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

Chapter 225 The story takes place on a snowy day.

When the vehicle returned to the office with Kogoro Mouri in it, the sky had become quite overcast, and the surrounding streets were even quieter.

Kinoshita Yuto slammed on the brakes, and the car came to a dull stop, its red taillights illuminating the somewhat dim and deserted street.

He turned to look at Kogoro Mouri, who was fast asleep: "Mr. Mouri, we've arrived at the office."

"Let's go, Conan!"

Kogoro Mouri yawned, then unconsciously stretched, glancing at the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye—

The back seat of the car is now empty.

Noticing Kogoro Mouri's gaze drifting towards the back seat, Yuto Kinoshita immediately cleared his throat.

He offered an explanation based on the reasons he and Hattori Heiji had prepared beforehand:
"Ah, Mr. Mori, it's like this, Chief Heiji instructed that Conan-kun will be going with him tonight..."

"That brat..."

Kogoro Mouri muttered a few words, but he didn't ask any further questions. He just yawned indifferently and casually opened the car door.

"Anyway, thank you for bringing me back."

After closing the car door, Kogoro Mouri walked to the other side, looked at the driver who had rolled down the window because of his action, and patted the roof of the car.

"Heiji will bring him back tomorrow, right?"

Kinoshita Yuto hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Kogoro Mouri didn't make things difficult for him; he waved his hand, indicating that he could leave.

Kinoshita Yuto returned the greeting, started the engine, and the car slowly drove away.

The black car gradually disappeared into the falling raindrops, and finally, the red taillights also vanished at the street corner.

Kogoro Mouri looked up at the gloomy sky and glanced at the second floor of the office building—

The office was completely dark; the blue glass windows reflected only two dim, yellowish-white dots from the streetlights.

This time, however, Kogoro Mouri looked up at the sky for a longer time, as a cool breeze landed on his forehead.

A feeling even colder than the cold rain.

Raising his hand, Kogoro Mouri caught the snowflake and exhaled a puff of white breath.

"Is it starting to snow...?"

After all—the Tonguchi Shigehiko murder case took place on a snowy day.

However, for Heiji Hattori and Conan, the key issue right now is not this.

The two of them had quietly slipped into the changing room of the Beika Hotel, and then frowned as they faced the empty men's dressing room.

"Are there only women's dresses left?" Hattori Heiji murmured to himself, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

This is part of the plan.

Because Ai Haibara from the "historical inertia" storyline is not currently present, this creates a slight problem with the continuity of the timeline.

"Fortunately, Heiji can barely fill in as Ai Haibara's assistant in this 'case'."

"And since 'I' will discover the secret of the baijiu in this case, and will also grow bigger..."

"I see."

Lin Sheng understood what Conan wanted to do.

"Is it possible to make the story timeline and the universe think everything is normal by selectively amplifying the [historical inertia]?"

Faced with the suggestions from Shinichi Kudo, Lin Sheng made the already complex timeline diagram in front of him even more complicated.

"So, who should Gin mistake for Sherry? Should I tell Akako to do it, or should I have Sonoko take her place?"

“That won’t work; the ending of the story can’t be exactly the same,” Conan added. “Besides, hasn’t Vermouth already recognized Conan as Shinichi Kudo?”

“Let Chris Vineyard provide them with some help through coincidences, and if that’s not enough…”

So, the final result is as follows:

Heiji Hattori and Conan exchanged a knowing glance in the dressing room, then locked eyes in unwavering determination—

Neither side will tell anyone about this.

Lin Sheng saw all of this, smiled slightly, and "recorded" the interesting scene he witnessed.

Then, his thoughts instantly drifted back to the current situation, and the CYZ effect on his body extended to the "chains" he was tightly holding in his hands.

— This is also known as the "Hoshimi Tower Case".

Lin Sheng has already discovered Ran Mouri's actions, and now he wants to use Ran Mouri's "luck" to do something.

Once trapped here, the further along the timeline, the harder it becomes for him to intervene, or rather, the more disproportionate his efforts become to his gains.

Lin Sheng wanted to see if he could take this opportunity to hand over the excess CYZ effect to the alliance now.

After all, his power has increased again, although only by a third. But if he were to give it all away, it would be enough to multiply the league's current surplus power several times over.

This was his final "ripple".

……

Unlike Conan and Heiji, who sneaked into the memorial service in the cold wind blowing from the street corner, trying to find out who "Pisco" really was.

Professor Agasa's house now feels unusually warm and comfortable.

When the weather turned slightly gloomy, the doctor turned on all the lights in the room.

After seeing the temperature drop warning broadcast in the weather forecast, the air conditioner in the room started working as the remote control rang, sending out a blast of warm air.

The brightly lit and cozy little house made the sound of the raging wind outside sound like a warm lullaby after it came through the glass.

"Ding--"

With a crisp click from the microwave, Professor Agasa, wearing gloves, took out the reheated pastries and placed them on the living room table.

"Genta! Ayumi! Mitsuhiko!"

Professor Agasa looked at the children gathered around the skateboard and several of his "inventions," and his voice sounded very pleased.

"Come and have some pastries! These were made by Sister Xiaolan!"

"Here they come!" The children who were lying on the carpet immediately stood up and ran towards the sofa with joyful laughter.

Unlike Genta, whose gaze was fixed on the pastries on the table, Mitsuhiko glanced out the window and then called out:

"Hey! Ayumi, look! It's snowing!"

Ayumi looked out the window; it was indeed snowing.

In fact, in just a short while, the snowflakes were already falling heavily.

Ayumi could see that a thin layer of snowflakes had accumulated on the streetlights. The white snow piled on the lights melted and then froze again because of the heat of the lights, sparkling with a crystal-clear light.

Before the idea of ​​building a snowman could even form in Ayumi's mind, a somewhat indistinct, loud voice rang out.

Genta Kojima had already stuffed two pieces of Kashiwa mochi into his mouth. He reached for the third piece of pastry. "Great! Then we can have a snowball fight tomorrow."

Professor Agasa said to Genta with a hint of helplessness, "Genta, remember to leave a few pieces for Ayumi and Mitsuhiko."

Then he pushed a plate of pastries in front of Ran Mouri, saying, "Ran, have some snacks too."

Professor Agasa stood up and walked to the half-open French window. He lifted the curtain, glanced at the outside, and a worried expression appeared on his face.

"The snow looks like it's snowing heavily... I wonder if we'll still be able to camp tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, Doctor."

Ran Mouri looked at the children who had already started discussing whether to build a big snowman first or have a snowball fight first, smiled, and comforted them:
"Didn't the weather forecast say the snow would stop tonight?"

“However, we might need to prepare a few more warm clothes, and we also need to bring—” Ran Mouri’s words suddenly stopped.

She suddenly looked up at Professor Agasa, a look of panic and fear flashing across her face.

Just now, that uneasy warning in her heart suddenly sounded again!

"Ran?" Professor Agasa turned around. "Is there anything else you need to bring?"

"Ah!" The moment Professor Agasa turned his head, Ran Mouri suddenly lowered her head, her voice no longer as calm as before.

"We'll probably need to bring some snow shovels and other equipment..."

Her,

Ran Mouri stood up, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face, her gaze shifting as if under some invisible pressure.

She didn't look at Professor Agasa, but gazed at the corridor leading to the tool shed, and then softly spoke:

"So, Doctor, could you please try to see if you have any of these devices?"

The doctor scratched his head, a hint of doubt in his voice: "Now?"

With Ran Mouri nodding slightly, and at her insistence, Professor Agasa disappeared from the living room.

He was going to go to the tool shed to see if he could find what Xiaolan had mentioned.

Ran Mouri, however, seemed even more uneasy.

The worry and tension in her eyes only intensified after the doctor left.

—The alarm bells in my heart still haven't stopped.

Ran Mouri walked up to the three children who were chattering about tomorrow's camping trip, trying to make her voice sound calm and gentle.

"Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko, remember to take your own snow toys!"

She paused, then added, "Besides, Professor Agasa's tool room has a lot of gadgets."

Soon, the children, drawn by Ran Mouri's description of a "tool room filled with all sorts of mysterious gadgets," dashed off toward the corridor leading to the tool room.

"Professor Agasa! We've come to help you with your things!"

The children's cheerful voices echoed in the now empty living room, as if trying to inject more vitality into this warm space.

But as their footsteps faded into the distance, Ran Mouri's face suddenly turned pale. Her hands clenched involuntarily, and a hint of barely concealed panic, even a sense of helplessness, flashed in her eyes.

"How could this happen..." she murmured to herself, her voice filled with barely suppressed anxiety.

The panic inside her almost made it hard to breathe; an unprecedented sense of urgency made her heart race, and her thoughts began to swirl in disarray.

She's clearly distanced herself from everyone around her now!
She fought against the voice within her heart while trying her best to suppress the invisible pressure—the force exerted upon her.

She argued with her inner warning: "I can't bring myself to leak anything, there's no one around me!"

No one responded to her; the living room was silent except for the howling wind outside the window, bringing a biting chill.

The sound of the wind was like the footsteps of death approaching her, even though she knew that what was being taken from her was not her life, but her memories.

"No... don't panic, Xiaolan, calm down," she kept reminding herself. "Think carefully about what you did."

She forced herself to take a deep breath and began to recall, trying to find the clue that made her heart race and her emotions spiral out of control.

But she discovered that she hadn't done anything wrong, and there wasn't even any sign of her being exposed.

Even after glancing back at the commotion in the corridor, Ran Mouri immediately ran to the front door of Professor Agasa's house.

—The alarm remains in effect.

Ran Mouri placed her hand on the doorknob.

—The alarm remains in effect.

A tear glistened in her eyes as she pushed open the door. The cold wind outside immediately rushed in, and then Ran Mouri took a step outside.

—The alarm remains in effect.

Just as Ran Mouri was contemplating whether to try running out of the yard, the sound of children playfully shoveling snow at each other echoed from the end of the corridor, along with Professor Agasa's worried words.

Ran Mouri snapped out of her daze and practically rushed back to the living room, forcing herself to calm down and sit back on the sofa as if nothing had happened.

Professor Agasa appeared before Ran Mouri, dragging a large suitcase.

"Genta! Be careful, everyone!"

After Professor Agasa asked the children to put their camping gear back in the box, the Junior Detective League's attention was quickly diverted.

They began to discuss animatedly what they had just seen in the tool shed, and how they should use these "toys" tomorrow.

Ran Mouri forced herself to calm down, and tried to glance at Professor Agasa. "Professor Agasa, you know Conan—"

The invisible alarm bells in her mind immediately reached a peak, and Ran Mouri quickly changed the subject, trying to divert the doctor's attention.

She started talking to Professor Agasa about Conan going to school, and then continued the conversation by going on about the camping trip Conan had mentioned that morning.

Her words flowed smoothly and her tone was natural, but her heart had already sunk deeply.

She was now certain that the warning that had just arisen in her mind was actually unrelated to her current actions.

The two warnings are not from the same source.

The warning that had just sounded, like a water clock, grew louder and louder as time went on.

It was simply sending itself a message that couldn't be clearer, a message that Ran Mouri had never felt so clearly before—

Tomorrow, she will forget a truth she once knew.

Tomorrow, I will forget the fact that "Conan is Shinichi".

As for Ayumi, she keenly sensed that her older sister, Xiaolan, who was sitting silently on the sofa, seemed somewhat sad.

With a hint of concern in her eyes, she ran to Ran Mouri's side, and together with Genta and Mitsuhiko, they came closer with curious glances.

"What happened, Sister Xiaolan?"

"It's nothing," Ran Mouri forced a smile, "I was just thinking..."

Ran Mouri casually gave the three children a reason to get by.

She glanced at the clock on the wall, and Ran Mouri began to think, telling herself:

"It's only six o'clock now, Xiaolan, you can handle this."

The alarm bell in my heart still hasn't stopped.

……

As for Kogoro Mouri...

He climbed the stairs alone, opened the door, and dragged his heavy steps into the office.

Sure enough, Xiaolan hadn't come home yet.

All of this seems so familiar.

This time, however, there was no glow of the setting sun; only the gloomy sky seeped into the room through the gaps in the curtains, plunging the office into darkness.

Kogoro Mouri could barely see anything.

So he skillfully fumbled for the light switch, and then with a "snap," the bright white light illuminated the office.

Taking a bento box from the refrigerator and placing it on the table, Kogoro Mouri glanced at the weather outside the window and muttered something under his breath.

"What's wrong with Xiaolan? Hasn't she come back yet?"

A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in Kogoro Mouri's eyes as he picked up the phone and dialed Professor Agasa's number.

Just as Ran Mouri was growing increasingly uneasy due to her inner premonition, a telephone suddenly rang in the living room.

"Moshi Moshi, this is Professor Agasa."

Professor Agasa answered the phone, and then, the voice on the other end of the line made him subconsciously glance at Ran, who was looking at him.

"Ah! Xiaolan said she'll be coming camping with us on the western outskirts of Beika Town tomorrow. I've never been very good at taking care of kids, so I asked her to come and help..."

As Dr. Agasa spoke, he handed the phone to Ran Mouri, who was standing next to him.

"Ah, Xiaolan seems to have something to say."

Kogoro Mouri then heard a familiar voice coming from the other end of the phone.

"Dad, is Conan with you? His classmates really want to have a snowball fight with him tomorrow!"

Kogoro Mouri paused for a moment, then repeated the reasons the driver had just given him word for word.

"That's it..."

For Ran Mouri, the next thing she heard was her father starting to boast about his achievements that day.

This time, however, she did not interrupt Kogoro. Instead, she listened carefully and tried to remember every word he said.

"Xiao Lan, do you know?"

"I cracked a big case at the funeral home today. Let me tell you, that guy named Jin Chuan..."

"In short, that guy finally admitted it was in the western suburbs of Beika Town..."

Kogoro Mouri suddenly realized something.

He paused, recalling what Professor Agasa had just told him about camping.

"If you're going to the western outskirts of Beika Town tomorrow..."

Kogoro Mouri's tone carried a hint of uncertainty and hesitation, "The police will be taking action over there tonight, and the roads might be closed tomorrow. If you're going..."

At that very moment, a laser-like intuition flashed through Ran Mouri's mind.

She subconsciously felt that this message was related to her having to forget the "truth" she had finally obtained.

But now her mind was a mess, and a thousand thoughts surged through her mind, making it impossible for Ran Mouri to find a focus.

She responded instinctively, and then instinctively hung up the phone.

The moment the call ended, silence returned to the firm.

Kogoro Mouri sat back down in his chair and opened the casebook that Heiji Hattori had given him as a gift at noon that day.

The desk lamp illuminated the pages of the cases. Kogoro Mouri lit a cigarette, and through the swirling smoke, his gaze, which had been fixed on the cases, quickly shifted away from the case files.

Then his gaze unconsciously shifted to the window, as if anything in the room was blinding.

But now, the dim, yellowish light outside the window is just as glaring.

Finally, he impatiently pulled a can of beer from the drawer, casually opened it, took a sip, and then turned his gaze back to the case files.

"Hmm, it must be because I'm not in the zone. After all, I'm the 'Sleeping Detective'!"

He mumbled drunkenly, as if mocking himself, or perhaps comforting himself.

……

For Shiho Miyano, no, for Ai Haibara.

Her journey to the western outskirts of Beika Town became much more difficult due to this sudden blizzard.

Just like now, after having that strange dream about a snowy night, she woke up.

Ai Haibara was awakened by the cold.

Her breath condensed into puffs of white mist in the air, and her body was stung by the icy breath of the snowy forest.

In the cold, she had to take out all the clothes from her backpack and put them on, clutching the box tightly in her hand.

The location indicated by the box containing APTX-4869 remained unchanged.

Although the name of the Star Viewing Tower has been hidden, it has been replaced with a coordinate system of latitude and longitude.

But now things have gotten even worse for her.

Because the red indicator light on top of the Star Viewing Tower is no longer there.

Even the thick clouds obscure the moonlight, leaving Ai Haibara lost in this dark forest.

(End of this chapter)