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

The laser simulated star map in the main control room gradually dimmed. Kudo Yuki folded the ticket into a small square and stuffed it into the inner pocket of her coat. The embossed touch of the edge of the paper could still be felt on her fingertips.

The Junior Detective League had already pestered Ochi Yutaka to go see the physical star map model. Conan was dragged forward by Ayumi by the corner of his clothes, and he winked at her as he passed by - that was the signal they agreed on, meaning that he would find a way to pester Ochi Yutaka and give her time to investigate.

"I'm going to Nagano for trade." Kudo Yuki turned to leave, but her wrist was gently grabbed.

Toru Amuro's palm was filled with the residual warmth of hot cocoa, and his fingertips gently stroked her wrist bone. The skin there was delicate and smooth, with only a slight itchy touch from the thin calluses left by years of holding guns.

"It's too conspicuous to go now." He lowered his voice, his voice undeniably calm. "Ida and the others have just completed the takeover. Showing up rashly would only alert them."

Kudo Yuki raised an eyebrow: "But the password has just been cracked..."

"Passwords are lifeless, but people are alive." Amuro Toru took a half step back into the shadow of the control console, blocking his view from Morobushi Keimitsu. "Have you forgotten? Nagano Trading's security system is connected to the planetarium's main control room. When Ochi Feng was adjusting the data just now, I had Shushu pass the backdoor program over."

"Kagekawa," Amuro Toru released his hand and raised his chin towards Morobushi Keimitsu who was not far away. "Go drive Xiaoxue's silver car back with Professor Agasa and the others. Tell them that she wants to stay and help me organize the star map data."

Zhu Fujingguang was stunned for a moment, and seeing the hint in Amuro Toru's eyes, he nodded immediately: "Okay, Mr. Amuro. Xiaoxue's car keys are with me, please feel free to contact me if you need anything."

As the footsteps faded, Kudo Yuki noticed that Toru Amuro had a small star tracker in his hand. He pressed the device into her palm, and as their fingertips touched, she felt a small scratch on his palm, probably from the parts he had just used to disassemble the surveillance system in Ochi Yutaka's office.

Amuro Toru tilted his head to look at the data stream bouncing on the console screen, a subtle smile in his voice, "We have more important things to do now. Let's see what this planetarium director has hidden in the model of the Orion Nebula. What is this 'little surprise'?"

Kudo Yuki held the star tracker and turned it half a circle. The sound of the metal gears meshing was particularly clear in the quiet control room.

She ran her fingertips across the scale on the instrument's surface, and suddenly remembered that when Ochitoyo introduced the star map that afternoon, he specifically emphasized the "dynamic coordinate correction system" of the Orion Nebula. At that time, she just thought it was a professional term, but now she thinks it may mean something else.

"Do you need to activate the simulated star map?"

Kudo Yuki looked up at the console. The data stream on the screen continued to jump, like some kind of silent countdown.

Toru Amuro had already walked to the other side of the console and his fingers tapped out a string of codes on the keyboard.

As he pressed the Enter key, the laser projection that had originally dimmed suddenly lit up again, but this time it was no longer the entire starry sky, but was focused on the Orion Nebula area.

Light blue beams of light outline spiral star trails in the air, three of which are significantly brighter than other stars and are moving slowly.

These three coordinates appeared seven times in Yue Zhifeng's encrypted log.

Amuro Toru's voice fell into the beam of light, seemingly cut into tiny fragments. "I asked Shushu to compare it, and it matches the arrival time of Nagano Trade's goods over the past three years."

Kudo Yuki suddenly leaned closer to the screen and pointed at one of the slowly shifting stars:

There is a problem with its orbital parameters - according to conventional star maps, the orbital period of this star should be 47.3 years, but the simulation system shows 73 days.

Amuro Toru's fingertips immediately landed on the corresponding value, bringing up a more detailed parameter panel. When he compressed the timeline to the last three months, the seemingly chaotic star tracks suddenly took on a regular pattern, like a Morse code waveform.

"73 days..." Kudo Yuki's fingertips circled the star tracker. The moment the gears engaged, a tiny metal probe popped out from the top of the instrument. "That's exactly how long it's been since the last batch of 'special cargo' arrived at Nagano Trading."

Before he finished speaking, the door to the main control room was gently pushed open a crack, and Zhu Fujingguang's voice came in with a low, urgent tone: "Ochi Feng used the excuse of getting the manual for the physical model to go to the west stairwell - which leads directly to the back door of the planetarium."

Amuro Toru typed in the last set of commands, sending the star track data to Date, and at the same time grabbed the coat draped over the back of the chair. "It seems our 'Director' can't wait to see his goods."

Kudo Yuki tucked the orbiter back into her pocket. Her fingertips touched the folded ticket, and she suddenly remembered how Conan had unconsciously tapped his trouser seam three times with his left index finger when he blinked—their agreed-upon signal for "something unusual in the west stairwell." When she looked up, she met Amuro Toru's gaze. Understanding flashed in their eyes almost simultaneously, like two stars finally finding their orbits.

"Has Yingchuan caught up?" Kudo Yuki buttoned her coat as she walked towards the door.

"He's already waiting in the back parking lot."

Amuro Toru opened the door, and the breeze from the corridor rushed in with the coolness of the night, blowing the strands of hair on his forehead. "Now, it's time to go see what these 'stars' look like."

The laser star map's beam was still shining behind them, and the three unusual stars were still moving slowly, as if guiding them to a destination hidden in the night.

The beam of the laser star map cast a pale blue halo in the main control room. Kudo Yuki turned the star tracker in her palm. Amid the sound of gears meshing, she suddenly heard a subtle sound of electricity coming from the console.

When she looked up, she saw Amuro Toru staring at the screen with a frown - the originally steadily beating data stream suddenly became chaotic, and the simulated star trails of the Orion Nebula began to flicker irregularly, like a light bulb with poor contact.

"Is the equipment overloaded?" Kudo Yuki walked closer and noticed that the heat dissipation vents on the side of the console were burning hot. "We discovered the wiring was aging during our inspection this afternoon. We just started the simulation system twice in a row, and it probably can't hold up."

Toru Amuro reached out and pressed the restart button. The screen went black and then lit up again, but the star track map completely disappeared, leaving only a line of red error code.

He tutted his words and turned to pull out a spare data cable from his toolbox. "Yue Zhifeng probably knew the equipment was unstable a long time ago and deliberately used the dynamic star map to wear out the line—but it's just as well, it saves us from having to find an excuse to dismantle the machine."

When Toru Amuro squatted down to plug and unplug the wires, Yuki Kudo caught a glimpse of Ochi Yutaka walking back in the shadows at the end of the corridor with a stack of star map manuals, and Genta was peeking beside him.

The voices of the Junior Detectives drifted over from afar: "Teacher Ochi, are there really meteor fragments in the physical model?"

"Of course. I'll take you to see it once I've sorted out the information." Ochitoyo's voice sounded gentle as usual. When he stopped at the door of the main control room, he even glanced inside. "Mr. Amuro, do you need any help with the equipment? I have a spare circuit board in my office."

Amuro Toru waved his hand without even looking up: "Thank you, it's a small problem, just change the data cable."

He tapped his fingertips quickly on the phone screen a few times, and when he looked up, he happened to meet Oshitoyo's gaze. His tone was as natural as a chat, "I just heard Conan say that the physical star map model of your museum was sponsored by Nagano Trading three years ago?"

"Yes, their boss is an astronomy enthusiast." Ochifeng smiled and raised the manual in his hand. "That batch of equipment was the most advanced at the time. I didn't expect the old machine in the main control room to break down today."

Without staying for long, he turned around and led the children towards the model exhibition hall. The sound of his footsteps gradually blended into the children's laughter, and there was no sound unusual.

Kudo Yuki watched his back disappear around the corner of the corridor before whispering, "It seems we were overly suspicious."

"Not necessarily." Toru Amuro had already connected the data cable. When the screen lit up again, he suddenly clicked on the video call on his phone.

The phone was picked up after two rings. Date Ko's big face filled the entire screen. In the background, one could hear the clacking sound of Matsuda Jinpei typing on the keyboard and the tune of Hagiwara Kenji humming a little tune.

"Hey, the busy man finally got around to contacting us?" Hagiwara Kenji's voice drifted from the receiver, his usual frivolous tone. "We've nearly broken down the door to Nagano Trading's warehouse, and the combination lock won't budge."

Amuro Toru propped his phone up on the console, focusing the camera on the newly restored star track parameters on the screen. One line of numbers flashed in red: 5710. He tapped the numbers with his fingertips. "Try this for the combination lock: 5710. The decimal conversion of the star track deviation just now is exactly this number."

"5710?" Idahang read it out, then suddenly slammed the table, causing the camera to shake. "I remember this string of numbers appearing in the warehouse manager's notebook! I thought it was just a random scribbling at the time!"

Matsuda Jinpei's voice interrupted with a hint of impatience: "Stop talking nonsense, I'll try."

The sound of keys clicking could be heard in the background, and a few seconds later, Hagiwara Kenji cheered, "It's on! Matsuda, you've got some serious finger speed!"

The corners of Amuro Toru's mouth curved up, but he quickly regained his composure. "Once you're inside, check the inventory records from three years ago, focusing on the batches marked 'astronomical equipment.' I'll be right there after I replace the equipment here. Stay connected."

He was about to hang up when Kudo Yuki suddenly leaned in front of the camera and said, "Mr. Date, pay attention to the thermometer and humidity meter in the corner of the warehouse. Ochi Yutaka mentioned in his diary that his 'collection' needs to be kept at a constant temperature."

"Got it!" Ida Ko made an OK gesture, and suddenly Matsuda Jinpei's expression of rolling his eyes flashed across the screen, and then the call was hung up.

The main control room fell silent again, the only sound emitting from the console's cooling fan. Amuro Toru had already replaced the data cable and was leaning over to check the interface, his profile clearly defined by the beam of light from the star map.

"It seems the equipment failure wasn't an accident." Kudo Yuki looked at the stabilizing star tracks on the screen and suddenly understood. "Ochi Feng deliberately overloaded the equipment to force us to leave the control room early so we wouldn't miss the code?"

Amuro Toru stood up straight and closed the toolbox. "Or maybe he just wanted to confirm whether we can understand the 'hint' he hid in the star track."

He glanced at his watch. "It's been exactly ten minutes since I changed the equipment. Conan and the others should be clamoring to come back soon. Let's go and see if there's anything more interesting in the physical model."

The beam of the laser star map dimmed again at some point, leaving only the faint light from the phone screen, reflecting the same understanding in the eyes of the two people.

The shouts of the Young Detectives came from the end of the corridor, as if urging this game hidden in the star tracks to enter the next chapter.

The lights in the physical model exhibition hall were a warm yellow like starlight. The Young Detectives gathered around the model of the Orion Nebula and chattered for a long time before they stopped.

Ai Haibara stood beside a display case a little further away, tapping the glass surface with her fingertips, her eyes falling on the production date on the base of the model, as if thinking about something.

Dr. Agasa rubbed his waist and stood waiting at the door. When he saw Kudo Yuki and Amuro Toru coming out of the main control room, he immediately waved his hand: "Xiaoxue, Mr. Amuro, the children are clamoring for eel rice. I'll take them and Xiao Ai back first."

"Doctor, be careful on the road." Kudo Yuki put the star tracker into her bag and watched Conan being pushed forward between Genta and Mitsuhiko. Haibara Ai followed behind and gave her a subtle look as she passed by.

When Conan turned around, he did not forget to make an "OK" gesture to Kudo Yuki.

When the RX7 drove out of the planetarium parking lot, Toru Amuro was leaning against the car door looking at his mobile phone. On the screen was a photo of the interior of the warehouse sent by Ko Ida.

The incubators were neatly stacked in the corner, with Nagano Trading labels on the walls, but the contents had been emptied.

"The things should be moved." Amuro Toru put away his phone and tapped the car door twice with his knuckles. "The power port of the incubator is still warm. The transfer will take no more than half an hour."

Kudo Yuki paused in opening the car door, rubbed her fingertips on the metal casing of the star tracker, and looked at Amuro Toru with a slightly raised brow.

"That old man's chess moves are becoming increasingly incomprehensible." She tutted softly and tossed her backpack onto the passenger seat. "He timed the move perfectly, like casting bait and then reeling in the line, luring us in circles."

The sound of the car door closing was particularly clear in the parking lot. She looked up in the direction of the police lights in the distance, and her tone was a little cold: "But I'm too lazy to guess. After all, the monk can escape but the temple cannot."

She tilted her head towards Amuro Toru and said, "Let's go meet Lin Duxin first. I want to hear how this 'one of us' has to explain why he pulled the trigger on his colleague."

The wind from the elevator shaft carried a metallic tang. Kudo Yuki stared at the pulsating number keys when suddenly a rustling sound came from his pocket. Shushu poked his little head out, his eyes rolling. His chubby little paws scratched at the edge of his pocket, and he whispered telepathically, "Xiaoxue, there are three blind spots in the interrogation room surveillance: the upper left vent, the right rear corner, and directly under the iron chair."

Amuro Toru heard Shu Shu's voice and adjusted the collar of his shirt, where a micro-transmitter was hidden.

Kudo Yuki glanced at Shu Shu out of the corner of his eye and spoke telepathically, "Got it."

To be continued...