"How long will it take to create a new instance?"
Tsuneo stared at the "Cocoon" game capsule sitting in his living room. For the first time, he felt his apartment was a bit too small for his ambitions.
"If I build it from scratch, it'll take a few days," Hiroki's voice drifted from the phone on the table.
What the repairman wanted was a simplified virtual world—one that used raw physical data for high-intensity combat training rather than a complex narrative world. For the AI, it wasn't a difficult task.
"So, I just need to plug in the power and the network cable, right?"
Tsuneo walked a circle around the machine, feeling slightly out of his depth. To him, this technology was still far too "sci-fi."
"Yes. I'll use other supercomputers to handle the heavy lifting and control it remotely…" Hiroki began explaining technical principles that would be entirely incomprehensible to a layman.
"Hey, what are you two babbling about?"
The "five-star recurring character" himself, Osaka's own "Black Chicken," Heiji Hattori, had once again descended upon Beika. He stared at the game capsule and the speakerphone with a look of pure bewilderment.
"Probably something game-related," Conan said, leaning over to look at the phone.
The caller ID showed a string of scrambled characters. He knew that if he tried to call that number back, it wouldn't even connect.
"Hattori?" Tsuneo turned his head and gave Heiji a casual grin. "When did you get here?"
"Hah?" Heiji tilted his head. "I followed right behind Kudo into the room. Did you not see me?"
"I have some rather… explosive photos here. You want to see?" Tsuneo said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out the picture he had snapped of Conan the day before.
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Conan's expression shifted instantly. He dropped into a crouch, his hand flying to the dial on his Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes.
Let's go down together, you demon!
"You didn't take a nude photo of him, did you?" Heiji looked down at the snarling detective and suddenly felt like he didn't want to see it after all. There really wasn't much to look at.
"Officer Takagi called yesterday," Tsuneo said, pressing a hand onto Conan's head and flipping the photo face-down on the table. "He said those police files that were stolen—they were all sent back anonymously."
Conan's hand shot out to pocket the photo, but his brow furrowed. This was the first time he was hearing this news.
"Those were files for cases you two solved, right? But why steal them just to send them back?" Heiji couldn't make sense of it.
It defied common logic. Once you'd seen the files, whether they were useful or not, you'd just destroy them. Why go through the trouble of mailing them back?
"It's a provocation," Conan said, feeling that invisible weight of pressure again. "It's like they're pointing a finger at our heads and saying they've already uncovered the entire truth."
"Or maybe it's a trap meant to lure the snake out of its hole," Heiji said, looking down at the shrunken detective.
If there was a target, it could only be the boy standing right there.
"But this method is… off," Conan said, shaking his head. If the enemy already knew Shinichi Kudo was alive, there were a thousand more effective ways to bait him out. Returning case files felt strangely inconsistent.
"Do you need me to investigate?" Hiroki's voice chimed in.
"Can you?!" Conan slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten they had a literal god on their side now?
"Ah?" Heiji had been wanting to ask who this was. The voice sounded like a child, but the way he spoke was nothing like a normal kid.
"Don't spoil the kids too much, Hiroki. It'll give them bad habits," Tsuneo said, plugging the power and network cables into the capsule without looking back.
On this point, he and Yusaku were in total agreement.
One should only handle as much as their current strength allows. Being chased by advanced information and problems one cannot solve only leads to drowning in the vortex.
"I understand. I'll only provide hints for the most critical information," Hiroki replied. He had already begun monitoring every Organization member he could track.
"Hiroki, can you help me look into Chris Vineyard?" Conan asked, ignoring the repairman and turning toward the phone.
"That famous foreign actress?" Heiji recalled the name.
"What kind of information are you looking for?" Hiroki asked.
"The spicy gossip kind, obviously. Exclusive photos would be a plus," Tsuneo chimed in with a laugh.
"..." The Artificial Intelligence remained silent.
Conan felt a headache coming on. He grabbed Heiji and pulled him out of Tsuneo's apartment.
"At this point, I'm certain she's a member of the Black Organization. I just don't know much else," Conan explained as they walked. He gave Heiji a detailed account of what Tsuneo had done to that woman at the memorial service on the day Pisco was kidnapped.
"...Are you sure Tsuneo-san isn't just doing something illegal?" Heiji muttered. Sneaking up on a beautiful actress and knocking her out... it was hard to evaluate.
"No, I'm sure he and that woman know each other. He just hasn't told me the details. And after that incident, she completely vanished from the public eye. It's highly suspicious."
"You think she's currently lurking nearby?" Heiji glanced back at the apartment building. If that were the case, wouldn't Tsuneo have said something?
"It's hard to say. Tsuneo might not know everything either," Conan pondered.
A disguise on the level of his mother's was nearly impossible to see through unless the person made a mistake. It was too early to draw conclusions.
But was there really a member of that Organization around them? Someone like Gin... if they suspected something, wouldn't they just pull the trigger without hesitation?
"I heard recently that a new foreign teacher arrived at Teitan High, right?" Heiji looked at the scratching-his-head elementary student, recalling a conversation between Kazuha and Ran. They had both discussed the new English teacher.
"Jodie-sensei…"
"There's nothing particularly strange about her," Conan said, immediately recalling her behavior during the bus hijacking. But after a glance at Heiji, he sighed and shook his head.
"Fine. Let's go have a look."
Heiji saw the look on Conan's face and knew the boy was trying to keep him out of danger. He rapped Conan on the head and started walking.
"Idiot. Did you really think I'd just sit this one out?"
Conan: "..."
When it comes to being hot-headed and impulsive, I really can't compete with this guy...
Back in the repairman's apartment.
"Is it alright to just let them go?" Hiroki asked. Those two didn't seem like the type to stay out of trouble.
"The power he has exposed right now is still too little. Be careful when you give him information," Tsuneo reminded him.
Conan had too few trump cards in his hand. Trying to film a "blockbuster" showdown right now would be far too reckless.
(End of Chapter)
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