Chapter 278 Seventy-Third Cycle (108)

The Pacific Ocean buoy has five layers.

Four of the layers are underwater.

The first layer consists of the entrance and the outer floating area floating on the Pacific Ocean.

The second floor is the staff living area.

The third floor is the core work area, where all the important work is carried out. This is the last area that ordinary people can access.

As for the remaining two floors, they are said to be warehouses and power rooms. Placing them on the lower floors allows for better cooling and preservation with seawater, and only relevant personnel are allowed to enter.

Because of the sudden eruption of Mount Hachijo Fuji, the original order was disrupted, allowing Conan Edogawa to sneak into the fourth floor.

The first three floors and many areas have special transparent glass, allowing you to see large and small sea fish swimming in out of curiosity and attraction to the light.

But on the fourth floor, everything was sealed off very tightly. You couldn't see inside from the outside, and you couldn't see the ocean from inside either.

Conan Edogawa heard the sound of a whale here.

It was very long, like a lament, piercing through the ocean and the iron sheet, reaching his ears.

The black-haired boy paused slightly, turning his head to look at the wall beside him, as if he could see through it the churning ocean and whales after the volcanic eruption...

Fortunately, it's just a game, and if they're lucky, the fish can swim safely away from this dangerous area.

Conan Edogawa turned around and continued walking forward.

Compared to the whales outside, humans trapped in metal shells are now in greater danger.

Forty-five minutes remain.

He must clear the dungeon before time runs out and safely lead everyone out of the game.

Suddenly, someone ran up from around the corner and said, "There are only some mechanical parts over there that I don't understand. It's just a regular warehouse. What about yours?"

This is Hattori Heiji. He came here after the accident that happened in Haibara's area. He just happened to survive the volcanic eruption.

With Shuichi Akai absent, they split up.

“This is just a regular warehouse,” Conan Edogawa said. “There’s not much space left. It doesn’t look like there’s a laboratory here. Maybe that place is on the bottom floor.”

They followed Kudo Huai in, but Kudo Huai entered without hindrance and was much faster than them. Now, no one knows where he is.

The two carefully avoided the panicked NPCs as they continued to walk inside.

"It feels like a dream, but it all really happened. The realism of this holographic game is terrifying," Hattori Heiji muttered to himself. "Is the situation in reality similar? There's an active volcano and a Pacific buoy, right? They wouldn't act like this in real life, would they?"

“Probably not,” Conan Edogawa said. “If they really wanted to do something, they wouldn’t give such a heads-up, otherwise it would be easy to stop them. This is at most a threat? Or rather, the real Pacific buoy and the organization are actually hostile and pose a great threat to the organization, so this kind of rumor makes others doubt whether the real Pacific buoy is trustworthy.”

“Possibly, but what exactly is the situation with this Kudo Huai? He seems to hold a high position in the organization, otherwise he wouldn't be able to move around so freely.” Hattori Heiji's expression was grave. “Which side is he on?”

“It’s not certain yet, but he’s definitely on the side of justice and order in his heart.” Conan Edogawa said with certainty, “Even though evil protagonists are popular now, the novel ‘Running Towards the Sun’ is not that type… unless they don’t care about the novel.”

"So he's an undercover agent?" Hattori Heiji's expression was strange. "A policeman who became the shining star of the Metropolitan Police Department? He's a celebrity known as the golden sun of the police force. If he's an undercover agent, I think it's more likely that he's actually an organization infiltrated into the police force."

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Hattori Heiji suddenly turned his head: "...I was just kidding!"

Conan Edogawa: "...It's not impossible."

Now that I think about it carefully, Kudo Yuujiro, Ishihara Yuujiro, Shibata Jun, and Hayami Jun have all appeared, but Oki Masaru is still in a state of "death" and disappearance.

The original storyline has been affected by the butterfly effect due to the players' involvement, and given Kudo Huai's current situation, it's not impossible that he could be an undercover agent for the organization.

"But isn't it strange? The other three people he managed to save, and his other companions, are all working as police officers and detectives in the Red Team, aren't they? How could he have actually joined the organization? Although... it seems that Hayami Jun and Shibata Jun also died in the volcanic eruption." Hattori Heiji frowned and analyzed, "Could it be a double agent? Is he actually an undercover agent planted in the organization by the police, and then the organization sent him to infiltrate the police?"

Conan Edogawa nodded: "If we figure out what happened to Kudo Huai during the years he was missing after the Twilight Villa incident twenty years ago, and how Oki Masaya died, we should be able to determine the current situation."

What bothered him most was the blond child who had entered the time machine with him but disappeared after the journey.

Could it really be the same principle as the disappearance of the time machine, because the same object cannot exist in the same spacetime at the same time, so the time machine from twenty years ago and the blond child both disappeared?

So where did they go after they disappeared?

Did it simply vanish from this world? Or did it return to the past? Or perhaps... it merged with its counterpart in this world?

Conan Edogawa rubbed his temples, standing in front of the passageway leading from the fourth to the fifth floor, looking at the strange red butterfly pattern on the door, and felt a headache coming on again.

What's scary is that this isn't just a game.

These incredible things could very well happen in real life.

He had never imagined that his world contained so many unscientific things, and the process of rebuilding his worldview after it was shattered was extremely difficult.

The most terrifying thing is that this doesn't mean the previous rules suddenly collapsed, but rather that the rules that manipulate the world were already broken, and he just suddenly discovered it now.

—For example, did Mr. Amuro lose his concept of time, or were they unable to perceive the true time of the Honkai?

Conan Edogawa is no longer shocked, but he still has many questions.

Why is it that Mr. Amuro and the others seem to know a lot, but they are unwilling to tell him directly?

Is it because of some "OOC" rule? Because those broken rules can't be known by ordinary people? Then what exactly is the prerequisite for accessing the truth? How is he different from them?

Moreover, who set all these rules and what rules were established?

He originally thought he could find the answer in the game, but the game was almost over, and there wasn't much information about gods and demons from the beginning or the promotional materials.

So far, the game is still about battles between people.

The truly mysterious forces remain hidden behind the scenes; only the tip of the iceberg is visible.

He didn't know whether the force that caused the player and the protagonist to travel through time was just technology or some kind of fantasy. He also didn't know what the relationship was between the red butterfly and the protagonist, Kudo Huai, or what extent Kudo Huai understood and accomplished. He also didn't know what they should do now.

But he had a feeling that the answer to the game was, at least, behind this door.

"Don't open the door," someone suddenly said.

Conan Edogawa and Heiji Hattori suddenly turned around, and only relaxed a little after seeing that they were three familiar people.

Having spent time together, they had already confirmed each other's identities.

“Mr…Mr. Black Horse.” Conan Edogawa called out the game name of Director Kuroda Hyōe, then frowned slightly: “Why can’t we open the door? Do you know what’s behind this door?”

Unlike the staff who had changed into their uniforms, these three swaggered over in their original attire.

Hattori Heiji then sidled up to Hakuba Saguru and said, "Where did you guys run off to? Tell me the truth! Do you know something?"

Shiratori Renzaburo coughed lightly, "Shouldn't that be what we're asking? What are you doing here? This isn't something you can get involved in. Leave the rest to us."

Hakuba Saguru chuckled softly and said, "That's it. The more you say that, the more they'll run to dangerous places."

Shiratori Ninzaburo: "..."

These young detectives are indeed like that!

Hattori Heiji: "..."

You make it sound like that's not true at all!

Kuroda Hyōe was still staring at Edogawa Conan when he said, "Are you sure you want to open this door? If it were anyone else, I would definitely stop them. But if it's you, I won't stop them."

Conan Edogawa already knew that this person seemed to value him highly, but he was still taken aback when he heard this: "Then you..."

"I wanted to ask you, are you sure you want to involve him?" Kuroda Hyōe looked at Hattori Heiji, who was arguing with Hakuba Saguru.

The place wasn't big, and they were keeping their voices down, so Hattori Heiji, who was already watching this area, naturally heard them.

"Huh?" He immediately raised his eyebrows. "What does this mean? Are you going to exclude me?"

"Of course not," Conan Edogawa said with a smile. "It's alright. Compared to us, his fighting ability is probably more important."

Having come this far, Hattori Heiji would never leave alone, and he would be even more worried about Hattori's safety if he did leave.

Kuroda Hyōe remained noncommittal: "In that case, let's go in. Time is running out."

Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief, but was also very worried.

Even now, he is still unsure which side this powerful figure, Kuroda Hyōe, is on.

But he was certain that this was at least a key figure in the decryption process.

Hattori Heiji watched as Kuroda Heiji successfully opened the door with the card he produced, and was immediately puzzled: "Where did you get this access card? We almost caused a huge problem when we knocked out the staff and tried to use their cards to swipe the door in front of us..."

Hakuba Saguru explained, "Because while the card is being scanned, the surveillance camera on the door also scans the person in front of the door. Only those whose faces match their ID cards can enter. And if the surveillance camera is damaged, an alarm will sound to attract everyone's attention."

Shiratori Ninzaburo also said, "Our status in the game's police force is not low, and we've also taken on the role of undercover agents for the organization, so we have some power on both sides, but..."

He glanced at Conan Edogawa.

After entering the corridor, Conan Edogawa, who was carefully observing his surroundings, turned his head sharply: "But what?"

Shiratori Ninzaburo looked at Kuroda Heibei questioningly.

Kuroda Hyōe stated directly, "However, our mission is to kill Kudo Hayao."

Conan Edogawa's face instantly darkened: "Why? Has his identity been exposed? Has it already aroused the organization's suspicion and murderous intent?"

“His identity has not been exposed,” Kuroda said. “However, the organization does have some suspicions about him, and since his current actions are against the organization’s orders, they’ve decided to have us kill him to finish things off.”

Conan Edogawa paused slightly.

“However—” Kuroda Hyōe’s tone changed, “the police also suspect him, and their mission for us is to arrest him and, depending on the situation, kill him.”

Conan Edogawa frowned: "Why is the police also suspecting him?"

“I don’t know the specifics, but we did get permission to kill him,” Kuroda said.

This is enough to demonstrate the police's attitude.

Conan Edogawa sensed something was wrong, but then he thought that the organization was probably behind the game, so it wasn't surprising that this would draw hatred towards the police.

However, this left Kudo Jun completely caught between two enemies.

The organization wants to kill Kudo Huai, and the police also want to kill Kudo Huai.

So, how should players choose?

Can only players help him?

Conan Edogawa didn't believe he didn't understand his current situation, but even so, he still made it through.

Is there anything more important than his life?

Conan Edogawa asked, "Do you think there's any special significance to this game's design?"

Kuroda Hyōe said, "Perhaps they want to smear the police."

Conan Edogawa fell silent.

Two staff members carrying backpacks and a lot of things walked towards them. Kuroda Hyōe stepped forward to dispel their suspicions.

Conan Edogawa silently took a few steps back, first probing Inspector Shiratori with a few words, and then stayed by Saguru Hakuba's side.

“Do you know anything?” he asked.

Hattori Heiji sighed, "It's no use. I've asked this guy for ages, but he just pretends to be stupid."

Hakuba Saguru smiled helplessly and said, "Actually, I don't know as much as you think. It wasn't easy for me to even get into this game."

"Then you should know who's controlling this game, right?" Conan Edogawa turned to look at his expression. "Since you were allowed in knowingly, it means the game might not be as dangerous as I thought, right? Could it be... that the Public Security Bureau is actually controlling the game as well?"

He just asked it directly.

Hakuba Saguru tensed up for a moment, subconsciously glancing around before quickly relaxing and sighing, "While it's not that dangerous, it's not safe either. You should still be careful."

Conan Edogawa smiled.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the answer is quite obvious.

He glanced at Kuroda Hyōe ahead of him, with a slight hesitation.

Although this person's credibility has increased considerably, he still cannot be completely at ease because of the situation in Scotland.

So he covered his mouth, turned around and whispered to the white horse, "I have something to tell you, but you must keep it a secret."

Hakuba Saguru's eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded.

"Actually, I was able to enter this instance thanks to Yujiro Ishihara," Conan Edogawa said. "And after we met, I found out that he still remembered me."

Hakuba Saguru looked at him in surprise.

Conan Edogawa nodded: "The dungeon from twenty years ago does have an impact on the present. Although most of it has been intentionally concealed by the higher-ups, it seems that Yujiro Ishihara knew that our group of players who suddenly disappeared were [time travelers], so he talked to me openly and frankly... Even so, he didn't tell me a lot of key information. He just asked me to try my best to bring Kudo Huai back safely."

Hattori Heiji, who was also hearing this for the first time, was speechless.

Just how many things has Kudo been hiding from him?!

Hakuba stroked his chin: "Hmm... so you're planning to side with Kudo Jun?"

Conan Edogawa nodded.

Hakuba Saguru laughed: "No problem, that was my plan too. We came here to rescue Kudo Jun."

Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Hakuba Saguru said that, it at least shows that the police in reality share the same attitude.

So, the organization was probably the one who planned this plot.

According to the intelligence obtained by Carmel, Gin and his men were commanded by Scotland, and this incident was likely planned by Scotland.

So, what are Scotland's reasons for doing this?

What does this have to do with Mr. Amuro, who disappeared long ago?

What exactly is the relationship between Mr. Amuro and Kudo Jun...?

Conan Edogawa had some suspicions in his mind, which he couldn't believe, but he was determined to verify them.

*

Once you enter the fifth floor at the bottom, the architectural style is completely different from before.

The top four floors look like some kind of legitimate scientific experiment, but the bottom floor looks like the laboratory of a mad scientist that sends chills down your spine.

At first, the first few doors were not a problem for them, but when they got to the crucial parts later on, Kuroda Hyōe's cards were not enough to grant him the necessary permissions.

“We were sent by higher-ups to help pack things up,” Shiratori Ninzaburo said. “After all, you don’t have enough manpower or strength.”

Because of the volcanic eruption, all signals are now being interfered with, so even if they wanted to ask questions, they have nowhere to turn.

The researcher was skeptical, but the guard said expressionlessly, "We've already been informed about the volcanic eruption. They've already started moving things inside. We're handling the moving; we don't need anyone else's help. Whoever sent you, you can't enter without authorization. This isn't a place for you. If you don't leave, we'll open fire."

Kuroda Hyōe looked at the few remaining guards and researchers, pondered for a few seconds, and suddenly knocked them unconscious with a "whoosh".

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Conan Edogawa's pupils constricted slightly—this guy's fighting power is incredibly high!

Hattori Heiji was silent for two seconds, then turned to him and said, "It seems there's nowhere for me to use force?"

Conan Edogawa: "..."

Kuroda Hyōe turned and glanced at them: "From now on, be careful not to say anything you shouldn't."

Conan Edogawa understood instantly and nodded seriously.

Once inside, they likely came into the organization's sights.

Kuroda Hyōe then turned back and instructed Shiratori Ninzaburo to stay outside and keep watch.

The remaining few stood warily by the door, watching Kuroda Heibei swipe the doorman's card, lift the doorman's face, and open the door.

"Beep—" The door opened successfully.

The group held their breath, ready for battle, but were stunned when they entered.

The innermost research room was exceptionally large, with ceilings several meters high, perhaps because it was expanded to house some enormous instruments.

Some of the things inside weren't too unfamiliar to Conan Edogawa.

But some things are very strange; I've never seen them before and I don't know what they do.

These findings are sufficient to draw the conclusion that, similar to the previous three instances, immortality and time travel are also being explored here.

Compared to the previous ones, the research here seems to be much larger, with world-leading technologies everywhere, making it feel like you've been transported to the future.

It seems this is the real core of the research.

Most importantly, everyone inside had collapsed to the ground.

The lab was in disarray; it was clear that both researchers and guards were hurriedly packing up to escape, but they suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Conan Edogawa immediately went to check on the researcher who was closest to him.

There was no blood, no wounds; the person had simply fainted.

A faint, unusual fragrance lingered in the air, jarringly out of place in what should have been a clean laboratory.

"Is it a sleeping potion?" Hattori Heiji asked.

The group looked up at the only open, pitch-black door, exchanged glances, and then got up and walked towards it.

Conan Edogawa noticed the time.

There is half an hour left.

Passing through that door, they saw a smaller but more spacious room.

The room was mostly white and brightly lit, with almost nothing in it except for the huge, round machine in the very center that reached the ceiling.

However, the walls of this room seem a bit strange... How should I put it, they're like the boxes in a hospital morgue where bodies are frozen, and they even have a lot of handles, as if you could pull a section of the wall out with one pull.

There aren't even computers here; the only means of recording things are the most primitive paper and pen.

Therefore, everyone's eyes will immediately be drawn to that round machine as soon as they enter.

That round machine wasn't the egg-shaped time machine that Conan Edogawa had seen before, but rather something resembling an iron ring.

Its outermost layer is a black iron ring that looks like steel, while the middle is a void of black.

It was an unusual kind of black, so dark that the surrounding light could not illuminate it at all, as if it had been absorbed into the darkness.

Like a black hole.

And Kudo Huai, whom they were looking for, was standing in front of that machine at that moment.

Standing opposite him was a man with long silver hair, who held a gun in one hand and pointed it at the blond youth, while holding a black cat in the other.

"I never expected you to actually be an undercover agent," the silver-haired man said.

Conan Edogawa nearly suffered a cardiac arrest.

The scene was so terrifying that he instantly hallucinated Gin discovering that Mr. Amuro was an undercover agent.

When his gaze settled on the silver-haired man's face, he came to his senses—it wasn't Gin.

That's the number one assassin NPC in the organization in the game, just with a similar setting to Gin. The real Gin should still be out there dealing with other things.

Conan Edogawa composed himself and met the gazes of the group of people who looked up at him.

As soon as the man finished speaking, the group of four walked in, immediately attracting the attention of everyone inside, who were all looking at them.

Besides those two people, there were three others.

Two people were standing next to the silver-haired man. One was Zhuge Liang, a player whom Conan Edogawa knew, and the other was none other than Masaya Oki, who was supposed to be dead.

There was another person standing not far from the blond youth, who seemed to be in the same group as him. He glanced at them, then turned back to continue looking in that direction, lost in thought.

It's Shuichi Akai.

"How did you get in?" The silver-haired man frowned slightly, his expression growing even colder.

Conan Edogawa ignored him and followed Shuichi Akai's gaze.

"Get out of my way!" the blond youth roared, his eyes burning with fury.

The direction he was looking in was exactly the same direction that Akai Shuichi was looking in.

Conan Edogawa followed the gaze and finally fixed his eyes on the only open cabinet on the wall.

Several lines of text were written on the opened cabinet door:

Subject No. 278

【Okiya】

[Status: Integration level 3%, Brainwashing level 100%]

[Experimental Procedure: ...]

The font in the experimental process was quite small, and Edogawa Conan's position was not clearly visible, but it was enough to guess some of it, and he instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

He suddenly turned his head to look at Okiya standing behind the silver-haired man.

The black-haired youth wore sunglasses and had an expressionless face. He held a dagger to his neck in one hand, as if he didn't see the anger and pain on the blond youth's face.

The silver-haired man beside him laughed and patted him gently. The black cat in his arms climbed onto his shoulder, and he reached out with his free hand to take off the sunglasses from Ayaya's face, revealing a pair of empty blue eyes.

Conan Edogawa saw Kudo Huai's hands instantly clench into fists.

“He was originally going to become a test subject, but because you joined the organization and became a better test subject in his place, he was able to stop the experiments and survive,” the silver-haired man said. “So far, you are the second test subject to survive, and you are even more perfect. So even if I suspected you, I didn’t originally intend to take action against you.”

Kudo Huai sneered, "Come on then, if you dare. I'll show you who dies first."

The silver-haired man's lips curled down, and he slightly raised the gun, aiming it at the man's heart: "But since you're courting death, there's nothing I can do."

"Don't move!" Kuroda Hyōe also raised his gun.

At the same time, Morofushi Takaaki on the opposite side also raised his gun.

Conan Edogawa was slightly relieved that he hadn't noticed the raven pattern on their guns.

The silver-haired man remained expressionless, but his tone was extremely displeased: "How did you get in? Are all those people dead?"

Hattori Heiji gripped his sword tightly and suddenly asked, "What kind of experiments are you conducting? What are you fusing with humans? Is it related to immortality or time travel?"

The silver-haired man, of course, did not answer him.

But the blond youth suddenly spoke up, saying coldly, "They want to create a god."

Conan Edogawa's eyes widened instantly.

"Due to a certain opportunity, the organization captured a creature beyond human comprehension a hundred years ago and obtained some kind of power from it," the blond youth said.

"Shut up! You dare!" The silver-haired man's eyes widened.

"But the organization is completely helpless against this power. After decades, they have only managed to produce a tiny glimpse of immortality. So they use this as bait to attract important figures to join them. After they have grown stronger, they use more advanced technology to study the power of that creature, hoping to use it to control the whole world."

"Hey! Do you want to die?!"

"And they are very careful because they don't simply want to summon evil gods, but rather they want to obtain the power to kill gods without disturbing the true wrath of that world. In short, they want to create gods."

"If you say that again, I'll really shoot!" The silver-haired man's expression was contorted with rage.

"In the end, the organization really did use technology to pry open a crack in the door to another world." The blond youth remained unmoved and continued, "However, humans cannot enter that world, nor can they contain that power. Only those who have fused with a part of that creature's power have a chance to enter that world. The surviving test subjects will have immortal appearances, and the most perfect test subjects can use the time machine created by the organization to travel through time and space at will."

Conan Edogawa's fingertips trembled slightly as he finally understood why only Kudo Huai had traveled back in time with his memories.

"You think I really wouldn't dare to kill you?" The silver-haired man laughed angrily, his murderous intent overflowing.

The blond youth opposite him was not afraid of the gun pointed at him at all, and said, "Well, you don't dare. I am the core of your plan. You even came here to save me, right? If I die now, all your efforts will have been in vain."

Conan Edogawa was stunned, then he deduced the answer from the silver-haired man's expressionless yet unusually silent demeanor—it was actually true!

He was overjoyed, and countless daring action plans raced through his mind.

The silver-haired man suddenly chuckled: "I certainly wouldn't dare kill you, but what about them?"

"Click—"

Before they could react, the floor beneath their feet suddenly vanished, and they plummeted into the darkness below.

Amidst the violent shaking of his vision, Conan Edogawa spotted Morofushi Takaaki holding a remote control with his eyes downcast, and his heart sank.

He had clearly begun to believe that Morofushi Takaaki was an undercover agent! And that he was their ally!

"Thump!"

Because the distance was too short, the sudden stop of the fall made Conan Edogawa instinctively cry out, but when he got up, he found himself to be safe.

After a moment of confusion, he turned his head and saw Hakuba Saguru, Hattori Heiji, Kuroda Hyōe, and Akai Shuichi, all of whom had fallen down.

Shuichi Akai was looking down at the ground when Heiji Hattori was running towards him, while Saguru Hakuba was climbing back up, stepping on Heiji Kuroda's shoulders.

Conan Edogawa glanced down first, then felt a chill run down his spine.

The floor was a semi-transparent material of unknown origin, and it was impossible to see what was underneath in the darkness. However, by the light from the hole through which they had fallen, if one crouched down and looked closely, one could see that the floor was covered with countless red butterflies.

Then, upon closer inspection, they were horrified to discover that these were not ordinary red butterflies. The butterflies clearly had human faces and limbs, but with varying degrees of deformity, they had butterfly organs and fluttered their wings around like startled insects.

"..."

Without a doubt, if they really fell, their death would probably be gruesome.

"Bang—!" A gunshot suddenly rang out from above.

Conan Edogawa suddenly looked up and saw Shuichi Akai nimbly flip over and jump out of the hole, while Saguru Hakuba, who had climbed halfway and only had half his head sticking out, was stunned.

"What's wrong?" Conan Edogawa quickly had Heiji Hattori throw him up as well. "What happened up there?"

"...It should be alright now." Hakuba Saguru's tone was complicated.

When Conan Edogawa finally emerged, he discovered that the situation had completely changed, and now Yuichi Kudo had the upper hand.

But something's strange.

Morofushi Takaaki, who had just helped them avoid falling completely, was indeed an ally. He was now standing next to Kudo Huai, holding the gun that should have been in the silver-haired man's hand.

But Kudo Yui only grabbed the black cat and held the knife that should have been in Oki Masaya's hand to the cat's neck as a threat.

Then, the silver-haired man seemed to actually be threatened, and stood frozen in place without moving.

Conan Edogawa: "?"

Clearly, the others were also confused. Shuichi Akai, who came up first, didn't move, but just frowned and repeatedly observed the others.

"When...did you find out?"

The first to speak was surprisingly the black cat in the blond youth's hand!

“When you first met me,” Kudo Huai said.

The black cat's voice was calm: "I see, you can sense me? No wonder you're about to reach your complete form..."

Hattori Heiji's pupils dilated in shock for a long time before he finally realized what was happening. He leaned close to Edogawa Conan's ear and whispered, "That cat is the real biggest villain? The organization member who traveled back from the future with Kudo Jun?"

Conan Edogawa tilted his head and replied, "Not only that, but that so-called number one assassin of the organization doesn't seem to be human. I thought his expression was a bit strange before. And look at his severed wrist, it's full of machinery—he might be a robot, and the cat is controlling this robot."

Hattori Heiji hissed, "Is this some kind of cat demon?"

"Who exactly are you?" Kudo Huai pointed the knife at the black cat's eyes. "Your true identity isn't a cat, nor is it that guy. He was just a substitute you created after killing him. But who are you? And how did you get into the body of this cat next to the organization's boss? Could it be..."

Before he could finish speaking, the black cat interrupted him: "Don't be too happy yet. I advise you to show me some respect, or I can't guarantee that someone won't die with me."

Conan Edogawa glanced at Masaya Oki, who remained expressionless, and confirmed that he seemed to be unarmed. However, he prepared to go over and subdue him to ensure his safety.

Before he could even move, Shuichi Akai rushed forward to grab Masaya Oki, and in the blink of an eye, the two were fighting.

“It’s no use.” The black cat laughed. “He has a poison in his body, and only I have the antidote. Kudo Huai, you either kill us together or let me leave. I advise you to hurry, there’s no time left.”

There are only twenty minutes left.

Conan Edogawa frowned in thought, then ran over to look through the experimental box that was originally where Masaya Oki was placed. He finished reading all the records in less than a minute, but found nothing.

However, he did learn the general details of the experiment and confirmed that Chongya was indeed captured and experimented on in the basement of the Twilight Villa twenty years ago.

Moreover, the time machine from twenty years ago was not actually a successful product; everyone who went in should have been deformed into mindless monsters.

However, the protagonist Kudo Jun and the players are different.

Is it because they all possess the unknown power that Kudo Huai mentioned?

That power associated with the red butterfly?

“Yes, there’s no time left,” the blond youth murmured. “It’s too late…”

After saying that, he brought the knife down and plunged it into the black cat's heart.

The black cat let out a miserable cry, then cursed in disbelief. Its vitality remained strong, and red eyeballs suddenly sprouted from its body, sending chills down one's spine.

The blond youth, without changing his expression, placed the twisted creature, which could no longer be called a cat, on the ground in front of the circular instrument.

At this moment, Shuichi Akai and Heiji Kuroda had already subdued Masaya Oki, and Saguru Hakuba helped by handing over a rope to tie him up.

The blond youth glanced back, but instead of going over, he took a remote control from the motionless silver-haired robot.

He pressed some button, and a door suddenly opened in the wall next to him. He walked straight in.

Conan Edogawa immediately followed: "Um, Huai..."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, and could only awkwardly address the 29-year-old man with another form of address: "Mr. Kudo, do you remember me?"

The interior was dimly lit, with only an ice coffin placed at the very back.

The blond youth did not answer him. He silently walked over, opened the ice coffin, then pulled out a gun, aimed it at the inside of the coffin, and fired all the bullets without blinking before stopping.

Only then could Conan Edogawa clearly see what was inside the ice coffin.

It was a giant red butterfly, but it had a human head, and its four wings were covered with red eyes. At this moment, red blood was slowly flowing out of its pierced head.

But the blood strangely gradually enveloped the butterfly, forming a pupa-like object—a cocoon that had not yet emerged as a butterfly.

Conan Edogawa immediately understood that this was the creature with mysterious powers that Kudo Huai had just mentioned.

But... is this creature really that weak? Is it dead or alive?

Seemingly understanding his thoughts, the blond youth who pulled out the huge cocoon said, "It's only temporarily dead now; it will revive after a while."

Hattori Heiji, who followed behind, exclaimed, "Ah! It's really possible to come back to life?!"

“Yes, I was completely free until it was resurrected.” The blond youth looked at them, suddenly smiled, and the icy expression on his face instantly melted into a warm smile.

Conan Edogawa was stunned again, and once again thought of Mr. Amuro.

The blond youth said to the two stunned teenagers, "You can ask me any questions you like now. I will answer them all as a thank you for saving me so many times before."

"..."

"?"

Conan Edogawa and Heiji Hattori were stunned for a moment, unable to react immediately.

Shuichi Akai, standing at the door, asked first: "You mean to say that you actually possess the memories of every previous reincarnation? But you could only pretend not to know because of some rule imposed by this red butterfly?"

The blond youth nodded, clutching the blood-red cocoon, and walked past him toward the outside.

Conan Edogawa quickly followed behind and asked, "Huai-kun! I want to ask, you clearly came here with us in the time machine, so why did you suddenly disappear? What happened at that time?"

“Because two identical things cannot exist in the same spacetime,” the blond youth said. “My case is special. After I disappear, my consciousness will awaken in my own body in this spacetime and take over all the memories I missed during that time.”

He had already walked quickly outside.

Morofushi Takaaki, Hakuba Saguru, and Kuroda Hyōe, who were squatting together observing the deformed cat that could no longer speak normally, made way for him.

What are you going to do now?

“First, we must interrupt the current sacrifice and summoning,” the blond youth said.

Conan Edogawa instantly recalled the bizarre sacrifice he had witnessed in the basement of the Nagano church: "What sacrifice?!"

“There’s also a faction within the organization that’s part of the Adventists; they want to directly summon those things into our world.” The blond youth walked to the large hole in the floor that hadn’t yet been closed, raised his hand, and threw the red cocoon in his hand down.

"So this way we can interrupt the summoning?" Hattori Heiji glanced at the scene and was so disgusted by the dense, increasingly clear, and frenzied red butterfly-like figures below that he almost lost his footing.

"Impossible, too late, can't be broken." The blond youth gave a triple denial.

Others: "..."

Others: "?"

Just then, a commotion gradually arose outside.

The blond youth, whether able to distinguish friend from foe or simply wary of everyone, went straight over and closed and locked the door.

"The ritual of sacrifice and summoning has begun, and there are fifteen minutes left," he said.

Conan Edogawa was taken aback. He glanced at the time and realized that the player also had exactly fifteen minutes left.

He instantly understood that the time limit given to players by the system to escape the underwater research institute was not, or not just, the time when the research institute would be destroyed, but rather the time limit for initiating the sacrifice and summoning ritual.

"So what can we do now?" Shuichi Akai asked. "Can we escape?"

“Once the summoning is successful, it won’t matter where you escape to in the world.” The blond youth turned and looked at each of their faces, then suddenly said, “Do you want to live forever?”

"Huh?" Hattori Heiji frowned. "What are you talking about now? If we were interested in that, would we do those things?"

"Then, what about going back in time to change history and resurrect the dead?" the blond-haired youth asked in a low voice.

Everyone fell silent for a few seconds.

The temptation was immense, and even they couldn't help but be tempted.

But it's just a thought.

“I will not take power that I cannot control,” Shuichi Akai said.

“All we need is a normal, orderly world.” Conan Edogawa looked at him, his eyes clear and firm. “Those evil, chaotic things shouldn’t exist in this world in the first place, should they?”

Hakuba Saguru sighed: "While the quality of a power depends on the person wielding it, if a power exceeds the world's current capacity, then it will only bring destruction."

Hattori Heiji nodded as well: "Immortality? Eternal reincarnation? What a terrible nightmare that is!"

The blond youth turned to look at him.

Hattori Heiji said earnestly, "Human life is all the more precious because its lifespan is finite, and it is precisely because it is finite that people strive even harder."

Kuroda Hyōe simply nodded in agreement, said nothing, and quietly watched them from the side, his expression unchanged, but a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

“Very well, then I’ll leave the rest to you.” The blond youth smirked.

There are twelve minutes left.

The blond youth finally reached the bound Okiya, squatted down, and met the man's empty blue eyes.

"Yaya-nii, you must live on. Everything will be alright."

He placed a medicine bottle in the man's pocket, then smiled at the unresponsive man.

"Goodbye, Masaya-nii."

Conan Edogawa sensed something was wrong: "You..."

"He's in your hands now." The blond youth stood up, turned around, hoisted the man onto his back, and handed him to Kuroda Heiwa, who looked the strongest.

"And what about you?" Shuichi Akai stared at his expression, wondering what Scotland and Bourbon were up to.

“I have one last thing to do,” the blond youth said.

Shuichi Akai, unusually, didn't feel any rejection from the other person, and suddenly began to doubt whether the person behind that facade was really Bourbon.

"You won't do anything stupid, will you?" Conan Edogawa suddenly grabbed his arm and said seriously, "You should know that there are many people outside waiting for you to come back. Before I came, Mr. Ishihara asked me to bring you back safely, saying that he has been waiting for you to come home."

The blond youth was silent for two seconds, then lowered his dim purplish-gray eyes: "But I have already failed. So many people have died. Hayami and Shibata are dead too, and Masaya-nii may not be able to recover... It's too late."

Conan Edogawa hesitated, "You... want to activate the time machine again and travel back in time? Before the sacrifice and summoning ritual is successful?"

“Yes.” The blond youth nodded. “I want to do it all over again.”

Conan Edogawa gradually loosened his grip: "That's... fine too."

I can't think of any other way.

"Then why did you hand him over to us with the attitude of entrusting your affairs to us?" Hakuba Saguru suddenly looked at Oki Masaya, then turned around and stared sharply at the blond youth.

“It’s just in case,” the blond youth said. “I’m not sure if the current time machine can still successfully send me to the past, but even if there’s only a one in a billion chance of failure, I want to be fully prepared.”

What he said made sense, and the group fell silent for a moment.

It was so quiet that I could actually hear some sounds from outside through this obviously soundproof and sturdy door.

It sounded like two groups of people fighting.

After listening for a while, the blond youth seemed relieved and left the doorway to go to the silver-haired robot and start fiddling with something.

With nine minutes left, a series of eerie cries suddenly came from underground, causing the deformed cat, which was nailed to the ground, to writhe and struggle. The countless eyeballs on its body made people feel extremely uncomfortable.

“It’s almost time,” the blond youth suddenly said.

He walked over, picked up the black cat that had grown several pairs of deformed wings, and threw it down into the hole.

After the black cat was thrown down, the commotion below became even greater.

Then, the originally smooth floor suddenly lit up with streaks of red, which spread all the way to the wall and finally converged at one point.

The blond youth was standing right at that spot, facing the enormous, black hole-like circular machine.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Conan Edogawa's subconscious was restless and screaming danger!

He tried to move, but found that he couldn't move at all.

At the same time, the back of the necks of all the players present began to feel hot, and the red butterfly pattern gradually spread across their faces.

“Sacrifice and summoning cannot be interrupted midway, otherwise it will cause very serious backlash consequences.” The blond youth stood in the red light and said calmly, “But, while it cannot be interrupted, it can be accelerated and the subject can be changed, so that I am the one summoning those things.”

"What do you want to do after you summon it?" Hakuba Saguru asked immediately.

This time, the blond youth did not answer.

The metal ring in front of him also lit up with a white light.

The white light was unusually dazzling, but it was unclear whether it was an illusion. The brighter the white light, the denser the darkness at the center of the ring.

The blond youth spoke up again: "Did you know that the legendary angels weren't actually as beautiful and holy as most people imagine?"

The red light seemed to transform into bright red blood, gradually climbing up the blond youth's body from his feet.

"The angels described in the Old Testament are actually no different from monsters in the eyes of humans, and most of them do not have human form, after all, they are not human."

It seems that other colors and the shape of some kind of object are gradually appearing inside the black hole.

"Only demons need to conjure up images that humans like and want to be close to in order to tempt humans, but angels do not."

The enormous object finally pierced through the dim darkness and was fully revealed before their eyes.

Behind the circular gate was a giant red butterfly, several meters tall, with six pairs of wings, each covered with large and small red eyes.

The butterfly's body is composed of a single, giant, vertical red eye, with a golden halo emanating from its antennae, giving it a holy yet eerie appearance.

Countless sticky red eyes rolled around, then suddenly looked at them.

Conan Edogawa felt a sudden buzzing in his head, his body trembled slightly, and he almost lost consciousness for a moment, while the game system's voice rang in his ears.

You have looked directly at something indescribable!

Your sanity is starting to crumble!

Varied……

[SAN value -1]

[SAN value -1]

[SAN value -1]

[SAN value -1]

Conan Edogawa could hardly describe his current feelings. He had almost lost all control of his body. He desperately wanted to run away, but could only stand there blankly staring into those red eyes.

"Zero, open the door and take them all out."

The blond youth's calm voice brought him back to his senses somewhat, but he could only watch as everything unfolded.

The silver-haired robot opened the door, and everyone facing the room outside instantly froze and became stunned.

It was a group of police officers, with Yujiro Ishihara at the very front.

Conan Edogawa was the closest person to the blond youth, and also the last one to be carried out by the silver-haired robot.

In the end, Conan Edogawa saw the blond youth walk towards something inside the circle, stand under a giant red butterfly, and look up to meet the gazes of countless red eyes staring at him.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” he heard the blond youth say to the thing.

Then, everything was cut off by the closed door, and nothing could be seen or heard anymore.

"Ah Huai!!!!!!!!!"

Conan Edogawa heard Yujiro Ishihara's shout. His senses were gradually returning, but he still couldn't control his body. He could only watch as the other police officers half-persuaded and half-forced them to drag Yujiro away.

They were also taken away by the police, quickly moving away from the door in fear.

Five minutes left.

They were running around the lab.

Two minutes left.

They finally reached the exit of the second level, where a submarine was waiting for them. The people at the door said they were the last batch.

One minute left.

The submarine doors closed, and it quickly moved away from the area.

Ten seconds left.

Conan Edogawa strained to turn his neck, trying to see through the window to the laboratory that had been abandoned behind him.

Five seconds left.

When he slowly turned his head, the first thing he saw was the face of the black-haired man.

Chongya was staring blankly out the window, watching the underwater structures gradually disappear into the distance.

Three seconds left.

Suddenly, two lines of tears streamed down those empty blue eyes.

"——"

The massive underwater structure was silently destroyed in the Pacific Ocean.

The golden sun of the police force has also fallen into this deep sea.

[Congratulations to the player for successfully escaping the Dark Iron Sea Research Institute.]

[Congratulations to the player for successfully destroying the Black Iron Undersea Research Laboratory.]

[Congratulations to the player for successfully preventing the research data from being taken out of the research institute.]

A series of system notifications kept ringing in my mind.

Conan Edogawa's mind was in such a state of chaos that he could barely process the information. He could only uncontrollably recall the blond youth staring at the giant red butterfly and the empty blue eyes weeping at the bottom of the sea.

[The protagonist, Kudo Jun, has been found to be dead.]

[Result in a Bad Ending: Sacrificing One's Life for Righteousness]

[Game CG included]

Congratulations to the player for completing the game.

Conan Edogawa paused for a moment, then clenched his fist.

...Yes, the player's ultimate mission is to escape alive from the Dark Iron's underwater research facility.

So they probably only need to survive to complete the game.

Who says a bad ending doesn't count as a game completion?

Even a bad ending can be a good ending.

The storyline has been completed. Although the main character of the game is dead, the players who play the game are still alive, right?

Conan Edogawa gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and was about to turn around to talk to Yujiro Ishihara about Yuuto Kudo and Masaya Oki when he suddenly found that the world had stopped.

Yes, it has stopped.

People stopped moving, the water stopped flowing, the light stopped, and the sound disappeared.

It's as if the world has been put on pause.

Then, the world collapsed in silence, and began to rebuild in silence.

The next second, Conan Edogawa returned to his initial personal space when he first entered the game, standing blankly in the room.

Everything felt like a dream, as if from another world.

Conan Edogawa moved his fingers, sat stiffly on the sofa, and opened the game panel.

He saw the exit game button reappear.

A message suddenly popped up on the panel: "Congratulations on successfully completing this closed beta test. Do you wish to view the subsequent story development?"

Conan Edogawa clicked to watch immediately.

A video started playing in front of him.

The location in the video is Hachijojima Island, and the time is April 2nd, which is the current time.

Hachijojima Island, which should have been swallowed by the volcano, remains a beautiful place. People who should have died in the lava and ash greet each other with smiles, living their ordinary days.

Jun Hayami and Jun Shibata, dressed in casual clothes, were drinking and chatting in a pub.

Not long after, Ishihara Yujiro, also dressed in casual clothes, walked in and carefully supported a woman with a slightly protruding belly.

After being teased by Hayami Jun and Shibata Jun, the two blushed slightly and presented them with red wedding invitations.

The last one to enter was Okiya. The black-haired, blue-eyed youth smiled, his eyes crinkling, showing no trace of his previous emptiness and blankness, but rather gentleness and composure.

Because they didn't know that Ishihara Yujiro's fiancée would be coming, they had arranged to meet at a bar, but now it's not appropriate.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s go somewhere else to have fun,” Hayami Jun said with a smile.

"Huh?" Masaya Oki and Yujiro Ishihara were taken aback. "Is...everyone here?"

"Did you make plans with anyone else?" Shibata Jun asked, puzzled.

"It seems not..." Chongya was also in a daze for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then let's go pick some Asuka leaves."

Yujiro Ishihara's fiancée is pregnant and he can't overwork himself.

So, in the end, the four of them played around in the sunlight while picking the bright green leaves of Tomorrow Leaf.

A blue butterfly that had been resting on a leaf was startled and spread its wings to fly into the sky.

The video stopped at this last beautiful scene, and then gradually shrunk down into a card, becoming a game CG included in the video.

[Sacrificing one's life for righteousness]

A beautiful world where only I don't exist.

Conan Edogawa clenched his fist, gritted his teeth, and slammed his fist hard on the table, making a loud noise.

Where is the beauty in such a world?!