Chapter 32: I Can Cure It, Hold Still, And Don't Disturb The Neighbors

Kaito Kid was caught off guard when Chi Feichi suddenly lunged at him, forcing him to dodge to the side.

Hey, hey, there was no need to actually fight, was there?

He had seen Chi Feichi train before, but he never expected that once the weighted gear was removed, Chi Feichi’s speed could reach such terrifying levels!

As Chi Feichi closed the distance, he used his free left hand to swipe two gadgets from beneath Kaito Kid’s white suit jacket and shoved a note into his hand.

Kaito Kid felt the subtle movement and was puzzled, but he used the momentum of his dodge to leap toward the exterior of a nearby building, unfurling his hang glider in mid-air to fly away.

Having lost his target and overshot his momentum, Chi Feichi grabbed the iron railing of the elevated structure as he fell, swinging himself up with effortless grace.

The entire sequence—from facing off, crossing paths, falling, to each reaching safety—happened in mere seconds.

Heiji Hattori and Conan didn't even have time to blink before the confrontation ended.

It was the first time they had felt their minds struggling just to keep up with the changing situation.

Heiji slowly regained his composure, sweating as he said, "Kudo, what exactly is this guy..."

Conan remained silent. He knew Heiji was just venting, but that was a question he wanted the answer to as well.

With that kind of physical prowess combined with such reasoning and observational skills, there was no way he was an ordinary person. If he hadn't been able to verify so much about the Aoyama Fourth Hospital, he would have almost suspected it was a secret training facility.

Near their feet, Rex the snake propped its body up and tilted its head.

Kudo?

"Aren't you going to notify Inspector Nakamori to relocate?" Chi Feichi asked, turning back.

"Right! Almost forgot!" Heiji hurriedly pulled out his phone.

Conan ran to the railing, using his glasses to track Kaito Kid’s movements. By the time he found him, the phantom thief was already leaping out of a window in the building opposite, clutching a box. "It’s too late. He’s already succeeded..."

"We’re going after him!" Heiji immediately turned around, sprinting toward the elevator on the rooftop while still on the phone.

Chi Feichi didn't follow. He jumped down from the elevated structure and walked over to his discarded weights. "I need to pack my things. I’ll leave the chase to you two."

"Leave it to us!" Heiji waited for Conan to enter the elevator before frantically pressing the button for the ground floor.

...

An hour later...

On a road not far from the coast, Heiji Hattori lay sprawled on the ground.

Chi Feichi arrived, grabbed Heiji’s ankle, and inspected it. "Sprained, with a dislocated joint."

Conan glanced at the time on his phone. "Heiji, hold on a little longer. The ambulance should be here soon!"

"I can fix it," Chi Feichi said. He pulled off Conan’s jacket, fished out some cash, and handed it to the boy. "Conan, go buy some wound treatment supplies and gauze. That cut on his arm is quite deep."

Conan broke into a cold sweat. "Hey, wait, I mean, you..."

Heiji started to protest, but Chi Feichi cut him off by shoving Conan’s jacket into his mouth.

"Bite down. It’s going to hurt a little," Chi Feichi said. "It’s the middle of the night; don't disturb the neighbors."

Heiji bit into the jacket, stunned. The first part was fine, but hearing the second part—was that even something a human would say?

However, seeing Chi Feichi’s posture, it seemed he intended to treat him right then and there.

Is this guy even capable of that?

Wait, stop! He wanted to wait for a doctor...

*Click.*

A bone shifted with a soft sound.

Heiji’s face turned green instantly.

Pain!

Before he could resist, there was another sound.

*Click.*

"There. It won't hurt nearly as much soon," Chi Feichi said, setting Heiji’s foot down.

Although he hadn't studied these things in veterinary school, his teachers in his past life had hammered him into shape since childhood, and training against a group of classmates until someone was pinned down had been the norm. He had been treating bruises, sprains, and dislocations for over a decade.

If he had traditional Chinese medicine, he could easily whip up medicinal wines or poultices for injuries.

In his past life, he had seen joint dislocation treatments in American hospitals where a whole team of doctors and nurses would struggle for ages to provide traction before applying splints.

In the same situation, for a practitioner of traditional medicine, realignment was often a matter of two swift motions—a press and a pull—done easily.

To some of the old masters and his teachers, they might not have looked at anatomical charts, but in this regard, they were streets ahead of Western medicine.

"The sprain has some bruising. Do you want me to treat that too? It will be a bit more painful than just now..."

"N-no, thank you..." Heiji lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

He felt hopeless!

He was genuinely worried about whether he would ever be able to walk again.

Chi Feichi shook his head. If he didn't want it, he didn't want it. He turned to Conan, who was standing there stunned. "Don't just stand there. Go buy the medicine."

Conan gave Heiji a look of sympathy, turned, and ran off to buy the supplies.

It was his own fault for not reacting quickly enough to stop Chi Feichi; it was too late now.

However, when the ambulance arrived, he would be sure to explain the situation to the doctors!

By the time Conan returned, Heiji had already sat up.

"It really doesn't hurt anymore!" Heiji sat by the road, looking amazed. "Can I stand up now?"

"You can," Chi Feichi said, crouching beside him. "But it will still ache until the swelling goes down."

Heiji immediately abandoned the idea of walking a few steps.

"Heiji?" Conan walked up.

"You're back. Did you get the medicine?" Heiji no longer looked hopeless; he was spirited and explained, "Not long after you left, I felt the pain subside."

"Don't worry. If you go to the hospital for a check-up, you'll find the bones are perfectly reset." Chi Feichi took the medicine from Conan, cleaned the scrape on Heiji’s arm, applied the medication, and bandaged it.

His movements were practiced and incredibly fast.

"Thanks," Heiji said, moving his arm and pulling his sleeve down to cover it.

"It's nothing," Chi Feichi replied. He took the pigeon from Conan’s arms and took a moment to inspect the bird’s injury, clearing away the surrounding feathers. "There's an abrasion, quite deep, but once cleaned and bandaged, it will be fine in a while."

Heiji watched with curiosity. He was truly skilled; Chi Feichi must be a highly capable doctor. "Is Mr. Chi a medical student?"

Chi Feichi looked down as he cleaned the pigeon’s wound. "I study veterinary medicine."

"V-veterinary medicine?!" Heiji looked at the pigeon, then at his own ankle and arm, feeling that something was deeply strange.

Conan could only offer a dry laugh, though he was still a bit worried about Heiji’s foot.

Heiji felt dejected for a moment, but thinking of Chi Feichi’s skill, he decided not to dwell on it. "Right, I forgot to tell you. Kaito Kid was sniped..."

Rex the snake poked its head out from Chi Feichi’s collar, startling Heiji.

"Hey, it's not planning to eat this pigeon, is it?"

"No." Chi Feichi pushed Rex’s head back into his collar and continued treating the white dove. "And then?"

Heiji watched the casual interaction between Chi Feichi and the snake, finding it eerie, and looked away to avoid seeing it. "Kaito Kid fell into the sea, and his whereabouts are unknown. The police have already sent people to search for him."

At the mention of this, Conan held his phone out to Chi Feichi, letting him see the photos he had taken at the scene. "Heiji took me there on his motorcycle, but he was knocked off his bike by a car mid-way. When I reached the spot, the only things left on the ground were this pigeon, a broken monocle, and a shattered box. The police will bring the Memory Egg later..."

Chi Feichi bandaged the pigeon, set it aside, and glanced at the photo. "The pattern of the shattered lens doesn't look like it was caused by a fall."

Heiji leaned in to look at the photo as well. "Indeed. A portion of the lens is still stuck in the frame, and the cracks radiate outward. Plus, the shards on the ground are long and thin. That means..."

"The assailant aimed at Kaito Kid’s right eye," Conan continued, thinking. "They intended to shoot through the eye into the brain? But there’s no blood on the lens, which means the bullet didn't penetrate his eye, and his life wasn't in danger. At most, it was just a graze."

Hidden under Chi Feichi’s jacket, Rex let out a long sigh of relief. "Scared me to death..."

"That guy isn't so easy to kill," Chi Feichi said, primarily to reassure the snake.

Conan nodded and raised a question. "But who would attack him? A snipe meant to end his life—is this someone Kaito Kid has offended?"

"It could also be because of this egg," Chi Feichi suggested, guiding their thoughts. "When Kaito Kid went to steal the egg, the assailant didn't act. It wasn't until just before he was about to leave that they fired. While we can't rule out that they calculated the trajectory of the hang glider based on the wind and laid an ambush, I’m more inclined to believe they were tracking Kaito Kid as well. Of course, that's just a guess."

"And then, seeing that Kaito Kid was about to succeed in stealing the egg and escape, they opened fire to stop him?" Conan rubbed his chin in thought. "Then their goal was likely to prevent Kaito Kid from taking the egg..."

"The people who wouldn't want Kaito Kid to steal the egg include the police and the Suzuki Foundation, but they wouldn't do something like this," Heiji followed the logic. "That leaves only someone who wanted the egg for themselves and had the opportunity!"

"If they wanted the egg, they could have just bought it before the exhibition. If someone offered eight hundred million for it, the Suzuki Foundation would have surely given them face," Conan continued. "But they didn't do that, which means they wanted to obtain it by other means."

"Preferably by finding a chance to get close to the egg," Heiji looked at Conan and smiled. "Interesting. We happened to meet a group of people today who wanted the egg but couldn't afford it, yet had the opportunity to touch it!"

Chi Feichi was satisfied. As expected of two famous high school detectives; with a little guidance, they could deduce so much. They were very easy to work with. "The fact that they targeted the right eye—I'm not sure if it was a coincidence, the optimal aiming point from their position, or some kind of ritual or habit. After all, compared to the right eye, hitting the heart would be easier, wouldn't it? It feels like... showing off marksmanship?"

"Wait a minute! I remember..."

Heiji searched his phone for a moment, then placed it in front of the two of them. "Scorpion! A person interested in the Romanov dynasty artifacts. Their identity is unknown, but every time this person kills, the bullet strikes the right eye and pierces the brain!"

"The Imperial Easter Egg is also a Romanov artifact. If our speculation is correct, we have a problem. A very dangerous person is among the people we met earlier today..." Conan’s expression turned solemn. Although he didn't confirm that 'this is the truth,' his detective’s intuition told him that this hypothesis was very likely the reality!