Chapter 147

Under Inspector Megure's arrangement, Kitami Ii and Usaku Saiki began going out to work overtime.

Although the place they were going to was in this district, they would rather drive than walk, so Usakabe Saiki simply tossed the car keys to Kitami Ii and gave him three locations.

Go to the nearest one.

Kitami held the key, her feelings complicated.

They actually dared to let him drive and even let him choose the location; they really look down on him! Aren't they afraid he'll cause a technical car accident?

...Well, he really wouldn't dare. What if he died too? The current situation isn't worth risking his life for.

Moreover, before going downstairs, he took the opportunity to go to the restroom and had already arranged everything that followed... Although the cleanup was a bit troublesome, he couldn't rely on that yakuza detective after all, so he could only try with the resources he had.

As Kitami started the car, he glanced at the person in the back seat through the rearview mirror—at first glance, the person seemed dangerous and capable of fighting, but upon closer inspection, the person was actually rather thin… Although Hanakawa Shinryu was indeed a top student at the police academy and was probably quite skilled in judo and grappling, who wasn't a top student at the police academy! He had even tried quite a few extreme sports in pursuit of thrills!

Besides, according to the plan, Han Chuan Shenliu was confident that he wanted to talk to him alone, but he called others, making it two against one. He just didn't believe it!

Kitami drove with Usakabe Saiki to the nearest location. It was late at night and there was no one inside. The two of them turned on their flashlights and circled around inside, but they didn't find any clues.

"It would have been better if we had come during the day," Kitami said, feigning nonchalance. "We could have asked the people around here if there was anything unusual in the area..."

Only someone like Hanchuan Shenliu, with ulterior motives, would come out in the middle of the night to do this kind of search work.

Han Chuan Shenliu wanted to be alone with him, but he didn't dare to be the first to point it out. Was he trying to enjoy watching Han Chuan Shenliu's anxious expression for a while longer?

In a little while, Hanchuan Shenliu will experience what it means to not be too confident!

Kitami Ichimakura muttered to himself, rehearsing the next scenario over and over again, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He casually glanced at the emails, then said to Usakabe Saiki, "It seems we can't find any clues here. Let's move on to the next location."

Bo Yezhai nodded dismissively.

System: [There's a problem with his email.]

"I know, judging from his micro-expressions, he's an accomplice. He hasn't given up on killing me." Bo Yezhaiji said with great interest, "Let's see who he can find!"

Little did they know that Bei Jianyi was also very excited, because the second location was the one he had arranged.

When he made the arrangements in advance, he didn't know where Han Chuan Shenliu was planning to go. He just thought he could find an excuse to take him there. Unexpectedly, one of the three addresses Han Chuan Shenliu mentioned happened to be there. So all he needed to control was the time.

Now is the perfect time to go.

Kitami drove with Usui Saiki to the second location.

This is an abandoned building that was not completed. It has several floors and exposed concrete surfaces everywhere. The stairs don't even have handrails. There are holes left for elevator installations everywhere. The courtyard also doesn't have railings. It's very dangerous to walk at night with just a flashlight. You could easily fall down if you're not careful.

Usoya Saiki walked in front, and Kitami I followed behind.

Kitami had tried several times to push Usakuya Saiki down the courtyard, but Usakuya Saiki never gave him the chance, always keeping a distance.

Moreover, Kitami is currently eager to show off and salvage his ego, which has been damaged throughout the day. Pushing someone down and killing them like that doesn't feel like a accomplishment.

In the past, when he watched TV dramas, he would complain that the villains talked too much nonsense. Now, Bei Jianyi suddenly understands those villains—they have such a strong desire to express themselves that they feel uncomfortable if they don't say it!

The real enjoyment comes from seeing the incredulous expression on the face of an enemy who thought they had the upper hand but was turned around. It's so boring to just die silently.

Han Chuan Shenliu refused to speak first, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Usoya Saiki vaguely sensed Kitami Ichi's restlessness behind him, and continued walking forward in silence. When he estimated that it was about time, he considerately broke the false balance by speaking first: "Speaking of which, Kitami-san, there is something I want to confirm with you."

Kitami Ichi complained that he was still using honorifics at this time, even more pretentious than him. So, out of some inexplicable competitive spirit, unwilling to admit defeat first, Kitami Ichi forced himself to continue the act: "Just call me Kitami... What's up?"

Usakabe Saiki didn't mince words: "You used to be in the rowing club at Tokyo University, right?"

Kitami smiled, while subtly shifting his position, trying to divert Usaku Saiki's attention and create an opportunity for his accomplice: "Yeah, why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Yes, and then you came to this police station last month," Usakabe Saiki said calmly. "The location where the body was dumped has also changed from the training ground that the Tokyo University rowing club used to frequent to this lake..."

Kitami knew that there was no point in denying it now, since that yakuza detective had already told Kanakawa Shinryu everything he could!

What he needs to do now is to maintain a graceful demeanor and not become someone that Han Chuan Shen Liu can manipulate.

With lightning speed, he pulled out a gun he had prepared beforehand, with the safety already off, from behind his back, and fired two shots at Usakata Saiki, who had his back to him.

Kitami I was quite confident in his marksmanship.

Unfortunately, even though Kitami I was prepared in advance and wanted to fight a battle where the enemy was caught off guard, he still underestimated the value of the skills that Usaku Saiki had exchanged for Hanakawa Shinryu.

Under Kitami I's expectant gaze, Hanakawa Shinryu actually shifted his body slightly and dodged the two bullets.

Kita no Ichi: "…………"

That works?! This kid's lucky! Maybe he was just about to turn around and it was a coincidence!

He did not fire another shot.

He knew that Hanchuan Shenliu also had a gun. If he fired all his bullets and still couldn't hit his opponent, then only Hanchuan Shenliu would have a weapon, and he would be at a disadvantage. It was better to keep some in reserve as a deterrent.

But the embarrassment of missing every bullet still needs some relief; Kitami Yoshi is proud and can't afford to lose face like that.

Bei Jianyi's attitude suddenly changed. He smiled and became wicked: "Why ask so many questions? Don't you already know?"

Bo Yezaki was shocked: [This guy's attitude is so arrogant, doesn't the "behind-the-scenes aura" work on him?]

The system knew before that Kitami had plotted to assassinate Suikawa Shinryu, but assumed it was a desperate act of defiance. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all, which surprised it. However, it still tried to explain: "I already said, don't rely too much on the 'behind-the-scenes aura.' This is entirely based on the other party's imagination..."

Bo Yezaki pondered: [Please note this down for me: the "halo effect" is less effective on narcissistic personality types.]

When ordinary people see Han Chuan Shenliu, they feel that this guy is dangerous and scary, and they will automatically become cautious.

But Kitami Ii is different. He's too narcissistic and thinks he's amazing. It's too difficult for him to admit that Hanakawa Shinryu is better than him. At most, he'll admit that Hanakawa Shinryu is indeed good at playing games, but he's not to be underestimated either. Once inspired, he can immediately be on par with Hanakawa Shinryu.

Most people only have a biased view of Hanchuan Shenliu, but Kitami I also has a biased view of himself, which shows that he is very confident.

So the effect shown is as if the "black screen halo" has failed, but in fact this is entirely Kitami's own problem, and the system is not to blame.

"So you're admitting it?" Bo Yezhaiji wasn't in a hurry. He turned around and faced the gun barrel, slowly trying to get information out of him.

Kitami, dressed as if nothing was wrong, said, "What's so hard about admitting it? I'm not worried. You're the one who should be worried, right?"

What do I need to worry about?

"..." Bei Jianyi remained unmoved and continued to point the gun at him. "You specifically called me here, what exactly do you want? You can tell me now."

Everyone has weaknesses, Kitami thought. Han Chuan Shenliu still had to work in the police force. If he had a powerful backer, he would definitely know. Since he didn't know, he didn't have a powerful backer. This orphan definitely wouldn't dare to kill him. He might just want to watch him make a fool of himself, or he might want to use the evidence to blackmail him.

But he had to kill Hanchuan Shenliu today; he couldn't let that guy ride roughshod over him.

However, you can first feign compliance with Hanchuan Shenliu, and wait for him to lower his guard and think he has achieved his goal before launching a surprise attack.

But this guy, Hanchuan Shenliu... although he was lucky enough to dodge the bullet just now, he's still so relaxed with a gun pointed at him. Does he think he won't hurt him?

He absolutely hated this guy's calm demeanor, as if nothing had gone wrong...

Kitami stared at Hanakawa Shinryu, whose face was barely illuminated by the flashlight: "Aren't you going to say anything?"

“There’s nothing to say,” Han Chuan Shenliu said. “What I want to ask is, what do you mean by this?”

Kita Kenichi raised an eyebrow: "It's nothing special, just fun. Don't you have any other questions? Then it's my turn to ask..."

While changing the subject, he carefully observed the figure quietly approaching from the darkness behind Han Chuan Shenliu.

That's right, that's exactly it. While Hanchuan Shenliu's attention was being diverted by him, the person codenamed F—the core character of "Strawberry Night," the assassin responsible for performing the killings—ambushed Hanchuan Shenliu from behind.

His previous preparations involved having his accomplices contact F and bring him over. This way, regardless of whether F succeeded or not, Hanchuan Shenliu would be distracted, allowing him to finish him off.

F is a puppet who only kills, has no thoughts of his own, is very obedient, but also has flaws, which is why he initially wanted to find that yakuza detective to introduce him to a proper assassin... Sigh, let's not talk about bad things.

In short, since "Strawberry Night" can't be held again anyway, after F kills Hanchuan Shenliu, he will kill F, and then there will be no way to prove it.

Then he would call the police and say that F discovered that Hanchuan Shenliu's investigation was too in-depth, so he came to silence him. He said that he was not a good shot, and by the time he killed F, Hanchuan Shenliu was already seriously injured and died.

It's perfect.

As for the other doubts, I believe his father will handle them for him.

Even if someone senses something is wrong and suspects him, is it even necessary to ask who to believe, a dead orphan or the son of a high-ranking official?

If you don't want to die like this orphan, shut up!

Kitami restrained himself from looking towards F, and tried his best to attract Hanakawa Shinryu's attention with words, talking non-stop like a villain he used to look down on.

At first, he was just trying to find topics to talk about, but as he talked, he became quite engrossed in his own self-satisfaction.

"...You'd never understand this feeling. I founded 'Strawberry Night' to spread the feeling of 'being genuinely grateful to be alive after witnessing someone else's death' to others. You must have noticed this while you were searching everywhere, right? The survivors of 'Strawberry Night' all go back feeling incredibly energetic, motivated, and driven, because nobody knows if they'll die next, so they have to live without regrets... I guess I'm a kind of therapist now. They should all thank me; without me, where would they see this kind of performance?"

After finishing speaking, Kitami Yosuke glanced at the F behind Hanakawa Shinryu out of the corner of his eye, calculating the timing of the other party's attack so that he could blind Hanakawa Shinryu with his flashlight and find an opportunity to finish him off.

But the next second, F's performance made Kitami Ichi's eyes widen in shock, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"F! What are you doing?!"

Why did you walk right past Han Chuan Shenliu and enter the range of his flashlight beam?! This isn't what we said! What kind of assassination are you talking about? You were spotted immediately!

He knew F was mentally ill, but now that he's gone this far, he can't even understand what assassination is anymore?!

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Landmines (extra chapter)

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In the original work, in broad daylight, Kitami took the protagonist to an abandoned building, shot him, and even tried to rape him before killing him... Uh... I don't quite understand his thinking. How do you plan to handle this afterward?

Should he go back and tell the police that his boss disappeared while they were walking together? Doesn't that seem very suspicious?

Although I don't understand Bei Jianyi's thought process, I respect him, so he also wants to kill Han Chuan directly from my perspective = =|||

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It should be obvious who F is.