Chapter 200: Gathering Information
"I see. So they have the same blood type."
Conan sent the blood type test results to Jodie, who immediately relayed the information to Shuichi Akai standing beside her.
Akai's gaze, complex and heavy, settled on the comatose form of Mizunashi Rena in the hospital bed. He had just received intelligence from a new source: a homeless person had witnessed the death of a CIA undercover agent, and the one who pulled the trigger was none other than Mizunashi Rena.
If Mizunashi Rena truly was Emi Hondou, then Ethan Hondo's sacrifice all those years ago…
With this crucial confirmation of their shared blood type, the FBI had planned to contact Eisuke Hondou immediately. They needed to stop him from snooping around the hospital for Mizunashi Rena. His striking resemblance to the woman was a liability; if he wasn't careful, he could inadvertently alert the Black Organization and draw their lethal attention.
But before they could act, Eisuke Hondou vanished.
Conan had heard from Ran that Eisuke, while investigating at Beika Central Hospital, had supposedly run into a former colleague of his father's and had gone off with him. At first, Conan assumed this meant an old CIA contact. He later learned, however, that the man was a "colleague" from his father's time undercover. The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning: the Organization had already sent agents to infiltrate the hospital.
This also meant that Eisuke Hondou had been noticed. He was almost certainly in grave danger.
Meanwhile, Cointreau, who knew through the Wanderer that Kir was on the verge of waking up, had initially planned to remain silent. His original strategy was to wait for the agents Gin dispatched to pinpoint the hospital's location on their own. After all, he had no plausible way to explain how he'd obtained such specific intel.
But now that he knew Kir was about to regain consciousness, his plans had shifted. While he didn't particularly care about her undercover status—in fact, he was already plotting to use her eventual connection with the FBI for future deals—he had no intention of giving her ample time to communicate with them.
Besides, he was growing truly tired of taking the Wanderer on missions. The boy's complete lack of social graces was beginning to grate on his nerves. The Wanderer was only stuck to his side because he lacked a codename. Once he earned one, he would be formally assigned to Gin's action group. Then, Gin could be the one to worry about the Wanderer's personality defects.
Therefore, Cointreau decided to accelerate the timeline for the Wanderer's codename assessment. He simply couldn't bear to wait any longer.
When Cointreau revealed that Kir was at Beika Central Hospital, Gin's sharp eyes narrowed, staring at him for a long, silent moment. Then, without a word of question, he issued orders to Rikumichi Kusuda, an outer-circle member currently gathering intelligence at that very hospital.
He never once asked where Cointreau's information came from. The carefully constructed excuse Cointreau had prepared died on his lips, leaving him feeling strangely disappointed.
At the same time, the FBI and Conan, now aware of the Organization's presence in the hospital, quickly narrowed their list of potential infiltrators down to three suspicious patients.
Using his disarming appearance as a child to lower the adults' guard, Conan methodically tested each of them. He eventually discovered that Rikumichi Kusuda's medical records were forged, making him the most likely suspect.
Throughout this process, as their interactions became more frequent, Shuichi Akai easily recognized that the child, Conan Edogawa, was extraordinarily intelligent. Yet, he said nothing, merely observing the boy's expressions and actions in quiet contemplation during their daily encounters.
Having identified Kusuda, the FBI chose not to alert him. They had no definitive evidence linking him to the Black Organization, so they simply assigned a few agents to observe him in secret, waiting for him to reveal his true purpose before making an arrest.
But after a full day of surveillance, the team reported that Kusuda's behavior was bizarre, to say the least. He spent the entire day wandering the hospital, holding his watch up at odd intervals, and visiting nearly every corner of the facility.
Though his actions were strange, they hadn't caught him making any inquiries about Mizunashi Rena, nor had they seen him enter any restricted areas. If he came across a door he couldn't pass, Kusuda would only peer inside with a look of mild curiosity before moving on without any attempt to force his way in.
After completing his rounds, he returned to his ward and didn't emerge again, leaving the agents to wonder what he was doing inside.
Upon receiving this report, Conan, Jodie, Shuichi Akai, and James Black discussed the matter as they walked toward Mizunashi Rena's ward.
Shuichi Akai trailed at the back of the group, quietly listening as Jodie and James debated the merits of transferring Mizunashi Rena to another hospital.
Suddenly, Akai's senses flared. His gaze darted to the right, his footsteps faltering for a fraction of a second before he smoothly withdrew his attention and continued forward, following the others.
Entering the ward, they found Dr. Baizhu already inside, checking on Mizunashi Rena. The group waited patiently to the side, allowing the doctor to finish his examination before he updated them on her condition.
This was the first time Conan had seen Dr. Baizhu. He'd only heard Ms. Jodie mention that the doctor treating Mizunashi Rena was recommended by the hospital director and possessed excellent medical skills. He hadn't expected him to be so young.
He observed the man with a curious eye. At first glance, Dr. Baizhu projected a gentle and reliable aura, not unlike Dr. Araide, though he appeared somewhat frail and sickly. A constant, placid smile graced his features as he, dressed in an ordinary white lab coat, diligently performed the check-up.
He looked no different from any other doctor, yet Conan felt there was something unique about his temperament.
On a whim, he approached Dr. Baizhu and walked a slow circle around him, his eyes scanning for details.
Seeing no familiar accessories or tell-tale signs, Conan let out a small, internal sigh of relief.
'That makes sense,'he thought to himself.'If he were really part of that mysterious organization, Kir's location wouldn't have remained a secret for this long. I must be overthinking things.'
Shuichi Akai, standing off to the side, noticed Conan's rather abrupt inspection, and his eyes flickered with a hint of intrigue.
After finishing the examination, Dr. Baizhu informed James and the others that Mizunashi Rena was recovering well and was expected to regain consciousness in a day or two at most.
With that, Dr. Baizhu excused himself and left the ward.
Prompted by Conan's earlier behavior, Akai subtly signaled a colleague with a look, ordering him to follow the doctor. At such a critical juncture, it was better to be safe than sorry; he wanted to see if the doctor would make any suspicious moves.
What none of them knew was that right there in the ward, under the watchful eyes of the FBI, Baizhu had already transmitted the truth: Mizunashi Rena was awake and was currently faking her coma.
Upon receiving the message, Cointreau considered his options for a moment before contacting the Wanderer, instructing him to head to Beika Central Hospital to handle a small matter for him.
Meanwhile, Gin, having received the complete 3D map of Beika Central Hospital collected by Rikumichi Kusuda via a specialized terminal, was already contemplating an action plan. As he studied the layout, he issued another mission to the man: continue gathering information on the hospital's patients.
Unfortunately, shortly after this command was issued, Rikumichi Kusuda went silent.
Gin knew what it meant. The man had been discovered by the FBI and was now likely in a dire situation.
He didn't care. The loss of contact was, in itself, a vital piece of information. It seemed Kir really was at Beika Central Hospital.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]