Of course, Ren Kurogane was not an evil person; he had little interest in toying with the world. Once his Dark Plane system was complete, the most he would do was accelerate global technological progress. At the very least, he wanted to bring about touch-screen smartphones to alleviate his boredom.
On the rooftop, Ran smiled brightly. "A new game? It sounds like fun! It's a pity Shinichi isn't here to play with us."
"Ooh, look at you still thinking about your sweetheart even though it was your dear husband who got you this opportunity~" Sonoko teased, her eyebrows dancing.
Ren tucked his badge away, thinking to himself: This world develops so fast. Flip phones only just became popular, and now a Super Artificial Idiot has appeared...
If he remembered correctly, this AI named Noah was created by a child named Hiroki. Unfortunately, after completing the AI, the boy committed suicide by jumping into the sea. That was utterly ridiculous!
He could have easily hacked the U.S. missile systems and wiped out Schindler and his goons to solve his problems effectively. Knowing the Americans, they would have made up any excuse to deny the hack, found a scapegoat, and taken over Schindler's company out of "global responsibility." Hiroki could have used the AI to scrub his data and fake his own death, starting a new life under a fresh identity. With an AI, every trace on the network could be erased. Schindler probably already started erasing Hiroki's files anyway to get rid of him. He could have just walked away...
Still too extreme. As the saying goes, a bad life is better than a good death. Once you're dead, you really have nothing.
Beside him, Sonoko noticed his sigh and asked, "What's wrong? You suddenly seem a bit down."
"I was just thinking about Hiroki, the one who developed Noah. He was only ten with a bright future, yet he's gone." Ren didn't hide his thoughts from Sonoko.
Sonoko nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, if that genius were still alive, maybe this game would have launched two years ago!"
But Sonoko was Sonoko; after a brief moment of sentimentality for the fallen genius, she tossed the troublesome thoughts aside. She grinned at Ren. "Hubby, I already know the game content in advance~ want me to spoil it for you?"
Seeing her smug look, Ren naturally chose to dote on her. "Lord Sonoko! Please tell me more inside info~!"
"Ahaha! Since you asked so sincerely, I shall mercifully tell you! There are six stages in this beta: Pirates, Racing, Ancient Roman Coliseum, Solomon's Treasure, and London in the last century!"
"Wow~ as expected of the Eldest Miss of the Suzuki family! You even got your hands on classified intel like that!"
Flattered by Ren's praise, Sonoko's ego soared to the heavens as she let out a cackling laugh. Ran, already tired of their public displays of affection, turned and headed back to the classroom. Passing students watched Sonoko and giggled behind their hands.
A few days later.
At the grand exhibition for the "Cocoon" game launch.
"Honestly, why did you three follow us again?" Ren looked helplessly at Ayumi and the other two kids. He had no idea how they managed to sneak in...
"Hehe! Dr. Agasa brought us!" Ayumi chirped.
Behind the trio, Haibara looked at Ren and said flatly, "We have a reason to be here with the Doctor. But may I ask how you, our little author, got in? Surely it wasn't because of your wife? Heh~"
Haibara's cold gaze might have thrilled someone with specific "tastes," but Ren was no deviant! He put an arm around Sonoko's waist and laughed. "Yeah, even I didn't expect a commoner like me to get in but I can't help it! I have a rich wife. With one word from her, eighty percent of the people here wouldn't even be qualified to touch this game"
Seeing his smug face, Haibara nearly ground her molars to dust! The two didn't have a deep grudge, but Ren had recently written a "healing" story that moved readers to tears, and Haibara was one of them. Upon learning Ren was the author, she had tried to act cute to get him to write a happy ending.
Ren had flatly refused, telling her: "Most things in this world end in tragedy—both the ending of my book and the ending of you asking me to change it." Ever since then, Haibara made it a point to insult him whenever possible.
Ren wasn't afraid of a few words. Calling him a man who lived off his wife? It was a fact, and he wasn't ashamed. Besides, plenty of people would kill to be in his position! If he could pull it off, it was his own skill! Haibara pouted, annoyed that her barb didn't stick.
They entered the hall. Just like in the original story, the heirs of several conglomerates were playing soccer in the hall to flex their privilege. Those they disturbed, upon seeing their status, could only swallow their anger. This only made the brats more arrogant.
"What jerks! Those guys are so annoying!" Mitsuhiko whispered.
Ren shook his head and laughed. "That's the hereditary system of Japan for you. They're just elementary students, but their status is already set in stone."
Sonoko nodded deeply. "Our children will never be like that!"
Ren smiled. "Of course! My kids won't be bored rich second-generation brats!"
The rich kids noticed Sonoko and came over to greet her politely before continuing their mischief elsewhere. Clearly, they knew who they could and couldn't provoke. Ren turned back to Haibara with a triumphant look. "See that? That's my wife's deterrent power!"
"Hmph~"
While they were chatting, Ayumi and the others returned. Each held a badge representing beta access.
"Wait~ how did you get those?" Ran asked, surprised.
"Hehe! We traded rare cards with those kids!"
The group was speechless. To think they got access through such a trade.
"Oh, Haibara-san, this is yours!" Ayumi handed a badge to Haibara, who looked on in shock.
"I have one too?"
"Of course! The Detective Boys always stand together!" Mitsuhiko laughed. Genta nodded vigorously, glancing sideways at Conan. "After all, we aren't like certain peoplewho only care about themselves."
Conan could only offer a bitter smile. Was it his fault his dad and neighbor were the game's planners?
Up on stage, Schindler introduced the company and the developers. Finally, Ren and the others entered the egg-shaped sleep pods. As his vision went dark, Ren's consciousness entered a strange space. Sonoko and the others were there. They looked at their "virtual" bodies in wonder.
"It feels just like the real world!" "This is amazing!"
After a few seconds of excitement, a rainbow circle appeared in the sky, and the voice of the AI, Noah's Ark, rang out.
"Hello everyone! I am Noah, the artificial intelligence of this game!"
Ren looked at the circle and tried to use his own power to connect with the AI. A second later, his lips curled into a smile.
"Welcome to the game. You must complete the game, otherwise, you will never wake up again."
The sudden threat left everyone bewildered. Outside, the joyous atmosphere froze as parents shouted in protest. "What is the meaning of this? Are you threatening us?" "I'm going to have a talk with your CEO!" The control room staff panicked, hammering at their keyboards to switch to manual override, but the gap between them and the AI was too vast.
Inside the game, Noah finished the introductions. True to Sonoko's intel, Ren considered the options. He rubbed his chin and walked toward the light-gate for Racing.
"Ren! You're going to the racing stage?" Conan was shocked and ran over, whispering, "Brother! Don't mess around! Our lives are on the line!"
Ren replied seriously, "This was a carefully considered choice! Out of these five, Pirates is the most unreliable—you could be wiped out by a random wave. Treasure Hunting and the Coliseum are both lethal. That leaves Racing and Jack the Ripper. But you know the smog in 19th-century Europe was terrible; even in a game, I don't want to breathe that! Besides, I don't know how to solve crimes. Why would I hunt Jack? To be your bodyguard?"
Conan's eyes twitched. He was actually starting to find Ren's logic persuasive! "Fine, fine. The rule says only one person needs to clear a game, so Racing is fine I guess..."
Just as Conan resigned himself, Sonoko ran over. "Ren! Let's go to France!"
Both Ren and Conan blinked. Sonoko wanted to go to Paris? "Sonoko, why Paris?" Ren asked.
"Dummy! Paris is the city of romance! I want to go there~!"
Faced with her acting cute, Ren sighed. "Alright, I guess racing will have to wait for next time~"
"Yay! Hubby is the best!"
Led by Sonoko, the group marched through the light-gate and entered 19th-century France! The light faded to reveal a cold, silent night. The floating smog made Ren and Sonoko frown.
"What is this?! Is this really France?" Sonoko looked heartbroken, leaning weakly against Ren.
Ren patted her back and laughed. "Don't have unrealistic fantasies about 19th-century Europe. In the early 1800s, people in the West were practically obsessed with filth. It was disgusting!"
"WHAT!!!"
Conan's lip twitched as he watched the screaming Sonoko. The Eldest Miss really paid zero attention to history class, he thought. Outside, the head of the Suzuki family frowned even harder. "Sonoko is disgraceful! How can she not know such basic facts?!" Her mother laughed. "She's just not interested in studying~" "Hmph! Starting next week, add World History to her schedule!"
Sonoko, unaware of her father's new plans, was still wallowing in her shattered dreams. Ren comforted her as the group walked through the streets. Suddenly, a woman's scream erupted from a nearby alley!
"AAAAHHH!!"
Conan's face fell. "A murder!" He dashed forward, followed by the Detective Boys and Ran. By the time Ren arrived, he only saw the silhouette of Jack the Ripper vanishing into the fog.
"Dammit! He got away!" Conan hissed, clutching his foot in frustration. He had tried to use his Power-Kick shoes on a soda can, but the tech was just a "prop" in the game and lacked its usual power. The kick had only succeeded in hurting his foot.
"Unfortunate~" Ren said lazily.
Conan glared at him. "If you had run here with me immediately, he never would have escaped!"
"My fault then~" Ren looked innocent.
"Forget it. I won't let him get away next time!" Conan sighed.
The police soon arrived, chattering in a language they didn't understand.
"Can't this game translate for us?" Sonoko complained. Immediately, the French speech turned into Japanese in their ears.
"Oh? This Artificial Idiot actually has some tricks~" Ren laughed. "With this auto-translator, the world won't have language barriers anymore."
"We're in a life-or-death crisis and you're still so relaxed?" Haibara shook her head.
Ren laughed. "It's just one Jack the Ripper. History says he vanished after killing five women. The officers just said this was the third victim. That means we have two more chances to catch him. No need to panic!"