Chapter 166 Drowning in the Deep Sea AI

"Shiho."

A gentle voice sounded in the room, so familiar that it made Huibara Ai want to cry.

But she knew in her heart that the voice in the laptop was just the phantom of the dead, and her real sister had already reached the other side that the living could not reach.

"Sister, I'm doing really well now," she said. "I've made new friends and seen a lot of new sights."

"Sister...please don't laugh at me. Although I've lived in the United States for so long, I only recently discovered its beauty."

“I think it’s because I now have a different perspective.”

"In the past... before I met Punch, I just wanted to have a little more space for you and me in the organization, so I studied hard and researched..."

"The so-called beauty of life...except when I'm with you, the rest of the time, I can only know it in novels."

"And after meeting Punch, well... Sister, you know what kind of person she is, right? She opened my eyes to a different world, a brilliant, beautiful, and enchanting world."

"I feel I am a very lucky person to have met her."

Lin Xi, who was eavesdropping at the door, raised the corners of his mouth uncontrollably, but was forcibly straightened by his master who realized this.

"I don't know why she is so nice to me." Huiyuan Ai said calmly, "but she always has unconventional thoughts and no one can guess her intentions."

"You know what? I used to think my life would continue like this forever. I'd always be a code name member of the organization, continuing my parents' research... Occasionally, I'd make new progress and share it with Punch and you, my sister. It was busy, but very fulfilling."

"But one day, Punch disappeared, and then you left too, sister."

AI Miyano Akemi was silent, and the image generated in the laptop just looked at Haibara Ai gently.

"The Organization... Now I both fear it and miss it."

"Sister, after you left, I also 'escaped' from the organization." At this point, Huiyuan Ai smiled bitterly: "Until now, I have been hiding very well and have not been discovered. However, I still feel that I was actually... released on purpose."

"A few days ago, I saw Punch again. She was still the same, not changed at all. It made me feel, it made me feel... nothing had changed. The organization, you, sister... everything in my memories, in fact, just stayed with me in a different way."

"I don't know, sister. You died because of the organization, but I can't hate them... This feeling is terrible." Huihara Ai's voice was filled with tears, but her tone was calm: "I feel like a spy. While enjoying Punch's protection, I deceived Edogawa who was determined to overthrow the organization."

"Shiho," Miyano Akemi spoke up, "it's not your fault."

"Each of us is like a ship on the sea. Although we have a destination we want to reach, we are always influenced by wind direction and weather, and may even encounter whirlpools and reefs, forcing us to deviate from our original course."

"But no matter what accidents you encounter or what circumstances you find yourself in, as long as you know where you want to go, you will never get lost."

"Shiho, tell me, how do you feel your life has changed since leaving the organization?"

Haibara Ai paused.

If I had to say what the biggest change is...it would be the appearance of Sister Lin by my side.

Is she Punch? Whether or not she is, she feels so kind and familiar, and whenever she's around, I feel...

Very reassuring.

"Sister, I..." Huiyuan Ai lowered her head, "I feel very——"

"—Freedom, right?" Miyano Akemi said with a smile. "Those missions you had in the past, whether it was the organization assigned to you or the research left by your parents... in reality, they weren't what you really wanted to do, right?"

"Actually, I've thought about this before." The AI ​​on the screen seemed to have a life of its own, gazing at the shrunken sister. "The organization's mission, the drug research left by your parents... and me, your older sister, are all, to some extent, the ropes that bind you."

"No, no!" Huiyuan Ai was a little anxious, "Sister is my motivation to live——"

"--It's also a constraint, right?" Miyano Akemi smiled. "Shiho, you know every time I see you working hard, I'm actually proud of you, but at the same time, I feel a little distressed."

"I sometimes wonder, if I didn't have a sister like you, would you be freer? Would you think more about yourself instead of me?"

"Of course not." Although she knew she was just facing an AI, not her real sister, Haibara Ai still explained seriously: "Family is not a burden. With you, I am the complete Miyano Shiho, and I have the courage to pursue freedom."

On the screen, Miyano Akemi looked at Huihara Ai quietly, and after a while she spoke: "Shiho, you have grown up."

Huibara Ai looked away: "It has obviously become smaller."

"Actually, you already have the answers to those questions that wavered you just now, right?" Miyano Akemi said. "You weren't forced to deviate from your course because of the weather or wind direction."

"You already have a new goal in mind, right? So, without you even realizing it, the ship on the ocean has turned and is sailing in a new direction."

Haibara Ai was stunned.

The AI ​​continued, "Now you live your life seriously every day, Shiho."

"In the past, you were a small boat caught in the wind and rain, pushed forward, but mistakenly believing that it was your own will. Now, you are traveling in the breeze after the clouds have dispersed and the rain has stopped. Everything you do is what you truly want to do."

"You just told me that you recently borrowed a friend's home lab and picked up your old drug research?"

"Shiho, when you mentioned drug research before, I could sense your resistance and disgust towards it from the expression on your face. But now when you mention it again, you are calm, even a little bit motivated."

"I'm very happy, really happy to see your changes... Nothing is more important than your happiness, Shiho."

Miyano Akemi said.

She continued, “It’s okay even if you still doubt your position and feel that the shadow of the organization is still hanging over you and you can’t fully embrace the sunlight.”

"No one is pure white, Shiho. What's important is that you are here, that you bring strength to others, and that you can feel the strength that others want to convey to you."

Huiyuan Ai sat down again, holding her chin with one hand: "I don't feel that I have given anyone any strength."

How could it be? Lin Xi sighed at the door. From the past to now, she has been drawing strength from Xiao Ai every day like sucking a cat.

"How could that be?" Miyano Akemi shook her head. "Punch, me, and Miss Lin who is by your side now are all very happy to be by your side, Shiho?"

"Also, the Edogawa Conan you mentioned just now, the detective who shrunk just like you... He must be very happy to have you around too."

"besides--"

"Okay, I, I get it." Haibara Ai's face got a little hot from being praised, "I get it."

"Well, but, but...what if one day I have to choose between them?" she asked.

Punch, the leader of the organization, and Edogawa, who is determined to overthrow the organization...

If it wasn't Punch, then it would be Sister Lin, who was a completely ordinary person...

Sister Lin's friend, the young genius Hiroki Sawada, and sister Jun'e Sugishima...

FBI agent Akai Shuichi, who recognized her identity, and Gin, who might appear in the future...

Different forces are intertwined, twisted and difficult to distinguish, with undercurrents surging.

Haibara Ai keenly felt the destructive power they contained, and was secretly worried that her current peaceful life would be disrupted one day.

"Well, about this." The AI ​​Miyano Akemi touched her chin in a humane manner, "Just... choose from your heart, Shiho!"

Huiyuan Ai: “Huh?”

Miyano Akemi: "That is to say, let's take it one step at a time!"

"I really like Miss Punch's saying: 'When you reach the mountain, there's always a way; when you reach the bridge, you'll find your way.' Sometimes, if you can't grasp something, don't think too far ahead."

"When you were in the organization, Shiho was always worried about this and that. Did you ever imagine that a day like this would come?"

Miyano Akemi smiled brightly: "In that case, let's enjoy life as it is now?"

Huibara Ai lowered her head again.

Having said that, but...

Such a happy life, but I don’t deserve it… I always feel like a thief…

"Well, there's actually another way, Shiho." Miyano Akemi noticed her sister's confusion and depression and suggested, "If you feel uneasy, work hard to make yourself stronger and have the power to protect others!"

Huibara Ai pointed at herself: "Me?"

What power does she have to protect others?

Miyano Akemi smiled slyly: "Shiho, don't be unaware of the treasure you have."

"Have you forgotten that you are a genius in drug research?"

"Doesn't your friend have a laboratory? Not only the APTX series of drugs, but you can also try to research other drugs."

"Maybe it will come in handy someday."

Haibara Ai was stunned for a moment.

It seems to be true... Instead of daydreaming here, it is better to put it into practice and start with the area you are good at.

Maybe the medicine developed can help Sister Lin and Punch.

By the way, with Sister Lin's personality, I'm always worried that one day she'll go too far and come back with injuries. Healing medicine or something... might come in handy occasionally, right?

She seemed to have read similar literature in the scientific research section of her organization's intranet.

Oh, and there are also the APTX series of drugs, especially APTX4869. Maybe my initial thinking was wrong...

It wasn't necessary to develop a specific antidote directly. That would not only be prone to failure, but the side effects might also be too severe for her and Edogawa's bodies to bear.

She could have started by developing a time-limited, effective medicine.

In addition to drug research, there is also room for development in...physical skills.

Gin... Even though she really hated and was afraid of him, she had to admit that he had taught her a lot during the five years that Punch had disappeared.

Some things, even if they become smaller, are still unforgettable as if they were engraved in her genes.

For example, when it comes to shooting and fighting, Haibara Ai can now aim quickly and accurately. While her fighting skills are limited by her shrunken body, she can still use her ingenuity to accomplish things that most elementary and middle school students can't. Even when it comes to bomb disposal, Gin once forced her to memorize the blueprints of common bombs and had her dismantle several models.

Think about Edogawa's body that could be killed by a single punch, and his extremely reckless personality. If he really ran in front of someone from the organization, maybe she could use her skills to make up for his shortcomings?

Looking at Haibara Ai who was lost in thought and had a serious expression on her face, Miyano Akemi also became quiet and looked intently at her shrunken sister.

Ah, the shrunken Shiho is just as cute as she was when she was little...

If Haibara Ai looked up at this moment, she would find that Miyano Akemi on the screen showed an expression that an AI synthesized only by voice and behavioral patterns could never make.

Contemplation, nostalgia, and a little bit of comfort.

Staying with Pan—no, Miss Lin now—Shiho will probably grow up healthy.

Please forgive her for using the word "grown up" to describe a girl who is actually 17 years old. But in her sister's eyes, no matter how old Shiho gets, she will always feel that Shiho is still the little girl who followed her around, tugged at her clothes and called her sister...

If she were to become smaller, use a new name, and experience life again from the age of 7, would it be possible to make up for Shiho's flawed childhood a little?

In this way, my father and mother in heaven can rest assured.

Miyano Akemi on the other side of the screen thought so.