Chapter 258: Two of the Three Detectives Left

Jiangxia Tongzhi gave the kettle a glance, then waved the Tengu off in the direction of the host, ordering it to keep watch.

Sure, the host hadn't poured potassium cyanide into the kettle—yet. But this was still the same ruthless man who'd broken into someone's room and shoved a poor iron-headed kid down the window. Not exactly the picture of innocence. Definitely needed surveillance.

Plus, this way, it'd be easier to find evidence later.

And of course, if the host ran into trouble mid-crime, Jiangxia could always step in and lend a hand… selectively.

He reached for the water kettle that had earlier been used to marinate fish and was now infused with sleeping pills. Honestly, he appreciated the host's commitment to the bit—handing over a "pillow" just when he was about to fall asleep. Very on-theme.

Jiangxia was an expert at pretending to sleep. As long as he dozed off until someone downstairs let out a blood-curdling scream—ah, wait. Ran Mouri wasn't here. Right, any generic scream would do—then he could dramatically sit up in shock and start spouting his pre-planned lines. Flawless execution.

Thinking this, he turned over the upside-down glass on the coffee table and poured half a cup of water into it. Then, for realism, he wet the rim with a fingertip—perfect illusion of someone having drunk the missing half.

After that, he took the kettle and went to the bathroom to dump the spiked water before he forgot and accidentally drank it himself. Safety first.

Haibara Ai had just finished brushing her teeth and was patting her face dry with a towel.

When she saw Jiangxia pouring water into the sink, she didn't think much of it. Probably thought the water was too cold and he was refilling.

Jiangxia watched the water, laced with black-tech-grade sleeping pills, swirl down the drain. Then he rinsed the kettle quickly, filled it with fresh water, and returned to the living room.

Only to stop dead in his tracks.

Conan had apparently changed into dry clothes after his pool incident and was now standing beside the coffee table, casually drinking water.

Probably took in a bit of disinfectant during the swim and got thirsty. By the time Jiangxia looked over, the glass was already empty.

Jiangxia: "…"

He stared at the glass in Conan's hand. Then at the empty table.

…Yep. The half-glass he'd just poured for "decoration."

Conan, still parched, looked up and noticed Jiangxia holding the kettle. His eyes lit up. "Don't bother boiling it—just pour me some more."

He reached for a refill—then, halfway through, his legs gave out.

Conan realized something was wrong. But it was too late. He could only clutch the cup with dignity as he crumpled like a noble potato sack.

The cup fell too. It was either high-quality glass or just lucky; it didn't break. It rolled across the floor with an innocent gululu.

Haibara Ai, just stepping out behind Jiangxia, froze in shock and instinctively looked at him.

Jiangxia crouched beside Conan, set the kettle down, and checked his breathing and pulse with his patented "mosquito-repellent incense eyes." All signs stable.

So he gave up on the idea of channeling Detective Conan world's logic to induce vomiting via stomach punches. No need—host's mystery pills likely weren't lethal.

Granted, the assumption that the kettle was spiked with sleeping pills was just a theory… but Jiangxia felt good about this one.

After all, in the original timeline, the murderer used an instant-acting sleeping pill as a tool. And besides, the host had no motive to kill them all.

The plan seemed to be: Get Ebihara drunk, dress him up in the Night Baron outfit, and chuck him off a balcony. Then claim it was a tragic drunken accident.

If you're going for an "accident," you don't sprinkle in extra murders—that's just sloppy.

Plus, this world didn't really have odorless, tasteless insta-death poisons lying around.

With all that considered, Jiangxia looked at Conan's now-serene sleeping face and felt even more sure: definitely sleeping pills.

After all, Conan had downed that water a while ago. There weren't many poisons in this world that took this long to work.

Haibara Ai leaned in, her expression both concerned and confused. "What happened to him?"

Then her eyes landed on the fallen cup.

Jiangxia didn't answer immediately. He turned Conan onto his back, lifted one of his tiny detective arms, and let it drop. The back of the hand smacked Conan in the face without resistance. No twitch, no flinch.

Definitely asleep.

Jiangxia said, "Probably sleeping pills in the water he drank."

He hoisted Conan up and tossed him onto the bed in the bedroom like a sack of genius potatoes.

Then closed the door and returned to the living room.

Haibara was now squatting by the cup, hugging her knees, poking it cautiously like it might explode.

Jiangxia joined her.

Originally, he'd thought the host drugged him to create a cover for his own "sleeping" during the coming chaos. The only concern had been the other two detectives on the Izu Mystery Journey: Conan and Amuro Toru.

But surprise! One unstable element had just self-eliminated.

Only Amuro Toru remained.

And, honestly, the detectives in this world weren't exactly the most alert before the murder actually happened. Unless someone screamed or blood painted the wallpaper, they tended to vibe in blissful oblivion.

As he was thinking that, a transparent shadow suddenly poked its head out from the wall.

Jiangxia looked up and saw the Tengu he'd sent out flapping its wings in a panic, trying to phase through the wall. It failed, tumbled, then braked midair right in front of his face.

Jiangxia stared silently. Judging by the flapping speed, something had definitely gone sideways.

The Tengu always brought bad news.

Sure enough—

The host had just sneaked into Jiangxia's room earlier and spiked the kettle, then rushed back to his own room, changed out of the Night Baron costume, and strolled into the common hall like nothing had happened. Trying to build an alibi, no doubt.

The whole "changing outfits" thing was clearly just in case someone caught him sneaking around—he could wave it off as a harmless prank.

Meanwhile, to identify who had the "Dark Night Baron" virus and who the real organizer was, the host had been quietly sneaking into the other participants' rooms one by one while they were out.

But fate had other plans.

Just as the host returned to the hall, Amuro Toru stepped into his room.

While rummaging through the host's stuff, Amuro found the Night Baron outfit Maeda hadn't bothered to hide, along with fishing line, tape, and some shady-looking pills with no labels.

There was also a photo—two men standing close, clearly familiar. One of them was a younger version of the host. The other had a red "X" slashed across his face and eyes that screamed "you're next."

And yep, judging from the photo, that second guy looked a whole lot like another guest on this Izu trip: Tokio Ebihara. Just… younger.

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

Progress: 40/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

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

Progress:2/10*