Chapter 1

"How could this happen?"

Gao Cheng sat behind the incredibly messy desk, his face filled with worry, holding a newspaper in his hand. After staring at it for a while, he clutched his head in distress.

He had穿越了, transported to the world of Detective Conan, and became a bumbling high school detective.

Unlike the famous Kudo Shinichi on the newspaper, his life was bleak.

The original owner's name was Chenghu Gao Cheng, and his name was similar to his. After graduating from high school, he inherited a detective agency from his deceased grandfather.

The family had basically nothing left except for this detective agency. However, just a few days ago, the original owner, who had no real talent for detective work, botched the only case he had and made a huge blunder on live television.

After the incident spread, he became famous like Kudo Shinichi, but his reputation was completely opposite. The already struggling detective agency quickly reached the point of closure, and there were no more clients.

The original owner, who had given up on himself, failed to recover and died of excessive drinking just before Gao Cheng arrived.

Looking around the messy room, Gao Cheng's head ached.

His own life had never been smooth, and now, after being transported, he was in even more trouble. If his memory served him right, by the end of the month, he wouldn't have money to pay the rent. Not only would the detective agency be forced to close, but he would also have nowhere to live.

Thinking about his future as a homeless person, Gao Cheng felt a chill run down his spine.

He absolutely did not want to experience such a life!

But what could he do now? He hadn't even graduated from high school and knew nothing.

Continue being a detective?

Gao Cheng subconsciously glanced at the newspaper article about Kudo Shinichi. In this world, being a detective seemed to be his only option, but he didn't know how to solve cases, and the detective agency's reputation was already tarnished, with no business at all.

Besides, being a detective seemed dangerous, and he was someone who was afraid of seeing dead bodies.

This...

Gao Cheng propped his chin and continued to read the latest newspaper. Apart from the news about Kudo Shinichi's disappearance, there was also a report about Mouri Kogoro.

In the middle of the newspaper, there was a picture of Mouri Kogoro's exaggerated smile, and through the newspaper, one could deeply feel his smugness.

"Red Fire Festival murder case, 10 billion yen robbery case..."

He couldn't remember the plot of Detective Conan clearly, but it seemed that this was shortly after Kudo Shinichi had shrunk and become Conan, and Mouri Kogoro was starting to become famous.

What could he do? Since Mouri Kogoro could become a famous detective because of Conan, maybe he had a chance too.

"Knock knock!" A knock on the door interrupted Gao Cheng's thoughts. After a moment of confusion, he instantly became alert.

At this time, if someone was looking for him, it could only be the landlord or a salesperson, but it might just be a client.

"Good morning, you have a package," the courier said as he opened the door, "Are you Mr. Fukushima?"

Gao Cheng was taken aback for a moment and then replied, "Ah, yes."

"Please sign here."

"Sure."

Gao Cheng signed for the package in a daze and only came to his senses after the courier left.

The information on the receipt indicated that the original owner's grandfather had long ago pre-arranged to send it to him. When he opened the package, there was only a strange card inside.

"What is this?"

He turned the card over, but couldn't make sense of it. In the end, he put it in a drawer.

"Whatever, one step at a time."

Although he still had no clear idea about the future, he had to keep living.

Gao Cheng shook his head, let out a sigh, and scanned the messy detective agency. He took out his energy to start cleaning up.

No matter what the original owner was like, he had to find a way to start over. As long as the detective agency improved, there would be hope for the future.

First, he picked up the empty bottles scattered on the floor. In Japan, drinking under the age of 20 was prohibited, and if discovered, the already struggling detective agency would be in even more trouble.

The room was similar to a typical detective agency, with a desk, a sofa, and a coffee table, but it was so messy that Gao Cheng couldn't bear to look at it.

He picked up a Sherlock Holmes collection from the floor and put it away, then continued to clean up the mess, sweating profusely.

By the time he finished cleaning the detective agency, it was already noon. Gao Cheng, exhausted, took a nap and woke up at six, feeling extremely sore and hungry.

Even with a new soul, his body was still in poor condition, very weak.

He rubbed his stomach, yawned, and sat up from the bed. In a daze, he suddenly felt something hard under his fingers. He reached out and found the card he had put in the drawer that morning.

"What's going on?"

Gao Cheng was taken aback, his face turning pale.

It was too strange. He clearly remembered putting the card in the drawer.

"Did I sleepwalk?"

Gao Cheng swallowed and looked at the card again.

The card's surface was blank, but as he looked at it, it emitted a faint glow.

"This..."

"Whoa!" A series of words appeared on the card's surface as he watched.

"Haunted House Murder Case?"

Looking at the information on the card, Gao Cheng's mind couldn't process it: "What is this? What is this card..."

The card also had the location of the case and a brief description, along with a prompt labeled "Trial Case."

Gao Cheng rubbed his eyes and looked at the strange card again.

Apart from the text, there didn't seem to be any other changes, and it wasn't anything scary.

He brought the card close to his face and poked it with his finger.

The text on the card changed, showing a new message.

"Reward: Detective Card Bound."

...

In the evening, in front of the old Western-style house in Yotsuza, Gao Cheng pondered as he looked through the iron gate at the castle-like old house.

Five years ago, a mysterious case had occurred here. The owner was murdered, and the killer was never found. The owner's family had apparently moved away, and the old house gradually became known as a haunted house.

To be honest, there were too many episodes of Detective Conan, and it was difficult to remember each murderer over time. He had forgotten most of them, but a case like the Haunted House Murder Case shouldn't be too difficult for him, even if he didn't remember the plot.

Well, probably?

"If I help the police catch the murderer, the situation at the detective agency should improve," Gao Cheng thought.

At that moment, there was a commotion in the dense grass on the side of the haunted house.

Gao Cheng looked curiously and saw a group of sneaky children: "Those kids..."

"Hey! Over here!" A chubby boy excitedly shouted, "The secret entrance is hidden in the grass! Only here can you get in!"

"Yuan Tai, you're so cool!"

"Secret entrance?" Gao Cheng saw the children enter the yard of the Western-style house through a hole covered by a wooden board and followed them into the alley's grass.

"Could those be Conan and the other elementary school kids?"

Gao Cheng was suddenly startled.

If Conan found the murderer first, he would have no part in it, and it would be hard to find such a simple yet important case in the future.

Regardless of the strange card, this case was crucial for the future of his detective agency and was the only case within reach after he was transported to this world.