Silver hair, intelligence, and gunfire
It was getting hot as noon approached, and the sun was shining brightly. There was very little greenery to be seen on Leibo Street; ruins and rubble were everywhere, and the surrounding buildings were not tall, offering little shade.
Walking back to the clinic under the blazing sun, Tsurumi Kawaru's forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He glanced at Dazai Osamu, who was completely refreshed and hadn't broken a sweat, and felt a little strange and puzzled.
Dazai Osamu walked very fast. In the short time it took Tsurumi Nagare to lose focus, Dazai had already covered a considerable distance. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat that was about to flow into his eyes and quickened his pace to catch up.
As we approached the clinic, we saw a man dressed in a light gray samurai outfit emerge from the distance. His hair was strikingly silver-white, and under the dazzling sunlight, the edges seemed to be enveloped in a faint halo. He appeared to be wearing a samurai sword at his waist.
The distance was too far, and the person was walking too fast, so I couldn't see their face clearly.
Tsurumi Kawaru saw the person coming out of the clinic and turned to Dazai Osamu in surprise, asking, "Hey, does Dazai know that person? Is he here for a medical checkup too?"
Dazai Osamu narrowed his eyes, stroked his chin, and shook his head, saying, "I've never seen it. If you want to know, just go back and ask Mr. Mori."
He had never met the man, but his decisive actions showed that the silver-haired man was not a patient.
Tsurumi Kawa was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was going on, nodded, and followed Dazai Osamu into the clinic.
Mori Ougai was somewhat surprised by their sudden appearance. He was standing by his desk with a stack of paper documents in his hand when he heard the door open and turned around in surprise.
Upon seeing them, a hint of surprise flashed in his dark red eyes, as if he hadn't expected it to be them, or perhaps Mori Ougai thought that the person who pushed open the door was someone who had just left and suddenly returned.
Although he concealed his expression well, Dazai Osamu still caught a glimpse of the emotion that quickly vanished, and he became even more curious about the identity of the silver-haired man from earlier.
Tsurumi Kawa rushed into the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, and after quenching his thirst, he walked over to Mori Ougai and curiously glanced at the documents in his hand. The dense text immediately killed his desire to find out more.
He looked away, recalling the man he had just seen, and asked, "Dr. Mori, was the silver-haired man who just left also a patient?"
This is why Dazai Osamu, though curious, never actively asks questions, because there's always someone more curious and easier to fool who will ask the questions on his mind for him.
Dazai Osamu lay lazily on the sofa, propping his elbows on the armrests and leaning his chin on his hand as he looked at the two people in front of the desk.
Mori Ougai made no attempt to avoid Tsurumi Kawara's attention, continuing to tidy up at his own unhurried pace, without revealing the slightest flaw when he heard his question.
The black-haired young man in the white coat shook his head with a gentle smile and said, "No, he's here to trade intelligence."
Although Mori Ougai runs a shady clinic in Leibo Street, he also works part-time as an information broker. When he encounters patients who cannot afford medical bills, he kindly allows them to pay with information.
Naturally, the clinic also served as a hub for intelligence trading.
Tsurumi nodded knowingly, having received the answer, he stopped pursuing the matter further and patted his stomach, becoming more concerned about what to eat for lunch.
Upon hearing this answer, Dazai Osamu lowered his eyelashes, his fine black hair obscuring his eyes. As he pondered, he heard Tsurumi Kawakami and Mori Ougai discussing lunch, before their voices moved to the kitchen.
He looked up at the empty desk, then glanced at the obscured kitchen. Dazai Osamu slowly got up and walked straight to the desk.
Mori Ougai did not hide the intelligence he had just gathered. After organizing it, he stacked the marked parts at the bottom and put them in his desk drawer.
Dazai Osamu showed no concern whatsoever about being careful while peeking. He stood casually by the desk, opened a drawer, and took out the intelligence report. He just stood there flipping through it, the boy with the kite-like eyes reading very quickly, skimming through ten lines at a time.
Tsurumi Kawaru peeked out of the kitchen, peering through the door. He saw Dazai Osamu beckoning to him and calling out, "Dazai, come help me serve the dishes."
Dazai Osamu responded without looking up, calmly put the information he had just read back as is, closed the drawer, and walked calmly toward the kitchen.
At the dinner table, Mori Ōgai sat in the main seat, with Tsurumi Kawaru to his right, who was engrossed in eating, and Dazai Osamu to his left, who was counting the grains of rice as he ate.
He smiled and ignored Liu on the right, glancing casually at Dazai Osamu before starting a conversation.
"You guys went looking for trouble with the sheep again this morning?" Mori Ougai was clearly aware of the strange atmosphere in Leibo Street recently.
Dazai Osamu didn't seem to have much of an appetite. He put down his chopsticks after a few bites, rested his chin on his hand, glanced at Ryu across from him, and said half-heartedly, "Mr. Mori is really smart. You guessed right again. Those little lambs have gotten into big trouble. Ryu thinks it's good to help them fight against the Port Mafia for the sake of his friends."
Mori Ougai didn't seem to care much about his attitude. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Tsurumi Kawaru with an ambiguous look, then smiled and said, "How does Kawaru plan to help them?"
When his name was called, Tsurumi Kawakuri raised his head from his rice bowl, his round, golden eyes revealing a clear foolishness. He swallowed the food in his mouth, glanced blankly at Dazai Osamu, and then looked at Mori Ougai.
"Chuuya said to just beat them up, but Dazai said his methods were too brutal, so he told us to gather the small groups in Leibo Street and rob the Mafia's supply warehouse at the port."
Mori Ougai looked at Dazai with a slight surprise. He always knew Dazai Osamu's temperament. The man who could say that life was worthless would actually take the initiative to help give advice. It seemed that a lot had happened in places he was unaware of.
Dazai Osamu knew what Mori Ougai was thinking without even thinking about his expression. He glanced at Tsurumi Kawa and explained, "Eh? I wouldn't have helped you two idiots if you hadn't begged me."
Mori Ougai looked at Tsurumi Kawakami with a questioning gaze, and he nodded hurriedly, his cheeks puffed out, and gave a mumbled reply.
Disappointment flashed in Mori Ōgai's eyes, but then he remembered that Dazai Osamu had finally agreed to his request, and his mood improved somewhat.
The next two days were peaceful, and the tense atmosphere in Leibo Street subtly changed. Tsurumi Kawaru continued to work as an assistant at the clinic and watched TV with Dazai in his spare time.
But because he was preoccupied with his good friend Chuuya, he kept getting distracted while watching TV and didn't even notice when Dazai Osamu secretly changed the channel.
Dazai Osamu, bored, put down the remote control, turned to look at Tsurumi Nagare, who was staring blankly, grabbed a cushion and leaned against it, saying, "What are you spacing out about? Is it about the little dwarf?"
Tsurumi Kawaru snapped out of his daze and saw the TV channel had been changed. He instinctively turned to look for the culprit, but paused for a moment when he heard Dazai's words. He hesitated for a moment, pursed his lips, and said, "I want to go see the sheep this afternoon."
As he spoke, he looked at Dazai Osamu with expectant eyes.
Dazai Osamu turned his head away, watching the TV with boredom, and refused to look at him: "I'm not going. If you want to go, go by yourself."
Tsurumi Kawa paused, opening his mouth as if to bring up Mori Ōgai, but Dazai Osamu, as if he had anticipated this, interrupted him, saying, "It's no use talking to Mori-san. Anyway, you know the way, so you don't need me to lead the way, right?"
The black-haired, golden-eyed boy looked away in disappointment. He nodded, then quickly cheered up and said to Dazai Osamu with a bright smile, "I'll be back soon!"
Dazai Osamu gave a perfunctory reply.
-
In the afternoon, while Mori Ougai was resting on the second floor, Tsurumi Kawaru quietly greeted Dazai Osamu, who was playing with a Rubik's Cube on the sofa, and then ran out of the clinic with some snacks to the sheep territory.
In the territory of Tsurumi River, he ran into the boy named Sota from a few days ago. Sota was surprised to see him and looked past him to look behind Tsurumi River. After not seeing Dazai Osamu, Sota's attitude towards him improved a lot.
Sota accepted Tsurumi Kawakami's bribe, ate some snacks, and asked, "What brings you here today? Are you looking for Chuuya?"
Tsurumi Kawakami nodded, noticing that there were very few people in the sheep territory today, and couldn't help but ask, "Where is the others?"
Sota led him into Chuuya's room and, out of consideration for the snacks, kindly said, "Everyone else has gone out, and Chuuya isn't here either. They probably won't be back until evening."
Tsurumi Kawakami pursed his lips and thought for a moment. It was around 1 p.m., and there were at least four hours until evening. He couldn't stay at the sheep's den for too long, or Dr. Mori would find out.
So he shook his head, glanced around the room, walked to the table, put down the snacks, and covered them with a cardboard box to prevent stray cats from stealing them.
Tsurumi clapped his hands, turned around and went back to the door. He closed the door and said to Sota, "I sneaked out and can't stay too long. Fang Zhongye has put his things on the table. Remember to let me know when he comes back."
Sota patted his chest and nodded with great loyalty.
Having come all this way for nothing, Tsurumi Kawaru walked back somewhat disappointed, the sun getting quite hot. He deliberately chose to walk in the shade of the low wall, his slow, wandering gaze darting around.
Bang bang bang—
Several gunshots rang out from not far away, startling Tsurumi Kawaki. His golden eyes widened suddenly as he looked in the direction of the sound. A moment later, two black cars drove out.
He looked around and hid behind the low wall. The two black cars sped away, unaware of the person hiding in the shadows.
After the car drove away, Tsurumi Kawakuri stood up. He glanced in the direction the car had gone, then turned to look at the spot where the gunshot had come from. After thinking for a moment, he ran off.
Amidst the raging fire, the frame of a car was still discernible, flames roaring and thick, acrid smoke billowing outwards.
Tsurumi Kawaru pinched his nose, not daring to get too close. The heat of the flames distorted the air, and he could feel the heat wave even from ten meters away. He circled the burning car and found some bloodstains and shell casings on the open ground next to it.
About a meter away, he saw a drag mark. Following that lead, he found a pale, unconscious man in a corner of the ruins.
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