Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

Kazami Yuya slightly raised the muzzle of his gun: "FBI agents, please explain your reasons for conducting armed operations within our country's territory?"

"How about explaining the cherry blossom tattoos in the public security system first?" Akai pulled out his PDA, the screen displaying a list of thirty-seven public security officers with implanted electronic cherry blossoms. "Should I read out the Swiss accounts you used for financial dealings with the organization?"

Vermouth seized the opportunity to throw a smoke bomb, and Toru Tono activated the cryo-chamber's movement mode amidst the thick smoke. Shiho Miyano suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Wait, there's an abnormal fluctuation in my sister's brainwaves!" On the monitoring screen, the curve that should have been smooth was now showing a strange double peak—a sign of implanted memories.

"Looks like the game isn't over yet," Vermouth's voice came from above. She was hanging upside down from the gantry crane, her tablet displaying the countdown to the start of APTX's third phase. "The guinea pig will eventually have to return to the maze."

Akai's bullet grazed her ear, but sparked strangely as it struck the steel cable—the luster of the special metal made Tohru Tono's pupils shrink sharply. Seventeen years ago, in the Munich military factory bombing, this type of steel cable containing scandium alloy caused three hundred casualties.

"Take them away!" Akai roared as the shockwave from the explosion struck. Toru Tono shielded the Miyano sisters beneath him and saw the countdown timer on the fake James's chest stop at 00:00:01—it wasn't a bomb at all, but an ultrasonic transmitter.

The torrential rain pounded against the glass curtain wall of Tokyo Tower, and Toru Tono's keyboard left afterimages in the dark room. In the holographic projection, the resonance data of Akai's ring overlapped with the MI6 file provided by James, and Akemi Miyano's brainwave spectrum was projected onto the screen in a strange floral pattern.

“The receiver for the memory transplant is here.” Shiho Miyano pointed to the coordinates of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. “They want to gain access to the highest levels of the public security system through my sister.”

Conan's tracking glasses suddenly sounded an alarm; thirty red dots were surrounding Professor Agasa's house from six directions. Toru Tono reviewed the surveillance footage and saw Yuya Kazami's subordinates setting up a sonic weapon at the alley entrance—the electronic circuits formed by cherry blossom tattoos were the bio-keys to activate the device.

"It's time to close the net." Akai's message suddenly switched to the channel. Toru Tono looked out the window; the headlights of the black sedan truck flickered three times in the rain—the emergency signal he and Atsushi Miyano had agreed upon years ago.

Akemi Miyano awoke at this moment, her fingertips tracing the cherry blossom mark on her younger sister's nape: "Mother left behind real antibodies in the snow mountain laboratory in Nagano Prefecture..." Her hoarse voice suddenly transformed into a synthesized electronic voice.

Tohru Tohno's pocket watch snapped open, revealing a miniature projection of a snow-capped mountain map in a hidden compartment. Elena Miyano's image smiled in the rain; behind her, on the lab table, seventeen pale gold reagents lay dormant in the low temperature.

“Looks like we’ll have to change our Christmas Eve plans.” Toru Tono clipped the EMP device to his waist, the roar of helicopter rotors echoing through the rain. Vermouth’s silver motorcycle flashed by at the street corner, while Shuichi Akai’s sniper scope reflected a death cross from the 250-meter observation deck of Tokyo Tower.

Chapter 207

"Ding-dong—" The crisp sound of the doorbell broke through the morning mist. When Tohru Tono opened the door, he was met with five pairs of bright eyes.

"Tono-nii-san!" Ayumi peeked out from behind Professor Agasa, her fluffy pink headband still damp with dew. "There's a super awesome circus performance today!"

Wearing a mask, Shiho Miyano suddenly appeared from around the corner of the second-floor staircase, a light gray cashmere scarf covering half her face: "I remember the latest issue of *Scientific World* is still piled up in the entryway."

“But Genta said he could see seals that can do math!” Mitsuhiko held up a brochure; the colorful pages showed a spotted seal wearing a top hat slapping a calculator with its flippers.

Toru Tohno's fingers paused as he took the flyer. A dark red totem pattern, three crows linked head to tail, was printed in the corner of the poster—clearly the identifying mark of some underground operation of the Black Organization. He turned to look at Shiho Miyano, noticing that her fingertips, which were adjusting her gloves, also paused for half a second.

“I’m going to see it.” The brown-haired girl suddenly spoke, descending the last three steps amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd. “Tachibana Maya is staying home.”

The sound of a ceramic cup slamming against the countertop echoed from the kitchen. "Why?!" Tachibana Maya stormed out, brandishing a dripping whisk, cream foam clinging to her nose. "Last month you promised to teach me how to assemble an electromagnetic pulse device..."

“You broke my electron microscope last week.” Shiho Miyano, already dressed in a camel-colored coat with a glimpse of black lace lining peeking out from the cuffs, said, “As punishment, you’re in charge of sorting the samples in the third freezer in the basement today.”

Toru Tono watched the two women's exchange with great interest. As Shiho Miyano passed by him, a faint scent of lily of the valley brushed past his nose—the perfume she had picked up yesterday on the bus when she had nervously gripped his hand.

Dr. Agasa's Volkswagen Beetle, filled with laughter and merriment, drove towards the central square of Beika Town. In the rearview mirror, Shiho Miyano kept her face turned towards the window, but whenever Toru Tono adjusted his posture, she would subtly shift her knees half an inch to the other side, maintaining a distance that would just avoid contact.

The red and white stripes of the circus tent stood out starkly against the overcast sky. Conan suddenly tugged at Tohru Tohno's sleeve: "That clown's crow badge on his chest, and the one on the black-clad guy from before..."

“It’s the circus’s lucky charm.” Toru Tohno interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the dwarf performer checking tickets. The snake tattoo on the man’s neck rose and fell with each swallow—a mark of identity for an outer member of the organization.

Cheers suddenly erupted inside the tent. In the spotlight, the woman in red on the high-altitude swing was releasing her safety rope. Toru Tono felt a sudden pause in his breathing beside him, and Shiho Miyano's knuckles turned white as she gripped the ticket. As the performer hung upside down ten meters in the air, biting a rose thrown by her companion, a staff member wearing a baseball cap suddenly raised a night-vision camera, the lens pointing directly at the audience.

"Want some popcorn?" Toru Tohno asked, his warm breath brushing against Shiho Miyano's ear. He used the gesture of picking up a paper bag to block the prying gaze, his fingertips quickly swiping across his phone screen to send encrypted location data to Maya Tachibana.

The hurricane whipped up by the propellers tore the rain into silver flakes, and Toru Tono's tactical boots crushed the shattered glass of the Tokyo Tower observation deck. Shiho Miyano's white lab coat was lifted by the airflow, revealing the gene key storage device strapped to her outer thigh—its cold, eerie blue light clashed with the reflection of Chianti's sniper scope in mid-air.

"Get down!" Akai's roar, mixed with the whistling of a .300 Winchester bullet, pierced eardrums. Tohru Tono, in the instant he tackled Shiho Miyano, saw the bullet pierce the marble floor where she had just stood, and the shattered stone scraped blood from Conan's face.

Thirty heat source signals suddenly ignited on the infrared detector. The instant Toru Tono unleashed the electromagnetic pulse generator, seven men in black disguised as tourists convulsed and collapsed, their electronic cherry blossom tattoos exposed on their collars emitting wisps of smoke as they short-circuited. Shiho Miyano's fingertips traced across the tablet computer, and the frozen surveillance screen suddenly flickered—Yuya Kazami was entering a sixteen-digit dynamic password in the Metropolitan Police Department's command center, the cherry blossom tattoo on his wrist flashing with the frequency of keystrokes.

"They're going to activate a backdoor in the public security system!" Conan's tracking glasses projected a deluge of data. "APTX Phase Two will spread through municipal surveillance!"

Vermouth's laughter echoed from the fire escape. Her ten-centimeter stilettos clattered against the metal staircase with a deadly rhythm: "The lab rats found the cheese?" Her long silver hair gleamed coldly under the emergency lights. "Too bad the real game is in the snowy mountains of Nagano Prefecture..."

Akai's bullet interrupted her final words, but splattered artificial blood as it pierced her left shoulder. Tohru Tohno's pupils constricted sharply—that pale purple reflection was the color of APTX-4869 metabolites. Shiho Miyano suddenly coughed violently; the monitor showed that the antibody concentration in her blood was decreasing at a rate of 0.7% per second.

"Take her to Elena's lab!" Akai tossed over the car keys, the emerald ring tracing a fluorescent path in the rain. The moment Toru Tono caught them, a memory surged through his nerves like an electric current—the pocket watch chain his father, Atsushi Miyano, had clutched tightly before his death was made of the same scandium alloy.

As the black truck crashed through the roadblock, a breathtaking scene was reflected in the rearview mirror: Vermouth tore open her bionic skin, revealing a robotic arm covered in electronic components; Yuya Kazami's pupils suddenly turned a camera-like red; and Conan was pointing his tranquilizer watch at his carotid artery, a cold smile that didn't belong to an elementary school student appearing on his lips.

"They've been implanted with neural pulse chips!" Shiho Miyano's nails dug into her palms. The car's computer displayed a mushroom-cloud-shaped electromagnetic storm rising in the direction of Tokyo Tower. "My sister's brainwaves are the activator..."

Toru Tono jerked the steering wheel to avoid the crashing helicopter wreckage. A hidden compartment under the dashboard popped open automatically, and Elena Miyano's pocket watch suddenly projected a holographic map—deep in the snowy mountains of Nagano Prefecture, a certain coordinate was flashing in sync with Shiho Miyano's body temperature.

Chapter 208 The Frozen Truth (Continued)

Tires left scorch marks on the winding mountain road, and Toru Tono caught a glimpse of seven snowmobiles following in his rearview mirror. The riders wore night vision goggles, and the embroidered raven totem of their organization was faintly visible on the collars of their winter coats. Shiho Miyano's breathing became rapid as the altitude increased, and the onboard medical equipment showed that her blood oxygen saturation had dropped to a critical level.

"Hang in there." Toru Tohno wrapped a thermal blanket around her trembling shoulders. "The antibodies your mother left behind are there..."

The shockwave from the explosion suddenly overturned the vehicle. Toru Tono caught Shiho Miyano just as the airbags deployed, shielding her with his back from the impact of the rollover. Through the cracks in the windshield, he saw Vermouth gracefully approaching on her skis, her modified electromagnetic rifle aimed at Shiho Miyano's heart.

“It’s time to finish the game.” Her index finger, smeared with the pale blue of APTX, pressed against the trigger. “Let me show you Lady Elena’s true legacy…”

Chapter 208

Akai's sniper bullet pierced the electromagnetic rifle at the last second. Toru Tohno seized the opportunity to pick up Shiho Miyano and leap into the crevasse, sparks flying from his tactical gloves on the glacier surface. The coordinates projected by the pocket watch reached their peak at this moment, and the metal door beneath the ice slowly opened, releasing a warm current with a bitter almond scent.

“This is…” Shiho Miyano’s pupils reflected the scene behind the bulletproof glass: seventeen cryo-chambers arranged in a cherry blossom formation, each containing a girl who resembled her. The electronic screen displayed a cruel countdown—71 hours and 59 minutes remaining until the global spread of APTX.

Tohru Tohno's pocket watch suddenly resonated with the main control panel. A holographic image of Elena Miyano appeared; the pale golden liquid in the test tube in her hand resonated spectrally with the cherry blossom-red spot on Shiho Miyano's collarbone: "When the cherry blossoms of the snowfield absorb enough sorrow, the true antibody will bloom."

The explosion drew nearer again as Vermouth's mechanical arm pierced the ice. Akai's blood drew eerie patterns on the snow, and his ring was now on Miyano Shiho's finger. In his final moments of fading consciousness, Toru Tono finally deciphered the secret message behind his mother's photograph—the cherry blossom outlined with nanowires was the ultimate key to unlocking the door to human evolution.

Chapter 209 Gene Echoes

Shiho Miyano's fingertips trembled on the control panel. Her pale face was reflected on the glass surfaces of the seventeen cryo-chambers, where clones with 99.8% genetic similarity to her were transmitting fragments of memories to her through brainwave resonance.

“The original formula for APTX…” She suddenly clutched her temples, the lab lights flashing violently in sync with her brainwaves. Toru Tono grabbed her wrist just as she was about to touch the self-destruct button and noticed nanoscale cherry blossom patterns appearing in her irises.

Akai's blood sample separated into a strange three-color layer in the centrifuge. Toru Tono pointed the detector at the cryo-chamber, and the ultraviolet scan revealed that each clone had a microchip embedded in the back of its neck—the very brain-computer interface prototype he had seen in Munich three years ago.

"They are living servers." Tohno brought up a hidden interface on the main console, where a real-time map of infected individuals worldwide appeared in a holographic projection. "The organization uses clones to carry the mutated strain of APTX; as soon as any individual dies..."

“The virus will be activated through quantum entanglement.” Shiho Miyano pulled open her collar, revealing a pale golden liquid seeping from the cherry blossom-red spot on her collarbone. “My mother wrote the antibody program into my telomerase.”

Vermouth's robotic arm suddenly pierced through the laboratory dome. She tore open her artificial skin, revealing a face oozing liquid metal, and her vocal cords emitted a synthesized electronic voice: "The game needs an upgrade to version 2.0." Seven cloning pods activated simultaneously, and data streams pulsed in the girls' open pupils.

Akai's sniper bullet split into an electromagnetic mesh in mid-air. Toru Tono pushed Shiho Miyano into the emergency exit, and the electromagnetic pulse device he threw back exploded with blue arcs of electricity among the clones. The screams of the clones merged with Akemi Miyano's voice, and the entire metal structure of the laboratory began to resonate.

“Go find the core of the snowfield!” Shiho Miyano slapped the gene key into Toru Tono’s palm. Suddenly, the cuff of her white coat tore, revealing a barcode on the inside of her forearm—the string of numbers was the countdown termination code.

Chapter 210 The Final Bloom

Amidst the roar of the avalanche, Toru Tono's snowmobile sliced ​​through a 90-degree cliff. In the rearview mirror, seven clones sped across the snow like phantoms, their long hair forming a data transmission network in the wind. Akai's black truck leaped off the cliff, its onboard missiles striking precisely the ice beneath the clones' feet.

"Three kilometers to go!" Conan's tracking glasses displayed a cross-section of the snow-capped mountain. The red dot representing vital signs flashed three hundred meters underground, perfectly synchronized with Shiho Miyano's heartbeat.

Vermouth's mechanical army broke through the icefall. Inside the exposed reactor core of her chest cavity, APTX stock solution was intertwining with the DNA helix of Elena Miyano. Toru Tono swung his grappling hook to climb the ice bridge, the scandium alloy tip sparking indigo blue at minus fifty degrees Celsius.

“Mother…” Shiho Miyano suddenly knelt on the ice. The roar of gears turning came from beneath the snow, and a metal bud with a diameter of thirty meters broke through the ice, its petals unfolding layer by layer, each one a sophisticated biochip.

Tohru Tohno's genetic key was inserted into the core control console. Inside the crystal coffin rising from the flower's center, Elena Miyano's body remained perfectly preserved, seventeen drops of pale golden antibody fluid floating between her clasped hands. The clones' screams suddenly transformed into a torrent of data, and cherry blossom totems simultaneously lit up on the monitoring screens of APTX infected individuals worldwide.

"Now!" Akai's bullet shattered Vermouth's reactor. Tohru Tono injected the antibody stock solution into Shiho Miyano's carotid artery, and the cherry blossom-red spot on her collarbone burst into a blazing white light. The clones on the snowfield turned into data dust, and the global virus activation countdown stopped forever at 00:00:01.

As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the blizzard, Shiho Miyano opened her eyes in Toru Tono's arms. The melting snow on her fingertips reflected rainbows, and Akai's ring lay quietly on Elena's crystal coffin, the emerald containing the most dangerous secret in the history of human evolution.

The roar of propellers tore through the blizzard, and Toru Tono's snowmobile spun sharply along the edge of the icy cliff. In the rearview mirror, seven armored vehicles were accelerating by spraying nitrogen, and the blue light from the electromagnetic cannons on their roofs pierced the snow. Shiho Miyano's breath froze into ice crystals inside her gas mask, and the tablet in her hand displayed a metallic resonance signal a hundred meters below the snow—perfectly synchronized with the frequency of her mother's pocket watch.

"Hold on tight!" Toru Tohno suddenly slid ninety degrees to the side, the motorcycle barely stopping at the edge of a crevasse. The roar of an avalanche pressed down from above, and in the instant that tons of snow engulfed the pursuers, he swung out his grappling hook towards the hidden door in the ice wall. The sparks from the scandium alloy claw tip illuminated the cherry blossom etching on the door, creating an eerie resonance with the red mark on Shiho Miyano's collarbone.

Akai's sniper bullet pierced the air from three kilometers away, precisely shattering the door lock's circuitry. The pale blue liquid flowing from where the bullet embedded itself caused Toru Tono's pupils to shrink sharply—this was the cryogenic stabilizer for APTX-4869, identical to the sample that leaked from his father's laboratory seventeen years ago.

The moment the blast door opened, Vermouth's laughter came through the communicator: "The little mouse found the cheese." The sound waves suddenly vibrated at a high frequency, and Shiho Miyano's detector showed that the metal structure under the snow was rising. Toru Tono caught the staggering girl and rolled into the passage, and the entrance behind them was slammed shut by a metal bud with a diameter of 100 meters.

"Welcome to Noah's Ark." A synthesized female voice echoed through the dome. Shiho Miyano's iris reflected the scene behind the bulletproof glass: three hundred cryogenic chambers arranged in a spiral, each containing a clone with 99.99% genetic similarity to her. On the DNA map of the central control console, cherry blossom-shaped chromosomes were synchronizing mutation data to global servers in real time.