socalfunplaces Page 43
Page 43
"That... Toyokawa Shoko?"
"According to the reports from the personnel who have been dispatched, there are no problems at the moment." Wen Shuihe shook his head.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Chihaya Aine finally couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted the meaningless conversation. "What are you two talking about? Why is Nukumizu-san suddenly here? And how did Toyokawa-san get involved again?"
There are two types of people I find most annoying: those who speak in riddles and only leave things unsaid, and...
Wenshui Kazuhiko glanced at her, then turned his questioning gaze to Koshimura Sawa.
Is it reliable?
“It’s alright, she’s one of us, a level 2 Dragon Vein Mage. When she’s extremely angry, she can unleash anon flames, I mean fireballs,” Yuecunze explained. “Speaking of which… shouldn’t we be considered members of the same adventurer’s party?”
Wen Shuihe's gaze towards her immediately became kind and friendly.
Warm water, I never thought your brain would be occupied by rabbit heads too, and your eyes can only hold intensity, not love or hate.
If I had known this would happen, why did I choose the Bewitchment and Control School in the first place?
Years later, when faced with a land of legendary resistance, Kazuhiko Nukumi will remember that afternoon when he chose the Bewitching School.
Koshimura Sawa abruptly stopped the automatic吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online commentary) program that had suddenly started running, and turned to look at Chihaya Aine beside him: "Aine, do you want to save Takamatsu-kun?"
"Ugh?"
------
"Investigation Bureau of Professional Out-of-Control and Abnormal Affairs..." Chihaya Aine looked at the tiny gold characters on the wall and subconsciously read them aloud.
She took a few steps back, looked at the bookshelves outside filled with colorful light novels and comics, came to Koshimura Sawa's side, and gently tugged at his sleeve.
"Sawarin, when did you join this organization?"
"yesterday."
"?"
"Well... after all, we're not an openly recognized organization, so we still need to maintain a certain level of disguise." Wen Shuiheyan noticed the doubt on her face and explained somewhat awkwardly, "Don't be fooled by how quiet it is now; we actually have quite a few customers on ordinary days."
Oh, I recognize this place. It looks like an ordinary shop run by a brother and sister, but it actually hides a shocking secret...
I know, you must be the legendary rope maker from Sixth Street, Faeton!
【I'm super, box】
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Wen Shuihe and Yan skillfully led the two around the pile of books to a bookshelf in the corner, where they gently pressed down on a protruding book.
The bookshelf flipped over, revealing just a small gap, and Wen Shui Jia Shu, looking flustered, hopped and skipped over to greet her.
"Brother, you're back! Something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong, Yoshiki? Why are you coughing so violently—" Before Wen Shui Kazuhiko could finish speaking, he suddenly bent over, covered his mouth and nose, and coughed violently, almost choking on his tears. "...What's that smell?"
Yuecun Ze looked behind him and a strong, spicy smell wafted through the gaps in the bookshelf. The various documents that had covered the entire table were hastily swept aside, and in the cleared space, there was a plastic bowl that was steaming hot.
A tall, slender, and spirited red-haired girl sat at the table, wearing a white crop top and ripped jeans, with an open leather jacket casually over her shoulders. A few strands of hair clung to her smooth forehead with a thin layer of sweat as she picked up a large mouthful of noodles coated in bright red chili oil and chili flakes with her chopsticks.
“Udagawa-senpai, didn’t I tell you not to use lethal weapons in the office…” Wen Shui Kazuhiko straightened up, glanced at her helplessly, and turned to introduce her to Koshimura Sawa, “This is Udagawa Tomoe-senpai from the Adventurers’ Guild, from the disbanded Afterglow—”
Suddenly, Yuecunze felt a blur before his eyes, and a wave of air swept over his face, blowing his hair into a strong slicked-back style.
Utagawa Tomoe had silently appeared in front of Nukumizu Kazuhiko without anyone noticing, narrowing his eyes and staring at him with hostile intent.
"Afterglow has simply stopped operating, not disbanded."
The streamer didn't retire, he just got unwanted.
"...Stop the activity, stop the activity." Wen Shuihe quickly raised his hands in surrender.
"Hmph." Utagawa Tomoe snorted softly, sat back down sullenly, picked up his chopsticks, and slurped down two large mouthfuls of noodles in a fit of anger.
"Honestly, I was supposed to go shopping with Felice today, but you guys dragged me here first thing in the morning, and I didn't even get to eat breakfast..." she mumbled between chewing noodles.
So it was just morning grumpiness...
[Wow, that's exaggerated! Even Ba Fei is watching this!]
But eating extra spicy ramen for breakfast? That's a bit too rock and roll.
Don't blame everything on rock and roll...
Looking at the thick layer of red oil floating in the bowl and the pile of chili peppers, Yuecun Ze felt a deep sense of awe.
"Excuse me..." He couldn't help but take a few steps closer and ask, "Is this the legendary, extremely spicy [reincarnation] ramen from the Galaxy Ramen Restaurant that can burn you to death and then bring you back to life?"
[Oh my god, does that mean if we give Xiang's mom a bowl of this, Mujica will just end right away?]
Giraffe, take down your "Hellish Jokes" sign first.
“Yes.” Tomoe Utagawa looked up, somewhat surprised. “Huh? How did you know?”
"To be honest, I also really like the ramen there, and I go there every few days." Koshimura's eyes were filled with a pilgrimage-like longing.
Don't underestimate the intelligence network of the Bang Bang people!
“But I usually work there and haven’t seen you much,” Tomoe Utagawa said after thinking for a moment, somewhat puzzled.
Oh no, we've been exposed.
"Really? Maybe it's because you weren't there when I went." Koshimura Sawa smiled awkwardly. "To be honest, I'm actually a fan of the Afterglow Adventure Group."
He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the Afterglow bracelet on his wrist.
"Oh! I didn't expect that you, young man, could have such good taste, even though you don't seem very reliable!" Utagawa Tomoe's eyes lit up, and he smiled broadly. He turned to Wenshui Kazuhiko and gestured with his chin, "Wenshui, look at him, this is what a qualified member of the Bureau of Investigation should look like."
What does it mean to seem unreliable...?
【A. "Yes, I really like Maruyama Aya from your adventurer's crew. Could I have her sign my autograph?"】
【B. "Yes, I really like Takamatsu Akane from your adventurer group. Could I have her sign my autograph?"】
【C. "Yes, I really like Akiyama Mio from your adventurer group. Could I have her sign my autograph?"】
Gravity-type Maruyama Aya, Shining-type Takamatsu Takamori, Bass-type Udagawa, right...?
Is there not a single person who can pronounce the name correctly?
"Yes, I especially like Maruyama Aya from your adventurer group. Could I have her sign my autograph?" Koshimura Sawa said resignedly.
“Ah, you mean Felice? Indeed, quite a few people have said that she looks a bit like Maruyama Aya from Pastel*Palettes.” Utagawa Tomoe smiled, surprisingly without any reaction, put down his chopsticks, and extended his hand to him. “But since you also like Felice, then we are comrades-in-arms! Utagawa Tomoe, 9th level Shenlong Sect Monk.”
"Yuecunze, a level 2 cursed sword sorcerer." Yuecunze extended his hand and gently shook hers, then stepped aside to let Chihaya Aine, who was still looking bewildered, through. "This is Chihaya Aine, a level 2 dragon vein sorcerer."
“She’s a very cute girl,” Tomoe Utagawa said, her gaze falling on Aine Chihaya. She felt a strange sense of familiarity with her and reached out to pat the empty seat next to her. “Don’t stand, sit down.”
"Ah, thank you!" Chihaya Aine was flattered and quickly bowed to express her gratitude before carefully pulling out a chair and sitting down.
This red-haired senior looks fierce, but... seems quite gentle?
Of course, after all, you are also a member of the Maruyama sisters, so your initial favorability is already maxed out.
Koshimura Sawa also sat down next to Chihaya Aine.
"Now that almost everyone is here," Wen Shuihe walked to the head of the conference table and clapped his hands lightly. "Yoshiki."
“Mm,” Yoshiki Wenshui nodded, pressing the page-turning pen in her hand, and a white curtain immediately fell over the small blackboard in front of the conference table. The relaxed expression on her face completely vanished, replaced by seriousness and competence. “You may already know some of the details from the news or rumors… Since last night, several disappearances have occurred throughout Tokyo. According to the latest investigation results compiled and provided by the Metropolitan Police Department—”
She pressed the page turner, and a clear map of Tokyo was immediately projected onto the screen, with many locations marked with striking red dots.
"The disappearances that occurred last night were mostly concentrated between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., but most people didn't report them until today. This means that the victims had virtually no chance to send out distress signals after they went missing. Strangely, many people reported receiving messages from the missing persons that night, saying that they were going to stay at a classmate's or friend's house, so they didn't pay attention to them."
“According to the statistics, the missing persons are mostly teenagers aged 15-18, and without exception, they are all registered professionals.” Yoshiki Wenshui emphasized, “In addition, after preliminary screening, no obvious common characteristics were found that could link all the victims together, such as gender, address, school, and occupation.”
"Interestingly... after checking the files, we found—" Kazuhiko Wenshui continued, "before this, there had actually been many similar cases of professionals disappearing."
The image on the screen freezes, displaying a statistical table with a timeline.
"However, these cases occurred in a very scattered and irregular manner, with long intervals between them. There was also a lack of obvious connection between the victims, and clues were extremely scarce... After a long period of searching and investigation, they could only be temporarily shelved and left unresolved, failing to attract sustained attention from the public."
The atmosphere in the room instantly became heavy.
Chihaya Aine instinctively covered her mouth, her eyes wide open.
Tomoe Udagawa placed his chopsticks on the empty bowl, his brow furrowed as he looked at the data displayed on the screen.
“And tracing back further—” Yoshiki Wenshui took a deep breath and pressed the page-turning pen repeatedly. The images on the screen continued to change, with more and more archival photos flashing by like a carousel, finally settling on a slightly worn file. “The earliest similar case appeared on July 19, 2019. A 16-year-old female student named Hanasakigawa, a Level 1 warrior, suddenly disappeared on her way home from school and remains missing to this day.”
"In the same year, a major event occurred that shook the entire Tokyo and even the Kanto region."
"That was on June 19, 2019, a month before the incident, when the large Toyokawa family officially declared bankruptcy."
"Bankruptcy?"
Everyone in the room immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Eshimura Sawa.
"Wait a minute—" Koshimura Sawa quickly took out his phone and typed "Toyokawa" into the search engine.
The circle had only rotated for half a second when a dense barrage of news filled the entire phone screen, with most of the time focused on 2019.
[Fake Toyokawa Goods Explosion Causes Multiple Injuries and Families: We Demand an Explanation]
[Sato International Logistics Spokesperson: Dishonest companies should be severely punished to protect consumers' legitimate rights and interests]
[With its stock price plummeting, is the Toyokawa family facing bankruptcy liquidation?]
[The End of an Era? The Toyokawa Family Ancestral Home and Many Other Properties Have Been Listed for Sale...]
Koshimura scrolled through the screen like a madman until he reached the very bottom of the search page.
[Breaking news. A fire broke out at the ancestral home of the Toyokawa family for unknown reasons, resulting in 12 deaths and 36 injuries.]
A bone-chilling cold suddenly swept over my entire body.
Chapter Forty-Six Code Names
"Sawarin?" Chihaya Aine looked at his pale face and couldn't help but gently touch his arm. "Are you alright?"
"...I'm fine." Yuecun Ze took two deep breaths and turned his phone upside down on the table.
I was careless; I didn't expect the errors caused by the shift in the world line to be far greater than I imagined.
He actually thought that Xiangzi was still in his Mayba Xiang form, and that even if he suffered setbacks and failed, he could at least go back and inherit the family business.
Indeed, if the Toyokawa family were still around, how could Shoko still be living in constant fear of being hunted down every day...?
So... it's no longer just a rich girl playing house?
Since that's the case... Xiangzi, how have you been getting through these past few days?
Koshimura suddenly felt a suffocating, oppressive feeling in his chest.
Just then, the hidden door in the room, disguised as a bookshelf, was pushed open once again.
"I'm sorry, am I late?"
A girl with shoulder-length black hair that curled slightly at the ends, wearing a red inner shirt and a leather jacket, walked in carrying a long, black violin case.
“No, rather, you’ve come at just the right time.” Wen Shuihe Yan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and turned to look at the people in the room. “This is Hachiman Kairin, a well-known mercenary and a Level 4 Totem Warrior. She has served as an external support for nearly 30 adventure groups at the same time.”
Good heavens, it's a legendary mercenary! We're saved!
Simultaneously managing 30 bands is already terrifying enough, but turning it into an adventure group seems even more frightening...