Chi Feichi switched back to his original phone card and saw over fifty unread messages.
More than forty were from Fukuyama Tomoaki, ranging from asking where he was to various servings of "chicken soup for the soul."
One was from Kitagawa Adachi, saying he had received the gift and telling him to stay safe, etc.
The remaining one was from his cheap father. It contained only a single sentence: Call me back.
"Father."
"You went to Osaka?"
"Yeah."
"The person picking you up for discharge has already been contacted. Since you were unreachable for the past two days, I told him to wait until I got in touch with you. When do you plan to be discharged?"
"As soon as possible."
"Then go back to the hospital now. He will go over tomorrow."
"Understood."
Communication was as simple and direct as always.
Chi Feichi was satisfied with the result. At least his running around hadn't delayed his discharge.
If he could be discharged tomorrow, Feichi could stay at home for a day. Otherwise, bringing a snake back to the hospital would be quite troublesome.
In the room, Feichi was still coiled on the pillow.
Snakes have no eyelids, so it was impossible to tell if he was asleep by looking at his eyes, but since he was completely motionless, he was definitely asleep.
Chi Feichi reached out and poked him. "Feichi, stay home by yourself today. I'll come back to pick you up tomorrow."
Feichi lazily flicked his tongue, not moving an inch. "Understood..."
He had none of the vigor he showed last night.
Japanese Rat Snakes: curled up and motionless during the day, lazy by nature, slow-moving unless attacked, and prefer nocturnal activities.
Only now did Chi Feichi confirm that this guy truly was a Japanese Rat Snake. He was speechless for a moment. "I'll prepare fresh water for you. Don't steal the hamsters."
Feichi: "Understood..."
Chi Feichi considered it. A snake shouldn't destroy the house like a Husky, so there was no need for further instructions.
He went out and returned to the hospital.
That night, at Agasa Hiroshi's house.
Conan, thoroughly spooked by Haibara Ai's words on the way, rushed over in a hurry. At the door, he deliberately lightened his footsteps and crept inside, putting on a full performance—only to find Dr. Agasa completely fine.
Haibara Ai walked in leisurely. "I'm back."
"Welcome back, Little Ai!" Dr. Agasa greeted with a smile. "How was school?"
Haibara Ai walked straight to the table and set down her schoolbag. "It was quite pleasant."
After his dumbfounded shock, Conan was speechless. "So I was tricked by this brat..."
"It's your own fault for not remembering my address," Dr. Agasa laughed. "You only have yourself to blame."
"How could I possibly know?" Conan retorted speechlessly. "I've never mailed anything here. You live right next door; I haven't even sent a New Year's card..."
"Didn't she tell you? She defected from the Organization that shrank you... Ah, right, the package!" Dr. Agasa slapped his forehead and turned to pick up a delivery box. "Little Ai, a package arrived for you today. I signed for it!"
"Mine?" Haibara Ai was puzzled.
"The address was filled in as my place, and the recipient is 'Little Ai'," Dr. Agasa was also confused. "We only came up with your name yesterday together. You were at school all day today, so I don't know how something could be mailed here today... I wanted to wait for you to come back and check. If it's a mistake, we can contact the sender and return it. Their phone number is on the slip."
Haibara Ai took it and looked. "It was sent from Osaka. When the goods were shipped, we hadn't decided on the name 'Haibara Ai' yet. It must be a mistake. Perhaps it was sent to another person named 'Little Ai' and just happened to come here."
If it were 'Haibara Ai', it might not be a coincidence, but for 'Little Ai', others could have that nickname...
Dr. Agasa couldn't figure it out either, but he was certain it was just the two of them last night. "Then I'll contact them..."
"Wait! Doctor, shouldn't you first tell me what is going on between her and that Organization?!"
Conan, who had been left hanging on the side, finally snapped back to reality, feeling frantic inside.
This concerned those dangerous people who had caused him to shrink!
Dr. Agasa had merely mentioned it in passing, then spent half the day discussing a delivery package with her?
His nerves were way too relaxed!
Only then did Dr. Agasa postpone calling the sender and explain the situation to Conan.
Unlike the original timeline where she fainted in front of Kudo Shinichi's house, this time Haibara Ai was brought by someone else and had entered using a "threatening" method.
At first, Dr. Agasa was startled too. Later, Haibara Ai explained her situation, and they came up with a name together...
Dr. Agasa recounted everything exactly as it happened.
Haibara Ai then spoke about her investigation at the Kudo house and the general circumstances of her defection.
"...After I escaped, I had nowhere to go. My only hope... Kudo Shinichi, was you."
Conan listened with a grave expression.
Haibara Ai continued, "But it started raining. I met that guy on the road, and my fever returned. He took me back and looked after me all afternoon. Afterward, I asked him to drop me off at your door. I thought that since our situations are the same, you would definitely understand what happened to me..."
"You've got to be kidding!" Conan roared. "How am I supposed to understand someone like you who invented a murder drug?!"
Haibara Ai was stunned, staring blankly at Conan.
Dr. Agasa sweated. That was a bit hurtful. He hurriedly stepped forward. "Shinichi..."
"Do you even realize what you've done?" Conan continued to question Haibara Ai. "Do you know how many people that drug you invented has harmed?!"
Haibara Ai withdrew her gaze, her expression calming. "Whether you believe it or not, I had no choice. I never intended to create a poison in the first place..."
The initial communication didn't go smoothly.
It was Dr. Agasa who smoothed things over by mentioning the antidote, shifting their attention to that topic.
Finally, Dr. Agasa drove the two of them to Professor Hirota's house to retrieve the disk.
Driving on the way to Shizuoka, Dr. Agasa muttered, "It's 150 kilometers to Shizuoka. Will three hours be enough?"
"Doctor..." Conan, sitting in the passenger seat, lowered his voice.
Dr. Agasa tilted his head in confusion.
"Don't let your guard down around that woman," Conan said.
Dr. Agasa glanced at Haibara Ai in the back seat and likewise lowered his voice. "You mean Little Ai?"
"Yes. Although she claims she escaped from the Organization," Conan whispered, "she won't tell us her real name or age. When asked about her activities in the Organization, she dodges the question. What she just said could very well be a lie made up to trick us."
Dr. Agasa said, "I don't think so..."
"And the name Hirota Masami... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before," Conan rubbed his chin. "Also, the man who brought her here might be her accomplice. Didn't you say he was a young man in black clothes with a cold face...?"
Haibara Ai had been pretending not to hear Conan and Dr. Agasa whispering, but hearing this sentence, she couldn't help but speak up. "He isn't."
Conan didn't expect his whispering to be heard and felt a bit awkward for a moment.
"If he were a member of the Organization, even if he helped me unknowingly at the time, he should have learned news of my defection in the past two days. He would have started contacting others to investigate or come directly to Dr. Agasa's place," Haibara Ai analyzed. "After all, he knows where I am. He wouldn't just sit still. Besides, I don't think he is an enemy."
Ignoring the last sentence, Conan had to admit the analysis made some sense.
"I didn't expect a famous detective to badmouth people behind their backs," Haibara Ai said unhurriedly. "However, being suspicious of everything is certainly very detective-like."
Conan felt inexplicably guilty, so he decided to be blunt. "This is reasonable suspicion. You said earlier that you didn't tell him your identity, nor did you ask about his business. You didn't even know his name. Do you think that's normal?"
"It's not normal, but that is the fact," Haibara Ai said without changing her expression.
Conan: "..."
One person picks up a little girl in the rain; surely they should ask about her situation? Like her name, where her home is, why she's on the street alone.
And the other person, helped by someone while in distress, should at least ask for the benefactor's name.
They spent some time together; how could they not even know the name?
You couldn't even fool a ghost with that lie!
"Ahem," Dr. Agasa smoothed things over. "I almost forgot. We said we'd contact the person who sent the wrong package. Shinichi, I'm driving and can't spare a hand. Help me make the call. The package is on the back seat; could Little Ai please check the phone number for him? If we need to return it, we can drop by a delivery center on the way."
"Alright." Conan also felt the atmosphere was a bit heavy and took the out Dr. Agasa offered, pulling out his phone.
Haibara Ai didn't want to make things difficult for Dr. Agasa. She picked up the package and read out the number.
Dr. Agasa breathed a sigh of relief. He really was working hard to help these two get along.
Conan dialed the number. After a few rings, someone picked up.
A female voice answered. "Hello, are you looking for Mr. Chi?"
Mr. Chi?
Conan didn't know who the owner of the number was, but that didn't stop him from explaining. "It's like this: we received a package from this number as the sender, but it seems to have been sent by mistake."
Hearing it was a child, the woman was a bit surprised. "Okay, please wait a moment. I'll put Mr. Chi on."
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps.
When the nurse arrived at Fukuyama Tomoaki's office, Chi Feichi had already finished cooperating with the tests and was listening to Fukuyama's "chicken soup" with immense boredom.
"Mr. Chi, there's a call for you."
Chi Feichi immediately looked up and turned his head.
The nurse met those indifferent purple eyes, sweated a little, handed the phone over, and explained in a low voice, "It's a little boy calling. He says you sent a package by mistake..."
Chi Feichi took the phone. This is exactly why I dislike the mental hospital...
Electronic devices like phones and computers had to be handed over for safekeeping the moment one stepped into the hospital. Although doctors and nurses wouldn't casually look through the contents due to professional ethics, it felt like being locked in a transparent cage where every move was noted.
"Hello, this is Chi Feichi."
"Hello, Mr. Chi," Conan heard the mention of a "little boy" on the other end and decisively put on his cute child voice. "You have a package sent from Osaka to 22, 2-Chome, Beika Town, Tokyo. It seems to have been sent by mistake..."