomb on the bus, the passengers on the bus became unruly again. However, due to the pros and cons analysis Senichi had conducted earlier, they quickly quieted down under Senichi's reassurance and began to actively cooperate with his actions.
There's no way around it, even though this officer before us wears a smile on his face and speaks kindly, just look at those two criminals lying on the ground with guns pointed at them, too scared to move. Add to that his resolute attitude of shooting earlier. You can tell he's not someone to mess with.
And what if there really is an accomplice, just like Officer Senichi said? Forget about remote-controlled bombs, even if someone starts firing a gun inside the bus, it would be terrifying enough.
No one wants to gamble on uncertain luck when it concerns their own lives. Stability is what's desired!
Given the situation at hand, it's still a bit unfair at this point, but when it comes down to it, nothing is more important than survival.
"Conan-kun, come here and help open the ski bag. Professor Agasa, could you please call the police?"
Senichi maintained his gun-raised posture as he gave instructions, "When they got on the bus just now, I smelled the bomb. Now, I need your help to carefully open the ski bag and confirm the bomb's condition."
"Understood, Officer Senichi." Conan's expression turned serious as he took a few steps and reached the ski bag.
Carefully pulling open the ski bag, the true appearance of the bomb was revealed. Conan's expression grew even more serious, "It's a bomb. It's a timed one, set for a total of sixty seconds. However, it seems the bomb hasn't been triggered yet; the countdown hasn't started."
For a moment, the passengers present couldn't help but gasp... well, not literally "gasping," but rather, they felt a chill in the air.
However, soon, the slight commotion quieted down again under Senichi's piercing gaze.
"Now, handcuff the two of them," Senichi continued to command calmly, "The handcuffs are on my waist. Conan-kun, after you cuff them, check their bodies to see if there's a detonator.
If there's a detonator, then the crisis can be averted. But if it's not found, it proves my concern right—that there's an accomplice of the criminal on the bus.
At that time, I'll trouble all of you to continue enduring this stalemate with me."
The last sentence was clearly an explanation to the surrounding passengers about his current train of thought. After understanding Senichi's concerns, the passengers couldn't help but feel reassured amidst their prayers.
Although this handsome officer might be a bit decisive, he's indeed reliable in his actions!
Hearing his extremely thorough and detailed considerations, the passengers couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
In this atmosphere of slightly repressed anticipation, Conan's expression turned serious as he shook his head under the gazes of everyone. "Didn't find the detonator."
"Sorry, everyone heard it as well—no detonator was found," Senichi said. "This indicates that there's likely an accomplice of the criminal among the passengers."
With this revelation, the sense of relaxation that had just settled among the group was immediately shattered. While their bodies remained still, their eyes darted around the fellow passengers' faces, as if attempting to discern who could be the criminal's accomplice.
On the other side, Professor Agasa had successfully made the emergency call.
"Hello, this is the signboard in front of Beika Park, I'm Professor Agasa. We've encountered a situation where criminals have taken us hostage.
No, the criminals have already been subdued. It was Officer Senichi who was with us; he managed to subdue the criminals.
Yes, because we didn't find the detonator, Officer Senichi suspects there might be an accomplice of the criminals among the passengers. People are afraid to move for fear of causing massive casualties. So right now, Officer Senichi is maintaining control of the situation."
After Professor Agasa finished the call, you could see the passengers present visibly relaxing.
Meanwhile, the criminal who had infiltrated among the passengers was on the verge of collapsing.
Because the gun-wielding detective—Senichi, for some reason—always had his gun pointed at her. Gazing at the sea of dark gun barrels, she felt like she was on the edge of breaking down.
There's no way around it, who made Senichi have such a strong presence?
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