Black Ghost

Yoshinoya.

Night had quietly fallen, and Yoshino Chie was busy preparing dinner.

She heard that the herbal soup Fujino gave her could eliminate toxins from the body... so she brewed one herself.

However, at the same time, she was thinking about the possibility of poison being put in the air conditioner.

"I'm back."

Just then, a male voice came from the entrance hall.

"You're back, Akio. You must be tired after a long day at work."

When her husband returned, Yoshino Chie greeted him as usual.

After a refined and somewhat lavish dinner was prepared, the two sat down at the table to eat, as usual.

"What happened?"

Yoshino Akio noticed his wife's strange expression and asked her curiously.

However, at the same time, he was becoming increasingly impatient.

After so many years of marriage, he found this gossipy woman increasingly unpleasant to look at.

"No, it's just that someone I know gave me a prescription for traditional Chinese medicine. I don't know if it will work."

When her husband asked her what had happened during the day, Yoshino Chie intended to tell him.

But after thinking about it, Yoshino Chie still didn't say it.

It's best not to talk about poisoning.

Her husband was already exhausted; if he found out he had been poisoned, he would be very worried.

"Traditional Chinese medicine?"

Yoshino Akio frowned upon hearing this.

I never imagined my wife would have friends who practice traditional Chinese medicine...

His poisoning has not yet been discovered, but his wife has already shown symptoms.

I estimate that he will have an accident while driving soon.

Then he can receive a large sum of insurance money...

If that traditional Chinese medicine prescription really works, then everything he did would have been in vain.

Thinking of this, Yoshino Akio said with some concern, "It's better not to drink these Hijikata remedies indiscriminately. It would be a loss if you caused health problems."

Chie didn't find anything wrong with what Yoshino Akio said, "But my friend..."

"If even Western medicine can't diagnose your illness, what use is traditional Chinese medicine?"

Yoshino Akio's tone suddenly rose a few notches, realizing that his words might be a bit inappropriate, he changed his tone and continued, "If you ask me, it's because you're under too much pressure. You should take a couple of days off sometime."

Yoshino Chie was taken aback by her husband's attitude.

Then she shook her head, somewhat helplessly declining the vacation.

After all, the family's financial situation is not good. If she takes two days off, then all the pressure will definitely fall on her husband.

This is something she doesn't want to see.

Moreover, the poisoning issue can be resolved by tomorrow morning.

Let's just bear with it.

The next morning, before dawn, Fujino took Conan, Ran, and Sonoko to Chie's house in the neighboring Haido Town.

Meanwhile, Sato Miwako, who was in charge of the case, also began to secretly plan, waiting for the criminal to appear before making an immediate arrest.

Inside Yoshinoya.

Chie was wearing a red shirt and a red pencil skirt, with black stockings around her feet, and was sitting at the dressing table getting ready.

"I have a client meeting at work later, so I'll leave breakfast to you."

Yoshino Akio, dressed casually, said, "I'm going for a walk now."

Yoshino Chie turned around. "How about bacon and eggs for breakfast?"

"Hmm, I'll be starving when I get back from my walk later... Remember to prepare plenty for me."

With that, Yoshino Akio walked out of the bedroom and closed the door.

However, as soon as he closed the door, a cunning, almost twisted, evil smile appeared on his face.

That gossipy woman is so naive; she didn't even realize he had poisoned her...

He had been planning this project ever since he moved here.

First, take out a huge insurance policy worth 100 million yen, then find her a job in Shizuoka...

After that, as long as pesticides are used to cause her to have an accident on the road, even if an investigation is conducted, it will only be considered a normal traffic accident. In this way, the 100 million yen insurance can be obtained.

Thinking this, he took out his car keys, went to his front door, unlocked the red car, and then looked around.

Seeing that no one was around, he breathed a sigh of relief, then took out the diluted pesticide he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and sprayed it twice into the car's air conditioning system.

He felt unusually relaxed as he got out of the car.

After putting away the pesticides and locking the car door, I glanced up at the building behind me. Not seeing the scoundrel, I put my hands in my pockets and prepared to go for a walk.

"Mr. Yoshino, are you in a good mood?"

Fujino watched everything unfold, then slowly stepped forward and looked at Yoshino Akio, asking in a deep voice.

"Ah?"

Yoshino Akio was clearly taken aback upon hearing this.

"Mr. Yoshino..."

Ran, wearing a dark blue shirt and vest, plus white shorts, placed her hands in front of her and looked at Yoshino Akio with a somewhat sad expression. "What's that in your pocket?"

Did everyone see what just happened?!

Yoshino Akio felt a sense of foreboding.

However, he quickly calmed down, then took out a bottle of pesticide from his pocket and laughed, "It's just a simple air freshener, it can protect Chie from mold and viruses."

"Stop making excuses!"

Sonoko, wearing a pale yellow dress, clenched her fist, looking somewhat angry. "That stuff in your jar must be diluted pesticide!"

"What..."

Yoshino Akio was taken aback.

"You've been poisoning Chie for about a month now, and you even introduced her to a high-paying job in Shizuoka, hoping to cause an accident on her way to school... so you could get a large insurance payout..."

Fujino looked at Yoshino Akio with icy eyes. "You know that the virtuous Chie will definitely agree to the job... Even if she notices the poisoning, she won't think it was you in such an obvious situation. And once she finds out, she will definitely tell you so you can get away unscathed... Am I right, Mr. Criminal?"

"You bastard..."

Yoshino Akio clenched his teeth and stared coldly at Fujino.

Now that his poisoning has been exposed, even his motives and methods have been revealed.

Clearly, he has been exposed...

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Why are you interrupting my good time?! I was about to succeed!

With his rational mind snapped, Yoshino Akio charged fiercely toward Fujino.

As an adult who exercises every day, he was confident that he could subdue a group of one man, two women, and an elementary school student.

"So... why is it that everyone else just kneels down and admits their mistake, but I have to follow up with the step of taking down the thug on the spot..."

Fujino sighed silently, his gaze flickering slightly as he caught the other's movement in an instant, before unleashing a whip kick.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Yoshino Akio was kicked away.

Sonoko, standing to the side like a trainer, shouted, "Ran, quickly teach him a lesson with karate!"

"Ha!"

Distressed, Ran followed suit, punching him hard in the stomach several times.

"Puff!"

Ran's strength in her angry state was undeniable, and Yoshino Akio was so badly hit that he spat out a mouthful of bitter water.

Before he could react, Fujino followed closely behind, slamming him to the ground with a sweeping leg kick, then pressing down on his shoulder and kneeling on the back of his neck.

"Well done, Fujino!"

At that moment, Sato Miwako drove over in her car, got out, and immediately placed handcuffs on Yoshino Akio's hands.

"But I really didn't expect that this guy would actually kill his wife for 100 million yen in insurance money..."

Sato Miwako pulled Yoshino Akio up, and sighed as if with some emotion.

"Officer Sato..."

Fujino glanced at the small house next to him.

"Hmm..."

At this moment, Sato Miwako noticed that Chie had already come out.

"Akio..."

As she gazed at her handcuffed husband, tears streamed down Chie's cheeks.

Although she couldn't believe it, the facts were right in front of her.

She simply couldn't understand what she had done wrong.

Ran turned around and walked towards Chie, who was leaning against a pillar by the door, sobbing. She wanted to say something, "Miss Chie..."

"It's nothing..."

Chie wiped away her tears, glanced at Yoshino Akio being escorted into the police car, and sobbed, "Just let me have some peace and quiet."

Ran felt a mix of emotions. Although she had long suspected that Qianhui's husband was planning to kill his wife for insurance money, the confirmation still made her feel uneasy...

Suddenly, Chie's body went limp, Ran reacted quickly and caught her, saying, "Miss Chie!"

Sonoko leaned closer, a little worried. "What's wrong with her?"

Ran shook her head. "I don't know either..."

Fujino checked her pulse. "She fainted because of excessive grief, plus the pesticide residue in her body which had already weakened her. She's fine."

When Chie woke up, it was already noon.

After Fujino and the others finished watching the interrogation and taking statements at the Metropolitan Police Department, they went to visit her.

Yoshino Akio's motive for murder was precisely that 100 million yen.

The purpose of the 100 million yen was to buy a car and to cover the shortfall from the money he had stolen from the insurance company to gamble.

After listening, Chie remained silent for a long time, but ultimately did not say anything.

In fact, Fujino felt that no one else could come up with such a reason.

He abandoned his virtuous wife to become a gambling addict.

No, at least gambling addicts have the courage to go to the rooftop.

They're not even as good as dogs.

"Chie-nee..."

Ran comforted her, "Don't be too sad..."

"No... I just feel like something's off."

Chie sighed, "To be honest, I really don't know what to do next. But thank you so much, if it weren't for you, I might already be..."

Don't think about it too much.

Fujino interrupted her, saying, "No matter what, you still have to live your life."

"Yes, Chie-nee, you must cheer up!"

Sonoko smiled and nodded, "Even without that guy, you'll definitely be fine on your own."

"Phew... Yes, my life goes on."

Taking a deep breath, Chie nodded, a rare smile appearing on her lips, "Anyway, thank you all this time. Although it's a little hard to accept, I'll get over it quickly, but I'll thank you properly another time."

"Then it's a deal!"

Sonoko, being rather lively, joked, "You must treat us to a big meal sometime!"

Seeing that Chie's emotions were relatively stable, no one said anything more and could only let her be alone for a while to slowly emerge from the shadows.

As soon as Fujino got home, a system notification sounded in his ears:

[Host has completed: (The murder case design) has been completed. System reward: One million yen and fifty Detective Reputation have been issued.]

Current balance: 255.37 million yen

Current Reputation: 0-2000

[Congratulations, host, your Detective Level Up! Your current detective level is: Intermediate Five-Star; you currently have 1 detective skill point to allocate.]

[The next upgrade will break through the Detective Profession level to Advanced. Note: The System Detective Profession will be upgraded, which will cost 20 million yen. Please prepare the required amount for the upgrade.]

"As expected, the next level is advanced..."

Fujino stared at the system notification in front of him and muttered, "Advancing in the detective profession should be similar to breaking through... but 20 million yen is really expensive."

But then I thought, if a breakthrough of a few million can have such a high effect, then what kind of effect would a breakthrough in the detective profession have?

Fujino began to feel a sense of anticipation.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he turned his gaze to the detective profession interface.

His current Detective Time are still in a rudimentary stage, so they aren't very useful to him.

Currently, the skills that are most useful to him and that he can increase his stats on are Detective Enhancement and Detective Intuition. Detective Intuition improves his perception and reaction speed, which he doesn't lack for the time being. Detective Enhancement has already reached 350% enhancement, which is enough for now...

After thinking for a moment, he added the points he had gained to the Detective Enhancement time.

[Detective Enhancement time has been increased to: Beginner Four-Star]

[The Detective Enhancement time effect has been increased; the current enhancement time is 16 minutes.]

After adding the points, Fujino took out Fortune Stick from his Pocket Dimension.

"Phew... I wonder how my luck will be today."

Fujino looked at the Fortune Stick and murmured something.

Although Fortune Stick are not very scientific, they are still quite effective for predicting fortunes.

I didn't use Lucky Coin in the last lottery, and I also tried to predict my luck with Fortune Stick, so it all went wrong.

Looks like I'll have to resort to some unconventional methods before starting the lottery...

Thinking it over, Fujino tossed the Lucky Coin into the air, stacked the buff, and then shook the Fortune Stick.

"Crack!"

A wooden skewer flew out of the small wooden bucket and hit the floor with a crisp sound.

Fujino bent down upon hearing the sound, picked up the wooden stick, and read: [Great fortune! Today is auspicious for all things]

"Hmm, does this mean I'm likely to draw something good?"

Fujino murmured something, put away the Fortune Stick, and then opened the system's Profession Ball lottery interface to activate the lottery function.

[8.9 million yen has already been consumed for the host]

Current balance: 246.47 million yen

As the system notification sounded, the items drawn also appeared on the screen in front of Fujino: [Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Purple Job Card (Civil Engineering) Black Ghost (Gold)...]

"A profession, and a golden item?"

Fujino ignored everything else that was useless, his gaze drawn to the professions and items displayed on the screen.

Item Name: Black Ghost

Darkness lurks beneath the light, wandering... Every shadow is a substitute for 'humanity'.

Form: The host's shadow

Effect:

Black Ghost: (The host can separate their shadow from themselves and move freely {lasts for one hour; cooldown is five minutes})

Light and Darkness: (The shadow inherits all of the host's abilities without any side effects)

Note: (A shadow is still a shadow. Although it has a physical form, it appears as a completely black shadow. Never let it suddenly appear in the dark, or you risk scaring someone to death.)