"It hasn't been long, and you bought the exact same car again, Yoshiki!?"
"Yeah, I looked around, but I couldn't find anything I liked more. I'm used to this model, so I stuck with it."
On the highway to Nishitama City, Hayashi Yoshiki chuckled as he responded to Mōri Kogorō's incredulous tone.
"But this time it's white. Feels like a change of mood."
"...You're seriously loaded, huh."
Mōri sighed with envy.
Had it been him, he definitely wouldn't have gone for the same car again after changing models. But the memory of his own rental getting blown up at Twilight Villa made him bitter—especially since that two-million yen check barely covered the damages.
"From that perspective, Brother Yoshiki is a loyal man! A good man!!"
Suzuki Sonoko, seated in the back, suddenly burst with excitement.
From her angle, she could see Yoshiki's gentle smile reflected in the rearview mirror—and her mood soared.
Hehehe~
When Sonoko entered fangirl mode, she could be a bit... intense. But Ran, sitting beside her, was already used to it. She simply smiled.
"Thank you so much for driving us all the way out here, Brother Yoshiki."
"Don't mention it. I needed to put some miles on the new engine anyway."
It had been just over a week since the Sunset Manor case.
Mōri Kogorō had suddenly invited Yoshiki to check out a brand-new twin-tower skyscraper in Nishitama City. With nothing pressing on his schedule, Yoshiki happily agreed.
Located near Mount Fuji, Nishitama was about a three-hour drive from Beika. Before long, Yoshiki's pristine white Mercedes-Benz E-W210 rolled to a stop beneath the imposing towers.
"Whoa! This is incredible!"Kogorō tilted his head back, gawking."You can't even see the top!"
"It really is something... huh?"
Ran, stepping out next, paused.
"Conan? Professor Agasa?"
A group of familiar kids stood nearby.
"Ah! It's Ran-nee-chan!"Ayumi waved cheerfully.
"What're you brats doing here?!"Kogorō frowned.
"We were on our way back from camping, but they insisted on stopping to see the tower."Dr. Agasa scratched his head with a helpless smile.
Haibara Ai walked over toward Hayashi Yoshiki.
He knelt slightly and smiled, gently ruffling her soft hair.
"Was camping fun, Ai?"
"It was fine."She glanced up."Why are you here too?"
"Ah, it's like this."Kogorō cleared his throat importantly."The woman who built this skyscraper, Tokiwa Mio, was my junior in college. She invited me to get a sneak peek before the grand opening."
Ran immediately turned her head and stared at her father with cold, empty eyes.
She hadn't wanted to come, but Sonoko had told her—almost gleefully—that Tokiwa Mio was still single.
Just then, a sharply dressed secretary arrived to escort them inside.
The twin towers—Buildings A and B—were connected by several sleek sky bridges. The secretary led them to an exhibition hall on the second and third floors.
The space was packed with cutting-edge entertainment tech: VR, consoles, and gaming lounges.
"Welcome, guests!"A man in a suit and round glasses approached with a sunny grin."I'm Hara Yoshiaki, executive director and lead game engineer at Tokiwa Group. Want me to show you around?"
Hayashi Yoshiki studied him quietly.
He knew of Hara Yoshiaki—like Miyano Akemi, he was a peripheral affiliate of the Organization.
And he was now on their kill list.
Two days ago, Hara had hacked into the Organization's servers and stolen confidential files. Though he thought he'd covered his tracks, the Organization had already detected him.
He was probably trying to blackmail his way out.
Naïve. He had no idea what he was up against.
The kids were quick to swarm Hara, who cheerfully guided them toward the gaming setups. Eventually, they reached a peculiar machine.
"This one's special!"Hara gestured with pride."It scans your face and predicts what you'll look like in ten years."
The children and Professor Agasa were instantly hooked.
"I don't wanna see my ugly mug in ten years..."Kogorō grumbled, standing aside.
"Don't say that, Uncle Mōri."
Yoshiki smiled.
"You might not look all that different."
"You don't have to flatter me, Yoshiki ...
"He mumbled—but clearly, he was pleased.
Ran and Sonoko exchanged glances and laughed. They looked tempted to try it too.
Soon, Dr. Agasa and Ayumi's results came out.
Agasa's scan showed... not much difference. Still bald, still smiling.
But Ayumi's result?
An adorable high school girl with a radiant smile. Mitsuhiko and Genta nearly fell over in shock.
"Brother Yoshiki, want to see?"Ayumi shyly handed him the picture.
"Sure."Yoshiki took it with both hands and gently stroked her head."You'll definitely grow into a wonderful young lady."
Ayumi turned bright red.
Then came Mitsuhiko and Genta's turns. Their future selves looked like average high schoolers—nothing too dramatic.
"Brother Yoshiki, you try it too!"Sonoko, already dragging Ran toward the scanner, turned back to grin at him.
"All right. I'll give it a go."
He stepped up with a soft chuckle.
Hara Yoshiaki tapped the controls.
With a mechanical whirr, the scanner slid down, bathing Yoshiki in digital light. Rows of data scrolled rapidly across the screen—
Facial structure confirmed.
Symmetry analysis complete.
Neural line forecasting engaged.
The machine began calculating the face of Hayashi Yoshiki, ten years into the future.
And behind the gentle smile of the man standing there… something unreadable flickered in his eyes.