Chapter 103 The Shadow Changer 6
Zhu Shi and Ma Zao had never witnessed the scene inside that nightclub firsthand. Although they learned from my words and Chang An's account that the guests wore hoods to conceal their true identities, it was normal that they couldn't immediately think of this suspicious point.
Chang'an, however, seemed to suddenly realize something and belatedly said, "That's right, people who enter that nightclub are very concerned about whether their true appearance will be exposed. Most people won't take off their hoods even when they're in the 'main event,' and even the staff have the right to refuse when customers ask them to take off their masks."
"Even if a customer takes off their headgear, there are rules in the store that prohibit employees from disclosing the customer's real identity information. It is also forbidden to disclose it to other employees, otherwise the consequences will be very serious."
"You've been a customer in the store for over two months now, and you're only noticing this now..." the goldfish said speechlessly.
Chang'an chuckled awkwardly twice, then his expression tightened as he asked me, "Acheng, are you suspecting that the goldfish is the Shadow-Swapping Monster you're looking for?"
Although Zhu Shi and I did not explain to him the purpose of our trip, after overhearing our conversation, he had obviously deduced most of the content.
"Don't misunderstand, I really don't doubt Jin Yu. I just want to know how she's so sure her father is still a regular at that nightclub." I shook my head.
"So, you're suspecting the goldfish's father?" Chang'an, unaware of Ma Zao's jinxed nature, probably couldn't understand why I would suspect him in that direction.
Zhu Shi quickly grasped my line of thinking.
"Could it be because of the bathing facilities?" she speculated. "You mentioned before that the nightclub has bathing, massage, and accommodation facilities. Even if those guests wanted to hide their true identities, they wouldn't have to keep wearing hoods while showering, getting massages, and staying overnight, would they?"
I asked the goldfish directly, "Or can you recognize your father from among the guests just by his height and build?"
“No, that guy’s height isn’t anything special. As for his weight… he rarely goes home, so it’s normal for his weight to fluctuate slightly during that time. I can’t possibly identify him based on such details.” Goldfish shook his head. “As for the bathing and massage areas, and the accommodation areas… those guests certainly wouldn’t continue to wear hoods in those areas, but ordinary employees like me are prohibited from entering those areas.”
"Then how did you confirm it?" Chang'an asked, puzzled.
The goldfish took a breath and then gave its answer.
This answer is exactly what I expected.
Honestly, I feel this coincidence is almost terrifying.
"—It's hands." She said in a voice filled with intense hatred, "Those hands that were utterly heartless and cruel, the hands that beat my mother and me. I will never mistake those hands."
"Even if he dressed up properly when he entered the nightclub, wearing clothes, pants, and shoes, and even wearing a hood to conceal his true face, he would still expose his hands. And I identified him from the other customers by observing his palms."
"So I'm pretty sure that to this day, he's still a regular at that nightclub."
Upon hearing her words, Zhu Shi was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened: "Hand...hand!?"
“Zhu Shi, the Shadow Man’s severed hand should still be with Lu Youxun, right?” I said, already prepared. “Could we ask him to send the severed hand over? No, it’s been a day, the severed hand might have already rotted… I remember he can write the information in his mind onto photos, right? We can ask him to send over a photo of the severed hand, as clear as possible.”
As Zhu Shi took out his phone, he said, "It's alright, he did some preservative treatment on that severed hand, I'll contact him right now..."
“No need for that.” Asahi extended her right hand, palm facing up.
Then a bloody severed hand appeared out of thin air and landed in her hand. It was the severed hand that had been cut off from the monster last night.
Upon closer inspection, the severed hand that appeared out of nowhere actually presented an unpredictable, illusory form, almost identical to the illusory recurve blade she had summoned last night.
“I can use the power of blessing to summon historical projections of things I have come into contact with in the past.” She explained briefly first, then placed the severed hand on the table and spoke to the goldfish, “Look, isn’t this your father’s hand?”
The goldfish hesitated before stepping forward to carefully examine the shape of the severed hand.
Within two seconds, she said decisively, "Yes, that's it... that's that guy's hand!"
She knew our target was the Shadow Man, and that she might frame her own father as our target in order to use him as a tool to kill someone else... I realized this possibility and then looked at Zhu Shi.
Zhu Shi clearly shared the same suspicions as me. She seemed to have activated "Mount Buzhou" at some point, and then turned to me and said, "She wasn't lying."
Seeing this, I continued to ask the goldfish, "What does your father look like?"
Jinyu took out her phone, tapped it several times, and then turned it towards me. The screen displayed an unremarkable ID photo of a middle-aged man.
I memorized that face. Only now was I truly certain of the Shadow Changer's true identity.
The Shadow Man really is the father of the Goldfish!
At that moment, what arose in my heart was neither pride in my correct reasoning nor relief at the smooth progress of the situation.
Instead, it was amazement, amazement at the predisposition to early-onset measles.
What a coincidence and arrangement! Just as we were struggling outside the nightclub to pinpoint the true identity of the Shadow Changer, his daughter delivered herself right to our doorstep.
With only the missing hand of the Shadow Man in our possession, Goldfish has the opportunity to identify his true identity through the missing hand.
Furthermore, if I were a superstitious person, completely believing in Asahi's power, I wouldn't need any reasoning or clues at all. Just hearing Chang'an and the goldfish's experiences, and using simple elimination, I could directly guess the truth: "The goldfish's father is the Shadow Changer!"
This constitution, which draws all related events to oneself, transcends mere talent and luck; it can only be described as a supernatural curse. Those with this constitution are absolutely incapable of living a peaceful, ordinary life; they will inevitably be dragged into unexpected events, like the protagonist of an adventure story, one after another, until the very moment of death.
Even if I consider it a blessing and a gift, I must admit that this is absolutely not a fate that a young girl like Asaho should have to endure. For most people who yearn for a peaceful and safe life, having this constitution is like being thrown into a raging inferno, with only endless suffering awaiting them.
I couldn't help but look at Asa, but she showed no surprise at the true identity of the Shadow Man. Perhaps she knew from the beginning that this would be the answer, and was just waiting for us to be convinced.
But I still have some questions in my mind.
Since Goldfish's father is the Shadow Changer, and the nightclub owner knows this truth, why would the latter condone Goldfish's activities to frame his father in the nightclub? If Goldfish's conspiracy succeeds, it won't be a matter of simply apologizing to the Shadow Changer; the nightclub owner may face the Shadow Changer's cruel retribution.
However, that problem was secondary; the most important thing right now was to capture the Shadow Man. I manipulated several "fireflies" scattered throughout the nightclub to search around, and soon found my target.
In the nightclub's lounge area, a man in a silk bathrobe was lying on a massage chair, quietly enjoying himself.
Behind him stood a short girl wearing a white rabbit mask and with a goldfish hair clip in her hair.
Although the man on the massage chair was wearing a brown sheep-shaped headgear, I was still able to "see through" his face by immersing myself in the ambient heat.
He is the father of the goldfish, and also the shadow-changing monster we are looking for.
At this point, I no longer felt any surprise at the fact that the Shadow Changer "coincidentally" happened to be in a nightclub in broad daylight. I simply told Zhu Shi and Ma Zao beside me that I had spotted the target, and then we briefly discussed our next move.
Having decided on our tactics, we left the restaurant's private room and headed to our fighting positions. Ma Zao also re-immobilized the unconscious man in the black suit to prevent him from escaping or doing anything malicious while we were fighting. As for Chang'an, we told him to take the goldfish to pay the bill while we waited for the outcome here.
After everyone was in position, I stood on the street opposite the nightclub and focused my attention again on the Shadow Man inside. He seemed to have had enough of the massage chair and was now holding onto the armrests, trying to stand up.
He was quite relaxed, completely unaware of the "fireflies," and even less aware of me being watched through the "fireflies."
The next moment, I ignited his body with my gaze.
This wasn't fire intended to kill an enemy, but rather to implant my thermal signature into his body. Even so, I had no intention of making him suffer. The instant the flames appeared, his silk bathrobe and hood turned to ashes. Now naked, he screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground and rolling around, probably reflexively trying to extinguish the flames.
His skin quickly turned charred and cracked, his muscles sizzled and cooked, and even his eyeballs dehydrated and carbonized. His vocal organs were also destroyed by the flames, and he could no longer utter a scream.
Around him were several guests wearing hoods and several female workers wearing masks. They all stared in astonishment at the father of the goldfish, who resembled a victim of a spontaneous human combustion incident from an urban legend, and stood there dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the situation.
This level of injury would certainly be fatal for an ordinary person without timely medical attention.
But if it's a weirdo, then it can only be considered a minor injury.
Before everyone's eyes, the goldfish father's body swelled and deformed violently, transforming into a monster.
(End of this chapter)
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