The Salted Fish Assassin's Multiverse Daily Life Chapter 18

Jiang Hang set down the invitation in his hand and looked at Yuno Kimura.

"Kimura, look into this guy Keiji Asou. Check online info, old newspaper reports on the case—find whatever you can."

Seeing that Jiang Hang seemed serious, Yuno Kimura nodded and stepped aside to start searching online.

She found things quickly, or rather, Keiji Asou himself was somewhat famous. Twelve years ago, he was a pianist of modest renown, having won several awards in Japan. But one night, for reasons unknown, he went berserk, killed his wife and daughter with a knife, then set the house on fire—it caused a huge uproar at the time.

"What... what's going on? Keiji Asou of Moon Shadow Island... died twelve years ago?" Yuno Kimura's voice was shocked, not just because of the brutal crime the namesake had committed. She stared at the screen, comparing the Keiji Asou there with the one on the letter—the names were exactly the same.

"Moon Shadow Island... that's right, could it be a name duplicate?" Thinking this, Yuno Kimura felt a headache coming on. What information gatherers feared most wasn't finding nothing, but discovering the target shared a name with someone more famous than them—that was the real headache. Scanning down, every news article was about the Keiji Asou from twelve years ago who killed his wife and burned himself. Occasionally there were other stories, like that same Keiji Asou placing in some competition somewhere.

"This is trouble," she muttered, but Jiang Hang cut her off directly.

"Just look into this Keiji Asou's info for now. The person who sent the letter might be using his identity for something." Jiang Hang hadn't remembered the motive earlier, but now it was obvious—that twelve-year-old case definitely had issues.

"That's a thing?" Yuno Kimura was stunned. "So we really don't need to search for other people with the same name? Moon Shadow Island isn't big, but duplicates are possible. Should we just go ask the residents?"

"Borrowing a dead man's name isn't unusual. Maybe that old case had hidden circumstances, which is why they sent a letter to our agency. Just investigate for now, follow your instincts. As for going to Moon Shadow Island, no rush—the sender's deadline is a week away. Going now probably won't help. Plus, Lawyer Hibi might contact me about the gallery any day now, likely within these next two days. Let's finish what's on hand first, gather intel, then go."

A while back, Eri Hibi told Jiang Hang the gallery matter was almost wrapped up and asked him to set a suitable time. So these past few afternoons, Jiang Hang had mostly been slacking off, waiting for her to reach out. More importantly, he had a decent memory of the Moon Shadow Island case—it was one of the few where he remembered the killer's identity. If he went a day or two early and resolved the killer's inner conflict, the tragedy wouldn't happen. As for the victims... honestly, watching Conan, the focus was either on Conan showing off solving the case or the killer's motive. Even if the killer left an impression, few remembered the victims. Jiang Hang couldn't recall who they were either. Only after gathering enough intel and going to Moon Shadow Island himself could he make better judgments.

While Yuno Kimura was still digging up info on Keiji Asou, Jiang Hang secretly sent a message to his tool, Officer Takagi. The police station definitely had case files on that murder twelve years ago—getting his hands on them would be ideal. Of course, he just asked the guy to keep an eye out for that old case; no need to force it if it didn't work. If Yuno Kimura found out, she might be upset, but the importance of intel went without saying. Police intel would be far more critical than anything a rookie like her could dig up... well, as long as she didn't find out, it was fine.

With that thought, Jiang Hang snuck a glance at Yuno Kimura, still hard at work. Keep it up, girl. Even if the intel you gather ends up not being that useful, the way you're working hard right now is still pretty impressive.

With that in mind, Jiang Hang checked his phone. Talk about coincidence—he'd just said Eri Hibi might contact him anytime, and only a few minutes later, an email from her came through. Today at 4 PM, at some café, Eri Hibi and the gallery's former owner would be waiting for him to discuss the gallery's future. Jiang Hang replied, then looked over at Shizuka Sakamoto, who was practicing her scales.

"Sakamoto, we're heading out. The gallery matter is finally wrapping up."

Chapter 43: So I'm the Big Boss?

An inconspicuous café tucked away on a street corner. Since it was a weekday, there weren't many customers. Jiang Hang quickly spotted Eri Hibi waiting at a booth, along with a middle-aged man around thirty or forty beside her. He was likely the former gallery owner who'd gone bankrupt and sold it.

"Hello, I'm Taro Matsuno, the former owner of Beika Art Gallery." As soon as they met, the middle-aged man bowed deeply to Jiang Hang, showing great respect.

Taro Matsuno's attitude left Jiang Hang a bit puzzled. He was just an ordinary detective with some money, but why was the guy so deferential? Japan did place a lot of importance on etiquette, but this seemed excessive. Still, Jiang Hang didn't let it show on his face; he returned the bow and sat down on the café sofa. Shizuka Sakamoto, as his assistant, stood somewhat awkwardly behind him, still not used to negotiation-like scenes.

"I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Jiang Hang. It's just that I've been busy handling my company's bankruptcy and couldn't meet you sooner." Taro Matsuno's attitude remained oddly respectful, and Jiang Hang exchanged a few polite pleasantries with him.

"Lawyer Hibi, you called me here today—any new developments with the gallery?" Jiang Hang asked first.

"Yes, we've been negotiating with several parties over the past few days. The Manaka family is still busy dividing up the owner's assets, but they've reached a consensus on the gallery: they want to transfer it as soon as possible, at a price that won't incur a loss. Meanwhile, I've contacted some collectors and wealthy individuals interested in acquiring a private gallery. They haven't committed yet, but if we keep negotiating, the chances of reaching a deal are high." Eri Hibi laid out a document listing names of potential buyers. Jiang Hang hadn't heard of any of them, but he picked it up and flipped through it anyway.

"So it looks like the gallery matter will be resolved soon. But since you're here, Mr. Matsuno, there must be something you want to discuss with me in person."

Taro Matsuno sighed, glanced at Eri Hibi, who gave him a slight nod. "There's something I've been keeping to myself, but I never dared to tell Director Ochiai, who's now in prison. To be honest, I have to take some responsibility for this case."

Jiang Hang adjusted his sitting posture, making himself look more like he was in a proper seiza.

Standing behind Jiang Hang, Shizuka Sakaki opened her mouth in slight surprise—she knew the gist of this case, but she hadn't expected even the director to be involved.

Jiang Hang's expression, however, remained unchanged.

This answer, well, it wasn't really unexpected.

If Boss Manaka had truly promised to keep the museum running, any normal lawyer would have insisted that be written into the contract. Since it wasn't, either the lawyer Taro Matsuno hired was incompetent, or the two of them had already agreed on it beforehand.

Now it seemed the latter was true.

Jiang Hang took a deep breath. No matter how much he'd anticipated it, actually hearing this kind of thing still left him with a stifling, suffocating frustration.

"Couldn't they have at least told Director Ochiai about this beforehand?"

Clearly, deception was the main factor that led to the tragedy. If both sides had been upfront with Director Ochiai from the start, or if Boss Manaka had later indicated that the artworks would be properly handled, none of this would have happened.

But according to what Director Ochiai told him while they waited for the police that day, Boss Manaka had no regard for those artworks at all, even saying things like "a pile of junk" in front of him more than once, which ultimately drove Director Ochiai to make that irreversible decision.

"Although Beika Art Museum is property of the Matsuno family, Director Ochiai started working there fifty years ago and eventually became director. When I was a child, my father gave him a portion of the museum's shares. It wasn't much, but if Director Ochiai disagreed, we couldn't have sold the museum..."

"I've always looked up to Director Ochiai as an uncle since I was young, always respected him... but I never expected that, in my generation, my poor decisions would cause the family business to collapse. I owed Boss Manaka a huge debt, had to declare bankruptcy, and sold the museum to him." Taro Matsuno's tone was heavy, as if he was ashamed of his own incompetence.

"So, in the end, Director Ochiai was deceived by you into selling his shares?"

Taro Matsuno nodded bitterly, then shook his head.

"Besides us, there were also Director Ochiai's children. They thought he was too old and should retire to enjoy his later years. I grew up as close friends with Director Ochiai's children, and when they learned about my situation, they joined us in deceiving him into selling his shares... I just never imagined Director Ochiai would make such a choice. If I'd known it would come to this, if I'd known..."

Taro Matsuno seemed unable to continue, covering his eyes with both hands, his body trembling slightly as he let out a low sob, as if he could no longer control his emotions.

Jiang Hang watched him coldly, but inside, he felt an extraordinary complexity.

He'd thought about deception, but he hadn't expected this kind of relationship behind it.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But the shock of this truth hit him even harder than the moment Director Ochiai killed the man right in front of him. He found himself completely speechless.

After a long while, he leaned back against the café sofa and slowly asked.

"Director Ochiai doesn't know about any of this yet, does he?"

"None of us dared to tell him, but I think Director Ochiai... probably already figured it out."

And then, Taro Matsuno suddenly stood up from the sofa, walked over in front of Jiang Hang, knelt down in a dogeza posture, and slammed his head heavily against the floor.

"Now, Mr. Jiang Hang, you are the person Director Ochiai trusts most. If you were the one to continue running the museum in the future, I think he would be comforted to know that."

"???" Startled by this sudden turn, Jiang Hang, who had just been lost in a strange melancholy, instinctively stood up from the sofa.

He couldn't follow Taro Matsuno's logic at all.

"Mr. Matsuno... what do you mean?"

Judging by his demeanor, it seemed like he wanted Jiang Hang to buy the museum?

Heavens, if he had that much money to buy a museum, why would he still be solving some lousy case? He'd just go buy two or three famous animation studios and watch whatever anime he wanted—wouldn't that be way better than buying a museum?

And where on earth did this guy get the idea that he was rich!?

Just then, Eri Kisaki, who had been calmly sipping her coffee on the side, set down her cup and looked at Jiang Hang.

"Mr. Jiang Hang, if you don't want to, there aren't many people in the world who can force you. Just make the decision you want to make."

"?????"

At this moment, Jiang Hang almost wanted to throw his face full of question marks right at her. Why was everyone talking in ways he couldn't understand anymore?

"Sorry, I did a little research on your family. I learned about it from an Italian friend of mine. But I think, as the sole heir of The Pioneer Foundation, with a future net worth close to a hundred billion US dollars, you probably wouldn't care about these things." She looked at Jiang Hang, but there was no hint of embarrassment on her face. Her tone carried an indescribable flavor, as if the words weren't just meant for him.

Hearing that ridiculously high-sounding title from Eri Kisaki's mouth, Jiang Hang's eyes widened slightly.

He was just a positive-energy little detective who couldn't even afford his own office yet—why was she suddenly elevating him to the level of a final boss!?

Damn system, come out here and explain to me—what the hell is The Pioneer Foundation!?

Chapter 44: The System's Heart Is Bitter, But the System Can't Speak

When Jiang Hang cursed it as a damn system yet again, the Legendary Assassin System was also dumbfounded.

It didn't even bother to retort immediately, because it had no idea what was going on either.

The Pioneer Foundation—what the hell was that? This system had never heard of it either!?

But it knew this had to be related to that damned 2D patch pack.

So it quickly began searching the origins of this world and started self-checking its various subsystems or plugins for new malfunctions.

Finally, after flipping through the system logs—which it had rarely opened since becoming a veteran system—it found the source of the problem.

"Yen Generation Plugin"

"Source: 2D Patch Pack (This plugin is lovingly contributed by the Behind-the-Scenes Tycoon System and organized by the 2D Life Winner System).

Specific Effect: After using this plugin, money will automatically be provided to the system host according to system requirements."

Optional Options (System may automatically decide whether to close relevant functions): Provide Host with a more reasonable source of money (default on), Anti-Inflation Option (default on)...

Among the optional options were many different settings, most of which didn't need attention. As for those overly violent functions, like "One-Button Richest Man" or even the "Final Owner" option granting ownership of an entire planet's wealth, those were off by default.

The problem lay in that seemingly normal "more reasonable source of money" option. It had completely failed to notice before that beneath this option there were actually several subcategories. One of these had an effect where, once it activated this plugin, it would automatically generate a behind-the-scenes organization in the Host's world to provide money for the Host.

Moreover, this effect directly acted on the world's timeline. Through modifications to the timeline, this organization had started developing quietly decades ago, spending years to reach its current state.

Of course, this also involved more complex world-line interference and such, but in short, for people living in this world, this organization was real. However, because it was provided by a behind-the-scenes system, it would always keep a low profile, and ordinary people wouldn't know of its existence.

Sure enough, these systems that played the behind-the-scenes game were all dirty at heart. Providing a money plugin and still pulling this trick—did they just love playing the silent wealth game that much?

When it had first looked over this plugin, it had completely missed this point.

And what was even more system-killing was that this function was actually on by default!

It had caused the traversal subsystem to have major issues, and now it was stirring up another mess. If it could, it really wanted to uninstall this patch pack right now and leave a big fat bad review in the comments for the system that released it.

But saying all this now was useless. The Legendary Assassin System had to admit that it had been a bit lax recently.

Because it was envious and jealous of those thriving 2D systems, when it installed the 2D patch pack for itself, it had only skimmed the instructions, thinking it had fully understood everything inside, and then installed it without paying much more attention.

As a result, ever since installing this patch pack, various problems kept popping up frequently. Now it couldn't even be sure whether this 2D patch pack might contain any more system-killing surprises.

But when problems arose, solutions had to be found. The Legendary Assassin System began thinking of ways to fix this.

Turn off this behind-the-scenes power option?

That wouldn't work either. Now that the plugin had activated, forcibly shutting it down would cause significant impact on the world.

A single misstep might even lead to a timeline restart. Although rewinding time wasn't too difficult for a system that transcended worlds—back when it had helped a Host complete a final assassination mission, it had rewound time five times before succeeding—

But a timeline restart was a higher-level operation. It would have to apply to the System Management Bureau for that. Given its current situation, it didn't even dare apply for Jiang Hang's punishment mission, so how could it possibly apply for the even more problematic timeline restart?

But what about admitting its mistake to the Host and offering compensation rewards?