Ran, still reeling from her brush with death, looked at the young Moroboshi with a expression of profound confusion.
"Just as I thought... Noah's Ark," Conan said, walking over to sit beside the repairman. He kept his eyes fixed on Hideki Moroboshi as he spoke.
"N-Noah's Ark? You mean...?" Ran looked at Moroboshi, her eyes wide with disbelief.
This can't be right, she thought. Didn't we see this boy, this soccer enthusiast, back at the convention hall? Noah's Ark is an artificial intelligence, isn't it?
"It seems I left a trail of clues right from the start," Moroboshi admitted.
As he spoke, his body began to shimmer with a soft light, his form shifting and shrinking until the image of Hiroki Sawada stood in Moroboshi's place. He hadn't seen a single shred of surprise on Kudo Shinichi's face just now, so he knew his cover must have been blown for some time.
"Back at Holmes' residence, there was a century-old soccer ball. You ignored it completely, even though your companions couldn't stop staring at it," Conan explained. "Furthermore, when those strange scenes suddenly appeared at the club, everyone else was visibly shocked. You were the only one who simply stood there with a furrowed brow."
Conan glanced at Tsuneo as he spoke. Two "terrorists" of Tsuneo's caliber had suddenly appeared, a feat that had even terrified Colonel Moran. Only the "soccer boy" Moroboshi had reacted with nothing more than contemplative silence.
"I assume your goal has been achieved?" the Great Detective asked with a small smile, thinking of Emori, Takizawa, and Kikukawa—the boy who had sacrificed himself to save Conan.
"The reason I borrowed Moroboshi's body to enter the game was because... just once, I wanted to play with friends. My life has always been nothing but work," Hiroki said. He didn't mention his "objectives" or grand designs; in that moment, he looked like nothing more than a lonely child.
"About what I mentioned earlier... have you looked into it?" Tsuneo asked after a moment of thought.
"Yes. I've already uncovered some of the data. If you need it, I can tell you everything I've found regarding those two organizations," Hiroki replied with a nod.
The reality was quite different from what he had initially expected. Especially concerning that "Black Organization"—after tracing their history even slightly, the situation proved to be... complicated, to say the least.
"The Organization?" Ran and Conan exchanged a look.
The Great Detective had his suspicions, but Ran was completely in the dark. As an AI capable of roaming the virtual world freely, what Noah's Ark could see and obtain was beyond the imagination of any ordinary person.
Conan's breathing hitched, but with Ran sitting right beside him, he didn't dare press for details.
"Let's be honest here: we really need your help," the repairman said, firmly patting Conan's head to keep the boy from blurting out something reckless.
For some reason, Hiroki suddenly looked up, his gaze drawn to the blindingly bright green bar floating above Tsuneo's head.
"By the way, Tsuneo-san, I've been meaning to ask... what is that thing above you?" Ran suppressed her lingering questions and stared at the bar along with Hiroki.
It was glowing brilliantly, and it looked like it was longer than the entire train. Even though she rarely played video games, she recognized it as a traditional health bar.
"The Pirate World was way more fun than this one. You can constantly gain experience points to get stronger..." Tsuneo said, sounding quite pleased with himself. To demonstrate, he slammed his fist into the roof of the train carriage.
BOOM!
The entire carriage shook violently. A massive crater was punched into the metal roof, leaving a hole through which they could see the interior of the train.
"..." Ran finally understood why Noah's Ark had made Jack the Ripper simply disappear. This level of physical power was truly maxed out.
"This is just ridiculous..." Conan muttered, rolling his eyes.
"I've analyzed your physical data. To a certain extent, it seems you possess the ability to grow stronger unconditionally over time," Hiroki said, choosing his words carefully.
One couldn't underestimate the game capsules in the convention hall. Theoretically, in terms of biological scanning and physical assessment, they were more advanced than most small-scale laboratories.
"You didn't sneakily draw my blood, did you...?" Tsuneo shot Hiroki a sidelong glance. He felt like that was a distinct possibility.
"In any case, I will consider what you've said. There are indeed many things in this world worth paying attention to," Hiroki said, standing up and addressing the group.
Initially, he had intended for Noah's Ark to reach its final destination once the game ended. However, the repairman's words had indeed changed his perspective.
"Now then, there are still three game worlds left. Do you wish to continue?" Hiroki asked with a smile.
"Of course!" Tsuneo was the first to jump up, his voice full of excitement.
Conan: "..."
Ran: "..."
Please, no... we're so tired...
In the Real World.
"Professor Agasa, what's the status?" Kogoro Mouri, a total computer illiterate, scratched his head in frustration. There hadn't been any movement for a long time.
Earlier, they were told the London world had reached the train station for its final, most dangerous climax. What now?
"Er..." The Professor scratched his own head and said, "The train seems to have stopped halfway. Aside from that, the cursors representing the players have changed from three to four."
Conan, Ran, and the boy named Moroboshi were the only three left in the London world. Where did the fourth one come from?
Yusaku Kudo stared at the monitor for a moment before speaking. "One person has gone missing from the Pirate World."
The others looked at the flat map of the Pirate World. Sure enough, the largest cursor in the Seventh Sea area had vanished.
"Is it Tsuneo-kun?" Inspector Megure leaned in.
Compared to when the game first started, his heart had settled significantly. But why had the repairman suddenly appeared in a different world?
A moment later, something even more astounding happened.
Every single cursor representing the players in both worlds vanished simultaneously!
"Wha—what...?" Kogoro took a step back, his eyes bulging. "Did they fail? Is it game over?!"
"No, look at the Roman World!" Tadaaki Kashimura immediately pulled up another game map.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5..."
Every single remaining player had entered the next game world together.
No one could have predicted that this game launch would last for over ten hours, only coming to a close when the sun rose the following morning.
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, the game capsules began to rise one by one, their lids hissing open. Dozens of parents rushed onto the stage, throwing their arms around their children.
"This guy..." Conan looked over at the repairman, who was taking off his helmet with a satisfied grin.
Because of this man, they had ended up playing through every single one of the remaining game worlds.
"The Pirate World really has tons of eel!" Genta was vividly describing eel rice to Mitsuhiko and Ayumi.
"The atmosphere seems a bit off," Yusaku noted from below the stage. He saw some of the children speaking to their parents; the reunions looked like they were about to turn into full-blown arguments.
"How am I supposed to take this thing home?"
The repairman was crouching next to his game capsule, tapping on the casing with his finger as if searching for a seam to take it apart...
(End of Chapter)
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