Chapter 206, Seventy-Third Cycle (36)
[Sakura: First, you must officially join the main storyline, interact with the main characters in your original identities, and become important figures influencing the main plot.]
*
Conan Edogawa couldn't sleep at all that night, tossing and turning in bed thinking about what happened at Beika Central Hospital that day.
At first, things developed exactly as he had feared worst. Bourbon personally went to the hospital to investigate Kusuda Rikudō's case, and even used the opportunity to test his suspicions.
Conan Edogawa's heart almost stopped beating at that moment.
At that moment, the alarm bells in his mind rose to a new and dangerous level.
But what happened later shifted his doubts and thoughts in another direction.
After a night of contemplation, he went directly to the Matsuda residence the next day.
"As expected of a child, so energetic, up so early. What do you want? I have to work the early shift even though you're not in the early class." Matsuda Jinpei still had a toothbrush in his mouth, his eyes still sleepy, and he yawned as he spoke.
"Mr. Matsuda, was Amuro alright yesterday?" Conan Edogawa followed him like a little tail, his expression natural and his voice sweet.
Matsuda Jinpei caught the toothbrush that he had almost dropped while yawning, raised an eyebrow and said, "We're the same age, yet you call him 'brother' but address me as 'sir'?"
Only after he said that did Conan Edogawa realize that Matsuda Jinpei and Amuro Tooru were actually the same age.
But there's no way around it, Amuro Tooru's face is just too youthful. He looks like he's 19, not 29.
Moreover, the two of them usually act innocent and pretend to be other people, and they're used to calling each other "Amuro-nii" (older brother Amuro).
Conan Edogawa naturally changed his form of address: "Mr. Amuro seemed a bit off yesterday. Does he have some kind of heart condition?"
After the case ended yesterday, before he had even been alarmed by the fact that Amuro Tooru had managed to glean information about Kusuda Rikumichi's death from Takagi Wataru, Amuro Tooru suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed, startling everyone.
At that moment, when Matsuda Jinpei rushed over to catch him, he subconsciously shouted "Zero."
"I don't know." Matsuda Jinpei walked into the bathroom, his voice a little muffled as he brushed his teeth. "He said he was fine and didn't want to see a doctor, and there's nothing we can do. But he did say he wasn't feeling well."
Conan Edogawa took two steps back, stopping at a point where part of his expression could be seen in the mirror, and his tone suddenly became calm: "How did Mr. Matsuda know about his nickname?"
"It was something we just casually talked about during a chat earlier." Matsuda Jinpei finished washing his face and started fiddling with his curly hair in front of the mirror.
"Zero, which means 'to see through,' signifies nothingness. That's how Mr. Amuro explained it." Conan Edogawa's glasses reflected a slight light. "But it's a little strange that this became his childhood nickname, isn't it? Would a child say that?"
"Maybe it's some terrible nickname given by some adult? And then the kids just started calling it that, which isn't surprising." Matsuda Jinpei gave up on fixing his curly hair.
Conan Edogawa fell into deep thought, quietly followed him out, and sat on the sofa watching him change his clothes and come out to prepare for work before suddenly speaking.
"zero".
Matsuda Jinpei paused, holding the hand in his suit, and turned to look at him.
"This is the name of a classified [non-existent organization] created to maintain national security and order." Conan Edogawa's expression was extremely serious, his blue eyes sharp yet unable to conceal his excitement.
"That is, the common name for public security police," he said slowly.
The public security department specializes in handling incidents that threaten state secrets and the public security system, and often uses illegal means such as espionage and wiretapping to conduct search operations.
In other words, his methods were simply futile in front of them.
Not to mention that Amuro Tooru is also Bourbon, an undercover agent for the Black Organization.
"Amuro Tooru is actually a secret police officer sent by [Zero] to infiltrate the organization, right?" Conan Edogawa stared intently at every subtle reaction of Matsuda Jinpei.
The curly-haired young man tugged at his suit sleeve, raising an eyebrow as if amused, and said, "What gave you the misconception that an ordinary police officer from the Explosives Unit like me would be involved with the Public Security Bureau and even know such confidential matters? Besides, don't you know that the relationship between ordinary police officers and Public Security officers isn't good?"
Conan Edogawa's expression remained serious: "You're the same age, so you might have been classmates at the police academy. That would explain why your three classmates were all so good to him."
"Me?" Matsuda Jinpei pointed to his nose. "Am I good to him???"
Conan Edogawa held up a finger: "First of all, you weren't the closest to Amuro Tooru yesterday, but even Officer Takagi next to him didn't react, and you rushed over as if you already knew he wasn't feeling well. The tense and worried expressions you and Officer Hagiwara had at the time weren't faked; they didn't seem like the attitude you would have towards a member of an organization."
Matsuda Jinpei put on his sunglasses: "What? Do you have a problem with a kind and helpful police officer? Your attitude is not good. Even criminals deserve human compassion."
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Conan Edogawa choked for a moment when he saw the sunglasses-wearing, curly-haired man looking like a formidable mob boss, before raising his second finger.
"Secondly, although you suddenly started hugging people everywhere for no reason two years ago, and even said that humans need three hugs a day to survive, you don't hug just anyone. Only people you are particularly close to receive this treatment." The child's eyes were sharp. "Obviously, Amuro Tooru's apparent identity does not meet your requirements. Even if you said you wanted to get close to the organization members to gather information, you wouldn't go to this extent."
"Furthermore, you yourselves often forget about the 'three hugs a day' plan, and when you're busy, you completely forget about it. The only time you never forget is when you're with Amuro Tooru. Even if something comes up and you miss it, you always make a point to catch up later." As Conan Edogawa said this, his eyes went from doubt to certainty. "You must have known each other before. It wouldn't make sense if you were just childhood friends. The only place where all three of you could have met at the same time... is the police academy."
“He was your classmate at the police academy, but we can’t find any information about his background. He’s pretending not to know us now, his code name is Zero, and he’s infiltrating the organization.” Conan Edogawa’s lips curled up as he deduced the last part. “He can only be a member of the Public Security Bureau who is also a secret police officer.”
Matsuda Jinpei looked at him for a while, then suddenly squatted down and gently placed his palm on the child's head.
The curly-haired man's sunglasses slipped down, revealing eyes that seemed to be smiling but weren't.
"Have you ever considered," he said slowly, "that perhaps the name 'Zero' really is his nickname?"
*
I don't believe it.
Conan Edogawa sat in the Kudo residence, looking at Shuichi Akai with an angry expression.
"In short, I don't believe it. There are too many strange things between them, and they just won't explain it directly. There must be something wrong!"
"It's alright, I'll investigate later and let you know the results." Shuichi Akai said, but his eyes were a little unfocused, clearly lost in thought.
"What's wrong, Mr. Akai? What are you thinking about? Is there a problem?" Conan Edogawa asked astutely.
Akai Shuichi: "..."
Akai Shuichi fell into silence.
He wondered, if Bourbon really had a heart problem, then he wasn't deliberately let go on the train that time.
But why is that? Why does the incidence of heart disease in Bourbon always seem to coincide with major breakthroughs in the investigation into his case?
Has Bourbon really come to hate him that much?
“Cherry blossoms…” Shuichi Akai originally didn’t want to continue touching Bourbon’s sore spots and wounds, but now he was suddenly really worried about the plans ahead, so he decided to investigate properly.
"Cherry blossoms?" Conan Edogawa tilted his head in confusion. "Are you referring to the time we ran into Bourbon and Vermouth when we were admiring the cherry blossoms with Jodie-sense? I already warned them to be careful."
Shuichi Akai shook his head, pondered for a moment, and looked at him, saying, "Do you remember the Schindler Corporation holographic game incident?"
Conan Edogawa paused for a moment, then nodded and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Are you familiar with that Noah's Ark AI?" Shuichi Akai asked.
Conan Edogawa nodded.
Of course I'm familiar with it. When I heard that Noah's Ark was up to something, I was quite startled. Fortunately, I later discovered that it was a trap set for the Schindler Company to expose that person's crimes and to save Kashimura Tadahira.
Noah's Ark is still frequently seen on his phone.
"Do you know the creator of Noah's Ark, the boy named Hiroki Sawada?" Shuichi Akai asked.
Conan Edogawa nodded again.
Of course he knew; Hiroki Sawada was now living in the Matsuda house next door under the alias Ai Orikasa.
Although he only learned the truth after that holographic game incident.
"Have you seen his picture? What does he look like?" Akai Hideaki asked gravely. "Because of his dispute with Schindler's Company, all his information, videos and photos were deleted from the internet several years ago. His father is also very wary of this. I can't find any information about him."
Conan Edogawa was a little stunned: "Mr. Akai, why are you investigating him?"
Of course, it's because he started to suspect that the second-generation Sakura was actually Noah's Ark after it reappeared.
He hadn't considered this possibility before because he felt that Hiroki Sawada was ultimately just a child and couldn't possibly be the super hacker Sakura, let alone someone connected to the organization and Bourbon.
However, after meeting Conan Edogawa, he gradually changed his mind.
Looking back now, Hiroki Sawada's death coincided with the time of the incident involving the first generation of Sakura, and the astonishing growth rate of Noah's Ark and the second generation of Sakura also perfectly matched.
Moreover, Noah's Ark's remarks during the holographic game incident were very much in line with Sakura's style and personality. The fact that she would think of using holographic games to educate the children of high-ranking officials across the country, attempting to fundamentally change the cognition and thinking of this corrupt and entrenched class, was indeed naive to the point of being cute, yet she also possessed a power that made people wary, shocked, and afraid.
"Did Noah's Ark really disappear?" Shuichi Akai asked doubtfully.
Cherry blossoms are still active now.
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Conan Edogawa: "Yes, that's what he said, because he said that artificial intelligence shouldn't exist yet."
“Indeed, if Noah’s Ark still existed, it would cause a sensation all over the world,” Shuichi Akai calmly analyzed. “But his intelligence is no different from that of a real human. Would he really commit suicide like that? Is it possible that he faked his death to prevent the world from becoming unstable because of him, and is actually hiding in the shadows to continue changing the world?”
Yes, just like cherry blossoms.
Conan Edogawa: "..."
After being frightened by Bourbon for some time, Conan Edogawa no longer shows any unusual expression on his face.
He asked, "Why is Mr. Akai investigating this? What is the connection between Noah's Ark and the organization?"
“Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with the organization,” Shuichi Akai said. “It’s just that I’m personally curious.”
Conan Edogawa breathed a sigh of relief, reassuring himself that he didn't know what Hiroki Sawada looked like. He thought to himself that it was alright, he could continue to uphold his promise to Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark and help them conceal their identities.
It's just related to Bourbon, Shuichi Akai thought, I should wait until I've confirmed it before telling him.
*
"Ugh, it's so cold." Sonoko Suzuki couldn't help but hug her arms tightly. "What's going on? It's already March and it's still snowing. The cherry blossoms are going to freeze to death in spring."
"The weather this year does seem a bit strange." Ran Mouri even took out the scarf that she had tucked away at the bottom of the closet.
“Yes, it’s really strange weather,” Sera Masumi said, her mind also filled with thoughts of that strange person.
So, is she going to observe and test Amuro Tooru now, or to approach Edogawa Conan and Haibara Ai?
"Ah, our family is hosting a gem exhibition in Hokkaido, and we even received a notification from Lord Kid!" Sonoko Suzuki suddenly shrieked, excitedly turning around and grabbing Ran Mouri's arm. "Ran, want to come with me? There's a ski festival and a national dog sledding competition happening nearby, let's go check it out~"
Ran Mouri went to look at her phone screen.
The news has already been posted online: the Suzuki Group will be holding an exhibition in the Ice and Snow World for a gem called "The Snow Queen" and has issued a challenge to Phantom Thief Kid.
The news that Phantom Thief Kid has just accepted the challenge has instantly gone viral online, with countless Phantom Thief Kid fans saying they want to go see it.
When school was over, Sonoko Suzuki excitedly told everyone that she had even gotten tickets to the exhibition.
Ran Mouri had already discussed it with her father and Conan, so she accepted the e-ticket.
Sera Masumi, however, refused.
"Sorry, you guys have a great time. I have some things to do here, so I won't be going to Hokkaido," she said.
Let's listen to Mom first and, while Conan Edogawa is away, go and test Ai Haibara.
*
"It's so cold, so cold, so cold..." Kogoro Mouri was still shivering, clutching his cotton coat. His drunken mind from last night instantly sobered up after getting off the bus.
Hokkaido has a cold climate, with snow still present in most parts of the region in March, especially in the higher-altitude mountains where the snow depth can reach up to 4 meters.
Moreover, due to the strange weather this year, where it snowed in other places in March, the snow in Hokkaido was even thicker.
This place, known as the Snow Country, is indeed very beautiful, but it's also a bit of a nightmare.
"I wish we had come in February," Kogoro Mouri complained. "It's cherry blossom season now, and even though the cherry blossoms have all frozen to death, why are we coming to an even colder place to see snow?"
The annual Hokkaido Snow Festival usually takes place in early February. In addition to skiing and ice skating, there is also a large-scale ice sculpture exhibition, which attracts countless tourists every year. However, it is not as lively and fun in March.
"What does it matter? If you're afraid of the cold, you can stay at the hotel and soak in the hot springs. Conan and I will go skiing." Ran Mouri patted Conan Edogawa's head.
Kogoro Mouri, of course, wasn't at ease with them, muttering to himself, "I really don't understand what's so interesting about those pretentious thieves. If you were just going to watch the dog sled race, I could relax in the natural hot spring at the hotel, but skiing is so dangerous..."
It's important to know that the ski festival held in Hokkaido is not your average skiing event. Only a few people who aren't very skilled ski around at the foot of the mountain, while most people venture out to the rugged snow-covered mountains for adventure.
The ski festivals here often attract top skiers from all over the world, making them very challenging, and the slopes are naturally dangerous.
Taking advantage of its geographical location at the same latitude as other parts of the Northern Territory, Hokkaido emphasizes exchanges with other countries and regions in the "Northern Territory" and has established the "Northern Territory Forum."
The ski festival is held here, and naturally, it will be promoted and discussed on the Northern Circle Forum, where people will arrange to play and compete together to see who is better.
Furthermore, Hokkaido is a region with frequent international exchanges, making it relatively chaotic, and many things are difficult for the local police to handle. As a former police officer, Kogoro Mouri naturally knows some of the inside story and cannot trust his underage daughter to run around with that kid.
"It's not that exaggerated. We mainly just want to go see Kaito Kid with Sonoko, then play around at the foot of the mountain and watch the dog sled race." Ran Mouri said helplessly, "Right, Conan?"
"Conan?"
"Ah, what's wrong, Ran-neechan?" Conan Edogawa looked up immediately after snapping out of his daze, revealing an innocent smile.
Ran Mouri took his hand: "Seriously, don't get distracted in a crowded, unfamiliar place, or you'll get separated from us."
Conan Edogawa hummed in agreement, looked away, and took out his phone with his other hand to start contacting people.
[Ms. Judy, you've come to Hokkaido too?]
He trusted his eyes; the two people he had just seen were indeed Judy and Carmel, and they looked serious.
Is this an FBI mission?
Having received no reply, Conan Edogawa temporarily put his phone back in his pocket. Just then, Sonoko Suzuki arrived, and the three of them headed towards the hotel with her.
The hotel also belongs to the Suzuki Group, and the gemstones will be exhibited in the hotel later.
After getting out of the car, Conan Edogawa paused, his gaze freezing instantly.
He saw Vermouth.
To be precise, she appears as Vermouth as Chris Vineyard.
"Why is she here?" Conan Edogawa instantly thought of the FBI agents he had just seen, and his heart began to race, but he remained relatively calm.
After all, he had confirmed that Vermouth would not harm him.
Hearing his mutterings, Sonoko Suzuki replied matter-of-factly, "Of course! Tonight's banquet has invited many famous celebrities and wealthy businessmen, but it is indeed a bit of a surprise that Chris Vineyard will come."
Kogoro Mouri immediately perked up: "Is Ms. Yoko here?!"
Sonoko Suzuki recalled for a moment: "I don't think I've ever heard of it."
Kogoro Mouri instantly lost his luster again.
Conan Edogawa took out his phone again, but Jodie still didn't reply.
He decided to call and ask as soon as he got to his hotel room.
Any abnormality must be taken very seriously now.
However, an unexpected event occurred before it even began.
When Kogoro Mouri and Conan Edogawa arrived at their room door, they found it was open.
Then, a man in a waiter's uniform pushed a cart out from inside and paused for a moment when he bumped into them.
Kogoro Mouri and Conan Edogawa were also stunned.
"Amuro-kun? What are you doing here?" Kogoro Mouri asked.
Conan Edogawa's pupils contracted sharply, and he trembled slightly as he stared intently at the blond, dark-skinned youth.
Although he had spoken with great confidence before, he actually lacked confidence, which made him even more nervous and uneasy in this situation.
"I'm working here. What a coincidence! I never expected to run into you guys, Mr. Mori, here." Amuro Tooru smiled, his eyes crinkling.
"What part-time job? Aren't you busy enough with the work of detectives and Poirot? Wait, you didn't take on another case to investigate like last time, did you?" Kogoro Mouri looked him up and down suspiciously.
The blond youth with innocent, droopy eyes blinked and smiled: "As expected of Mr. Mori, I can't hide anything from you after all."
Kogoro Mouri puffed out his chest instantly upon being praised.
“That’s right, I am indeed here to investigate something, but I can’t reveal the specifics because of the client’s request. I’ll have to trouble you teachers to help me conceal my identity.” Amuro gave an apologetic smile.
"It's alright, it's alright, I understand, I understand." Kogoro Mouri laughed and patted his shoulder. "Come find your master anytime if you need anything!"
While the two were having a pleasant conversation, Conan Edogawa couldn't resist taking out his phone again.
[Mr. Akai! Bourbon is here too!!!]
Before sending this message, he also sent messages from Judy Cameron and Vermouth, and speculated that the incident was not simple, but Shuichi Akai, who was busy investigating, did not reply.
But this time the other party replied very quickly.
[...]
I'm coming right now.
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