Kidd was set to appear after midnight on April 1st.
The police and Conan staked out the rooftop with the intensity of caffeine-fueled owls, but their efforts were rewarded only with a second invitation letter from Kidd, fluttering mockingly in the wind.
That same night, Jiangxia went to bed early and didn't bother heading to the Hotel to join the chaos.
Still, one overly enthusiastic officer decided to brag to the media that he'd cracked the notice. And soon enough, Jiangxia's name popped up in the papers again.
Jiangxia held the newspaper in one hand and twirled scissors in the other. He hesitated at the half-page spread, then snipped it out and added it to his collection. Naturally, the Kidd parts were promptly yeeted.
That was when Jiangxia had an epiphany: Kidd, this international-level phantom thief, had a secondary magical effect — he could generate buzz.
The more often Jiangxia's name appeared in the news, the more likely he'd get an invite to pick up ghosts from faraway places…
…
But after days of hopeful waiting, no ghost-picking invitations arrived. What did arrive, eventually, was Kidd's second notice.
This time, there was no cryptic riddle, just plain, straightforward words:
[On April 19, I will go to the Queen Celeste to take the Dark Star.]
April 19th also happened to be the 60th anniversary of the Suzuki Foundation. To celebrate, the family was throwing a swanky party on a cruise ship, inviting celebrities from all walks of life.
As usual, Suzuki Sonoko sent an invitation to Jiangxia.
Jiangxia wandered the ship's decks and ended up with a stack of business cards — not intentionally, but because he happened to walk past a crowd. Middle-aged ladies intercepted him like he was a rare Pokémon, pressing their cards into his hands and sweetly offering to help him "find a job."
Jiangxia, being polite, fished out his own business cards and exchanged them. Soon, more people followed the trend. By the time he made it to the ship's railing, his pockets were stuffed with cards like a walking LinkedIn profile.
He slipped into a quiet corner, shuffled through the stack, and suddenly recognized several familiar names. His mind clicked — these people were pre-death characters! Potential ghosts-to-be!
Coming aboard today was easily one of his wisest moves in recent memory.
He happily filed the cards into his special box, his mood lifting noticeably.
Suzuki Sonoko and Ran Mouri watched this with glowing approval. Jiangxia might seem aloof, but surrounded by admirers and job offers, he must have finally recognized his value! So helpful! So reliable!
Conan, meanwhile, had zero time for these wholesome character arcs. His detective senses were in full throttle. Kidd was notorious for disguising himself and slipping into crowds to swipe his targets.
To Conan, literally anyone could be Kidd — even Ran and Sonoko. He subtly tested both of them first and confirmed they were the real deal.
Then he eyed Jiangxia.
Now, the chances of Jiangxia being Kidd in disguise were slim. For a successful impersonation, Kidd would have to keep the real person out of sight, usually by knocking them out and hiding them somewhere. That had been his go-to move for years.
But Jiangxia…
Conan remembered the time he tried to use his anesthesia needle on him — Jiangxia instantly sensed it and subtly gripped a stick in his pocket like a shikigami summoner prepping for battle. No way Kidd could pull that off without getting whacked.
Besides, seeing how the aunties on board fawned over him — yeah, this was 100% the real Jiangxia.
…
After the ship set sail, the Suzuki family made their grand speeches. Then, Sonoko's famously troublesome mother whipped out a set of black pearls identical to the "Dark Star." She handed one out to every guest, loudly challenging Kidd to steal the real one.
Jiangxia received one, too.
He examined the fake in his hand, then glanced at the real gem, which was pinned pompously to Mrs. Suzuki's chest.
To be fair, all the pearls looked nearly identical to him. None of them had any ghost energy.
His interest in the case plummeted.
He poured himself a fancy-looking glass of grape juice, swirled it like red wine, and returned to the crowd to resume business card hunting.
…
Meanwhile, Kidd had boarded the ship.
Like the bold artist he was, he impersonated the chairman of the Suzuki Group and even gave a spontaneous speech while wearing the guy's face.
Eventually, someone contacted the real chairman. The police freaked out and locked down the banquet hall.
But Kidd was already gone.
While Conan dashed out in hot pursuit, Ran followed him — and that was when Kidd made his move. He ambushed the unsuspecting Ran, knocked her out, and stole her identity.
From a distance, Jiangxia saw Conan rushing around with "Ran."
He remembered that Kidd's next planned disguise was supposed to be Ran.
He considered intervening.
But at the time, Jiangxia had been knee-deep in the crowd, networking like a Buddhist at a tech fair.
By the time he emerged, both Ran and Conan were gone.
If a murderer were targeting Ran, he would've followed immediately, puppet at the ready. But since it was just a mischievous kid playing dress-up…
Jiangxia gave a perfunctory glance at the sluggish cops at the hall entrance, then topped off his grape juice and rejoined the crowd.
…
Not long after, Conan and "Ran" returned to the banquet hall.
By now, "Ran" was definitely Kidd.
He had done his homework and studied Ran's behavior beforehand.
Now, disguised as Ran, Kidd scanned the room. His gaze settled first on Mrs. Suzuki — she had the real gem, obviously.
Then his eyes flicked to Jiangxia.
This one was out of curiosity. While combing through news reports before the heist, Kidd had read about Jiangxia — the so-called detective who solved cases like a pot-breaking speedrun champion.
But he didn't know if Jiangxia's skills extended beyond murder cases…
Still, since "Ran" and Jiangxia were classmates, maybe he could probe a little.
Kidd took a step toward him.
And then — Jiangxia, who had been silently counting business cards, suddenly looked up and stared at him.
There was something off about that look.
Kidd felt as though an X-ray scanner had just locked onto him.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 9/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*