Chapter 34 (Exclusive to Jinjiang Literature City)
After slowly finishing the last sip of tea in his cup, Jingyuan said to Conan Edogawa, "As a minor, you shouldn't worry so much. Enjoying your youth is the most important thing."
To Jingyuan's words, Conan Edogawa only gave a regretful and helpless smile: "I would like to, but as a successful experimental subject, it's impossible for me to live a normal life."
"Don't be so pessimistic." Edogawa Ranpo patted his shoulder and kindly comforted him, "Since Kagemoto dares to say that, it must mean that he has a way."
"Are you two very close?" Conan Edogawa asked, puzzled.
Edogawa Ranpo shook his head: "We're not familiar with each other. This is the first time we've met."
"Then why do you trust Jingyuan so much?" Conan Edogawa found it strange.
"If I had to give an explanation, it would be my intuition as a famous detective," Edogawa Ranpo offered a reason that wasn't really a reason.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's this all about?" Conan Edogawa twitched his lips helplessly. "You can't rely entirely on your intuition when solving cases, can you?"
When questioned like this, Edogawa Ranpo angrily replied, "How could Lord Ranpo use such vague and ethereal things as evidence to solve a case? Of course, it's his incredibly clever mind that matters!"
Jing Yuan showed no annoyance at the two people's childish quarrel; on the contrary, he even felt a sense of kinship with them.
Is it because I've been taking care of the kids too much?
Silently criticizing himself, Jing Yuan took out the jade tablet and replied to Fu Xuan: "The little gadgets used to improve favorability are very useful. Let's approve Mr. Gongshu's funding application."
Yes, the reason why Jingyuan was able to gain the trust of Conan Edogawa and Ranpo Edogawa in the shortest amount of time was not only due to his own personal charm, but also largely due to a small prop that Mr. Gongshu gave him for his experiment.
This gadget can capture human emotions and amplify them. Kagemoto captured Conan Edogawa's trust in him, then used the gadget to amplify it, thus easily achieving a friendly relationship with him.
It is said that the prop was inspired by Pinocchio's Clockwork Boy.
Since the Phantom Incident, the Pioneer has maintained a friendly relationship with Mr. Gongshu. A few days ago, he told Mr. Gongshu about some of his adventures in Pinocchio, which inspired Mr. Gongshu to create this magical little gadget.
In Jingyuan's view, being able to control human emotions is a truly terrifying thing. However, everything has two sides. Just like swords, some people use them to hurt others, but many more people use swords to protect others.
Jingyuan believes that this small tool for controlling emotions can be used to treat the Yunqi soldiers who have been traumatized on the battlefield, and it can also help ordinary people get rid of their inner fears.
Fu Xuan shared the same view, which is why he was extremely cautious when Mr. Gongshu applied for research funding.
Having received the affirmative advice from the former Shence General, Fu Xuan no longer deliberately suppressed the application. With a wave of his hand, he made Mr. Gongshu, who was busy with construction in the Ministry of Works, jump for joy.
Back to Jingyuan's side, after dozens of rounds of back and forth between the two Edogawas, they realized it was all pointless, so they stopped wasting their breath and each picked up a glass of water and gulped it down.
After they both fell silent, it was Jingyuan's turn to speak: "Mr. Ranpo should have already realized the problem, right?"
“Ah, indeed.” Edogawa Ranpo put down his teacup and said, “That’s why I came to see you.”
Conan Edogawa, puzzled, looked at Kagemoto and then at Ranpo Edogawa, asking, "What kind of riddle are you two playing?"
"The world we live in now is a fusion of many different worlds, isn't it?" Edogawa Ranpo asked.
Jing Yuan nodded and replied, "That's right."
Unlike the two who remained calm and composed, Conan Edogawa, who was still just a child, was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
It took him a while to find his voice: "You're kidding, right?"
Kagemoto and Edogawa Ranpo simply looked at him with "What do you think?" eyes.
Frustrated, Conan Edogawa scratched his head and finally said helplessly, "This is too absurd!"
Although he had prepared himself mentally, Conan Edogawa still found it hard to believe when he heard the answer.
He did feel that there was something wrong with his memory, and he was certain that many things around him felt strongly out of place, but...
The idea of global integration is too much of a challenge to his values.
However, Conan Edogawa had experienced the de-aging process, so even though this news shattered his worldview, he still accepted it all as quickly as possible.
"So, in other words, Mr. Ranpo and I are actually from two different worlds, right?" Conan Edogawa said.
The squinty-eyed detective nodded and said, "The world where Lord Ranpo lives is a world with people who possess supernatural abilities."
He briefly explained his situation to Conan Edogawa, and then he saw the bespectacled kid display a complex expression.
"What's wrong?" Jing Yuan asked curiously.
"Well..." Conan Edogawa suddenly became a little hesitant, "Since the superpowered individuals in your world are actually literary giants on my side, then, may I meet Arthur Conan Doyle?"
As a devoted fan of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Edogawa really wanted to meet Arthur Conan Doyle, the renowned author of detective novels.
"And Edgar Allan Poe and Agatha Christie." Conan Edogawa looked at Ranpo Edogawa with pleading eyes. "Please, Ranpo-sama!"
Edogawa Ranpo: "..."
“Even if you beg me like this, there’s nothing I can do.” Edogawa Ranpo felt a pang of pity for those longing eyes. “One of them is America’s transcendent, and the other is Great Britain’s transcendent. How can I introduce them to you?”
He himself was a big fan of Edgar Allan Poe, yet he still couldn't meet his idol.
Fortunately, even in a world where literary giants have started to speak with their strength, Edgar Allan Poe has continued to write novels. Even if he couldn't communicate with his idol face to face, he could at least keep following his serializations, which was a very happy thing.
Conan Edogawa realized that he had spoken without thinking, so he quickly apologized.
"It's alright, it's alright, Lord Ranpo understands how you feel." When he first awakened, he also wanted to rush to America to find Edgar Allan Poe, but cruel reality stopped him.
"Speaking of which, how did Mr. Ranpo come to realize about the merging of the worlds?" Conan Edogawa asked curiously.
"Although Lord Ranpo would like to say it's because of his own intelligence, unfortunately, it's not," Edogawa Ranpo said helplessly. "It was someone wearing a mask, whose gender I don't know, who told me this."
Upon hearing the word "mask," Jing Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, realizing something.
"Not only that, that person also gave me a piece of paper." As he spoke, Edogawa Ranpo pulled out a seemingly ordinary piece of white paper from his pocket.
"Was this torn from [the book]?" Jingyuan asked.
Edogawa Ranpo nodded: "That's right."
Conan Edogawa, bewildered, looked at Jingyuan, then at the blank sheet of paper on the table, and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Jingyuan casually ruffled his hair and slowly explained, "Not long ago, news spread in the supernatural world that a book capable of changing reality had appeared in Yokohama."
"Change reality?" Conan Edogawa gasped. "Could the reason for the world merging be this [book]?"
“It shouldn’t have that much power.” Jing Yuan objected to this statement. “Strictly speaking, the integration between worlds is actually a war between world consciousnesses. It’s like big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp. The more inclusive a world is, the more overwhelmingly attractive it is to worlds with narrow worldviews. Even if it’s not out of the world’s own will, weaker worlds will be attracted to stronger worlds and thus be integrated.”
Just as the god of harmony, Hipe, assimilated the god of order, Taiyi, the relationship between worlds is similar.
"And what about that [book]?" Conan Edogawa was overwhelmed by too much information beyond his knowledge, and his brain was somewhat blank. So he subconsciously looked to Jingyuan for help.
"[The Book] should be considered part of the world consciousness, or even a part filled with malice," Jing Yuan said. "Its nature is like the corrupted Holy Grail that the magic world fought over before. Anyone who makes a wish upon it will ultimately come to a bad end and will bring disaster to the world."
After hearing Jingyuan's words, both Edogawas looked down at the white paper on the table, their expressions serious.
"Since [the book] is so dangerous, can we destroy it?" Conan Edogawa asked.
Jing Yuan shook his head and said with a smile, "As part of the world's consciousness, it's not easy to destroy it."
Amidst their regretful glances, Jing Yuan slowly added, "However, sealing it away shouldn't be a problem."
"That's great!" Conan Edogawa immediately said. "We should seal this dangerous thing away right away!"
Whether for his own sake or for the sake of others, Conan Edogawa did not want such a dangerous thing as a book to be easily touched by others.
“Of course.” Jing Yuan nodded.
After sealing the tattered pages of the book, Jingyuan said to Edogawa Ranpo, "Do you remember what the mask of the person who told you the truth about the world looked like?"
Edogawa Ranpo nodded quickly: "Of course I remember, Ranpo-sama is..."
He couldn't finish his sentence because he found that his once clear memories had suddenly become blurry, making it impossible for him to recall the scene of their encounter that day, let alone what the person's mask looked like.
Jingyuan had obviously already noticed this and was not surprised. On the contrary, he was even more certain that the person Edogawa Ranpo encountered was the Masked Fool from the [Tavern], but unfortunately he didn't know exactly who it was.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-01-27 18:49:56 and 2024-03-01 16:56:04!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 Mountain Spirit;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Super Stomach Nourishing Person, One Salty Fish (32 bottles); Yuan Lai Guangzong Yaozu (20 bottles); Jingjing Piao, Miaomiaomiao (10 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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