The following morning, after a night spent excavating walls and clearing debris from shelves in Level 1, Yang Tao pushed open the wooden door and returned to the Main World.
"The thrill of watching my energy points rise is truly addictive… though digging walls is painfully inefficient."
Six hours of labor yielded him just under ten thousand energy points. However, the shelves and pipes provided a considerable amount of material, which he carried to the furnace and stuffed all the iron items inside.
"Why can't wrenches be smelted? They're made of iron too!"
Yang Tao sighed at the limitation: small or poor-quality items couldn't be smelted or converted into energy points, thwarting his plan to buy nails to create iron pellets.
He tidied up these temporarily useless items and tossed them into the "trash bin," a heap of material that held no value for him.
Glancing at the still-sleeping Erik, Yang Tao chose not to wake him. Instead, he placed two apples on the wooden dining table he had built, alongside a few bottles of Gray Almond Water.
I'll take a trip to the Conan world today—buy a proper cooking pot. Drinking only almond water every day isn't ideal.
Though he felt no hunger, he still craved real food.
Yang Tao stepped through the wooden door into the Conan world. Upon entry, something felt off, though he couldn't immediately pinpoint it. Following the staircase to the second floor of the office, he knocked on the door.
Knock, knock…
"Coming, just a moment!"
Ran's voice echoed from inside, followed by footsteps as the door swung open, revealing her youthful, radiant figure.
"Hello, Ran. Is Conan home?"
Ran looked slightly surprised at seeing Yang Tao, but quickly smiled. "Mr. Yang Tao, Conan is home. He's eating at the moment—please come in and have a seat."
Yang Tao nodded lightly and stepped inside. The previous night, Conan had spent hours in his space, chatting with Erik and flipping through notebooks recording various information, only reluctantly leaving around 2 a.m.
Entering the living room, Yang Tao settled onto the sofa. Ran approached to pour him a glass of water, but he quickly protested, "Ran, there's no need for that. I've come so early, I feel bad for disturbing your meal."
Ran smiled. "Mr. Yang Tao, you're Conan's friend, so there's no need for formalities. I'll go eat first—just wait a moment."
"Alright, go ahead."
As Ran left for the dining room, Conan emerged, looking at Yang Tao with a mix of exasperation and amusement. "Why did you come so early?"
"I finished my tasks and came straight over—didn't think much. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Ran quickly checked on Conan. "Have you eaten enough?"
"Yes, Ran-nee, I'm full. You go ahead and eat; I'll stay and talk with Brother Yang Tao."
Perhaps influenced by the world's peculiar logic, Ran seemed unfazed that a seven- or eight-year-old child had a friend in his twenties—it appeared normal.
"Then I'll go eat first."
As she left, the dining room echoed with Kogoro Mouri's grumbling: "That brat Conan—just a couple bites and he runs off. Next time, he'll get a proper scolding."
"Dad, Conan's friend is here. He probably went to greet him. Let him eat more at lunch, and it'll be fine."
"Hmph, that brat…"
Yang Tao, seated in the living room, clearly heard the father-daughter exchange. Smiling at Conan, he whispered, "Looks like Kogoro really cares about you. I wonder—if he knew your true identity, would he try to kill you?"
Conan, puzzled, asked quietly, "Why would Uncle Kogoro try to kill me if he knew my identity?"
"Think about it: what if you had a daughter and, while still underage, she was deceived by her boyfriend—bathing together, sleeping together, even manipulating emotions—how would you react?"
Conan shivered slightly. Even he, not to mention Kogoro, would have to consider how to make such a person quietly disappear.
Quickly recovering, he whispered defensively, "I'm just a child… and I never toyed with Ran's feelings!"
"Oh? And hiding your identity doesn't count as deception? You let Ran wait at home, not knowing when Shinichi might appear—that's not playing with her feelings?"
Conan had no retort, so he changed the subject: "Right, you wanted to buy pumpkins. Let's go."
Yang Tao smiled and remained silent, rising to leave. Conan ran into the kitchen to greet them and then followed Yang Tao.
The streets were sparsely populated, perhaps because this area wasn't a true residential district.
"By the way, Conan, aren't you supposed to be in school today?"
"No, we're on summer break. Today, we're going to the beach with Uncle Kogoro and Ran."
Yang Tao paused mid-step, turning to Conan.
Conan looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Your summer break doesn't follow international law?"
Yang Tao realized the source of his unease: the timeline. The night Kaito Kid stole the Dark Star was clearly April 1—yet here it was only two days later, and they were already on summer break?
"What's the date today?"
Conan paused. "July 22. Why?"
"When was the night Kaito Kid stole the Dark Star?"
"April 1!"
Seeing Conan utterly unaware, Yang Tao finally grasped the terrifying nature of this world: its timeline was chaotic, utterly illogical.
"How many days have we known each other?"
Conan hesitated. "Three… wait… time! How is this possible?"
He stood frozen, muttering disbelief, as if reality itself defied him.
Yang Tao extended a hand, pulling him up and leading him to an empty alley. Opening the wooden door, he brought Conan back to the Main World.
"Hey, stay conscious."
Conan's mind felt like an NPC on the verge of awakening, memory and reality clashing, leaving him disoriented.
Logic insisted three days after April 1 should be April 4, yet subconsciously, July 22 felt real.
"G-give me… Almond Water!"
Groaning, his voice hoarse, Conan opened his mouth.
Without hesitation, Yang Tao handed him a bottle of Gray Almond Water, which Conan drank in long, desperate gulps.
After ten minutes, he regained some composure and looked up at Yang Tao. "Why? You know why, don't you?"
Though phrased as a question, his tone was resolute.
Yang Tao did not withhold the truth. Nodding solemnly, he said, "Do you want to understand the meaning of life? To truly… live?"
"I do!!"
"Welcome to the real world!"