Stay away from Conan.

"This person... I remember they're the new transfer student in Xiaolan's class, right?"

After a moment's thought, Gao Yuan suddenly struck up a conversation, looking at Hondou Eisuke, and then turning to ask Ran beside him.

Xiaolan didn't think much of it and simply nodded in agreement.

Immediately, Hondou Eisuke, who had been called over, looked at Takato beside Ran, introduced himself, and then responded to Takato:

"Hello, Detective Akechi."

For Hondo Eisuke, this was the second time he had met Akechi Takato, so he naturally responded to this detective whom he was not very familiar with and had only met once.

As for Gao Yuan, he had only actually met Hondo Eisuke once before, during the "Tanabata-kyo" incident, at the Metropolitan Police Department. Therefore, he couldn't appear too familiar with him. He merely used this topic to seemingly get closer to him, but in reality, he used it as a starting point to ask further questions:
"Oh? You're Hondo Eisuke, right? Which school did you transfer from? Who are you here to visit? Is some relative of yours sick and hospitalized?"

Thus, Gao Yuan asked the question in a seemingly casual tone, but it was also a deliberate attempt to probe, as if to say—

As a transfer student who came to Teitan High School in Beika Town from another area, who is visiting a hospitalized patient at Beika Central Hospital in Beika Town?

Thus, Hondo Eisuke, whose purpose in coming here was not pure, was naturally wary of Takato's seemingly casual question, regardless of whether he noticed Takato's "deliberate" intention, and realized that the question was not easy to answer.

Therefore, Hondo Eisuke quickly thought about how to deal with this problem, since he was currently in the enclosed elevator and could not avoid it.

As it happened, the elevator floor button that Gao Yuan and Xiao Lan had pressed earlier was now in use, and the elevator doors opened at just the right moment as the elevator arrived at its destination.

Therefore, Hondo Eisuke, who had just come up with a plan, immediately feigned urgency and hurriedly said:
"Sorry, sorry, I have an urgent matter—"

Without explicitly stating what the urgent matter was, Hondo Eisuke quickly stepped out of the elevator, greeted the two people, and hurried towards the edge of the corridor, leaving as if flying.

Seeing this, Gao Yuan didn't stop him, and Xiao Lan didn't have time to speak, but based on their reactions alone, the two could roughly guess what Hondou Eisuke was going to do—

That's the direction of the restroom.

Therefore, after the two stepped out of the elevator, watching Hondo Eisuke's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, Ran eventually turned her gaze away and stopped paying attention, preparing to head towards the ward where Kudo Shinichi was.

"Ok?"

As a result, just as Xiaolan was about to leave, she noticed that Gao Yuan paused slightly and looked solemnly in the direction Hondou Eisuke had left. She couldn't help but wonder and asked him a question.

"You go find Kudo first, I'll go check on him."

Gao Yuan said calmly.

Xiao Lan paused for a moment, somewhat puzzled, but she understood that Gao Yuan might be concerned about something, so she nodded without asking any further questions.

Thus, the two parted ways and went their separate ways.

Xiao Lan walked deeper into the corridor, turned two corners, and came to the door of a ward.

There was no name written on the door, only an inconspicuous number.

After confirming the door number was correct, Xiaolan raised her hand and gently knocked on the door. Then, Ms. Judy's voice came from inside:
"Who?"

"Ms. Judy, it's me, Xiaolan."

After hearing that it was Ms. Judy's voice, Xiaolan responded, and a moment later, the door was opened from the inside.

So Xiaolan walked into the ward, her gaze unconsciously sweeping across the room—

Shinichi Kudo was leaning against the hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown. His complexion had improved a lot, and he seemed to be in good spirits.

Ms. Judy stood near the door, while against the wall behind the door leaned a tall, stern-faced man.

They weren't exactly acquainted, but Xiaolan had met the other person before and knew he was an FBI agent. She had also met him in Japan, but didn't know his specific name.

It's Shuichi Akai.

Ran was slightly taken aback, but before she could think further, Shinichi Kudo reacted first—

"You're here, Xiaolan!"

Shinichi Kudo chuckled casually:

"Don't be so serious, it's nothing serious for me."

Feigning nonchalance, upon seeing Ran, Shinichi Kudo temporarily put aside all the questions he had been pondering and simply responded as casually as possible, "Shinichi, are you... really alright?"

After hearing what Shinichi Kudo said, Ran walked to the bedside and looked him over carefully, her eyes filled with barely concealed worry.

"It's nothing serious, just a minor scratch."

Shinichi Kudo smiled, raised his hand and moved his arm to indicate that he was really fine.

"Really? But back then..."

Ran clearly remembers the battle atop the Tokyo Tower. Even though Shinichi Kudo tried his best, he couldn't muster the strength to move, appearing severely injured. Moreover, the "culprit" was incredibly ruthless; Ran herself struggled to defend herself. So, what about Shinichi…?

"It certainly didn't injure any vital organs."

Seeing Ran's nervousness, Jodie chimed in for Shinichi Kudo, speaking in a gentle tone:

"You can be discharged after a few days of rest."

At this point, Ran felt a little relieved. Then, she glanced somewhat unconsciously in Akai Shuichi's direction. Perhaps being watched by two FBI agents in this situation still made Ran feel a little awkward.

She knew perfectly well that the whole thing involved something very important, but if she pressed for details, Ran was afraid she would inevitably ask about Shinichi and Conan, so she could only hold back and not ask. It was just an awkward situation, and she didn't know how to handle it.

Shuichi Akai, whom she was noticing, was also calmly looking at her, showing no intention of speaking.

It's this girl again? It's really...

Coincidence, right?
Shuichi Akai had some thoughts running through his mind.

"By the way, where is Mr. Akechi?"

At this moment, Shinichi Kudo suddenly asked, after all, he knew that Ran and Takato had come together.

"Mr. Mingzhi, he..."

Ran paused for a moment, then truthfully recounted how they had happened to run into Hondo Eisuke at the hospital. She then suddenly remembered something and began to talk about Hondo Eisuke—

"By the way, Shinichi, you don't know who Hondou Eisuke is, do you? He's a new transfer student in our class, and he looks like that guy..."

"The female host, Rena Mizunashi, looks a lot like her..."

"My Lord Yingyou?"

Upon hearing this name, Shinichi Kudo frowned slightly.

Meanwhile, Shuichi Akai and Jodie, standing nearby, also noticed a change in their expressions after hearing Ran's story—

Does she look a lot like Rena Mizunashi?

In this hospital?
Rena Mizunashi herself is right here right now!

These successive occurrences led the group to consider things differently...

……

Meanwhile, in the hospital restroom—

Hondo Eisuke strode in, but instead of actually solving anything, he went straight to the sink, turned on the tap, and washed his hands and face, seemingly to calm himself down.

That wise and far-sighted person...

Looking at himself in the mirror, Hondo Eisuke calmed down and vaguely felt that the questions Takato had asked him in the elevator earlier, though seemingly casual, seemed to be testing him for something.

How is this going?

If I encounter the same person again and they continue to ask me the same question, how should I answer?

Just as Hondo Eisuke was pondering this, suddenly—

A series of button clicks came from the direction of the toilet stall...

Suddenly, Hondou Eisuke froze... (End of Chapter)