Beika Town, Luxury Apartment Building, Room 303.
Chi Feichi carried Haibara Ai through the door.
Kitagawa Adachi followed behind, nagging incessantly. "Mr. Chi, we really should take her to the hospital and notify her family. I don't know what her parents are thinking, letting a small child run around barefoot in the rain..."
Chi Feichi carried Haibara Ai into the bathroom and placed her in the bathtub.
Kitagawa continued, "Even if she's unconscious and can't contact her family, we should still call the police. Her family might be frantically searching everywhere for her right now..."
Chi Feichi took out a large bath towel.
Seeing that Chi Feichi remained silent, Kitagawa decided to take action himself and pulled out his phone. "Hmm? Senior Fukuyama is calling..."
Chi Feichi placed the towel on the edge of the tub and looked up.
Kitagawa suddenly had a bad premonition. "Chi..."
Chop. A strike to the neck.
The world was finally quiet.
Chi Feichi supported the collapsing Kitagawa with one hand while taking the phone with the other. He answered calmly, mimicking Kitagawa's voice. His face was expressionless, but his tone was filled with apology.
"Senior Fukuyama, we ran into a bit of trouble. No... cough cough, we found a lost little girl on the way. She was caught in the rain and passed out from a fever. We're about to take her to the hospital. Cough... Yes, maybe I got a bit wet in the rain earlier too, I have a slight cold... Please rest assured, Mr. Chi is fine. I've already contacted the girl's parents. They aren't in Tokyo, but they're rushing over... Yes, once they arrive, we'll head back..."
He hung up the phone and proceeded to deal with the drowned rat of a little loli.
He helped give her a bath, wrapped her in a towel, and tossed her into bed.
In a bit, he would need to buy two sets of clothes for a little girl, pick up the books delivered downstairs by the bookstore, check if there was cold medicine at home (there was), and since there were no groceries, buy two bentos...
Quite a few things to do.
Two hours later, the rain outside the window gradually stopped.
The lights in the living room and bedroom were on. Chi Feichi sat at his desk, browsing a webpage on his computer screen.
Taking advantage of this rare opportunity for unrestricted internet access, he checked for information on the Deep Web.
In this world, bounty hunters existed, but there was no International Investigation Bureau.
To accept bounties, one needed to contact the relevant department of a specific country, register, and obtain approval before acting.
In the US, it was the FBI or CIA. In Japan, it was the Security Bureau of the National Police Agency...
There were two ways to register.
One was to go in person. A bounty hunter's identity wasn't necessarily top secret; there were plenty of flamboyant hunters in the world. Upon arrival, they would ask about your situation, test your skills, and then put you on the register.
The other way was to find their portal via the Deep Web, contact the administrator, and register. Both parties used anonymous accounts, and contact could remain entirely online without meeting face-to-face.
In his past life, Chi Feichi had used the first method.
Without much thought, Chi Feichi abandoned the first method this time.
He was currently a mental patient. Even if discharged, his medical history would remain. It was better to keep a low profile; otherwise, he might be rejected outright...
He found the Public Security portal and sent a message to the administrator:
[Bounty Hunter Registration. Area of Activity: Japan]
The reply came quickly: [Have you conducted bounty operations in other countries before? If so, please provide your code name and license number.]
Chi Feichi: [No prior bounty operations.]
The other party: [There is very little bounty hunter activity in Japan. Why choose to be a bounty hunter in Japan?]
Chi Feichi: [Because I am in Japan.]
That... made a lot of sense!
The reply was delayed by nearly half a minute: [Provide a code name.]
Chi Feichi: [July.]
The other party: [What is your preferred method of payment?]
Chi Feichi sent over his anonymous foreign bank account number: [2219...]
The other party: [Provide contact information.]
Chi Feichi registered a new email address: [8781...]
The other party: [Do you understand the scope of a bounty hunter's actions?]
Chi Feichi: [Understood.]
As long as the pay was right, bounty hunters would do basically anything. Even delivering food wasn't out of the question.
Apart from that, there were commissions for treasure hunting, information gathering, and the like.
It seemed similar to detective work, but unlike detectives, the job included high-risk tasks like apprehending dangerous criminals, or illegal work like raids and assassinations.
The difference between them and mercenaries was that mercenaries usually operated in groups with strict discipline, while bounty hunters were drifters. Many worked alone, and even when they teamed up to cover their weaknesses, groups rarely exceeded five people.
The other party sent a set of operational rules and a data package: [We need to assess your skill level.]
Chi Feichi opened it to check. The rules were roughly—
- No bounties paid if innocents are harmed or the criminal dies; accountability will be pursued.
- If arrested while executing an illegal mission assigned by them, some assistance may be provided depending on the situation.
- No support given for personal illegal acts or arrests resulting from third-party commissions.
- Plus the basic clauses: keep missions confidential, bring your own tools, cover your own operational costs.
It was within Chi Feichi's expectations; much the same as his previous life.
However, as for the "assistance"... better to forget about it.
Sometimes it was better to abandon a mission than to take unnecessary risks. If you counted on others to wipe your ass, you'd eventually find out they were just being polite.
The data package contained three bounty missions:
1. Gather evidence of crimes by a violent syndicate member.
2 Apprehend a serial killer.
3. Protect a target.
Gathering, apprehending, protecting. Three directions serving as an initial assessment and evaluation.
If he couldn't complete any of them, they might keep his registration for a while, and he could still find bounties on his own. But until he proved his strength, they likely wouldn't contact him proactively again.
The truly challenging, high-paying bounties were often handled internally...
The protection mission was only for three days, yet offered the highest bounty.
The investigation and apprehension missions had no time limit.
Logically, the priority should be the protection mission, while the others could wait.
Especially the apprehension mission—they only provided a photo and simple personal information. Who knew where the target was hiding? Finding the person would take effort.
But the target of this apprehension mission was special... Numabuchi Kiichiro!
He recalled this plotline somewhat. Who wouldn't want to easily farm some money and reputation?
As long as he found Numabuchi Kiichiro before Conan did...
However, judging by the timeline, Haibara Ai had already defected, so Numabuchi's capture was likely happening within these few days. The timing was tight. Should he take this opportunity to go wild?
Chi Feichi looked at Kitagawa Adachi, who was unconscious on the sofa. He had fooled the mental hospital for now, but once Kitagawa woke up and they went back, he'd likely face intensive observation and psychological counseling again.
A slight noise came from the bedroom.
The half-closed door was pushed open. Haibara Ai looked into the living room, freezing in the doorway.
Actually, she had woken up a while ago. But upon waking, she discovered she had been changed into a set of well-fitting, brand-new warm brown pajamas. The pants even had a round black ball for a tail, which made her feelings instantly complicated.
What is with these cutesy pajamas?
No, the real question is: Who changed my clothes?
She remembered meeting two men, mistaking them for Organization members, almost despairing, and then being picked up by one of them before passing out...
Before coming out, she had comforted herself: Maybe after those two men brought me back, their sister or female friend... anyway, maybe a girl bought the clothes and changed me. Yes, only a girl would choose these kinds of pajamas. Only a girl would be thoughtful enough to also buy... matching brown bear slippers... and matching panties...
Then, she opened the door, saw no girl in the living room, and her heart went cold.
"Awake?" Chi Feichi looked up, temporarily locked the computer screen, and stood up to boil water in the kitchen. "There's a bento on the table. Eat first, then take the medicine."
Haibara Ai stared at Chi Feichi as he entered the kitchen, swallowing a stomach full of words. She walked silently to the table, picked up the bento box, sat on the sofa, and ate with her head down.
His calmness left her completely unsure of what to say.
Moreover, if he asked about her family situation, she needed to think about how to cover it up.
However, Chi Feichi didn't ask...
Once the water boiled, he poured a cup and placed it on the table along with the cold medicine he had found earlier. Then, he turned back to sit at the computer.
While eating, Haibara Ai stole a glance at Kitagawa Adachi sleeping on the opposite sofa.
His jacket sleeves had dried rain marks, yet he hadn't taken the coat off. His tie was pressed under his shoulder. It didn't look like he had fallen asleep naturally.
But, watching his chest rise and fall, he was breathing. He was alive...
She looked at Chi Feichi again. He seemed to be downloading something onto a phone connected to the computer, with absolutely no intention of speaking.
Inexplicably...
Haibara Ai felt the silence was so profound it was as if she were the only one there. "I'm staying at a relative's house. If I don't go back, they'll be worried."
Chi Feichi: "Take your medicine, then I'll take you there."
Haibara Ai: "..."
Silence.
One person ate, one person watched the download progress on the phone.
About a minute later...
"Did you change my clothes?" Haibara Ai asked.
"Yes," Chi Feichi confessed. "I also helped give you a bath."
"You bought the clothes too?" Haibara Ai looked a bit uncomfortable.
Chi Feichi didn't even look up. "Yeah. Besides the pajamas, I bought you two sets of daily clothes. Before we leave, you can pick a set you like and change. Beneath that lab coat, you were only wearing an ill-fitting T-shirt and nothing else. It was all soaked in dirty water..."
Haibara Ai's ears turned red instantly. She lowered her head and shoveled two mouthfuls of rice. After shrinking, her old clothes definitely wouldn't fit, but why did a grown man have to be so detailed as to buy panties for her too...?!
I could have bought them myself when I woke up...
Silence reigned again for over a minute.
Haibara Ai recovered. "Thank you..."
Chi Feichi: "You're welcome."
Haibara Ai: "..."
Silence reigned again for over a minute.
Haibara Ai: "What happened to him?"
Chi Feichi: "Ether."
Haibara Ai: "..."
Is it that hard to say a few more words?
It was lucky she understood he meant the man had been knocked out with ether...
Fortunately, this time Chi Feichi added a sentence as an explanation. "It's better to let him sleep for a while."
Haibara Ai remembered hearing in her daze earlier that these two seemed to be going somewhere. "I seem to have caused you trouble..."
"Not trouble," Chi Feichi said. "I had something to do anyway."
Seeing that Chi Feichi didn't elaborate, Haibara Ai didn't press further. She looked at him. "Aren't you curious why I was running alone in the street on a rainy day?"
Chi Feichi: "Nothing to be curious about."
Haibara Ai: "Nothing you want to ask?"
Chi Feichi: "No."
Haibara Ai: "..."
Speechless stare.
Chi Feichi: "..."
Calmly stares back.
Haibara Ai lowered her head and continued eating.
She lost!