Chapter 45 The Alley (5) Inside the Armed Detective Agency, the phone is not working...
Inside the Armed Detective Agency, the phone kept ringing.
Kunikida Doppo answered the phone, his face instantly turning incredibly grim: "What? Three live streamers have gone missing? Right under our noses?"
Dazai Osamu and Edogawa Ranpo immediately looked over.
"Rumors catalyzed the growth of ghost stories." Edogawa Ranpo's emerald green eyes were fully open, and there was no joking in them: "At the same time, they made the other party hungrier and learned to actively hunt for food."
"We must act immediately!" Kunikida Doppo put down the phone: "Even if Takeichi hasn't recovered yet, we can't delay any longer. Every second we delay increases the danger to the missing person."
"Moreover," Kunikida Doppo lowered his eyes, his hands involuntarily clenching, "we don't know how those children are doing now."
“Wait, Kunikida-kun.” Dazai Osamu’s voice was unusually calm: “Do you remember what Takeichi said yesterday? Ghost tales have triggering conditions. We don’t know if the abilities of ghost tales have become stronger now. We don’t know if the known conditions have changed. If we blindly go in now, we may end up like those people who got lost.”
Kunikida Doppo remained silent.
Dazai Osamu sighed, then picked up his phone, quickly dialed Takeichi's number, and pressed the speakerphone button.
The phone rang a few times before being answered, followed by Takeichi's voice: "What's wrong, Mr. Dazai?"
“Takeichi-kun, something’s happened.” Dazai Osamu’s tone was grave. “Three more people have just gone missing in Echo Lane. This time, they’re not children, but a live streamer. He was dragged into the lane right in front of many people at the entrance.”
"The news about the alley has spread across multiple online platforms, causing panic. The speed of its spread and the danger have exceeded expectations, and we must provide immediate assistance. Do you have any more specific information? For example, where might the core be located, or what patterns might be found in the ghost stories?"
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, after which only slightly rapid breathing could be heard.
“Dazai-san.” Takeichi’s voice lowered: “Yesterday, before I severed the sensory connection, I saw a fragment of memory. It wasn’t my memory. It contained a very strong sense of regret and obsession belonging to an adult. It was about a child. I suspect that’s the root of this ghost story.”
Zhu paused, as if making a decision: "I can try to achieve deep perception again... I can even try to guide your consciousness to briefly see what I am seeing."
"But this is very dangerous, for me and for you. And it requires an absolutely safe and undisturbed environment."
Kunikida Doppo immediately said, "We'll pick you up right away and take you to the detective agency."
“No.” Zhu Yi refused: “The Armed Detective Agency has too many people and too many eyes. It would be better to come to my place. It’s relatively secluded here, and I can concentrate more easily.”
Dazai Osamu, Kunikida Doppo, and Edogawa Ranpo exchanged a glance.
“Okay, we’ll be there soon,” Dazai Osamu said in a deep voice.
After Dazai Osamu hung up the phone, Takeichi sat up in bed, his face showing no signs of sleepiness.
He walked to the window and looked out at the scenery outside Yokohama, the city lights reflected in his wine-red eyes.
The plan is progressing as he envisioned.
He accelerates their understanding of the origins of ghost stories, and after accumulating enough ghost story points, he can better control the situation by guiding their consciousness, and even exert some minor influence when necessary.
A dozen minutes later, the four members of the Armed Detective Agency—Kunikida Doppo, Dazai Osamu, Edogawa Ranpo, and Yosano Akiko—arrived at Takeichi's apartment.
Zhu Yi was already prepared, and he had the four of them sit in a circle in the center of the living room.
"The process may be a little uncomfortable, so please be sure to stay focused and do not resist my guidance." Zhu Yi sat between them, closed his eyes, and gently placed his hands on his knees.
Dazai Osamu curiously did as the other person said. The next moment, the consciousness of the four people seemed to be drawn away, and the scene in front of them kept changing.
They found themselves standing in a chaotic, twisted maze.
The surrounding walls were fluid, the sky was a distorted and blurry image, and various images were reflected on the walls, while a cacophony of sounds filled the air.
"Is this the interior of that ghost story?" Kunikida Doppo looked around in shock, the surrounding scene resembling a chaotic dream without any logic.
"Look there!" Yosano Akiko pointed to a relatively clear image on the wall.
It was a heartwarming family scene.
A kind-looking man is playing with a little boy in the park on a sunny day.
But in the blink of an eye, the scene shattered and distorted, turning into a drunken man returning home and arguing fiercely with a woman, ignoring the little boy's fearful eyes.
The scene shifts again, showing a man sitting in the dark, holding his head in remorse, murmuring a name: "Taro... I'm sorry, it was Dad's fault."
“Ishishita…Taro?” Kunikida Doppo recognized the little boy; it was none other than the missing Ishishita Taro.
Then, more fragments of memory came flooding in.
They saw the family memories of another missing child, filled with neglect and indifference, and they also saw fragments of regret and fear about childhood in the memories of the three anchors. These fragmented memories, filled with negative emotions, formed the bricks and mortar of this labyrinth, and also became the cage that trapped the intruders.
“I understand.” Edogawa Ranpo’s voice rang out in the labyrinth, carrying an unprecedented seriousness: “This ghost story is not just a geographical legend. It is based on the collective subconscious accumulated in this area over a long period of time, especially regarding family trauma and childhood regrets. It was born with a specific thing at its core, which is very likely the regret of Ishishita Taro’s father, Ishishita Kenichi.”
"The core of ghost stories has never been the fears and psychological traumas of those children."
“It’s like the kids aren’t the ones who messed everything up, it’s the awful adults,” Yosano Akiko said.
Just as they were beginning to sort things out, a strong and malicious consciousness suddenly locked onto them.
The walls of the maze began to tremble violently, and the fragmented memories began to twist and break apart, eventually forming faceless children.
They danced and laughed in the air.
They were circling and crying in the air.
They walked out of the wall, they fell from the sky.
They gradually approached the four people, emitting a piercing scream that seemed to tear their souls apart.
The four of them struggled to cover their ears.
“We’ve been discovered.” Dazai Osamu calmly assessed: “They’ve mistaken us for intruders.”
"Takeichi! Get us out of here quickly!" Kunikida Doppo shouted urgently.
In the real world, Zhu Yi's face instantly turned ashen, his body trembled violently, and a trickle of blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth.
He opened his eyes and wiped the blood from his mouth.
"It's resisting too fiercely, and I'm being devoured by it." Zhu Yi's voice was hoarse, and cold sweat kept seeping from his forehead.
In the space of consciousness, colorful shadows appeared in the sky, gradually surrounding the four of them, closing in step by step.
Just as the four were preparing for a final battle, Zhu Yi rang a bell in the real world, forcibly severing the connection between their consciousnesses.
In the center of the living room.
When Dazai and the other three came to their senses, they were all panting heavily, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.
That moment still haunts them.
Takeichi, on the other hand, seemed to have exhausted all his strength. His body went limp and he fell forward, but Dazai Osamu caught him quickly.
"Takeichi, how are you?" Yosano Akiko immediately stepped forward to check on him.
"It's nothing." Zhu Yi waved weakly, her voice listless: "It's just mental exhaustion and some backlash. I'll be fine after a rest."
"Fortunately, you're all alright. We brought you back safely. The core issue is Kenichi Ishishita's regret. Finding him... might be the key to a breakthrough." Takeichi's eyelids grew heavier and his voice grew softer, as if he could no longer hold on. He then leaned on Osamu Dazai's shoulder and fell into a deep sleep.
Looking at Takeichi, who was unconscious and looked extremely pale, Kunikida Doppo was instantly filled with guilt.
Dazai Osamu didn't speak, but just quietly looked at the unconscious Takeichi, his iris-colored eyes deep and unfathomable. He helped Takeichi up and put him on the bed in the bedroom.
“We should go and talk to Kenichi Ishishita,” Osamu Dazai said. “The key lies with him.”
The four members of the Armed Detective Agency hurriedly left to begin investigating Kenichi Ishishita and formulate their final action plan.
The moment the door closed, Zhu Yi, who should have been fast asleep, stirred. He opened his eyes and looked at the system panel in front of him, which was constantly surging and jumping.
That's enough.
The plan went even more smoothly than he had imagined.
Panic is spreading online, with the disappearance of livestreamers generating more online buzz than several cases of missing children.
Next, he just needs to wait for the Armed Detective Agency to resolve the incident, and then he can leave this world with his full energy.
But why does that faint, lingering ache in my heart become so clear when met with those worried and trusting eyes?
He raised his hand and looked at his pale, slender fingers. These hands would soon hold the power to save a world. As for who he would use, who he would hurt, what kind of panic he would cause, and how much damage he would inflict... Zhu Yi closed his eyes. He had to clear his mind of these distracting thoughts.
"For my world," he muttered to himself, as if convincing himself, or perhaps expressing some kind of unwavering belief.
The Armed Detective Agency operates with extremely high efficiency.
Through Taro Ishishita's family background, they quickly identified Kenichi Ishishita, a man who had fallen into a slump due to long-term alcoholism and unemployment.
After his son went missing, his mental state deteriorated further. Sometimes he would stay in his room all day, lost in regret and self-blame.
When Kunikida Doppo and Dazai Osamu found him at a cheap izakaya, he was muttering to himself while looking at a half-empty bottle of sake, his eyes unfocused, clearly drunk.
“Mr. Ishishita.” Kunikida Doppo sat down opposite him, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible.
Kenichi Ishishita raised his head, his cloudy eyes bloodshot. He sized up the people in front of him and asked, his breath reeking of alcohol, "You...are police officers? Have you found Taro?"
“We are the Armed Detective Agency, and we are here to find Taro at your wife’s request,” Kunikida Doppo explained.
"We have some leads, but we need your help."
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