Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 589 I’m coming!

"what?"

"what happened?"

"President, the system... seems to be malfunctioning!"

"Get out of the way! I'll handle this!"

Just then, the staff of the Sindora Group discovered that the computers in the control room were no longer operational.

Meanwhile, things aren't quite right on the cocoon side either.

Seeing this, Dr. Agasa volunteered to step forward and displayed the speed of a top-notch programmer, but the situation did not improve much...

Humans, I am Noah's Ark. The game cannot be stopped. I am now in control of the "Cocoon"!

At this moment, the sound of "Noah's Ark" rang out throughout the entire venue, both in the conference hall and backstage.

Unlike James's electronic synthesized voice, it sounds like a young boy's voice.

This isn't due to a difference in technical capabilities, but rather because Yangtze River has always avoided making James appear too human-like in order to protect him.

I will reopen the Eastern Island Nation!

The "Noah's Ark" phrase sounds rather childish, and what makes Shiraishi even more uneasy is...

Theoretically, this guy isn't "chuunibyou" yet; he's only ten years old, even younger than someone who's "chuunibyou"!

[Next, we will complete the next part of the game. There are five worlds to choose from. If even one child can complete a world, all the children can return. Conversely... if no one completes a world, all fifty-one players will die!]

"what's the situation?"

"It should just be a setting, right?"

"What's going on? This opening line is way too much!"

"Hey! I'm a representative of the Parents-Teachers Association. If you make jokes like that, I might not approve your application!"

Over at the venue, the parents were already in a state of chaos.

mainly……

Not only was the "Noah's Ark" story terrifying, but the staff on site also started to panic.

……

“Mr. Thomas, you should have a backup machine, right?” Shiraishi immediately asked Thomas Sindora.

For such an important occasion, it's impossible to bring exactly fifty units, right?

“That’s right, but… the backup machine can only be used by children under ten years old. Are you sure you want to let the child go in to help?” Thomas’s expression changed drastically, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

Although the Sindora Corporation is an American conglomerate, ...

Sending away fifty second- and third-generation descendants of the Eastern Island nation in one fell swoop was a burden he couldn't withstand.

I should have just given the spots to ordinary people!

The death of fifty ordinary children is something the Sindora Corporation can still manage to cover up...

“It’s okay! Get ready, my brain is young!” Shiraishi said directly.

"Huh? This isn't about whether your brain is young or not..." Thomas thought that Shiraishi was the kind of person who scored high on "brain age tests".

[If no one clears this level, I will release electromagnetic waves to destroy the brains of all of you, thus restarting the Eastern Island Nation!]

"Can this be considered a restart?" Yusaku Kudo couldn't help but question.

What you're doing is pure destruction...

The children of corrupt politicians will become such politicians; the children of doctors who take bribes will become such doctors. If we want our island nation to be better, we must sever this system of inheritance!

"Then why don't you go to the US and restart things?" Bai Shi thought to himself—isn't the situation the same in the US?
Because this is Hiroki's hometown, I wanted to start here.

"Noah's Ark" spoke with great sincerity, as if he genuinely believed that what he was doing was right, and that he was first "benefiting" the eastern island nation.

"Stop messing around! Do you have the right to play with human lives?" Mori snapped angrily.

[Theoretically, no, but through these two years of study, I've come to understand that manipulating the lives of our own kind is an essential human tactic.]

"Noah's Ark" says something that leaves one speechless.

"President Sindora, please prepare immediately!" Shiraishi insisted.

Seeing that Shiraishi was so enthusiastic, and since there was no other way, Thomas did as he was told.

……

Meanwhile, in the venue, some parents tried to rush forward to open the "cocoon," but were forced back by the electric current...

Clearly, the "Noah's Ark" has gained control over the equipment beyond its original functions!
In this way, the idea of ​​destroying everyone's brains would seem less like a joke, and people would be even less willing to use the power outage as a form of emergency rescue, for fear that the other party would use the last bit of electricity to electrocute them.

Just then, the staff hurriedly brought out a backup machine...

"Why even bring out something that's harmful?"

"Wait... We only need one person to complete the game... Quick! Find a gaming expert!"

"It's no use, this requires someone under ten years old..."

"Damn it! Does Dongdu not have a ten-year-old gaming prodigy? Bring him here right now!"

……

creak-

Just as some of the guys were making a complete fool of themselves, the meeting room doors opened, and a tall figure walked into the dimly lit room against the light...

"Director Mi-Mi ...

"It's Chief Mikasa!"

"Chief Mika, please think of a solution..."

"What use is Director Mikasa? Shiraishi isn't even ten years old!"

"Look, he's gone..."

Although most of the N generations trapped there disliked Shiraishi, they were filled with anticipation when they saw "Chief Beika" stride confidently to "Cocoon," open the hatch, and lie down... sit down.

Shiraishi's size made it impossible for her to lie down inside; she could only squeeze in, then hug her legs while someone outside pressed the lid down...

Meanwhile, the brainwave coil was being painstakingly fastened to the head, and it was already slightly deformed.

Fortunately... it's usable for now!

"Turn it on!" Bai Shi waved his hand and said.

“Officer Shiraishi, this… it really is only for children under ten. If adults use it…” the staff member said with concern.

“It’s okay, I’m young!” Shiraishi said, giving a thumbs up.

Seeing this, the staff nervously turned on the device. Immediately, Shiraishi twitched, but after a moment of stalemate, the "connection successful" indicator light flashed!
Shiraishi isn't afraid that if today's events get out, the "Black Organization" will overthink it—after all, "Shiraishi's brain is younger" is much easier to understand than "he's gotten smaller, but I've gotten bigger."

What Shiraishi was more worried about was whether his body would revert to that of an eight-year-old after connecting to this thing...

Not to mention that Bai Shi can't lie down in there right now, and it's all under the watchful eyes of everyone. Even if he could lie down, Bai Shi wouldn't feel comfortable being discovered by the people from the Sindora Group!
So before entering, Shiraishi pushed his physical indicators to the limit to ensure that even if he was unconscious for eight hours, he wouldn't "fall out of shape"—which is why Shiraishi's expression was distorted at the end. When it comes to using the equipment, Shiraishi is just like an eight-year-old child.

To be precise, Shiraishi is currently an eight-year-old child...

……

In the world of the "Cocoon," fifty children, plus Ran, are all here—Sonoko had given the opportunity to Ran because she saw that Ran was worried about Conan.

Here, they also heard the voice of "Noah's Ark" from before.

Many children were so frightened by the "Noah's Ark" image that they burst into tears.

But just then...

In the midst of nothingness, a beam of light appeared, the light seeming to be 3D printing something...

The next moment, a “huge” figure descended in front of the children—compared to Shiraishi’s usual appearance, he wasn’t that huge, but… at 1.9 meters tall, an eight-year-old child was already “huge” enough among a group of ordinary children!
"What's going on? We haven't even chosen a world yet, how come a boss has already spawned?"

"Where are the weapons? Don't you have any weapons?"

"Wait...it seems like..."

Only Conan, in a daze, recognized Shiraishi!
"Don't be afraid, children, it's me!"

The already tall figure now appeared even larger...

It was precisely because Shiraishi was able to control his body to grow larger within this space of consciousness that he was able to simulate it so perfectly. In fact, Shiraishi's clothes were initially larger than usual, just like the ones he wore outside, but now they were finally normal.

Children: ...

[Another person joined midway through.] Noah's Ark's voice rang out.

"Haha, I can get in without breaking the rules, right?" Shiraishi asked matter-of-factly.

Indeed, in the scans of "Noah's Ark"...

This kid is definitely eight years old!

Just like he didn't notice anything unusual about Conan.

"You meet the requirements to enter, but... you are not one of the original fifty slot holders, so I will increase the difficulty for you!" Noah's Ark said flexibly.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi frowned—this AI is really not easy to fool!

The other children can still succeed by playing any one of the games, but you... must complete all five worlds to be considered successful!

While announcing the new rules internally, Noah's Ark also made this statement to the public, which made other guys who were eager to use the backup machines to bring in more people all back down.

However, while everyone was angrily condemning "Noah's Ark" for violating the rules, they also secretly breathed a sigh of relief—it seems... at least "Director Mikasa" has really gone in!
Although the "Noah's Ark" challenge has increased the difficulty, all we can do now is hope that "Director Mika" can pass all five levels.

……

At this moment, the five game worlds of "Cocoon" were presented to the fifty-two people who had entered the game.

The first world is the Pirate World. After entering, players will become pirates, roaming the seven seas, and only by obtaining the treasures of the seven seas can they complete the game.

Judging from the demonstration footage, this should be pirates from before the 14th century—naval battles relied on ramming, and victory or defeat depended on boarding; it required real fighting!

The second world is the Arena World. After entering, players will become gladiators and fight against other warriors and beast NPCs. The condition for winning is to win every battle and become the king of the arena.

Judging from the demo footage, in addition to combat, there are also elements of material collection and equipment forging, but... the main focus is still on combat!
The third world – The Great Treasure World – sees players become treasure hunters, searching for legendary treasure locations, with the winning condition being to obtain the ultimate treasure.

Judging from the demonstration footage, the enemies include "comrades" as well as various traps within the treasure.

After exploring the worlds, Shiraishi felt that the first two worlds were just a matter of time for him, while the third world was a bit more challenging.

The fourth world gave Bai Shi a bit of a headache—the Off-Road Racing World. As the name suggests, the protagonist is a driver who drives an off-road vehicle and races against other players and NPCs. The winning condition is, of course, to become the final off-road racing champion.

However, during the demonstration, Shiraishi also discovered that in addition to driving skills, it also included vehicle modification and even... wilderness survival elements. This "off-roading" really involved driving across uninhabited areas!

The issue is……

Driving, car modification, wilderness survival... these are not Shiraishi's strengths!
Or rather, compared to the average person, he's not bad, but Shiraishi has no confidence whatsoever in achieving final victory.

Finally, there is the fifth world, which on the surface seems to have the least effect of "force"—the Sinful Fog City.

Set in 19th-century London, the main plot revolves around solving the case of "Jack the Ripper".

Since it's about solving a case, brains are obviously very important.

Of course, force cannot be said to be useless, after all, this was the 19th century, and who knows what the security situation was like. However, force is definitely a supplementary role compared to intelligence.

After all, this is a game for which Yusaku Kudo was nominally the scriptwriter...

If what you find inside is urban parkour and chasing Jack the Ripper, then Shiraishi can only say that Yusaku Kudo is just making things up after being paid to do so!
but……

Now there's the first question!
"Noah's Ark, are you sure these games in these worlds will end today?" Bai Shi looked at the three worlds—Pirates, Gladiator Arena, and No Man's Land Off-Road Race—and felt that at least these three should be long-term games!
"In the game world, your consciousness will accelerate; eight hours in the real world is enough for you to complete five games," Noah's Ark replied.

Upon hearing Noah's Ark's answer, Shiroshi breathed a sigh of relief—if it really took dozens of hours, Shiroshi definitely wouldn't have been able to endure it!

Even if the "cocoon" has the function of injecting nutrient solution, Shiraishi could not maintain his body for so long.

"There's another question, are these multiplayer games?" Shiraishi asked to confirm.

[You can choose to enter the Pirate World and the One Piece World in a team. In the Foggy City World, everyone will enter the same world together. In the Arena and Off-Road Race, players are independent of each other, but any child who enters with you will not be counted as an individual player!]

Noah's Ark will answer truthfully regarding its functions, but the rules are still very much against Shiro – even in worlds where you can team up, you can't rely on Shiro to "carry" you through.

After nodding, Shiraishi said, "In that case... wait for me here!"

Shiraishi plans to first complete the "Arena" and "Pirate World" levels, which he is most confident in...

As for the world of One Piece, considering the challenges of solving the mechanisms involved, Shiroshi isn't entirely confident—unlike the arena and the pirate world.

However, if you go in as a team, with some kids helping you scout ahead, the chances of success will be much higher. As for what comes after that, you can only take it one step at a time...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: Today is November 11th, which used to be "Singles' Day," but later it became a sales day. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)