Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual

Soon, the armed kidnapper drove back.

The rain was still pouring down. He opened the car door and let the rain wash over his fur-trimmed jacket.

He looked up at the small building of the car processing plant.

"The glass is broken?"

Looking through his sunglasses at the broken window on the second floor, his brows furrowed.

Immediately, he pulled out his gun and walked to the iron gate of the open-air staircase on the second floor.

"They got away?"

"This guy is really useless!"

He kicked open the iron gate and was greeted by shattered glass shards scattered on the ground, and his accomplice, bound by red rope, lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

"Satoshi Miyahara, that should be your name, right?"

At that moment, a young voice came from behind Satoshi Miyahara.

Who is it?

Satoshi Miyahara raised his gun and turned around, only to see a mature-looking man wearing a black trench coat and a black Fishing Hat who had appeared behind him at some point.

[Detective Time has begun, time remaining: 58 seconds]

"My name is Fujino."

Fujino raised the Wooden Sword in his hand. "He's a detective!"

"Detective?!"

Satoshi Miyahara frowned upon hearing this.

He was about to shoot the guy named Fujino, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.

"A year ago, you killed an unidentified man at Shengyuan Temple. The police quickly received your report and rushed to the scene. After arriving at the scene, you used the testimony that you were attacked by a mentally unstable man with a gun and that the gun was accidentally discharged during the struggle between the two parties to get the gun."

"The police, based on the gunpowder reaction from the victim's already stiff hand and the fact that the magazine was only one bullet short, hastily concluded the case with the explanation that you acted in self-defense..."

After a pause, Fujino continued, "But the truth is not like that. Your so-called self-defense is nothing more than a smokescreen to cover up the murder..."

"The truth is that you actually arranged to meet the victim at Shengyuan Temple that night, and you also brought the handgun to the scene. After shooting the victim in the heart, you loaded another bullet into the magazine and fired a shot into the ground with the victim's hand. In this way, the so-called legitimate self-defense was established."

As he spoke, Fujino slowly stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the pistol in Satoshi Miyahara's hand. "The reason you kidnapped Twomix was because they happened to hear your two gunshots when they were doing research at Shogenji Temple, and that's when they created a new song."

"When you heard those songs and learned that the inspiration came from Shengyuan Temple, you immediately thought of the murder you committed a year ago. So, to prevent your secret from being exposed, you went to great lengths to prevent Twomix from releasing that song."

"Hmph... I didn't expect you to guess it all."

Satoshi Miyahara sneered, removed his disguise, and revealed his true face. "That's right, I am Satoshi Miyahara. I killed my accomplice who fled overseas after a robbery eight years ago. He suddenly came back to try and get a share of the spoils, so we killed him at Shogenji Temple."

"But I really didn't expect that my plan would be discovered by those two damn celebrities!"

"The original plan was to kidnap them, force them to hand over the test tape, and then stage a fire to kill them, but you ruined everything..."

With that, Satoshi Miyahara revealed a cold, stern smile. "After saying all that, you should die now!"

"Wait, I haven't finished speaking yet..."

As soon as Fujino finished speaking...

Just as Satoshi Miyahara was about to pull the trigger, his hand seemed to be out of his control; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't press the trigger.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

Having his spellcasting interrupted twice by Fujino, Satoshi Miyahara harbored considerable resentment.

[Detective Time Countdown: 10 seconds]

[Detective Enhancement is now active; Strength boost effect: 200%]

Fujino glanced at the remaining time in Detective Time, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "I bet your gun's empty!"

"What?"

Before Satoshi Miyahara could react, Fujino immediately rushed forward.

He swung the Wooden Sword upwards, knocking the pistol out of Satoshi Miyahara's hand with a single blow.

Under Satoshi Miyahara's astonished gaze, Fujino swung his Wooden Sword again, aiming straight for his face.

Smash!

In an instant, a heart-wrenching pain spread across Satoshi Miyahara's face, causing him to retreat step by step.

Pressing his advantage, Fujino immediately extended his foot, clad in a Zuli Zulijian Elderly Shoes flying kick at Satoshi Miyahara with a 20% enhanced kick.

"Puff!"

Satoshi Miyahara staggered backward, falling to the ground, where a mouthful of yellow liquid gushed from his mouth.

"Mr. Miyahara, I think I just heard you want me dead..."

As he spoke, Fujino, holding the Wooden Sword, turned off the recording function of the Vision Enhancement Glasses and slowly walked towards Satoshi Miyahara, a strange smile on his face.

Satoshi Miyahara: "..."

"Etc..."

"Ah!"

A dozen minutes later, the police arrived at the scene.

Juzo Megure anxiously led his men to push open the iron gate, and then saw that the two kidnappers were already tied up with red ropes, while Fujino was sitting leisurely to the side, playing with the Wooden Sword in his hand.

"Brother Fujino, are you alright?"

Despite seeing that Fujino was unharmed, Juzo Megure couldn't help but ask a question.

"Fine."

Fujino also noticed Juzo Megure arriving at the scene, and slowly stood up before waving his hand.

Nearby, Sato Miwako, who had arrived with them, stepped forward, pried open the eyelids of the two kidnappers, and after confirming that they were merely unconscious, nodded to Juzo Megure.

Juzo Megure understood, and with a wave of his hand, he called out to the police officers who had followed him, "Take him back to the station for questioning!"

In fact, in situations like this, one should logically send the person to the hospital first.

But when he recalled Fujino's past achievements, he abandoned the procedure.

What's there to investigate? Just take him back to the police station, pour a bucket of cold water over him, and start the interrogation.

Anyway, the people who were beaten by Fujino ended up in the hospital but no injuries could be found.

As the sun set, the case of the celebrity kidnapping came to an end.

Since Minami Takayama's concert was about to begin, Juzo Megure did not show any compassion by taking her directly to the police station for questioning.

Minami Takayama and the others went to the concert venue, while Fujino went home to copy the videotape of the Vision Enhancement Glasses.

Shiina Nagano was hit on the head with a gun butt when she was kidnapped, although there was no actual external injury.

However, she still went to the hospital for a check-up after the concert to rule out injuries such as concussion.

Minami Takayama wasn't seriously injured, so after the concert, she went to the Metropolitan Police Department along with Shiina Nagano.

After giving my statement, I went to the Metropolitan Police Department parking lot.

"I never expected that one test tape would cause such a big problem."

Having just left the Minami Takayama Metropolitan Police Department, still dressed in her performance costume, Minami Takayama looked at the test tape in her hand and sighed softly.

"Some things just happen unexpectedly."

Fujino, who was standing to the side, took out his car keys. "It's just an inconspicuous thing, but it could very well lead to my death."

"Detective Fujino, you should have already found out the truth about this matter, right?"

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Minami Takayama asked Fujino.

"Um."

Fujino nodded and explained, "While conducting the investigation into the sasaeng fan you requested, I happened to deduce that guy committed murder at Shogenji Temple, but due to a lack of evidence, there was no way to bring those people to justice."

After a pause, Fujino put on his standard apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Takayama, for making you suffer."

"It's nothing... If that's really the case, those guys will kidnap me and steal the test tape sooner or later."

Minami Takayama chuckled lightly, "Besides, if I hadn't entrusted Detective Fujino with this beforehand, I'm afraid I'd be dead or alive by now."

"It's just what I should do for the client... If you're not satisfied, Ms. Takayama, the commission fee can be waived this time."

"Detective Fujino, what are you saying?"

Minami Takayama sounded a little reproachful, "No matter what, Detective Fujino, you saved my life and completed my request, so of course I have to pay you the fee."

As she spoke, Minami Takayama took out a credit card from the bag slung across her chest and continued with a smile, "Can I pay by card?"

"Can."

A smile also appeared on Fujino's lips.

His smile had a somewhat meaningful quality to it.

After taking out the mobile POS machine and receiving 600,000 yen, Fujino drove Minami Takayama home.

It is late at night.

Fujino had just returned home when notifications of the rewards for two System Task appeared before him:

[Host detected to have completed detective mission: The Popular Artist Kidnapping Incident]

[The system reward of one million yen and one hundred Detective Reputation points have been issued.]

[Host detected to have completed bodyguard mission: Protect twomix]

The system reward of 500,000 yen and 50 bodyguard proficiency points have been issued.

[Secondary Professional Bodyguard level upgraded to: Intermediate]

[Currently, the bodyguard profession has 1 job point to be assigned.]

Current host balance: 4.2 million yen

Fujino opened the career interface, thought for a moment, and then allocated his bodyguard career points to the Professional Guard role.

[Professional Guard: Bodyguards are not human shields; professional bodyguards need to know how to fight back (Intermediate: Host's all attributes +40%)]

"The growth rate of the Soul Lotus has reached 100%."

Just as Fujino finished replenishing his energy and felt a little thirsty, he was about to take a bottle of Green Tea from the refrigerator when a system notification suddenly rang in his ears.

"Has the growth complete?"

Fujino was startled when he heard the sound.

Then, a screen of light appeared in front of him.

The Soul Lotus Root has matured.

The "Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual" has been distributed.

"Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual?"

Just as Fujino uttered a question, a torrent of memories surged into his mind.

Along with those memories came a slight stinging sensation.

The stinging sensation lasted for a moment before suddenly dissipating.

Recovering from the stinging pain Fujino rubbed his head, and then felt a flood of unfamiliar memories surface in his mind.

If he's not mistaken, those memories should be the "Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual" that the system mentioned.

I sorted through those memories.

Fujino skipped past the hundred-square-meter bedroom and slowly walked towards the bathroom where Soul Lotus was.

What the hell is this?

As soon as he pushed open the door, Fujino was shocked by what he saw.

What comes into view is a bathroom that has been completely entangled by roots.

The roots extend outwards from inside the bathtub, and the water inside is now completely covered by lotus leaves, making it impossible to see anything inside.

At the top of the scattered lotus leaves, a pink lotus flower slowly blooms.

"How come these roots are growing so fast?"

Looking at the disarray of the bathroom, Fujino frowned slightly. "I remember it wasn't like this this morning."

He uttered a question in confusion, then looked away and began searching for clues about this situation in the "Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual".

He quickly found a way to deal with the situation.

He first peeled off the band-aid, and a little blood slid down his finger.

Bright red blood dripped into the bathtub water.

The next moment, a beam of light appeared.

As the rice-grain-like lights appeared, the surrounding vines and roots gradually disappeared, from the roots to the lotus leaves, and then from the lotus leaves to the lotus flowers.

The once messy bathroom was suddenly restored to its original tidy state after a flash of light.

A lotus-shaped badge floated silently in mid-air. Fujino reached out his hand, and the badge drifted into his palm.

[Lotus Badge: One of the mediums connecting the host and the Soul Lotus]

Putting away the badge, Fujino swallowed hard and stepped forward.

What came into view was a girl in her early twenties soaking in clear water.

"Cough cough."

Fujino coughed lightly, then pulled the girl out of the bathtub from the clear water.

A moment later.

The girl, who had just been pulled from the bathtub by Fujino, was now dressed in a neat, dark red shirt, a red leather jacket, and a white skirt, lying quietly on the clean white bed.

The girl looks exactly Akemi Miyano.

No, it should be said that they are essentially the same person.

Not only do they look alike, but even their body types are quite similar.

"Should this be fine?"

Fujino took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Turning his gaze away, he began to examine the system interface of the Soul Lotus:

[Soul Lotus Root: Level 1 (0|100)]

Soul Puppet: (The host can control the activity of the Soul Lotus. In the non-controlled state, the host decides whether it possesses consciousness.)

The Soul Lotus is Indestructible: (The body formed from the Soul Lotus has significantly enhanced regenerative abilities. After suffering a fatal injury, it automatically decomposes and returns to the Lotus Badge groove on the host.)

Skill Note: After the Soul Lotus suffers a fatal injury and dies, the host needs to cultivate it again, and the growth time is half of the initial growth time.

Puppet Show: (The appearance and characteristics of the Soul Lotus are determined by the host.)

Note: Please refer to the "Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual" for details.

"Can you control the Soul Lotus?"

As he studied the system introduction of the Soul Lotus, Fujino murmured to himself.

With a thought, he immediately took control of the Soul Lotus.

With a wave of dizziness, Hun Ou, who was lying on the bed, slowly sat up.

She first clenched her fists, then stretched, shifted her body, and sat up in bed, her feet lightly touching the carpet beside the bed...