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

The dusk was like cotton wool soaked in ink, weighing down the spire of Miyano's old house.

Kudo Yuki stood in the shadow of the bushes on the west side, her fingertips brushing across the butterfly mask on her face.

The edges of the butterfly wings were inlaid with fine silver threads, which glowed coldly in the moonlight, just enough to cover half of the face from the brow bone to the cheekbone.

"The third sentry on the left has changed shifts." Toru Amuro's voice came from the headset. He and Conan were squatting in a blind spot on the back wall of the clock tower. The green light of the night vision goggles reflected the tense profiles of the two men.

Kudo Yuki pressed the microphone: "Got it. I'll go around from the south and meet up at the cellar entrance in three minutes."

She crouched down as she walked through the waist-high weeds, and the fragrance of hydrangeas mixed with the damp smell of soil filled the air.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth under the mask - Vermouth chose the right time, the full moon was mostly covered by clouds, and even the wind revealed a sense of quietness.

The weeds at the cellar entrance suddenly moved slightly, and fingernails pushed aside the grass leaves.

Vermouth leaned against the door knocker, her black hat pulled low. "Forty-seven seconds earlier than the agreed time. It seems fine wine still has such patience."

Kudo Yuki didn't respond, but just raised her chin slightly.

Vermouth chuckled and moved aside. "Rum's men have doubled up near the cherry tree, but according to your plan, someone should distract us now."

A burst of short gunfire suddenly broke out on the north side of the old house.

Vermouth raised an eyebrow: "The movement is quite neat."

Kudo Yuki stared at her watch. "Okiya Subaru used the backup plan. The gunshots were three hundred meters off-center, which could lead the patrol to the east."

The sound of grass leaves rustling was heard again, and Toru Amuro helped Conan out of the bushes.

Conan took off his night vision goggles, his gaze lingering on Vermouth's face for a moment before turning to her windbreaker that blended seamlessly into the night. His tone was filled with the youth's unique vigilance, yet he deliberately lowered his voice: "Vermouth."

Vermouth lifted the brim of her hat and tapped her lips with her nails, her smile filled with her usual nonchalantness: "The little detective is much calmer than the last time we met. So, have you finally figured out that you want to cooperate with this 'bad guy' like me?"

Conan didn't respond, but just took a step closer to Kudo Yuki.

Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, shining directly onto the butterfly wings on her mask, and the light reflected by the silver lines fell on the top of Conan's head.

He remembered that when he was a child, his sister always used similar silver thread to make kites for him. The sun was just as warm back then, but now his profile was hidden in the shadows under the mask, and even his breathing was tense.

"Don't scare the kids." Kudo Yuki's voice came through the mask, adding a layer of muffled texture. "Have you fixed the lock on the entrance?"

“Don’t worry,” Vermouth turned around and pressed the knocker on the cellar door, her fingertips rubbing the inscription of “Ai” for a moment, “I used the spare key from the Miyano family back then, so it won’t leave any new marks. But you guys.”

She glanced sideways at Amuro Toru and asked, "Can Bourbon's men guarantee to hold the east flank? I don't want to be trapped in this rat hole by Rum's patrol later."

Amuro Toru's hand was on the holster at his waist, and his tone was calm and unperturbed: "Kagekawa has already led his men to set up defenses in the east alley. I just received a message five minutes ago that everything is normal."

Kudo Yuki suddenly bent down and fiddled with the hydrangeas at her feet with her fingertips.

Shushu crawled out from under the petals, climbed up her trouser legs and onto her shoulders, patting the edge of the mask with its little paws: "There are three infrared rays inside."

Amuro Toru immediately understood and took out a miniature jammer from his backpack: "It will be activated in thirty seconds, follow closely."

Conan stared at the flickering green light on the jammer and suddenly spoke in a very low voice: "Vermouth, you deliberately asked them to bring me here. Do you know that the clues in the cellar will be helpful to me?"

Vermouth's fingertips paused on the door knocker, and she suddenly chuckled, her nails tracing the line of her lips: "The little detective is becoming more and more perceptive."

She pushed open the cellar door sideways, and the rusty hinges creaked.

"There are indeed things in there that you might be interested in—for example, the evidence of 'ES Amber' that Elena Miyano secretly copied."

Conan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He subconsciously looked at Kudo Yuki. The butterfly wings on the mask trembled slightly in the shadows, and his shoulders were tense. It was obvious that he had not expected this news.

Kudo Yuki's voice came through the mask: "Activate the jammer."

Toru Amuro pressed the switch, and the jammer made a slight beep. Shushu immediately jumped off Kudo Yuki's shoulder, and tapped the ground quickly with its chubby little paws - the three infrared trajectories were visible to its sensing.

Toru Amuro followed behind Shu Shu and took the lead in walking into the cellar.

Conan followed closely behind, the flashlight beam sweeping across the stone wall covered with cobwebs, and vaguely visible rows of dusty iron frames.

Vermouth walked at the end and closed the door with her backhand. The darkness instantly swallowed up the last ray of moonlight.

She fished out a glow stick from her handbag, flicked it on, and shook it. The faint green light reflected the curve of her lips. "Miyano Elena is such a thoughtful woman. She hid the information in an incubator. No wonder it's still here after all these years."

The light from the fluorescent stick fell on the innermost iron frame, where there was indeed a silver box with a hydrangea pattern engraved on the keyhole.

Kudo Yuki took out a key from her bag and was about to touch it when Vermouth suddenly held her wrist with her cold fingertips: "Don't worry, we need another 'key'."

She took out half a withered hydrangea petal from her pocket and gently stuffed it into the keyhole.

Kudo Yuki and Vermouth inserted into the two keyholes at the same time.

With a soft click, the box opened. Inside were several rolls of film and a blue-covered notebook with "ES Amber" written on the cover in pen.

Conan's breathing stagnated - this was the core evidence they were looking for.

Vermouth held up the film and looked at it against the light. "The notebook contains the key parameters for screening compatible individuals. Rum has been looking for this for years."

She threw the film to Conan and said, "Here, little detective. There are some truths that you should see with your own eyes."

Conan took the film steadily, his fingertips touching the cold metal casing. Knowing now was not the time to ask further questions, he simply murmured, "Thank you."

Kudo Yuki had already opened her notebook, and the light from the fluorescent stick reflected on her jawline exposed outside the mask, the lines were tight.

"It mentions 'Karasuma Renya's genetic sequence,'" she said, her fingertips flicking across a page. "Miyano Elena suspects that the ultimate goal of the 'ES Amber' project is..."

"It's a replica of Karasuma Renya's consciousness," Vermouth added, her tone no longer careless for the first time. "It uses brainwashing equipment to rewrite the memories of the adaptors, making them the 'vessels' of the old man. By the time Miyano Elena discovered it, it was too late, so they could only secretly leave this evidence."

Amuro Toru suddenly pressed the communicator, and the voice of Morobushi Keimitsu came from the headset: "Unidentified people appeared on the east side, they seem to be Rum's direct troops, and they are approaching the cellar."

"Retreat." Kudo Yuki made a quick decision, closed the notebook and stuffed it into her backpack.

Toru Amuro had already packed up the film and the remaining materials. Conan held the flashlight and stared vigilantly in the direction of the cellar door.

There was a faint sound of chaotic footsteps outside.

Vermouth suddenly pulled out a smoke bomb from her windbreaker: "My way of exiting has always been more exciting than yours."

She pulled Kudo Yuki back to the secret passage to the side. "This way, it leads directly to the backyard of the old house. Your people will meet us there, right?"

Kudo Yuki did not deny it, but just turned around and winked at Conan and Amuro Toru.

Conan immediately understood and followed Amuro Toru to hide behind the iron frame.

The moment Vermouth pulled Kudo Yuki into the secret passage, he suddenly threw a smoke bomb, and pungent white smoke quickly spread.

The cellar door was violently slammed open, and a chaotic sound of footsteps poured in.

Conan heard the roars of Rum's men, mixed with the deliberate noises made by Amuro Toru - he was diverting attention.

"Let's go." Kudo Yuki's voice came from the secret passage.

Conan followed in.

At the end of the secret passage is a dense patch of hydrangeas.

Amuro Toru was already waiting there. When he saw them coming out, he immediately waved and said, "Kagekawa's car is at the entrance of the alley."

Vermouth suddenly stopped and smiled at Kudo Yuki: "Fine wine, remember to be on time for our next collaboration."

She turned and walked into another fork in the road, the hem of her windbreaker brushing against the hydrangea branches, and quickly disappeared into the night.

Conan looked at her back and suddenly touched Kudo Yuki's arm: "Sister, she just..."

"She doesn't know." Kudo Yuki took off her mask. The moonlight shone on her face, revealing a faint red mark on her brow bone. "At least she doesn't know yet."

Amuro Toru reached out and rubbed her brow bone, the warmth of his fingertips carrying a soothing meaning: "Get in the car first, and then analyze the data when we get back."

Conan nodded and followed them.

The evening breeze lifted Kudo Yuki's long hair. He looked at the backs of his sister and Amuro Toru walking side by side, and suddenly remembered Vermouth's last soft words - it turns out that no matter how cold a person is, there will be moments when they can't hide their gentleness.

The car lights at the entrance of the alley were flashing, and Zhu Fujingguang's car was parked in the shadows.

This silent reunion and evacuation, as if it had never happened, left only the secrets deep in the old house waiting to be revealed under the moonlight.

Only after getting into Morobushi Kagemitsu's car did Conan finally heave a sigh of relief.

Outside the car window, the outline of Miyano's old house was gradually swallowed up by the night, and his palms holding the film were already sweating.

"Kagekawa, take three detours and then return to the base." Amuro Toru fastened his seat belt, his tone still filled with the tension after the action.

Zhu Fujingguang nodded in the rearview mirror, turned the steering wheel lightly, and turned the car into a narrow alley.

The neon lights outside the car window were stretched into blurred bands of light.

Conan leaned back in the back seat, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the film cover, remembering how Kudo Yuki's shoulders suddenly tensed under her mask when Vermouth mentioned "ES Amber" in the cellar just now.

"Sister," his voice still a little hoarse from the action, "Aunt Miyano's notes, besides Karasuma Renya's genetic sequence, also mentioned the screening criteria for compatible candidates?"

Kudo Yuki was flipping through a blue-covered notebook when she looked up, the dim light from the car reflecting in her eyes. "They mentioned three core indicators: synaptic activity, memory anchor stability, and... the resonant frequency to specific sound waves. Rum is probably looking for this information in order to quickly initiate the next phase of the adaptation experiment."

Amuro Toru turned back from the passenger seat, his eyes falling on his notebook. "The human lab's base has just been cut off, so it's normal for them to rush to fill the position. Yingchuan, how is the finishing work going in Nagano?"

Zhu Fushigure's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, and his eyes in the rearview mirror turned serious. "Brother Gao Ming said that the accounts of Nagano Trading Co., Ltd. have been sealed, and all relevant personnel have been handed over to the procuratorate. But according to the intercepted emails, they have only moved the transit point to Kansai. Date and others are following up."

Conan remembered that before Miyano Akemi went out in the morning, she was helping Haibara Ai organize the experimental data. The sunlight fell on the tips of her hair, and she looked like the gentle sister in his memory.

He suddenly understood that the reason why Kudo Yuki and Amuro Toru had been taking every step carefully over the years might not only be to destroy the organization, but also to allow those who were caught in the darkness to stand in the sun again.

As the car pulled up at the base's rear gate, Kuroda Heibei appeared under the streetlight. He clutched a document, his expression even more gloomy than usual. "After Rum's direct forces came up empty-handed at Miyano's old residence, they've begun investigating all vehicles that have recently approached it. A silhouette was captured on camera on your route. Even though we've removed the surveillance footage, I'm afraid we won't be able to conceal it for long."

Kudo Yuki stuffed the notebook into the lockbox and looked up with sharp eyes: "Do you need me to distract them?"

"No need." Kuroda Heibei waved his hand. "The FBI has reported that Vermouth deliberately exposed her whereabouts at the dock just now, leading Rum's men in the opposite direction."

He looked at Kudo Yuki with a complicated look, "She is more 'responsible' than we thought."

Amuro Toru tapped his fingertips lightly on his knee and suddenly said, "She's not fulfilling her responsibilities, she's protecting the information in our hands. Once ES Amber is restarted, the first person to be used for experiments will most likely be someone she cares about."

Conan's mind moved: [Besides Ran and me, the only person Vermouth cares about is...]

He looked at Kudo Yuki and saw that she was looking down in thought.

Kuroda Heibei handed the document to Amuro Toru and tapped the words "Rum's Direct Unit" with his fingertips. "These people are the organization's death squads, and they only obey Rum's iris commands. Vermouth can distract them for two hours at most. We must hurry and decipher the encrypted pages in the notebook."

The process of deciphering the encrypted page was much more difficult than expected.

Miyano Elena's notes were filled with a large number of chemical symbols and neurological terms. Kudo Yuki's fingertips ran across a line of small words and suddenly stopped: "The sound wave frequency must match the a brain wave threshold, Karasuma sample number 001."

"A brainwave?" Conan leaned over, shining his flashlight on the paper. "Is the organization trying to use specific sound waves to put the target into a hypnotic state?"

Amuro Toru, who was debugging the decoding equipment, looked up at the words and said, "More than that. The core of ES Dark Amber is 'rewriting'. They need to first destroy the original memory anchor point through sound waves, and then implant new fragments of consciousness."

His fingertips tapped out a string of code on the keyboard, and Miyano Elena's hidden comments popped up on the screen, "It mentions here that the experimental subject must meet the requirements of 'blood compatibility', otherwise neural rejection will occur."

The moment their eyes met, they both understood from each other's eyes - Rum had been using assassination to screen for suitable candidates.

To be continued...