Chapter 54

Usoba Saiki made an excuse to break away from the organization and planned to return to the police academy.

Vodka and Morofushi Hiromitsu were implying that this time it would be best to provide on-site guidance. The person needed to be present, unlike last time when they didn't know where he was. They probably didn't want to ask, but they were still concerned about what he did on weekdays and wanted him to make a choice: whether to choose the organization or an unknown part-time job.

Considering the location of that charity gala, which is outside the scope of the "all-purpose navigation" centered on the police academy, he still has to leave the academy no matter what, and meeting them is not out of the question.

The next question to consider is how to get leave from the police academy.

Personal leave... it's a bit hard to come up with a reason. According to the file, Han Chuan Shenliu is an orphan, so excuses like "my grandparents died and I have to go back to attend their funeral" won't work.

Even the orphanage director is dead. He's all alone, with no family to worry about. It's not right for him to stand in front of the instructor and ask for leave because of family matters, unless another corpse appears in his home. But that would be more troublesome, and he'd be called in by the police for questioning, which would also be difficult to get out of.

Then I'll have to take sick leave.

However, the police academy has a very good medical clinic. For ordinary sick leave, there is no need to leave the school. You can either rest in the dormitory or in the medical clinic. However, serious illnesses may affect your classes or even graduation.

When he has a fever, Kenji Hagiwara would never feel comfortable leaving him home alone and would definitely persuade him to go to the school clinic so that she could take care of him... It's a sweet trouble.

A fracture is a good reason, but it also affects the organization's tasks.

Bo Yezaki finally couldn't resist opening the system shop to see if there were any items that would make it easier to fake illness and take leave.

The system was pleased. Although the expensive substitute dolls couldn't be sold, there was still a commission from selling other things, which was better than nothing.

Since signing with Bo Yezaki, this guy has been taking advantage of the daily lucky bag compensation and hasn't encountered any troublesome situations where he needs to buy items temporarily, so he has looked down on the system shop and hasn't bought a single item! The system would starve if it only relied on commissions to make a living.

Now there's finally a sign of improvement. No matter what you buy, once you start buying and find it works well, you'll develop a dependence on it...

The system's vision grew increasingly rosy, and it enthusiastically promoted its products: "I think this bone fracture patch is pretty good. It fakes a fracture, but it doesn't actually prevent you from sneaking out. Also, this allergy medicine will make you sneeze constantly, so you have to stay indoors. Or try the stomach bleeding pills; after taking them, you'll be diagnosed with a stomach hemorrhage, but you'll be fine after a couple of days of rest..."

Bo Yezaki glanced at the price tag.

It wasn't that expensive; Han Chuan Shenliu could recover his doubts in half a week. But compared to the little bit of doubt he painstakingly gained from the organization today, he felt a bit cheated.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, he hasn't seen anything that really appeals to him that he feels he absolutely must buy. In fact, he's even considering standing up the organization.

What kind of person is he that he deserves to spend his own points to complete tasks?!

The system, having learned of Usakabe Saiki's thoughts, couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark: "If you only buy things when you're absolutely thrilled, then all you'll get are free items. If you can't afford it, don't buy it."

Bo Yezhai paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought: [Did you learn those sales techniques at a luxury store? It's that kind of thing where the salesperson is indifferent to the customer, acting like "if you can't afford it, don't bother me," and then the customer, wanting to prove them wrong, buys a lot of things in a fit of pique, just to see the salesperson's sudden change of attitude—it feels so good…]

system:【……】

How did you manage to be discovered? And why do you seem so familiar with this? What kind of weird things do you usually know about?!

"I regret to inform you that I'm the type of person who, if slighted, will simply not buy from that store and walk away. I won't contribute to their sales targets." Bo Yezhai wasn't angry; he just felt sorry for the system's desperate attempts to sell, and sighed, "Next time, try a more normal marketing approach."

The system was shocked: [Huh? You're not buying it? Then how are you planning to ask for leave? Are you really going to break your leg?]

Use your sincerity.

system:【……? ? ? 】

When Saiki Usaba returned to the police academy, he happened to run into Kenji Hagiwara, who had finished his work and wanted to go out for dinner with Matsuda.

When Kenji Hagiwara saw Saiki Usaba return, he was taken aback for a moment: "Didn't you just take the day off today?"

"Yeah, but after going out for a bit, I didn't feel like doing anything, so I came back."

Kenji Hagiwara's heart suddenly ached: "…………"

After being confined at the police academy for a week, and finally being able to ask for leave to go out, everyone else was already having a blast, but Shinryu didn't know what to do... How lonely must he be?

Although Kenji Hagiwara had known before that Shinryu Saikawa might be living a somewhat lonely life, seeing how Saikawa would take leave every week, encounter cases every week, and refuse to go to parties with him, leaving school to do his own thing, he vaguely had the illusion that Shinryu Saikawa was quite busy. Now, this statement that "after wandering around, he found there was nothing he wanted to do" suddenly blew away that fog, and Kenji Hagiwara regained the correct understanding.

So Kenji Hagiwara extended the invitation again: "Would you like to come with me to find Jinpei?"

Usoppei hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "No, I want to rest... I've eaten a bit too much."

Morobuchi Kagemitsu washed two plates of grapes for him. Because this variety was so delicious, he ate them all without realizing it, and now he's really not hungry at all.

Kenji Hagiwara wasn't upset about being rejected; on the contrary, he was relieved, thinking that at least Fukami Nagare had eaten a meal before coming back, so she wouldn't have just wandered around without any interest in doing anything.

However, it wasn't long before Kenji Hagiwara realized he had been too hasty in his celebration.

He had dinner with Matsuda Jinpei on Friday night, so he didn't realize anything was wrong. The next day, when he went back to school and asked Usui Saiki to have breakfast with him, he was surprised to find that the other man hadn't brought anything and was just sitting across from him watching him eat.

Kenji Hagiwara hesitated: "Don't you eat breakfast? It's not good for your stomach."

"I suddenly don't have much of an appetite," said Bo Yezaki calmly. "Anyway, there's no training today, so it's okay if I don't eat."

That's true. If you're training, skipping breakfast will cause your energy levels to drop too low, and you might even faint from hunger. But if you're not training, you can be a bit more carefree.

However, Kenji Hagiwara still urged Saiki Usui to drink at least a bowl of porridge.

Bo Yezaki obediently drank it.

Then at noon, Kenji Hagiwara tried to invite Saiki Usuba to lunch again, only to find that Usuba wasn't planning on eating.

"I've already eaten."

Kenji Hagiwara expressed his doubt: "What did you eat?"

Bo Yezaki paused for a moment, then said, "I drank the porridge."

"Isn't that breakfast?!" Kenji Hagiwara wasn't fooled. "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"

Bo Yezaki shook his head: "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."

Hagihara Kenji: "...?"

No, you were only out of school for an afternoon yesterday and came back. What did you do that made you so tired that you didn't even want to eat?

Or do you mean mental exhaustion?

Kenji Hagiwara was confused, but he still persuaded Saiki Usui to eat a rice ball.

This situation continued until Tuesday, when Usui Seiki showed signs of loss of appetite. Hagiwara Kenji expressed his concern to the instructor.

It seems like you overeat on Fridays, but you haven't been able to eat anything these past few days. Isn't that a bit strange?

This worried Instructor Onizuka, who came to ask if Usui Saiki was feeling unwell and if he needed to get checked out.

“No, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my body,” said Usakabe Saiki. “I just…”

Instructor Onizuka asked nervously, "Just what?"

"Something came up, and I want to be alone for a while," Bo Yezhaiji said frankly. "Can I ask for leave this afternoon to go back to my dorm and rest?"

If other students couldn't come up with a legitimate reason and used this incredibly pretentious excuse to ask for leave, Instructor Onizuka would definitely turn into a hairdryer and give them a thorough dressing-down.

But since it was Hanakawa Shinryu who said this, Instructor Onizuka couldn't help but think about it more.

Why would Han Chuan be being dramatic? Han Chuan must have encountered a very serious problem to want to ask for leave!

How did things turn out like this after just one trip outside of school? Did she get involved in some strange case? I didn't receive any similar news... And judging from this statement, she 'encountered something,' but wouldn't say what it was. It must be something she doesn't want to tell them, and it seems like she's been struggling with it since the weekend...

Instructor Onizuka felt that Sugawa Shinryu's personality was actually a bit arrogant, and he probably wouldn't waste his energy on useless things. The fact that he was agonizing over it for so long meant that it must be something very important.

It seems like I've never seen him struggle with anything... wait a minute!

Thinking of this, Instructor Onizuka felt a chill run down his spine—could it be! Has Shinryu Hanakawa been recruited by some gang off-campus?! Maybe he even said a lot of nonsense like, "You're born for this line of work!"

Han Chuan Shenliu was able to take a childhood comment that he might go astray seriously, and even went on to take the police academy entrance exam. It's normal for him to feel emotionally affected when gang members say similar things to him now. He might not care about anything else but this, which is a childhood trauma.

Instructor Onizuka hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He wanted to say something, but he was afraid that if he hinted at something indirectly, it would seem like he didn't trust Han Chuan Shenliu enough, which would only make his already sensitive heart feel worse.

"I understand. Go back and rest," Instructor Onizuka finally said. "Anyway, you won't miss a class or two."

Bo Yezaki nodded: "Don't worry if you can't see dinner. I'm just a little upset, so I'll probably just go to sleep."

Instructor Onizuka waved his hand: "I know, remember to come back to class when you're in a better mood."

Bo Yezhai bowed and turned to leave.

The system was dumbfounded.

[Huh? Huh? He's already taken leave? This is allowed?! Is Instructor Onizuka really that easy to talk to?]

Usoppō Saiki was quite pleased with himself: "I already said, sincerity is enough."

He suddenly realized that, given Han Chuan Shenliu's image, it would actually be easy for him to ask for leave, since the instructor had a psychological trauma and was afraid of new accidents.

[...Is your true intention simply to say, 'I don't want to go to class, I need to ask for leave!']

Just say it didn't work!

system:【…………】

It felt a little sad; if it couldn't even defeat Bo Yezhaiji under these circumstances, when would its system shop finally open...?

After returning to his dormitory, Usakabe Saiki quickly checked his phone and found an email from Morofushi Kagemitsu that subtly urged him to hurry up.

These past few days, Morofushi Kagemitsu has probably been worried that he might run away, so he's been sending him information from time to time, asking how his investigation is going, and where he plans to meet with everyone.

If Instructor Onizuka hadn't come to find him today, he would have had to ask for leave on his own initiative. Fortunately, Instructor Onizuka was cooperative enough.

After quickly changing his clothes, Usoya Saiki, relying on Hanchuan Shenliu's physical abilities, simply climbed out the window and ran away.

Avoiding surveillance cameras and finding a way to slip out of the school was a piece of cake for Han Chuan Shenliu, who was full of skills. He quickly made it outside the school and was about to meet up with the people in the organization.

The system couldn't accept this reality: "Aren't you afraid someone will go to your dorm and find you're gone?"

"...Have you forgotten again? You're the Suspicion Value System. Worrying about all this nonsense all day long—are you an undercover agent sent by the Trust Value System?"

system:【…………】

No student dared to approach Shinryu Hanakawa; the instructors would only check the situation the next day and wouldn't go to his dorm. Only Kenji Hagiwara might find out.

Even Kenji Hagiwara, who considers him a friend, should realize something is wrong if he finds out that someone has run away for no reason!

Kenji Hagiwara was indeed worried after hearing from the instructor that Shinryu Samakawa had taken leave, but as a teaching assistant, he could only wait until he finished his work before visiting his friend.

Instructor Onizuka also said, "He wants to be alone, so you shouldn't go either."

"What exactly happened? He won't say anything."

Instructor Onizuka sighed, "I don't know either, I just have a guess... I guess he was recruited by some gang, and maybe he said something wrong that made him unhappy until now. We can only wait for him to figure it out himself."

Kenji Hagiwara hesitated for a moment: "I'll just ask him at the door if he needs lunch."

And so, Kenji Hagiwara walked to the door of Shinryu Kagawa's dormitory and gently knocked: "Shinryu? You haven't eaten all day, do you want me to bring you two rice balls?"

There was no response.

Kenji Hagiwara guessed that Shinryu Saikawa might have fallen asleep. Although he was a little worried, he decided to leave and not disturb him any longer.

But in the instant he lowered his head and turned around, Kenji Hagiwara keenly noticed something.

He squatted down in front of the door and carefully observed the position of the crack in the door.

The door was locked from the inside.

Hanchuan Shenliu never used to lock the door; he would simply close it with the door closed.

At that moment, Kenji Hagiwara had a strange premonition.

—Hanchuan Shenliu is not in the dormitory right now.

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Bonus chapter for nutrient solution tonight, bonus chapter for landmines, energy bar 48/100

I suddenly realized how often I've been posting daily chapters; this one's almost 4k words again, it's a bit ridiculous.

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System: What are you going to use to ask for leave?

Thin Leaf: With Sincerity

Instructor: Okay, leave approved.

System: Is sincerity enough?!

.

Others: Instructor, I have something to do and I want to be alone. Can I ask for leave?

Instructor: Is that so fussy?

Han Chuan: I want to be alone...

Instructor: There must be a big problem!

.

Morofushi Kagemitsu anxiously sent emails and made phone calls: Hopefully they won't suddenly disappear again...