Chapter 113: Until the Sea Turns Blue - Pollution Is Harming Others...
"Conan-kun?"
The figure called out.
Conan stood there silently, without saying a word.
To be honest, this scene should look quite scary——
The woman in the black trench coat stood beneath the full moon, the bright moonlight making her already fair complexion appear even paler. She pursed her lips, a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth, and stared at Conan intently, like a wandering ghost in the wilderness.
If you ignore the garbage bag and garbage tongs in his hands.
So...
Conan couldn't hold it in any longer.
That’s why Dr. Asai is also picking up trash here!
This doesn't match her daytime image at all!
This is really... You can't judge a person by his appearance...
However, Conan remembered that this doctor was standing next to the environmentally friendly village chief candidate, Masato Shimizu, during the day, and they seemed to have come together.
So it's only natural that she's interested in environmental protection...
What the hell!
No matter how hard you try, it's impossible for him to appear here in the middle of the night!
"Why is Conan-kun here?"
Asai Narumi moved closer to Conan, half squatted down, and asked curiously.
Conan: ...
Shouldn't he be the one asking this question?
"Where is Dr. Asai? Why is he here too?" Conan stared at the garbage picking tools in his hand and asked knowingly.
Asai Narimi was stunned for a moment, then smiled gently:
"After what happened during the day, I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk. And by the way... I wanted to make a small contribution to environmental protection."
Conan's crescent eyes: "Dr. Asai, you really..."
You really love environmental protection.
Although Conan didn't say it out loud, Asai Narumi seemed to understand what he had not said and touched his head.
"In fact, the environmental protection work we are doing now will not have any effect on the crisis facing Moon Shadow Island. I came out tonight only because I was asked to do so."
"Since you can't sleep, then come with me for a walk, Conan-kun."
Entrusted by someone? By whom?
Conan was a little concerned about this question, but he didn't ask it and just nodded.
So Asai Narumi took him along the quiet coast, picking up large pieces of garbage with trash tongs along the way.
The sea breeze brings a salty and fishy smell.
Conan's nostrils twitched as he smelled a pungent odor hidden in the salty and fishy taste.
He also smelled this smell when he was picking up trash with Lin Xi in the morning.
But it's even more intense at night...
And as they walked forward, the smell became stronger and stronger, to the point of being unbearable.
Asai Narimi crossed a shallow reef.
Conan followed him, crossed a shallow reef, and then saw a scene that he would never forget.
The dark water shimmered with eerie, iridescent colors in the moonlight, flowing through the cracks in the rocks scattered on the shallow reef, eventually gathering into a stream and flowing down the sandbank into the sea.
The vibrant colors distorted and changed with the shape of the water, as if some living creature was breathing.
Conan knew that it was sewage and the oil film attached to it.
The vibrant colors are a result of thin-film interference—the upper and lower surfaces of the oil film reflect light. If the path difference between the two beams is an integer multiple of the wavelength of light in the oil, constructive interference occurs. As the angle of reflection changes, moonlight passes through oil of varying thicknesses, and because the reflected light has different colors, the oil surface appears rainbow-like. (Note 1)
There is more garbage here.
Many kinds of plastic waste are scattered on the shallow reefs, trembling with the waves of the water, and are caught by strange-shaped gravel, unable to move.
If it weren't for the pungent smell constantly reminding Conan that this was not something wonderful, this scene would look quite beautiful -
The scattered garbage kept trembling under the action of the water flow, like a fluttering butterfly, reflecting various mysterious lights in the moonlight.
The black water and the colorful colors attached to it flow along the reefs into the sea.
Once in the ocean, the colors quickly dispersed, dissolving into the vast expanse. It looked as if the tentacles of some mysterious creature were making intimate contact with the sea, a scene that should not have been seen, but was accidentally witnessed by two mortals passing by.
No one could remain indifferent to this scene.
"Oh my god..." Conan muttered.
"Look, Conan-kun." Asai Narimi stood on the reef, his eyes fixed on the sewage flowing past, his gaze following the water all the way up:
"This is the dilemma facing Moon Shadow Island."
Conan followed his gaze upwards and saw the factories standing in rows above him. Even at this late hour, some of the factories still had lights on and were still operating.
He was genuinely puzzled:
Who approved the construction of these factories? And what exactly did these factories bring to the residents of Moon Shadow Island?
"You know, Conan-kun, I was born on Tsukikage Island." Asai Narumi said.
"But because I was weak and needed to go to the hospital frequently, my parents simply sent me to Tokyo to be taken care of by his friends."
"So I actually spent much more time in Tokyo than here."
"But in my few childhood memories, Moonshadow Island was different from what it is now."
"I don't know if it's the filter from my childhood, but I remember back then on Moon Shadow Island, walking along the beach would only step on gravel and beautiful shells, not the miscellaneous garbage that hangs on it now."
"Back then, the weather on Moon Shadow Island was always sunny, and the air was always fresh. There wasn't this bad smell."
"There weren't as many people as there are now, but everyone always had a smile on their face. Most of them were fishermen, full of hope every day, using their labor to exchange with nature for the resources they needed to survive."
"...This is my impression of Moonshadow Island."
"Because I was already weak, after recovering, I wanted to pursue a medical degree, so I took the medical license exam. And because I missed my hometown, I returned to Moon Shadow Island three years ago, opened a clinic, and lived a leisurely life."
“But I didn’t expect my hometown to have changed so much.”
As Asai Narumi slowly narrated the story, Conan seemed to have seen the surprise and disappointment of a young man who returned home many years later and found that his once beautiful hometown had been polluted.
He couldn't help asking:
"Dr. Asai, why are there so many factories here?"
"Ah, I heard that the former village chief, Kameyama Isamu, approved the construction."
Conan noticed that Asai Narumi's expression suddenly became gloomy when he mentioned Kameyama Isamu.
And, three years ago...
Wasn’t it exactly when Kameyama Isamu died?
Conan vaguely grasped something in his mind, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
He then asked, "But hasn't Village Chief Guishan Yong already..."
"After the death of village chief Isamu Kameyama, three candidates for village chief jointly handled affairs. Mr. Kawashima and Mr. Kuroiwa both supported the continued operation of these factories."
"But these factories have caused so much pollution to the ocean and fisheries that even tourists like us can see it..."
"It's to make money," Asai Narimi said coldly. "They've been detached from real life on Moon Shadow Island for too long. They may be aware of the actual pollution on the island, but since it has no bearing on their lives, they don't care."
"Of course there are other reasons..." Asai Narumi hesitated to speak.
He patted Conan's head.
"The affairs of Tsukikage Island can only be resolved by the people of Tsukikage Island themselves, Conan-kun. Since you are here to have fun, there is no need to think too much. Just enjoy yourself these few days."
Conan opened his mouth.
He wanted to say something, but Asai Narimi's expression turned sad for a moment, as if he was thinking of something... something irreversible.
That expression prevented him from asking the question he wanted to ask.
"...Okay, Doctor Asai!" Conan tried to be more lively, trying to infect Asai Narimi, "We can also pick up all the garbage here! At least, at least, make this place look better, more like the former Moon Shadow Island that the doctor said!"
Asai Narimi was stunned for a moment, then smiled:
"Okay, Conan-kun."
Then two figures, one big and one small, walked down the shallow reef, carefully crossed the black water with a rainbow luster, grabbed the fluttering butterflies with garbage tongs, and carefully placed them in the garbage bag.
They didn't know that at this moment, in a factory two or three kilometers away from them, there were two people moving around at night and staring at them.
They were a pair of blue-grey eyes and a pair of honey-colored eyes.
Standing on a high place and looking at the ground, you can see everything at a glance, not to mention that there are no obstacles blocking the view of Conan and Asai Narumi where they are.
Lin Xi stood on the platform and touched his chin: "It's great to be young."
Amuro Toru on the side looked at her speechlessly.
You're a young guy yourself, right?
In his impression, Punch was only about sixteen or seventeen years old. Now, five years later, he was only twenty-one or twenty-two years old. It was not her turn to say that others were young.
They had been busy for a long time just now - actually it was mainly Toru Amuro who was busy, and Lin Xi was responsible for language guidance.
Lin Xi said that whoever had a weapon would be knocked unconscious and their weapons would be confiscated.
No one escaped Lin Xi's eyes, at least Toru Amuro didn't notice.
Relying on his long-standing trust in Punch (this trust mainly refers to when doing tasks, although Punch's ideas are always wild and unrealistic, he has never failed to execute them), he basically follows Lin Xi's instructions, and his efficiency is faster than he imagined.
Moreover, Lin Xi can always discover others before they get close to him, even if he reminds Amuro Toru, it's as if he has eyes on his back.
In general, when it comes to harming others, Toru Amuro completely trusts Punch.
And what about Lin Xi?
Lin Xi opened the map directly and asked Amuro Toru to beat the gray dot when he saw it.
A quick cheat.
The system map doesn't have any distance restrictions. Lin Xi had a similar experience—it was a bit of a joke, but the last time he used a map to find someone was in the 22nd round of that dungeon five years ago.
At that time, in order to eliminate human factors, she found everyone on the street and slaughtered them all.
Since then, Lin Xi has been somewhat resistant to the system and its functions, especially the system map, and has reduced the number of times she uses it. This is why she didn't find Amuro Toru the first time.
Although they had to meet eventually, according to Lin Xi's idea, the meeting process should be more decent - at least not staring at each other in a box full of fishy smell.
Now Lin Xi and Amuro Toru have knocked out the people in the factory and confiscated their weapons.
Tomorrow morning, the evidence recorded by Amuro will appear on the mobile phones of a few fishermen's leaders and Shimizu Masato. At that time, the angry fishermen will definitely help to watch these people. Once the inland detectives arrive, they can catch all the people of the Minetosa Group on Yueying Island in one fell swoop.
The rest of the night is Lin Xi and Amuro Toru's "rest time".
Amuro Toru looked at the full moon and couldn't help but think of Morofushi Kagemitsu.
That was his good friend, the most vivid mark left by his unforgettable youth.
But things are unpredictable. Whether it was Hagiwara, Matsuda, the class leader or Hiro, they all passed away one after another.
He remembered that the night Hiro died, the moon was also full like today.
The moon is so beautiful, but it never speaks a word. It hangs high in the sky and has no mercy on people.
But that night when he was wandering alone on the street, the moonlight from the bright moon brushed against his face and hair, as if to comfort him.
【But my best friend died.】
At that time, he muttered to himself, but his words disappeared in the wind and he didn't know who he was talking to.
Countless nights later, he woke up from his dreams of a blood-red figure falling on the rooftop.
The wind that day, the blood that day, Punch holding a gun that day, and Moroboshi Dai watching with his arms folded - no, now you should call him Akai Shuichi, are all deeply engraved in his mind, and he can clearly recall every detail.
Except for Zhu Fujingguang's face.
Perhaps he was in too much pain, and his memory was escaping uncontrollably in order to protect him - Toru Amuro could never remember his friend's face clearly that day.
It was as if the once vivid memory was covered by a layer of mist. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember his friend's expression, his falling figure, and his broken face that day.
He only remembered that he hurried up to the rooftop, and just as he climbed to the top step, he heard the sound of Punch firing a gun.
Then there was the sound of someone slowly falling backwards, and Punch putting away his gun.
At that time, her green eyes glanced at him coldly, which was completely different from her usual lively and quirky appearance.
He actually has complicated feelings about Punch.
On the one hand, he knew that regardless of Punch's presence or not, the organization would send people to hunt down his friend. At that time, the members in Japan had already received the highest level of wanted orders;
On the other hand, he was also filled with sadness - his friend had spoken highly of Punch when he was alive, and had even told him, "Maybe that guy was a good person."
Although he knew that Punch didn't have to be responsible for other people's opinions, and that they were complete enemies from a standpoint, Toru Amuro still felt sad for his friend.
He could see that his friend admired Punch. Being killed by a senior whom he admired so much, Hiro...
You'll be sad, right?
What was he thinking in the last moment when he lost consciousness and fell down?
And Punch... she was such an unfathomable person that she even held a funeral for Hiro after his death.
This funeral had no name, and there was no inscription on Zhu Fujingguang's tombstone.
A silent funeral, with only a few people attending, all of whom were members of the organization, enemies of Morifushi Kagemitsu and Amuro Toru, which made the funeral seem absurd from beginning to end.
But Toru Amuro is grateful to Punch for this matter.
His friend was buried, which gave him a sense of comfort.
What puzzled him was Punch himself.
Why on earth did she do that?
This question had arisen in his mind since the first time he saw Punch, but it had never been answered, and instead the doubt had only grown deeper.
He thought, maybe if Hiro came, he could understand Punch more easily than he did. In some ways, he could strangely understand the girl, as if their brain waves had overlapped at some point, and he could never figure out similar questions.
Seeing Punch again many years later, a new question came to Toru Amuro's mind:
Why does she look so "ordinary" now?
This "ordinary" certainly does not mean that her abilities are mediocre.
She had just proved to him that she was as strong and sharp as ever, both in physical skills and senses.
When did she become interested in the lives of "ordinary people".
By mixing with the kids and participating in environmental protection activities, does she think that this can wash away the smell of sin on her?
She couldn't fit in -
Do wild beasts think that they can live with herbivores by sharpening their claws and lying down?
She always exudes the smell of darkness, which is an identity she cannot get rid of, indicating that she can only go deeper into darkness.
Thinking of this, Amuro Toru laughed coldly.
Lin Xi next to him looked at him in confusion.
The handsome guy looks good when he smiles, but sometimes he purses his lips sadly, sometimes he frowns angrily, and sometimes he sneers. He looks like he is a little bit mentally ill.
What are you thinking about?
Does everyone who sees moonlight have a series of images flashing through their minds like a revolving lantern? Do you think this is writing a novel?
Then she saw the man next to her turn to her and shout, "Punch."
Lin Xi:?
Don't shout nonsense.
She gave a puzzled look.
"Is Mr. Bourbon calling me?"
Amuro Toru's blue-gray eyes stared at her oppressively.
Perhaps a sensible colleague should cooperate and pretend to have recognized the wrong person when facing a colleague who is pretending to be stupid, but Toru Amuro has never been a sensible person.
He said, "At this point, do you still want to continue pretending?"
"—Punch."
————
(Note 1: From Baidu Encyclopedia)
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