The massive fireball exploded, but instead of spreading from the center, it split in half and dissipated in the air.

"What?"

Everyone was shocked by this unexpected turn of events. They couldn't comprehend the reason for such a situation.

After the flames dissipated, the opponent stood unharmed in the same spot. When everyone saw the long knife in their hands, they finally realized what had happened.

Then, in a surprised tone, someone spoke out the reality they witnessed.

"Did that person use a knife to split the flames?"

At this moment, Hiyori took advantage of the gap and started to move her body.

Hmm, it's the same as before, but it's not a big deal if I'm used to it.

Then, a voice came from her pocket.

"Let's not mind them and hurry upstairs."

"Alright."

Saying that, Hiyori directly leaped past the astonished crowd and rushed upstairs. The others quickly caught up after snapping out of their daze.

"All the way to the eighth floor, the vault is there."

"Yes."

At that moment, Hiyori suddenly remembered the abnormality earlier and asked in a low voice.

"Lord Ryuto, what was that just now?"

"I think it should be a spell related to gravity, and it seems to be an area-based one."

"Area-based? Are you referring to the type that affects a certain range through the joint effort of many people? Isn't that considered superpowers or magic?"

"While it's possible, judging from what we just experienced, it doesn't seem to be. After all, if someone has those kinds of superpowers or magic, it would likely be more than just that degree. Also, if they had such a trump card, they wouldn't let us escape so easily, and there would be no need to hide."

"That makes sense."

As an addition, Ryuto offered another reason.

"There's also a more standard basis for judgment."

"What?"

"If it were magic, Hiyori, you wouldn't be unable to sense their Kinesis or magical energy, would you?"

"Indeed, I didn't feel any Kinesis or magical energy just now."

"So since there was no sensation at all, it must be Jujutsu Paper. That's the characteristic of Jujutsu Paper because even ordinary people can use it, Kinesis and magical energy don't exist. The same applies even if the user is a superpower or magician."

Upon hearing this, Hiyori agreed as well.

"That's right, if a superpower or magician used Jujutsu Paper, there wouldn't be any Kinesis or magical energy fluctuations."

"Well, if they combine superpowers or magic with Jujutsu Paper, it's another story. But at least the one just now wasn't a superpower or magic."

"Hmm, I didn't expect Lord Ryuto to know so much about this."

...

Is he praising or demeaning me?

Ryuto decided to ignore it and continue the previous topic.

"While it's not that impressive by itself, if it is suddenly activated in an instant, the opponent will be unable to adapt to the sudden change in gravity. Also, with the area-based type, as long as the coordinates are specified, it can be remotely activated within a certain range. Generally speaking, it's difficult to defend against, but it requires a certain number of people, and the overall power is usually not that strong."

While the two were talking, they had already arrived at the fourth floor. There were more and more pursuers behind them, though there were still not many people on the upper floors. Breaking through their defenses wasn't too difficult.

Everything was developing favorably at this moment.

Meanwhile, in the control room on the other side.

The voice of a male police officer sounded somewhat panicked.

"Miss Katsuragi, the criminals have breached the defenses in the lobby and are now heading upstairs."

"I'm aware."

The girl replied nonchalantly.

The calmness of the girl surprised the male police officer even more.

"Miss Katsuragi, did you foresee this?"

"Yes."

"In that case, Miss Katsuragi, why did you scatter our personnel so much... it's simply..."

请注意，以上翻译可能会因为不同的语境而有不同的表达方式。"It's like giving criminals an opportunity, isn't it?"

"......"

The girl's proactive response left the male police officer speechless.

"Well, even though I would like to say that, the truth is, I have taken the security arrangements very seriously. Even if it were an ordinary person, they wouldn't be able to break through so easily without being caught."

"Is it because the enemy's strength is beyond our expectations?"

"While that could be one reason, don't you think there is a more primary reason?"

"A more primary reason?"

The girl's words puzzled the male police officer.

"Yes, don't you think it's as if he knew our guard arrangements from the very beginning?"

Hearing the girl's words, the male police officer calmed down and carefully recalled the scene from before.

"Miss Katsuragi's words do seem to make sense. No matter where we lie in ambush, we are always at a disadvantage, but the enemy couldn't possibly know our guard arrangements..."

As he spoke, the male police officer suddenly realized something.

"Could it be that he hacked into our surveillance cameras here?"

Based on the current situation, the male police officer could only come to this conclusion.

However, the girl seemed to disagree, shaking her head with her eyes closed.

"It's quite obvious that it's not the case. The security defense system for these cameras is on a national level, and it's impossible for an ordinary individual to hack into it. Plus...I deliberately placed them in blind spots."

Blind spots...

After the girl's reminder, the male police officer also noticed.

"That's true, so you mean..."

The male police officer now arrived at the most terrifying conclusion.

"That's right. The criminal has no evidence, yet he knows the exact location of our ambush simply through deduction. Although I anticipated it to some extent, I never expected him to be so skilled. This opponent is no ordinary person and is more formidable than any criminal I have encountered in the past."

Never did he expect to receive such an evaluation as "a contemporary Sherlock Holmes."

The girl's words caused the male police officer to lose confidence instantly.

"So, what should we do..."

The girl seemed to have sensed the thoughts in the male police officer's mind and consoled him in a casual tone.

"Well, there's no need to feel down. After all, there is still a chance. And now, we have figured out his capabilities and target."

"Target?"

The girl brought up a sudden topic, leaving the male police officer puzzled.

"Yes, I've always believed that the criminal must have a purpose in coming here, and from the very beginning, his actions have been purposeful. This has confirmed my assumptions, so I speculated on several possible places the criminal might return to, and the final result was confirmed based on his actions so far."

"So, what is the criminal's target?"

In response to the male police officer's question, the girl directly provided the answer.

"I think it should be the vault in the building."

"The vault?"

"Yes, the criminal has been avoiding other routes and only heading upwards. Furthermore, even when encountering guards, he hasn't deviated from his intended path. Based on this, the most important location in the high-rise building should be the vault."

"Is the criminal going there for something specific? After all, there are some items confiscated during investigations in the vault, but... it's hard to imagine that would be the criminal's goal."

"While those items may not be worth much, they are still significant to certain people. What we consider worthless may be a matter of life and career for them. Moreover, it's clear that the criminal's goal is not just money this time. If it were only for money, there would be no need to make such a fuss, and... considering the skills the enemy possesses, they couldn't possibly be short of money."

"Which means, this incident is related to a past case, and the criminal involved this time is either connected to the past case or manipulated by someone from that case."

The male police officer quickly drew a relevant conclusion, while the girl's attitude remained ambiguous.

"Well, no matter what, there is no evidence at the moment. If we want to find out, we should just ask the criminal directly."

Neither confirming nor denying.

"But given the current situation, even if we find out..."

The male police officer couldn't help but feel anxious due to the severity of the current situation. On the contrary, the girl remained quite calm and didn't panic over her temporary plan being disrupted.But the male police officer knew very well that the reason why the young girl remained so calm was not because she had become accustomed to such situations from past experiences. From the girl's words just now, it was easy to tell that she had never encountered this kind of situation before. After all, there were very few people who could disrupt the girl's plan, or rather, there were almost none.

Even though it was her first time encountering such a situation, the girl did not appear flustered. This was not only because she had a backup plan, but more importantly, it was because the girl herself had the personality of being calm in the face of adversity. No matter what she encountered, she could handle it with extreme rationality. Aside from this explanation, there was no other explanation, and this was also the most formidable aspect of "The Contemporary Holmes".

Just as the male police officer thought to himself, the girl continued to stare at the screen silently.

"No need to panic, the real show is just starting now."