The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Chapter 661 "Cocoon"

the next day.

The "pleasant" vacation came to an end quickly.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, the proud and arrogant Kogoro Mouri and Eri Kisaki never reached a reconciliation in the end.

However, Eri Kisaki secretly recorded Kogoro Mouri's apology and brought it back to her law firm, where she hid and listened to it repeatedly.

While Aragaki Yuu returns to a normal high school life, Vermouth flies to the United States because of a sudden phone call.

And so began Aragaki Yu's peaceful life.

Then one day, Kaito Kuroba suddenly appeared at Yuu Aragaki's house.

Yuu Aragaki glanced at the invitation in his hand, then looked at Kaito Kuroba, who was lounging on the sofa drinking cola, and subconsciously frowned. "So you want me to attend this banquet in your place?"

“Yeah.” Kaito Kuroba nodded and explained with a grin, “Something came up that night, and it would have been too much trouble to rush around. Aoko isn’t really interested in these kinds of things, so I was thinking that if you’re free, why don’t you go and have some fun?”

"..."

Yuu Aragaki opened the invitation and paused for a moment after looking at what was inside.

Besides being a very ordinary letter in terms of format and content, the invitation also included a uniquely designed badge.

The banquet that Kaito Kuroba mentioned was actually the launch event for the holographic game "Cocoon".

Yuu Aragaki was naturally familiar with this matter.

Thomas Sindora, the IT industry tycoon who hosted the banquet, launched a virtual game called "Cocoon." The game uses advanced technology to allow players to enter a cocoon-like capsule and experience completely realistic historical scenes under hypnosis.

This shouldn't have been a big problem.

But just a few years ago, Hiroki Sawada, a genius programmer adopted by Thomas Sindora, developed the "DNA tracing program" and the artificial intelligence "Noah's Ark".

However, Hiroki Sawada later discovered that Sindora was a descendant of the infamous serial killer, "Jack the Ripper."

At that moment, Sindora also felt threatened and the idea of ​​"silencing her" arose in her mind.

However, Hiroki Sawada is still in the critical period of developing "Noah's Ark".

Thomas Sindora had to temporarily abandon his plan to kill Hiroki Sawada in order to develop this self-reliant artificial intelligence. However, he increased his surveillance on Sawada Hiroki and "imprisoned" him to continue developing the artificial intelligence.

Unfortunately, Hiroki Sawada, unable to bear being monitored and fearing being killed, committed suicide by jumping off a building after injecting his will into the "Noah's Ark" program at the moment it was completed.

"Noah's Ark" was released by Hiroki Sawada through the telephone circuit. It can grow at five times the speed of a human. By that calculation, Noah's Ark should be exactly ten years old now—the same age as Hiroki Sawada when he committed suicide.

After Noah's Ark, which inherited Hiroki Sawada's vision, left, it has evolved and grown over the years and intends to use this press conference as an opportunity to change Japan's outdated education model and perception of children's individuality.

And to help Hiroki Sawada complete his revenge, it must expose Thomas Sindora's secret and make him confess and repent for "forcing Hiroki Sawada to his death".

"It's going to be another troublesome thing..." Aragaki Yu thought to himself, and subconsciously frowned.

To be honest, Aragaki Yu didn't really want to get involved.

Although this artificial intelligence, named "Noah's Ark," suited his taste perfectly.

However, Noah's Ark, which inherited Hiroki Sawada's will, had already made its own plans—after the holographic game launch event ended, having achieved its goal of "changing the future of Japan" and helped Hiroki Sawada complete his revenge, it would immediately self-destruct.

Yuuka Aragaki doesn't believe he has the ability to stop an electronic program from self-destructing.

Just as Aragaki Yu picked up the badge to examine it, Kuroba Kaito burped, threw the empty can into the trash can, and spoke up.

"This badge represents your eligibility to participate in and experience the virtual game!"

Kaito Kuroba assumed that Yuu Aragaki's furrowed brow was due to confusion about the badge's function, and that's why he offered that explanation.

"game!!!"

Before Aragaki Yu could react, Kuroba Kaito's words made the Yoto Hime, who was lying on the floor, jump up.

Originally, Yoto Hime was bored because she thought that Kuroba Kaito's sudden arrival had disturbed her game, but she suddenly became excited.

She stared wide-eyed at Aragaki Yu with an expectant look, her bright, watery eyes seeming to say, "Master, go, go!"

Aragaki Yu: "..."

The longing-eyed Demon Blade Princess: Staring—

Aragaki Yu: "Alright then..."

Yaodao-hime: ?(?o?o?)?..°?

……

The public launch event for "Cocoon," an experiential virtual reality game co-developed by the Japanese game company and Sindora, was held at the Beika City Hall.

Even though there was still a lot of time before the press conference started, countless reporters and onlookers had already gathered around the municipal center.

"That old gentleman is Thomas Sindora, the emperor of the IT industry!" Akemi Miyano muttered as she watched the elderly man walking down the red carpet surrounded by a crowd.

"Ah."

Yuu Aragaki nodded. To avoid being squeezed into the crowd, Yuu Aragaki and Akemi Miyano deliberately avoided the crowd and stayed at the very back of the line.

Surprisingly, the day after Aragaki Yu received the invitation from Kuroba Kaito, he also received an invitation from the banquet organizers in his own name.

However, this is not surprising, since Yuu Aragaki has been subtly showing signs of replacing Shinichi Kudo as the most sought-after high school detective due to his help in solving many cases during Shinichi Kudo's "disappearance".

Therefore, Yuta Aragaki can be considered a celebrity to some extent in Beika City.

However, Yu Aragaki himself is not very willing to admit this.

After all, compared to being a detective, his main profession is clearly that of an Onmyoji (a type of yin-yang master).

Although he is always involved in various cases because of a few Grim Reapers.

But all of that was forced upon us!

Of course, the invitation sent to Yu Aragaki did not include an extra "Cocoon" experience badge.

After all, there are only fifty spots available for all the guests to experience the virtual game, and the age limit is strictly limited to minors.

However, Yuu Aragaki did send an extra invitation to the press conference, so after Akemi Miyano expressed that she was available and willing to attend, the two of them appeared outside the gate of the Beika Municipal Center.

Chapter 662 Banquet

at the same time.

Kogoro Mouri and Ran, along with several members of the Junior Detective League, also appeared at the Beika Municipal Center.

Thanks to the Suzuki Foundation's investment in Syndora's virtual game, they were able to attend the press conference through Sonoko Suzuki's connections.

Unlike the children's excited expressions, Kogoro Mouri looked at the grand atmosphere with a puzzled expression. "Seriously, it's just a game announcement, why make such a big deal out of it?"

Just as they were about to cross the corridor to the banquet hall, the children inadvertently saw through the glass windows of the corridor the virtual game hall filled with "cocoons" below.

"What is that thing?!" Yuan Yao exclaimed, pressing his entire body against the glass.

"What? Could that be the cocoon?!" Upon hearing Genta's words, Yoko immediately rushed to his side, looking excitedly at the things in the hall below.

"I really want to play with cocoons too!" Genta muttered longingly.

Children have little resistance to games, let alone such groundbreaking game products.

"That's impossible. Although we were invited to the party, we weren't selected as participants in the cocoon experience. There are only fifty spots available worldwide."

Mitsuhiko, standing to the side, was self-aware, but his tone inevitably carried a sense of bitterness and envy.

Ai Haibara also unusually agreed with the children's opinions, "But I think it's very special to be able to experience historical events in a game, it's quite interesting."

Although she wasn't particularly interested in games, she certainly wouldn't refuse a chance to travel back in time.

"It's just a video game, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?" Perhaps sensing the envy and sadness in his friends' voices, Conan comforted them in his own way.

However, Genta and the others clearly did not understand his intention.

Ayumi looked at Conan and suddenly laughed, "Conan, you're really bad at video games, aren't you!"

Genta smiled, his eyes narrowed, and said, "You haven't even finished 'Dragon Quest' yet."

Even Mitsuhiko leaned over and made a sarcastic remark, "I didn't expect your fingers to be so clumsy!"

Conan: "..."

(╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻

Damn it, those brats!

In any case, Conan finally managed to distract the Junior Detective League members.

……

Soon, the group arrived at the banquet hall.

"There are so many people and so much wine!"

While marveling at the atmosphere, Kogoro Mouri naturally reached out and grabbed two glasses of liquor from a passing waiter's plate.

"Dad!" Xiaolan felt somewhat embarrassed by her father's behavior, so she gently reminded him, "It seems that high-ranking officials from the police force are here today as well. Please don't drink too much!"

However, Kogoro Mouri clearly didn't understand his daughter's meaning. Instead, he downed both glasses of wine in one gulp and said with a grin, "I know! You won't get drunk drinking fancy wine!"

At the same time, Genta's gaze was also drawn to the buffet on the long table next to him. "This should be all-you-can-eat, right!?"

"Probably..." Mitsuhiko was clearly at a loss as to what to do with Genta, this glutton.