I started a business in Detective Conan Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Summer Vacation (Part 2)

The Next Day

Future Technology Game Corporation.

Keita, Sonoko, and Professor Agasa gathered in the conference room.

The professor was dressed very formally, wearing a suit and tie to attend the meeting.

The president of the gaming company was Sonoko. She had a strong desire to be the president because, under Keita's persuasion, she had invested most of her personal savings into the company.

The operational funds of the gaming company mostly came from Sonoko. Naturally, she didn't want her personal savings to go to waste.

Sonoko chaired the meeting and arranged the work. The production of the game helmets was entrusted to a manufacturing plant owned by the Suzuki Consortium. Both parties signed a production contract.

This was Sonoko's first time as a president, and the Suzuki Consortium had also assigned her a secretary.

However, the secretary only handled basic matters. For broader planning, the secretary would only assist when Sonoko asked for help.

For the Suzuki Consortium, this was just a trial and error, a test of Sonoko's leadership.

With things arranged, there were people working below, so they didn't need to overexert themselves.

Keita invited Sonoko to experience the game, Sword Art Online - Aincrad.

Future had encountered issues with the NPC intelligence, struggling to overcome them. Each NPC in Aincrad required the same level of interaction as a real person, demanding too much from the system's performance.

Keita suggested limiting the intelligence of each NPC within a certain range for now. They should only perform their essential tasks, reduce random NPC behavior, and make them "appear" like real people. There was no need to pursue perfection. They could wait for future technological breakthroughs to address this issue.

The company now had five prototype helmets.

Sonoko put on the helmet and lay down.

"Professor, would you like to join us?" Keita politely asked.

"Sure." Professor Agasa agreed.

Just a formality, damn it. He was going to ruin his virtual date with Sonoko.

"Link Start!" Keita lay down, and as the voice fell, his consciousness traversed into Aincrad.

Once again, he entered the fantasy world, and Keita was still quite excited.

The sounds of people surrounded him—vendors calling out their wares, the clanging of a blacksmith's hammer, the conversations of passersby...

This world finally had some life to it.

"Wow, Keita. Is this the game we made?! Our world?!" Sonoko was very excited, running back and forth on the street, picking up items from stalls and then reluctantly putting them down because she didn't have any money, eliciting scoldings from NPCs.

"Keita, do we have money?"

"I don't either. This world has an independent economic system. Players can only earn money by completing quests or killing monsters for loot. It wouldn't be fun if Future helped us cheat to get money. That would take away the point of playing the game."

"Aww~ I wanted to go shopping. The fruits at that stall just now looked so tempting, the long sword at the blacksmith's stall was so gorgeous, and the clothes at the clothing store were so stylish..."

"Well, well, you can work to earn your keep. You can also experience a bit of a tough life. By the way, where's Professor Agasa?"

"Haven't seen him." Sonoko said.

Future's voice sounded, "Professor is encountering a pack of wolves in the wilderness and is currently escaping."

Good job, Future.

"Well, let Professor take care of himself, we won't bother him. How about we head to Floor 22, Sunlit Forest? There's a massive lake there, beautiful scenery, perfect for sightseeing."

"Let's go, let's go, towards Floor 22, off we go!"

"Future, teleport us to Floor 22, Sunlit Forest."

A flash of light, and the two of them appeared on a forest path.

A wooden path wound its way through the forest, meandering among the trees.

Sonoko skipped along the path, occasionally letting out a tinkling laugh.

Keita chased after Sonoko, running on the road for a while. When he turned a corner, suddenly the scene opened up.

Before him was a massive lake, shimmering in the sunlight, creating ripples on the water's surface.

A gentle breeze passed by, carrying a hint of moisture. Birds in the woods were singing, butterflies dancing in the air. A picturesque scene unfolded before their eyes, naturally soothing their hearts.

"What a beautiful view. It would be great if we could live here." Sonoko was captivated by the beauty and exclaimed.

Keita approached Sonoko and, hearing her words, pointed to a wooden cabin by the lakeside. "We can, you know. Look over there, a cabin is for sale."

"Really?" Sonoko ran to the side of the cabin, where a wooden sign read "FOR SALE."

"Keita, can we buy it?"

"Sure, Sonoko. After the game launches, I'll accompany you to level up by hunting monsters and then we can buy it." Keita kindly agreed, secretly asking Future to set the house as non-tradable for everyone except the two of them.

"Keita, it's a deal. I'm full of energy now, and I want to get the game on the market as soon as possible."

Sonoko clenched her fist, an astonishing aura emanating from her. With a swish, she logged out of the game.

Keita also exited, watching Sonoko sitting in the boss chair, making phone calls to her subordinates, urging them to launch the game as soon as possible.

At the same time, Shinichi and Ran first solved a murder on the plane to New York. Then, they solved a murder on Broadway while watching a performance.

Finally, after encountering FBI Agent Shuichi Akai, and after the FBI left, Shinichi and Ran encountered Vermouth disguised as a white-haired serial killer. When Vermouth lost her footing and fell from a building, they saved her life.

Shinichi was injured and had to be hospitalized, narrowly escaping multiple disasters in New York. Once his injuries healed, they ended their trip to New York and returned to Beika.

When Ran returned to Beika, it was already August 30th, coinciding with Tomorrow's Future Technology's product launch event.

At the press conference, three main products were announced. First, the ChatFutura artificial intelligence chatbot. Second, after several months of preparation, a new version of Line was released with voice functionality. And third, the highlight of the show, the public beta of "Sword Art Online."

This time, Keita aimed to use the groundbreaking game to further promote Future's open-source forum. SAO and Line accounts were interoperable, helping to drive traffic to Line.

Even before the press conference started, there was an undercurrent of tension.

The "Cocoon" technology based on neural reading hadn't been released yet, but SAO, which employed similar technology, was launching first. Furthermore, SAO's technology was even more advanced than that of the Shindra Corporation's product. Many investors might withdraw their support. Shindra Corporation was bound to take action.

Future's open-source forum had also garnered attention from other countries. The ChatF robot was a successful application of artificial intelligence technology, and

various nations were closely observing.

As for Line, it wasn't as important on a strategic level, but that didn't mean it wasn't profitable. Social interaction was a human instinct, and Line was a mature social tool, much like WeChat.

Other forces were gathering in secret as well.

Fortunately, this game release was being overseen by Sonoko. In the eyes of others, this was a business venture by the Suzuki Consortium. Otherwise, relying solely on Keita, who was just a small fry, would eventually lead to him being taken advantage of. After all, there was the Brewery in this world, an entity that didn't play by the rules and could easily bring about annihilation.