Chapter 73
Ye Yihe never expected that while he was farming resurrection points, he would actually spawn a monster.
Incidentally, a detective whose personality is completely opposite to Ranpo's also appeared.
Even as he said he had to save his own life, his expression remained indifferent, his pale lips slightly pursed, and as he exhaled silently, wisps of smoke rose and swirled around him.
The handmade tobacco didn't smell bad when lit, but Ye Yihe's mind was still filled with the warning that smoking was harmful to his health.
But since this was someone else's territory, he silently endured it.
Fyodor was clearly also drawn to this provocative announcement, and a few pleasant laughs escaped from the palace of his consciousness.
Unlike his usual smiles, Fyodor's syllables this time were short and low, more like a snake baring its sharp fangs.
Ye Yihe could even picture in his mind those wine-red eyes shrouded in unknown emotions, exuding an exceptionally cold and indifferent aura when slightly narrowed—at such moments, they would be extremely dangerous, their usual velvety wine-red color appearing as if eroded by the abyss, turning a dark, gloomy purple.
"[Ask that esteemed superior,]" Fyodor said with a cold laugh, "[Was using you as bait his idea?]"
Upon hearing this, Ye Yihe paused for a moment, swallowing the question that almost came out.
Fyodor had already guessed that they would be used as bait to lure the unknown killer into a trap...?
[Once you arrive here,]
Seemingly anticipating Ye Yihe's question, Fyodor explained in a slow, deliberate manner, "[This means the murderer has already identified you.]"
[In other words, letting the police know his upcoming target was part of the scheme itself.]
Ye Yihe immediately understood what Fyodor was trying to say.
Judging from Ayatsuji Yukito's words, his true identity was originally unknown to the murderer—therefore, telling Ye Yihe not to go out easily and to stay in the hiding place was the safest option.
Whether it was the annihilation of the Port Mafia or the Holy Heaven Staff, Ye Yihe never showed his face. The culprit could only deduce that he was the mastermind behind it all. If they wanted to obtain more information, they could only start with Dazai and his group.
All that's needed is to remind Ye Yihe of this, and then have him relay it to everyone in the building. With Dazai's intelligence and his cooperation with this detective, catching the murderer would be no difficult task at all.
But at this moment, while Dazai was taking Chuuya and the others to infiltrate the Takase Association, Commander Taneda specially sent an invitation to ask him to come and help with something [so he could be mentally prepared].
In this way, Ye Yihe's identity is in danger of being exposed to the murderer.
After all, how could a murderer who could plan such a meticulous case and still get away with it be a simple-minded idiot?
Fyodor wanted to remind Ye Yihe of this point—including the invitation, this was a scheme set up by the Special Abilities Division.
Ye Yihe: "…………"
Well... I can understand their eagerness to find the culprit, but it's a bit rude of them not to inform him beforehand.
On the contrary, if it weren't for the subtle hints given by the other party earlier, Ayatsuji Yukito and the others might still be in the dark, and they would have had to follow the Special Abilities Division several more steps forward before they realized what was going on.
Instead of questioning the officer in charge of farming, Ye Yihe pondered for a moment before earnestly expressing his gratitude to Ayatsuji Yukito, "My doll is handmade by a friend. If you like, just provide the character design, and he can make it."
Although I've never seen Ivan sculpt other kinds of dolls, since he can create such an exquisite and lifelike miniature Ivan for me to carry around, he should be able to create others as well.
If Ayatsuji Yukito really needs one, he can ask Ivan to help out and act as a puppet-making master—he can even sculpt them well and quickly.
Other puppeteers need a complicated process of making parts, to sculpt and paint with great patience, and to assemble and polish without making any mistakes in order to produce a finished product; but Ivan uses his will to drive his superpowers, and can quickly sculpt whatever he wants, with efficiency and completion rates that are off the charts.
"oh?"
Upon hearing this, Ayatsuji Yukito's eyes lit up. Even the cold and sharp deathly aura that he usually exuded when looking at people dissipated slightly when he faced Ye Yihe.
"You're a good kid, you've got it."
He didn't dislike talking to smart people who understood things quickly, especially someone like Ye Yihe who was both intelligent and spoke in a way that suited his taste.
Very well, once this matter is resolved, let's think about this specially customized doll that was given to him.
—Although Ayatsuji Yukito is unaware that Fyodor is actually in charge of being clever.
The farming officer sighed.
Based on his impression from his previous meeting with Ye Yihe, he had long opposed the proposal; however, the pressure from above forced him to comply.
"I'm truly sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Commander Taneda lowered his head slightly, apologizing to Ye Yihe. "But you don't need to worry about your safety. We have experienced secret agents and investigators accompanying you as bodyguards..."
“Now that we’ve taken the first step,” Ye Yihe said slowly, following Fyodor’s voice in his mind, “let’s continue.”
"No bodyguards needed, everything as usual."
“Phew…you’re much better than I imagined, Mr. Fyodor.”
Ayatsuji Yukito, leaning back in his chair, tilted his head slightly and gave him an unexpected smile of appreciation—the curve of his lips was extremely subtle, yet it was enough to make an onlooker's pupils dilate in shock.
"I initially thought he was just an impulsive, anti-heroic fool, but he turns out to be quite cunning and daring. Not bad, I don't dislike collaborators like this; it makes me feel less like I'm leading a bunch of toads down the street."
Even when completing government-commissioned tasks, Ayatsuji Yukito, who is under the surveillance of top-notch agents and investigators, jokingly refers to them all as croaking toads.
Putting intelligence aside, Ye Yihe discovered that this detective's tongue was far more venomous than Fyodor's. He wondered who was better, Dazai or him.
Fyodor always appeared exceptionally polite, even when threatening people, he strictly adhered to honorifics, exuding a strange and peculiar dangerous charm.
“Cunning is an understatement,” Ye Yihe thought to himself, but still said modestly on behalf of Fyodor, “I’m really sorry to have to trouble Mr. Ayatsuji to cooperate with me.”
"It's alright, it's just fulfilling a life-saving request."
The thin pipe was tapped against the armrest, and all the ash fell away. Ayatsuji Yukito slowly stood up and placed the exquisite and beautiful doll on the chair. "Sir, please take her back to my office. Please note that not a single wrinkle in her clothes is acceptable; she is my most prized possession."
The farming officer stared blankly as the two riddle-solving experts finalized their plans in just a few words, and even walked side by side towards the door, leaving him no time to think.
"I must say, your methods for taking down politicians are quite impressive," Ayatsuji Yukito's voice remained indifferent, but he seemed to be in a good mood. "As nimble as deveining a shrimp."
“That was the work of another friend of mine,” Ye Yihe said. “We can get to know each other sometime.”
"Really? It must be quite enjoyable not having to explain Fourier transforms to goldfish."
"…………"
The two left the office, leaving behind Taneda Santouka, nicknamed "Goldfish," who remained silent for a moment before picking up the phone.
"No need to send more agents, everything as usual... Yes, those people monitoring Ayatsuji don't need to be withdrawn, just follow them."
Since Ye Yihe said "as usual," it means that it is only natural for Ayatsuji Yukito to have a supervisor by his side.
That at least makes him seem a bit smarter, right? ...At least he shouldn't be a goldfish, right? How could an ordinary person consider Fourier transform common sense?
—On the other side, Ayatsuji Yukito and Ye Yihe, who had just stepped out of the office, were immediately greeted by people in suits, probably investigators.
"I am Asukai, the new investigator in this case."
He gave a very proper salute. "You must be Mr. Fyodor, who was invited here. I'm afraid it will be difficult for you and Ms. Ayatsuji to work together."
The investigator, who called himself Asukai, was quite burly, yet moved with remarkable agility, giving off a sense of calm, competence, and trustworthiness.
However, assigning a detective an investigator...
Thinking the other person was an assistant, Ye Yihe turned to look at Ayatsuji Yukito, who shrugged coolly, "What can I do? I'm just a poor detective working with a gun to my head by the government."
If someone else standing here, emotionally charged, had heard that mocking tone, they probably would have jumped up on the spot.
"Not at all, you've always been highly respected by us. Although we heard that you drove away several agents from the Special Abilities Division... haha, it doesn't really matter."
Asukai scratched his head and chuckled, "So many unsolved cases were solved thanks to you catching the culprit... Oh, I guess you can't really say we caught him, haha."
“After all, as long as Ayatsuji-sensei’s reasoning is correct, the murderer who uses their superpower will inevitably die from an ‘accident,’ right?” he continued. “That’s why Ayatsuji-sensei is called the ‘murder detective.’”
Ye Yihe nodded, thinking to himself that it was no wonder that with a top detective like Ayatsuji Yukito around, the other famous detective in Yokohama still had no shortage of cases.
At least Ranpo didn't send the criminal away after finishing his deduction.
"How's your partner situation?" Ayatsuji Yukito looked at Asukai and asked casually, "It's only been a month, hasn't it?"
"Ah, him..."
Recalling the scene of his partner's tragic death, Asukai's expression immediately darkened. "It was because of this incident that I decided to volunteer as the investigator for this series of cases. I must avenge him."
"Well, although it's just my guess, judging from the method, it's very likely that it was done by the mastermind."
Ayatsuji Yukito looked away, no longer staring at Asukai, whose eyes were almost red. "Effort is a good thing, but blind effort is tantamount to foolishness. This is my advice to you."
Asukai: "Yes, Ayatsuji-sensei...!"
Where to go next?
Unlike Ye Yihe, who arrived by taxi, this time a police car was parked in front of the government building, clearly prepared for them—or more precisely, for Ayatsuji Yukito.
When he completes a case outside the firm, he must be under close police surveillance the entire time.
"We're going to this shipyard."
Asukai handed a newspaper from the passenger seat. "This is the location where the high-ranking prisoner died."
Ye Yihe took the report and found that it described a news story about a prisoner at the shipyard who killed three people and then committed suicide. The motive seemed to be that the three colleagues always bullied him, which led the prisoner to take revenge when he could no longer bear it.
“The original plan was to arrest him,” Ayatsuji Yukito chuckled briefly. “My ability won’t activate unless I see crucial evidence.”
"But he still died, saying something like, 'Do you hear a woman screaming? There, right there,' but there was nothing where he was pointing."
Ayatsuji Yukito clearly didn't like this outcome—he wouldn't care if the person died from his supernatural abilities, as he didn't think such a person's life was worth saving.
But if there were still the real culprits lurking behind the scenes, silently watching him and mocking him with the words, "Is this the end?"... then that would be unbearable for him.
"Based on the prisoner's strange behavior at the end, we linked him to the real culprit who was capable of [causing the target to fall into a mental state],"
Asukai dutifully explained, "Next, I plan to ask Ayatsuji-sensei to investigate there and see if there are any new discoveries."
Ye Yihe, who was consciously helping Fyodor cheat, nodded, "Let's try to find clues related to the real culprit."
If the mastermind really intended to kill him, the mini Ivan doll could help him withstand the fatal wound—then the other party would be exposed, and the subsequent pursuit would be much smoother.
Besides... Ye Yihe thought about it and realized that the other party's ability was not offensive, so he might still have a fighting chance.
This shipyard, built along the coast, is enormous. Since the accident a few days ago did not involve production safety, it has not stopped operating. Right now, the sounds of cranes hoisting steel, stamping metal plates, and welding hulls are constant.
After Asukai presented his search warrant, a supervisor wearing a hard hat immediately came out to greet them.
"Are you here to investigate the Urakami incident?" He seemed particularly troubled by the incident. "The police came once before, and that was one thing, but countless news media outlets have come these past few days. Everyone's saying that Urakami was bewitched by a monster and suffered a backlash..."
"A monster?" Ayatsuji Yukito suddenly exclaimed.
"It's just a bunch of nonsense and rumors." The supervisor waved his hand and led them into one of the shipyards. "Thanks to these media outlets, the workers are afraid to work in this shipyard, which is why it still can't be put back into operation and is about to delay the construction schedule."
In addition to the fact that shipyards must be built along the coastline, each ship can only be assembled in a dock connected to the sea. Before assembly is completed, the hull is supported in mid-air by scaffolding. Once the ship passes inspection, the dock will open the gates to release water, the hull supports will be removed, and the new ship will sail along this waterway to the sea.
The dock still retains traces of the death scene, but the body has been removed, leaving only scattered bloodstains and messy, intertwined bloody footprints from the struggle, mixed with dirty dust.
Not far away was a cargo ship being assembled, with several things resembling steel cables hanging down from the side of the ship.
[The prisoner's method of suicide was quite interesting.] Fyodor said.
“The way the prisoner died is quite interesting,” Ayatsuji Yukito remarked.
Asukai and Ye Yihe, who were listening in, also simultaneously voiced their doubts.
"He deliberately strangled himself with a steel cable..."
Ayatsuji Yukito slowly strolled around, his thin pipe picking out one of the steel cables. "That's quite a determined way to die. He really went all out on himself."
"Do you know what I've been thinking about?"—He turned to ask Ye Yihe, as if he were very confident that Ye Yihe could answer.
If he were normally facing those toads who only say things like "Oh, I didn't know that was the case!" or "Damn it, I've been tricked!", Ayatsuji Yukito would most likely not have done this.
He enjoys collecting figurines, but he has no interest in patiently explaining to kindergarten children why one plus two equals three.
Glancing at the bewildered Asuji, Ye Yihe felt that if he said he didn't know, it might disappoint the other party, who would then categorize him as a goldfish or a toad.
Fortunately, he still had Fyodor's timely reminder in his mind, [Hayge].
"Hai Ji," Ye Yihe read aloud.
Ayatsuji Yukito's eyes revealed a satisfied look, a kind of relief that came from [finally not having to work with idiots every day].
"That's right. In different legends, she has different appearances. But some things in common are that she drowned in the sea and transformed into a vengeful succubus."
"Ancient books record that her appearance could change according to people's hearts. When the other party was lured over and let their guard down, she would strangle them with her long hair."
Using a steel cable shaped like a hair to strangle oneself is a rather ingenious method of suicide.
Ye Yihe truly admired how quickly these two could think.
“Wait a minute,” Asukai suddenly pointed to the sea outside the dock and said, “There seems to be something reflecting light over there…”
Don't look!
Fyodor immediately spoke up to warn them—but it was too late. Ye Yihe's gaze instinctively followed the direction Asukai was pointing.
The next moment, he vaguely heard a woman's laughter.
It drifted and floated, as if slowly emerging from the depths of the misty fog.
Contrary to their descriptions, the laughter was not shrill; it was even gentle, as familiar as the laughter they had heard countless times before.
Ye Yihe's eyes widened, his expression blank.
"I'm back--"
The familiar, warm laughter grew clearer and clearer, as if even the heartwarming scenes from years past were resurfacing in my mind.
"The aroma of my husband Yihe's cooking fills the air again. It's wonderful; another happy day for us..."
A woman's figure floated on the surface of the sea, reaching out her hand to him as if inviting him into this ever-reassuring embrace.
"If only it had been you who died then."
"Damn it, he's been affected by the killer's superpowers!"
Seeing Ye Yihe suddenly freeze in place and then cover his head with one hand, Ayatsuji Yukito hurriedly called out to Asukai.
"Stop him! Quickly, by any means necessary!"
Asukai quickly responded with a "yes," and was about to step forward to subdue the black-haired youth whose expression had fallen into a daze when the other party suddenly raised his other hand.
"No need."
—Those cold and gloomy eyes, surging with dark emotions, were originally wine-red, but now they were almost darkened to a dangerous crimson, and they lifted up from between the spread fingers to look at them.
Asukai was startled, his feet seemingly rooted to the spot by the command.
"Using monsters to kill is a really interesting method."
Fyodor lowered his hand, his voice icy.
"Isn't that so?"
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