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

Chapter 221 "The Shadow of the Full Moon" (Seeking monthly votes)
time--

The most crucial element, and even the answer, of a "case".

Or perhaps, an obscure yet captivating mystery that runs through the Conan universe, connecting cause and effect, beginning and end.

Those who glimpsed the truth either quietly "left" under the Alliance's recruitment, or were ruthlessly reset or even erased by the dual timelines before they could try to change their fate.

And those who touch the edge, or any soul that senses something amiss, such as the clever people in GSSRA, or Yusaku Kudo...

They would rather believe that this was the magical technology of some extraterrestrial civilization than believe the ultimate answer.

They were all afraid of the final answer.

Even Conan himself stopped before he could get to the "truth".

He didn't trust his intuition; instead, he told himself he needed more concrete evidence.

—Even though he already has one.

……

Inside the observatory on the fiftieth floor of the Star Viewing Tower, the air was so heavy it felt as if water could be squeezed out of it.

He stood in front of the control panel, his gaze fixed on the structural diagram of the climate generator in front of him.

He had just confirmed that the descent elevator, a hidden facility buried inside the most central and robust load-bearing column, had not been damaged.

He already had a plan in mind:

After Hattori Heiji arrived, the two divided the tasks—he took the rapid elevator directly to the core and activated the climate generator, while Heiji was responsible for observing and recording the decoding results of the pointer.

However, as he called out, he heard Hattori Heiji's urgent voice from the end of the corridor: "Conan!"

It's not "Kudo", it's "Conan".

This made Conan realize immediately that Heiji wasn't the only one who had arrived.

Obviously, he couldn't tell anyone what was in the observatory. He quickly pressed the hide button on the control panel, and the screen in front of him immediately switched to a beautiful star chart.

I glanced down at my watch; there were only thirteen minutes left until 18:00 PM.

The footsteps in the corridor grew closer, and Hattori Heiji's tall figure rushed into view first, his face full of anxiety.

However, the figure closely following behind made Conan's heart sink—

"Sister Xiaolan!"

Conan couldn't help but shout out, his voice filled with shock and unease.

Then, Conan immediately turned to look at Heiji Hattori, his eyes filled with disbelief and questioning.

"Conan, I'm at—"

Heiji was about to explain when Ran interrupted him.

"Conan!"

Ran Mouri's voice trembled as she immediately ran towards him, clutching Ai in her arms, "This child is—!"

Before she could finish speaking, a strong warning exploded in her heart like thunder.

She suddenly turned to the side, grabbed Ai Haibara, and fell to the left with swift and decisive movements.

"boom!"

Gunshots ripped through the air, a bullet grazed Ran Mouri's hair, struck the thick metal wall of the astronomical telescope, and sparked.

—It was a bullet fired by Gin.

We've reached the most crucial moment, and now each side is doing its utmost to maximize its chances of winning.

He and Vodka stood at the end of the corridor, the muzzles of their assault rifles emitting wisps of white smoke.

Vodka stood beside Gin, gripping a submachine gun tightly in his hand, his belt full of magazines.

Before going up to the observatory, he carried a full load of bullets out of a slight fear, and now, that's exactly the time to put them to use.

His eyes burned with fury as he looked at the metal door that had become a symbol of hope for survival. He raised the muzzle of his gun slightly and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bullets crisscrossed the corridor, forming a curtain of death.

Clearly, there's no time for Conan and the others to talk about those "important things" now.

A firefight immediately broke out in the corridor.

Or rather, it was Gin's one-sided suppression; he kept firing at the target to prevent anyone from trying to close the observatory's doors.

"Get cover!"

Hattori Heiji roared and drew his gun, exchanging fire with Gin.

This sightseeing corridor leading to the observatory has become a strategic pass that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The bullets fired by Heiji whistled through the air, grazing Gin's trench coat and forcing him to turn slightly to the side.

Taking advantage of this brief pause, Heiji rolled over and leaped to Conan's side.

Now, Ran Mouri and Ai Haibara are separated from Heiji Hattori and Conan by the intermittent barrage of bullets on either side of the telescope.

"Conan, GSSRA says the climate generator is on level B5, and they've already sent people over there!"

While randomly firing shots towards the door in an attempt to buy time, Heiji lowered his voice and told Conan the message that had just been sent via the communicator.

Seeing that Conan didn't react, Heiji knew that Conan had already figured it out.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Heiji understood and raised his voice, shouting in Gin's direction, "I've sent a distress signal to GSSRA! The helicopter will be here soon!"

The sound echoed amidst the gunshots as Heiji tried to put pressure on Gin and Vodka.

"It's too late!" Conan gritted his teeth. "The storm is coming!"

"Storm?!" Heiji was taken aback, a look of doubt flashing in his eyes.

"There's no time to explain, Heiji. We have to take care of the enemy first!"

Conan tapped the frame of his glasses and whispered, "Activate automatic defense and turret mode!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he kicked out with all his might, and the skateboard shot towards the observatory gate like an arrow.

The skateboard lay sideways in the middle of the corridor, its deck providing perfect protection. With a slight deformation, two wheels quietly peeked out from underneath.

Gin's gaze suddenly sharpened because of this unexpected turn of events—

A skateboard?!

Then he noticed that each of the two wheels of the skateboard had a magnifying glass embedded in it, and then several flashes of silver light appeared—

From the "cannon barrel" made of magnifying glasses, four or five tranquilizer darts shot out like meteors, heading straight for Gin.

But it just rammed hard into his bulletproof vest!
After countless misfortunes, Vodka's caution once again saved Gin's life.

It's an anesthetic injection!

Gin reacted swiftly, ducking down like a cheetah and rolling his trench coat forward to act as a barrier against the needles that followed.

Then, with a flash of gunfire, the skateboard was accurately hit and rolled to the side.

As the skateboard, piloted by Conan, began to automatically return to its normal position, Gin continued to provide cover fire while attempting to advance, shouting at the larger Vodka:

"Vodka, retreat to the corridor and cover me!"

Conan's mind was churning with a storm of emotions, a fierce battle between anxiety and composure.

It's too dangerous here!

Ran, Heiji, and that little kid (Ai Haibara)...

The safety of each person weighed heavily on his mind.

Immediately afterward, Conan's eyes flashed, and he pointed sharply at the mailbox-shaped metal device next to Ran, his voice urgent.

"Sister Xiaolan, watch out for stray bullets! Take cover in that bunker!"

For Ran Mouri, the current situation is clearly not a good opportunity to tell Conan the truth.

If she reveals the truth, she might forget it, which means her "warning" will disappear and she will become a burden to Shinichi instead.

So she hugged Ai Haibara and hid inside the mailbox-shaped metal "shelter".

Conan almost immediately entered the password, bringing up the familiar control panel, the blue light of the screen reflecting on his tense little face.

He glanced down at his watch; it would take three minutes for the elevator to go up and down once.

If there's not enough time...

"Xiaolan!"

Conan finally made a decision.

His voice traveled through the vibrations of the bullets hitting the telescope's outer wall and reached Ran Mouri's ears.

"Activate the KN4869 emergency plan on the climate generator! The machine password is also 4869!"

These words made Ai Haibara and Ran Mouri's pupils shrink.

"Shinichi——!"

But Conan is destined never to hear Ran Mouri's final cry.

The instant he uttered those words, he slammed down a button on the control panel.

The "mailbox bunker" suddenly activated, a crack appeared in the floor, and the device, along with Ran Mouri and Ai Haibara, instantly disappeared from the observatory and sank into the passage of the rapid-descent elevator.

Conan glanced at the screen out of the corner of his eye; the data jumped around coldly:
[Storm Expected - One Minute]

[Climate generator start-up time - three minutes]

[Observatory Completeness - 98%]

Current decoding success rate: 30%

After resolving the issue of Ran's safety, Conan immediately turned to Heiji.

"Heiji, a storm is coming! Cover me as I close the door!"

"give it to me!"

Heiji crouched on the ground, his gun flashing, bullets raining down on Gin and Vodka in an attempt to suppress their firepower.

Then, the accident happened.

Outside the observatory, amidst the raging storm, an armed helicopter staggered and approached.

The armed helicopter climbed with great difficulty to the top of the dome, and then appeared in the shape of the observatory's semi-circular glass dome.

The helicopter lights pierced the darkness, illuminating the semi-circular glass dome—and the grim faces of Gin and Vodka.

Their eyes narrowed sharply, and Gin immediately yelled, "They have people inside! Vodka, get to the observatory!"

Vodka no longer conserved his ammunition; he unleashed all the bullets in his hand and then sprinted toward the observatory's gate.

Gin was also running wildly, but at the same time he turned his gun and fired a burst of fire towards the dome.

Unlike the concrete ceiling above the circular corridor, the side path leading to the observatory has a glass dome that is simply used for stargazing.

The struggle for dominance between the two timelines has reached its limit.

However, the story timeline still had a slight edge. As Gin's last burst of bullets accurately hit the tail of the helicopter, a flash of fire appeared, and thick smoke billowed from the tail.

"Descent! Descent!"

The out-of-control helicopter, along with the rain falling from the clouds, crashed toward the observatory.

The helicopter tilted violently, and the soldiers inside began to jump onto the dome like dumplings being dropped into a pot, trying to escape.

As the three parties vie for power—

The helicopter fell at an extremely subtle angle, cutting precisely at the junction of the circular corridor and the observatory.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, flames shot into the sky, and thick smoke and debris flew everywhere.

A tear was ripped in the dome of the Star Viewing Tower.

Or rather, even under such a violent explosion, the dome was only torn open with a single crack.

Conan practically lunged at the control panel; through the rain and smoke, he saw the data on the screen—

[Observatory Completeness - 78%]

[Current Decoding Success Rate - 30%] The decoding success rate remains at 30%, as if all the damage from the explosion just now had just avoided any devices that could affect decoding.

A moment of silence fell over the scene.

……

But soon, it seemed as if some force was enraged by this utterly useless explosion.

Another thunderous explosion ripped the sky apart—it was the bombardment of lightning!
Immediately afterwards, the lightning rod at the top of the Star Tower, having lost some support, fell downwards along with the flashing red warning light.

The building's towering spire transformed into a spear charging through two timelines, crashing heavily against the glass curtain wall above the dome.

The shield is broken.

Shards of glass and steel frame flew everywhere in the storm, and rain poured down like a waterfall, carrying with it a biting wind that swept through the entire hall.

Under this terrifying attack, the control panel screen flickered twice:
Current decoding success rate: 30%

Now, only Conan, Heiji Hattori, Gin, and Vodka remain in the hall.

At this moment, the pieces of fate are pushed to the peak of collision by the storm stirred up by the two timelines.

In the center of the observatory, the huge, cannon-like telescope swayed precariously in the gale, its base creaking and groaning as if it might break at any moment.

Gin and vodka have already come in.

On one side of the observatory's main entrance, Gin's soaked silver hair clung to his forehead, and a cold, murderous intent burned in his eyes.

Vodka stood beside him, holding the submachine gun that was out of bullets. He turned to Gin and said, "Brother, I'm out of ammo."

Looking at the two figures in the center of the observatory, a sinister smile appeared on his lips. "It doesn't matter, they're gone too."

Gin then drew his Beretta pistol—

Because a problem was discovered with the ammunition during the firefight with GSSRA, he quickly put the gun away.

"I have about six bullets left..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a gunshot rang out, the bullet whistling sharply as it sliced ​​through the air.

Heiji Hattori reacted swiftly, lunging towards Conan who was standing in front of the control panel. A bullet grazed his shoulder, tearing his jacket and leaving a trail of bright red blood.

Without the light from the control panel, Heiji Hattori and Conan instantly became blurry shadows in the darkness.

Then, a white light shone from the sky to illuminate Gin, followed by a thunderous roar.

With the help of the light of that lightning—

"Heiji, you've been shot!"

Conan's shouts were swallowed by the wind and thunder, and a look of anxiety and anger flashed in his eyes.

Hattori Heiji covered the wound on his shoulder, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The instant the lightning flashed, he immediately dragged Conan behind the turret-like telescope, forcing a stubborn smile onto his face.

"I'm fine, I just got hit in the shoulder, Kudo, hurry up and think of something!"

"The wind is too strong now! You need to be at least five meters away to be sure of hitting them!"

The wristwatch on Conan's wrist had already been attached to the tranquilizer darts. Conan had just tested it; the automatic firing mode unleashed thirty-three tranquilizer darts the moment Gin and Vodka appeared.
But the gale and torrential rain showed no mercy, violently shaking the needle under the storm's interference. The needle was deflected by the raindrops and then blown off course by the storm, disappearing into the darkness.

The familiar soft click of the anesthetic needle also made Gin stop.

But soon, his gaze fell on the huge astronomical telescope.

That heavy and wide end, stretching towards the sky, was already teetering on the brink of collapse, with only a chain connecting the top of the telescope to the somewhat collapsed dome.

—This is a tower that is about to collapse.

Gin's lips curled into a cold smile as he raised his gun and aimed at the point where the chains were joined.

"The game is over."

"Oh!"

As the last bullets struck a single point, the chains snapped, and the massive telescope emitted a deep rumble.

The heavy end began to slowly tilt and crash down toward the center of the hall, while the end with the eyepiece that held the analog watch suddenly floated upwards.

"do not want!"

Conan's shout tore through the storm; he felt his whole body trembling at the horrific sight, his blood burning as if it were on fire.

If the telescope's eyepiece were to smash against a wall or dome and break—

Everything is over!
In that instant, a resolute glint flashed in his eyes, and he abruptly pressed down on the soccer belt at his waist. The rope shot out instantly, wrapping around the steel beam above the hall.

Conan leaped into the air, like a bird swooping down towards the rapidly rising eyepiece.

But its small size couldn't provide enough weight, and even with the momentum from the falling object, the telescope just bounced around the hall like a seesaw, and even started to rotate because it was no longer stable.

The storm intensified, and the broken chains came to life, lunging at Gin like a silver serpent in the lightning.

Gin completely underestimated the godlike wrath of nature.

He didn't have time to react at all; he only heard the sound of a rib breaking in his chest before being violently thrown to the corner.

"Big brother!"

Vodka, with a resentful expression, looked at the rotating cannon barrel in the center of the observatory, gritted his teeth, hoisted Gin's body onto his back, and walked along the wall toward the escape stairs outside the observatory.

Rain lashed Conan's face as he clutched his goggles tightly, the wind howling in his ears as the "cannon" spun.

Conan secured himself to the cannon barrel with a soccer zipline, then glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist—

Six minutes to go.

With the surroundings starting to spin, Conan couldn't see his surroundings clearly, but the descent elevator should have arrived by now.

"Heiji! Take the elevator down! Remember the password: 4869! The adjustment plan is KN4869!"

Heiji Hattori had no idea what Conan was trying to do, but he understood the urgency of the situation from Conan's repeated emphasis.

"understood!"

Immediately afterwards, with a brief hum, the mailbox-shaped escalator, which had just returned to its original position, headed back down to the fifth basement level.

In the howling wind, a child's figure sways, now alone facing the judgment of fate.

The strong winds, torrential rain, and the inverted, spinning position made Conan feel like he had a fever. Hanging upside down in mid-air, he began to breathe rapidly.

In my mind, those fleeting fragments, those hazy memories, and the clues I had obtained began to appear haphazardly before my eyes:
Baijiu (Chinese liquor), Masami Hirota, the Black Organization, the secret of the Star Viewing Tower...

He murmured to himself.

"Just one more step... just one more step!"

No matter how fierce the storm, Conan will never let go.

There are no obstacles now; all I need to do is fix the eyepiece in place!

……

Right now, Ran Mouri is making final adjustments to the climate generator, following the video playing on the severed hand.

Beside her, due to the violent acceleration caused by the elevator's rapid descent, Ai Haibara had already lost consciousness.

She has the persona of a scientist, and the video playing on her watch is related to Akemi Miyano...

This is the final desperate attempt by the combined forces of the two timelines.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot on the fifth underground level, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle suddenly appeared with a flash of blue light and drove into the ruins that had not yet completely collapsed.

With his gaze fixed on the ruins ahead, Dr. Agasa gritted his teeth and rapidly operated the pop-up projection panels.

Professor Agasa begins to squeeze out the last bit of CYZ effect from the timeline mask.

A virtual, relatively intact corridor slowly began to emerge as the vehicle moved forward.

But this is not actually true—

It was a temporary structure built solely to support the vehicle's movement.

The moment the wheels passed, the corridor vanished again, returning to ruins.

The moon and the sun have been adjusted to their proper positions, and rows of spacecraft embedded with mirrors in near-Earth orbit have begun to move slowly.

The Alliance's special forces members continuously adjusted the position of the mirror using the swaying and rotating telescope at the Star Tower.

The "reasonableness" of their consistently high "decoding success rate" of 30% stems from their actions—

They constructed a similar black box structure outside the Earth.

Therefore, the most crucial point now is the moon.

The storm must subside; at the very least, Conan must see the moon.

……

But now, the dual timelines have no more resources left.

The observatory at Star View Tower was teetering on the brink of collapse during the storm.

Conan was breathing rapidly, his soaked suit clung to his thin frame, and an inextinguishable flame burned within him. His red bow tie trembled slightly in the wind.

With the help of his powerful kick enhanced by his shoes, the "white light" pierced the dome in mid-air and soared into the sky—

Using the reaction force from kicking the soccer ball, Conan successfully stabilized the swaying "tower".

Rainwater slid down Conan's forehead, ran down his nose and past the corners of his eyes, blurring his vision and washing over his face.

Conan's consciousness has become blurred.

He never knew that his "small" body could unleash such tremendous power.

In the white flash of lightning, the shadow of a high school student was already visible.

The world seemed to be turned upside down.

The rain flowed backward, like tears surging from the "ground" to the "sky," supporting his outstretched hands. He gripped the two "tree branches" that had broken through the "ground," which cut Conan's hands until they bled profusely.

Conan looked down at the tower below—

Yes, a tower.

From this upside-down perspective, the base of this "tower" is firmly embedded in the dark clouds, with lightning providing its support.

That "spire" extending from the sky to the ground is the mirror that leads to the truth, right before his eyes.

At 5:57 p.m. on the third day, Ran Mouri pressed the confirmation button heavily on the control panel.

In the final three minutes, the Conan universe begins to "operate".

Dark clouds, raindrops, atmosphere, dust, glass dome, lens...

Everything in nature, everything in the universe!
Everything constitutes part of this grand decoding device.

The universe was born, and its purpose was to provide a basis for Shinichi Kudo's deductions.

Now, all the luminous bodies in the universe, all the light that shines onto Earth—

This is exactly what we've been waiting for!

The torrential rain and fierce winds tore a crack in the eternal cycle of scientific order, and pure moonlight shone through the barrier of the storm into Shinichi Kudo's pupils.

His fingertips touched an invisible fragment—

Masami Hirota's telescope, the replacement of the baijiu, the brown hair on Gin's tires, the secret elevator hidden in the Star Viewing Tower...

These fragments, like threads torn apart by a storm, slowly intertwine, gradually outlining the contours of the truth.

In that instant, the universe gently told Shinichi Kudo:
"The Shadow of the Full Moon..."

The name of the next pointer.

However, at the moment when all forces in this universe reveal the "truth" of this "reasoning"—

In the Conan universe, they finally seized this precious opportunity.

That opportunity it promised to the [story timeline].

PS: I saw some readers say that the protagonist is reluctant to give up the [loop] and is somewhat indecisive.

To clarify, the protagonist definitely didn't give up on the loop in the first place because of this.

I've emphasized the importance of that loop so many times QAQ
(End of this chapter)