Chapter 21
Hmm? Did something happen just now?
Ye Yihe looked up from his book and gazed out the window, puzzled.
It seems like I vaguely heard a dull thud, like a plush toy hitting the ground... It shouldn't be my imagination.
Pedestrians strolled leisurely along the street, and the bright sunlight cast shadows on every swaying leaf, making the light gray stone steps mottled, like a watercolor painting after the rain.
No unusual traces were found.
Ye Yihe withdrew his gaze and continued to bury himself in reading local classics, with a dictionary for looking up definitions beside him.
Although Oda Sakunosuke said it was "not profound," there are still many unfamiliar words in the book, and you need a dictionary to read it smoothly.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh. The fact that he could understand Japanese without any problems meant that the original owner of this body was fluent in Japanese... The difference between people really cannot be generalized. This Fyodor fellow understands religion, can play the cello, and has mastered a second foreign language—and he looks only fifteen or sixteen years old.
Moreover, he hadn't forgotten the original owner's identity in Japan this time—a high-ranking member of a criminal organization called [V], and the hostage kidnapping case in the theater that was covered up by murder was their scheme.
Unfortunately, he was arrested in a flash during the screening of criminal suspects after the incident because he could not explain his identity, and it is unclear whether the man in the kimono was ever caught.
If the [V] member he spoke with at the time had been caught and interrogated, would he have implicated him as well...?
Well, it seems like it doesn't matter if he reveals it or not. They're looking for Fyodor, what does he have to do with Ye Yihe?
After a moment of distraction, Ye Yihe continued to diligently study Japanese.
The goal is to achieve daily communication as soon as possible, and then exchange some information with Oda Sakunosuke.
As the sun was about to set, Ye Yihe packed up his book and headed back, when it suddenly dawned on him—
The calico cat that I always see when I come here doesn't seem to be here today.
Not only did it not appear today, but it also disappeared for the next few days.
The teahouse staff, holding dried fish, looked worried as they searched the neighborhood, wondering if something had happened to the beautiful calico cat.
Only Natsume Soseki knew in his heart that if he didn't leave soon, something really bad was going to happen, since the [V] organization's target had always been him.
That seemingly harmless boy is extremely dangerous. His cunning and treacherous mind is comparable to that of a ghost or god. He can easily manipulate other people's minds and play them at will!
We can't afford to have any more contact; the best course of action is to slip away as quickly as possible.
Even though he had considered whether to enlist the help of the police to arrest the other party, unfortunately there was no evidence to support this hasty action.
Even if they wanted to arrest and deport him on charges of "illegally entering Japan," it would be futile, because the police's household registration department had his identity information—meaning that as long as there was no clear evidence of a crime, his stay in Japan was completely legal...!
Natsume Soseki had long known that there were criminals hidden within the government as well, but he never expected that the boy would have the ability to get them to cooperate to this extent.
It's terrifyingly cunning; they even anticipated this step in advance!
Amidst the exclamations of "How cute!" from passersby, the calico cat nimbly leaped onto the wall and ran between the tiled roof ridges.
Perhaps his other plan for Yokohama needs to be put on the agenda sooner.
…………
The stay this time was longer than Ye Yihe had anticipated.
He even questioned the system about whether alien technology could also have bugs, and received a negative answer.
Xiao Ai assured him that the incident was not yet resolved and had not yet resulted in an irreversible failure; the host still needed to continue his efforts.
[I feel like I'll live to be a hundred years old before I do, while I'm accumulating resurrection points.]
Ye Yihe sighed softly in his heart, appearing even more depressed than when he had just died.
The system doesn't have a mouth, I don't know how difficult it is for him to learn Japanese and Russian at the same time. One has no retroflex consonants at all, and the other has a lot of retroflex consonants and trills. It must be so tiring. I've never worked this hard even for the college entrance exam.
Of course, he can also say that he has made great progress in language now. For example, communicating with Oda Sakunosuke is no longer as difficult as it was at the beginning.
"Oda Saku, Oda Saku."
Ye Yihe tapped the table twice to draw the other person's attention to him.
Oda Sakunosuke was unusually free today, so after lunch he volunteered to wash the dishes; Ye Yihe felt that his Japanese had finally improved, so he took this opportunity to tell him something.
"I am here."
Oda Sakunosuke dried his hands and came over from the kitchen to sit opposite him.
"Because my Japanese isn't good, there's something I haven't been able to tell you."
Just like preparing a draft before a speech, Ye Yihe, who had been preparing these words for a long time, began to speak, his face serious.
"I am actually the second personality of this body."
"…………"
Oda Sakunosuke stared at Ye Yihe with his large, dark blue eyes, his gaze revealing an unusually silent intensity.
“Ahem, that’s the situation.” Ye Yihe covered his lips with his hand, looking back at his friend with an unusually serious gaze. “I don’t have the memories of the main personality, that is, Fyodor, nor do I possess the knowledge and skills he has.”
The silence was brief but felt incredibly slow. Finally, Oda Sakunosuke nodded. "That's why you don't remember ever meeting us."
“Yes.” After a pause, Ye Yihe continued, “I hope to know about his personality, or his way of doing things.”
"He" refers to the true original owner of this body, Fyodor Mihaly Cavallaria... something like Dostoevsky.
"I see……"
At least on the surface, Oda Sakunosuke, who was deep in thought, accepted Ye Yihe's reason.
He frowned and thought for a moment, recalling the circumstances of his first meeting with Fyodor.
"That [V] organization offered me a high price to accept a commission... not to assassinate someone, but to kidnap someone."
He had only heard of [V] at the time, but had never actually been in contact with it.
But it was clear that the other party had heard of his reputation for a 100% mission completion rate.
When he successively solved a number of high-difficulty assassination targets and became famous, some people even thought that he was just taking on missions on behalf of a certain assassin organization, which is why he could reach such a top level of never missing a shot.
However, Oda Sakunosuke has never bothered to clarify this point.
He only worked to complete his job—because he didn't know any other jobs besides killing, so he relied on being a hitman to make a living.
Whether he becomes famous or not only affects whether he can get new jobs.
The [V] organization wanted to commission him for a new job unrelated to assassination. Furthermore, they requested to discuss the matter in person.
Considering the deposit, Oda Sakunosuke arrived at the designated location on time, a building disguised as a shipbuilding company office building.
There, he not only met the person who commissioned the mission, but also Fyodor.
The office was unfurnished and appeared quite empty; however, the floor-to-ceiling windows were wide, and bright moonlight slanted in, falling on the two chairs in the center.
Oda Sakunosuke's first thought was that with such large floor-to-ceiling windows and such prominent seating, if he used a sniper rifle in the next building, none of the people present would be able to escape.
The young-looking Fyodor chose to stand away from the moonlight. The shadow cast an inscrutable, unreadable expression on his face.
Oda Sakunosuke couldn't remember whether he was indifferent or smiling at the time.
The only thing clearly etched in his mind was those wine-red eyes that looked at him, and his intuition detected an extremely dangerous aura in them.
"Nice to meet you, Oda-kun."
The other person bowed slightly, their soft, dark hair falling forward to conceal their intensely intimidating eyes. "I wish you a pleasant evening."
His voice was not special; it was neither high nor low, but still a clear, youthful voice. Not only was there no deviation in his pronunciation, but he also used the notoriously complex system of honorifics with textbook accuracy.
Some people don't need to say a single word, don't need to put on a threatening or angry expression, and don't even need to appear intelligent or powerful to instill an invincible terror in people's hearts.
Oda Sakunosuke thought that Sakunosuke had come to discuss the details of the mission with him, but after the other party bowed, he left the room, his cloak fluttering slightly as he walked, and the hem of his clothes drawing a smooth arc.
The remaining negotiations were conducted between him and another person from the [V] organization, and the final result was obvious: he declined the commission.
"I don't like them."
Oda Sakunosuke rarely revealed his attitude towards a certain matter: "Whether it is murderous intent arising from profit or murderous intent arising from hatred, these are two common types in commissions, and they are easy to understand."
"But that organization kills for the so-called 'great cause.' Because their goal is so noble, they can convince themselves of their guilt and remorse time and time again, making the act of killing seem reasonable and justifiable, until it leads to an end point—it doesn't matter who you kill."
Ye Yihe seemed to be deep in thought.
"The greater good?"
"Their goal is to expel all the superhumans in the country. [V] firmly believes that once the pests are eradicated, the country will be reborn."
Oda Sakunosuke recalled the resolute expression on the face of the person in charge back then, as if he were gazing upon some noble and unwavering faith.
“…………” Ye Yihe pondered, “Expel them all without leaving a single one… He is also Alan Yeager?”
Oda Sakunosuke blinked and recalled earnestly, "I remember his name was Mitamura."
"Ah, it's just a random association..."
Sitting upright for too long was tiring, so Ye Yihe shifted to a more relaxed posture. "However, from Oda Sakunosuke's description, I have roughly grasped his style."
Oda Sakunosuke: "What is it?"
Simply put, it's elegant, so elegant.
Unable to grasp the joke, Oda Sakunosuke slowly typed a question mark, "?"
"Since that's the case,"
Ye Yihe clasped his hands together in front of his eyes and once again made a pleading gesture to Oda Sakunosuke, "Please, please, Oda Sakunosuke, quickly teach me some criminal tricks, such as picking locks with wire, avoiding security setups, and familiarizing myself with the use of firearms..."
Oda Sakunosuke: "..."
No matter what, these things have absolutely nothing to do with elegance... right?
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