Chapter 296 Zero Round (3)
December 31st.
Six o'clock in the afternoon.
The winter sun always sets early, and it gets dark very quickly.
"Ah! It's Mr. Hagiwara and Mr. Matsuda!"
Sonoko Suzuki exclaimed and ran over, greeting them with a smile: "Where are Mr. Date and the others? Where are Mr. Amuro and Mr. Midorikawa? The Beika Town New Year's Eve party is about to start, why do you all look unprepared?"
The two police officers looked as if they hadn't slept for three days and three nights; they were definitely not in a state to perform on stage.
Upon hearing this question, the faint smiles on their faces froze completely.
“The squad leader and Natalie went back to their hometown to see their parents,” Matsuda Jinpei said. “Midori… he also went back to his hometown for some business.”
Before they left yesterday, Morofushi Kagemitsu was still in his laboratory on Mount Nagano, looking at research materials. They weren't sure if he would go home today to celebrate the New Year with his parents and brother, so they couldn't ask him.
“I see… What about Mr. Amuro?” Sonoko Suzuki sighed, a worried look creeping onto her face. “Mr. Amuro hasn’t shown up at Poirot Café these past few days. I asked Ms. Azusa, but she said she didn’t know either. However, the manager said Mr. Amuro mentioned to him that if he didn’t come back to work after Christmas, he should hire another employee, and he wouldn’t have to pay his salary this month. Something feels off. Could something have happened to Mr. Amuro? Could there be a problem with his detective work? The old man said he didn’t know either…”
The three members of the Junior Detective Club, who were a step behind, also joined in the questioning.
Genta said, "What? Not all of you from the Sakura Band are here? Are you still going to the New Year's Eve party? Damn it, our Detective Boys band too, Conan and Ai Haibara said they couldn't make it either, what a pity—"
Mitsuhiko said, "There's nothing we can do about it. But it's really strange. I haven't seen them since Christmas Day. Is it just that they've all been busy? Could it be another case?"
Ayumi said, "Yes, Mr. Midorikawa also took Hello away. What happened to Amuro-nii? Is Hello alright now?"
Matsuda Jinpei opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.
Kenji Hagiwara smiled, squatted down, and looked at them, saying, "Amuro-nii is a little delayed by something and won't be back for a while. But don't worry, he'll definitely come back safely. We'll take care of him, so he'll be fine."
After saying that, he looked up at Sonoko Suzuki and said, "Actually, we came here today to talk to the owner of Poirot Cafe about his resignation. Then, thanks to the owner's reminder, we remembered the New Year's Eve party in Beika Town, and we are now preparing to cancel the Sakura Band's performance."
"ah?"
"What?!"
The children were immediately alarmed.
"Are you really going to cancel the performance? You're really not going to appear?"
"Oh, what a pity! I've been looking forward to your Sakura Team's performance for so long!"
Upon hearing this, Kenji Hagiwara couldn't help but reveal a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Matsuda Jinpei chuckled, stepped forward, and gently patted the children's heads, saying, "That day will come. Just wait until your Amuro-nii comes back. All five members of our Sakura Band will be here, and we'll throw a special private concert for you all!"
Still in a daze, Sonoko Suzuki snapped out of it and was the first to shout, "Yay! Please be sure to call me when the time comes!!!"
"What are you looking at?" Sera Masumi and Mouri Ran came out after changing their clothes and walked over curiously.
Sonoko Suzuki told them about the Sakura Team.
The two fell silent after hearing this, their expressions a little strange. They turned to look at Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji, but in the end, they didn't say anything.
Ran Mouri and Sera Masumi knew a little about the inside story and understood that Tooru Amuro might have sacrificed himself in the final battle against the Black Organization.
However, Shinichi Kudo, Shuichi Akai, and the police officers firmly believed that he was only temporarily missing. They did not know the specifics yet and could not explain it to Sonoko Suzuki.
In reality, they didn't know much about that person either. They only knew that after the organization was destroyed, Shinichi Kudo and Shuichi Akai were busy searching for that person. They always looked serious, as if they had encountered a problem even bigger than the organization, and their answers were ambiguous and completely incomprehensible.
Fortunately, the Junior Detective League and Sonoko Suzuki were already very happy to have received promises from Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji. Although they declined the invitation to go to the party, they still excitedly went together to the New Year's Eve party venue that Beika Town had set up.
The venue was small and simple, but it was very lively.
"Sonoko! Ran! Masumi! Good luck to the high school girls' band! We'll take photos and videos of you! Go for it!!!"
"Ahhh, I heard that Mr. Amuro's group, the Sakura Band, canceled their performance. I'm heartbroken because I won't be able to see Mr. Amuro perform, waaaaah—"
8 PM.
"The Beika Town New Year's Eve Party! Now begins!!!"
The Black Organization was finally defeated, and not many people were killed. This should have been an incredibly happy and joyous New Year...
However, in reality, many people are unable to get through this night peacefully, nor can they face this New Year.
Nine o'clock in the evening.
Kudo House.
Rarely, the Kudo family and the Kuroba family, who are related by blood, finally met openly and honestly.
Shinichi Kudo only recently learned that he and Kaito Kid, also known as Kaito Kuroba, are actually cousins.
Yusaku Kudo and Toichi Kuroba are actually twin brothers, but they were separated and raised by their divorced parents when they were very young.
Upon hearing this shocking news, Shinichi Kudo and Kaito Kuroba looked at each other for a long time, still feeling very strange... although they finally understood why they looked so alike.
However, they don't have the energy to think about these things right now.
Their parents were busy chatting in the kitchen, while the two boys, who looked almost identical, sat on the sofa, frowning in thought.
"Gin still won't say what exactly happened that day?" Kaito Kuroba asked.
“He wouldn’t say,” Shinichi Kudo said. “But yesterday, we finally got the chance to take Gin out for a day, and in the basement of the Nagano Church, we finally managed to get information about Mr. Furuya from him.”
Kaito Kuroba instantly became agitated: "What exactly happened that day?!"
He already knew that the meeting between Furuya Rei and Gin that day was actually a bad butterfly effect caused by his help, and therefore he had been very concerned about it.
"..." Shinichi Kudo took a deep breath and slowly said, "Gin said that he saw a gem suddenly emit a red light, and Rei Furuya disappeared in the light of that gem."
Kaito Kuroba was stunned, his pupils shrinking sharply: "Could it be—"
“It’s Pandora,” Shinichi Kudo affirmed. “The gem is purple. Mr. Morofushi said that it was the first gem that Mr. Furuya collected after conducting the Pandora experiment, and its name is Pandora.”
Kaito Kuroba looked confused.
Shinichi Kudo sighed: "The organization had already experimented with this gem. Even when it was held up to the moonlight, the red gem hidden inside could not be seen. When it was cut open for research, the half containing Pandora was avoided. Until... that day when Gin casually smashed it, the red Pandora inside was finally revealed, and Mr. Furuya, who was right next to him, was taken away."
Kaito Kuroba was stunned to find that the Pandora he had been searching for was in this state, and he was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Yukiko Kudo immediately ran out, laughing, and said, "It must be Sharon!"
Shinichi Kudo turned his head: "Vermouth?"
Vermouth was spared imprisonment for her timely defection, but she is under close surveillance. These past few days, she has been following the actions of several police officers, including Morofushi Kagemitsu, and is aware of Furuya Rei's situation and wants to bring him back.
Kaito Kuroba was also a little surprised. He was no stranger to this person who had learned disguise from his father, and he found it strange that she would come over at this time.
Vermouth was met with two pairs of probing eyes as soon as she entered: "..."
“I’d rather stay here a while than next door.” Vermouth knew what they wanted to ask, and said with a smirk, “Don’t worry, I just came here for something, I won’t bother you. I’m going to the New Year’s Eve party in Beika Town in a few hours, I have plans with the angel.”
She had promised Ran Mouri she would come to see her performance, and had already timed it perfectly, planning to go in the last hour.
"Next door..." Shinichi Kudo realized, "Professor Agasa's house?"
Oh right, the Miyano family came to thank Professor Agasa yesterday afternoon, and ended up staying to celebrate the New Year together.
Then today, he went to the Akai family's house as well. In the morning, he saw Akai Mary and Miyano Elena going out to buy fruit together.
We don't know what's going on over there, but Vermouth definitely doesn't want to get close to them.
10 PM.
Dr. Agasa's house.
The TV was showing the New Year's Eve gala, but no one in the house was watching it.
Shuichi Akai walked down the stairs and knocked on the laboratory door.
"Please come in," said Shiho Miyano.
Shuichi Akai walked in and saw Shiho Miyano and Hiroki Sawada studying something on a computer.
Upon closer inspection, one can see various experimental data about the Dream Chair and research on time machines on the computer screen.
"According to the information Gin provided, the direct cause of Zero's disappearance was Pandora. However, this was likely influenced by system operations, so it's highly probable that Zero was taken to another world by the system using Pandora," Hiroki Sawada said. "The previous legends about Pandora only mentioned the Stone of Destiny that grants immortality; it didn't have the ability to travel through time. Is this because people don't know much about Pandora, or is it due to the system's involvement?"
"It's strange. Pandora's power is so great, can the system directly use Pandora's power? Or... is it because the plot of our world has ended, so the restrictions of the world's rules have also been lifted? Just like how we can now tell others anything that we couldn't say before?" Shiho Miyano said. "No, that's not right either. The plot shouldn't have ended at that time. The system could probably do more than we imagined. Was the reason we were invisible before because we calculated that we only needed to make the final, crucial blow..."
"So far, the final outcome is the same as in the future. Our previous efforts have not changed the final result, and have even pushed Zero in the predetermined direction..." Hiroki Sawada paused and clenched his fist. "Unfortunately, the phone in the future also disappeared with Zero, and Takeshi didn't come back either. We can't know the situation in the future now."
“It’s alright, this isn’t over yet.” Shiho Miyano clenched her fist. “I haven’t returned the gift he gave me yet. I have to find him. Even if… like the future, I experience tens of thousands of failed experiments, and even if I can’t see hope for another ten years, I will never give up.”
Shuichi Akai stood quietly behind the two of them, not saying a word but just looking at the data and thinking. However, he remained silent, which caused Akemi Miyano to come down and look for him as well.
"Time to eat," she said with a smile. "Let's eat first. Mom and Dad will be joining the experiment starting tomorrow, and they have a lot of questions for you. There's still a long road ahead."
Everyone was prepared for a long battle.
We will absolutely not let it end like this.
It's 11 p.m.
Below the Trojan Horse Apartment.
Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Date Wataru suddenly bumped into each other, and all three of them were stunned for a moment.
"Didn't you go home for the Chinese New Year?" they asked in unison, then paused, and finally burst out laughing.
"Since we have work tomorrow anyway, Jinpei and I aren't planning on going home. We might as well come over and spend New Year's Eve with Haro. I'm a little worried that it will be scared by the fireworks," Kenji Hagiwara said with a smile, his arm around Jinpei Matsuda's shoulder.
Since being taken out once and discovering that its owner never returned, Harlow has refused to leave home again.
No matter who comes, it won't leave; it stubbornly stays in that house waiting for its owner to return.
They had no choice but to take turns caring for the puppy every day amidst their busy schedules.
However, Kazami Yuya had already taken care of Haro this morning, and the previous surveillance video did not show anything wrong with the puppy, so no one should have come tonight.
“Me too.” Date Hang smiled and scratched the back of his head. “Natalie and the others went to the fireworks festival. I wasn’t really in the mood, but I still wanted to come and see. I didn’t expect you to be here too.”
"That's what you call telepathy!" Kenji Hagiwara said with a laugh as he walked backward up the stairs of the Wooden Horse Apartment. "Oh dear, what if we open the door to the Kofuruya family's house and find that Morofushi is already inside?"
“That’s really hard to say,” Matsuda Jinpei said. “That guy comes over to talk to Haro almost whenever he has time, and he even plays bass for Haro. Haro likes him a lot.”
However, since the Morofushi couple have only recently been resurrected, they will most likely spend the New Year together in Nagano, and then continue their efforts tomorrow.
It's not a big deal to have one more night.
But... the more special the time, the more they couldn't let go, and in the end, they all came to this place by chance.
Yes, when they opened the door to Furuya Rei's house, they did indeed see Morofushi Kagemitsu inside.
Moreover, it wasn't just Morofushi Kagemitsu; the entire Morofushi family was there.
There was even the Furuya couple.
The small house was instantly filled with a group of people.
The little white dog stood at the door, looking back and forth at them with a puzzled expression.
The group exchanged glances, all somewhat stunned, clearly not expecting everyone to have come here at this time.
"Are you here to see Haro too?" Morofushi Takaaki spoke first, smiling as he said, "We were planning to come to the Beika Town New Year's Eve party, and before that we were thinking of coming over and taking Haro out to play with us."
His tone was calm and his expression composed, as if everything were true.
The three people at the door nodded subconsciously.
Morofushi Takaaki then smiled: "It's a pity Harrow doesn't want to go out, and Kagemitsu is also planning to stay. Since you're here, we can chat together. Shall we go see the Beika Town New Year's Eve party?"
The Morofushi couple and the Furuya couple were stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what they meant and nodded in agreement.
Morifushi Kagemitsu turned to look at his brother, his eyes flickered slightly, and he gave a helpless smile, but said nothing.
They bumped into each other by chance. Although Lady Morofushi and Lady Furuya did have a pleasant conversation, Furuya Masaki, who was being subtly sidelined, refused to leave, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.
It just so happens that the class monitor and the other two came over, and it's really nice that the four of them can gather here tonight to celebrate the New Year with Hello.
"Woof!" Harlow watched the five people leave and excitedly circled behind the door.
It seems that there are too many people coming and going tonight, and the little dog thinks that the probability of its owner returning has increased.
Morofushi Kagemitsu patted its head, carried the white puppy back to the living room, and sat down with the three of them to watch the local Beika Town television station broadcasting Beika Town's own New Year's Eve party.
It wasn't luxurious or formal, but it was incredibly lively and joyful.
However, none of the four people here were actually paying attention to the performance; they didn't even know what kind of show they were performing.
"Where is that guy now?" Matsuda Jinpei asked. "And what is he doing?"
“Zero isn’t someone who gives up easily. Even in this situation, he’s definitely trying his best to come back,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu.
“Yes, that’s the kind of person he is, so we have to work hard too,” said Date Kou. “We can’t let that guy leave us far behind.”
“With Kofuruya’s abilities, he could definitely do well in any world,” Kenji Hagiwara said. “But what I’m most worried about is that he might refuse to continue cooperating with the system to go to other worlds because he’s afraid of affecting our world.”
The other three also frowned.
“That’s certainly possible.” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked down at the white puppy in his arms. “I’ve been thinking about this too. Since we can influence other worlds through technology in the future, Zero might worry about affecting our world if he goes to other worlds, since the system is very dangerous. But then I think the system might directly threaten Zero with the safety of our world to keep working for it, so it’s more likely that Zero will still be wandering in other worlds.”
"Our goal is to bring him home safely."
11:59 PM.
The New Year's Eve party in Beika Town has ended. After the host finished his closing remarks, he looked at the time and excitedly called on all the audience members to countdown to the new year together.
Let's all welcome the New Year together!!!
Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki, and Masumi Sera in the audience joined in a loud countdown.
Enomoto Azusa filmed a video from the side, subconsciously worried that her phone's memory was running out, but she quickly realized that the memory she had reserved for Mr. Amuro and the Sakura Band hadn't been used, and her phone still had plenty of memory.
Vermouth watched the girls' smiling faces from behind, her brows relaxed slightly, and she smiled back.
However, the next second, a man suddenly appeared beside her, holding up a bouquet of red roses and trying to strike up a conversation, asking for her contact information.
Vermouth stared at the bright red roses, somewhat lost in thought.
This bouquet of roses has exactly four, just like the four roses she brought when she first met "Bourbon".
Actually, red suits you better.
"ten!"
Kogoro Mouri sat down and chatted with the owners of Poirot Cafe and Iroha Sushi, expressing his regret that the Sakura Band didn't perform and his concern that something had happened to Tooru Amuro.
"Nine!"
The three members of the Junior Detective League had a blast, but they still felt regretful for not seeing the Sakura Band's performance, and also for Haibara and Conan's absence.
Curaçao smiled and said there would be opportunities, while carefully protecting the children from being knocked down by the crowd.
"eight!"
Even the cold winter day was melted by the warm hospitality of the crowd.
Because there were many people here, the Metropolitan Police Department also sent police officers to maintain security.
While enjoying the atmosphere with the crowd, Sato Miwako and Takagi Wataru couldn't help but turn around and look around, but they didn't see the three people.
This is not surprising. Even though it was obvious that Rei Furuya was dead, they insisted that he was not dead, that he was just missing and busy investigating something, and refused to tell them.
Even at this point, they probably still cannot enjoy peace and happiness in peace.
And the blond youth he first saw at the police academy gate didn't live to see this world either.
"seven!"
The family sat in the corner.
Ethan Benton said the CIA wanted his family to return home quickly to report for duty, as their time there was limited.
Hondo Eikai opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she kept quiet.
Hondo Eisuke stated directly that he couldn't rest easy leaving their missing benefactor behind without resolving Furuya's matter.
"six!"
Agents like the Akai couple are not used to casually attending celebrations in large crowds, especially after being hunted down by their organization in recent years.
But the organization had already been destroyed, and they eventually came out to play at the invitation of the Miyano couple, where they were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere in the audience.
Shuichi Akai took out his constantly vibrating phone, glanced at the FBI messages urging him to return, and silently swiped them away as if he hadn't seen them.
He can't leave now.
"five!"
Ai Haibara held her sister's hand with her left hand and her mother's hand with her right, thinking to herself, "This is the best gift."
This miracle was not a gift from heaven, but something that the blond youth fought for after enduring countless hardships.
She... also wanted to join everyone in creating a miracle for that person.
Elena Miyano's gaze suddenly froze when it swept over the face of a blonde woman, and then she told the person next to her that she wanted to go and take a look.
She wanted to say a few words to Zero's mother.
"Four!"
The Furuya family arrived with the Morofushi family, but they were quite late. In addition, Furuya Masaaki's face was too famous, so they just stood in the back corner watching the lively crowd.
The blonde woman murmured softly, "If only that child could see a world like this."
"three!"
Hiroki Sawada did not go out with Professor Agasa's family.
He suddenly had a new idea about a time machine and was excitedly working on calculations with Noah's Ark.
The child's father was also busy at work today, so Professor Agasa couldn't help but stay and keep him company.
But Professor Agasa is a very childlike and ritualistic person. After Hiroki Sawada finally finished a phase, he still dragged him out of the lab to watch TV and celebrate the New Year together.
Hiroki Sawada, holding Noah's Ark, earnestly said that he would definitely let Zero spend the next New Year's Eve party in Beika Town with them.
This outcome is not the future they wanted.
"two!"
Both the Kudo and Kuroba families are famous, but they both love excitement, so they used their superb disguise skills to sneak in.
Shinichi Kudo was somewhat dazed amidst the bustling crowd.
After everything was over, he would occasionally have a strange feeling.
It's as if everything that happened before was just a fleeting dream belonging to Conan Edogawa.
However, this illusion always brings a sharp and suffocating feeling whenever I think of that blond youth.
No, he thought, this is not over yet.
This is just the beginning.
"one!"
Rei Furuya at home.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Date Wataru watched television in silence as the last second of this long year passed.
"zero!!!"
The clock struck midnight, and countless people cheered and congratulated the arrival of the New Year.
"Happy New Year!!!!!!"
The sudden noise outside startled Haro awake. It looked around at the four frozen people beside it, then ran to the door, but still didn't see its owner return, so it could only let out a pitiful whimper.
January 1st.
The new year has finally arrived.
The storyline of "Detective Conan" has officially ended.
This is an end, and also a beginning.
From this moment on, the future will unfold in ways that even the rules of the world cannot control.
*
Three months later.
March 20th.
spring equinox.
Suitable for: meeting relatives and friends, traveling.
Six o'clock in the morning.
Ida Ko woke up, checked the weather, and found that it was going to be a sunny day.
By drawing back the curtains, you can also see the cherry blossoms along the roadside gradually blooming in the sunlight.
Spring has arrived.
As Natalie got up to wash up, he picked up his phone and started making calls to urge people on.
"Are you up yet?" he asked.
"It's up, it's up," Matsuda Jinpei said.
After Natalie finished washing up, she began to carefully dress up Ida.
It was almost seven o'clock when everything was over.
Ida Ko picked up his phone again.
"Are you ready?" he asked. "You haven't forgotten what we're supposed to do today, have you?"
“Of course, I’m all ready and about to leave,” Kenji Hagiwara said.
After finishing breakfast, Natalie went out.
It's 7:30 now.
Ida Kou dialed the phone and asked, "Where are you?"
“It’s already on its way,” said Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Another hour passed, and it was almost nine o'clock.
Ida Ko sent a message in the group chat asking: 【Where are you guys?】
The three replied: "Soon, soon, it's on its way."
Ida Kou directly sent a video call to all three people in the group chat.
The three of them reluctantly connected to the video call.
In the video, the three people who said they were already on their way were actually still at home and hadn't set off yet.
"You haven't even left the house yet!!!" Date Wataru said with a stern face.
"..."
The three of them looked at him with subtle expressions, and saw that the background of the video was also their home, with Ida Wataru.
"Class monitor, you haven't even set off yet!!!" Kenji Hagiwara shouted back.
Finally, all four of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Alright, everyone, let's set off together, we're running out of time."
At ten o'clock, the four people, driving four Mazdas of different colors, finally arrived at their destination.
— Cemetery.
Today is the day of Rei Furuya's burial.
Spring arrives, cherry blossoms bloom, but some lie buried underground, unable to see this beautiful world.
After being missing for more than three months, the police finally stopped waiting and announced Furuya Rei's death. After consulting with his family, they awarded him a reward and posthumously honored him. Any longer would have caused many problems.
The organization was completely destroyed, and the news of Rei Furuya's death was not kept from those connected to him.
Sonoko Suzuki and Azusa Enomoto hugged and cried for a long time, while Ran Mouri, with red eyes, handed them tissues.
Even now, Sonoko Suzuki still wants to cry, but she holds it back.
There were a lot of people attending Rei Furuya's funeral, and the crowd that came to bury him was also huge.
Even though there were no bodies in the grave, only relics, and even though many people still held onto the hope that the blond youth was still alive, the sorrow still spread uncontrollably.
Given that person's abilities and personality, after being missing for over three months and so many people unable to find him, the chances of him surviving are extremely slim...
She will never see the five members of the Sakura Band perform together again.
As Sonoko Suzuki thought about it, her nose tingled and she felt like crying again, but when she saw the even heavier and sadder faces of Rei Furuya's family and friends around her, she finally held back.
Until those four people walked over.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, Date Wataru.
They were Rei Furuya's closest and most devoted friends, fighting side by side. Almost everyone was surprised that they arrived so late, and some even lamented that the four of them still couldn't accept or accept Rei Furuya's death...
Sonoko Suzuki didn't think so. She actually believed that all four of them were very capable and strong people, and she also felt that Mr. Furuya still had a chance to come back alive.
But at this moment, when she saw the four men dressed in strange women's clothing attending her best friend's funeral, she was completely stunned. For a moment, she was even a little worried that they would not be able to accept the departure of their best friend and would cause a scene to stop the funeral.
Not only her, but almost everyone stared in astonishment, unable to react as the four of them, dressed in strange, ill-fitting women's clothing, walked through the sunlight and spring breeze, straight to Furuya Rei's grave.
“It was an agreement,” Hiroki Sawada explained calmly, suppressing his emotions. “The five of them agreed that if one of them died, the others would wear women’s clothing to attend the funeral.”
Yes, that's the agreement.
A funny, strange, yet incredibly painful agreement.
No one disturbed them, and the four of them smiled helplessly as they listened to the growing sadness and sobbing behind them.
"See? I told you it was really weird for a man to wear women's clothes to a funeral. It's all your fault..."
As he laughed, his vision gradually blurred, and his voice choked up.
"Tick-tock—"
Tears fell onto the brand-new tombstone.
The emotions that had been suppressed for three months finally collapsed the moment he witnessed the Grave of Rei Furuya.
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