The Assassin Hidden in the Shadows

"Truly worthy of being called a famous detective..." Mikoto Misumi murmured in admiration.

She performed the autopsy on the deceased two days ago, and yesterday, with the help of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, she found out the deceased's identity. Then, by chance, she learned about the Arima Hot Springs.

She's going to Arima Hot Springs just to try her luck and see if she can find people there who met the deceased before his death, and then try to find out the killer's identity from them.

Jiang Hang was called in for help for two reasons. First, Jiang Hang has connections in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which can make the police pay more attention to the case. Second, it was also due to Seiji Aso's strong recommendation.

Mikoto Misumi didn't think those famous detectives who frequently appeared in the news were that great, but she witnessed Jiang Hang, after learning about the case, find the killer's traces on the Suicide Website that they had completely ignored in just a few strokes of his pen, and he also found out the killer's current address with almost no effort.

At that moment, Mikoto Misumi finally realized just how big the gap was between professionals and amateurs like herself.

"Actually, these are just some very basic computer technologies. I've only been learning for a short time, and my current level is barely at the beginner level. Compared to real hackers, I'm still far behind," Jiang Hang said modestly.

Who would have thought that Jiang Hang was telling the truth?

To be honest, Jiang Hang has only been learning hacking techniques for less than a month, and so far, he still doesn't have the "beginner hacker" skill mark on his skill panel. According to the system's evaluation, his current hacking level is indeed just at the beginner level.

Mikoto Misumi was unaware of these intricacies; she simply assumed Jiang Hang was being polite. After all, she was sitting in the back of the car, but having witnessed Jiang Hang's fingers flying across the keyboard, even if she hadn't encountered any skilled hackers, the ease with which Jiang Hang typed on the keyboard suggested he was at a beginner level.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Kubo Rokuro spoke up at this moment, "Mr. Jiang Hang, don't be modest. I had some knowledge in this area a few years ago. In fact, I secretly investigated that Suicide Website these past two days, but I didn't find any useful information until the website stopped operating."

"Being able to retrieve the data from this website is something I can't do, let alone obtain website administrator privileges."

Kubo Rokuro said this, there was even a hint of envy in his tone, perhaps lamenting that he indeed lacked the talent in this area.

He didn't actually join UDI because of his own ideas. In fact, after years of retaking the college entrance exam and finally getting into a third-rate medical school, he already knew that he didn't have any commendable talent in medicine.

He wasted most of his time during his university years.

He could see the end of his life almost immediately if he couldn't get the credits and was expelled from school, or if he barely graduated and ended up working at a small rural clinic.

The turning point, however, occurred a few months ago.

At that time, he met a reporter from a gossip magazine. Under the reporter's encouragement, he was offered a generous reward in exchange for getting into the newly established UDI and finding a way to transmit valuable information from it. In this way, he became a recorder for UDI as a medical student.

Although it was only a third-rate medical school, he could still be considered a proper medical student. It was actually a bit shameful to give up a better-paying job as a doctor and instead go and hang out with a forensic doctor.

However, in order to make money, Kubo Rokuro had no choice but to bow his head.

Using the medical knowledge he had acquired over the years, he successfully passed the UDI interview and became a recorder. In the following months, he sent a copy of the information on the cadavers that UDI had dissected to the reporter in exchange for a bonus.

However, during these few months of getting to know each other, amidst the various corpses that died in different ways and another middle-aged forensic doctor who was full of foul language, he inevitably developed some admiration and affection for the beautiful and serious Mikoto Misumi.

They didn't have many good people in UDI to begin with, and the person of the opposite sex in the dissection room who was closest in age to Mikoto Misumi was actually him, so he thought he still had some chance.

Who knew that Seiji Aso's recent arrival would instantly reshape the dissection room?

Someone closer in age to Mikoto Misumi, and a top student in the Department of Medicine at the University of Tokyo—who knows why such a prodigy with such a perfect start and a bright future would suddenly choose to switch careers and become a forensic pathologist!

At least, Kubo Rokuro never understood it.

With her delicate appearance, skillful techniques, and hardworking personality, Seiji Aso has won everyone's praise in just a few months since joining UDI. Even Doctor Nakaudou, who is always cursing, is mostly silent when Seiji Aso is mentioned.

As for her relationship with Mikoto Misumi, it was even more harmonious.

Later, feeling a bit jealous, he passed on the news that a medical student from Tokyo University had chosen to become a forensic assistant to a gossip reporter.

It was here that he first heard Jiang Hang's name from gossip reporters and the widely publicized drug raid on Moon Shadow Island at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

It was from that time on that the gossip reporter told him to keep a close eye on Seiji Aso and to contact him immediately if there was anything related to Jiang Hang.

He missed Jiang Hang's last visit, and in the end, he didn't even know what case the autopsy Jiang Hang brought was involved in. Obviously, such information could not be given to the magazine.

You can't exactly write a headline like "Famous Eagle-Eyed Detective Seeks Autopsy Late at Night" in the news; that sounds a bit creepy.

Therefore, when Seiji Aso suggested seeking Jiang Hang's help in this case, he immediately agreed.

Anyway, with Seiji Aso UDI, it seems he has no way of winning Mikoto Misumi's favor in any way.

After all, if the difference between the two is only a little, then they can still compete a bit.

One was a student who repeated his senior year of high school and finally got into university, while the other was a top student who graduated from the University of Tokyo. One joined UDI for money under the inducement of others, while the other gave up a brighter future for his ideals. One had never done anything significant and was even looked down upon by his parents since childhood, while the other disguised himself as a woman to avenge his father and endured humiliation for many years, collecting evidence against the drug cartel. In the end, with the help of a famous detective, he successfully dismantled Tokyo's largest drug transit station and retired in triumph.

After learning about the Moon Shadow Island case, and knowing the differences between the two Kubo Rokuro found it difficult to feel jealousy towards Seiji Aso.

Since he can't compete, he might as well find a way to make money. He will sell the information from UDI and the clues from Famous Detective Jiang Hang without hesitation, as long as it can bring him money.

That's why, when the case reached a stalemate Seiji Aso suggested asking Jiang Hang for help, Kubo Rokuro didn't hesitate at all and immediately nodded in agreement.

And as it turns out, Jiang Hang's reputation as a famous detective is well-deserved.

What he couldn't find through investigation, Jiang Hang could find out with just a few keystrokes on the keyboard, and wouldn't even notice any flaws.

"Eagle-Eyed Detective skills—this is a capability he hasn't revealed before. If I can expose this, the magazine that gets the buzz should at least give me a large sum of money!"

"No, even without Jiang Hang's involvement, the sheer twists and turns of the plot would have been enough to make the front page of the newspapers."

With that in mind, Kubo Rokuro had already started mentally drafting the news article, hoping to write it all the way through tonight.

Even his exclamation just now was actually a deliberate attempt to elicit information from Jiang Hang, but unfortunately Jiang Hang didn't continue the conversation, which left him somewhat disappointed.

Getting information out of a famous detective like Jiang Hang was much more difficult than he had imagined.

Kubo Rokuro didn't dare to act too deliberately, for fear that he would also be targeted by Jiang Hang and have his background exposed.

Although he doesn't have many ties to UDI now, it's still the place where he's worked for several months, and he naturally doesn't want to leave just like that unless something unexpected happens.

However, Kubo Rokuro felt he had been very careful, and apart from praising Jiang Hang, he did not show any other expression.

But in Jiang Hang's Eagle Eye, the other party's reaction still seemed somewhat unnatural.

Although he no longer remembered the specifics of the case clearly, he still remembered the basic character settings quite well, so he knew that Kubo Rokuro was actually an "undercover agent".

The only difference is that this undercover job doesn't involve the same constant life-threatening situations as Toru Amuro and Rena Mizunashi's.

Considering the other party's somewhat strange reaction, Jiang Hang realized almost immediately: This guy probably wants to sell my information for money because he's interested in my online traffic.

Jiang Hang didn't really care much about being in the news, but if someone wanted to make money by selling his information, he would show them the power of money.

However, although Kubo Rokuro had the black mark of selling UDI information in the early part of the story, he cannot be said to be a completely useless person. In the second half of the story, he gradually developed feelings for UDI and gave up the idea of continuing to sell information. He also made many contributions in the story, making him a classic example of a character who realized his mistake and returned to the right path.

While it's unlikely that the other party will realize their mistake early in the story, it's certainly possible to give them a small shock from the famous detective.

Chapter 451: Chapter 447: The Assassin Hidden in the Shadows

Arima Hot Springs is located near Chiba Prefecture. Since it's almost from the west side of Tokyo to the far east side, it took more than an hour to drive there.

According to Mikoto Misumi, this hot spring was formed when the Philippine Plate sank beneath Honshu Island, Japan, and the seawater it brought up was then heated by the heat from the Earth's mantle, turning into steam that rose to the surface.

In the Arima Hot Springs area, you can drill a hot spring well almost anywhere.

Jiang Hang, a science student, didn't really understand these geography-related things, but if the case was solved quickly enough, he could give it a try.

If things go well, it wouldn't be bad to take the company to a hot spring when the weather gets cooler in a while.

Of course, Jiang Hang wasn't idle on the way to Arima Hot Springs. While Inspector Megure was explaining the situation to the team in charge of the case, he directly called Takagi Wataru and asked him to drive over to prepare to escort the prisoner.

Jiang Hang's reaction made Kubo Rokuro, who was sitting in the passenger seat, a little nervous.

"Um... shouldn't the task of apprehending the criminal be left to the police? We're just going there to assist them in locating the criminal, right?"

Hearing Kubo Rokuro's worries, Seiji Aso, who was driving, showed no sign of concern whatsoever.

Although he hadn't actually dealt with Jiang Hang that many times, he only learned what Jiang Hang had done after everything had settled down during the Moon Shadow Island incident, and even then, he was still somewhat confused.

But after the Moon Shadow Island case, he had been keeping an eye on Jiang Hang's affairs.

In cases like the recent gun threat at the National Stadium and the Genji Fireflies case in Kyoto, the police mentioned at the press conferences after the cases were closed that Jiang Hang was the one who took care of the criminals and robbers.

As long as the enemy is unarmed, Jiang Hang should have no problem dealing with a prisoner given his skills.

"Don't worry, when we get there, just wait for me outside the house. It'll be over soon."

Mikoto Misumi was somewhat worried that there might be more women lured by Yuki in the prisoner's house. What if the prisoner realized something was wrong and used those women's lives as leverage?

Jiang Hang glanced at Kubo Rokuro in the passenger seat and noticed that the other man was listening intently to their conversation.

Since we're already prepared to fish for information, let's reveal some valuable details. After all, you need some gimmicks to make the news, right?

Jiang Hang thought for a moment, then took out some smoke bombs and tear gas that he had made himself from the trunk of the car.

"If that happens, I'll throw a few of these things into his house. If he's still standing, I'll admit defeat."

After listening to Jiang Hang's introduction of these props, Mikoto Misumi looked at Jiang Hang with a strange expression.

Is Jiang Hang really just an ordinary detective? These things should all be controlled items, right? How could the police trust Jiang Hang so much that they let him use all these things?

If this continues, wouldn't Jiang Hang become the first detective in Japan to be legally allowed to carry firearms?

If Jiang Hang knew what Mikoto Misumi was thinking, he would definitely dismissively tell him, "A pistol? That thing is not as useful to me as a hidden blade."

Jiang Hang now has ten specially made Tranquilizer Dart installed on his Hidden Blade, each of which is more potent than the Tranquilizer Dart Conan used to tranquilize Kogoro Mouri.

At a distance of less than ten meters, even a handgun wouldn't be much faster than the rate of fire of these Tranquilizer Darts.

Ten meters may seem like a short distance, since most pistols are marked with an effective range of around 50 meters. However, in actual combat, the effective range of a regular pistol is much shorter than many people think.

Over 90% of pistol engagements are completed within 15 meters, and when facing a moving target at a distance of more than 15 meters, the pistol's hit rate drops to less than 30%.

Under such circumstances, the sleeve dart in Jiang Hang's hand, with an effective range of about 25 meters, was naturally sufficient.

However, whether it's Hidden Blade or a hidden arrow, this thing is much more important to Jiang Hang than a smoke bomb, so he naturally wouldn't show it off.

In short, after Jiang Hang took out these props, the car fell silent again until Seiji Aso Jiang Hang, drove the car to a small road further east of Arima Hot Springs.

"The location after the IP address is resolved is roughly here. Aso, please slow down the car. I'll observe the situation from the car first."

Seiji Aso nodded firmly, completely obeying Jiang Hang's instructions.

Jiang Hang used Eagle Eye to scan the houses along the roadside.

He didn't nod until he saw a mobile refrigerated truck next to a somewhat old-looking wooden house by the roadside.

"The target has been found, but just to be on the safe side, Aso, drive a few hundred meters ahead before stopping."

Mikoto Misumi quickly followed Jiang Hang's gaze and looked over.

"That's... a refrigerated truck?"

Jiang Hang nodded. "I think that's where the deceased actually died."

"The cause of death is freezing. We can rule out the possibility that the deceased died on Mount Fuji. You previously thought the deceased might have died in a cold storage warehouse, but such things are too easy to have accidents. Even a slightly reputable refrigeration company would not make such a basic mistake."

"However, the capacity of a regular refrigerator or freezer is too small, and it is easy to cause more obvious frostbite marks on human skin."

"These refrigerated trucks, which are specifically designed for transporting chilled and frozen goods, are more like tools used by the murderer to commit the crime."

Listening to Jiang Hang's explanation, Mikoto Misumi nodded slightly, but couldn't help reminding Jiang Hang, "Then you must be careful. If you can't be 100% sure you can rescue them safely, then let's wait for the police to arrive..."

Jiang Hang gave the other person a reassuring gesture, without saying anything that sounded like he was setting a flag.

After driving another two or three hundred meters, Seiji Aso found a relatively secluded place to stop the car.

Jiang Hang tidied up his tools and quickly got out of the car to deal with the culprit in this case.

Mikoto Misumi was worried and didn't dare to check on Jiang Hang's situation. However, Kubo Rokuro was thinking about whether he could get some big news from Jiang Hang, so he waited in the car and kept an eye on Jiang Hang's movements.

What struck him as odd was that, although his eyes had been fixed on Jiang Hang the whole time, the other man's figure seemed to suddenly become erratic after he got out of the car.

Then, it seemed like he just blinked, and Jiang Hang's figure, which had been right under his nose, suddenly disappeared!

If Mikoto Misumi and Seiji Aso hadn't been still in the car, he would have taken out his phone to capture this incredible scene.

This famous detective seems to be much more mysterious than he thought.

At that moment, Kubo Rokuro couldn't help but have this thought in his mind, and at the same time began to doubt whether he really should tell that gossip reporter about the other person's affairs.

Ignore the dilemma that Kubo Rokuro is caught in because Jiang Hang's Presence Concealment his view.

Jiang Hang, having already planned his route while in stealth mode, now only needed to ensure that he wouldn't be seen by the prisoner.

With his silent footsteps, the skill of minimizing his presence, and Eagle Eye's meticulous observation, Jiang Hang could stand behind his opponent without them noticing that there was someone else behind him. Using this skill to scare someone would probably scare them half to death.

Jiang Hang had never used this method before, but he wanted to try it today.

There's no need to show mercy when dealing with scum like this.

As Jiang Hang entered the house, he noticed the disheveled middle-aged man.

The thought of a man posing as a woman online to lure young girls who were not yet mature and were dissatisfied with society because of certain things made Jiang Hang clench his fists.

He has a very high level of control over his strength now. As long as he doesn't leave any marks on his opponent, causing some internal injuries shouldn't be a problem.

This is something that ordinary fists and feet might find difficult to do, but the magical version of Bajiquan from the Type-Moon universe can do it very easily.

He found a suitable opportunity and quietly followed behind the other person.