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

Chapter 358 A complete mess
Good morning, Mr. Notticus.

"Ah! Hello."

Notticus Uter nodded in response instinctively.

Then, he immediately realized that it was a voice that was unfamiliar to him. So, he stopped for a moment as he was walking out of the apartment and turned around—it was his new neighbor.

Although Utter doesn't like to waste his energy and thought on irrelevant things.

But there's no doubt that anyone who sees that new check-in form posted outside the apartment building this season, with the name Clara Wachheit, will be curious.

Moreover, speaking of which, this luxury apartment building in Fuyuki City, located in the new capital, is actually quite deserted during the winter.

Compared to enduring the cold north wind, most people who buy houses here will choose to vacation in warmer areas at this time.

So why would someone suddenly choose to come here at this time?

Moreover, it wasn't until this first formal greeting with his neighbor that Utter realized she was a peculiar beauty.

Although "ice queen beauties" are not uncommon in novels.

But in reality, being able to give people a calm rather than indifferent impression at first glance is still very impressive.

Especially her eyes; Utter looked away as soon as their eyes met.

Her icy blue eyes were the color of a broken glacier drifting alone on the sea. Her face was also exquisitely beautiful; even in the somewhat gloomy sky, her porcelain-like cool tones were striking.

"Like a ceramic doll."

More importantly, it's what this neighbor is wearing now.

The typhoon had just passed, and strangely, the humid air, under the drop in temperature, did not turn into snow. Instead, it formed an invisible, hazy, cold fog—the first thing Uter did when he went out today was to go home.

At that moment, he glanced down at the thick jacket he was wearing, then looked at the other person.

The white robe with the infinity symbol on the chest seemed to be haphazardly draped over a brown turtleneck sweater.

"That should be... a lab coat, right?" Utel thought uncertainly.

Fortunately, I finally remembered my neighbor's name.

Seeing that she seemed to be heading out as well, Uter politely inquired about her well-being.

"Ms. Clara, how have you been feeling lately?"

"Well, although I haven't found any inspiration yet, this feeling of a storm passing by is indeed very reassuring."

Utter was at a loss for words when his neighbor spoke.

After all, no matter how you look at it, the terrible typhoon a few days ago, although fortunately, did not cause any casualties.

But the various losses it has caused, and the persistent atmosphere of panic and unease that still lingers—it doesn't seem like a very safe place at all.

"Ah, that's certainly true."

With this somewhat awkward response, he and his new neighbor finally reached the elevator.

The number above the elevator door is 333, and my floor is the 33rd floor.

"Three hundred floors, it'll probably take quite a while for the elevator to come down." Utter was already starting to regret choosing to leave at this time.

He pressed the elevator button and, in the increasingly strange silence, randomly picked a topic that shouldn't lead to a strange answer.

"If you've just moved here, how's work going?"

Finding that the other party did not respond immediately, Utter had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue speaking.

“Although there were indeed quite a few…” He hesitated for a moment, “quite a few Westerners living here in the past, the culture was still very rigid. If you need any help—”

The other person had been frowning the whole way, but finally relaxed as if they had thought of something.

“Clara Wachheit.” The intellectual scholar extended a hand. “Just call me Clara. I’ve been invited to study theoretical physics.”

Uter felt somewhat annoyed.

Clearly, I've chosen the wrong question again. Since I'm an invited scholar, I naturally shouldn't be worried about work.

He extended a hand and shook hands with Clary, but when he let go, he found that she didn't intend to let go.

But inexplicably, Utter immediately understood what the other person was trying to say.

"Ah, my name is Notticus Utter, and I am a psychologist."

"A psychologist?" The other person seemed curious about him.

When talking about his profession, Utter immediately got into the swing of things.

"After all, many people suffered from 'post-traumatic stress disorder' during the disaster in Fuyuki City a few days ago, and I have a certain reputation in academia, so I was sent here to help."

The topic should have ended here.

But for some reason, Utter felt a strong urge to confide in someone.

He said, half complaining and half sarcastically, "Actually, I also came here to collect data, since this kind of collective cognitive disorder just happens to be the direction of my research."

"Because I also studied sociology in college, I am better at guiding public opinion from a broader perspective."

To his surprise, Clary seemed to know something about what he was talking about.

She even blurted out the name of the course she was taking: "Is it memetics?"

“Hmm.” Uter nodded.

He became somewhat nervous for some reason, as if his immediate supervisor had suddenly appeared in front of him and asked him to report on his discoveries over the past period.

He straightened up and began to speak somewhat reservedly:
"After all, this situation is very strange, and it can even be said to be a standard case that fully meets the three elements of 'mutation and adaptation, cross-media communication, and feedback to reality'."

Utter recalled his summary of the entire incident.

He said somewhat seriously, "In the absence of the internet age, such unification, like the spread of 'meme culture' through cross-biological characteristics of behavior or 'symbols,' should not be so rapid. Moreover, it is still too rare for people to subconsciously ignore the disaster that just happened, or even consider it non-existent in terms of 'time,' when tabloids and other institutions are temporarily on holiday."

For some reason, Clary didn't question some of the "shocking parts" in his words.

Both of them subconsciously ignored the phrase "the internet age has not yet arrived" and the words "meme culture," which should never have appeared in that conversation.

Utter's report-like statements continued.

He found it hard to believe that, even before the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed and the storm that had swept through the city was still proclaiming its presence with its cold and dampness, the entire city had "unanimously" emerged from the post-traumatic stress disorder.

“It’s more like…” Utter hesitated, seemingly embarrassed by his absurd conclusion, “like some unseen force is at play.”

"After all—while it's normal for the brain to subconsciously forget things through some reason or by vague processing because a fragile mind is unable to cope with catastrophic consequences, it's still too fast for it to disappear from collective memory in just a few days, and it shouldn't happen so widely and universally."

"The premise of forgetting is that there are anchor points that can be repeatedly remembered. It is indeed lost due to the passage of time or changes in the environment, but this case does not show any of these."

These days, the clouds in the sky are so thick that even the familiar pale white sun of winter cannot be seen. So where does everyone's forgetting of Him come from?
"Moreover, after this meme's replicability, there was no 'mutation' whatsoever; instead, they all chose the 'same explanation'..."

If the events before were perhaps once-in-a-millennium coincidences, then the final "selectivity" is almost an impossible event.

This is something that even Utter finds hard to believe.

“Everyone has chosen ‘time’ as the explanation… This is really—” Utter stopped speaking when he saw the elevator approaching out of the corner of his eye. “Ah, I’m sorry for talking so much without realizing it.”

Clary seemed completely unconcerned about the elevator that was about to take them away.

She countered with a question to Utter: "Have you heard of consensus theory?"

Moreover, seemingly realizing what he was about to say, the theoretical physicist proactively explained that he was not speaking from a sociological, political, or computer science perspective.

"You should know that, strictly speaking, time itself does not exist, right? It is just a convenient explanation for describing the properties of things."

"Uh...you mean the theory of relativity?"

Neither sociology nor psychology has much to do with physics; these are the only things Utter could think of. Clari nodded slightly and continued, "So, do you think the public's judgment of 'time' is based on consensus or on matter?"

“It should be matter, right?” Utter said somewhat uncertainly. “For example, the indication of a clock, or at the very least, the growth of plants or changes in the strata of the earth to indicate the passage of time.”

"Yes, I used to think so too."

—This scholar, who claimed to be a researcher of theoretical physics, suddenly said something very strange.

"After all, matter is easy to modify, isn't it?"

"Whether it's setting the hands of a clock to the same position, modifying trees, or altering the soil, these are all easy things to do."

"Even the so-called fourth dimension, or other theories describing the properties of matter, seem to suggest that changing matter is not a difficult thing, given that matter cannot actively resist it."

Uter nodded subconsciously, but he didn't understand what this had to do with "consensus".

"After all, altering a person's thoughts and memories isn't that difficult, is it?"

He paused, then suddenly realized that Clary was referring to "consensus" rather than "consciousness."

"Regarding the alteration of collective consciousness..."

For some reason, Uter shivered, as if he were about to contemplate a very dangerous situation.

"Ding--"

A reassuring ringing sound came from above.

As the indicator light changed from a warning yellow to a reassuring green, Utter stepped into the open elevator doors and pressed the "Top Floor" button.

Then he noticed that Clary, who was standing next to him, had not pressed the floor button.

Which level do you want to go to? I mean, the floor.

Utter pressed his temples; his migraine had flared up again, as if some memories were churning violently in his brain.

"I also need to go to the 333rd floor. I need to report the conclusions of this observation to the [Execution Layer]."

pain……

An even more intense pain followed.

As if Clary's words had flipped a switch, Utter felt as if another version of himself was inside his consciousness, about to chisel a hole from the inside of his skull.

He staggered back a step and tried to grab the handrail inside the elevator car.

My arms feel like cotton, I can't exert any strength.

Even worse, terrifying hallucinations began to appear before my eyes.

The once-hard ground, with its two parallel lines of bricks, began to ripple and curl like water, then became covered with the number three. Those numbers seemed to seep into his face and whisper in his brain.

The elevator seemed to lead to the sun rather than the rooftop, with layers of orange light emanating from the ceiling.

He felt like a bacterium exposed to ultraviolet light, the side facing the light was a bittersweet relief, while the shadow beneath him was as cold and damp as a water ghost, as if it wanted to keep him on the ground forever.

The sensation of both cold and scorching heat nearly drove Utter mad.

As his consciousness became hazy, in this state of confusion, he vaguely heard a soft female voice.

"The 372nd simulation of the operational structure of [Type-Moon Universe-001] has been completed, and all statistics are being processed systematically..."

—Uter felt like someone had given him a helping hand.

"Ah, thank you so much, Clary."

Utter glanced at his left wrist with lingering fear, then breathed a sigh of relief. The TDD, shimmering with silver light, brought back an unparalleled sense of security.

Utter patted his clothes, which had now turned back into a white laboratory gown, and stood up from the floor.

Clary's clothes and appearance remained unchanged, except that an identity mark had been added below the original "∞" symbol.

[Reality Analysis Department - Institute for Consciousness Synchronization]

Furthermore, the "∞" symbol has changed from a simple silver stripe to a more profound, folded pattern of four overlapping rings—symbolizing her status as a Level 4 researcher.

Furthermore, considering the comparison between myself and the other party in this experiment...

Uter gave a wry smile.

I'm afraid they'll soon be promoted to level five, becoming a research director in charge of a regional project.

With that in mind, he offered his congratulations in advance to his colleague in the collaborating department.

Surprisingly, the other party's behavior was much more humane than it had been during the experiment.

"How do you see the [Department of Abnormal Psychology] as having made the most progress and contribution this time?"

Clary smiled and shook hands again with the researcher who had made many sacrifices for the project.

"Leaving aside the fact that the diversity of experimental conditions is also very important, not everyone has the courage to risk wasting all the remaining time of the [Third Cycle] and getting lost by joining."

"Besides, I've even heard of the consensus theory you mentioned."

Uter waved his hand somewhat embarrassedly.

"I only made some minor contributions."

However, the smile on his face clearly betrayed his feelings.

Dangerous experiments naturally lead to "dangerous" conclusions.

In other words, it was a tremendous gain.

Utter's so-called "minor contribution" is by no means minor, considering he was the one who improved the [Consciousness Resonance Device] and incorporated it into the experiment.

He made a significant contribution to creating the model structures of Alaya and Gaia in the simulated lunar universe.

……

In reality, unlike Conan in "Type-Moon Universe-001," who could only guess due to the complex situation and rare CYZ effect, Conan is not like that character in "Type-Moon Universe-001."

The research layer within this universe is nearing a general understanding of the strange situation in this universe.

Furthermore, in order to more easily provide support and intervention, the Alliance of this universe is now trying to create a truly identical Type-Moon universe in order to obtain more accurate data and judgments.

It can only be said that this is entirely thanks to the various data sent back by Hasegawa Tsuki.

and most importantly -

The reasoning skills of "Detective Conan", the special training in Hawaii, and Lin Sheng's own observations of the "Type-Moon Universe".

The new round of simulated universe experiments is nearing its end, which also marks the end of this cycle of months.

As expected, the [Execution Level] is carrying out new summary and reporting work.

In that true "Executive Hall," Shigenobu Hitomi's seemingly unchanged, serious voice rang in the ears or auditory organs and devices of every member of parliament.

"Based on ZC-01's observations, it can be basically confirmed that [Type-Moon Universe-001] is a [shell] that is currently undergoing fusion."

"Based on the analysis of its [historical inertia] and the corresponding data in the database, this [Type-Moon Universe] can at least reveal traces of the fusion of three different [worldview system universe shells]."

"Therefore, the situation is already quite clear."

The serious voice paused for a moment, then spoke amidst the solemn expressions of the others.

"That universe was already in complete chaos before we arrived, which is why it was off-target."
-
P.S.: To avoid confusing the viewpoint, that's all for today. I'll probably write more tomorrow to make up for it, so Lin Sheng's scenes will be more numerous. (He finally gets to appear QAQ)

P.S.: I feel the characteristics of the [Type-Moon Universe] should be quite clear by now. Although it may seem unchanged on the surface, just like the bizarre Conan world in the first volume, and as some astute readers have noticed, its true internal logic is completely different.

(End of this chapter)