The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 127 Which Pointer Is It? (Three-in-one, more in the afternoon)
In the quiet and luxurious VIP carriage, the originally warm and pleasant atmosphere was slightly disturbed by the advance letter sent by Kidd.

Except for Conan and Xiaolan who was staring at Conan.

Suzuki Jirokichi, who was a little nervous, gathered with everyone around the safe placed in the middle of the carriage.

Everyone watched as the butler began to enter those complex passwords and operations to open and verify
Ignoring everyone who was surrounding the safe, Conan took the opportunity to run to the table where the notice letter was placed.

"When the boundaries of science cut through time..."

Standing on tiptoe, when Conan saw the first few words in the first sentence, his eyes were immediately fixed on them.

"The boundaries of science..."

The boundaries of science!

His pupils suddenly shrank, and at that moment, Conan's heartbeat almost stopped. At this moment, only those four words remained in his mind.

Immediately afterwards, this shocking discovery made Conan realize the truth about the thief -

That Kaito Kidd is actually a member of that organization!

In this way, the strange behavior of Kaito Kidd, who always steals gems or collections but chooses to return the stolen things in the end, can be explained!

Because he didn't care about the value of those gems at all, or rather, the task he received was to help the organization called "Science Frontiers" find the pointer!

Even stealing a gem and returning it would bring great fame to the gem's owner.

As a result, many collectors who were originally reluctant to take out their treasured gems will try to prove that their gems are worthy of Kidd's attention.

This greatly speeds up the pointer search process!
Then Xiaolan, who was standing by, saw Conan take a deep breath when he saw the notice letter for the first time. She walked over with some curiosity.

"Conan? Did you find anything?"

"Ah!" Conan was startled by Ran Mouri who suddenly approached from behind.

"I don't have anything. I mean, Xiaolan, can you come with me to look at Kidd's notice? Maybe you can figure it out right away, Xiaolan!"

Suppressing his inner shock, Conan picked up the notice letter and handed it to Mao Li Ran. He began to use "cuteness" to get away with it.

"After all, there are some words I don't recognize! Can Sister Xiaolan read it to me? I really want to solve the riddle, so I can take away the prize that uncle mentioned!"

Mao Lilan looked at the child in front of her with a suspicious look, but she didn't say anything now. She just took the card that Conan handed to her and read softly:

"When the boundaries of science cut through time,
A second shadowless knight will show the way.

I will take the decision of fate,
In the seventh step, reality and illusion intersect.

——There is no need for judgment, the answer has already been engraved on the compass of lies."

Looking at the notice in her hand, Xiaolan shook her head slightly. For some reason, since Shinichi disappeared, she suddenly became less averse to reasoning.

After all, if Shinichi could come back, it wouldn't matter if he was still the Sherlock Holmes-obsessed mystery enthusiast...

"Well, since Kidd wants to steal the Twilight Wedge," Mao Lilan thought for a moment, "then it is obvious that this information should be referring to the time, place, and behavior he chooses!"

"For example, the number two should be related to time, and the number seven to place?"

Seeing Conan making the same thinking posture as Shinichi, Mao Lilan asked Conan softly.

"Conan, do you think I'm right? Conan?"

Conan answered subconsciously to the reasoning given by Mao Lilan.

"I was wondering, if the seventh step refers to carriage number seven, then what does the decision of fate refer to?"

For Conan, the puzzle in his mind has reached the point where only two phrases remain unsolved -

The boundaries of science cut through time. If it is indeed talking about time, then it means that Kidd should have taken action at dusk. In this way, the reference to the "Shadowless Knight" in the second sentence should be very clear.

"Shadowless" refers to the time Kidd decided to take action, which is not a specific time, but a range. So according to the "dusk" introduced in the first sentence -

Conan's mind flashed to the auction schedule that he had glanced at in the rest car before.

Then the first two sentences should refer to "I will act halfway through the second auction."

Then, Gin and Vodka's words were added to the reasoning process in my mind.

"Judging from the actions of the two black organizations, the number two is a two-way reference, also referring to the second auction carriage, which is carriage three. In this case, the seventh step should refer to the seventh item in the second auction that was 'guided forward.'"

"That's the compass called 'The Sea Girl's Pursuit'."

No! That's not the case!

Immediately afterwards, Conan, who had found out the "truth", immediately ruled out this option in his mind, and his eyes instantly became sharp.

But this is actually a misleading option!

If the compass was really a "pointer", Kidd wouldn't have needed to add any extra information, and it would be too easy to solve.

Moreover, whether it is the "decision of fate" or the "moment when truth and illusion intersect", it has nothing to do with that compass.

And that last sentence—

There is no need for judgment, the answer has already been engraved on the compass of lies.

It was this sentence that made Conan completely overturn his own line of reasoning, which actually clashed with Gin and Vodka.

To interpret the notice letter directly in this order is a complete lie! It can only lead to the "compass of lies"!
If the two members of the Black Organization identified the wrong target because of the false information released by "Science Frontier", then it would make sense why they targeted the compass.

The organization "Science Frontiers" had long anticipated or discovered that there were other people competing with them for pointers, so they deliberately misled others with half-true and half-false information.

When Conan came to his senses, he found that he was no longer alone facing the notice.

Except for the fact that Xiaolan was very abnormal, when Conan just raised the question about the "decision of fate", she ran to the waiter next to her and asked for a PDA that recorded all the information of the auction items, as if she was searching for something.

Suzuki Sonoko, Suzuki Jirokichi, Mori Kogoro, the waiter who adjusted his bow tie and brooch, and even the butler who was trying to open the safe all turned their eyes to him.

Obviously they were all waiting for Kudo Shinichi to make inferences for their own conclusions.

This made Conan immediately realize that his performance was a little outstanding.

He put one hand behind his head and touched the back of his head, his eyes wandering around, and then he gave an awkward but polite smile.

The tone that was extremely serious just now immediately became innocent and relaxed.

"Ah, haha! After all, didn't Kaito Kidd say he would take away the decision of fate in the seventh step? From this point of view, it's obvious that seven should refer to the seven carriages!"

"Well, if Kidd wants to steal the treasure from carriage number seven."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were still on Conan, Xiaolan suddenly spoke, not knowing whether it was intentional or not. She had already found out the information Conan wanted to know, and coincidentally used this information to help Conan out of trouble.

"Well, there's a result. If Kidd wanted to steal the treasure from carriage number seven..."

She placed her index finger lightly against her lips, appearing a little hesitant.

However, as Xiaolan's gaze paused on Conan for a moment and she paused slightly, she finally showed the information she had found to everyone and Conan as a hint.

"Perhaps it's the clock called 'Guide of Destiny.' Perhaps associating a clock with fate is a bad omen. This is the only item in carriage number seven that's related to the word 'destiny.'"

The waiter on the side immediately switched to the screen in the car to display the collection that Xiaolan mentioned.

The picture that appears in front of everyone is a frameless clock, or rather, it is more like a small statue of the goddess of fate.

With that solemn and quiet posture and expression, the goddess of fate stretched out her hands forward——

A jeweled hour hand, only about half the width of a watch dial, lies quietly in the palm of your hand.

"So it seems that what Kidd wants to steal is this jeweled pointer?"

This was Sonoko's voice, and she was very excited about how quickly she had solved Kidd-sama's riddle.

"So should we get the clock now..."

"How is that possible! Kidd... Kidd definitely didn't want to steal that shabby clock!"

Suzuki Jirokichi's angry voice interrupted Conan's thoughts. The old man who spent a lot of money to borrow the "Twilight Wedge" did not believe that Kidd came just for a small "gem pointer".

"Kid must have come here for this gem in my hand! Didn't you just say you didn't know what it meant? Let me tell you!"

Suzuki Jirokichi looked at Conan and everyone around him who were questioning Kidd's goal. He could not tolerate anyone questioning whether Kidd's purpose of this trip was not for the gem in his hand.

"That so-called decision of fate! And that interweaving of truth and illusion! It refers to the gem called the Dusk Wedge! Because this gem is the one that truly decided the fate of an entire nation!"

"Have you ever truly...determined fate?"

"A gem that truly decided the fate of a nation?!"

"..."

Everyone in the carriage exclaimed in surprise. Although they didn't know what "determining the fate of a country" meant, the description alone was enough to show its value.

"Hehe, let me explain it to you."

Obviously, Suzuki Jirokichi was very satisfied with the performance of others, which was the biggest reason why he spent such a huge price to borrow this gem.

The front page of the news!
In the eyes of the old man, every word in this letter of warning can be said to indicate Kidd's determination to steal the gem in his hands.

"The first sentence means dusk, referring to this 'Dusk Wedge'. The meaning of the second sentence is also very simple."

Thinking that he was finally the first one to decipher Kidd's notice letter, Suzuki Jirokichi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"The so-called 'Shadowless Knight' means that the thing he wants to steal is in carriage number two." "But, carriage number two is not..." Kogoro Mouri's voice sounded with some doubt.

"Uncle!" Suzuki Sonoko took a look at the sword that she had hung on the wall of the carriage with a sword bag. She couldn't help but sigh and reminded her uncle.

"The items being auctioned in carriage number two are all swords!"

"And Kidd has never stolen anything other than gem-related before!"

"No, Uncle Jirokichi didn't mean carriage number two."

Conan immediately understood what Suzuki Jirokichi meant, "Uncle means that carriage number two actually refers to carriage number one, which is the VIP room."

"Oh?" Suzuki Jirokichi was a little surprised that this clever child immediately understood what he wanted to say.

He nodded approvingly: "That's right!"

"The so-called 'shadowless' means that the carriage numbers are not based on the visible signs—"

"In other words, we are asked to view the locomotive's engine as a piece of unnumbered equipment."

Kogoro Maori finally reacted and lowered his head in thought.

"In this way, the VIP room in carriage one will actually become carriage two."

"So the sentence 'I will take the decision of fate in the seventh step' means -"

Jirokichi took over Kogoro's words, "What this means is that he will steal the gem at 7 o'clock in the evening!"

Seeing everyone's eyes becoming suspicious again because of his somewhat "simple" inference, Suzuki Jirokichi couldn't help but snort coldly.

"If you still don't believe me... you'll definitely understand when you see the gems I show you next!"

He turned to look at the butler who had stopped entering the password, "Masahiko, open the box! Let them see the true appearance of this gem!"

Then, this gem that Suzuki Jirokichi called "the interweaving of truth and illusion" and "the decision of fate" was presented to everyone.

At first glance, Conan, or rather everyone's eyes, were attracted. It looked more like a palm-sized, frozen dusk than a gem.

The interwoven dark gold and amber formed an overlapping gradient, and that gradient of colors broke off at a certain level.

Just like the sky and the earth at dusk were cut apart by the distant horizon, in the very center of the gem, those interlaced crystal clusters of varying lengths formed a crack like the stars in the night sky, no, it was more like a Milky Way.

Even if it was just the soft white light from the carriage, after being dispersed by those crystal clusters, it would turn into the color of the sunset at dusk.

Even some overlapping "twilights" formed complex and beautiful patterns like a maze on the ceiling of the carriage.

Even Conan couldn't help but have an idea in his mind -

Maybe he didn't even need to reason about it. This thing could definitely be considered the most precious "pointer". If not, then he didn't know what would be.

Even Suzuki Jirokichi's voice seemed to become grand and distant because he was standing in front of this sacred wedge.

“Look at those lines!”

No matter how many times he has seen it, Jirokichi is always excited by the "miracle" that appears before him.

"This gem is truly a destiny-determining gem. It has saved the fate of nations many times by projecting prophecies at dusk!"

In the end, even the original sense of pride and elation in Jirokichi's tone was tinged with solemnity and dignity.

He couldn't help but sigh.

"Now you understand what 'fate' and 'the interweaving of truth and illusion' mean! They refer to this precious gem itself!"

Conan's expression became solemn, and he tried to take Uncle Jiroyoshi's answer into his mind and reason.

Something is still wrong, some details don't match.

Shaking his head vigorously to clear his mind of any inclination towards this answer, Conan always remembered the first rule of detectives -

Without real certainty and concrete evidence, one should not lean towards a certain answer based on one's inner inclinations.

Moreover, although Uncle Jiroyoshi's reasoning can explain the first four sentences even better than his own.

But the clearer the conclusions drawn from the first four sentences, the greater the suspicion revealed by the last sentence.

——There is no need for judgment, the answer has already been engraved on the compass of lies.

Moreover, the gem was so large that it would be impossible to get the "wedge" buried in the middle of the gem unless it was smashed.

However, Conan looked down at his chest and saw the pocket watch given to him by the doctor lying safely in his pocket.

He felt that the current situation should be very clear -

No matter which one the "pointer" refers to, the pointer should be chosen from the compass, clock and gem.

"In that case, I will use Uncle Mori's voice to tell you all my reasoning about Kid's goal so that Uncle Jiroyoshi can know."

After all, except Conan, no one else knows that the compass can also be one of the "pointers"!
Conan is confident that with impeccable reasons and a complete process of reasoning, he can convince Jirokichi to send all three possible "pointers" into the carriage for the sake of safety.

All you need to do is use the "sleeping detective" to state three possible inferences, and at the same time, let Kogoro Mouri use the last sentence that has not been solved to question Uncle Jirokichi's reasoning.

Then pick any other pointer to bet with Uncle Jirokichi.

Conan believed that this uncle, who wanted to prove that the gem was the answer, would be angry and put all three pointers in front of him, and let Kidd "steal" them to confirm his correctness.

and--

"It's a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. If those guys in black want to get the pointer, their mission will fail. Plus, when I catch Kidd, I can tell him there's a bomb in his car..."

Conan still remembers what Dr. Agasa told him! "Science Frontier" gained some trust from Conan because of Dr. Agasa's words.

At that time, all Kidd needs to do is "admit" that he installed a bomb on the train, and then there will be sufficient reason to stop the train!

Because the driver who just ran in actually repeatedly assured everyone that there was definitely no bomb in the car.

The train driver who ran out of the main control room solemnly assured Suzuki Jirokichi:
"All systems are normal! Whether it's the communication system or the electronic control system, everything is normal!"

"We found no abnormalities! There's nothing wrong with the train's operation. If we want to conduct a thorough inspection, we might need to stop at a station so more professional personnel can come. But even then, it would take several days to adjust the equipment. Adding everything else on this train, it's estimated to take a month..."

"But I can guarantee it! There won't be any bombs!"

And when Conan repeated what Gin said, "If the bombs were dispersed throughout every car on the train."

Suzuki Jirokichi interrupted Conan with his usual stubbornness and persistence.

"Now that it's confirmed that Kidd is on the train! Before Kidd shows up—"

"Absolutely! You absolutely cannot stop the train for inspection! Passing through three stations is already my bottom line! And you are not allowed to prolong the time the train stays on the platform!"

……

At this point, Conan can only place his hope on the thief who is a member of the "Frontiers of Science".

And now what he had to do was to disrupt Kidd's plan.

As I just mentioned, gather the three possible pointers together first, and it is even possible to secretly provide Kidd with opportunities.

——Conan still remembers Gin’s chilling words, “Look for the pointer in the ruins.”

According to what the two members of the Black Organization said, if they had to get off at Nagoya Station at the latest, the bomb would be set to explode after 6.30:.

After all, the first auction was about to begin, and after it ended, it would stop at Shin-Yokohama Station for ten minutes, heading to the second stop at 5.40:, and then arriving in Nagoya at dusk.

That means those two people will get off around 6.30:6.40 to :.

Conan looked up at the digital clock on the wall. It was now five o'clock and time was running out.

But what if…

What if his abnormal behavior caused Kaito Kid to postpone his crime, or if it made those two realize that their targets were also being targeted...

A drop of cold sweat ran down his forehead, and Conan quietly approached Mouri Kogoro's figure and stopped again.

When facing the lives of everyone on the train, Conan felt that his hands were shaking at this moment.

What should I do?
A figure squatted down beside Conan's slightly trembling body, and then a warm hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Conan? Why are you shaking? Do you want me to call the infirmary and have them send some medicine?"

Telephone! Electricity! That's right!

A flash of lightning flashed through Conan's mind, and Conan immediately grasped the most crucial information -

Conan immediately realized a mistake he had been making.

"One of them said that once the bomb was activated, the time of the explosion could not be changed! But he also said that unless there was a problem with the vehicle system, the bomb would definitely not detonate."

"That is to say, the bomb is connected to a certain system of the train. If it is to be detonated 'unconventionally', then it must be related to a certain system of the entire train!"

In other words, as long as I proactively find the system related to the bomb and disable it, those two people won't be able to threaten everyone with the bomb!
So the only system that can be used to time a vehicle passing through a station, can work independently, and is easily destroyed is...

Detective's daily quiz!

PS: Which one is the pointer?

PPS: Which system in a vehicle could be used as a bomb timing system?
(End of this chapter)