Chapter 51: Sunny Moon Mountain Journey - I, the player, observe the celestial phenomena at night...
94.
When Lin Xi and his companions were swept around by the flood, Yamato Ganzhu and his group also discovered the secret passage inside Qingyue Mountain.
"Right here..."
Uehara Yui looked at the underground passage hidden behind layers of trees in front of her.
"It's incredible that there is such a place in Qingyue Mountain."
Yamato Gansuke stepped forward and observed the stone door, trying to find the mechanism to open it.
"There are words here," Zhu Fu Gaoming said as he touched the stone door. "It's a symbol, like a pattern, covering almost the entire stone door."
At this time, there was a rustling sound coming from the bushes not far away, and the three of them looked over vigilantly.
A man in a wrinkled suit, covered in dirt and leaves, emerged from the bushes.
He looked very alert and seemed surprised to see three people here.
"Who are you?"
Yamato Gansuke exchanged glances with his companions.
"We are police officers from the Nagano Prefecture Investigation Division 1. We are here in Harutsuki Mountain to hunt down a criminal," said Yamato Gansuke, showing his police ID.
The man was stunned for a moment and said, "So it's you? You're finally here..."
Zhu Fu Gaoming stepped forward and asked, "Is this Mr. Kashimura?"
Just now when I was on the mountain, I received a call from headquarters saying that a tourist from Qingyue Mountain called the police and reported that his child was kidnapped by criminals.
It must be the one in front of me.
"Yes, it's me."
Zhu Fu Gaoming: "We've received your call to the police. You said your child was taken away by armed men. Look, are these the people you encountered?"
Tadaki Kashimura looked at the photo handed over by Takaaki Morobushi.
"Yes, that's them," said Kashimura Tadaki. "They had guns, so I didn't dare act rashly. But I have a rough idea of why they took Hiroki away."
"I'm not boasting, but my son has been very intelligent since he was young. Before he was abducted, he was studying a manuscript that had fallen on the roadside. It was completely coded. I think he must have deciphered the ciphers, which is why he was abducted by the returning criminals—they just needed someone who was easy to control and could help them decipher the ciphers."
Zhu Fu Gaoming nodded. "You're right. They're roaming treasure hunters, and the code is likely related to the treasure they're searching for. Look here. Does the code you mentioned bear any resemblance to these symbols?"
He moved aside, revealing a stone slab engraved with symbols on his back.
"That's right," said Kashimura Tadaki. "After Hiroki was kidnapped, I ventured to follow them for a while and saw them enter a cave. After they went deeper, I carefully observed the surrounding area of the cave and saw the same symbols. At the same time, I also saw some curved lines -"
He took out his cell phone and showed the three people the photos he had taken.
"Although I can't crack these codes, by comparing these lines with the bird's-eye view of Qingyue Mountain, I initially guessed that this is a rough map of the secret passages within Qingyue Mountain. So I marked the approximate locations of the entrances and exits of these passages on Qingyue Mountain, and where we are now is one of them."
Tadaki Kashimura enlarged the map on his phone and pointed out the entrances and exits to the three people one by one.
Although the man's child was held hostage by the criminals, he did not panic. Instead, he looked for a solution calmly and calmly.
Several people observed the stone slab together.
Zhu Fu Gaoming asked, "Mr. Kashimura, did your son say anything noteworthy while studying the criminals' cipher manuscript?"
Kashimura Tadaki thought about it carefully and shook his head after a while.
"Hiroki just read the code without saying anything or taking any notes. He's never had much desire to communicate with others, and he rarely brings up topics even with his family. I saw how serious he was about his research, so I didn't want to disturb him."
"Just 'look'?" Zhu Fu Gaoming said, "That makes sense. These 'codes' might not be simple codes, but rather a special kind of symbol or language, like the 'dancing men' in Sherlock Holmes (Note 1). But unlike the 'dancing men', if they were to be used as ciphers, they would be too long, so I'm more inclined to believe they are some explanatory texts."
"For example, the symbols here may explain how to open the secret passage here."
Upon hearing this, Uehara Yui said, "But since we can't understand the symbols, we can't open the secret passage here. Why not station police at the entrances and exits of each secret passage and wait for them to come?"
Yamato Gansuke: "Yes. I have contacted the police officers at the foot of the mountain and sent them the location. But the criminals are vicious after all, and they have guns. The child is in their hands. If we delay, something bad will happen——"
Just then, there was movement at the stone gate in front of the three people.
With a loud bang, the stone door slowly opened to both sides.
A man, soaking wet and in a disheveled state, walked out of the door.
He was panting and just as he walked out, he met eyes with the four people standing at the door.
Both sides were stunned.
I am most afraid of the sudden silence in the air.
B turned around quickly and was about to press the mechanism next to him to close the door, but Yamato Gansuke noticed his intention and pounced on him to capture him.
The man wanted to cry but had no tears.
This person is treasure hunter B.
After being unlucky enough to have a mental breakdown due to Lin Xi, he was washed away by the water. When he finally found a way out, he was even more unlucky to bump into the arms of a policeman.
What a tragic life this is.
B feels aggrieved, but doesn't say it.
Uehara Yui took out handcuffs and handcuffed him, then asked, "Where is your accomplice?"
Kashimura Tadaki asked: "Where is my child now?"
Yamato Gansuke: "How did you become like this?"
I was soaked, as if I had just crawled out of the water.
Zhu Fu Gaoming: "What did you encounter in the secret passage?"
B: ...
Ladies and gentlemen, please ask one by one.
I only have one mouth.
He was dejected, his head resting against the rock wall in a resigned manner. "My boss and I got separated by the current... We ran into some weirdos, some lunatics. We were just enjoying our treasure hunt when they suddenly barged in, saying things like guns and accidental discharges, and then beat us up and verbally abused us!"
"In the end, they triggered some mechanism, and water fell from the ceiling, instantly washing us all away..."
"Weird person?" Zhu Fu Gao Ming asked. For some reason, the image of the girl he met in the mountains not long ago appeared in his mind.
Are underage biker gang members holding cats also considered weird?
"My child, where is he now?" Kashimura Tadaki repeated. Although he remained calm, his clenched fingers betrayed his restlessness.
"Ah, that little boy? He... he was also washed away by the water. He wasn't with us. I saw him standing with that guy when the water rushed down..."
"Who is 'that guy'?"
"She, she's the craziest one among that bunch of lunatics! She's a psychopath, a pervert who loves to toy with and torture others!" B was very excited when talking about Lin Xi. "She knows that little boy! I heard her say her name is... Shibahara..."
"Her name is Shibahara Saki!"
95.
Inside the secret passage of Qingyue Mountain.
Hiroki Kashimura dried his hair and returned the blanket to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi wrung out her soaked hair, folded up the blanket, and then conjured up a steaming bowl of Taiyaki out of thin air and stuffed it into the child's hands.
"You didn't have lunch, did you? As the saying goes, man is iron and rice is steel. If you don't eat, you'll be hungry... Here, eat this to fill your stomach first."
Hiroki Kashimura took it and looked at the Taiyaki in his hand curiously.
Sister Shibahara not only has an extra-dimensional pocket, but her extra-dimensional pocket can also preserve food in its original state.
He took a bite and his empty stomach was finally filled.
Lin Xi took his hand and walked with him along the passage.
"Hiroki-chan..."
Hiroki Kashimura looked up: "What's wrong?"
"I think you will be a very important person in the future, but I can't remember who you are." Lin Xi shook his head in distress.
If someone had told her before she traveled through time that she would be transported into Detective Conan after her sudden death, she would definitely have watched the series to the fullest!
Look at how capable this kid is at such a young age. He will definitely have a bright future!
Kashimura Hiroki was puzzled for a moment: "I will be an important person in the future? Is this predicted by divination?"
Lin Xi nodded: "Well, I got it by observing the celestial phenomena at night, which can be considered a kind of divination."
Hiroki Kashimura: "Oh. Then, what will I look like in the future? My father and mother...how are they doing?"
Lin Xi: "Well, the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed, Hiroki-chan. And actually, even the results of divination can be changed. If you can see the future but can't change it, that would be too boring."
She thought of Reiko Shimizu and Suehiko Ito.
She didn't intervene in the first round, and as a bystander, she saw the original direction of the story -
Reiko Shimizu sniped Masaharu Nishio to death and put the blame on Suehiko Ito; Suehiko Ito was unwilling to believe that the woman he had spent so much time and energy to lick did not love him and made himself the scapegoat, so he summoned many detectives to help him solve the case of Masaharu Nishio's murder.
The Minetoko group did not show up, and neither did Amuro Toru.
So she went back to the beginning of the story and changed the whole story beyond recognition - the thrilling bomb threat turned into a tacit fireworks show between her and Amuro Toru.
Reiko Shimizu was not arrested and Suehiko Ito did not die.
Therefore, Lin Xi has always believed that knowing the plot is the first step to change, and change is the purpose of understanding the plot. She doesn't believe in Oedipus' fate (Note 2) or Samara's inevitable death (Note 3) - "making the future what we want it to be" (Note 4) is the purpose of the game.
Hiroki Kashimura seemed to understand, took a bite of the taiyaki in his hand, and asked, "But how can we change it?"
"Hmm... well, I guess everyone has their own way. If Hiroki knew the future and wasn't happy with it, how would he want to change it?"
The boy was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and thought seriously.
What if you knew the future but were unhappy with it?
My father once said that if you encounter difficulties, you should tell adults in time.
But there are many things that dad himself cannot solve. Adults also evolved from children, and adults are not omnipotent.
It seems that humans all have their own limitations and cannot truly change the future.
Perhaps only... "artificial intelligence" composed of code and data can possess powerful power without being limited by human narrow-mindedness.
"AI," Hiroki Kashimura said, "Sister Shibahara, I will create an AI companion to help me."
Artificial Intelligence? Wait…
This setting sounds a bit familiar.
"Why AI? Aren't you worried that AI will replace humans in the future?"
Lin Xi asked, this was one of the most hotly discussed issues in the world she came from.
Hiroki Kashimura's face showed genuine confusion: "Why would AI replace humans? AI is a partner of humans. AI will not harm humans."
"Hasn't it always been humans themselves who have harmed, killed, and replaced humans?"
Lin Xi: That’s absolutely right, brother.
"I think you're right... but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has doubts about your thinking."
"Until you've built your AI companion, it's best not to share this idea with anyone else. There's a saying, 'An innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure'... It means that the common people are innocent, but are convicted of a crime simply because they possess a treasure."
"So, Hiroki-chan, you have to work hard to become someone powerful and capable, so that you can showcase your talents to others without being coveted."
Hiroki Kashimura: "But, Sister Shibahara, if you want to change the future, you have to become a powerful person, then doesn't changing the future become a privilege?"
Lin Xi was stunned for a moment.
"No, that's not what I meant. Changing the future is a privilege, yes, but it's not their privilege. Look, when you were playing [The Strongest Player], who was the one who could change the future?"
"Um... a hero?"
"It's the players who control the heroes. If this world is a grand game, then each of us is a player, fighting monsters, leveling up, embarking on adventures, and gradually growing into adults."
"In my hometown, they jokingly call this game Earth Online."
"Gamers are the ones who have the privilege to change the future."
————
(Note 1: One of the most classic cases in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, the "Dancing Men" is a special symbol that has been deciphered. Each different form of the men represents an English letter.)
(Note 2: In Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus the King, Oedipus, despite knowing the prophecy and trying to avoid the future, still could not escape the fate of killing his father and marrying his mother.)
(Note 3: Maugham's "A Meeting in Samarra" describes a story about the fate of death.)
(Note 4: From the game "Honkai Impact 3rd" Kiana: "I will turn this imperfect story into what we expect!")
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