The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

"Hot springs really have to be more comfortable like this natural one, right?"

"Yeah! It's indeed much more comfortable..."

"Hey, this is actually part of the resort. Normal tourists can make an appointment to come here."

"Oh, so this is also part of your family's business?"

"Isn't it interesting to be able to see the sea and even whales floating in the hot spring pool?"

Conan remained lost in thought as he watched Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki chat as they walked to the table, wiping their sweat.

What Tang Ze said was correct. The current attractions and many renovated facilities on the island were all developed with the financial support of the Suzuki family after the Suzuki Resort selected this site.

They are now sitting on a semi-open terrace. The hot springs here almost occupy the best viewing point in a higher position on the island. Anyone who comes here to travel will surely not miss it.

The tourist area planned and developed by Suzuki Sonoko sounds really unfamiliar, just like Conan's thoughts which are difficult to control now.

Now following them, is Tang Ze, who is acting as usual, really Tang Ze himself? The answer is obvious.

Admittedly, considering the people who can disguise themselves that Conan has come into contact with, Karasawa whom he met after arriving on the island might also be a Joker in disguise. However, after Shuichi Akai faked his death, Conan rarely saw his mother who was much more serious and answered many questions for Shuichi Akai. His understanding of disguise is no longer what it used to be.

According to Yukiko Kudo, no matter what means are used to achieve the purpose of changing one's appearance, if one wants to completely disguise oneself as another person, one must use a disguise mask, injection filler, or special body shaping. If this is done purely with makeup, normal social distance is enough to detect that something is wrong.

Regardless of which one, this will cause the disguiser's face to have many other materials that are not native to him, which will bring a direct result. Once they use something that will press on the face, it will easily damage the disguise and expose them.

After arriving on the island, Tang Ze was kidnapped once. After escaping from the submarine, he used basic diving equipment to dive back to the Pacific buoy. He used oxygen masks and goggles. If he was disguised as Joker, he would be discovered immediately.

Since Tang Ze is himself, what about Joker?

Those who experienced this dangerous accident were definitely impressed by Joker, but it cannot be denied that despite doing many things, no one from the Phantom Thieves actually showed up in front of everyone this time. The few small black dots in the distance photographed by Suzuki Sonoko were their most open appearance in this accident.

According to Naomi Argento's testimony, she was once pressed in front of the computer by Vodka and watched her father being targeted by a sniper and facing the threat of life and death. Then Joker appeared. During this period, Karasawa was indeed tied up by the organization and unable to move. This simultaneous appearance should have been able to dispel Conan's doubts, but the method used by Binga when escaping gave Conan some clues.

This is no ordinary facility. It is a giant computer room built entirely on the seabed to accommodate artificial intelligence and real-time network computing.

The joker that only appears on the screen and the fake image that Binga can transmit by using a backdoor program are likely of the same nature.

Binga can make use of the system's intelligent computing, and Noah's Ark will be like a fish in water when buoyed in the Pacific Ocean.

The Joker who appeared in the window and talked freely, mysteriously, calmly, and even a little arrogantly, was looking at them from another world or was actually generated and controlled by Noah's Ark. No one could figure out.

But what is certain is that Joker or a member of the Phantom Thieves must have appeared in the Pacific Buoy, otherwise, he would not have obtained the physical system key.

What was Karasawa doing at the time? Karasawa was being questioned by the police, just like everyone else, because of Naomi's disappearance. In other words, he was juggling work and life, and no one could provide a precise account of his movements.

Tang Ze, who seemed to be following someone throughout the whole process and rarely walked alone, and Joker, who seemed to be overlooking the overall situation and in contact with them throughout the whole process, actually had no real "alibi".

"Conan, Conan?"

"Ok?"

Conan, whose brain was working frantically and whose attention was completely distracted from what was happening before him, was brought back to his senses by a familiar voice and a cool touch, and he raised his head.

"Why do you look so serious?" Mao Lilan put the cold wall of the juice glass against his face, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Are you still thinking about that person?"

The real culprit who sneaked into the Pacific Ocean buoy and kidnapped Tang Ze left the facility before the buoy was bombarded. His whereabouts are unknown, and the police are still searching for him anxiously.

Although he successfully solved the identity of the mole, he failed to bring him to justice. Ran Mao Li could somewhat understand his frustration as a detective.

"...I'm just recalling the details of this incident." Seeing that Suzuki Sonoko was not there, Conan did not continue to speak in a childish manner, "This time, the Phantom Thieves had a shootout in front of so many police officers."

"Could that be considered a fight?" Mao Lilan recalled the scene and became uncertain. "If I had to say, it was more like an 'execution'."

The attack on the enemy sniper at that time did not seem to be simply intended to drive away or control the enemy, it was really intended to take lives.

They could have chosen not to do this. It was they who controlled the camera that exposed the sniper's position. As long as they wanted, this scene could be completely hidden from any third party.

The Phantom Thieves did this in full view of the public, so this scene was more like an execution-style killing than a confrontation.

"That's about right. Anyway, the police now have real reason to arrest them." Conan did not refute her guess, but continued.

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts have been active as Phantom Thieves for a long time, but no one knows how they did it. Even though there have been several crimes claimed by the Phantom Thieves, such as stealing 4 million yen that the robbers had kept in the bank's safe, no one had directly witnessed the crime process.

This time it was different. For both the organization and the police, this was a high-profile and proactive appearance.

They hacked into ICPO facilities and attacked people directly during live call surveillance. The police now have enough reasons to arrest them.

"Will it?" Mao Lilan was stunned and tilted her head to think, "Haven't the Phantom Thieves always been confirmed criminals? There's no need for them to hide it."

The concept of conviction was proposed by the German criminal law scholar Radbruch. It means that one subjectively believes that his or her own behavior conforms to the standards of justice. Therefore, even if it objectively violates the current law, he or she does not think that he or she is wrong. Instead, he or she believes that the law and the system itself are at fault.

Every action of the Phantom Thieves fits this concept.

The Phantom Thief of Heart, who believes he is innocent, chooses to publicly execute another criminal, which is completely in line with their logic.

"'Confirmed criminal'..."

Conan squinted his eyes and repeated the word, biting the plastic straw inserted in the juice, and couldn't help but continue to think divergently.

Yes, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts are completely convinced criminals, convinced criminals who don't even mind appearing directly in front of detectives and police and directly proclaiming their theories to them...

In that case...

"I think this project is quite promising. Besides whale watching, you could promote this whole set of connected experiences..."

Sitting opposite Suzuki Sonoko and giving her feedback on his experience, Tang Ze, who was talking incessantly, was suddenly stunned.

Leon's voice came out at an inopportune moment.

【rank up！Rank 7】

You get long-term effects—"Detective's Doubt"

[After walking such a long road, every aspect of yourself and every aspect of life has been selectively shown to him by you.

The detective's intelligence may be temporarily blinded by emotions, but you also know that this will not last forever. After all, as the detective's friend and opponent, no matter which side you are on, your true nature has not changed, and what is reflected is still yourself.

Now, standing before this mirror that reflects countless aspects of you, it's as if you were looking at countless selves. You probably also understand that the moment of choice will eventually come.

You don't expect your appearance to change the world, but the choice you make is already destiny itself.

"Yeah, I've got it..." Suzuki Sonoko, who was writing furiously in her notebook, breathed a sigh of relief after finishing the last line. Then she realized that Tang Ze had paused for too long and raised her head from her notebook. "What's wrong? Did you remember something was wrong? Don't worry about the wording, just tell me directly."

"...No, not really. It's already great." Tang Ze smiled at her bright and cheerful expression, which was filled with affirmation. "I just think I don't need to continue to give you feedback on the details. Constantly pursuing perfect efficiency might actually affect the experience. Being too robotic isn't good either."

Suzuki Sonoko scratched her damp hair with the end of her pen, looking a little distressed: "Is that so? Well, I'll think about it myself..."

She didn't think that what Tang Ze said was his true feelings. She just thought that Tang Ze suddenly felt that guiding her business in every detail would affect her ability to think independently, so she simply bit the pen and started to think to herself.

Tang Ze shifted his gaze, held the straw of his drink in his mouth, and looked at the new icon on the interface, the one with the familiar face wearing big glasses.

Honestly, always pursuing perfect efficiency is actually a flaw...

----

"You want a new temporary antidote? Of course, we can. Research and development has been progressing very quickly recently. One pill might last a week. However, I must reiterate that taking too much before the antidote is developed can easily affect the effectiveness of the final antidote. As you know, the active ingredients of many drugs will cause drug resistance with repeated use..."

After completing her safety statement, Haibara Ai turned around and started rummaging through her backpack, not noticing the complicated expression on Conan's face when she turned her back.

He currently had no direct evidence to support his doubts, so it was difficult for him to tell Huibara directly.

After careful consideration, although the first thing Haibara Ai thought of after leaving the organization was to find Kudo Shinichi for help, that was a choice she made when she didn't know that her sister was still alive. Between him and Karasawa, Haibara Ai's position would definitely be more inclined towards Karasawa.

...Looking back and thinking about it now, this choice itself is quite problematic.

At that time, Akemi Miyano was thought to be dead, and she didn't know about the existence of Shuichi Akai's large family of relatives. But from her perspective, she should have one last relative in the world.

According to their description, Karasawa's father was very close to Miyano Shiho in the past, so there is no reason for him not to know about Karasawa's existence.

In such a desperate situation, she did not choose to look for Tang Ze. Although it can be explained by reasons such as worrying about the organized gaze around Tang Ze and that Tang Ze himself had no fixed residence and was living under someone else's roof, it is still confusing.

Before she came to find Kudo Shinichi, she had clearly investigated his subsequent situation as a user of APTX4869, and noticed that Edogawa Conan was also at this stage.

If that's the case, would she be unaware of the fact that Karasawa transferred to Teitan High School and became a classmate of Kudo Shinichi, and now lives downstairs from Conan, which are things that are easy to find out?

"I can only give you this much." Carefully counting out two pills, Ai Huihara placed them in a small medicine bottle and handed it over. "Anyway, this medicine lasts longer. If you have to take it, you'll definitely find me in time... Hmm? Edogawa?"

Seeing that Conan was staring at her but didn't reach out to take the thing, Haibara Ai raised the bottle and shook it in front of him.

"It's nothing. I just didn't expect you to develop so quickly. Has it lasted for a week?" Conan quickly took the bottle of medicine and changed the subject in a cover-up.

"That was a project I participated in researching, after all. Finding an antidote is certainly challenging, but I'm not completely clueless. A week is a theoretical estimate. If someone's in good physical condition, perhaps they could maintain it for 10 days." Haibara Ai crossed her arms, looking quite amused, her eyes narrowed. "So, are you planning to try it? Then remember to let me know in advance. You know, the data on this is still very scarce."

There are many white mice used for testing in the laboratory, special samples from Vermouth are available for reference, and there is also a special individual named Tang Ze who can cooperate with her to transform into a living person for testing, but it is impossible for her to really do any human experiments. Conan's physical data after taking it is still invaluable.

With his eyes squinted and a subtle smile on his lips, he seemed to be thinking of something evil.

This was an expression that easily reminded Conan of Tang Ze, so Conan shifted his gaze even more subtly.

It seems that I can't ask Huibara's opinion. No matter how I think about it, she will definitely stand on Tang Ze's side.

When he shifted his gaze, he saw a familiar person approaching the unaware Haibara Ai at a very fast speed, and then hugged the little girl.

"Ai-chan!" Naomi took the opportunity to pinch her cheek and was very happy. "We agreed that I can play with you when I go to Tokyo this time..."

The new workplace is right next door to Shiho's house? Those job benefits are incredible!

"Hey, don't do this..." Huiyuan Ai struggled hard, "Didn't I already promise you? Let go first..."

"...Ms. Naomi is going to Tokyo?" Conan asked in a subtle tone as he looked at Naomi, who was smiling and seemed to have discovered Haibara Ai's true identity.

"Even if the project needs to be rebuilt, there's no rush. I'm completely free now." Naomi answered cheerfully, "Since I'm here, I'm going to go out for a little fun and relax."

Conan, who felt a stronger sense of déjà vu, said: "..."