In Detective Conan: Intercepting Miwako Sato at the Start

Page 142

The enemy's small boat had already reached the shore, and the people rushing down from the bridge were less than twenty meters away from him!

He could even see the cold expression on the other person's face.

Without further hesitation, he slipped into the opening and simultaneously pulled a prominent lever inside the opening.

"Click!" The slid-open stone slab quickly and smoothly closed again, completely isolating everything outside—the sunset, the gunshots, the shouts.

The cave was plunged into darkness in an instant, with only the stairs leading downwards, their destination unknown.

The air was filled with the fishy smell of the Seine and the scent of ancient stones.

They were safe for the time being, but they had also stepped into a completely unknown territory that might be filled with more traps and dangers.

"Turn on the lights." Ariel's voice rang out in the darkness, tinged with a hint of panting and excitement.

Three beams of cell phone flashlights illuminated the damp steps beneath our feet and the moss-covered stone walls on either side. The steps descended steeply, seemingly bottomless.

“We found it…” Miwako Sato murmured, her voice echoing in the narrow space.

Yuuki Takada stood at the entrance, listening to the muffled sounds coming from outside, muffled by the stone slabs. He knew the pursuers wouldn't give up easily. His mentor's people, or other forces, would definitely find a way to open this entrance.

He took a deep breath and looked down into the deep darkness.

“Let’s go,” he said in a deep voice. “The real adventure is just beginning.”

The three of them carefully made their way down the slippery steps toward the secrets hidden deep beneath the Seine.

The beam of light swayed in the darkness, illuminating the path ahead and revealing the ancient markings on the stone walls that may have been silent for hundreds of years, belonging to the "Twilight Foundation".

Behind them, beyond the closed stone slabs, the Parisian night sky was gradually illuminated by neon lights, while the Seine continued to flow calmly, as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 183 Corridor

The dull thud of the stone slabs closing behind them seemed to separate two worlds for a moment.

The faint shouts and crashing sounds coming from above quickly became blurred and distant, eventually being replaced by absolute silence.

Only the heavy breathing of the three people echoed in the narrow, damp passage.

The beam of the phone's flashlight cut through the limited space in the darkness, illuminating the slippery, moss-covered stone steps beneath my feet.

The air was cold and viscous, filled with the fishy smell of the Seine's silt and the musty odor accumulated over the years. Every breath carried a heavy chill that penetrated straight to the lungs.

The steps are steep, spiraling downwards, seemingly endless in that instant.

The stone walls were icy to the touch, covered with a thick layer of slime and unknown fungi.

Occasionally, some blurry engravings can be seen. They are not formed randomly, but rather resemble some kind of regular symbols or map fragments. However, due to their age, they are difficult to identify.

"Watch your step," Yuuki Takada whispered a warning, his voice unusually clear in the cramped space, "The steps are slippery."

Sato Miwako followed closely behind him, taking each step with extreme caution, her flashlight constantly scanning the front and side walls.

"How long has this place been around? It feels older than the underground part of the Louvre."

Ariel Kruger brought up the rear, her violet eyes gleaming sharply in the light of her phone as she walked down, trying to jot down the symbols she saw along the way.

"The foundation's history is much longer than publicly recorded."

“These structures… may date back to the Middle Ages, or even earlier.”

“The underground of Paris is a huge labyrinth, and this is clearly a carefully hidden part of it.”

They walked down for about five minutes until they reached the end of the stairs, where a horizontal passageway appeared ahead.

The passageway was slightly wider than the steps, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but the height still felt oppressive. The ground beneath our feet changed from stone steps to compacted earth and gravel, making a rustling sound when we stepped on it.

The passageway was not straight, but had a slight curve, and the carvings on the walls gradually became clearer and denser.

Metal inlay patterns have appeared in some places.

Despite the severe corrosion, the exquisite craftsmanship and intricate patterns are still evident.

Most of the sculptures are surrounded by stars and rivers, with some abstract tree symbol—the logo of the Twilight Foundation—appearing faintly.

"Are we still below the Seine?" Miwako Sato couldn't help but ask, the depth and silence of the passage creating immense psychological pressure.

"Judging from the direction and depth, yes."

Ariel checked the equipment using the rudimentary surveying program she had. Although there was no signal, the inertial navigation was still working. She said in a deep voice:

“We are traveling beneath the riverbed, possibly leading to some… river island or a hidden location on the other side.”

Suddenly, Yuki Takada stopped and raised his hand to signal for quiet.

He listened intently, his brow furrowing slightly, and whispered, "There's the sound of water."

The other two immediately held their breath.

Sure enough, in the extreme silence, a faint but clear gurgling sound could be heard from ahead, as if there was an underground river or a drainage system nearby.

They quickened their pace and followed the sound of water.

The passageway suddenly opened up ahead, leading into a huge natural cave.

Part of the cave has clearly been artificially modified to form a platform.

Below the platform, a wide underground river flows silently and swiftly, its water as black as ink, its bottom invisible.

Countless stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, and the air was filled with even thicker moisture.

In the center of the platform stood a huge door with a cold, metallic sheen.

The door was cast from some unknown alloy and engraved with extremely intricate patterns—at the center was the complete "Twilight Tree," its branches reaching for the stars and its roots penetrating the water, surrounded by the twelve zodiac signs and a series of incomprehensible geometric symbols.

There were no obvious keyholes or handles on the door, only a peculiar groove in the center of the corresponding tree trunk, which seemed to require a specific token to open.

"This is... the gateway to the treasure?" Sato Miwako exclaimed in amazement, the sight before her beyond her wildest imagination.

Ariel stepped forward, carefully examining the pattern on the door and the groove, her eyes filled with shock and vigilance.

"It seems so. A dynamic key... As expected, it requires specific conditions. This groove probably can't be easily opened with a USB drive."

Yuki Takada's gaze drifted to the underground river and other parts of the cave.

"Our advisors are definitely trying to get in as well. We don't have much time."

"Miss Ariel, do you know anything about the patterns on this door? What are the conditions for opening it?"

Ariel shook her head, her expression grave: "The Foundation's core secrets are extremely well guarded."

"All I know is that it's related to stars, water flow, and time. Perhaps, we need to wait for a specific moment when starlight or moonlight shines through a crack onto a specific spot on the door, combined with the speed of the water flow... or perhaps, we need the final code hidden in that painting."

She tried to contact Matthew again, but the communicator only crackled with electrical noise; the rock formations and metal doors here seemed to provide strong signal shielding.

Just then, a barely perceptible sound of gears turning came from above!

"Watch out!" Yuuki Takada reacted quickly, tackling Miwako Sato to the ground beside him.

"Boo! Hah! Hah!"

Several crossbow bolts, gleaming with a cold light, shot out from the shadows at the top of the cave and embedded themselves deeply into the ground where they had just stood!

The arrowheads were jet black, clearly poisoned.

"There's a trap!" Ariel quickly dodged behind a stalactite and drew her sidearm.

The attacks are not over.

Several stone slabs at the edge of the platform suddenly flipped over, revealing a dark hole underneath.

Immediately afterwards, three figures dressed in black diving suits and well-equipped emerged silently like ghosts, their silenced submachine guns spitting fire instantly!

"Puff puff--"

The bullets struck the stalactites and metal doors, sending up a shower of sparks and stone chips.

They're the mentor's men! They actually infiltrated from underwater!

"Suppress them!" Yuki Takada shouted, while using the terrain for cover and returning fire with his pistol.

His marksmanship was accurate; despite the inferior weapon, his first shot hit an attacker's calf, causing the attacker to stagger and fall to the ground.

Miwako Sato also quickly joined the battle, even though she wasn't good at gunfights.

But she was agile and took advantage of the opportunity created by Ariel and Yuki Takada to use pepper spray to distract the other attacker's vision and then use a baton to attack his joints.

Ariel's combat experience was clearly superior. She coordinated seamlessly with Matthew's team, displaying ruthless marksmanship, and engaged in a firefight with the third attacker, temporarily suppressing him.

Gunshots, crossbow bolts, and sounds of fighting mingled together inside the cave, shattering a thousand-year silence.

The battle was brief but intense.

Chapter 184 Trapped in a Deadly Situation

Under Yuki Takada's precise shooting and Ariel's suppressive fire, the two attackers were quickly killed, and the last one was knocked unconscious by Miwako Sato's baton striking him on the back of the neck.

“They came from the water,” Ariel said, examining the bodies and their equipment. “They were equipped with state-of-the-art underwater propulsion and closed-loop breathing systems. The mentor really did have a backup plan!”

Yuki Takada walked to the edge of the platform and looked at the dark surface of the underground river.

“There might be an underwater entrance; they might have found another passage. In any case, it’s not safe here. We must open this door as soon as possible, or find another way out.”

He returned to the massive metal gate and stared at the peculiar groove.

Recalling what Saori Chishima gave before she died... all the clues collided rapidly in my mind.

“Light…flowing water…gestures…” he murmured to himself, his gaze once again falling on the “twilight tree” pattern on the door.

Tree roots penetrate deep into the water, and branches connect to the stars.

In the "Silent Mona Lisa," the woman's hand subtly points diagonally downwards, as if pointing to tree roots, or perhaps to her reflection in the water.

Reflection!

A brilliant idea flashed in Takada Yuuki's mind! "Ariel! Flashlight! Shine it on the water, aim it at the reflection of the door in the water!"

Although Ariel didn't understand why, she immediately did as she was told and pointed the powerful flashlight at the underground river flowing below the platform.

Light penetrated the dark water, faintly reflecting the distorted image of the metal door.

Due to the ripples in the water, the reflection was not clear, but under the light, the pattern on the door seemed to undergo subtle changes.

Especially the reflection of that tree; its branches and roots seemed to connect in the ripples of the water, forming a circular symbol.