Sato Miwako had just reached the door of the security room.
She was ready to catch the "robber boss" off-guard with a swift kick and an arrest. But as she peeked in, she froze—
Wasn't that Jiangxia standing there?
Officer Sato blinked. "...Weren't you a hostage?"
Jiangxia glanced at her through the window and casually pushed open the already half-open door to let the police in. "I was. Now I've switched careers."
Sato: "…"
She stared at the group of people lying on the floor. Ah well—details didn't matter. As long as the kidnappers were handled, it was fine.
But—
She frowned. "Why are there so many people? Conan just said there were five robbers."
Jiangxia pointed: "Those three are security guards who were captured earlier. I wasn't sure if any of them were in on it, so I tied them up too. The rest are the actual robbers."
Sorting out who's who was now the police's job.
Jiangxia, mission complete, went home to pack for his trip to Mermaid Island.
...
A few days later, when the date on the travel ticket arrived, Jiangxia headed to the seaside to board the ship.
Suzuki Sonoko and Ran Mouri had also arrived early.
The travel agency's boat was scheduled to depart that evening and arrive the next day.
After lunch, Jiangxia strolled along the coast with a few classmates, hoping to stumble upon a case.
As he scanned the beachgoers for anyone radiating murderous aura, the boat from the travel agency suddenly exploded behind them.
Jiangxia: "...?"
The group of four ran over. Turned out it wasn't the entire boat—just one cabin that blew up. Only one person died, and thankfully, there was no fire.
Judging from the scorched uniform remnants and witness statements, the deceased was probably the captain.
Jiangxia didn't remember this case from the plot, but as he looked up, three men suddenly appeared beside him: a first officer who had materialized out of nowhere, a ridiculously handsome chief engineer, and a sailor who looked exactly like a minor villain.
Jiangxia understood instantly—
This wasn't an accident. It was murder.
Sure enough, a shikigami floated up from the captain's charred remains not long after.
Ran and Sonoko stared at the blackened corpse, shivering as they reached for their phones.
Ran called the police. Sonoko, ever practical, tried to call an ambulance. But after glancing through her fingers at the burnt body, she paused in thought.
After a second of consideration, she changed course and called the fire department instead.
Conan, ever-prepared, calmly took out his earmuffs and put them on like a seasoned airplane passenger.
Jiangxia sifted through his memory. This incident wasn't in the spoilers.
He let a few ghosts wander off to search for clues, while pondering if Conan's case-attracting physique had recently leveled up...
Before he reached a conclusion, the ghosts zipped back to report: they'd found signs of someone being tied to heavy objects and sunk nearby.
Now that the murderer, motive, and physical evidence were located—it was easy enough to reconstruct the rest of the crime.
Meanwhile, Conan, deep in deduction mode, finally returned to the crime scene...
...only to find the suspect bawling while confessing their motives as they were being hauled into a police car.
Conan froze in surprise—
He had actually made it back in time to see the ending this time?
He glanced back at the burning remains of the boat and the exploded captain, then at the ruined vessel. Rounding up, that probably still counted as a means of transportation.
He quickly patched together the logic: Clearly, Jiangxia had been distracted by these gruesome sights—
See? He was still staring off at the sea, looking vaguely melancholy.
In truth, Jiangxia was a little troubled.
He was on his way to Mermaid Island to catch a serial murder case. Finding a new shikigami en route should have doubled his happiness.
But then, the travel agency called—
The boat was now temporarily out of service, and they hadn't yet rescheduled departure.
This was a long trip. Mermaid Island was part of a tourist belt, along with several themed islands. While the Mermaid Festival was the main draw, the itinerary included stops at the others too. A day or two of delay wouldn't wreck the whole trip—they could still make it in time to catch the ghosts.
But if the delay dragged on... other detectives might beat them to the island and solve the case first. And once the killer's obsession lifted, no one would know where the shikigami might drift.
If it floated off into the ocean, Jiangxia would have to scour the open sea for a ghost. That meant burning through tons of murderous aura, and he still might not find it...
Luckily, fate intervened.
Suzuki Sonoko, standing next to Jiangxia and sighing alongside him, suddenly noticed a group of people boarding a yacht nearby.
She turned—and someone looked back at her. The woman's eyes lit up: "Sonoko!"
It was an old acquaintance of hers. Surprised, Sonoko jogged over cheerfully. "Natsue-sis!"
Hearing the name, Jiangxia turned his gaze toward the boarding group. Seeing their formation, his eyes lit up too.
...Case vibes detected.
And from the looks of it, this one had serial murder energy.
...
This new group consisted of three generations of the Hatamoto family, plus a housekeeper—ten people total.
The Hatamoto family's fortune was slightly behind the Suzuki Group's, but they were an old and wealthy clan. Sonoko didn't get many chances to interact with Hatamoto Natsue.
The two girls chatted for a while.
Five minutes later, Sonoko had secured boarding passes for her entire squad.
— Natsue was about to get married. According to family tradition, all Hatamoto weddings were held on Hatamoto Island.
That island happened to be near Mermaid Island. After the wedding, Natsue planned to drop by the Mermaid Festival and try her luck at getting the legendary "Mermaid Arrow."
The family patriarch—a stern old man in a kimono—climbed aboard slowly, hands tucked behind his back. But as soon as he turned and saw strangers onboard, his expression soured. He looked about ready to scold someone.
Hatamoto Akie, Natsue's older sister, noticed. She quietly leaned in and whispered, "Grandpa, that's the youngest daughter of the Suzuki Foundation's chairman."
The old man's face shifted several times, finally suppressing his building rage.
But just as he reluctantly accepted these freeloading passengers, someone below deck suddenly exclaimed in surprise:
"Jiangxia! What are you doing here?!"
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 42/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*