Chapter 40: Burn the wish carried by the wind. I paid for it...
Toru Amuro's mood was very complicated.
He is very worried about Hiro.
Being an undercover organization is not an easy task.
As an undercover agent, one must hide all his conscience and bury it deep in his heart; he must be ruthless, cold-blooded, obey orders, and show loyalty, just like the people in the organization, but sometimes he must also reveal some appropriate ambitions and weaknesses to let the organization relax its vigilance.
But he knew very well what kind of person Hiro was.
He is suitable to stand in the sun and become a brave policeman to maintain social order, rather than going deep into the dark alleys and staining his hands with bright red.
This doesn't mean he's not strong or capable; it's just that he's not suitable.
But when they decided to obey orders and go undercover in the organization, they were prepared to be tainted by the dark side.
If you join an organization, you will be assimilated in some way.
Once a person has set foot in the darkness, he will never be able to return to the sunlight with ease.
He just couldn't bear to see Hiro struggling.
But at the same time, they both knew that someone had to do some things.
They once swore an oath to the cherry blossoms to protect this country forever until the last moment.
So... no matter what they face, they will keep moving forward.
When Toru Amuro received the notice from Punch that the assassination was cancelled and the plan was changed, he was nervous.
He knew this would be the first life saved in Hiro's hands.
Fresh, innocent lives...
But the plan was canceled and the doctor survived.
what happened?
What did Punch and Hiro say on the rooftop?
There must be an important conversation between them...
He would have to find some time alone to ask Hiro.
At this moment, they were sitting in the conference room of the safe house, and were planning the next step around the doctor.
"If you want to understand a doctor, it's best to start with his patients," said Lin Xi.
"Look at this child, Sugishima Jun'e, 12 years old, who received treatment from him for over six months."
"How about starting with her?" Lin Xi looked up and asked for their opinions.
The two didn't know what expression they should make at this moment.
They sat in a small conference room. On the table in front of them was a list of Dr. Jicheng's patients and their medical records. On the blackboard next to them were written in large marker: "Learn about Dr. Jicheng's special operation."
Half an hour ago, Lin Xi called them back and told them that the mission to assassinate Dr. Ji Cheng was temporarily cancelled and they had to start a new battle plan.
"The new battle plan is called 'Special Operation to Understand Yoshiki Ryuji'. We must strive to gain a comprehensive understanding of him within a week!"
Two people: ...
If you don’t know, you might think they are holding some love war meeting.
Toru Amuro was a little crazy.
So, what did Hiro and Punch say on the rooftop??!
Why did the assassination mission suddenly become so abstract?
Zhu Fu Jingguang turned his head away to avoid his best friend's burning gaze.
Don't ask him, he doesn't know either.
Zhu Fujingguang: "I think it's okay, let's do as you say."
"OK~ Then let's go contact Sugishima June."
Zhu Fu Jingguang wanted to speak but stopped, and stopped speaking but still wanted to.
He always felt that although the senior seemed to have come up with this battle plan just for him...
But she actually enjoyed it quite a bit.
He looked at the red-haired girl holding the cat, and that familiar feeling of incongruity came over him again.
How could there be such a person in the organization?
.
After hearing Punch's new action plan, Toru Amuro took the initiative to apply to collect intelligence.
But Punch refused.
"No, that's boring. Do you always have to find out everything about someone's identity and family background before you get to know them? You have to respect other people's privacy, Amuro-kun."
Toru Amuro:?
That's not what you said when you asked me to investigate Yoshiki Ryuji's itinerary!
Besides, a member of an organization said he should respect other people's privacy! !
They checked our backgrounds when we joined!
Toru Amuro complained in his heart, but still smiled and agreed on the surface.
The smile collapsed when he saw Punch take out black sunglasses and a three-piece suit.
"Should we change into this?"
He confirmed again.
Please! After wearing sunglasses, he and Hiro are just like each other, walking on the street... the rate of turning heads is as high as 100%.
This is too eye-catching! And so embarrassing!
What does Punch want to do?
Lin Xi tutted his words, "Amuro-kun, you don't understand this. Making friends is very particular. You have to approach them with the right identity."
If you want to make friends with a little girl, it's best if she's also female, and even better if she's of similar age.
You can't walk up to her with two big men and say, hey, we are a group of killers who want to assassinate your psychiatrist. Let's be friends.
Instead, he should pretend to be a 16-year-old naive and well-behaved young lady, take his cat and two handsome bodyguards and pretend to take a walk by, give her a sweet smile, and then invite her to have afternoon tea together.
That’s right, Lin Xi is obsessed with her naivety and well-behaved personality.
Although she never succeeded.
"Remember, I'm a young lady who knows nothing. You two are bodyguards hired by my father to protect my safety."
Zhu Fu Jingguang nodded obediently: "Okay, senior."
"Hmm? What did you say?"
Zhu Fujingguang readily agreed: "Okay, Miss."
Toru Amuro:......
The world has gone crazy.
Resigned to his fate, he put on his sunglasses and followed Punch out the door.
Looking at the red-haired girl walking ahead, Amuro Toru fell into deep thought. The intelligence he brought yesterday contained no details about Sugishima Jun'e, yet Punch seemed to know where Sugishima Jun'e was and led the way directly.
Punch must have done some research beforehand! Sure enough, the mission couldn't have suddenly changed. The organization must have some deeper agenda!
.
Lin Xi, who was walking in front, looked innocent.
She just opened the map.
Sugishima Jun'e is an *important person*. In the system map, her name will be displayed on the small blue dot.
And Hiroki Kashimura is actually an important person.
The doctor who is the target of the mission is not.
He is just an NPC, or cannon fodder.
This is really weird.
The system cannot simply label a person's name. These two children must have appeared in the subsequent story and promoted the development of the plot.
The players' curiosity was piqued.
What's even more interesting is that Sugishima Jun'e should be at Dr. Yoshiki's psychological clinic at this time, but her coordinates appear on a rooftop nearby.
Plus, she's already receiving psychological counseling, so it's hard not to think negatively of her.
The three of them went up to the rooftop.
A figure stood on the edge of the stage. She was wearing a white dress and was barefoot with her back to them. Her shoes were taken off and placed neatly aside.
Amuro Toru was startled and was about to rush forward, but Lin Xi grabbed his wrist.
The red-haired girl covered her lips with her index finger and shook her head at him.
"Pan..."
Aren't we going to contact Sugishima June?
How can we contact each other when the person is about to jump off the building?
Zhu Fujingguang noticed that the coconut in Punch's arms had disappeared at some point.
"Call me Miss." Lin Xi said dissatisfiedly.
Buddy, act your part fully and stop shouting your stage name all the time. Do you think you are Gin?
"Miss..." Amuro Toru said subconsciously.
"Coconut! Coconut where are you!"
Miss Lin Xi was suddenly "horrified" and started spinning around in panic.
Amuro Toru twitched the corners of his mouth.
Zhu Fu Jingguang was trying to hold back his laughter in the back.
He already knew what Lin Xi was going to do.
Sure enough, after hearing Lin Xi's call, the girl standing on the rooftop turned her head.
Sugishima Jun'e said vigilantly: "Who are you? Don't come over here!"
Lin Xi just ran towards her "tearfully" and "stumbled", as if she was completely unaware that one of her feet was about to step out of the rooftop - "Excuse me, have you seen Coconut? A white cat, I can't find it, woo woo woo..."
"Miss!" Zhu Fushi Jingguang got into the mood earlier than Amuro Toru and cooperated with the performance: "The wind on the rooftop is strong, please be careful!"
Toru Amuro:......
Help……
Has his best friend finally gone mad?
Zhu Fu Jingguang turned his head and winked at him.
Don't just stand there, Zero, cooperate with them!
Amuro Toru: "...Miss, please be careful..."
He didn't even know what they were watching out for.
Sugishima Jun'e hesitated for a moment and slightly retracted her feet that were placed on the rooftop.
"Where did you lose your cat?" she asked.
"It's nearby... Woohoo, it's very cute, and it's very small. If it accidentally falls somewhere and gets into danger..."
Lin Xi cries whenever she wants to. At the age of 16, she doesn't feel ashamed of anything she does.
Just as Sugishima Jun'e was about to comfort her, she suddenly saw a white shadow on the air conditioner downstairs out of the corner of her eye.
Eh?
"Is that your cat?" Sugishima Jun'e pointed there.
Lin Xi suddenly walked to the edge of the roof and was about to look down.
Sugishima Jun'e was startled and suddenly pulled her back, and then she also retreated.
Zhu Fujingguang immediately stepped forward and held her shoulders.
Just as Sugishima Jun'e was about to break free, she heard him say, "Excuse me, but please cooperate with us and help the young lady find her cat."
Amuro Toru stepped forward and nodded seriously: "Please. This is really important to us."
This time it was Lin Xi's turn to be happy.
She stood behind Sugishima Jun'e, pointing at the two of them and laughing happily.
Veins popped out on Toru Amuro's forehead.
"Miss," he said very gently, "please don't be sad. Your face is all red from crying. A face that looks like a cat with tears is not very cute~"
Sugishima Jun'e also turned around and looked at her.
Lin Xi was embarrassed.
She took it back.
Whether it's the appearance of a 21-year-old or a 16-year-old, it's still embarrassing.
She has already dug out a three-bedroom apartment with her toes.
"Hmm?" Amuro Toru looked at her with a smile.
"Ahahaha," Lin Xi's face was a little stiff, "Give the coconut back and I won't cry! It's all your fault for losing the coconut!"
Toru Amuro was in a good mood after winning the game, while Keimitsu Morofushi next to him was trying to hold back his laughter.
Zero is really vindictive.
Sugishima Jun'e's mood had been interrupted by the sudden incident. She looked at the spoiled young lady who had appeared from nowhere with tears in her eyes, sighed, and said:
"Your cat is on the air conditioner downstairs. Let me take you there. Don't go near that place next time. It's easy to fall down."
As she spoke, she lowered her head, broke free from Zhu Fujingguang's hand, turned around and walked towards the stairs.
"Hey! Wait!" Lin Xi called her, ran to the edge of the rooftop, took her shoes back, and handed them to her:
"Here, your shoes! You're so weird, why aren't you wearing shoes? Isn't the ground icy?"
After saying that, she touched the ground curiously, but was helplessly stopped by the blond bodyguard behind him.
...What a happy child.
Sugishima Jun'e sighed in her heart and put on her shoes.
Lin Xi continued to ask her.
Sugishima June thought for a moment and said, "Because birds don't wear shoes. I wanted to fly in the sky like a bird, so I took off my shoes."
Lin Xi suddenly realized: "No wonder you were standing on the edge of the rooftop just now! But you don't have wings."
She looked behind Sugishima Jun'e and said, "Without wings, you can't fly, right?"
Sugishima June laughed.
She found it magical.
This young lady who suddenly appeared really doesn't know anything.
Although he looks older than her, he gives people the feeling that he is the adult.
It would be fine if you didn't know the concept of jumping off a building, but how could you believe what she said?
How can a person fly?
But she still replied: "Yes, so I tried many times but failed."
She took them to the window downstairs and opened it. Coconut jumped from the air conditioner into Lin Xi's arms and meowed lazily.
Cooperate with the owner to play the silly cat, and get double the cat food today.
"Coconut!" Lin Xi laughed happily and turned around in place while holding the cat.
She secretly gave Zhu Fu Jingguang a look.
Zhu Fu Jingguang was blessed and smiled, reminding her, "Miss, if you accept help from others, you should thank them."
Lin Xi suddenly realized something and turned to Sugishima Jun'e with a sweet smile. "Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Nicholas Aisin-Gioro Bing Liuli Lin Punch. Please allow me to invite you to lunch to express my gratitude."
Toru Amuro: ...?
What the hell, Nicholas?
Zhu Fu Jingguang: Phew.
Senior is so cute.
Sugishima June: ...Ah?
What a strange name! Will this young lady say that she is a mixed-race of eight countries and a princess of four countries?
I'd better refuse. I always feel that accepting it will cause a lot of trouble...
"Well, forget it..."
Moisture quickly gathered in Lin Xi's eyes, and her expression suddenly became pitiful and tearful.
The two bodyguards behind her looked at Sugishima Jun'e silently. Although she was wearing sunglasses, Sugishima Jun'e could feel their disapproving gazes.
Sugishima June:......
What should I do? I feel like if I refuse, things will become troublesome...
Jun'e Sugishima finally agreed.
"May I have your name?"
Lin Xi took her hand and asked her curiously.
Sugishima Jun'e opened her mouth.
"Sugishima... Sugishima June."
"Well, I like your name. Isn't mine long? Just call me Lin."
Sugishima Jun'e smiled and said, "Hello, Miss Lin."
After finishing the meal, Lin Xi looked around, grabbed Sugishima Jun'e's wrist, and ran out with her.
Sugishima Jun'e was startled and subconsciously turned around to look at Lin Xi's bodyguard.
She was surprised to find that neither of the two bodyguards expressed any objection, but instead took it for granted.
...Now I have really become the young lady's playmate.
Which film set did they run from? Why are they so...
How can this be so nonsensical?
Sugishima Jun'e was speechless and could only be led by Lin Xi to run.
Lin Xi ran around the corner and left the sight of Shirakawa Hiroshi and Amuro Toru, then gave Sugishima Jun'e a sly smile.
"Sugishima-kun, I have a way to make you grow wings."
“…Huh?”
"You know, each of us has our own guardian angel, watching over us as we grow and become adults." Lin Xi said, "My guardian angel is very powerful. It often helps me fulfill my wishes. Sugishima-kun, look here~"
Lin Xi mysteriously showed Sugishima Jun'e the colored paper that she had taken out from somewhere.
"Write your wish on a piece of paper, fold it into a paper airplane and throw it into the sky. The guardian angel will receive your wish and help you fulfill it."
"You write down the wish you want to fulfill on a piece of paper, and I'll write mine on a piece of paper. Let's exchange wishes and let each other's patron saints help us fulfill them, okay?"
Sugishima Jun'e subconsciously wanted to refute.
Those kinds of things are just for kidding. In this world, only the lucky kids can have patronuses... But when he met Lin Xi's expectant eyes, he couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.
"...Okay." She sighed, took the pen handed to her by Lin Xi, wrote her wish on the colored paper and folded it into a paper airplane.
The bodyguards seemed to have disappeared - but Jun'e Sugishima knew they must be nearby.
Unlike herself, this young lady is a lucky child. She has a real guardian angel - played by her parents, family and friends. Together they have woven a beautiful dream for her.
All the wishes made by the young lady will be received by these guardian angels and fulfilled one by one.
But she is different.
Some people are born without any blessings, and good luck never favors them.
She watched Lin Xi hold two paper airplanes in his hands, exhale, and throw them into the sky.
Pink and green paper planes floated in the air, up and down, and soon disappeared.
Sugishima Jun'e felt a little lost.
A paper airplane will not stay in the sky forever. Maybe it will fly in the air for a short time under the power of the wind, but after losing its power, it will eventually fall to the ground.
If this young lady hadn't appeared on the rooftop looking for her cat, she would have fallen to the ground like a paper airplane.
Death is just a choice, and for her, choosing death is easier than living...
Lin Xi suddenly grabbed her hand.
Her green eyes stared straight at her and she asked, "Sugishima-kun, why do you want to commit suicide?"
Sugishima Jun'e was startled and subconsciously wanted to deny it - but Lin Xi's tone was very serious and he held her hand very tightly.
"When you were on the rooftop, Sugishima-kun, you wanted to jump off, right?" Lin Xi said to Sugishima Jun'e's surprised gaze. "I saw your shoes laid out neatly at the back, and you weren't wearing any, standing right on the edge... This is the first time I've seen this, but this is what Japanese people do when they want to take their own lives, right?"
Sugishima Jun'e lowered her head, her brown hair falling on her shoulders.
She felt the fears in her heart rushing out again, crawling up into her internal organs.
It was like someone grabbed her ankles and dragged her down into the icy sea...
She had long been accustomed to it, and was frozen and unable to move. The only movement she could make was to try to hug her arms...
"Sugishima-kun, don't be afraid..."
Lin Xi seemed to see through her fear, let go of her hand, turned around and gave her a hug.
"I read in a book that hugs can give people strength. With strength, people will not be afraid."
Sugishima Jun'e wanted to give a wry smile, but she did feel comforted by the girl's hug.
Lin Xi patted her back slowly, as if stroking a frightened cat.
"But... the book also says that death is a very terrifying thing. Sugishima-kun wants to commit suicide, so he must have encountered something more terrifying than death, right?"
"It's okay. We've already released our wishes. The wind won't laugh at any of our wishes, and the guardian spirit will always protect Sugishima-kun."
Sugishima Jun'e was silent for a while, then hugged Lin Xi back and said:
"I... have been unwanted since I was born. My birth was unwelcome, and no one had expectations for my future. No one needed me, and no one liked me... except my sister. But she eventually disappeared from my life. Ms. Lin, you won't understand. If I... were to live, it would not be good for anyone."
"Ah... I really don't understand," Lin Xi's tone sounded a little confused, "Sugishima-kun, since you weren't born for anyone, there's no need for you to die for anyone?"
"The book says that life is very heavy, and that bearing the pressures of life requires a lot of effort. It's very hard and tiring. But in my opinion, death is the same; it's also very heavy."
"Besides, it's not that no one likes Sugishima-kun. I like Sugishima-kun very much. Sugishima-kun helped me find Coconut and even flew paper airplanes with me. Coconut must like Sugishima-kun too."
"If Sugishima-kun jumps, Coconut and I will be very sad."
Sugishima Jun'e was stunned for a moment, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.
It was as if a handful of clear spring water was suddenly added to the long-dried riverbed.
...Is this the child who grew up in love?
Who can resist Miss Lin like this?
Sugishima Jun'e smiled and hugged Lin Xi quietly.
But she soon lost her composure.
"Dr. Yoshiki?!" Sugishima Jun'e was horrified and grabbed Lin Xi's shoulders, "Ms. Lin, don't go to him!"
Lin Xi looked at her in confusion: "Why? But I'm sick and need to go there for treatment?"
After flying the paper airplane, Lin Xi invited Sugishima Jun'e to her house.
While chatting on the sofa, Lin Xi mentioned that he was going to receive psychological treatment soon.
The location is of course Ryuji Yoshiki's clinic.
"Ms. Lin, you..." Sugishima Jun'e looked Lin Xi up and down, and finally couldn't help asking, "Do you have any mental illness?"
"Uh..." Lin Xi looked up at the sky. "It's not really a mental illness. It's just a little obsessive-compulsive disorder."
"? What OCD?"
It's not the kind of excuse you make because you don't want to go to school...
Mental illness is a serious matter!
But making up this kind of... excuse always feels like something this young lady would do.
but……
We must not let her go to Dr. Jicheng!
"Uh... I have this condition where I get a headache all over my body whenever I study... Especially when there are densely packed symbols, the sight of them gives me a splitting headache."
Sugishima June:......
It turns out that you don’t want to go to school!
This won't do. I have to find a way to keep her away from that doctor...
"Sugishima-kun," Lin Xi suddenly spoke, looking at her with green eyes, "You don't want me to go to Dr. Yoshiki, why?"
Sugishima Jun'e was stunned.
A strange feeling arose in her heart.
Why is she here?
Why did he trust this girl so easily and walk into her home so easily?
She seemed to be involuntarily following the wishes of the girl in front of her...
She looked at the girl in front of her and felt that she was not facing a 16-year-old girl, but a monster that had lived for many, many years and could see through her at a glance.
When those green eyes stared at her, it was like a wild animal staring at its prey, making her unable to move...
"I……"
"Have you also gone to him for treatment? Is your standing on the rooftop today related to him?"
Morofushi Keimitsu and Amuro Toru, who were on the other side of the headset, listened quietly.
"I..." Sugishima Jun'e was speechless.
She tried to find a hint of deception or malice in the eyes of the girl opposite her, so that she could logically avoid answering.
——But she failed.
There was clarity in his green eyes, looking at her frankly and sincerely, waiting for her answer.
So she sighed and said, "Dr. Yoshiki will hurt you. He's not a doctor, he's a demon."
"demon?"
"Yes, he...he would screen the children receiving treatment from him, pick out those who were not valued by their families, and send them to a place called the 'Healing Center' for 'treatment'."
Just like her.
"But it's not 'therapy' at all," she said softly. "It's a completely isolated place. There are many 'teachers' there who will insult you, belittle you, whip you, and use the sharp swords of words and the actual fists to deal with you."
"After months of torture, the qualified children will be sent to other places. As for those who are not qualified, some of them will be lucky enough to be sent home, while others will be locked up there forever, until... I don't know."
Upstairs, Toru Amuro and Keimitsu Morofushi frowned.
Amuro Toru: "Organized, illegal imprisonment and abuse of minors..."
Zhu Fujingguang: "...This doctor is indeed not a simple one."
They looked at each other and continued listening.
"So, Miss Lin, don't go..."
Jun'e Sugishima didn't know why she said all this.
She used to keep silent.
No one would believe these things even if they were told, and even if they did...what would it matter?
Lin Xi looked at her quietly, neither asking why she knew this nor asking if she had ever encountered this before.
She just took the cat in her arms obediently, sat on the sofa and said to her, "Don't worry, Sugishima-kun, I won't go."
Seeing that she didn't ask any further questions, Sugishima Jun'e felt inexplicably relieved.
"But why didn't Sugishima-kun call the police?" Lin Xi looked up at the girl standing in front of him, "This sounds completely illegal."
Sugishima Jun'e opened her mouth and finally said, "It's no use... Call the police... They won't do anything."
Behind the headset.
Amuro Toru: "...they should have someone protecting them in the police."
Zhu Fujingguang: "This should just be a transit station."
Where will these so-called "qualified" children be sent?
Lin Xi was thinking, as expected, he is an important figure...
Although Sugishima June is isolated and helpless, she is definitely not stupid.
She must have been there herself and came out as a "non-conformist" and tried to call the police herself.
Maybe she knew more than she was letting on.
And why did she continue to go to Yoshiki Ryuji's clinic after everything she had been through?
Why do you still go to him every week for "treatment" after knowing that the doctor is a "devil"?
And why did he suddenly decide to commit suicide after persisting for such a long time?
Did something happen recently that became the last straw that broke the camel's back for June Sugishima?
After Sugishima Jun'e left, Morofushi Kagemitsu and Amuro Toru came down from upstairs.
If Sugishima Jun'e hadn't left, she would have been surprised to see that Lin Xi, sitting on the sofa, had crossed her legs, completely shedding her daytime ladylike demeanor; and her two "bodyguards" did not look like the comedians who played with the lady during the day, but killers with cold and serious expressions.
Zhu Fujingguang came to Lin Xi and handed her a crumpled paper airplane.
Lin Xi opened it and saw the words written on it with a fountain pen:
I hope to find my sister
Lin Xi raised his eyebrows and handed the paper back to Zhu Fu Jingguang and Amuro Toru, asking them to check it.
"Does Sugishima Jun'e have a sister?" asked Zhufushi Kagemitsu.
"Well, from what we see so far, yes, she should have a sister with whom she has a very good relationship." Lin Xi said.
She turned around and turned on the computer. In a short while, she printed out a pile of information and handed it to them.
The above is Sugishima Jun'e's family composition and growth experience.
Seeing the surprised looks of the two juniors, Lin Xi explained, "The organization's intranet can directly search for the information of all registered citizens in Japan. This includes identity information, family relationships, and all related information that has been published in newspapers and websites. You two don't have sufficient permissions, so you can't use this function yet."
Toru Amuro & Jingguang Zhufu:...
Can you actually directly check citizens’ information...
The organization is really scary.
This is important information, related to the information security of citizens...
They took the information and started reading it.
Jun'e Sugishima was once a family of four, consisting of Jun'e Sugishima's father, mother, sister and herself.
However, not long after Sugishima was born, her parents divorced; her mother started a new family with another man, and her father also took her and her sister into a new family. Their stepmother already had children, and after marrying her father, she gave birth to another child.
This also led to an extremely awkward status for June Sugishima and her sister Sachiko Sugishima at home.
Grandma doesn’t love me and uncle doesn’t love me.
Three years ago, when she was 14 years old, Sachiko Sugishima ran away from home and disappeared. At that time, June Sugishima was 9 years old.
Before running away from home, Sachiko Sugishima visited Ryuji Yoshiki's clinic for depression.
Two years after her sister disappeared, June Sugishima also went to Ryuji Yoshiki's clinic for treatment for depression.
After reading it, both Toru Amuro and Keimitsu Morofushi fell silent.
From this perspective, Ryuji Yoshiki is really suspicious.
It is very likely that Sugishima Sachiko's disappearance is also related to him. She may have stayed in the "healing center" mentioned by Sugishima Jun'e.
Toru Amuro looked at Lin Xi.
He had taken off his sunglasses, and his purple-gray eyes showed seriousness.
"Please leave this matter to Shirakawa-kun and me," he said, "We will definitely investigate it thoroughly."
Lin Xi knew that the two might be trying to obtain information from internal police channels, so he waved his hand and said, "Okay, it's your mission anyway. Just report back at any time... Oh, by the way, while you're on this mission, check around to see if there are any special pastries or anything nearby. I'd like to try some. Also, please buy me some Youli-chan merchandise."
Zhu Fujingguang answered quickly: "Okay. What flavor of cake do you prefer, senior?"
"Uh, blueberry flavor is good."
Toru Amuro:......
He does understand dessert.
After observing for the past few days, I found that Punch does like sweets.
But what the hell is that "Yuri-chan"?
Isn't that a member of Japan's super popular girl idol group?!
Is Punch a fan?
Lin Xi: No, I’m not a fan. I just wanted to bribe Vodka to tip him off... although it seems like it’s all gone now.
She picked up her phone. It showed several replies from Vodka:
[Oh my god! If anyone knows what I said to you, I'll be finished!]
[Punch, what do you want to know Big Brother's whereabouts? ? ?]
The following one was sent half a minute after the previous one:
【hehe. 】
Lin Xi: ...
This one was definitely posted by Gin.
Look at the tone...
After imagining the scene of their next meeting, she started to have stomachache.
She opened her mailbox and sent an email to Gin directly using her boss's account:
"I'm definitely not hiding from you. I, Lin Xi, have always been open and honest. How could I do something like that?"
Gin replied instantly:
So, asking Vodka where I was was a surprise for a subordinate I hadn't seen in years?
Lin Xi: [Gin, you still understand me. ]
Gin, who was out on a field trip, sneered and typed:
"I'm really surprised. I hope you don't disappear again after playing house with those guys."
Lin Xi: ...
What should I do? I feel so guilty.
She thought about the plot description of the dungeon and replied:
"Absolutely not... I'll probably be staying in the organization for quite a while this time. Besides, you can always come see me if you want. I'm pretty free right now."
Gin on the other side: ...
He glanced at his packed schedule.
How does this person act so confidently?
Doesn't she know that the reason she is so free now is because someone is working diligently for her?
Oh.
Gin put away his phone.
The vodka next to him trembled with fear.
Brother, have you ever thought about...
The reason you can sit in the car and send messages so diligently is because you have a subordinate who is even more diligent!
Nagano Prefecture, a mountainous area.
Toru Amuro was wearing a suit and walking towards a big door accompanied by someone behind him.
This is an iron gate, surrounded by a thick wall. The sign above the iron gate reads:
【Happy Soul Healing Center】
Next to it is a heart symbol.
Many ornamental flowers were planted around the perimeter of the wall. They were all in bloom this season, their unscented blossoms swaying in the wind.
"Mr. Amuro!"
The door was wide open, and a fat man in a suit bowed to Amuro Toru.
"Hello, Mr. Hirikawa." Toru Amuro leaned slightly in return.
"Hello, hello," Hirikawa Jijin took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face, "Please follow me!"
As they walked towards the door, a smiling woman came over and softly introduced the history, culture and achievements of the healing center to Toru Amuro.
“We’ve transformed many teenagers and children with mental illnesses into bright, cheerful, normal people,” she said with a smile, her bright red lipstick lips widening.
"The Happy Mind Healing Center has always been committed to meeting the wishes of parents and children, nurturing them with the most sincere love and care. The children who graduate from our center not only have their mental health problems healed or effectively alleviated, but some have even become outstanding young stars."
They came to a wall with many photos of children facing the camera and smiling.
Amuro Toru looked at them one by one and nodded, "These children look very nice. This girl..."
He pointed to one of the photos.
The photo shows a young girl with long hair and a hairpin on her head. She looks about 15 or 16 years old, which is considered to be one of the older ones among this group of children.
"Ah, this one's one of the better kids from here! And she's incredibly lucky. She's said to be a 'faithful woman' at the Zen temple, working there and listening to people's voices. They say that if you make a wish with a 'faithful woman', your luck will improve."
He turned to look at Amuro Toru and said, "Mr. Amuro, if you are interested, you can go to Jingshui Zen Temple to see this child."
Toru Amuro smiled and said nothing. He asked the other children on the wall, then walked into the office with Jiro Hirikawa.
Hirikawa Jijin sent away the woman who was responsible for explaining the journey, closed the door, and served tea to Amuro Toru.
"Mr. Amuro, what do you think of our healing center?"
Amuro Toru smiled but said nothing, his fingers slowly circling along the rim of the cup.
Seeing that Amuro Toru didn't say anything, Hirikawa Jijin felt nervous and couldn't help wiping the sweat off his face with his handkerchief again.
He didn't know what this leader was doing here - the healing center had been open for more than five years and had delivered a lot of deliverables to the higher-ups - and the higher-ups also turned a blind eye to the occasional incidents they caused.
We are all brothers, no matter if they are gangsters, political parties or police, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and if you can talk, you can communicate.
Who can't live without money?
This idea gave him some confidence. He licked his lips and was about to speak when he heard the man sitting opposite him say:
"Your institution is thriving and flourishing."
Hirikawa Jijin quickly put on a smile and said, "You're so kind... The success of Healing is inseparable from your strong support."
"Hahahaha..." Amuro Toru laughed, "Mr. Hirikawa, let's get straight to the point. Your firm is well-known and reputable... We'd like to invest a bit to help boost your business."
Hiruchuan Jiren was refreshed.
This is what it means to be able to talk.
He must have set his eyes on this place and wants a piece of the pie...but I don't know if he wants the goods or the money.
"Oh, we're truly, so honored! However, we have several projects here. I wonder which one you're more interested in?"
Brother, do you want to buy goods or make money together?
Amuro Toru raised an eyebrow. "Several projects? Oh, this... wouldn't it be too much trouble to introduce them one by one? I'm here with a mission, Mr. Hirikawa. Our boss told me that we must close this deal today... It's taking too long, and I can't report it to the higher-ups."
Stop talking nonsense. I need money for the goods. I have a boss above me, and he is the one who endorses me here today.
"Oh, okay, okay, I'm relieved when you say that... Actually, when I heard that Mr. Amuro was coming today, I also prepared some small gifts... Haha, please bear with me here, this gift is sure to satisfy you. I hope Mr. Amuro can accept it, so that it will be convenient for us to cooperate in the future!"
The boss is the boss, and you are you. Would you like to inspect the goods for the boss first?
"Hahahahaha, Mr. Hirikawa, you've really piqued my curiosity by keeping this a secret..."
Come on, on.
Just as Toru Amuro was disguising himself as a government official and flirting with Jiro Hirikawa, no one noticed that the person who came in behind him had quietly disappeared.
It was Morofushi Kagemitsu who was acting together with Amuro Toru.
They were wearing headsets for communication.
While listening to the conversation coming from Amuro Toru, Morofushi Keimitsu avoided the people walking around and walked into the blue and white building in the middle of the healing center.
This place is like a school.
But there was neither the sound of students reading nor the sound of teachers teaching - only dead silence.
Zhu Fujingguang noticed that many rooms had no windows, and most of the doors were iron doors.
He pondered for a moment and pushed open one of the doors.
The door is not locked.
There was a smell of disinfectant in the room.
There was a bed against the wall. It was not big enough and only big enough for a child whose bones had not yet fully grown.
Opposite the bed is an electronic screen, which is currently turned off and not playing anything.
Even though the entire room seemed to have been cleaned with disinfectant, Shirakawa Hiroshi still found old bloodstains on the walls.
The blood had completely oxidized, leaving brownish-yellow marks on the white wall.
Zhu Fujingguang touched the display screen, grabbed a corner, felt a protrusion, and applied a little force, and the display screen opened with a click.
Behind him is a row of...torture instruments.
Zhu Fujingguang calmly took photos of everything for evidence.
There is no surveillance here.
The people who come here to "consume" will probably not be willing to leave any video footage, and the "staff" here will not be willing to leave any handles.
So of course no one would know he had been here.
This is just one of the rooms, there are many others...
He can't waste too much time.
He guessed that the people here should be gathered in a certain building... and here, the room he was in was only open during specific time periods.
He had to collect evidence quickly.
He and Zero both understood that this mission was no longer just about Ryuji Yoshiki's psychological clinic.
This is an industrial chain, and doctors are at most the minions who screen the "source of goods" at the front.
There are many people like the doctor, but what really matters is the source of the industry chain; if we want to completely eradicate this disgusting criminal industry chain, we must eradicate it from the source.
That's why Zero wanted to give this task to them - Punch actually agreed and seemed quite happy to see it happen.
He didn't know what Punch was thinking, but as...he and Zero couldn't let go of the opportunity to eradicate the criminal.
After Zhu Fujingguang finished collecting evidence, he quickly put everything back in place and closed the door again.
He walked to another building and finally found what he was looking for there.
The shackled, scarred man and the armed, glamorous man.
.
On the other side, Toru Amuro heard the even tapping sound of Shirakawa Hiroshi's fingers coming from the headset.
He smiled and drank the tea that Hirikawa Jijin poured for him.
There was a roster in front of him.
It's full of people's photos and information.
His fingers seemed to be flipping the pages of the album casually, but in fact, his hands, which were hanging casually on his legs, were clenched into fists.
All of them are minors.
The oldest is only 16 or 17 years old, and the youngest is 6 or 7 years old.
They should have been wearing neat school uniforms and attending school carefree, but instead they became photos and lines of text, becoming commodities for people to pick.
Damn it…
Toru Amuro smiled and chatted with the fat man opposite him.
He was surprised to find that anger and calmness could coexist in his mind.
The angrier he was, the clearer his thoughts became, the calmer his expression became, and he could even smile more happily.
Hiro has collected sufficient evidence.
But that alone is not enough.
The seller may be destroyed because of this evidence, but the buyer will not.
All acts in the world that treat people as commodities are unforgivable - but we have to admit that there will be a market only when there is demand.
And people's demand for this kind of thing has never ceased.
But Toru Amuro is not in a hurry.
Finding the buyers and breaking off the evil deals one by one... This will be one of the countless new schedules he will add in the future.
Before coming, Hiro asked him a question:
"Do you try to understand the people you shoot?"
This was actually a rather strange question, but Toru Amuro understood what he meant.
"Of course," he said, "knowledge is necessary. But I know these people not in order to judge them, but in order to one day hand them over to the law."
He was never responsible for judging anyone's crimes.
He collected evidence only to bring the guilty to justice.
How can a human being be qualified to be a judge? Only the most just and noble thing—the law of a country—is qualified to be a judge.
Zhu Fujingguang laughed after hearing this.
"That kind of answer... is quite typical of you, Zero."
With this idea in mind, Zero will surely continue to move forward firmly on this path.
79.
Lin's house.
Lin Xi looked at the person standing at the door speechlessly.
Seeing the man bending down and Coconut jumping into his arms without any hesitation, Lin Xi was even more speechless.
Coconut, whose cat are you?
The silver-haired man, dressed in black, stood at the door with a cat in his arms. Seeing Lin Xi looking at him, he raised an eyebrow.
What that means is: Why don’t you invite me in?
Lin Xi: ...
Hate subordinates who have no sense of boundaries.
"Come in, there's juice in the refrigerator, please help yourself..." Lin Xi opened the door, yawned, and went upstairs to change clothes.
God bless her, she's still in her pajamas.
Who wears proper clothes when they stay at home and don’t go out?
When she changed her clothes and came down, she saw Gin walking out of the kitchen with two glasses of peach juice with ice cubes in his hands.
She took the peach juice he handed her, took a sip, and then looked at Gin questioningly.
If you have something to say, say it. If you are angry, let it out.
Gin: "...There is an undercover agent in the organization."
Lin Xi took a sip of the ice peach juice, which was delicious: "Oh, what do you want to do with it?"
Gin: ...
Shouldn't I ask you this?
"How do you want to handle this?"
"What's Rum's attitude? Hasn't he always been in charge?"
"He always makes the most of everything he has," Gin said coldly. "He won't kill someone until he's squeezed every last bit of value out of them, or until he's pried useful information out of them."
"And you?"
Gin frowned in disgust. He rubbed his fingers, suppressed the urge to light a cigarette, and said:
"These guys are like flies smelling blood. They always find some high-sounding excuses and frantically want to take over the organization and use it for their own purposes. They can't be driven away, and they can't be killed off."
Lin Xi looked at him thoughtfully.
She had already drunk up the peach juice in her hand, leaving only the ice cubes that had not yet melted shaking in the glass.
Gin handed her another glass of iced peach juice on the table.
Lin Xi:?
You poured it, but you don’t drink it?
Gin: I’m dying of laughter…
You think I'm a juice drinker?
Lin Xi took it wordlessly, held it up and drank it in small sips.
Peach juice with ice cubes tastes really good.
"That's fine, if you don't find it troublesome, just leave them there... Undercover agents are just pawns, so it won't hurt to leave them there. It's good to put a few undercovers there to reassure their bosses. Just treat them as free labor that won't run away with the bucket."
"If they go too far, we won't care. Their boss will help us. Anyway, we just need to promote a few outstanding undercover agents to fill the holes and make sure they don't die, so that we don't keep sending more people in."
Gin: ...
It's like I didn't say anything.
Actually, she just doesn't care, right?
"Do you have an undercover agent around you recently? Why are you suddenly talking about this?" Lin Xi asked curiously.
"There was one," Gin said irritably, "who used it all the time, but then something went wrong and he captured a newbie, used Veritaserum on her, and tortured her for information, but she ended up killing him..."
"Hmm?" Lin Xi became interested. "How did you do that?"
"That guy was so careless. He didn't notice the transmitter and truth serum on the newcomer... It wasn't from the organization, I don't know where he got it, but it was ineffective. The newcomer was a tough guy and didn't say a word. He even recorded an MD (MiniDisc) containing only his own voice during the interrogation. In the end, the newcomer, who was still able to move, bit off his wrist, took the pistol, and shot him in the head."
"?" Lin Xi was stunned for a moment. This plot...
Could it be that the female host is undercover?
"And then?" she asked curiously.
"I suspect they are all undercover agents," Gin said directly, "and they are connected to each other."
Lin Xi: ...
Actually, you're absolutely right...
"So, what are you going to do next? Give the newcomer a chance and test her, or would you rather kill the innocent than let him go?" she asked.
Gin glanced at Lin Xi.
Lin Xi suddenly had an idea: "You want to use her to fish?"
That can't be possible. She remembered that in the original book, the two were father and daughter... and after her father died, her contact person wouldn't contact her for a while, right?
"The deceased undercover's surname was Ben Tang. After he died, his colleague—perhaps the liaison officer—ran to his body, calling out 'Ben Tang!' If all their undercover liaison officers were as clueless as he was, the new one might have been eager to get in touch with her, too."
Lin Xi laughed, it seemed to be true.
But was there a passage in the original novel? She couldn't remember it.
"Stop fishing, stop fishing—the sea is full of fish, we don't need this one. How about keeping her? She should do well, right?"
Gin ignored her inexplicable excitement: "A+."
"That's great! Isn't this free labor right here at your doorstep? You can let her work for you, and you two can both enter the entertainment industry..."
Gin glared at him, and Lin Xi quickly changed the subject: "I mean, it wouldn't be bad for her to be a TV host... Anyway, take me to meet her when you have time. I'm curious."
Gin sneered, "Boss can see the members anytime he wants, but members like Punch who always stay at home may not be able to see him."
Moreover, this guy would delay even the simplest assassination mission until the deadline. He is so lazy.
Lin Xi: ...
She took a deep breath, letting the air sink into her dantian, and then said loudly:
"I! Punch! I have always been loyal to the organization! I work diligently and wholeheartedly! I treat my colleagues sincerely! If any of my colleagues encounter any difficulties at work, I will step forward without hesitation, regardless of my own safety!"
"So! My dear Qin-kun! Please send me as you please!"
She reached out and put the cup on the table, which she had drunk all but ice cubes, into Gin's hand, then took the cup in her hand, which still had a little peach juice left, and clinked glasses with Gin.
"I toast you!"
Gin: ...
Divine gold.
The coconut next to them meowed, turned around and pointed its butt at them.
"Jingshui Zen Temple?"
Sugishima Jun'e looked at Lin Xi in surprise.
"My sister is really there? Miss Lin, how did you know?"
Lin Xi took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.
The address of Jingshui Zen Temple is written on it.
"My patron saint told me. I found it by the bed when I woke up this morning."
Sugishima Jun'e subconsciously looked behind Lin Xi.
The two bodyguards from that day were not wearing black suits or black sunglasses today. They were just wearing ordinary casual clothes and followed behind Lin Xi.
They didn't say anything, but just gave Sugishima Jun'e a kind smile.
Sugishima June:......
The eldest lady’s patron saint is really powerful.
But, I finally found my sister!
Sugishima Jun'e suppressed her excitement and said to Lin Xi:
"Thank you, Miss Lin! I'll be there right now—"
"Let's go together?"
Lin Xi took her hand familiarly and said, "It's faster to take my car."
"……good."
.
Jingshui Zen Temple is located deep in the mountains.
This Zen temple is not big, but it is quiet and secluded, and many pilgrims come to worship.
Lin Xi immediately activated her money ability, took Sugishima Jun'e to find the abbot of the Zen temple, and asked directly:
"Have you ever seen a man called..."
She signaled Sugishima Jun'e with her eyes, and Sugishima Jun'e quickly continued:
"Have you ever met a woman named Sugishima Sachiko? She's my sister..."
The abbot of the Zen temple was an old man with a kind and gentle face. Even when he saw several uninvited guests breaking in, he remained calm and indifferent.
He said, "I'm sorry, I've never heard of anyone with that name. Could you describe this person to me in detail?"
Sugishima Jun'e: "Her hair is black and very long! She must be 17 years old this year. She looks... probably a lot like me."
The old man was a little surprised. After thinking carefully for a moment, he replied, "I have indeed never seen a woman named Sugishima Sachiko, but we once had a 'believer' here who matched the characteristics you described."
Sugishima Jun'e asked anxiously, "Where is that 'believer' now?"
The old man's eyes were filled with pity, and he sighed, "The 'believer' passed away a week ago."
Sugishima Jun'e was stunned, and her arms curled up involuntarily, trying to hug herself.
Lin Xi seemed to be thinking: "When did this 'believer' come to you?"
The old man said: "About half a year ago. She was pregnant when she came and was very weak. The Zen temple took pity on her and took her in."
Lin Xi: "Why do you call her 'the believer'?"
Old man: "Because...she can bring good luck to people."
Sugishima Jun'e murmured, "Good luck?"
The old man looked at Sugishima Jun'e kindly and said, "Yes. The 'faithful woman' could pray for people and wash away their bad luck. She used her ability to help many people. They were all very grateful to her. Everyone was very sad to learn of her passing."
Sugishima Jun'e clenched her fists and looked up: "Do you have a list here? I want to visit those who have been blessed..."
The old man was a little surprised: "Of course."
He waved for the roster to be brought.
"Here, here, here, these are all here. They are all at the Zen temple today."
Sugishima Jun'e took the list and went outside to look for someone.
Lin Xi didn't follow her. Instead, she turned to the old man and asked, "Do you really believe that someone can wash away someone else's bad luck?"
Her eyes held genuine curiosity.
The old man looked at her kindly: "Of course."
Lin Xi: "Really?"
The old man turned his head and looked at the bronze Buddha behind him.
"Of course," he said.
…
"'Believers'? She's really nice. The blessing ceremony is very effective. After receiving it, everything seems to be going smoothly."
"'Faithful Woman', she helped me a lot. Thank you, 'Faithful Woman'."
"Going to the 'Faithful Woman' really worked! She helped us wash away our bad luck!"
“…”
"You asked me what a 'blessing ceremony' is? A ceremony is just a ceremony, not something a little girl like you should know about..."
"'Blessing ceremony'? This... I'm actually not quite sure..."
"...Why do you ask that? A 'blessing ceremony' is a 'blessing ceremony'. It can wash away bad luck..."
“…”
"Where did the bad luck go? The faithful woman will gather it and purify it!"
"Ah, of course all the bad luck has gone away!"
"Bad luck... Don't ask me, I don't know..."
“…”
"Hey, I've told you everything I know, so stop pursuing me!"
"Well, who are you? Where is your master?"
"Don't pull my clothes, you little devil! Get away from me quickly and don't disturb the gods and Buddhas!"
“…”
…
Sugishima Jun'e was panting, holding the list in her arms, her pace gradually slowed down, and she finally stopped in front of the abbot's door.
She saw Lin Xi playing with her cell phone boredly, her red hair hanging lazily on her shoulders; her two bodyguards stood behind her with serious expressions.
In front of them, the abbot was looking down at the huge bronze Buddha, muttering something.
An inexplicable fear arose in her heart, causing her to stop before stepping into the door.
It was as if once she walked through this door, the guillotine representing the final judgment that had been hanging over her head would fall and split her in half.
That was a sign that all her struggles during this period would be in vain.
The red-haired girl saw her and beckoned her in.
Her temperament was completely different from what Sugishima Jun'e had seen before.
No longer willful, cute, harmless...
But it is casual, frank... and superior.
Sugishima Jun'e took a deep breath, nodded to Lin Xi, and walked to stand in front of the abbot.
"Excuse me," she said softly, "what is the 'blessing ceremony'?"
The old man stared at the Buddha without turning his head. "The 'blessing ceremony' performed by the 'believer' is to transfer the guest's bad luck to the fetus in her belly, and then induce labor at the right time. In this way, the guest's bad luck is transferred. Therefore, some people also call it a 'blessing ceremony'.
The tears in Jun'e Sugishima's eyes finally fell.
She suddenly pulled out a gun from her bosom and pointed it at the old man's head.
Tears blurred her vision.
"How did she die?"
Even though her vision was blurry, her hand holding the gun was steady, as if she had practiced many times.
Seeing the girl pull out a gun, Toru Amuro and Hiroshi Shirakawa subconsciously wanted to step forward, but Lin Xi stopped them.
"Listen to her finish." Lin Xi said.
The old man slowly said: "'Believers'——"
"Stop calling her that!" Sugishima Jun'e yelled, "She has a name!"
The old man sighed.
"Your sister was too young, and there was an accident during the induced labor."
Tears streamed down Sugishima Jun'e's face.
She gritted her teeth and was about to pull the trigger, but Zhu Fujingguang walked up and grabbed her wrist.
She turned her head and glared at Shirakawa Hiro fiercely, but her thin body and tear-stained face had no deterrent effect at all.
"You are still a child," Zhu Fujingguang said softly, "Don't let your hands be stained with blood."
Sugishima Jun'e looked into his azure eyes and struggled to break free from his hand.
Then he moved the gun away from the old man, raised it upwards, and aimed at the big Buddha in front of him.
The abbot was horrified when he saw her actions: "What are you doing! Don't..."
Jun'e Sugishima gritted her teeth, pulled the trigger, and fired one shot after another, emptying the magazine.
Tears streamed down her cheeks into her mouth, and she tasted only salt and bitterness.
She faintly heard the abbot shouting, "What a sin! You are committing a sin!"
When the gunfire stopped and her hands were numb from the shock, she put the gun down, gasping for breath.
There were footsteps behind her, and a hand reached out from behind her, pulling her hand up to check.
"This gun is not suitable for you. The recoil is too strong." She heard the red-haired girl say.
She is indeed not a simple person, Sugishima Jun'e thought.
She made the right bet...
Following her, I was able to find my sister.
But my sister is indeed gone.
She numbly let Lin Xi hold her hand and pull her out.
The abbot behind them was still shouting "What a sin!", "What a sin!", but when he saw Sugishima Jun'e was about to leave, he also raised his foot and wanted to catch up with them.
"You destroyed the Buddha statue! How disrespectful! You created—"
Lin Xi gestured impatiently towards the back.
With a bang, his voice stopped abruptly.
Amuro Toru fired the gun, and the bullet pierced his temple from the side.
When Sugishima Jun'e heard the noise, she subconsciously wanted to turn her head; but Lin Xi put his arm around the back of her head and held her face with his hand to stop her.
"Children, don't look at such a bloody scene. Why are you so inflexible? You didn't hire the two killers behind me who must be handsome and capable, but you want to do something with a gun yourself? What if you get your hands dirty?"
Sugishima Jun'e's head was turning slowly.
What is she talking about?
She knew every word Lin Xi said, but why couldn't she understand when they were put together?
They went outside and sat under the shade of a tree.
Lin Xi took out a handkerchief and handed it to her, watching her clumsily wipe her face with the handkerchief, while her other hand was still holding the gun and refusing to put it down.
After Sugishima Jun'e calmed down a little, Lin Xi asked, "Did you buy the gun yourself?"
Sugishima Jun'e nodded honestly.
Lin Xi reached out and handed her another smaller gun.
"Use this next time," Lin Xi said, "when you're older and can hold a gun, use the one you have. Be careful, there are bullets in it."
Sugishima Jun'e took it in a daze.
Lin Xi reached out and took the gun from her hand, then rubbed her head.
"Sugishima-kun...you don't actually have depression, right?"
Sugishima Jun'e came back to her senses after hearing these words.
"Ah...Ms. Lin, I..."
"You are really reckless..."
Lin Xi's eyes were filled with admiration. "You're looking for your sister, so you're going to contact all these people by yourself, right?"
He pretended to be depressed to contact Dr. Yoshiki; he pretended to be a suitable and easy-to-control commodity to enter the treatment center; he was able to make himself an "unqualified" commodity and come out intact; he was even able to buy guns and ammunition in Japan, where guns are banned.
In one word, fierce.
Lin Xi was completely stunned.
The key point is that June Sugishima is only 12 years old this year.
Is a 12-year-old still in primary school?
Is this the value of elementary school Japanese anime?!
Hearing Lin Xi's words, Sugishima Jun'e lowered her head and her eyes gradually became moist again.
Lin Xi let out an "ah", hugged Sugishima Jun'e, and patted her back gently.
Sugishima Jun'e couldn't hold it in any longer, and she cried and said, "I just want my sister..."
She just wanted a sister.
Jun'e Sugishima knew from a young age that her father and mother did not love her.
Before she had time to struggle with questions that were difficult to answer, such as "Why did you give birth to her if you didn't love her?" and "Why did you ignore her after giving birth to her?", her sister who had always cared for and loved her disappeared.
"family"--
For others, this term generally refers to relatives who live together and support each other.
For Jun'e Sugishima, family means one and only one thing: sister.
She actually hasn't seen her sister for a long time.
After her sister disappeared, Sugishima Jun'e was eager to find her; because she was afraid that if this continued, one day the part of her memory about her sister would gradually erode, and in the end only a vague silhouette would remain.
She could no longer remember what she looked like, nor could she find any convincing evidence that anyone had ever loved her.
She knew her sister was still alive and missed her because she received a letter from her sister every month.
For a long time, it was this thought that encouraged her and prevented her from falling to the ground and being smashed to pieces.
Those letters had no signatures, no sending addresses or contact information, and even no content - they only contained stacks of money.
The reason she knew that these letters were sent to her by her sister was that the address where these letters were delivered was their original home; except for Sugishima Jun'e who occasionally went there, no one else would visit there.
Every month of every year after her sister disappeared, she would send money to Jun'e Sugishima.
It has been like this for three years.
Until April this year.
No more letters arrived.
Sugishima Jun'e's heart was filled with a gradually rising terrible premonition.
Love, she thought, was like the wind, gently supporting the wings of children as they tried to fly.
However, if children without love want to fly, they must try their best to catch the wind blowing past them.
Those winds might keep them aloft for a short while, but they would eventually leave them, leaving them to plummet to the ground and shatter into pieces due to their uncontrollable fall.
She no longer remembers what her sister looks like.
She didn't have depression—Ryuji Yoshiki didn't care if the children were actually sick, he only cared if they were obedient. And she knew how to make herself look obedient.
When she was being tortured, she would also wonder, has my sister ever experienced this?
And in those times when she was in too much pain, she would also feel resentful: You wanted me to stay away from you and not leave me any message so that I could find you, but did you really protect me?
No, you didn't... and so I suffer now the same torture you suffered...
When she calmed down, she discovered with great sadness that she seemed to have some not-so-obvious psychological problems - sometimes, fear would suddenly come to her, and she could only stand there, sweating profusely, unable to move or even shout.
But the fear soon dissipated, leaving behind endless confusion.
Her life was too heavy, and no matter how hard she tried to fly into the sky, she couldn't flap her wings.
She could hardly remember what her sister had said.
She slowly took off her shoes and stood on the rooftop with her arms outstretched.
For the last time, I want to fly like a bird...
But Miss Lin suddenly appeared at this moment.
He pulled her back with the ridiculous excuse of asking her to help find the cat.
She was thinking that the loss of a cat might be much more important than the death of a person.
People can panic when a cat goes missing, but they won't shed a tear for someone who falls from a building.
Never mind—she put her shoes back on.
She looked at the wealthy "young lady" and the "guardian angel" behind her, and the secret desire in her heart emerged again.
Do you want to take a gamble?
She followed her heart's will and wrote down her wish on paper.
Riding on the wind—weak ones should learn to ride on the wind of others, so that we can stay in the sky for a while longer...
This is a truth she has understood since she was a child.
She made the right bet, Lin Xi helped her find her sister——
Even though it's just ashes.
Jun'e Sugishima stroked the new gun in her hand, and then slowly tightened her grip on it.
Lin Xi looked at her and suddenly said, "If you're unhappy, let's burn this place down, okay?"
Sugishima Jun'e raised her head.
After understanding the meaning of Lin Xi's words, she subconsciously turned her head and looked around -
The quiet and elegant Zen temple was bustling with pilgrims. But the more quiet it was, the more angry she felt.
Lin Xi reached out and took out a black metal mask from somewhere and put it on her face, then took her hand and walked into the temple in full view of everyone.
The pilgrims who came to worship and the receptionists in the courtyard looked at each other in confusion, not knowing why they suddenly broke in.
Lin Xi pulled Sugishima Jun'e into the temple and reached out to throw a handful of banknotes into the donation box in front of them.
The receptionist relaxed and put on a smile at them.
Lin Xi ignored the receptionist and turned to Sugishima Jun'e and said, "Alright, burn it. I've already paid."
Then he took out a box of gasoline from somewhere, poured it on the ground, and handed her a lighter.
She stared at Lin Xi blankly.
Lin Xi said, "What are you afraid of? Just do it if you want to. I've already said it, I'll pay for it."
The receptionist next to him was stunned.
He was a smart man. He picked up the donation box beside him and ran out.
The pilgrims also became agitated. Some shouted, some ran out with the receptionist, and some tried to stop them, but ended up facing Lin Xi's gun and unable to move.
Sugishima Jun'e looked at the Buddha statue in front of her, gritted her teeth, pressed the lighter to the bottom, stuck it, and then threw it hard onto the ground soaked with gasoline.
The flames suddenly shot up.
She heard Lin Xi laughing beside her, and felt someone holding her waist, lightly running out past the panicked pilgrims.
She finally turned her head and saw the metal Buddha statue smiling in the gradually rising flames. Its expression showed neither joy nor sorrow, as it simply looked down, gazing at the chaos in the world.
82.
"Sachiko Sugishima bought a plot of grave in the eastern suburbs of Midoriya Town Cemetery," said Toru Amuro. "But the name she registered was Midoriya Nozomi... This must be the name she gave to her unborn child."
"This was her last expense before she died."
According to the "blessing ceremony", the child must be aborted and cannot be born.
Therefore, Sugishima Sachiko bought him—or herself—a small plot of land in the cemetery of her hometown, and also ordered a tombstone with the name she gave him written on it:
Green Mountain Hope.
Green Mountain is her hometown, and hope... is a stillborn fetus.
Unfortunately, she didn't live to see the day she buried him. She died from excessive blood loss during induced labor.
She and her fetus were sent to the crematorium for cremation, and her ashes were placed in a box and displayed in a Zen temple.
June Sugishima silently took the urn handed to her by Toru Amuro and turned to leave.
Toru Amuro looked at her back, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Instead, Zhu Fu Jingguang turned to Lin Xi and asked directly, "Are you going to leave her alone like this?"
During his time with Punch, the simplest and most useful communication skill Zhu Fu Jingguang learned was to speak directly in front of Punch.
"Oh, never mind, she has a gun."
Toru Amuro & Jingguang Zhufu:...
That's what makes people worry...
"There are still two days left before the deadline for the assassination mission of Yoshiki Ryuji," Lin Xi waved his hand. "Have you two collected any evidence of the crime against that shabby healing center?"
Toru Amuro and Keimitsu Morofushi looked at each other.
Zhu Fujingguang: "There are videos and photos."
"That's enough. Report it to the police anonymously."
Toru Amuro:?
???
What did Punch just say?
report? ?
Is this something a member of an organization should say?
He remembered that the organization was ruthless towards any act of betrayal. Contacting the police anonymously might lead to suspicion of betrayal, right?
And asked him and Hiro to report it to the police... I really don't know if this is a test from Punch.
Morofushi Jingguang didn't think too much about it. After witnessing Punch and Sugishima Jun'e setting fire to the Buddhist temple, he was now calm. He thought to himself, Punch really is a guy who does whatever he wants, with a clear mind, free and unrestrained.
But maybe he's actually a good person?
She told them to report it anonymously to the police - anyway, if the organization wanted to suspect someone, they could only suspect Punch.
Zhu Fu Jingguang: "Okay."
"Oh, yes, remember to find time to kill Yoshiki Ryuji..."
Zhu Fujingguang: "...Okay."
Toru Amuro, who was standing by, looked at his best friend.
Zhu Fu Jingguang nodded at him soothingly.
It's okay, zero...
Don't worry about me.
I will pull the trigger and move forward...with you.
83.
Lin Xi walked around Green Mountain Town with the list he got from the abbot in his hand.
She bought a lot of cakes along the way, and came to a house carrying big and small bags.
"Hello, I'm looking for XXXX," she said with a smile, "He's home, right?"
The servant led her to the man's room and opened the door.
Lin Xi walked leisurely to the people sitting in the room.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm here to pick a fight. Could you please answer a question for me? I'm very curious - what kind of luck did you have at Jingshui Zen Temple, Mr. XX?"
The man she was questioning was now sweating profusely. He stared at the gun pointed at him and said, "The 'believer' cured my child of his chronic illness. He'd been in poor health, and my wife was very worried... Also, my company is no longer losing money..."
"Oh, so you think your luck has turned." Lin Xi laughed, "Have your luck really turned?"
The man stopped talking and tried to move his body backwards while sitting on the ground until it hit the wall.
He heard Lin Xi sigh.
"What a shame! It turns out you didn't have any good luck... Otherwise, why would you die here today?"
The red-haired girl smiled and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
When it comes to understanding the person under the gun, Lin Xi has always taken a laissez-faire attitude - if she understands, she understands, if she doesn't, she doesn't, she is just a player.
All the troubles in this world can be solved with two sentences:
It’s none of your business, and it’s none of my business.
If you really must, must, or cannot ignore other people's affairs, you can usually solve it with another sentence:
Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you (Note 1).
These are her two... no, three mottos.
——So, since knowing them makes her feel disgusted, it’s better for her not to know them.
What the hell does it have to do with her?
She put away the gun, picked up the souvenirs beside her, and walked out the door.
“There are several more…”
Her distressed voice dissipated in the air, and was drowned out by several sudden screams, startling the birds resting not far away.
————
(Note 1: From the Analects of Confucius, Yan Yuan: "Do not impose on others what you do not want others to do to you. There will be no resentment in the court, and no resentment at home." Meaning: Do not impose on others what you do not want others to do to you. This way, you will not incur dissatisfaction in the court, and you will not provoke resentment in private interactions.)
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