Chapter 24 Paradise Hunting (Edited) “Let me be your family…
Gin hung up the phone and returned it to Vodka: "Delete the chat recording."
"Yes, big brother..."
Vodka scratched his head and did as he was told.
Who's on the other end of the line? The same person from last time? But the number this time isn't the same as the last time...
"Vodka. Do you use LINE?" Gin suddenly asked.
"Uh, uh, for... for communicating with ordinary people..."
Something like a club for energetic beautiful girls idols...
After asking this question, Gin didn't speak for a long time.
"Brother, are we going to have sex with that president tonight..."
"No need." Gin looked out the window from under his hat brim. "Change this task to a public task and post it on the intranet so others can take it."
"Eh, eh? Don't we have to go there ourselves?"
"No need. Let's go to Yokohama." Gin took out another cigarette and lit it with the car lighter. "There's someone I need to deal with personally."
.
Later.
"Ms. Lin? Are you free now?"
Lin Xi, who had just finished washing the dishes, saw the message sent by Shimizu Reiko.
She curled her eyes and replied, "What's wrong, Miss Reiko?"
"Ah, nothing much. I worked overtime today and just got home when I suddenly remembered I forgot to give Miss Lin a gift. (Picture) Here! The little dorayaki figurine I bought. They're really creative, turning dorayaki into a plush figurine! What a shame I completely forgot about it today..."
"It's okay, Miss Reiko. We'll definitely meet again in the future. I have a gift for Miss Reiko when the time comes."
Reiko Shimizu looked at the text message with a gloomy expression and her red lips pursed into a line.
Nishio Masaharu had been out of contact since he went out with Lin Xi that afternoon, and Shimizu Reiko couldn't get a hold of him. He'd been the most active during the discussion about the division of the spoils, arrogantly telling her and Ito Suehiko how he'd spend the money. Then, just as they were supposed to meet that evening to discuss the money, he'd gone missing again...
Considering that he lost contact after following Lin Xi, and it seemed that nothing had happened on Lin Xi's side, Shimizu Reiko couldn't help but have a bad feeling.
Although she did want Nishio Masaharu dead, she didn't want him to disappear. Death meant eternal silence, the end of risk, the redistribution of Nishio Masaharu's share of the stolen money, and Shimizu Reiko no longer having to worry about Nishio Masaharu exposing her crimes. Disappearance, on the other hand, meant risk, a loss of control, and the possibility of something unexpected happening to Shimizu Reiko at any time.
Reiko Shimizu slowly exhaled.
However, even if Masaharu Nishio disappeared at this time, it would not hinder her plan.
She wants to kill Ito Suehiko, take the stolen money and leave the country...and she knows someone who can help her launder the money.
"Okay~ I'm looking forward to meeting Miss Lin next time."
She sent the message, turned off her phone, lay down on the sofa in her luxury apartment, and closed her eyes.
…
Lin Xi placed the washed plates on the plate rack and wiped the table with a rag.
Before leaving Yokohama, she visited the safe house.
The safe house is located in a villa in the suburbs of Yokohama, and is equipped with all necessary medical facilities and weapons.
Wisteria is planted outside the window. April is the season when wisteria blooms, and the purple color it casts invades the house, giving the whole house a touch of summer.
She set a fingerprint code on the combination lock on the door and decided to do the same in each of her safe houses.
Then she came back to pick up her children and cook - and witnessed a case and the whole process of the elementary school detective Conan solving the case.
It’s unbelievable that elementary school students can actually run into a murder case on their way home from school... Lin Xi originally wanted to solve it himself, but when he saw Huibara Ai also watching Conan pretending to be a child to solve the case with great interest, he moved the dinner time to a later time and let Xiao Ke do his best.
One has to admit that the protagonist possesses an intelligence and radiant personality that is beyond the reach of ordinary people. The child's innocent words, mixed with the sharp truth, soon made the criminal kneel down in tears and confess.
At that time, Lin Xi looked at this scene, thinking about something.
It seems that she has to be careful in front of the protagonist and it is best not to let him discover her connection with the organization.
The same was true in the organization - thirty years had passed, and she could not ensure that the people in the organization were as innocent as she knew them back then. The only one she could trust was Gin, whose loyalty was written into the system entry.
She also met several other children who were classmates with Huibara Ai. She heard that they had formed a young detective team and were openly accepting commissions. They also told Lin Xi that if she needed anything in the future, she could contact them at any time.
Lin Xi agreed with a smile and took out the Dorayaki that had been preserved in the system space and distributed it to them.
After returning to the apartment, Gin also sent her the results of Nishio Masaharu's interrogation through the organization's intranet.
Regarding the questions Lin Xi wanted to know, the results are as follows:
1. Regarding the armored car robbery that occurred on April 4th in Yokohama:
The main culprits were Reiko Shimizu, Masaharu Nishio, and Suehiko Ito. All three worked for Far East Investment Consulting Company: Reiko Shimizu was secretary general, Masaharu Nishio was sales manager, and Mihiko Ito was president. All three had a penchant for crime and founded CRY (Yokohama Crime Research Society) while studying at Yokohama Marine University. Suehiko Ito was the mastermind behind the armored car robbery, and Nishio Masaharu kept a handwritten criminal plan.
During the robbery of the armored car on April 4, Shoji Nishio shot and killed the staff who tried to stop them from robbing.
The total amount of stolen money is 100 million yen. Ito Mihiko plans to use his position as president of Far East Investment Consulting Company to launder the money, but is opposed by Shimizu Reiko and Nishio Masaharu. The three-person group has recently had several quarrels caused by uneven distribution of the spoils.
2. Regarding the drugs used by Shoji Nishio and their sources:
According to Nishio, the drug he used was a recently emerging hallucinogen called "Dawn." The drug was found in his pocket, and after identification by the organization's base testing department, it was found to be structurally similar to LSD, similarly causing users to experience rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, acute psychosis, and intense hallucinations. Nishio had been using this drug for a year and a half, and three months ago, he began experimenting with other drugs, such as narcotics.
The drugs are suspected to have originated from a member of the Yokohama Yakuza gang, Minetoma-gumi, called "Samurai 3." According to Nishio Masaharu, he planned to meet with "Samurai 3" at 2:00 PM on April 15th at a residential building north of 3-34 Takahashi-cho, Yokohama.
These two integrated messages are followed by Gin's note:
You can ask Bourbon about the Minetoda group. He's very popular among the Yokohama gang.
This new hallucinogen has become very popular recently, and numerous suicides and intentional injuries have occurred in Japan due to its abuse. Aside from a dozen cases last year and the year before where the drug was smuggled from abroad, the large number of new hallucinogens appearing this year are likely manufactured in Japan.
Regarding the source of the weapons used by Nishio Masaharu, Ito Suehiko, and Shimizu Reiko, Nishio Masaharu claimed that Ito Suehiko had provided them. It is suspected that Soichiro Fukayama, president of Fukayama Shoji, also based in Yokohama, conducted a small arms deal with him earlier this year, including submachine guns, AR-7 rifles, and PPK pistols.
And, the newly registered LINE number: xxxxxxxx.
Seeing the last line, Lin Xi smiled slightly, swiped the screen of his phone a few times, and added Gin as a friend.
Gin used the default profile picture and ID. Lin Xi added a note: "Mobile Rejoice Ad."
That's right, she has always been jealous of Gin's long hair that is smooth and flowing even without any care.
She did not immediately send a message to Gin using LINE, but instead used the organization's app - the app she downloaded from the website Gin gave her yesterday - to send a message to Gin.
"Has Nishio Shoji dealt with it?"
"Um. "
"I might investigate the Minetoko Group later. Are they related to the organization?"
"As far as I know, no. I've only had contact with them once or twice, and it wasn't even a partnership. Their higher-ups are aware of our existence. If you want more information, use the search bar on the intranet. Enter a keyword and you'll find detailed information on that term."
"...So classy."
"Haha, how else do you think the members of the organization can communicate efficiently while remaining anonymous?"
"I understand. Times are changing. But don't treat me like an old-fashioned person... I'm just getting used to the new things you guys have come up with..."
Lin Xi protested weakly.
"The Minetoma Group is a long-established yakuza group that emerged over a decade ago. You can communicate with Bourbon. He's in the intelligence group and has contacts within the Minetoma Group."
"Okay. One more thing..."
"?"
"If Soichiro Fukayama is the mastermind behind the robbery trio, I might be able to track him down. Is that okay?"
"Whatever. He's just a president. Even if his previous dealings are exposed, it won't affect the organization."
"Understood. "
"How do you feel about campus life?" Lin Xi put down his phone and asked Huihara Ai who was sitting on the sofa with a smile.
"Hmm...it's good."
Huihara Ai answered.
In fact, she spent the entire day staring at the trees and birds outside the window.
The lessons the teacher taught were all very basic first-grade elementary school knowledge, which was completely meaningless for her as she already had a doctorate degree.
"The teacher is very gentle and the classmates are very friendly," she said.
"Well, then, do you want to relax this weekend? There's a new amusement park in Yokohama that's the largest in Japan. You can call your new friends, Professor Agasa, Conan, and the others, and I'll book some tickets together, so we can go there and have fun for a day."
"...The ticket price isn't cheap, is it, Sister Lin?"
"Money is a minor issue. The main thing is that I want to go to the amusement park myself." Lin Xi smiled, "I've longed for places like amusement parks since I was a child. When I was little, I always pestered my parents to take me there."
"Oh, by the way, won't Sister Lin's parents have any objections to living with me?"
"..." The smile on Lin Xi's face faded.
"I forgot to tell you this before, Ai." She said calmly, "My family members are all gone, and now I'm the only one left."
Ah...all the family members passed away?
Huihara Ai stared at Lin Xi's calm expression in a daze.
So that's why... That glimpse of loneliness I caught in Lin Xi earlier was due to this, right? Just like me, with my family gone and all alone...
"I'm fine. That's all in the past. Don't worry about me." Lin Xi said, watching the little girl on the sofa approaching her step by step, and smiled slightly. "Besides, I have some like-minded friends now, so I won't be too lonely... Xiao Ai?"
Huihara Ai hugged her gently.
"Let me be your family." She said something that surprised even herself, "From now on, wherever Sister Lin wants to go, I can go with you."
Lin Xi smiled and patted her head: "That being said, Xiao Ai, you have your own family, right? When you grow up, you will eventually leave me."
“…” Huibara Ai couldn’t refute.
That's right, she originally planned to stay in Linxi temporarily, and leave Linxi after developing the antidote for APTX4869 - since she was its creator, she certainly had the responsibility to develop an antidote for its victims.
She didn't want to implicate Lin Xi, so leaving was the best option.
But, but…
Holding Lin Xi's warm body and smelling the faint scent of orange blossom coming from her, Huihara Ai couldn't help but rub her clothes.
But Lin Xi seemed to need her.
Just now - no, there had actually been such a moment before - she had also read in Lin Xi's eyes a meaning that was completely opposite to what she had said.
"Stay with me" - those eyes said so. When she mentioned the death of her family just now, when she brought her back home and comforted her when she had a fever, and even when they first met, Haibara Ai had felt this way.
She felt that the reason she agreed to Lin Xi's request to live with her was because she vaguely felt that she was needed by Lin Xi. No matter what, this seemingly mature adult would rely on her at certain times - this realization made Huiyuan Ai feel a little happy.
"No," she said, "I will always be with you, Sister Lin, unless you push me away - will that happen?"
"Hehe, I don't think so."
"So, let's go to an amusement park this weekend? ...I haven't been to places like that very often."
"good."
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