Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Mihua Central Hospital, 9am.

Conan Edogawa, who was supposed to go to school, was sitting in the orthopedic outpatient ward. He took off his shoes and socks, revealing his slightly swollen ankle, and asked the doctor to check it.

Ran Mao Li stood beside him in her school uniform and carrying her schoolbag, watching the doctor's movements together.

After examining the ankle, the doctor picked up the X-ray and asked, "How did he get hurt?"

Edogawa Conan scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

Beside him, Mao Lilan frowned, and glanced at the worrying child beside her with both worry and helplessness, without any intention of covering up for him——

"He missed a step when he was going down the stairs."

……

Edogawa Conan was in a very depressed mood.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had good motor skills and was a good football player. He was also gradually getting used to his body. But today he missed a step on the stairs.

It would have been fine if he had stepped on nothing, but he also twisted his ankle. When Mao Lilan found out, he was sent to this hospital directly, and they couldn't stop him...

When the doctor heard that it was an accident and not violence, he did not ask any more questions and directly gave his judgment:

"Edogawa-kun's foot is not obviously swollen, and there is no fracture. Judging from the fact that he can stand and walk slowly, there is no damage to the soft tissue... It's not a big problem."

"Great."

Mao Lilan just breathed a sigh of relief, but then she remembered something and frowned again:

"Doctor, he also sprained his foot once on Saturday. Because the condition was not serious at that time, I did not bring him to the hospital. If he injured the same foot twice in a short period of time, will it become a habitual sprain in the future?"

She practices karate on a daily basis and is more concerned about various physical injuries than ordinary people.

The doctor smiled and said, "Don't worry, it's not that serious. As long as you take good care of it and apply the medicine diligently in the next few days, you will recover soon."

Mao Lilan finally smiled and thanked the doctor again. Edogawa Conan also had to thank the doctor in a childish tone.

The ankle was bandaged again and the nurse brought a pair of children's crutches. Edogawa Conan tried it and soon stood up on his own.

He said to Mao Lilan in a rather embarrassed manner: "Sister Xiaolan, please go to school now. I can go back by myself."

If Uncle Maori hadn't suddenly received a commission to investigate an affair last night and had gone out early this morning, it shouldn't have been Xiaolan who accompanied him to the hospital as she also had classes today.

Mao Lilan said worriedly: "No, even if you don't want me to carry you, I have to send you back."

Conan Edogawa did not refuse this kindness. He leaned on his crutches and walked towards the elevator with Ran Maoli. His steps were a bit slow, and Ran Maoli slowed down her pace to cooperate.

The elevator arrived soon, and he, Mao Lilan, and several medical staff went in together.

He pressed the button for the first floor and was about to ask Mao Lilan how the others would get back later when he suddenly saw one of the nurses who came in with them approaching the other one mysteriously.

She whispered very quietly, but he could hear it clearly:
"Have you heard? A patient who was just discharged from the hospital yesterday was killed not long after returning home. I heard that he was the president of a large company..."

Edogawa Conan: "......?"

Mao Lilan sent a message to the teacher to explain why she was late. Because there was no signal in the elevator, she put down her phone temporarily. As a result, when she looked down, she saw Edogawa Conan looking up in another direction.

"What's wrong with you, Conan?" she asked curiously.

Edogawa Conan did not reply. He was very curious about what they were saying, so he approached the two nurses who were whispering loudly and paying no attention to him at all.

"Nurse, what are you talking about?"

"?!?"

The nurse who spoke first shuddered. She almost thought that the floor suddenly spoke and was startled. When she came to her senses, she found that it was a very short child.

She patted her frightened chest and said unhappily, "Little brother, it's not good to eavesdrop on other people's conversations casually!"

Conan Edogawa smiled like a child: "I'm sorry, nurse sister, I overheard it... What happened to the patient who was discharged from the hospital that you mentioned being killed?"

The other nurse was more patient. She bent down and touched his head, then began to tell him the news:
"It's the recent home invasion and murder case in 10-chome." She sighed, "The patient was just discharged from the hospital yesterday, and was killed by the criminals at night."

Edogawa Conan was stunned for a moment, and his mind quickly retrieved relevant information.

This was a series of crimes, the first of which happened before he became smaller. In the previous cases, the criminal did not leave any clues. The police believed that the criminal only dared to target elderly people living alone, so they believed that there was only one person and it was not a gang. When Mao Lilan heard her story, she looked reluctant and terrified: "This is the sixth case, right? Hasn't the criminal been caught yet?"

Conan Edogawa frowned, also worried about the police's efficiency in solving the case.

As a result, the next second, the nurse who spoke first slapped her face directly -

"No, the criminal was caught last night."

"Ah?" Mao Lilan didn't expect the reversal to be so quick.

"Although the president lives alone, his son lives in a nearby apartment. He went to visit his father with a few friends last night and happened to run into the criminal running out. The group caught him on the spot," the nurse added.

"..."

Edogawa Conan's frown did not relax.

He felt vaguely that something was odd.

With a ding, the elevator arrived at the first floor and the door slowly opened. Edogawa Conan turned his head and looked outside, and saw an acquaintance at first sight.

It was Inspector Megure. He was talking to a young male police officer and a front desk nurse whom he had not seen before, and there was another young man beside them.

When he saw the man's face clearly, Edogawa Conan widened his eyes slightly.

——It was the man who was drunk and talking loudly on the phone whom he saw in the Poirot Cafe yesterday afternoon.

The man who had no sense of public morality and was disgusting yesterday was now wiping away tears, and the young male police officer was comforting him.

The two nurses completed their task of providing information and turned to walk in another direction. Conan Edogawa suppressed the strangeness in his heart, walked out of the elevator with Ran Maoli, and greeted the familiar police officer.

"Officer Megure!"

Megure Jusan turned around when he heard the voice and was a little surprised to see them: "It's Xiaolan and Conan."

Mao Lilan went forward to greet him, first explaining the reason why she came to the hospital, and then looked at the man with a cautious look: "Inspector Megure, this is..."

"This is Mr. Kawai Koichi." The smile on Officer Megure's face quickly disappeared. "He is the son of the victim of yesterday's case. Because the suspect may have followed him in the past few days, we came to the hospital to ask if there are any witnesses."

Conan Edogawa felt doubtful.

Tracking? Is it to check the location and determine whether the target elderly person has children or other young adults living at home?

But it seems...something is wrong...

Conan Edogawa did not speak casually. He stood beside Kawai Koichi and, using his height advantage which he had never had before, looked up at the victim's family member.

He saw his expression.

He lowered his head and cried, covering his cheeks with his hands as if he couldn't bear the reality. However, his fingers didn't close completely, and his eyes were visible between his fingers, and his mouth was visible between his palms...

——The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"!!!"

A feeling like an electric current instantly ran through Edogawa Conan's brain, and he looked at the man in disbelief.

However, Kawai Koichi did not see him, and continued to say to the two police officers he knew in a sad tone: "When I came to visit my father before, I felt as if someone was watching me. The day before yesterday, on my way home, I fell down at the intersection for no apparent reason and was almost rolled under a car. Fortunately, someone saved me..."

Edogawa Conan came back to his senses: "Uncle, can you contact him?"

If the fall was caused by being pushed, then the person who saved him might have noticed something strange in the crowd.

Megure Jusan said: "That's why we are here. The man who saved him has been visiting the hospital frequently these days. The patient he knows has his contact information, and he has been contacted now."

As if to verify his words, a voice that was extremely familiar to Edogawa Conan sounded behind them.

"Ms. Mori... Conan-kun?"

Edogawa Conan looked back in surprise.

Aoyagi Binguang was walking towards them from a distance, with a look of surprise similar to his. (End of this chapter)