[Conan Doujin] The Mystery of Theseus

Does Puzzle26 really exist?

When a person can never be contacted, we will not easily think that the existence of the other party has been erased by society.It's just that I didn't reply to the message, it just didn't answer the phone.Maybe the other party is just too busy to even look at the phone, or maybe the other party is just doing survival training in the wilderness where the network signal cannot reach...

There can be many speculations.But the premise of all this is that we have subjectively determined the fact that the other party does exist.

You can't hear it, you can't see it, you can't touch it, you can't contact it with electrical signals, all of these don't mean they don't exist.How can a living person who breathes the air and consumes the earth's resources every day disappear out of thin air?Even if (in a social sense) it does disappear, the matter of which he/she is made will still exist in the space we share, in this world within reach.

But what if... that person really doesn't exist anymore?

Dropping the game controller in his hand as if venting his anger, Edogawa felt that he would seriously think about this issue, and he seemed like an idiot for thinking that this issue was very important.

However, after experiencing so many incidents that defy common sense, he does not think this level of thinking is too much.

"Don't be so rude to the device, Detective." Haibara, who was also fiddling with the handle, stared at the computer screen indifferently, "If you find that the newly equipped handle is scrapped within a few days, the doctor will cry again."

"Ah, I got it! It's really troublesome..." Even though he knew that I was a black hole in the game, he invited me to test the game's bugs. It was obviously wrong to use the wrong doctor.Unhappily, Edogawa picked up the doctor's assembly version controller 2.0, which was never sold on the market, and turned his attention back to the operation interface.

"Ah, it's crashed." Huiyuan's hand paused slightly, "What did you do?" He complained mercilessly in an understatement tone, "I really can't see that the omnipotent detective is so good at this. loser."

"This is obviously a bug, okay?!" The game that was tried for the first time can run smoothly and has no bugs. If it can really do this, the test is meaningless.

In other words, such a low-probability event can already be called a miracle.

While Haibara was trying to restart the console, Edogawa put down the handle and continued to think about the previous matter.

In the past few days, although he was "grounded" in name, it turned out that it was just a girl's angry words.After that, I have never been prevented from going out, and my actions are still as free as before.Just like what he is doing now, the doctor asked him and Huiyuan to help test bugs for the newly developed game, and by the way, test how the newly equipped handle feels.

What else can a game black hole say about the game, what is the difference between this and letting a guy who can't taste salty be a food reviewer?

What's more, now he has more important things to confirm.

I can't contact Hei Yu anymore, what does this mean?With the experience of the previous trip to Osaka, Edogawa now has some information for derivation.It's impossible for Hattori to never see each other without prior notice. They are in the same city, no matter how small the chance is, the chance of passing by is not zero.The possibility of not being able to connect, then, is another.

Kuroba has "things to do" now.In order for the event to run normally and the plot to unfold smoothly, irrelevant people need to be blocked.

Speaking of which, I haven't seen any news related to the strange thief recently...

But this is impossible? ! "The detective whose body has been shrunk" is such a character who can definitely increase the drama of the story, there is no reason to be blocked?

Where there are strange thieves, there should be detectives. Edogawa, who did not regard himself as an "irrelevant person" at all, bypassed this point and directly started thinking about the third possibility.

Could it be... During his contemplation, his eyes were not resting, but instead let his eyes wander throughout the laboratory without interruption and aimlessly.In this laboratory temporarily arranged for Huiyuan, the layout of various equipment and the stacking of materials on the table have made it not like a temporary living room, but more like a long-term occupancy stronghold.

Putting aside the schoolwork of elementary school students and the daily life of coping with the detective team, Haibara, as "Miyano", is still developing the antidote to APTX4869 uninterrupted until today.Although the progress is slow, a little push every day will always pay off.

Developing an antidote is Huiyuan's current main task.

The unconsciously moving sight provides continuous inspiration for the non-stop thinking.It was at this moment that Edogawa thought of the so-called "third possibility".

Could it be... Now I also have "things to do" and "mainline tasks that must be completed", and in order not to disturb this mainline, Kuroba, who has nothing to do with the task, was removed from this world?

That's not as simple as a simple social obliteration.But at the moment, I don't know how far this erasure will go under the standards of this world. At least for now, Hei Yu still exists in his memory.Memories don't lie, but if that Kuroba is really deleted in a physical sense until there is not a single molecule left, then in order to correct the contradiction, the memories related to him should also be cleared...

Blinking at his terrible conclusion, Edogawa came back to his senses.When it comes to memory, the testimony of a single person is too one-sided.In order to verify his conjecture, he called out to Hui Yuan who was checking the wiring of the host at the moment.

"Hey, Haibara," seeing the girl turning her head impatiently to show that he heard, he continued, "Do you still remember Kuroba?"

"Huh?" Facing this question, Huiyuan raised half of his eyebrows, his tone rising as if he was questioning whether the person in front of him had taken the wrong medicine.

Although her expression only conveyed a single impatience, the interpretation direction of this impatience was not single. "You guys just met a few days ago, did you hit your head?" would be one interpretation, "Never heard of this guy before, are you kidding me by making up such a name?" is another kind.

Where is it?

"Don't just give me such a reaction..." Edogawa Fuzuo said, "Remember, or don't you remember? I need an accurate answer."

"If you're talking about that pretentious Mr. Thief, I'm sorry," Huiyuan tapped his temple with his index finger, "I can't forget it even if I want to." She put down her hand, her eyes still teasing, "I think I've described it concretely enough."

Not only emphasized that he did not forget, but also accurately stated another layer of identity of the other party, and the testimony was established.

Haibara did not forget him.When going out this morning, Lan also gave a warning "don't disturb Brother Heiyu recently", it seems that she has not forgotten.Sharing the same realization with others confirms that Kuroba exists.

But if the information that constitutes cognition comes from memory, then for him, the existence of Kuroba is nothing more than memory.It is necessary to contact in real time and update the information.

How do you reach someone you can't reach?

"Let me tell you," Edogawa said without hesitation, following the previous topic, "What will happen if the social existence is erased...?"

"What will happen?" After restarting the computer, Huiyuan started the game again, and was waiting for the program to load with his arms folded. "Isn't that the current state of you and me?"

"No, no, Kudo Shinichi hasn't been erased yet," Edogawa hurriedly waved his hands when he got the unexpected answer, "There are quite a lot of people who know that I'm still alive."

"Isn't it good to be completely erased?" Huiyuan glanced at him lightly, and continued to look at the computer screen, "The dead will not die again, isn't this the fundamental sense of security?"

"Compared with that kind of safety, I would rather live to see the truth." Realizing that his mind was taken away, Edogawa shook his head violently, "Ah, I didn't mean this! I mean... a person if social If the existence is completely erased, the memory related to him will still exist, won't it?"

"So, do it thoroughly, and clear everyone related to it."

The girl who was still staring at the screen in front of her eyes said something terrible without taking her eyes off it.

Ha...haha, this really sounds like something someone in the aisle would say.

Looking at the GameStart interface on the screen with twitching corners of his mouth finally loaded, Edogawa realized a fact.

It is more efficient to act on your own than to ask others for help.

That being said...how exactly should it be done?

Edogawa intends to start with the simplest method.Since the line of direct contact with Heiyu is broken, it doesn't mean that he can't start with the people around him.Using Kudo Shinichi's voice to call Nakamori Aoko, saying that he has something to ask Kuroba recently, and by the way, tell what the other party has been doing recently, which is not difficult.

However, this plan has been stuck in the bottleneck since the very beginning—the mobile phone of Aoko Nakamori is also unable to get through.It wasn't that an empty number was dialed, nor was the phone line busy, the waiting signal tone for every call rang until the last second, but no one answered in the end.

It turns out that it doesn't work to start with the people around you...

I also tried secretly using Lan's mobile phone to make outbound calls, as well as contacting through text messages and social accounts, but I didn't get any response.

Hey, nothing really happened... Recalling what Haibara said earlier, "It's fine if everyone related to it is wiped out as well", Edogawa vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Although it might not really happen, but if the people around him are also affected, it means that the problem with Kuroba is already very serious.

Sure enough, I still need to confirm it in person...

The moment this thought flashed in his mind, Edogawa began to thank himself for making the decision to stay at Kuroba's house before going to Osaka.

This at least let him know the address of Kuroba's house.And the space that has been visited before should not disappear out of thin air.

Kaito Kuroba stared at the time displayed on the phone screen, watching it jump from one minute to the next.

There are no new messages in the notification bar, and no new email ringing.

If no new operation is sensed for a period of time, the phone screen goes dark and enters standby mode.

With a long sigh, Kuroba let go of his hand and let the phone be thrown aside casually.Carefully he turned over.

That's okay, anyway, he doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone during this time.

A few minutes later, already feeling bored, he flipped through his phone again.The notification bar is still empty.

He started to read the news on the webpage, and laughed helplessly.Those reporters really know how to look for angles, and the self in the photo is as handsome as ever.

But after the narcissism passed, after sighing, he began to feel bored again.

It's so quiet.