The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan

After the thunder exploded, the patter of rain rang out from the window, and tiny raindrops fell down, hitting the stone ground and creating a mist.

It's raining.

After glancing at the time, Tangze looked at the paintings and clock in the restaurant with subtle eyes, and then turned his attention again to the people on the table with different expressions.

Mamiya Mitsuru squeezed the knife and fork in his hand tightly, and Mamiya Takato's face turned a little pale. It could be seen that both of them understood what he was talking about and were frightened by the weird and weird legend.

On the contrary, Masuyo Mamiya still sat as calm as a mountain. Seeing that neither of them spoke, he snorted at Karasawa: "What nonsense are you talking about? It's because of our poor hospitality that you are not satisfied." Are you going to mock us with words like curse?”

"This is not nonsense. This old lady, such an incident did happen. You see, your son and grandson have heard about it. However, there are some differences between what brother Tangze said and the version I heard. " Conan glanced at Joker, feeling that he had guessed a little bit of the other party's intention, and told him what he just mentioned, "Forty years ago, a tragedy happened in a castle in the mountains. The owner was also a very wealthy man. After his death, his family held a memorial service for him in the castle to express their condolences.”

"I have heard about this incident, but I am not very clear about the specific details." Takato Mamiya touched the back of his neck and whispered, "There are actually many theories about what happened, except what this friend just said. version, it is also said that the banquet was actually a secret auction for Karasuma Renya's collection, but the celebrities who came to participate were all killed at the end of the auction... I don't know whether this is the case or not, what happened The murder case is indeed true. "

"...The rich man's name is Karasuma Renya." Mamiya Mitsuru, who was sitting on the left, seemed to have finally come back to his senses. He coughed twice and put down the knife and fork in his hand. "In this case, it's My wife told me. She said that if my father-in-law hadn't flatly refused and didn't go to the banquet, he might have died forty years ago. "

Having said this, he glanced at Mamiya Masuyo who was sitting there with a strange expression.

Since this is something that even the son-in-law of Mamiya's eldest daughter has heard of, as the wife of the person involved, there is no reason why Masuyo Mamiya doesn't know about it.

Her expression was dull for a moment, her eyes rolled, and she forced herself to turn the wheelchair: "I don't know what nonsense you are talking about. I'm full. I'm going back to the room first. When my daughter comes back, ask her to come to me immediately. Room. It’s outrageous that she was so late for my birthday..."

Her voice became smaller and smaller as the person moved away. Tang Ze watched her pushing slightly faster than before and smiled secretly.

I can barely remember my Alzheimer's persona.

I'm afraid that this crazy woman who used all means to achieve glory and wealth should have understood when she faced Masuyo Mamiya in the past few years, but she used this method to avoid things that she couldn't understand anyway.

No wonder I have to create an Alzheimer's character for myself. Otherwise, it would be too easy to reveal my identity.

"Sorry, my mother-in-law's mental condition has become worse and worse in recent years." Mamiya smiled apologetically at the guests who were rudely abandoned by Masuyo Mamiya, "I can't even remember my father-in-law's condition. ”

"Grandpa is a historian who likes to study castles, but in terms of family wealth, he is actually not particularly wealthy. His main property is the castle itself." Takato Mamiya explained, "So if that If the invitation from the Karasuma family is really an auction, he will definitely not be interested. After all, even if he goes, our family will not spend so much money on the collection. "

"That's it. It's such a pity. I thought that since it's a big family like yours, I would definitely hear more inside stories." Tangze nodded and made a pityful expression.

"...So, you suddenly came to the castle here just to investigate the rumors about the Karasuma family?" After the meal, Conan, who was following Karasawa step by step, asked abruptly, "That so-called dinner party What's wrong?"

Haiyuan Ai, who was following him, turned to glance at him, and then turned to look at Tang Ze who was smiling. Thinking of the wait-and-wait strategy mentioned by the other party, it took a little effort to control the corner of his mouth that wanted to twitch. .

She felt that Conan might have found a connection between things that didn't exist without authorization.

"There must be something fishy." Tangze shrugged, and did not reject Conan's logic. He followed his understanding and said, "There are different opinions on what happened at the dinner that day. Some people say it was a curse on that castle. , everything that happened that night reflected the prophecy left by the circulating mystery. Some people believe that this should be the Karasuma family using the lives of visitors to try to solve the mystery of the castle, and finally killed all the insiders... …”

"Oh, so you found out that the master of the Mamiya family had received an invitation, so you came to investigate the situation." Conan's face was full of realization.

Tang Ze curled his lips and did not refute, but looked across the corridor to the empty foyer.

There, the master of the Mamiya family with a serious face was sitting there, staring straight at the people who came in from the gate.

It was indeed partly due to this factor that he came to investigate the castle, but the old head of the Mamiya family had also received an invitation, which was a bit unexpected.

Moreover, if this is indeed the case, then the rejection of the head of the Mamiya family back then is a bit thought-provoking.

At that time, Renya Karasuma was not inviting celebrities or dignitaries at all. In order to find out the secret treasure of the Twilight Hall, he invited a group of historians, architects and other professionals to study the story of this castle. The puzzle is right.

According to the Mamiya family's love for the castle and its related culture, it is not difficult to see from the fact that the other party insists on living in this castle all his life. If there is really a chance to show off his talents and study and understand another castle with a long history, He had no reason to refuse. Why he was not present is a mystery that needs to be clarified...

"You should have read a little bit about the literature on cognitive histology. Then tell me, what special significance does a special environment like a private castle in the outer suburbs have on the cognitive level?" Conan did not answer. Tang Ze asked back.

Conan's expression was stunned for a moment, and he turned to glance at Haibara Ai, who was quietly putting his hands in his coat pockets.

When it comes to cognitive science, the real experts are here. What is the joker suddenly asking himself?

Hui Yuan Ai looked like it was nothing to do with him and had no intention of helping. Conan could only think hard for a moment, barely searching for relevant knowledge in his mind, and said tentatively: "Well, it's probably the so-called 'closed cognitive environment' possibility. To be honest, I don’t really understand its specific meaning..."

In order to understand what happened to Tangze's parents and to understand the organization's research progress in this area, he did read a lot of papers and books at Haiyuan's request, but the theoretical part of those contents was obscure and difficult to understand. The arguments are wild and imaginative, and the examples are written like some fantasy novel. It is really difficult for him to really regard those things as serious subjects.

If he hadn't known in advance that the nonsense content had real meaning and had even been used by the organization in some aspects, he would definitely have thrown these words into the category of "nonsense fabrication of civil science" in his memory.

How should I put it? It is not unreasonable that the research association of Karasawa's parents was reduced to the point where it received no financial support at all and was absorbed by the organized research institution...

"You have a good memory..." Tang Ze glanced at him meaningfully, "You can still have such a memory even though you neither understand nor believe it. You are worthy of being a well-informed detective with a strong memory."

"Well..." Conan scratched his face in embarrassment, "It's because, uh, I don't have enough understanding..."

"Okay, I know you don't mean it this way. It's just hard for you to accept it for the time being." Tang Ze reached out and patted his shoulder, "Having a questioning spirit and refusing to follow blindly are also very important scientific qualities."

After taking a look at Haibara Ai, who took two wary steps back to show that he would not take the trouble easily, Tang Ze shrugged.

"Hearing is deceptive, seeing is believing. I think it is better for you to come and see it for yourself. At 12 o'clock in the evening, if you can get up, just come to the lobby to meet us." He waved his hand and turned his head. Walking towards the dense rain curtain, "Understanding and observing the laws of the objective world, summarizing the laws, and using the laws, this is not another kind of materialism. Don't resist it, Detective."

Conan blinked, but still didn't quite understand what he meant. Haiyuan Ai, who was standing next to him, sighed first.

Sometimes I feel a little envious of this lucky guy Kudo. She insists on continuing to live as a researcher and will not enter that world easily.

Once you have entered the world of cognition, unless you lose your memory, undergo brainwashing, and erase this part of your cognition, this cognition will actually affect the real world and cannot be reversed.

"The meaning of that theory is actually very simple." Haiyuan Ai said in a soft tone, "In an environment that is physically closed and difficult to communicate with the outside world, the overall cognitive level and public opinion atmosphere must be different from mainstream society. . You have been to the American Islands, and you know that in a normal environment, those things are impossible."

She was referring to the fact that Shimabukuro Kimie became the island's totem "Godmother" and used her personal willpower to sink the entire island.

It should be said that this is the true face of the power that organizations long for and covet.

"Hmm, so the castle is also in such an environment?" Thinking of the residents on the American island who were gradually becoming crazy as the rain became heavier and heavier, Conan couldn't help frowning, "But this kind of private family territory will not What kind of spiritual totem will be produced..."

"There may be another form of expression, but I believe that jokers will not be aimless." Haihara Ai shrugged and patted Conan's other shoulder, "This world is more fragile than many people think. But it’s stronger than some people imagine. I leave it to you, great detective.”

————

"You have also discovered that the cognitive space here is indeed very special."

As soon as she stepped on the pedal of the RV, Haihara Ai heard Tang Ze's opening remarks and stopped walking further inside.

"Should I avoid it?" She pointed to the egg placed on the soft cushion, still wrapped in bubble wrap. "I'm here to check the monitoring data."

In fact, according to Karasawa, as long as Matsuda Jinpei returns successfully, Hagiwara Kenji is the one who is easiest to handle among the few people.

Unlike Jinpei Matsuda, who had a police career for several years after his death, there was a period of time that others did not understand, which forced them to collect a lot of additional information from the First Investigation Division and his father. Hagiwara Kenji from his birth to The life trajectory of death is highly overlapped with that of Matsuda Jinpei.

As a young man who talked about everything and even matched his education and work experience, as long as Matsuda Jinpei was around, collecting Hagiwara Kenji's identity information would not be a problem at all.

According to Tang Ze, his main difficulty was that he died for too long. To this world, he was already a shadow that could not be more faded. If his relatives were not still alive, he might not even have the basis for resurrection. , the energy required is naturally much more than the first two people.

She was monitoring more frequently than before, just to compare the data differences several times, so since the eggs were pretending to be here together, she slipped out and took a look.

"There is no need to avoid it. Special situations also require some expert opinions." Tangze waved his hand, and the RV door automatically closed behind Haibara Ai. "By coincidence, I also want to ask you about this matter."

Hui Yuan Ai took off the hood of her raincoat and walked over, and saw two lines of text written on the monitor hanging on the wall.

[Twilight Annex], and [The opportunity to cross the barrier].

Tangze drew a circle in the air, and the text on the display screen was quickly circled by Noah's round strokes.

"There is an insurmountable barrier between the cognitive world and the real world. Except for Noah, we cannot overcome this barrier and enter the cognitive world without the help of external forces. This is why the organization has always believed in the existence of the cognitive world. The tentacles have never touched the root cause of the true appearance of cognition."

When he said this, he turned his questioning eyes to Hui Yuan Ai.

Among them, the only one who can truly confirm whether this statement is correct or not is her, who has worked on the front line of organizational research.

Feeling that this conversation was of great significance, Haiyuan Ai thought for a moment and then said cautiously: "That's more or less the meaning. From very early on, about half of the researchers in the organization firmly believed in the content of their uncle's research. Not an abstract metaphor, but a real situation. They believe that the 'world' made of cognition exists, but they have not yet found a way to enter it..."

She quickly glanced at Tang Ze and made sure that the other person's expression was very calm and that he was not disturbed by these words before continuing.

"What's more, some people in the organization believe that the reason why the research has encountered a bottleneck is not because the theory is wrong, but because Uncle Tang Ze concealed part of the research content, causing them to miss the most critical steps and unable to step out. That step."

As a researcher living in the organization, she has no access to core affairs outside of research, and she does not know how powerfully these remarks are spread in the organization, but she believes that the death of her aunt and uncle is inseparable from this speculation. Open a relationship.

They had reached the limit of their patience. In order to squeeze out this key information, they would rather kill the goose to get the eggs than get all the research. This was how they launched a complete roundup of the Tangze family.

Tangze blinked and did not express any reaction to these words, and continued the discussion at the beginning: "To have such a conclusion shows that the organization has tried to enter the cognitive world more than once, and these attempts must have ended in failure. But they must have found some circumstantial evidence in the process to support the existence of the cognitive world, and then they became so determined that they were almost crazy.”

His eyes swept over several people in the group one by one, and finally landed on Shimabukuro Kimie.

Shimabukuro Kimie, who was holding his chin in thought, tilted his head in confusion. After thinking for a while, he understood what Karasawa was implying: "Do you think what happened to me is similar?"

"Strictly speaking, the organization's research direction is not wrong. Since my 'accident', they have actually been close to the truth more than once, but it was covered up because of our intervention and did not attract their attention." Tang Ze He pointed at Shimabukuro Kimie and then at Noah, who had a head exposed on the screen, "Perhaps we have already tried the method of understanding the world without navigating through another world."

Having been in this world for so long, as Leon told him at the beginning, this is not a world where the real world and the cognitive world are strictly separated and do not interfere with each other. This is a world where fusion and cognitive world have occurred for unknown reasons. A world where the boundaries with reality are blurred.

It's just that the "Holy Grail" of this world, or something similar, like the accomplice ending of the original work, actively restricts the boundaries of the cognitive world, and does not allow the two to completely merge.

The specific embodiment of this ambiguity includes that the way to enter that world is not just the navigation of another world.

Just look at the members of his team!

Noah's Ark is actually the organization's research and development version of a different world navigation. It's just that his "holographic virtual game database" is actually his palace disguised as a game. His ability to make up the world by himself is part of his identity as the palace master, which has caused misunderstandings to the organization and made them sacrifice what they have to do. The weird brainwashing machine went.

If he had not been taken away by Karasawa and had not succeeded in self-destruction, or if the real genius Hiroki Sawada had not died one day earlier, after falling into the hands of the organization, they would have discovered the clues of this game sooner or later, and it might have crossed the line. Cross that line.

Asai Narumi, on the surface, is just a powerful mask user, but the most special thing about him is that the barrier created by the environment of Moon Shadow Island is weak, which allows him to grow to the point of occupying the public hall without relying on any external force. If he goes further, he may also find the real gap between the two worlds.

Going further than him is Shimabukuro Kimie. If there is no interference from the Phantom Thieves, will she, who has completely collapsed, show a form similar to that of a false god and completely invade the real world? Tang Ze doesn't want to assume, but don't forget that this island has entered the organization's vision.

They didn't find the wrong direction, but they came at the wrong time.

Maybe Tang Ze Ikawa discovered this abnormality a few years ago and carefully hid it so that it didn't attract the attention of the organization.

Therefore, Tang Ze made a bold hypothesis.

What if, he said what if, in places such as cities where human civilization progresses faster, the world follows the operating logic of P5, and in closed environments such as closed islands, conservative villages, and closed environments where knowledge cannot be exchanged with the outside world, the rules will also operate according to the logic of P4?

Is there really a possibility that one can kick someone into a TV set by finding the right way to enter?

"I have some bold guesses. I think this castle is a good place to test it." Tang Ze pointed casually at the stone fortress with shutters standing in the rain. "Maybe some of the answers we need are in it."