Beneath the Shadows

Three-way intersection.

As the dump truck drew closer, the roar of its engine reached Fujino's ears.

"Will this ever end?!"

Fujino cursed under his breath, then immediately popped the driving skill card.

[Driving skill enhancement effect activated, remaining time: 599 seconds]

The system notification sounded in my ear.

The next moment, a strange feeling spread throughout my body.

Fujino felt that his understanding of motorcycle driving had reached a new level.

At this moment, the motorcycle beneath me no longer seems like a motorcycle.

It's a third leg!

Looking back at the approaching dump truck, Fujino took a deep breath and slammed on the brakes of the rear wheel of his motorcycle.

Suddenly, the motorcycle began to shake violently, and the rear wheel, which had been forcibly braked, swung back and forth on the snowy road.

Fujino seized the moment of the shaking and released the brakes.

The motorcycle, which had been swaying wildly just moments before, suddenly slid sideways in a bizarre manner.

"Bang!"

A loud crash was heard.

Fujino jumped off the motorcycle and rolled several times on the snow-covered road before finally coming to a stop.

The abandoned motorcycle continued to skid until it crashed into a roadside utility pole, forcing it to stop.

A moment later, Fujino struggled to get up from the snow.

He first took off the broken windshield and casually tossed it aside, revealing the Fishing Hat he was wearing underneath. Then he looked up and stared at the dump truck not far away.

At this moment, the dump truck had already crashed into the concrete wall, and the cab was crushed under the high-speed impact.

Fujino took a deep breath and calmed down.

Immediately, a heart-wrenching pain spread throughout my body.

Looking down, I saw blood dripping from my elbow wound onto my fingers.

Has the effect of adrenaline worn off?

Fujino frowned, then took out the [Happy Soda] he had drawn earlier from his Pocket Dimension.

After gulping down the whole bottle, the excruciating pain was instantly suppressed.

[Happy Soda: Enhances the host's recovery ability, with added energizing and analgesic effects]

"Who exactly is this person?"

Despite the pain being suppressed, Fujino's heart was still pounding, and his breathing was becoming increasingly deep.

Fujino took out Zhonghua Cigarettes from his pocket, lit it, calmed down, and then removed the Wooden Sword from his neck before cautiously walking towards the deformed dump truck.

We arrived at the twisted cab of the dump truck.

Through the shattered driver's side window, he could see the man's face.

It was a middle-aged man who was emaciated, and his face was covered in blood.

"Is he already dead?"

Fujino stared at the already crushed and deformed corpse, his expression gradually turning cold.

A moment later, he took out his phone and dialed Juzo Megure's number.

Not far away, a Porsche Old Model slowly drove by.

"Boss, the plan has failed."

Wearing a black suit and a small black hat, Vodka withdrew his gaze and asked the person sitting in the passenger seat, "Should we just go up and take care of him?"

"Unnecessary."

The man named Gin had long, silver-white hair that reached his waist, and he was also dressed in all black, wearing a black top hat.

After glancing sideways at the Vodka, he continued, "This failed operation has already cost us a loyal follower who was willing to give his life for our organization. If we do anything pointless, we might expose the organization's existence."

"It would be a loss to expose the organization's existence just because of a discarded pawn."

"But if we just let him go, how will we explain it to that person?"

Vodka frowned, looking somewhat hesitant.

"Explain?"

Gin chuckled coldly, then looked out the window and said in a deep voice, "You need to remember, it's not that we need that guy, it's that he's so useless that he needs us... Without us, that guy is nothing."

Vodka nodded upon hearing this, as if he had acknowledged Gin's words.

After thinking for a moment, he continued to ask Gin, "But speaking of which, if that woman Akemi Miyano really did steal 1 billion yen, then we have no reason to execute her."

"Does an organization need a reason to execute peripheral members who don't even have a code name?"

Gin snorted coldly, his gaze gradually turning icy. "From the day that woman introduced Rye Whiskey into the organization, her fate of execution was already sealed."

"A rat that betrays the organization deserves to die, even if she is that person's sister."

Late at night, Fujino's house.

The light from the incandescent bulb peeked through the gaps in the curtains, and the room was unusually quiet; even the ticking of the clock seemed unusually noisy.

Fujino had just returned home from the accident scene and went straight to the bathroom.

"That dump truck was definitely coming to kill me..."

Fujino took off his clothes and stared at his own mottled wounds in the mirror, his eyes gradually turning cold.

Without the Detective Enhancement effect activated in advance, and the Life-Saving Windbreaker to withstand the most severe impact.

The accident just now probably can't be resolved with just minor injuries.

But who would want to kill him?

Pulling herself away from her thoughts, Fujino sighed and turned her gaze to the wound on her elbow.

"It would be troublesome if the grit stayed in the wound."

After cleaning the wound on my elbow with clean water.

After a pause, Fujino poured the hydrogen peroxide that was placed next to the sink onto the surface.

"Hiss..."

Feeling the excruciating pain in his elbow, Fujino gritted his teeth, tears welling up in his eyes.

A moment later, the pain subsided.

He then applied the iodine solution to the wound and bandaged it up.

[Congratulations, host, for successfully Live Broadcast Murder Case. You have gained 200 Detective Reputation points.]

[System reward money has been distributed]

[Detective Level Up to beginner four stars]

[Congratulations, host, you have acquired a new professional skill: Detective Intuition]

[Currently available Detective job points: 1]

Fujino had just finished treating his wounds and sat down on the sofa when a system notification sounded in his ears.

"Was this the upgrade we expected?"

Fujino roused himself and opened the system interface:

[Main Profession: Detective (Beginner Level 4, 0-700)]

[Full-time Detective: Earn extra bounty and reputation rewards upon completing cases]

[Detective Time: Beginner (No one can interrupt your reasoning during the 60 seconds you are deducing)]

[Detective Enhancement: Beginner 4-Star (Limited-time enhancement of body by 200%) Beginner 1-Star (Enhancement duration 120 seconds)]

[Detective Aura: When the host triggers the Detective effect, they automatically psychologically overwhelm the suspect, reducing the suspect's combat power by 10%]

[Detective Intuition: Beginner (Increases reasoning ability by 25%, and increases reasoning ability by 100% when Detective Intuition is actively triggered; Note: Active skill duration: 60 seconds)]

Current system balance: 2.85 million yen

"So this new skill is to enhance reasoning ability?"

Fujino exclaimed in surprise, then lowered his head and pinched his philtrum. "Deductive reasoning ability is indeed a detective skill that is consistent with common sense."

Gathering his thoughts, he allocated the small amount of time he had gained from Detective Level Up to time spent on Detective Enhancement:

Detective Enhancement:

(Enhanced Basic 4-Star: Enhances the host's physical abilities by 200%)

(Time-based Level 2: Enhancement duration is four minutes)

"Has it doubled in value?"

Fujino murmured as he looked at the enhanced effect, which had been increased to four minutes after the upgrade.

Immediately, he turned his attention to the Profession Ball drawing interface.