Chapter 119 It's time

Ranpo had always suspected that there might be outsiders like them in the villa, and the death of the "doctor" further confirmed this point. Changing the plot and adding plots that were not in the original story is not Poe's character or his special ability. It can only be said that unlike them, someone has been acting very well since entering this world.

This person probably really regarded this "time travel" as a game, and did not want the story to end here. He might want to see more, to see fierce sparks flying in the subsequent confrontation between the detective and the murderer, pushing everything to a more intense climax, allowing thoughts and humanity to be sublimated in it.

Unfortunately, he was not "Long Yi". He glanced at the people around him, and "Long Yi" looked back at him inexplicably.

Edogawa Ranpo said: "If you want to use this place as a stage, I can only say that your choice is not very good."

He seemed to be saying to a person hiding in it: "The most intense conflict is brewed in the most cramped environment. The person who built this world may not be the one who made the "combination", but the other person after that is not the kind of person who would take someone's life for no reason. It's not that he can't do it, but that he doesn't have to."

Ranpo didn't want to get entangled in this story anymore, he just jumped out and said, "As a transcendent, he would kill people to prevent his supernatural power from getting out of control, and he 'imprisoned' himself in a different space until now. When we met again many years later, he was still calm and composed. Such a person would never burn our lives in flames in the first place. The departure of 'Doctor' has hindered us, but he also told us that we have another way out."

"That is, let's just leave here!" Ranpo was too calm: "As long as we believe it enough, death here is not death!"

Also, give up the purpose of coming here in the first place.

"Long Yi" on the side looked over with some surprise. To be honest, he hasn't reached that point yet. He actually likes the immersive process of reading mystery novels. Even though there are some strange teammates, he feels that this "dream travel" is really novel and interesting.

It is so lucky and wonderful to meet such a magical detective like Edogawa Ranpo! He had a hunch that the transcendent must know more people like him. If he had a few more such "reunions", he would surely meet more outstanding people. He wondered how far he could go among them.

Kudo Shinichi, who has already gotten rid of the identity of "Edogawa Conan", is like a silkworm cocoon that has shed its past. There is a gleam in his eyes, which is the expectation of seeing a more distant future.

But this time, I don’t know why my companion has a vague sense of urgency from beginning to end. He seemed like he was looking for something, and even his mind was not completely focused on this case.

Everyone present was listening to Edogawa Ranpo's incomprehensible words. They understood the words, but why didn't they understand them together? Someone shouted, "What are you talking about? Didn't you say there was a second murderer? What about the outside world, variables, and death is not death... Are you crazy?"

The crowd was in a state of unrest, but Morishima Ai kept her head down.

"Hehehehe (-ω-)." The raccoon outside lowered his head, as if he could get his eyes closer to the book. His pupils were erect, not missing any changes. "Don't you want to be passive all the time? Ranpo, you are still the same. However, I don't believe you will give up your original goal. You are not someone who is willing to accept failure as you said."

It seemed to be a little more sober, but also seemed to be even crazier. It laughed loudly, and its voice spread far in this red world: "Can the people in the book understand what you say? Can they accept that they are just paper figures created? I have never thought about this before. Is it because this book is not my work? Too strong subjectivity..."

Its limbs slapped and beat on the red land, and its round body was like a wobbly giant tumbler. "It's time! It's time!" The next second, it forgot what it was sighing about just now. All the books floated up around it, its eyes emitting red light, and the books were also stained with red. It grabbed one of the books, with a completely hysterical look on its face, "I promised..." It stuffed the selected book into a certain place, ignoring its constantly shaking body, "I promised to see what would happen when the two worlds merged..."

When things happen in the outside world, they reflect on the inside, resulting in sudden changes. The villa, which had been peaceful, suddenly shook violently. Everyone was unsteady on their feet. Ranpo grabbed the hat on his head tightly. Komachi Koyuki's whole body was leaning to the side. Morishima Ai tried to support her, and the two of them leaned against each other. During this period, her eyes never left those people. "What happened?" The servants following behind were panicked.

"What's going on?" "Ryuichi", that is, Shinichi frowned and said, "Is this the end?"

Edogawa Ranpo did not move. He stared at the group of people opposite him. His heart sank. His premonition finally came true - the transcendent finally took action.

"Ha." Someone laughed.

The laughter was clear and short, like a clear sound, which was out of tune with all the surrounding environment. Shinichi looked, not at Komachi Koyuki, the person he suspected at the end, but at the butler who had never shown any abnormality. He covered his face with his hands and said helplessly, "... Not at this time."

"What?" Ranpo asked.

The "Butler" looked up at him and said, "Just as you said, this is indeed not a good stage."

"You haven't read the book, have you?" He put his hand down, no longer the seriousness of the butler before, but with a kind of suaveness that a person trapped in a place would never have. He stood leisurely: "Although it is a story, it actually has four acts. What we are in now is just the opening act at the beginning. Of course," he said nonchalantly, "the rest of the plot has been completely disrupted, and I can't learn anything from it."

As he spoke, the surroundings gradually became blurred. The image of the villa seemed to be distorted and torn, with gold and red mixed in it. Just a quick glance at it made Ranpo and Shinichi feel dizzy, as if they had come into contact with some great secret.

"If that person wanted to construct a complete story world, I can only say that he has completely failed up to this point!" The "butler" judged mercilessly, with a sarcastic smile on his lips.

"What exactly does he want to do?" Edogawa Ranpo shouted, "He definitely doesn't want to create a story space. If that's the case, what's the point of him asking us to join in?"

The housekeeper was very surprised: "How should I know? Am I not a 'gamer' who has devoted himself to this place like you?"

Shinichi gritted his teeth, trying hard to steady himself. Even now, he was still insisting on something. He asked, "The original 'you' wasn't one of the murderers?"

The butler laughed out loud. He was very kind to satisfy the curiosity of the persistent little detective. He said softly, "I really didn't know anything about it. I had no contact with him before I started working seven years ago. But at that time, his doctor was the female doctor named Rihui. She was not an ordinary person. She graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in medicine and psychology. If she continues to study, it is not impossible for her to become a doctor."

Shinichi's eyes widened. He had to admit that this was definitely beyond his expectations. As a stay-at-home detective who doesn't even want to go to school anymore, this guy Amano actually designed such a high academic background for the heroine in his book.

He couldn't help but look at Morishima Ai, only to see that the murderer in the original plot, who was also the heroine, did not flee like the others. She was still standing there, her deep eyes staring at them without blinking. Her face was calm, as if... she had heard everything they said.

Shinichi subconsciously felt a sense of awkwardness in his heart and turned to Ranpo and the "butler". There was no way these two people had not noticed this, but none of them cared and continued to confront each other. "Her technique was very clever, and she used the longest possible time to make her enemy feel prolonged pain and be rejected and abandoned by society. In the end, he would disappear like a splash of water, and end up on an island that no one cared about."

"But I still have to say that this is really not exciting!" The "butler" grinned. It was obvious from here that under this skin, there was indeed a completely different soul that had just entered. He took off his monocle, with a strange smile in his eyes, "In order to save the doctor, she sacrificed too many ideas, and the means were too gentle. However, since it was the first time, I can understand it."

"But what happened afterwards?" His face darkened. "Accident? Suicide? Only the last time was impressive, as the leader was mauled to death by a pack of wolves, which was considered a response to his first suggestion of killing people for money."

He lamented as he spoke. Shinichi couldn't help but yell, "Are you kidding me? This is just a mystery novel! If it was really bloody and violent, how could this book be selected by the Mystery Association and recommended by so many bookstores?"

He seemed a little angry: "You are a guy who wants to modify other people's works at will. Where did you put the original author of this book?"

Edogawa Ranpo glanced at him. Could this guy actually know the author of this book?

The "Butler" was stunned for a moment, then he looked thoughtful: "Well, is that the case?"

"I didn't think of that," he said apologetically, "I just took it for granted."