After finishing their meal, the group took a short break and walked around the island before heading to the highlight of the trip, the American Shrine.
Visitors will spend 5 yen at the American Shrine to purchase the qualification to draw number cards, and then draw their own number cards from the number box. When the Dugong Festival begins in the evening, the longevity woman will draw the numbers, and three of them will be lucky. These three lucky people will receive the dugong arrow with the power of mermaids.
The person in charge of receiving everyone was the great-granddaughter of the old lady, Shimabukuro Kimie, who was about twenty years old and very beautiful. She was wearing a red and white shrine maiden costume, with her long black hair tied up with white silk. She smiled softly and kindly, like a shrine maiden who walked out of a girl's comic book.
"Guest, this is your number tag. What is your name?" She guided everyone to draw number tags while recording the information of the guests who drew the number tags.
After getting the number plate, Kuroba Kaito asked curiously, "Do I have to register my real name? Can I use a pseudonym?"
Shimabukuro Junhui laughed and said, "That's fine. It's not mandatory. But everyone says that the dugong arrow has the power of mermaids, and it needs real names to be identified. If you use a pseudonym, the arrow cannot be detected by the real name to locate the owner, so most tourists will register their real names."
"Hmm." Black Feather Quick Fight continued to ask while shaking his number tag, "Does the Dugong Arrow really have the power of a mermaid?"
"Hurry up and fight!" Aoko beside her pulled at Yujinran's sleeve. Although everyone knew it was fake, asking the person directly might seem like provocation. She looked at the witch in front of her apologetically.
"It's okay, it's okay." Shimabukuro Kimie waved her hands. She was surprisingly frank. "The Dugong Arrow is just a rumor among the residents on the island. In fact, it was originally used for sacrifices to drive away evil. Later, the residents passed it on and spontaneously changed the name to the Dugong Arrow."
Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda nodded in empathy. As victims of the new rumors, after just one afternoon of rumors fermenting, the two of them seemed to have given birth to 108 babies. They were well aware of the islanders' ability to spread rumors.
"Is the story about the longevity lady just a rumor? Has she really never eaten mermaid flesh?" Miyazaki Ren interrupted after taking the number tag and registering her name.
"Yes." Shimabukuro nodded. "My great-grandmother just lived longer than the average person. She is 128 years old this year."
"This is not just ordinary longevity, it can be called a centenarian!" Hei Yu Kuai Dou complained.
Nothing special happened when the next few people drew the number cards, except when it was Morobushi Kagemitsu's turn, Shimabukuro Kimie suddenly approached him and whispered in his ear, "Although I don't know what you are going to do, I will keep an eye on you. Please don't mess around on the island~"
This made Morofushi Jingguang start to doubt his life. Is his makeup skills really that bad? Three people have already recognized him as a man dressed as a woman today!
"Don't worry, ordinary people won't be able to find it." Miyazaki Ren patted his shoulder sympathetically. Morofushi Kagemitsu's luck was really bad.
Mizuo Sosuke's observation ability is maxed out on his own trumpet, so he naturally knows Morobushi Kagemitsu's true identity. Kuroba Kaito's inherited disguise technique is even more of a bug-level ability. As for Shimabukuro Kimie, it goes without saying that she is a gold medal makeup artist who can make herself look like a long-haired woman. So many customers come and go and never notice, which shows how powerful she is.
Zhu Fu Jingguang was frightened when his identity was secretly exposed by three people in just one day, but this was really a matter of luck with a low probability.
As the drums sounded, after the elaborate opening ceremony, a long-haired woman with silver hair and a short stature appeared, wearing heavy makeup and opening the shoji door.
Although they were separated by a cordon, Mizuo Sosuke and Kuroba Kaito both walked forward and leaned their heads to look carefully at the Choju Po. As the top Choju Po on the island, the curiosity of the tourists was aroused when she appeared, so their actions did not seem strange among them.
Then both of them showed the same disappointment on their faces.
"What? So that's how it is." Heiyu Kaito's disappointment was obvious.
Nakamori Aoko beside him asked with concern, "What's wrong, Kaito?"
"Nothing." Heiyu Kuaidou pursed his lips. He was smart and had high EQ, so he naturally knew that this island relied on the mermaid legend to attract tourists and maintain the island's economy, so he would not point out Changshoupo's petty tricks.
Seeing that You Xunran was unwilling to say more, Qingzi considerately stopped asking. At this time, the celebration had reached its climax, and the old lady staggered towards the brazier with a fire stick in her hand.
She pointed the lit fire stick at the shoji doors and tapped them one by one. As she moved, numbers appeared on the shoji doors one after another. These were the number plates of the lucky person who would receive the dugong's arrow, which was said to have the power of a mermaid.
"Thirteen"
"Twenty-one"
"Eighty-Seven"
After the longevity woman finished doing all this, she slowly walked back into the house, and young men in priest uniforms took water guns and put out the fire on the shoji door.
After a while, her great-granddaughter, Shimabukuro Kimie, came out and said, "The Dugong Arrow will be fired in an hour at the Mermaid Island Waterfall. Please make preparations early." After saying that, she bowed to everyone and then went back into the house.
They didn't know what kind of luck it was, but the three people who won the prize this time were all in their team, namely No. 13 Hagiwara Kenji, No. 21 Mizuo Sosuke, and No. 87 Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Although Hagiwara Kenji didn't believe this, he thought being selected was a sign of luck, so he said excitedly, "Wow, I have great luck! I can look forward to what the Dugong Arrow will be like."
Zhu Fu Jingguang, who also won the prize, was also very happy and echoed: "It seems that everyone has good luck this time. I won too." As he said this, he waved the number plate in his hand.
Compared to them, Mizuo Sosuke seemed much colder. "Tsk, what's there to look forward to with this kind of deceptive trick? It's boring." Although he said this, he still put away the number tag.
"If I remember correctly, Mr. Mizuo is number 21?" Morobushi Kagemitsu asked after thinking for a moment.
"Yeah." Mizuo Sosuke nodded, still with that neutral look, but everyone inexplicably sensed a bit of smugness on his face.
The winners have their own joy, and the losers who don’t win have their own irritability and anger.
"Damn it, why didn't I win again!" A woman with short yellow hair and glasses angrily threw down the number plate in her hand. Her pretty face was twisted with anger like a devil crawling out of hell.
Maybe because she was too angry and not paying attention, when she threw the number plate, it happened to hit the calf of Mizuo Sosuke who was facing away from her.
Mizuo Sosuke was not a good-tempered person, nor was he as sympathetic as Hagiwara Kenji. He felt pain after being hit, and he hissed. He turned around and asked angrily, "Hey, you were the one who threw me just now, weren't you?"
The blond woman was furious at the moment. She had heard the conversation just now and had no good feelings towards the lucky guy who got the dugong arrow. Instead, she transferred her anger for not hitting the target to Mizuo Sosuke, "So what? How can you be so fussy as a grown man?"
As she spoke, she looked at Mizuo Sosuke with contempt and said sourly, "I don't know why the old lady would choose a petty and mean-spirited pretty boy like you."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present couldn't help but frown. It was obviously she who was wrong first. Although Mizuo Sosuke's tone was bad, it was understandable. But the victim didn't say anything, but the perpetrator had such a righteous attitude and spoke rudely, which was really unpleasant.
Mizuo Sosuke was obviously very angry, his chest kept heaving. Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei looked at each other and quickly supported him on the left and right, fearing that he would faint from being too angry.
But today, Mizuo Sosuke was clearly very competitive. He took several deep breaths and said, "Are you jealous? Oh, so it's the legend of the mermaid who believes in the longevity woman. You said that because you're jealous of me. You look really ugly when you're jealous."
He shook off the support of Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda, strode towards the blonde, stared at her intently, and said murderously, "And I have to tell you, the legend of mermaids is a lie. Even if there are such things, it is impossible for you to get the dugong arrow."
“Ah——” The blonde covered her ears and fell to the ground. After screaming, she raised her head and glared at Mizuo Sosuke fiercely, “You are lying! The legend of mermaids is true! I will definitely get the dugong arrow!”
"I know a little about physiognomy. Let me take a look. You have mixed brows, cloudy eyes, short upper lip and protruding cheekbones. You have the typical face of a villain. You are selfish and have few relatives. You still expect to be favored by mermaids in your next life." Mizuo Sosuke proudly continued his attack.
As he finished speaking, some local residents who knew the blonde began to whisper to each other.
"It seems that what this young man said is quite right. The relationship between her and her father is indeed very bad. Isn't this just a shallow relationship?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I think it makes sense. I've wanted to say this for a long time. Jun Hui is so good to her. She relied on her relationship with Jun Hui to do so many things in the American Shrine. Isn't this selfish?"
"It seems that these three people are together. They all got the dugong arrow. Maybe they really have some real skills."
The blonde was obviously very superstitious. The words of Mizuo Sosuke and the people around him had caused her great harm. "I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen. You're a liar, you liar!"
As she said this, she rushed forward and stretched out her hand, trying to hit Mizuo Sosuke.
Mizuo Sosuke nimbly hid behind Hagiwara Kenji, and the blonde was stopped by Shimabukuro Kimie who arrived.
"Saori, don't be like this." Shimabukuro Junhui pulled the yellow-haired woman helplessly and said, "The mermaid legend is fake. Great-grandmother is just an ordinary long-lived person. The dugong arrow does not have the effect you think."
"That's right." Seeing that the enemy was stopped by Shimabukuro Kimie, Mizuo Sosuke started shaking again.
Seeing Shimabukuro Kimie, the blonde's mood seemed to ease a lot. She ignored Mizuo Sosuke's provocation, stared at the room where Choshou Po lived with fascination, and muttered to herself, "Junhui, you don't understand. Choshou Po is a person with real magical powers. I have seen her power with my own eyes! In the firelight——"
Before the blonde girl could finish her words, the sullen girl with long black hair and the girl with short black hair who had been standing by and letting her talk suddenly stepped forward and covered her mouth.
"I'm sorry, Junhui, Shazhi was so disappointed that she didn't get picked that she's a little out of her mind. We'll take her back first." After saying that, the long-haired girl and the short-black-haired girl carried the blonde girl named "Shazhi" on their left and right and left.
"Ms. Shimabukuro, are you okay?" Morofushi Kagemitsu noticed that something was wrong with Shimabukuro Kimie, and he considerately handed her a handkerchief, "You seem to be sweating a lot, wipe it off."
"Um, thank you." Shimabukuro Kimie was brought back to her senses by the call. She took the handkerchief and wiped it. Then she said to Morobushi Kagemitsu, "Miss Midorikawa, I will clean it and return it to you. I have to preside over the ceremony later, so I have to go first."
After saying this, she bowed to everyone and then turned and left.
With the departure of several leading actors, the farce came to an end and the crowd dispersed. On the way to the waterfall, Nakamori Aoko looked at her childhood sweetheart hesitantly and asked, "Kuaidou, is Miss Shimabukuro really okay? Did she cry?"
It's no wonder that she could see that Shimabukuro-kunie's behavior just now was too abnormal. When she heard what the blonde said, her pupils constricted, her teeth chattered, her whole body trembled, and then she began to sweat and cry unconsciously. It was obvious that she had discovered something that she couldn't accept.
Kuroba Kaito nodded. His intuition told him that there must be a shocking secret hidden in it, and there was only one person on the scene who could see through it all. He looked at Mizuo Sosuke who had been silent the whole time. Well, rather than asking others directly, he still preferred to solve it himself.
The guy who led them was a dark-faced young man named Fukuyama Rokuro. At this time, he kept apologizing to Mizuo Sosuke, "I'm sorry, Saori was just too concerned about the dugong arrow. I apologize to you again."
Mizuo Sosuke raised an eyebrow, "Saori? Are you familiar with that blonde girl?"
"Well, her name is Kado Saori. She grew up with me, Kimie, Hisami and Naoko. We all joined the film club in college and the movie we made together even won an award. Kimie is a gold medal-winning makeup artist." Looking at Fukuyama Rokuro's proud look, those who didn't know would have thought that he was the one who won the award.
"Who are Shoumi and Naoko?" Mizuo Sosuke asked.
Fukuyama Rokuro did not doubt it and continued to introduce, "The long-haired woman holding Sachi just now is Sumi Ebihara Sumi, and the other short-haired one is Kuroe Naoko."
He sighed again, "Alas, we used to have a good relationship, but since the warehouse fire last year, the three of them have become a little distant from Junhui and me. They are too obsessed with the legend of the charming fish."
The warehouse fire on Mermaid Island was very famous and was reported on TV many times. The report said that a skeleton without the lower body was found at the fire scene, which was suspected to be the skeleton of a mermaid. Although the police later refuted the rumor and said it was just the skeleton of an ordinary middle-aged woman, under the power of the rumor, many people believed that it was the skeleton of a mermaid.
Mizuo Sosuke and his group had naturally read this report and were also aware of the subsequent debunking of the rumor.
As they were talking, the group arrived at the Mermaid Waterfall, which was surrounded by coarse linen ropes with white paper streamers used for sacrifices hung on the ropes. Shimabukuro Kimie stood in the middle, with a brazier burning with blazing flames in front of her and a rushing waterfall behind her.
Her face was composed at this moment, with no sign of her previous loss of composure at all, and her features were calm. If the legendary Eight Hundred Bhikkhunis really existed, she should have looked like Shimabukuro Kimie at this moment.
Everyone was separated by hemp ropes. Kuroba Kaito looked around and found that Kadoka Saori, Ebihara Sumi and Kuroe Naoko were also present. He knew the truth about Choju Po and heard some information from Fukuyama Rokuro. Combining Kadoka Saori's previous words with Shimabukuro Kimie's performance, it was not difficult to guess the reason why the shrine maiden lost her composure.
He took a deep breath. If it was really as he thought, then these three people were really disgusting.
Shimabukuro Kimie folded her hands in front of her and said, "The Dugong Arrow Awarding Ceremony has officially begun. Please ask the three lucky guests to step forward."
Hagiwara Kenji, Morofushi Kagemitsu and Mizuo Sosuke lifted the hemp rope and walked in front of her.
"This is your dugong arrow. Please keep it safe." She placed the arrows in the hands of the three men one by one and gave them careful instructions.
After firing the dugong arrow, Shimabukuro-kun nodded to the staff next to him and said, "Next, please let the lucky guests enjoy the aurora bath."
As she finished her words, the staff lit the fuse and a huge, beautiful firework burst into the sky.
"Wow, it's worth it." Jinpei Matsuda looked up at the fireworks and exclaimed in praise.
Hagiwara Kenji had already returned to his original position with the arrow. He nodded when he heard this. "Indeed, the prices are not expensive, the lottery game is also very interesting, only five yen, the fireworks are also very beautiful, the scenery and culture are good, it is a good place for vacation."
Matsuda Jinpei took the arrow from Yu Jinran's hand and looked at it carefully. The wooden arrow body was wrapped with silver hair, and it had an alloy arrow head and a feathered tail. Except that it was shorter and more delicate than an ordinary arrow, there was no difference.
He said with some disappointment, "What? This is just a dugong arrow. It doesn't feel special."
"Excuse me, my master would like to ask if you would like to sell your dugong arrows?" A man dressed in a suit and tie walked towards Hagiwara Kenji. "If you are willing, my master is willing to pay 8 million yen for your dugong arrows."
"What? 8 million yen?!" The poor Jinpei Matsuda was shocked by this big deal and said in a lost voice.
Hagiwara Kenji nodded repeatedly. He never believed this and was afraid of letting this fool go. "Do you want to sign a contract? Check or transfer?"
Seeing the two of them so cooperative, the man smiled, took out a notebook, signed quickly, handed the check to Hagiwara Kenji, took the arrow, carefully put it into a wooden box with exquisite patterns, nodded at the two of them, and left.
Kenji Hagiwara had not expected such rapid progress. "Jinpei, am I dreaming? 8 million yen?!"
Jinpei Matsuda grabbed Hagiwara Kenji's cheeks with both hands and pulled them hard.
"Hiss" Hagiwara Kenji took a breath of cool air with a painful sigh, with his red cheeks, a psychedelic smile on his face, "It turns out it is real, I was not dreaming, come on, you want to eat something, I'll treat you! Call everyone, I'll cover everything for this trip!" he said proudly.
"I don't know whether the dugong arrow has the power of mermaids, but there must be some money power in it." Matsuda Jinpei changed his previous tone.
After putting away the arrow, the man in the suit walked to a gray-haired old man. The old man was surrounded by many tall men in suits, and he was obviously an important person.
Matsuda Jinpei looked at the old man, frowned and thought for a long time, "Hagi, take a quick look, is that buyer the person on TV?"
Hagiwara Kenji followed his son's gaze and blinked in disbelief. "I think so." He sighed, "I didn't expect that even such a big shot couldn't escape the charm of immortality."
Not only Hagiwara Kenji, but the other two people who received the arrow also received requests for purchase from wealthy people. Under the instigation of Miyazaki Ren, Morobushi Kagemitsu also traded the Dugong Arrow for 8 million yen.
His buyer was also an old man surrounded by bodyguards, but he was obviously not the same buyer as Kenji Hagiwara and his friends.
"Is this the same number, Miss Midorikawa?" It seemed that Matsuda Jinpei had really come out and dared to take the initiative to talk. He excitedly made an "eight" gesture to Morobushi Kagemitsu.
Zhu Fu Jingguang nodded.
"Rich people are really crazy." Matsuda Jinpei sighed. He looked carefully at the buyer of the arrows in the distance. After staring at him for a long time, he still couldn't recognize who it was. "Hagi, can you recognize who that buyer is?"
Hagiwara Kenji frowned and shook his head for a while, saying, "It looks familiar, but I can't tell where it is."
"It's the former Chief Cabinet Secretary, Nakatani Masahiro," Ginzo Nakamori, who had been watching, explained to the crowd. As a veteran in the workplace, he was obviously very familiar with these things. "Next to him are the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the former President of Bank of Japan."
Wow, the Chief Cabinet Secretary!
Everyone who was informed of the specific official position showed a surprised expression. This is the position of a big shot. Going further, it is the highest position an official can reach. He is truly a big shot.
Hagiwara Kenji sighed again, "The charm of longevity, great people are also ordinary people."
Nakamori Ginzo snorted, "Haha, what a big shot, you are just a hereditary termite."
"There's only so much that ordinary people can do to pursue longevity, but we don't know what kind of disaster these rotten persimmons will bring." Mizuo Sosuke echoed, his brows furrowed, and it was obvious that he was also very disgusted with these senior officials.
"As expected of Mr. Mizuo!" Nakamori Ginzo gave him a thumbs up and praised him.
Miyazaki Renya nodded in agreement.
There is something going on! Hagiwara Kenji and the others looked at each other and decided to ask the one they knew best for details, "Miyazaki, why does Inspector Nakamori hate those high-ranking officials so much?"
"Nakatani Masahiro had no children, and his eldest daughter married Shindo Daigo," Miyazaki Ren explained.
Several people suddenly realized that this was the case. They were very familiar with the affairs of Shindo Daigo and Inspector Tenai. No wonder Inspector Nakamori couldn't stand them. Now they can't stand them either!
Morobushi Kagemitsu and Kuroba Kaito were confused by the lack of information, but Morobushi Kagemitsu was not in a hurry and would just ask Miyazaki Ren when no one was around. Only Kuroba Kaito was scratching his head, very curious, "What is the relationship between Shindo Daigo and Uncle Nakamori? Isn't that a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"
Matsuda Jinpei pushed away the head that came towards him and said, "Go away, this is not something a child should know. Don't ask these questions."
Kuroba Kaito was furious and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Nakamori Aoko, "Kaito, don't ask anymore. I'll tell you when we get back."
Ginzo Nakamori often complained at home about his respected boss, and as his daughter, Aoko was also aware of the twists and turns involved.
The former Chief Cabinet Secretary and the former Foreign Minister both bought it, so how could the former Nihon Bank president not buy it? Sure enough, not long after, another man in a black suit walked up to Mizuo Sosuke and asked to buy the Dugong Arrow.
At this time, Menqiu Shazhi, who had been hesitating, finally rushed out and said, "I'm really sorry for what happened just now. Can you sell me this dugong arrow?"
The man in the black suit said, "Miss, I was here first."
Menju Shazhi was very obsessed with the dugong arrow, and she had no good face towards the man who wanted to steal the treasure, "You came here first, so you are right? Then I was the first to arrive on the island. My ancestors were all on the island. According to the first come first served rule, shouldn't I be the first to arrive?"
The man in the black suit didn't expect that the quiet-looking woman would be so rambling when she was angry. "Sir, we are willing to pay 10 million yen to buy the dugong arrow in your hand." He glanced at Mendan Saori provocatively, "I wonder how much this lady can pay."
Hagiwara Kenji next to him was not convinced and whispered, "Why is ours only 8 million yen, while Mr. Mizuo's is 10 million?"
"Maybe competition is the best thing." Miyazaki Ren replied.
At this time, he was a little confused. According to the original plan, Mizuo Sosuke should have disdainfully broken the arrow and thrown it into the fire, humiliating the two men and showing his arrogant character who hated high-ranking officials and villains. But this was 10 million yen! 10 million yen!
With such a large sum of money in front of him, he was conflicted and didn't know whether he should continue to act according to his character.
Menjue Shazhi was also shocked by the suit man's generosity. She gritted her teeth and said, "Although I don't have that much money, I know a big secret about Changshou Po. If you are willing to give me the dugong arrow, I will tell you this secret before you leave."
Mizuo Sosuke raised his eyebrows, "A big secret?" Mizuo Sosuke played with the arrow in his hand and smiled wickedly at her, "Unfortunately, I'm not interested. I'd rather burn the dugong arrow than give it to you."
Then he broke the arrow and threw it into the fire.
Hagiwara Kenji and others were so shocked by his action that they opened their mouths wide. It took them a while to find their voices and they began to praise him.
"As expected of Mr. Mizuo, he won't bow down for money. What a proud man!"
"I didn't expect Mizuo-sensei to break the dugong arrow! This is 10 million yen! How cool!"
Only Miyazaki Ren forced himself to keep an expressionless face and stared blankly at the arrow in the firelight.
10 million yen, 10 million yen, 10 million yen... Woohoo, my money QAQ!