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The Ghost Infant tugged at the kidnapper's Killing Intent, diligently rolling it into a small ball.

Jiang Xia checked the Ghost Infant's progress, then discovered in surprise that a small portion of Killing Intent on the kidnapper still hadn't loosened—it seemed to have just emerged, aimed at him.

So Jiang Xia swung the Ball Bat and continued pounding the kidnapper.

At first, the lackeys at the warehouse entrance had been curious about what Jiang Xia meant by "Dragon Saves Princess."

But after looking around the warehouse, they found that aside from their boss, there were also [a little boy with his head smashed bloody ×1] [a little girl tied up tightly ×1] [a dying dog ×1] [a mean-looking man currently being beaten up by their boss ×1].

...They were all people from Conan World.

Looking at those elements, then thinking of how an Abandoned Warehouse was standard kidnapping fare, they immediately guessed what had happened before.

The lackeys scorned the kidnapper for bullying children, rolling up their sleeves as they prepared to swarm him.

But when they saw Jiang Xia standing beside the kidnapper, who couldn't even get back up, happily smacking him over and over with the bat, they hesitated again.

...They couldn't spoil their boss's fun.

The little girl nearby was already dumbfounded.

At first, she had been watching the kidnapper roll around everywhere from the beating.

Then her gaze accidentally drifted upward, and when she saw Jiang Xia's face, she froze.

A little farther away, Conan slowly climbed up from the ground.

The kidnapper's blow had left him dizzy.

When he came to and saw the miserable kidnapper in front of him, looking as though he might be beaten to death at any second, he was instantly alarmed.

After recovering his senses, Conan hurried to Jiang Xia's side, wanting to stop him.

But when he got close, he remembered that he wasn't tall enough right now. He couldn't even reach Jiang Xia's arm.

So he could only risk his life by hugging Jiang Xia's leg, trying to drag him back. "Stop hitting him! If you keep going, it'll be a crime!"

Jiang Xia's raised hand paused slightly as he looked down at him.

Taking Advantage of the Chaos, the kidnapper crawled farther away.

Conan let out a breath of relief.

However, before he could fully relax, Jiang Xia walked without hindrance toward the kidnapper, who was trying to get up, and raised his hand for another whack, like he was playing Whac-A-Mole.

"@#%*..."

The kidnapper desperately spat out a curse and rolled back onto the ground.

Throughout it all, Conan had been completely useless.

It was as though what hung from Jiang Xia's leg wasn't a person, but a weightless Feather Pendant.

Conan: "..."

Only after losing it could one understand the preciousness of body weight.

...He would never forgive those two Men in Black bastards who had turned him into an Elementary School Student!

Jiang Xia wasn't worried about beating the man to death.

Conan World had many unique rules.

The natives here might not notice them, but Jiang Xia, as half an observer, saw them quite clearly.

For example, in this world, when Acting Righteously, there was no need to worry about beating someone to death, nor would one be convicted of excessive self-defense.

—Even if a criminal's head was kicked crooked and his teeth were knocked loose, he would still come back to life once the police arrived.

Still, after beating him for so long, some Killing Intent just wouldn't come loose... Perhaps he really needed to try another method.

After some thought, Jiang Xia stopped.

Seeing this, Conan secretly let out another breath of relief.

Then, halfway through relaxing, he abruptly froze.

—He saw Jiang Xia wave a hand.

Right afterward, the lackeys at the door excitedly rushed over, surrounding the kidnapper and beating him up from all sides.

Conan: "...?"

Um, incitement carried an additional penalty, didn't it?

He stared blankly at that group of people, whom he had no chance of pulling apart. His already aching head hurt even more from the worry.

Conan: "..."

Although he had long heard that Jiang Xia often hung around delinquents, he truly hadn't expected him to have this kind of influence.

...His neighbor had become outgoing in a strange direction.

But... would this really not get someone killed??

Jiang Xia stood leisurely beside the kidnapper, inspecting the progress of the Killing Intent dropping.

Being beaten by one person and being surrounded and beaten by a group created completely different levels of pressure.

Before long, the kidnapper completely lost his Fighting Spirit.

Forget Killing Intent—he just wanted to find a hole and hide in it.

The Ghost Infant successfully tore off the final wisp of Killing Intent, squeezed out from the crowd while clutching it, and toddled back to Jiang Xia's feet. The entire Ghost Infant radiated the joy of a bountiful harvest.

Jiang Xia pulled out the cigarette pack containing Ghost Mint and tore a small opening in the sealed wrapper.

The Killing Intent was quickly drawn in, gradually filling half the cigarettes in the pack.

The Ghost Infant climbed back onto Jiang Xia's shoulder, rubbing its hands expectantly as it stared at the cigarette pack.

Jiang Xia did not disappoint the Ghost Infant. He tapped out a cigarette and lit it.

Smoke rose. Jiang Xia watched the Ghost Infant eat with relish and was about to have a taste himself.

Then a quiet voice drifted up from beside his feet. "The law says smoking is prohibited for anyone under twenty."

Jiang Xia: "..."

He looked down and saw Conan.

If this guy hadn't spoken up, Jiang Xia would have nearly forgotten that a leg accessory was still hanging off him.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Xia grabbed Conan by the collar, wanting to pull him away. "Let go. You're covered in dirt."

When Conan saw that Jiang Xia had finally noticed him, he immediately hugged tighter. "Make them stop first!"

After thinking about it, he felt his tone had been too stiff, not like someone asking for a favor.

So he dryly added a softening word. "...Please."

Jiang Xia gave a thoughtful hum and glanced at the kidnapper, who was still rolling around all over the floor.

Now that he had obtained the Killing Intent, they could indeed stop.

He whistled at the crowd. The lackeys gave him plenty of face, immediately stopping in unison and stepping back in unison...

Mainly because the kidnapper had already been scared senseless. He had put up no resistance at all, like a sandbag, and beating him had become pretty boring.

Seeing that, Conan finally managed to finish letting out his breath of relief.

He released Jiang Xia's leg and sat limply on the ground, turning to inspect the unfortunate kidnapper.

When he found that the kidnapper, though bruised and swollen, was still conscious and breathing, he finally relaxed a little.

At least they hadn't beaten him to death on the spot...

After solving his food supply problem, Jiang Xia suddenly remembered the tied-up little girl nearby.

He walked over and checked the knot, finding it was a dead knot. Too lazy to untie it, he pressed the cigarette butt against the rope.

The rope was burned through. Jiang Xia tore it apart with one hand and casually tossed it aside.

Through the curling Smoke, the little girl stared blankly at Jiang Xia. She felt that this hero who had descended from the sky was more handsome than all the ones on the Posters at her older female cousin's house put together.

The cigarette in his hand wasn't as harsh as her father's pipe, either. Instead, it carried a fresh botanical scent...

The little girl remembered the TV dramas she had watched before, and pink bubbles began quietly popping above her head.

She hesitantly called out, "Big brother..."

"Hmm?"

When Jiang Xia turned his head, he saw a soft, tender little face growing larger and larger before his eyes. "..."

The girl shyly closed her eyes, puckered her lips, and gave a loud kiss.

...She kissed the Baseball Bat.