172: Chapter 172 Magic Bullet Shooter

Following the great detective's interrogation, Saber Alter and Jeanne dArc Alter, who had just changed clothes and walked out from the back room, simultaneously unleashed a cold killing intent, effectively cutting off all of the old man's retreat paths from both sides.

Facing this desperate situation of being flanked on three sides, the old man was not only unpanicked, but the bitter smile on his face became even more sincere.

He leaned on his cane with both hands and bowed deeply to Master.

"Master, regarding the matter of using you as bait, I hereby offer you my most sincere apologies."

The old man raised his head, his eyes revealing a sense of composure born from burning his bridges:

"But please believe me, I had no other choice."

"My original self, that 'Moriarty of Evil' who rules this demon capital, possesses a perfect criminal mind capable of deceiving even the world itself. Relying on sheer force alone, you will absolutely never be able to defeat him. What we need is the strongest mind capable of seeing through all lies and fog."

The old man pointed to Sherlock Holmes, who was standing to the side.

"I knew he must be lurking in some corner of this city. I also knew that if I didn't use some strong medicine, this suspicious great detective would never easily show himself. In order to save this planet, I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure and let you take a risk."

Listening to this logical explanation, which occupied the moral high ground, PD rubbed his chin.

Although the feeling of being used as a pawn was unpleasant, as a rational hardcore player, PD knew very well in his heart that the old man's maneuver was indeed strategically maximizing the gains.

Moreover, in the previous battles, the old man not only helped them analyze the Wolf King's weaknesses, but also proactively took on the dirty and tiring work of "stuffing bombs into living dolls" for him.

"Alright, cut the pitiful act."

PD waved his hand, interrupting the old man's continued attempt to play the victim, "Considering you provided plans and took the blame for me earlier, I won't hold this against you this time. But if there's a next time, I wouldn't mind letting Saber Alter put a hole in your forehead first."

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Master!" Moriarty was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him repeatedly.

Sherlock Holmes took a deep look at the old man, seemingly still retaining a hint of vigilance.

He bit down on his cigarette holder, turned his head to look at PD, and steered the topic back to the main thread.

"Since you have already been to that gun-barrel building, I presume that arrogant professor has already boasted about his ultimate goal to you, right?" Sherlock Holmes asked.

PD nodded, his expression sinking instantly: "He said he was a mathematics professor in his lifetime, and because he calculated a perfect formula capable of shattering the Earth. To verify if this damned formula was correct, he planned to use that building that pierces the clouds as a gun barrel and blow up the Earth!"

"Just to verify a math problem... he wants to destroy a planet?"

Mash's voice trembled slightly, "This reason is simply too absurd, too insane!"

"This is the modus operandi of the 'Napoleon of Crime'. To a pure villain, the lives of the world's people are nothing more than a few minor parameters to verify whether his formula is correct or not."

Sherlock Holmes walked to the map of Shinjuku and tapped the high tower symbol in the center of the map with his fingertip.

"Verifying the formula is just the motive; what we need to figure out now is the [method] they are using to complete this crime."

The great detective's eyes became incredibly focused, his brain seemingly a precise supercomputer, beginning to operate at high speed.

"In this Singularity named Shinjuku, the magic foundation has been completely distorted. That gun-barrel building itself is merely an 'accelerator' used to provide initial velocity and magic power amplification."

Sherlock Holmes turned to look at everyone and threw out a core question: "To pierce the mantle, reach the Earth's core, and trigger a chain collapse, what kind of [bullet] do you think he needs?"

PD was stunned for a moment: "A bullet? How massive would that have to be? A regular nuclear bomb probably wouldn't even be able to blow through the surface, right?"

"Regular weapons certainly cannot do it. Even a Noble Phantasm from the Age of Gods against a city could not cause this level of planetary-scale physical piercing damage."

In Sherlock Holmes's eyes flashed a light of rationality that made one tremble:

"The bullet he needs is a true [asteroid] that possesses absolute mass and absolute kinetic energy, forcibly pulled down from the universe."

"What?!" PD gasped, completely dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, in Chu He's livestream room, Chu He was holding a pen and recording rapidly in his notebook.

Hearing Sherlock Holmes's deduction, the pen in his hand paused instantly.

"Pulling an asteroid down to use as a bullet?!"

Chu He pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his gaze fixed tightly on the screen, "But this spans a vast atmosphere and crust; any tiny error would cause the plan to fail. He must ensure that this asteroid can act as if it has eyes, ignoring all resistance, and hit the Earth's core with absolute precision."

In the game screen, Sherlock Holmes seemed to hear Chu He's question, and his analysis continued.

"Therefore, that madman stitched another incredible Phantasm into the depths of his own spirit origin—the [The Marksman, Max] from German folklore."

Hearing this name, PD rubbed his head: "The Marksman? What kind of legend is this?"

Sherlock Holmes used his cane to draw a virtual orbital line on the map.

"In the legend, the Marksman possesses seven magic bullets. The first six are controlled by the shooter and are guaranteed to hit; no matter where the target is, they will absolutely strike it."

"What that madman needs is precisely the conceptual rule of 'guaranteed hit' from these first six magic bullets!"

Sherlock Holmes's voice echoed in the quiet underground base, carrying a sense of shock as if pulling back the curtain on an abyss.

"He uses the vast negative magic power collected in the Shinjuku Singularity as launch fuel, loads that pulled-down asteroid into the gun barrel, and forcibly imposes the Marksman's [guaranteed hit] conceptual rule upon it!"

"By utilizing the causal law of the magic bullet's absolute hit, he will shoot the asteroid toward the Earth's core! This doesn't require any complex aiming; as long as he pulls the trigger, this planet is destined for destruction!"

"This is an absolute crime that perfectly stitches together the physical impact of celestial bodies with the causal laws from mythological legends."

After listening to this detailed analysis of the plan, which was so thorough it made one's scalp tingle, the entire livestream's chat fell into a long, dead silence.

All the viewers' brains were buzzing.

Everyone had originally thought this was just a gang-war style Singularity; who could have imagined that the conspiracy behind it was actually an interstellar-scale murder on a scale grand enough to shatter the entire planet!

Chu He leaned back in his chair and let out a heartfelt exclamation:

"Using the 'guaranteed hit' concept of the first six magic bullets to bind an asteroid?! How on earth did Old Thief Gu come up with such an outrageous yet hardcore setting!"

"Physics plus conceptual magic—is this the true worth of the Napoleon of Crime!"

"The sense of oppression is maxed out, brothers!"

Watching PD, who was caught in shock, Sherlock Holmes slightly raised his chin.

"Therefore, Master of Chaldea."

The great detective's eyes ignited with the fanatical fighting spirit of encountering an ultimate puzzle, "What we must do now is not just defeat those Phantasms."

"We must, before that madman's formula is completely finished and that magic bullet capable of destroying the Earth is fired, personally tear apart his perfect criminal network."