"Ah? A bomb!" Genta exclaid.
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Ai Haibara, standing at the back, said leisurely, "Although they are observing carefully, if it were a bomb, the police officers from the Explosives Disposal Unit would be wearing protective suits, not just casually opening boxes like this."
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Conan stared at the 'Cheetah Courier' logo and text on the truck, his eyes filled with confusion and curiosity.
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Provided there was a way, the bounty hunter July's peculiar habit of 'delivering couriers' was no longer a secret, and they were particularly fond of 'Cheetah Courier'.
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Considering the police officers were cautious but didn't have explosive disposal equipnt, it was indeed possible that these were 'couriers' sent by July.
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However, looking at the wooden strips and cardboard piled to the side, it seed quite a few boxes had already been opened. No matter what, it was impossible for soone to send several wanted criminals at once, right?
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If wanted criminals were that easy to find, the police wouldn't issue wanted posters.
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Was the tropolitan Police Departnt planning to replace its desks and chairs?
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Looking at the officers' vigilance while opening the boxes, it didn't seem like it...
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Ai Haibara also noticed so clues and whispered to Conan, "Is it that bounty hunter?"
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"I'm not sure," Conan paused. "Possibly."
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Ai Haibara understood. She also couldn't be certain of the answer due to the sheer number of boxes, but she didn't dwell on it for long. "Doesn't that person worry about soone impersonating him in the sa way and sending bombs to the tropolitan Police Departnt...?"
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"They wouldn't," Conan said without thinking. "To get the bounty, they would likely contact the police beforehand to inform them to receive the courier. The police wouldn't easily trust anything sent without prior contact and would treat it as an explosive during disposal."
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"Hello," Wataru Takagi ca out from the main entrance. "Are you Professor Agasa? I'm Takagi from Investigation Division One. I'll take you and the children inside to make a statent."
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Professor Agasa turned to look. "Ah, hello, I'm Professor Agasa."
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"Then, there's Mr. Chi..." Wataru Takagi checked his watch and looked up to see a red car driving over.
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Chi Feichi rolled down the car window. "There was a bit of traffic on the road. I'm not late, am I?"
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"No," Wataru Takagi smiled. "I just ca out myself!"
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Chi Feichi nodded calmly and didn't say anything more, driving towards the parking lot.
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Wataru Takagi smiled, but inwardly sighed.
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He had thought that dealing with statents wouldn't fall to him this morning after carrying courier packages, and he had been happy for a mont, at least not having to face Chi Feichi who would only say one sentence if it could be made clear with one sentence.
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Unexpectedly, there were three more cases requiring dispatch today, plus the need for people to open the courier packages, leading to a severe shortage of staff. The task of taking statents still fell on him.
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It was indeed a day requiring hard work...
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After Chi Feichi parked the car, Wataru Takagi issued passes and led the group into the tropolitan Police Departnt building.
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After pinning their passes to their clothes, the three children surrounded Chi Feichi.
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"Big Brother Chi, Conan said you went to Hokkaido..."
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"Yes, I brought you gifts. They were sent to the Professor's place."
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"Let's go get them later tonight!"
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"Yay!"
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"You can eat them!"
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"Big Brother Chi, did Nonchi co?"
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"No, it's sleeping at ho."
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"Huh? It's still sleeping in broad daylight?"
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"Red-banded snakes like to sleep during the day and beco active at night."
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Chi Feichi spoke nonsense with his eyes open. Red-banded snakes do indeed have that habit, but Nonchi was tired from running all night yesterday.
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He could stay up all day as a way to adjust his schedule, but he would let Nonchi sleep well.
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Conan looked at Chi Feichi's perpetually indifferent face and couldn't help but whisper, "I can't believe soone with his personality is popular with children..."
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"Because he feels reliable," Ai Haibara walked beside him; she didn't want to squeeze with a group of children. "He gives a sense of security."
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"Pfft!" Conan chuckled, thinking Ai Haibara was complaining about Chi Feichi's cold face all day. "You're right, he does give a strong sense of security!"
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Ai Haibara didn't say anything. She was serious about what she said.
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"Then can we bring Nonchi out to play soti?" Ayumi asked, pulling on Chi Feichi's arm.
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"Nonchi is really good at gaming, we want to challenge it again," Mitsuhiko said. "Also, we want to invite it to join the Junior Detective League!"
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Conan stumbled and turned back. "Hey, hey, don't make random decisions, okay? Nonchi is a snake..."
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"But Nonchi is really good at gaming!" Ayumi tried hard to speak up for Nonchi.
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"Exactly," Genta insisted. "What does it matter if it's a snake? It can be our Junior Detective League's mascot!"
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Chi Feichi: "..."
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What the heck is a mascot?!
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Nonchi was his pet, not available for loan!
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Conan knew he couldn't argue with the three children and turned to ask Wataru Takagi, "Hey, Officer Takagi, what are those officers outside the main gate opening? There's a circle of dark dust above your sleeve, and it's dirtier on the inside of your arm. That must be from when you rolled up your sleeve while carrying things earlier, right?"
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The three children's attention imdiately shifted.
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"Officer Takagi, one of the buttons on your cuff is missing!"
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"There are also marks on the bottom of your pants from sothing snagging them..."
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"So Officer Takagi was helping earlier, you must know what's in those boxes, right?"
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Wataru Takagi quickly looked down at his clothes and scratched his head, smiling. "Uh... they're chairs the tropolitan Police Departnt is replacing."
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"Oh, so that's what it is..."
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The three children were easily fooled.
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Ai Haibara then walked over to Chi Feichi and reached out to pull on the hem of his clothes.
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Chi Feichi cooperated and fell back to the end of the group.
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"The test results for the blood sample you gave are out," Ai Haibara said softly. "77% matched the Mojave subspecies of raven. The remaining 23% showed no similarity to any genes in the world raven DNA genetic database, indicating a gene mutation."
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"What effect will the mutated gene have on its body?" Chi Feichi asked.
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"Congenital iris pignt deficiency. The iris of the Mojave raven subspecies is dark brown, like most Asian eyes, appearing black," Ai Haibara instinctively looked up at Chi Feichi's eyes. "Due to the gene, its eyes could be red, and there's a very small possibility of a purple iris..."
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Chi Feichi turned his head away. "..."
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Just talk, why are you looking at him...?
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Ai Haibara secretly smiled, then pretended to be very serious. "Also, its lifespan may be longer than that of a typical crow. In a cage or protected environnt, the longest known lifespan for a raven is 40 years, with an average of 10-15 years in the wild. It might live to be 50-60 years old."
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Chi Feichi listened silently. It seed the mutated gene in Nonmo did indeed extend its lifespan.
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However, Ai Haibara's data judgnt still had errors. Nonmo's lifespan was much longer than fifty or sixty years.
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Ai Haibara continued, "Its body will also be better than that of a typical crow. In terms of both strength and size, it can approach that of an eagle."
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"Its size is no different from other crows," Chi Feichi recalled and compared. "Among the known raven sizes, it's on the smaller side."
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"That's to be expected," Ai Haibara said with her hands behind her back, her tone mature. "Based on the DNA comparison, it's still a child."
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Chi Feichi remained silent.
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That was a child who had lived for at least over a hundred years, lived until it no longer wanted to live...
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"And it's a very healthy child. The blood sample didn't carry any pathogens, and the mutated gene didn't cause any lesions," Although Ai Haibara didn't particularly like creatures like crows, she didn't want to object if Chi Feichi was going to raise one. "If you want to keep it, I'll organize the detailed test report. Professor Agasa also needs to get a stamp from a registered laboratory to create a pet certificate. You can co pick it up tomorrow afternoon."
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"I don't have ti tomorrow," Chi Feichi said. "I plan to graduate early. I have theoretical exams scheduled all day tomorrow."
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Ai Haibara frowned. "Isn't that a bit too rushed? Being too pressed for ti can lead to excessive ntal stress. The doctor should have told you not to be under too much stress and to get enough rest..."
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Chi Feichi's tone remained calm. "No stress."
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Given his situation, he might not even be able to get a practicing license. He just wanted to end his university life early. If he missed this chance, he would have to wait until next year.
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Ai Haibara's mouth twitched slightly. That answer was too confident. "Well... I wish you success in your exams."
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End of Chapter
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