On the way to get his car fixed, Jiangxia took a moment to reflect on recent events.
Lately, he'd encountered two rather exciting things:
One, a ghost.
Two, a completely collectible murderous aura.
Both events had popped up not long ago, and both were tied to cases he'd seen in the Detective Conan manga.
Which meant, clearly, if he wanted to keep catching ghosts, he needed more exposure to murder scenes.
And speaking of murder scenes, the number one murder magnet in the world was obviously… Conan Edogawa.
Unfortunately, Conan was currently living at the Mouri Detective Agency. So kidnapping him wasn't exactly a convenient option.
And besides, Jiangxia had no desire to become Kogoro Mouri's apprentice.
After all, he was technically still part of the Organization.
If he turned into some famous detective, one day the Organization might notice and promote him to an "official tool cadre," which would be deeply awkward for everyone—especially his boss.
Anyway, as Yoko Kinoshita's case had shown, it was totally possible to pick up ghosts even without Reaper Elementary Schooler tagging along. So it wasn't like Conan was essential.
Jiangxia thought it over for a while… maybe it was time to open his own detective agency.
If he remembered correctly, this world's "high school detectives" were naturally gifted at attracting homicides.
And as luck would have it, Jiangxia happened to be a high school student.
Stack one more "detective" buff on his resume, and ghosts and murder auras might just start rushing in like they were on sale.
…
No time like the present.
The day after getting his car repaired, Jiangxia went to the Beika Library.
There, he found a surprisingly helpful little manual in the careers section titled Introduction to Forensics and Detective Work.
In his memory, while the legal age in Japan was technically 20, in practice a lot of things could be done at 18.
Like getting various licenses, signing contracts solo, watching "certain" movies, and playing "certain" games…
Flipping through the manual, Jiangxia was pleased to find he was right—at 18, he could officially work in the detective industry.
But then, just a few pages later, his optimism was body-slammed by a new rule:
—To open a detective agency, you must apply to the Public Safety Commission.
And if you're under 20, you need a legal guardian's consent form.
Legal guardian, huh.
Jiangxia's eyes drifted into the middle distance, thinking of the two gravestones that were his parents and the so-called "nominal guardian" he had no contact info for.
His grip on the book loosened, and the pages of the manual flipped shut with a cruel snap.
The serious, self-important cover stared back at him like it was mocking his childish dreams.
…Even at 18, a minor's still a minor.
So what, was his only choice now to go apprentice under some adult and start making trouble from there?
Speaking of adults…
Jiangxia thoughtfully reopened the manual and flipped back to the colored ad pages at the front.
When the book had snapped shut earlier, he'd noticed a somewhat familiar name.
After all, every industry has to eat—this manual even had detective agency advertisements.
He flipped through a few and then paused.
There, in one of the pictures, was a small but stylish office.
The sign out front proudly read: "Amuro Detective Agency."
Jiangxia stared at the name "Amuro" in the ad and fell into a pensive silence.
Not exactly a common surname.
Pair it with "detective," and it was hard not to think of one particular person—
—Toru Amuro.
Another member of the Black Organization. A big shot with a codename: Bourbon.
An expert at intelligence gathering.
But actually, Toru Amuro was a police officer—an undercover from the National Police Agency, real name Rei Furuya, working diligently to bring the Organization down from the inside.
If Jiangxia could somehow wiggle his way into that office, maybe he wouldn't have to worry about getting used as a tool by the Organization.
And come to think of it, if he really managed to get in with Bourbon, there were other benefits too.
For example—Sherry had been helping Jiangxia dodge a lot of "murder and arson" jobs recently.
Still, what he was doing wasn't exactly legal.
Peripheral members like him didn't get much protection; if the law ever came knocking, he'd be fresh out of luck.
But if he could sneak into the red side… maybe, just maybe, he could earn a get-out-of-jail-free card.
The odds weren't amazing.
But it was worth a try.
And there wasn't much risk—Amuro was a cop, not Gin. Even if he got suspicious, he wasn't about to shoot Jiangxia in the face.
Besides, to keep up his cover, Amuro couldn't just go around arresting every shady-looking side character who walked through the door.
Plus, Jiangxia had that natural affinity with ghosts, which seemed to translate to pretty solid luck overall.
So… what if this really worked?
The more Jiangxia thought about it, the brighter the future looked.
He borrowed the detective manual.
…
That same afternoon, Jiangxia followed the address in the ad and found the Amuro Detective Agency.
Only to see a "Closed" sign hanging on the door.
…Reasonable.
Most shops have regular days off. Probably just bad timing.
No big deal. He'd come back tomorrow.
Jiangxia went home calmly.
He came back the next day.
Still closed.
…Two days in a row?
Jiangxia stood silently in the cold wind, mildly judging this business model.
After a few minutes of internal scolding, he lingered nearby a while just in case. No one showed up. He went home again.
…
A week passed. Every single visit: "Closed."
Jiangxia stared at the building, heart aching for Amuro's rent expenses.
But then again… it wasn't really a problem. Amuro got paid by multiple reliable employers. He was probably fine.
…
Another week went by. Jiangxia drove over, habitually glanced at the office, and habitually started to turn his motorcycle around—
Then stopped.
Something was off.
He turned his head back sharply.
The padlock on the door was gone.
So was the sad little "Closed" sign.
Jiangxia felt a rare surge of emotion.
It was like camping in front of a knockoff store for two weeks and finally catching actual Zhuge Liang at home.
…
Ten minutes later.
Jiangxia was sitting on a slightly worn fabric sofa in the office.
Toru Amuro, looking very much the serious professional detective, brought him a cup of tea, placed a registration form on the table, and sat down across from him with a polite smile.
"Our office is quite busy," Amuro said smoothly. "We may not be able to accept your case. However, I'd be happy to refer you to another agency with experience in similar matters."
Jiangxia: "…"
Busy? Sir, your office has been shuttered 99% of the time.
Still, he picked up the pen and calmly filled in his name, mobile number, and email address.
He left the rest of the form blank and slid it back over.
Amuro glanced at the massive blank section and placed a hand on the paper.
Before he could say anything, Jiangxia spoke up: "I'm not here to file a case. I want a part-time job."
Amuro blinked.
Then, without a word, he picked up the form and calmly fed it into the paper shredder.
Turning back, he smiled thinly. "Sorry. We're not hiring."
He gestured toward the door with all the politeness of a man silently screaming please leave.
Jiangxia remained seated.
"But I think your agency's really understaffed. I've passed by multiple times—door always closed. Yet you're still advertising in career books. Isn't that kind of wasteful?"
He placed the borrowed detective manual on the table and started pitching himself:
"My deduction skills are top-tier. I don't even care about the salary. Minimum wage is fine."
Amuro stared at him for a moment, then silently walked to the door—
Click. He locked it.
When he turned back, he was holding a gun.
His expression had shifted into something cold and dangerous—like Gin catching a whiff of betrayal.
Jiangxia sat up slightly straighter, eyes flicking across the room.
And then, disappointingly, he noticed:
Amuro didn't have any real murderous aura.
Even the ghost baby on his shoulder let out a tiny, disheartened sigh.
Amuro, of course, couldn't read minds.
Seeing Jiangxia's reaction, he assumed his intimidation was working.
So he kept going:
"About that waste you mentioned earlier…" Amuro said coldly. "If it helps me catch a suspicious intruder like you, I'd say it's money well spent."
Glossary
The Organization – The shadowy crime syndicate from Detective Conan
Red side – Police or undercover side (opposite of the Black Organization)
Peripheral member – Lower-tier member of the Organization, not deeply trusted
Cottage and Zhuge Liang – A reference to "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage," from Romance of the Three Kingdoms; Jiangxia finally catching someone important at home