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

Everyone watched as the vehicles of the Weibaoyue Fire Headquarters disappeared at the end of the snow trail. The air still contained the chilly smell of tires rolling over snow, and everyone's face was covered with a layer of frosty solemnity.

Otomo Takashi walked out of the Bupalum hut and broke the silence: "Everyone, you should come to my place to rest. I'll go tidy up the charcoal kiln and come right back."

There were still snow particles embedded in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and there was some charcoal ash on his coarse cloth coat. His tone was simple and unsophisticated, which was unique to mountain people, and the white breath he exhaled when he spoke quickly dissipated in the cold air.

Officer Takagi glanced at Conan, who was huddled next to Ogino Ayami, and nodded, "Thank you for bothering me."

"After all, Conan is still here." Ogino Ayami pulled her collar closer, her fingertips stained with the smell of barbecue.

"I can still hold on." Officer Yamato leaned on the ice-spike crutch with his left hand and poked it into the frozen snow, making a crisp "click" sound. He frowned slightly and glanced at everyone, "The criminal's goal is very clear."

Maori Kogoro stroked his chin, looking confused: "What on earth does the criminal want? He has to make a scene on this snowy mountain instead of enjoying a good life."

"He came here for me." Officer Yamato's voice was as heavy as ice. "In the accident ten months ago, I caught a glimpse of someone I shouldn't have seen. He was afraid that I would remember it."

Just as he finished speaking, a muffled sound suddenly came from above the snow-capped mountains, like a giant beast sneezing in the clouds.

Kudo Yuki looked up suddenly, the outline of the mountaintop reflected in her deep blue eyes: "This sound... is wrong."

Everyone's eyes were focused on the ridgeline.

The next second, there was a sharp "bang" sound, and the bullet accurately shattered the speaker on the top of the mountain, causing the snow to fall down.

At first, only a few snowflakes rolled down, but soon they formed a white expanse, like an overturned milk bucket, rushing down the mountain.

"It's an avalanche! Someone activated the loudspeaker that triggered the avalanche! Retreat quickly!" Sato Miwako grabbed Ogino Ayami beside her and rushed in the opposite direction.

Miwako Sato hurried away: "Someone set off the speaker that caused the avalanche. Get out of here quickly."

The crowd exploded instantly and ran back on the thick snow.

The snow made a crunching sound underfoot, mixed with the sound of rapid breathing.

Conan suddenly turned around and rushed towards the barbecue hut. When he opened the creaking wooden door, the charcoal fire in the house had already gone out, leaving only the sound of footsteps on the floor.

"It's gone..." He pushed aside the scattered charcoal ashes and grill nets, frowning, "The gun is not here."

"What are you daydreaming about! Run!" Ogino Ayami grabbed his arm and dragged him out, her fingertips turning white from the force.

Maori Kogoro blocked the door and shouted in a gruff voice: "This broken house won't last more than a few minutes!"

Conan was dragged to run for two steps, and suddenly stopped: "There is no place to hide nearby! We must trigger another avalanche to offset the impact of this one!"

"Can the avalanche in the west stop the avalanche in the north?" Officer Yamato followed with his crutches, his ice spikes leaving deep grooves in the snow. "Is this method feasible?"

"There is no other choice." Conan looked up at the west side of the snow-capped mountains. The sunlight shone on the snow, reflecting a dazzling light. "I can only take a gamble."

Miwako Sato followed his gaze and looked at the remains of the speaker on the top of the mountain: "But the device has been destroyed..."

"Is there anything else that can activate the avalanche device in the west?" Conan rushed out of the cabin, his eyes scanning the surroundings like a radar.

Apart from messy footprints on the snow, there was only snow foam swirling in the wind.

"This might work." Kudo Yuki's voice came from behind. She had taken out a black oxygen tube from the shed where tools were stored and handed it to Conan. "Officer Takagi, please help Conan."

Officer Takagi immediately responded, “No problem!”

He took the black oxygen tube with both hands, placed it gently on the snow and turned around, making a rapid crunching sound as he stepped on the snow.

Conan quickly pulled off the knitted scarf from his neck, and wrapped it around the sole of his shoe to increase friction. He clasped his fingertips tightly around the bow and used the voice changer: "Officer Yamato, aim at the oxygen tube and shoot!"

Before he finished speaking, he bent his knees to gather strength, and kicked the oxygen tube hard - the black cylindrical object cut through the snow and fog with a whistling sound, drawing a low arc in the air.

Officer Yamato leaned against a dead tree trunk to steady himself, his ice-spike crutch digging deep into the snow to support his body.

He pulled out his service pistol from the inner pocket of his cold-proof suit. The moment he pulled the trigger, the bullet only grazed the edge of the oxygen tube. After a dull thud, the tank rolled askew into the snow.

"The sound didn't get through!" Ogino Ayami clenched her fists so tightly that her winter gloves were wrinkled.

“Do it again!” Officer Yamato shook his numb wrist, and the dull pain in his left eye pierced into it like a needle.

Gao Mu rushed over with the second oxygen tube in his arms, kneeling in the snow to hold the tank upright, the white air he exhaled condensed into frost on the tip of his nose: "Conan, use all your strength!"

The sound of Conan's running footsteps was particularly clear in the open snow. This time the oxygen tube was kicked high and far.

Officer Yamato squinted his right eye to aim, and the pain in his left eye suddenly intensified, and double images appeared in his vision. "Bang!" The bullet hit again, but the tank just shook in the air and still did not cause enough vibration when it landed.

"Damn it!" Conan stamped his feet in annoyance, and the snow splashed onto his goggles. "It was just a little bit..."

Gao Mu's hand holding the last oxygen tube trembled slightly: "Conan, this is the last one."

Conan took off his scarf and tied it around his shoes, then tied a bow around it: "Officer Yamato, shoot this oxygen tube with your gun."

Kudo Yuki squatted down and pressed the tank onto the snow to compact it, her fingertips inadvertently brushing over the miniature communicator hidden in her sleeves.

Conan took a deep breath and ran a longer distance than the previous two times. The sound of his soles rolling over the snow was like a timer counting down.

At the moment when the oxygen tube was kicked away, Officer Yamato suddenly covered his left eye, and his pupil shrank to a needle point in the wind and snow - the moment he saw the tank stop in the air, he suddenly pulled the trigger with his right fingertips!

"Now!" Conan's shout was drowned out by the sound of gunfire.

"boom--"

The oxygen tube exploded in the air, and the shock wave instantly triggered a chain reaction. The snow slope in the distance was like a giant beast that had been awakened, and a white torrent of ice and gravel rushed down. "Success!"

Just as Takagi raised the corner of his mouth, he was pulled back to reality by the roar of Kogoro Mori.

"Finally succeeded!" A smile finally broke out on Officer Takagi's tense face, and there was still a lingering breath in his voice.

"Run! To the charcoal kiln!" Kogoro Mouri picked up Conan and turned to rush forward, his rough hands tightly protecting the little guy in his arms.

Conan looked back during the bumpy ride, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Yamato Gansuke kneeling in the snow, covering his aching left eye, his knees sunk into the thick snow, silvery-white snow foam sliding down through his fingers.

But now that an avalanche was imminent, everyone had no time to think and could only stagger into the Bupa BBQ hut.

But the roar of the avalanche was already very close, and everyone could only watch the navy blue police uniform being swallowed by the white wave.

The rat hiding in Officer Yamato's hood was so anxious that he kept scratching his fat paws, searching quickly in the system mall, and muttered: "I still have to rely on you at the critical moment!"

"Ding, congratulations to Xiaoxue for spending 1000 points and successfully exchanging for the Snow Escape Armor."

A light golden light instantly circulated around Yamato Gansuke's body, gently wrapping him like a thin layer of ice.

In the Bupa BBQ hut, Maori Kogoro pushed Conan to the innermost corner and said, "Stay there and don't move!"

"But Officer Yamato is still outside..." Conan leaned against the door frame and looked back, just in time to see the snow waves surging in like a white beast, and his pupils suddenly shrank into needle points.

Conan lay at the crack of the door, watching the figure gradually blur in the snow and fog.

Kogoro Mori quickly pressed him under his body to protect him, while Yuki Kudo, Ayami Ogino and Miwako Sato also pulled Officer Takagi under the thick wooden table.

The next second, the roar of the avalanche engulfed everything. Snow particles hit the roof like gravel. White mist seeped in through the cracks in the door, choking people so that they could not open their eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, the deafening roar finally subsided.

A few people climbed out of the hut covered with a thin layer of snow, stepped into the snow that was above their knees, and the white breath they exhaled instantly dissipated in the cold air.

"The snow has stopped...but where is Officer Yamato?" Conan knelt in the snow pile and dug frantically, his gloves soon frozen stiff.

Everyone immediately dispersed to search, but they only found the iconic ice spike crutch in the snow not far away.

"Could it be..." Officer Takagi's voice got stuck in his throat, and he dared not say any more. Sato Miwako covered her mouth, her eyes instantly turned red, and even a thin layer of frost formed on her eyelashes.

Kudo Yuki glanced at the empty surroundings and suddenly frowned: "Where is the owner of the barbecue restaurant, Otomo? Why didn't I see him just now?"

Ogino Ayami clenched her fist and made a cheering gesture: "Sato and I will go down the mountain to find the rescue team!"

"I'm going too!" Officer Takagi immediately followed, and the three of them quickly disappeared at the end of the snowy mountain trail.

The only ones left in front of the Bupa BBQ hut were the Kudo siblings and Maori Kogoro.

"Search separately!" Kogoro Mouri wiped the snow off his face and took the lead in digging deep into the snow pile.

"Officer Yamato!"

"Officer Yamato, where are you?"

The shouts echoed in the empty snowfield, but were answered only by the sound of the wind.

Conan's fingertips suddenly touched something hard, and he dug through the snow to see that it was a modified rifle - the gun body was engraved with Otomo Takashi's name. He opened his mouth, and his heart sank suddenly: [Could the avalanche be related to Otomo?]

Kudo Yuki asked telepathically: "Rat, where are you now?"

Shu Shu's voice came with a cough and the sound of dust falling: "Cough cough... It seems to be stuck in the chimney! This broken place is choking me to tears!"

"Chimney?" Kudo Yuki's eyes flickered, and she immediately ran towards the brick chimney behind the hut. The snow crunched at her feet. "Can you see what's around you? Have you seen Officer Yamato?"

Kudo Yuki turned around suddenly, only to see Conan running over with a frown on his face: "Sister Yuki, this gun belongs to Otomo Takashi."

"I see." Kudo Yuki took the gun and weighed it. The cold touch of the gun made her fingertips tremble slightly. "The officer may be behind the chimney. Let's go and take a look."

Kogoro Mori also rushed over after hearing the noise, and the three of them immediately started digging in the snow around the chimney.

The ice chips scratched the gloves and a stinging sensation spread through the fingertips, but no one stopped.

Conan knelt in the snow and frantically dug at the snow, calling out Officer Yamato's name: "Officer Yamato! Where are you?"

"I am here."

A faint but clear voice came from above. Kudo Yuki immediately looked up and leaned towards the chimney at the back of the barbecue hut. Sure enough, she saw a vague figure inside.

Yamato Gansuke's voice came out from the chimney, a little hoarse with smoke and dust: "This should be the chimney of the charcoal kiln... When the avalanche happened just now, it was Otomo who pushed me in. Thanks to him."

"Great!" Conan's eyes lit up and he turned around immediately, "I'll call the rescue team to save you!"

"Wait." Yamato Gansuke's voice suddenly became serious, and it came through the narrow pipe, "Don't worry, I have figured it all out. The man I ran into on the mountain road ten months ago, the one who attacked Inspector Sametani, and the one who attacked me just now, are actually the same person."

When Conan heard what Officer Yamato said, his eyes froze and he quietly raised his hand and pressed the inside of his collar - there was a miniature eavesdropping device hidden there, which was the contact method he had agreed upon with Toru Amuro.

He lowered his voice, so loud that only the eavesdropper could pick it up, and said, "Mr. Kazami, we need support at the chimney of the charcoal kiln behind the Bupa BBQ hut, as soon as possible."

Not long after, a burst of hurried footsteps came from afar, and Yuya Kazami came hurriedly in casual clothes with a toolbox.

He saw Conan, Kudo Yuki and Maori Kogoro in the snow, and immediately stepped forward, speaking respectfully but keeping a distance: "Conan, Mr. Maori, Ms. Kudo, I received news that help is needed here?"

When his eyes swept over Kudo Yuki, he simply nodded politely, his eyes calm and expressionless, as if he was meeting the "owner of the Poirot Café" for the first time, perfectly concealing their true relationship.

Kudo Yuki also silently shifted her gaze away and continued to stare at the chimney.

"Mr. Kazami, Officer Yamato is trapped in the chimney!" Conan said, pointing upwards.

Maori Kogoro had already found some strong hemp ropes, "Quick, pass the ropes down for him to grab!"

Kazami quickly opened the tool box, took out the carabiner and reinforcement device, and fixed both ends of the rope to the tree trunk next to him.

Kudo Yuki lay on the snow and shouted towards the chimney: "Officer Yamato, can you grab the rope? We'll pull you up!"

"No problem." There was a rustling sound from the chimney, and after a moment, Officer Yamato's voice sounded again, "Okay, pull it."

The four of them pulled the rope together, and with a heavy dragging sound, Officer Yamato was pulled out of the chimney covered in soot. His left eye was still red and swollen, and his face was covered in black soot, but it couldn't hide the sharpness in his eyes.

Shaking off the dust on his body, Officer Yamato leaned against the tree trunk to take a breath, and looked at everyone: "Just now in there, I thought it through clearly. The person who attacked Inspector Sametani and injured my left eye, and the mysterious figure ten months ago, are all the same person."

To be continued...