Conan: I'm a zaibatsu in Tokyo

The smell of disinfectant is even more unpleasant than the smell of burning flames.

An ordinary private hospital ward.

Shuichi Akai lay in his hospital bed.

The burns on my left arm have been treated by the doctor and are bandaged tightly.

The anesthetic temporarily relieved the burning pain.

He can't sleep.

Or rather, he was afraid to sleep.

Shuichi Akai leaned against the headboard, his eyes bloodshot, watching every corner of the ward warily.

He slept so well last night, and then he got trapped inside the fire.

He wasn't sure if things would be calm tonight.

In fact, the police had called him in the evening to say that they had found the arsonist.

A tenant got into an argument with his landlord and accidentally killed him.

He was afraid of being discovered, so he burned down the house, intending to end it all and cover up the truth.

As for the things blocking his doorway...

The police said it was placed there by the landlord.

Now that the landlord is dead, his purpose in leaving those things is naturally unknown.

Shuichi Akai scoffed at the police's explanation.

The police have used this kind of thing far too often: impersonating someone else to take the blame, leaving no way to verify the truth after the fact.

The Japanese media and the public now have a great deal of distrust of the police. When they encounter problems, they turn to detective agencies first, rather than the Metropolitan Police Department.

Not to mention Shuichi Akai, the FBI agent.

"Drip, drip, drip."

The monitor's beat suddenly quickened by two beats. Akai's heart also raced.

Just a moment ago, he sensed someone behind the curtains.

His reason told him that there was only a chair and a potted plant for visiting the sick.

I must have been seeing things.

But sometimes, you can't rely too much on your own rationality.

Zheng Yi's surprise attack at the alley entrance today was no coincidence.

Seeing that he was not dead, Zheng Yi would definitely do something else.

Suddenly, the sound of a doorknob turning filled the silent room.

Akai's body tensed instantly, and his right hand instinctively reached for his waist, only to find an empty hospital gown.

He held his breath, his eyes fixed on the door.

He placed his hand on the bed railing and easily broke it off to use as a weapon.

The door opened.

A nurse in a white coat entered, pushing a mobile nursing cart, with a professional and gentle smile on her face.

But when she saw Shuichi Akai, she froze.

Because Shuichi Akai was holding up the bed railing, as if he was about to smash it down on her.

“Um,” Shuichi Akai said, “this bed rail is broken.”

"Then I'll put the other one down too."

The nurse placed the medicine on the table, took the 'weapon' from Shuichi Akai's hand, and lowered the other side of the bed rail.

She looked at Shuichi Akai and said, "I'll have the repairman come over again tomorrow."

"Thank you for your help."

"It's alright, it's time to change the dressing." The nurse glanced at the bedside card.

"Mr. Okiya, does your wound still hurt?"

Shuichi Akai stared at her.

The nurse's movements were very standard, and her eyes were very gentle.

But Akai sensed a dangerous aura emanating from her.

Shuichi Akai couldn't help but start to let his mind wander.

Hospitals are actually very suitable places for murder.

For example, an excessive amount of anesthetic, or a bottle of saline solution that has been switched.

There are other drugs as well, and there are many areas where they can be manipulated.

“I won’t change the dressing,” Shuichi Akai said.

The nurse was taken aback, seemingly not expecting the patient to react this way, and stood there somewhat awkwardly.

"Sir, these are the doctor's orders. If the dressing isn't changed on time, the wound may become infected..."

“I said, no need.” Akai narrowed his eyes slightly: “What time were you on duty? What happened to the previous nurse?”

The nurse felt a little uneasy under his gaze and instinctively took a step back: "Um... the night shift nurse has gone off duty, I'm taking over..."

She felt that the patient in front of her was strange.

Those who refuse to change their medication are usually children or the elderly.

"Succession?"

Shuichi Akai's gaze fell on the medicine cart she pushed over.

The syringes and medicine bottles were neatly arranged on it, and they looked somewhat cold under the light.

"I don't need a change of dressing, you can leave." Akai's tone became more forceful.

The nurse was intimidated by his imposing manner and was somewhat at a loss. In the end, she could only put down the medicine tray and hurriedly leave the ward.

The door closed.

Akai did not relax; on the contrary, he became even more tense.

He quickly got out of bed, his movements somewhat clumsy due to the injury to his left arm, but he didn't care.

He walked to the door, locked it from the inside, and then moved a chair to block the doorknob.

After doing all this, he didn't go back to bed, but leaned against the wall, his gaze turning to the potted green plant that had been there to visit him.

It was brought by the family of the patient in the next ward, who said it was to express their condolences to the brave survivor.

That patient was discharged this afternoon.

Shuichi Akai felt very confused at the time.

They met by chance, but the person was overly enthusiastic, and the excuse for giving a gift was quite crude.

He searched carefully inside the flowerpot but found no listening devices or poisonous substances.

"Am I being too sensitive?" Shuichi Akai muttered to himself.

But he was still cautious and threw the flowerpot outside.

He dared not touch anything, dared not drink a drop of water, dared not take a single pill.

However, reality was far less dramatic than he had imagined.

The nurse he suspected of being the killer was complaining to her colleagues.

"That patient's eyes were terrifying, like he wanted to eat people."

"And for no apparent reason, he refused to change his medication and even questioned me as if I would harm him."

Time passed by, and the sky gradually brightened.

Morning light shone through the gaps in the curtains onto the water glass on the bedside table.

Akai leaned against the corner of the wall, his eyelids as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He was worried that Zheng Yi would take action, and he didn't sleep all night.

"Boom, boom."

Sudden.

There was a rapid knocking on the door.

Shuichi Akai didn't move. There were loud footsteps outside, and it was only one person's footsteps.

"Mr. Okiya, I'm the doctor here for rounds." A gentle male voice came from outside the door.

Shuichi Akai frowned.

He looked up at the clock on the wall; it was time for hospital rounds.

According to the usual procedure, ward rounds are usually conducted by a group of people, with doctors and nurses usually in a group.

No nurses are on ward rounds?

This is illogical.

He thought of the nurse with the strange attitude last night, and the neighbor who inexplicably sent flowers.

I overreacted the previous two times, so what about this time?

A syringe, a bottle of medicine, or even just a little manipulation of his wound—all these could secretly worsen his condition.

"Mr. Okiya? Are you there?"

The doctor's voice rang out again, accompanied by the slight sound of the doorknob turning.

The doctor was puzzled to find the door locked from the inside.

Shuichi Akai looked around and his gaze fell on the bed railing that he had taken down last night.

That is the most suitable weapon.

"Mr. Okiya, are you awake? What's the situation inside?" The doctor's voice was full of doubt.

When he first arrived at the hospital, the nurses told him that the patient refused to change his medication and was speaking very aggressively.

What should the patient do about this problem?
"I'm the doctor in charge of your medical records, and I need to check on your burn recovery," the doctor said.

Don't die inside.

The doctor used more and more force, but he couldn't open the door at all.

"Mr. Okiya, if you don't open the door, I'll have to ask the nurse to get the spare key," the doctor said anxiously.

Shuichi Akai picked up the heavy metal bar of the bed rail, gripped it tightly with both hands, and slowly walked towards the door.

The doctor outside seemed to be getting impatient and began to knock on the door forcefully.
“Mr. Okiya, we know you’re inside. Please cooperate with our work.”

He reached out, unlocked the door, and hid the bed rails behind his back.

The door opened.

The doctor's hand, which was about to knock on the door again, froze in mid-air. He was somewhat surprised to see the door open.

When he saw Akai's scrutinizing face, he paused for a moment:
"Mr. Okiya? Are you alright? Why did you lock the door?"

Akai stepped aside slightly to make way, his voice calm: "I didn't sleep well last night and had a nightmare. I'm sorry to have kept the doctor waiting."

"Oh." The doctor nodded.

Without any reaction, he walked straight into the ward, but when he entered and saw what Shuichi Akai was holding, he subconsciously swallowed.

This patient doesn't seem to have violent tendencies, does he?
"It's alright, the patient's emotions are also part of the illness." The chief physician pushed up his glasses, his tone becoming much gentler.

"Come, Mr. Okiya, sit down. Let me see how your wound is healing. Don't worry, we're here."

Also, put down what you're holding.

"it is good."

Akai obediently sat on the edge of the bed, watching the doctor open the toolbox and place the bed rails within easy reach.

The doctor simply asked about his condition; it was no different from a regular ward round.

But Shuichi Akai's years of experience as a secret agent told him that this doctor exuded a dangerous aura.

"Does the hospital only have one person making rounds?" Shuichi Akai asked.

"No, it's because a patient had a problem, and all the doctors and nurses rushed over, so I was the only one left to make rounds," the doctor said.

“Oh.” Shuichi Akai nodded.

Then the doctor comforted Shuichi Akai, telling him to manage his emotions and not resist changing his medication.

A nurse will come to change his dressing in a little while.

After saying this, the doctor left without looking back.

Shuichi Akai frowned, wondering if he had guessed wrong again.

He sensed danger from both the nurse and the doctor from last night, but neither of them made a move against him.

"Could it really be that my perception is wrong?" Shuichi Akai muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling.

At 10 a.m., Shuichi Akai finally confirmed that there was no danger in the hospital and no assassins sent by Shoichi.

He chuckled softly.

Even if Zheng Yi were to make a second move, it wouldn't happen this quickly.

We definitely need to be prepared.

As he prepared to rest.

"Murder! Oda is dead!"

Akai suddenly opened his eyes, his body tensing instantly.

He instinctively reached for the bed rail.

He stepped barefoot onto the floor and silently approached the crack in the door.

Through the narrow gap, he saw the nurse from last night slumped down next to the nurses' station.

“I killed Oda,” the nurse confessed. “This guy abandoned me; he deserves to die.”

She said between sobs, "The person sitting on the chair next to me looks like Kogoro Mouri."
Police quickly rushed into the scene, and the cold handcuffs clicked shut on the nurse's hands.

The nurse was taken away by the police.

Shuichi Akai's perception was correct.

That nurse was indeed very dangerous.

However, the danger was not for him, but for others.

Then he stopped thinking about it.

I've been in Tokyo for so long.

He had already gotten used to the frequency of murders here.

In the afternoon, the head doctor who was making rounds came again, still with his gentle and refined demeanor.

He still exuded a dangerous aura that Shuichi Akai could sense.

But this time, Akai keenly caught the fleeting panic in his eyes.

Not long after the doctor left, a heated argument broke out in the next ward.

"The deceased's electrocardiogram clearly showed sinus rhythm, how could he suddenly develop ventricular fibrillation?"

A childish voice rang out.

Then, Kogoro Mouri seemed to fall asleep, and the case began.

Akai quietly opened the door a crack and curiously looked into the next room.

Not long after, the doctor began to kneel on the ground and repent.

He covered his eyes and wept bitterly, repenting as he cried.

It turns out that in order to cover up a medical accident, he injected the patient with an excessive amount of potassium to fake cardiac arrest.

However, Kogoro exposed his deception on the spot by observing subtle flaws in the electrocardiogram and injection marks.

"I just want to protect the hospital's reputation..."

The doctor collapsed to the ground in despair, and his glasses fell to the ground as the police carried him away.

Akai leaned against the door, frowning as he watched everything unfold.

It turns out that his perceptions were all correct.

These two people are indeed dangerous, but not to him, but to others.

Both of them have now been taken away by the police.

Shuichi Akai breathed a sigh of relief.

He felt that the hospital had bad feng shui, as two murders had occurred in one day.

While it's true that the probability of a murder in Tokyo is high, this is way too high.

He went out of the ward for some fresh air.

A patient wearing a hospital gown accidentally bumped into him while walking.

"sorry."

“It’s nothing.” Shuichi Akai shook his head.

Suddenly, Shuichi Akai sensed a murderous aura emanating from that person.

That person left after apologizing.

Shuichi Akai was like a frightened bird.

……

Do you still feel like someone is following you today?

At the dinner table, Zheng Yi used serving chopsticks to put a piece of natto on Xiao Ai's plate and took the chicken leg from her bowl.

Ai glared at Shoichi, then shook her head: "No."

Then he turned around and added some natto to Zhengyi's bowl.

Zheng Yi casually transferred the natto to Curacao's bowl and said:

"I led my men to search the streets several times, but we didn't find anyone suspicious. They're probably hiding."

"But don't worry, if this guy has ulterior motives, we'll definitely catch him if he shows his face again."

As they were talking, Zheng Yi picked up the serving chopsticks and reached for the natto.

Ai and Curaçao picked up their bowls at the same time. (End of Chapter)