Chapter 56 We'll explore the area ahead later...

00:02

Morobuchi Kagemitsu glanced at the time on his phone.

This matches the deal made in the park.

Could it be such a coincidence? That such a simple monitoring task could go wrong?

He looked down:

The weather was perfect, and many people were renting boats to enjoy themselves on the river in the park. Among them was a young couple who seemed to be a lover, snuggling together intimately in their small boat.

"There's a deal going on behind the artificial hill today."

Should we kill them?

"Make your move once we're outside the park."

"Those things..."

"Of course, destroy it."

"password……

...

“We only source parts, then assemble them, so the attack power won't be reduced. And…”

"Beep beep—"

"traitor……!"

"Bang!"

"Grab him and take him straight to the lab!"

...

The bespectacled man was very young, looking like he had just graduated from university. He was leaning against the artificial rock, holding a sharp stone in his hand, as if he were sharpening something.

"I will naturally do what I promised you."

"Anywhere is fine?"

“I can solve your seniority problem. As you know, what matters in this system is seniority, not achievements.”

"Since that's the case..."

The young man looked at the middle-aged man opposite him, behind whom hung a large red lantern with flickering flames.

"Boom!"]

After reading it, Morofushi Kagemitsu frowned. This was the first time he had ever felt so confused and bewildered after reading it.

The article is divided into three parts, each of which seems to be connected yet independent, resembling a chaotic situation where two or even three groups of people have gathered together.

The information currently available is approximately as follows:

1. There seems to be some secret behind the artificial hill in the park;

2. There might really be something wrong with that arms deal, and someone might have turned against them;

3. A power-for-money transaction, but something unexpected seems to have gone wrong.

In comparison, perhaps only the last part is not so urgent, so we can put it aside for a while.

[Anti-fraud expert #214: Let me check the list of traders for tomorrow... Huh? Why is it locked? I remember it wasn't like this when I checked a few hours ago.]

[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 11: Has the security and confidentiality level of the content been upgraded?]

[Anti-fraud expert #205: The technique has improved compared to before, but more practice is still needed... It's open.]

The anti-fraud guy imprinted the list in Morofushi Kagemitsu's mind and they looked at it together.

[Anti-fraud expert #148: They seem no different at first glance, just a bunch of middle-aged men... Ugh!]

This time, the list includes one more person than before.

[Anti-fraud expert #26: They even wrote a program specifically for this name, making it invisible to the other people on the list.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at the last name added: Mizunashi Rena.

Is she also a codename member? In this situation, to maintain the status of a codename member, their name wouldn't be directly written down. She seems more like someone favored by a higher-up, but hasn't yet achieved enough merit or made enough contributions to earn the codename.

[Anti-fraud expert #205: I looked up information on this Rena Mizunashi. She currently works at Nichiuri TV. If scheduling is done, she'll probably be able to host one or two programs next year.]

Nichiri TV.

Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly remembered something and was about to ask the anti-fraud expert for help when he heard the loud voice of number 26:

[Anti-Fraud Guru #26: Oh right! Didn't Egawa Yukie say she had work at Nichiuri TV tomorrow at noon?! Damn it, her schedule... wait? Now I can see it!]

[Anti-fraud expert #198: We were clearly shrouded in mystery by the rules before, but now it's clear.]

[Anti-fraud expert #11: This clearly means something big is going to happen in that garden tomorrow.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu stared at the names Egawa Yukie and Mizunaku Rei in his mind. He felt as if a crucial point of the whole matter was right in front of him, but a key clue was missing to connect them.

It would be better to go to the park tonight and investigate firsthand. If anything goes wrong, we can remedy the situation in time.

[Anti-Fraud Guru #198: I should check this out. When this post came out, I felt the data stream stumbled a bit; the fluctuations were strange. Is it because it involved other special individuals?]

[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: Jingguang hasn't been to the park yet, and our data stream doesn't cover that area. Hmm, put on some face cream before you go, just in case.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu naturally did as instructed, skillfully taking out face cream from the pop-up drawer. After thinking for a moment, he put on the wig that had just scared Matsuda and the others.

With that, if I change my appearance again, no one should be able to recognize me.

So, dressed like this, carrying a violin bag, he pretended to be a homeless wandering musician, going into the park in the middle of the night just to find a place to sleep.

The wetland park wasn't far; it only took him ten minutes to walk there from the hotel.

A faint light shone from the security booth at the park entrance. This time, Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't need to hide from the surveillance cameras; the anti-fraud team easily hacked into the system and manipulated the images.

After circling the large artificial lake in the middle, he looked around and found that there were quite a few artificial hills placed in the corners, and even two pavilions specially designed in the Chinese style, sitting firmly on high ground.

[Anti-fraud expert #205: They're not in the pavilion; let's check the corner.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu nodded silently to himself, glanced around, and walked towards a relatively secluded rockery garden. In his opinion, such a place would be more suitable for hiding things, and also more in line with the places that the young "couple" often went.

He walked silently over, slowly entering the archway of the small stone bridge, and touched the smooth stone wall. As he walked, his hand moved slightly downwards and suddenly touched several scratches.

Um?

The sudden change in texture made him look over and touch it again.

There are words carved on this artificial hill!

[Anti-fraud expert #214: It looks like it's been around for quite a while.]

He turned on his flashlight and shone it over, vaguely making out the character "介".

between?

[Anti-Fraud Guru #11: This isn't newly carved, and there aren't any large lanterns hanging around it. Even the storage room doesn't have any stock like this. Did we mistime our timing this time?]

time.

Zhu Fujingguang had a sudden inspiration and called out in his heart: "Anti-fraud Lord, has there been any accidents in this park before? Like news about fireworks or explosions, preferably around the Spring Festival."

[Anti-fraud expert #198: Let me see... It seems there really is one. Look, but that was 5 years ago. Wait, this...]

Yes, the description in the report matches the scene from five years ago. The explosion was caused by chemicals accidentally getting into the red lantern, and a middle-aged man was injured.

Is it possible that these three stories did not happen on the same timeline?

But why bring up past events? Are they meant to be classic cases? But weren't past reports often prophetic? Now that the timing isn't consistent, how can we save lives?

The anti-fraud expert has mentioned the connection between "fate" and "time" more than once. Could it be that this time in the park, some opportunity allowed him to travel through time and space...?

Wait, what is that?

Morobuchi Kagemitsu suddenly turned his head and looked at the location of the artificial lake.

A... dark figure?

Um? ? ?

Anti-fraud officer! Was that shadow just swimming across the lake?!

and……

[Anti-fraud officer #205: Stop! Stop thinking! Stop thinking! Stop pondering, control your thoughts! #198!]

[Anti-Fraud Guru #198: We can't use number one anymore! It would be foolish to use it again!]

[Anti-Fraud Guru No. 148: Hurry! Activate the emergency plan immediately!]

[Anti-fraud expert #66: Aaaaaah! What's going on with you guys?! We could feel the beeping even from a distance...]

The anti-fraud mantra seemed to explode in Morofushi Kagemitsu's mind. The suddenly amplified electric current sound and machine clicks assaulted his nerves again and again, as if an electrified wire had been placed into the lake of his consciousness.

At the bottom of the abyss of consciousness, something seemed to be striking the unseen barrier, creating a tremendous commotion that threatened to turn the sea upside down.

He himself was also affected by this hallucination, feeling dizzy and his chest began to ache. He forced himself to concentrate and stay awake, and vaguely heard a familiar electronic voice in the noisy, dizzying environment:

[...not enough energy...]

[Upgrade...Replace...]

[...clear...erasure...]

What?

Let me make it clearer...

[Activate anti-addiction mode!]

A sudden electronic sound, like a thunderclap, cleaved through Morifushi Kagemitsu's chaotic consciousness, and all the oppressive forces that had trapped him and left him powerless seemed to vanish in the thunder.

He dazedly returned to reality, his forehead already dripping with cold sweat. As his vision gradually adjusted, he leaned against the artificial hill, panting heavily.

[...]

[Jingguang, are you alright?]

not good.

It's impossible to make things better no matter how you look at it...

[We originally planned to tell you about these things after the upgrade was completed, but we encountered so many unexpected situations one after another.]

special.

Are you referring to those special individuals?

[That's partly true, but more often it's because the anchor of fate is flawed.]

That……

[Don't rush to ask, we will definitely answer you. There are more important things to do right now.]

What do we need to do?

[Let's hurry and go to the shrine again before dawn!]

...Another shrine, what exactly is there?

[You could also think of it as a save point.]

Archive point.

Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at the cherry blossom tree in front of him. He couldn't remember how he got to the shrine. He just stared at the good luck charms hanging all over the branches and tried to connect the dots in his mind.

Realizing that someone was passing by on the roadside at the foot of the mountain, he subconsciously took two steps to the side, trying to hide himself.

[It's okay, he's a living person, it's better that he can see you.]

[Close your eyes, walk forward, and leave the rest to me.]

Morofushi Kagemitsu paused for a moment, then closed his eyes again. He started walking towards the cherry blossom tree.

He thought he would bump into a tree after walking a few steps, but he found that the path he was about to walk on, which did not exist in the first place, seemed to have no end. No matter how he adjusted his pace, he could not encounter any obstacles.

Just as he began to smell dampness, the next second, a wave of seawater engulfed him.

In my ears, the unchanging electronic voice of the anti-fraud officer rang out:

Let's explore the area ahead later.

-----------------------

Author's Note: It's time to reveal the secrets of the Anti-Fraud King!

Eight people, people always have eight.