Chapter 12
A pub in London.
The deafening electronic music, with its waves of sound rising higher and higher, combined with the colorful lights, transformed the entire space into a bizarre kaleidoscope.
At the bar, a middle-aged man with a hideous skull tattooed on his arm was talking to the bartender with little interest.
Suddenly, a woman in an elegant velvet dress and wearing half a golden butterfly mask appeared out of nowhere and hugged him from behind.
She exclaimed excitedly, "So everyone's here! I've been looking for so long!"
The middle-aged man was a little embarrassed by her enthusiasm, so he lowered his head and drank his cocktail without saying a word.
"You two have absolutely no sense of gentlemanly conduct," Yuriko said, unfazed, and released her grip. "I found a little angel at a university today!"
The bartender paused, then asked curiously, "Little angel?"
"Mmm," Yuriko shoved the documents into her hands and took the drink the bartender had just mixed. "She's a lovely little angel who can help us with our drug research!"
The bartender, with a fake smile on his face, took the documents, glanced at them, and put them back.
Faced with his perfunctory attitude, Yuriko showed off her newly done manicure and poked his chest with her fingertip. "Kuni, you'll never be popular with women if you're always like this. By the way, are you really willing to shave off that messy beard?"
The bartender shrugged and said helplessly, "That's the interview requirement."
“So it was out of necessity,” Yuriko said with a smile, covering her face. “I never expected that you, this greasy old man, would actually look quite decent after shaving off your beard.”
Out of curiosity, the middle-aged man also took a look. "Wow, this girl is quite pretty. Do you want to kidnap her?"
"How could you bear to arrest such a cute girl?" Yuriko blinked twice, indignantly saying, "How could someone as kind as me do such a rude thing!"
The bartender was speechless. "When you say that, can you turn on the monitor in your hand and look at the experimental subjects in your research institute? You inhuman pervert."
"Ha," Yuriko suddenly leaned close to him while clinging to the bar, licking her lips with her tongue, and said with a half-smile, "Kun, if you insult me like that, I won't be able to control my impulse and I'll strip you naked right here."
Bartender: "......."
See? He really is a pervert.
The middle-aged man took a swig of his drink. "All that stuff you're researching, if you take it, it'll turn you into a mentally unstable madman, right? It's like drugs..."
Yuriko frowned and said, "No, that's not it. What I'm researching is a hundred times more noble than that. How about it, are you interested in giving it a try?"
The middle-aged man looked at her mental state, shook his head decisively, and changed the subject, "Do you want to recruit her?"
Yuriko: "Of course, otherwise how could we get her to focus on our research?"
Middle-aged man: "My parents are gone, but I still have an older sister I grew up with who I can use as leverage. It's not too difficult to take advantage of her."
Yuriko pretended to press her temples: "No, this time I'm going to do it in a more interesting way. I've discovered her potential to be a mafia member."
If you like someone, you have to drag them into the abyss and sink with them.
The bartender, with an utterly hypocritical smirk, asked, "So, what are you planning to do?"
Yuriko felt a surge of immense joy when she thought about the plan.
She stood up, swaying slightly at the waist. "First of all, she should fully understand our organization, which advocates love and peace!"
The bartender offered a friendly reminder: "We're the mafia."
Yuriko ignored him and continued spouting a bunch of useless nonsense. Perhaps feeling thirsty, she took a sip of her drink and continued, "I will instill in her the meaning of our existence, let her know that we exist for the sake of beauty. I will make the people at school isolate her, so that she can never live a normal life again. I will let her know that everyone around her is useless, a parasite on society... We are the only kindred spirits."
The bartender succinctly summarized her rambling nonsense: "Use persuasion and suggestion to make her absolutely obedient to your commands and mentally control her. However, improper manipulation can lead to mental illness symptoms such as cognitive dysfunction. You might ruin her."
The middle-aged man had long since lost interest and turned his gaze to the boy sleeping in the corner.
"Kurosawa, do you want to join us?"
The bartender was shocked and his face instantly turned extremely grim: "What are you doing!"
His warning came too late.
Kurosawa Shiran had already sat up, her slightly long black hair brushing against her cheeks. She smiled softly, rested her chin on her hand, and stared at them for a while. "What's wrong?"
The middle-aged man looked away for a moment when their eyes met, then swallowed hard. "...Sorry to bother you."
The bartender glared at the middle-aged man and warned in a low voice, "Are you crazy? Why did you provoke him?"
The middle-aged man retorted stubbornly, "So what? He's just a little kid."
Yuriko looked him over with interest, a smile playing on her lips. "I heard that he and the team leader who went on the mission with him were killed by him because they offended him along the way."
He's a very willful boy.
The bartender whispered, "He's a volatile madman. I'm warning you, you'd better not mess with him, or you'll regret it."
Witnessing him kill someone is a truly terrifying thing.
The middle-aged man, his pride wounded, sneered, "Even the Mafia shouldn't take in a madman like this. What are the higher-ups thinking? Aren't they afraid of backlash? They should just shoot him dead."
As he spoke, he reached for the pistol at his waist.
To his surprise, he froze completely.
Kurosawa Shiran appeared behind him without him noticing, and put her arm around his shoulder. "Are you talking badly about me?"
His long, black hair cascaded down to his waist, and the boy narrowed his eyes slightly. In an instant, the atmosphere became chilling and menacing, as if a tangible killing intent was seeping from his pores.
A chill ran down the spine of the middle-aged man, a professional assassin who had risen to prominence through internal power struggles.
He relied on instinct, his fingers suddenly spasming as he gripped the pistol, but he couldn't move it at all.
"...No, no."
Yuriko and the bartender both sensed the murderous aura and dared not make any rash moves.
"Oh, really?" Kurosawa Shiran had a delicate face with a natural charm, so her smile was particularly captivating.
The voice sounded very cold.
Yuriko restrained herself, smiled, and asked him, "Do you want to join?"
“Hmm,” Kurosawa Shiran casually picked up the documents on the table, squinted at them for a moment, and then threw them back. “Not interested.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man felt a weight lift from his shoulders and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when his head suddenly twisted to an unbelievable angle.
He fell straight down on the bar.
Kurosawa Shiran's eyes narrowed slightly, and with a gentle smile, he looked at the bartender: "I tried to keep the noise down. Please dispose of the body. I don't want to be held accountable by the leader."
The bartender nodded stiffly.
If you don't want to be held accountable, don't kill people on Mafia territory!
"You've worked hard," Kurosawa Shiran turned to look at Yuriko, "You're a high-ranking member of the mafia, right?"
Yuriko sighed silently. Every time she thought of that scene, she couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. If he hadn't answered a phone call...
She would very likely end up like the mercenaries.
Why is he here?
Yuriko clicked her tongue in obvious annoyance and lit a lime-flavored cigarette to pass the time.
Why hasn't the prey come in yet?
At that moment, Kurosawa Shiran also thought about what happened at the bar and rubbed her hair in frustration.
How could he say he wasn't interested back then!
Sister, you're so cute. If we had made our move sooner, he would have definitely succeeded.
Moreover, that social scumbag wouldn't have any chance to get close to his sister.
Rina Natsume answered a phone call from Sato in the yard.
In order to see Hideo Kawashima's second wife, he went to great lengths, even resorting to things like climbing over walls and windows in the middle of the night.
As it turns out, the high-end sanatorium had someone accompanying the patient every night. If it weren't for the easygoing new intern nurse, I probably wouldn't have even seen her.
Unfortunately, the man had completely gone mad, and he didn't dare ask any outrageous questions, so he didn't get any useful information.
But before leaving, Sato remembered something Rina had mentioned and drew a vial of her blood.
Sato: "What a waste of time. He's really gone crazy. You should get some sleep; I need to go back to my wife—"
Upon hearing this, Natsume Rina clicked her tongue inwardly and promptly hung up the phone.
After calming down for a while, she wondered if she should go to the secret room.
Kurosawa Shiran stood behind her, staring at her back for a long time, his eyes filled with a deathly indifference.
It's perfectly reasonable to take advantage of her and then exploit her completely, right?
Moreover, without him, my sister would have been killed by the mafia sooner or later, so he should have demanded some compensation!
But things took an unexpected turn; his sister started ignoring him.
My sister is the one who went too far...
You should know that on the black market, hiring him for assassinations or protection comes with exorbitant fees.
Breach of contract can also lead to death.
My sister should give me something in return.
However, she probably couldn't afford the fee; five bank cards wouldn't even amount to a three-digit sum.
He's a penniless wretch.
I really have to use my body!
"Sister!" Kurosawa Shiran said in a sweet and seductive tone, hugging her neck from behind and whispering in her ear, "Sister, why don't you go back to your room to sleep?"
Rina Natsume's ears felt hot, so she looked away and pushed the person away with her elbow.
Kurosawa Shiran's nose twitched: "Is your sister afraid of being seen?"
To outsiders, she was Mrs. Kawashima, and if she were seen, people would definitely gossip about her having an affair.
It's very exciting.
Rina Natsume's tense shoulders seemed to relax a little, and her expression changed slightly.
She seemed to want to say something, but when she saw that face, she kept her mouth shut.
Kurosawa Shiran smiled, leaned closer, and gazed intently at her. "Does sister want to go to the secret room?"
If she goes in, those photos will likely spread rapidly.
She should know this very well.
They wanted to catch the murderer while protecting their sister's reputation.
It must be a difficult situation...
For some subtle reason, Natsume Rina glanced at him absentmindedly and said, "Stay away from me."
Kurosawa Shiran leaned down, getting so close that his forehead almost touched hers.
"If we get too close, will my sister have other ideas about me... like wanting to kiss me?"
Upon hearing this, Natsume Rina felt a chill run down her spine. Suppressing her anger, she said, "I want to slap you..."
They really don't understand romance.
What a romantic moment it would be to be under the flowers and the moon!
Kurosawa Shiran visibly lost half of her soul, and took a step back. "Sister, have you not taken any action because you're afraid the president will find out about this?"
Rina Natsume's eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked at him and hummed in agreement.
“So, if the investigation continues, she will release the pictures to the public.” Kurosawa Shiran paused. “But Yuriko has killed so many people, are you just going to let her go? Even if we leave her alone, she’s still a potential threat.”
Natsume Rina: "..."
Kurosawa Shiran said cautiously, "Sister, since it's already a fact, why cover it up? Shouldn't the truth be made public?"
Rina Natsume: "What is the truth?"
Kurosawa Shiran noticed her expression was somewhat unpleasant and immediately changed her tune, "Actually, some people don't care about the truth at all. The pictures are high-definition, and Lady Kanon seems very proactive, but I'm more inclined to believe that Lady Kanon was drugged. Her usual behavior doesn't seem like that of someone who would do such a thing. Besides, didn't my sister also fail to find any evidence of Lady Kanon's infidelity?"
Rina Natsume looked up at him. "Then why were there those rumors about you and her before?"
Kurosawa Shiran tilted her head and wiggled her fingers slightly: "Because she picked me up when I was injured."
But he was lying there on purpose.
Rina Natsume: "Anything else?"
“She’s very good to me,” Kurosawa Shiran said with a smile, and then emphasized again, worried that she might misunderstand, “She’s good to everyone.”
Rina Natsume said expressionlessly, "I hate liars."
I hate liars...
The liar was taken aback upon hearing this, sighed inwardly, and truthfully replied, "Once, Madam was drunk alone, and someone overheard her talking to me. She said she was in pain and that she was stupid. Sister, I swear, I really didn't touch her. I was just a wine server, young and naive, and I still have my first kiss!"
As dawn approached, Natsume Rina's headache worsened. She managed to gather her thoughts, "If it wasn't you, then the detective is the problem."
Kurosawa Shiran nodded firmly, "I think so too."
Rina Natsume: "So, you were eavesdropping, but you pretended to be asleep."
"........"
Kurosawa Shiran sweetly called out "older sister," intending to act cute and get away with it.
To everyone's surprise, after thinking for a while, Natsume Rina put on a mischievous smile and said, "Alright, this won't work on me. I already have a boyfriend. I'm a single dog."
The smile on Kurosawa Toki's face gradually faded, leaving a crack.
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