Chapter 232, Seventy-Third Cycle (62)
Conan Edogawa spent a day and a night reading through "Running Towards the Sun" and related discussions.
Despite the uplifting and positive title, the novel's content is far darker and more cruel.
To be precise, the core of the novel is indeed running towards the sun, and the emotions between the characters and their beliefs are very touching.
The key point is that their goal was extremely difficult, almost like the legendary Kuafu chasing the sun, with no hope in sight. Throughout the story, all you see is the protagonist and his companions struggling in the darkness with unwavering faith to save people and protect their country, ultimately dying on their journey to chase the sun while holding onto their ideals.
Yes, the main character died.
The main characters of this mystery novel are a group of police officers. Each book tells a story, and there is a central protagonist.
The story isn't long, and the general format is basically as follows: the police protagonist joins the force—the police protagonist solves a case—the police protagonist grows through a series of hardships—the police protagonist and his partner successfully solve the case—the police protagonist dies.
So far, four books and four series have been published, and four main characters have died.
Each policeman was connected to the others, passing on their beliefs one after another, only to die one after another.
I had heard of Conan Edogawa before, and I was wondering at the time, even if it's a mystery novel, how come such a angsty series of novels is so popular?
Also, aren't recent novels, comics, and TV dramas getting increasingly outrageous? Everyone's selling knives wholesale; are they trying to change careers?
Is it really something a human can bear to have a character die because of someone they like?
Or has he become out of touch with society after spending some time in elementary school? Does he no longer understand the trends among young people today?
Later, Conan Edogawa saw a discussion online and found that many people said that it was precisely because of death that the character's stature was elevated to a terrifying level. Although they were saddened, they liked him even more and could not forget him.
Moreover, this series of novels has always had a main storyline, and only by ending this main storyline can one truly catch up with the sun.
Now that four main characters have died, readers' curiosity and sense of injustice regarding the main storyline have reached a new level. They are determined to see the final ending, to see that everyone's sacrifices have been rewarded, and to see the world finally see the light.
For pure mystery fans, figuring out the truth behind this main storyline is also extremely appealing.
The novel gained more attention due to the controversies it sparked, and it gradually became very popular, even becoming a trend and a topic of conversation among young people.
In other words, Conan Edogawa is now back in elementary school. If he were to continue to high school, he would be able to learn more just from conversations with his classmates.
As for Kogoro Mouri... he prefers to read mystery novels like those by Agatha Christie.
Taki Ryuichi's "Running Towards the Sun" series of mystery novels differs greatly from traditional mystery novels, incorporating many fantastical and unproven theories and pseudo-scientific settings, such as time machines, which makes the truth of the main plot more elusive and chilling upon closer examination.
This is very popular among young people, but many original mystery fans find it hard to accept, feeling that it deviates from the scientific logic and fun of reasoning.
This is also the most controversial aspect of the novel.
But the novel's popularity is undeniable, and it's even rumored that anime and live-action versions are in the works.
This is the first time that "Run Towards the Sun" has held an offline fan event.
The setting is an old castle deep in the mountains of Nagano. The author, Ryuichi Taki, personally designed the plot, allowing readers to participate in a live-action mystery murder drama.
The specific details of the event were not released; it is said to be for the fun of solving puzzles.
Currently, only two basic procedures can be seen: one is to issue 1,000 tickets, and then use the invitation code to answer questions online, and after a preliminary selection, 100 people are chosen.
These 100 people can go to the event location in Nagano, and regardless of their final game experience, they will receive a complete set of physical books signed by the author.
Ran Mouri failed the quiz, her ticket was invalidated, and she couldn't join them on this mystery-solving adventure.
However, Ran Mouri didn't care, because Sonoko Suzuki had a cold and fever, and even if she could go, she wouldn't leave Sonoko behind and go out to play with her father and the others.
Seeing Ran Mouri fail to answer the question, Kogoro Mouri felt a little guilty and reluctantly agreed to let Conan Edogawa cheat for him.
Conan Edogawa learned about the three test papers and then discovered that they were not exactly the same, and many of them did not have standard answers.
Rather than judging who has the better reasoning ability, this seems more like a selection of game players based solely on the author's preferences.
"Why, why, why! Damn it! I wanted to participate in the mystery competition with you too, Kudo! What criteria did they use to select people?! Why didn't I pass? What was wrong with my answers???"
Therefore, Conan Edogawa was not surprised when Heiji Hattori called and angrily complained that he hadn't passed.
Heiji Hattori didn't actually like the novel; he simply wanted to play the mystery game, especially with Kudo.
Unfortunately, after finally managing to get the tickets and invitation code, he was eliminated in the first round and almost died of anger.
In the end, just considering Conan Edogawa, there were a total of seven people who knew about going to Nagano.
Kogoro Mouri, Tooru Amuro, Hikaru Midorikawa, Wataru Date, Kenji Hagiwara, Jinpei Matsuda, and Subaru Okiya.
And they all took the same train.
The ticket was given by Hikaru Midorikawa, and given that Tooru Amuro and Hikaru Midorikawa are both Kogoro Mouri's disciples, it's normal for them to act together.
Date Wataru, Hagiwara Kenji, and Matsuda Jinpei, on the other hand, seriously talked about cultivating band camaraderie, and then came over with their respective instrument bags to join them.
As for Subaru Okiya...
Conan Edogawa glanced at the pink-haired, bespectacled man in the seat to his left.
...The reason why Mr. Akai participated in this event is rather intriguing.
Conan Edogawa turned his gaze back to the long-haired man directly opposite him.
Hikaru Midorikawa was also wearing a dark blue hat today.
With his hat, bangs, and glasses covering his face, his eyes were even harder to see.
Judging from the expression on the lower half of his face, he seemed to be having a lot of fun playing cards and a turtle game with Amuro Tooru.
Amuro Tooru was talking to Kogoro Mouri, who had just won another game and was standing next to Conan Edogawa.
"As expected of Mr. Mori, he possesses a detective's eye that can see right through people's hearts," the blond, dark-skinned, baby-faced youth chuckled.
Kogoro Mouri crossed his arms and proudly raised his chin: "Hahaha, I don't know why I have this ability, I can always successfully avoid dangerous cards and draw other safe cards."
The four of them sat together playing with tortoise shells.
Date Wataru and the others were also playing a game of drawing turtles in the back. It seemed that Hagiwara Kenji had won, and Matsuda Jinpei was saying unconvinced that they should play another round.
Subaru Okiya sat alone on the left, across the aisle, pretending to be playing on his phone, not counting as being with them.
Amuro Tooru held out his cards to play a game with Midorikawa Hikaru, but his mind was still talking to Kogoro Mouri: "Haha, if only I could tell which card was wrong right away."
Hikaru Midorikawa drew his cards slowly, saying at the same time, "Hmm... I wish I had the ability to use the process of elimination like Master Kogoro. That way, I could easily see who betrayed me, right?"
"Boom boom boom—"
As the train entered the tunnel, the outside world instantly went dark.
Subaru Okiya, positioned diagonally behind them, looked at them through the reflection in the window.
From his angle, he couldn't see Midorikawa Hikaru's face, only Amuro Tooru turning his head and blinking in confusion, seemingly not understanding why he suddenly said this.
Under his gaze, Midorikawa Hikaru seemed to smile slightly, then said gently and slowly, "For example, I really want to know which unscrupulous wholesaler sold me stale fish at a high price."
Amuro Tooru then smiled: "As expected of a sushi chef."
Hikaru Midorikawa chuckled: "Right?"
Subaru Okiya withdrew his gaze, frowned, and fell into deep thought.
Something's not right.
We need to remind the FBI.
The danger level in Scotland has increased, while the likelihood of it being turned has decreased.
*
This event lasts for two days and one night.
Conan Edogawa and his friends arrived in Nagano at nine in the morning and found the ancient castle deep in the mountains at ten.
It's snowing heavily in Nagano today.
The castle is abandoned and without electricity, making it already gloomy and cold. Through deliberate scene setting and a real-life suicide by hanging that occurred there, the accumulated emotions make it even more terrifying.
This atmosphere is indeed very suitable for mystery novels, immediately reminding one of the snowstorm-shrouded mountain lodge serial murders in Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None".
Conan Edogawa could only sigh with relief that Ran, who was terrified of ghosts, hadn't come.
The event officially started at 12 o'clock. One hundred people found 13 clues in the castle. Once they found a clue, they could move on to the next game location.
The deadline is 6 PM.
First come, first served; obviously, the number of players in the next round will be 13.
Eliminated players can leave with a set of autographed books.
The game is difficult, but it's not a problem for Conan Edogawa and his friends.
However, they encountered an unexpected event that delayed their progress.
Yes, a real murder almost occurred during this offline murder mystery performance.
Fortunately, it was all a misunderstanding, and they managed to prevent the tragedy from continuing.
By the time they finished solving the case, they only had an hour and a half left.
However, the next location is on the next hill, so there's still time.
Climbing a mountain in the wind and snow is inevitably arduous, especially for elementary school student Conan Edogawa.
Halfway there, Amuro Tooru carried him on his back.
As Conan Edogawa nestled against the man's warm back, he couldn't help but recall the time when the man had carried him through an avalanche in the snowy mountains of Hokkaido. His mood, which had been sour because of the case, improved considerably.
Behind them, several people were still quietly discussing the case they had just witnessed.
“Those five people were all high school classmates.” Kogoro Mouri said, talking about his classmates and friends who almost got into trouble, and then sighed, “Come to think of it, that was right when we first met Amuro-kun. It’s been so long without us realizing it.”
"How long has it been?" Amuro Tooru suddenly asked.
Without hesitation, Conan Edogawa answered, "Two months."
Amuro Tooru was silent for a few seconds, then smiled: "It has indeed been a long time."
"Why did Mr. Nichihara still commit suicide?" Midorikawa Hikaru whispered. "Even though he injured his shoulder and couldn't play baseball anymore, hadn't he already found another job?"
Perhaps because of the distance, Conan Edogawa felt that his tone was a bit strange.
It wasn't a simple question, but rather a suspicion and repression tinged with unclear emotions.
Conan Edogawa couldn't help but turn around to look.
"Because for him, when he was injured and could no longer play baseball ten years ago, and his teammates threw games to lose quickly for his health, he was probably already dead," Kenji Hagiwara sighed. "To be able to hold on for ten years, he must have tried his best and reached his limit, otherwise he wouldn't have attempted suicide twice."
Ida Wataru sank deep into the thick snow: "Even the police can't save someone who's determined to die."
Matsuda Jinpei looked a little annoyed and remained silent for a while before saying, "After all, he was such a glorious ace pitcher back then. But even an ace pitcher can't ignore his physical health and throw a thousand pitches at high speed in a short period of time."
Hikaru Midorikawa suddenly looked up and glanced at Tooru Amuro.
Conan Edogawa, who was perched on Amuro Tooru's back and looking back at them, met his gaze and was momentarily stunned.
Perhaps it was because the wind and snow were too heavy and obstructed his vision, but for a moment he found Midorikawa Hikaru's expression particularly frightening.
But the next second the other person lowered their head. Before he could even analyze what that feeling was, the person had already returned to that melancholy and gentle look that was easy to bully.
Conan Edogawa unconsciously gripped the clothes beneath him, turning his head to bury his face in the white fur collar of Tooru Amuro.
"Mr. Amuro..."
"Ah! Is this it?!" Kogoro Mouri suddenly rushed forward excitedly. "We're finally here! I'm freezing! Let's hurry inside, we're going to be late—"
Conan Edogawa looked up and saw a tall, dark building through the increasingly heavy snow.
In this desolate mountain, an abandoned church stands amidst the wind and snow.
When they pushed open the door, the six people inside immediately turned around and looked at them.
"At 5:45:33 PM, all 13 players have arrived." The brown-haired boy dressed as Sherlock Holmes closed his pocket watch and looked at them. "There are still 15 minutes and 19 seconds until the game starts. Perhaps we could introduce ourselves first?"
A huge eagle suddenly flew over and landed steadily on his arm.
"My name is Hakuba Saguru, I'm a high school detective, nice to meet you." The brown-haired boy smiled at them, giving off the impression of a noble young master from a wealthy family.
Subaru Okiya adjusted his guitar case, which was about to fall off: "My name is Subaru Okiya, an ordinary university graduate student. Nice to meet you."
The other four people gathered together. These three men and one woman had obviously come together. They introduced themselves and finally said that they were from the same band.
The heavy doors of the church were closed, and Kogoro Mouri naturally began the introductions, followed by his two disciples, Tooru Amuro and Hikaru Midorikawa, who stood on either side of him, attracting considerable attention.
On the contrary, the three policemen, including Kenji Hagiwara, just smiled and said that they were also in a band. What a coincidence!
Nobody paid much attention to Conan Edogawa, who looked like an elementary school student who was just an accessory to an adult, except for Hakuba Saguru, who glanced at him a few more times.
Buzzing—
Conan Edogawa sensed which phone it was, then took out his own phone with a sense of relief and opened the new email.
Detective, guess who I am?
—Kaito Kid
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