Chapter 18
Natsume Rina's eyes were gloomy. After a long silence, she found a chair and sat down. "You're dreaming."
Yuriko took a drag of her cigarette and chuckled, "Rina, I genuinely treat you like a little sister and take care of you. How can you be so insensible?"
Natsume Rina didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the heart of the matter, saying, "Kawashima Kazuha, that sounds like a very sad name."
“Yes,” Yuriko sighed, as if with a touch of emotion, “It’s such a long time since I’ve heard that name. It’s been so long since anyone called me that. The last time someone called me that was more than thirty years ago.”
Even after Hideo Kawashima brought her out of the brothel, he didn't call her by that name.
They were afraid that her identity would be revealed and tarnish the family's reputation.
She said, "Wouldn't you feel disgusted to find a worm in the most beautiful and fragrant flower bud?"
Natsume Rina's heart skipped a beat. She averted her gaze and looked away, then suddenly asked, "You hate the Kawashima family, so why are you seeking revenge on my sister?"
Yuriko was looking forward to her answer, but she didn't reply.
"Your sister is very beautiful and kind. She reminds me of the Virgin Mary—gentle, holy, and submissive, unable to extricate herself from the pity and love bestowed upon her by men. She is the type I hate the most, but I didn't lay a hand on her."
Rina Natsume bit her tongue hard, trying to calm herself down. "How do you explain the medicinal ingredients inside the pearl?"
“She’s your sister. I’ll let her go for the sake of our past relationship,” Yuriko stubbed out her cigarette, her eyes no longer showing any emotion. “I only targeted those three people: Junichi Takahashi, Shiori Fujiwara, and that one… It’s been too long, I’ve forgotten.”
If it was for revenge against Hideo Kawashima, Rina Natsume asked, puzzled, "Why did Junichi Takahashi die?"
Yuriko looked her up and down, probably because the sight of the arm in a cast hanging in front of her chest was so comical that it made her laugh out loud.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I didn't kill her, and we're still investigating the specific reasons. But according to my intelligence, she might be one of Frank's men, hunting down the Tyrant."
She finally managed to stop laughing. "I only found out myself. At first, I thought she was interfering with my experiments."
Rina Natsume's face darkened completely. "Are you kidding me?"
Yuriko: "The mafia is in complete chaos right now, nowhere is safe, and the tyrant has become a shadow they can never erase for the rest of their lives."
Her words carried a certain vague implication.
Rina Natsume bit her lip and fell silent.
Yuriko chuckled softly: "What I'm trying to say is that there's a research institute in Japan that's currently researching hallucinogens. He's not a member of the organization, and I've examined that pearl necklace. The activity data chart inside is somewhat different from my research."
She paused, then said helplessly, "They must have introduced some kind of virus; someone is putting your theory into practice."
Natsume Rina was taken aback. "Who?"
Yuriko chuckled, not answering her directly, but frankly handing her her phone. "This is experimental data from recent cell-level experiments. You can take a look; the next page has pearl comparison data."
Rina Natsume took her phone. "You knew all along that there was something wrong with the pearls on it."
Yuriko shrugged, looking disdainful. "I'm not the Virgin Mary, and you know what I hate most are those stupid women who only know how to fall in love. They're like newborn babies, crying every day."
To maintain a friendly atmosphere, she defended herself further, "Of course, I called you when I found out, but you didn't answer. So what? Now someone has stolen your research results and is conducting experiments on humans in an even more egregious way. Are you coming back?"
Once the data is viewed, the phone will automatically destroy itself.
Rina Natsume tossed her phone into the trash can beside her. "Your organization is already openly operating within the mafia?"
“I’m not really sure, after all, I’m only interested in experiments,” Yuriko said. “If you still want to track down the mastermind, I can give you a suggestion.”
Rina Natsume asked, "Are you sure it's not exploitation?"
“Baby, I’ve always been honest with you, but you’ve never accepted me. You’ve wasted so many room cards, and you won’t take a single one,” Yuriko said ambiguously.
Rina Natsume said, enunciating each word clearly, "I like men."
“Takizawa is dead. Are you going to remain a widow for him?” Yuriko looked at her with an ambiguous expression. “The man next to you now is indeed good-looking and has a good physique, but I advise you to stay away from him.”
Rina Natsume leaned back in her chair, meeting her gaze. "These research data are enough to show that your experiment is not going smoothly, and there are even great risks involved. You have no safety measures in place."
Yuriko said nonchalantly, "They are great people who have driven the progress of human civilization."
Rina Natsume gave a cold laugh.
"Don't say that, we're the same kind of people." Yuriko stood up, walked behind the lab bench, took a file from the cabinet, and placed it on the table. "The leader thinks highly of you. If you want to come back, you're welcome anytime."
Rina Natsume's heart skipped a beat, a sudden sense of foreboding washing over her. She frowned and asked, "You've been in contact with him?"
Yuriko quietly studied her, and after a while, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Rina, this is the information from that research institute. I believe in you. You will definitely find new clues. The person who killed your sister is there."
Rina Natsume remained indifferent, her eyes lowered, seemingly unconcerned about the documents on the table.
"Oh, right, there's one more thing. This place is going to explode in seven minutes. Three high-explosive charges. Don't turn into a bloody mess."
She stepped back, leaning against the white wall behind her, smiled at her, and then pushed open a hidden door in the wall.
The wall rotated, and Yuriko disappeared along with it.
By the time Natsume Rina caught up, the door was already locked.
She glanced at the time on her phone, and her heart began to pound.
Having worked together for a while, she was certain that Yuriko was not a person who liked to joke, and that even if something was said in a joking tone, she would definitely carry it out.
There must have been explosives planted here, and it was likely for a shorter time than she said.
Natsume Rina seemed to remember something, tilted her head slightly, returned to the lab bench, and removed the documents from the table.
Sure enough, there was a thumb-sized button underneath.
If she wasn't interested in that research institute, she wouldn't have needed to escape today.
Honestly, if she could, she'd love to be reduced to dust along with this lab.
Rina Natsume opened the file and took the only business card inside.
After pressing the button, a crack appeared in the wall behind the MRI machine, revealing an upward passage.
She had just stepped onto the stairs when a loud rumble came from behind her, and the walls shook.
Something exploded, and a strong stench wafted out from the crack.
"Help--"
Is anyone there?
Rina Natsume vaguely heard voices and glanced down at her watch.
There are three and a half minutes left.
She bit her lower lip and returned to the laboratory, where she discovered another mechanism on the wall where Yuriko had left.
After pushing it open, there was an iron door with a frame made of thick angle steel welded together and a lock that could not be opened at all.
Rina Natsume took a few steps back, standing three meters away from the iron gate, and fired six shots. Fortunately, one of them hit the iron ring.
That's just how people are; God opens a window for you, but always closes a door.
However, it could also be due to an injury to one hand.
She then smashed the iron gate several times with a chair to open it.
Two minutes left.
Following the foul smell, Natsume Rina quickly found the person who had called for help.
"Help me..."
Please.
"I want to live—"
A man and a woman were imprisoned in an iron cage.
The woman must have been locked up for some time; her greasy hair covered most of her face, there was a bluish-purple bruise on her neck from the rope, and her wrists were chafed and swollen.
The man was chained to a cross.
Is it an experimental subject?
Natsume Rina didn't have time to think it through. She pried open the lock on the door and glanced at the time.
Less than a minute left.
She said, "There's a bomb here. Go out through the secret passage ahead."
The woman's eyes were bloodshot, and her body was trembling uncontrollably. She grabbed Natsume Rina's wrist and said, "Don't save him! He's crazy, he'll eat people!"
After saying that, the person ran away.
Rina Natsume gritted her teeth, stepped on a puddle of black pus next to the cross, carefully inserted the steel needle into the keyhole, and quickly unlocked the shackles.
It was as if it contained streaks of ominous blood, emitting an unbearable stench.
The person is still alive, but has already passed out.
She was dragging the person out of the cage when, unexpectedly, a flash of red light appeared, followed by a deafening roar.
Everything in front of me was shaking, and thick smoke billowed out.
"Clang—"
A muffled thud came from above.
Then, before she could even stand up, the river rushed in like a madman, almost instantly engulfing her and sweeping her into the riverbed.
Rina Natsume felt a sharp pain in her head, and then someone grabbed her by the neck underwater, causing the bubbles she exhaled to burst in the water.
It's the person in the cage.
Bubbles were rapidly rising from their noses, and neither dared to open their mouths to exhale.
Fortunately, she was prepared and took the syringe out of the cast and injected it directly into the man's arm.
Then, at the moment he was exhausted, he broke free from the restraints.
Rina Natsume kicked him, creating distance between them.
But the man seemed unaffected by the anesthetic and charged forward again.
The anesthetic wasn't working?
Natsume Rina didn't have time to think much, and disregarding the injury on her arm, she removed the cast from her arm and swam upwards, only to find her body suddenly sinking downwards.
It was to the point where everything went black.
Just then, Kurosawa Shiran appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the man's wrist tightly, and punched him hard in the temple.
Their arms collided in the water, churning the surrounding currents and making it impossible for her to see their movements.
But the opponent was clearly at a disadvantage.
Rina Natsume prepared to float to the surface to catch her breath, but at that very moment, she fell ill.
With oxygen already running low, and now her consciousness beginning to blur, her body slowly sank into the water.
Kurosawa Shiran noticed what was happening behind her, stopped arguing with the other person, turned around, and swam ashore while holding Natsume Rina's waist.
He leaned closer, placing his fingers on her neck to check her pulse. "Sister?"
Rina Natsume coughed a few times and struggled to sit up with one hand.
Kurosawa Shiran stared at her, and for some reason, after their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat, and she reached out to support her.
"Sister, how are you?"
Rina Natsume's face was a little pale. She shook her head and closed her eyes to calm down for a while.
Kurosawa Shiran stared straight at her, his eyes unfathomable, and subconsciously raised his hand to gently brush away the stray hairs on her forehead.
He suddenly asked, "Sister, have we met before?"
It wasn't the time at the port; it must have been earlier than before, during those years when his memory was incomplete.
I can't remember.
I can't recall a very important memory.
Rina Natsume could clearly feel his heat and breath, which sent chills down her spine, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
Kurosawa Shiran stood very close, holding her wrist, their noses almost touching. "Sister, you haven't answered my question yet."
The two men were of different sizes, with the taller one looming over the other.
Rina Natsume disliked this feeling of being completely oppressed. Her long eyelashes trembled twice as she asked, "Does it matter?"
"I like you, sister, and I hope you'll give me a chance to date you." Kurosawa Shiran stared into her eyes, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Every move she made revealed a strong and dangerous desire, and she became somewhat restless.
However, he oversimplified the matter.
Rina Natsume is not an naive girl; she can understand the other person's ulterior motives.
She slowly uttered his name, pressing a pistol against his abdomen. "Kurosawa Shiran, even when my sister drinks, she only drinks alone. She would never let a strange man pour her drinks."
Kurosawa Shiran's forehead twitched suddenly. Instead of answering, he pounced on her, buried his face in her neck, rubbed against her, and then chuckled softly.
They didn't take her threats seriously at all.
A name is merely an identifier that distinguishes an individual; it has no other meaning beyond that.
But after she uttered it, she felt a strong sense of satisfaction.
This brought him far greater pleasure than the emotional catharsis he derived from killing.
As an injured person, Natsume Rina completely gave up struggling. "I'm asking you a question."
Both of them were soaking wet, and they were embracing each other with only a thin layer of clothing between them. They could clearly feel each other's body temperature, which was no different from skin to skin.
And they were in a forest in the wild...
It's very strange, and something's not right.
But she couldn't fight off the person on top of her.
"Sister, can you call out a few more times?" Kurosawa Shiran avoided her injuries and completely pinned her down. "Sister's voice sounds really nice."
“…” Natsume Rina said with a gloomy face, “Can you shut up?”
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