167. Beika Town, your king is back!
Ever since he could remember, Conan knew that everything in this world related to crime and criminal investigation was extremely popular.
The specific reason is unknown, but there seems to be no room or scope for discussion on such a natural thing.
His father, Yusaku Kudo, became a world-renowned and household name writer thanks to his mystery novels and his signature IP, Phantom Thief Dark Baron. He even pushed his wife Yukiko Kudo's career to a higher level. This is an example of his ability.
And because of this, certain concepts, such as "perfect crime", are also quite popular and popular. Many mystery novelists and even many real criminals are keen to achieve this.
Conan has been exposed to this kind of crime and has even encountered it many times when solving cases himself, so he is naturally no stranger to perfect crimes.
The so-called perfect crime is both difficult and easy.
Because the perfect crime is essentially just a concept, there are many ways to practice and realize it. In the first, the murderer will do his best to hide the case, making the victim's death look like an accident, or simply making the victim disappear without a trace, making it impossible to investigate.
On this planet, the number of people who go missing inexplicably is as high as three million every year. This is the number compiled by the United Nations based on the information available from various countries. Those who are not investigated by the public or the government will not appear in this statistic at all.
Where did these people who were never seen alive or dead go, and how many cases and murderers are hidden behind them? This is an eternal unknown mystery in human history.
In a sense, this is the most brilliant and perfect crime, because no one knows about it and naturally there is no way to solve it.
But success or failure is also due to this. Whether this kind of so-called perfect crime can succeed often depends on whether the society and the current situation are stable, and whether the judicial power is sufficient.
For example, in a certain small country, warlords attacked each other and anti-official armed forces emerged one after another. In many police stations in those places, there were only a few old, weak and disabled people. They were considered very responsible for registering the report information. Solving the case was no longer their business. The so-called unsolved cases were sometimes not that unsolved. It was just that people knew the truth but were too lazy to care about it.
The second type is that the murderer will not hide the case, but will use some simple and crude methods to make the case difficult to solve even if it is clear. In other words, various unsolved cases caused by roving crimes are everywhere in the case databases of countries around the world. In the early years, the case detection rate in many developed countries has been maintained at around 30%-50% for a long time, which is very telling.
Or, they try to exploit legal loopholes or find ways to reach a PY deal with the judiciary.
The most famous one is the cannibal in Japan, who killed his victims in a foreign country and ate them. In the end, he relied on his family's power and financial resources to buy off all the relationships and was released after staying there for ten months. He then published eighteen books talking about his experience of killing and cannibalism, made movies, and appeared on cooking variety shows. He was regarded as the king of cannibals by perverts all over the world and finally lived to the end of his life.
Of course, things like offending a big shot and being shot dozens of times in the back, which was determined to be suicide by investigators, also fall into this category. They are just particularly despicable, and to call them crimes is indeed an insult to the word crime. How embarrassing it is for those criminals who rack their brains to fight wits and courage with the judicial authorities.
The third type is that after committing the crime, the murderer tries to get away with it by using fancy methods!
Various closed-room murders, murders in the name of gods and ghosts, or cases of framing others by tricks, mostly belong to this type. Most of the cases that Conan has solved personally in the past are also of this type. This so-called perfect crime often cannot stand up to scrutiny. As long as the police officers in charge of the case do not want to end the matter hastily, and do some thorough investigation and dig out the details, once the criminal schemes of the murderers are exposed, they will basically be caught by the law.
It is also because of this that Conan has always believed that a perfect crime is impossible to commit. Even the first two types, as cases themselves, are not unsolvable, they just face different obstacles and problems.
But the perfect crime created by the old man now is quite different from the previous three types!
The real murderer is dead, and only the blessing condensed from thoughts and the curse transformed from wishes remain, forming a perpetual mechanism that continues to spread like a meme and becomes the core of the case.
The murderer will die, but the case will live forever. In this case, everyone is a murderer who is driven and blessed by the mark, but they are also victims who are bound by the mark and cursed.
Conan knew all the causes and consequences, as well as the entire process of the crime. All the truth was so clear, but he didn't know how to solve this case.
Everything could have been saved before the old man escalated the riot into a perfect crime, but it's too late now.
From the moment of its birth, separated from the old man as the subject, the mark of the blood oath that exists and spreads spontaneously has been deeply rooted in the group and social phenomenon of "vagrants".
Well, it’s not entirely true to say that there is no way to completely solve and defeat this case.
In fact, when Ichigo Kurosaki said that he could help him suppress the entire Neon, Conan seriously considered it for a moment.
Because Conan's amazing martial arts wisdom, which is comparable to Ichigo Kurosaki's amazing reasoning wisdom, confirmed at that moment that this was actually the only credible way to solve the case.
As an ordinary detective with little power, facing this case that has advanced from shocking level to catastrophic level, he is powerless. But if he were in charge of the earthly government, all laws would be used for his own benefit, with 300,000 police officers across the country obeying his orders and all government agencies fully cooperating, Conan is confident that he can solve this world-shaking case that has advanced from shocking level to catastrophic level, and he can directly destroy it head-on and turn it into ashes before it can even get out of Beika Town.
But after thinking about it, Conan felt that it was a bit risky!
Although Kudo Yusaku taught Conan some political knowledge about governing a country when he was in Hawaii.
However, this knowledge is still a long way from realizing the country's goal of providing for the elderly, providing relief to those in need, and eliminating the group and social phenomenon of homelessness.
Moreover, relying on the aliens' unparalleled iron fist to usurp the country's political power is somewhat unjust. Under the current international situation, it will have far-reaching consequences and will cause a series of unpredictable events.
If this were to happen, the final result would most likely be that Conan would stand on the beach, looking in the direction of America, and then whisper deeply that there are enemies on the other side of the sea, and then let the Giant of Light attack again, launching a blitzkrieg on America to deter the world with a Super Rumbling Operation.
The picture was so beautiful and abstract that Conan stopped thinking when he reasoned to this point at that moment!
Although this idea of solving the case was rejected by Conan himself, Conan's vision and thinking were opened up.
If you are unable to take control of the worldly power and fight this catastrophic case with all your might, then stepping into the other side and interfering with the power of darkness is also an idea.
In the name of the winery, Conan's spirit and will made a request for "negotiation" towards the skull and animal head mark that symbolized the root of this case.
This was not just an empty request. At this moment, Conan's spirit and will were trying their best to simulate Gin.
Perhaps it was because he had been undercover beside Gin these days and had many speculations about him, or perhaps it was because he had personally experienced everything about Gin in the previous world line.
Or maybe it was the traces left before, when all causes and effects ended and began.
No matter what, Conan successfully simulated Gin's unique scent.
That was an extreme murderous intent!
But unlike Ran Mouri's crazy and violent murderous intent to kill her enemies and herself, Gin's murderous intent is as cold as ice and as hard as iron, and has an indescribable "weight"!
In reality, Gin, who was still driving to Beika Town, seemed to realize something at this moment, but did not say anything, just closed his eyes slightly.
At this moment, Conan's simulation became more and more in-depth. Indistinctly, in this illusory space of the blood oath mark, a man in a black windbreaker and waist-length silver hair slowly emerged behind Conan's mental will. Like a stand-in, he raised his gun, pointed it at the skull beast head mark, and declared his will with unparalleled murderous intent.
"Friend or foe, choose!"
If solving the case is not important, but efficient action is, then no matter how brutal this catastrophe is, Gin, as the Saint of Slaughter, still has the possibility of killing everything and ending everything, but Conan is unwilling to do so.
Conan simulated Gin's murderous intent, but his fundamental purpose was not to deter others.
Conan is still deeply impressed by the final battle in the previous world line.
Gin, who bears all the shackles of the brewery, with his silver hair flying, walks against the darkness. When he raises his gun towards himself, who is responsible for all the evil in this world, there is "light" in him!
In the previous world line, Conan, as the embodiment of all evil in this world, only wanted to kill Gin and the distillery without giving it much thought, but in this new world line, Conan has a new perspective on many things at that time.
Conan first confirmed one thing, that Brother Gin has the demeanor of a hero, a man who can bear everything and transform himself into "light" to illuminate others. No matter whether this light is black or white, good or evil, its essence remains the same.
Conan is imitating Gin at this moment because he wants to borrow this heroic spirit of becoming "light".
And this is also the "words" he really wants to communicate with the skull beast head mark.
In the name of the strongest dark organization brewery, with the honor of the killing hero Brother Gin, and with the credibility of my undercover brother Edogawa Conan, surrender. As long as you surrender, I will carry you!
The Skull Head Mark does not possess its own intelligence, it is just a memetic mechanism that is a mixture of blessing and curse, which is both rigid and flexible. When Conan infected the Blood Oath Mark with the alien virus Purity, part of the Blood Oath Mark was already affected by Conan, and with this as the medium, when Conan's will collided with the Skull Head Mark, communication took place smoothly.
In the dark, Conan seemed to see the homeless old man through the skull and animal head mark.
There was no kind and gentle smile on his face. Instead, he looked as fierce as he did in his prime years. His upper body was exposed, showing the angry Vajra tattoo. He just gave himself a thumbs up and said, "I believe you..."
But this was a fleeting image, so fast that it was difficult to be sure whether it really existed!
But that doesn't matter because the result has already been born.
At this moment, the mark on the back of the light troll's hand outside evolved from an ordinary blood oath mark into a skeleton head, which was hideous and ferocious, and also had the aura of a king among beasts.
Conan became the cursed one most deeply bound by the Blood Oath Mark, but at the same time, the Blood Oath Mark also gave him the greatest blessing!
The crown of the second-generation Beast King of the Six-Six-Six Beast Legion fell on Conan!
At this moment, Conan subconsciously smiled bitterly:
"Old man, it turns out that you really meant what you said back then!"
When the homeless old man was confronting those gangsters, he called Conan the next generation Beast King.
At that time, it seemed like just a casual bluff, but Conan didn't notice that the eyes of this childless old man looking at him were indeed filled with hope for the future.
The riot of the Legion of Six-Six-Six Beasts was bound to be launched eventually, and this old dog would eventually die, whether he died in a dark place unknown to anyone or died on the road to tearing fate apart. The ending was doomed, and the unfinished future could only be fought by young people like Conan!
This subtle expectation was also buried in the memetic mechanism of the skull beast head, becoming a blessing and a curse, and the initial step for Conan's coronation. Later, with the simulated light of Gin and the medium of purity, Conan finally got everything.
The old man himself did not expect that this inheritance would come so quickly and so specially!
But no matter what, the plan has finally taken the first step smoothly. For Conan, this is the real beginning.
He tried his best to mobilize his will and spirit, merge with the skull mark, and then infiltrate the entire criminal network!
In the previous world line, the experience of being Moriarty gave Conan some help, allowing him to gain some insights on how to "dominate" crime.
And this step is Conan’s real idea for solving the case, well, it’s a criminal plan!
The skull beast head mark has been operating independently since its birth. Even if the old man is resurrected, it cannot change this. In a sense, this is also the horror of this catastrophe. Once it breaks out, even the instigator will not be able to end it.
If there was an equal force, Conan could try to fight the case head-on, like a detective, and defeat the case fairly, but without this condition, Conan can only change his thinking.
Infiltrate, lurk, seize power, and then use his unparalleled detective wisdom, oh no, invincible criminal wisdom, to dominate and transform this case!
You thought that the real culprit behind the riot started by the Six-Six-Six Beasts in Beika Town was the homeless old man, you are wrong, the real culprit behind the scenes is me, Edogawa Conan!!!
But thinking of this, Conan felt a little sad. In the previous world line, he was so great and glorious, but he didn't expect that after changing the world line, he had no choice but to lower the average moral standard step by step. Some means that he was originally quite resistant to were also easily used. Things really have changed.
Of course, to put it more nicely, we can also say that Conan has become more mature, or in other words, his awareness has become more mature.
Faced with such a devastating catastrophe and the foreseeable huge death toll, Conan will not hesitate to get his hands dirty, but will bravely move forward through the mud.
However, transformation is not so easy. The blessing and curse carried by the skull and beast head mark is the foundation of this case and cannot be changed. In other words, no matter what is done, the skull and beast head mark will definitely spread to the homeless and will definitely push them to commit crimes and riot!
But how to say it, the basic conditions cannot be changed, but in other places, in Conan's opinion, there is too much space that can be utilized and transformed.
In this regard, Conan and Mo Yu actually have somewhat similar views.
The riot initiated by the old man was courageous and of high purity, but it had some big problems!
Without saying anything else, just one thing: the purpose and result of this riot has always been unclear.
In this regard, Conan can imagine a very humorous picture. The old man succeeded, sacrificed the super crime capital of Beika Town, and summoned the extremely evil Kudo Shinichi with the name of Moriarty to come down to the world.
Then, this "Extremely Evil Kudo Shinichi" who was like a god and a devil, held the old man's ashes and shouted, "Uncle, why did you call me out? Do you want to create a distorted society where everything is inferior and only the homeless are the best, or do you want to force the evil Japanese officials to make concessions and improve the living space of the homeless, or something else? Even if you want me to directly grant the homeless unparalleled criminal power, it will be fine. Tell me, why don't you tell me? If you don't tell me, how can I know what you want to do..."
This humorous scene is the problem. The old man only planned the crime and the case with the purpose of using this case and the entire Beika Town as sacrifices to summon Kudo Shinichi. However, the fundamental purpose of doing so has always been unclear. There is only an empty slogan of biting off fate and starting a new life.
Perhaps, in the old man's eyes, the rebirth of Kudo Shinichi, who carries a dark will, is the final answer to all problems.
But obviously, neither Mo Yu nor Conan believes that this is the final answer to the question!
However, Conan could understand it. After all, the old man was just a gangster. If he was asked to kill people, his execution ability would be absolutely explosive. But if he was asked to formulate clear strategic goals, perfect tactical steps, and a mature schedule, even with Moriarty's guidance, he seemed a little overwhelmed. Or it was too much to ask, because criminals could not do everything.
But no matter what, for Conan, the omission that the old man failed to take into account became an opportunity for him to take advantage of!
"I say that all successful crimes must be driven by perfect planning and thinking away from anger and passion..."
Conan's will, with the blessing of the skull beast mark, turned into a stormy tide, sweeping across the entire criminal network and every physical node of this criminal network, that is, the members of the Legion of Six Six Six Beasts!
But what the members of the Legion of Six Six Six Beasts felt through the blood oath mark was not the tender voice of a child, but an indescribable strange voice, which made people inexplicably think of the gods and Buddhas in the dark temple, illuminated by a flash of lightning in the sky, and then a trace of outline emerged in the darkness, evil and solemn, majesty and terror coexisting.
At this moment, the members of the Legion of Six Six Six Beasts all subconsciously responded to everything that the voice announced, and then, the ferocity that had originally erupted in their hearts gradually calmed down!
The evil majesty contained in that voice was an overwhelming command.
As a criminal, you need no other reason to submit to him!
The magical power that remains in Conan from the previous world line is, in essence, the majestic presence of absolute evil when he transformed into Moriarty.
And at this moment, the remnants of the previous world line that have spread to this day have finally been revealed!
The uncrowned king of the criminal world descended on Beika Town in the form of the beast 666, showing a glimpse of his majesty.
Conan did not realize that his voice had the magical property of "deterrence +100%" in the ears of the members of the Six-Six-Six Beast Legion, but he also realized that his will was quite flexible in manipulating and interfering with the entire criminal network, which made Conan slightly relieved.
The birth and growth of the meme version of the Blood Oath Mark is unstoppable. So the current moment when the Blood Oath Mark has just been born and has not yet truly grown is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
At present, the criminal network with the Blood Oath Mark as its core meme can be said to be united from top to bottom, and one will can influence all. This provides the basis for drastic reforms. However, once the Blood Oath Mark spreads, the expansion of its scale and size will inevitably be accompanied by a large number of impurities and constraints. Even the Beast King who holds the mark may be powerless to influence the increasingly large criminal network.
This is not criminological knowledge, but the manifestation of the scientific definition of entropy increase in organization and sociology.
"I said, all successful crimes require perfect logistical support and preparation, and logistics requires a continuously operating territory to provide..."
Under Conan's will, the transformation began. The criminal fog that revealed the riot case suddenly turned from expansion to contraction, and began to erode the streets of Beika Town in a targeted and purposeful manner.
In an instant, certain areas of the street were eroded and completely separated from reality, turning into a criminal realm!
The first thing Conan has to do is to impose a certain degree of "lock" on this riot.
The reason why this case can be called a catastrophe is its tendency for the meme to spread. Once it spreads beyond Beika Town, it will be extremely troublesome. If it spreads throughout Neon, it will be quite tricky. If it spreads across the world, it will be a real catastrophe!
Therefore, Conan locked this case in Beika Town!
Of course, with Conan's wisdom, he also knows that this is not a foolproof plan, because after this catastrophe case occurred, it is destined to become stronger due to its characteristics. The catastrophe that should have spread all over the world is locked in a place like Beika Town. What will happen in the end can be understood without much reasoning.
I'm afraid that the title of Beika Town, the super crime capital, will have to rise one or two levels!
But what can I say? Having too much debt is not a big deal. The people of Beika Town are already so simple and honest. If they could be even simpler, it would not be unacceptable. The worst that could happen is that Gotham would just be running into Yharnam.
Well, Conan is not such an irresponsible person. His amazing criminal wisdom is highly active, and he is ready to use a series of methods to carry out a major transformation of this case, to the point where the old man is reborn and cannot be recognized.
And all of Conan's operations actually didn't last very long!
In reality, the battle between the Giant of Light and the Magical Girl is still going on.
