Chi Feichi could only remain silent.
Since he was already labeled as sick regardless of what he did, what else could he say?
Even the sentence he was about to utter at the time—"The succulent on your desk told me you slacked off yesterday during work and played mobile games for over an hour"—was stifled back down.
Following Fukuyama Tomoaki's train of thought, it was easy to guess his reaction. If Fukuyama heard him say that, his first thought would probably be—Did this kid secretly spy on my office yesterday? Did he forget he did it and delusionally believe the plant told him? Scary... ahem, I can't say that about a patient. It should be—Pitiful, he really is quite ill...
Anyway, from that point on, he gave up trying to prove to Fukuyama that he wasn't sick and instead began secretly researching this ability himself.
As of now, there was no pattern to when he could hear plants and animals talk. He couldn't control it, nor had he found any rules yet.
It was quite possible he wouldn't hear anything for days, or he might have to listen to a big tree ramble for hours.
Because the timing was uncertain and random, it brought him quite a few troubles.
For example, the sudden shift into a horror movie vibe.
One night, he went to use the restroom. In the quiet, empty environment, a potted shrub outside the restroom gloomily remarked: 'Going to the toilet this late at night, huh...'
If not for his strong mental fortitude and psychological preparation, he probably would have jumped in fright and kicked the potted plant aside.
For another example, he couldn't judge the exact number of people just by hearing voices.
Once, outside the recreation room, he heard three different voices talking inside. When he opened the door...
There were indeed three patients inside.
However, one of them was an autistic patient who didn't say a word. Instead, the small grass on the windowsill was happily echoing the other two patients, shouting enthusiastically.
And yet another example: some animals and plants had voices distinct from humans, but others sounded exactly like people. He couldn't tell from the voice alone whether it was a human or something else calling him.
A while back, a cheeky bird perched on the big tree in the hospital courtyard every day. One day, when Fukuyama Tomoaki came out to chat with him, the bird mimicked a nurse's tone and shouted, "Mr. Chi!" He subconsciously turned his head to look.
The result was...
Fukuyama Tomoaki: 'Mr. Chi, what's wrong?'
Him: 'Nothing.'
Fukuyama Tomoaki: 'Did the hallucinations appear again? You have to trust me. Tell me immediately if anything happens, and feel free to talk to me if something is on your mind...'
Blah blah blah.
Him: '...'
Moreover, from then on, that cheeky bird happily mimicked the nurse's tone and called him over ten times a day for three consecutive days. It only stopped after he stared at it with murderous intent, contemplating which tool in the yard he could use to turn it into a delicious roast bird.
Actually, making it into a spicy hot pot wouldn't be bad either~~
Ahem...
However, where there was trouble, there were also benefits.
He could learn many secrets and understand things not accessible through normal channels. Plus, he could communicate with them.
Although the animals and plants didn't always fully understand his meaning, they could still carry out simple commands.
Go back to Fukuyama to prove it? Forget it!
Over ten days ago, that cheeky bird landed on his hand, letting him experiment with how well it could follow simple commands.
Fukuyama passed by and saw the bird obediently fly up, land, go left, go right, and pluck leaves. After watching for a while, he sighed with emotion: Mr. Chi really lives up to being a veterinary student; he's very good at taming animals!
Him: ...
Doctor Fukuyama seemed to have a misunderstanding about veterinarians.
A vet does not equal an animal tamer. Although they learned some animal habits and methods to soothe them, compared to training animals, he—and his classmates and seniors—were probably better at dissecting them...
After silently complaining in his heart, Chi Feichi gathered his thoughts and hailed a taxi.
Where was he going? To spend money!
While Chi Feichi was running around buying and ordering things, Conan and Hattori Heiji were rushing about for the case.
Two people had died right under their noses. Added to the two previous cases with the same modus operandi, there were a total of four victims!
For a moment, neither of them suspected that Officer Sakata Yusuke, who had been driving them around this whole time, was the true culprit.
Sakata Yusuke drove the car, pretending to casually mention: "The victims' wallets, which were pierced by the knife, all contained driver's licenses..."
In the passenger seat, Hattori Heiji froze, turning to look at Conan in the back seat.
Their eyes met, and the corners of both their mouths lifted in a similar smile.
Eye contact confirmed: We both noticed the important clue.
Hattori Heiji immediately looked at Sakata. "Mr. Sakata, turn around! Let's go to the Driver's License Center..."
A phone call interrupted him.
Sakata Yusuke answered. "Yes! ...Return now? To Headquarters? Alright, I understand..."
Hattori Heiji was puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"We really do need to change course. The Chief wants us to return immediately," Sakata said. "He says there's been a major discovery..."
Although Hattori Heiji wanted to investigate the licenses at the center, he was also curious about this 'major discovery,' so he didn't object.
They drove all the way back to the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters. As soon as Sakata parked the car and entered the building, he was surrounded.
Chief Hattori Heizo personally led the team, staring sternly at Sakata Yusuke. "Sakata, as a police officer, you murdered four people and committed such a grave crime. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Sakata Yusuke was stunned. Where had his operation gone wrong? How had he been discovered?
Conan and Hattori Heiji were also stunned. What's going on? The nice police officer who's been driving us around all day is the culprit behind this case?
Hattori Heizo spoke solemnly, "The common point in the four cases is that the murder weapon pierced the wallet and pinned it to the victim's chest. And inside all four victims' wallets were driver's licenses..."
Hattori Heiji had initially wanted to ask his dad if he made a mistake, but hearing this, he fell silent. It was the exact same clue they had noticed...
"According to our investigation, the four victims attended the same driving camp twenty years ago..."
Hattori Heizo held up a photo. "Besides those four, there was also City Councilman Goji Sotaro and the wanted criminal Numabuchi Kiichiro. Furthermore, there was one other person involved... the driving instructor at the time, Inaba Tetsuji—your father!
"Twenty years ago, on the day the six students graduated, Inaba Tetsuji died in a car accident due to drunk driving.
"In reality, it was a prank by the six students. They got Inaba drunk and drained his brake fluid, wanting to see if the 'Demon Instructor' Inaba Tetsuji would get scared. The result, however, was Inaba Tetsuji's death in a car crash.
"After learning the truth about your father's death twenty years later, you planned to kill the other five and frame Numabuchi Kiichiro, the fugitive murderer..."
Seeing that the events of twenty years ago had been thoroughly investigated, Sakata Yusuke lost all hope. Listening to the true cause of his father's death, he couldn't claim Heizo was speaking nonsense. He said in a heavy voice, "Yes... The statute of limitations for murder is fifteen years. Now that twenty years have passed, they can't be held accountable. So I decided to act on behalf of Heaven... and sentence them myself!"
"Don't be self-righteous!" Hattori Heizo shouted sternly. "Sakata, do you still think this is carrying out your justice? Does taking the lives of others represent justice? As a police officer committing murder, you trampled on the law you were meant to uphold. Even the cherry blossom emblem on your badge would weep for you!"
Other officers took the dazed Sakata Yusuke away.
Conan couldn't help but whisper to Hattori Heiji with admiration, "Your Osaka police are really impressive."
Not only were their investigative skills strong, but Hattori Heizo's speech was deafeningly righteous and full of integrity...
Usually, Conan already knew everything while the police were still confused. Yet this time, just as he noticed a key clue, the police had already grasped the motive and the culprit's plan.
The Osaka police were very different!
"Of course," Hattori Heiji said with a bit of pride, grinning. "I didn't expect them to investigate the events of twenty years ago so thoroughly."
Conan nodded. "Yeah, it's like they saw it with their own eyes. Usually, such praise is reserved for detectives..."
"However..." Hattori Heiji looked up at his father. Seeing Heizo look over, he asked with a hint of smugness, "You haven't cracked the modus operandi yet, have you?"
Hattori Heizo narrowed his eyes at his son. That look in the brat's eyes... showing off in front of his old man?
"We don't need to crack it. We can just ask Sakata directly."
"Cough..." Hattori Heiji choked. "What about evidence? Have you found the evidence?"
Conan also looked at Hattori Heizo. They hadn't found a shred of evidence, so he wondered about the police side...
"We have already arrested Numabuchi Kiichiro. He has confessed everything," Hattori Heizo said lightly. "We now have a witness. Based on his confession, we also found physical evidence at the location where Sakata was holding him captive."
Hattori Heiji's mouth twitched. "In other words, you caught Numabuchi Kiichiro first, and learned all this from him?"
"As police, as long as we can solve the case, catch the true culprit, and find the evidence to convict, whether the deduction process is flashy or not is unimportant," Hattori Heizo turned to leave. "And the reverse is also true!"
"The... the reverse is also true?"
Hattori Heiji was stunned for a moment, then his eyes went half-lidded. "Conversely, he means 'Even if you have a flashy deduction process, if you can't solve the case, find the evidence, or catch the criminal, it's useless,' right? Is he showing off in front of us detectives on behalf of the police, or is he roundaboutly expressing dissatisfaction with us?"
"I wouldn't say dissatisfaction. He probably feels the police won a round and can hold their heads high..." Conan looked at Hattori Heiji again. "Also, as a father, he's probably knocking you down a peg to keep you alert."
Hattori Heiji had black lines over his head: "..."
Although the words made sense—deduction was ultimately for catching criminals and securing evidence—being suddenly roasted by his own dad and having to admit he was right was the most painful part!