Haibara Ai ate her noodles with her head down, pondering whether Chi Feichi had a prejudice against Michiwaki Masahiko or if he had noticed something.
She pondered all the way until she finished her noodles, but still couldn't see what was so objectionable about Michiwaki Masahiko.
She continued pondering all the way back to the inn.
After following him into the room, Haibara Ai finally couldn't help asking, "Is there something wrong with that Mr. Michiwaki?"
Chi Feichi took out his laptop from his luggage bag and said calmly, "I don't like yellow clothes, especially yellow clothes worn by tall men. It feels too dazzling."
Haibara Ai choked: "..."
Just... just that reason?
In the afternoon, the clear sky was gradually covered by dark clouds.
Feichi couldn't stand being cooped up in the room anymore and crawled out the window for a stroll.
In the room, Chi Feichi sat on the floor leaning against the wall, looking up information on his laptop.
Medical majors in Japan are quite unique. It's a six-year program awarding a Bachelor's degree upon graduation. However, there is no corresponding 'Master's degree' for medical fields; one can apply for a Doctorate directly after the Bachelor's.
So, in reality, it's a combined Bachelor's and Master's program without the Master's degree.
The original consciousness had already earned enough course credits. Exams could be passed relying on the original consciousness's memory, but he had to work on the graduation thesis himself.
Currently, the first part could be started, but the second part had to wait until the clinical investigation was completely finished. Finally, there would be adjustments and revisions. It would probably take two or three months to complete.
He didn't understand how desperate the original consciousness must have been to choose this major.
Although veterinarians have high salaries, he didn't seem to need to work. Wouldn't a four-year management major be better?
Haibara Ai came prepared this time, specifically bringing her laptop to help look up relevant literature, organizing it, and sending it to Chi Feichi's email.
The research topic Chi Feichi chose was the selection of inhalation anesthesia protocols for cats and intraoperative monitoring. She could at least help organize information on commonly used sedatives and analgesics.
Moreover, she had research experience in pharmaceuticals, and her speed was much faster than average people. While others were just starting to search, she might have already found it. While others were still browsing, she might have already organized what was needed, saving Chi Feichi a lot of time.
Before the rain started, Suzuki Sonoko, Mouri Ran, and Conan finally rushed back.
Just as Conan entered the room, rain began to patter outside the window.
"Let's stop here for today," Haibara Ai said to Chi Feichi, saved the data, and then asked Conan, "Didn't you go to see the crime scene? How was it?"
"The police are still investigating, and there are no useful clues. We only know the killer is a serial offender. A girl was also killed on this day last year. Both victims had the same brown hair and were stabbed multiple times in the abdomen," Conan changed into slippers and walked over. He didn't need to hide anything in front of these two, pondering with a grave expression. "The time of death for this year's victim was between 8 PM and 9 PM last night, exactly when we were on our way back from watching the fireworks display..."
"There were quite a few people walking with us at that time," Haibara Ai thought along. " Since there were no witnesses, it must have been in a relatively secluded place, right?"
"It was in the woods next to the train tracks. It was so dark at the time, impossible for anyone to see anything," Conan thought for a while, but with so few clues, he couldn't figure anything out, so he simply stopped thinking about it. "By the way, do you want to go eat together later?"
"Do you think it's appropriate for me to go?" Chi Feichi asked calmly.
Conan realized. Right, someone asked a girl out for dinner; having a man tag along all the time is weird. "True..."
Haibara Ai yawned. "I won't go either."
"Then what about your dinner?" Conan asked. "Do you want us to bring some back?"
"No need," Chi Feichi took out his phone. "There's a restaurant in the inn. I asked Kyogoku to save two portions for me."
With such an upright junior, whose food should I eat if not his?
A while later, Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran, having changed clothes, knocked on the door to ask if Chi Feichi and Haibara Ai wanted to go eat together.
Chi Feichi refused directly. "You guys go. Feichi went out to play and hasn't come back yet."
"Went out to play?" Mouri Ran was surprised. "By himself?"
"It's okay. Anyway, Feichi doesn't bite," Conan was quite reassured.
Cats and dogs occasionally attacked people when frightened. Feichi had been carried around by Chi Feichi and played with a bunch of kids, yet Conan hadn't seen Feichi bite anyone so far.
He was simply the best-tempered pet he had ever seen.
Thinking about it this way, Feichi's slow tongue-flicking was actually quite cute...
Chi Feichi just silently looked at Conan. Even he didn't dare to tell others so certainly that Feichi wouldn't bite.
Mouri Ran agreed with Conan's statement but was a bit worried for Feichi. "But will he get lost?"
"Yeah," Suzuki Sonoko rested her chin on her hand, looking serious. "Even if he doesn't get lost, if he runs into the woods, he might encounter wild beasts. He can't beat them at all..."
Chi Feichi: "If he can't beat them, he will run."
Suzuki Sonoko: "..."
This... makes sense!
After chatting a bit more, the group went downstairs.
Chi Feichi decided to send Haibara Ai to the inn's kitchen first.
A knife-wielding murderer would appear later, and he couldn't guarantee the guy wouldn't sneak into their room.
If Haibara Ai had a gun, he believed the guy would definitely lose to her. But without a weapon, given Haibara Ai's small arms and legs, it was better for her to stay clear.
After sending Haibara Ai to the kitchen, Chi Feichi planned to check on Suzuki Sonoko's situation to confirm if his appearance had caused significant changes to the plot.
Just as Chi Feichi came out of the kitchen, on the second floor, Suzuki Sonoko, who realized she forgot her wallet, approached her room.
Inside the room, Michiwaki Masahiko cut open the luggage bag with a knife and rummaged through the contents in the dark.
Outside the window, Feichi hummed a little tune while climbing up the pillar under the eaves.
Suzuki Sonoko walked to the room. Just as she opened the door, she saw a figure where the luggage was kept. She froze for a moment. Before she could scream or run, her mouth was covered, and she was dragged inside.
Feichi, having climbed to the eaves, turned his head and saw two figures emitting heat in the next room. He recognized at a glance that one of the body shapes didn't match Sonoko or Ran. Flicking his tongue, he identified Michiwaki Masahiko's scent and decisively twisted his body to crawl towards the open window.
"Mmph..." Suzuki Sonoko bit down in the darkness during the struggle, but was quickly pinned down.
Feichi, having climbed to the window, also saw the situation inside clearly. He instantly propped himself up and lunged out. "Dare to bully our people?"
Chomp.
Just as Michiwaki Masahiko was about to strike the killing blow, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Something had bitten him. He froze involuntarily.
Suzuki Sonoko's eyes widened. Looking at the knife raised in the dark figure's hand, she suddenly noticed a long, thin thing hanging on the person's shoulder, its tail still wagging.
This... looks like a snake?
Feichi caught a glimpse of someone approaching outside the door. One of the body shapes looked very familiar. He bit once, then let go. While sliding down, he bit randomly wherever he could reach. Landing on the floor, he slithered to the door with a whoosh and whipped the door open with his tail. "Master, there's a bad guy here!"
Hearing the door being moved, Michiwaki Masahiko panicked. Although he didn't know what bit him, he immediately jumped out the window to escape.
Outside the door, Mouri Ran was just about to open the door when she saw it open by itself: "..."
Chi Feichi had already heard Feichi's voice. He took a step forward and reached out to turn on the room light.