On the way, Conan caught a glimpse of the Junior Detective League badge on Mitsuhiko's chest and suddenly stopped.
That's right—Ayumi isn't just any kid. She's got the Professor's badge!
I can use it to contact her… maybe even locate her. Thank you, Almighty Professor!
…
Every child in the Junior Detective League had one of these nifty badges, courtesy of the Professor.
They worked as walkie-talkies and even came with a ridiculously overpowered tracker.
Conan immediately pulled out his own badge, contacted Ayumi, and tapped on his all-purpose glasses a few times. Ayumi's location lit up on the screen.
Meanwhile, inside the car, Ayumi Yoshida was just waking up, roused by the badge's chirp.
Still groggy, she took a moment to recall how she ended up there. Then it hit her—she was hiding in someone's trunk! The car was still moving, and it was loud.
Genta and Mitsuhiko, ever the idea guys, suggested she yell to get the driver's attention so they'd let her out.
Ayumi nodded and was just about to shout when the car suddenly made a sharp turn. A paper bag toppled over beside her with a solid thunk.
Ayumi glanced at it, confused. In the dim light, she saw money—lots of money—spilling out of the bag.
"Whoa~"
Even at her age, she understood the magic of cash. She instinctively reached toward it, but then hesitated. It's not my money… she reminded herself and pulled her hand back. Instead, she lay beside the bag, dreamily admiring the pile.
Still, she had to share the wonder: "There's so much money in here! Probably a hundred times a million!"
Back in Beika Park, Haibara Ai's face went pale.
A hundred times a million is a hundred million yen. Who stashes that much cash in their trunk? Only shady people—people like Gin and Vodka.
Which meant… the car's owner…
Conan, already halfway down the rabbit hole, immediately thought of the recent spate of kidnappings and murder cases he'd read about in the paper.
He tried to recall what cars had been near the park earlier—something about a super flashy wedding car by the curb.
But back then, Genta had busted his hiding spot, and he'd been too distracted to keep track. Whether that car had arrived or already left? No clue.
The two fake children—Conan and Haibara—locked eyes, expressions grave.
Genta and Mitsuhiko, meanwhile, were still marveling at the richness of it all.
"The car owner must be loaded!" Genta said, practically bouncing. "Is there anything else cool in there? Like… diamond-studded eel rice?"
Ayumi reached out casually and felt around. Her fingers landed on a round, lumpy package.
She gave it a curious tug and opened it.
"There's a saw in here," she said. "It's dirty… kinda looks like it's got something on it…"
Blood. That's blood, Conan and Haibara thought in unison, faces going ashen.
"Huh? Under the saw, there's another round thing wrapped in newspaper," Ayumi added, poking at it.
Haibara's nerves lit up like a Buddhist incense burner about to explode. "Don't open it!" she barked.
Too late.
Ayumi peeled away the newspaper, and a bloody human head tumbled out.
The eyes were wide open in terror, hair tangled and blood-matted, mouth frozen mid-scream.
Ayumi's eyes met its dead stare. Her brain short-circuited.
Then she screamed like the ghost of a murdered banshee.
…
Inside the rickety wedding car barreling down the road, Amuro Tooru flicked his gaze to the rearview mirror.
He thought he heard something.
Out the window, a campaign vehicle with a giant megaphone screeched past in the opposite direction. Behind it, a little girl had fallen near the sidewalk, pounding the ground and crying her lungs out. Behind her was an amusement park, complete with a roller coaster, roaring by with screams of joy.
…There were a lot of screaming sources. Maybe he imagined it?
Amuro blinked and refocused on driving to the wedding venue.
In the backseat, Jiangxia Tongzhi opened his eyes.
He had been resting earlier, but that scream… it sounded oddly familiar.
He glanced over his shoulder out the back window but didn't see anything suspicious. He leaned back again, unfazed.
But he wasn't alone.
From within a gap in the seat's padding, an eye was watching—wide, young, and full of disbelief.
The eye stared at Jiangxia's profile, trying to process what it was seeing. Then came the shift—from confusion to resigned horror.
Ayumi Yoshida, having confirmed what she saw through the gap, shrank away from the driver's seat and shakily picked up her badge.
"Brother Jiangxia… I-I saw Brother Jiangxia in the car too!"
Over on the other end, the remaining Junior Detective League members froze.
Then the group split in two:
Above Conan's head, a glowing question mark slowly emerged.
The other three, however, turned ghost-white. Genta and Mitsuhiko began trembling like bear children who'd just seen the European Emperor himself.
Why is Jiangxia in a car with a severed head? Conan's brain tried to make sense of it.
He asked again, "Ayumi, are you sure that was Jiangxia?"
Ayumi, sobbing, clearly didn't want to believe Jiangxia had turned into a head-chopping cadre.
With no reply, Conan whipped out his phone to call him.
But before he could hit dial, Haibara Ai reached out and switched off his screen.
She didn't believe Jiangxia would randomly murder kids. But his background—the deranged organization behind him—meant anything was possible.
Plus, Ayumi had said "Jiangxia is also in the car." That meant he wasn't alone. If other organization members were present, calling might expose Ayumi in the trunk… and get her killed.
It could also ruin whatever cover Jiangxia had.
Haibara's eyes narrowed. Better to message Jiangxia in secret and let him act when the moment came.
Conan didn't know what she was thinking, but after being blocked from calling, he paused and reconsidered.
"…You're right. I'll check things out first. You guys stay here and wait for my signal."
He stepped onto his trusty solar-powered skateboard, ready to launch his heroic rescue—of a beauty, or maybe a hero and a beauty.
He pressed the switch, and the dust swirled dramatically around him.
Right as he took off, Haibara Ai leapt onto the board with ninja-like agility, catching a ride.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 33/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*