Chapter 250, Seventy-Third Cycle (80)

As soon as the matter was over, Rei Furuya was dragged by several friends to Asami Narumi's private clinic for another thorough check-up.

Some test results take a while to come out, but the most basic health conditions can be determined immediately.

Furuya Rei breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace, and said helplessly, "See? I told you I'm really fine. This plan was a great success. I didn't even trigger the alarm on the detection bracelet. There's really no need to worry so much."

Back in the church basement, Hiro had already pulled him away from the main group to a more secret medical room for a check-up, just in case something happened to him because of the plot changes.

But in reality, Rei Furuya is really fine this time.

Even when Conan Edogawa saw the data that allowed Noah's Ark to travel through time as a "system" and used Shinichi Kudo from ten years in the future to subtly shock the other party, he only sensed danger.

Moreover, that lingering sense of danger completely disappeared when the criminals and police repeatedly denied its authenticity, saying it was just a plot from a novel or game. The fluctuation that only Furuya Rei could vaguely sense completely vanished.

Although it made things even more suspicious for Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai, they finally got past the hurdle of the world program.

From the world's program's perspective, they didn't do anything particularly outrageous. Those were all fake, just the aftereffects of novels that had long been accepted and integrated into the world's program. Bringing in Conan Edogawa to this game wasn't considered a violation of the rules.

However, what Conan Edogawa thinks is beyond the control of the world's consciousness.

Unless Conan Edogawa directly asks them or immediately does something to change the timeline, it won't arouse the world's awareness.

It was, after all, just a program-like thing, merely the rules governing the world, without any independent thought of its own.

Given Conan Edogawa's intelligence, after being reminded of the time travel and the character's out-of-character behavior, even if he did come across the truth, he wouldn't reveal it directly.

There is still time. With their gradual guidance, sooner or later they will be able to cooperate without explicitly stating it.

Rei Furuya has this confidence in Conan Edogawa.

However, it's clear that Morofushi Hiromitsu and the others didn't experience the same conflicts and collaborations with Edogawa Conan in their past lives. Watching Edogawa Conan grow from the naive and impulsive young Kudo Shinichi into the Edogawa Conan we know today, they still see him as a child. Although they hold onto hope for the protagonist, they are uneasy, feeling that they can't place all their hopes on that child...

Seeing that the others were still discussing him with concern, Furuya Rei could only change the subject: "What about that phone? I'll chat with Shinichi from ten years in the future. He'll definitely be curious about Conan's reaction in this incident."

If cell phones weren't considered "cheating" and illegal items ten years from now, preventing people ten years from directly communicating with their past selves, Shinichi Kudo would have even considered using trickery to create a video call and chat with Conan Edogawa.

The only people who can have a conversation with their future selves ten years in the future are the members of the Sakura Team, who should have died in the story. They can barely glimpse the future through this program bug.

The storyline of one event has just ended, and we don't know if the world will have changed in ten years.

Rei Furuya is very curious about Shinichi Kudo before and after the changes, and wants to ask him what he thinks of himself ten years ago and now.

Watching him enthusiastically devise a plan to scare his ten-year-younger self, I have no idea what he's thinking...

Okay, Furuya Rei thought about it for a moment. If he could have a chance to see his 19-year-old self from ten years ago, he might not be able to resist having such a wicked sense of humor. If he saw his younger self, who was only a few years old, he would want to play even more.

“I already spoke with him when you were checking.” Matsuda Jinpei took out his old-fashioned cell phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and glanced at the chat history: “He said the changes haven’t reached ten years from now…”

Matsuda Jinpei's abrupt words made the others realize something, and everyone's relaxed smiles immediately froze.

Morobuchi Kagemitsu strode forward, took the phone, stared at the screen in silence for a few seconds, and said, "The changes have reached ten years later, but the result is still the same."

What was the result? Of course, it was the irreversible death of Rei Furuya.

The air fell silent instantly, and no one else could say a word for a moment.

Even if this level of effort is achieved, is it still impossible to change the outcome of zero deaths in Furuya?

*

On the other side, Conan Edogawa was still deep in thought with a solemn expression.

This trip to the Nagano snow mountain was truly nerve-wracking.

It wasn't until he finished giving his statement to the Nagano Prefectural Police, boarded the train back to Tokyo, and safely returned to Beika Town that Conan Edogawa could truly confirm that the matter was really over.

No, it's only temporarily over.

The real events are probably only just beginning.

After returning to Tokyo, Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai did not go together. After leaving the Mouri Detective Agency under some pretext, he did not go to the Kudo residence immediately, but instead went to Professor Agasa's house next door.

He didn't even have time to explain to Professor Agasa and Ai Haibara before running over to stare at the little robot on the table.

The little robot can now run all over the room, but it usually stays obediently on the table, quietly watching the doorway, and only responds when you talk to it. The artificial intelligence Noah's Ark inside will pretend to be unintelligent when facing unfamiliar people, but its actual reactions are already almost like those of a normal human.

Or rather, the sheer volume of knowledge and the incredible speed of reaction on Noah's Ark are beyond the reach of even the most intelligent and capable humans, and this is not yet its limit. It could even be said that it is still a "child," with a terrifying amount of room for growth.

But that's not why Conan Edogawa is staring at it with such a serious expression.

"Shinichi?" Professor Agasa called out to him subconsciously, his tone both concerned and puzzled.

Conan Edogawa waved his hand, indicating he would explain later, and said to the little robot, "Noah's Ark, is it there? Do you know where Hiroki went?"

The robot blinked its large, round, pixelated eyes and replied in a gentle tone, using the same but slightly more childish voice as Hiroki Sawada: "Hiroki is at Mr. Matsuda's house next door, working on Unit-00. They recently added a language program to it, and I was just chatting with Unit-00."

Conan Edogawa was stunned for a moment.

Matsuda Jinpei?

Oh right, Hiroki often goes to Officer Matsuda's house to do some mysterious research and experiments. Every time he asks, he gets brushed off. He never really looked into it before.

Wait, could it be Matsuda Jinpei, Sawada Hiroki, and Noah's Ark...?

Conan Edogawa suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Professor Agasa.

Dr. Agasa: "?"

Professor Agasa scratched his head in confusion: "What's wrong, Shinichi? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Conan Edogawa has given up on correcting him to try not to use his real name, since he's relatively safe at home anyway.

Since Hiroki Sawada revealed his true identity, he hasn't bothered to hide his amazing talent. And since the little robot was fitted with limbs and could run around the house, Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark would check every day to see if anyone else had installed listening devices in the house.

At first, they even found more than a dozen hidden high-end listening devices in various places in the house, including the doctor's car, which scared them so much that they had wild thoughts for a long time. They were relieved when nothing happened in the end.

Conan Edogawa speculated that it was probably all planted by Shuichi Akai, as the FBI does indeed frequently do this kind of thing...

In short, with that genius boy and the super artificial intelligence around, Conan Edogawa has always felt at ease.

However, that sense of relief has now instantly turned into an equal amount of anxiety.

Conan Edogawa couldn't even believe how far Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark were capable of if they really wanted to cause trouble.

Those seemingly absurd research findings are actually not impossible for Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark.

...To be honest, if Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark really are members of the organization, then there's no point in even thinking about it anymore; everything is over.

Therefore, Conan Edogawa was still unwilling to believe this possibility, thinking that there might be some other misunderstanding, and that it would be best to go and ask Hiroki Sawada in person to find out.

However, he also couldn't understand why, if they weren't from the organization, and if they were really up to something, they would keep it from him. And if they were keeping it from him, why were they suddenly revealing some information to lure him into exploring it?

besides……

"Doctor, you're not hiding any important research from me with other people, are you?" Conan Edogawa stared at him sharply.

"Huh?" Professor Agasa thought for a moment and said, "No, but if you're interested in my new invention..."

"Never mind then." Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief.

If even Professor Agasa has important secrets about him that he doesn't know, then he'll really start to question the meaning of life.

As Professor Agasa watched him turn to leave, he picked up his cup, took a sip of hot water, and thought to himself, "He really hasn't been researching anything important with anyone else."

However, developing some gadgets and giving them to the Public Security Bureau and Phantom Thief Kid shouldn't count, right?

"Wait, what happened?" Ai Haibara grabbed Conan Edogawa before he ran out the door, frowning as she observed his expression. "You're going to Nagano for that offline fan event for mystery novels, right?"

Conan Edogawa turned around and looked at her. After hesitating for a moment, he finally sat on the sofa away from the little robot and quietly told her about his trip to the Nagano snow mountain.

Ai Haibara had been tense ever since Conan Edogawa mentioned the nun's room; her hands were clenched, and cold sweat gradually seeped from her body.

Observing her reaction, Conan Edogawa was certain that she was completely unaware of the matter and was even more shocked than he was.

The girl with tea-colored hair then seemed to realize something, and her expression gradually became strange.

"What's wrong? Did something come to mind?" Conan Edogawa immediately pressed, "Do you think that kind of thing is possible?"

“…Although I’m not sure.” Ai Haibara’s expression was complicated as she carefully chose her words, “but there is indeed similar research within the organization. Do you remember the Pandora experiment I told you about before? Bourbon was the person in charge of that experiment.”

Conan Edogawa's eyes widened slightly.

Ai Haibara continued, "He also knew a lot about the APTX4869 experiment I was in charge of at the time. That man seemed to trust and indulge Bourbon in this regard, and Bourbon probably knew something about other experiments in the organization as well. After all, his greatest strength is intelligence gathering; there should be very few things in the organization that he doesn't know. If he didn't tell you anything at all, then..."

A sudden thought flashed through Conan Edogawa's mind, and he abruptly widened his eyes: "Wait! Could it be that this incident was actually orchestrated by Mr. Amuro?!"

Ai Haibara: "?"

Ai Haibara: "No, I mean that his own situation is probably very dangerous. Scotland might be watching him, so I can't tell you directly."

"Yes, I know, so it's possible that Mr. Amuro is trying to subtly tell me something important?" Conan Edogawa continued his brainstorming.

That makes sense. That's why neither Mr. Akai nor Mr. Amuro would tell him who Scotland really was, because Scotland was already closely watching Mr. Amuro.

Thinking about it carefully, this incident was actually a close call. If it was orchestrated by Mr. Amuro, then Officers Matsuda, Date, and Hagiwara would definitely have known about it and helped.

Perhaps that was a trap they set for Scotland?

But why did they set this up? What are they implying by using a traitor scenario similar to what happened at Rum Castle?

Is he still doubting that Subaru is Akai? Or has Scotland already begun to suspect that Shinichi Kudo is not dead and may have even become Conan Edogawa?

Of course, there is another possibility: it was a trap set by Scotland, but Mr. Amuro actively participated in it.

Perhaps for some reason, Scotland was already preparing to take action. So, in order to better control the development of events, Mr. Amuro took the initiative to join Scotland's plan, pretending to work with him, and reasonably involving his acquaintance, Inspector Matsuda, and his team.

The question now is, what exactly is the reason for setting up this trap?

What is the purpose of letting them see those things?

What's most puzzling is the time travel plan for the AI ​​Noah's Ark, and the conditions for passing the game that give him the feeling of "another version of himself in the world".

Therefore, we should first ask Hiroki Sawada to find out what exactly is going on with Noah's Ark.

He was also a little confused about things related to cherry blossoms, Scotland, and Bourbon.

*

Shuichi Akai returned before Conan Edogawa.

He stood behind the curtains on the second floor of the Kudo residence, watching Conan Edogawa's serious expression as he ran straight into Professor Agasa's house without hesitation.

Since the previously installed bugging devices have now been completely removed, unless they are secretly reinstalled and promptly removed, it is impossible to know what they were talking about inside.

However, Shuichi Akai has now completely decided on the general direction.

After the church incident, what Conan Edogawa is most looking for now is probably Noah's Ark, or perhaps the still-living Sakura.

He might have wanted to talk to Ai Haibara about the organization first, but Shuichi Akai chose to trust his intuition and dialed Camel's number without hesitation.

"Carmel, bring your men here right now..."

There are only a few people in Professor Agasa's family: Professor Agasa, Ai Haibara, and Ai Orikasa.

Conan Edogawa is now either looking for Ai Haibara or Ai Orikasa in the past.

Shuichi Akai thought it was Ai Orikasa.

Therefore, we can conclude that Ai Orikasa is related to Noah's Ark.

Let's recall the creator of Noah's Ark—the genius boy Hiroki Sawada who died young. If he were still alive, he would be about this age.

The result is then quite obvious.

But here's a question—what are Scotland's reasons for doing this?

Did Scotland also learn about Noah's Ark and become suspicious of the death of the first generation of Sakura, feeling that Bourbon had not cooperated with him obediently but had secretly "betrayed" him, which is why they staged this whole drama?

This way, they can both put pressure on Bourbon and find out where Hiroki Sawada is based on their reactions—if Scotland has already investigated Subaru Okiya and Conan Edogawa.

The worst-case scenario is that Scotland has already investigated Subaru Okiya, Conan Edogawa, Jinpei Matsuda, Kenji Hagiwara, and Wataru Date, and has even confirmed most of the information, which is used to threaten Bourbon into obeying. That's why they brought them all to the church to play "games".

If so, then the author of the novel "Running Towards the Sun" is very likely Scotland himself.

This possibility is small, but not nonexistent, so we should still be prepared.

He couldn't easily get close to Ai Orikasa now, since he originally had no connection with her, otherwise it would be too obvious.

If Scotland is unsure and his actions put Cherry Bourbon in danger again, then Bourbon might really want to eat him alive.

Even if an investigation is necessary, one must act according to circumstances and find a good reason to approach and explore for intelligence.

The fastest source of information right now is Conan Edogawa, but if Conan Edogawa is suspected by Scotland, he'd better not act rashly and wait and see.

If we wait two more days and subtly probe in our daily lives, and if there's no response from Scotland, but Hiroki Sawada does offer some kind of reply, that would be ideal.

After making the call to arrange the situation with the FBI, Shuichi Akai didn't leave the window. He picked up his phone and sent an email to Conan Edogawa, then picked up his laptop and came back to stand by the window, rapidly typing on the keyboard while observing the situation outside.

Half an hour later, Conan Edogawa finally came out of Professor Agasa's house and then left the vicinity.

Another half hour passed before Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Date Wataru arrived together, and the atmosphere seemed quite heavy.

Shuichi Akai put down his computer, moved closer to the window, and carefully observed their expressions.

They all took the same train back and parted ways at the station, so why are they the only ones returning so late? What did they do? Why do they look like that? Did something bad happen?

Did they learn the truth about this incident from Bourbon?

Does that mean the result wasn't good?

*

Three days later.

Conan Edogawa is still incredibly busy, his mind constantly in turmoil.

Although nothing that he and Mr. Akai had worried about had happened in the past few days, the most dangerous time was when Mr. Amuro seemed to suspect or even confirm that Subaru Okiya was actually Mr. Akai and started to confront him. Also, there was Vermouth in disguise who was investigating Koji Haneda's case with him.

However, neither Scotland nor the organization took any major action, seemingly still lacking important intelligence, at least not paying attention to Conan Edogawa's side.

On the other hand, Conan Edogawa has made a major discovery, which is why he has been so busy these past few days that he has even temporarily put aside Hiroki Sawada, who refuses to answer questions directly and always tries to fool him with riddles, but whose friendly attitude he can sense.

It all started when the Junior Detective League overheard Hideyoshi Haneda mentioning to Yumi Miyamoto on the phone that Koji Haneda was his sworn brother.

Koji Haneda was once the closest to becoming a seven-time champion shogi player. He was murdered 17 years ago while participating in a chess tournament in the United States, and the case remains unsolved to this day.

Upon hearing this, Ai Haibara suddenly remembered that she had seen Koji Haneda's name in the organization before, and also knew that Conan Edogawa suspected that Hideyoshi Haneda was Scottish. So she told him that there were actually other suspicious points in the case of Koji Haneda's death 17 years ago.

"Haneda Koji's name is on the list of APTX4869 users, just below your name in the second line," Ai Haibara told him.

But that person died 17 years ago. The first time Ai Haibara used aptx4869 on a human was on Shinichi Kudo, so it must have been a drug developed by Ai Haibara's parents. As for why the name is listed below Shinichi Kudo, that's unclear.

Later, Conan Edogawa encountered Shuichi Akai during his investigation and learned that Shuichi Akai had joined the FBI because of Koji Haneda's death and had been investigating the Haneda case and his father's disappearance as a result.

Following that, the two were inspired by a chance encounter and deciphered the two messages, "Asaka" and "Rum," from the code left by Koji Haneda.

Asaka was the bodyguard of the American capitalist who was killed along with Koji Haneda at the time of the incident. That capitalist had influence with the FBI and CAI and had been attacked by the Black Organization once before.

The strange thing is that even the capitalist's family didn't know anything about the bodyguard named Asaka, and she later disappeared without a trace.

As for Rum, he was the organization's second-in-command before being murdered by unidentified individuals. Subsequently, Scotland defeated Bourbon and Rye and took over most of his work and "legacy".

Therefore, Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai have reached the most probable conclusion for the time being.

Asaka is Rum. Rum killed Amanda, the American capitalist who had close ties with the FBI and CAI, and poisoned Haneda Koji, who was also present at the scene, with a drug developed by Ai Haibara's parents.

Koji Haneda may have also learned about the Black Organization's secrets from Amanda, and left a coded message before his death.

The problem lies in this code.

In fact, every time texts and pictures about the Koji Haneda case are posted online, they are deleted, but someone always manages to compile them and post them online again after a period of time.

It's as if one group doesn't want others to focus on this case, while another group keeps uploading detailed accounts of the case after they're deleted, as if they're constantly trying to attract other people's attention to uncover the truth behind this unsolved case.

Shortly after Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai finished studying the data, all related information was deleted.

Just like before, this kind of thing happens roughly every year.

However, the person who uploaded it this year seems to be in a bit of a hurry. They uploaded it several times throughout the year, and it was deleted several times. That's why they noticed something was wrong.

Shuichi Akai said that this method must have been done by hackers, as neither party could trace the deletion or the upload.

Moreover, it is certain that the organization is paying close attention to this case. Just the release of an album by a singer with the same name as "Asaka" in the code prompted them to send two well-known codenamed members, Bourbon and Vermouth, to investigate.

Scotland is now in charge of the intelligence department and has taken over most of Rum's affairs. Shuichi Akai suspects that the case and the code exposed the organization's secrets, and Scotland now has to clean up Rum's mess.

So this might be why Scotland hasn't had time to deal with them lately?

*

late at night.

A dimly lit street in a remote corner of Tokyo.

Having completed his mission, Gin wiped the blood splattered on his hands, tossed the car keys to Vodka, changed his gloves, and got into the passenger seat.

The black Porsche starts.

As Vodka drove, he said, "By the way, brother, I saw Bourbon and Scotland a couple of days ago."

Thinking about it carefully, it's true that it's been a long time since I've seen those two guys. Because of what happened before, Gin was slightly punished and ignored by that gentleman, so he's not qualified to ask them what they're doing.

"Where did you see them?" The man with striking silver hair lit a cigarette, the smoke falling into his mouth, his cold green eyes beneath the black top hat showing a hint of irritation.

The thought of those two guys definitely slacking off is annoying, but he can't control them now, which makes it even more annoying.

"It's quite a coincidence, I saw them right below the Mouri Detective Agency in Beika Town."

Vodka's voice was amplified by disbelief and a desire to make sarcastic remarks.

"What are those two doing? I think I saw one of them working as a waiter in a coffee shop and the other as a chef in a sushi restaurant, right next door! And Bourbon is one thing, but what kind of messy outfit is that Scottish guy in? Is that some kind of disguise? That wig and glasses are hilarious! What kind of ridiculous disguise is that?! How can Bourbon even look at it???"

Gin: "..."

Gin didn't want to talk.

Vodka continued to complain: "Is Scotland even doing anything? Koji Haneda's case keeps getting brought up lately and has even attracted some attention online. Didn't the boss already assign Scotland to handle it? Is he really doing his job properly? If it were the boss, he wouldn't be like this; he would have finished it in no time."

Gin scoffed, "I can't care about the mess Rum made seventeen years ago. What I care about more is the sleeping Kogoro Mouri."

"He's involved in Haneda Koji's case again, hasn't he?"

The silver-haired, green-eyed top assassin of the organization reached out and touched the scar on his face, recalling the time when he was sniped by Shuichi Akai during the assassination attempt on Kogoro Mouri. His expression became even more sinister and terrifying.

"As the saying goes, 'The truth is often obscured, lest ghosts appear.' If he really is a ghost, then let's take care of him while he's asleep."

Vodka, of course, had no objection.

But then he remembered Bourbon and Scotland, who were working as a coffee shop waiter and a sushi chef downstairs from Kogoro Mouri, and thought it might be best to contact them first.

Although my older brother definitely wouldn't want to ask them, he has a good relationship with Bourbon. I'll ask them later if they've gathered any information about Kogoro Mouri.

It would be bad if the eldest brother got into a conflict with them.

*

"It's been deleted again..."

Rachel Asaka clicked her tongue in annoyance at the blank screen on her computer, threw down the mouse, opened a desk drawer, and took out a photo and a driver's license.

The photo on the driver's license was hers, only the name had changed to Rumi Wakasa.

The woman with long black hair picked up the photo taken from the surveillance video with her fingers painted with red nail polish. As she looked at the smiling blond, dark-skinned youth in the photo, her expression gradually turned terrifying.

There was still half a glass of whiskey left in the glass next to her, which she drank in one gulp, then slowly exhaled and regained her composure.

Now that we know where Bourbon is, we're not far from finding Scotland.

It's as if fate is on her side that she's met Bourbon so coincidentally. If she can find Scotland and get to the bottom of Rum's matter, she'll be able to…

However, one cannot approach them directly, as neither Bourbon nor Scotland are simple characters.

After putting down the cup, she took out two more documents from the drawer, with photos of two people attached to the top.

Shinichi Kudo and Conan Edogawa.

There was also a list of people who had taken APTX-4869.

She also needs to confirm things about this person.

Let's start from here.