News About Seiji Asou / Do All You Famous Detectives Like Solving Riddles?

"Jiang Hang, I know about those detectives. That Tokiyo Senma is said to be a remarkable person who can solve a case simply by sitting in a chair and listening to the client describe the case. That gourmet detective can find the culprit just by having a meal. Ikumi Soda is a forensic pathologist who has dissected thousands of corpses, and Harufumi Mogi is said to frequently clash with Mafia in the United States, even getting into gunfights. These are all incredibly skilled detectives who have been invited here. It seems like this case is definitely not simple!"

Although Koharu Yoshino didn't know much about Saguru Hakuba, with a father who Superintendent General in the Japan police force, Saguru Hakuba could be considered one of the elite at the top of the Japan social ladder.

Listening to Koharu Yoshino's explanation, Jiang Hang had a basic impression of the detectives. He hoped that when they met tonight, these famous detectives wouldn't start by playing guessing games with him, otherwise he, the "pseudo-famous detective," wouldn't be able to keep up the act.

The lounge of the mansion is very large, and it is obvious that it has been renovated by the owner behind the mansion. Now there is not only a pool table, but also a special card and chess room. Jiang Hang even spotted a mahjong table placed in a corner of the lounge at a glance.

It's a pity that the detectives who came here all went to investigate other parts of this mansion. It seems they won't be coming back anytime soon. Otherwise, I could have played a few rounds of mahjong with them to improve our relationship.

Finding a comfortable spot, Jiang Hang took out a light novel from his backpack and started reading.

However, Koharu Yoshino looked at Jiang Hang with a helpless expression and pulled up a chair to sit next to him. "Jiang Hang, why don't we go and investigate this mansion? I have a feeling that something is off about it."

Jiang Hang glanced at the chair that Koharu Yoshino was sitting in, and then reminded her, "There is blood on the legs of the chair you are sitting in."

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's words, Koharu Yoshino practically jumped up from her chair.

She quickly crouched down to examine the chair she had just sat on, and sure enough, she saw several clumps of blood that had turned black due to age under the chair legs.

After confirming that it wasn't paint but real blood, Koharu Yoshino couldn't help but gasp.

She instinctively grabbed Jiang Hang's arm. "Jiang Hang, there can't really be vampires in this world, right?"

Regarding the ominous rumors surrounding the Twilight Mansion, the fact that the owner of the house has never actually appeared, and the sudden appearance of bloodstains, Koharu Yoshino couldn't help but start thinking about vampires.

"I noticed bloodstains everywhere in this house from the moment I entered. There's no need to be nervous; those are traces left from decades ago," Jiang Hang comforted Koharu Yoshino. "If you're really scared, it's still early. I'll take you to a nearby town for the night, and I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

Now that she's already here, Koharu Yoshino doesn't want to be asked about her trip by Shizuka Sakaki when she gets back. She'll have no choice but to tell her that she hid in a nearby town because she was afraid of the bloodstains left from decades ago.

"It's not that I'm scared, I just feel a little uneasy. I'd better be careful myself..." Koharu Yoshino waved to Jiang Hang, and just then, another female voice came from the door of the lounge.

"Your chair is in relatively good condition now. I just checked the mansion, and there are traces of blood from the main entrance to the walls of some bedrooms, including the floors. Because so much time has passed, I can't determine how long ago the blood was left from the remaining traces."

"But preliminary estimates suggest that more than ten people died in this annex back then."

Following the sound of the voice, Jiang Hang saw a mature woman wearing a white coat.

The other person walked directly to Jiang Hang's side and extended their hand to him.

"I've heard your Your Name from Asai before, and now I'm finally meeting you. I'm Ikumi Soda."

Chapter 275: Chapter 273: News of Seiji Aso

Hearing a somewhat unfamiliar name from Ikumi Soda, Jiang Hang, who had stood up to shake hands with her, was momentarily stunned, not immediately realizing who this "Asai" was.

It took him a while to realize that the other person must be Seiji Aso, whom he hadn't seen for a long time since returning from Moon Shadow Island.

After being adopted, Seiji Aso took his adoptive parents' surname and changed his name to Narumi Asai. Although Jiang Hang helped him capture the murderers who framed his parents on Moon Shadow Island, Seiji Aso did not change his name back, but continued to use the name Narumi Asai.

He probably did this so that he could say goodbye to those painful memories he didn't want to recall, since the Aso family on Moon Shadow Island had been completely wiped out in the fire twelve years ago.

I never expected that this forensic doctor would know Narumi Asai.

"Do you know Narumi Asai?" After a brief handshake, Jiang Hang asked the other party with some interest.

"When we were in the Todai Medical School, I was three years ahead of him, so I guess you could say I was his senior," Ikumi Soda shook her head gently. "As for knowing each other, it's not often these days that someone who graduates from the University of Tokyo ends up becoming a forensic pathologist."

"After all, I worked as a forensic pathologist for several years before, and now that I've switched to being a detective, I know quite a few people. So it was he who took the initiative to contact me, wanting to find a suitable place to intern for a while before becoming a full-fledged forensic pathologist. At that time, I asked him why he wanted to become a forensic pathologist, and only then did I learn about his past from him, and also that you were the one who solved the Moon Shadow Island incident two months ago."

At this point, Ikumi Soda sighed slightly, unsure whether she was lamenting Narumi Asai's past or lamenting that her junior hadn't thought of asking her, a detective, for help.

As mentioned before, there are currently fewer than 200 forensic pathologists in the entire country of Japan. Most of the top students who graduate from the prestigious Todai Medical School go on to work in various hospitals in Japan and have very bright futures. Even if they can't make it in a big hospital, they can still go to a second-rate hospital in a remote area and their salaries will be far higher than those of forensic pathologists.

Over the years, the number of top graduates from the Todai Medical School who ultimately choose to become forensic pathologists can be counted on one hand.

At this moment, Ikumi Soda was sizing up Jiang Hang, who was standing in front of her.

He was quite pleasing to the eye, looking to be in his early twenties. His clothes were also quite casual, making him seem less like a detective invited to a party and more like an ordinary college student who had accidentally wandered into this place while traveling during a holiday.

If this were a horror movie, someone like Jiang Hang would probably be killed off within the first half hour.

In addition, Jiang Hang was holding a light novel with a rather unusual cover. He glanced at it and could only see the title "Reincarnated Silver Wolf" on the cover. Judging from the cover, it was a harem novel that sold fanservice.

At least from his appearance, Jiang Hang doesn't look like the Eagle-Eyed Detective who has repeatedly helped the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department solve cases and whose popularity has recently soared. Instead, he's just a typical otaku in Japan.

"I see," Jiang Hang naturally noticed that Ikumi Soda was looking at him. He also noticed that the cover of the light novel in his hand seemed a little strange, so he naturally put it back into his backpack and then coughed lightly.

"I didn't expect Asai to tell you these things," Jiang Hang skillfully changed the subject. "Speaking of which, how has Asai been lately? Has he encountered any trouble since switching to forensic medicine?"

"I recommended him to a newly established research institute. I don't quite remember the full name, but it's usually abbreviated as UDI. The director there is a retired official from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, so he shouldn't encounter any problems in the next few years," Ikumi Soda briefly explained where Narumi Asai was currently working.

"However, it's not easy to stick with forensic work. I worked as a forensic pathologist for five years before I felt I couldn't continue, so I left to start my own business as a detective,"

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is the main department in Japan responsible for medical care, health and social security. With an official from there serving as the director, it seems that Narumi Asai doesn't need to worry about his job.

Upon hearing the name of the research institute, Jiang Hang couldn't help but blink. Why did UDI sound so familiar? Had he dealt with this organization before?

Jiang Hang didn't think too much about who UDI was; his attention was still focused on Ikumi Soda in front of him.

Beside him, Koharu Yoshino asked him with some curiosity why he had resigned.

Ikumi Soda's expression changed slightly, and Jiang Hang, who had been observing her expression, quickly added, "My assistant was just asking casually. It's okay if she doesn't want to say."

"It's not that it's inconvenient. As I just said, it's not easy to stick with the forensic profession," she said, her gaze fixed on Koharu Yoshino. "As a woman, dealing with corpses all day long, you'll end up with an indelible smell on yourself. And when you tell people about your profession, you'll be looked at with strange eyes. You probably don't want to experience that, do you?"

When Koharu Yoshino heard that the other person had to face those rotting corpses all day long and had to wash for a long time after each work session to get rid of the smell, she said that she could completely understand why Ikumi Soda resigned and did not want to ask any further questions.

Jiang Hang could naturally sense that the forensic detective wasn't telling the whole truth, and that there were probably other reasons why she resigned to become a detective. However, he certainly wouldn't press her for details at this point. After all, he and Ikumi Soda had only just met and weren't even friends yet, so he shouldn't worry about her.

After finishing the topic of forensic medicine, Koharu Yoshino brought up the topic of the Western-style mansion they were currently in.

"Um, Miss Gunda, you just said there are a lot of bloodstains left from back then in this mansion. Have you found anything out about it?"

Ikumi Soda shrugged. "The information we have now is limited, so I can't deduce any further. But as long as we wait until tonight, and the person who extended the invitation to us shows up, we'll probably find out what happened in this mansion."

Chapter 276: Chapter 274: Do all you famous detectives like solving riddles?

Despite her mature and cool demeanor, Ikumi Soda is actually quite straightforward once you get to know her. Surprisingly, she and Koharu Yoshino get along very well, and the two women quickly hit it off.

Seeing the two of them chatting happily, Jiang Hang couldn't help but worry that Ikumi Soda might poach the assistant he had worked so hard to cultivate.

A few minutes later, with a cry of an eagle, a small eagle flew in directly from the door of the lounge.

It was clear that the eagle was in a bad mood. After flying into the lounge, it started causing a ruckus, flapping its wings from the pool table to the mahjong table. Even Koharu Yoshino was startled and quickly held her backpack in front of her, afraid that the raging eagle might suddenly swoop down and hurt them.

"Jiang Hang, what's going on with this eagle? You need to take care of it quickly!"

Jiang Hang's gaze lingered on the eagle that kept making a ruckus.

Its feathers are very glossy and beautiful; it's likely that someone often grooms them.

Although this eagle was much smaller than Altaïr, whose wingspan was larger than Altair's, it was still very spirited. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that this eagle had been carefully trained and raised.

Jiang Hang was somewhat surprised. His Altair was now too big; a small car like the 86 couldn't fit it at all. Plus, Tokyo was quite far from here, so Jiang Hang ultimately didn't bring Altair over.

I never expected to encounter another person's tamed eagle here.

Seeing the eagle still fidgeting around in the lounge, Jiang Hang knew that the eagle was probably agitated by the smell of blood permeating the Twilight Mansion. Simply put, the eagle, which had been carefully trained and raised, was hungry and couldn't control itself when it smelled blood.

Looking at the eagle, Jiang Hang activated the Shared Eagle Vision.

After acquiring the Shared Eagle Vision ability, Jiang Hang had only used it on his Altair. However, after the connection distance with Altair exceeded one kilometer, Jiang Hang realized that the Shared Eagle Vision probably could not only be used on Altair.

Besides Altair, other flying animals, including crows, can use the Shared Eagle Vision after training.

However, the effect on other animals wasn't as ideal, since Jiang Hang didn't have time to slowly build a bond and understanding with them. But compared to sharing a perspective, what's more important is that through this spiritual connection, Jiang Hang is more likely to gain the animals' favor.

In a sense, this can also be considered an ability to facilitate the domestication of animals.

Now, after Jiang Hang activated his Shared Eagle Vision on the unknown eagle, a strange consciousness immediately connected with him.

The eagle, which had been somewhat agitated, immediately stopped its thrashing and stood on the mahjong table to the side, looking around with its Eagle Eye. Finally, its gaze met Jiang Hang's.

The man and the bird stared at each other. Not only did the eagle stare wide-eyed at Jiang Hang, but Jiang Hang's eyes were also fixed on him without blinking, and his gaze began to sharpen.

He knew that if he blinked first, the connection would fail. If he continued, the connection would be successful once the eagle's consciousness began to accept him.

However, this connection can only be described as a preliminary success. Just as Jiang Hang felt that the eagle's consciousness had begun to accept him, and that he might be able to try Shared Eagle Vision at close range, a man's voice came from the door of the lounge.

"Watson, come back."

Upon hearing the call, the eagle blinked instantly, then flapped its wings and flew towards the door of the lounge. The connection that Jiang Hang had just begun to establish was immediately severed.

Jiang Hang didn't care. The eagle originally belonged to someone else. He had just seen that the eagle had frightened Koharu Yoshino, so he wanted to quiet it down and also try to see if he could use the Shared Eagle Vision on other eagles.

He already has Altair, there's no need for him to go and steal another eagle from someone else.

He rubbed his eyes, which hadn't blinked for several minutes and were slightly sore, Jiang Hang looked towards the door of the lounge.

Standing there was a young man with brown hair, about sixteen or seventeen years old, while the eagle named Watson perched obediently on his arm.

The young man fed it a piece of raw meat, then looked somewhat embarrassed at the people in the lounge.

"Excuse me, I just went to the car to get some raw meat for Watson, and I didn't expect it to run here. I hope it didn't hurt you."

His gaze swept over Ikumi Soda and Koharu Yoshino before settling on Jiang Hang.

Jiang Hang could sense that the boy, whose hair color was the same as Miyano Shiho's and whose face even seemed to resemble her by two or three points, seemed to have a strong competitive spirit towards him.

The young man took a few steps closer, stood in front of Jiang Hang, and extended his hand. "This is our first meeting. I am Saguru Hakuba. As expected, the person who invited you also invited you."

He emphasized the words "the person who invited me" with particular emphasis.

Jiang Hang didn't actually know Saguru Hakuba before, but when the other party mentioned who invited him, Jiang Hang roughly guessed that this person was probably a detective from the Kaito Kid's film set. This would probably explain why the boy he met for the first time was so competitive with him.

They just want to catch Kaito Kid before he does.

Thinking this, Jiang Hang politely shook the other person's hand, while muttering to himself: Sorry, you definitely won't be able to catch him until I've squeezed every last drop of value out of that guy Kidd.

Meanwhile, Ikumi Soda smiled slightly and said, "It seems that person is indeed quite confident. Both Hakuba and Jiang Hang have tried to stop him before. This time, he called both of you over at the same time, along with several other famous detectives. I wonder what he's planning."

Listening to the way these guys spoke, Jiang Hang couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Do these so-called famous detectives not know how to speak properly? Conan, Saguru Hakuba, and Ikumi Soda all know that the person who sent the invitation is at least nominally "Kaito Kid," but they deliberately avoid mentioning the other person's name during their conversations, as if they were playing a guessing game.

Chapter 277: Chapter 275: Mahjong with Blood as the Cheating Stone

As he spoke, Saguru Hakuba glanced at the decorations inside the lounge, showing considerable interest in these decades-old furnishings.

"At first, I wondered whether I should come, since I wasn't really interested in this invitation. But after investigating the Twilight Mansion, I think it's worth coming," Saguru Hakuba remarked.

"I never imagined that forty years later, I would be able to personally come to this tragic scene that had been hidden for so many years and was unknown to anyone."

Ikumi Soda's gaze also fell on Saguru Hakuba and the eagle in his hand that had become quiet after eating.

"It seems you already knew about what happened in this mansion before you came here. No wonder you're the son of the Superintendent General, your intelligence network is really impressive. I searched this mansion for so long before I found any clues."

"After all, this place is not so simple. We should definitely do some research before coming here." Saguru Hakuba replied to Ikumi Soda without any concern.

A group of famous detectives gathered together, and it seems they really can't talk properly anymore.

It seems that everyone knows something special about this gathering. When Saguru Hakuba speaks, he seems to be implying that the person who invited them here is not the real Kaito Kid, and that they all know about what happened in this mansion in the past. Ikumi Soda should have also made some discoveries when searching this mansion, but they always keep these things to themselves when they talk about them.

It seems that these famous detectives not only believed they could solve the case on their own, but also wanted to test the other detectives to see if they were qualified to "compete with them."

Jiang Hang, on the other hand, watched the two famous detectives testing each other with a very straightforward attitude, and did not intend to interrupt.

Until Ikumi Soda suddenly pulled Jiang Hang into the battlefield between the two famous detectives.

"Mr. Jiang, I know you are known as the Eagle-Eyed Detective, able to spot clues that many others miss during crime scenes. So, what are your thoughts on this gathering?"

After she said those words, Saguru Hakuba also looked at Jiang Hang, seemingly wanting to know why Jiang Hang, a detective who had only been in the business for two or three months, had suddenly become the nemesis of Kaito Kid.

Jiang Hang only stopped Kaito Kid's operation once. In fact, he was the one who stopped Kaito Kid first. Half a year ago, after he returned to Japan from England, he stopped Kaito Kid's operation. Although Kaito Kid won back later, it was a win-lose situation. How could the title of Kaito Kid's nemesis be given to Jiang Hang, who has not even fought Kaito Kid a second time?

Sensing the gazes of the two detectives, Jiang Hang, who had only intended to watch the show, had no choice but to step forward and demonstrate his abilities.

He stretched out his hand and casually pointed around the lounge. "There's a hidden camera installed there, and a listening device under that pool table. Besides that, I've noticed no fewer than ten cameras along the way from when we entered this mansion to here. So I suspect that the person who invited us here probably won't show up on their own, but will only be observing our actions from the shadows."

After Jiang Hang finished speaking, neither Saguru Hakuba nor Ikumi Soda showed any surprise. It was clear that they had probably guessed what was going on, but without the tools, they couldn't spot the camera's location at a glance like Jiang Hang could.

However, the skill Jiang Hang demonstrated was enough to deal with the detectives' probing.

After Jiang Hang showed off his skills, the two detectives chatted briefly before going their separate ways to do their own things.

Even knowing that a listening device had been installed under the pool table, Saguru Hakuba still invited Jiang Hang to play pool with him.

"I'm not very good at billiards, but if you really want to play, I can play mahjong with you." Jiang Hang pointed to the mahjong table not far away, then looked at the door of the lounge. "And it just so happens that someone who can play mahjong with us has come over."

Kogoro Mouri and his group appeared at the door of the lounge, followed by two other famous detectives.

"Uncle Mori, I've been waiting for you for ages! Would you like to come and play mahjong with us?" Jiang Hang invited Kogoro Mouri was standing at the door of the lounge, with a smile on his face.