Jiangxia Tongzhi stood behind the tree, his eyes lingering on the man outside the window, silently admiring the rather respectable murderous aura he exuded.
Then he sent the Tengu to scout the attic above.
Unfortunately, the result was disappointing. The craftsman who died up there hadn't left behind a ghost—just a plain old corpse.
Jiangxia sighed and turned his attention back to the villainous-looking guy, while also observing what was going on inside the villa.
Turned out, his timing was excellent.
Dr. Agasa and the kids had arrived earlier that morning and had been hanging out in the villa for a while now.
There were two puzzles hidden inside this villa, each linked to a "treasure."
One was a gift Dr. Agasa had hidden to entertain the kids.
The other was the attic itself—hidden away, accessible only by solving a code embedded in some cipher texts in the hall. They worked kind of like the "dancing men" cipher. Cracking the code would reveal the switch to open the attic.
In the spoilers Jiangxia had read, Conan had eventually solved the puzzle and found the attic, where he uncovered both a corpse and some counterfeit money templates.
But this time, Conan had ditched his friends, and it was Haibara Ai who had come instead.
Although Haibara was also a genius, with an IQ that absolutely crushed her peers, her talents lay in research. She wasn't particularly good at solving puzzles. So, she failed to locate the attic.
Even Dr. Agasa's gift puzzle remained unsolved—Haibara figured that since it was a present meant for the kids, they should be the ones to solve it, eventually.
In short, neither of the puzzles had been cracked.
The Detective Boys had time to burn, but the villain's patience wasn't quite as abundant.
The "villain brother" was a man named Okuda Tomoaki. He'd been searching for both the dead craftsman and the counterfeit templates. Since he'd heard the craftsman had been close to the villa's owner, Okuda had started lurking around the place regularly.
Today, he came snooping again and discovered there were visitors in the villa.
Okuda hid nearby and eavesdropped. He vaguely gathered that Dr. Agasa was a relative of the villa's owner and was searching for something.
He was hopeful. If Dr. Agasa found anything, Okuda could swoop in and pull a "mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" kind of move.
Of course, real life rarely goes as planned.
Okuda waited. From noon to afternoon, and then from afternoon until it was dark. He watched the people inside take their sweet time hunting for treasure, leisurely eating packed lunches, then going back to treasure hunting like they had all the time in the world. Eventually, the starving gangster had enough.
He decided to go full violence mode—storm the place, take a kid hostage, and force the old man to spill the villa's secrets. Maybe even steal some snacks while he was at it.
That was the moment Jiangxia arrived—right as Okuda made that decision.
Jiangxia evaluated Okuda's murderous aura briefly, then started looking around for a conveniently sized tree branch… when he suddenly heard a click.
He looked up and saw Okuda angrily kick open a window and crawl into the villa.
Everyone inside was startled. Haibara Ai noticed the gun immediately, her pupils shrank in alarm, and she quickly stood to shield the kids behind her.
Dr. Agasa froze for a beat before he reacted. He grabbed a nearby mop handle and held it like a weapon. Seeing this, Okuda grew nervous, pointed the gun at him, and pulled the trigger—
—only for the bullet to lodge harmlessly in the ceiling.
Because at the very moment he fired, Okuda's wrist was seized from behind.
A figure had silently appeared behind him. Before Okuda could even register what had messed with his aim, a sharp pain shot up his wrist, making his vision blur.
By the time he realized what had happened, the gun was already in someone else's hand.
Jiangxia stood behind him, casually weighing the pistol he'd just snatched. As he turned it over in his hand, a thought popped up: Wait, did the Organization forget to issue me a gun?
He wasn't sure if they just forgot, or if they'd actually decided that someone like him—a black-hearted detective who used words as weapons—didn't need a firearm. Maybe you had to apply for one? Was there a form?
Jiangxia had honestly never thought about it. He usually managed just fine with regular tools.
But now, after fiddling with Okuda's pistol for a bit, he suddenly realized—practicality aside—this thing made you feel way cooler. Twice as cool, even.
No wonder Gin was always waving his around. It really did hit different from swinging a stick.
Jiangxia aimed the gun at Okuda, and the villain froze. He jabbed the muzzle at Okuda's head. Okuda turned pale. Jiangxia pulled the trigger (it was empty now), and Okuda's pupils dilated in terror.
Jiangxia observed his reactions, feeling a tiny spike of satisfaction. +1 mood. +1. +1. Very fun.
Note to self: when I get back, ask Gin or Vodka about getting a gun.
…Not Amuro. He definitely won't hand one over.
With that settled, Jiangxia handed the pistol to Haibara Ai. Out of everyone present, she was probably the most competent with firearms.
Haibara stepped forward and took it. She glanced up at the person who looked eerily similar to Miyano Akemi and said softly, "Thank you."
…She knew they weren't the same person. But up close, the resemblance was uncanny. For a second, she almost felt like this was her sister.
Haibara actually had a lot of questions. Like how did Anonymous know about the Organization's disks? Why did he save her? How did he know she was in danger today?
But before speaking, she swallowed her questions.
She was worried that if she asked too much, Anonymous would start avoiding her… and she didn't want to be scolded or hated by her.
Jiangxia, watching her inner turmoil, felt relieved. Compared to Conan, this fake child was way less of a headache.
Beside them, as soon as the gun was pointed away, Okuda Tomoaki's little criminal brain began churning again.
He rolled his eyes and lashed out with a kick toward Anonymous. But before his foot made contact, he felt a sharp shove to the back of his knee—and heard a very suspicious crack.
He toppled forward, face pale. When he tried to get up, the pain was so intense it felt like something had snapped. He could only lie there writhing.
Jiangxia looked down at Okuda, then glanced at the mop pole in Dr. Agasa's hand. He'd originally planned to borrow it and bonk Okuda, just to knock out the remaining murderous auras.
But then he noticed the curious, slightly frightened kids watching nearby… and realized it'd be better to maintain a bit of distinction between his Anonymous persona and his regular self.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 23/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*