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

Amuro Toru's fingertips tapped rapidly on the screen, calling up the architectural blueprints from the gene bank: "Karasuma Renya's first public appearance was fifty years ago."

He looked up at Kudo Yuki, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. "Vermouth wrote in her diary when she was a child that this was the day her grandfather cared about the most."

Shushu suddenly jumped up along Kudo Yuki's sleeve, grabbed her shoulders with his chubby little claws, and shouted with a bit of pride: "Xiaoxue, this Shushu has figured out the structure of the Karasuma Group headquarters building based on the simple architectural drawings sent by Vermouth!"

Kudo Yuki raised her hand to support Shushu, who was about to slip into her collar, and gently tapped its little head with her fingertips: "Tell me in detail."

Toru Amuro's eyes fell on Shu Shu, his fingertips hovering on the edge of the drawing.

As Shushu shouted, the building structure diagram on the screen automatically marked several red dots, which were the key nodes of the ventilation ducts. It was obvious that this little guy had calculated the optimal infiltration route based on the simple diagram.

"The map Vermouth gave me is missing three floors of underground structure," Shushu pointed his paw at the fuzzy shadow area at the bottom of the screen. "But after comparing it with the Karasuma Group's engineering bidding records over the past decade, I found that those three floors were added later. The distribution of the load-bearing columns is strange, so maybe there's something hidden there."

Kudo Yuki's eyes swept over the outline of the building from fifty years ago on the drawing - compared with the current headquarters building, the main structure has hardly changed, only wings have been added on the east and west sides.

This building must have just been completed when Karasuma Renya made his public appearance fifty years ago.

"Did Vermouth give any other clues?" She looked at Amuro Toru, who was pulling up a yellowed scan of a few lines of text that were specially circled in the diary.

"'Grandfather had the craftsmen hide something in the clock tower's gears, saying they'd wait until the 'right day' to take it out,'" Amuro Toru said in a low voice. "The clock tower of this building burned down in a fire ten years ago. The one that exists now is a reconstruction, but the remains of the original gear set are still preserved in the basement."

Shushu suddenly jumped up excitedly: "Clock Tower! I calculated that the transmission trajectory of the old gear set just happens to correspond to an area on the third underground floor! Maybe that's where Karasuma Renya is hiding something!"

Kudo Yuki's fingertips stopped at the location of the clock tower on the drawing.

The public appearance fifty years ago, the days that my grandfather paid special attention to, the secrets hidden in the gears... these clues are like scattered puzzle pieces, slowly forming an arrow pointing to the past.

"Looks like I have to meet those old gears." She stood up, and Shushu immediately climbed back up her arm to her shoulder, clinging to her collar with his chubby little paws.

Amuro Toru turned off the screen, and the complex emotions in his eyes were covered by a layer of coldness: "I'm going to prepare the infiltration equipment. The security system of the clock tower is stricter than I thought."

He looked at the rat on Kudo Snow's shoulder and said, "Keep an eye on it and don't let it chew on the wires."

"I won't do that!" The mouse clapped its chubby paws angrily, but when Kudo Yuki looked down at it, it immediately wilted and curled up into a ball.

The night was like a crumpled crow feather, stretching out to the earth and silently covering the spire of the Karasuma Group's headquarters building.

Kudo Yuki and Amuro Toru took advantage of the shadow of the wing building and stopped under the entrance of the ventilation duct. Shu Shu squatted on Kudo Yuki's shoulder, sniffing the air with his little nose vigilantly.

"I've cracked the frequency of the magnetic lock in the clock tower's underground warehouse." Amuro Toru pressed a miniature jammer into her palm, his fingertips carelessly brushing against her wrist. "But there's an infrared sensor network in the warehouse. If it's triggered three times, it will directly contact the security center."

Shushu pricked up his round ears, and gently patted Kudo Yuki's earlobes with his chubby paws twice. His voice was full of cleverness: "Xiaoxue, Xiaoxue, I have two ideas!"

It first raised a paw. "First, I'll go in and explore the way myself! I didn't even touch that infrared sensor net just now. With my skills, I can definitely move around those broken beams, but it'll be slow!"

Then he raised his second paw, his eyes sparkling: "The second kind is almost here! Look!"

He pulled a bulging small cloth bag from Kudo Yuki's pocket and shook it proudly. "I brought special demagnetizing powder! It's more than enough to deal with this outdated induction net! Sprinkle a handful, and it's guaranteed to put them all to shame!"

Amuro Toru raised an eyebrow when he heard that, his eyes falling on the small cloth bag, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the metal wall of the ventilation duct: "Will the residue of demagnetizing powder be detected?"

Shushu pulled out a cloth bag like he was presenting a treasure: "Special demagnetizing powder, decomposes in half an hour!"

Kudo Yuki tapped her chin with her fingertips, staring at the faintly flickering infrared light in the warehouse. Then she glanced at the little fellow on her shoulder, a smile in her eyes. "Let's choose the second option, a quick and decisive battle."

Toru Amuro had already pried open the grille of the ventilation duct, and the light sound of metal friction was blown away by the night wind in the shadow of the clock tower.

"I'll go in first and locate the magnetic lock," he said, sliding sideways into the pipe. His voice carried through the metal with a unique calmness. "When you follow me, pay attention to the rusted areas at the pipe joints. Don't step on empty space."

Shushu immediately patted Kudo Yuki's cheek with his chubby little paw: "Don't worry, I have very strong night vision!"

It also jumped into the pipe first, and its fluffy tail swept a shadow in the darkness.

Kudo Yuki followed closely behind, and the pipe was filled with the smell of dust and rusted metal.

The hamster jumped nimbly in front, stopping from time to time to knock on the pipe wall with its chubby little paws, which was marking a safe path.

Toru Amuro's figure was not far ahead, like a silhouette blending into the darkness, his movements so light that they were almost silent.

"We're here." Amuro Toru whispered.

He stopped at the downward branch, and the warehouse below was vaguely visible. The dense infrared rays formed a net in the darkness, which looked very much like the layout of a winery, which seemed tight but had gaps.

Kudo Yuki took out a miniature flashlight and shone the beam towards the corner of the warehouse - the object covered with canvas on the iron frame had the outline of the remains of a gear set.

Shushu squatted on the edge of the pipe, sniffing around with his little nose. "Yes, that's the smell of rust from old gears!"

Toru Amuro attached the jammer to the outer wall of the pipe. The moment he pressed the switch, the magnetic lock below made an almost inaudible "click" sound.

Shushu immediately raised the small cloth bag: "Look at this!"

Kudo Yuki tore open the cloth bag, and silver-gray powder fell like light snow, and the infrared light spot dimmed and went out in an instant.

"Done!" Shushu shook his tail proudly.

Amuro Toru was the first to flip over and leap down, his knees slightly bent as he landed. He raised his hand to signal it was safe, and Kudo Yuki jumped down immediately. Shushu slid down her arm to the ground, scurried over to the canvas, and pawed at it with his chubby little paws.

"Slow down." Kudo Yuki walked over and lifted the canvas.

A pile of rusty gear wreckage was exposed to the air. The largest gear had a diameter of half a person's height, and there were some burnt sawdust stuck between the teeth, which were obviously traces left by the fire that year.

Amuro Toru glanced over the gear train, his fingertips brushing the edge of one. "It must have been tampered with. This mark isn't natural wear."

Shushu suddenly crawled under the gear set and pointed at the ground with his chubby little paw: "Xiaoxue, look! There's a groove here!"

Kudo Yuki squatted down and took a closer look with the help of the flashlight beam handed to her by Amuro Toru - there was a groove on the cement layer on the ground that matched the gear base perfectly. There was a circle of vague symbols engraved on the edge of the groove, which looked like some kind of date mark.

"Fifty years ago, that was the day Karasuma Renya made his public appearance." Amuro Toru's voice sounded behind him. He had already pulled up the calendar on his phone. "Converted to the date at that time, it just happened to correspond to these symbols."

Shushu suddenly jumped onto the largest gear and stepped on the rusty surface with his chubby paw. "I just calculated the transmission trajectory. Let's try turning this gear!"

Toru Amuro and Yuki Kudo looked at each other, and the latter nodded.

The two men leaned over, grasped the edge of the gear, and pushed hard.

The harsh sound of rust rubbing against each other echoed in the silent warehouse. The gears slowly turned, driving the surrounding small gears to turn as well, making a "creaking" groan, as if a secret that had been dormant for fifty years was finally awakened.

As the gears turned, a mechanical "clicking" sound suddenly came from the groove in the ground, and a square cement slab slowly sank downward, revealing a secret door leading to the underground.

"Found it!" Shushu jumped up excitedly.

Below the secret door was a steep staircase filled with a musty smell.

Toru Amuro turned on the tactical flashlight, and the beam extended downwards, illuminating the darkness at the end of the stairs.

"The area below should be the third underground floor." He turned to look at Kudo Yuki, a hint of subtle worry in his eyes. "The situation inside is unclear. I'll leave first."

Kudo Yuki nodded, rubbing the magician's divination cards in her pocket with her fingertips. She had a feeling that what Karasuma Renya had hidden there might be somehow connected to the "ES Dark Amber" project.

Toru Amuro has already walked down the stairs, followed closely by Yuki Kudo, and Shushu is like a little pathfinder, running in front, looking back and barking from time to time to report the road conditions ahead.

The space on the third underground floor was more spacious than expected. The walls were covered with pipes and the air was filled with the smell of engine oil and metal.

In the center is a huge metal device, which looks like the base of some instrument and is covered with interfaces. It was obviously installed when the cover was added later.

"This thing..." Amuro Toru's eyes darkened, "It looks very similar to the remains of equipment from the 'ES Dark Amber' project."

Kudo Yuki walked over to the device and lightly touched the cold metal surface with her fingertips. "The thing hidden in the gears isn't an object, but the key to activate this device?"

Rat suddenly crawled under the device and dragged out a dusty metal box, "I found a box!"

The box was made of brass, and the surface was engraved with the Karasuma Group's family crest, a crow.

Toru Amuro opened the lid of the box. There was no gold, silver or jewelry inside, only a roll of yellowed parchment and a peculiarly shaped metal key. The key handle was also engraved with a gear pattern.

Kudo Yuki unfolded the parchment, and there were a few lines of words written on it, but the content shocked the two of them.

That was the original conception of the "ES Dark Amber" plan, dated exactly fifty years ago, and signed by Karasuma Renya.

"So this plan started back then," said Toru Amuro in a chilling tone. "He wanted to use this to control the political leaders of the time, but it was shelved for some reason and only restarted in recent years."

Shushu patted the metal key with his chubby little paw: "This key will fit perfectly into the port on that device!"

Kudo Yuki looked at the port on the side of the device. Its shape matched the key perfectly. She picked up the key and felt a cool sensation under her fingertips. "If I activate it, will it trigger any alarm?"

"It's very likely." Amuro Toru has begun checking the wiring around the device. "But the wiring here is severely aged. Even if an alarm is triggered, it won't reach the security center in a short time. And we need to know why Karasuma Renya shelved this plan back then."

Kudo Yuki nodded and inserted the key into the interface.

With a slight "click", the device suddenly lit up with a faint red light, and lines of data began to scroll on the screen - not the code of the brainwashing program, but a list of experimental subjects. The name at the top of the list made Kudo Yuki's pupils shrink suddenly.

"Miyano... Atsushi?"

Amuro Toru's gaze rested on the name "Miyano Atsushi," his voice filled with an uncontrollable chill. "If the list is true... Professor Miyano's death wasn't an 'accident'."

His Adam's apple rolled, his tone tinged with an unbelievable coldness. "That gentleman simply cannot tolerate anyone who might leak secrets. Professor Miyano discovered the truth about the plan and wanted to pass on the news. The Metropolitan Police Department may have received some fragmentary clues, but they were suppressed."

"The fire in the lab burned more than just research data," Amuro Toru's eyes swept over the other names scrolling across the screen. "They intended to silence all the knowledgeable test subjects and researchers. Compared to the risk of exposing the plan, destroying years of research results seemed the most cost-effective option to that lord."

He spoke the last words very softly, but they stuck in the air like an icicle: "After all, the dead never speak."

At this moment, the device suddenly issued a shrill alarm and the red light began to flash rapidly.

Amuro Toru immediately pulled out the key: "Someone remotely activated the self-destruct program!"

"What?" Kudo Yuki quickly stuffed the parchment and key into her arms, "Is it Gin? Or..."

"No matter who it is, we have to leave now!" Amuro Toru grabbed her wrist, turned around and ran towards the stairs, "The structure here is unstable, and the explosion will trigger a chain reaction collapse!"

Shushu followed closely behind, shouting as he ran, "I always say that old equipment is unreliable!"

When the two men and the rat rushed back to the warehouse, they heard a loud sound of twisting metal behind them.

Amuro Toru pulled off the jammer on the pipe and pulled Kudo Yuki into the ventilation duct: "Return the same way, Vermouth should be waiting outside."

Kudo Yuki looked back at the gear set that was constantly shaking in the warehouse, and a sentence flashed through her mind: "The day the gears stop turning, that's when everything will be back to zero."

Perhaps Karasuma Renya himself did not expect that fifty years later, it would be his granddaughter and a group of people who tried to destroy his life's work who would find this set of gears hiding the secret.

Outside the ventilation duct, the night was still dark, but Kudo Yuki knew that something had quietly changed its trajectory in the flash of red light just now.

Just like those gears, even if they are covered with rust, they can still pry open the dormant truth.

She gripped the metal key tightly in her arms, the coolness of her fingertips making her more sober. What she was about to face was probably a more thorny plan than the "ES Dark Amber" plan. She, Amuro Toru, and all the companions lurking in the shadows were ready.

To be continued...