Chapter 133 The Fallen Rabbit Collects the Light

The Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace put away its pestle, while the Golden Crow on the Fusang Tree flapped its wings and surveyed the rooster that crowed at dawn.

The silver-plated snowfield was sprinkled with a layer of gold dust, and a little monkey lay in the snow with its eyes closed, as if it were asleep.

"My brother says he prefers the moon. But I think the sun and the moon are no different. The moon reflects the sun's light! Even when the moon sets, the light is still there."

"My favorite day is snowy days, of course, so I can make snowmen with my brother! You know what? The snowmen my brother makes never have eyes."

"—Because my brother said that if you don't have eyes, you can't see the filth and evil in the world. If you can't see, you won't think about it. Being clean and carefree is the best."

"Yes! My brother once told me that he sometimes envies your optimism, but he can never do it. In my brother's eyes, humanity has no future."

"Hmm... my brother didn't tell me his plan because he wanted to surprise me. I think if it's my brother, he'll definitely achieve his goal beautifully!"

"Huh? Of course my brother isn't here. He's setting up the new game venue."

"When did my brother say he wanted to compete with you here? Conan, didn't you come here to play with me? Didn't you always say you wanted to see me?"

"Conan, it seems you've misunderstood again. The rabbit you saw at the beginning wasn't your brother; it was a part of Lord Raven's consciousness that your brother had implanted in him. He said he had something very important to attend to, so he had to postpone his match with you."

"Goodbye, thank you for spending time with me today, I had a lot of fun!"

"Referee? Conan, I'm not qualified to referee the final match. Because if I were the referee, you would never win, and of course I would be biased towards my brother. You'll find a better, fairer referee."

"Wow, Little Zero and his friends won again!"

"Do you want to see them? I can take you there."

"Woof woof woof meow meow meow!" (Conan, wake up!)

Amidst the barking of dogs and meowing of cats, the little monkey gradually awoke. The moment it opened its eyes, it was met with the head of a dog with its jaws wide open, which startled the monkey so much that it leaped into the air.

"Oh my gosh, squeak squeak squeak?" (Where's Shaoming? Where's the snowman? What are you doing here?)

Before the dog could answer, the little monkey spotted a kitten nearby: "Hee hee hee?" (Daddy, what happened to you?)

The cat was utterly humiliated by these words and sullenly hid behind the dog's tail.

The dog couldn't help but think to itself, "Why have we become cats and dogs, while you, kid, still look somewhat human? This discrimination is too obvious!"

"Hey kid, who are you calling names?" Conan didn't know how he knew Bourbon's new codename in the game. It was as if a specific situation had triggered a switch. This new name really made him chuckle.

Seeing that the other dog could hear its thoughts, the dog deduced that they were probably of similar standing in the information chain. So, without further ado, it asked, "Conan, how did you get in?"

"I originally wanted to make a bet with Osiris, so I went into the mimicry pod in his office. But that guy went back on his word and didn't come in. He just left me there and ran off! But luckily, I met his younger brother, Shaoming, which solved a lot of my previous questions."

"Wait a minute, what bet did you make with Osiris? How could you risk your life like that?!" Although Conan didn't say, Bourbon still managed to probe into the other's memories.

"How else can I stop Osiris's insane plan?"

"That won't do! I brought you in to help, not to die!"

"You also risked your lives to come in, what right do you have to lecture me?!"

Seeing the dog and monkey arguing more and more fiercely, the cat, who had been hiding behind the dog's tail, could no longer bear it and jumped out to mediate. This intervention, however, brought about a major disaster.

The dog turned its attention to the cat: "Meow, Su, shouldn't you reflect on your actions?"

"Eh?"

"Isn't this child a result of being corrupted by you? Don't forget you just gambled your life with Osiris yesterday! Do you really think you're some cat demon with nine lives? I haven't even settled the score with you for this yet, so stay here and reflect on your actions!"

As he spoke, the dog powerfully swung its front paws and dug a hole in a matter of seconds, then stuffed the cat in and buried it.

Only a tiny head peeked out from the snow, its fluffy, pointed ears drooping down, and its soft whiskers twitching, making it look extremely pitiful.

The little monkey who witnessed the large-scale domestic violence scene was shocked and thought: Is this how the police usually use vigilante justice?

Seeing that Bourbon had finished "teaching" his partner a lesson, Conan hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "You just said you 'gambled your life with Osiris yesterday,' is it already the next day?"

"Yes, it should be close to 4 a.m. now."

When did you come in?

"We just got in. We set a 15-minute countdown, and we reckon it'll be over soon. But we came in again last night. We're not sure of the exact time we entered the game last time; we waited until everyone in the lab left before we started. If I'm guessing, the game will end around 11 PM... What about you? When did you come in?"

Conan was completely stunned after hearing this. He subconsciously rubbed his stomach, which hadn't had dinner yet, and finally understood the meaning of "Little Zero and his friends have won against Lord Raven again." He also truly realized how terrifying it was to be immersed in stagnant time. He had been there for so long without even realizing it.

"Shaoming said that Osiris is preparing a new game, and we must stop him as soon as possible!"

Before the little monkey could finish speaking, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked.

An indescribable blizzard swept across the world, breaking ice, collapsing mountains, and causing the sea to churn with deadly foam; even the sun and moon were torn to shreds.

Several small animals had nowhere to hide in the face of this irresistible force of nature; their bodies became sacrifices to this great disaster, while their lost souls drifted back to their original places...

"Xiao Jing, you're awake!"

Scotland opened his eyes to find himself facing a strange man's face, whose excessive enthusiasm and concern left him bewildered: "Uh, may I ask who you are?"

"Kei, it's me, Misao! Don't you recognize me?" Misao proudly showed off his police ID. "I've become a policeman! I'm an inspector in Gunma Prefecture now! Look, look, this is my police ID! Isn't it cool? I'm here to rescue you!"

"Huh? Huh?" Scotland sat in the mimicry pod, its shell already opened, still reeling from the terrifying blizzard. What shocked him even more was that his body had returned to normal, and the stubble on his chin seemed to have grown a bit longer. Hearing the other person call him "Little Jing" so affectionately only made him more confused.

“Officer, you must be mistaken!” Bourbon strode down from the mimicry pod and stood between Yamamura and Scotland. “He’s my partner, Hino Akira, not some nobody!”

A look of disappointment crossed Yamamura's face: "So I mistook you for someone else... I'm sorry, you look so much like my best friend, I thought you were the same person."

"Mountain Village Police Chief, there's another child next door!" an officer ran in to report.

Scotland and Bourbon initially mistook him for Conan, but upon seeing him, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Kudo?!"

"Ah, well, I..." Having been a child for more than half a year, Shinichi was not quite used to his original body yet, clumsily trying to control his limbs, which looked somewhat comical to others.

"Check each room one by one, don't overlook any clues!" Shancun shouted, adopting a commanding air. "Where's the ambulance? Why hasn't it arrived yet? Get these people to the hospital right now!"

Seeing this, the trio huddled together and whispered amongst themselves.

"What exactly happened? Do you know that village police inspector?"

"I just remembered that I did have a friend like that when I was a child, probably around five or six years old. I hadn't gone to Tokyo yet at the time, and it's been over 20 years since we last contacted each other."

"How did he recognize you at a glance after all these years? He even called you Xiao Jing to my face!" Bourbon was still bothered by this.

"I'm not saying this to be honest, but is he really qualified to be a police inspector? Is the local culture in Gunma really that simple and honest?" Shinichi looked at Yamamura, who was giving nonsensical instructions at the scene, and wished he could knock him out with a tranquilizer dart.

"What do you think?" Bourbon and Shinichi both turned their gazes toward Scotland.

Scotland frowned, trying hard to reconcile the man before him with the boy he had known for over 20 years. Finally, he concluded, "I think there's a big problem with this village police chief. My childhood friend just happened to become the police chief in his jurisdiction, and then he just happened to find me—it's all too much of a coincidence! It's like a deliberately set trap."

"Shaoming told me that Osiris is waiting for me in the new game. Maybe the game has already started. I think he's trying to use the mountain village to lower your guard."

Bourbon agreed: "Besides, that guy just said he'd take us to the hospital; who knows what might happen on the way!"

"Furthermore, it's suspicious that Kudo and I inexplicably regained our bodies. Ai told me that the pain in the bones and muscles during body restoration is greater than when the body shrank, but did you feel anything unusual?"

Shinichi shook his head: "When I first woke up, I thought I was dreaming."

A flash of inspiration struck Scotland: "Do you think we might still be in the game right now? Alice once said that pain is blocked in games. Giving players animal forms is mainly for simulation computational cost considerations. But if Osiris wants to go big, he's perfectly capable of building a real 'Matrix,' right?"

"Is this like a dream within a dream—a game within a game? Are we still in the virtual game world and haven't woken up yet?" Bourbon and Shinichi both agreed, thinking this was the most likely answer.

"So, shall we take action?"

The three exchanged glances, understanding each other perfectly.

Scotland took the lead and stepped forward, saying, "Inspector Yamamura, there is a secret room here, which is the core of intelligence processing."

The villager was overjoyed and asked impatiently, "Where is it?"

“Downstairs, I can lead the way. But…” Scotland hesitated.

"how?"

"There are some highly confidential things there, and they're also connected to the Metropolitan Police Department. The fewer people who know about this, the better."

"Aha, I get it, I get it! You lead the way, I'll go with you, without taking anyone else."

Scotland praised the villager for his understanding of justice, but just as the villager was fantasizing about what kind of major case he would solve and what great achievements he would make, Scotland's swift capture shattered his fantasies.

The villager, whose mouth and nose were covered, struggled desperately: "Waaah..."

“Behave yourself! My companions are guarding the gate, no one will come to save you.” Scotland threatened menacingly in a low voice, giving the man a sharp look. The villager’s legs went weak with fear, and he began to beg for mercy, sobbing.

“Inspector Yamamura, I have a few questions for you.” Shinichi stepped out of the shadows behind Scotland and met Yamamura’s terrified eyes. “Don’t be afraid, we won’t do anything to you.”

Shinichi cleared his throat: "I know why you're here. Someone sent you, didn't they?"

Shancun nodded.

"You just said you were going to take us to the hospital. Is that person also at the hospital?"

Shancun nodded again.

Having learned the answers to these two questions, Shinichi and Scotland exchanged a glance, relieved. They thought to themselves: "As expected, our guess was right!"

Shinichi continued his interrogation: "Why did you send us to the hospital? Did you intend to get rid of us on the way?"

The mountain village shook its head in confusion.

"Are you the referee for the game?"

The mountain villager wore a bewildered expression.

Seeing this, Scotland changed the question: "After that person went to the hospital, besides asking you to come find us, what else did he tell you?"

Shancun shook his head.

This reaction put Shinichi and Scotland in a difficult position: Could it be that the mountain village was just an insignificant minor character, and the real game could only be triggered by going to the hospital?

Shinichi asked, "Why a hospital?"

Yamamura twisted his body with difficulty, and Shinichi tentatively asked, "Did you take him to the hospital?"

Shancun nodded.

Shinichi was even more confused: "You took him there yourself?"

Shancun nodded.

"So you saw him? He was a little kid, wasn't he?"

Shancun nodded vigorously, as if he had something to say.

Scotland warned: "If you dare to shout or make a sound, you will face the consequences!"

The villager nodded repeatedly, promising not to say anything out of line. Scotland finally allowed him a moment's respite.

Gasping for breath, Yamamura, now free from the cold, exclaimed, "Hey Kudo-kun, are you mistaken? You're the one who sent him to find me!"

"What?!" Shinichi and Scotland were shocked.

Yamamura said irritably, "That kid came to the police station in the middle of the night, saying 'Shinichi-nii' sent him. I saw he was injured and very frightened, so I took him to the hospital. I even checked your school; your homeroom teacher said Kudo Shinichi hasn't been to class for over half a year. Aren't you Kudo Shinichi? You look quite like the person in the photo!"

"I...I am Shinichi Kudo, but...but he..." Shinichi's mind was in a mess. He grabbed the most perplexing point and asked, "That kid said I told him to call the police? Call what police?"

"Huh? You don't even remember what you did? That kid said some bad guys kidnapped him, and you got kidnapped while trying to save him. Why did you call the police? Of course, it was that kid who sneaked out in the middle of the night to ask the police to come and rescue you!" Yamamura said, heartbroken. "Kudo-kun, Hino-san, I mobilized a large number of police officers for this operation, and you openly assaulted the police! It's absolutely disheartening!"

Shinichi was completely dumbfounded. He never expected Osiris to pull such a stunt: wasn't this just the thief crying "stop thief"?

But how could Osiris, who has always maintained an air of mystery, show his true face? Is he really planning to give up everything?

"What's the child's name?" Shinichi asked.

Yamamura gave him a look that said, "You haven't lost your memory, have you?" and uttered a name he hadn't seen in a long time: "Yukino Hiroshi."