Faced with Tsuneo's steady, unblinking gaze, the Captain's wife said nothing. Instead, a mocking smile played on her lips as she watched her husband grovel and beg for his life.
To beg for mercy from a man who treated slaughter with such cold efficiency... what leverage did he think he had?
Aside from this ship and a few chests of gold, what did they own that wouldn't simply become his the moment they were dead? Her husband was a complete coward, a man who would lick the boots of the "big lords" if it meant survival.
"Do either of you have any more quests to issue?"
The "Repairman" looked at the couple and asked calmly.
"Quests?"
The two clearly had no idea what he was talking about.
"Time to go, then." Tsuneo shook his head. With a few swift motions, he emptied both of their health bars.
He didn't bother testing the "mosaic" theory; it was better not to attract the attention of the AI overseeing the game.
Minutes later, the bodies in the cabin had completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but a chaotic mess. Of course, the weapons and leather armor carried by the pirates, along with the jewelry worn by the Captain's wife, remained on the floor. These items were considered player loot and did not disappear with the corpses.
An hour later.
Ruth led the newly recruited crew onto the deck.
"Captain, you... you..." The sailor swallowed hard as he walked into the dining hall and took in the scene of wreckage and abandoned finery.
"How many people did you manage to recruit?" Tsuneo asked, his hands resting on the windowsill as he gazed out toward the island.
During that hour, two or three small groups of pirates had returned to the ship dead drunk. Tsuneo had personally seen them off.
"Nearly thirty men. It should be enough to man the Surrey," Ruth promised, patting his chest. His eyes were bright, filled with a newfound sense of hope. Following a Captain like this, they could go far!
"Big Brother Captain! Everyone is on board!" A young girl came skipping into the dining hall, her voice chirping with excitement.
The crew was complete.
"Clean this place up. Prepare to set sail!"
Tsuneo reached out and ruffled the girl's hair before picking up the Captain's hat from the table and turning to Ruth.
"Old friend, get the men to work!"
"Dr. Agasa, what's the situation?" Inspector Megure asked, looking at the doctor with a mix of confusion and worry. Being completely illiterate when it came to technology, he could only rely on the Professor's expertise.
Dozens of children were trapped in a virtual world where their only hope of rescue was to clear the game. It was the first time the police had ever dealt with a case so unprecedented.
"The situation... well, it's actually looking quite good."
Though Agasa couldn't see the specific visual details, he could monitor the cursors representing the players and their exact locations on the game map. Currently, the children in the other game worlds had almost all been eliminated. Only the London World and the Pirate World remained without casualties.
Conan's group had already reached 221B Baker Street, the residence of Sherlock Holmes. As for Tsuneo's group, their cursor had finally begun to move, leaving the starting area.
"Mr. Kashimura, how is the difficulty scaling for the Pirate World from here on out?" Inspector Shiratori asked the game's lead developer. Without a doubt, he was betting on Tsuneo's group.
"Actually, the starting island is a crucial location," Kashimura explained. "Not only are there initial NPCs, but many plot-relevant characters are stationed there. If a player returns there later with significant wealth, they can gain massive support. However... Mr. Tsuneo's status is a bit strange."
Kashimura frowned, pointing to the cursor on the digital map.
"Does it look... brighter? And a bit larger than before?" Kogoro Mouri leaned in, squinting at the screen. It certainly looked different than it had a few minutes ago.
"He leveled up. And not just by one level," Kashimura said, sounding baffled.
To create more dynamic engagement, the other game worlds—unlike the London stage, which focused on deduction—incorporated standard RPG mechanics. Leveling up and acquiring equipment to boost combat power were core loops. However, on the starting island, there shouldn't have been anything capable of providing a player with that much experience.
"Huh?"
Listening to the game mechanics made Kogoro's head spin. "Are you sure it's not just an error caused by his age or something?"
"Actually," a staff member nearby chimed in, thinking back, "according to the design, a specific pirate crew is supposed to dock at the starting island a few days into the story, following the same trade route."
But that seemed impossible... According to the script, while the routes were close, players weren't supposed to encounter that crew until they reached the third sea zone. Only then would they have enough strength to deal with them.
"You mean... the Surrey?" Kashimura turned his head sharply.
It was pure fantasy!
After hearing the specific combat stats of that pirate crew, the adults in the room looked at each other in stunned silence.
"It seems he's found them," Saguru Hakuba murmured after a moment of contemplation. He had seen quite a bit of internal data regarding the "Dark Knight," as well as unreleased crime scene photos. The word "shocking" didn't even begin to cover it.
Against a man like that, the old-fashioned muskets in this game would likely never even graze him. It was a pity that no cameras had captured his legendary battle in Kabukicho.
"I agree with that assessment," Yusaku Kudo added, a faint smile touching his lips.
An enemy meant for Chapter Three, wiped out at the starting point. That's so like you, he thought. As ruthless as ever...
The London World.
"This is it, right? Sherlock Holmes's address."
Ran had led the children through the fog-shrouded streets of London for quite some time before finally reaching their destination. 221B Baker Street—the apartment shared by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Shortly after she knocked, the door was opened by the landlady.
"It's quite late. How can I help you?"
"Hello, my name is Ran Mouri. I'd like to see Mr. Holmes," Ran said, feeling a strange sense of surrealism while speaking to a character from a novel.
"Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson have gone out of town on business. They aren't home," Mrs. Hudson replied.
"On business?" Ran glanced at Conan. This wasn't what they had expected.
"Yes, they've gone to Dartmoor," Mrs. Hudson nodded.
"Today is September 30th... Dartmoor..."
With the date provided by Mrs. Hudson, Conan's mind raced through the original canon. The Hound of the Baskervilles! At this point in the timeline, Holmes and Watson were indeed away from London.
What's going on? We come to this world and we can't even see Holmes?
"Oh, that's right! I heard that two weeks ago, you all assisted Mr. Holmes in solving a major case. Truly remarkable!" Mrs. Hudson looked down at the children, seemingly recognizing them. She warmly invited them inside, offering to brew some tea.
"She seems to have us confused with someone else," Ayumi said, tilting her head.
"The Baker Street Irregulars," Haibara whispered as a reminder.
They were the street urchins Holmes employed—children who could slip into places adults couldn't to gather intelligence in exchange for a small fee. In this city, there were countless such children. More often than not, they were beaten or thrown into the river when they tried to collect their pay. But here, in the world of Sherlock Holmes, they were heroes in the making.
[Chapter End]
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