Chapter 199 Twenty-four Presidents
Almost half an hour had passed since Edogawa Ranpo received the script and angrily packed up his snacks - that is, when Akae Nayue had just stolen Bloom, the famous detective in the detective agency suddenly stood up at the same time as Shibuzawa Ryuhiko.
"Mr. Ranpo, what happened?" Kunikida, who was processing documents opposite him, pushed up his glasses and asked in confusion.
On the other side, Shibuzawa Ryuhiko handed the flawlessly mended jacket to Nakajima Atsushi and glanced indifferently in the direction of Edogawa Ranpo.
He can tell who is a superpower, so naturally, he can also see that this man who is known as the core of the detective agency is just an ordinary person without superpowers. Shibuzawa Ryuhiko is not interested in him at all.
Rather, in this entire detective agency, the only ones that Shibuzawa Ryuhiko found interesting and treated differently were Nakajima Atsushi and Akae Nazuki who had already left.
"Show him off." The detective replied unhappily.
He opened his eyes, which was rare, and looked straight at the uninvited guest with his dark green pupils. He said bluntly, "It's time for you to leave, Collector."
When the other people in the detective agency saw Mr. Ranpo's serious look, they immediately became alert to Shibuzawa Ryuhiko out of their trust in him. However, the person who was alerted only raised half of his eyebrows and kept smiling as if he didn't care.
"Are you not going to accept my commission?"
Edogawa Ranpo did not back down either. He crossed his arms and looked very dissatisfied: "You didn't really intend to ask the detective agency to help you find your memory from the beginning, did you? This was just an excuse for you to get close to A-Dun and Xiao-Hong. Now that Xiao-Hong is gone and A-Dun is a fool who doesn't remember anything, of course you have to leave."
Nakajima Atsushi's weak words "I'm not stupid" were ignored by both of them.
"What a pity." The white-haired, red-eyed man sighed, "It seems that what Fyodor said is true. Edogawa Ranpo from the Detective Agency has excellent reasoning skills... But, that's all."
No matter how good Ranpo's reasoning ability is, in Shibuzawa Ryuhiko's eyes, he will never take Ranpo without superpowers into consideration.
There is no one in this world who can exceed his expectations*.
Shibuzawa Ryuhiko still thinks so.
Kunikida frowned and subconsciously stood in front of Ranpo. He felt that the look in the man's eyes was very uncomfortable, as if he was looking at a group of ants that would not jump out of his palm. His sights were clearly on them, but their shadows were not reflected in his eyes.
This is the White Kirin, also known as the Collector. He is the real mastermind behind the Dragon War that was launched in Yokohama many years ago. He is an evildoer with blood on his hands, and a human-shaped disaster who cooperates with Fyodor of the Five Decays of Heaven.
It was not until this moment that the stone in Kunikida's heart fell heavily back to the ground.
When Akae Nazuki brought the person back, he always felt that something was wrong. Even though Akae Nazuki and the president both acknowledged the fact that "this is a new client", he could not control his vigilance towards Shibuzawa Ryuhiko.
Kunikida sensed an uncontrollable dangerous aura from Shibuzawa Ryuhiko. He was sure that this man was definitely not the type who could be content to be controlled by others, and he even let the detective agency investigate his past, so he must have big plans.
Now it was proven that his guess was correct... Kunikida Ning was willing to guess wrong, but didn't that mean they would have to face the collector head-on? But the detective agency was in a busy city, and there were many ordinary people among its members!
The detective he was protecting took the opportunity to poke Kunikida in the waist. The blond young man with glasses froze and almost jumped up on the spot: "Ranpo-san?!"
"Don't be so nervous." Edogawa Ranpo, who had just shown his edge, narrowed his eyes again after seeing the other party's attitude, and said to Kunikida nonchalantly, "This guy is now Xiaohong's prey. If he gets into trouble early and Xiaohong doesn't have a good time, you might be the ones who get tormented, right?"
The second half of the sentence was actually directed at Nakajima Atsushi, who was so alert that his claws were about to pop out, and Akutagawa Ryunosuke, who was eager to try behind him like Rashomon.
The two of them silently put down their fighting stances, but this actually made Shibuzawa Ryuhiko slightly more interested.
"You seem to trust Akae-kun very much." He said in a subtle tone, his red eyes, which were darker than Akae's moon-colored, were filled with cold malice. "Even though he is the [Unsheathed Sword] of the Port Mafia who has killed countless people and is full of evil?"
As soon as these words came out, Edogawa Ranpo's expression changed, but it was not directed at Shibuzawa Ryuhiko. He said without hesitation: "Akutagawa!"
There seemed to be several sharp flashes of light in the reception room. When the smoke and dust cleared, what appeared in front of everyone was Rashomon with the tiger claws raised, and Yasha Shirayuki appeared behind Shibuzawa Tatsuhiko. The long-haired girl in the kimono haori had also placed the long sword in her hand on Shibuzawa Tatsuhiko's neck.
——Izumi Kyoka and Nakajima Atsushi attacked Shibuzawa Ryuhiko almost instantly.
Kagamika's hands were steady, and the blade just touched Shibuzawa Ryuhiko's skin without cutting it at all. However, the latter leaned forward on his own initiative, causing drops of blood to fall onto the blade of the long sword.
"It's still boring." Shibuzawa Ryuhiko sighed, but his smile did not disappear. He ignored the existence of other people and only looked at the former white Grim Reaper who showed golden vertical pupils because he was offended.
"Remember this anger, Atsushi-kun."
The Collector clapped his hands gracefully. "I will wait for you to come to me step by step."
He disappeared from the encirclement in the blink of an eye.
After Shibuzawa Ryuhiko left, the atmosphere in the reception room suddenly relaxed. Nakajima Atsushi, who had retracted his supernatural powers, pursed his lips and did not dare to look up at the expressions of his companions around him. In addition to anger, he also felt a sense of helplessness.
He was brought back from the orphanage by the leader... no, by Mr. Dazai. Mr. Dazai was the one who saved and taught him, and Nakajima Atsushi respected him very much.
The situation of Akae Nazuki is a bit complicated. Nakajima Atsushi and Izumi Kyoka have seen how the other child has grown from a four-year-old child before he disappeared to a child older than them. But it is undeniable that meeting an angel-like child in a mafia environment has indeed alleviated their mental problems to a great extent.
Therefore, both of them trust and like Akae Nazuki, who has left the mafia just like them, and they can't stand the man's rude words to Akae Nazuki.
As for being at a loss.
If Chi Jiang and Na Yue should not be trusted by the detective agency because they once belonged to Gang Hei, then what about the two of them? They also defected from Gang Hei... Although they defected at the suggestion of the former leader, and although the one year they joined the detective agency was enough for them to trust their companions.
However, before the two of them had time to think much, the door was knocked again, and it sounded that the person knocking the door was standing a little... short?
Jinghua, who was closest to the door, silently opened the door, lowered her head and met the eyes of Xiaowen, who was even shorter than her - and the half-vampire Count carried on Xiaowen's back.
Ranpo Edogawa held onto Kunikida's shoulders, stroking his chin as he looked at the visitor at the door for a while.
“…So that’s how it is.”
His expression was grim for a moment, and then he quickly narrowed his eyes again. He turned to look at the still a little embarrassed Nakajima Atsushi and said bluntly: "Atsushi, this commission is for you, Akutagawa, and Kagamika."
Xiaohong will deliberately change the plan, which must be because she intends to fight against Shibuzawa Ryuhiko by herself. As a substitute method of "training children", the vampire Bloom who was sent here at this point in time is obviously a new whetstone.
It just so happened that Ranpo Edogawa was worried about leaving this vampire outside like in the Russian Rice Ball Project.
—
"By the way, do you know why Feijia is so determined that I will use my supernatural power to deal with the situation in Yokohama, risking the birth of an anomaly?"
Inside the carriage, Akae Nayue held Sigma's shoulders and did not let him look out the window. Instead, she said calmly, "Because one of the purposes of him inducing Shibuzawa Ryuhiko to open his supernatural powers was to make the vampire in the Five Degenerations of Heaven and Man go berserk."
Sigma remembered the characteristics of Shibuzawa Ryuhiko's supernatural powers, and he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
"The superpowers in the thick fog will lose their superpowers and become ordinary people. How can they resist the attack of vampires?"
"Yes, that's it."
Chijiang Nanyue curled her eyes, as if she was satisfied and happy for her brother Jun's understanding, but the knocking sound in their ears became more obvious, and the other party seemed very dissatisfied with being ignored.
Sigma heard Chijiang Nayue's surprised voice, and then the black-haired young man who was driving the car turned around and simply opened the car door and jumped out of the Mazda.
Sigma was so frightened that he rushed to the open window at the back to look, and his eyes were fixed on the face of the humanoid figure opposite him.
Even though his entire body was glowing an ominous red light, it was enough for Sigma to distinguish the person's short black hair, deep red eyes, and a black cloak and uniform that were exactly the same as Chijiang Nanyue's.
It was as if a replica of Chijiang Nayue was standing opposite him. If one ignored the red light, there would be no sense of incongruity at all.
Akajinazuki himself was not that scared. Instead, he happily held his chin and observed the other person for a long time. Finally, he came to a conclusion: "Your body is constructed based on the 19-year-old me."
If that's the case, the figure opposite is indeed half a head shorter than Akajō Natsuki.
Standing in the thick mist, Chijiang Nayue was very calm and did not show any aggression. Hearing this, he simply nodded readily: "Yes, after all, you really accepted me at that time."
Maybe it should be called a Kleinjug.
Sigma was startled in the car and couldn't help but look behind the Klein kettle. Even these few glances were caught by the psychic standing there. He smiled like a little devil and waved to Sigma: "Hey, are you looking for your psychic body?"
Logically speaking, Sigma and Chijiang Nayue entered the fog at the same time in the car, so they should have encountered the superpower at the same time, but now there is only one here...
Klein's pot, which looked exactly like Akae Nayue, whispered a devilish word: "I killed it, huh?"
The double-color ice cream in the car showed a shocked expression and subconsciously looked at Chijiang Nayue.
The latter's mouth twitched.
I had this feeling when I met A and the others before, but they are from a parallel world after all... Why does this mutant of mine in front of me look so annoying?
Is he usually like this? He shouldn't be...right?
"Okay, I'm just kidding. I actually sent it back." Kleinju received the owner's gaze and explained with a pout, "The gem on the head of the supernatural body will return to the owner's body after it is broken."
As it spoke, it pointed to the gem on its forehead with great interest and showed it to Sigma, telling him the "lifeblood" of these mutants without any concern.
“It turns out… that’s the case.” Sigma took a deep breath, his expression solemn. “Why did you say this out loud? If you do this, then you’re…”
"Because I want to." Kleinju said confidently.
Chijiang Nayue was secretly making fun of me: [This guy likes to make sharp comments about my data when he is not separated. What do you mean by "because he wants to"? He must have come out because he thinks it is fun.]
This complaint was made to the Book, so Sigma could also hear it, and he seriously suspected that Chi Jiang Na Yue said it deliberately for him to hear!
Suddenly, Sigma's expression became indescribable, and he could no longer maintain his alert look.
"Come to think of it, no one in the intelligence agency knows about this yet." Chi Jiang Na Yue suddenly said in distress, "They will get hurt, right? And Fei Jia's real purpose is also something that needs someone to tell them."
Both of their eyes slowly and simultaneously turned to their younger brother, the only one who could run errands.
Sigma wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and raised his hands in surrender: "I'll go!"
Until he drove away from here at the instruction of Chijiang Nayue, the deepest thought in Sigma's heart was - didn't the psychic and the master fight to the death? Why do you look like you are getting along so happily?
Behind his back where he could no longer see.
"Mr. Ranbu must know about the purpose and plan, so you just want to find an excuse to get him away." Kleinjut pointed out bluntly without caring about his owner's face.
"yes."
Chijiang Nayue said this calmly, pinched her wrist, and smiled at the supernatural power that separated from her body.
"Because now it's time for adults."