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

The air in the basement was filled with the mixed smell of old dust and wood. Akai Tsutomu turned on the old-fashioned light bulb, and the dim light barely dispelled the shadows in the corner.

Shushu jumped off Kudo Yuki's shoulder, and his chubby little paws went straight to the safe embedded in the stone wall in the middle of the room.

Its size is exactly the same as a 9x9 shogi board, and the "corner" and "speed car" patterns carved on the cabinet door have long been blurred by time.

"." Kudo Yuki pressed the buttons one by one according to the password given by Haneda Yasuharu.

"Click——"

The light sound of the combination lock cylinder turning becomes clearer and more coherent as the password is continuously entered.

Kudo Yuki's finger lingered on the last "5" key.

The safe door slowly popped out half an inch.

The hamster had already jumped to the top of the cabinet through the gap in the cabinet door. His chubby little paws were groping around on the inside of the cabinet door, and the silver powder on the tip of his tail rubbed into the carved patterns, like a handful of tiny stars.

"There's a groove here! It's the same shape as the base of the chess box!" It called out excitedly. It dug its claws into the diamond-shaped groove and pressed hard. Suddenly, a muffled sound of gears turning came from inside the cabinet.

Akai Tsutomu stepped forward, held the cabinet door, and opened it completely.

Inside the cabinet were no documents or equipment as expected, only an ebony panel that fitted snugly against the cabinet bottom. A complete shogi board was reproduced on the panel, and traces of light silver powder remained in the grooves of the "King", "Rook" and "Jade General" chess pieces.

"Houssi's mind is truly meticulous." Akai Mutake's fingertips brushed across the patterns on the chessboard. "This isn't an ordinary panel; it's the switch for a hidden door. According to Kang Qing's 'circumventing the enemy' strategy, try fitting the corner piece from the chess box into the groove."

Kudo Yuki's fingertips hovered above the "Kanko" groove, her brows furrowed slightly, and she thought to herself: "Wakasa Rumi is carrying that Kakuko chess piece with her, and she's currently at the Poirot Cafe, waiting for a meeting. There's no way she can get it back in time."

She turned towards Akai Tsutomu and said, "The Kakuyuki chess pieces are with Wakasa-sensei. She will bring the fragments and chess pieces tonight. We don't have the original chess pieces right now..."

Before he could finish his words, Shushu suddenly jumped down from the top of the cabinet. He grabbed the corner of Kudo Yuki's clothes with his chubby little claws and went into her pocket. The tip of his tail curled out a piece of silvery metal. "Xiaoxue! Those little pieces that fell out of the chess box base smell like the chess box itself!"

Kudo Yuki paused with her fingertips, and immediately twisted the metal piece from the tip of Shushu's tail.

Under the dim light, the lines on the edge of the metal sheet emerged clearly - it was actually a smaller version of the outline of a square, with the word "Hao Si" engraved in tiny letters on the back, and silver powder gleaming in the lines.

"These are spare pieces Hiroshi prepared ahead of time." Akai Tsutomu leaned in to get a closer look. "He even considered the possibility of not being able to retrieve the original piece in time."

Kudo Yuki fits the metal pieces into the "corner" grooves of the chessboard.

The silver powder at the bottom of the chess piece was instantly attracted by the residue in the groove and stuck into the position of "8-2".

At the moment the chess piece fell into place, the "Jade General" groove in the center of the chessboard suddenly lit up with a light purple light, exactly the same as the beam of an ultraviolet pen.

Shushu immediately jumped onto the lid of the box, sniffing the dark patterns with his chubby little paws. "It smells like a data disk! And rum, even stronger than the one in the diary!"

Amuro Toru paused as he arranged the tea utensils in the living room. Shu Shu's words reached his ears. He looked up toward the basement, a flicker of understanding crossing his eyes: "It seems Haneda Koji's backup plan is more complete than expected."

At this moment, the phone in his pocket vibrated. It was a message from Vermouth:

That master ordered Gin to raid Haneda's old house tonight, targeting the chess box and clues related to 'ES Amber'. - Vermouth: Absinthe

Toru Amuro quickly tapped his reply on the screen, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Mari Akai taking out an old photo from the album.

In the photo, Hiroji Haneda is holding a silver cufflink, while Tsutomu Akai is smiling and adjusting his tie next to him. The background is the Poirot Café on the streets of London.

"Just a few days after this photo was taken, Hiroshi went to America," said Akai Mari, with a barely audible sigh. "The 'travel souvenir' he gave Wuwu back then was probably the prototype for this spare metal piece."

Sera Masumi came over to look at the photo and suddenly pointed at Haneda Hiroshi's cuffs: "Hiroshi-kun has a silver button on his cuffs too! It looks just like the one Dad has!"

"They're a pair." Haneda Yasuharu's voice came from the sofa, the sound of the ventilator much softer. "Back then, Koji bought two cufflinks in London, saying they were for 'the person who understood the game of Go best.' One was for Wuwu, and the other he wore himself. Later... it must have been embedded into this metal piece."

In the basement, Kudo Yuki had already opened the metal box. Inside the box were three data disks and a yellowed note with Haneda Hiroshi's handwriting on it:

Silver powder is the key, data is the evidence, and behind the secret door is the evidence of Karasuma Renya's crime.

Kudo Yuki held the yellowed note in her fingertips. The handwriting of Haneda Hiroshi made the air in the basement a little heavier.

She carefully put the three data disks into the evidence bag, and when she turned around, she met Akai Tsutomu's serious gaze.

Both of them knew that this was not only the key to solving the Haneda Hiroshi case, but also the sharp sword that could penetrate the "ES Dark Amber" plan.

Kudo Yuki put away the data disk and the note.

Shushu pricked up his ears and waved his chubby paws quickly in the air: "Get out now, I heard some conversation in the living room."

When Kudo Yuki followed Akai Tsutomu out of the basement, the old-fashioned wall clock in the living room had just struck eleven.

Amuro Toru had already put away the tea set, his phone clenched between his fingers. Seeing the two people coming out, he put the phone back into his pocket. When he greeted them, the solemnity in his eyes had faded: "Did you find anything in the basement?"

"Three data disks and a note left by Mr. Hiroshi." Kudo Yuki handed him the evidence bag.

Shushu jumped down from her shoulder, biting the strawberry until his face was covered in juice. Suddenly, he pricked up his ears and stopped moving. He waved his chubby paw towards the entrance: "Xiaoxue, don't forget to ask the key questions. You almost forgot about them."

Following Shushu's reminder, Kudo Yuki lightly paused her fingertips on the edge of the evidence bag. When she raised her eyes, her gaze fell on Amuro Toru.

Amuro Toru deleted Vermouth's message, the coolness of the phone screen still lingering on his fingertips. When he saw her looking over, he tacitly tilted his head towards the entrance.

Although the carved iron door there was closed, one could faintly hear the sound of fallen leaves in the wind, as if reminding the people in the house that "time is running out."

"Have you contacted Wakasa Rumi?" Kudo Yuki lowered her voice slightly.

Rat poked his little head out of her pocket and patted the back of her hand with his chubby little paw. "I just smelled her! She's nearby, Poirot should be here soon!"

Akai Mari's grip on the teacup suddenly tightened, and a few drops of tea sloshed onto the coaster. "Gin's so quick? Was it Karasuma Renya's idea?"

Akai Mumu locked the diary back into the drawer, his eyes cold. "It's likely. If he can use vodka as a test subject, he won't let us get hold of the evidence of ES Amber."

Kudo Yuki's gaze fell directly on Amuro Toru, her tone calm and without a trace of emotion: "Vermouth's message didn't mention the specific time and mission details of Gin's raid? For example, how many people will he bring with him, and which area of ​​the Haneda old house will he focus on searching?"

Toru Amuro gently stroked the edge of the phone with his fingertips, recalling the content of the message, while not ignoring the sudden erection of Shushu's ears - the little guy was squatting on the coffee table, with his chubby paws suspended in mid-air, obviously also carefully capturing key information.

"She only said 'raid tonight,' but didn't give a specific time. The mission objectives are clearly the Ebony Chess Box and all clues related to 'ES Amber,' including the data disk and the diary in your hand."

He paused and added, "Also, Vermouth hinted that 'the master has given Gin full responsibility and does not need to report to Rum.' It seems that she wants to use this action to test Gin and Rum's reactions."

"Probing?" Kudo Yuki raised an eyebrow, twirling the UV pen in her palm. "Does Karasuma Renya know that Rum has tampered with ES Amber and is deliberately trying to get Gin to avoid him? So, will Gin take advantage of this opportunity to tamper with something? Like, deliberately stall for time, or tip us off in advance?"

She thought of the bug that Gin had crushed and reconnected before, and a thought flashed in her eyes. "After all, he couldn't even intervene when Vodka was used as a test subject. Now that he holds the power to launch a raid, he might not completely follow Karasuma's wishes."

Akai Tsutomu then pulled a brass key from the drawer and placed it on the coffee table. "Whatever Gin's plan is, we have to prepare in advance. The safe in the basement needs to be reinforced, and the data disk and chess box need to be moved to a safer place.

Mary, contact MI6 and have them stand by outside the old house tonight and contain them as planned if there is any movement."

Akai Mari nodded and took out her cell phone.

Shushu suddenly jumped onto Kudo Yuki's shoulder, and his chubby little paws leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Xiaoxue, I just smelled an electric sound from the phone in Amuro's pocket. It also seemed like there was another communicator, different from the bug that Gin used before."

Amuro Toru naturally heard what Shushu said. He lowered his voice and said to Kudo Yuki, "I'm using the encrypted communicator with the Public Security Bureau. I just received a message that Date Kou and his men have set up surveillance near the old house, disguised as patrol officers. If Gin's men show up, they'll stop them and check their identities to buy us time to evacuate."

Kudo Yuki tapped the wood grain of the chess box with her fingertips and glanced at everyone in the living room. "Then we'll proceed in two steps. First, Amuro and I will deliver the data disk and diary to the safe house, leaving Masumi and Mr. Kangqing in the living room to stabilize the situation.

If Gin arrives early, just say that the chess box is still in my hands and I went out to buy something and haven't come back yet.

The second step is for Aunt Mary and Mr. Wuwu to contact MI6 to determine the specific location of the peripheral diversionary force to avoid a direct conflict with Gin's people - what we need now is to preserve the clues, not to confront the distillery head-on."

Sera Masumi immediately raised her hand, her eyes filled with excitement. "I'm fine! Sister Xue, don't worry. I will act properly with Mr. Haneda and will definitely not let Gin see any flaws!"

Haneda Yasuharu also nodded slowly, and steadied his hand holding the chess box: "We will definitely protect Haoji's things."

Just as Kudo Yuki put the data disk and diary into her black backpack, Shushu suddenly tugged at the corner of her clothes and pointed the tip of his tail at the door. "There's the sound of a car engine outside! The smell is different from Gin's black Porsche, but it has the same smell of gunpowder. His men must have come here to scout the area first!"

Amuro Toru immediately stood up, walked to the window, and pulled back a corner of the curtain. Sure enough, he saw a black car parked at the intersection a hundred meters from the old house. The windows were covered with dark film, making it impossible to see the people inside. "Looks like Gin is going to make a move early."

He turned to look at Kudo Yuki, his eyes filled with anxiety, "We have to leave immediately. Use the secret passage at the back door to get to the safe house. Leave this place to Aunt Mary and the others."

Kudo Yuki nodded, grabbed her backpack, and put the UV pen into Amuro Toru's hand. "Take the chess box. If there's an emergency, use the UV pen to shine the code on the inside of the chess box. It will trigger the silver powder alarm inside, and the public security personnel will be able to locate the chess box through the alarm."

She paused and added, "Also, don't confront Gin head-on. Your current identity cannot be exposed. If he recognizes you, all your previous undercover work will be in vain."

Amuro Toru took the chess box, his fingertips gently touching hers, with a touch of soothing force: "I know my limits. You and Shushu go through the secret passage first. I'll distract the people scouting outside, and then I'll meet you at the safe house."

Kudo Yuki nodded slightly. "Before we take action, can Haneda Yasuharu answer a question for me? Do the Karasuma Group, the Ooka Family, and the Haneda Family have any business dealings?"

Haneda Yasuharu paused, gripping the chess box. The sound of air from the ventilator tinged with the slowness of reminiscence. "We had three encounters in our early years, all related to 'importing overseas technology.' The first was when the Karasuma Group took the initiative to contact us, wanting to use the Haneda family's chess equipment workshop to import 'special wood.' Later, I discovered that the wood they wanted could block signals, so I declined."

The second time was when the Ooka family introduced us to a collaboration to develop a 'smart chessboard'. However, when Rum came to inspect with his technical team, he kept staring at Hiroshi's shogi collection. I sensed something was amiss and terminated the collaboration.

The third time was the most secretive. Karasuma Renya came in person, saying he wanted to invite Hiroshi to be a "cultural consultant." In reality, he wanted him to contact the test subjects of "ES Dark Amber." Hiroshi refused on the spot, saying, "I only understand the game of Go, not the human heart." After that, the three families had no further contact.

He lowered his head and stroked the wood grain on the chess box, his tone becoming more melancholy. "The Karasuma Group had bad intentions from the beginning. I'm afraid the Ooka family was kept in the dark by them and only thought it was an ordinary business cooperation.

Just as Kudo Yuki wrote this message down in the memo on her phone, Shushu suddenly jumped off her shoulder, grabbed her trouser leg with his chubby little paws and pulled her towards the door.

Something's wrong! The smell of that black car is getting closer! And there are two more gunpowder smells, the same type of pistols that Gin's men often use!

Toru Amuro immediately walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain very lightly - at the intersection a hundred meters away, the door of the black car had been opened, and two people in black windbreakers were looking towards the old house, with the silver badge of the winery faintly visible on their collars.

His fingertips tapped rapidly on his phone, and he sent a message to Date Hang: "Target appeared, contain according to Plan B." When he turned around, his eyes had regained their composure: "It was Gin's men who scouted the area in advance, three hours earlier than Vermouth's announcement of 'raid tonight'."

To be continued...