Chapter 292 Seventy-Threeth Cycle (122)

December 24th.

There is one day left until there are zero deaths in Furuya.

As the clock struck midnight, Christmas Eve arrived.

Masaaki Furuya sat opposite Superintendent General Hakuba, glancing at the layers of police officers inside and outside the room. His serious face became even more intimidating as he frowned.

“I don’t need so many police officers for protection; it’s a waste of police resources at this time,” he said. “The battlefield over there needs them more.”

This final battle to close the net for the crows was divided into three battlefields.

Firstly, in areas where foreign black-clad organizations are entrenched, the local police are primarily responsible for fighting them; the local police only provide intelligence and cooperation.

Secondly, in areas where black-clad organizations have spread domestically, the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency cooperate to contain and eliminate them.

Thirdly, the Black Organization's stronghold, which is to be destroyed by the cooperation of several major organizations that still have undercover agents, working together with the undercover agents inside. The organization's boss and several high-ranking members with code names must not be allowed to escape.

His rebellious son, Rei Furuya, was the core member of the central battlefield.

He will infiltrate the Black Organization's lair as an undercover agent to face the BOSS directly. His survival rate is extremely low; even the slightest mistake could cost him his life.

“Your safety is just as important,” Superintendent Whitehorse said slowly. “Once word gets out that you’re the frontrunner for president, they’ll definitely mobilize a large force to assassinate you and then put their own people in power.”

This bait was also a very important part of their plan.

It is necessary to mobilize and disperse as many key members of the organization as possible so that undercover agents can more easily infiltrate the heart of the organization and strike a fatal blow.

“The trap has already been set, so what’s there to worry about?” Furuya swayed as he stood up, slowly straightening the wrinkles in his suit. “The young people are working so hard, we old guys can’t hold them back.”

Superintendent Hakuba was taken aback. He recalled the image of his son, Hakuba Saguru, looking determined as he said he wanted to go too. Then he smiled helplessly.

“Then let’s begin,” he said.

*

Six o'clock in the morning.

Led by a police officer codenamed "ZERO," the final version of the "Agreement on Jointly Combating Black Organizations and Mutual Judicial Assistance," signed by six major agencies—the Public Security Bureau, the FBI, the CIA, MI6, BND, and CSIS—along with corresponding detailed mission instructions, was sent to undercover agents in various countries.

They agreed to exchange intelligence related to organized crime, assist in the arrest and repatriation of criminal offenders and suspects, and cooperate in investigations and prosecutions when necessary.

During this period, they will never infringe upon each other's national interests, nor attack members of allied countries, and will help each other until the Black Organization is eliminated.

The contract originally intended to specify "Karasuma Renya Group," but due to concerns about leaks, they ultimately chose the codename "Black Organization."

This operation is called "Operation Crow Hunt".

Undercover agents hidden in the shadows around the world had long been prepared for this.

"Aquavit, received."

"Stout, received."

"Westlink, received."

"Kiel, received."

"Scotland, received."

"Bourbon, received."

*

Eight o'clock in the morning.

Detective Kogoro Mouri has gotten himself into big trouble.

It is said that he uncovered a terrorist organization that was committing murders and cannibalizing women and children across regions, which instantly caused a sensation on the entire internet, attracting the attention of almost everyone, and countless news media reported on it.

The organization consisted of about thirty or forty people; half were captured, and the other half escaped.

In response, police forces across the country mobilized and quickly launched a joint search under intense scrutiny from countless netizens.

Ran Mouri followed behind her father, Kogoro Mouri, and mother, Eri Kisaki, staring intently at Conan Edogawa, who was running around busily. Her expression was conflicted, but it eventually turned into determination.

...

"Although it is ostensibly a nationwide joint police operation to capture the cannibalistic organization, our real mission is to eradicate all of Karasuma Renya Group's influence within the country," Kuroda Hyōe said into his headset.

"The intelligence has been sent to you. Remember, you must not let any criminal get away with it!"

"For some reason, the truth about this plan is currently known only to you. Each of you has your own important mission, so remember not to reveal it to anyone else."

Please reply upon receipt.

Osaka.

"Hattori Heizo, received."

"Toyama Ginjiro, received."

"Ootaki Goro, received."

Kyoto.

"Ayanokoji Fumimaro, received."

A herd of horses.

"Yamamura Cao, received."

Kanagawa.

"Hagiwara Chisato, received."

"Yokomizo Shigeo, received."

Nagano.

"Yamato Kansuke, received."

"Yui Uehara, received."

"Your Excellency is wise, I have received your message."

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

“Zhu Fu Jingguang, received.”

"Inspector Megure, received."

"Shiratori Ninzaburo, received."

"Miwako Sato, received."

"Takagi Wataru, received."

"Ida Aircraft, received."

"Kenji Hagiwara, received."

"Matsuda Jinpei, received."

Police Department.

"Kazami Yuya, received."

...

After all the police officers involved in the core plan had finished reporting, Furuya Rei, who was sitting at the table, finished assembling a gun under the desk lamp. He then pulled back the curtains and glanced at the sun breaking through the thick clouds outside.

“Zero down, received,” he said.

The blond youth picked up his police ID, which he had almost never taken out in the sunlight, and kissed the cherry blossom badge.

"We swear to the cherry blossoms that we will win."

*

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Kudo House.

"Did you visit Yamamura Misao's grandmother?" Shuichi Akai asked.

Conan Edogawa nodded: "Yes, I also got a lot of information from his grandmother."

Elderly people who have lived for so long will always know a lot of secret information that young people can't even imagine.

Conan Edogawa once guessed the location of the boss by calling his grandmother in Hachizu District, Tottori Prefecture, because the rhythm of his keystrokes was the same as the rhythm of Vermouth's email to the boss.

The melody of the music was similar to that of "Seven Children," and the first four digits of the cell phone number that Yamamura Misao used to make the call were the prefectural code 0858 of Tottori Prefecture. Therefore, it can be concluded that Karasuma Renya's location was in Tottori Prefecture.

Conan Edogawa immediately decided to investigate, but was stopped by Ai Haibara.

“That’s a Pandora’s box that must never be opened,” she said.

This time, however, Ai Haibara did not stop him.

“Now is indeed the time to open Pandora’s box,” Ai Haibara said. “You’re right, we can’t escape our fate. I am indeed terrified of the disasters inside that box, but only by releasing them can we completely destroy them.”

"Moreover, Pandora's box contains not only disaster, but also hope."

Conan Edogawa did indeed obtain a lot of important information during his investigation in Tottori Prefecture.

“Tottori Prefecture is mostly mountainous, sparsely populated, and has complex terrain.” Conan Edogawa showed him a map. “Especially the Tottori Sand Dunes, which are the largest sand dunes in Japan. No, they’re more like a desert than sand dunes. There are also many rugged rocky caves and cliffs nearby, which is a good thing for us.”

Carmel and Judy were looking at the map intently.

Hondo Eisuke adjusted his glasses and explained, "Although the organization's core base is beneath the desert, the entrances are scattered in the surrounding mountains, so we need to enter from here..."

After finishing his talks with the FBI and CIA, Conan Edogawa went to the Matsuda residence next door.

When he arrived, the members of the Sakura team had just finished chatting with everyone from ten years in the future using their future phones and were having a heated discussion about the witch's prophecy.

"The ten thousandth chime—is it referring to the clock on the top of that building in Tokyo, or the old clock tower by the Tottori seaside? Both will ring their ten thousandth chime tomorrow, but there's a big difference," Date Wataru pondered, frowning.

"The clock in the Tokyo Tower strikes midnight every night, and many people who go out on Christmas Eve will wait there for Christmas to arrive so they can get together and celebrate," Kenji Hagiwara said while scrolling through his phone.

“The bell tower on the Tottori side rings every day when the sun rises,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu. “Originally, the bell was rung by fishermen to go out to sea at sunrise, and it also rings when birds sing in the early morning. It’s a unique feature of Tottori Prefecture.”

“If our development here and the future as everyone says remain unchanged, then the sunrise will be at six in the morning. The difference in time is too great; it would be best to confirm which clock is mentioned in the prophecy,” Matsuda Jinpei said, looking at Furuya Rei.

Hiroki Sawada sighed: "But Miss Witch said she wasn't sure either; prophecies need to be interpreted by oneself."

Akemi Miyano also looked at Rei Furuya with a worried expression: "Although Rei-kun experienced the time point before dawn, the people in the future say that they experienced the time point of Christmas just after midnight."

So Conan Edogawa no longer needed to ask if the future had changed, and he followed the others to look at the blond youth who was holding a future phone and talking to someone in the future.

Under the watchful eyes of several people, Furuya Rei helplessly spread his hands and smiled, "So both time points are possible, let's be prepared for both."

The others remained silent for a moment.

They must have considered two possible follow-up plans, but this uncertainty is really unsettling.

However, discussing this is actually not very meaningful, which is why it was brought up again at the very last moment of the last day.

They all knew very well that, given even the slightest possibility, the world's consciousness and system would seize the opportunity to find a way to make Furuya Rei follow his own death storyline.

The system might even cheat.

Therefore, the only solution is to avoid making any mistakes whatsoever.

Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi's phones vibrated simultaneously, receiving a group email from the organization.

Rei Ryouya took a deep breath and replied, "Received."

It's about to begin.

Or rather, it's finally coming to an end.

Before leaving the house, Rei Furuya had just put on his red scarf when Kenji Hagiwara pulled him along and made him hug everyone.

Morofushi Kagemitsu took the cherry blossom pendant off his phone.

This complete five-petaled cherry blossom amber was the "cherry blossom magic" that Furuya Rei had captured shortly after his rebirth during his time at the police academy. Furuya Rei later gave it to Morofushi Kagemitsu in the hope of protecting him, and it did indeed save them once.

It's been seven years.

Morofushi Kagemitsu hung the cherry blossom pendant on Furuya Rei's phone before placing the phone in Furuya Rei's hand and giving him a hug.

He silently wished for the magic of miracles to strike again.

Cherry blossoms, oh cherry blossoms, please bless Zero's safe return.

*

12 noon.

Tokyo.

The blond youth entered a building owned by the Karasuma Group and, as instructed in the email, went into a futuristic-looking white room in the basement.

He was the last to arrive, and Vodka, who arrived the earliest, complained about him.

The organization's codenamed members, all of whom were still in the country, were gathered together by the BOSS, a rare occurrence, totaling eight people.

Chianti looked around in amazement; it was the first time he had ever seen so many codenamed members gathered together.

The last time so many codenamed members gathered together was when they were playing a game of "who's the mole" at Rum Castle.

After all, the BOSS is always very wary of his subordinates getting together and causing trouble. Even when there is a mission, he will only allow a small group to gather at most, so this time it seems very unusual.

But she didn't care. Instead, she excitedly stepped forward and said, "Boss! Are we finally going to do something big?!"

Cohen, who was next to him, didn't say anything, but he also sat up straight excitedly.

Kiel and Vermouth were talking quietly.

Scotland, meanwhile, was carefully and gently patting the snowflakes off Bourbon's red scarf.

Gin looked at them and gave a cold laugh.

Vodka sat obediently, his eyes behind his sunglasses not wandering, but intently watching the virtual image of that gentleman on the opposite screen.

After Chianti asked that question, everyone looked at the screen.

The ferocious black raven above opened its beak, and Karasuma Renya's hoarse laughter rang out.

“Yes, children, go and make a ruckus,” he said. “Go and wipe out all those restless and presumptuous rats.”

The order from the organization's highest leader quickly set this enormous machine in motion.

Their goal is to overthrow the entire country and take complete control of it.

This is their first step in conquering the world.

*

"Crow, why do you sing?"

Bourbon's assigned task was to go to Tottori Prefecture with Vermouth to guard the organization's core research institute from being discovered by the major families and the police.

"Because on that high mountain, there are seven of the most adorable children waiting for it to come home."

Outside the car window, a flying bird resembling the character "と" flashed by, a symbol of freedom, peace, and continuous progress toward tomorrow in Tottori Prefecture.

"Go and take a look, go and take a look, it's on that high mountain in the distance."

The white Mazda drove into the deep mountain forest and was gradually swallowed by the dark shadows.

"You can see the seven chicks in the nest, waiting for it to come home."

Bourbon and Vermouth entered the organization's most tightly controlled core underground research facility.

In this enormous underground castle, even the aloof researchers showed respect to these two blond, high-ranking codenamed members, leading them into Karasuma Renya's laboratory.

"What adorable, adorable seven children!"

As I opened the door, the nursery rhyme "Seven Children" was playing inside, just as the last line was being played.

"Adorable! Child!" Karasuma Renya's crow excitedly mimicked human speech in its eerie voice, "Welcome! Welcome back!"

"Meow~" Karasuma Renya's black cat squinted its golden eyes and happily rubbed against the blond youth's leg.

"Meow! Meow!! Meow!!!" The crow started imitating a cat's meow in a strange tone again.

The black cat instantly bristled and turned to fight the crow.

Jianggu Ling: "..."

The black cat and the crow are still the same as before. It seems that Karasuma Renya is indeed here, unchanged.

Vermouth listened to the meowing of the black cat and the cawing of the crows, and a look of fear, unease, and disgust flashed across her face for a moment.

"Children, come here quickly, I have something very important to tell you." The frail old man, sitting on the high-class hospital bed in the laboratory, his body wrapped in various instruments, still smiled and waved to the two of them.

He smiled and said, "You are the two children I trust the most."

Rei Furuya and Vermouth exchanged a glance, said nothing, and obediently sat down in the chairs that were clearly prepared specifically for the two of them in front of the hospital bed.

"This chair probably doesn't have any electroshock anesthesia function, right?" Furuya Rei thought.

It looks like an ordinary chair, and there's really no change after you sit down.

Wearing a respirator, Karasuma Renya reached out and caught the crow that had flown over after losing the fight, his attitude unusually gentle.

"You heard that song just now, right?" He smiled at the two of them. "I really like that song."

Rei Furuya and Vermouth hummed in agreement, offering a fake compliment that it sounded great, while inwardly they were practically developing PTSD from all the complaints.

“I have always believed that there is a will in the universe.” Karasuma Renya slowly stroked the crow’s colorful black feathers and said softly, “Seven children, but the last children I had were eight.”

Furuya Rei suddenly turned to look at Karasuma Renya and met his gaze, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

The old man stared intently at him with his cloudy eyes and said, word by word, "Do you think it's possible that one of these eight children isn't actually my child?"

Vermouth's heart skipped a beat: "What? You mean there's a traitor among the eight of us in this meeting today?!"

Rei Furuya paused for a moment, then finally raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "This is truly... shocking information. I had no idea about this at all. Where did you get this information, sir?"

Karasuma Renya straightened up, bent down and approached him, saying, "Bourbon, good boy, do you really not know?"

"As a senior intelligence officer in the organization, how could you not know that the Public Security Bureau sent an undercover agent codenamed [ZERO] who has been in the organization all along?" he asked coldly.