Chapter 165 Rest in Peace

[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: It's gotten so crowded! Even our alpaca suits are... wait! What are you doing here?!]

[Anti-fraud expert #234: I don't know why either. The program froze for a moment, and after it was fixed, I ended up here. It's been a long time since I've seen such a lively scene! ^-^]

A brand-new electric alpaca popped its head out from behind the steering wheel and greeted everyone with a smile.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #214: ...Jing, is this what you looked like after you went digital?]

...I'm also curious whether everyone becomes obsessed with cartoon alpaca costumes after going digital.

Morofushi Kagemitsu was stunned when he heard a voice that sounded eight or nine parts similar to his own, and then became curious about this fragment of himself.

He didn't even realize how relieved he was when he saw that the alpaca skin suit number 234 wasn't so strange.

[Anti-fraud expert #148: Neither the alpaca nor the dark-skinned man did anything wrong... We were just a little curious about our new companion.]

Curious... If I remember correctly, didn't you guys read a lot of memory fragments about the future? You were the ones who told me a lot about Number 234's daily life.

[Anti-Fraud King No. 19: But those are just incomplete fragments, and most of them are condensed and refined intelligence information. There's no new host to reunite us, so it's normal to be unfamiliar.]

Okay then.

He accepted this explanation.

[Anti-fraud King No. 66: So here's the question: Now that No. 234 has arrived, what will happen to Osamu Midorikawa in the future?]

Yes, there's still this big problem waiting for us.

He recalled the scene before he returned and suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that No. 198 had drugged Nao Akiyama, allowing her to face that terrible reality a little later.

As for Midorikawa Osamu...

Well, it's probably already a real corpse by now.

He even had the leisure to make a joke.

[Anti-fraud expert #234: Great, he can finally rest in peace (clasps hands together).]

[Anti-Fraud King #26: ...As expected of a slice of Jing's consciousness, even his clasped hands exude the aura of a master.]

There's no need for a straight man here... Is there any way to send him back?

Besides, didn't you say that I and my consciousness fragment cannot exist on the same timeline at the same time? In the future, he is asleep; but right now, we are both awake.

[Anti-fraud expert #198: Well, we're not entirely sure either. #234, how are you feeling right now?]

[Anti-fraud expert #234: I don't feel anything.]

[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 11: Is there any sense of rejection or exclusion from the world?]

[Anti-fraud King No. 234: It's alright. In the future timeline, my core is usually kept in an energy tank. Right now, the energy from the future seems to be with me...]

"Beep beep—"

A car horn interrupted their conversation.

Everyone subconsciously looked around and then realized that their car was still parked on the side of the road, blocking a road that ran across the block.

Number 148 quickly moved the car and parked it in an inconspicuous corner.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #148: Did I hear that right?! What did you just say? The future energy tank came with you?!]

[Anti-fraud expert #234: Don't worry, it's just my own portion; our total energy reserves are still good.]

The anti-fraud officers all breathed a sigh of relief.

[Anti-fraud expert #66: So, is your own energy enough? I really need to find a way to send you back before your energy runs out. I can't even imagine what will happen when your friends over there find out that Midorikawa Osamu left the hospital without permission and turned into a corpse.]

[Anti-fraud expert #19: This shouldn't be thought about too much... but given the intelligence level of Hasegawa's butler, he should be able to handle these things without any problems... at least he won't bury Midorikawa.]

...Your assumption is problematic from the start. Doesn't this level of artificial intelligence require energy? Midorikawa doesn't have much money, and he can't use his identity as Shunsuke Goto anymore. Where will the energy come from?

[Anti-fraud expert #234: (Thinking) When its energy runs out, it should find a way to solve the problem itself; it's kind of an artificial intelligence's "survival instinct." In short, feel free to leave things to the AI ​​assistant; it should be able to stall for time.]

[Anti-fraud expert #198: So, do you have any leads on how to get back?]

[Anti-fraud expert #234: Not yet, but the most important thing right now is to connect the things you did before you time-traveled.]

...I vaguely remember that something important happened.

Morobuchi Kagemitsu tried hard to recall.

[Anti-fraud agent #205: You need to meet Mr. Jin Quan at the coffee shop in two hours. We've discovered that the Karasuma Group is the mastermind behind this, and that they're colluding with individuals and organizations within the Public Security Bureau. We're preparing to report these two pieces of intelligence.]

[Anti-Fraud King #26: ...Ah, Jing! Does this count as "the information about the BOSS arriving too early"?]

It shouldn't count.

It's just a surname; we'll definitely encounter it again when we come into contact with more core interest groups within the organization.

Speaking of which, I just remembered that before we go to see Mr. Jinquan, we could stop by the hospital where Shunsuke Goto is being treated to get some information.

[Anti-fraud expert #198: It's no big deal, just park your car nearby.]

Let's set off then.

So, number 148 started the engine again, and the car steadily got on the road.

[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 11: Wait, we can't let our guard down now. Judging from past time-travel scenarios, our current situation isn't safe.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu paused in his movement as he was about to take out his phone.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #214: ...No, we time-traveled and missed our prophecy notification, almost failing our mission; now that we're finally back, they're trying to trap us again? Isn't that a bit too much?!]

[Anti-fraud expert #19: ...I was fine at first, but now that you mention it, I feel like those cars around us are up to no good. Maybe we should take a quieter road instead.]

But those are usually the accident-prone road sections.

Numerous cases flashed through Morobuchi Kagemitsu's mind, a third of which were routes they had planned themselves when carrying out the organization's elimination missions.

[Anti-fraud expert #205: I've been keeping an eye on those vehicles. If they make any unusual moves, we'll take action immediately. I remember when this vehicle was being modified, #148 strongly insisted on reserving a space for a machine gun system; now it can finally be used.]

Wait a minute! A vehicle equipped with a machine gun?!

When did you guys install this thing? We only bought this car not long ago!

[Anti-fraud expert #148: It's just some minor modifications. Before buying the car, you said, "Since you'll be driving it most of the time, you can decorate it however you want"... You're not going to go back on your word, are you?]

"Buzzing—"

...But it's too late to back out now.

He watched silently as a machine gun rose from a small storage box behind the handbrake. As the machine gun slowly rose, the sunroof was opened.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #66: Someone pulled out a gun!]

[Anti-fraud expert #26: I knew that flashy pink Leopard car was no good!]

As soon as the warning from No. 66 was issued, the machine gun, which had been prepared for a long time, shot up to the roof of the vehicle. With the precise positioning of No. 205, the machine gun found the culprit and returned fire the instant the person fired.

As everyone knows, a pistol can't withstand a machine gun, and that reckless cannon fodder who fired the first shot is now quiet.

But before the silence lasted two seconds, even more cannon fodder came, their ashes scattered, to seek their own death.

[Anti-fraud expert #234: (So many people.jpg)]

Morofushi Kagemitsu began to think that No. 19's suggestion to 'find a secluded road' made a lot of sense.

He didn't want to run into his colleagues at the Metropolitan Police Department again.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #148: Don't worry, when we turned the corner just now, I gave our car a makeover. I not only covered the license plate but also painted the whole car black. Those traffic police from the Ministry of Transport definitely won't be able to find us!]

Clearly, after numerous trials, No. 148's autonomous driving technology has made leaps and bounds. Now, even without loading the driving templates of Hagiwara and Matsuda, he can still perform legendary driving skills such as "a small leap every three steps and a big jump every five steps".

Despite their superior numbers, the enemy was unable to break through their defenses. As casualties steadily increased, this group of inexplicably appearing people finally had no choice but to flee.

[Anti-fraud King No. 214: ...It should be over now, I never want to play that racing game again...]

[Anti-fraud expert #11: Judging from the road conditions, there shouldn't be any major obstacles ahead. Hopefully, no more black-clad assassins will appear on the way to the hospital.]

Number 11... As long as you shut up, we'll be mostly safe.

[Anti-fraud expert #26: But who are these people? Why are they suddenly shouting for us to fight? They don't seem like law-abiding citizens...]

[Anti-fraud expert #66: I extracted several facial images of them and compared them with the faces of other members of the organization; none of them matched. However, three or four of them do resemble the faces of members of this local gang.]

Gangs? How dare they mess with me?

[Anti-fraud expert #198: I don't know. They were fine at first, but after they turned that corner, they started acting strangely.]

...After that turn?

Number 148 quietly disappeared, even abandoning the newly dyed alpaca leather suit.

[Anti-fraud officer #19: ...Number 148, come out here! How did you turn our car into Gin's outdated Porsche 356A?!]

[Anti-fraud expert #148: Well... I subconsciously wanted to appear more menacing.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu twitched his lips. He had wondered why he had so much hatred on him; it turned out that the person he hated was someone else.

"Buzzing—"

Huh? That voice...

Zhu Fujingguang quickly took out his phone.

[Anti-Fraud King No. 11: It's a prediction push! But it's not a new one, it's the old one that was blocked! What's the use of this hindsight?!]

[Anti-Fraud Guru #19: All the tasks were completed, and this is the last time you're showing up? Are you trying to get us to fill in the gaps? Seriously... ugh!]

[Anti-Fraud Guru #66: Huh?! How could this happen?!]

Zhu Fujingguang also stared wide-eyed, and read the original text again in disbelief.

This...this...!