Togo Morris's apartment on the twentieth floor overlooked the dazzling lights of Manhattan, but the atmosphere inside was far less pleasant than the view outside. Togo, the private detective who preferred drinking cold coffee and watching horse races over solving complex cases, sat behind his cluttered desk, glaring in annoyance at the small child sitting on the couch reading a book about quantum physics.
"Ran!" Togo shouted, slamming his desk. "It has been a whole week! This kid, Conan, is devouring our food, using the apartment's internet to research strange things, and no one has come to pick him up. I am a private detective, not a babysitter in Manhattan!"
Ran hurried out of the kitchen, drying her hands. "Dad, calm down. Dr. Agasa said his parents are busy with urgent matters in Europe. He is a polite and intelligent child, have you not noticed?"
"Intelligent?" Togo scoffed. "He stares at me like I am a suspect in a murder case! Ran, if this kid does not leave by tomorrow, I will have to call the police and send him to a care home."
Shinichi, hidden in Conan's body, nearly froze in panic. If he was thrown out, he would lose his only lead to the cases that might guide him to the Black Syndicate. He quickly pulled out his phone and sent an encrypted message to Dr. Agasa: "Agasa, Plan B immediately. Togo is about to lose his mind."
Less than an hour later, the doorbell rang. Dr. Agasa entered, pretending to be worried, carrying a black leather briefcase.
"Mr. Morris, I sincerely apologize," Agasa said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Conan's parents were involved in an emergency incident in Zurich and had to leave the United States suddenly. They left this briefcase for you as compensation for hosting their son for a few months."
Agasa opened the briefcase, revealing stacks of shining dollar bills. Togo's eyes lit up instantly, and his tone shifted from anger to warm hospitality. "Oh! My goodness! Accidents happen all the time, it is fine! Conan is a wonderful child. In fact, I have started to think of him as my own son. He can stay here as long as necessary."
Conan sighed in relief, but the next challenge was even harder: school. The following day, he found himself at Brooklyn International School. There, he met three children who would not leave him alone: Jiko, the large boy who loved pizza, Miso, the young tech genius, and Mary, the sharp girl who noticed everything. They called themselves the Brooklyn Detective Team, and Shinichi had no idea that these children would one day become his small army in the digital world.
The Mysterious Invitation: Death in a Skyscraper
Conan had barely settled into school when the golden opportunity arrived. Togo Morris received an encrypted official invitation via email from a tech billionaire named Edward Sterling. The invitation was for a private event on the one hundredth floor of the skyscraper known as Sterling Tower.
"Sterling says someone is threatening to hack his company's servers tonight and steal confidential software. He wants me to protect the event as the most famous detective in New York," Togo said proudly as he put on his formal suit.
Ran insisted on going, and naturally, Conan tagged along. When they arrived, the hall was filled with elites: businessmen, politicians, and software engineers. The atmosphere was charged with technological tension.
During the event, the lights suddenly went out for five seconds. A loud scream echoed through the hall. When the lights returned, Edward Sterling was found dead in his glass office behind the hall, with a laptop beside him displaying a single message in red: [The Syndicate is watching you].
Togo rushed toward the body. "Everyone, stay back! I am Detective Togo Morris, I will handle this!" He began examining the scene, making his usual ridiculous deductions. "It is very clear! He committed suicide due to digital pressure, or perhaps a heart attack caused by losses in cryptocurrency!"
But Conan, who was crawling under the tables, noticed something no one else did. An extremely thin carbon fiber thread stretched from the office window to the air conditioning unit, and a small trace of a strange liquid on the victim's neck that left no ordinary chemical residue.
"Dad, look!" Ran said, pointing at the screen. "The message is changing!"
The digital letters began turning into a countdown: [00:59:59].
Conan realized that this was not just a murder, but a massive technological trap. The killer was still in the room, using a cyber attack to destroy the building's servers and erase the evidence. He looked at Togo, who was arguing with security guards, and knew he had to act quickly.
Using his advanced glasses, upgraded by Agasa to fit the year 2026, Conan scanned for active Bluetooth signals in the hall. He found one encrypted signal coming from a guest's watch, someone who appeared unusually calm amid the chaos.
Before Conan could act, the electronic doors of the hall locked automatically. A strange voice echoed through the speakers: "Mr. Morris, you have one hour to discover who killed me, or this entire floor will explode with everyone inside."
This was the Black Syndicate's game. Conan looked at Ran, who seemed frightened, then at Togo, who had begun to sweat nervously, and realized that this case in the heart of Manhattan would be his first true confrontation with the shadows that had shrunk his body.
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