Chapter 208, Seventy-Third Cycle (38)
[Sakura: It seems starting the story early was useful. This plan works, and there are many things that can be changed.]
[Sakura: It's just a pity that the main characters involved in the storyline still can't be changed.]
[Sakura: In that case, let's execute Plan B.]
*
"Shibuya Natsuko?" Ai Haibara was taken aback.
“Yes, she’s a good friend of Ms. Judy’s, an elementary school teacher,” Conan Edogawa whispered, covering his phone. “It’s because she received a threatening letter, and she had two extra tickets for the Snow Festival, so Ms. Judy and Mr. Carmel came together. The reason they looked so serious was because they saw Vermouth, and they followed her there to see what was going on, even though they hadn’t replied to her messages.”
Ai Haibara drew back the curtains and glanced at Sera Masumi, who was pretending to pass by for the second time, and said, "Really? So the FBI being there was just a coincidence?"
"I still feel something's not right. How could there be such a coincidence that the FBI, the police, and the organization all came together?" Conan Edogawa frowned.
"It wouldn't exactly be considered them hanging out together," Ai Haibara said, drawing the curtains as if she hadn't seen anything. "Aren't they staying at the inn at the hot spring resort on the other side? They're not involved in the Kaito Kid and Jewel incident at the hotel, are they?"
“Speaking of Kaito Kid,” Conan Edogawa straightened up instantly from leaning back on the sofa. “He just messaged me saying that a magician made a divination and prophecy about us.”
Ai Haibara, the scientist: "..."
What... magicians and fortune tellers... never mind, we've already come this far, let's try to include everything in our thinking.
"Do you remember the dream I told you about ten years from now that I mentioned a few days ago?" Conan Edogawa's voice was serious.
"Yes, I remember. You also said that Amuro Tooru died." Ai Haibara gripped her phone tightly, her tone still natural. "What? Is this prophecy about him?"
“I’m not sure.” Conan Edogawa got up and walked to the hotel’s huge floor-to-ceiling window, reaching out to press his hand against the rising sun through the glass. “There are two prophecies, one about me, and the other… might be about Tooru Amuro.”
Ai Haibara: "Tell me."
Golden sunlight shone on Conan Edogawa, dispelling the darkness and bringing warmth, illuminating the entire world against the backdrop of white snow.
"The ancient clock tower, representing time, will announce to the world that when it strikes its fifty-thousandth chime, the Demon of Light will be reborn in the sunlight of the Eastern Capital, bringing hope to annihilate all criminals in one fell swoop."
The hotel they were staying on was on a very high floor with a wide view, enough for Conan Edogawa to watch the sun slowly rise from the horizon.
“Kidd said I am the Demon of Light,” he said.
"What a cringeworthy and terrifying nickname," Haibara commented with a wry smile, then her voice grew serious as she said, "Does that mean you'll eventually defeat the organization and reclaim your original identity?"
"Probably, but we still don't know when or where the 50,000 bell rings will take place," Conan Edogawa said. "The Eastern Capital is probably the Far Eastern island nation—which is what we mean here. So, the organization's headquarters is indeed in this country, right?"
"What about the second prophecy?" Ai Haibara asked.
Conan Edogawa remained silent for a moment before speaking: "This is a game between God and the devil. When the bells commemorating the birth of the Holy Lord ring, the hero of darkness will fall in the darkness of Satan's city, successfully saving the world and bringing happiness and sorrow."
Ai Haibara frowned and remained silent.
Kogoro Mouri got up, and Conan Edogawa walked to a corner, leaned against the wall, and said in a low voice, "The bells commemorating the birth of the Holy Lord refer to the Christmas bells, right? The heroes of darkness, the heroes who fight in the shadows, refer to the undercover investigators who infiltrated the organization, right? Then the City of Satan must be the organization's headquarters."
If Shuichi Akai had been there at the time, he might have suspected that it was Shuichi Akai from the FBI.
However, Shuichi Akai had not yet arrived when the divination was performed.
“You know I’ve always suspected that Bourbon is actually a police mole sent to infiltrate the organization.” Conan Edogawa skipped over Shuichi Akai’s topic and said seriously, “If the ‘Hero in Darkness’ refers to him, then everything makes sense.”
Ai Haibara remained silent.
On the other end of the phone, unseen by Conan Edogawa, the brown-haired girl clenched her fists tightly, her face extremely pale.
Conan Edogawa continued, "If the dream ten years from now is true, then Amuro Tooru was an undercover investigator codenamed Zero, sent by the Public Security Police to infiltrate the organization. Then, during the final battle with the organization, which was on Christmas Day, he died in the organization's headquarters, which led to the ending that we will still be saddened by ten years later."
"But I don't quite understand, does magic really exist in this world?" Conan Edogawa looked confused, his worldview once again crumbling.
He spoke so fast it was almost like talking to himself: "And why would such a powerful magician be so afraid that he left overnight and didn't want to get involved with us? Even if Kidd said that even magicians can't use magic on ordinary people at will due to the world's rules... what did that witch mean when she said that we can't change the terrifying cause and effect that has already become a fait accompli? Does she mean that even if we know the future through prophecy, we can't change the final outcome? Cause and effect... or does it mean that even our knowledge of the prophecy is part of the development towards that future?"
Ai Haibara remained silent.
"Haibara, what do you think?" Conan Edogawa asked the scientist whose worldview was being challenged.
“…I don’t know,” Ai Haibara said softly. “I’m completely confused now.”
The limitations of the world's rules... prophecies about the future... Amuro Tooru's inescapable death...
She had a feeling that what her sister and the others were hiding was far beyond her imagination.
The reality of this world may be hard to believe.
Even the most absurd things gradually become reality, forcing people to accept them.
Don't run away, you can't run away. You must bravely face reality and your own destiny.
"It's alright. Even if it's magic, once you figure it out, it's no different from science." Ai Haibara wasn't sure if she was comforting herself or Conan Edogawa. "Even something as incredible as APTX4869, with effects more unbelievable than magic, isn't it still science that humans have researched?"
Conan Edogawa paused for a moment, then laughed: "That's true, the two of us don't seem to have any right to talk about others, and there's nothing to be afraid of."
"What's scary is the unknown. As long as we figure it all out and master it, that's enough." His gaze gradually hardened and became unwavering.
*
The most important and greatest takeaway is that Conan Edogawa is now even more convinced that Tooru Amuro is actually an undercover agent sent by the police to infiltrate the organization.
With the Phantom Thief Kid and the Jewel Exhibition safely concluded, Amuro Tooru's request to come here was successfully resolved, Vermouth left Hokkaido early because of the Oscars ceremony the day after tomorrow, and Akai Shuichi had also arrived at the scene, Edogawa Conan's heart, which had been pounding in his chest, finally calmed down a little, and he felt that he could finally get a good night's sleep.
As for the prophecy that Amuro Tooru would die... wasn't the purpose of the prophecy to be broken?
He believed that as long as they exchanged information and cooperated, they could definitely change the terrible future predicted...
"Whoa—" the blond youth drawled, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "So it's the FBI, huh? That means it's that legendary investigator from the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America, right? I never expected such a big shot to actually appear among us. This is quite a shock."
Conan Edogawa: "..."
This was the first time Conan Edogawa had ever seen Amuro Tooru act so strangely, and he was momentarily stunned.
Judy and Carmel were tense, watching the organization member codenamed Bourbon with wariness and hostility, their fists clenched by his sarcastic remarks.
The blond, dark-skinned youth turned to look at them, his eyes cold, but his tone flippant, even smiling as he said, "I often see you guys in movies and TV shows, the kind of investigators who try to get credit by being aggressive and showy at crime scenes, always arrogantly ordering others around in their investigations, completely disregarding the safety of the local police and the public, making all the viewers indignant and hateful, right?"
Conan Edogawa: "…………"
"What?!" Judy and Carmel were furious, unable to contain themselves. "What did you say?!"
"Ah, I wasn't talking about you guys." Amuro Tooru quickly raised his hands, his eyes crinkling with fear and embarrassment as he explained, "I was just talking about those movies. Maybe I just happened to see those kinds of plots. I didn't mean to say anything bad about you two."
Judy and Camel were furious, but they couldn't do anything about it. He had said everything, good and bad. Even if they hated this member of the organization who killed Shuichi Akai, they didn't dare to make any rash moves now.
Conan Edogawa sighed and looked around. The two police officers from Hokkaido both looked shocked and embarrassed, hesitant to speak. Seeing the tense atmosphere, he quickly pulled them apart and steered the conversation back to the case itself.
On the contrary, Shuichi Akai, who is also an FBI agent, is still maintaining his composure as Subaru Okiya. Because he is left-handed, he is a suspect in this case and is being questioned by Jinpei Matsuda, Kenji Hagiwara, and Wataru Date, who happened to be playing nearby at the time.
Conan Edogawa temporarily put aside the matter of Tooru Amuro and quickly thought about the truth of this case.
It's the third day of the Snow Festival. After stealing the jewels and returning them as usual, Kaito Kid's performance is over.
After playing in the snow and ice for two days, they decided to go see the dog sledding event first and then go to a famous hot spring resort to soak in the hot springs.
The result was that an accident occurred at the dog sled race.
They met Judy and Natsuko Shibuya.
Shibuya Natsuko came with her students, and their parents came along too. The whole class came together to watch the dog sledding event.
The dog sled race is right next to the ski festival, at the intersection, and many people come to watch the dogs pull the sleds while skiing.
Then, when Shibuya Natsuko was taking the children who had finished skiing to see dog sledding, she was injured by a man in ski gear who threw a bomb with his left hand.
Fortunately, the detective Amuro Tooru, whom she had hired, was with her and rescued her in time. She wasn't seriously injured; she just hit her head on a tree and passed out. She has been taken to the hospital and should be fine.
Even if no one is hurt, and the bomb was a homemade bomb with low lethality, the seriousness of the matter is still very high.
In addition, the presence of two FBI agents who happened to be on vacation nearby and three Tokyo police officers who were on holiday drew the attention of the Hokkaido police.
but……
"So it's you guys!" One of the bearded policemen looked at Kogoro Mouri and then at Jinpei Matsuda and the other two as if they were observing some legendary creature, and said with a smile in a low voice, "It's an honor to meet you. As expected of you, wherever you go, something happens."
Kenji Hagiwara's expression froze for a moment, then he leaned in and whispered with a smile, "What do you mean? Forget about Mr. Mori, why are you looking at us like that?"
"Don't worry, don't worry, the rumors about you three are good." The bearded police officer laughed and patted his shoulder, saying in a cheerful and gossipy tone, "Legend has it that wherever Mr. Mori goes, it's like the Grim Reaper, and a murder will happen. But Tokyo has produced three amazing policemen. As long as they're with you, at least no one will die. They're angel policemen who are competing with the Grim Reaper for credit."
“Heavens…angels…” Date Wataru was speechless.
Matsuda Jinpei rubbed his arms violently, feeling a chill: "Shut up, I'm going to throw up."
The bearded officer laughed even louder, chuckling as he put his arms around their shoulders: "This is great! We police officers always lack this kind of opportunity to become famous. Now we finally have officers who are as famous and trusted as the detective. It's because you've done such a good job that so many people like and thank you. Like, when I see Detective Mouri, my heart skips a beat, but when I see you, I feel relieved and relaxed. Isn't that wonderful? But do you guys usually hang around Detective Mouri all the time? Otherwise, how could you coincidentally encounter so many incidents? But it's really impressive that you've managed to solve them all. I'll have to ask you for help this time..."
"No, no, it's just a coincidence. We just like to travel around." Kenji Hagiwara waved his hand with a smile, but his body was a little stiff.
Oh no! With the information that the future mobile phone can update at any time, they will only save more people. Will that shameful title become even more famous?
Is it a coincidence...?
Conan Edogawa shifted his attention away from the group and turned to look at the blond, dark-skinned youth who had nearly driven the FBI mad with anger but still looked completely innocent.
He suspected Amuro Tooru more than Officer Matsuda and his team.
How come this person has so many cases? He just solved one yesterday, and today he immediately and seamlessly moves on to another stalker case? And how is it such a coincidence that he's able to reasonably appear and get involved in these cases?
Is this really a coincidence?
Conan Edogawa doesn't believe it.
But if it wasn't... Conan Edogawa couldn't understand it.
If Amuro Tooru is a Public Security agent codenamed Zero, then why does he always cooperate with Vermouth to try and find Shuichi Akai, who is faking his death? He even goes to such lengths that it gives the impression that he absolutely cannot tolerate any possibility that Shuichi Akai is still alive after faking his death.
If the two are both undercover partners, even if they had a grudge before, they shouldn't have clashed over destroying the organization, right? Neither of them seems like the type to act impulsively based on personal feelings.
"That's it?" Amuro Tooru suddenly sneered.
"Huh?" Judy and Cameron were taken aback.
Meeting those malicious purple eyes, Judy's anger flared again, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "What do you mean?!"
Amuro Tooru, who was very tall, looked down at her with a mocking glint in his eyes: "What I mean is, after thinking about this for so long, is this all you can come up with, FBI?"
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Here we go again?
Conan Edogawa, with his deadpan expression, turned around and saw that Subaru Okiya seemed to have seen and heard nothing. Inspector Matsuda and the others had also gone outside to investigate clues. He simply turned around and hid in a corner, stroking his chin and continuing to seriously ponder the identity of Tooru Amuro.
He had seen through the truth of the case, but he still couldn't be sure about Amuro Tooru's secret.
This alone is not enough to investigate.
Want to take a gamble?
Hahahaha—
Amuro Tooru suddenly burst into laughter, then sighed, "As expected, only we can see through the truth."
“Right, Conan Edogawa,” he said.
"Huh?" Conan Edogawa, who was in the corner, froze, turned around, and tried to put on a calm and innocent smile. "What?"
"Conan, didn't you glance at the culprit right after you looked at all the clues?" Amuro said with a smile.
"What? You know who the culprit is?!" the bearded policeman exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, it's almost certain." Amuro Tooru admitted, then turned to look at Jodie, a smirk playing on his lips. "But I've finally solved one mystery: why would she hire an ordinary detective like me when she has a friend who's an FBI agent?"
Conan Edogawa suddenly felt a toothache.
And ordinary detectives...
"What do you mean? Are you saying I'm unreliable?!" This time, Judy really couldn't hold back and wanted to rush over.
“I think we should… we should feel bad troubling her, since we’re here in Japan for sightseeing,” Camer quickly stammered, pulling her back.
Amuro Tooru nodded: "I see, you're here for sightseeing. If you don't have visas, your stay must be almost at its limit, right?"
The two FBI agents' expressions stiffened slightly.
Amuro Tooru's smile gradually turned cold, and after two seconds, it finally became completely expressionless.
The blond, dark-skinned youth's tone also became harsh and disgusted, even carrying a deep murderous intent.
"Now that you've had your sightseeing, please, FBI agents, stop causing trouble for our country and leave as soon as possible," he said.
Amuro Tooru interpreted all the questions as orders, or even more like expulsion.
Boom—
In an instant, a flash of lightning accompanied by those words crossed Conan Edogawa's mind, causing his expression to change.
I see!
Just as I expected!
He knew Amuro Tooru wasn't the enemy!
Conan Edogawa was completely at ease, and his courage grew rapidly in this safe environment. In the end, he decided to take a gamble and give it a try.
Moreover, if they continue arguing, things could get really out of hand, and it would be disastrous if the FBI and the police were to become completely unable to cooperate in the future.
“Wait, um, Zero…” Conan Edogawa immediately ran forward and grabbed the blond youth’s hand.
However, the moment he grabbed it, he was stunned by the warmth of that hand.
Why is it so cold and I'm sweating...?
Amuro Tooru looked down at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Hmm?"
Conan Edogawa realized what was happening and temporarily put the strange place aside: "Ah, no, Amuro-nii, could you come over here for a moment?"
He tried to tug at it, then gripped the unresisting blond youth's cold hand and dragged him to the empty window.
Judy stood there dumbfounded: "???"
Wait, why are you guys so close?!
The blond youth wasn't angry at being forcibly pulled to a corner by the child. Instead, he patiently squatted down to look at Conan Edogawa, a gentle smile on his lips as he softly asked, "What's wrong, Conan-kun?"
It was already dusk outside, and the fiery red sunset shone through the window onto the two of them.
Conan Edogawa raised his hand to block others from interpreting his lips, and whispered to him, "Um, Amuro-nii-san."
"Hmm?" Amuro Tooru tilted his head.
Conan Edogawa stared directly into the blond youth's purple eyes and slowly said, "You're the enemy, aren't you?"
The window wasn't closed tightly, and even though the sun was shining brightly, a cold wind still blew in through the cracks, making people shiver.
Under Amuro Tooru's unwavering gaze, Conan Edogawa, having failed to probe further, uttered the following sentence: "They are the enemies of those bad guys, right?"
You are the organization's enemy, our ally, right?
At this moment, Amuro Tooru's expression finally changed.
He had been keeping his head slightly turned to the side, with some of his attention still on the FBI agents, but now he slowly turned his head and focused all his attention on Conan Edogawa.
He didn't speak. His face, half illuminated by sunlight and half shrouded in darkness, was filled with an inscrutable expression. All the tenderness and smile in his mouth and eyes had vanished, leaving only coldness and indifference.
The atmosphere froze instantly, and a sense of tension and danger filled the small space, almost suffocating.
Conan Edogawa's heart skipped a beat, realizing that this reaction was wrong. He stiffly lowered his hand and stared at him with tense eyes.
"I've always known what you're thinking, but I never expected you to ask me so directly." The blond youth suddenly sighed helplessly, a faint smile returning to his lips.
Conan Edogawa's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, relaxed a little.
“Zero,” Amuro Tooru said.
Conan Edogawa's gaze sharpened, and his heart leaped again, guessing that he was about to reveal his identity as a public security officer and an undercover agent.
“I said before that this was my childhood nickname, and it’s true,” Amuro Tooru continued.
Conan Edogawa's eyes widened in disbelief, and his body froze instantly.
At that moment, the blond, dark-skinned youth reached out and grabbed his shoulder, then slowly moved closer, letting the heavy shadow completely envelop his entire body.
The other person's once innocent and clear drooping eyes had now turned into a cold, inorganic, metallic purplish-gray, as if they were looking at a pitiful prey who had come to their death.
"I'm sorry, little detective, you were too impulsive. All your reasoning was wrong," he said.
Conan Edogawa's pupils trembled, and his whole body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave.
He watched as the blond youth's smile widened, gradually forming a joyful yet crazed expression.
“It seems you have a slight misunderstanding about me,” the man codenamed Bourbon said softly.
Conan Edogawa's breath hitched, and he almost suffered a cardiac arrest. Even his usually brilliant mind went completely blank for a moment.
He was frozen in place, as if being targeted by a large, dangerous beast, watching helplessly as its massive, cold, savage teeth approached his neck, ready to bite through his throat at any moment.
Then, he turned around and bit everyone around him to death.
...It's over, Conan Edogawa thought instinctively, everything is over.
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