Chapter 212, Seventy-Third Cycle (42)

"Bang!"

In the wind and snow, two bullets collided, producing a bright, blinding flash, along with a piercing metallic scraping sound, immediately making both sides realize what had happened.

"He actually fired!!!" Kenji Hagiwara cursed as he jerked the steering wheel from the driver's seat, then immediately beamed with pride, "Hahaha! But you didn't expect that, did you? It was within our expectations! And our Mr. Kei is quite a skilled sniper!"

This guy goes crazy when he drives fast. In the passenger seat, Morofushi Hiromitsu could only remind him, "If he misses once, he'll keep shooting. And I can't stop him every time. I only managed to do it because I knew when, from what angle, and in what place he would shoot. Once he's on guard, it won't be so easy."

In the other car, Matsuda Jinpei, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately gasped again, cursing the FBI as bastards, and opened the call channel saying, "Then retreat immediately and let them go."

At the same time, Ida Wataru's voice came through the earpiece: "Alright, alright, let's stop here. Let them go when you have a chance. Don't chase them anymore. Hokkaido just issued a blizzard warning, and the roads are not safe."

"No wonder the snowstorm has been getting stronger since the beginning. Why is there a blizzard today?" Kenji Hagiwara gripped the steering wheel, itching to ram the car and force it to stop.

"It might be a plot correction method for the world's consciousness." Morofushi Hiromitsu held his sniper rifle steadily, frowning as he asked, "How's Zero's condition?"

Ida said, "The monitoring bracelet showed that he was fine, just emotionally agitated, and should not have been warned by the World Consciousness."

After a brief silence, the group in the Sakura chat who were listening to the progress immediately began to discuss whether to continue probing or stop here.

We also need to figure out how to quickly release the three FBI agents without arousing suspicion.

In the less than five seconds they hesitated, a large chunk of snow and rocks suddenly fell in front of them, hitting the purple Mazda that was chasing them the closest.

This sudden change instantly disrupted the snowy night chase.

Carmel, relying on his superior driving skills, glanced back and was so shocked he almost swerved the steering wheel: "They're not buried in the snow, are they?!"

However, before he could finish speaking, the purple Mazda that had been closely following them made an almost unbelievable turn and drifted past the pile of snow. The two cars behind him almost crashed into it, but thanks to the distance, they managed to scrape past the snow-covered rocks.

Shuichi Akai only put away his sniper rifle after he turned the corner and could no longer see the three cars, and after confirming that they were not chasing him anymore.

He held the gun for three seconds, then suddenly said, "Carmel, go back."

Carmel was shocked again: "Huh?!"

Shuichi Akai said, "I have a few words to say to them when we get back."

On the other side.

Ida Wataru was almost scared to death by their commotion, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that they were alright. He then noticed that Furuya Zero's data on his monitoring bracelet was skyrocketing.

He paused for a moment, then looked up and saw Rei Furuya's hand reaching towards the disguise on Yusaku Kudo's face. He instantly realized something was wrong.

"Furuya! Don't do anything rash! They're all fine! They're already fine! But if you expose him as Yusaku Kudo now, it might cause too much of a change in the world line and restart the world!" He immediately raised his voice to try to stop him, and even went out of the room to rush to Subaru Okiya's room next door.

Morofushi Kagemitsu, Hagiwara Kenji, and Matsuda Jinpei, who had just recovered from their shock, immediately realized what was happening.

They knew so much about Rei Furuya that they were well aware of what he was about to do.

Although it's unclear why the punishment for altering the world line is directly targeting those present, Rei Furuya clearly wants to transfer the punishment from the world's consciousness to himself.

Rei Furuya may not actually intend to tear off Yusaku Kudo's disguise, as this could cause too much of a change in the world line and lead to a world reboot, but he wants to use this action to threaten the world's consciousness.

If he could speak now, he would probably comfort them, saying that he would stop when he actually tears off Yusaku Kudo's disguise and make an excuse to stabilize the plot.

Even if they don't say it, they know.

But it was precisely because they knew that they were even more furious.

"Boom—"

What does an avalanche sound like?

That would be like the end of the world.

The earth shook violently, and the deafening noise was deafening.

They could hear it clearly even from the distant mountaintops.

Shuichi Akai turned his head sharply, and the sniper's excellent eyesight clearly told him that an avalanche had occurred on a distant mountain.

Under the pure white moonlight, the snow was even whiter, surging down like a tidal wave, growing larger and larger with each passing moment.

It was the largest, highest, widest, and most remote mountain range, but at its foot lay the famous hot spring resort hotel.

"Avalanche!" he immediately shouted into the boy's earpiece, "Run!!!"

*

Half an hour later.

"Kazami, send a helicopter over." The stern voice of his superior came through the phone, instantly snapping Kazami Yuya out of his daze.

"Huh? What? Okay!" he exclaimed immediately, then realized what he meant and asked, "Why a helicopter?"

"Conan Edogawa has gone missing in the snowy mountains. I'm going to bring him back." The young superior's voice was firm.

But Kazami Yuya was instantly stunned: "Huh? Wait? What? Why is he back in the snow mountain? What would he do back in such a dangerous snow mountain? But in the current weather, even helicopters can't go into the snow mountain to search for and rescue people..."

"I have a solution. Just have someone fly a plane to this spot and wait for me." With that, the other party hung up the phone.

Kazami Yuya opened the location he had sent with a blank expression, becoming even more confused.

However, he has become accustomed to following his superiors' orders immediately, even when he is confused in an emergency.

Kazami Yuya boarded the helicopter, finally freeing his mind to recall what had happened in the past hour.

First, following Mr. Furuya's instructions, he drove with two other Mazdas to intercept the FBI on the way.

Upon seeing the purple and black Mazdas, Yuya Kazami immediately thought of Mr. Furuya's white Mazda. He had a sudden thought that he might save up money to buy a Mazda himself.

What he thought would be a simple roadblock trip turned into an incredibly thrilling chase and sniping duel on a snowy mountain.

Kazami Yuya almost dropped his glasses at that moment. He carefully recalled the ordinary appearance of the sniper in front of the car and couldn't figure out where Mr. Furuya had found such a genius.

But before he could think too much, one accident after another occurred.

First, huge rocks fell, then an avalanche occurred.

Thinking of this, Kazami Yuya turned and looked down from the helicopter window.

The avalanche has stopped.

Compared to the avalanche, a football that was frighteningly large was more eye-catching.

Just now, this football that suddenly appeared and gradually grew larger slightly changed the course of the avalanche, saving the inhabited hot spring resort side from disaster.

The crowd gathered in a safe place and discussed the situation. Some said it was strange that there had never been an avalanche here before, wondering if it was because of the recent abnormal weather and excessive snow accumulation. Others wondered what kind of advanced technology that soccer ball was.

Thanks to his superior, Mr. Furuya, who was involved in the affair, Kazami Yuya now knows the whole story.

Avalanches are not formed naturally, but by human activity.

A madman saw the bombing case from a few days ago and was inspired to imitate it, but then he thought the man was too cowardly, so he did something big himself: he buried a bomb on a snow mountain to trigger an avalanche.

The two prisoners shared the same goal: revenge and warning, and attracting attention.

Compared to the criminal who only randomly threw away a homemade bomb a few days ago, this criminal not only planted bombs on a mountain, but also proudly hid codes at the skiing and dog sledding competition venues and gave clues to the most famous detective in the area, Kogoro Mouri.

Although it's unclear why it was a primary school student who ultimately stopped the avalanche, and it was also a primary school student who was ultimately deduced to be the one tracking down the culprit, it is a fact that the primary school student rushed into the snow-capped mountain in order to obtain clues about other bombs and to save people.

He did manage to rescue the person.

It's a Samoyed and a baby.

The Samoyed was a little stressed from being frightened by a bomb during a sled dog race a few days ago, but it was not too serious. However, it was triggered again during the avalanche and broke free of its restraints, running into the snow mountain in a panic.

The child valued the big dog very much. His parents forbade him to go find the dog, so he secretly went to find it by himself. He also learned to ski.

Kazami Yu didn't know how Edogawa Conan did it, but he did successfully find the child and the big dog, calmed the dog down, and let the child ride the dog down the only safe passage, while he himself continued to go up.

"I need to find the clue to the next bomb that the culprit is hiding in the mountain," Conan Edogawa told the child.

There was no problem originally; the place indicated wasn't dangerous either, it was just a small wooden cabin halfway up the mountain.

However, the aftermath of the avalanche did not stop there. The snow-capped mountain, which had been loosened by the shock, shifted again, destroying the only cabin and blocking all the roads leading up and down the mountain.

In this weather and with such poor local signal, they couldn't even determine whether Conan Edogawa was still alive.

On the other hand, no one expected that such a young child would run alone up the dangerous mountain immediately after changing the course of the avalanche, and even deduce the course of the case.

The entire avalanche lasted less than ten minutes.

Any mistake in any of the smallest steps here could lead to disaster.

Perhaps it was fate, but many steps could only be done by Conan Edogawa, who was only the size of a child. It was unbelievable that he could succeed in the end, which made people break out in a cold sweat on a snowy day.

The next twenty minutes were spent on follow-up work, but no one could enter the snow mountain, nor could they confirm Conan Edogawa's safety.

Kazami Yuya had just finished dealing with the FBI's pursuit and the evacuation of disaster victims. After learning the whole story, he was somewhat doubtful and confused.

Who exactly is this Conan Edogawa?

What does Mr. Furuya plan to do with the helicopter?

He got the answer to the second question very quickly.

At the rooftop jetty of a Suzuki Group hotel, a group of people surrounded a blond, dark-skinned young man, their expressions excited and their voices loud.

"Are you really going to do this? You could really die! Think it through! Let's wait for the professionals!"

“No, there’s no time.” Amuro Tooru’s hair was disheveled by the wind, but his eyes were calm and firm. “The only habitable cabin is destroyed. If he stays in the snow mountain, he will freeze to death even if he doesn’t encounter any danger.”

"But……"

“And I also bear responsibility for this,” he added.

"Wh...why?" The others were completely bewildered. "Why does Conan's business have to do with you?"

The blond youth paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "I was the one who led him up there to stop the avalanche, so of course I bear some responsibility for his eventual disappearance."

After he said that, the others didn't know what to say for a moment, and their emotions were extremely complicated.

They both hoped he could successfully rescue Conan Edogawa and worried that he and the child would die in the snowy mountains.

And to be honest, the responsibility doesn't lie with him, does it?

He could have safely led Conan Edogawa to safety, but Conan Edogawa ran away to save people and find clues, and as an adult, he couldn't get through that gap.

Instead of being watched with concern, I smiled and reassured them, "Don't worry, I've won a championship in a youth skiing competition before, so I'm pretty good at skiing. I'm confident in this operation."

"But that's not an ordinary ski resort! It's a place for extreme sports challengers! Ordinary people can't safely come down from there! Let alone with someone else in tow! It's just reckless!" Date Wataru's loud voice was already noticeable, but it became even louder now.

Kazami Yu, who had just gotten off the plane, was so frightened that he didn't dare to get close.

Rei Furuya and Wataru Date exchanged glances, understanding his meaning.

Even in the most dangerous situations, the main character will be fine, but the supporting characters might not be.

However, not dying doesn't mean you won't get hurt.

"Don't worry, I will definitely bring Conan back safely."

The blond youth suddenly smiled and turned his gaze to Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, and Yusaku Kudo, who was still dressed as Subaru Okiya.

He said, "Trust me."

*

Under the hazy moonlight, on the silent snow-capped mountain, a small black dot appeared between two pale areas.

It is extremely dangerous for helicopters to fly in this kind of weather, and they dare not approach snow-capped mountains where avalanches may occur again. At most, they can only stop at an altitude of several hundred meters.

"Mr. Amuro, are you sure you really want to do this?" Kazami Yuya had been completely stunned since hearing Furuya Rei's plan. Now, seeing that he was about to jump, he almost called out his real name.

Rei Fukuya's method is also very simple: since you can't climb up from below, jump down from above.

"Well, if you're worried, you can contact me through this to coordinate." The fully armed blond youth tapped the monitor on his neck, then pulled down his goggles and waved at them.

Then, he turned around and jumped decisively into the snowstorm in the dark night sky.

Kazami Yuya almost screamed, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Kazami Yuya perfectly stabilize himself in the air and deploy his parachute.

From this angle, it was almost impossible to see anyone clearly. He clutched his heart and sat back down, keeping a close watch on the footage from the monitor, ready to rush to the rescue should anything happen.

Although he couldn't think of a way to save the person.

*

The wind and snow were heavy, and visibility was very low.

However, there was a huge beam of light from a helicopter overhead, and he also brought a powerful flashlight, which was enough for him to glide and fly over the snow-capped mountain.

Yes, gliding and flying.

Like the most insane and reckless extreme athletes, he had an open parachute on his back and skis that sometimes hovered in the air and sometimes glided close to the ground.

He flew over the steepest mountain peak, glided along the almost vertical snow-capped mountain to cushion the impact, adjusted his direction, and flew back towards his target location, leaping over a pile of rocks and heading towards a forest.

He had some guesses about the location of Conan Edogawa, having collaborated with him many times.

Before entering the forest, he had already landed safely on the snow. Instead of stopping, he continued to rush into the forest along the path, while safely retrieving the parachute into his backpack.

His series of movements were extremely smooth, even graceful and handsome, but they gave everyone behind the monitor a cold sweat.

At such high speeds, any stone, branch, or even a gust of wind on the road could have taken his life.

Fortunately, he was unharmed and surprisingly found Conan Edogawa very quickly.

Having somewhat humiliated himself by losing his ski equipment, Conan Edogawa struggled to his feet, leaning against a tree. He seemed to have noticed the commotion and was trying to walk towards the open area illuminated by the helicopter, but judging from the tracks, he clearly hadn't gone very far.

When he saw the person rushing towards him, he didn't react in time and couldn't recognize who it was. He also couldn't believe that anyone would be here at this moment.

"Okay, we've found them."

Until the figure rushing towards him suddenly stopped safely in front of him and hugged him.

Until he saw those purplish-gray eyes through his transparent goggles.

Until they heard the familiar voice of a man coming from under the fully clothed armor.

Conan Edogawa stared at him in disbelief.

It's Toru Amuro.

Or rather, it's a drop to zero.

“It’s alright, don’t be afraid, I’ll take you back now,” he said.

Conan Edogawa gradually regained his senses, finally relaxed his body and nerves and collapsed, and said with difficulty, "Thank you, Mr. Amuro, but I'm not scared. I think I have some early symptoms of hypothermia."

Because they were so close, he could clearly feel the vibration of the man's chest after he chuckled.

It's very warm and makes me feel safe.

"Good, as expected of you, you're really amazing." The man said, tying a red scarf around the child's neck and even covering half of his face to warm it up. Then he stood up, picked up the child, and quickly tied the child to his chest with a rope. "But hypothermia is still very dangerous, let's go back quickly."

Conan Edogawa didn't understand why he was strapped to his chest at first, but when he instinctively hugged the man's neck and looked down at the parachute behind him, he instantly understood.

He immediately found out how this person had found him.

Just as Conan Edogawa was still reeling from the shock, Rei Furuya had already glided him out of the small forest that had almost prevented Conan from ever leaving.

"Does Conan read manga with his friends?" Rei Furuya suddenly asked. "You know what? Even the main character in a shonen manga isn't necessarily safe."

Conan Edogawa: "Hmm?"

Why are we suddenly talking about comics?!

Rei Furuya continued, "Especially in recent years, even if we don't talk about those evil manga where the protagonist dies frequently, the protagonists of those shonen manga seem to have paved an imperfect path to survival with their own hot blood, so even the protagonists are in great danger."

Conan Edogawa: "...What?"

Why can't he understand what the other person is saying at all?

Was he hallucinating from being frozen?!

Or is Amuro Tooru deliberately trying to find topics that will attract his attention and keep him awake?

"Conan, the fact that you were shot in the lung and that it made you more susceptible to upper respiratory infections must have really scared your Ran-neechan and worried your parents, right?" Rei Furuya sighed.

Conan Edogawa, the main character, has not actually been treated well by the world's consciousness.

A cold, fever, or fainting are considered minor incidents; the numerous gunshot wounds, sprains, and even near-death experiences are truly shocking.

Not dying doesn't mean you won't feel pain, much less that you're healthy.

Even if he's incredibly talented, he's still just a 17-year-old kid.

Rei Furuya couldn't guarantee that Conan Edogawa wouldn't get injured again or suffer any lasting damage.

Moreover, even after changing the timeline, he wasn't entirely certain that Conan Edogawa would still possess the protagonist's invincibility halo.

Every time the world decides to restart, the world consciousness doesn't seem to show any mercy or leniency towards Shinichi Kudo.

The world consciousness seems to serve the integrity of the entire story, rather than the will of the protagonist.

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Conan Edogawa understood; this meant he was acting recklessly, thinking he was an immortal protagonist.

In reality, he is currently experiencing intense fear, guilt, and unease.

Although he might dare to do it again...

"I'm sorry, Mr. Amuro..."

Rei Furuya laughed upon hearing this.

That laughter was completely different from the sarcastic remarks he had made to Subaru Okiya before. Instead, it was a gentle and comforting laugh, which made the black-haired boy, who had been feeling guilty and worried, look up in confusion and try to see his expression.

His non-prescription glasses also fell off while he was fleeing the snowstorm. He could see the world more clearly, but he couldn't see the man's expression through his protective suit. He could only see a few strands of golden hair swaying in the wind and snow.

“No need to apologize, I didn’t mean to blame you.” Conan Edogawa heard the man say calmly, “I’ve encountered something similar before, and this is what I said to that child.”

"The only thing you should reflect on is causing everyone worry about you," he said. "Curiosity is the ladder of human progress and should not be stifled."

"Curiosity is an essential condition for you to grow into a master detective. It will drive you to tirelessly explore cases and deduce the truth by following the slightest clues. Only by digging out the darkness of the world bit by bit and solving it can you truly bring hope."

"Kindness makes you forget your own safety to save others, justice makes you unable to turn a blind eye to evil, and courage makes you rush forward without hesitation when facing darkness and danger."

"Without a doubt, Conan, you are a hero."

As he spoke, he chuckled and tugged at the red scarf he had just put around the child's neck, saying, "The red scarf is a symbol of a hero."

Conan Edogawa was stunned.

This is... the first time that someone has praised him highly for his dangerous behavior instead of giving him a reprimand.

Conan Edogawa's breathing suddenly became a little unsteady, and his eyes also felt a little sore.

Doesn't he understand those educational principles? He understands them better than anyone else.

But for him, there is something more important than life itself; that is the meaning of his coming into this world to shine and give off warmth, and that is how he truly lives.

But these are words that cannot be said to those close to you.

He is especially worried about his family and lover who love him. He knows that he may be very good and qualified as a detective, but he is very unqualified as a child, lover and friend.

But he really couldn't turn a blind eye to the evil before him, nor could he bear to watch a life he could save die.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be Shinichi Kudo.

Rei Furuya flew through the woods, pulled up his parachute, glided for a while, and landed on a wide hillside on the neighboring mountain before finally freeing his hand to pat the child's head.

"Look, it was all thanks to Conan that everyone was able to evacuate safely without any casualties. Conan is currently trapped in the snow mountain, and he was in danger because of his heroic efforts to save everyone. Although he was a bit reckless, it is thanks to your help that a greater disaster was avoided. Thank you for saving everyone."

Conan Edogawa's face started to turn red from the praise.

He had often heard Amuro Tooru praise Kogoro Mouri, Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki, and Azusa Enomoto, but when it was his turn to be praised, he was actually a little overwhelmed.

"Conan, you're amazing, and you did a fantastic job. I doubt anyone could have done it better than you."

Rei Furuya chuckled softly.

"But if you could, for the sake of those who are worried about you, you could have done even better. It would have been best to consider your own safety as well, and create a perfect ending."

“It’s difficult, but you can definitely do it,” he said. “Look, I tried my best to save you, but I’m safe too, right?”

Conan Edogawa was thrilled and hugged his neck tightly, giving a strong "Mmm": "I'll definitely be more careful next time!"

Then he heard the vibrations transmitted to him as the man nearby chuckled.

"Okay, that's good, but you absolutely mustn't do what I did next."

Conan Edogawa was taken aback, and at the same time heard the shocked and angry voices coming from the earpiece hanging next to the man's ear.

Then, in the next second, Conan Edogawa was flying in the sky.

Conan Edogawa was momentarily stunned by the sudden force, then stared blankly as the snow-capped mountain they had just been standing on receded further and further away...

Conan Edogawa: "!!!!!"

This person just skied straight off a towering cliff! There must be a drop of over a thousand meters below! How is he supposed to land safely???

The mountains are covered with layers of snow, one snow-capped mountain after another.

They left the two most dangerous snow-capped mountains affected by avalanches, swaying precariously through the wind and snow as they narrowly missed a sharp, white mountain peak, flying towards a safer place.

As they passed one of the snow-capped mountains, Rei Furuya suddenly turned his head.

Snow-capped mountains all look pretty much the same, but he recognized the place immediately.

In a daze, he seemed to see a black-haired man's corpse lying in a white expanse, while a blond child wearing a red scarf was wailing on top of him.

"Mr. Amuro? Mr. Amuro?"

Rei Furuya snapped out of his daze: "What's wrong?"

After being shoved into his arms, Conan Edogawa dared not move, but he could still feel the stiffness and tension in the man's body for a moment.

"Did Mr. Amuro see something?" he asked, a little nervously.

Rei Furuya was silent for two seconds, then sighed softly, "No, not at all."

“I just… remembered something from the past,” he said.

But that's all in the past now, and it's just a forgotten cycle of the past that only he remembers.

He is now holding another black-haired boy who survived after consuming aptx4869, carrying new hope, and without looking back, he brushes past the crying blond child, flying headlong into a new future.