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

Chapter 258 Quick Rhyme (Part 1)

The number three is truly magical.

It appears repeatedly in countless articles, natural phenomena, religious symbols, and philosophical structures, like a silent order.

It's as if the universe itself is based on the number "three," weaving the symphony of the existence of all things and the symphony of time.

And this piece of music already has a name.

Its name and sound are surprisingly familiar and beautiful, like...like Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".

Of course, it wasn't originally called that; its official name should be: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor.

A work with exactly three movements, no more and no less.

The first movement, Adagio sostenuto, is "Delayed Adagio".

C-sharp minor, 2/2 time.

The melody was as if the world was meant to be this way, trembling or lamenting slowly.

It floats unhurriedly above the night, carrying the dim, deep moonlight, melancholic and contemplative, like moonlight reflected on the sea.

Or perhaps it was actually the sea and islands reflected in the moonlight.

This movement is also the origin of the name "Moonlight Sonata".

After the German poet Rellstab described its first movement as "like moonlight shimmering on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland," that's what everyone called it.

But now, I think everyone understands.

It is actually the "now" of this story.

A sad and melancholic "now".

After all, whether it's Conan Edogawa, Ran Mouri, Kogoro Mouri, or even Wakako Chiba or Narumi Asai...

Those sorrows, swaying gently like moonlight, actually flow in the depths of everyone's heart.

……

Intense! Intense! Intense! ...

This is the only word that can be used to describe the third movement.

The third movement is like a completely out-of-control storm, Presto agitato, which means "intense allegro".

The same C-sharp minor key, but in 4/4 time, now the melody is no longer a soft murmur, but a loud shout.

The story timeline then serves as the "accompaniment" for this movement.

In this "intense allegro," Keiji Aso's piano playing "trapped" everyone—in that burning mansion, he "played" like a storm.

And the League and GSSRA, those who remained in the "intense allegro," each of them was Beethoven.

They used their lives to "perform" this never-ending tragedy.

In order to prevent the music from stopping before the movement ends.

Each of them is fighting.

……

And that which lies between sorrow and rage is the second movement.

Unlike C-sharp minor, D-flat major is in 3/4 time.

Short and light.

It's not as somber as the first movement, nor as intense as the third; just like its name suggests—

Allegretto, a short, fast-paced rhythmic piece.

It is the breather between sorrow and intensity, compromise and resistance, revenge and redemption.

It is the "connection" between the contradiction of "life" and "death".

Countless voices of destiny will converge, collide, and attempt to find moments of harmony and breakthrough here.

now--

It's time to play the "Quatrain"!

……

The glow of dusk bathed the tranquil and peaceful Moonshadow Island, draping it in a gentle golden veil.

After a bumpy ride, the oil tanker finally arrived at the dock.

The children's faces were pale from seasickness.

The sea was unusually rough, and everyone had to stay in their cabins as instructed by the broadcast.

However, as the ship's horn sounded and the boat docked, the boys of the Junior Detective League felt a sense of relief and excitement, as if they had escaped from a dangerous situation.

They cheered and jumped for joy as they rushed out of the cabin.

Professor Agasa followed behind them.

However, the moment he stepped from the cabin onto the deck, his right hand almost instinctively rose and quickly pressed against the device on his left wrist.

A faint green light flickered gently beneath the watch's crystal.

The real-world anchor for TDD has been activated.

Something's wrong...something's very wrong.

No, simply saying "wrong" is not enough to describe what is happening right now.

At the very moment the reality anchor was activated, Professor Agasa even forgot to pay attention to his surroundings—

Because TDD has never issued such a high frequency and such strong warning signals before.

Dr. Agasa was extremely tense and heavy-hearted, and he immediately became alert.

Moreover, he was convinced that he had been attacked in some way.

Perhaps it's an attack from the universe itself, or from Conan Edogawa himself.

Only with this level of deflection can his TDD issue the highest level alarm.

Only then can the mask "disconnect" immediately.

Yes, they are out of contact.

Now, Professor Agasa can no longer feel the "Professor Agasa" persona covering his face.

Now it's just a simple mask-shaped material that bears the CYZ effect.

Standing on the sampan leading to the dock, Professor Agasa shielded the three children in front of him.

This is to ensure they stay firmly under our watchful eyes and don't run away.

Of course, he also had the idea of ​​using the children's RSI anomalies.

Dr. Agasa's mission is to ensure their safety even if a "case" occurs in the next second.

Using the high ground, he quickly scanned the entire dock, looking over the sampan.

The overall layout was not much different from the information he remembered.

Only a few berths seemed to still have metal supports erected, covered by gray-blue tarpaulins, like unfinished theater sets.

Considering the photo is from "several months" ago, and that Conan arrived on the island before them, etc...

Professor Agasa is unsure whether Conan's arrival on land led to certain explosions.

He hoped—no, at that time he "hoped it wasn't."

However, not long after, as some clues were pieced together, a possibility emerged—

Perhaps, he should actually hope so.

……

Only when all five of them were safely standing at the exit of the pier did Dr. Agasa quietly turn around and glance back at the harbor behind him.

The area remained calm and peaceful, with no fires, explosions, tsunamis, or any other disasters that could trigger a TDD warning.

My heart felt both lighter and heavier as a result.

The TDD alert is not because Conan Edogawa's RSI anomaly has spread throughout the entire island.

While getting his luggage tag and queuing, Dr. Agasa had already secretly glanced at the RSI index next to him.

That number is not high at all; in fact, it is quite stable.

Professor Agasa is now somewhat nostalgic for the "Cyclic Computer"; the TDD device he's wearing on his wrist is an older version.

After all, his "timeline mask" is more useful than any TDD tool.

Furthermore, due to the CYZ effect contained in the "mask," it has many more features than ordinary TDD, and most of its functions are enhanced versions.

But now, with the "mask" temporarily offline, he can only judge the current situation by observing the outside world himself.

Throughout the departure process, he deliberately chose the most time-consuming and circuitous route, hoping to observe whether any unusual events would emerge.

But the three children behaved "frighteningly" well-behaved—

It wasn't too noisy, it didn't get lost, and it didn't do anything "naughty" even once.

This only made Dr. Agasa more uneasy.

If Conan really does cause some kind of "case".

It's impossible for these three children not to exhibit their RSI abnormalities, driven by them to rush eagerly to the "crime scene."

"In other words—the problem isn't with Conan."

Dr. Agasa's heart sank.

"It is the cycle itself."

This is tricky, Dr. Agasa thought. "The loop mechanism is the area I'm worst at analyzing."

Apart from the research department, no one else can clearly explain how this concept works.

The mechanism of a loop determines that it can always be associated with any possibility.

It represents both "the infinite within the finite" and "the uncertain within the certain."

Aside from a relatively clear "beginning" and "end," anything can happen in between.

Dr. Agasa suddenly remembered the signal code he had given to Yuko Shimizu before he set off.

While casually broadcasting his identification code within a localized area, he slowly reverted to the familiar "old rascal" persona.

"Let's go, kids, to the parking lot to pick up the car!"

He waved the shipping document in his hand, his voice rising high, just like an old man who was oblivious to the ways of the world.

The crew of the oil tanker had already driven their Volkswagen Beetles to parking lot C at the dock.

At the entrance to the parking lot, Professor Agasa instructed Ai to take the children to the parking lot exit.

"To prevent you from running around in the underground parking lot."

Professor Agasa wore a smile that suggested he had successfully pulled off a clever trick.

"Just let Ai lead you to the exit and wait there!"

Professor Agasa jogged across the parking lot and found the old but nimble yellow Beetle.

Then, he bent down and crawled into the driver's seat, skillfully flipped open the cover of the old-fashioned radio, and embedded the "mask" in the hidden groove while it was "out of contact".

"drop--"

The familiar blue screen immediately lit up, its soft glow spreading throughout the car.

Dr. Agasa immediately activated the alert mode and then synchronized the TDD communication module and signal code to the system.

A series of general channel signals were rapidly transmitted:
"Beep—Professor Agasa is calling the CYZ Alliance."

"Beep—Professor Agasa is calling for [Eternal First Strike], calling for [Destiny's Mandate], calling for [Mobile Structure]... "

"Beep—Dr. Agasa is calling the CYZ Alliance, GSSRA, and the Science Frontiers Asia-Pacific region..."

He tried every possible channel.

A deathly silence echoed through the communication system.

He received no response.

It is now "daytime" on Moonshadow Island, a "quiet period".

It is a very short pause in a fast-paced allegro.

Without "moonlight," Professor Agasa would have no way to contact anyone.

……

"Doctor? Have you found the car?"

The badge communicator in his hand transmitted the voice of Genta Kojima.

"I'm coming right now," Professor Agasa replied briefly.

He skillfully restored all the equipment inside the car, covering up the traces left from his previous operation, then started the vehicle and slowly drove away.

The carriage was eerily quiet, almost too quiet, like the uneasy atmosphere before a storm.

Dr. Agasa frowned and turned on the radio.

"Mr. Kameyama, according to your plan..."

"squeak--!!"

A screeching sound of brakes suddenly rang out.

Professor Agasa slammed on the brakes, his pupils contracting, a look of horror crossing his face. Kameyama Isamu was still alive?!

Dr. Agasa immediately turned on the simplest and most inconspicuous networking function of the TDD device in his hand, allowing it to receive time signals from each satellite.

—It is now 1992.

"Oops."

The moment he saw that number, Dr. Agasa felt a sudden tightness in his chest, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

"We mustn't let the children realize this!"

He floored the accelerator, and the vehicle nearly crashed through a signpost on the left before speeding away.

He was now praying that the children hadn't discovered anything unusual about time.

Especially—Ai Haibara.

Now, at the parking lot exit, Ai Haibara's face displayed a calm yet alert demeanor.

Gin might have already landed on the island, which made every cell in her body tense.

Therefore, the children are now deliberately standing under the security booth not far from the exit.

The kind smile of the old police officer standing to the side.

Genta and Mitsuhiko then pulled her into their lively "camping discussion".

Yoshida Ayumi carefully counted on her fingers, meticulously listing several "candidate locations for adventure".

"Ai-chan, have you thought about where we should go camping? By the beach? In the forest?"

"forest!"

"seaside!"

The other two children immediately answered, each choosing an answer.

"There's pirate treasure on the beach!"

Genta declared confidently, a longing look in his eyes, "And eel rice!"

"No matter how you look at it, the mysterious forest is more likely to hold the treasure! Maybe there are hidden secret passages and mechanisms!"

Finally, the three children turned their gaze to Ai Haibara.

The old police officer put down his newspaper and looked at the group of children with a smile.

He pushed up his reading glasses and drawled, "Speaking of treasures..."

“I remember a long time ago, a ship seemed to have sunk in the rocky area on the east side of the pier.”

"yeah--!"

Before Yuan Tai could even cheer, the old man added a wicked smile to his face.

"But there seems to be a very beautiful ancient castle on the rocky cliff at the edge of the western forest..."

When the two boys were arguing about their camping destination, Ayumi stepped in to mediate.

Ai Haibara stepped forward and looked at the old police officer.

"Grandpa, do you know anything about 'Shadow of the Full Moon'?"

"What is that? The shadow of the full moon?"

The veteran police officer looked blank, clearly having never heard of the term before.

Ai Haibara sighed softly.

Sure enough, it wasn't so easy to find out about the "pointer" on the island.

But just as she was about to ask more questions about Moonshadow Island—

Bright yellow headlights appeared around a bend in the distance. Professor Agasa rolled down the window and leaned out.

"Kids! Get on the bus!"

"PhD--!!"

The children ran joyfully toward the car that was slowly approaching from a distance.

Ai Haibara hesitated for a moment, then turned around and chased after Genta and the others.

However, a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes as she glanced at the newspaper spread out on the security guard's lap.

"Why was that security guard looking at a newspaper from two years ago?"

However, the moment Ai Haibara turned her head, the numbers about the year on the newspaper immediately began to flicker blurrily.

—Including the security guard's face.

……

Ok……

This may sound a bit unbelievable.

But that's the truth—it took Dr. Agasa and his group several hours to leave the parking lot.

After all, how could someone get lost in a parking lot while driving?
In Mitsuhiko's words:

"I really don't know who this huge parking lot is for."

This is not an irony—it is a real problem.

What kind of person would build a five-story-deep, expansive parking lot on a small island with a permanent population of less than a few thousand?
In fact, it's more like a fortress than a parking lot.

An impregnable fortress forged from steel and concrete.

The dense fire ducts covering the ceiling, the thick solid piles like bunkers, and the emergency escape buttons and first aid stations scattered throughout the corners.

There are also those interconnected and intersecting portico structures.

Ai Haibara could even see the faded, mottled appearance of those once striking red shells.

Dust and rust were everywhere, even the spider webs swaying under the yellow headlights were covered in dust.

What is the purpose of building a parking lot that looks like a bunker here?

"After all, this place is not far from the port, and wasn't that port a military port before?"

Dr. Agasa answered Mitsuhiko and the children's questions in this way.

"Perhaps it's for some kind of military purpose."

But he knew very well that this was not the work of any country's military.

He was all too familiar with the "decoration style" of this parking lot, its design language, and those abbreviations.

This is from the alliance.

Just now, in the porch that the car headlights had swept across, he saw a familiar sign—

“CYZ Effect Supplement Room”.

In fact, Dr. Agasa had already vaguely sensed that his arrival here might not have been accidental.

However, the children on the bus were very excited about it, like it was a holiday.

The sturdy body separated them from the dark outside world, like a ship sailing on a night sea, while the two beams of light from the headlights illuminated the way ahead for them.

It's safe, yet it carries a dangerous thrill.

It's like driving alone through a woodland at night.

So much so that the children even considered this "getting lost" and leaving the parking lot as part of an "adventure."

Even Ai Haibara first put aside her own doubts.

She certainly didn't join the children; instead, she noted down the route they took and, in the headlights, found the dimmed emergency exit signs.

The most urgent thing is to get out of the parking lot.

By the time the car drove out of the parking lot, night had already fallen.

However, what greeted them was not the paved road they had expected, nor the familiar convenience store, streetlights, and residential area.

Instead, it was a narrow dirt road.

There was also a whole stretch of dark, gloomy woodland.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ai Haibara glanced at the rearview mirror.

She could see the partially collapsed concrete at the top of the exit of a half-buried arched structure, illuminated by the moonlight.

"It looks like... we came out from some abandoned exit."

The three mischievous children finally learned to be a little scared.

There were no streetlights or people around.

The eerie woods surrounded the abandoned and dilapidated exit, and the wind rustled the branches, causing the moonlight to cast shadows around the three children.

Genta's voice became much softer.

"Should we... go back to the parking lot first?"

There is no signal in the parking lot.

Dr. Agasa decisively rejected this pointless suggestion.

"And it looks like we've gone quite far off course; there probably aren't any staff members around here."

Suddenly, Mitsuhiko had a flash of inspiration.

"Since there's a signal, we can ask Conan!"

When in doubt, consult Conan.

This is the collective consensus of the Junior Detectives.

Professor Agasa nodded, took out his phone from his pocket, and then, amidst the tense expressions of the children, dialed Conan's number.

The call didn't go through.

The silence in this cold, dark woodland seemed to weigh even more heavily on the children's hearts, and the fear on their faces intensified, even turning them pale.

Even Professor Agasa's expression darkened, as if he were worried about Conan's "disappearance".

But in fact, what he was worried about was something else entirely.

—Ai Haibara.

Professor Agasa is pondering how to conceal their current situation from Ai Haibara and how to delay her realization of "the present time".

He got 'lost' on purpose.

After all, how could someone who can understand the meaning of those symbols go astray?
Professor Agasa got "lost" by following the signs he recognized.

He deliberately drove the car away from the residential area of ​​Moonshadow Island.

In this way, Ai Haibara will be unable to contact the outside world, and she will not know that time has "regressed" to two years ago.

Dr. Agasa knew very well just how significant it was for Ai Haibara to return to "two years ago".

In 1992, Akemi Miyano was still alive.

If she knew the truth now... she would definitely rush back to the past without hesitation and try to rewrite her destiny.

No one would refuse an opportunity that could directly salvage "everything".

But what should we do next?

Professor Agasa looked up at the moon in the sky, wondering if that moon could do the same...

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang—!"

A sudden burst of gunfire interrupted his thoughts!

Several black SUVs emerged from the forest, their searchlights flashing, heading straight for the Beetle.

—Now we don't have to worry about which way we're going.

"Ahhhh!"

A series of gunshots made the children scream.

"Everyone get down! Someone's shooting at us!"

Dr. Agasa roared and immediately floored the accelerator!
The yellow beetle roared as it charged into the woodland; this tiny "insect" was clearly more adapted to the woodland.

It plunged headlong into the dark branches and fallen leaves.

In an instant, the shadows of the trees fluttered, and magpies flew about in disarray.

Behind them, the gun barrels protruding from the windows of the SUV sparked bright flashes as bullets whizzed past, grazing the roof of the vehicle!

The next moment, a series of gunshots rang out from the woods, and three motorcycles rushed out from the forest.

A fiercer firefight suddenly erupted in the dark woods.

Amidst the hail of bullets, a figure on a motorcycle approached from behind a Volkswagen Beetle.

"Professor Agasa!" a female voice rang out from outside the window, "Take the left at the fork in the road ahead!"

The sound made Ai Haibara, who was lying in the passenger seat, shudder. Her pupils contracted and her face turned pale instantly.

Ai Haibara's "Blacksmith Radar" went off.

Moreover, she had already recognized the voice—

Those who came to "rescue" him.

It was Vermouth, who had been waiting for a long time!

(End of this chapter)