Chapter 2

Matsuda Jinpei helped the police officers in charge of escorting the suspect, temporarily sending the agitated bomber back to the interrogation room next door. Hagiwara Kenji coughed, ignoring the earlier incident, and forced back to the previous topic.

"Um, don't let the criminal's words affect you. The police force needs fresh blood like Mr. Hanchuan, who loves to stand up for what's right... If Mr. Hanchuan has any questions about being a police officer, feel free to ask me! Active-duty police officers are online to answer your questions~ Can we exchange contact information? Maybe I'll have a chance to repay him someday~"

Bo Yezhai snapped out of his reverie while communicating with the system and asked casually.

"You'd help with illegal and disorderly conduct?"

"Haha, Mr. Hanchuan, you're quite the joker..."

The young man, who hadn't smiled at all, glanced over with his red eyes and silently raised the corners of his mouth: "I think so too."

Kenji Hagiwara's expression froze instantly.

The young man's smile was like the shadow cast by a solar eclipse, swallowing up all the surrounding light and leaving only himself, as captivating as the brightest golden ring left by an annular solar eclipse.

His gaze, devoid of any smile, fell upon Kenji Hagiwara, making the hairs on Kenji Hagiwara's body stand on end.

Is this a test? A test to see if he's a corrupt cop who can be won over?

When others said such things, Kenji Hagiwara could easily take it as a joke and turn the joke back, but in front of Shinryu Kazukawa, he inexplicably had a feeling that the other party might actually do such a thing.

But how could anyone seriously tell an active-duty police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department that they'd help me break the law in the future?!

Did he accidentally judge people by their appearance?

Unbeknownst to Kenji Hagiwara, while he was struggling with the 'halo of the conspiracy,' Saiki Usui was opening the system notification page, admiring the string of doubt points he had provided.

[Suspicion level from Kenji Hagiwara: +500]

[Suspicion level from Kenji Hagiwara: +300]

[Suspicion level from Kenji Hagiwara: +100]

Bo Yezhai: "..."

The data on this screen refreshed every second. Looking at the sudden drop in his suspicion level, he was somewhat dissatisfied: [He convinced himself way too quickly, dropping my suspicion level from +500 to +100 in an instant… Wasn't what I said suspicious enough?]

System: [After all, you just saved over a dozen people, including himself. Right now, your favorability towards you is off the charts. The fact that he suspects you is all thanks to this 'behind-the-scenes halo'... Don't be unhappy; he's an important plot character, and he carries weight when exchanging points.]

Important figures like Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda are not in the same league as that bomber. Even if that bomber provided 1,000 suspicion points, he would only get 1,000 points when exchanging them for points. But Kenji Hagiwara's weight is 2, which means 1,000 x 2 = 2,000 points.

Bo Yezhai is already dead. He has only recently signed a contract with the [Doubt Value System] in this world and is still in the newbie protection period. Once the newbie protection period is over, he will have to use points to exchange for daily lifespan or some items.

If he still has enough points remaining after the designated time, he can exchange them for permanent residency in this world, and even fulfill some other wishes, such as resurrecting someone.

Therefore, getting to know more influential people and targeting them specifically can be more efficient in reducing suspicion levels.

Of course, raising suspicions should be done with caution; you can't actually get yourself arrested, otherwise it would be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs...

Kenji Hagiwara still had things to do, so he could only say goodbye to Saiki Usui.

Bo Yezaki wasn't in a hurry. Anyway, he had the contact information, and there would be plenty of opportunities to raise suspicion levels later. He had already said that he wanted to be a policeman because he was so suspicious. The bait had been laid out, and no one would believe he wouldn't take the bait.

He had achieved his goal in Tokyo. Now, he needed to leave Tokyo and return to Fukuoka as soon as possible to meet with Gin and Vodka as planned.

While calculating the time, Bo Yezhai couldn't help but complain to the system: "[When I read novels, other people can control two bodies at the same time, that's called having multiple identities, but I only have one body, so strictly speaking, it's called transformation, right?]"

The system protested: "You have extra points; you could exchange them for another body in the shop. It's your own fault for not buying it."

[Then controlling the alternate account costs points every second. You guys are really capitalists... If I'm exposed, it's definitely a flaw in your design.]

That being said, Usoppō Saiki wasn't too worried.

When we first exchanged skills for "Hanchuan Shenliu", we thought that Hanchuan Shenliu would join the organization, and having more skills would be a good thing, so naturally, he also had the skills to avoid cameras.

Japan has few surveillance cameras to begin with, and they are quite old now; there aren't many installed across the entire country, making it even easier to hide one's tracks.

Even though he has now become the original body and is going to join the organization, at least the skill Han Chuan has not been wasted, which is some consolation.

and--

[Rei Furuya can openly and legitimately enter and leave the brewery and police station, and even work various jobs without getting caught! I can do that too!]

System: [...Don't get competitive in strange places. Hurry back to Fukuoka, Gin and vodka are waiting for you.]

Gin and Vodka, who were deeply missed by the system and Usui Saiki, entered Fukuoka City on this night.

Vodka was observing his surroundings very alertly.

There's no way around it; Fukuoka is a mixed bag, especially Hakata Ward. It's said that even a falling billboard could hit an assassin. Several members of the organization have mysteriously disappeared there.

At first, I thought it was a betrayal, but the investigation revealed that it was just collateral damage; they were accidentally implicated and killed by other forces.

Last month, no one went missing here, but someone betrayed the organization and was eventually killed by Gin. It has to be said that the attrition rate here is really high.

To ensure the mission's success and prevent premature death, the intelligence team requested a bodyguard, so Gin, who happened to be free, brought vodka along.

Their mission this time is to find someone.

Intelligence is scarce; all that is known is that the individual smuggled himself ashore at Hakata Port. If he intends to conceal his tracks, he should be quite difficult to find. However, the individual is extremely valuable, and if no trace is found, the organization will send more people.

"Brother, what if that kid is already dead?" Vodka asked worriedly. "I heard that Alex spoils his adopted son a lot, and he might be a rich young master. We've already lost several of our men here, and he's a rich young master..."

Gin snorted coldly: "No matter how chaotic Fukuoka is, it can't be as chaotic as the Middle East. If you can survive in the Middle East, you won't die in a place like this."

"But that's because they have Arijiu protecting them. This isn't Arijiu's territory. Now Arijiu..."

Suddenly, Gin stopped and looked in one direction.

Vodka, who had been filled with worry, immediately shut up and stopped, turning his head away.

Under the streetlight over there stood a silver-haired boy wearing a cowboy hat.

His hair was slightly long with messy ends and his bangs partially obscured his eyes. However, the hair on his left side was held in place by a hair clip, revealing his pale green eyes and the earrings on his earlobes that reflected the light.

So far, they seem to be just ordinary young people pursuing fashion, but let's look further...

The boy was wearing a green haori (a traditional Chinese garment), underneath which was a black shirt, red trousers, and brown leather boots.

The color scheme was already blindingly bright, but Vodka also noticed that when the boy raised his left hand to press down on his brown cowboy hat, a string of Buddhist prayer beads was wrapped around his slender wrist. The problem was, he also had a cross hanging around his neck...

Vodka felt like he'd been hit!

What a mess of a mix! Did you just leave the starting village and put on every single item you can think of?!

What's wrong with young people these days?! They're going to ruin the future!

Vodka, always dressed simply in black, complained loudly in his heart.

The silver-haired boy wasn't afraid of being stared at by Gin and Vodka. He even struck up a conversation: "Hey, how much does your organization pay you for killing someone? Interested in switching sides?"

Suddenly being called out for not being a law-abiding citizen, Vodka's chaotic thoughts vanished instantly, and he alertly touched his lower back: "Big brother?"

Gin remained calm: "This is Hakata, Fukuoka."

Assassins are everywhere, corpses are as plentiful as dogs, and it's common for murder companies to recruit on the street.

Even so, Vodka still couldn't quite understand: "Why would they think we're assassins?"

This place is known as the "Little Gotham of Asia." Even ordinary people like to dress like gangsters to feel safer and avoid being looked down upon. Aren't those plain black suits just standard practice?

The silver-haired boy laughed and replied, "I just came back from the Middle East, and I'm very sensitive to the aura of people like you. That's why I was able to become the HR manager of a murder company. It's called leveraging your personal strengths! Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to find a job."

Huh?! The Middle East?!

Vodka suddenly got a key word.

He seemed to understand why his older brother had suddenly stopped to look at the other person. It wasn't necessarily because the other person looked at them differently from other passersby; it could also be because…

He, like the person they were targeting in Fukuoka, had silver hair and seemed to be around the same age.

Vodka's attention had probably been drawn away by the boy's questionable attire, as he had no recollection of what the guy looked like and had completely overlooked such an important clue. Now, looking at him again, he felt that not only did their attributes overlap, but the boy also seemed somewhat familiar...

Vodka pulled a photo out of his pocket and compared it back and forth.

After eliminating a series of interfering factors, Vodka finally came to a conclusion.

"Are you Usoya Saiki?"

"...Do you know me?"

Vodka exclaimed with delight, "Big brother! We found them! Our mission is complete!!!"

Heavens above, earth below, what incredible luck! In the vast sea of ​​people, they found someone so soon after arriving in Fukuoka!

"Looking for me?" Usakabe Saiki tilted his head. "So, you're the Japanese whisky my dad sent to pick me up?"

Vodka's face immediately hardened: "No, the Japanese whiskey was an undercover agent, and he was eliminated last month."

"Huh? I was wondering why no one came to pick me up after I waited so long, making me work on my own for so long... And I can't get in touch with my dad, I don't know what to do... By the way, is my dad alright?"

Vodka pushed up his sunglasses: "Alex was assassinated by the CIA."

Usakabe Saiki's smile vanished instantly: "The CIA?"

Gin suddenly spoke up at this moment: "I heard that Ariel is a Soviet spy."

He looked down at Bo Yezaki, his gaze cold and scrutinizing: "As his adopted son, what explanation do you have?"

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Gin would be speechless and Bayonetta would weep at Bo Ye's outfit, but it's not that his taste is questionable; he has his reasons!

Don't worry if the clothing on the cover is different from what's described in this chapter; it will be changed later. There's a lot of stuff in Thin Leaf.

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P.S.: This is a timeline based on Detective Conan's theory; the Soviet Union has not yet dissolved at this point.

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If there were a forum-style mini-theater—

Have you all seen the new character?

[I saw it; the gambling character has very little screen time or dies within two episodes.]

Why? This should be a new character from the brewery; shouldn't they at least have some significant role in the main storyline?

For the author, drawing a bunch of fragmented characters with a lot of screen time just increases their workload.

[...the reason is somewhat relatable.]