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

Chapter 210 Dark Clouds Loom Over the City, Threatening to Destroy It (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
For the league, the most crucial moment has finally arrived.

At the executive meeting, Hitomi Shigenobu laid out all the communication channels that might be used in the contingency plans in front of her—

"As for Professor Agasa, the door has received the mask's signal. To reduce the pressure on Ran Mouri, the professor has entered disguise mode."

"Autonomous camouflage mode, this feature will automatically activate based on changes in the surrounding RSI value."

"Judging from the current situation, Dr. Agasa will only have room to maneuver further after he separates from Ran Mouri."

Shigenobu Hitomi paused for a moment, then displayed the signal transmitted through the mask to everyone.

"This means that the doctor has decided to adopt option seventeen."

"That means he handed the initiative over to Ran Mouri."

One of the councilors' expressions turned somewhat grim. To be honest, there was a reason why this proposal was ranked so low.

"If anything unexpected happens, we'll need to intervene on Ran Mouri herself..."

Shigenobu Hitomi interrupted him, "The doctor is a true frontline combatant; we must trust his judgment."

"Moreover, the situation has already occurred, and now we need to consider whether we should continue with the original plan."

"The current situation makes it impossible for Ai Haibara to run directly to the doctor's house."

"This means that if Shiho Miyano shrinks as planned, she will have to stay alone until at least tomorrow, until midnight."

"And he also had to try to escape to Hoshimi Tower on his own, at least to the western outskirts of Beika Town."

There was a moment of silence; there were simply too many unexpected factors at play.

This is not as easy as it seems in a dream.

After all, it wasn't Shiho Miyano who had to persevere, but Ai Haibara, a child who had shrunk.

A voice suggested, "Or, we could have Yamazaki Whiskey follow the transfer process and have her transformation completed in an abandoned research institute on the western outskirts of Beika Town."

Almost immediately, dissenting voices from the Timeline Reconstruction Design Bureau, the Chronology Department, and the Narrative Department simultaneously emerged from the communication channel.

“No, Vermouth’s time to stall is limited. If she is transferred to the research institute, the effects of her disappearance will be activated, leading to unpredictable consequences.”

“We can’t do that,” the head of the Narrative Studies Department also strongly opposed.

"We must rely on the [real timeline] to help us withstand the pressure. The important thing is the perspective of the two timelines. We must rely on the [historical inertia] of 'Ai Haibara's successful escape'."

“In the original history, she did it alone. We cannot risk interfering and breaking this inertia, otherwise the two timelines might directly obtain her real-time location.”

The Timeline Reconstruction Design Bureau's presentation is simpler; the timeline simulation structure tangled in the air says it all.

"Although all the alcohol is trapped now, the storm must stop before Conan leaves the funeral home. Otherwise, when Conan actually 'makes contact' with GSSRA, he will immediately try to find out about Heiji's situation."

"The reality storyline has now also dealt with part of the case, and it will try to get the detectives focused on the essence of the case."

Shigenobu Hitomi turned on the channel of the CYZ Effect Research Institute: "How many strings do we still have in our CYZ effect redundancy today?"

"There are still 42 strings left."

"The backtracking used 17 strings, Vermouth's backtracking used 3 strings, the two Red Magic Dreams used a total of 6 strings, the actions of the Action Layer, as well as the cover-up and Professor Agasa's communication with Yamazaki, consumed 8 strings, and that cover-up device used 8 strings."

“We’ve left the Climate Generator 14 strings; that should be enough, unless the dual timelines discover our actions…”

Everyone understood the implication in his words.

If the alliance's actions are discovered in both timelines, then the second day will be just as disastrous as the first.

A direct confrontation with the two timelines requires Lin Sheng's intervention, which means the alliance must abandon the [Cycle] base, or at least a portion of it.

Only in this way can enough redundancy be "created".

Obviously, no one would use the "ace in the hole" strategy at the start.

"What about a direct assault? What if we disregard the costs and launch a full-scale assault the moment Shiho Miyano heads to the Kudo residence—"

"This way, the storyline will immediately realize that we are not on the same side as reality, and it means that in the time to come, we will really have to face the pressure of two timelines at the same time."

The same problem remains: if the alliance doesn't intervene, Ai Haibara can rely on "historical inertia" to avoid attention; but once they do intervene, the situation changes.

"Moreover, the key is to connect the two segments of historical inertia. Miyazaki should proceed according to the original plan."

Shigenobu Hitomi's expression was serious. She looked at the image on the display device and gave the order in a deep voice:

"Have the Institute of Abnormal Weather activate the climate generator. The redundancy of the 42 strings is to deal with possible accidents."

"Now, we need to proactively shift the background to the moment when Shiho Miyano goes to the Kudo residence."

……

wind.

Strong winds.

Or rather, a catastrophic scene, like the end of the world, suddenly descended.

Vodka stared nervously out the window, and almost instantly, he felt the sky darken as if it were approaching night.

His tone held a hint of unease: "Is it going to rain?"

Gin shared the same thought as Vodka, although he also found the change in weather somewhat strange.

However, rain is a natural cover, especially for evacuation operations, as all traces will quickly disappear into the rain.

But in reality, no raindrops fell. The sky seemed to be completely shrouded in a layer of leaden gray, and all that came was thicker and heavier dark clouds that seemed to be pressing down from above.

It was a raging wind, as if it wanted to tear the city apart.

Gin looked up at the sky, and a vague sense of déjà vu washed over him—

He seemed to see a prelude to death and destruction.

"Vodka, drive the car to a sheltered spot."

"But boss..."

A strange sense of anxiety welled up in Gin's heart, and a hint of unease flashed in his eyes.

"Idiot, hurry up! Think about our luck!"

Almost the instant their car drove away, a tearing gust of wind swept across their heads, carrying a large, loosely attached light board from a tall building crashing down—

It hit the spot where they had just parked their car.

Even when Vodka parked the car in a nearby alley, the angry gust of wind seemed to become even more violent and shrill as it rushed into the narrow alleyway.

Even the car was shaking slightly.

Flying papers, trash, and scattered debris kept hitting the front of the car, making dull thuds.

[Story Timeline] In the struggle to keep his two pieces from the clutches of reality.

Gin's face was terribly grim. He quickly sent his location to Vermouth, then his tone became unusually low:

“We’ll wait for her here, Vodka.”

He paused for a moment, then said, "Start the car, don't turn it off."

……

At the same time, the systems of all major meteorological agencies in Tokyo went into overdrive almost instantly.

The data was skyrocketing at an alarming rate; you didn't even need to look at any instruments—just open a window and you could see the dark clouds looming overhead.

The sky was almost like night; the newspapers, advertising banners, and even clothes hanging in the air all turned into black shadows that rolled helplessly in the sky.

The crowds on the street quickly dwindled from bustling to scattered.

Or rather, the crowd was being "herded" by the howling winds, screaming and scattering in all directions, fleeing into the nearest shopping mall or building.

GSSRA reacted relatively quickly; soon after, almost everyone in Tokyo received a warning on their cell phones, and the vibrations started almost simultaneously.

"An unusual cyclone! Warning! All citizens are urged to seek immediate shelter!"

Everyone in GSSRA sprang into action—

Several departments immediately began handling this matter.

On related news channels, a handful of reporters tried to stand firm in the strong winds to report the current situation to the public, and they were connected with "experts" from GSSRA.

They will explain to the public that this is just a temporary, accidental, and sudden situation.

This was just a "sudden climate anomaly," an "occasional atmospheric instability phenomenon"...

However, at this very moment, in this emergency meeting chaired by Yusaku Kudo, everyone present knew that this was not the case.

"It seems that this is some kind of weapon possessed by that black-clad organization..."

Kudo Yusaku's words silenced everyone.

“Manipulating the celestial phenomena…” a person murmured, trying to ask in a prayerful tone, “Is it possible that it was simply a natural phenomenon?”

In the footage, one of the Japanese representatives even stood up, his voice trembling:

"But...but Tokyo's territory...it covers a full 21 hectares!"

His voice had become stammering: "If, if it really was man-made—!"

Yusaku Kudo nodded somewhat heavily, his tone remaining remarkably calm even now:
"But based on my reasoning, this disaster will not last long, most likely only a few hours."

He looked up at his secretary standing to the side, who immediately understood and gently tapped the controller in her hand, displaying a video taken by a satellite.

The clouds over Tokyo are visibly thickening and becoming heavier.

Especially above Beika Town, the sky seemed to be sentient, drawing in the clouds from the surrounding skies of Tokyo and trying to become bloated and destructive.

The sky is no longer entirely part of nature; it now belongs partly to the League.

"Based on the information we have obtained, there must be some kind of constraint restricting the use of such equipment by either 'scientific frontiers' or the 'Black Organization'—"

"Without restrictions, our previous attacks on the 'frontiers of science' would not have been successful."

As soon as Yusaku Kudo finished speaking, the map on the screen zoomed in rapidly.

A near-perfect concentric circle of azure blue—clearly visible on the edge of Tokyo.

Everyone could see that it was as if someone had drawn a circle around the city of Tokyo, forming a concentric circle of azure blue amidst the originally continuous clouds and sky.

"This time also confirms this point."

Yusaku Kudo zoomed in on the unusually conspicuous "circle" on the screen—it looked like someone had drawn a circle in the Tokyo sky with a compass.

“It is by no means naturally formed, but we can see that its existence implies a kind of ‘artificially set boundary’.”

"These observations have been classified as top secret."

"We will explain it to the outside world in the future as a special heat island effect, or any reasonable reason."

"But here's the key point: according to joint calculations by meteorological departments, there is a limit to the amount of water vapor that can accumulate over Tokyo."

"This also means that this will be a storm that comes and goes quickly."

Yusaku Kudo paused, then posed the most important question: "So, the question is—why did the Black Organization choose to act now?"

His question brought a moment of silence to the meeting.

Finally, perhaps influenced by the [story timeline], someone raised a question:
"Why wasn't it 'Science Frontiers' that did it? Is it possible they wanted to use this opportunity to do something else?"

"They are a peace organization." As soon as these words were spoken, they seemed to carry the power of a silent covenant, and the several representatives in the video immediately nodded in agreement.

"Moreover, and most importantly, the detective team I dispatched has already discovered traces of the 'Black Organization's' operations."

"Just thirty minutes ago, a body was stolen from the Beika Town Funeral Home. Although they were unsuccessful, it is clear that it was an operation carried out by members of the Black Organization."

The moment when Gin and Vodka's optical invisibility cloaks failed inside the funeral home was captured by a hidden camera in the corner.

Then the video was presented to Yusaku Kudo by the [Real Timeline].

"This shows that the body of Masami Hirota that we obtained in the harbor was so important that they had to take action twice—even resorting to weather weapons—to retrieve the body."

Now, Yusaku Kudo's words are so convincing.

These words caused a small stir.

Several military representatives exchanged hushed conversations. Soon, an officer in charge of GSSRA security forces stood up and asked, "What use is this body?"

"What I mean is, are we missing something? Maybe there's some information on it that we haven't noticed?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say."

Yusaku Kudo nodded: "The key lies in what that so-called black organization wants to achieve, but no matter what, the fact that they were forced to use such methods shows that this matter is very important."

"I've already sent Heiji to investigate."

"But one thing is certain—the importance of this operation far exceeds any of our previous ones."

Four or five people in charge of different areas, who at this moment had a certain amount of operational power in Tokyo, immediately stood up.

"We'll immediately send people to the vicinity of the funeral home. If they still haven't succeeded, it means we've a good chance of capturing their people in this operation!"

With several communications established, the command post stationed near the funeral home immediately received the message amidst the raging storm.

"Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

A squad leader roared through the air: "Everyone on high alert! Report any unusual situation immediately! There is not a single second to relax now!"

……

There is no doubt that the impact of this storm is enormous.

Just like now, Ran Mouri is trapped in Professor Agasa's house.

"Xiao Lan, why don't you stay here for a while?"

Dr. Agasa sighed inwardly the moment he saw her.

Especially when he saw Ran Mouri try to talk to him several times, but then suddenly stop—that subtle struggle was all too familiar.

Whether out of emotion or reason, Professor Agasa knew he had to do something.

From a sentimental standpoint, Xiaolan had gone through so much to get to this point.

The moment he opened the door for her, he saw her hands trembling as she held the bag, and Dr. Agasa knew perfectly well that—

This child is truly afraid of forgetting again.

But she still came.

This is indeed an opportunity, but if I refuse it...

Professor Agasa couldn't bear to disappoint Ran, and even more so, he couldn't bear to let her be reset.

As for reason, Professor Agasa knew from the almost completely dark sky outside the window—

This is now arguably the most crucial stage of the plan.

As someone who had been almost "reset" in the past, he knew better than anyone that the two timelines now had to be evenly matched, or even hostile to each other.

Only when both sides are wary of each other and pulling each other along can the alliance quietly carry out its plans in the cracks.

We already have enough key battlefields; we absolutely cannot allow another one to be opened up on our side.

So he quietly touched his chin, especially a single hair in his white beard.

In the end, Dr. Agasa voluntarily fell into "sleep".

Almost immediately, Ran Mouri realized that the alarm bells in her heart had died down.

She had been fidgeting on the sofa in the living room when she saw Professor Agasa walk up to her with a smile and push a dessert he had brought in front of her.

"Xiao Lan, would you like some snacks?"

Looking at Professor Agasa, who seemed somewhat different from before, and with the warning that had vanished from her mind, Ran Mouri struggled to suppress the sudden surge of sadness within her.

She nodded vigorously. "Thank you, Doctor."

Then she lowered her head and began to eat her snack—at an extremely slow pace, even with a frown on her face.

At the same time, she looked at the three children in the living room who were trying to play with Conan's skateboard and control the drone made of wheels.

Ran's gaze quietly slid over the children, finally settling on Professor Agasa.

"Doctor, I'd like to come camping with you tomorrow."

Her voice was soft and slightly strained: "After all, I can help you take care of these little ones."

Professor Agasa scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "I hope this won't trouble you, Ran."

"It's alright, Doctor."

She forced a smile, "After all, Conan and Dad are both out working on cases, and I don't have anything planned for tomorrow."

Ran Mouri grasped the essence.

The sudden disappearance of the warning in her mind became the key to deducing the truth; she understood the hint that Professor Agasa had just given.

A sudden phone call in the morning, a skateboard left behind, a magnifying glass on the table, Shinichi's sudden departure, taking the kids camping...

Although she didn't know why this camping trip was so important, she had a vague determination in her heart—

Since Shinichi has been lured away, she must help the professor and Shinichi complete this task.

……

At the funeral home, the clash between the two timelines had reached an extremely terrifying level.

[Story Timeline] It has been confirmed that the Alliance and the present-day timeline have joined forces—

Otherwise, in the current "Hirota Masami corpse theft case," this completely inexplicable storm would never have happened.

However, it cannot abandon Gin and others under any circumstances; these are some of the most important cards in the [Cycle].

Thus, all GSSRA soldiers attempting to reach the funeral home suffered the most violent and terrible attack—the attack of a natural disaster.

The same applies to the [real-world timeline].

It could clearly perceive that the interference of the storyline was dramatically enhanced with the activation of the Alliance Climate Generator.

In fact, all of this is the result of the alliance's "historical inertia" in guiding the investigation of the "Shiho Miyano's visit to the Kudo residence".

But the [real-world timeline] is unaware of this; for it, what it "sees" is quite simple—

Vermouth, Gin, and Vodka are still near the funeral home. In fact, Vermouth is almost pulling Conan to the crime scene.

This is especially true given that it involves Akemi Miyano's body.

Yusaku Kudo's deductions have made it clear to the [real-world timeline] that this is all a conspiracy within the [story timeline]!

And after the Alliance's climate generator was activated, the [story timeline] that cooperated with the Alliance became even more shameless—

It actually used weather weapons and coalition actions to try to completely exclude the entire GSSRA from this case.

In reality, they're even thinking of having Conan and GSSRA team up!
At this moment, Vermouth has already disguised herself as Maria, and without any intervention from GSSRA—

If Vermouth were to give Conan a subtle hint, telling him that there are Black Organization spies within GSSRA...

Conan would definitely give up the idea of ​​cooperating.

Even if it's true, Conan can't know!
Therefore, the counterattack of the [real timeline] is just as simple, just as Yusaku Kudo knew.

It amplified the weather event, turning what the coalition initially described as a "cloudy" day into a "slightly" extreme storm.

You (the storyline) won't let me (the realityline) leave?
Then you (the storyline) shouldn't leave either!
Therefore, Bourbon, Chianti...

Those members who had just escaped their predicament and received orders from the Boss to return to the pharmaceutical plant were also trapped by this storm.

Today, the streets of Beika Town, especially those near the research institute, the Kudo residence, and the funeral home.

There was nothing but silence.

This is also the most surprising aspect of the alliance's activation of weather weapons this time—the effect is much better than expected!

The effect was so good that the league still didn't save any redundancy.

"Yes, adjust the coordinates of the door to the vicinity of 5-chome. We need to get there immediately. The information from the Timing Department indicates that four lines there are about to break."

Kaito Kuroba, or rather, Kaito Kid, was temporarily assigned to the Balance Tuners as a temporary task force.

The alliance needs to use his "peace" aura to rescue the innocent people trapped in the storm.

These injured or even near-death individuals will be rescued, and then, after the task force erases their memories of the disaster, implants a plausible false memory, and safely transports them to the nearest shopping mall restroom.

No matter how distorted the temporal and spatial structure of this case may be, it is still a "case".

Whether it was to avoid raising [Shinichi Kudo's] threshold, or because the cause of this incident was ultimately the League itself.

The Minister of the Reality Intervention Department did not hesitate to issue instructions to all the task force members who were still able to operate:

"You must do everything in your power to prevent any death from occurring!"

……

Standing at the entrance of the pharmaceutical factory, Yamazaki Whiskey gazed at the sky beyond the glass curtain wall—

In his view, the sky was only slightly overcast, as if the dark clouds had simply "inadvertently" covered the sun.

He was silent for a moment before finally speaking, "Shirley."

He reached out and shook hands with Shiho Miyano, because he could only give her this advice because he knew that he was never part of the "historical inertia."

"Be careful, and for Miyano's sake, don't die."

When faced with Yamazaki Whiskey's outstretched hand, Shiho Miyano hesitated for a moment before finally shaking it.

The moment she grasped Yamazaki's hand, her arm stiffened slightly, then she released it without a word and habitually put both hands into her pockets.

Then, under the watchful eyes of four organization members, who seemed to distrust her, she strode confidently out of the research institute and into the black car heading to the Kudo residence.

Yamazaki had just handed the APTX-4869, which had undergone a full 8-string CYZ effect, to Shiho Miyano.

An APTX-4869 produced by a perpetual motion machine, and genuinely mixed with the original drug that shrunk Shinichi Kudo.

Therefore, due to the constancy and absolute isolation of the CYZ effect, the time state of APTX-4869 within that concealment device composed of independent cosmic bubbles—

It was the day Shinichi Kudo shrank.

This is something that neither dual timelines nor even the Conan universe could discover.

As just mentioned, before Shiho Miyano opened it, the spacetime around it was separated from the Conan universe.

(End of this chapter)