Detective Conan: The System Takes Me to Zero's World

Kudo Yuki slumped in the leather swivel chair, her nails scraping the edge of the cup, making a squeaking sound. The cold tea stains stuck to her palms, looking like a shady transaction in the organization.

The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up, the encrypted text messages from Haibara Ai in my pocket were burning, and the laughter at the family gathering was more creepy than cyanide.

The dusk outside the window had thickened at some point, and the wind blew the cherry blossoms across the wooden eaves, making a rustling sound, but it couldn't hide the sudden alertness in her heart.

Kudo Yuki put the phone in her pocket.

The encrypted text message sent by Haibara Ai was like a poisoned silver needle, silently piercing into this seemingly peaceful family gathering.

"There is new information about the ES Dark Amber Project." Kudo Yuki slowly raised her head and folded her fingers on her knees.

Her cold gaze swept over the people sitting around her. The candlelight flickered in her eyes, causing a barely perceptible ripple in the depths of her pupils.

Conan's pupils suddenly contracted, and he pushed his glasses with habitual caution. A cold light flashed across the lenses: "In other words, their research and development of brainwashing equipment has made new progress?"

Amuro Toru has already taken out his phone, his fingertips sliding rapidly across the screen: "I have seen the code name of this project in the organization's database, which involves neural wave interference and memory tampering technology.

Neural wave interference is to use equipment to interfere with the brain's electrical signals, which can cause confusion and hallucinations; memory tampering is even more dangerous, and can directly modify and implant memories, making it difficult for people to distinguish between reality and fiction. The abnormal sample may mean..."

He paused and looked at Kudo Yuki. Deep worry flashed in both of their eyes - the enemy's research might have broken through the bottleneck.

Kuroba Kaito played with the Star Edge Knife, a cynical smile on his lips: "Do you need a thief to help you steal some key data?"

Kudo Yuki pushed the brown paper bag over and said, "Practice your skills first, and I'll find you later."

He took the bag and raised his eyebrows to indicate. When he turned around, his fingertips unconsciously stroked the folded corner of the old photo in his pocket, and tenderness flashed in his blue-gray eyes.

The figure gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

Kudo Yuki's eyes swept across everyone present, her expression becoming more serious: "Let's go to Dr. Agasa's house first."

The setting sun cuts the columns of the Kudo family's house into light and dark stripes. Kudo Yuki strokes her hot phone and shakes off the cherry blossoms on her shoulders. The cold light from the laboratory of Dr. Agasa's house next door pierces the twilight and cuts her shadow into pieces.

On the other side of the city, the lights inside the Metropolitan Police Department pierced the night, and a fax machine spit out half of an encrypted drawing. When Kuroda Heibei picked it up, it still had a red arrow hastily marked by Sawada Hiroki.

Kurodabei tapped his knuckles on the long table and glanced at the three people in front of him: "How is the transaction record of the trafficking den and the winery going?"

Date Kou slammed the document on the table, his brows knitted into a knot, his eyes full of worry about the enemy's complex forces, and the paper pages trembled: "The shadow of the Karasuma Group is everywhere."

Matsuda Jinpei leaned against the edge of the table, twirling a pen between his fingertips and sneering, "Seven secret accounts, three jumps - they are playing a cat-and-mouse game with us."

The floor-to-ceiling windows behind him reflected the night view of the city. The neon lights shattered into cold light in his eyes, as if telling of his disdain and vigilance towards the enemy.

Hagiwara Kenji raised his hand to wipe the loose hair on his forehead, with a fiery light dancing in his eyes: "More like a fuse."

The blue light from the screen made his face pale, but he couldn't hide the fighting spirit burning in his eyes. "All clues point to a more dangerous situation."

As he spoke, Kenji Hagiwara subconsciously touched the homemade electronic component model in his pocket, which was a testimony to his busy research.

Kuroda Bei quickly turned the pages, his burn scar twisting like a snake under the light: "ES Amber Project... Furuya will be pushed to the forefront. Prepare for support."

His eyes were fixed on Hiroki Sawada in the corner. The little boy was staring at the computer screen, his eyes showing a calmness that was not in line with his age.

Over the past three months, Kuroda Beiwei has witnessed how he has been working tirelessly to study the encryption technology of the Karasuma Group. The draft papers filled with formulas are piled higher than a person, and even the coffee machine in the office has been developed into a new algorithm model by him.

"Hiroki, your technology is vital to us." Kuroda's voice was low. "Prepare the latest equipment and algorithms you have developed, and be ready to assist them at any time."

Hiroki Sawada suddenly came back to his senses, with excitement flashing in his eyes.

After three months of dormancy, the codes that had been repeatedly overturned and rebuilt finally came in handy.

"Understood, Administrator. No matter how complicated their encryption system is, I am confident that I can crack it."

He subconsciously touched the black backpack beside him, where the specially made laptop lay quietly. There were still coffee stains in the gaps between the keyboard, recording countless days and nights of hard work.

Kuroda Beibei took out his encrypted cell phone and quickly slid his fingertips across the screen to input commands.

The moment the encrypted channel was connected, the alarm in the Metropolitan Police Department building suddenly emitted a short beep, indicating that the highest level of information transmission was taking place.

Following Kuroda Heibei's nod, Sawada Hiroki stood up and left the meeting room.

The lights in the corridor were dim, and his footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. Thinking back to the mission he had just received, his heartbeat accelerated involuntarily.

Pushing open the door of the Ministry of Public Security's laboratory, the buzzing sound of electronic equipment can be heard, bringing a reassuring and friendly feeling.

Hiroki Sawada operated the computer and retrieved the information about the Karasuma Group's firewall: "They use living neural signals as keys, combined with quantum encryption. Once cracked, the information will self-destruct."

He took out a matchbox-sized jammer. "This can interfere with quantum signals and break the encryption."

After quickly stuffing the equipment into his backpack and checking it, Hiroki Sawada walked out of the laboratory quickly.

The night wind blew up the corners of his clothes. Hiroki Sawada wrapped his clothes tightly and quickened his pace. His shadow under the street lamp was stretched very long. The slight shaking of the device in his pocket constantly reminded him of the heavy task. He clenched his fists and said, "I must not let everyone down."

At the same time, Kudo Yuki and his team have arrived at Dr. Agasa's house, and the cold light of the laboratory is waiting for them to uncover new mysteries.

As the night grew darker, the iron door of Dr. Agasa's laboratory was pushed open by Kudo Yuki and others. The fluorescent tubes made a slight hum, and in the pale light, the figure of Haibara Ai typing on the keyboard looked particularly cold.

The data on the projection screen flowed like a waterfall, and the double helix structure of the gene chain continued to twist and reorganize in the blue light.

Haibara Ai's fingertips slid across the projection screen, and the double helix structure twisted and distorted like a living thing.

"The B-07 sample is like a branch that doesn't belong to it. It is a stabilizer based on APTX4869, but it makes the synapses grow like mushrooms after rain. These extra synapses... are like time bombs planted by the enemy."

Zhu Fujingguang stood up suddenly, supported himself on the table with both hands, leaned forward, and stared at the screen: "What does this mean? What exactly do they want to do?"

Haibara Ai brought up a contrast image, and the cold blue light made her face look even paler.

"To put it simply, they are using drugs to reshape the brain's neural network and brainwashing equipment to try to achieve complete control over the target person. It's like building a secret control room in the brain, and those innocent people will become puppets at their mercy."

She subconsciously looked at Kudo Yuki, and the two looked at each other, seeing deep worry in each other's eyes.

Conan squatted down, his eyes fixed on a certain wave curve: "So these abnormally proliferating synapses are the receivers that receive brainwashing signals? Just like the antenna of a radio, it only receives specific frequencies."

Amuro Toru crossed his arms over his chest, and his leather boots tapped the ground lightly, making a regular sound: "If this is true, the disaster will be immeasurable when this technology matures."

Kudo Yuki stared at the projection screen with a frown on her face, and her mind was racing with thoughts of a response: "I've already made arrangements for Kuroba Kaito. Although he doesn't know about the ES Dark Amber Plan, with his abilities, he will definitely be able to play a role at a critical moment."

She subconsciously clenched the cell phone in her pocket, which contained Kuroba Kaito's contact number.

Conan nodded slightly, but his brows were still furrowed, and he asked worriedly: "The key now is to find out their research and development progress and the location of their core laboratory. But in this situation... Sister, when will Karasuma Renya take you to visit?"

"I'm not sure either. That person is suspicious by nature, so I can only act according to circumstances." The cell phone in Kudo Yuki's bag still retained body temperature. She took out the complete information of Morobushi Kagemitsu's assumed identity and handed it to Haibara Ai.

"Ai, this is the key to our success. Let Hiro pretend to be a research assistant... I want you to teach him the necessary knowledge and skills in person."

Haibara Ai's fingertips suddenly froze above the keyboard, and her pupils trembled violently: "Something's wrong!" The holographic projection switched instantly, and the genetic map of the B-07 sample covered the entire screen like a bloody spider web.

Kudo Yuki's eyes were fixed on the overlapping images, and her tone was cold: "Look at the arrangement of these synapses—"

The moment the two sets of data overlapped, Huihara Ai suddenly grasped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white: "Living neural synapses are used as sensing elements of the security system! B-07 is their prototype sample, the infiltration plan must be overturned and started over!"

She quickly called up the three-dimensional model of the laboratory. A faint blue alarm light strip flickered in the corner, as if mocking everyone's plan.

Zhu Fujingguang took the information and slowly sat down, the light cast a deep shadow on his face.

His throat rolled unconsciously and his eyes were fixed on the information in his hand. He finally understood why Huibara Ai had been staring at the screen for three whole hours and why her fingertips could hardly stop trembling on the keyboard - this was not a coincidence, but a carefully planned deadly trap.

Zhu Fujingguang's ring finger subconsciously stroked the pen. It was his habitual action when performing a task, and he tried to sort out his thoughts through it.

But this time, the pen turned twice between his fingers and fell on the table with a "click". He hurriedly bent down to pick it up, and when he stood up, beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

"Disguising as a research assistant requires extremely strong professional knowledge." His brows were twisted into knots, and confusion and anxiety flashed in his eyes. "I have received basic training in the public security department, but it is too difficult to master these in a short period of time..."

My thoughts involuntarily went back to the days of public security training. Those nights of studying late into the night, those densely packed notes, all became blurry now.

Faced with the complex pharmaceutical knowledge of APTX4869, he suddenly felt like a beginner, and all his confidence was shattered at this moment.

"That's why I let you live in Kudo's house ahead of time." Conan took out his mobile phone from his pocket. More than 20 academic videos were listed on the screen. "Graybara and I will sort out the core knowledge points. With the practical teaching of my sister, we should be able to complete it within a week."

Haibara Ai suddenly stopped typing on the keyboard, and the air in the laboratory froze instantly.

She called up a hidden encrypted log, her pupils shrinking slightly due to the blue light on the screen: "Here is an abnormal data fluctuation from three days ago. At that time, the brain wave frequency of the B-07 sample suddenly resonated with an unknown frequency band, which lasted only 0.3 seconds."

"0.3 seconds? Such a short time..." Conan pinched his chin and thought, "But it is enough to complete a signal transmission. If this is the effective distance of the organization's testing of the brainwashing device...

Kudo Yuki's eyes were stern, and she reached out and gently pressed Conan's shoulder: "Don't jump to conclusions. There may be other explanations for this abnormal data."

She took out the collar button from her pocket, turned to Zhufu Jingguang, and said seriously: "Hiro, there is a chip in it that can help you hide your tracks and obtain intelligence. The button is on the back. Press the switch and you will not appear in the surveillance."

"Thank you, I will be careful." Zhu Fu Jingguang solemnly took the collar button and put it in his arms.

Amuro Toru's gaze suddenly turned from the projection screen to Haibara Ai, and he narrowed his eyes slightly, with a tentative tone: "Haiyara, when analyzing the data of the improved APTX4869 drug, did you find any clues to the ingredients related to the antidote?"

Haibara Ai's fingertips fluttered like butterfly wings, and the data flow on the touch screen suddenly reorganized.

In the dark blue spectrum analysis chart, the molecular structure of the improved drug slowly unfolded like a sophisticated mechanical device: "Look at these nanoscale substances - they are like dark threads lurking in the blood, transforming the original toxic components into channels for transmitting instructions."

She zoomed in on a fluorescent marking point, and a faint blue light flashed before everyone's eyes.

"Look at the special structure of these tentacles. They are like fishing nets in the deep sea. Once the brainwashing device sends a signal, these 'tentacles' will quickly capture and tightly entangle, just like a fishing net tightly trapping prey, making the brain completely lose the ability to resist and can only obey the control."

Amuro Toru's eyes suddenly became sharp, piercing the void like an ice cone: "So, APTX4869 has completely become a control tool?"

"At present, we cannot rule out the possibility of the existence of antidote ingredients." Huiyuan Ai called up a confidential document, "I reverse-analyzed the metabolic residues of sample B-07 and found the spectral characteristics of an unknown compound. It has a 1.8% match with the antidote experimental data destroyed by the organization ten years ago."

Conan immediately leaned closer to the screen, a spark of hope in his eyes: "Although 1.8% is small, it is enough to prove that there may be a branch in the research and development direction of the improved drug! Maybe they are secretly researching the antidote while developing the control function."

To be continued...