Chapter 228: A New Agent
Okiya Subaru rested his left hand on his glasses, giving them a gentle push. The movement was smooth and practiced. His expression remained a placid mask as he replied in a measured, even tone, "I don't believe so. I've been focused on my postgraduate research until my recent move here. Generally speaking, it's quite unlikely I would know anyone already in the workforce."
A flicker of imperceptible vigilance sparked in Okiya Subaru's eyes, but his outward composure remained unshaken. "I wonder, Mr. Baizhu, do you recall where you might have seen someone who resembles me?"
"Is that so?" Baizhu replied with a noncommittal smile. "It's nothing, really. I was merely struck by the fact that your build, Mr. Okiya, is remarkably similar to that of a patient I treated a while ago." He let the statement hang in the air for a moment. "It's rare to see two people with such a similar physique, so my curiosity got the better of me. If it weren't for the fact that your hair color and overall appearance are completely different, I might have suspected you were related."
He paused, his gaze analytical. "It's a pity I can't quite see the color of your eyes, Mr. Okiya. If they also happened to be green, one might truly believe you were kin," Baizhu added, his voice laced with casual inquiry.
A cold knot formed in Conan's stomach.
The patient Baizhu mentioned, the one with a build so similar to Okiya Subaru's, could only be Shuichi Akai.
'Are all doctors this sharp?'Conan thought, a frantic energy buzzing beneath his skin.'How could he connect Okiya and Mr. Akai after just one meeting?'
"I think you must be mistaken, Big Brother Baizhu," Conan interjected, forcing a cheerful, childish tone to divert the doctor's unnerving focus. "The world is a big place! There are plenty of people who look alike, so it's not that strange, right?"
Okiya Subaru gave a slight nod, signaling his agreement with the boy's sentiment.
"Indeed," Baizhu said, glancing at Conan with an amused glint in his eyes. "This world is full of wonders."
'The boy is still too young to master his tells,'Baizhu mused, his gaze flicking from Conan's tense face to Okiya's placid one.'But look at Mr. Okiya... not a single crack in the facade, even when pressed this hard.'
Baizhu continued with a thoughtful sigh, ", you share one more thing in common—you are both left-handed. That's what truly made me feel I had to ask. Of course," he conceded with a disarming smile, "perhaps it's all just a pure coincidence."
Hearing this, Okiya Subaru's eyes tightened almost invisibly behind his lenses. He hadn't expected Baizhu to have noticed such a minute detail. Had he given himself away with that subconscious gesture of adjusting his glasses just now?
Still, he manufactured a relaxed smile. "Actually, that's just a personal habit of mine," he explained smoothly. "Perhaps some people are naturally more inclined to use their left hand. In any case, I believe there are many left-handed people in the world; it's hardly a rare trait."
Baizhu nodded, appearing to accept the explanation. Then, as if a new thought had just occurred to him, he asked with a playful curiosity, "By the way, Mr. Okiya, how did you know I'm already working? Personally, I think that compared to you, my appearance gives off much more of a student vibe."
"Oh, it's simply that, judging by your entire demeanor, Mr. Baizhu, you don't seem like someone still in school," Okiya's lips curled into a subtle, almost imperceptible smile. "And I happened to overhear you telling the little girl beside you..." He gestured toward Ai Haibara, who was still using Conan's small frame as a shield. "...that you are a doctor, so..."
Baizhu raised an eyebrow, a genuine smile touching his lips. "So that's how it was. You're quite impressive, Mr. Okiya, to have caught what I said from that distance."
Okiya Subaru offered a modest smile in return. "You flatter me. Perhaps I'm just rather observant."
The two men smiled at each other, the atmosphere light and pleasant on the surface, yet charged with an undercurrent of silent assessment. Okiya calmly observed Baizhu, inwardly dissecting the man's intentions—was this all an innocent, if probing, conversation, or had he truly discovered a flaw in the disguise?
The Detective Boys stood beside Baizhu, their expressions a mixture of confusion and doubt. They listened quietly to the verbal tennis match, unable to grasp the deeper meaning volleyed back and forth.
Only when the conversation concluded did the children seem to snap out of their daze, eager to refocus on the incident at hand.
Haibara, however, cast one more deeply vigilant glance at Okiya Subaru. She then tugged sharply on Conan's sleeve and turned to walk quickly toward Officer Yumi.
Conan allowed himself to be pulled away, but his gaze lingered thoughtfully on Okiya. For a brief, fleeting moment, their eyes met, an entire conversation passing between them in the silent exchange.
"It's truly a rare sight to see you in the laboratory."
Cointreau's voice cut through the sterile air. They walked into the lab, observing Alhaitham, who was postured as if he were earnestly conducting an experiment.
"Unavoidable," Alhaitham replied without looking up from the apparatus before him. "Someone was dissatisfied with the results I submitted a while ago and has strongly 'encouraged' my participation in the action team's activities."
"To reduce that kind of unnecessary trouble, I've decided to put in a modicum of effort recently. Though I have no leads to speak of just yet." As he spoke, he picked up a flask containing a strangely colored liquid, swirled it once, and set it back down.
He finally glanced up at Cointreau, setting aside the useless potion. Leaning back, he used his feet to pivot his chair around to face his visitor. "What is it? Why are you looking for me?"
"I'm here to provide you with a research idea," Cointreau said, walking over to lean casually against the lab bench. Their tone was relaxed, but their eyes were sharp. "As far as I know, most high-quality disguise masks use similar materials. I was hoping you could help create a reagent capable of dissolving them."
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued despite himself. He remained silent, waiting.
Cointreau seemed to notice his unspoken question and elaborated, "I'm talking about the kind of agent that, once sprayed, would have an immediate effect. Imagine the disguise on a person's face vanishing as instantly as those fabrics you made disappear before."
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