Chapter 138: The Super Salesman of the Fairy Tale World
A black cat suddenly jumping onto her desk and speaking human language was an event that gave Ran Mouri a massive fright.
The black cat continued: "If you sign a Magical Girl contract now, I can grant you one wish. This is a limited-time super bonus giveaway."
In the past, Ran might have thought she was encountering a supernatural haunting, but in the current era, there was another explanation. She asked with a solemn expression:
"Are you... someone's Stand? Even for a Stand, breaking and entering into a private residence is illegal. Leave at once, or I'll call the police!"
The black cat, with its blood-red pupils, stretched elegantly and licked its paw.
"Don't be so tense. Your intuition is quite good. In a sense, I truly was once someone's Stand, but I was fired after the world version update. Now I've jumped ship to work for myself. You can call me Kyubey—actually, that name is a bit disgusting. Just call me Q-Coin. I currently work for the 'Xin-Yue Fairy Tale World,' a place full of dreams and happiness. I'm out here looking for young girls with immature minds to trick into signing Magical Girl contracts using wishes as bait. I'm harvesting souls to hit my sales quota. I think you're quite suitable. Interested in considering it?"
The black cat flicked its tail, spouting blatant nonsense with total confidence. Ran became even more nervous, instinctively dropping into a karate stance.
"What? Harvesting souls!? Is that your Stand ability? I'm not interested at all! Leave, or I'll get physical!"
"Oh, you want to get physical? That works too. Forceful negotiation is still negotiation. As a Super Salesman of the Fairy Tale World, I have no problem with that. However, to prevent outsiders from interrupting, allow me to lock the door..."
An interested glint flashed in the cat's crimson eyes. It extended its left paw, snapping out five sharp claws. In the next instant, a massive shadow spread from the cat's own shadow, covering the entire room!
The room felt as if it had fallen into another dimension, filled with a cryptic and eerie atmosphere.
Shadows writhed like living things on the walls, floor, and ceiling, transforming into abstract and frenzied shapes. Perhaps to match its "persona," these shadows specifically took the forms of cartoon characters like Mickey M. or Donald D. When these abstract silhouettes whispered, they sounded like manic laughter and savage roars.
"There. The Fairy Tale Kekkai, full of dreams and happiness, is deployed. This room has drifted away from the physical plane and become part of the Fairy Tale World. Here, you can let loose. Do whatever you want, be as happy as you like. Remember to hit hard; I can take it..."
The black cat's voice turned twisted and sinister. Ran was not fooled by its nonsense. She knew perfectly well that this wasn't some "fairy tale" field—this was a Criminal Domain expanded from the Criminal Mist!
Though Kogoro Mouri hadn't evolved into the "Sleeping Kogoro" with Conan's help, he had become Inspector Megure's favorite investigation support tool thanks to his own Stand. He was constantly running to crime scenes. Ran, though she didn't tag along, had learned enough to know what "Crime" looked like in this Stand Era.
Without knowing the cat's origins or motives, Ran struck without hesitation. With a sharp shout, she threw a straight punch.
Setting aside Mo Yu's history as a God of Fighting in Bleach, even regarding the art of Karate itself, Mo Yu had a basic understanding of it in reality.
Ran's "voice strike" was decent; her breath came from the dantian, clear and powerful. Her posture was standard, and the integration of power from her core, legs, and arms was okay. Among amateurs, she was high-level—but only among amateurs.
Karate is a combat technique that requires the "Mind, Technique, and Body" to transition from amateur to pro. Mind and technique can be fast-tracked, but the "Body" can only be forged through grueling exercise. A legitimate karateka, even a woman, would have muscles and calluses that are quite formidable. At Ran's level in any other world, a healthy adult male who held his breath and charged in with a wild haymaker could likely pin her down and win.
But this was the Conan World. In this world, physical appearances didn't matter. What mattered were the Settings condensed by the Laws behind reality. Those were the true sources of power.
Even if Ran's "Mind, Technique, and Body" were amateur level, the punch she threw exceeded "brick-breaking" and touched "wall-shattering" levels. Not enough to blow up an entire wall in one go, but enough to punch a hole through a section of it.
Hm, the law-setting that grants Ran Mouri a karate damage bonus is active as expected, though the multiplier is a bit smaller than I thought...
Mo Yu evaluated her level through the cat's body. Then—Splat! He was smashed into a literal patty of meat paste by Ran's wall-shattering punch.
Ran was stunned. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she saw the "meat patty" cat's flesh sprout tentacles, writhing eerily as it slowly reconstructed itself.
"I told you, in this field of dreams and happiness, you can hit harder. For instance, how about 'Dismemberment Play'? It's very common in fairy tales. Want to try? I'll cooperate and stay still. It's a grotesque joy you can't experience outside..."
If the black cat's heavy-duty fairy tale talk was barely acceptable, its post-reconstruction appearance made the hair on Ran's head stand up in terror. She couldn't help but scream.
"You won't try it? Then how about I try? Though, after I tear you apart, I'm not sure I can put you back together..."
The distorted, amorphous essence tore through the "cat" skin, manifesting as pitch-black tentacles. Simultaneously, the abstract cartoon shadows on the walls pulled out chainsaws and blades. A manic killing intent filled the room.
The attack was ready, but there was no actual killing intent—it was mostly intimidation. Mo Yu scrutinized Ran, not just through the cat's eyes, but through the higher-dimensional computer screen. He was examining her from both inside and outside the world.
If the theory of the "Insane Conan" from the first loop was correct, his traces had to be in Beika. And the candidates related to those traces were few. Ran, as the heroine, was naturally a prime suspect.
Until this moment, Ran had maintained her "ordinary" persona. Mo Yu wanted to see if this "ordinariness" was real or a facade.
Mo Yu's scrutiny got a response. Terrified, Ran instinctively threw a roundhouse kick.
This kick was nothing like the previous punch.
Its force was like a mountain collapsing. It skipped "wall-shattering" and went straight to "building-demolishing." If they weren't inside the Kekkai, Ran's kick would have leveled the Mouri Detective Agency on the spot.
Mo Yu tilted his head. Is there some hidden law in the Conan bubble that favors kicks over punches? Why is her leg so much stronger than her fist?
He didn't dwell on it. He waved his tentacles, forming a flurry of punches to meet the kick head-on.
But the bizarre happened. Mo Yu's tentacles, which could crush steel, shattered upon contact. With a single kick, Mo Yu was smashed flat against the wall.
Aside from the combat buff law, are there other settings? Ah, that would be normal.
Though surprised, Mo Yu quickly understood. This world-bubble was an eternal stage with Conan as the eternal protagonist. The original main cast members gained special settings by proximity.
Right now, the "Immortality" law was manifesting on Ran.
In the original work, Ran could be hurt or defeated, but she would never die. If Mo Yu's attack were weak, he might have caused a minor scratch. But once his power rose to a certain level, the impact on Ran was siphoned away to near-zero, while Ran's own massively buffed kick sent him flying.
However, Mo Yu observed an "Anomaly." When he was kicked into the wall, the residual force shook the Kekkai—which was built on the Heavenly Killing Intent—causing it to crack.
This wasn't a World Law. It was something else. In her terror, Ran's instinctive attack had carried a trace of actual killing intent.
That tiny, almost imperceptible sliver of intent contained a terrifyingly vast power.
A thousand thoughts flashed through Mo Yu's mind. But he said nothing. He simply reconstructed his flesh, returned to the black cat form, and withdrew the domain. He said lazily:
"Alright, young lady. You haven't signed the contract yet. I can only provide 'Meat Paste Play' twice as a free trial. If you want to unlock unlimited Fairy Tale Play, talk to me after you sign. Now, let's return to a normal negotiation. Ran Mouri... I know you believe Shinichi Kudo isn't dead. Are you interested in his whereabouts?"
Ran, still trembling, wanted to scream for her father the moment the domain vanished. but the name "Shinichi Kudo" locked her attention. She asked instinctively:
"You know where Shinichi is?"
The black cat licked its paw and smiled. "I lure people into selling their souls; I have to have some skills. I know exactly where he is."
Ran went silent. She didn't have detective-level deduction, but as a human with normal intelligence, she didn't trust this bizarre, lying cat. However, news of Shinichi was a temptation she couldn't resist.
For some reason, while others like Kogoro retained fragmented, confusing memories of the "Tropical Land Murder," Ran did not. Her memory of Shinichi ended at the night she brought him a lunchbox and he made his chuunibyou declaration. After she went home that night, there was nothing.
To her, it felt like she saw him yesterday, only to wake up and find everyone saying he'd been dead for a month. The missing time created a massive sense of unreality. This was why she refused to believe he was gone.
Mo Yu didn't need to guess her struggle. Ran's character was clear: she wasn't a detective and never would be. In the clash of Red vs. Black, she could only ever be a "hostage." She was just a high school girl with a heavy crush. She wasn't exactly a "love-brain," but she was easily impulsive when it came to Shinichi.
"Don't struggle so much," the black cat said breezily. "Our style at Xin-Yue Fairy Tale World is to lure the pig in before we slaughter it. I can give you some leads for free to verify. Once you've checked them out, we can discuss whether you're willing to sell your soul to fulfill your wish."
Ran found it hard to adapt to his "transparent soul-selling" business style. "To grant a wish... why must I sell my soul?"
"We believe in fairness. You get what you pay for. If you find a place that grants wishes for free, please tell me; I'll go buy out their stock immediately. Of course, not everyone's wish requires a soul. But you are different. If you want to achieve your wish but aren't willing to bet your life or soul... it's unlikely to happen!"
Ran was even more bewildered. "Why is my wish so hard to fulfill?"
The cat stared at her, its red eyes full of mockery.
"You love Shinichi Kudo. You wait for him, you chase him. You might find clues, you might even see him briefly. But you will never, ever truly find him. Because that is the established fate of this stage!"
Would Ran Mouri ever find Shinichi Kudo? Thirty years of serialization provided a clear answer.
The mockery turned into a laugh as the cat spoke:
"The clue is simple: Beika Park and the Legion of 666 Beasts. Go and see for yourself. Meanwhile, since you're my first potential client, I'll give you a 'Six-Yuan First-Top-Up Gift Pack.' It contains a Magical Girl Transformation Trial Card. It'll give you the support you need on your path to finding Shinichi Kudo."
End of Chapter
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