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

At noon, Uramaru Renya's eyelashes trembled slightly, and it took a long time before he could open them a little bit with great effort.

The vision was blurry at first, then focused after a few seconds - overhead was the branch's iconic titanium alloy ceiling, the cold metallic luster spread along the geometric patterns, and every edge exuded hardness.

He subconsciously frowned, and his chaotic mind suddenly became clear: [This is definitely not the crystal dome in my usual bedroom.]

"Boss, are you awake?" The female secretary approached with a glass of warm water. Her nails were painted with almost transparent nude nail polish. When she lowered her eyes, her eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyes, making her look gentle and proper.

Karasuma Renya leaned on the armrest and sat up, a dull ache in his temple. He remembered showing Jianiang the "ES Dark Amber" project on the seventh floor of the basement of the Karasuma Group headquarters. He then took the medicine his secretary had brought him, sent Jianiang away, and after that… his memory was cut off.

He looked at the female secretary and said in a hoarse voice, "How long have I been sleeping?"

"A full 72 hours." The female secretary handed the water cup to him, her fingertips slightly raised, and her sleeves slipped down, revealing a very light mark - a unique mark of people from Vermouth, but Karasuma Renya had never noticed it. "Before you fainted, you told me to transfer to the branch office if there was an emergency. I did as you instructed."

Karasuma Renya took the cup, his fingertips touching the coolness of the glass, and he felt a strange irritation in his heart. He didn't remember saying this, but the female secretary had been with him for many years and was always reliable. He took a sip of warm water and glanced at the security camera in the corner of the room: "Where's the prototype of 'ES Dark Amber'?"

"It's locked in the safe on the fourth floor underground as you instructed." The female secretary answered perfectly, but a cold light flashed in her eyes.

The core data of that batch of prototypes had been transmitted to Kudo Yuki through special channels last night, and all of this was arranged by Vermouth.

Vermouth knows better than anyone what kind of disaster her grandfather's paranoia will bring. Drugging is just the first step. What she wants is to completely dismantle the Karasuma Group that has been distorted by him.

At this moment, in the bedroom of the secret weapon base, the blackout curtains were drawn tightly, leaving only a few rays of light to seep in through the gaps and fall on the two people sleeping in each other's arms.

Amuro Toru's arms were wrapped around Kudo Yuki's waist, his breathing was even, and his fingertips unconsciously stroked the hair on the back of her neck - that was a habit he couldn't change even when he was extremely tired.

Kudo Yuki buried her head in his chest, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was still solving some complicated puzzle in a dream. It was not until Amuro Toru gently patted her back that the tension slowly relaxed.

The lights in the next room were on all night. Conan was lying on a table piled with documents. In front of him were Elena Miyano's notes. The beautiful handwriting recorded the details of early drug research, and there was a small sunflower pattern drawn in the corner.

Conan's eyelids became heavier and heavier, moving down little by little until they finally rested on the slightly cool paper. The pen slipped from his hand, making a slight sound, but it did not wake him up.

In the thermos on the table, there was still half a cup of hot milk that Kudo Yuki had made for him before going to bed, but the residual warmth had long since dissipated.

Kudo Yuki was awakened by a slight rustling sound.

She opened her eyes and met Amuro Toru's sleepy ones. The man's eyelashes were very long, and they looked a little misty and wet when he woke up. Seeing that she was awake, he gently rubbed her neck with his fingertips and put his arm around Kudo Yuki's waist. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah." Kudo Yuki snuggled into his arms, her nose rubbing against the fabric on his chest, and she smelled the familiar scent mixed with coffee - that was the unique scent of Amuro Toru.

Kudo Yuki listened carefully. A few birds chirped outside the window, and daylight was creeping in through the gaps in the blackout curtains. She asked softly, "Is there any movement outside?"

Amuro closed his eyes and shook his head, tightening his arms a little: "No, it was Shushu running on the cabinet."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shushu scurried over along the bedside table, leaving a few light marks on the sheets with his chubby little paws.

Shushu raised his head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Kudo Yuki. A voice rang directly in their heads: "Xiaoxue, Conan next door dropped his pen. He was sleeping so soundly that his saliva was almost flowing onto his notebook."

Kudo Yuki couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

Amuro Toruya chuckled and pinched her waist lightly with his fingertips: "Go see him?"

"Yeah." Kudo Yuki lifted the quilt and got out of bed, then put on the coat that was draped over the back of the chair.

Passing by the door of the next room, she gently pushed it open and saw Conan sleeping soundly on the table, with Miyano Elena's notebook spread out in front of him, and the small sunflower pattern was slightly deformed by his cheek.

She walked over, carefully pulled the notebook out from under his hand, and took the thin blanket next to him to cover him. The milk in the thermos had long been cold. She picked it up and was about to pour it out, but her wrist was pressed by a warm hand.

Amuro Toru came in at some point and took the thermos cup: "I'll take care of it, you get some sleep."

"I can't sleep." Kudo Yuki shook her head, her eyes falling on the documents scattered on the table, "Any news from Kaito?"

"He sent a message early this morning saying his disguise skills had improved a lot. He also attached a photo of himself dressed as a Karasuma Group executive. I almost didn't recognize him." Amuro Toru's tone was a bit helpless, but he couldn't hide a hint of admiration. "He said the security at the headquarters was tighter than he expected, but it hasn't aroused suspicion yet."

Kudo Yuki nodded.

Kuroba Kaito was right to be cautious; now was not the right time. She recalled the encrypted message Vermouth had sent her last night. It contained only three simple words:

The fish have woken up.

This woman is always like this. Even her reports are delivered in a mysterious tone, but she forgets that their cooperation is based on mutual benefit. Vermouth wants to use her to get rid of Karasuma Renya, and she needs the authority within the organization to pry open the rotten chess game.

Kudo Yuki turned around and leaned in Amuro Toru's arms, "He's awake, he'll definitely notice something's wrong. As for Vermouth..."

"Vermouth knows what to do better than us." Amuro Toru interrupted her, "After all, she is..."

He didn't say anything else, but both of them knew that the complicated relationship between Vermouth and Karasuma Renya was both a constraint and her sharpest weapon.

Conan woke up at some point. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. Seeing the two people hugging each other, a helpless expression appeared on his face: "I say, you two, can you pay attention to the occasion?"

Kudo Xue walked over with a smile and rubbed his head with her hand: "Are you awake? What kind of sweet dream were you having? You're almost drooling."

"No!" Conan's cheeks flushed as he hastily defended himself. His gaze fell on the notes on the table, and his expression instantly became serious. "Aunt Elena's notes mentioned that the early drug research was actually intended to treat a rare genetic disease, but it was later exploited by the Karasuma Group..."

As soon as Conan finished speaking, the air in the room suddenly became quiet.

Kudo Yuki picked up the notebook, her fingertips tracing the sunflower pattern on the corner of the page. She whispered, "The original intention of treating genetic diseases has been twisted into a tool for controlling others. This is probably what Miyano Elena hates most."

The papers made a crackling sound when they were turned, as if sighing for the betrayal of their original intention.

Amuro Toru walked over to her, his eyes fixed on a formula circled in red in her notes. "The neurotransmitter inhibition principle here is highly consistent with the core technology of the 'ES Dark Amber' prototype. It seems that Karasuma Renya used all of his early research data on the brainwashing device, even treating the 'risk warning' specifically marked by Miyano Elena as an optimization parameter."

Conan silently pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up to reveal his suddenly serious face. He quickly pulled up the encrypted map, swiped his finger three times, and sent the location to Subaru Okiya.

Kudo Yuki paused and turned to the last page of the notebook. Half a faded photo was pasted on the yellowed paper.

Next to Miyano Elena stood a woman with gentle features, none other than Akai Shuichi's mother. The bond of blood, hidden in the folds of time, suddenly became clear and tangible.

A few minutes later, Subaru Okiya appeared at the door.

Conan opened the door and saw him rubbing his eyebrows with his hand.

"It turns out that they have met once before in the island country." Kudo Yuki said softly, catching a glimpse of a figure at the door out of the corner of her eye.

Subaru Okiya leaned against the door frame, holding a cup of freshly brewed black tea in his hand, his eyes behind the lenses as deep as a pool.

He obviously heard what Conan said, and his Adam's apple moved slightly. "Elena took the initiative to contact the Metropolitan Police Department that year because she wanted to use official power to protect the research data from being touched by the Karasuma Group."

Amuro Toru took over, tapping his fingers on the edge of his notebook. "It's a shame she failed. The core algorithm of ES Dark Amber is a neural interference module derived from these studies."

Subaru Okiya placed the tea on the table, the heat from the cup blurring his eyes behind his lenses: “The backup data left by Miyano Elena was hidden in an old laboratory in Nagano Prefecture.

I just got news from Yingchuan that when Nagano Trading Co., Ltd. was shut down, they found a server with a 'crow' logo in the basement - this should be the research data that was forcibly transferred by the Karasuma Group.

Kudo Yuki opened a note in her notebook. The paper was so thin that it was almost transparent. On it was Miyano Elena's beautiful handwriting, and the ink was a little smudged due to moisture.

"The third segment of the genetic chain has a self-repair mechanism. Forcible interference will cause irreversible neurological disorders. Karasuma Renya probably didn't understand this, which is why he used 'ES Dark Amber' as a tool to control others."

"I see." Subaru Okiya's voice was tinged with a barely perceptible sigh. He picked up a document from the table. "When Nagano Trading Co., Ltd. was shut down, Kagekawa found this at the scene. It's the research record that Elena Miyano submitted to the Metropolitan Police Department. It also has the signature of Manager Kuroda."

Amuro Toru took the document and flipped through it, his brow furrowed slightly. "The source of the experimental subjects recorded here completely matches the human trafficking den we've uncovered. It seems that Date and his team's actions have effectively cut off a key supply chain for the brewery within the country."

Shushu suddenly jumped onto the table, grabbing Amuro Toru's wrist with his chubby little claws. "I just heard an encrypted signal from Manager Kuroda, saying that the Nagano trading area has been cleared, and Mr. Date and his men are heading to Tokyo."

The encrypted communicator on the table emitted a short beep.

Toru Amuro reached out and pressed the answer button.

Kurodabei's deep voice came through the electricity: "Miyano Akemi has arrived at the safe house and is in stable condition."

He paused and added, "Kagekawa has just received the Micro-8 headphones and will be sending them back. You guys keep a close eye on the Karasuma Group headquarters. Karasuma Renya will most likely activate Level 1, Level security once he wakes up."

"Got it." Amuro Toru hung up the phone, took out a miniature headset from his pocket, and handed the small device to Kudo Yuki with his fingertips.

Conan followed suit, taking off his headphones from inside his collar and placing them neatly on the table.

Subaru Okiya silently took out the earphones hidden behind his ears and gently placed them next to the one handed to him by Amuro Toru - at this moment he had completely figured out the sisterly relationship between his mother and Elena Miyano, and the subtle alienation between his brows was being quietly flattened by the weight of blood ties.

Just as Kudo Yuki put the earphones into a special shielding box, there was a light knock on the door.

Zhu Fujingguang pushed the door open, holding a small box with the remaining miniature earphones neatly stacked inside. "Just got them back from the safe house."

He handed the box to Kudo Yuki, "Miyano Akemi said to meet Haibara once things get more stable here."

"I'll tell her." Kudo Yuki took the box, her fingertips touching the slightly cool metal shell. "Thank you for your hard work, Yingchuan."

Zhu Fujingguang found a chair and sat down. He glanced at the documents on the table and said softly, "Things are going smoothly in Nagano. Brother Gao Ming said that the server data found on site has been synchronized with the technical department for decryption. I expect to have results this afternoon."

Kudo Yuki pressed the last miniature earphone into the shielded box, her fingertips running over the cool edge of the lid. As the lock clicked back into place, she looked out the window. "The efficiency of the Technical Department is worth the wait."

In the shadows beneath the table, Shushu, with his back to Amuro Toru, shook his chubby body, his paws tracing a half-arc. The dimly glowing headphones, as if drawn by invisible threads, instantly vanished from the shielding box.

Kudo Yuki glanced in the direction where Shushu disappeared and tapped the shielding box twice with her fingertips.

Toru Amuro glanced under the table and pressed his fingertips on the back of Kudo Yuki's hand without any expression.

The hamster was clinging to the edge of the shielding box, its round body stuck in the gap of the drawer, its little tail wagging outside, as if showing off that it had just hidden the headphones in the crack in the wall.

There was a faint smile on the corner of his mouth - this little guy always likes to play tricks when people are not paying attention, and when he succeeds, he wags his tail and waits for praise.

Amuro Toru withdrew his gaze, gathered the documents on his desk to hide the sounds below, and looked up at Kudo Yuki, a smile spreading in his eyes: "We have to make the 'bait' tempting enough, such as having a certain 'fine wine' show up on its own initiative."

From under the table came the sound of Shushu stamping his feet angrily.

Kudo Yuki curled her fingertips slightly, held back her smile, and gently stepped on the tip of Amuro Toru's shoe - this guy was clearly deliberately teasing Shu Shu.

Meanwhile, at the Karasuma Group branch, a female secretary stood at the study door, listening to the sound of shattering glass from within. She slowly raised the corners of her lips, turned, and walked towards the elevator, ready to pass on the latest "news" to Vermouth.

As for the newly awakened Karasuma Renya, he will soon know what it means to be abandoned by everyone.

To be continued...