"The fourth world is Solomon's Treasure."
"Players will take on the role of treasure hunters, scouring the globe for the hidden riches of King Solomon."
The introduction from Noah's Ark continued.
"The fifth is Old London. Here, you will experience a suspenseful tale steeped in classic horror."
"London, 1888. You must use all your strength and wits to bring the culprit of a serial murder case that remains unsolved in the real world—Jack the Ripper—to justice."
With that, the descriptions of the five game stages were complete.
"If everyone gets disqualified, will we really die?"
"Why did something this unlucky have to happen to us?"
"It's not like I chose to be my father's child..."
Most of the children present were under ten years old. The weight of a game where the stakes were their very lives was far too heavy to bear. Several of the more timid girls had already burst into tears.
"The Roman Colosseum definitely sounds like the most fun, but the Pirates, the Treasure Hunters, and the Professional Racing worlds all seem pretty good too."
"Decisions, decisions... this is a real headache."
Tsuneo stood there with his head tilted back toward the dark void, looking genuinely troubled by the choice.
"He is so completely out of place..." Conan muttered from the sidelines, his face flat. The man truly had zero sense of urgency.
"Hey, how about it? Want to go be the Pirate King with me?" Tsuneo looked down and asked.
"Thanks for the invite, but I think I'll stick with London," the 'Director' Conan replied with a small smile. He was itching for a chance to cross paths with a certain Great Detective.
"Everyone, pull yourselves together! You can't give up before the match has even started!" Ran stepped forward to offer the children some much-needed encouragement, seeing their morale was at rock bottom.
"Exactly! As long as even one person reaches the finish line, we all win!" Conan added, snapping back into leader mode to address the kids.
"Tsuneo-niichan, say something to help," Ran said, still placing a great deal of trust in the Fixer's capabilities.
"Well... I hope you all don't get too obsessed with winning or losing," Tsuneo began, his tone uncharacteristically solemn. "Try to appreciate the scenery along the way and value the companions by your side. Face hardship with a smile. And at the same time, take a moment to reflect: in the future, do you really want to become the same kind of people your parents are?"
The Junior Detective trio—Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta—instinctively took a step back, looks of sheer disbelief on their faces.
This... this isn't the Tsuneo-niichan we know!
Conan looked as if he had seen a ghost. Did a gear slip in his brain or something?!
"And finally, Noah's Ark!" Tsuneo concluded, shouting back up at the sky.
"Is there something else?" the boyish voice responded.
"If I clear one world, can I move on and play the next one?"
"...You can."
Conan tilted his head. Of course. All that grand philosophy was just a setup to make a request.
This man was truly just here to play the game.
"Pirates!"
"Any kids who want to be pirates, assemble over here!" Tsuneo shouted enthusiastically, standing before the gate leading to the Viking world.
"Big brother... will we really survive?" a sweet-looking young girl asked, clutching Tsuneo's trouser leg with tearful eyes.
"Of course! After all, I'm the man who's going to be the Pirate King!"
With such an optimistic "weird uncle" spouting nonsense, the atmosphere did indeed lighten considerably.
"Conan, are we going to split up from Tsuneo-niichan?" Ran asked, looking down.
"Yeah, it's safer that way," Conan nodded, walking toward the gate for London. Compared to the other worlds, this one suited him best. If Tsuneo happened to capsize in the pirate world, there would still be a chance for a backup save.
"Moroboshi, maybe we should pick the same side as that guy? He seems more reliable," Seiichiro Kikukawa suggested, looking at the "Pirate King" before turning to the leader of their little group.
That man gave off an inexplicably powerful aura.
"It doesn't matter, as long as one person clears it. Let's work hard on our own; maybe we can clear our stage even faster," Hideki Moroboshi said confidently, resting his head on his hands.
The children began to filter into their chosen worlds...
"Damn it! You brat, don't you dare take this lightly! Be serious!" Mouri Kogoro roared at Tsuneo's image on the screen.
Fifty lives were on the line! Could he not look so incredibly happy?!
"He can't hear you no matter how much you scream. Don't waste your energy," Saguru Hakuba said calmly, stroking his hawk. With Tsuneo's strength, as long as the AI didn't specifically target him, clearing the stage should be well within his reach.
"How is it looking?" Yusaku asked, turning to his friend Kashimura and Professor Agasa.
"The 'Cocoon' is indeed storing a massive amount of energy. It is certainly enough to destroy the brains of fifty people," the Professor reported grimly.
Tadaaki Kashimura sat in his seat without a word, his eyes fixed silently on the monitors. Noah's Ark...
Meanwhile, out in the main hall, many parents had reached their breaking point. The Professor saw several people storming the stage, attempting to use brute force to pry open the capsules. He scrambled to the microphone and shouted, "Stop them! Don't touch the machines!"
Sure enough, a split second later, the parents who had touched the capsules were knocked back by a violent surge of electricity.
"I will not allow anyone to interfere with the game. That was merely a warning. I will not be so lenient next time!" the voice of Noah's Ark rang out again. It seemed the AI was omnipresent, monitoring the movements both inside and outside the game.
"Chairman Schindler, why has the AI Hiroki created gone out of control?" Inspector Megure asked as he arrived in the control room. His nerves had been frayed since he heard the news; if something happened to those children on stage, the fallout would be catastrophic.
"Out of control?" Kashimura shook his head. "It hasn't gone out of control. Noah's Ark is simply doing what it feels it must do."
Yusaku glanced at his old friend and stepped in to explain to the group. "Actually, the reason Hiroki left his father to live abroad with his mother was that he couldn't adapt to the Japanese education system."
"The system stifles a child's individual growth. These rigid educational institutions reportedly viewed Hiroki as nothing more than a 'computer-obsessed freak.'"
"It wasn't just the schools—even the nation itself refused to acknowledge the concept of individuality."
"Hiroki wanted to develop AI because of the painful experiences he went through."
"In other words, Noah's Ark—which has continued to grow while 'on the run'—has found a concrete way to achieve the 'rebirth' Hiroki desired."
Yusaku looked at the monitoring screens. If the children who had the status to sit inside those capsules tonight were changed by this experience, perhaps it truly was a valid path forward.
Thomas Schindler remained silent throughout the explanation, his thoughts unreadable.
"Conan and the others have entered the Whitechapel district!" the Professor announced to the room. Once they entered the specific game worlds, the control room could no longer see the visual feed clearly, having to rely on data markers to track their progress.
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