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

Chapter 248 Moonshadow Island: Hello ...
These "eyes," as thin as cicada wings, float lightly in the atmosphere, like transparent jellyfish drifting across the skies over Japan.

They were originally "lens groups" from the "Star Tower Case," and their original function was to cleverly weave together the radiance from the moon's surface.

Although the original function has been downgraded repeatedly, it can no longer manipulate a person's senses like "a mirage".

However, their ability to analyze and filter light with extreme precision still gives Dr. Agasa a certain degree of "omniscient" perspective.

Just as stars are difficult to see during the day because sunlight and cloud reflections "obscure" their light, those photons still need a place to go.

The "tentacles" of these lenses precisely filter out all excess light, retaining only the fragments the user needs, thus allowing images that shouldn't normally appear in the field of vision to naturally emerge before the eyes.

After all, with the current level of conventional technology on Earth, it is simply impossible to create a true "absolute black body" interrogation room.

Moreover, GSSRA had no idea that someone would use such a cumbersome and redundant method to conduct intelligence gathering.

It's a bit like someone getting a calculator and then taking the number buttons off it to use as counting rods.

But it is what it is.

After all, simply "receiving" and "deflecting" light does not require using the CYZ effect on those "lens groups".

Now, there is still about half an hour before Conan and Ai Haibara return to Professor Agasa's house.

During this last stretch of time he could spend in the underground laboratory, Dr. Agasa, who had just taken over the Earth monitoring system, directed the "eyes" to slowly move in one direction while "reviewing" their previous records.

"Clearly, Karasuma Renya's location must have been concealed by him in some way."

After taking over these "lens sets," one of Dr. Agasa's top priorities was to try to track down Karasuma Renya.

Whether it's the death of Yusaku Kudo or the disappearance of Gin and the others from that bunker, it's clear they had some way of evading our detection.

"There is a greater than 75% chance that it is the Black Organization's 'stealth technology'."

[Loop Computer] provides a straightforward conclusion.

The remaining possibilities stem from other aspects such as possible historical inertia and the subconscious influence of Conan Edogawa on the Black Organization.

Just like the record that Dr. Agasa "saw" this morning—

In a secret laboratory of GSSRA, a soldier solemnly accepted something and draped it over his shoulders before disappearing from sight.

"Invisibility acknowledged by Conan...?"

Fortunately, the data and records in those databases cannot be hidden, and GSSRA's production of these "invisibility cloaks" is not very high.

"We can produce about 10 to 15 pieces per day."

Dr. Agasa sent the list of approved personnel to [Fate Seer] and Evans.

A sham company on the frontiers of science will soon become a food supplier for GSSRA.

And those edible signal generators with unique pheromones will soon be offered to approved personnel.

Even if the enemy is "invisible" at the optical level, the movement paths they leave behind can still be displayed on the special task force's instruments.

In Dr. Agasa's view, this was undoubtedly another move by Karasuma Renya to create confusion in the "case".

As GSSRA's strength increases, the situation will become more chaotic, which will undoubtedly weaken the alliance's strength in a roundabout way.

Moreover, the technology that Boss gave to GSSRA was clearly defective.

Or rather, those technologies only show their true effectiveness when used by members of the "Black Organization".

Otherwise, it's hard to explain—

Why would Vermouth suddenly appear in a street in Japan without being detected by any surveillance system?

Dr. Agasa silently recalled the few encrypted messages she had voluntarily left behind.

It was brief, yet filled with feelings of anxiety and oppression.

"We have to wear invisibility devices at all times... The Boss has us monitoring each other, and Gin is keeping a very close eye on me..."

"The communication code that the boss left us is..."

"He must be in Japan..."

In fact, even though Vermouth continued to leave behind vague signals, the other members of the "Black Organization" and the final coordinates of that communication code remained elusive.

Just like twenty minutes ago, a small boat silently sailed out of an uninhabited harbor on Honshu Island.

Gin stood on the deck, letting the small boat, which had been automatically set to its course, take them to the location of the new organizational base that the Boss had given him.

“GIN, I really think…” Before Vermouth could finish speaking, she raised her hands in front of the dark gun barrel, “OK, OK, if you don’t want to hear it.”

Gin's tone was icy. He knew what Vermouth wanted to say, so he put his hand on the trigger and looked at Vermouth, who had a slightly mocking expression on her face, with a cold gaze.

"You should be on that hospital ship, Absinthe, just like those undercover agents."

Yes, do you remember?
This was Rum's previous action, which Karasuma Renya then took advantage of.

And now, those "fake liquors" are on that medical ship heading to Moonshadow Island.

After all, this is for Karasuma Renya, who now has the "precognitive cheat".

They were Rena Mizunashi and Tooru Amuro, CIA and Japanese Public Security agents respectively, and their identities were exposed very early on.

Karasuma Renya had already given instructions to everyone on the small boat.

The boss instructed them in a text message to avoid revealing any relevant information to Kiel and Bourbon.

For example, there's the issue of those stealth devices and the unknown circumstances surrounding their current destination.

"Moonshadow Island is dangerous and has a lot of problems."

For Karasuma Renya, this deduction was self-evident, and there were many obvious factors, such as the submarine base.

That submarine base, which never responded to any communications from Karasuma Renya, but which undeniably belonged to the Black Organization.

That base would undoubtedly contain a lot of relevant information. Therefore, whether the purpose is to mislead GSSRA or to utilize this "fake alcohol"—

Kiel and Bourbon will act as the "vanguard" to take over the submarine base that the Black Organization "should be on Moonshadow Island".

This is also why GIN said that; he noticed some of Vermouth's subtle actions.

Vermouth is no longer trustworthy.

Vodka, standing to the side, watched the scene unfold nervously—because right behind Vermouth, Chianti and Ken also had their hands on the triggers.

With two sniper rifles, one aimed at Gin and the other at Vodka, they were guaranteed to hit their targets.

Vermouth raised an eyebrow in surprise at Gin's explanation, then gave a mysterious smile. "You figured it out?"

"You never hid anything from me."

A few veins bulged on Gin's forehead, and he gripped the gun in his hand even tighter—

Vermouth's comment, "Gin was watching her very closely," actually meant that she did these things almost right in front of Gin.

"GIN, where do you think those clothes came from?"

Vermouth even took a slender women's cigarette out of her pocket, lit it, and exhaled a smoke ring.

"And Pisco, he's now in GSSRA's hands. Has the Boss sent you to take care of him?"

"Or rather?"

Vermouth's voice suddenly became somewhat hollow. She looked up at the sky, as if she was recalling something or waiting for something.

"Did the boss ask you to play a round of Russian roulette?"

Her voice made Chianti and Cohen behind her look a little nervous.

Everyone present fell silent for a moment.

Hospital ships, invisibility cloaks, submarine bases, missiles...

The elephant in that room was even on the small boat the whole time.

There was no sound of an engine or any lights on the small boat. In fact, after everyone boarded, the boat set off on autopilot as indicated by a text message from the Boss.

There was no rudder in the driver's cab, or even anything that could be called a control panel; there were only some essential supplies.

So what powers it to move?

"You think you've got us cornered."

“No, it’s that Boss thinks he has us cornered,” Vermouth gave Gin a way out and made some probing moves. “I have some information that I can’t reveal the source of.”

None of the phones rang at the scene.

Vermouth breathed a sigh of relief.

From this perspective, the information the Alliance gave her was correct: on Moonshadow Island, or even just on the way to Moonshadow Island, only they could contact the Boss unilaterally.

But then her heart jumped again; she remembered the second half of that message.

"...Your safety is paramount. You can do as that gentleman says, but you need the Black Organization's identity..."

Just like I said, since the Boss is willing to let these people come to the island, it means that the Boss has them figured out. They will inevitably have to reach a point where they need to contact the Boss.

Because, just like Gin, Chianti, Cohen, and others tried—everyone had tentatively inquired about "that elephant." And Boss's silence, and Rum's disappearance, have already said a lot.

……

As for the special task force of "Destiny's Manifestation" on the shore...

"We have already given the target the appropriate hints before he/she boards the ship."

Wales, his face grave, reported the operation's progress to Dr. Agasa.

"But the target became invisible after boarding the submarine, and all our tracking methods became ineffective; the sea surface was even flat."

It's like the Dead Sea, where the wind doesn't even cause a ripple.

Professor Agasa simply nodded.

He already knew that what the "lens group" transmitted was just a blank screen, or rather, a normal image.

This was just one of his few attempts to see if he could spot any possible oversights by using the "lens group" to precisely control the light and by incorporating some CYZ effects.

But clearly, "Moonshadow Island" didn't give him any loopholes to exploit.

Those members of the black-clad organization have been shrouded in the shadow of Moonshadow Island; that island is no longer just an isolated island name on a map.

That place has become a forbidden area.

If one can see all of this thanks to the help of the "moon," then that place is the moon's shadow.

Dr. Agasa thought.

All the information in GSSRA has been changed; the only thing that retains the original version is the file in the Alliance's core database.

That file was originally from when the second pointer case ended, and just after we obtained one of the words from the name of the third pointer.

At the time, the Alliance attempted to trace back from Moonshadow Island's formation by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago to the present day, trying to find anything with the word "moon" in its name that might be a pointer.

The island on that map was just a very small island, about ten square kilometers in size.

The current "Moonshadow Island" is completely different from the original one.

It became vast and desolate, like a sleeping behemoth.

Dr. Agasa quietly retrieved the data copied from the GSSRA database.

GSSRA was the first to arrive on the island.

These materials are all the feedback information that GSSRA sent back after its first landing on "Moonshadow Island"—if it can still be called "information".

They paid an exceptionally heavy price. Of the three entire brigades that went to the island, only these three lonely photos and a few undecipherable, fragmented communication records that sound like mumbling.

The first photo appears to have been taken from high altitude; the edges of the photo are yellowed, and some pixels in the corners have even fallen off like scraps of paper.

In the image, the central part of the island is a dense forest, which seems to be drawn together by some ancient force field, forming a huge vortex that appears to be rotating.

The mist in the distant forest stretched westward, while a huge shadow appeared on the steep cliff, hidden in the thick sea fog.

However, the bottom of the photo clearly reads: "Eleventh Landing Brigade Coastal Provisional Command".

Dr. Agasa knew that the command post was supposed to be built near the port of Tsukikage Village in the southeast corner of the island.

The location where this photo was taken is clearly not inhabited, and there is no sea or port in the picture.

The second photo was taken at night, and the lighting was extremely poor, resulting in a photo that is almost entirely filled with noise and blurry outlines.

It looked like a reef at night, but its shape was strangely bizarre. Its edges were as soft as an animal's tongue, or like a swollen and rotting sponge, and it looked like it was covered with some kind of black mold or black seaweed.

The stranded submarine lay at an angle in the center of the photo, gently licked by the reefs. At the waterline where the hull met the sea, some barnacle-like appendages grew crookedly.

Would GSSRA submarine officers deliberately steer their submarine into the reefs of Moonshadow?

Or is this a sign of the island's sudden "expansion"?

The last photo shows a cemetery.

The soldiers in those photos appear to be busily unfurling banners, searching for something inside. In the distance, a lighthouse can be seen in the cemetery, faintly visible in the sea mist, its top resembling an empty eye.

This is probably the most normal photo.

Professor Agasa could even see two soldiers smiling as they took a photo under a banyan tree, with the lighthouse behind them looking like a deep well.

Of course, to others around the island, such as the ignorant residents looking out from Honshu, it was just an ordinary little island.

A secluded island surrounded by an endless ocean, tranquil, indifferent, and even imbued with a touch of romantic imagination, or perhaps a sleeping maiden.

She was surrounded by the black sea, hiding in the shadows and darkness, enjoying the tranquility and safety brought by the moon's shadow enveloping her.

……

Dr. Agasa then retrieved the details of GSSRA's interrogation of Kento Oi yesterday—

For GSSRA at present, the importance of the only "Moonshadow Islanders" that can be found has been elevated to an almost absurd level.

After all, in just a few days, three full-strength brigades, 15,000 men, along with an entire logistics system and tactical group, were just like that—

They have completely evaporated from this world.

"I order you to bring those people back to me immediately, without missing a single one!"

If it weren't for the fact that governments around the world are working together to block information, tamper with records, and even delete those "rumors" at an almost magical speed, it would be a different story.

This incident has long been the trigger for global panic.

The GSSRA's information and tactical command center has fabricated a small-scale war news story.

If those people don't come back in the end, they will all "perish" in this war that will "last for several years".

However, precisely because of this, GSSRA used the fastest method to try to get Kento Oi to tell the truth.

They escorted him to an interrogation room that was almost completely dark, with only a few thin, hair-like strips of cold-colored light hanging from the ceiling.

There were no clocks or timekeeping devices in the room, deliberately creating a terrifying and lengthy atmosphere.

The dim light then enters the interrogation room's camera. The captured images are then displayed as light signals on a screen in a GSSRA analysis room.

—And in the eyes of Professor Agasa.

Dr. Agasa then heard a terrible sound of torture, as well as the suppressed, dull, and painful wails of the prisoner.

Of course, these injuries would not endanger his life in the slightest.

Kawakami Kyohei, the senior interrogator known within GSSRA as "The Bone Eater," stood quietly before Akimoto Kazuta.

He seemed completely unconcerned about the mission, his voice as calm as if he were asking about the weather.

"Why did you and Akimoto Kazuta go to that island?"

Kento Ooi raised his head, panting heavily. The blurry light and figures before his eyes transformed into the nightmare he least wanted to see.

"I'm telling the truth—"

His pupils contracted sharply, then dilated, his body tensed, and fear seemed to practically flow from his seven orifices.

"Hahaha—! Spare me! Please, spare me!"

Without Kawakami Kyohei even needing to call for help, a group of medical personnel rushed in from outside. They skillfully bandaged up Oi Kento and helped him take the sedatives and truth serum.

But this time, neither medicine nor words worked.

It was as if my spirit had been touched by some indescribable being.

He just kept muttering to himself, as if he were cursing some ancient formula in his whisper:

“It’s three…it’s a multiple of three…two…six…I…the seventh impossible…”

The man kept shouting, filled with a terrible madness and fear. His voice grew louder and more frantic until finally, like a bolt of lightning being snapped, it stopped abruptly.

In that instant, it felt as if a transparent yet absolutely real rope was binding his slender neck, his head firmly secured within the rubber straps—

Turn it one full turn to the left.

"Click."

Like a signal that a certain ritual has been completed.

Kento Oi is dead.

The approach is exactly the same as that of Akimoto Kazuta.

Before he died, his eyes were fixed on a certain spot in the air, as if it held some kind of shadow that no one could see. His gaze was filled with deep resentment and... a kind of crazy obedience.

Professor Agasa glanced at the clock that appeared before his eyes; there were still twenty minutes until Conan and Ai Haibara returned home.

So he started rewinding, taking the footage back to three days earlier.

That is, the day Kento Oi was first interrogated, the day he was transferred from the police station to GSSRA.

After all, today seems to be Conan's third day of school, and after all, [Edogawa Conan] said that tomorrow is the weekend.

(End of this chapter)