Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 407 Yingsheng's ambition! Noah's Ark appears!

"You're such an asshole. The chocolate you gave to Kuroba Kaito turned out to be fake. I thought my magic had failed."

"Sorry, I'm really curious about this thing, but I don't dare to eat it, for fear that you will really capture me." Yingsheng smiled, "But now I'm going to die anyway, so it doesn't matter what happens. I just want to experience it myself."

"…I'm so pissed! No wonder there are always cats and dogs around me recently. You fed them chocolate powder, didn't you? You wanted to test the effect?"

"I am guilty and I confess." Yingsheng said sincerely, "But the main reason is that your charm transcends race."

"Haha, I won't argue with a dying person like you." Koizumi Hongzi said, "But Shirley's medicine can at least keep you alive for another five hours. I'm already downstairs at the institute. Are you sure you don't want to give it a try?"

"The atmosphere is already set, it would be rude if I didn't die, and there's no point in adding five more hours."

Yingsheng pointed the chocolate at the moon. The bright moon on the sea was too small and was completely blocked. He then moved his hand slightly down and used the V-shaped arc of the chocolate to support the bright moon.

The edges of the bright moon and chocolate diffract and blur together, making the chocolate emit soft moonlight.

Due to the influence of the genetic virus, the image quality of the world in Yingsheng's eyes has become extremely low, and it feels like he is watching some 144P old ancient dreamcore video.

If there was someone by your side at this time, who would you expect to be?
Firefly smiled.

"I'm really curious, what will happen if I eat it? If I suddenly fall madly in love with you, will I be extremely unwilling to die?"

"...I don't know, but with the extra five hours, you can at least discipline your apprentice. She became disobedient before you died and even wanted to kill Mouri Ran." Hongzi said.

"Hey, are you some kind of feudal remnant? She is an independent person, not my appendage."

Yingsheng withdrew his hand and bit off the tip of the chocolate.

……

A long-lost sweetness enters the throat.

Yingsheng suddenly fell down and fell on the shiny floor of the Teitan High School Karate Club.

"Really? If you knew you had hypoglycemia, couldn't you prepare chocolate in advance?"

Under the star-like bright lights of the venue, Koizumi Hongzi stretched out her hand to feed the chocolate, and her nails were shining with a faint pink light above the black chocolate.

"Ah~~"

Yingsheng opened his mouth and bit it, smiling slightly.

"The one in your hand is sweeter."

……

The chat records on Skype are becoming more and more dense, and the warmth between the words is rising every day.

"I have never been willing to succumb to the wishes of others. Whenever there is external fear, my courage is doubled," she said.

"You only need to remember the past that made you happy," Yingsheng said.

“I fought in vain, but it was no use,” she said.

"Then you must allow me to tell you that the birth of any emotion is natural," Yingsheng said.

Miss Liu Feng, what kind of person is she?
Probably she would have long dark red hair.

……

Amid the pounding heart, everything changes.

Looking at the endless black sky, Yingsheng raised the corners of his lips slightly, "I said that I really love Xiaolan, Hongzi, and I also approve of this chocolate of yours. It tastes really good."

"Eh???"

On a bench next to the dim street lamp, Koizumi Hongzi said in surprise: "How is it possible? Did you eat fake food too?"

"You checked it when you sent it to me. It's definitely the real thing. And I just want to experience this feeling. It's impossible to replace it."

Yingsheng wanted to continue eating the remaining chocolate, but his body could no longer move.

"In simple terms, your magic attempts to awaken all the memories related to love in my heart, and then integrate the state of mind at that time, blending it all into one, projecting it onto your image, making you my beloved."

"It's an interesting magic, but it also has obvious weaknesses."

"For example, I like Xiaolan because she is sunny and straightforward; I like Miss Liufeng because she is rational and elegant."

"Your magic combines these two states of mind, which is somewhat contradictory, and that's where the flaw appears."

"I guess that even if Kuroba Kaito eats your chocolate on Valentine's Day this year, because your personality is different from Nakamori Aoko, he will at most be fascinated by you for a while, and sooner or later he will return to Nakamori Aoko. This is what is called true love is invincible."

"Well, to be honest, I am somewhat disappointed."

"According to your notebook, the power of red magic is so great that it is unimaginable. However, in reality, there are always various limitations."

"Could it be that the essence of this world is a fable? Is Red Magic the same level as the magic in Grimm's fairy tales?"

"It's a poor plot that magic's control over the mind can be overcome by mortal will."

"But thank you very much. At least I have been able to confirm some things and face death more calmly."

When Yingsheng spoke earlier, he was breathing heavily, and his whole body was like a broken old bellows.

Later on, it became stable, without any trembling, just like before.

If Hongzi looked more carefully in the crystal ball, she would see that Yingsheng's mouth was not even open.

But now she was just speechless.

After several breaths, he said rather depressedly: "Maybe it is just as you think. Indeed, red magic has many restrictions and its power is limited."

"Really? If it weren't for this, how could the world be dominated by technology now?"

"Moreover, the spirit itself is also a projection of the place of origin. Even if ordinary people do not have wizard blood as a medium, as long as their will is strong enough, it is normal for them to be resistant to mental magic. In essence, it is the same type of interference."

"One comes from the outside world, and the other comes from oneself."

"Your will is as strong as a monster's, and you have touched the origin many times. You took the initiative to endure magic with a curious heart, so it's normal for you to be immune."

At the end of her speech, her tone regained confidence, and it was obvious that she had convinced herself.

Yingsheng couldn't help laughing, "Since you have found the principle, can't you think of ways to improve it? The Ah Q mentality is not good for self-growth."

"I hope you, old man, can rest in peace soon. Do I need you to tell me that?" Hongzi snorted.

"This magic has been passed down for hundreds of years, and almost every witch can use it. You are at most a magic apprentice, and you have achieved it through unorthodox means." "I don't think the images need to be integrated so much. It is enough to just dig out the things that people desire most." Yingsheng continued to talk to himself.

"Because that kind of thing doesn't really exist, the victim can't find a comparison in reality, and humans are best at self-deception and beautifying the past. Even if he can finally break free, it will take much longer than it does now."

"..."

Hongzi was silent for a few breaths, and then said in a muffled voice: "I have had this thought before, but a person's truest desire is often buried deep in the heart and is difficult to dig out."

Although she had never thought about it before...

She had seen this magic in books, and today was the first time someone fell victim to it. Who would have thought about this before?
But she was a genius magician after all, and after hearing Yingsheng's words, she quickly found the difficulty.

"Do you know Narcissus?" Yingsheng asked.

“Of course, the poor guy in Greek mythology, the handsome man, fell in love with his own reflection in the water, died by the lake, and turned into a daffodil,” Koizumi Akiko said.

"Modern psychology says that everyone actually has a Narcissus complex, and narcissism is one of the basic characteristics of human nature." Yingsheng said, "Saint-Exupery said that love is not about looking at each other, but looking in the same direction together."

"Love, besides the compatibility of souls, is more importantly about having the same path."

"What external soul can be more like-minded and help people find their true self than the missing part of themselves?"

What he said seemed to be a bit off topic.

Hongzi's mind immediately moved, "You mean, starting from human desires or life pursuits, stripping away the existence intention of the 'self' when he makes various key choices in life, and then projecting it onto me?"

"That's probably it." Yingsheng said, "The core node of everyone's soul, the most important protagonist must be oneself, and everyone else is just an object."

"That makes sense, but in this case, who is the one who falls in love with after being possessed by magic, me or himself?"

"If Narcissus's reflection walked out of the water and came into reality, who do you think he liked?" Yingsheng asked.

"Well...it's me, and it's not me."

Hongzi raised an eyebrow. "If this effect can be achieved, then the power of magic will definitely be greatly enhanced. There are very few people in this world who can recognize themselves. Except for monsters like you, almost no one can escape the shackles of 'self'."

"No, I can't do that either." Yingsheng said, "I can only talk about it on paper, but it's too difficult to put it into practice."

"It's probably just that you can't do it now. Your will is incredibly strong... Well, although this also means that the shackles will be very strong." Hongzi said, "But you are a strange guy. Can't you easily 'forget yourself'? You can definitely transcend 'self'."

"Forgetting oneself is only a temporary escape, not transcendence."

"I see... it seems so. You are really interesting. It's a pity that I knew about you too late." Hongzi said with regret, "I will develop that magic, but the purpose is definitely not to make people fall in love with me. At most, it is to commemorate you."

“…Am I already dead?”

"According to the divination, your life flame has been completely extinguished. I don't understand why you can still speak now."

"To be honest, due to genetic collapse and tissue dissolution, my body is already full of fluids. If someone were to peel it off gently, they might be able to completely remove my skin..."

"Stop!"

Hongzi hurriedly said, "I'm sorry to hear this, but this is really disgusting."

"...It's really sad. As for the fact that I can still speak, it's of course because of the red magic, which uses my spirit to reflect reality." Yingsheng said with a smile.

"Consciousness can be preserved. This means that in the development of drug series A, whether it is to bring back the dead or to restore youth, attention will be paid to protecting brain cells from being affected. Otherwise, it will not be a drug to save lives, but a poison that will cause brain death."

"And the genetic virus derived from it probably also follows this principle, so my body is dead, but my brain is not dead yet."

"...You are actually some kind of fantasy species, your vitality is beyond expectations." Hongzi couldn't help but complain.

"Unfortunately, I am still a human being." Yingsheng sighed, "Brain cells also have DNA. I can feel that my blood-brain barrier is slowly being breached. Whether I want to die or not, the objective fact is that I won't be able to survive for much longer."

Hongzi sighed softly, "That's really a pity. Your idea... combining technology with magic to welcome Xuantian to come. Although I am a little scared, I am actually quite looking forward to it. Now it's all gone."

"Why the fear?"

"You imagined that Xuantian would exercise absolute control. This makes people think of dictatorship, right?"

"Do you know anything about cybernetics?"

"I've heard of it, but I haven't tried to find out more about it," said Hongzi.

"In the 1960s, based on the ideas of cybernetics, the Soviet Union tried to build a national computer network, OGAS, to automate the management of economic activities. I wonder if you understand the logic of economic operation..."

"I don't understand."

"...In short, the most troublesome thing in economic activities is not production, but allocation." Yingsheng interrupted.

"The simplest example is that the world's annual food production is enough for all of humanity to eat and drink, so why are there still people starving to death in Africa every day?"

"Because they have no money." said Hongzi.

"...Don't go off topic, or I'll ask you why they have no money."

"...I think I understand. You mean that Xuantian will make absolutely perfect resource allocation to greatly improve the productivity of society?" Hongzi said in a strange tone, "With this model, you don't believe in communism, do you?"

"Just tell me whether this is good or bad for society. Look at Japan's neighbor to the west, and then look at Hayek's invisible hand in South America," said Yingsheng.

"…But this is impossible, right? Otherwise, why did the Soviet Union lose the Cold War?"

"OGAS did fail, but that was due to the lack of technological strength back then. It's different now. Schindler's company already has strong artificial intelligence like Noah's Ark. If we explore further, we may be able to achieve a primary control system."

Yingsheng looked far away, "Just imagine, when that day comes, everyone will no longer have to rush for a living, and will have enough time to develop their hobbies, cultivate virtues, enjoy life, and pursue the highest well-being."

"At that time, what can represent people will no longer be a symbol, but the real ..."

"stop!"

Hongzi interrupted again, "I can tell from what I heard that you are not only a religious fanatic, but also an idealist. I don't know much about this, so let's just assume that what you said makes sense, but unfortunately, you are about to die."

"Yeah, it's a pity." Yingsheng smiled, "It's not that bad actually. If you didn't mention it, I wouldn't say it. It's better to save your energy to look at the stars."

"No, you can still survive."

A cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out from the speaker of the mobile phone, sounding a bit childish.

"Who?!" Hongzi's eyes suddenly became stern.

"Damn it, Karasuma Renya, you old bastard, you're not dead, and you even eavesdropped on my phone calls the entire time." Yingsheng sighed, "Mysticism is really powerful, I am really a clown, and you are the winner."

"I'm not Karasuma Renya, I'm Noah's Ark." said the cold mechanical voice.

(End of this chapter)