Chapter 34, Chapter 33: Noah's Ark: The Dust Has Settled...

I have ten virtues:

First, when encountering a problem, one should first suspect that it is someone else's problem.

One by one, the blue and white navigation boxes were opened. Zhuge Tongzhi stood still, raised his eyebrows and looked into the void, flipping through the history paths automatically saved by O, and gained a general understanding of his situation.

The path to Qingchuan Tower is stuck at the 50% mark, but the last path point before the explosion is shown as completed. Combining this with the memory of meeting Kenji Hagiwara in this strange Alice in Wonderland, the goal of escaping from the 'reboot countdown' should have been successfully achieved.

However, it turns out this route was planned in two parts, upper and lower. Her gaze lingered on the unusually long list of route names.

The first half of "Countdown to Reboot" is related to Kenji Hagiwara and corresponds to the revenge trap set by the bomber. The second half of "Glamorous Magic Show" should be related to Kaito Kid and corresponds to the phantom thief's performance that was supposed to take place that day.

He realized that he was still halfway through the project, and after a little thought, Zhuge Tongzhi understood O's approach.

It was because the jewelry exhibition that was about to be held at Qingchuan Tower received a letter from Kaito Kid that she was able to use Kogoro Mouri's name to sneak in and, incidentally, rob Kaito Kuroba, who had come to scout the place in advance.

However, with the accident on the 25th floor, the jewelry exhibition certainly cannot continue as if nothing happened. It will probably be postponed and restarted. The gems that were painstakingly prepared for the exhibition will definitely not change, so Phantom Thief Kid will not let go of a second opportunity.

So, should we restart now? Zhuge Tongzhi pondered, reaching out to tap the path that had lit up again. He saw that the latter half of the waypoints had not yet been generated, but the associated person, Phantom Thief Kid, had been added to the side.

Having verified her idea, she casually drew the planned path and then clicked on the completed "Alice in Wonderland," frowning at the blank path record.

There are no records of any pathways or points of interest.

Zhuge Tongzhi stubbornly swiped up and down on the blank page, trying to refresh the O-de page, which seemed to have a bad signal, but the clean path history remained stubbornly rooted in place, not moving an inch.

After refreshing the page multiple times, the blue and white navigation box even moved to the side on its own, its silent action conveying a very clear message: Stop refreshing, there's nothing here.

Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark stood in the darkness a little further away, watching the girl who was gesturing in the air pause, then start waving her hand in front of her eyes like she was seeing an annoying mosquito, muttering something disgusting under her breath.

But this is a consciousness space constructed by data, and as the dominant entity, it is well aware that there are no other living beings present.

Noah's Ark watched the human girl's madness with bewilderment, then turned to see Hiroki Sawada beside him looking equally puzzled, but gently shook his head at it, signaling it not to smash things.

Okay, it seems this is a phenomenon that even humans cannot understand.

Noah's Ark turned its head, spread its five fingers in front of its eyes, and brought up a statistical chart recording the brainwave dynamics of Kenji Hagiwara and Tongzhi Zhuge. The previously stable black-and-green line graphs had experienced significant fluctuations at different nodes, and now they were all in a relatively active state.

Theoretically, after being transported out of the world of consciousness, the two people will wake up from the 'cocoon' just like the other participants.

The Junior Detective League is currently exploring the Baker Street instance, while Hagiwara Kenji, Matsuda Jinpei, and Hagiwara Chisato, who chose to log out directly, are still lying in their 'cocoons'. Noah's Ark put them into a state of light sleep to ensure that Zhuge Tongzhi could log out at the same time as them.

However, it obviously couldn't wait too long, so it brought the page to Hiroki Sawada's view, allowing its creator to review it and make a decision on the next step.

"Okay, let's get ready to launch, Noah." Hiroki Sawada let out a soft breath, looking at the girl in front of him who had started reaching out and groping in the air again, his eyes filled with concerned worry.

But Sister Tong clearly told him not to contact her anymore... The soft-hearted and kind boy lowered his head and clenched his fingers, looking at his hands, which were still immature and weak two years later, with a struggle on his face.

"Noah's Ark?" A clear, questioning child's voice suddenly reached his ears. Hiroki Sawada subconsciously pressed down on Noah's Ark, who was about to answer, and looked up at Zhuge Tongzhi, who had lowered his arm at some point.

The black-haired girl, hands in her pockets, scanned the darkness aimlessly before calling out again, "Noah's Ark? Hiroki Sawada?"

Hiroki Sawada's eyes flickered slightly. Just as he was about to step out of the area that had been set to be invisible, he saw the other person's unfocused gaze fixed on him.

The girl narrowed her dark eyes slightly, but her tone was very childlike and lively. She asked with some distress, "Whoever it is, please tell me what's going on?"

'Miss El doesn't seem to recognize us now.'

As an artificial intelligence composed of countless defined variables, Noah's Ark is more accustomed to calling others by code names, and it quickly analyzed that 'El' who is familiar with Hiroki and 'Zhuge Tongzhi' in front of it should perhaps be regarded as two independent individuals.

But perhaps this is a characteristic of humanity? The still-growing Noah's Ark became uncertain again. After gaining access, it went through the email correspondence between Hiroki and Elju that had lasted for a year and a half.

The style of those emails was mostly unconventional and interesting, with occasional quirky sentences that seemed to be meant to amuse children. Based on this, the sender should be an extroverted and cheerful person.

But the Al he met today was completely different from what he had imagined. His every word and action was extremely reserved, and his calm and quiet temperament and rational way of doing things were more in line with the feeling expressed by the fake death plan.

Are humans really so hypocritical?

Artificial intelligence feels it needs to think more deeply and expand its already insufficient database.

"Yes, but Sister Tong said we shouldn't interfere." Hiroki Sawada smiled helplessly. He struggled internally for a while when faced with Zhuge Tongzhi's question, but in the end, he didn't step out of the boundary he was standing on. "And her attitude was very serious."

"Noah's Ark, log out directly." The boy in the light blue jacket withdrew his gaze from Zhuge Tongzhi, and used his permissions to log out of the holographic pod as well. "Just proceed according to plan."

'Okay, Hiroki.' Noah's Ark nodded, its figure disintegrating into a snowflake-like array of data points that disappeared into the void. Hiroki Sawada's figure then vanished from this space.

At the same time, Zhuge Tongzhi felt the faint sense of being watched suddenly disappear, and then a ring of colorful pixels appeared out of thin air, flashing around her.

"Huh?" The girl in short sleeves and shorts blinked, took a step forward without realizing it, and then suddenly missed a step.

The solid ground seemed to have suddenly disappeared. The sudden feeling of falling made her instinctively reach out to grab something, but all she saw was a dark void, and there was nothing at all.

After Zhuge Tongzhi realized what was happening, he immediately tried to withdraw the meaningless action, but his fingertips touched a hard and smooth object in the next second.

Just like glass.

Glass?

The girl inside the holographic capsule suddenly opened her eyes. In her vision, which was trembling from her heavy breathing, she saw her right hand, which was pressed against the glass dome. Her pale fingertips were illuminated by the white light that slowly rose inside the capsule, pointing to herself, who was panting heavily, in the reflection of the semi-circular glass dome.

Ignoring the notification sound in her ear, Zhuge Tongzhi tried to get up by supporting herself on her arms, but the uncoordinated weight and pain in her left arm made her pause. Turning her head, she saw the white plaster cast on her shoulder.

The girl, feeling weak and exhausted, blinked and leaned back into the soft seat as the cabin repeated its prompts.

In the center of the venue, a sound similar to air inflating a balloon rang out, and four 'cocoons' not far apart emitted a roar different from the other holographic capsules, rotating from their original reclining angle under the adjustment of their pivots.

The ever-bright, pure white halo now began to flash rhythmically again at the bottom of the holographic capsule. Four soft lights shone on the four holographic capsules that had finished their journey earlier. Soon, staff members who had been waiting outside ran over and stood next to the holographic capsules.

Once the overall angle was adjusted, the four black glass doors clicked open in unison, revealing people inside wearing holographic devices with clear eyes. Staff quickly began assisting them in removing the devices from their heads.

The changes to the holographic capsule attracted the attention of a small group of attendees, but most people only glanced at it before losing interest and looking away, focusing their attention on the FBI's investigation scene on the other side.

After all, some of the children who had just finished experiencing the game had already come out, and those who had seen how to log out of the holographic capsule were not as surprised as they were the first time. Moreover, the target of this case was the chairman of the Sindora Group, who had attempted murder.

I heard he's a descendant of Jack the Ripper; the descendants of murderers are indeed murderers themselves.

Amidst a hushed discussion interspersed with phrases like "as expected," Hikaru Midorikawa glanced at the frustrated Thomas Cindora, smiled and waved to Tadahiro Kashimura, who was holding Hiroki Sawada's shoulder and thanking him profusely, before telling the FBI agent beside him that he was leaving.

After explaining that it was his child who had exited the holographic capsule, Hikaru Midorikawa calmly left a fake name and phone number, then jogged past the Japanese executives who were whispering and making rustling noises like a swarm of rats passing through the country, and headed towards the four holographic capsules.

Hiroki Sawada watched as the gentle young man, who looked like a college student, disappeared behind the low wall of people. Slightly lost in thought, he was patted on the shoulder by his father, who shook his head to focus and look at Tadahira Kashimura, who was standing in front of him.

This man, who had previously stayed in Japan to develop his career, did not fight for custody of his mother after her death. Kashimura Tadahira, who also works in the computer industry, understood that Hiroki Sawada's groundbreaking research could only achieve breakthroughs with the support of the Syndora Group.

Therefore, he did not interfere with Hiroki's mother's choice to entrust her son to Thomas Sindora, but maintained some online contact with her son and intended to develop her career in the United States.

Until recently, Hiroki Sawada revealed Thomas's secret and said that he no longer wanted to stay in the Syndora Group. Tadahiro Kashimura immediately took advantage of his research and development position at 'Cocoon' to come to the scene without disturbing anyone, wanting to meet and talk with his son in person. Unexpectedly, he was almost silenced by Thomas.

The man, who rarely saw his son, was a little flustered, but his love and heartache for his son made him speak: "Hiroki, will Dad stay in America with you?"

He knew that Hiroki Sawada had been severely bullied in Japan because of his exceptional computer skills, and that this child was destined not to belong to that social environment that suppressed the growth of children's individuality and was full of outdated ideas.

He received an education that suited him, but he also suffered coercion and exploitation from the Sindora Group. After twelve years of ups and downs, he returned to being the helpless child he was when his mother passed away.

Hiroki Sawada felt the pressure on his shoulder, looked up at his father who had flown from Japan to the United States immediately after receiving the email, and gave him a bright smile as the father looked on with a slightly bewildered expression: "Okay."

Tadahiro Kashimura breathed a sigh of relief, placed his large, warm hand on Hiroki Sawada's back, and led the boy toward the FBI patrol car. Thomas's actions also involved serious child abuse issues, and they were going to cooperate with further investigations.

Hiroki Sawada turned his head slightly and saw, from behind the crowd dispersed by the police, Zhuge Tongzhi, who was being pushed in a wheelchair by Hikaru Midorikawa and was looking at him curiously.

Their eyes met briefly before they simultaneously looked away.

Hiroki Sawada looked out at the bright, free sky above the venue, where several gray pigeons were flying easily by. The super high-rise building of the Sindora Group rose from the surrounding buildings, and the bright red group logo was visible in the distance.

Sister Tong, I will grow up well...

Even though... real life is not as simple as a game.

But Noah's Ark, once it sets sail, will accompany you in my place.

Take care, my friend.

…

In his wheelchair, Zhuge Tongzhi turned his head and slightly opened his mouth, processing the series of information he had received upon opening his eyes.

Morofushi Kagemitsu stopped Thomas from killing someone, and the fact that the killer was Jack the Ripper was exposed by the holographic game. Now he has been taken away for investigation for attempted murder and being reported for child abuse.

The launch event for 'Cocoon' was perfectly normal, with no trace of Noah's Ark, and Hiroki is still alive and well.

Is this a storm of fate stirred up by the flapping of wings of some butterfly?

After all, I'm new here and haven't done anything yet.

With his left hand and shoulder tightly bound in plaster, Zhuge Tongzhi used his right hand to prop up his head in the wheelchair and glanced back at the direction where Sawada Hiroki had left. The figure in the blue jacket had already disappeared at the entrance of the venue.

But it's good that you're alive.

Living on may bring more pain and torment, but only by living on can one explore hope. Hiroki Sawada's life should have been as long and short as that of an ordinary person. It would be too regrettable if it had ended at the age of ten.

Never mind all that. Zhuge Tongzhi pulled his wandering thoughts back and leaned lazily against the wheelchair pushed by the former codename member of the organization. He began to think about how he should make up a story for Zhu Fujingguang to cover up the Qingchuan Tower incident.

The reason for going to the 25th floor could be to use Kaito Kid as a cover, but as for why the grappling hook gun entangled her and Kenji Hagiwara, how should that be explained... The black-haired girl fell into deep thought, unconsciously tapping the hard plaster cast with her hand.

Behind the wheelchair handle, Morofushi Kagemitsu was also staring at the whorl of hair on the girl's head, thinking about where to start questioning her.

If they were to uncover something that only Ale knows, given Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji's keen senses, it would be difficult to let it go easily. In the end, he might have to cover for Ale... The undercover agent felt a bit of a headache.

Ugh, what a hassle.

The two people, one big and one small, connected by wheelchairs, sighed silently in unison.

Ah, my friends are so smart and so mischievous!

…

However, those troubles don't need to be faced immediately.

Before the Q&A session, they went to the hospital to have the two people who had been lying in bed for a week undergo a physical examination, following the procedures arranged by Hiroki Sawada.

While waiting for the results, the Junior Detective League and Ran Mouri arrived at the hospital a little later.

The four elementary school students, including Conan, had flushed faces with excitement as they chattered excitedly about the details of the game instance. When they encountered contradictory memories, they immediately raised their voices and stubbornly insisted on their own ideas.

Conan, who usually doesn't actively participate in the Junior Detective League's discussions, is now waving his arms and loudly recounting the background story of Sherlock Holmes' era, refuting Kojima Genta's reasoning conclusions that don't fit the Victorian era.

Because it was the Sindora Group's own private hospital, and they had booked the entire facility today specifically to record the results of the consciousness awakening, Ran Mouri simply stood aside smiling, letting Conan, who was unusually excited, talk on and on.

"What's the result for Zhuge and Officer Hagiwara?" She walked over to the group of people who were looking at the documents and asked, then looked around but didn't see the two people involved. "Hmm, where did they go?"

"Hagi went to the restroom." Matsuda Jinpei waved his hand, exchanged documents with Hagiwara Chisato, glanced at the lines of normal monitoring data, and replied, "Zhuge still needs to have an X-ray of his arm taken; he just went in."

“Don’t worry, Miss Mori.” Midorikawa Hikaru smiled gently at Ran Mori and said, “They are both in good health. The only problem is that they have been lying down for too long and need to gradually rehabilitate.”

"Hagi doesn't seem to need rehabilitation at all." Matsuda Jinpei glanced at each test result in his hand before looking away from the report showing that he was healthier than average, and chuckled.

"I'm going to call my parents." Hagiwara Chisato smiled at Mouri Ran, her every move exuding a crisp and capable air. She pointed to the shop on the first floor and said, "Miss Mouri, would you like something to drink? I'll bring it back for you on my way."

"Ah, I..." Ran Mouri blushed slightly and waved her hand to politely refuse, but then Matsuda Jinpei said, "I want to drink cola, and so does Hagi."

"Go buy it yourself, you brat." Hagiwara Chisato waved his hand dismissively, then turned to Mouri Ran and said, "Miss Mouri, you don't need to be so polite. We are very grateful for your and Mr. Midorikawa's help along the way. Matsuda and I are not the type to be meticulous."

"Miss Hagiwara, I was just helping out..." Ran Mouri blushed at the straightforward thanks, clenched her hands, and didn't know what to say. She was a little anxious for a moment.

Fortunately, Kenji Hagiwara returned and rescued her. The man, who was walking briskly and wearing brightly colored clothes, was carrying a large bag and came out from around the corner with a bright smile: "Hi everyone, I bought some drinks and brought them up!"

The man, who showed no signs of weakness, strode into the center of the crowd and rummaged through the bag with the speed of a bomb disposal expert. Soon, everyone present had a different drink in their hands—sparkling water for the children, a functional drink that Hagiwara Chisato loved, juice for Midorikawa Hikaru and Mouri Ran, and a cola in Matsuda Jinpei's hand.

Holding a bottle of mineral water, Kenji Hagiwara smiled and said, "There's a shop downstairs, so I just bought some drinks and brought them up. There are a lot of unfamiliar drink brands. Please forgive me if they're not good, Kenji-chan."

The handsome man winked at everyone in a pleading manner, easily eliminating the sense of distance between people. Ran Mouri, holding the juice in her hand, relaxed a little.

"Looks like you're still full of energy." Hagiwara Chisato unscrewed the cap on her drink, took a sip to moisten her throat, patted her younger brother on the head, and then walked towards the end of the corridor with her phone. "You're just in time. I'll call Mom and Dad later."

"Hi—Big sister!" Kenji Hagiwara casually put his arm around Jinpei Matsuda's shoulder, using his childhood friend, who was a head shorter than him, as a cane. "So, Jinpei, did I get you the drink you wanted the most?"

“I’m starting to suspect you shook this bottle of Coke,” Matsuda Jinpei said, unmoved.

Kenji Hagiwara quickly started exaggerating, shouting "Impossible!" and "How could I look at Jinpei's handsome face like that?" He leaned half his weight on his childhood friend, grinning as he leaned closer to show that he would also get sprayed with cola if he did that.

"Go drink your water." Matsuda Jinpei had already opened his Coke during Hagiwara Kenji's performance. He waved his hand to shoo away this really heavy accessory and said, "Now let's talk about what actually happened back then."

Zhuge Tongzhi, who was walking next to the doctor, felt a chill run down his spine. He then saw Midorikawa Hikaru turn his gaze over, his glasses crinkling with a smile, and say, "It just so happens that Tong-chan is here too. Let's review the events together."

"Weren't you with Ms. Mori and the others in the exhibition hall on the first floor?" Hikaru Midorikawa's blue-gray eyes were as wide as a shimmering sea, but the downward angle revealed a deep, shadowy depth. He asked, "How did you end up on the twenty-fifth floor?"

“And Zhuge, you fell down with Officer Hagiwara.” Ayumi Yoshida took a sip of her water and hiccuped as she said, “You still have something wrapped around your arm, um, like a peeling wire.”

“Right, aren’t the women’s restrooms on even-numbered floors?” Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya quickly pointed out the biggest problem as he reviewed the events of that day: “Why did you go to an odd-numbered floor?”

"And they made it to the 25th floor, that's way too far." Genta Kojima gulped down a whole bottle of soda, wiped his mouth, and complained, "They're almost at the top."

"Hahaha, well, on one hand, I got on the wrong elevator. I only realized after I got in that it was an elevator that only stops on odd-numbered floors." Zhuge Tongzhi, under the intense gaze of Midorikawa Hikaru, scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly at his friends' backstabbing.

"Then I found the message left by Phantom Thief Kid in the elevator, so I followed it to the 25th floor." The black-haired girl fiddled with her fingers in front of her and said somewhat shyly, "Because I also wanted to help Inspector Nakamori."

"As for, uh, the wires..." Zhuge Tongzhi hesitated, pretending to recall something and racking his brains, trying to come up with an excuse he hadn't been able to come up with along the way, "I can't quite remember, it seems like..."

"You're lying. Your encounter with Phantom Thief Kid was purely accidental. You were heading straight for the 25th floor from the start, weren't you?" Conan, holding his soda, looked at the troubled girl with his crescent-shaped eyes.

"They can't explain it now because they used the grappling hook," Conan sighed, handed the unopened bottle of sparkling water to Genta, and walked towards Zhuge Tongzhi with his hands in his pockets.

If Kidd hadn't retrieved the gun and left only the rope, things would be even more complicated now.

"Hey! I guess it's because it accidentally got tangled in the steel cable by the window."

The elementary school student who walked over spoke loudly, attracting everyone's attention. He pointed to the curtains drawn on the second-floor window of the hospital, where the tether of the large floor-to-ceiling glass was swaying behind the fabric. Conan stood next to Zhuge Tongzhi with his hands in his pockets.

"The guide told us that the 25th floor is where interactive installations are exhibited, and many of the installations make use of sunlight."

The little boy with black hair and blue eyes looked serious as he reasoned, but his every word and action was very cute. He gestured and said, "So, the reason they dismantled a bunch of junk there must be that they stepped on the rope inside."

"Well, I don't remember very well." Kenji Hagiwara touched his lips and said thoughtfully, "I was just running at the time, but I did get pulled by something when I got close to the window."

Turning his surprised gaze away from Conan, Zhuge Tongzhi seized the opportunity to raise his hand and said, "I tripped at the time, but I didn't pay much attention when I got up and ran. I was probably tangled in the rope at that time."

"Then I must thank Kiri-chan!" Kenji Hagiwara clasped his hands together, winked playfully at the girl, and said with a smile, "If I hadn't been pulled, I might have been beaten to a punch by the bomb."

"No, it was just an accident." Zhuge Tongzhi, with a cast on his left hand, waved his right hand to indicate.

"You still have the nerve to laugh." Matsuda Jinpei elbowed his childhood friend, squatted down and ruffled Zhuge Tongzhi's hair. His magnetic voice was as lacking in gentleness as ever, but also as straightforward as ever: "Anyway, thank you for saving Hagi's life."

"Hmm..." Zhuge Tongzhi blinked, feeling slightly shy at this unexpected gratitude.

According to her plan, this should have been an operation defined entirely by accident, and it has indeed been defined as an accident, but her role has not been perfectly erased.

Well, it feels nice to be thanked.

She wondered why Conan had helped her out of that predicament… She glanced at the boy beside her and noticed a strange white reflection on his glasses. A slight smile played on his lips as he whispered in her ear:

"Al, you really aren't good at lying."

Zhuge Tongzhi: ?

Huh? Are you talking about me?

-----------------------

Author's Note: Zhuge: ? Huh?

I fainted after finishing an exam, and when I woke up I started writing urgently OuO

You've really done a disservice to everyone during the final exams!