He had secretly checked out the adult anime of this world and found that quite a few works he had once been familiar with were missing. He had no idea whether it was simply the butterfly effect or whether those stories were actually taking place in this world... Anyway, enough of that topic.
However, there was one thing Jiang Hang could be certain of. If he spent the budget for mainstream anime without restraint on adult anime, then at the usual cost of around ten million yen per episode for animation production, with the system big shot acting as his financial backer, he seemed fully capable of pulling it off!
He could even go for a huge production. At worst, he could grind out a few more commissions every day, make a top-tier adult anime costing forty or fifty million yen per episode, then produce an entire series to satisfy the wild, headlong desires of otaku all over the world.
If things continued like this, he might eventually become a legendary "Father of Adult Anime," revered by countless otaku.
No, that future was far too wonderful. Just a tiny bit more, just the slightest bit more, and Jiang Hang would have shouted "Take off!" in his heart.
In the end, considering the existence of the Crab God, Jiang Hang decisively put a stop to that not-so-great idea. If he really did that, those grief-stricken girls might actually come over and stab him to death. He was still young and did not want to walk Makoto's path.
Even if he really wanted to do something like that, he would have to do it in secret. He absolutely could not let anyone find out...
Only then did Jiang Hang suddenly realize that his focus seemed to have drifted a little.
Wait, wasn't I worried about Shizuka Sakaki? Why had I suddenly started thinking about this stuff?
Jiang Hang's Dark History
Once someone became conspicuous, even if their essence was that of a slacker, all sorts of troubles would still start appearing in their life.
For example, after working hard for three days, Jiang Hang had originally planned to slack off properly for half a day. Yet while he was not paying attention, four audacious little brats ran into his detective agency.
Especially that chubby little boy who kept shouting, "Eel rice! Eel rice!" He even startled Koharu Yoshino awake after she had fallen asleep while reading a mystery novel.
That was right. The visitors were the famous four-person Detective Boys, who would become a five-person group in the near future.
With a bunch of children here, Jiang Hang definitely could not keep watching anime.
After all, he did not want the children to run up behind him while he was watching late-night anime and innocently ask, "Big brother, are you still watching cartoons?" or, "Big brother, isn't this magical girl anime something only girls watch?"
After all, Jiang Hang still remembered that when he was little, if Cardcaptor Sakura or Cat's Eye happened to be on TV and his parents were around, he had absolutely been too embarrassed to watch. At most, he would sneakily watch those shows with a red face when nobody was home.
What left the deepest impression on Jiang Hang was that one day, because his family was home, he missed the final episode of Cardcaptor Sakura. The next day, he specifically sneaked over to ask the girl sitting next to him whether she had watched the final episode and what it was about.
Then his female classmate gave him a strange look, as if saying, "You're a boy, and you watch Cardcaptor Sakura too?"
Wanting to save face, Jiang Hang had instinctively mastered the move of inventing a friend out of thin air. He told her that his nonexistent little sister had asked him to find out, and only then did he barely muddle through.
It was not until Jiang Hang grew up that he realized anime full of cute girls were what otaku loved. As for those anime about men sweating and burning with youthful passion, those were actually the hardest-hit areas for fujoshi.
These little boys probably would not learn the wonders of yuri anime for another ten years. Thinking about it, they were really pitiful.
No, wait, there was not really anything pitiful about that.
Thinking that, Jiang Hang silently sighed.
"Alright. I was planning to have barbecue today, but eel rice sounds pretty good too. Let's go out for eel rice tonight." He had said before that he would treat them to eel rice. As an adult, he could not possibly deceive children over something like that.
Unlike Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi were extremely curious about Jiang Hang's detective agency. After arriving, the two of them ran around everywhere.
"Big brother's detective agency seems much better than the detective agency at Conan's house, doesn't it?" Children truly were brutally honest.
If Kogoro Mouri heard that, that petty middle-aged uncle would probably hold a grudge against Jiang Hang again.
Conan silently observed the detective agency as well.
Just as Mitsuhiko had said, whether it was the decor or the furniture arrangement, Jiang Hang's detective agency had clearly been carefully designed.
Being able to hire such a designer, Jiang Hang must have spent quite a bit of money renovating the place.
Conan also sharply noticed that, just as Jiang Hang had said, this detective agency had indeed opened not long ago. He could tell from the dust gathering in places that were hard to clean.
Had Jiang Hang's family provided the money to open the agency, or had Jiang Hang earned it himself?
Conan pondered this inwardly when Mitsuhiko discovered Ezio's Outfit hanging off to one side.
"Whoa, is this an outfit you collect, big brother? It looks so cool."
The silver-white clothes, red cape, belt, and beak-shaped hood gave it an ancient, classical feel thanks to their exquisite craftsmanship.
"Yeah, pretty good, right? There's only one set like this in the entire world!" Naturally. This world did not have the Assassin's Creed games, so Ezio's Outfit was obviously one of a kind.
Jiang Hang did not say anything related to assassins. After all, Conan believed in Sherlock Holmes's famous saying—"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
He had even developed the classic line, "There is only one truth," from it.
Jiang Hang was genuinely afraid that if he said too much in this regard, Conan would notice something off and then use a string of deductions to figure out his entire background.
For the same reason, Jiang Hang had not told Koharu Yoshino or Shizuka Sakaki about these things either, lest Conan, that overly suspicious little brat, managed to coax something out of them.
As for the Hidden Blade, he had naturally put it away long ago. Even Koharu Yoshino and the others only knew that he had prepared a weapon for self-defense, but Jiang Hang had never let them touch it.
After the little brats had toured every corner of Jiang Hang's detective agency, and seeing that their troublemaking instincts were about to kick in, Jiang Hang hurriedly had Koharu Yoshino drive them to the best nearby restaurant that served eel rice, lest his agency suffer a disaster.
The children did not make any remarks about Jiang Hang's AE86. After all, in this world, only Jiang Hang treated the 86 as a matter of nostalgia. Conan did not pay much attention to a car either. Japan's auto industry was so developed that every model surely had its devoted fans, so he merely regarded Jiang Hang as a loyal fan of the antique AE86.
Seven people squeezed into one car was a little cramped, but it did not matter if the four children squeezed together a bit. Koharu Yoshino soon drove them to the entrance of an upscale restaurant nearby.
After a round of fussing about, Genta finally got to eat his beloved eel rice. It was even the highest-quality premium eel rice: a huge bowl brimming with delicious top-grade eel, coated in special sauce and laid over high-quality rice. Just smelling that aroma seemed enough to intoxicate the chubby boy.
Meanwhile, Conan had been observing Jiang Hang from beside him.
But... no matter how he looked at him, the guy seemed utterly ordinary... An ordinary detective should have paid special attention to everything around him, yet ever since Jiang Hang entered the restaurant, he had focused all his attention on the absurdly expensive premium eel rice. He did not seem to have noticed the surroundings at all.
He did not seem like an especially impressive detective at all. Though he was certainly more reliable than that Kogoro Mouri at Conan's home, he still seemed far below the level Conan had imagined.
Recently, Conan had heard Ran casually mention at home that Jiang Hang was exceptionally skilled at finding lost items. He could basically ask a few questions and take a few looks before helping people locate whatever they had misplaced.
Conan believed he could do that easily as well, but he still wanted to test Jiang Hang personally.
Watching Jiang Hang shovel eel rice into his mouth, his table manners no better than Genta's, Conan rubbed his forehead. Then, using the childlike act he had recently become increasingly skilled at, he widened his eyes and asked Jiang Hang, "Brother Jiang Hang, I know you're really good at deduction. I accidentally lost a pen I really like recently. Can you help me find it?"
He had already thought out how he should answer if Jiang Hang asked questions about the pen, as well as what deductive traps he would plant in his words.
A third-rate detective would naturally be misled by the traps in his wording. Only truly capable detectives could see through the essence at a glance and deduce the most likely place where it had been lost.
Hearing Conan deliberately use that childish voice, Jiang Hang's scalp tingled.
Then he looked at Conan.
You little brat, you're trying to test me, aren't you?
"Conan, what kind of pen did you lose? After we finish eating, how about I take you to buy a box of the same kind?"
For all he knew, the pen Conan mentioned might not even exist. He had no interest in playing this game with him.
To be honest, Jiang Hang was rather cautious whenever he went out with Conan. Although he appeared to be dealing with the eel rice before him, he actually activated Eagle Eye from time to time to keep an eye on what was happening in the restaurant.
He did not want to take Conan out for eel rice, only to run into another messy incident.
Become Stronger Through Spending Money
Hearing Jiang Hang speak as if humoring a child, Conan's mouth twitched slightly. He clearly had not expected Jiang Hang's first reaction to his request to be buying him a pen.
No, wouldn't that mean there was no way to test his deductive ability?
So he continued speaking in a childish voice. "Brother Jiang Hang, but the pen I lost was a special limited edition. You can't buy it anywhere anymore... Can you please help me think where I might have lost it?"
So disgusting. Watching Conan pretend to be a child in anime had seemed entertaining, but with Jiang Hang knowing Conan's true identity, it only gave him goosebumps.
Jiang Hang picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, then took out his phone.
"Little Conan, big brother is going to teach you something today. Spending money is the most important way to become stronger. As long as you have money, you can definitely find any discontinued or limited-edition product online. This is the Amazon secondhand marketplace. What did your pen look like? I'll help you look for it."
Was it really alright to tell a child something like that?
Conan grumbled inwardly, but he did not plan to give up yet. His eyes shifted, and he hurriedly shook his head in a pitiful manner.
"No, Ran gave me that pen especially. If Ran finds out I lost it, she'll be sad."
Keep bluffing. Now you're even dragging Ran into your bluffing, huh?
Thinking that, Jiang Hang's expression became serious. He reached out with the hand he had just wiped with a napkin, though it was still somewhat greasy, and rubbed Conan's head.
"If it's something that important, then there's nothing we can do."
Conan was extremely disgusted by Jiang Hang's hand, but he forced himself to endure it.
"Really? Then thank you so much, big brother—"
"Go apologize to Ran, Conan. Ran gave you that item. If you accidentally lost it, take the initiative and apologize to her. I'm sure Ran won't be sad over something like that after hearing your apology. She might even be happy that Conan has grown up."
"?"
Conan stared at Jiang Hang with a face full of question marks.
Everything he had been about to say was blocked by Jiang Hang. That pen did not exist at all. Although Ran had prepared stationery for him, those had only been ordinary pens that could be bought anywhere. If Jiang Hang dragged him to apologize to Ran, would that not expose his lie?
His expression became somewhat awkward. "But I think there might still be a chance to find the pen. Maybe I just forgot where I put it..."
"Then think carefully. I believe in you. You can definitely find that pen again with your own ability. If you still can't find it, then take the initiative and apologize to Ran."
At that moment, the other children of the Detective Boys also heard Jiang Hang and Conan talking.
"Conan, did you lose something? Do you want us to help you look for it?" kind-hearted Ayumi asked Conan.
Seeing that all these little brats were about to get involved, Conan felt that things were going badly.
"No, no need. I just thought about it carefully and remembered a few places where I might have left it. I'll look after I get home and see if I can find it. If I really can't, I'll apologize to Ran."
He hurriedly changed the subject.
"Ah, right, Ayumi. Didn't you say we were going on a haunted house adventure? After we finish the eel rice, how about we go check out that haunted house you mentioned?"
"A haunted house after eating eel rice?" Genta, whose entire face was nearly buried in his bowl of eel rice, immediately perked up. "Sure, sure! I just ate eel rice, so now I'm full of energy. Let's all go on a haunted house adventure later!"
"A haunted house...?" Jiang Hang was somewhat curious. Was this another suicidal adventure by the Detective Boys?
Ayumi also looked at Jiang Hang and explained.
It was not an amusement park haunted house. A few nights ago, Ayumi had passed by a house that had been unoccupied for a long time and seen strange ghostly flames inside. She had asked her parents about it and learned that someone had died in that house five years ago, after which it had been abandoned.
There were even rumors that terrifying sounds could be heard in the haunted house in the middle of the night.
They had originally planned to explore it today, but Conan suddenly brought up the eel rice at Jiang Hang's place. Between eel rice and the haunted house, they had ultimately chosen the delicious eel rice.
Conan had originally intended to let the haunted house matter pass like that, but Jiang Hang had suddenly thrown him into a fluster, and he instinctively brought up the haunted house again.
It could not be helped, but with an adult present, he would definitely stop them, right? Conan was quite satisfied with his quick thinking.
"If I brought you here to eat eel rice, then your parents should know you're with me, right? If I let you go to a haunted house and something happens, that would be my responsibility..." Jiang Hang stroked his chin and said this.
Koharu Yoshino and Shizuka Sakaki were both adults. They might have enjoyed courting death when they were younger, but they could not do that anymore. Koharu Yoshino tried to make her voice as gentle as possible.
A murder case from five years ago, a haunted house, screams at night—it sounded terrifying, alright? She had only witnessed a murder case a few days ago and was already exhausted. She had no desire at all to accompany a group of children to explore a murder house.
"After we finish eating, big sister can take you to the park. When it gets dark, I'll drive you home. As for haunted houses, you can go another time. How does that sound?"
Really, why would a group of children want to explore a place where they knew someone had died? Were children these days all so bold?
Just as Koharu Yoshino was thinking that Jiang Hang had finally made a correct decision this time, Jiang Hang suddenly changed his mind.
"Still, I'm rather interested in that murder case from five years ago. Ayumi, do you know who the killer was?"
"Um... I'm not really sure. It seemed like they were never caught..." Ayumi said hesitantly.
Upon hearing that, Jiang Hang felt that it was basically settled.
The killer in a murder case from five years ago had not been caught. He did not know why, even though it had happened in Beika City and must have caused a huge stir at the time, Conan, who was Shinichi Kudo, had not solved the case over the past five years.
After thinking about it, Jiang Hang could only come up with four words: the plot demanded it. Perhaps the timing had not been right back then. Although Shinichi Kudo had visited the place, he had not found any special clues, so he gradually forgot about the case.
In short, the Detective Boys doing their usual reckless things, combined with the place they were recklessly heading to having been the scene of a case, basically meant that a case was waiting for Conan.
Of course, Jiang Hang now had to be added to that equation.
"Then let's go take a look at that haunted house. I'm pretty interested in haunted houses, but when the time comes, none of you are allowed to run around," Jiang Hang decided on the spot.
Messing With Conan's Head
The moment they heard about the haunted house adventure, the two adult women, Koharu Yoshino and Shizuka Sakaki, immediately chickened out.
Jiang Hang did not force them. He said that after they finished exploring the haunted house, he could simply call a taxi and send the children home.
Of course, according to Jiang Hang's estimate, if things developed normally, he would not need to call a taxi. When the time came, he could just have Inspector Megure send them home.
Still, the two women were not timid to that extent. They could skip the haunted house, but they could wait for Jiang Hang and the others to finish exploring at a cafe or somewhere near the end of the street.
Koharu Yoshino had even come up with a great excuse for their cowardice—providing off-site support. Though that support would not be of the slightest use to Jiang Hang.
Looking at Conan, who was especially depressed, Jiang Hang's mood brightened as well.
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