The Daily Life of a Salted Fish Assassin in Anime Crossovers

"I'm already exhausted from running around Tokyo every day taking on cases, and you want me to go to other places? Are you trying to kill me with overwork? No way! I won't take any cases from other places. Let the local detectives handle these kinds of things!"

Yoshino Muharu shrugged, clearly used to Jiang Hang's way of speaking: "I'll take a look at these letters too. At least they came with hope, so I should at least write them a reply."

In situations like this, girls are definitely more thoughtful. At least Jiang Hang, being lazy, would never think of writing a reply.

Since he wasn't the one writing the reply anyway, Jiang Hang nodded, letting Muchun Yuno and the others handle it themselves.

"As expected, they are all rather unpleasant requests: investigating the contents of my grandfather's will, finding evidence of my husband's infidelity with my sister. These are things that are hard to say over the phone," said Yuno Kiharu, her eyes widening as she looked at the strange and unusual requests.

After watching for a while, Yoshino Kiharu suddenly let out a soft "Eh."

"This letter is so strange. At least other people's letters are handwritten, but this one is printed. And it looks like an invitation, no... this should be a challenge letter!"

Yoshino Kiharu's expression suddenly became excited, which made Shizuka Sakaki also very interested in the letter in her hand, and she quickly leaned over to take a look.

Jiang Hang's expression remained unchanged.

"Just leave the challenges there. There will always be some people who think they are better. Just write them a letter saying that you know your talents are not as good as theirs, so you don't have the confidence to accept their challenge. That's all."

These random challenge letters have no clue what conspiracy lies behind them. If it were a true detective, he would be fearless of any conspiracy or trap, resolutely accept the challenge, and ultimately solve the mystery set up by the other party.

But Jiang Hang is different. He has a deep understanding of a saying: "As long as I am useless enough, no one can take advantage of me."

If you're not trying to show off your talent to other detectives, then I admit you're better than me. Please, go find another detective, don't come looking for me.

Jiang Hang's quick surrender left Mu Chun Yuno somewhat helpless; how come her detective's thought process was completely out of sync with other detectives?

She's only recently resolved to become the next Watson, so how could the Sherlock Holmes she's set her sights on be such a lazy bum?

"Even so, Jiang Hang, why don't you take a look? I just checked, and the place where the letter was sent isn't very far away. It's still within the Tokyo metropolitan area, so it won't take much time to make a round trip."

Seeing Yoshino Kiharu's intrigued expression, Jiang Hang sighed and accepted the so-called "challenge letter."

“The shadow of Moonshadow Island will disappear again at the next full moon. I hope you will come to investigate. — Keiji Aso”

This is the line of text that came into Jiang Hang's view.

"Look, Moonshadow Island is right here. After taking a car, we can take a boat there. It won't take long. Jiang Hang, let's go take a look over there. Maybe some big case will happen!" Koharu Yuno took out her phone, found the location of Moonshadow Island, and pointed it out to Jiang Hang.

However, she didn't notice that after Jiang Hang saw the letter, his gaze seemed to be lost in some kind of memory.

Unexpectedly, this case ended up in his hands by some twist of fate. If it weren't for this letter, he really wouldn't have remembered it.

Jiang Hang sighed silently to himself.

Chapter 42: You look really beautiful when you're working hard.

If we were to say which case in the early stages of Detective Conan was the most memorable, the Moon Shadow Island Murder Case would undoubtedly be at the top of the list.

Even considering the 1,000 episodes of the Conan anime, plus the more than 20 theatrical films, many people believe that this is the most poignant case in Conan.

The excellent atmosphere, coupled with the murderer who disguised himself as a woman for many years to seek revenge, and the Moonlight Sonata played in the flames in the story, left a deep impression on Jiang Hang when he watched it as a child.

To be honest, for Jiang Hang, only the first few episodes of Detective Conan when he first shrunk left a deeper impression than this case.

Although Jiang Hang had completely forgotten the cause and course of the case, the murderer's methods and motives over time.

But Jiang Hang still vividly remembers the ending of this case.

The murderer identified by Conan ultimately met his end in a burning house, playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

For Jiang Hang as a child, this ending was quite shocking, and for Conan himself, it was probably the case he regretted most in his detective career.

I never expected that this letter would come into my hands after so many years.

"Next full moon night..." Jiang Hang glanced at the calendar. There was still a full week until the next full moon night the other party mentioned, which was plenty of time.

The person who sent the letter was, of course, the murderer in the anime, but his purpose in sending the letter was not to challenge anyone, but rather to hope that the detective who received the letter would stop him from committing an unforgivable crime.

To this end, the other party even sent the letter a week in advance. Unfortunately, Kogoro Mouri and his group probably only arrived at Tsukikage Island on the day of the incident. Without any prior investigation, they ultimately failed to prevent the tragedy from happening.

And now, the letter is in his hands.

Jiang Hang's expression turned serious.

In that case, I'll accept your commission.

Jiang Hang put down the invitation in his hand and looked at Muchun Yuno.

"Muchun, go and look up information about Keiji Aso. From online sources to newspapers that recorded these events back then, try to find as much information as you can."

Seeing that Jiang Hang seemed to be getting serious, Mu Chunyuno nodded and then went to the side to start searching online.

She was quick to find things, or perhaps this person named Keiji Aso was somewhat famous.

Twelve years ago, the other person was a well-known pianist who had won many awards in Japan.

One night, for some unknown reason, the man seemed to have gone mad. He killed his wife and daughter with a knife and then burned down his house, causing a great sensation at the time.

"What...what happened? Asou Keiji of Tsukikage Island...died twelve years ago?" Yoshino Kiharu exclaimed in astonishment, not only because of the cruel crimes committed by this man, who also shared the name Asou Keiji, back then.

She looked closely at the image of Keiji Aso on the screen and the name written on the letter; the two names were indeed the same.

"Moon Shadow Island...that's right, could it be a case of the same name?" Thinking of this, Yoshino Kiharu couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

The worst thing for intelligence gatherers is not failing to find intelligence, but discovering that they share the same name as their target while searching for intelligence, and that the person with the same name is even more famous than their target. That's the most annoying thing.

At a glance, all the news was about Keiji Aso, who killed his wife and then set himself on fire twelve years ago. Occasionally, there would be other news, such as how Keiji Aso had won some kind of prize in some competition held in some region.

"This is troublesome," she muttered, but was interrupted by Jiang Hang.

"You just need to find information about this Keiji Aso first. The person who sent this letter might want to do something using Keiji Aso's identity." If Jiang Hang didn't remember the motive just now, it's very clear now. There's definitely something wrong with this case from twelve years ago.

"Is this even possible?" Yuno Kiharu asked in surprise. "So, we really don't need to consider searching for other people with the same name? Although Moonshadow Island isn't big, the possibility of having the same name still exists. Why don't we just go to the island and ask the residents there?"

"It's not too surprising to use the name of a deceased person to do something. Perhaps there are other hidden details in that case, which is why they sent a letter to our firm. Anyway, just investigate as you see fit."

"As for going to Moonshadow Island, there's no rush. The other party has announced that it will be a week from now, so it probably won't be of much use for us if we go now. Besides, Attorney Fei might contact me at any time in the next few days to discuss the art museum. It should be in the next day or two. Let's finish up what we have to do and gather more information before we go there."

A while ago, Eri Kisaki told Jiang Hang that things at the art museum were almost over and asked him to arrange a suitable time. So, for the past few afternoons, Jiang Hang has been slacking off while waiting for Eri Kisaki to contact him.

More importantly, he had a fairly deep impression of the Moonshadow Island case; it was one of the few cases in which he remembered the identity of the murderer.

If we had gone there a day or two earlier and helped to resolve the killer's inner conflict, this tragedy could have been avoided.

As for the victims... to be honest, when watching the Conan anime, the focus is either on Conan's cool crime-solving or on the culprit's motive. Even if you can remember the culprit, not many people will remember the victims. Jiang Hang couldn't remember who the victims were at all.

He will be able to make a better judgment once he has gathered enough information and personally travels to Moonshadow Island.

While Yoshino Kiharu was still gathering information on Keiji Aso, Jiang Hang secretly sent a message to Takagi, the "tool guy".

The murder case twelve years ago would obviously leave a file at the police station, and it would be best to get the file directly from that year.

Of course, he was just asking the other party to pay attention to this case from twelve years ago, and there was no need to force it if it didn't work out.

Although he might be hurt if Yoshino knew what he did, the importance of intelligence goes without saying. The intelligence from the police is definitely more important than what a novice like Yoshino could gather... At worst, he can just keep it from them.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Hang secretly glanced at Muchun Yuno, who was still working hard.

Keep it up, girl! Even if the information you gather isn't very useful in the end, the way you're working hard right now is still really cool.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Hang glanced at his phone.

It's quite a coincidence. He had just said that Eri Kisaki might contact him at any time, and now, just a few minutes later, he has received an email from her on his phone.

At four o'clock this afternoon, at a certain café, Eri Kisaki and the former owner of the art museum will be waiting for him to discuss the future of the art museum.

Jiang Hang replied with a sentence, and then looked at Shizuka Sakaki, who was practicing her voice on the side.

"Sakaki, let's go out for a bit. Things at the art museum are finally coming to a close."

Chapter 43: So I'm the Big Boss Too?

A coffee shop that doesn't attract much attention on a street corner.

Because it was a weekday, there weren't many customers in the coffee shop at the moment. Jiang Hang quickly spotted Eri Kisaki waiting in a private booth, along with a middle-aged man who looked to be in his thirties or forties next to her.

The other party should be the former owner who sold the art museum due to bankruptcy.

"Hello, I am Taro Matsuno, the former owner of the Beika Art Museum," the middle-aged man said, bowing deeply to Jiang Hang as soon as they met, appearing very respectful.

Jiang Hang was puzzled by Matsuno Taro's attitude. He was just an ordinary detective with a little money, but the other party didn't have to be so respectful to him.

Japan certainly places great importance on etiquette, but perhaps this is a bit too much.

Jiang Hang didn't show anything on his face, but returned the greeting and then sat down on the sofa in the coffee shop.

As Jiang Hang's assistant, Shizuka Sakaki stood somewhat awkwardly behind him, still not quite used to this negotiation-like scene.

“I’ve heard about Mr. Jiang Hang’s story for a long time, but I’ve been dealing with the company’s bankruptcy matters and haven’t been able to meet you.”

Matsuno Taro's attitude still seemed strange, and Jiang Hang responded with a few polite words in return.

"Attorney Fei, did you call me here today because there's been any new development at the art museum?" Jiang Hang asked first.

"Yes, we have been in discussions with various parties these past few days. The Zhenzhong family is currently busy with the distribution of the other party's assets, but they have reached a consensus on the museum's transfer. They hope to transfer the museum as soon as possible, and the price will be kept within a reasonable range to avoid losses."

“Then in the past few days, I also contacted some collectors and wealthy people who are interested in acquiring a private art museum. Although they haven’t agreed yet, the chances of reaching an agreement are still very high if we continue to negotiate.” Eri Kisaki presented a document with the names of some people who were interested in buying the art museum.

Jiang Hang had never heard of any of the people listed, but he still picked it up and looked through it.

"It seems the museum issue will be resolved soon. But now that you're here, Mr. Matsuno, there must be something you'd like to discuss with me in person."

Matsuno Taro sighed, glanced at Eri Kisaki, and then Eri Kisaki nodded slightly at him.

"There are some things I've been keeping to myself, but I've never dared to tell Director Ochiai, who's already in prison. Speaking of this case, I also have to take some responsibility."

Jiang Hang adjusted his posture to make himself look more like he was sitting upright.

“Actually, from the very beginning, I knew that Mr. Manaka bought the art museum to convert it into a hotel.”

Standing behind Jiang Hang, Shizuka Sakaki opened her mouth in surprise. She knew about the case, but she didn't expect that even the curator would be involved.

Jiang Hang's expression remained unchanged.

Well, this answer wasn't actually unexpected.

If the owner of the museum truly intends to maintain its existence, then a normal lawyer would require this to be written into the contract. Since this point is not included, either the lawyer hired by Matsuno has a problem, or the two parties had already agreed to this beforehand.

Now it seems that it was indeed the latter.

Jiang Hang took a deep breath. No matter what, even if he had expected it, hearing about this kind of thing still made him feel a sense of frustration that was hard to vent.

"Couldn't we have told Director Ochiai about this beforehand?"