Chapter 36 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind.

After exchanging information, and mocking the FBI's miserable state under the helpless gaze of his childhood friend, the blond youth walked out of the ramen shop, feeling extremely satisfied.

He caught a glimpse of two familiar figures walking side by side on the street out of the corner of his eye, and before he could even stop smiling, he said, "Hiro, isn't that the class monitor and that curly-haired bastard?"

The blue-eyed youth looked up and saw Matsuda Jinpei strolling down the street with his signature curly hair, his two-meter height making him even more conspicuous.

He said in surprise, "It really is."

Tokyo is probably too small; you can run into people like that just walking down the street.

Before I could decide whether to say hello, the two people walking in front of me suddenly stopped.

A moment later, Matsuda and the squad leader ran off in a frantic rush.

Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei exchanged a glance, worried that something unexpected might happen, and followed without saying a word.

...

In his small room on the fourth floor, Matsuda Jinpei was incredibly grateful for his habit of always carrying a bomb disposal kit with him.

He immediately lunged at the bomb, half-kneeling on the ground to grab his tools and get to work without looking back: "Squad leader, get the victims evacuated first, and notify the Metropolitan Police Department!"

Without him saying anything, Itako had already untied the blonde woman's ropes.

The woman ripped the tape off her face, her eyes still trembling with fear, her voice shaking: "That person ran out the window, will she come back to get me?!"

Date Wataru had obviously taken this into consideration as well. After glancing back to check on Matsuda Jinpei's condition, he decided to escort the woman to the open-air staircase at the door.

Standing here, he could see the road, so he didn't go any further, worried that the prisoners who planted the bomb might return and disturb his companions inside the house.

"Go down here, out onto the street, and run to a crowded place to find the police. I'll be watching from here. If you feel any danger, shout for help, understand?"

As he said this, he sensed something was amiss, because most of his attention was focused on Matsuda Jinpei defusing the bomb inside the house, and he didn't have time to think about it further.

Seeing that the woman was still hesitating, Date urged her again.

The blonde woman nodded blankly at first, her gaze lingering between his hands, as if lost in thought, or perhaps trying to confirm something.

She took a few steps down, then stopped a few steps away.

Ida Kou, thinking something was wrong, frowned in confusion: "What's wrong?"

From his angle, all he could see was the woman with her head down, her two strands of golden bangs swaying from side to side.

The magnitude is getting larger and larger.

Then her shoulders started to shake, and only then did Date Wataru realize that she was laughing.

From suppressed whispers to uncontrollable laughter.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!" The voice was completely devoid of the previous unease, filled with unrestrained arrogance.

The woman, who had been bowing her head, raised it and revealed an exaggerated, almost maniacal smile.

"Playing the victim is definitely not my style."

"Since he's not the person I'm looking for, there's no need to waste time. Die!"

Before she finished speaking, she turned around with lightning speed, drew a combat dagger from somewhere, and attacked Date Wataru with lightning speed!

The dagger pierced the target's neck with ruthless force, leaving a streak of silver light in the air.

"you--!"

Caught off guard, Date Wataru desperately dodged to the side, the blade grazing his coat and making a tearing sound.

But he quickly reacted and used his height advantage to dodge the attack that came next.

He grabbed the attacker's arm and gave her an over-the-shoulder throw in a standard judo stance!

The brief exchange allowed both sides to assess each other's strengths, and the woman's fighting skills were in no way inferior to Date Wataru's.

As expected, the blonde woman shifted her position mid-air by using her waist to her advantage, her fingers gripping the dagger tightly, and rolled over to dissipate the force of the fall.

“You are Pramia,” Ida Hang said in a deep voice, guessing the other party’s identity.

Having her code name exposed, the blonde woman got up and scoffed dismissively, "You're an imposter, after all."

She had clearly found out that the bomb disposal police officer who had survived a time bomb was passing by here today.

The bomb disposal police did arrive, but it wasn't the one she was looking for.

Unmoved, Ida moved almost imperceptibly toward the door, blocking Pramia's path back into the apartment.

The woman used her feet to brace herself against the ground and quickly moved closer, then thrust the dagger at his face with a reverse grip.

Ida Ko, poised to strike, gripped his baton tightly, his eyes fixed on the approaching weapon, waiting for an opportunity to retaliate.

He didn't miss the sinister smile that flashed across the woman's face.

"Squad leader! Watch out!"

Someone downstairs exclaimed in surprise; it was the familiar voice of a fellow traveler.

A sense of crisis and intuition were screaming in his mind, and without thinking, Date made a bold decision.

He gave up dodging the dagger and rolled to the side.

"Bang!"

The dagger thrust was just a feint; a violent explosion rang out in their ears.

The purple flames instantly engulfed the spot where Date Hang had just stood.

Downstairs, Rei Shiratani and Kagemitsu Morofushi relaxed a little, but they didn't dare to delay and continued running this way. They would arrive soon.

Matsuda Jinpei's voice came from the other side of the corridor. He was still defusing a bomb and couldn't move around freely: "Squad leader, what happened?!"

Pramia cursed and tried to attack again, but was inevitably stopped by his own flames.

The impact and scorching heat of the flames forced him to raise his hand to shield his vulnerable eyes. In the bizarre pink and purple firelight, Ida saw her figure running towards the rooftop.

"Squad leader?"

Furuya Rei and the others also ran up to the fourth floor.

Ida Kou was unharmed and didn't even have time to brush the dust off his clothes from the stairs. He said with a serious expression, "That person is Pramia. Jinpei is inside defusing the bomb. She may have a remote control that can detonate the bomb prematurely."

Even though they had heard Hagiwara and Kitagawa mention it and were mentally prepared, they were still caught off guard by such a troublesome bomber.

Upon hearing this, the other two people's expressions tightened.

If that person were to run to a safe location and detonate the bomb, the residents of the apartment building and Matsuda Jinpei, who was tasked with defusing the bomb, would be in danger.

Rei Furuya was the first to make a decision: "I'll stop her, squad leader, you go and evacuate the residents!"

After saying this, without waiting for Zhu Fujingguang to stop him, he turned over, stepped onto the railing, and climbed up to the next floor via a shortcut.

Morofushi Kagemitsu immediately sprang into action: "Squad leader, I'm a little worried about Zero. Are you alright on your own here?"

"Of course!" Date Wataru gave a thumbs up: "You have to trust me and Jinpei!"

After saying that, the two immediately took different actions.

The blonde woman's back came into view, and only then did Furuya Rei realize that he hadn't brought a gun.

Just because he didn't bring it doesn't mean the other party didn't have it.

The bullets missed the railing and bounced off, but this did nothing to slow down Furuya Rei's pursuit.

Pramia did not linger after his initial attack failed.

She had already climbed onto the rooftop, looked down at the young man, and then turned to take out a tiger claw-like hook from her trouser leg, which was attached to a black rope.

She threw the iron hook with all her might, and it firmly gripped the railing of the rooftop of another building.

The blonde woman gave a defiant smile, wrapped the rope around her hands several times, braced her legs on the edge of the rooftop, and jumped off without hesitation.

The rope taut the moment she fell, and Pramia swung in an arc between the two buildings.

Just as she was about to crash into another building, she lifted her legs and braced herself against the wall to cushion the impact, then climbed back onto the rooftop using a rope.

Then, with a quick somersault, he landed steadily.

He knew he couldn't catch up with the other side by following the rules; he could only pray that the curly-haired bastard had completely dismantled the bomb, preferably leaving not even the metal parts.

Rei Furuya gave up on taking the stairs and instead looked around at the two buildings, measuring the distance between them.

At this moment, Morobuchi Kagemitsu arrived.

"Hiro!"

With just one word, they know what the other wants to express.

Morofushi Kagemitsu crossed his hands, creating a platform for leverage: "Ready!"

Rei Furuya took a few steps back, then ran forward, completely trusting his opponent.

Zhu Fujingguang exerted all his strength to lift upwards.

"Jump!"

The blond youth leaped into the air, adjusted himself into the most advantageous position for leverage, and stretched his arms forward to grab the opposite stair railing.

Her golden hair was blown behind her ears by the oncoming wind.

Got him!

As gravity pulled him downwards, he plummeted to the bottom, a sharp, pulling pain shooting through his right joint.

He ignored it and climbed the stairs to chase after them again.

On the rooftop, the blonde woman knelt on the ground, her fingers clenched tightly as she slammed the remote control in her hand.

There was no response.

"How is this possible?! How is this possible!!"

When Furuya Rei arrived and saw this scene, the weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted.

The crisis is over.

Filled with shock and anger, Pramia quickly raised his gun at the uninvited guest.

Rei Furuya wouldn't give her another chance to fire, and decisively pounced on her, the two engaging in close combat.

*

The other two wounded patients finally completed their final check-up and were kicked out of the hospital by the attending physician before Kenji Hagiwara met the last intern nurse at the nursing station.

Kenji Hagiwara: "I need to go find Jinpei. Where's Ryusei?"

"Go home and feed the cat." Kitagawa Ryusei said, holding the diagnosis report in his hand.

"We're going the same way!"

The two walked down the street, chatting casually.

Ever since they learned the secret of Kitagawa Ryusei's supernatural abilities, their private conversations have taken an unstoppable turn towards a fantasy, action-packed shonen anime.

Kenji Hagiwara seems extremely interested in his past.

It wasn't until he asked how she discovered she possessed supernatural abilities that Kitagawa Ryusei looked back, her gaze filled with helplessness.

"Second-year graduate student, you really don't need to do this."

The moment their eyes met, Kenji Hagiwara paused, then chuckled and feigned ignorance, averting his gaze: "What 'like this'?"

"My psychological evaluation results remained within the good range during the National Police Agency's year-end inspection this year," Kitagawa Ryusei stated bluntly.

He knew what Kenji Hagiwara was worried about.

In the past two years, aside from work-related communication, I've had the most interactions with Kitagawa Ryusei in my personal life.

At first, he would occasionally help him to scold Furuya, who was suspected of "deserting in the face of battle." Later, he would often invite Kitagawa Ryusei to dinner and righteously ask for the spare key to his house.

Although he doesn't have the intuition of a childhood friend, Kenji Hagiwara's ability to sense emotions is far superior to theirs.

He may have realized that he was in low spirits, but Kitagawa Ryusei never felt that he was under too much pressure or that there was anything else wrong with him.

"So that's what Ryusei thinks?" Kenji Hagiwara, his purpose revealed, remained composed, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Jinpei, on the other hand, has a different perspective..."

Kitagawa Ryusei's curiosity was piqued, and she asked, puzzled, "What?"

Then, Kenji Hagiwara burst out laughing: "Jinpei thinks I have such a strong fatherly vibe because he wants to raise you to be Furuya's dad, hahaha."

"Haha, I think it's him who's thinking it."

Kitagawa Ryusei: "..."

He held back for a moment, feeling a bit dumbfounded, but finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "...What is this?"

The two laughed for a while, and it took them almost two minutes to walk a distance of no more than fifty meters.

It took Kenji Hagiwara a while to recover. He winked at him and said, "We're friends, right? Aren't friends meant to care about each other? Whether we're in a good mood or not doesn't stop friends from bothering each other, cough, getting along."

"Of course, if Xiaoliu feels disturbed, Hagi-chan can try not to be so enthusiastic."

As he said this, the purple-eyed youth's gaze changed, his expression a mixture of grievance and forced strength as he stared intently at the person before him: "Your mood has improved a lot since Kofuruya came back, so it's understandable that you don't need Hagi anymore... Well, Hagi is fine."

After saying that, he lowered his head, looking as if he was forgiving a scumbag who was used and discarded. His expression was enough to make anyone who didn't know the reason feel heartbroken.

"..."

Kitagawa Ryusei was speechless for a moment, stared at by that natural, unfeigned gaze.

For a moment, he forgot to close his mouth, and after a long while, he managed to say with difficulty, "...No." He sounded somewhat unsure of himself.

"So Hagi is still likable, isn't she!"

With a bright smile on his face, Kenji Hagiwara loudly announced this already widely known news.

At this moment, Kitagawa Ryusei genuinely felt that all the moves he and Furuya Rei used were utterly weak compared to Hagiwara Kenji.

The two walked a distance further and arrived at the neighborhood that Matsuda Jinpei was responsible for patrolling.

Kenji Hagiwara scanned the surroundings like a scanner, afraid of missing his childhood friend.

“Strange,” he glanced down at the time. “They should be here by now, according to their usual patrol route.”

Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda had patrolled this road countless times and knew their childhood friends' speed and habits inside and out.

Kitagawa Ryusei frowned and guessed, "Could something have delayed you on the way?"

Before the two could figure anything out, an explosion came from behind them.

The two exchanged a glance and turned to leave simultaneously.

The explosion was immediately followed by gunfire, clearly indicating that it was not an accidental incident such as a kettle exploding.

They spotted Date Wataru evacuating people from an apartment building not far away.

Before he could even call out to anyone, Kenji Hagiwara sensed something was wrong and looked up.

A figure holding a rope flew between the two buildings.

"That is..."

Kitagawa Ryusei's gaze swept to the other side, and his face suddenly turned pale.

Kenji Hagiwara exclaimed in surprise, "What is Furuya going to do?!"

Rei Furuya didn't have time to look down. He barely managed to grab the railing and, relying on his arm strength, successfully climbed the stairs, disappearing from Ruki Kitagawa's sight.

On the other side, Morofushi Kagemitsu's figure flashed by, as if he was about to walk up the stairs to get there.

"Let's go help," Kenji Hagiwara said to the people around him, "Things happened so fast that we could only roughly guess what had happened. Everything will be alright!"

“No,” Kitagawa Ryusei grabbed him, his face still pale, his words coming out as if squeezed out one by one from his throat, incoherent and disjointed: “That person has a means of escape.”

He took a deep breath to calm himself down, looked up at the direction of the building's rooftop, and recalled the building's layout as he walked over.

"...Let's go to the back alley of that building."

Zero will be fine.

Kitagawa Ryusei didn't finish his sentence.

He'd better be alright if he dared to do something so dangerous.

...

Another explosion on the rooftop.

Rei Furuya couldn't dodge in time and was swept up the steps by the aftershock of the grenade, with rubble hitting him all around him.

He never imagined that someone who could float lightly between two buildings could be carrying something like this!

My ears were ringing, and the excruciating pain made it impossible for me to lift my head.

My shoulder, which had slammed against the stone steps, ached as if it were shattered.

The culprit was still approaching, holding a gun, and he was now powerless to resist, his vision blurred.

"Although I didn't have time to kill the guy who defused my bomb, you're not bad either."

Pramia's eyes suddenly sharpened: "Blame your bad luck!"

Bang!

The bullet flew out of the gun barrel.

Then came the sound of a gun barrel falling to the ground.

Rei Furuya didn't blink.

Pramia staggered forward, the gun slipping from her hand.

Crimson blood bloomed behind her.

Zhu Fujingguang stood at the entrance to the rooftop, gun in hand, his breathing uneven and his chest heaving violently.

He fired another shot, but this time Pramia gritted his teeth and dodged it.

"Zero, are you alright?!"

The moment Morofushi Kagemitsu's attention was diverted by the blond youth, Pramia rolled over and hid in a bunker, took out the tiger claw hook once again, bit the balcony and jumped down!

Before leaving, she swept her gaze across the two faces on the rooftop, as if trying to etch their images into her heart.

With her right hand shot and unable to exert any force, she supported herself entirely with her left hand and slid down the rope into a hidden alley.

Pramia didn't have time to check her injuries; she steadied herself, turned around, and tried to leave.

The alley entrance was blocked by a figure backlit by the light.

The black-haired youth held guns in both hands, pointing them motionless at the woman falling from the sky. He shouted, "Stop!"

"Don't move! Put your hands up!"

"Tsk."

As her bent knees slowly straightened, Pramia squinted and clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

She gritted her teeth and, with great cooperation, endured the pain to raise her injured right hand.

With his left hand hidden in his sleeve, he subtly caught the heavy object that had fallen from his sleeve.

Before she could do anything...

A whooshing sound of wind cutting through the air came from behind.

The heavy stick, accompanied by a sharp gust of wind, struck the bomber squarely on the back of the head!

--Bang!

Caught off guard, Pramia was jolted, her expression one of shock. Then everything went black, and she lost the strength to turn around, collapsing forward in exhaustion.

She slowly fell to the ground, revealing the person hiding behind her.

Kitagawa Ryusei's face remained expressionless as he gripped the end of the short stick with both hands, his gaze following the falling man as he slowly descended.

After a long while, he threw away the stick in his hand.