Chapter 238: Savior Jiang Xia

BONUS CHAPTER #1

Since the handprint was on the left side, that meant the knife was stabbed with the right hand. In that case... wasn't the killer right-handed?

But according to the photos provided by Inspector Megure, Mr. Murakami was left-handed.

Conan was taken aback. He instinctively turned to Jiangxia Tongzhi beside him and whispered, stunned, "The killer isn't Murakami!"

Jiang Xia nodded, unsurprised by the conclusion.

Conan wasn't too shocked by Jiang Xia's reaction either—thinking back, Jiang Xia had never referred to Murakami as the culprit like the police and the others had. He kept calling him "the culprit."

Clearly, Jiang Xia had already noticed there were serious contradictions in the case.

Still, Conan didn't suspect Jiang Xia because of this.

In his opinion, Jiang Xia must've been holding back because he was only speculating and hadn't found any solid evidence yet.

—Conan remembered that even as a kid, this neighbor of his was very cautious about "drawing conclusions." If he wasn't absolutely certain, Jiang Xia would stay silent, even if it meant watching the reward go to other kids. He'd never guess blindly.

Which might also explain why Jiang Xia had never shown much of his deductive ability before—he was probably developing it over time. And only recently had he reached the point where he could rapidly gather all the clues and put them together in an instant. That's when he began to speak up. The sudden improvement made it seem like he'd undergone a transformation overnight.

Back to the present: so far, the person Jiang Xia had been watching most intently…

Conan tilted his head in thought and his gaze landed on Sawagi Kohei.

He was currently crouched on the floor.

His eyes swept over—and the first thing he noticed wasn't Sawagi's expression, but his pants leg.

—There was an odd wet patch on Sawagi's trousers, like he'd been splashed with some liquid.

Conan blinked, suddenly recalling: when the power had gone out earlier, the killer had kicked the soda can Conan left on the floor while trying to escape.

Conan clearly remembered there had still been soda left in that can.

In other words, some of that soda could've splashed onto the killer's leg…

…

Sawagi Kohei soon realized that someone else was now staring at him.

—The glasses-wearing child who didn't act like a child at all was eyeing him like a seasoned interrogator.

Sawagi Kohei clenched his jaw. A grade-schooler with half a brain couldn't have suspected him on his own. Jiang Xia must've said something to Conan just now…

The thought made Sawagi more and more anxious.

At that moment, Jiang Xia finished inspecting the corpse and stood up from the ground.

The second Jiang Xia rose, Sawagi Kohei felt an oppressive weight crash down on him. He instinctively resorted to the plan he'd rehearsed in his head several times—the one he'd been saving to deal with Jiang Xia.

Sawagi pointed hesitantly toward the window: "It looks like… there's something stuck over there…"

In Sawagi's mind, no one would guess that he'd planted a ton of bombs in this underwater restaurant.

So even if Jiang Xia was suspicious, he'd never ignore a potential clue. At worst, Jiang Xia might assume there was some kind of trap, like a crossbow near the window, just like last time. And then this overconfident little detective would walk up and check it out himself.

Sawagi also figured Jiang Xia hadn't shared his suspicions with too many people yet.

So as long as he could kill Jiang Xia—and maybe get rid of Conan in the ensuing chaos—no one would ever know he was the killer.

And as for why the window exploded right when Jiang Xia went to look at it? Well, obviously, the murderer left a clue there and panicked—so he detonated a bomb.

And Sawagi Kohei, who just "helpfully" pointed out the clue? Just a sharp-eyed, civic-minded bystander…

…

The spot Sawagi pointed to was, in fact, closest to Jiang Xia. So he should've gone to investigate.

But Jiang Xia didn't move toward the window. He didn't even glance that way.

Instead, he walked calmly past him and toward Inspector Megure. Just as the inspector was about to investigate the window, Jiang Xia raised a hand and stopped him.

Everyone was startled. "Jiang Xia?"

Jiang Xia looked up at Sawagi Kohei. "You—"

BOOM————!

Before Jiang Xia could finish, Sawagi's heart jolted.

He slammed his hand down on the bomb trigger hidden in his sleeve, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.

—Jiang Xia had definitely found something critical. If he didn't blow the place now, once the reasoning started, he'd lose all chance of pinning the blame elsewhere. People would definitely believe Jiang Xia over him.

As the switch was triggered, a series of explosions erupted along the fish tank and the windows.

The restaurant was located on the ocean floor. Seawater surged in through the ruptured glass, smashing tables and chairs and flooding the hall in seconds.

The Ferrari that had been on display began to shake—then toppled over, swept away by the incoming tide and sent tumbling to one side.

As the chaos crashed in, Jiang Xia saw what was coming and shoved Ran Mouri aside.

At almost the same moment, the heavy Ferrari F40 whooshed past them, smashed a hole in the floor, and disappeared into the abyss.

Jiang Xia silently sighed as he watched the car that almost flattened them.

Ran's usual European Emperor luck must've switched to European Moldy Mode at this crucial moment.

—After all, she's usually wherever the bombs are. That's just her talent.

Jiang Xia recalled that in the original timeline, Ran got her leg pinned by the Ferrari, was trapped underwater, nearly drowned, got rescued by Conan, lost mobility, was taken hostage by Sawagi Kohei, and had to be saved by a bullet wound to the leg from Conan…

But now, none of that happened.

Jiang Xia had cut the whole chain of disasters off before it even started.

And in moments like these, who has time to worry about whether the students are scattering bowls of dog food*?

The only real consequence now is that, since Ran won't get shot by Conan, it might affect her father-daughter bonding with Kogoro Mouri.

—After all, not long ago, when Ran found out about Murakami, she had grabbed the nearest passing police officer and demanded to know why he held a grudge against Kogoro.

And, just her luck, she happened to grab Shiratori—who actually took her seriously…

*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.

Progress: 13/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.

Progress:2/10*