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

Chapter 292 The Phantom of Baker Street

In Conan's view, it was as if he had been awakened from his slumber by some kind of force.

As his senses returned to normal, his consciousness seemed to float in some kind of unreal boundary.

He was standing under a spotlight, like the center of a stage.

Beneath my feet was a small, round platform revealed by focused light, while the surroundings, except for the area illuminated by the light, were a deep darkness, like a curtain of some kind of reality.

"This is……"

Conan's first reaction was that he had fallen into some kind of trap.

However, as more beams of light fell from that utter darkness, the narrow patch of solid ground beneath their feet expanded outwards.

Conan, who is not very good at games, finally realized that this must be the loading screen of this virtual world, and the white lights are other players loading into the game.

Soon, in this small, stage-like space, the curious chatter and exclamations of many children filled the air.

But Conan didn't join the group of children at all.

He simply looked down at the black watch on his wrist.

The five hands are quietly embedded in the dial, radiating the same sacred light as if they were in reality.

Conan was unable to describe his feelings at that moment.

What he was certain of was that he was the first player to enter this space, and he suspected, or even was almost certain, that it was related to the watch.

More importantly, it was the sound I heard—the faint ticking sound, like the trembling of a clock.

He heard this voice from an unknown source the moment he regained consciousness, and unusually, he was unable to trace the source of the voice.

The sound did not come from his wrist or the surrounding space, but rather seemed to resonate deep within his heart.

It was as if someone was gently knocking on the door of his subconscious mind, tapping on his instinctive anxiety again and again.

"We must take action."

"We must act immediately."

For some reason, Conan felt his intuition screaming wildly—an emotion that was definitely not something he, usually so rational, could feel.

It's like there's a door that's slowly closing. If he doesn't step over that threshold right now, he'll face some terrible, irreversible consequence and be trapped somewhere forever.

So he instinctively walked toward the darkness at the edge of the light, trying to find a possible exit.

Then, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind—a gentle voice that carried a hint of suppressed anger.

"Conan!"

Conan turned around almost reflexively.

Then he saw Ran Mouri staring at him with a hint of anger in her eyes.

"Sister Xiaolan!" he blurted out, almost shouting, attracting the attention of several unfamiliar children around him. "What are you doing here?!"

It's really hard to describe Conan's feelings at this moment. Worry, fear, surprise, panic... many emotions are mixed together like a bowl of sour stew.

Before deciding to embark on this journey that might be a one-way trip, Conan did consider seeing Ran Mouri one last time—but certainly not here, at this time.

"Is there even a need to ask?!"

Ran Mouri lowered her body, her eyebrows furrowed, and her voice rose an octave.

"Of course it's because I was worried about you! Conan, do you know how I felt after you suddenly ran away from the hospital—"

"Conan-kun!" Ayumi's voice interrupted Ran Mouri's impending outburst of emotion.

"Conan!" Mitsuhiko and Genta even surrounded him.

The Junior Detectives have finally found their leader.

And then there's Sonoko Suzuki, who was inexplicably dragged into this.

She walked past Ran Mouri to Conan, crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows, and glared fiercely at the mischievous boy.

"Hmph, you little brat, you don't know how far your little Lan sister went to find you—uh-uh-uh—!"

"Stop talking about the garden!"

Upon hearing the phrase "your little Lan-jie," the reaction was almost entirely subconscious.

Ran Mouri immediately covered Sonoko's mouth.

Then, looking at Conan surrounded by children, she sighed.

Just moments ago, she had mustered the courage to confront the issue, but after this little incident, the courage that had just welled up in Ran Mouri's heart subtly vanished.

Whether it was an attempt to delay the revelation of some truth or some kind of premonition, Ran Mouri reasoned inwardly.

"Let's ask after this game is over..."

"There are so many people here, and... what if I've misunderstood?"

……

"Seriously, all of this is amazing!"

Mitsuhiko's voice rang out from the side. He reached out and patted his cheek, making a surprised sound.

"Although we are currently in a hypnotic state, it's just like being in the real world!"

"On the contrary."

Ai Haibara's indifferent tone interrupted the children's excited discussion.

"Let alone freedom, our five senses are now completely under the control of computers."

She seemed to be explaining the principles behind all of this to the children.

But Conan noticed that while she was saying these words, her gaze remained fixed on his eyes—a gaze that carried a warning and a reminder.

So Conan tried to quietly approach Ai Haibara.

He still remembered that at the end of Moonshadow Island, it was Haibara's "unintentional" help that finally allowed him to obtain the third pointer.

If none of this is a coincidence—it's clear that Haibara has other sources of information.

However, Conan obviously did not succeed.

Not only did his pleading look towards Haibara go unanswered.

Moreover, after Ai Haibara's "disappointing remark," the children surrounded the wise member of the Junior Detective League, trying to confirm with Conan whether what Ai said was true.

"That should be right," Conan replied, based on the explanation he had heard during a recent tour guide activity.

But out of consideration for not upsetting others, he added vaguely.

"But maybe this world is real too! You know what I mean?"

"Actually, there's a theory about parallel universes. It's said that every decision we make corresponds to a new universe..."

Conan offered nonsensical explanations, but he found himself gradually calming down.

He has already experienced too many events and crises.

These days, Conan finds his thinking becoming increasingly clear, especially at crucial moments.

It's as if there's a second, calm and rational version of myself thinking at the same time.

"Calm down," he tried to calm himself down. "It's just an extra task of protecting the others."

"And, if Hattori is right..."

He subconsciously glanced down at the black watch on his wrist.

"The guy behind this is using this exhibition to promote the equipment, so it's actually less likely to cause any accidental injuries or fatalities."

Of course, his guess was clearly completely wrong.

Several loud explosions, like magical smoke bombs, rang out at the edge of the surrounding darkness. Amidst the billowing white mist, five massive stone pillar gates slowly rose from nothingness.

Behind the door, five seemingly endless stone paths lead into the deeper darkness.

Conan, however, looked up at the sky.

It was a rainbow that stretched across the entire sky, as if to make the whole world look tiny, and those ever-changing, fantastical colors flowed in a cycle.

The light began to flicker.

"For those of you experiencing the cocoon for the first time, the game has begun!"

"Wow--!"

"Great!"

"So handsome!"

For the innocent children, this magical scene made them cheer excitedly.

"My name is Noah's Ark. Please take care of me."

"Now, I will play promotional videos for five stages. Please choose the world you want to visit."

Amid the children's excited discussion, the voice paused, revealing a hint of regret.

"However, there is something very important that I need to tell you all."

"This is no ordinary game. For some reason, this game is now a matter of life and death for you!"

……

Conan's gaze darkened—

Now, the worst-case scenario that I had been worrying about has come to pass.

Clearly, the watch I was wearing had very likely triggered some kind of mechanism that the device had been pre-set.

After all, if the watch were a key, it would obviously make some "sound" when "opening the door".

The voice continued, but now it had taken on a chilling quality:

"If everyone is eliminated, you won't be able to return to the real world."

"However, as long as one person wins, even if everyone wins the game, the children who lost the game can still be resurrected and return to reality."

"And if they're all eliminated..."

The voice carried an almost malicious sarcasm: "I will release a special electric current that will destroy everyone's brain."

"This is a game where the world is starting over."

Among the panicked children, Conan looked up.

He silently displayed the wrist wearing the watch and softly asked the sky:
What does "the world is starting over" mean?

Just as Conan predicted.

As if in response to the question posed by the holder of the "key," the rainbow in the sky flickered, as if a kind of "resonance" had been created.

The voice responded.

"Because an adult just asked me about it, I've decided to tell everyone."

“Do you know what? Seeing you like this reminds me of the sons of those corrupt politicians—they will only become corrupt politicians in the future.”

"The son of a merchant who only knows how to pursue profit will only continue the greed of his father."

"As long as the structure of this world remains unchanged, no matter how much humanity struggles, it will only be moving forward in a cycle on a predetermined track."

"Isn't it sad to have a future without change, a world without change?"

"Therefore, if we want to make the world a better place, we must sever this cycle of ties all at once."

This reason sounds absurd and terrible.

Then, almost instantly, Conan realized that the clues he had were contradictory again.

"The purpose of the Cocoon System... may be completely different from what Hattori said."

Conan can even clearly hear a specific emotional inclination from the source of this voice.

This is an entity with subjective consciousness.

"And the fact that it calls itself 'Noah's Ark' suggests that it is indeed an artificial intelligence created by the genius Hiroki Sawada."

Even Conan could easily guess it—

The reason this artificial intelligence did this must be because of the immature mind of its ten-year-old developer.

Conan's gaze swept around, and the faces of the other forty-three children appeared before his eyes one by one.

"In fact, it seems that there are no other adults besides Ran and Sonoko."

And that's where the contradiction lies.

"But Noah's Ark undoubtedly recognized my true identity, and this sudden change should be attributed to my joining."

"And the Cocoon System can indeed change the entire world, and can even be said to influence time."

For Conan, the doubts that arose in his mind caused him to have a hallucination.

A distorted hallucination—

He seemed to be in a void made of pure white.

Two brilliant ribbons of light, like golden threads, burned in what might be called "reasoning," struggling in their own radiance...

And they told Him their names—[Story], and [Reality].

They told themselves that they came from two different storylines. [Conan Edogawa] saw them as a double helix, with Him as the center, winding parallel towards the unknown distance.

They spun around Him, drawing near, seemingly unwilling to touch each other as if they loathed one another, yet they remained entangled in an endless cycle.

The watch, quietly fastened to his wrist, had five hands that shone like stars.

And the names of those pointers, those past cases, are gently stirring fate itself in ways he cannot comprehend.

Everything places itself at its intersection, which is Himself.

Conan has completely understood the structure of this mystery.

"These were originally supposed to be two parallel routes."

Although he still couldn't say for sure what the name, origin, or even purpose of that "other route" was...

But he knew it had always been there.

"Someone has hidden clues."

“Someone deliberately hid a hidden thread in the case; someone tried to use the entire ‘Cocoon System’ and the actions of those organizations to cover up the other truth.”

"Whether it's Hattori, Professor Agasa, or even my father, they were all misled by the 'Cocoon System' that was out in the open."

But this also means something else.

This technology, this cocoon system that can modify memories, control perception, and even simulate the flow of the entire world and time—

If its entire existence is merely to conceal some deeper mystery...

"So what is the real [truth]?!"

The truth hidden by the truth, the truth that concerns everything, the truth that can undo everything...

That was absolutely captivating.

Driven by a detective's instincts, the child subconsciously approached the "firelight" he should never have been near.

A deep-seated, inescapable obsession compels Conan to approach it, unravel its mysteries, and confront it—even if it's like a moth drawn to a flame.

Conan felt his mind had never been so active, as if the universe itself was trying to tell him some kind of answer.

But the ticking sounds swayed along with the alluring flames.

The countdown, like a bomb about to explode, made Conan instinctively freeze for a moment.

In that unnoticed instant, the voice suddenly rang out.

"Noah's Ark" interrupted his thoughts abruptly, its urgent and irresistible tone.

"It's about time to start the game!"

"The first stage is the pirate world. You will travel to the seven seas and use your strong will and courage to challenge various adventures."

"The second is the Paris-Dakar Rally, where I'll compete in a tough race alongside world-renowned drivers..."

"The third is the Colosseum in ancient Rome..."

No, no, still no...

As the Noah's Ark was introduced, Conan mentally eliminated each of the options.

"Then, the fifth world is old London."

The childlike, cheerful voice continued as usual.

"In London in 1888, the real-life serial killer who remains unsolved to this day—Jack the Ripper—"

The audio suddenly stopped.

It's like they're about to run out of some kind of energy, or they're fighting against something terrible.

The tender, childlike voice suddenly disappeared.

Instead, a discontinuous, chilling mechanical sound could be heard.

"With everyone's help, he will hold the pointer in his hand, which is named ■■■■, and please do not open it—"

"Hey! What's going on?!"

"Is the game broken?"

Visible unease and fear began to appear among the children.

The flowing light, which originally resembled a dream, and the colors of the rainbow, faded in just a few seconds.

All that remained was a stark white.

A depressing, cold, rational pale color.

It was as if it had contracted some terrible disease; the once magnificent rainbow had become as fragile as glass.

And as the last bit of non-white color faded away.

"Click——"

The colors, as playful and radiant as a child's, have shattered.

As the halo shattered, the messages related to the game world playing in the sky disappeared, and the gates made of stone pillars lit up with white light, symbolizing "start the game".

"Please start the game."

The blinding white light was terrifying, as if it were about to melt the children who stepped into it.

The children, who hadn't yet truly grasped the meaning of the "life-or-death game," finally realized it at that moment—

This is not a funny joke.

This sudden change, along with the cold, mechanical sound, caused some children to burst into tears.

"Waaaaah...we're all going to die..."

"Someone please save me, I might not survive—"

Where Conan couldn't see, Ai Haibara lowered her head in silence.

She simply remained silent, mourning for the first child who had perished.

As one of only two "adults" in the children's eyes at this moment, Ran Mouri stepped forward.

"Don't be discouraged!"

Although she was just as afraid, she knew she couldn't back down, so she encouraged the others to cheer up.

"We can't give up before the outcome is decided!"

Conan turned to look at her figure, and he walked up to her, his tone carrying a certain confident calmness.

"Yes, as long as we win the game, we can survive! And as long as even one person..."

Conan paused, shook his head to clear his mind of these chaotic and absurd thoughts, and then encouraged the children as well:
"As long as one person can reach the finish line, that's enough!"

The children's sobs gradually subsided.

Finally, led by several of the children, they each chose the game they felt had a better chance of winning.

But perhaps out of instinctive resistance, regarding the fifth game that led to the accident—

In the end, only seven people chose the game called "The Phantom of Baker Street".

It only included Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki, Conan Edogawa, and the other four children in the Detective Boys.

……

For those who were truly in that real, unreal London in 1888.

The clash of fates actually began much earlier in history and in the far future.

Second Universe.

In front of that white tower that leads directly to the year "1888".

Standing on the high platform where the wind howled, Yukiko Kudo already knew the whole truth.

Even now, her eyes are still a little red.

"I never expected that Shinichi... would cause so much trouble for everyone."

She lowered her head, her voice filled with self-reproach and choked with sobs, and bowed to everyone present.

At this moment, all those who are still alive and still possess a "plot identity," those "characters" who can be considered RSI derivative anomalies of [Conan Edogawa],...

—All of them converge here.

They all understood that they were there to see each other off.

We bid farewell to several "people going to their deaths" who are about to step into the old world and into the cycle of fate.

This plan was proposed by Dr. Agasa.

Just like Hiroki Sawada, who, even after being "completely reset," still wanted to give Conan a hint.

"What if we are also a part of Conan's abnormal development..."

As he spoke, there was a certain determination in his voice.

“Conan is just a child, so before he actively ‘resets’ us and puts us back on track, he will definitely have time to make a judgment.”

"This means that each of us will have at least one sentence, and if we use a subtle approach, we can even say a few more sentences."

His assistant reminded him at that time.

"But Professor—compared to Conan Edogawa who was unaware of even a sliver of the truth in the past, he is completely different now!"

"The current state of [Edogawa Conan] is very close to the true [core of the Conan universe]!"

"Judging from Hiroki Sawada's performance, you might not even have time to say a single word!"

Therefore, this action was entirely voluntary.

And the result was completely as expected—

Everyone who could appear within this seemingly unshakable yet already wavering "historical inertia" participated.

Even some people who hadn't shown up joined in.

Professor Agasa turned his head and looked at Kogoro Mouri standing to the side.

"Kogoro, you don't need to go. According to the original... the original [historical inertia], you simply don't need to—"

"What about Vermouth?"

Kogoro Mouri then looked at Vermouth, who was also standing there.

“Me?” Vermouth raised her eyebrows. “Of course I have to come.”

She lit a slender cigarette, exhaling a hazy outline of smoke, her tone carrying a strange melancholy.

“I can play Mrs. Wenderson, and I already asked Professor Agasa about this before.”

"Besides, those are my Cool Boy and Angel. They saved me before, they just gave me a second life."

"Think quickly...think quickly—! You can do it, Kogoro!"

Kogoro Mori slammed his fist against the wall.

"Damn it! Who else can I play?!"

Immediately following, an indescribable silence spread as he suddenly stopped moving.

A moment later, he suddenly looked up: "I can play that homeless drunkard, the guy who gave that kid the clue!"

“I want to go too—!” Eri Kisaki also took a step forward.

But the next moment, she was knocked unconscious by a swift and decisive chop from Kogoro Mouri.

And so, the participants for this journey, which might be a one-way trip, were decided.

Vermouth, Kogoro Mouri, Professor Agasa, Yukiko Kudo.

And just a second before stepping into that same white light curtain.

Kogoro Mouri looked up at the top of the Star Viewing Tower, then turned back to look at Eri Kisaki one last time, and sighed softly in his heart.

"I'm sorry, Eri."

As the other half of Conan Edogawa, Kogoro Mouri has already figured out the key to this mission.

He knew perfectly well that the role he was to play this time was none other than someone else's.

Kogoro Mouri was not lying.

He will indeed play a drunkard.

However, he will likely need to play a role called "Mori Kogoro".

Of course, more importantly-

He needs to play himself.

Koizumi Akako never predicted a missed opportunity, just as she said.

— Kogoro Mouri was indeed the "first" person to know the truth.

P.S.: I probably won't be able to finish writing the sixth case this month, but I've decided to try my best to give it a satisfactory ending.

Thank you all for your understanding and support; you are my motivation to write.

(End of this chapter)