At this moment, Fang Zheng finally understood the true meaning of this world.
To put it simply, this is actually the difference between “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and “Records of the Three Kingdoms.” The latter is a history book, while the former is a fan fiction that takes historical elements and runs wild with them.
A history book doesn’t need to cater to whether the readers like it or not, because history is just recorded as such—take it or leave it. But fan fiction is different. For instance, if the author likes Liu Bei, they can write extensively about Liu Bei’s kindness and loyalty, and how Cao Cao is ruthless, cunning, and evil.
Conversely, if the author dislikes Liu Bei, they can portray him as a scheming, big-eared villain, whereas Cao Cao is the true hero with an open heart.
But ultimately, such fan fiction is just fantasy, not truth.
The same goes for “The Twin Dragons of Tang.” In history, there are no figures like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, nor does a Method of Immortality exist. It is merely a fictional story set against the backdrop of the Sui and Tang dynasty.
And now, the Rokugashima they find themselves on is quite similar.
Just like many supernatural urban kaidan stories that often stem from simple cases, the case itself might be quite plain and boring. For example, a woman undergoes plastic surgery, the surgery fails, and subsequently, she demands compensation from the beauty salon—it’s just that simple.
But such a simple case lacks drama and has no storytelling value. If one narrates it to others, the likely response would be, “Oh, really? That’s a shame.”
Obviously, that won’t do, so what then?
One must rework the entire story.
For instance, the woman fails in her beauty treatment, demands compensation from the beauty salon, and eventually can’t withstand societal pressure and commits suicide, turning into the ghost known as the Slit-Mouthed Woman. She wanders the streets daily, wearing a large mask, asking people, “Am I pretty?”—then lunges at them with scissors, cutting open their mouths... This is something you can tell your friends without worrying about the conversation going flat.
As for the truth of the matter? Does it matter?
Of course not. For the melon-eating crowd, excitements and curiosity are paramount.
The incident they are experiencing now on Rokugashima is similar.
Indeed, as an “event,” it is sufficiently thrilling, mysterious, and bizarre.
But it ultimately isn’t reality.
So when fiction collides with reality, the latter can never surpass the former, just like no one would be foolish enough to align historical facts with the descriptions found in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”
Just like that question Conan often ponders, even when the culprit is identified, does creating a locked room murder have any significance? Does stabbing someone’s head with a nail have any significance?
No.
But there’s a feeling to it.
When you speak of it, saying those people were stabbed to death with a nail in a locked room, it surely arouses readers’ and viewers’ interest.
And every story needs a storyteller.
Just like now.
“You must be the mastermind, right?”
Fang Zheng stands in a circular room, gazing at the woman with golden hair sitting on the sofa before him, dressed in a vintage gown, holding a pipe. Hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the blonde woman displays an elegant smile.
“Yes, indeed, I am the Golden Witch, Beatrice.”
“What’s going on, Fang Zheng?”
At this moment, Conan is also dumbstruck.
“Could it be that Beatrice truly exists?”
“Have you forgotten what I told you?”
Fang Zheng pats Conan’s head and once again looks at the Witch before him. He feels something very familiar about her aura, an aura belonging to the Order Clan—meaning, this Witch is also a pawn of the Order Clan. In fact, upon seeing her, Fang Zheng understood what the mastermind intended this time.
It’s aiming to make Conan acknowledge the existence of magic.
Though Conan’s world is not strictly scientific, it fundamentally aligns with Conanology. Put simply, magic doesn’t exist. Even if some relatively supernatural elements appear, they ultimately have nothing to do with ghosts or witches. Conan is the core of this world, and he has always believed that there are no demon monsters here, that every case is human-made and can be explained.
Because of this, there’s no magic in this world, and Fang Zheng cannot use magic either, which is the rule of this world—they must adhere to it.
But now, it seems the other side attempts to break this rule.
It wants to incorporate the unknown variable X, “magic,” into this world, necessitating Conan, the core of this world, to accept the existence of magic and witches.
The only stroke of luck is that Fang Zheng had already pre-warned Conan upon arriving in this world, telling him they were currently in a similar VR world, so Conan wouldn’t feel strange even when seeing these things. After all, the black technology in Conan’s world is truly advanced. With the experience of “Undead on Baker Street,” making Conan believe he entered a similar Game World is far more logical than something like “Time-traveled to Rokugashima where the Golden Witch exists.”
And Fang Zheng can guess the reason behind their actions.
Indeed, it’s tainted by chaos.
Looking at the coldly smiling Golden Witch opposite, Fang Zheng’s expression darkens. While Conan doesn’t sense it, Fang Zheng can perceive the thread of madness beneath the surface. To him, such situations are not unfamiliar. Although the Goddess of Order had warned him, it’s Fang Zheng’s first time encountering such circumstances, and he realizes what their intentions are.
They seek to destroy this world.
To destroy a world and let chaos seep in is not easy. For instance, in the Outer World, they need to use despair or even nuclear weapons to achieve their goal. In the Inner World, he clearly plans to use magic and witches to annihilate the order of this world. Should Conan be defeated and acknowledge the existence of magic and witches, this world would indeed manifest magic, witches, or similar chaotic entities.
At that point, the nature of this world would become... quite evident.
“We still don’t know if the Golden Witch truly exists, but this woman before us is clearly the storyteller behind this farce—she’s the one who set Rokugashima up like this, hoping to have us admit that this world has magic and witches, and that the Yodaimiya Clan was killed by magic and curses.”
“Don’t joke around, this is absolutely impossible!”
Hearing this, Conan glared at the woman, shouting angrily. In response to Conan’s roar, Beatrice smiled gently.
“Impossible? Then please tell me, how did the six people die on the first night? And on the second night, how were Ehua Yodaimiya and Hideki Yodaimiya killed in a locked room? If you think the culprit isn’t me, the Golden Witch, then who do you think the murderer is?”
“This........”
Faced with Beatrice’s inquiry, Conan clearly didn’t know how to answer, but at this moment, Fang Zheng snorted coldly and spoke up.
“There’s no need to answer at all.”
“What?”
“I said, we are here to investigate the truth, not to accompany you in storytelling.”
Fang Zheng reached out his hand, took a piece of paper from his pocket, and tapped it.
“According to the information we obtained from the investigation and the police records, only Ehua Yodaimiya survived from the Yodaimiya family on Rokugashima, the others are either dead or missing. However, on the Rokugashima you set up, Ehua Yodaimiya died on the second night, so......”
At this point, Fang Zheng suddenly stretched out his hand, pointing at Beatrice.
“Your story is completely fictional, not reality, and it’s unnecessary to solve it. Everything we’ve experienced before is just your personal fantasy! We are here to investigate the truth and reality, not waste time on your delusions!”
“Ugh...........!!”
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Beatrice’s expression suddenly twisted.
“You say..... this is all my fantasy?”
“That’s right, even in your teenage fantasies, there should be limits. Whatever you think is your business, but don’t expect it to change reality...”
At this, Fang Zheng sneered.
“No matter how you fantasize, vampires and Santa Claus do not exist.”
“.......... Very well.”
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Beatrice’s expression turned extremely gloomy and cold.
“In that case, I will start showing you all what the truth really is.”
“There is only one truth.”
At this moment, Conan also stared at Beatrice and spoke.
“No matter how you hide it, we’ll find it out!”
“If that’s the case, let’s confirm the rules of the game first.”
As she said this, Beatrice snapped her fingers.
“When I narrate the truth, it will appear in red text. How? Will this help you in your reasoning?”
“Very well, then.........”
Seeing the red text that appeared in the air, Conan was eager to try, but the next moment, he was stopped by Fang Zheng.
“No, there’s no need for that.”
“Fang Zheng?”
“Finding the truth relies on evidence, not reasoning, and manipulating language can bewilder people. For us, information obtained through evidence is what matters, however.........”
At this, Fang Zheng squinted his eyes, looking at Beatrice with a mysterious smile.
“Since you intend to play with your testimony, it’s perfect, as I will also invite someone specialized in dealing with eloquent deceivers like you to help.........”
As he spoke, Fang Zheng reached into his pocket, took out a business card, and with a slight smile, looked at the name on it.
“This is someone who can see through and crush anything, whether human or ghost, or those playing tricks... Come forth, Phoenix Wright!”
With a shout, Fang Zheng then threw the card on the ground, and in the next moment, a halo of light appeared. Immediately, Phoenix Wright, dressed in a suit and wearing a lawyer’s badge, appeared in front of everyone.
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
However, seeing this scene, Beatrice also burst into laughter.
“How interesting, you claim not to believe in magic in this world, yet you still used magic to summon help?”
Hearing Beatrice’s words, Conan also turned his head in confusion to look at Fang Zheng. Facing their gazes, Fang Zheng merely shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh, it’s quantum communication, multiplayer connection, very Conanology.”
He calmly responded.

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