Chapter 264: Capturing a lucky detective as a puzzle-solving tool

 Conan was stared at by him, and he gradually lost his voice and began to feel a little guilty. Could it be that this excuse was too perfunctory?

　　Amburo looked at Conan for a while, then silently looked away.

 …He seemed to have found the cause of the flat tire.

But soon, Toru Amuro felt that this was not rigorous enough—last time, when he passed by the temple where the foggy tengu was infested, Conan was clearly not in his car, and only Jiang Xia was present.

 On the way back, Conan was indeed there.

 …No, why should he think about this kind of thing seriously. Toru Amuro quickly interrupted his thoughts.

 Believe in science, the world is materialistic, how could there be such a strange physique of "flattering everywhere", it is nonsense.

While correcting his world view, he got out of the car and planned to change the spare tire.

 Going around to the back of the car and opening the trunk lid, Toru Amuro paused slightly.

 …The spare tire is punctured.

 Familiar location, familiar teeth marks.

Toru Amuro stared at the hole quietly, thinking that he would be surprised.

 But in fact, when he saw this brand new worn tire, he actually had a feeling that "it is indeed so". I even had a fantasy: the holes were neater than before, and the teeth of the unknown creature chewing on his tire seemed sharper than before...

 At this time, Toru Amuro couldn't help but miss his metal tire box.

Last time, on the way back with Jiang Xia and the others, Toru Amuro made up his mind to order a box like this to protect the spare tire, but something delayed him and he forgot about it.

  Tsk, it must be put on the agenda this time. Once it's ready, you don't need to carry it with you every day - just put the metal box in the car when you think you'll meet Jiang Xia and his friends.

Conan saw Toru Amuro standing in front of the trunk, not moving for a long time, and wondered: "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xia also got out of the car and walked around to the trunk. He looked inside and was startled: "Why did it become like this again? In your car..."

"There are no mice." Toru Amuro replied expressionlessly, "There are no squirrels, wild cats, woodpeckers or anything like that."

 “Well…” You are so skilled.

After going back last time, Amuro asked someone to carefully check the car, and even took it apart and looked at it, but he couldn't find any animals, and there were no traces of animal activity.

 …What on earth is biting his fetus?

 But now that the matter has come to this point, apart from finding someone to tow the car, Toru Amuro has no other option for the time being.

 He took out his cell phone and planned to dial.

 Just press the button to turn on the screen and take a look. Okay, no signal.

Conan had already jumped out of the car and started looking around.

At this time, he pointed to the villa dozens of meters away that Jiang Xia had been secretly staring at for a long time: "There seems to be someone living there. Let's borrow their landline and use it."

Tohru Amuro couldn't help but look at him again. He felt that this line was also familiar. He had heard it several times before, and every time he heard it, there was no good news.

Jiang Xia sighed beside him and agreed with Amuro Tohru: "That's the only way it can be."

 …

The villa in the woods looks to be a few years old, but there is not much dust on the outside, and the shrubs and grass at the door are neat. It seems that it has been repaired recently. This is probably not an abandoned villa, but someone inhabited.

 The decoration of the villa is somewhat special. There are three steps at the door, and handrails are installed along the steps. There is a palm-sized tiger sculpture at the end of the right armrest, but the left side is empty, with nothing on it and a few holes drilled into the edge.

Haiyuan Ai is about the same height as those holes.

When a group of people went to knock on the door, she passed by the handrail, then stepped back, looking left and right at the small hole in the handrail, and raised her hand to straighten her hair.

When she looked up and found Jiang Xia looking at her, Hui Yuan Ai froze, cleared her throat uncomfortably, and explained in a low voice: "There is a mirror inside." He couldn't help but look at it...

Jiang Xia looked at the tiger on the armrest, and then at the lion's head ring on the door, and his memory was touched. No wonder there was murderous intent in the house. He remembered what the incident was.

Toru Amuro has also arrived at the door. He took the animal-faced ring and knocked it a few times unskillfully, obviously not used to this rare decoration style.

There were some trivial and panicked noises in the house, and there were people inside.

 After that, another minute or two passed before someone finally came to open the door.

The owner of the house is a fat man with a goatee.

He opened the door a crack, revealing only one head, frowning, very alert, and had no intention of inviting anyone in. He just wanted to send them away as soon as possible.

Just as he was about to speak, Goatee saw Jiang Xia.

His words of chasing people away suddenly stopped, and his expression flashed through many changes in an instant - fearful, murderous, and greedy for Jiang Xia's ability to solve mysteries and solve crimes.

 Because the expression is too complex, these emotions cannot be deciphered at a glance.

 But his unusual reaction still made Toru Amuro and Conan's original doubtful attitudes gradually turn into suspicion.

Jiang Xia looked at the little old man at the door who was not very good at managing his expressions, and then at the sudden increase in murderous aura on his body, and his tone became gentle: "Our car passed by here and accidentally had a puncture, and I want to borrow your phone. Don’t you know if it’s convenient now?”

“...Wait a moment.” Goatee rolled his eyes and slammed the door.

 This wait lasted another five minutes.

 When he opened the door again, Goatee's smile became much more enthusiastic. Next to him was a man with a middle parting.

 The middle-parted man's right hand seems to be injured and is covered in a plaster from the elbow to the fingertips. This man is said to be Goatee's younger brother.

The two people showed professional fake smiles and invited Jiang Xia and the others into the house. They said, "This house is a relic of our grandfather. We just took it over and haven't had time to add anything. We don't have a landline, but I can lend you my car, as long as it's …

 “Can you do me a small favor.”

 At this point, he twirled his thumb and index finger to indicate that this was just a small request.

Jiang Xia looked at the murderous aura on these "brothers" and nodded in agreement.

　　The man with the goatee and the middle parting suddenly had intense eyes and began to tell Jiang Xia their troubles.

While speaking, Toru Amuro's eyes were slightly averted, and he slapped the middle-parted man's plastered right hand, and then quickly slid away.

When he arrived in the living room and the brothers went to make tea and get refreshments, he whispered to Jiang Xia: "The plaster on that man's hand is in the wrong shape."

Jiang Xia nodded.

 The middle-parted man’s right hand is actually holding a mini pistol, which he is covering up with bandages and plaster.

In Jiang Xia's impression, these two people were not the real owners of the house, but members of a bandit group called "Goblin".

 (End of this chapter)