The car sped smoothly along the flat road when a violent, sudden brake slammed everyone inside forward, nearly tossing them into a heap.
Noticing the kid Conan in the middle of the backseat almost flying out, Natsume Sonoko quietly grabbed hold of his collar.
"Thank you, Sonoko… neechan."
Letting out a soft breath of relief, Conan immediately put on an innocent child's smile and thanked Natsume Sonoko.
"What kind of driving is that!"
The abrupt jerk shook Mori Kogoro out of his drowsiness, snapping him fully awake. He immediately turned to berate the driver with fierce energy.
"Sorry, it couldn't be helped—there's a strange crater up ahead."
As the driver's words hung in the air, looking forward through the windshield revealed a massive pit, as if something heavy had smashed into the ground. The solid cement had sunk several meters, and the vague outline of that heavy object was still visible.
It looked… like a person with tentacles?
"There's some blood and scraps of clothing on the scene. The blood hasn't dried yet, meaning this happened not long ago…"
Natsume Sonoko was still a bit dazed, but before she knew it, the little Conan kid had already run over to the crater to investigate.
"Honestly, this is too reckless. They didn't even put up a construction sign." Rubbing his head, Mori Kogoro stared at the pit in front of the car and spoke angrily.
"This isn't from construction—it looks more like something fell here, but it definitely shouldn't have caused damage like this." Conan looked up, scanning the surrounding high-rises, comparing angles and direction, but then shook his head.
The direction matched, but the impact force was all wrong. Still, judging by the amount of blood on the ground, whoever it was probably wasn't in mortal danger.
Conan touched the bloodstain, brow furrowed tightly. Bored from waiting in the car, Natsume finally stepped out as well.
Just as Sonoko got out of the car, a man hidden in a corner in the distance, wrapped in a trench coat, suddenly lifted his head and charged toward her with all his might.
If one could have seen his back, they'd have noticed his coat was torn to shreds, covered in debris and half-healed scars.
As if sensing a gaze from somewhere, Sonoko turned her head—but there was no one there.
A grand, crimson spike, majestic as a dragon's talon, pierced through the trench-coated man's body, lifting him into the air instantly.
On the rooftop of a five-story building, the man in the trench coat fell weakly to the ground. Across from him stood two men in suits, looking perfectly at ease.
"Still trying to resist?"
The trench-coated man's back sprouted masses of distorted tissue, like some bizarre organ, but before he could make a move, the crimson spike impaled him once more.
"Mission accomplished. It's been a long but satisfying business trip—let's grab a drink."
"Don't celebrate too soon. Once you've been stuck in this troublesome time distortion long enough, you won't be smiling."
"Why so pessimistic? It's not like there's no way out."
After lingering by the crater a while, the relevant authorities arrived, and the business car started up again and continued on its way.
Conan clearly wasn't happy about it, but he couldn't argue with Ran. About half an hour later, the group finally arrived at the Baker Hotel.
Inside the hotel hung a massive promotional poster of Mori Kogoro—today's theme was the "Mori Kogoro's Deduction Mansion."
"Mhm, it's a deduction game where players discover a body inside a maze-like mansion, and Detective Mori, who happens to be there, gives hints, guiding everyone step-by-step to solve the case."
In a corner of the lobby, Ran cheerfully explained the game's premise, a touch of pride showing on her face.
Conan silently rolled his eyes, his lips twitching slightly as if holding back thoughts.
"This is my first time at a game launch event."
Natsume Sonoko, on the other hand, seemed especially excited. The place was packed with all sorts of famous and obscure game titles—some even she hadn't seen back in Academy City.
That said, she wasn't particularly interested in today's main attraction, Mori Kogoro's Deduction Mansion.
"So many people!"
"Of course—nearly every big name in the gaming industry is here today."
Standing in the long queue at the baggage check, Mori Kogoro's mood lifted noticeably. He couldn't help puffing up with pride.
After all, this game was built around him, the great Mori Kogoro.
"Mr. Mori."
A voice called from behind. Mori turned to see another employee of Mantendo—the game's developer—also there to check an item. He carried a briefcase marked with the Mantendo logo.
"I'm Nakajima Hideaki from Mantendo. I was the planner for 'The Deduction Mansion of Famous Detective Mori Kogoro.'"
"Thanks to you, Mr. Mori, we've created an amazing game. It's a pleasure to have you here today," Nakajima said modestly.
But as soon as he finished, a snort of disdain came from nearby.
Everyone turned to see two more Mantendo employees approaching, each carrying a case to check. One of them sneered openly.
"Nakajima, you're something else. Rather than saying you planned this game, isn't it more accurate to say you stole the idea from me?"
"I only mentioned it in passing, and three days later you submitted an identical proposal. You're quite the genius at plagiarism—with work and women. Right, Takeshite?"
The speaker was Ueda Koji, who worked with Nakajima in Mantendo's R&D department.
"True, but that was back in college. I've long forgotten about it," the other employee agreed with a nod.
"I'll let it slide this time. I've got a feeling you're backed into a corner by those loan sharks anyway," Ueda said with a cold smirk.
The tension between them caught Sonoko's attention.
Here it comes—the scent of a case.
Though her eyes were wide open, Natsume—who generally only had a surface-level interest in deduction—was clearly destined for background-character duty today.
Baggage check complete. Since the game hadn't been released yet, electronic devices like phones weren't allowed inside and had to be handed over to staff.
There was a small hiccup when the three Full Heaven employees with identical briefcases cut in line, delaying things by a whole minute.
At first, Sonoko kept an eye on the brewing case, but she soon got completely absorbed by the arcade games around the venue.
She manipulated her game character, making it leap, spin 360 degrees mid-air, and knock the opponent flying with a devastating uppercut.
Opponents came and went, and soon a bespectacled kid stood beside her.
Up, down, up, down, B, A, B, A—the kid's character let out a cry as it was juggled mid-air, landing with half its health gone.
A fierce forward dash finished the opponent off for good.
Sonoko fell completely into the game, only snapping out of it when a massive explosion shook the venue.
Thick smoke billowed from the restroom area, filling the space with a hazy fog and the faint smell of gunpowder.
Annoyed, she set down the controller, discreetly using her ability to clear the smoke from the venue. Finally, she could see clearly again.
"Darn it, the trail ends here. I was so close."
A few minutes earlier, Conan had spotted a suspicious man in black at the venue—one who had taken a Mantendo employee's checked briefcase.
He'd only seemed suspicious at first, but an overheard phone call revealed he was a member of the Black Organization, codename: Tequila.
"Conan, what are you doing here?"
Cutting through the lingering haze, the ever-curious Natsume Sonoko found Conan crouched in front of the restroom, frustration written all over his face, holding what looked like a black shoe.
"Nothing, Sonoko-neechan."
Conan's acting skills were flawless—his frustrated expression smoothed over, replaced by a childishly innocent smile in an instant.
The area was already cordoned off. With little else to do, Sonoko trailed behind Conan as police officers examined the scene not far away.
In charge of the case was Inspector Megure from Division 1 of the Criminal Investigations Department. He stood solemnly at the scene, listening to the forensics report.
"The victim's identity is still unknown—his body was completely blown to pieces."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.