Watching the anime from Madoka Magica and writing the rules

Maori Kogoro could no longer sit still, and he stood up and looked at the paper company and asked:

"Why do we need three of us? That brat is just causing trouble. If Lan is present, it will only bring her a bad experience. If a crime really happens, I won't bring the two of them with me."

"There are two reasons," Zhi Xing raised two fingers and looked at Kogoro and said, "Xiaolan's good luck can make the criminal make mistakes on the way to committing a perfect crime, and thus miss a clue."

"And Conan's talent allows him to perfectly find clues that appear only by coincidence, giving you the opportunity to put all the clues together, eliminate those who are wrong, and finally reveal the identity of the criminal."

"So Xiaolan and Conan must be present to solve the case. Otherwise, it's hard to say."

"What about the second one?" A clear female voice came from the gate.

Immediately afterwards, Xiaolan pushed open the door from the outside and looked at the paper company with a complicated expression.

Chapter 146: The False Trolley Problem

Zhihang glanced at the gate.

Conan was not seen behind Xiaolan.

"Where's Conan? Didn't you go look for him?"

To be on the safe side, the paper company still asked.

"I couldn't find it anywhere, so I thought he might have gone home, so I came back to check."

Xiaolan shook her head, but her eyes did not move away, but kept staring at the paper line.

Zhi Xing couldn't stand this kind of gaze, and twisted his body uncomfortably before speaking:

"Secondly, I suspect that Conan is also from the future."

"Future man? That little ghost?"

Kogoro, who didn't trust paper shops in the first place, became even more confused. What puzzled Kogoro even more was that there were three listeners present, but he was the only one who raised doubts.

Zhixing looked at Kogoro for a while, and seeing that no one else asked any more questions, he thought for a moment and said:

"Edogawa Conan, known as the Death God's Elementary School Student, was originally a character with potential, but according to the information we collected in the future, it was only an actual case of the other party's first grade, and it could not be found after that."

"Well, it's really a coincidence, right? It's just because he's staying at our house and we're a detective agency, so we run into each other often, right?"

Xiaolan, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, asked with a glimmer of hope.

"No, to be precise, we can only find records of Edogawa Conan's life in his first year, and after that..." Zhi Xing paused for a moment, glanced at the two people closely related to Conan, and then added, "...there is no such person, whether in this country or in other countries."

"Of course, even his parents' information is nowhere to be found. It seems something happened before he entered the second grade, causing him to disappear."

"You can think of it as a trace of existence that has been artificially erased, but at least from my perspective, even a prophecy cannot foresee the final outcome of Edogawa Conan."

"So rather than being wiped out, I'm more inclined to believe that the other party is also from the future, and returned after completing their mission. In that case, the prophecy used to see the past will naturally not be able to see their situation."

"But, I think Conan is just a little kid, and I don't see any purpose from him."

Ran, who has spent the longest time with Conan, retorted.

"Well, I only confirmed this after I confronted the other party directly."

Zhixing did not hesitate to tell the lie he had thought of long ago:

"Edogawa Conan is probably a clone of Kudo Shinichi."

"Eh!! Shinichi?!"

"Well, from a genetic perspective, they can be considered one person. However, as far as I know, human cloning technology is far beyond the reach of this era, not to mention that the target is a high school detective."

"Tsk, that's nonsense. If that's what you said, then how could that brat be the one who went back to the past from the future?"

Maori Kogoro took a few steps towards the paper shop, startling the police officer nearby. He then remembered that the other party had brought police to the door, so he could only stop and ask:

"Although I don't like that bastard who stole my business, he is indeed missing now. Maybe he was retaliated by the criminal because he went to reason alone."

"Dad!" Xiaolan raised her eyebrows.

"Isn't that the truth? That brat hasn't learned any skills yet. Sooner or later, something like this will happen to him."

Zhi Xing had no intention of watching the conflict between the Maori family's father and daughter. Instead, he lightly raised a finger and said:

"According to the definition of Steins;Gate, time travel allows one to deceive the world and oneself to achieve a change in the outcome while keeping history unchanged."

"I once said that Kudo Shinichi would disappear in the near future, but at the same time, Edogawa Conan appeared by your side."

"That leads me to make a guess."

"What's the guess?"

Xiaolan suddenly had a bad feeling, but since it was related to Shinichi, Xiaolan couldn't help but ask.

"Conan is called the Elementary School Student of Death because he often appears at the primary crime scene. It can even be said that he stayed nearby before the victim died. So, if Conan's genes come entirely from Shinichi, what about Shinichi?"

Xiaolan opened her mouth and her thoughts went back to the last time she saw Shinichi.

(Xiaolan: "You can still act so calm..."

"Anyway, I've seen too many shattered corpses..."

"Ah! It's better to forget it as soon as possible! I often encounter this kind of thing")

Zhixing looked at Xiaolan's reaction and nodded. Although Xiaolan didn't say anything, the facial expressions of the people in this world were always particularly exaggerated, which could be regarded as another answer.

"Originally, Conan's Death God ability is what we need, and I was able to choose this era because I also had the mission of visiting this Death God elementary school student."

"Tell me, is there a possibility?"

"After meeting Conan, I found out that his genes were Kudo Shinichi's, so that's why Kudo Shinichi disappeared?"

"What are you talking about? Why would that brat Kudo Shinichi disappear just because his DNA is Shinichi's?"

Kogoro Mouri asked with some confusion. As an uncle, it was still difficult for him to understand the logical relationship of new things.

Zhixing snapped his fingers, then pointed at Kogoro and explained:

"It's very simple. Because I discovered the truth about Conan, I reported it to the Future Agency or Academy City behind me. They sent someone to bring Kudo Shinichi, the original body, to the future."

"As compensation, I guess they agreed to my wish to protect Ran, so they sent Edogawa Conan back to the past, which is now, in order to protect Ran's safety within the corresponding time."

"This is the choice of Steins;Gate. Achieve the result you want without changing history."

Just as Zhixing finished speaking, Xiaolan asked in a trembling voice:

"If that's the case, then why did you say it? Why did you appear in front of us?"

Xiaolan lowered her head slightly, and her hair on her forehead blocked Zhixing's view, making Zhixing unable to look directly into Xiaolan's eyes.

"As I said, my main mission is only one, and that is to slightly alter history and see if there will be any consequences."

"So, if Conan's situation is really what I think, then the me here now is the me who hasn't reported Conan and Shinichi's relationship yet."

"If you want to change Shinichi's fate of being captured, just stop me from revealing this information now."

Zhixing skillfully clenched his fists and stretched out both hands to Xiaolan.

"My right hand represents that you do nothing, or protect my safety, so that Shinichi can survive safely in the future world."

"My left hand represents your choice to stop me from reporting the information, no matter what means. As long as you stop me, your Shinichi may suddenly appear in front of you, and no one except you may remember that Shinichi has disappeared."

As Zhixing finished speaking, Xiaolan added:

"But there's still a possibility. Even if I stop you, Shinichi's disappearance is still history. That's why you came here to conduct your so-called experiment. Am I wrong?"

"Oh~ I actually found out."

Zhixing put his hands away and sighed.

"How cunning! If you really came from the future, you should know that I can't stop you, so you're asking this question even though you already know the answer."

Xiaolan raised the back of her hand and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"But, since you're lying about Shinichi, that means you should know Shinichi's situation, right? Otherwise, if I knew any clues, wouldn't your lie be exposed from the beginning?"

Zhixing nodded, looked at Kogoro who wanted to teach him a lesson but was stopped by the police, and responded:

"I do know that you are as kind as an angel, but you only got the premise right."

"what?"

"Your choice itself is also one of my experiments, that is, personality change."

Zhixing turned his back, not worrying about being attacked from behind by Xiaolan, and walked to the window again, saying as he walked:

"So-called destiny is actually the choice everyone makes when encountering something: to go or not to go, to do or not to do it. This choice is related to one's personality, and this personality is related to one's experiences."

"So I really want to know, if the experience is different, will it change the original personality and affect the future destiny."

Zhixing looked at the glasses on his head reflected in the faint light of the window, and thought of the biggest variable in "Magic Circle".

Then, as if to divert attention, Zhi Xing changed his tone and said:

"And when it comes to changing one's personality, the trolley problem is definitely one of them."

"Mouri Ran, you are known for your good temper, so I will probably test you in the future. I will place two choices at the two ends of the tram. If you can't see through them at a glance like you can now, then I'm sorry, even if it's just a joke, I will make it happen."

Zhixing looked at Xiaolan without apology, waiting for her answer.

Xiaolan's answer was somewhat beyond Zhixing's expectations. Even in the face of Zhixing's undisguised malice, Xiaolan wiped her tears and smiled:

"If it's a matter of life and death, then come on. I won't change my mind just because of your problem. So if you're going to do something bad, just tell me and I'll stop you."

"what?"

Zhixing was stunned, his mind unable to react for a moment. He couldn't understand why Xiaolan was not satisfied with accepting his trolley problem and was planning to interfere with his decision.

"It's too dangerous for someone like you to use this method to test whether history can be changed. I absolutely cannot accept that."

"What personality change? You wouldn't just use it on me, would you? You'd do such excessive things to other people too. That's terrible."

"Uh"

Zhixing tilted his head, somewhat doubting his memory.

Is Xiaolan really that virtuous? Shouldn't she be impulsive, like a violent girlfriend? Did she succeed in the opposite direction?

"No, no, I'm not as bad as you think, really."

"Really?" Xiaolan looked at the paper with some doubt.

"Really, I'm not interested in conducting so many experiments one by one. I just want to pay them for the information they need to buy their lives. Whether it succeeds or not depends on their own luck."

Zhixing thought so from the bottom of his heart. He originally came here to make money and casually test the possibility of rewriting his destiny. He originally planned to stay in Conan for a full year and 12 months.

But unexpectedly, Conan's situation was better than Zhixing expected.

There is no need to wait, every day here is a murder case, so the efficiency of experiments and money making will be greatly improved.

Naturally, there is no need to spend time and effort on testing this and that. Just focus your energy on thinking about how to rewrite your destiny.

If it fails, then there will only be the cost of selling the intelligence. If it succeeds, then it will be double the life-saving money.

No matter how you look at it, it's not a loss. As long as you do the first case well, you can maintain a virtuous cycle.

"Money for life?"

Kogoro Mouri glanced at the police officer and found that he also looked unaware of the situation, so he couldn't help but ask.

"As long as my predictions are correct seven times in a row, then the eighth time, even if I succeed in changing history, no one will think that my ninth prediction is wrong. Similarly, I have chosen more than 50 victims, and even if half of them are used to verify my accuracy, I will be rich."

Kogoro Mouri simply compared the detective fees that those rich people could pay for investigations, and immediately swallowed his saliva, his eyes widened.

"Look, I didn't intend to do anything bad to anyone else. At most, I kept it a secret. But the murderer's motives are none of my business. They would have done it even without me. I simply stood by and watched, just like a doctor can't use the equipment to perform surgery when a patient has no money. It's not a bad thing. At most, it will affect my reputation, but I'm not from this era, and I'll return in the end, so I don't feel any burden at all."

"Or are you planning to provide me with life-saving information for free from a brain of mine that can't remember much anyway?"

Zhixing looked at Xiaolan and spread his hands, as if to say that your kindness cannot save others.

But Xiaolan just closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and asked:

"How much do you plan to charge? The currency of this era will expire if you bring it back."

"Gold! Exchange it for gold. I'll determine the specific amount based on the other party's financial resources, but the order of the offer is either to buy all the items one by one, or only to buy the clues I provide."

"The murder weapon, body part, location of the crime, time period of death, suspect list, concealment method, motives of each suspect, gender, age, and the identity of the murderer."

The paper company simply listed ten options, starting with the most important but also the most easily changed information, and going down to the end. Even if one item only cost one piece of gold, there would still be a profit of 10 pieces.

According to what I saw before the paper company came, one gram would cost three digits, and 100 grams would cost tens of thousands. The president's status is not low, so even 1k of gold is only one month's salary for 100 employees. For someone who can become the president, it should be a small matter. According to this estimate, one case would cost nearly 3 million.

It’s just that it’s not clear how much these presidents are willing to pay for it.

However, there are many cases in this world that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and even if the income is reduced in the end, it is still a huge profit.