Chapter 1756: Chapter 1754: Sherlock Holmes? (Failed Twice at Cooking)

Although there were some minor setbacks along the way, it all ended successfully, and of course, Riko was overjoyed, while Frenda was quite excited too. As an Ability User, especially one with such a bizarre ability, Frenda found it much harder to show off outside compared to Railgun. However, she seemed to have discovered a new and interesting game, so she was naturally enjoying herself.

But Riko had made a new discovery.

"That bomb wasn’t an ordinary bomb, but a poison gas bomb."

"... What the heck?!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng and Frenda were stunned. They had always thought it was just a regular bomb, but didn’t expect the other party to be so insane as to use poison gas?

What is this? Aum Shinrikyo revival?

"You’re lucky you didn’t detonate that bomb."

Fang Zheng glanced at Frenda, who chuckled dryly.

"I definitely considered that possibility..."

"Forget it, that’s not important."

Fang Zheng shook his head.

"Do you have any other information about that Armed Detective Killer?"

"As of now, there aren’t many clues, but that poison gas bomb is very unique. I think if I start with that angle, I can certainly discover something. Since the other party installed this poison gas bomb here, he must have had contact with it previously. If I analyze the properties of the gas and trace the residue, I should find something."

"Do your best, contact us if you have any questions."

Fang Zheng wasn’t particularly concerned about the Armed Detective Killer, but the fact that the other party even used a poison gas bomb proves he must be a crazed guy... Riko could tackle this issue by herself.

Relatively, Fang Zheng was more concerned about two other people.

"By the way, do you know the two people who appeared at the end today? They’re both wearing the Armed Detective Academy uniforms, right?"

The students of Armed Detective Academy wear uniforms when they go out, which is somewhat different from Academy City. While many schools in Academy City, like Tokiwadai, require students to wear uniforms whenever they leave, and Misaka Mikoto and Kuroko Shirai have also complained about it, it’s due to school rules. However, Armed Detective Academy doesn’t have such rules, yet its students still wear uniforms when going out.

The reason is simple because their uniforms are bulletproof.

But honestly speaking, Fang Zheng thinks it’s practically useless, especially for female uniforms. The mini skirts are so short they reach the thighs, what’s the point of bulletproof? It’s true that bullets can be blocked on the body and arms, but if shot in the thigh, aren’t you equally dead?

It’s just that you won’t die immediately.

"Of course."

Hearing this, Riko nodded with a bitter expression, showing an irked look.

"That red ponytail flat-chest weirdo called Kanzaki H. Arya is an S-class Martial Investigator, and the one who came by helicopter to assist is Thunder Princess. Both of them are S-class Martial Investigators, I didn’t expect them to act together..."

"You seem to have a big issue with Arya, don’t you?"

Fang Zheng, observing closely, soon noticed Riko looked normal when talking about Thunder Princess but immediately displeased when mentioning Arya.

"Of course, we’re arch-enemies! Mr. Fang Zheng, do you know what the H in her name means?!"

"Hentai?"

"It’s Holmes!"

"Holmes... Sherlock Holmes?"

Reciting the name, Fang Zheng suddenly realized, and Riko nodded vigorously.

"That’s right, she’s the fourth generation Sherlock Holmes!"

"I see..."

Hearing this, Fang Zheng finally understood why Riko was displeased with Arya.

Regarding this matter, Fang Zheng knew a little. The British and French have always been at odds, and in the nineteenth century, Conan Doyle first created the "Sherlock Holmes" character, becoming a staple in the world of deduction.

The French took offense, you British think you’re so impressive, let me show you an even more brilliant detective novel!

Hence, French writer Maurice LeBlanc then created the chivalrous thief Asen Robin. Perhaps to antagonize the British, Robin’s character contrasts sharply with Holmes, epitomizing French romance. Holmes never sought a woman in his life, so Robin found a woman with each case; Holmes preferred the straight path, and Robin showed what being a chivalrous thief truly meant. Of course, these tales frequently involve Robin and Holmes clashing.

But that was just fictional depiction, while in this world where Lupin truly exists, so does Sherlock Holmes. It’s conceivable that Holmes and Asen Robin would be neck and neck, with their enmity continuing until today...

Thinking further, Fang Zheng realized the code names Riko gave her team were all Holmes’s adversaries.

No need to mention Professor Moriarty — Holmes’s lifelong adversary. Frenda’s code name "Irene Adler" is similarly notable, being the only woman to ever defeat Holmes, and combined with Riko’s own Lupin IV... Hmm, looking at it this way, the three of them just happened to be Holmes’s only three adversaries who defeated him...

This is indeed interesting.

For Fang Zheng and team, this mission ended successfully, but for Arya, the conclusion was as bad as it could get.

"Betrayed..."

Arya clenched her jaw, looking at the card in her hand. It resembled a business card, a white card with a line in French reading "Lupin IV claims this item, thanks but no thanks," with an iris flower printed beside it.

"Damn thieves, meddling here!"

Reading the words, Arya angrily clenched her fist. She didn’t travel across continents to Japan just for a trip. In fact, Arya came here to catch the Armed Detective Killer, as her mother was wrongfully accused and convicted of being the killer in this case, sentenced to 864 years of imprisonment. For Arya, only by catching the real Armed Detective Killer could she prove her mother’s innocence.

That’s why she left the United Kingdom and came to Japan, where Armed Detective Killer incidents have been happening frequently. Originally, Arya hoped to find some clues from these cases, but what she didn’t expect was that halfway through, Lupin IV would appear!

Damn it!

Thinking about this, Arya angrily stomped her foot, and just then, she saw another figure walking in from outside the door.

"Thunder Princess!"

Seeing the figure appear, Arya hurriedly jogged to the short-haired girl’s side, worriedly examining her.

"Are you hurt?"

"Just a minor injury."

Thunder Princess shook her head to indicate that there was no significant issue.

"I really didn’t expect that you, Thunder Princess, would fail. Is the enemy that strong?"

"Yes."

This time, Thunder Princess nodded.

"Two people, very strong."

Maybe recalling the situation at that time, Thunder Princess frowned. The reason she failed to snipe the missile the second time was simple: the masked man deflected the trajectory of her bullet. This wasn’t particularly surprising; the surprising thing was... the man used a handgun!

That’s right, given the range and speed of a handgun, it would be impossible to hit a sniper bullet just out of the barrel, let alone at a distance of over 800 meters - that’s not even within handgun range. Not to mention Thunder Princess was in a helicopter, and the airflow from the helicopter’s rotor alone would be enough to make a bullet deviate from its trajectory.

But that man hit her fired bullet without missing?

Even Thunder Princess herself would never be able to achieve that with a handgun!

Moreover... who exactly is that man?

Although she couldn’t put her finger on it, Thunder Princess was sure that when she saw the man standing there, she felt something inside her being drawn, her heart suddenly pounding. For Thunder Princess, who was always calm and collected, this was the first time she had felt something like this.

However, after thinking for a moment, Thunder Princess ultimately said nothing.

"Ah... It’s so unlucky!"

Arya seemed unaware of Thunder Princess’s anomaly and instead began to helplessly scream while clutching her head.

"I must catch that damn thief, she dared to provoke me face-to-face; the Holmes Family will not let this slide! Just you wait, Lupin IV!!"

At this moment, Arya had changed her target. Since she couldn’t catch the Armed Detective Killer, she’ll first catch this damn thief. Although she didn’t know what that bastard Lupin wanted with the killer’s bomb, she couldn’t let her succeed. Betting on the honor of the Holmes Family, this time, she must catch Lupin IV!

Thinking of this, Arya immediately turned around and swiftly returned to the appraisal department at the Armed Detective Academy—where the evidence from the previous school bus hijacking case had been sent and was under investigation.

"How’s it going? Any leads?"

Pushing open the door to enter the appraisal department, Arya quickly asked, and upon hearing her inquiry, the appraisal personnel examining the wreckage shook their heads.

"No significant discoveries yet."

"I see..."

Hearing the answer, Arya sighed helplessly, then her gaze fell on a gutted rabbit doll beside her.

"What’s the deal with this doll?"

"Oh, that’s the doll used to place the bomb, we found it at the scene. It’s just an ordinary doll without anything special."

"I see..."

As she spoke, Arya reached out to pick up the doll to play with it for a moment, then she paused slightly.

"The texture of this doll feels nice."

"Does it?"

"Hmm... it feels... different from typical market dolls."

"Ah, because it’s made with a special fabric."

Another girl from the appraisal department spoke with a giggle.

"It’s a fabric called multi-fiber blended hemp, primarily used in dolls and some bedding products. I’ve heard it’s very comfortable to sleep with."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Arya frowned.

"Where has this fabric been found?"

"This..."

Faced with Arya’s inquiry, the students in the appraisal department exchanged glances.

"This is a product of Academy City, it’s likely more common there."