nycdaug Chapter 242 London Shadow: The Game Officially Begins
Chapter 242 London Shadow: The Game Officially Begins
Chapter 242 London Shadow: The Game Officially Begins
"A slow-acting poison!" Ran Mouri looked around frantically. "What time is it? We have to tell Conan and the others before the professor makes his move!"
Kuromon Haruya opened the dripping pocket watch, raised an eyebrow and pondered: "It's... six o'clock in the afternoon. We've been unconscious for longer than we thought."
Six o'clock! Only a few hours until the opera starts!
Ran Mouri quickly grabbed Sonoko's shoulders, using her amazing strength: "Sonoko, Sonoko, wake up!"
Yoruichi Kuromon felt that it was a great decision not to pretend to faint.
"Ugh...uh!" In the first five seconds after her brain was shaken back to normal, Sonoko groaned a few times, then suddenly woke up. "Yue...I feel like throwing up! Huh? What happened?"
"Something terrible has happened!" Ran Mouri relayed the emergency to Sonoko.
"What?! What should we do then?!"
The two of them were like ants on a hot pan, both focusing their attention on Kuromon Haruya.
With a weak sigh, Heimon Haruya coughed a few times, clutching his chest, and came up with an answer: "We'll split into two groups. One of the ladies will walk back to the opera house along the sewer pipes to pass on the information to the others, while the other will accompany me to Charles Cross Station to intercept Moriarty in advance."
“Then I’ll go back to the opera house; maybe I can even help deal with Jack,” Ran Mouri said firmly.
Sonoko Suzuki, who had initially thought it was safer here and wanted Ran to accept the arrangement, was taken aback. She nodded, then reached out to help Haruya Kuromon up: "Then be careful. I'll take Mr. Mycroft to the train station!"
"Ok!"
Having obtained a map of the sewers from the Black Gate at night, Ran Mouri cleaned the bloodstains from her clothes and hurriedly stepped into the dark passage illuminated by the scattered kerosene lamps.
A lone footstep echoed and refracted in the endless passageway. Ran Mouri leaned against the wall, slightly out of breath. Looking back, the area she had traversed behind her was indistinguishable from the area in front of her. The kerosene lamps were spaced at perfectly consistent intervals; if she felt dizzy, she would have no idea which way she had come from.
She jogged to the next staircase, but it still wasn't her destination.
"Fortunately, Mr. Mycroft gave me directions, and there were no forks in the road leading to the opera house."
Banks, gardens, museums... just when she thought she had almost walked through the entire sewers of London, she was finally surprised to see the five big words "Royal Opera" on a grease-covered brass street sign!
"finally reached!"
Ran Mouri wiped her hands with the hem of her skirt, gripped the ladder, and secretly rejoiced that this game didn't have the label of "perfectly recreating reality"—she couldn't imagine how dirty she would be if she were crawling and rolling around in a real sewer.
"Conan and the others must be terribly worried. Hopefully, it's not too late."
She climbed the ladder step by step, held her breath, braced herself with her hands, and forcefully pushed open the heavy manhole cover pressing down on her!
"Phew, I'm finally out!"
Instead of the expected fresh air, what lingered around my nose was a strong, pungent smell of something burning.
Countless terrified screams came from all directions. As Ran Mouri straightened up, she felt waves of scalding heat coming from behind her.
boom--
The sound of an explosion rang out, and the place that had been an opera house not long ago was now completely engulfed by thick smoke and flames.
The dripping beast that once hung on the outer wall was blown away not far away, and the debris from the explosion scattered in all directions. The glass of many houses was shattered, leaving behind a mess.
Thick, suffocating smoke rose straight up, carrying an unpleasant chemical odor. Ran Mouri stared in panic and helplessness at the faintly visible full moon through the smoke, suddenly unsure where to go.
Shouldn't it be 6 PM now? Why is it so dark?
The opera house was destroyed, but what about Conan and the others? Are they all safe and sound?
Without time to think, Ran Mori quickly ran towards the remains of the opera house, trying to find someone in the know to find out about the others.
"Conan, where are you—"
Beneath the raging flames, Ai Haibara kicked open the wooden cabinet door where she was hiding. The aftershocks of the explosion made her body numb, but her hands gripping the pistol remained as firm as ever.
'Heh.' Ai Haibara curled her lips into a mocking sneer.
Ironically, almost all the skills she now uses to survive were learned from the organization, including how to fire a gun with precision and ruthlessness.
'That despicable Moriarty! Just for the sake of playing a game, he actually killed my sister and father...! Even if it's just a game program, I will kill that bastard!'
Edogawa, Kuromon, and everyone else are now missing, so perhaps only she can carry this game to victory.
Just then, as if guided by fate, Ai Haibara noticed something. Twenty meters away, a familiar figure with bloodstains on her skirt peeked out from the manhole cover, standing silently in front of the theater admiring her masterpiece.
That bastard who stole someone else's face!
So she loaded the bullet, aimed the pistol at the man's torso, and mentally recalled the organization's shooting instruction.
'Integrate the trembling of your hands into your breathing; let your entire focus pierce the target, like a hunting dog biting its prey's heart.'
Then, pull the trigger.
"Lan! Stop! Get out of the way!"
bang——
Upon hearing Conan's voice, Ran Mouri instinctively turned around, only to suddenly feel someone push her from behind.
As a game aimed at minors, the 'Cocoon' program artistically processes and filters various ugly realities, including things unsuitable for children such as blood, violence, and pain.
So, when Ran Mouri was shot and fell to the ground, she didn't immediately realize that she had been shot. It wasn't until the system notification appeared, "[You have been eliminated]," and her body suddenly lost control that she realized what had happened.
'Oh no, I haven't conveyed the important information to Conan yet!'
Leaping over the splashing fire, Conan looked anxious and helpless. Ignoring any potential ambush, he ran straight to Ran Mouri's side: "Ran! Cheer up, Ran!"
[Elimination countdown: 10, 9, 8...]
"Conan, the professor is..."
'Honestly, how come you always forget to add honorifics after people's pronouns!'
"Yes! I'm listening!"
Qingmei's jet-black hair fell loosely on her fingertips, carrying a chilling coldness. Even though Shinichi Kudo knew it was just a game, he didn't dare to look into her gradually dimming blue-purple eyes.
[5, 4...]
As the countdown began, Ran Mouri mustered all her strength and uttered her final words: "...Charlie Cross, train station."
[Elimination countdown: 0]
[Time's up. We wish you a pleasant time at the park.]
Ran Mouri closed her eyes, and after a shockwave from the explosion, her body shattered and disappeared in Conan's palm.
"orchid----"
......
Let's rewind to five hours earlier, inside the Royal Opera House.