Chapter 367: Game of Tag 

Double Chapter

In short, Teacher Kobayashi, who secretly rehearsed parent-teacher conferences at night, and the head of student affairs, who snuck in after hours to hunt for his wig, had jointly created the school's "Two Great Mysteries."

And the social death both of them suffered after being exposed still wasn't enough motive to kill four children… Jiangxia paused here. No—wait. In the Detective Conan universe, someone absolutely could commit murder just to avoid their bald head being seen by students.

Sadly, neither the dean nor Kobayashi currently had any killing intent. Jiangxia sighed inwardly, wondering if the dean might develop some once his baldness was publicly revealed.

…

Conan returned to the infirmary to find the anatomical model standing quietly in the corner, as if nothing had happened. But Ayumi was still missing.

While he scanned the room, Conan felt a strange prickle—someone was watching him.

He whipped his head around—and locked eyes with a shadowy figure in the corridor.

Conan flinched, then immediately gave chase.

But short legs were short legs. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn't keep up with the suspicious figure, who was sprinting full tilt down the hall. The gap between them widened until Conan finally had to stop, panting hard.

He turned around, expecting to see both Genta and Mitsuhiko behind him—only to find Genta alone.

"…Mitsuhiko?!"

His voice echoed back to him, unanswered.

Another one gone.

Conan stared down the long corridor, where the darkness at the far end seemed to thicken and twist like ink in water. His expression turned grim.

He'd just been chasing that figure, with Mitsuhiko following behind. Given the layout of the school, there was no way that person could have looped around and snatched Mitsuhiko from behind in such a short time.

Which meant that if Mitsuhiko was taken by someone, then—there were at least two suspicious people lurking in this building.

The situation had just gone from bad to worse.

Conan finally decided it was time to ask for outside help.

He pulled out his phone.

The screen was dark. Dead battery. Shut off automatically.

…If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have played games during class. Conan regretfully pounded the innocent windowsill.

Now he was stuck in a dilemma: should he stay in the school to respond quickly if the missing kids called for help, or make a break for the front gate and find Jiangxia?

With Jiangxia, he wouldn't have to worry about his lack of adult physical strength. Two adults would be more than easy for him to handle—unless, of course, a tag team of martial arts champions had decided to hit up an elementary school tonight.

But still, dragging Jiangxia into this carried risks.

If Ayumi and Mitsuhiko managed to temporarily escape and shouted for help, but Conan was gone looking for Jiangxia, he wouldn't be able to get there in time.

And splitting up? Definitely not safe. With how often people were vanishing in this man-eating building, plus Genta's natural disaster tendencies, Conan didn't trust leaving anyone alone.

Worse, the culprits had two hostages now. Jiangxia might act carefully to protect them, but his very presence might escalate the situation.

If the culprits originally had no plans to silence the kids, but then suddenly a highly observant, terrifyingly competent witness appeared on scene… well, plans might change.

At that moment, Genta cautiously nudged open the teachers' office door and whispered, "There's a landline in here… should we call someone?"

When he said "someone," Genta naturally pictured Jiangxia.

…Even though Jiangxia's mental image in his head was basically that of a demon king. But hey—only a devil can fight a devil.

And Jiangxia was definitely the super-sized, final-boss version of a devil.

"Okay." Conan didn't hesitate. He walked into the office, also thinking of Jiangxia.

Yes, there were plenty of concerns—but when it came to punishing evil, Jiangxia was unmatched.

Conan made up his mind: first call Jiangxia, then call the police.

Even if it wasn't ideal to call him directly, he could at least update Jiangxia on the situation and have him meet the arriving police to prevent Beika City's finest from making rookie mistakes like pulling up with sirens blazing during a stealth operation.

Plus, Jiangxia had the advantage of being an outsider. With his freakishly fast deduction speed, he might subdue the culprits before they even realized what was happening—saving everyone from the nightmare scenario of a hostage standoff.

…

In the corridor, Vermouth stood beside Jiangxia, watching the dim light of a flashlight flicker through the office window.

Then she noticed a faint glow beside her.

She turned. Jiangxia had taken out his phone. A call was coming in.

His phone was on silent, but he clearly noticed the screen lighting up.

Vermouth glanced at it too. It was an unfamiliar, unmarked number.

Then she looked toward the office, eyes narrowing in realization.

So Cool Guy was the one calling Ouzo instead of the police.

She nodded slightly, understanding now. There must have been past incidents. Otherwise, that kid wouldn't call for help so confidently.

"Amuro Tooru's" expression didn't change, but the heavy killing intent clinging to her gradually dissipated.

Jiangxia gave her a sideways glare of disapproval.

Then, after a beat of hesitation, he accepted the call.

That hesitation wasn't for dramatic flair—he'd genuinely debated whether to pick up or immediately hang up for show.

After all, wasn't the smart thing to do in this situation to pretend he didn't want Vermouth to see his friendly connection to Conan? A quick hang-up would make that clear.

But actually, if he truly wanted to hide it, answering the call while pretending "Amuro Tooru" wasn't present made more sense.

Deliberately hanging up now would just make him look suspicious—or worse, dumb.

And besides, he'd already climbed the school wall to look for these kids. His relationship with them was kind of out in the open already.

Better to act naturally, let Vermouth assume Ouzo was just doing his part to look like a good neighbor—a harmless community-building, child-caring, socially responsible red-side citizen.

Very helpful cover for a certain cadre in deep reclusion.

Jiangxia sighed and pressed his forehead as he answered.

So annoying. This whole identity layering situation was worse than mille-feuille (a three layered dessert).

Two avatar spirits stacked on top of each other—counting them was giving him a headache.

Tch. Next time, if there's even a hint of Vermouth in disguise, he needs to just chase her off. That way she might come back in a different form. Still lethal, but less mentally exhausting.

That, or switch to ghost mode full-time. Shikigami don't need to deal with this level of political theater.

But for now—he had come this far.

Might as well see it through.

Also, according to the news brought back by the Tengu—who was currently wandering the night by imperial decree—there might be a fresh drop of killing intent to extract later…

Jiangxia sighed, answered the call, and got straight to the point: "Conan?"

…Yes, even in front of "Amuro Tooru," he had to subtly help Kudo-kun cover his identity. Normally, he preferred to let the caller speak first, but this time, opening with "Conan?" would give the kid a heads-up that something was off.

Sure enough, on the other end, Conan froze, swallowing the neatly-prepared speech he'd been about to deliver.

Before he could even shift gears and choose an appropriately childlike tone, Jiangxia's voice cut in—calm and quick, leaving no room to respond: "I'm busy. I'll find you later. Do what you need to do."

Then he hung up, ignoring Vermouth's mildly puzzled look.

"We've played enough," Jiangxia said casually. "Let's go catch the two rats. Calling that kid out of the blue might tip off the culprits. Better to let them keep going, and we'll strike when it counts."

…For dealing with two small-time sneaks hiding in an elementary school, that level of tactical care was… excessive. Normally, Vermouth might have flashed a teasing smirk with a sarcastic edge.

And she did give a smile now—using Amuro Tooru's face—but internally, she genuinely approved.

As expected of Ouzo. So meticulous, even with minor operations. Maybe that's why he could juggle both red and black so long without being exposed.

Jiangxia, of course, didn't care what she thought. He'd said what he needed to say, and now, with the two bear children in tow and an "Amuro Tooru" at his side, he turned to track down Teacher Kobayashi first.

She was the easier catch.

When she'd heard voices in the corridor earlier, she'd realized someone else was in the building. So she quietly curled up under the classroom podium, hugging her knees, hoping everyone would leave so she could resume her midnight parent-teacher rehearsal.

No movement. No sound. No threat to Conan. No killing intent drawn from Vermouth.

So she was priority one.

…

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Conan stared at his phone's now-dead line.

Going by the call they'd just had… and their supposed "tacit understanding"… Conan couldn't help raising a tired half-moon eye.

What tacit understanding? Jiangxia always worked solo, like some aloof spy detective. If he occasionally slowed down, it was just him stalling out mid-thought. Their paces had never aligned. Teamwork? Out of the question.

Still, Jiangxia's cryptic "do what you need to do" had layers. Was it permission to act freely?

And how had Jiangxia instantly guessed it was Conan on an unfamiliar number?

Clearly, Jiangxia had realized the kids were gone too long and entered the building to investigate—he must have spotted someone lurking in the shadows.

So maybe that line was code—Jiangxia giving Conan the green light to draw the culprits out, while he circled from behind?

A dozen deductions zipped through Conan's head. He quickly made a decision and slipped back into the corridor. Jiangxia knew his usual patterns. This should've been part of the plan all along.

Now only two little boys remained, creeping along the deep, dark hallway.

Just as they reached the stairs, Genta's voice trembled: "B-blood… there's blood!!"

Conan's heart skipped. Images of Ayumi and Mitsuhiko flashed through his mind.

He spun around—and saw a thick line of dark red liquid trailing down the banister.

Genta yelped and jumped away. Conan hurried closer, dipped a finger in, and then sighed in relief.

"…It's paint."

His mind buzzed with contradictions. Whoever was watching them clearly knew their location. So—why not play along?

…

Vermouth followed Jiangxia into a classroom.

Two or three meters behind, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko clung to each other in absolute silence, practically evaporating into the air.

Jiangxia gripped the door handle, lifted it slightly, and slowly slid the door open.

Even before he said anything, Vermouth's gaze snapped to the front podium. There—just barely audible—was the sound of breathing.

Someone was curled up under the podium.

…She hadn't even noticed. And yet Ouzo had walked straight here like he'd mapped it in advance.

She'd seen the same corridor, the same classroom—yet missed it completely. No wonder the organization had their eye on him.

Vermouth's mood twisted. She scanned the classroom instinctively, stepping forward to help Jiangxia corner the hidden person.

But before she could move—"Ahhh!!" a child's voice suddenly echoed down the corridor.

…Shinichi?!

Vermouth whipped around to bolt toward the sound.

But she stopped short when she caught Jiangxia's expression.

He was looking toward the corridor too—but with zero urgency, as if this had been part of the plan all along.

And sure enough, Conan's voice came echoing again, even louder:

"Help! A ghost! There's blood! It's so scary!"

Vermouth: "…"

…What was that?

She had years of acting experience under her belt—and she could tell immediately that Conan's performance was, frankly, awful.

So Jiangxia had coordinated this whole thing with just a few words on the phone?

She instantly stopped, took two casual steps, and leaned against the classroom doorway like she'd simply come to peek at the commotion.

Jiangxia silently watched her back.

He had to admit, her acting was solid. Professional even.

Hopefully, Conan would take notes—so next time, his fake screaming wouldn't sound like a kindergarten ghost play.

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

Progress: 17/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

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

Progress:3/10*