At the Mantendo Game Showcase.
The venue was bustling with people, and all the latest game console stands were surrounded by visitors.
Rin walked shoulder to shoulder with her companions, looking here and there.
"Wow! It's a new fighting game!"
"That motion-sensing racing game looks awesome!"
Ran excitedly pointed at different stands.
Ellen, licking a lollipop in her mouth, curiously surveyed her surroundings.
Even Conan watched a demonstration of a mystery game with keen interest, his eyes shining.
Rin smiled faintly, recalling the plot of the Mantendo Game Showcase episode.
If she remembered correctly, that unlucky fellow Tequila should be making his appearance soon, right?
As one of the few true members under Gin, Tequila was thoroughly evil, the kind of man universally despised.
It was just a pity that such a true member wouldn't survive even one episode after his debut.
And he died in a terribly frustrating way, accidentally killed by a culprit because he picked up the wrong briefcase.
Rin shook her head, deciding not to worry about it for now. Before Conan's passive 'God of Death' ability triggered, she'd have some fun first.
Soon, they were attracted to a stand that had quite a crowd around it.
The game console on display was the latest "Extreme Boxing" simulator.
A man wearing a Mantendo employee uniform, with a robust build and a name tag that read "Nakajima Hideaki," was enthusiastically explaining it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is our company's ultimate creation, the 'Extreme Boxing' simulator."
Nakajima Hideaki's voice was loud as he patted the machine's thick, sensory target.
"It not only accurately measures your punching speed and power, but also simulates the feedback of real boxing. Please watch the demonstration!"
He put on the sensor gloves, struck a standard boxing pose, took a deep breath, and delivered a swift straight punch to the center of the target.
Beep beep beep—
348 points
The display screen of the sensory target showed a prominent number, and a gasp of admiration rose from the crowd.
Nakajima Hideaki wiped the sweat from his forehead, a confident smile on his face: "As you can see, this is the normal level an adult male with boxing training can achieve. Is there any guest who would like to come up and try their hand?"
"I will!"
Rin was the first to raise her hand, eager to try.
She put on the gloves, recalled Nakajima Hideaki's previous movements, and swung a punch with all her might.
Bang!
The sensory target made a beeping sound.
The screen lit up—
50 points
"Hahaha!" A burst of laughter came from the surroundings.
Nakajima Hideaki also laughed: "Miss, it seems you need to strengthen your exercise routine. But don't be discouraged, it's very normal for an untrained ordinary woman to score below 100 points."
"Ran-neechan, you try too!" Conan was curious how many points Ran could score with one punch.
Given her strength, which could smash a telephone pole, exceeding 300 points should be quite easy for her.
Ran put on the gloves, looked at the target in front of her, and the image of a certain missing mystery fanatic flashed in her mind.
"Shinichi! Get back here!"
Ran roared and swung a punch, hitting the center of the target fiercely.
Bang—!!
The sensory target flashed red, and the displayed score rapidly soared to 400 points.
"Holy cow, this is too fierce! It's already surpassed the score an adult male with boxing training can achieve."
"This girl is extraordinary. I wonder who this Shinichi she's muttering about is? He probably owes her a lot of money."
The onlookers let out gasps of astonishment.
Nakajima Hideaki was dumbfounded: "This strength is incredible! If it hit a person, they might not survive."
Conan watched this scene, a chill running down his spine, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
It seems Ran holds a deep grudge about his sudden disappearance.
He'll have to find a way to properly appease Ran later.
Ellen was next in line.
Rin quickly leaned into her ear and whispered, "Hold back some strength okay?, don't break it."
Ellen nodded. After putting on the gloves, she didn't retract her fist to punch, but instead pressed her fist against the sensor panel, giving it a perfunctory shove.
It barely even made a sound.
"Miss, such a light touch won't get you..." Nakajima Hideaki's words were cut short.
Beep beep beep beep beep—!!!
The screen on the sensory target flashed madly.
The numbers representing the score jumped wildly like a runaway horse.
Finally, with a 'beep', it instantly locked at the maximum—600 points!
A flashing "MAX!" sign also appeared next to it!
The entire stand fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on Ellen.
"My goodness, are high school girls nowadays all this strong? That girl just scored 400 points, and now another one comes out with 600 points!"
"Am I the only one who noticed? This high school girl scored 600 points not because she could only score 600 points, but because this tester can only display a maximum of 600 points!"
"Ah?!"
The onlookers gasped in amazement.
Conan was somewhat incredulous. He had originally thought Ellen's skill was similar to Ran's, but he hadn't expected such a huge difference.
"Uncle Nakajima, is this testing machine broken? I saw that Ellen didn't even use any force; isn't this result too exaggerated?"
Conan looked at Nakajima Hideaki.
Nakajima Hideaki swallowed, took the gloves, and with renewed effort, punched the sensory target again.
The score displayed 330 points, not much different from his previous performance.
"The machine is not broken..." Nakajima Hideaki's mouth hung open as he stared at Ellen in shock.
"Could it be...." Nakajima Hideaki's face changed to one of admiration, "that Ellen-san just used some kind of short-range explosive technique?
"I once heard something like that---power released almost without motion, but how did you do it?That should be nearly impossible, shouldn't it?"
Ellen, initially disinclined to respond due to the hassle, noticed everyone staring at her. She tilted her head slightly and replied, "...Holding back some strength?"
Everyone instantly turned to stone.
Just as everyone was still reeling from Ellen's superhuman strength, Conan's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a tall figure.
It was a man wearing a pure black suit, a black hat, and dressed in a style identical to Gin and Vodka.
He exuded an aura that warned people to stay away, carrying a briefcase with the Mantendo logo, and was striding through the crowd towards a relatively secluded corner of the venue.
The Black Organization!
Conan's pupils constricted, and he immediately connected this suddenly appearing man to the organization.
"Ran-neechan, I'm going to the restroom!"
After dropping this sentence, Conan, without waiting for a reply, quietly followed him.
He followed him all the way to the restroom.
Conan hid behind the wall, holding his breath and straining his ears to listen.
"The transaction is complete." The man in black was on the phone. "That's right, I've already got the money..."
Because of the distance, Conan couldn't hear the entire conversation.
But he heard the codename "Tequila" very clearly.
Another liquor name! This person is indeed from the Black Organization!
Conan's palms were sweating with excitement, just as he was thinking of taking down the opponent.
Suddenly—
"Boom—!!!"
A massive explosion came from inside the restroom.
The huge shockwave knocked Conan off balance.
When Conan looked back at Tequila's previous position.
Tequila had been blown to smithereens, not even a speck of dust remained.