Chapter 54
Not long after dinner, Ivan dragged Pushkin out for a run.
Rather than saying he was pleased to see Pushkin suffer, it would be more accurate to say he was eager to fulfill Yeikh's expectations.
With Yeikh sitting opposite him watching, Pushkin followed him out with a worried expression—in his current state, his melancholy even gave him a touch of Russian aristocratic charm.
Although Ye Yihe immediately thought of the famous poem "If Life Deceives You".
However, we haven't seen him write anything yet... Oh well, it's not a big problem. Pushkin has such potential when it comes to losing weight, so it would be easy for him to become a writer in the future.
When Ye Yihe returned to his room, he specifically asked Oda Sakunosuke if he had a computer he could borrow for a while.
We are not yet in an era of technological explosion. Most communication methods are letters and landlines. The public obtains news through newspapers and television. Thick and expensive non-smartphones have not yet become widespread, and computers are even scarcer products.
Only a laboratory like Dr. Shelley's, where someone has specialized expertise, would be equipped with such a luxury item.
Rather than saying that she was able to successfully create a bionic robot with independent thinking and judgment in this era, it was simply incredible. No wonder the old men on the committee thought she was daydreaming, yet they were still willing to approve a grant for her to tinker with.
Unexpectedly, Oda Sakunosuke pondered for a moment and said he would try to find a way to buy one back.
Ye Yihe's eyes immediately lit up, "My good brother Odasaku...!"
Reliable, absolutely reliable!
Life at Oda Sakunosuke's place was finally much more peaceful. There was no longer the bumpy travel like in Northern Europe, and I no longer worried every day about whether my body would catch a cold or fever due to the unreasonable and sudden changes in the weather—or simply because I had stayed outdoors a little too long.
Ye Yihe could start to focus on restoring his body, which had been damaged by Fyodor, by going out for a short jog every day—a very short period of time, really. He was already panting heavily after just a few steps, and his stamina was far from meeting his expectations.
If all else fails, Ye Yihe will add some simple physical exercises; even if it's slow, he'll still get his body in better shape.
This wasn't entirely for Fyodor's sake; after all, he himself was currently the user of this body, and being too physically weak would put him at a disadvantage when facing enemies.
Overall, however, he cannot train for very long, and his basic conditions do not support high-intensity strength training.
Ye Yihe later heard Zhongye secretly tell him that Ivan was really strict. Not only was the training volume terrifying, but if Pushkin wanted to slack off, he would also prick his buttocks with spikes made of solidified rocks.
Ye Yihe asked Ivan curiously why he didn't have a knife.
After all, he often saw Ivan, in his leisurely or relaxed state, skillfully playing with a dinner knife with the slender fingertips that once held the bow, making the reflected light look like a silver beetle leaping back and forth, tamed by him with perfect obedience.
Chuya replied that it was because Ivan felt that Pushkin was not worth being stabbed in the butt with a beautiful dinner knife—it was made of pure silver, very expensive, you know. How could he use it for anything else after stabbing Pushkin in the butt?
Pushkin was so angry he wanted to fight Ivan, but unfortunately he was no match for him; Ivan's supernatural abilities were his natural counter.
Pushkin's superpower is "Feast of Plague," a virus-type ability that can infect people with wounds with extremely small viruses.
However, the drawback is that this virus must infect hosts in pairs, and the onset of the virus occurs 48 hours later—during this period, if one of the hosts dies, the superpower will stop.
Ivan's rock manipulation ability not only allows him to create stone armor to envelop himself, but he can even sculpt a clay doll named Ivan that is indistinguishable from the real thing, causing Pushkin's ability to miss its target entirely.
As for Chuuya Nakahara, who normally uses "gravity manipulation" as his superpower, Pushkin shouldn't even expect to hurt him through ordinary physical means. It would be more effective to pray that the other party bleeds his gums due to insufficient vitamin C intake.
Oda Sakunosuke possesses the ability to foresee the future five to six seconds in advance. Before Pushkin could even make his sneaky little move, this seasoned assassin expert could kill him in one fell swoop.
As for Ye Yihe... would he dare to touch his own boss?
Therefore, it's not unreasonable to say that Pushkin had the lowest status; he couldn't defeat anyone.
Ye Yihe thought about Pushkin, who now looked pitiful but had transformed into a handsome blond man, and changed his indulgent meals from once a month to twice a month.
After his daily workout, he would still go to his usual teahouse. The waitress with dimples on her cheeks would still recognize him at a glance. "Mr. Fyodor, it's been a long time. Are you alright?"
When Ye Yihe was drugged and kidnapped by the V organization, disguised as an ambulance crew member, it was she who made the decisive call to Oda Sakunosuke, which allowed the latter to immediately realize something was wrong and come to rescue her.
Although Oda Sakunosuke probably didn't expect Ye Yihe to be so powerful, managing to wipe out the entire enemy team by taking on five opponents... It can only be said that Ye Yihe was fortunate to be facing ordinary people without superpowers who were also off guard.
The enemy probably didn't expect that their seemingly weak and sickly appearance would allow them to be completely overwhelmed by the opponent's skill and experience in battle.
"Yes, it's nothing. I really troubled you last time," Ye Yihe smiled at her warmly. "Thank you for your concern."
"The usual?" The waitress's expression immediately brightened.
"Yes, please bring me one, thank you." Ye Yihe nodded.
As he sat in his usual spot, he whispered to Fyodor, "You should try this later; it's my favorite set meal when I was here before."
[good. ]
Even though it was a simple response, Fyodor could still imbue that short syllable with a special charm using his voice.
For example, Ye Yihe could hear that the final note of that sound was slightly prolonged and slightly raised, as if he could see him supporting his head with his interlaced fingers, tilting his head and showing him a calm and unhurried smile.
"…………"
Ye Yihe hesitated to speak, then decided to remain silent.
It's always good to be wary of this guy; let's wait until he's earned all the resurrection points before making any decisions.
However, Fyodor actually quite liked the wagashi after tasting it, which may be related to the fact that the sugar can quickly replenish energy; after all, high-IQ villains always need to use their brains a lot, not to mention those who have two consciousnesses in one body.
“Speaking of which,” Ye Yihe asked the pretty and attentive waitress while they were paying the bill, “I used to sit here and read a lot. The other books don’t matter, but on the day I was taken away, did you see a book without a cover? One signed Natsume Soseki.”
Upon hearing the familiar name, Fyodor let out a confused "[Hmm?]", but Ye Yihe ignored him.
It's really strange that he's suddenly talking to himself now. Besides, Fyodor's desire to find Natsume Soseki might not be a good thing... Think about how he was one of the high-ranking members of the V organization before. Isn't finding an official ability user just asking for trouble?
"Ah...no."
The waitress frowned and recalled for a long time, "They took all your belongings at once, and I thought they would return them to you later... Turns out they didn't?"
What... Since you took all his books with you back then, you should at least give them back to him. It's not like it was some kind of secret operation plan or anything.
That's it, the novel is completely lost now, there's no way to show it to Oda Sakunosuke again... If there's a chance, he can try his luck at a used bookstore, but unfortunately he's long forgotten the title, so he can only try his luck.
Moreover, during this time, Ye Yihe had not seen the gentleman with three different hair colors who liked to carry a cane; nor the famous detective Ranpo who wore detective-style clothes and a newsboy cap—now, Ye Yihe suspected that this might not be a coincidence of names or a tribute, but a real modern-day Edogawa Ranpo from another world.
As for Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, the known information is that he is under close surveillance by the Special Abilities Division, but there is absolutely no clue as to where he is being held under house arrest.
Ye Yihe rejected Fyodor's proposal to have Ivan infiltrate the Special Abilities Division to search for him.
“This isn’t how you liberate a lost soul,” Ye Yihe protested, lightly tapping the table. “Be careful Ivan doesn’t get lost inside and can’t get out!”
"No, the rocks we are waiting for are unstoppable..."
Ivan was about to explain when Ye Yihe raised his hand to stop him. "I didn't mean you'd actually get lost... It was just a metaphor. It means the Special Abilities Division definitely has countermeasures to prevent intrusion. Besides, aren't there several extremely dangerous superhumans being held captive there? What if they make a move?"
[Yes, that's true.]
Fyodor readily conceded and was very easy to talk to.
"Then I'll listen to you," his voice held a slight smile, yet also a peculiar, enigmatic quality. "Let's think of another way."
Ye Yihe was somewhat surprised that Fyodor had abandoned the plan so decisively.
The other person was not stubborn at all; they listened to whatever he said. Apart from their own terrible lifestyle habits that always needed to be monitored and supervised, they almost never rejected any of his suggestions. They were extremely obedient in their behavior.
If it weren't for the system reporting his failure to resolve the incident, he would still be completely in the dark, believing that sending the Holy Sword to defeat the vampire count was a great thing...
Damn it, as expected, Fyodor is still a top-notch, clever, and cunning little mouse. If Shibusawa Tatsuhiko is a target he absolutely must have, then his quick concession now must mean he has other plans. We can't really let our guard down.
To prevent Fyodor's "other plans," after Oda Sakunosuke helped install the bulky, bulky computer in his bedroom, the first thing Ye Yihe did upon turning it on was to access the internal file system of the Special Abilities Department.
Then, under Fyodor's watchful eye, Ye Yihe, typing rapidly on the keyboard, efficiently patched all the backdoors and vulnerabilities in the system for them, and even built a hidden and robust firewall specifically to prevent data theft.
Seeing Ye Yihe fill in the hole he had dug right before his eyes, Fyodor, [...]
"What are you doing? Don't just think about taking advantage of yourself,"
Sensing the other person's complex emotions, Ye Yihe explained to him with conviction, even taking the initiative, "What if someone else besides you can sneak in and steal the data? Then Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's information will be all over the place, and you won't be able to liberate him then."
This reason doesn't sound far-fetched, but it reveals a detail—Ye Yihe knew that Fyodor's visit to Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was definitely not a good thing.
This means that his kind personality has raised some concerns about him.
Inside the Palace of Consciousness, Fyodor propped his head up, his jet-black hair falling in front of his eyes, half-concealing his wine-red eyes and hiding his obscure emotions and thoughts; in contrast, there was a slight smile on his lips.
Beneath his seemingly harmless facade, Fyodor eagerly anticipates how his other half will act once he gains a deeper understanding of him.
Let us lay our true selves bare to each other... and then a truly new world will come.
[Congratulations, host, for resolving the incident. Resurrection Points +10.]
As the last keystroke landed, Xiao Ai (Xiaomi's AI assistant) appeared just in time to shower him with electronic sound effects.
Finally, he had some survival points. More than being happy, Ye Yihe wanted to slap his thigh – see, what did he say? Going against this little mouse really worked!
Fyodor said he wanted to liberate Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's confused soul, so his goal was... to prevent the other's soul from being liberated? This reasoning is a bit subtle, but it's definitely true that he wanted to prevent Shibusawa Tatsuhiko from doing something irreversibly bad.
That being said, Fyodor can't see Shibusawa Tatsuhiko right now either, and he can only make plans for later.
Ye Yihe was in a great mood after finally accomplishing something good, and prepared to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Chuuya gave high praise to his cooking skills and subtly complained that he had to eat various curries with Oda Sakunosuke every few days.
It's obvious that Zhongyuan Zhong doesn't have the potential to become a curry master.
Although Oda Sakunoichi would sometimes grumble and say things like "Why is it curry again today?", he would always finish his food properly and was a good kid who was not picky about food and never wasted any.
However, Chuuya himself must not hear these words, or he will immediately jump up and down in a fit of rage.
Ye Yihe understood this, because he felt that Verlaine was just as awkward—during the time he lived in Bernhardt's apartment, Verlaine would help Bernhardt while also showing a slight resistance to being praised, which showed that she was very conflicted.
When dinner was almost ready, Pushkin, exhausted, finally returned after completing his exercise. He collapsed onto the tatami mat in the living room and lay motionless, panting heavily.
Ivan strolled past him with an air of composure and elegance, showing no sign of fatigue whatsoever.
Chuuya Nakahara was engrossed in playing a game while waiting for dinner. Hearing the noise, he looked up and asked, "What are you holding?"
He asked curiously.
"This? It's a notice I tore down from a wall when I passed by."
Ivan showed the white paper with torn edges to Chuuya Nakahara. "It says that anyone who speaks ill of the Port Mafia must be executed immediately, and there is a high reward for the informant... Wow, I didn't expect to see a medieval witch trial system here. It's quite a surprise."
"I saw this notice too; it's been plastered all over the place lately," Chuuya Nakahara replied listlessly. "I have absolutely no liking for organizations that kill indiscriminately like this. If they ever happen to run into my line of fire, I'd be happy to crush them with my own gravity."
They are an illegal organization, and instead of keeping a low profile, they arrogantly carve out territory everywhere in the city, as if they can subdue everyone with violence alone.
"Was someone really executed?"
Upon hearing the conversation, Ye Yihe interjected in surprise, "Ordinary residents?"
“Yeah.” Chuuya Nakahara shrugged. “It’s alright here. The suburbs are relatively remote, with few people and not much money to be made, so they’re too lazy to come here. At most, they’ll pass through here when they’re smuggling. But there’s also the city area over there, which is basically the area where the Port Mafia runs rampant.”
This sounds like complete lawlessness. If not everyone in that organization is evil, then at least they are just going with the flow and following orders.
Ye Yihe had heard of Japanese yakuza organizations. It was a place where once you entered, it was very difficult to leave; to leave basically meant physical mutilation—either by an enemy or by yourself.
However, I later heard that nowadays, no young people are willing to join the Japanese underworld, and even fights have gradually become team-building activities for the elderly... I didn't expect that the illegal organizations here would be so rampant.
"Doesn't the government care?" Ye Yihe asked.
"I've probably tried it, but I don't think it had any effect."
Oda Sakunosuke thought for a moment, then pointed to himself, "Not only the organization, but there are many assassins like me in Yokohama."
"Yokohama was a public settlement. Although in name, the security was jointly maintained by the Japanese military and police and the police from various consulates, because it was a public settlement, many countries sent warlords to be stationed there. The result of this checks and balances was that the legal system here became very chaotic, which further attracted more bad guys to come."
This is a vicious cycle: more criminals mean worse public security, worse public security means more difficult management, more difficult management means more difficult punishment, and more difficult punishment means more criminals.
Not to mention the deep pit on Lei Bo Street, which has not been repaired since it was ousted and is now crowded with all sorts of rioters and thugs.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this place is a breeding ground for poisonous insects. The port mafia is just one of the more powerful and arrogant branches among them.
Ye Yihe: "...This is really chaotic. Be careful when you go out."
Although he had given them verbal instructions, Ye Yihe still felt that none of them would be in any trouble—or rather, he himself was probably the most likely to get into trouble.
After all, it seems that he is the only ordinary person without superpowers among those present, and his body is so weak that it hinders his physical combat skills.
“You should be more careful when you go out,” Ivan said, his expression showing barely suppressed rage. “I wish I could stay by my master’s side and protect him, instead of watching someone slack off…”
"Who's slacking off!" Pushkin protested weakly. "Who told you to double the training volume the boss set!"
It's reasonable that they can't do it! Who has that kind of insane physical strength?
Ivan frowned. "You dare to make excuses to disappoint your master, you blasphemous bastard..."
Looking at that expression that seemed to say, "How dare you speak so rudely!", Pushkin's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and he felt a throbbing pain in his buttocks where he had been pricked by the rock spikes. "..."
Help! This doesn't make any sense at all with this paranoid and fanatical psychopath.
The conversation at the dinner table quickly came to an end. The only change was that afterwards, Oda Sakunosuke always accompanied Ye Yihe when he went out, to ensure his safety.
But no one expected that the first person to be attacked would be Chuuya.
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