BONUS CHAPTER #2
Other people came back to the living room, but something felt... off.
Someone squinted around and hesitantly asked, "Hey, where's that kid who got separated from his parents?"
Everyone shook their heads. No clue.
Realizing a child had gone missing, they started searching anxiously.
Finally, someone spotted a note taped to the side door. It was from Xiaobai.
"…"
Seriously? Couldn't they have at least said goodbye after picking up their kid? Now everyone had wasted their time panicking.
But thinking about it again... well, this was a parent careless enough to forget their own child. Maybe it was better they didn't cause more drama.
Everyone could only find a place to sit and wait patiently for dawn, when Chairman Yotsui would send a car over.
Only Conan felt like something was seriously wrong. He thought hard about Xiaobai's appearance, but couldn't make sense of it. In the end, he had no choice but to shelve it for now.
…
The next day, it was already noon by the time Jiangxia and the others hitched a ride back to the city in a police car.
After leaving the police station, Jiangxia sent a message to Gin: Reika Yotsui is dead.
Then, he returned to his usual daily life of lurking around crime scenes like a dedicated detective.
A few days passed. No cases yet. But he did get an invitation from Dr. Agasa—the old neighbor had asked him to come check out a new invention.
Apparently, Conan had mentioned to the doctor that Jiangxia was weighed down by "psychological shadows," which had led to his recent slump in solving cases. Dr. Agasa thought a little distraction might help, and also planned to subtly push Jiangxia to find a new psychiatrist. The doctor had already lined up a few "reliable" ones and was just waiting for a chance to recommend them.
Jiangxia didn't refuse. Actually, it was perfect timing: he felt his collapsible baton was too bulky. It didn't fit well in shallow pockets. Maybe the doctor could help him make a sleeker one.
When he arrived, Jiangxia politely endured Dr. Agasa's enthusiastic welcome and watched the new invention demo.
Except... this time, the "invention" wasn't physics-based at all. It had somehow wandered into the world of chemistry.
On the lab bench sat a weirdly colored blob of goo. Looking closer, Jiangxia could see it had a tangled, complicated texture, bubbling sluggishly from within—like a cauldron full of bad omens.
Jiangxia stared at it, sinking into deep thought.
Dr. Agasa had said this was supposed to help him relax?
Maybe his heart was "relaxed," sure. But his SAN value had definitely dropped a few points…
Jiangxia stayed silent for a long moment, trying to find something, anything, to compliment.
But before he could open his mouth, a strange sensation prickled at him. The bubbles in the goo were gathering faster and faster, swelling, churning—like a soda bottle violently shaken and about to blow.
Without hesitation, Jiangxia grabbed the doctor, shoved the old man under the heavy-duty experimental table, and slipped in himself with a practiced move.
Right after they ducked, an explosion rocked the lab, flashing the room with ridiculous bursts of rainbow-colored light.
Conan, who had been lying on the sofa reading a mystery novel, sprang up in shock and looked over.
Jiangxia waited a few seconds, then cautiously crawled out.
The room itself was mostly intact. Just... the wall now had a massive smoking hole in it.
Jiangxia silently stared at it. If he remembered right, ever since he transmigrated here, this wall had been blown up and repaired at least a dozen times.
And yet, Dr. Agasa still hadn't been arrested. The only explanation: the folk customs of the Detective Conan universe were truly... rustic.
Dr. Agasa dusted himself off, fixed his broken glasses, and looked at Jiangxia with deep satisfaction:
"With you around, we don't go through as many sets of protective clothing, haha… ha…"
Mid-laugh, he froze.
...Wait.
Why did it suddenly feel like someone wanted to kill him?
Dr. Agasa nervously touched the back of his head and sneaked a glance at Jiangxia, who was calm and used to it. Okay, probably not him.
Then he glanced at Conan, who was giving a classic "I'm so done with this" look from the sofa. Hm. Also not him. Conan was clearly already numb to it.
Which meant…
The only other living being in the room…
Realization struck. Dr. Agasa turned his head slowly—and locked eyes with Haibara Ai.
Haibara Ai stood there, staring at him with a look that could ignite ghost fires behind her.
"You almost blew up Jia…" she said in a low, measured tone.
Mid-sentence, she abruptly stopped—remembering that, to help Jiangxia cover his secret identity, they were supposed to be "strangers who had just met."
Smooth save, Haibara.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*
Glossary:
SAN value: A reference to "Sanity Points" from horror games or Lovecraftian lore; losing SAN means losing mental stability.