Chapter 29: Heichi: Such a Troublesome Serpent

Climbing to the top...

In Chi Feichi’s typically calm eyes, there was, for once, a hint of expectation. In his past life, he could be considered a notable figure, though not among the most brilliant, and he had died in an accident. Being "banned" just when he had the momentum and the hope to climb higher was a deep regret.

This time, with his old account banned and a new one in a new district—complete with a cheat tool—there was no reason he couldn't reach the very top, or perhaps even... number one!

"Murder and arson bring golden belts," but he lacked no golden belts in this life. Still, the prestige rankings were definitely worth a push. When he had time, he might as well follow Conan and climb the ranks; no point in wasting those "prestige monsters."

Non-Chi hesitated for a moment. "Master, that kid Kuroba Kaito is quite interesting. Maybe we should go catch that 'Scorpion' instead..."

"I have no intention of catching him," Chi Feichi said, glancing at the search results again. He didn't want too many enemies like Scorpion did, and bounties didn't necessarily equal prestige—take Kaitou Kid, for instance; that guy's prestige was truly high. "Not bad, this guy’s price has gone up again."

Non-Chi: "..."

Is the Master waiting to fatten up Kuroba Kaito before "harvesting" him? It was definitely on the Master's side, but that kid Kuroba Kaito was actually a decent person... What a predicament for a snake.

Chi Feichi searched for his own codename, "July."

Bounty Pool:
Providing identity information: $10,000.
Turning over to the police: No bounty offered.
Additionally, there was a private bounty: $10,000 for identity information, and $100,000 if captured and turned over to private parties.

It was likely someone he had cornered during the evidence investigation last time. Whether it was the Inagawa-kai or others whose interests were harmed didn't matter. What mattered was whether the Police Agency had released the information intentionally or leaked it inadvertently. It was unlikely the Police Agency would leak it—not to protect his safety, but to maintain a sense of mystery and power. If they had released it on purpose, it meant they had some scheme; if it was leaked by accident, it meant their information security was poor.

He needed to verify their intentions, though for now, it wasn't much of a problem. After the parties involved in the evidence investigation were arrested, the remainder wouldn't pursue it to the end. Issuing a bounty was likely just a way to say, "We aren't to be trifled with, we are avenging them," nothing more.

Even if the bounty wasn't high, it was still "ranking up" for him. At least everyone who saw it would know there was a bounty hunter with the codename "July"...

Non-Chi stared at Chi Feichi, feeling uneasy. Why is the Master checking his own bounty? Does he not only want to fatten up Kuroba Kaito to sell him, but also consider fattening himself up to sell?

"Um... Master, I've decided, I can eat just one hamster per meal from now on."

Chi Feichi pulled himself from his thoughts, slightly puzzled. "Are you trying to lose weight?"

Non-Chi hesitated. "No..." It was worried that one day the Master would sell himself off!

"Then eat as you like. I've ordered bamboo rats for you; when the hamsters are gone, we'll eat the bamboo rats." Chi Feichi comforted it while pondering his plan of action.

First, how to prove that "Scorpion" is actually Scorpion. Scorpion’s identity was unknown; it wasn't as if he could just grab some girl and claim she was Scorpion and expect people to believe him. It was the same as catching Kuroba Kaito and claiming he was Kid—it would be useless unless caught in the act.

He could use Conan to catch the culprit in the act and expose Scorpion, but he couldn't follow the plot entirely. At the very least, he had to give Scorpion a chance to escape and be hunted...

***

In front of the living room, Professor Agasa and the Detective Boys stood collectively, staring blankly at Chi Feichi in the courtyard.

They had finished breakfast and saw Mamiya Mitsuru on the phone with Chi Feichi. They had intended not to disturb him and wait in the yard for a while before saying goodbye. But upon arriving at the door, they saw Chi Feichi playing with his phone and talking to a snake from time to time...

After watching for a moment, Professor Agasa looked away and chuckled dryly. "Tell me, Ai, you hinted that I should stay for breakfast—you weren't worried about Mr. Chi, were you?"

Haibara Ai didn't refute. She was indeed worried that Mamiya Mitsuru might lose control and do something, and that Chi Feichi might get hurt. Staying behind made it easier to stop them or help call the police if needed.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Conan said. "Last night, Mr. Chi carried Genta up the ladder with one hand; he didn't look like he was struggling at all. His body is very well-conditioned, and he must have practiced fighting techniques. I think if they really got into a fight, ten Mr. Mamiyas wouldn't be a match for Mr. Chi..."

"He has always been calm; he won't lose control," Haibara Ai turned to look at Conan, defensively arguing on Chi Feichi's behalf. "And it's not strange to talk to animals. I like talking to cats and dogs when I meet them. Is there a problem with that?"

"It's not the same," Conan shifted into analytical mode. "Average people only talk to animals at the beginning or when the animal is acting strangely, saying things like 'hello,' 'come here,' or 'are you feeling unwell?' They know the animal can't talk or respond, so they only say one or two sentences without pauses. Just now, Mr. Chi was different. Although I couldn't hear what he was saying, he would pause after saying something. There was clearly a process of listening..."

Haibara Ai felt a twitch in her brow. Detectives could be really annoying sometimes. "What if it's because they've been together for a long time, and he treats Non-Chi like a companion?"

"Even if he treats it like a companion, it's impossible to actually listen..." Conan felt Haibara Ai's gaze becoming increasingly dangerous. "Fine, pretend I didn't say anything."

Nearby, Professor Agasa had already said goodbye to Mamiya Mitsuru, who had finished his call, and beckoned to the children. "Let's go, let's say goodbye to Mr. Chi and head back."

"Is he going back to the hospital?" Haibara Ai asked Mamiya Mitsuru.

Mamiya Mitsuru paused before realizing she was asking about Chi Feichi. "He will be staying here for two more days. His father will arrange for someone else to take care of him."

Haibara Ai nodded without saying more. Later, Professor Agasa and the children said their goodbyes to Chi Feichi, and they all exchanged contact information.

***

August 22. Osaka, Suzuki Museum of Contemporary Art.

When Conan arrived with Suzuki Sonoko, Chi Feichi had already exchanged pleasantries with Suzuki Shiro.

"Unflappable, very much like your father's style!" Suzuki Shiro praised with a smile.

"You flatter me," Chi Feichi replied politely.

Conan felt the voice was familiar, and combined with that calm tone... He looked up and was rendered speechless. Who could tell him why this guy was here...

However, since he had analyzed that Chi Feichi should have no connection to that organization, Conan just felt a bit speechless, thinking the probability of running into Chi Feichi lately was a bit high.

"Eh?" Suzuki Sonoko was surprised. "Mr. Chi, you're already here..."

"I arrived in Osaka last night. I walked around for a while this morning and decided to come over first," Chi Feichi explained.

"When he arrived, you had just gone out to pick up Mr. Mouri and the others," Suzuki Shiro said to Sonoko with a smile. "I was really surprised that Sanosuke's child would come, but I didn't expect you to meet at the snow mountain villa."

Suzuki Sonoko recalled, mentioning Chi and Sanosuke, which she had heard her father talk about. "Mr. Chi Sanosuke of the True Chi Group?"

"Yes!" Suzuki Shiro nodded with a smile. "You should have met at a banquet, but Feichi doesn't really like to socialize, and you're always sneaking off halfway through, so you probably don't remember..."

"I really don't remember," Sonoko said with a touch of regret. "No wonder I thought Mr. Chi looked a bit familiar that day..."

Conan: "..." Was that why he went to act silly and sing nursery rhymes... By the way, Chi Feichi seemed to have recorded a video; he had to find a chance to make this guy delete it!

"True Chi Group?" Mouri Ran thought for a moment. "I think I've heard of it..."

"The True Chi Group and the Field Group are famous 'husband-and-wife' groups in the industry, though they mainly develop overseas. You probably don't know them because of that. You should have seen their logo on some electronic products—it's three wavy lines inside a circle..." Sonoko said, gesturing with her hand.

Mouri Ran smiled in realization. "Right, I've seen this logo on a camera!"

Sonoko nodded repeatedly. "Although they are overall a bit weaker than our Suzuki Financial Group, besides a few major consortia in Japan, the True Chi Group is the strongest. And they've had great momentum in recent years!"

"Sonoko..." Suzuki Shiro chuckled dryly. It was one thing with others; it was fine for their Suzuki Group to be a bit arrogant. But the True Chi Group's momentum was truly fierce, and with the two groups combined and developing abroad, they didn't conflict with many of the Suzuki Group's industries. There was no major competition, so they could be classified as good partners. To say "a bit weaker than the Suzuki Group" right in front of Chi Feichi, his daughter was just too honest...

"I remember seeing this logo at the racetrack too," Mouri Kogoro muttered. "Where was it..."

Suzuki Shiro remembered there were other guests and stood up to greet them. "Mr. Mouri, I'm sorry, I was negligent just now. Thank you for coming all this way."

"Not at all, you are too kind..." Mouri Kogoro regained his senses and shook hands with Suzuki Shiro.

Suzuki Shiro greeted Ran and Conan, and after asking about Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha, he greeted them without any air of superiority, easily winning their favor.

Afterward, Suzuki Shiro introduced the others present: The First Secretary of the Russian Embassy, Sergei Ovchinnikov; the art dealer invited by Suzuki Shiro, Inui Shoichi; and the Romanov dynasty researcher, Poushka Seiran.

"Hello," Poushka Seiran said in Chinese.

Chi Feichi glanced at Poushka Seiran without interrupting Suzuki Shiro's introduction. Finally, there was the freelance video producer who had applied to film the treasures, Samukawa Ryu.

It seemed everyone was interested in the Imperial Easter Egg, but no one could pull out 800 million to buy it.

Until the group left, Chi Feichi didn't rush to strike up a conversation with Poushka Seiran, staying behind with Mouri Kogoro's group to admire the "Imperial Easter Egg" that Suzuki Sonoko had treated as a toy when she was a child.

Suzuki Shiro opened the mechanism of the egg and took out a book, placing it on the table. "It is recorded in the imperial literature that this egg—look... it is translated as the 'Egg of Memories'."

"It's called the 'Egg of Memories'..." Mouri Ran asked, puzzled. "Was it translated from Russian to English?"

"Yes," Suzuki Shiro said. "The Russian is *Mosvominanier*, which translates to 'Memory' in Japanese."

Conan turned into a curious child again. "Why does reading a book represent memory?"

"Idiot!" Mouri Kogoro said. "The Emperor calling his children over to read together—that represents their beautiful memories!"

"Perhaps it's a photo album," Chi Feichi added, bored.