Detective Conan: Shadow Legion Office

58: Chapter 58 Encountering an attack by peripheral membersThick smoke still rose from the ruins of the abandoned research institute, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood.

James was leading two hundred mercenaries in preparation for their withdrawal. Following Lin Long’s instructions, they were to cross the Tokyo blocks to reach the port in the east and take a ship back to the African Base.

However, just as they stepped out of the ruins and onto a secluded street, a dense burst of gunfire suddenly erupted from the buildings on both sides!

”Rat-tat-tat!” ”Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Bullets poured down like a torrential rain, striking the ground and walls, kicking up countless debris! Several mercenaries at the front of the line were caught off guard and collapsed instantly after being hit!

”Ambush!”

James shouted sharply, quickly ducking behind an abandoned car and raising his M416 assault rifle to return fire in the direction of the gunshots.

”All units, take cover! Find concealment!”

The well-trained mercenaries immediately dispersed, using trash cans, cars, utility poles, and other obstacles along the street to organize their counterattack.

Gunfire echoed back and forth, and the once-quiet street was instantly transformed into a fierce battlefield.

Through the car’s rearview mirror, James saw the appearance of the attackers—

They were dressed in all sorts of clothes, and the weapons in their hands were a disorganized mess; there were homemade shotguns, mostly handguns, and even a small number of people holding submachine guns.

Although their firepower wasn’t strong, their numbers were surprisingly high, with at least four or five hundred people surging from both ends of the street like a tide.

”It’s the outer members of the Black Organization!”

A mercenary roared, ”How did they get here so fast?!”

James’s expression instantly turned grave. He understood that before retreating, Gin must have notified all the nearby outer members to come and support—this wasn’t support; it was clearly an attempt to bog them down using human wave tactics!

”Those scumbags!”

James gritted his teeth and roared into his communicator,

”First Squad, hold the left! Second Squad, suppress the right! Third Squad, follow me and charge! Tear a hole in their line!”

”Roger that!”

The mercenaries’ firepower instantly increased a notch—the rapid fire of the M416s and the explosions of grenades intertwined, forcibly suppressing the charge of the Black Organization’s outer members.

But the enemy’s numbers were simply too great. As one group fell, another immediately took their place, surging forward incessantly like cockroaches that couldn’t be killed.

Although their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the core members, they had the advantage of numbers and were familiar with the terrain, using the buildings on both sides of the street to constantly harass the mercenaries, making it difficult for them to break through quickly.

”Boss, this isn’t going to work!”

The squad leader’s voice was filled with anxiety. ”Our ammunition is running low, and they’re constantly bringing in reinforcements!”

James watched the dark figures constantly emerging from both ends of the street, his brow furrowed.

He knew that dragging this out would be extremely disadvantageous for them—this was the city center, and with the gunfire being so loud, the police must have received word long ago and were likely on their way.

Just then, his encrypted communicator rang; it was a call from Lin Long.

”Boss!”

James quickly answered.

”We’re pinned down by outer members of the Black Organization. There are too many of them, and we can’t break out for the moment!”

”I know,”

Lin Long’s voice came through the line, carrying a hint of imperceptible irritation.

”Ghost just sent word that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Anti-Terrorist Unit have already set out and are less than a ten-minute drive from your location.”

James’s heart sank. ”The police are coming too?!”

”A bunch of useless people doing things is always so troublesome,”

Lin Long cursed under his breath, then his tone became sharp.

”Listen, James, there’s no time to waste with them.”

”I’ll contact several armed helicopters to provide suppressive fire against the outer members surrounding you.”

”I order you to immediately command all heavy weaponry to be used, without regard for any consequences!”

”M2 heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, IFVs... go full throttle with all firepower and break through the encirclement at maximum speed!”

”I don’t care what method you use, you must break through their defensive line within five minutes and retreat toward the port!”

”As for the police and the Anti-Terrorist Unit, I’ll have someone distract them to buy you time.”

”Remember, stay alive and bring the team back.”

”Yes! Boss!”

A flash of ruthlessness crossed James’s eyes. After hanging up the communicator, he immediately roared into his headset,

”Listen up, everyone! Boss’s orders: unleash all heavy firepower! Break through within five minutes at all costs!”

”First Squad, set up the M2 heavy machine guns! Suppress the buildings on the left!”

”Second Squad, use the grenade launchers to destroy the fire points on the right!”

”Third Squad, start the IFVs and ram through the obstacles ahead!”

”Others, follow me!”

The moment the order was given, the mercenaries’ firepower suddenly jumped several levels!

Two mercenaries quickly set up an M2 heavy machine gun, aimed the dark barrel at the building on the left side of the street, and pulled the trigger—

”Thump! Thump! Thump!”

The roar of the heavy machine gun was like thunder, and the 12.7mm bullets, with a whistle that tore through the air, swept out frantically! The walls were blasted with flying brick and stone, window glass shattered everywhere, and the Black Organization outer members hiding inside screamed as they were riddled with holes, blood and flesh splattering across the walls!

At the same time, several mercenaries shouldered M203 grenade launchers and pulled the triggers at the fire points in the building on the right—

”Whoosh! Boom!” ”Whoosh! Boom!”

Several grenades whistled through the air, accurately hitting their targets. Huge explosions rang out, blasting several large holes in the walls of the entire building. Fire and thick smoke rose into the sky, and the attackers inside were instantly cleared out!

Whirr, whirr, whirr...

The roar of armed helicopters came from the sky.

Zzzzt—

Streaks of fire shot from the armed helicopters toward the ground where the Black Organization outer members were.

In an instant, the ground where the outer members were located looked as if it had been plowed. Severed limbs and broken arms were everywhere, and the wounded were groaning and crying out.

Just then, three IFVs that had been hidden behind the convoy suddenly started up, their engines letting out a low roar as their tracks ground against the pavement, charging toward the surviving crowd and the wounded at the front of the street!

”Rumble! Rumble!”

The IFVs were like steel behemoths, ignoring the stray bullets and directly ramming through the cars and obstacles blocking the way, crushing the Black Organization members who tried to stop them under their tracks! Screams and the sound of breaking bones were constant as they forcibly carved a bloody path through the crowd!

”Charge!”

James seized the opportunity and was the first to rush out from behind cover, the M416 in his hand spitting tongues of fire, accurately harvesting lives.

The rest of the mercenaries followed closely behind, using the IFVs as cover as they charged toward the end of the street!

The outer members of the Black Organization were stunned by this sudden heavy firepower. Although they had the numbers, they were completely defenseless against such absolute fire superiority.

Their defensive line collapsed instantly, and everyone retreated frantically, trying to avoid the steel behemoths and heavy machine gun fire that seemed like the Grim Reaper itself.

”We broke through! We broke through!” a mercenary shouted excitedly.

James didn’t relax for a second, shouting into his communicator:

”IFVs lead the way, machine gunners cover the flanks! Maintain speed and don’t get bogged down in combat! Target: the port!”

The convoy was like a black torrent, speeding toward the port along the blood-stained street. Behind them, although the outer members of the Black Organization were still firing sporadically, they could no longer pose a substantial threat.

...

Less than three kilometers from the site of the firefight, police cars from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and armored vehicles from the Anti-Terrorist Unit were rushing over at full speed with sirens blaring.

Inspector Megure sat in a police car, his face so grim it looked like it could drip water.

He had just received news that a massive explosion had occurred at the abandoned research institute, followed by dense gunfire in the nearby blocks. Moreover, the intensity of the firepower far exceeded that of an ordinary gang war—those were clearly the sounds of heavy machine guns and grenade launchers!

”What on earth is going on?!”

Megure roared into his radio.

”How much longer until the Anti-Terrorist Unit arrives?!”

”Inspector Megure, we’ll be at the scene in two minutes!”

The voice of the Anti-Terrorist Unit captain came through, sounding grave.

”But according to reconnaissance from the front, both sides of the firefight have very strong firepower. We need to deploy a defensive line first to avoid civilian casualties!”

”Our scouts even saw several armed helicopters firing indiscriminately at the ground.”

”Hurry! You must hurry!”

Megure was anxious. With such a huge commotion, if more lives were lost, he really wouldn’t be able to keep his position as Inspector.

Inspector Megure felt that he had been having terrible luck lately; the group of thugs from the banquet hall hadn’t been caught yet, and now another group of terrorists had appeared.

However, just as they were about to reach the site of the firefight, a violent explosion suddenly occurred on the road ahead!

”Boom! Boom!”

Two loud bangs rang out as two massive craters were blasted into the middle of the road. Several passing private cars were caught in the blast and burst into flames, completely blocking the road!

”What happened?!” Megure was shocked.

”Inspector! The road ahead has been blown up! We can’t get through!” the driver shouted in a panic.

The Anti-Terrorist Unit’s armored vehicles were also forced to stop. The captain looked at the burning vehicles and the massive craters ahead, his face ashen. ”It’s intentional! Someone doesn’t want us to pass!”

Just then, several dark figures suddenly appeared on the buildings on both sides of the road. They didn’t open fire but instead used searchlights to shine on the police cars and armored vehicles while throwing down several smoke grenades.

”Sssshhh—”

White smoke quickly spread out, obscuring their vision.

”Damn it!” the captain roared. ”Get out and stay on alert! Send people to clear the road!”

The members of the Anti-Terrorist Unit immediately got out of their vehicles and stood guard warily in the smoke while organizing personnel to clear the roadblocks. But this back-and-forth delayed them by at least ten minutes.

And these ten minutes were exactly the withdrawal time Lin Long had bought for James.

...

Ten-plus minutes later, the convoy led by James finally arrived at the port of Tokyo Bay.

By the pier, a cargo ship had long been waiting, its gangplank already lowered.

”Quick! Get the vehicles on!” James shouted to the mercenaries.

The mercenaries quickly boarded the cargo ship, and the IFVs and heavy weapons were also hoisted up one by one.

James was the last to board the gangplank. He looked back at the brightly lit Tokyo city area, a flash of complexity in his eyes.

This revenge operation had ultimately turned into a bloody street battle, far exceeding their expectations.

”Boss, everyone is on board!” the captain reported.

”Set sail!” James ordered.

The cargo ship slowly left the port and headed toward the high seas.

Standing on the deck, James watched the receding night view of Tokyo and said into his communicator:

”Boss, we have successfully withdrawn and are returning to the African Base.”

In the study of the Lin Family Manor, Lin Long watched the cargo ship gradually leaving the port on the satellite monitor and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the red wine on the table and drained it in one gulp.

”It’s finally over.”

Although the process had been somewhat turbulent, the result was quite satisfactory—the Black Organization’s large base had been destroyed, the core members had suffered heavy casualties, and the outer members had also sustained massive losses. They shouldn’t dare to cause trouble again in the short term.

As for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department... a cold smile curled at the corner of Lin Long’s mouth.

They were probably still clearing the bodies and shell casings from the streets and wouldn’t be able to find any useful clues at all.

”Gin, this was just the interest. You managed to escape this time.”

Lin Long looked at the night scene outside the window, a cold glint in his eyes.

”Next time will be the day you die.”

The night in Tokyo was still shrouded in the aftermath of gunshots and explosions.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Anti-Terrorist Unit finally finished clearing the roadblocks and arrived at the site of the firefight, but they only saw a ground littered with bodies, shell casings, and destroyed buildings, as well as a blood-stained trail leading to the port.

Inspector Megure stood on the mess of a street, looking at the scene before him that resembled a battlefield, and closed his eyes powerlessly.

He knew that Tokyo would probably never be peaceful again. This matter was huge; look at this battlefield, there were severed limbs and broken arms everywhere. One must realize that this was the center of Tokyo; for a terrorist attack and such a fierce firefight to occur here was equivalent to slapping the island nation directly in the face.