Chapter 268, Seventy-Third Cycle (98)
"Wait! Doctor! Don't go in yet!" Ai Haibara's expression changed drastically, and she immediately grabbed Professor Agasa's sleeve. "It seems like Arthur encountered some kind of special plot, and the live stream has been blocked!"
Dr. Agasa: "..."
Dr. Agasa scratched his head: "Um, it seems my live stream has also been temporarily shut down."
Ai Haibara paused for a moment, then suddenly turned around and looked at the gate.
Upon hearing this, the group of people who were about to enter the gate of the facility also turned around and looked at Professor Agasa.
Sera Masumi's face had already darkened, and upon hearing this, she also spoke up, "My live stream has also been shut down. The system says we've entered a special storyline as well."
Ran and Kogoro Mouri weren't interested in the live stream; they were still looking at the wide-open, brightly lit door. They then turned to look at the group of people who had stopped and noticed their unusually serious expressions. For a moment, they wondered if they could still go in.
Morofushi Takaaki glanced at Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji, who were exchanging some kind of secret signal, but said nothing. He simply turned and surveyed the surrounding environment.
After reloading their saves several times last night, they got used to it and were unwilling to give up, so they agreed to continue tonight.
While the protagonist from twenty years ago was constantly dying and reincarnating, their game, which was also affected and was reincarnated along with the protagonist from the present timeline, was also affected.
However, compared to the Twilight Villa twenty years ago, there are even fewer players left at Agasa Villa now, and in the end, only a few of them remain.
After all, they don't have the protagonist Kudo Jun, nor do they have many villains or exciting plots. At the same time, they are suddenly affected by the failure from twenty years ago when they finally get halfway through the game, which makes them have to reload and start over. It's really not a good gaming experience. After experiencing the feeling of a full-screen game, they gradually can't stand it anymore. Or rather, it's precisely because the realism brought by the full-screen game is too strong that they can't stand the feeling of constantly reloading and looping.
Therefore, among the few who remained, Kogoro Mouri was determined not to tarnish his reputation as the Sleeping Kogoro, Ran Mouri was very patient and extremely curious about the truth, and after calling Shinichi Kudo and getting some feedback when she logged off, she became even more eager to explore the truth... Apart from them, all the others had their own goals and were not simply there to play the game.
While players were constantly exploring Twilight Villa twenty years ago, their exploration of Agasa Villa was also deepening.
As Professor Agasa said, there is indeed a secret room on the roof of the second floor, but there are no dead people or counterfeit money inside. Instead, there is a lot of strange and mysterious notes and research materials, which are the same as the Twilight Villa game from twenty years ago, containing things about immortality and red butterfly drawings.
It was from this point that reality and the game began to differ.
They studied in that secret room for a long time, and based on the analysis of the live streams from players twenty years ago, they concluded that Agasa Villa, like Twilight Villa, was a place where villains researched immortality, and that some secrets of the organization were hidden there, or even are still hidden there.
Following the increasing number of clues, they eventually found their way to the basement and stood before the door after passing through a tunnel.
Prior to this, players from twenty years ago had also searched for Agasa's villa based on their analysis, attempting to understand the differences and connections between the past and the future. However, twenty years ago, Agasa's villa was still under strict protection according to Agasa Kurisuke's last wishes, and no one was allowed to enter for visits, let alone research.
Even if a player tries to force their way in, they will be kicked out by a bunch of security guards.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the Agasa Villa game instance can probably only be entered during the current time period.
In other words, the game's design must also include secrets for players to explore.
The things players are meant to explore in this game have become quite clear at this stage.
Ai Haibara couldn't help but shudder: "Doctor...Doctor, let's log off first, let's check the situation first, don't go back in..."
She didn't even dare to go through that door.
To her, it was no different from Pandora's box.
No, there is still a difference. The huge stone gate in front of us has opened by itself, turning into a gaping maw of abyss that can devour everything at any time.
Dr. Agasa didn't think much of it; he hadn't expected such an accident to happen, but he trusted Hiroki's assurance and believed nothing bad would happen.
But when he turned his head, he saw that the girl's face was extremely pale, and the hand that was gripping his sleeve was trembling slightly.
Dr. Agasa immediately changed his tune: "Okay, let's not go in. Let's log off and check the situation first. I can't even refresh the forum posts now. I'm genuinely worried that there's something wrong with the game itself."
Kogoro Mouri laughed and said, "What problems could possibly arise in a game? It can't be like last time, with AI locking players in the game and preventing them from logging off, can it?"
Ran Mouri: "...Dad, don't jinx it."
Kenji Hagiwara exclaimed in surprise, "What's going on? The logout button is gone! Are we really not allowed to log off?"
Matsuda Jinpei, who was standing next to him, rolled his eyes at his childhood friend's exaggerated performance, using his sunglasses as cover.
Others who were unaware of the situation were not so calm.
"What?!"
"What did you say?!"
"Damn it! I really can't exit the game!"
"I remember the company that made this game is called Noah Corporation, right? Have they developed another similar artificial intelligence? Or does Noah's Ark still exist, and they want to trap the players again???"
“Well, I don’t think it has anything to do with Noah’s Ark…” Professor Agasa subconsciously explained to Kogoro Mouri.
"Doctor." Ai Haibara immediately interrupted him, signaling with her eyes that he should stop talking.
Having come to this point, she calmed down.
In any case, we must do our best to prevent anything from happening to the PhD student, which means we can't let others know that the PhD student is deeply involved in this matter.
“Since we can’t get out,” Morofushi Komei said softly, “should we go in and take a look? Maybe the answer is hidden behind the door?”
Sera Masumi immediately turned to look at him, her eyes sharp: "You don't seem surprised at all. Did you already know this would happen?"
Zhu Fugaoming slightly raised his eyes and calmly looked at her: "A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan. One should remain calm and composed in the face of adversity, that's all."
Sera Masumi choked for a moment, remembering that her mother had mentioned many times that her weakness was her impulsiveness. So she took a deep breath to calm down, but her eyes still held a hint of doubt.
“He’s right. I also think we should go in and see what secrets are hidden behind this.” Matsuda Jinpei took off his sunglasses and laughed arrogantly, “Sitting and waiting to die is not in my nature.”
Kenji Hagiwara frowned: "But... although the last time something happened in the holographic game, the system said that dying in the game meant you were really dead, which was a lie, and everyone came out alive in the end. But we are not sure if this Noah system is Noah's Ark, and we cannot be sure whether our injuries and deaths in this game will affect our real bodies. Let's be more cautious."
Ai Haibara, who was staring at the two of them, was taken aback. She hadn't expected that the two of them would have different opinions. So, which one should she choose?
Kogoro Mouri stood in front of Ran Mouri, not intending to take his daughter on the adventure; if all else failed, he would go and test the waters alone first.
Professor Agasa was a little conflicted and was about to speak when he was suddenly startled by a loud "bang" from behind, which made him forget everything.
The group immediately turned around and saw that the tunnel they had come from was now blocked by a fallen stone wall.
"..."
This is the basement. They had walked for a long time along the tunnel to get here. If the only passage is blocked, they have no choice but to move forward.
Five minutes later, after confirming that the stone wall was too thick to break and there was no mechanism to open it, they finally turned their attention to the wide-open door.
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Let's go check it out. Since there are people secretly controlling mechanisms and watching us in this villa, if we play passively, it might trigger a more intense reaction later."
“Alright, I’ll go in and check things out first. You guys wait outside.” Kogoro Mouri tugged at his collar, rolled up his sleeves, and displayed a rare calm and reliability. “I want to see what they’re up to.”
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji naturally wouldn't let him go in alone. Using their status as active-duty police officers as an excuse, they stepped through the glowing door first.
The light inside the door was extremely bright and blinding, and there was a corner blocking the light, so people outside could hardly see anything.
All they could hear was the crisp sound of two people's footsteps on the hard, smooth floor suddenly stop, followed by an eerie, suffocating silence that lasted for a full minute without any movement.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Kogoro Mouri immediately became alert, his voice rising as he shouted, "Hey! Are you guys alright? Why aren't you saying anything? What happened in there? Are you in danger? Answer me! I'll be rushing over if you're more than three seconds away!"
"...No." Kenji Hagiwara's somewhat hoarse voice came through, unable to hide his shock and disbelief, and said, "I should be fine...but...you should still come in and take a look."
Sera Masumi couldn't hold back any longer and was the first to rush in.
Because I was staring at the glaring light inside the door, the extremely bright light inside didn't affect my vision; in fact, it made it too clear to see.
After turning the corner, the entire spacious and tall room immediately comes into view, offering a panoramic view.
The moment she saw those things clearly, Sera Masumi stopped in her tracks, a chill spreading through her body. She stood frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at everything in front of her, completely unable to react.
The others followed and ran in, but when they saw what was inside, they froze instantly, as if struck by lightning, and began to doubt their own eyes.
In the cold, brightly lit room, which resembled an operating room, countless transparent fiberglass panels were densely packed together, each containing a pink brain submerged in a transparent, unidentified liquid.
The human brain is just a brain.
Those brains that had left the human body were connected by countless tiny threads to the tubes below, seemingly still alive. The surface of all the brains was covered with huge red butterfly patterns. The two wings of the butterfly just covered the two brains, the smooth folds with scarlet butterfly patterns. Staring at them for a long time, it felt as if the brains and butterfly patterns were breathing and rising and falling slightly, which made one's scalp tingle.
A dense array of human brains, a dense array of red butterflies.
They looked at those brains, and their own minds went completely blank.
“These…these things…”
"A brain in a vat," Morofushi Takamine suddenly said. "Do you know what that is?"
The others instinctively looked at him, too shocked and disgusted to react, unsure whether they knew or not.
Morifushi Takamine then continued to explain: "The Brain in a Vat is a hypothetical scenario proposed by Hilary Putnam in her book 'Reason, Truth and History.' Imagine that an evil, mad scientist performs surgery on you, cutting out your brain and placing it in a nutrient solution that allows the brain to survive. Then, the scientist uses technology to connect the nerve endings in your brain to machines that humans can operate, thereby arbitrarily transmitting information into your brain that makes it appear as if you are still living a normal life... If this is the case, how can you be sure that the world you live in is real and not a fantasy created by your brain?"
Sera Masumi was startled.
Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but exclaim, "This is outrageous!"
Zhu Fugaoming nodded, but said, "This is just a hypothesis, both scientific and unscientific, but not entirely impossible. If technology really develops to this point, it is indeed possible to do such a thing. The scientific basis of this theory is based on the research of Wilder Greaves Penfield, the world-renowned father of neuroscience. He proved that human memories are stored in the cerebral cortex and can be stimulated by brain currents or external currents, leading to the conclusion that humans can be completely deceived by the brain."
Glancing at the grim faces of the group, he said slowly and deliberately, “There is another angle to interpret this theory, which is the spiritual and psychological angle that is completely opposite to science. However, that has risen to another completely untouchable world; it is just a direction of thinking. The Hindu concept of Maya is one, as is Plato’s allegory of the cave, Descartes’ demons, and the ancient Chinese story of Zhuangzi’s dream of the butterfly.”
Ran Mouri was utterly horrified at the thought. She gasped and looked again at the brains riddled with wires, her eyelashes trembling slightly. "But... our current technology shouldn't be at this level, right? So this is just a game setting, right? Like those science fiction movies?"
“Theoretically speaking, that’s how it is.” Kenji Hagiwara sighed, seemingly trying to lighten the mood, and joked with a smile, “I’ve heard of this too, and I’ve even watched a lot of movies and anime with this concept, such as science fiction works like The Matrix and Psycho-Pass. But seeing it is one thing, experiencing it firsthand is another. Just now, when I suddenly saw this whole bunch of brains in jars, it scared me to death.”
Kogoro Mouri's eyebrows relaxed slightly: "What? I see. Indeed, I almost forgot this is a game. The realism of this holographic game is truly frightening."
Sera Masumi's expression darkened further, but she only continued talking about the game: "So, the secret to immortality of that mysterious villainous organization in this game is this? And why are we locked up in the game to see this?"
Although Dr. Agasa is not a scientist in this field, he knows a little about it. Although he is very quiet, his mind is already in turmoil.
Only now did he calm down a bit, and then he noticed that Ai Haibara hadn't said a word. Startled, he immediately looked down at her expression and froze.
Ai Haibara just stared quietly ahead, her eyes cold as ice, without the fear he had imagined.
As the girl stared at that brain, a faint look of annoyance and disgust crossed her face, but there was no surprise, panic, or confusion. Instead, there was a familiar indifference that had numbed her.
That was the expression that Ai Haibara often had when she first arrived home, back when she was still Sherry.
Professor Agasa slowly opened his eyes wide, an unbelievable thought forming in his mind: "Ai, could it be—"
Ai Haibara raised her hand to stop him from asking the question, then lowered her head and whispered, "Don't ask anymore, Pandora's box has already been opened..."
Sera Masumi, who was standing next to her, turned her head sharply, about to ask something, but was interrupted.
The system suddenly made a "ding" sound in their minds. At this moment, it was so terrifying that they couldn't help but take a step back and wonder if something strange had parasitized their brains.
Professor Agasa stepped forward, wanting to protect the child he had adopted first.
However, with just that one step, the surrounding scenery changed instantly.
You have discovered one of the X Organization's greatest secrets—the [Brain in a Vat Project]
You have triggered faction mode.
Please select the faction you wish to join.
A black square and a red square appeared on the screen in front of me.
The black square contained red text: [Organization]
The red square contains black text: [Police]
Professor Agasa paused for a moment, not making a choice immediately, but instead anxiously looking around while calling out loudly, "Ai! Ai?"
"Stop shouting." A man's voice suddenly boomed from close range, saying indifferently, "She's not your real family, there's no need to care about her at all."
Professor Agasa was startled and looked down in the direction of the sound, where he saw a very familiar doll in the blank space.
The doll was made by a highly skilled master. It is about 20 centimeters tall and is a woman wearing layers of ancient red kimonos with long, straight black hair. Her features are very beautiful, and she looks about 70-80% like Professor Agasa's deceased aunt.
This was the doll they found while searching for the code. When he saw it, he remarked that his uncle had loved dolls when he was alive.
At that very moment, the familiar puppet stood up on its own, stood in front of him, and looked up.
The delicate and beautiful female face twitched slightly, and she opened her mouth in the blink of an eye, uttering a very distinct adult male voice.
"Professor Agasa, your name is very interesting." The man softened again, even smiling, like a kind elder.
Dr. Agasa was speechless, unable to believe his guess: "You, you—"
“I am your uncle,” the doll said. “Agasa Kurisuke.”
Professor Agasa's eyes widened: "What...you...but didn't you...didn't you die fifty years ago?"
The doll tilted its head slightly: "Yes, I was still very young when I died, even younger than you, only 38 years old."
He admitted it! He actually admitted it!!!
The doll suddenly collapsed, but was caught by a man's hand and held in his arms.
The man who appeared out of nowhere in front of Professor Agasa, holding a doll and smiling at him, was the same man who looked exactly like his uncle's portrait.
"What about Dingzi?" the man asked. "Unlike me, who was frail and sickly from childhood, she was gentle, kind, and strong. She must have lived a long time, right? Is she still alive?"
Teiko Agasa is Professor Agasa's aunt and the younger sister of Kurisu Agasa. She has always taken care of her sickly brother who is reluctant to see people.
Dr. Agasa's mind was in a mess, and he subconsciously answered the question, "My aunt... she has passed away."
The man was silent for a moment, then gently stroked the long hair of the doll in his arms and sighed softly, "Teiko really is dead. I thought Karasuma Renya was lying to me... Well, it's been fifty years. I never even thought I could wake up again. What a pity. If Teiko were still alive, I could make her regain her youth and live like me, immortal."
If they could live forever, would they still be human?!
Dr. Agasa couldn't help but take a step back in shock.
His uncle, who was even younger than him, looked up at him, his sad expression gradually disappearing, and walked over, smiling as he patted him on the shoulder.
“Child, you’re not young anymore, are you? It must be hard to see your body getting weaker day by day, right? It must be hard to be restricted by your fragile body and not be able to eat this or play that, right? I understand, I understand everything.”
The man gazed at him tenderly: "But it's alright, it's alright now. You're my only family now, and I won't just watch you slowly walk towards death."
Professor Agasa's mind went blank. He hadn't even accepted the fact that his uncle, who had been dead for fifty years, had been resurrected. He suspected that it was all just a game setting, that the man in front of him was just an NPC created from data, and that everything he had experienced was just the game's plot.
The man had already grabbed his hand and was guiding his fingers slowly towards the black cube.
“Good child, come and choose your organization. Your uncle will take you into the paradise of immortality,” he said.
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