At the entrance of the gambling den, Ren Kurogane tossed Moriarty's henchman, Moran, aside. His gaze settled on a carriage parked down the street.
"Looks like we don't need to go looking for him; he's already here," Ren remarked.
The rest of the group followed his gaze. Two strange old men appeared in their line of sight. Currently, a sinister grin was plastered across Professor Moriarty's face. The way he looked at the group was full of murderous intent—as if he were staring at the walking dead.
Ren held a bottle of red wine, taking a large swig.
Moriarty asked in a raspy voice, "You seem to be looking for me? Is there something you need?"
"Jack the Ripper is one of your men, right? Can you call him out? We have some business with him," Ren said, walking directly up to Moriarty.
Moriarty felt a flash of irritation. This brat actually dared to speak to him in such a tone! What was Ren's status compared to his? If this were ten years ago, even if he beat this boy to death in the middle of the street, people would have just complimented him on his marksmanship!
However, times had changed...
Suppressing his temper and thinking of some hidden plan, Moriarty sneered, "I'll have him come find you."
With that, the coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage departed.
Once they were gone, Conan walked over and smiled. "I see. Jack the Ripper is Moriarty's subordinate. You insulted Moriarty today, so he'll definitely try to get rid of you. The easiest method is undoubtedly sending an assassin. As long as we set a trap in advance, we can capture Jack!"
Ren tilted his head back. "Exactly. So, all we have to do now is wait for Jack to deliver himself to our door!"
However, the group now faced a difficult problem.
"Where are we sleeping tonight?"
Looking at the stinking streets, Sonoko said with a look of pure disgust, "Let me make this clear: I am absolutely not sleeping on the street!"
Earlier, when the light was dim, she hadn't noticed the "little treasures" on the sidewalk. Now, under the streetlights, the piles of excrement were visible in all their glory. Just looking at them made Sonoko feel nauseous.
"See? This is your beloved France..." Ren shrugged helplessly.
"Alright, stop making fun of France and let's think about how to deal with Jack," Conan interjected. "He's an assassin; he won't face us head-on."
Sonoko thought for a moment, then said decisively, "It's settled. Tomorrow, I'm going to the real France!"
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me! You're coming with me tomorrow!"
"Eh but I don't really want to go"
"Protest denied!"
Conan watched them with a deadpan expression, thinking to himself: These two... are a perfect match.
At this point, Mitsuhiko and the other kids began to yawn, clearly exhausted. "Strange... we haven't been in here that long. Why are we so tired?" Ayumi rubbed her eyes, looking like she couldn't keep them open for another second.
The next moment, the children collapsed one by one, falling into a deep sleep. Aside from Ren, Conan, Sonoko, and Ran, everyone else was out cold.
Ran scratched her head and gathered the children together so they could huddle for warmth. "Honestly, couldn't this game provide us with a place to sleep?"
"Well, consciousness doesn't catch a cold, so let them experience the cold streets for a bit," Ren laughed. "Though, the system putting them to sleep likely has another reason."
"If I'm not mistaken, Jack is probably coming," Conan said seriously. "But why didn't the four of us fall asleep?"
"If we all slept, Jack could just wipe us out effortlessly," Ren replied.
For the rest of the night, the four conscious members guarded the others, keeping a constant watch on their surroundings.
The night passed. As a sliver of morning light hit Ren's face, the sleeping children began to wake up.
"Mm that was a good sleep" Ayumi stretched and gave everyone a sweet smile.
"Ah I'm so hungry. I want eel rice" Hearing Genta, Conan's lip twitched involuntarily. "Hey, hey~ who eats eel rice first thing in the morning?"
Seeing everyone wake up, Ren thought: I thought the system put the kids to sleep so they wouldn't see a murderer in action and get traumatized. I didn't expect Jack to be so patient as to stay hidden all night.
Ren's brow furrowed. You can't stay on guard forever. "We can't keep wasting time like this; we need another way."
But how to find Jack? Do I need to use my 'cheats'?
In the moment Ren was distracted, a dark shadow lunged from the gloom. A cold glint of steel shot toward Ren's throat. At this time, everyone was just waking up; Ran and Conan were tending to the kids, and Sonoko was yawning and stretching. No one noticed the attacker.
Snap!
Ren caught the dagger aimed at him with his bare hand. He frowned. "You think I can't multi-task?"
Appearing before Ren was a beautiful female face. Seeing the strike fail and the target catch a blade bare-handed, "Jack" didn't hesitate, immediately abandoning the weapon to flee!
But Ren was faster. The moment Jack turned, Ren's hand shot out and clamped onto the back of the assassin's neck. A split second later, Jack felt a monstrous force, and their vision blurred as their finely made-up face made intimate contact with the ground.
BOOM!
The ground cracked, and Jack's world went black as they lost consciousness. It all happened so fast that by the time Conan and the others turned around, Jack was already down for the count.
"Done!" Ren smiled at the group. "Does this count as clearing the game?"
Immediately, the scene shifted. The buildings vanished, and they returned to the starting plaza. Aside from the Baker Street group, the other children who were still in different stages were also forcibly returned to the start menu.
"We're back!" Mitsuhiko cheered.
"I didn't expect to clear it like this," Conan said helplessly. He had expected a high-stakes battle of wits, only for Ren to "speed-run" it with absolute physical force. Still, in a game where lives were at stake, a quick victory was for the best.
Outside, parents saw the pods rising and opening. They ran to their children, weeping with relief.
Ren stepped out of the pod and saw Sonoko's father, Shiro Suzuki, standing nearby with a broad smile. "Ren, you did very well!"
Ren grinned. "Hehe! Thank you, Uncle!"
"Hahaha! As long as everyone is safe! Do you have plans tomorrow? If not, come over to our house for dinner with Sonoko!" Shiro invited.
Ren nodded. "I'll be there!"
"Hahaha! Don't be so formal; just act like it's your own home!"
Ren breathed a sigh of relief once Shiro left. Facing his future father-in-law was always a bit nerve-wracking. Sonoko immediately threw her arms around Ren. "Great! Father and the others have completely accepted you!"
Ren smiled and put an arm around her waist. "Yeah. Honestly, I have that 'Artificial Idiot' to thank!"
While they were laughing, Conan and the others woke up and shared smiles of relief. Once all the children were safe, the AI "Noah's Ark" self-destructed just as it had in the original story. Ren didn't stop it. He had thought about taking the AI for his own use, but he decided to let Hiroki rest. The kid had become an AI; to keep exploiting him would be a bit too pitiful...
After this incident, the Schindler Company completely changed hands. The company wouldn't go bankrupt; the board would simply kick out the founder and move on.
Walking home after parting with Sonoko, Ren mused: The Dark Plane system will take a few more days to finish. Even with a Super Gene, building one from scratch requires extreme caution. He didn't want an energy overflow to cause a failure.
Back home, Ren saw the news about Thomas Schindler being sent back to the US. He wasn't surprised. Even if the man was disgraceful, he wasn't Japanese. The best result for him is selling his shares and retiring to a boring life on a Canadian estate.
Closing his eyes, Ren returned to his work.
The next morning, Sonoko arrived early at Ren's place. Using her key, she let herself in and saw Ren already sitting on the sofa. She gave him a cute smile.
"Up so early? You weren't so nervous about dinner that you stayed up all night, were you?"
Ren replied, "Of course not. It's not the first time I've eaten at your place. Why would I be nervous?"
"Keep pretending~" Sonoko scanned the room, seeing it was clean as usual. "Haven't had breakfast yet? What do you want? This young lady is in a good mood and will cook for you personally!"
"Then I'm in your care, Miss Sonoko!"
After a delicious breakfast, they sat on the sofa. Sonoko laid out the day's plans. "Pack a couple of outfits. After lunch, we're heading straight to the airport for France!"
"Alright," Ren nodded. "But I warn you, don't get your hopes too high. I hear they still... use the bathroom anywhere over there."
Sonoko frowned. "Surely not? It's been the modern era for so long; they must have made some progress, right?"
"Heh, you'll see when we get there." Ren waved it off. Some "romantic filters" are best shattered by reality. "By the way, I'm planning to start a new era soon. Is Miss Sonoko interested in investing?"
"Sure! I've got tens of millions of dollars in my piggy bank. Take what you need."
"Great! From now on, you're the majority shareholder of my group!"
Sonoko rolled her eyes, ignoring Ren's ramblings. Her mind was already on "Romantic Paris."
At noon, at the Suzuki Estate. Sonoko's parents and her sister, Ayako, were all present. They really intend to leave Sonoko to me, Ren thought.
"Uncle! Auntie! Sister!"
Ren's polite and steady demeanor pleased Sonoko's parents. Her sister, Ayako, was a gentle soul who always had a squinty-eyed smile, making it hard to read her true thoughts.
"Alright, let's sit down! We have to get to Paris after lunch!" Sonoko urged noisily. The Suzuki couple just smiled helplessly at their daughter's energy.
During the meal, before Shiro could speak, Ren spoke up. "Uncle, I plan to start a company this year."
Shiro smiled. "Mm, it's good for a young man to want to carve out his own career. What field are you looking into?"
"Hehe, it's a brand new field. One that can change the era!" Ren said confidently.
Shiro stroked his beard, a slight frown appearing and then vanishing. Let him try, he thought. It was a good chance to see Ren's capability. If he was competent, Shiro could comfortably hand over the Suzuki Group to him in the future.
"Go for it. If you run into anything you can't handle, come to me. I'll support you!"
"Great! Thank you in advance, Uncle!"
"Hahaha! No need for thanks. We watched you grow up. We've seen your hard work. If you need help starting a business, I'll naturally provide it!" Shiro laughed.
They chatted for a bit more before Sonoko came over to rush them. "Let's go! We're on a tight schedule!"
Shiro laughed helplessly. "Alright, I'll stop talking. Come to me if you need help with your business."
After thanking him again, Ren grabbed Sonoko's luggage, and the two hurried off. The Suzuki couple watched them leave with smiles.
"What did the boy say?" Tomoko Suzuki asked.
"Oh, he said he's starting a business," Shiro replied casually. "I suppose he wants to prove he's worthy of Sonoko. Honestly, it's not like our family cares about social status..."
Tomoko disagreed. "I don't think that's it. Ren isn't the type to care what others think. If we truly stood in their way, he'd most likely just snatch Sonoko away rather than try to 'prove' himself to us."
Ayako added, "That's true. In Ren's eyes, we're all the same. No one is higher than anyone else. I think he's starting a company because he really has his own plans."