"Hey, hey, hey..." Conan tugged on Tsuneo's sleeve, signaling him to stop being so absurd.
The man actually wanted to haul one of these things home in front of everyone.
"Forget the machine! Come over to the corner and talk to me about Noah's Ark first!" Conan hissed.
"I told you, the real world is much better," Ai Haibara remarked from the side, flexing her fingers to feel the familiar weight of reality.
"What on earth happened?"
Hideki Moroboshi scratched his head, staring at the adults who were currently in a state of collective emotional meltdown. He was utterly bewildered. For him, the experience had been... well, a bit of a hollow victory. He had essentially played the game for nothing.
"What are you doing? I need to find someone in charge to see if I can buy one of these and take it home," Tsuneo said, looking down at the "Dog-Headed Detective" with an impatient scowl.
In his estimation, the "Cocoon" game probably wouldn't be seeing a public release anytime soon. After all, the lives of dozens of children had been held hostage by an artificial intelligence, causing a massive nationwide panic.
Truth be told, even if the news broke now that Thomas Schindler was a descendant of Jack the Ripper, it wouldn't matter much. Nothing could be more damaging to the company's reputation than the crisis that had just unfolded.
"You've already cleared the game. Why are you still obsessed with it?" Conan shot the repairman a sidelong glance.
"I could have Noah's Ark design a few more worlds. The more realistic, the better," Tsuneo mused, nodding to himself.
A virtual world capable of integrating real-time physical data would be an excellent place for martial arts training.
"We can talk about that later. Did Noah's Ark actually investigate that organization?" Conan's expression turned dead serious as he looked up.
Against the backdrop of a cheering, crying crowd, these two stood in the corner, looking completely out of place, each preoccupied with their own heavy thoughts.
"I think so." Tsuneo pulled out his phone and switched it on, scrolling through his notifications.
There were several missed calls from Ikumi and one strange text message.
The sender's name: Noah's Ark.
"Hey! Did it send something? Let me see!" Conan hopped up and down, but he couldn't get a glimpse of the screen, making him increasingly frantic.
Tsuneo ignored him and dialed Ikumi's number first. She had likely heard through the media and various rumors that the launch event had gone sideways.
"Dammit!"
The Great Detective, thwarted in his attempt to peek, stomped on Tsuneo's shoe before stomping away in a huff. He had made up his mind: once this was over, he was going to stick to Tsuneo like glue for twenty-four hours a day.
"Ran~!"
"I'm so glad you're safe!" Kogoro Mouri wailed dramatically, pulling his daughter into a crushing hug and sobbing.
"..."
Conan smiled softly, then looked toward Yusaku, who was standing below the stage. The father and son shared a silent look—a wordless conversation across the distance.
"Curse it all!"
Thomas Schindler stood in a dark corner of the hall, slamming his fist against the wall.
Everyone was out. Everyone survived. Which meant his secrets, likely hidden within the London stage, were no longer safe.
The King of the IT Industry didn't have to wait long for his world to crumble. A staff member ran over, gasping for breath, his face pale. "Chairman... the internet is exploding. There are statements appearing everywhere."
It wasn't just about the security flaws in the game.
It was also... it was about the "evil blood" of Jack the Ripper being passed down to the next generation.
"What did you say?!" Thomas Schindler's teeth ground together with a sickening creak.
Two blades were now suspended over his head, and the threads holding them were snapping...
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
After the launch event finally concluded, the group returned to their base of operations: Professor Agasa's house.
Tsuneo noticed that every time he reached for his phone, the "Dog-Headed Detective" would stare at him with unblinking intensity.
"That guy clearly sent you something, didn't he?" Conan asked, his eyes burning with focus.
Don't bother denying it. Just a minute ago, when you checked your messages, I saw the flash of surprise in your eyes.
"It's an NSFW text. You really want to see it?" Tsuneo shot the detective a sidelong look.
Then, the repairman rattled off a string of digits—a phone number from a shady advertisement.
"Kudo, maybe if you call this number, you'll finally turn back into an adult. You can stop being so uptight all the time."
"Alright, alright, stop teasing him," the Professor said with a smile, placing two cans of milk in front of the pair.
"No, I strongly suggest he calls this number to find out the 'information' he wants," Tsuneo said, draining half a bottle of milk in one go and looking at the detective with a mischievous grin.
"Are you suggesting that the AI might have used a number like this to send a contact method?"
Haibara was sitting at the computer, browsing a webpage. She didn't even look back as she spoke.
"..."
Conan frowned. He grabbed the phone from the table, quickly dialed the number Tsuneo had provided, and hit the speakerphone button. It was a smooth number, quite easy to remember.
"Hello~ This is XXXXX... You can use our website to choose the type you like..."
A woman's voice, breathy and seductive, drifted from the speaker. She mentioned a website where he could "pick his favorite type." Very modern, indeed.
Conan's face went from pale to beet red in an instant. He slammed the end-call button.
"You played me again!" the Great Detective shouted, fuming with embarrassment.
"There have been a lot of those ads on the internet lately," Akemi noted, bringing over a plate of washed fruit for everyone.
"How can you be sure that website isn't the message Noah's Ark wanted to convey?" Haibara walked over, vacating the seat in front of the computer. She picked up two strawberries and began to chew.
"You mean it integrated all of the Organization's criminal data into one site?" Tsuneo nodded, looking thoughtful. "That is actually quite possible."
"..."
Conan took two deep breaths.
Do these two think I'm some kind of idiot? Do they think I'll fall for it twice?
After a mental struggle that lasted about thirty seconds, the Great Detective eventually shuffled back to the computer and opened the gaudy, colorful website.
"Wooohooo!"
Tsuneo snatched the camera from Haibara's hand and started snapping photos of Conan hunched over the computer screen.
Shocking! A certain first-grader caught browsing "those" kinds of websites!
Professor Agasa stood to the side, picking at his fingernails and pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
Shinichi, my boy... this is not something a lonely old man like me should be watching.
Conan frantically closed the browser and slumped into the chair, too exhausted to keep fighting.
"With that hot-headed personality of yours, you aren't suited to see that data yet," Haibara said, standing with her arms crossed.
Even without knowing the specifics, if the data contained even a tiny fraction of the Organization's secrets, it would be a pit of darkness. If he saw their assassination plans, he would feel compelled to jump out and stop them all. His inability to watch a life slip away was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.
"A surgical evaluation," Tsuneo noted.
He glanced at the actual text message Noah's Ark had sent after the game ended. It contained only an email address. He truly hadn't had the chance to see what was inside the inbox yet.
"What about the antidote?" Conan asked, turning his head.
"One step at a time. Trying to reclaim your identity before that Organization is dismantled is nothing short of suicide," Haibara said with a yawn.
"That's the first time I've heard you say something like that," the detective said, looking deeply at Haibara.
Is this a sign that her confidence is slowly growing?
"Everyone!"
A knock sounded at the door, and a couple walked in. Judging by the scent, a certain famous actress had clearly had a bit too much to drink at her class reunion.
The moment she entered, she scooped up Conan and began to smother him in an affectionate, crushing embrace.
"Were you taking pictures just now?" Yukiko asked curiously, noticing the camera in Tsuneo's hand.
"NO!"
Conan's face twisted in panic as he shook his head violently.
"Nothing! We were doing absolutely nothing!"
(End of Chapter)
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