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

Chapter 205 Vermouth, your suffering is over... or has only just begun.

In fact, the moment Vermouth uttered those words, Lin Sheng made an attempt to rewind that day.

Then Lin Sheng discovered that time had only rewound by ten seconds.

—The worst has already happened.

[Shinichi Kudo] Hearing what Vermouth just shouted, a new case is about to begin.

After realizing that what had happened was irreversible.

The second thing Lin Sheng did was adjust the flow rate of time balance in some levels of the alliance's [cycle].

Then, he pulled the time flow in the executive meeting hall to the point where one second equals one day in reality, and at the same time directly transferred the consciousness of all the councilors and some research directors into the dream he had constructed using red magic.

"I have found the reason why the backtracking failed."

Standing in the void of the dream, with a hint of weariness in his voice, Bai Zichen tightly gripped the copy of his future research results that ZC-01 had just handed him and reported his findings to everyone.

"The two timelines joined forces and then set a trap for us."

"They created a non-ritual, non-cyclical case so that Conan could simply drag out time."

"Logically speaking, the story timeline shouldn't allow such a thing to happen, because it would mean that in this case, reality and timeline each have roughly equal dominance."

"But at present, because they are aware that we are retracing their steps, they are suppressing each other out of their instinct for self-preservation."

With his eyes closed, Bai Zichen projected the spacetime structure that he knew by heart into every corner of his dream.

Thus, that special spacetime structure emerged in everyone's rituals.

This is a "case time-space structure" similar to "loop".

Immediately afterwards, Bai Zichen marked out the twisted and eerie parts of the structure—

The spatiotemporal structure of this case is neither part of the "cycle" nor part of the ritual.

"Logically speaking, the ritual is also a core extension of [Shinichi Kudo's] power. It's impossible for the two timelines to throw a case at Conan out of thin air without triggering the [loop].

"But they did it, and the key lies in the elements that constitute this case."

Bai Zichen paused, his tone sounding somewhat bitter.

“Vermouth—she played the role of a ‘reporter’ in this matter, and this happened right outside the office.”

"In this way, the prerequisites for this 'case' were quietly fulfilled."

His voice gradually rose in pitch, and everyone could hear a hint of irritation in it.
"Not to mention the people involved in this case now—almost every one of them is connected to the 'detective'!"

Almost everyone frowned in unison, realizing just how difficult the situation the league was now facing.

Just like the confidence the executives had in this plan before.

No matter how flawless the plan was initially, it was completely undermined after being turned against it by the dual timelines—

The consequences are dire.

The "case" took place at the Mori Detective Agency.

The characters involved include Professor Agasa, Kogoro Mouri, Conan, Heiji Hattori, etc.

None of them are not important in the story's timeline.

And what are the specific things these people are involved in?

Requests related to Akemi Miyano, and matters related to pointers.

Even now, perhaps we should also add Heiji Hattori's GSSRA and Vermouth's Black Organization, who may also join in later...

"Moreover, the most critical issues do not stop there."

Bai Zichen's voice turned somber, and he continued to put pressure on everyone present, including himself.

His words weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a weight.

"We have no idea what will happen if we let Conan Edogawa and Kogoro Mouri and the others meet up."

"The spatiotemporal structure of this case is the first time the Alliance has encountered it."

"Based on current intelligence, its chronological order may—no, it is highly likely—follow perfectly normal logic."

In other words, this is likely a case that proceeds in a truly methodical and conventional manner.

There are no jumps, no loops, no twists, just a straight line—every moment could be a save point.

"This means that any moment could be a save point, and the situation could even get worse—"

Bai Zichen projected the current intersecting structure of the two timelines.

Everyone could see that the two timelines were almost touching, and in some places they even seemed to overlap slightly.

"The worst-case scenario is that the two timelines are likely to cooperate and divide tasks among themselves."

"For example, the [real-world timeline] specifically saves the moment when the alliance is at a disadvantage, keeping us firmly in a disadvantageous position."

"But what if the alliance gains the upper hand? The [real timeline] might take the initiative to back down, allowing the [story timeline] to jump out and forcefully intervene with that damned 'story logic' to turn the tide."

Bai Zichen's words silenced everyone.

After a moment's thought, Shigenobu Hitomi raised her head, looked at Bai Zichen, and said firmly, "We need to confirm the specific extent that this dual timeline can achieve. We must do it now—"

"Tongzi, the alliance can't do this."

Lin Sheng quickly interrupted Shigenobu Hitomi, making it clear that it wouldn't work for her and others who shared the same idea.

"Trying to find loopholes in this non-ritual, non-cyclical case structure will only put us in a more passive position."

"The alliance will once again be caught in a game of endless mutual prediction between the two timelines."

"Moreover, it is unrealistic to expect to make an accurate prediction based on just a dozen seconds. The alliance does not have the capability to obtain a definite result within ten seconds."

He then showed the executive members the future he had envisioned based on the direction suggested by Hitomi Shigenobu—

"There are too many reasonable possibilities; the factors given in ten seconds are too small."

Lin Sheng sighed and continued, "But this is the limit of what I can go back in time right now."

In that void, the pale sun, which truly envelops the dual timelines, eternally radiates its light.

But whenever Shinichi Kudo's brilliance is about to push the timeline forward, the One String CYZ effect cleverly "wanders" around that point in time, gently "pushing away" those brilliances that try to participate.

"It's not worth pushing the backtracking node further back."

"Because Conan is too close to the core events of the flashback, both in terms of time and space."

Lin Sheng paused, then gave everyone a detailed figure: "Going back ten seconds now will require consuming my One String CYZ Effect."

Shigenobu Hitomi immediately thought of stopping Vermouth before she could say those words.

"What if we use all the redundancy..."

Lin Sheng shook his head.

"The key is that [Shinichi Kudo] has already realized this."

"For Him, this case 'already' happened."

"That's why the story timeline, even if it meant Vermouth doing something completely out of character for a 'secretary,' still required her to shout that line out."

"The key is not whether she can hide her identity, but whether she can make Conan, or rather the pale sun that represents [Shinichi Kudo], realize that the 'case' has occurred."

"Even if we could really turn back time to midnight today, it would still be of no use."

Lin Sheng's deep voice echoed in the space.

He punctured the idea in the minds of some people present that they were still trying to use "backtracking" or trying to use "backtracking" to solve problems.

"The theft of Masami Hirota's body has become an 'absolute time point' that Shinichi Kudo acknowledges."

"After all this is done, neither the dual timelines nor even the universe itself can change this."

Lin Sheng's words prompted the executive team to quickly change their thinking: since they couldn't change the past...

So what about the future?
One member of parliament immediately recalled the entire Valentine's Day murder case.

On that occasion, the alliance successfully misled Shinichi Kudo into believing it was a "false alarm" by gradually demoting him.

He then suggested another approach to Lin Sheng: "Could the alliance try to turn this into a false alarm?"

“We can try to lead GSSRA to believe that Akemi Miyano’s body was not stolen, and we can even try to use this opportunity to expose Vermouth.”

Lin Sheng glanced at the proposed future predictions—

The future in that direction is too chaotic; the three parties are very likely to end up fighting each other.

There are already enough variables in the current plan; the key is to reduce those variables.

"This means the alliance will have to abandon all the advantages it has built up over the past two days and start from scratch, and the two timelines have realized that we have the ability to go back to them."

Again--

The most fundamental problem now is that in ten seconds, the league may not be able to rewind the timeline.

This endless game of mutual anticipation will ultimately only delay the alliance's most precious time.

"We cannot allow a situation to arise where two timelines begin to play 'hide-and-seek' with us."

However, among those hundreds of millions of simulated timelines, one particular plan related to Vermouth caught Lin Sheng's attention.

Lin Sheng immediately issued instructions to all members who were trapped in this dream.

He needs to leverage the executive level's thinking on this direction to see more of the future related to this idea. "Just as we thought we had them figured out in the past, the dual timelines also think they have us figured out now—if we perform the same way they predicted."

"I now need you to draft a plan based on the original alliance plan."

"The new plan must be developed exactly as originally planned, but it will allow the alliance to achieve the original outcome."

Giving the alliance ten seconds was the biggest mistake made by the dual timeline.

However, rather than saying it's a mistake in the story timeline, it's more accurate to say that this is the best result it could achieve.

In a war of timelines, ten seconds means almost infinite time.

These ten seconds represent ten days in the Alliance's [Loop], and even longer in the dream.

And so, the instant Vermouth's shout, "Hirota Masami's body has been stolen!" reached Conan's ears, carried by the wind, as he ran to the street corner—

In an instant, it became eternity.

At this moment, all futures converge in this instant, and all destinies are fixed in these insignificant yet incredibly important ten seconds.

It only takes Conan ten seconds to run from the street corner to the building where Mouri's office is located.

As he rushed toward the firm without hesitation, his hurried steps silently began to steer his fate back onto the right track, step by step.

In those ten seconds, with the alliance's promise, inner anger, and that indescribable resolve—

Vermouth readily joined the league.

……

For Vermouth, the last text message she received expired at 0:0 this morning.

"He ran out of the car at 13:33 p.m."

"Thirty seconds later, a child will appear at the street corner, and at that moment, Vermouth will shout, 'Hirota Masami's body has been stolen...'"

The task assigned by the Boss today finally made Vermouth realize the truth.

Although she didn't want to believe it, the fact was there.

Time has reversed, and it's possible that it has already reversed many times.

This time, the story timeline also couldn't be explained in a reasonable way, because the task sent by the Boss was completely illogical.

Those tasks follow a different, inhuman logic.

A logic based on the ability to foresee the future and the perspective of life along a timeline.

The fact that time had reversed directly shattered Vermouth's psychological defenses.

—I no longer need to silently recite any secret words in my mind, or give myself any hints.

In the torrent of time, the struggle of ants is meaningless.

"We are both God and the devil."

"Because we want to reverse the flow of time and bring the dead back to life."

Suddenly, Vermouth remembered these two sentences, as if they had emerged from the distant past or future.

At that moment, Vermouth completely surrendered to this insurmountable despair.

[Story Timeline] Of course, I'm very satisfied with Vermouth's performance.

Just as it appears.

From the moment she received her mission that morning, Vermouth almost entirely allowed her firmly established "second personality" to act on her behalf.

Just like now, Vermouth has successfully completed the last task the Boss gave her.

After she uttered that command, Vermouth stood there, calmly awaiting her end.

A final outcome she knew all too well, one that was about to be reset.

However, what happened next stunned her.

Vermouth reached out almost in astonishment, touched her cheek, and the next second, as if she could no longer support herself, she took a step back and leaned against the car door.

There was no memory loss, and I didn't wake up to find myself back in that familiar room...

Nothing happened.

Vermouth will have two timelines, which is the biggest flaw in the [story timeline].

"[Story Timeline] Today's actions have truly made Vermouth a person recognized by both timelines, someone who knows that there is a problem with the timeline."

Bai Zichen pointed out the biggest problem revealed by the dual timelines in this counterattack against the alliance.

"And in ten seconds, as the timeline begins to flow, Conan will admit to all of this, because Vermouth is the one who constitutes the 'absolute timeline'—"

"This fact is unshakable and unchangeable."

This is where Ms. Miyano excels. She added, "Currently, after so many resets, Vermouth's 'persona' can be said to be completely separated from her inner self, making her a natural timeline mask."

Ms. Miyano smiled. "I know very well how to get her transferred to our side."

A picture flashed into her mind—

It was at the end of the second pointer case, when she was about to disappear, that the Alliance offered her and Miyano Akemi redemption and hope.

“I have met Vermouth once.”

Ms. Miyano pointed out that, whether in the past, future, or present, Vermouth's character design already contains one fact:
"Doesn't her 'persona' also include a grateful side?"

"Shinichi Kudo saved her life in the past, and she betrayed the organization for it."

A flash of hatred crossed Ms. Miyano's eyes.

"Besides, the [story timeline] is nothing but endless torment for her. She's giving up now only because she sees no hope. As long as we contact her, she'll cling to it."

So, after a long discussion and an in-depth analysis of Vermouth's "persona" and her own character—

The league decided to extend a helping hand to Vermouth.

The alliance will give this person, who unknowingly committed the most heinous sin, a chance to atone for her sins, and at the same time, a chance to redeem her.

Those ten seconds were then rewound thirty-two times.

In the thirty-third instance, with the blessing of the Red Magic, and thanks to the constancy of the CYZ effect, flashbacks occurred in the past thirty-two rewinds.

Vermouth felt as if she were hallucinating, as if her consciousness had detached from her body and transformed into a ray of light that traveled through nothingness.

Then she heard a voice, seemingly coming from the depths of a distant time and space—

No, not just one sound, but thirty-three sounds within those ten seconds, in the first second, the second second...

Every second, every moment within ten seconds, resounded one by one.

Those voices were magnificent and sacred, as if they had pierced through the river of time and reached her soul.

"Vermouth, you are guilty..."

The first sound echoed in her ears like the tolling of a judgment bell—

Those angry rebukes filled Vermouth with endless guilt and remorse.

"Vermouth, the Alliance and humanity need you..."

The second voice, piercing through the dimensions of space and time, was like an invisible hand gently lifting up the burden of guilt she carried—

Its gentle yet powerful nature stirred within Vermouth a surge of unprecedented impulse and sense of responsibility.

"Vermouth, your suffering is over..."

The third voice carried a kind of sacred, liberating declaration.

The alliance's promise loosened the heavy shackles hanging over her head, almost making the despair in her heart caused by this endless cycle of hell vanish.

Then came the fourth, the fifth...

Until the very last sound rang out.

"Vermouth, your salvation lies in..."

The last sentence caused a slight tremor in that withered, desperate heart.

Immediately afterwards, these thirty-three sentences vaguely connected to form a complete message, and the sacred, overlapping voices made Vermouth unable to help but immerse herself in that holy radiance.

That indescribable force, that glimmer of hope, pulled her out of the darkness.

As for Conan, he rushed anxiously to the police station, and then he saw—

Strangely, the woman suddenly looked up at the sky, as if trying to suppress some emotion and prevent it from erupting.

But now was not the time to think about that, and he immediately put the strange feeling out of his mind.

"Sister! If you want to explain the specific reasons for the request, it would be better to go upstairs and talk to Uncle Mori!"

"He's a very famous detective!"

Conan's words forced Vermouth to immediately return to normal, and she now had to try to make both timelines believe that "this is still part of the Alliance plan."

Although my suffering will not end immediately.

But Vermouth knew that she had found a way to take control of her own destiny.

(End of this chapter)