·76｜Exclusive to Jinjiang·76

A tree branch can also be used to strike someone unexpectedly.

Not long after Kenji Hagiwara left, Yomi Lai noticed a timid man with his hair parted in a side part and wearing framed glasses. The man took out his phone, glanced at it, looked around, and then hurriedly ran away in the direction Gin had gone.

Without hesitation, Lai Chuan Huang Quan swallowed the last fried shrimp on her plate and followed the man slowly, keeping a safe distance. Before chasing him out through the side door, she casually pulled out a red rose stuck in the green floral foam, twirling it in her hand from time to time—in case of any unexpected situation, she could use this rose to knock him out.

The Beika Municipal Hotel occupies a large area with a complex interior structure. Yomi Lai followed the man quietly, being led around several circles before finally reaching their destination. She pressed herself against the wall in a corner, intently listening to the conversation between the man and Gin on the other side of the corner.

Vodka's voice rang out: "Where's the stuff?"

The man's voice trembled as he answered, "It's in the box. I left it at the front desk; this is the number tag."

Vodka called out "Big Brother," seemingly asking what to do next.

First came the click of a lighter being pressed in the darkness, followed by the sound of smoke being exhaled: "No rush, we'll get it later."

The man took two eager steps forward, then stopped timidly in front of Gin, rubbing his hands together: "What about my wife and children..."

Gin said coldly, "Having confirmed your design, I will naturally let them go back. Get out of here."

The man bowed and scraped obsequiously, but his back was already covered in cold sweat: "Yes, yes."

Lai Chuan Huang Quan held his breath, listening to the sounds from the other side of the wall, secretly calculating when to snatch the things.

"The Underworld".

The administrator suddenly spoke up; he finally stopped trying to hide his identity and stopped coldly calling Lai Chuan Huang Quan "1107".

"They suddenly turn around and walk in your direction, quickly hide."

Upon hearing this, Yomi Laichuan lifted her skirt and tried to run away. However, she had only taken a few steps when footsteps approached from another direction, startling her into a hasty stop. In the narrow passageway, with Gin and his group closing in behind her and unidentified footsteps in front of her, the sudden attack from both sides made Yomi Laichuan's heart pound. She glanced around, preparing to use her spatial teleportation, when the administrator spoke again: "Calm down, the person in front is Morofushi Kagemitsu."

But that brief moment of hesitation caused Yomi Lai to miss her chance to escape, and she was unable to leave the corridor before Gin noticed her.

Raikawa Yomi glanced down at the rose she was holding, the one she had prepared to use to knock someone unconscious, and without hesitation, she snapped it in two. As soon as Morofushi Kagemitsu came into view, she rushed over with a smile: "Kagemitsu~!"

Before Morofushi Kagemitsu could even take in the situation, he was suddenly thrown into Yorikawa Yomi's arms. His arm loosely gripped the waist of the person in his arms, and he was forced to take a small step back.

He frowned slightly, speaking as gently as ever, "Why are you here?" No sooner had he spoken than Morofushi Kagemitsu noticed Gin and the others appearing from the other side of the corridor. He reacted quickly, changing his arm movement from a helping hand to an embrace, like an intimate couple.

Lai Chuan Huang Quan tucked the broken rose into the pocket of Morofushi Jing Guang's chest, his already sweet voice softening even more: "Guang, please forgive me, let's get back together, okay?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "But..."

Footsteps drew closer behind her, and Raikawa Yomi tensed up, her hair standing on end. She looked at Morofushi Kagemitsu expectantly, her voice dripping with sweetness: "Kagemitsu~"

After saying that, she winked at Zhu Fujingguang at the right moment, full of coquettish meaning: "Get back together with me."

Behind them, Gin glanced at the two of them and walked away without stopping. It wasn't until the footsteps had completely disappeared for a while that Yomi Yoru breathed a sigh of relief and released her arms from around Morofushi Kagemitsu's waist: "That was close, thank goodness you showed up in time, Mr. Kagemitsu."

However, if Morofushi Kagemitsu hadn't appeared, she could have run away without being bothered by the footsteps.

Morofushi Kagemitsu raised his eyebrows, looking like he couldn't do anything about Raikawa Yomi: "When did you get back? I didn't even receive any news."

Lai Chuan Huang Quan chuckled: "A few hours ago."

Morobuchi Kagemitsu asked with a smile, "What about him? Have you seen him?"

Lai Chuan Huang Quan knew who Zhu Fu Jing Guang was referring to. She puffed out her cheeks angrily and said, "Guang, tell me, did he flirt with other women at the bar while I was away?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu raised an eyebrow, revealing a surprised expression. He then ruffled Yomi's hair, as if comforting a short little sister: "Don't worry, Hagiwara has been thinking about you."

Upon hearing this, Lai Chuan Huang Quan crossed his arms, a slight smirk playing on his lips: "Hmph, then I'll just have to reluctantly forgive him."

Morofushi Kagemitsu sighed, his smile both helpless and gentle: "But it seems that you might need to deal with other minor troubles first, Raikawa."

Lai Chuan Huang Quan's almond-shaped eyes widened, and he tilted his head, casting a question mark: "What?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu did not answer, but simply smiled and shifted his gaze to behind Yorikawa Yomi.

“Soft bread,” a mournful voice suddenly rang out. Kenji Hagiwara, who was responsible for tracking Gin, appeared behind the two of them at some point. “You just threw yourself into Midorikawa’s arms, didn’t you?”

Lai Chuan Huang Quan subconsciously hunched his shoulders, touched his nose, and muttered softly, "You saw wrong."

Kenji Hagiwara lowered his body, his sweet voice laced with jealousy: "And they even talked about getting back together and stuff."

The air in May was already a bit hot and dry. Hagiwara Ken's eyes were filled with smiles, and her beautiful purple eyes were fixed on Raikawa Yomi's eyes. Her slightly furrowed brows seemed to be pouting, wanting to ask for her lover's gentle caresses.

Lai Chuan Huang Quan froze, staring intently into Hagiwara Kenji's naturally expressive eyes, as if she wanted to be drawn in. She slowly lowered her gaze, pouting without saying a word. Instead, Morofushi Kagemitsu chuckled a few times, quickly extricating himself from the bickering couple: "I have something to do, I'll talk to you later."

He turned and smiled at Raikawa Yomi: "Raikawa, welcome back." Then he turned and left.

As soon as Morofushi Kagemitsu left, Yorikawa Yomi, realizing that things were not going well, also lifted her skirt and ran away, disappearing in a flash.

Kenji Hagiwara didn't pursue the matter. He knew what was important and what wasn't. Dealing with the current situation was far more crucial than engaging in petty squabbles with Yomi Raikawa.

Lai Chuan Huang Quan thought so too, and after she left, she went to the front desk first.

Pretending to be playing on his phone, Lai Chuan Huang Quan leaned against a pillar covered with imitation marble patterned tiles, fiddling with his phone incessantly, paying no attention to the receptionist.

The administrator can see everything around Yomi Laichuan, so Yomi Laichuan isn't worried at all about missing Gin and Vodka coming to pick up the box.

Moreover, having her attention completely focused on her phone makes her staying near the front desk appear more like a coincidence than something deliberate.

Lai Chuan Huang Quan waited for about ten minutes before Vodka, wearing a black fisherman's hat, appeared. After looking around, he used his number to get a 20-inch black rolling suitcase from the front desk.

Seeing the vodka walk away, Lai Chuan Huang Quan put away her phone and followed. She casually broke off a branch from a potted plant in the corridor, tiptoed, and quickened her pace to approach the vodka.

Thanks to her post-apocalyptic survival skills, Lai Chuan Huang Quan can almost completely conceal her footsteps, even while wearing high heels, as long as she concentrates. However, she's still not used to wearing slender high heels, so the ones bought for her by her second-year graduate student are all square mid-heels.

As he drew closer to the tall man in front of him, Raikawa Yomi tensed up and held his breath. Just before Vodka realized something was wrong and was about to turn around, Raikawa Yomi raised the leaf-covered branch in his hand and struck Vodka on the back of the head.

As the skill activated, the box that Vodka was holding fell to the ground, hitting the carpeted floor with a dull thud.

Seeing this, Lai Chuan Huang Quan no longer hesitated, picked up the box and ran.

She texted Kenji Hagiwara, who led her through a maze of turns to an empty room at the end of a corridor.

When Lai Chuan Huang Quan locked the door, Hagiwara Kenji was already biting a mini flashlight and had pulled out a set of tools from somewhere to start disassembling the box. He first used something that looked like a walkie-talkie to circle around the outside of the box to make sure there were no listening devices or similar equipment before picking up a screwdriver and starting to remove the combination lock.

The combination lock that required the correct password to open was like a plastic toy to a three-year-old child to Kenji Hagiwara; he pried it open in no time.

Inside the box, several metal devices were wrapped in shockproof plastic film. After a quick glance at the devices, Kenji Hagiwara stared in astonishment, "This is!... This is truly an incredible design."

If Matsuda Jinpei were here, he would be so excited that he would disassemble the entire set of equipment. The kind of joy that only a top student feels when faced with a challenging, century-old problem is something that cannot be suppressed.

Kenji Hagiwara suppressed his surging emotions and laughed, "I'm going to check if there's a locator now. Softie, please keep watch for me."

They had to open and inspect the box to see if any tracking devices had been secretly installed before they could take it home.

The designer and manufacturer of this device is a well-known mechanical engineer whose wife and daughters have been kidnapped. It is very likely that he secretly installed locators in places that are easy to overlook in order to find clues.

Kenji Hagiwara isn't afraid of the engineer knowing the location, but Gin will definitely be furious after the item goes missing and demand the engineer redo it. The real concern is that the engineer might be too shocked and reveal the tracking information—if there really is a tracking device inside the box.

The hotel corridor, dimly lit by only a few wall lamps, was ambiguous and dim. Lai Chuan Huang Quan leaned against the corridor with his hands behind his back, only to see Gin slowly emerge alone from the vanishing point of the curved corridor. He already had a terrifying aura, but now, with his dark face, he looked even more ferocious, like a demon.

Noticing Lai Chuan Huang Quan standing under the lights, he narrowed his red eyes and grinned, revealing a somewhat cruel smile. He pulled out a card from his pocket that could easily open most access control systems and began to open the dark, empty hotel rooms one by one—high-tech door locks like fingerprint locks were not yet popular, and the anti-swiping technology for access control cards was still somewhat outdated.

The whole process lasted less than half a minute. When Gin turned the doorknob of the room where Kenji Hagiwara was, Yomi Rikawa leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and did not say a word.

Throughout the entire process, Raikawa Yomi did not make any move to transmit information.

But the room was empty, with only the curtains fluttering in the wind by the window.

Gin stared silently at the last dark, empty room, his brow furrowing at the unexpected outcome of his deduction. The next second, Gin turned to look at Yomi Laichuan.

The deep voice, like a wild beast snapping its jaws before biting off an enemy's neck, declared: "What are you doing here?" He assumed the suspicious woman was keeping watch. But why was there no signaling, and no one else around?

Lai Chuan Huang Quan rolled his eyes: "Mind your own business!"

Gin glared at Yomi Laichuan with his terrifying red eyes, approaching her with a chilling aura that made it almost impossible to breathe. Yomi Laichuan felt a chill run down her spine, but still deliberately glared at Gin with feigned nonchalance: "I'm waiting for another boyfriend. What, are you planning to play the vigilante and tell him that Hikaru was cheated on?"

Gin stared intently at Yomi's bluffing demeanor, pondered for a moment, then snorted coldly and turned to leave. Gin did indeed see human life as worthless, but he wasn't a mindless idiot like Chianti with a homicidal streak; he could analyze the pros and cons.

After Gin left, Yomi Laichuan slowly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been deliberately putting on an act. Yomi Laichuan was certain that if she had made any small movement to send a signal or tried to escape, Gin would have shot her on the spot.

But she just stared at Gin with a puzzled look, clearly terrified, yet still holding her head high and putting on airs. Like a stupid woman with nothing but a pretty face.

Gin analyzed that there are only three possibilities for who would steal the box.

First, the police.

The engineer, who was coerced by them, secretly reported the incident to the police, but it is unlikely that he was under constant surveillance by the organization.

Second, the Public Security Bureau.

If that's the case, then there must be a rat in the organization. This rat secretly passed the intelligence to the police, who then sent people to steal the items.

Third, people from organizations who dislike him.

Gin has always been highly valued by Karasuma Renya, and coupled with his cold-blooded and eccentric personality, there are quite a few people in the organization who see him as a thorn in their side and want to pull him down from his current position. But no one dares to directly attack Gin; they don't have the guts.

However, sabotaging Gin's important mission is indeed a good strategy.

Gin did find Yomi Laichuan suspicious, but not particularly so. Her slender arms showed almost no signs of exercise, and her poor mental fortitude was immediately apparent when she met his gaze. How could such a piece of trash be the filthy rat who made him suffer? She didn't deserve it.

Moreover, the most urgent task now is to find the person who attacked Vodka and the stolen box. Even if he knocked out Yomi Yorikawa, he wouldn't be able to take her away. If he killed Yomi Yorikawa, what to do with her body would also be a problem—after all, Gin can't leave yet, and he doesn't want to get entangled with the police.

Gin had no idea that Yomi Raikawa's seemingly weak body had been modified by a higher-dimensional world. Whether she had muscles or not, it didn't prevent Yomi Raikawa from knocking out the strong and powerful Vodka with a single blow.

As for Kenji Hagiwara, who had vanished without a trace from the room, the administrator had already conveyed the information to him the moment Gin appeared—Yomi Raikawa was merely acting as an eye; the administrator was the one truly responsible for relaying the message.

Although doing this wasn't in accordance with the Time and Space Administration's regulations, who cared as long as the mission could be completed? Mr. Lai Chuan just wanted to end the relief effort as soon as possible; he didn't want to see his most precious daughter go through all that trouble again because of a failed mission. As long as he kept things in check, given his past excellent performance, the Administration wouldn't investigate too deeply.

But when Yomi Yorikawa was humming a song and strolling leisurely down the aisle back to the banquet, she ran into Tooru Amuro.

He glanced at Yomi Yomi, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then leaned closer: "You did it, didn't you, unconscious Vodka?" He smiled, seemingly in a good mood, "Gin is furious."

Amuro Tooru was about to say something more when Matsuda Jinpei suddenly appeared in his field of vision. He looked around with a cigarette dangling from his lips, then approached the two of them: "You little rascal, I heard you stole something. Not bad."

"You little rascal...?"

Amuro Tooru repeated Matsuda Jinpei's name for Yomi, his expression subtle.

Before Lai Chuan Huang Quan could protest, Matsuda Jinpei reached out and ruffled her hair like he was petting a dog: "But that engineer also brought a memory card containing the design blueprints, and Gin has already sent someone to find him."

Upon hearing this, Amuro Tooru narrowed his eyes: "It's a trap, isn't it?"

Matsuda Jinpei grunted, forcefully pressing down Yomi Raikawa, who was struggling to resist, and calmly analyzed to Amuro Tooru, "I also think it's a trap. No matter which faction the person who stole the box belongs to, they will definitely try to stop Gin from getting it after learning that there is a backup. At this time, he can easily use this trick to lure them into a trap."

Amuro Tooru frowned: "But as you just said, regardless of whether this backup is real or not, we must find a way to steal it. Otherwise, if it is real, all our previous efforts will have been in vain."

Amuro Tooru looked at the woman whose face was puffed up with anger: "Raikawa, I guess I can only ask you for help with this." He and Morofushi Kagemitsu absolutely cannot be exposed at this time. Hagiwara Kenji has already taken his suitcase back to the Metropolitan Police Department, and Matsuda Jinpei has other tasks.

Lai Chuan Huang Quan slapped away Matsuda Jinpei's mischievous hand from her head, patted her chest confidently, and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely complete the mission perfectly!"

Amuro Tooru smiled and said, "Yeah, I believe you." He took out his phone and glanced at the message from Morofushi Kagemitsu, his smile fading slightly. "I'm leaving now. I'll wait for your good news."

Lai Chuan Huang Quan nodded: "Yes, absolutely no problem."

But if she had known beforehand that this additional mission would lead her to...

That Raikawa Yomi wouldn't make any overly definitive statements now.

[Author's Note]

1. In the original work, Chianti showed excitement about killing in the storyline related to Gil, and the official guidebook mentions that she "gets excited when sniping," but in the anime, she really seems not very smart.

2. Gin's behavior in this chapter is based on my own understanding. Aside from the increasingly absurd theatrical versions like *The Darkest Nightmare* and the complete collapse of his character development in later installments, I believe Gin's character is not only cold-blooded and intelligent, but also rational. He was quite obedient during the police investigation in the first episode; when sniping Kogoro Mouri and Sonoko with her permed hair, he decisively chose to retreat after realizing he had mistaken them for someone else. Therefore, I believe he calculates the cost-benefit ratio before acting, rather than simply shouting, "Ah~ you're suspicious, get rid of her~ kill her~! Kill, kill, kill~!" Gin still harbors some reservations about the Red Army's forces.

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