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

Chapter 255 Letters from afar
Ah—the long-awaited weekend!

Leaning back in his office chair, Kogoro Mouri shifted his body comfortably and let out a long sigh.

He reached for the latest issue of the "Mihua Daily" and casually flipped through a few pages—

The above report seems to be doing its utmost to promote the safety and comfort of Beika Town.

"The town of Beika enjoys excellent public safety, and residents' sense of happiness has reached a new high..."

"The new shopping mall has grandly opened, and the queues are orderly..."

"The Beika Town Map Drawing Competition has come to a successful conclusion..."

He pursed his lips and casually tossed the newspaper aside.

"Not a single interesting thing happened."

He muttered to himself.

"However, speaking of the case..."

Leaning back in his chair, Kogoro Mouri remained silent for a few seconds, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the case files beside him.

He recalled his secret attempt that night, and the phone call he made to the Osaka Police Station earlier.

He was now somewhat glad that he hadn't taken the initiative to call and ask Hattori Heiji about the photos.

After all, the police in Osaka had already told him that those cases were real.

After all, for a detective known throughout the country as "Sleeping Kogoro"...

He was even confused by the clues he had written down.

If he were to reveal this, others would likely doubt his judgment.

Moreover, this would make him, the famous detective, seem a bit... a bit "confused".

Kogoro Mouri is quite concerned about his title of "famous detective".

Of course, he was equally concerned about the suspicious points he had discovered.

He still has many questions about that case collection.

In fact, just yesterday, Saturday, he unusually didn't watch his favorite TV program.

Yes, Kogoro Mouri didn't even watch Yoko's show!

Instead, they tried their best to decipher the traces written by "themselves".

It even lasted a whole day.

However, neither the process nor the outcome went smoothly.

It was as if an invisible veil separated him from the "truth".

However, this may be because Shinichi Kudo has always thought that Kogoro Mouri is a "clueless detective".

For example, the day before yesterday, Dr. Agasa kept it from him.

Or perhaps, the vase that just happened to fall off the edge of the table yesterday, or Xiaolan's request for me to help her carry some things...

Even the cawing of the crows outside the window.

The "quack-quack" sound, which sounded like a warning, carried an eerie, mournful, and sinister quality.

He had never thought the cawing of crows was so jarring and eerie.

There were many unexpected events...

There will always be certain things and certain voices that emerge at those potentially crucial junctures.

He hated the feeling of getting nothing and going around in circles like a fool.

It was as if some kind of curse, as if the "truth" itself was repelling him from getting closer.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, a sense of unease did rise in Kogoro Mouri's heart.

More importantly, he had secretly tried to summon his "second personality" again last night.

Another "self" seems to have responded to itself.

Now, Kogoro Mouri looked rather worried. He raised one eyebrow and pondered to himself.

"Should I change my approach?"

He lowered his head, opened the case file again, and turned to the marked page.

To be honest, the hints given by my "second personality" this time seem even more obscure and difficult to understand.

"uh-huh……"

He picked up a magnifying glass and tried to examine carefully the strange new marks that had appeared on page 33 of the case file.

The traces left by this "second personality" are completely different from those in the past.

It was no longer a clear and orderly reasoning notebook, no longer a neat circle or arrow, no longer a straight horizontal line under some words and sentences.

Instead, they were strange, twisted, and unsettling things.

Those marks were all crooked and twisted, with a strange texture.

In some places, the handwriting resembles a rapidly beating electrocardiogram, with an irregular and peculiar rhythm, trembling chaotically and violently, abruptly turning back and forth.
In other places, it resembled a deep black swamp, where the oval ink marks spread out, even swallowing some of the words;
There are also those peculiar line drawings interspersed along the edge of the "swamp," which look like the forked branches of some strange trees.

As Kogoro Mouri brought the magnifying glass closer to the marks, his throat tightened slightly.

He never considered himself a coward.

But at that moment, he did feel something cold spreading from his fingertips all the way down his upper arm and into his whole body.

Kogoro Mouri felt as if he were wandering through this misty woodland and this dark swamp.

He stared intently at the case file, scrutinizing the distorted handwriting, hoping to find some clue to the "suspect" in his own marks.

And it was beside the desk.

Ran Mouri bent down and gathered up the stack of books that Kogoro Mouri had scattered while searching for clues, and put them back on the bookshelf.

"I said, Dad—"

Then she stood up and sighed helplessly.

"Can you please stop staring at those holes you poked in the case files with a ballpoint pen when you were drunk, and those scribbles?"

Her gaze swept over the case files on the table, then looked at her father's serious expression, as if he were "cracking a code."

Ran Mouri rubbed her forehead, looking a bit of a headache.

In her view, this was the "evidence" left by her father after a hangover, when he stubbornly believed he was sober and scribbled on the gift given to him by Mr. Hattori.

"So Dad, you still didn't call and ask Mr. Hattori directly?"

Ran Mouri shrugged, looking at Kogoro Mouri with a slightly speechless expression, and complained about his unreliability.

“That’s true. If Mr. Hattori asks you to take pictures of the parts you’re suspicious of, all these traces will be exposed…”

"Ahem, maybe... I'm just saying maybe."

She sighed deliberately, a barely concealed smile on her face, and spoke in a slightly teasing tone.

"These things look like the crooked lines drawn in a textbook by someone who's dozing off in class, trying to pretend they're awake."

Kogoro Mouri immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his tone agitated:
"Damn it! What do you know, child?!"

Immediately afterwards, he started using phrases like "second personality," "famous detective," and "detective's soul."

"This is my second personality, a clue given to me by my detective spirit!"

He spoke with great conviction, even showing Ran Mouri the photos that had been taken from that page.

"Look! This is the evidence!"

Kogoro Mouri showed four photos that looked very blurry.

The smooth plastic surface in the photo glistens slightly in the sunlight.

On each of those smooth plastic surfaces, there was a mark, like one made by pressing down with a ballpoint pen.

—An arc.

"If I put them together like this... you see, it looks like a circle!"

Kogoro Mouri tried to hold the four photos between his fingers.

Then, he subtly arranged them at an angle to form a roughly complete circle.

A smug gleamed in the dim-witted detective's eyes, as if he were displaying a major discovery.

"Look! Just like this!"

Ran Mouri blinked, about to ask a question, when Kogoro Mouri frowned to himself, his voice pausing:
"But what clues can we get from piecing this together?"

Kogoro was sunk, and he fell into a brief silence.

To be honest, it's really hard to get any definitive clues from these four photos.

Because page 33 describes a case that occurred in a mountainous area.

Theoretically, it's perfectly reasonable that these photos were all taken at the same location.

However, Kogoro always felt that these photos themselves revealed a strange incongruity.

In addition, it appears that someone attempted to take a long exposure in the dim light of dusk, and the image was out of focus during shooting.

The scenery in the photo looks unusually blurry.

Only the figures of Heiji Hattori and Shinichi Kudo in the photo together are exceptionally clear, as if the entire picture is there solely to highlight their presence.

Kogoro Mouri stared at the background—

The shadows of the rolling mountains behind the two people, or the faint white mist, or the forest behind them.

The background in the distance looks like a chaotic mess.

Then a thought struck him, and he immediately began to analyze the situation vividly again:

"Xiaolan, look, if we put the shadows at the edges of these photos together like this... wouldn't it form a picture frame?"

Ran Mouri looked at his stubborn and slightly neurotic expression and sighed softly.

She put Kogoro's thought process into mind and then looked at the "photograph".

She glanced at it casually, and then, for some reason, suddenly felt a chill.

The shadows in the photo —

The mountains, the sea mist, and the hazy forests seemed to be slowly creeping and approaching, like some invisible tide, about to engulf the entire photograph, or even herself.

She could hardly find the words to describe the eeriness of the scene.

The dark mountains outline an irregular, wavy frame, pieced together at a strange geometric angle.

It was as if... as if a black sea was surrounding something.

In the center of the photo, the faces of Shinichi Kudo and Heiji Hattori are both smiling, their heads facing the center of the photo.

Perhaps it was because Kogoro Mouri rotated those photos.

Ran Mouri felt that their smiles looked strange and stiff.

Those upside-down or tilted postures and smiles made them look as if they had been replaced by something else.

The forests and the indistinct land beneath their feet were surrounded by the black mountains, or rather, the "waves of the sea," amidst the interplay of mountains and shadows.

—It's like an island in the middle of a pitch-black sea.

A strange sense of fear rose in Ran Mouri's heart.

But quickly, she forcefully banished these ridiculous associations from her mind, shook her head, and rationally reminded herself:
This is just a blurry photo.

"But Daddy!"

Ran Mouri suddenly raised her voice, as if she was eager to break free from that illusion.

"There's no such thing as a photo where four identical people appear at the same time!"

She slammed the photo on the table, her tone impatient and authoritative.

"Besides, didn't I call Shinichi yesterday at noon?"

She paused for a moment, then quickly added, seemingly to make her point more convincing:
"Shinichi himself said that it was Mr. Hattori, whom he had previously hired. They met while solving a case in Osaka!"

Her rebuttal shattered the confidence that Kogoro Mouri had painstakingly built up, causing him to nod somewhat dejectedly.

"Ah, that's it..."

Kogoro Mouri scratched his head, grinned awkwardly, and lowered his voice a few decibels.

"So I just think..."

"After all, the photo looked a bit strange... so I wanted to see if there were any clues..."

He muttered something, then, somewhat dejected, casually tossed the photos onto the table.

But seeing Kogoro Mouri's actions, Ran's voice dropped again.

"Anyway, Dad, you have to pull yourself together..."

She woke up this morning to find Kogoro Mouri sprawled on his desk, fast asleep.

The bottles scattered around his feet were proof of what had happened the night before.

Seeing your family member turn into an alcoholic is truly a sad thing.

The fact that her father had become like this was what she feared most. It was a hundred times more terrifying than the illusion created by that eerie photograph. So, she took a deep breath, suppressing the weariness and bitterness in her heart.

With the idea that her father should use work to cheer himself up.

Ran pulled Kogoro up and pushed him toward the entrance of the office.

"So, could you please check your mailbox for any new requests?"

As she pushed him, she encouraged him, "Maybe there's some urgent case that needs the help of a famous detective like you!"

"I only got back the night before last..."

Kogoro Mouri's voice carried a childlike sense of grievance.

"Just the day before yesterday, he was very worried and told me to stay at the office a little longer... as if he was afraid I would get lost..."

"dad--!"

Ran Mouri's somewhat embarrassed and annoyed voice rang out in the office, followed by a punch slamming into the wall next to the office.

Some dust fell from the ceiling.

The entire firm seemed to shake a few times, but in the end, it managed to hold on.

Kogoro Mouri jolted awake, as if he'd been electrocuted, and immediately jumped up from his chair, then practically ran towards the door.

Only his voice, carrying the sound of running wind, echoed in the office.

"I'm going right now—!!!"

……

So, the letter that carried the blood and faith of so many people was finally obtained by Kogoro Mouri around noon on Sunday.

Watching her father disappear into the office, Ran Mouri walked to her desk and began tidying up the pile of miscellaneous items scattered around.

The four photos pieced together are still lying among those book pages.

Ran Mouri frowned, then compared the two pairs and tried to insert them between the pages of the book.

Unexpectedly, the four arcs, at a rather "logical" angle, arranged a clear set of numbers along the spine:

— “33”.

The "information" scattered in the corners of several photos, seemingly deliberately tucked away, suddenly appears to be exposed, its fractal "shell" blurred.

Some details suddenly became clear.

They form something like noise, appearing as tiny lines of text in the light and shadow of those "slits".

Even the "buzzing" sound of a mosquito poking at a photograph with its proboscis.

"this is……?"

Ran Mouri instinctively picked up the magnifying glass next to the case file.

But the next moment, her movements were interrupted by a voice.

"Hahahaha! I told you, a new request had come in!"

At the entrance of the office, Kogoro Mouri's exaggerated laughter echoed throughout the entire space.

He pushed open the door and entered with light steps; his previous frown had vanished, leaving only joy.

Behind him followed a child whose brows revealed a hint of irritation—Edogawa Conan.

It's almost noon on Sunday now.

The reason is that Conan didn't return to the agency all Saturday.

Due to Professor Agasa's well-intentioned "reminder," Conan had no choice but to go back to the agency for lunch today.

"Sigh, children's bodies are such a hassle."

Conan was inwardly grumbling; he had hoped to continue spending lunch with Dr. Agasa...

As a result, Ai Haibara completely disrupted the plan.

"It's all Haibara's fault, she insisted on making me 'calm down,' honestly..."

Recalling yesterday's argument, Conan felt his head was throbbing even more.

"Kudo, I remember saying that if you take the antidote frequently, it will become less effective over time."

Ai Haibara is very dissatisfied with Shinichi Kudo, who secretly took the antidote just to make a phone call to Ran Mouri.

"If you keep doing this, I'll have to make more antidote to keep on hand, do you even realize that—"

"Please please!"

Conan immediately gave an apologetic smile, saying, "It's been a long time since I've seen Ran."

He paused, then added, "I mean, meeting her as she is now."

"And I only ate a little bit—"

That's why I'm angry!

Ai Haibara's voice carried a hint of anger, "Do you think this is drinking cola?"

"You only ate a little?! You only turned back into your original form for an hour!"

"Recurring flare-ups after short-term medication will make your immune system think this is abnormal!"

"I need to make several more batches of backup antidote. Do you know how troublesome that is?"

"Uh...you didn't say that before..." Conan's voice grew softer and softer under Ai Haibara's gaze.

Then, he was "invited" out of the villa.

Of course, Conan has his own reasons.

After failing to reach the phone number he remembered, he decided to try to get Uncle Mori to contact GSSRA.

"Well, that must be it."

Conan recalled Haibara's behavior when she was angry, "It's definitely not because I need to 'calm down'."

result--

He bumped into this bumbling detective right at the door.

Conan glanced at Kogoro Mouri, looking at the request or letter he was holding.

There was only this one email in my inbox.

"Please, please, please—it can't be about finding a cat or catching a mistress..."

Kogoro Mouri's nagging made Conan chuckle behind him, which even improved his mood a little.

Then he saw the bumbling detective excitedly pull a check out of an envelope.

"Hahaha! Now, my reputation as Kogoro Mouri is so good that clients trust me so much!"

"One million yen! Let me see what the commission entails—"

Kogoro Mouri unfolded the folded letter of authorization, and then his expression turned strange for a moment.

It seems a little different from what I've encountered before.

This letter of authorization appears to have been "written" using text clipped from a newspaper.

Kogoro Mouri softly read the words above:

"The next full moon night, shadows will begin to disappear again on Moonshadow Island. Please investigate—Keiji Aso."

"Moon Shadow Island!" Conan exclaimed in surprise.

"What? Conan, you know about this island too?"

Kogoro Mouri found it strange. He then took out the last few items from the envelope—three ferry tickets to Moonshadow Island—and looked down at Conan.

"Huh? I just think the contents of this request sound really weird!"

"Anyway, since they've already sent the tickets and paid in advance..."

Kogoro looked at the kid in front of him with some suspicion.

He always felt it was a bit of a coincidence, but even more coincidences were yet to come.

Because the next second he glanced at the time on the back of his ticket, his eyes widened immediately, and he shouted.

"What?! Boarding time is 2:30 PM today?!"

The three people in the office all turned their attention to the wall clock the next moment.

It is now 13:33 PM.

"Xiao Lan! We need to get going now!"

Kogoro Mouri is now acting like Sherlock Holmes rushing to catch a train.

He hurriedly dragged his suitcase out of the room, then glared at Conan, who was still standing to the side.

"Conan, are you going?! If you are, hurry up and pack your things!"

"Ah! I'm coming right now!"

Without giving Conan any time to react, the group hurriedly packed everything into the trunk of the car within minutes.

Then, as a wisp of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, the group immediately set off.

……

And about two hours later.

As Conan boarded the ferry, he finally managed to pull out his phone from his suitcase, edited a text message, and sent it.

A few minutes later, he received a text message from Ai Haibara on the deck.

"You actually ran away because of the bet!!!"

Seeing the anger expressed between the lines, Conan smiled wryly and typed a reply.

"I'll wait for you. Besides, I haven't brought the antidote or the skateboard yet. This time, it's because Uncle Mori received a request from Moonshadow Island."

"Besides, there are only three tickets, I can't just not go."

“I’ve already found the name of this ferry. I’ll note down its route. Haibara, you and the professor can try…”

"Trying to smuggle themselves in?!"

Conan's reply made Ai Haibara grit her teeth, and she continued typing to vent her anger.

"Shinichi Kudo! Let's get this straight: if you find the compass before I even arrive on the island, I won't honor the bet!"

Ai Haibara was seen frantically typing on her phone, engaging in a heated "debate" with Conan.

"That—Ai?"

Professor Agasa poked his head out from the doorway, his expression strange, and waved his phone at Ai Haibara.

"I think I found a group ticket for camping on Moonshadow Island a day from now?"

The doctor's voice carried a hint of distress, "But they need at least five people."

Ai Haibara reacted quickly.

"Doctor! Those kids from the Junior Detective Club!"

That's actually not bad.

Ai Haibara's suggestion over the phone to combine her induction ceremony with a secret camping trip.

and most importantly -

"What! Conan is secretly solving cases again?!"

When faced with Ai Haibara's "tattling," Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko all reacted in exactly the same way.

"How could he abandon us again! We have to go find him!"

……

It turns out that Kogoro Mouri may still need to improve his reasoning skills.

But his ability to eliminate incorrect options remains undiminished.

Add to that Ran Mouri's "luck".

The results speak for themselves.

If it were the Ran Mouri of the past, perhaps she would have already discovered the hidden clues with the help of her intuition.

As for Professor Agasa, he was busy this morning making a new antidote for Ai Haibara.

Conan's sudden departure will soon attract the three children—he won't have time to go to the basement anymore.

Moreover, it seemed to be just another of Kogoro Mouri's everyday setbacks.

But now, in the empty office, the case file that hadn't been put back in the drawer was gently blown open by a breeze.

If you rotate the casebook ninety degrees and examine it closely along the spine with a "magnifying glass" to see those unusually blurry noises.

Some faint, blurry traces can be seen—

"Shinichi Kudo and Heiji Hattori, photographed on [Island Name]."

(End of this chapter)