The Salted Fish Assassin's Multiverse Daily Life Chapter 19

Impossible. Even if this host training plan had gone wrong from the very start, those were all accidents. Its operational ability was completely fine—this was the last shred of pride the Legendary Assassin System had as a veteran system.

Compensation could be given, but there was absolutely no way it would let that host who disrespected it every day know this was all because of its own work error!

As a veteran system, the Legendary Assassin System felt this was the time to show the spirit befitting a veteran system.

So, after the system overloaded itself with processing, it returned to reality.

Facing the crowd, especially Shizuka Sakaki's utterly shocked expression, Jiang Hang managed to keep his face calm, but inside he was already cursing his own trash system for a good while.

The system's reply finally came, albeit late.

"Please trust this system's professional ethics. The Foundation was established to ensure the host's financial sources are completely reasonable and legal. This system deemed that informing the host of this information would have no impact on the host themselves, and therefore did not inform you."

"Note: Without this system's approval, the host cannot withdraw any assets from the Foundation. Therefore, please continue to work hard on commissions to earn your rewards."

For some reason, even though the system's voice was still flat and emotionless, Jiang Hang felt like there was a hint of monotone recitation in its words.

As soon as he heard he couldn't withdraw the Foundation's money, Jiang Hang immediately calmed down.

This thing might sound impressive, but it was just a backdrop. The system creating something like this wasn't surprising—at least it was more reasonable than him secretly playing the stock market or doing finance to make money.

As a transmigrator, Jiang Hang found his adaptability in this area was surprisingly strong.

Even though the system's answer still had plenty of points to nitpick, everyone was waiting for his response.

Just as Jiang Hang was about to say something to Taro Matsuno, who was kneeling and trembling slightly, the system's prompt suddenly came again.

"...Congratulations, host, for successfully triggering the hidden template 'Industry Template.' If the host agrees to take over the art museum, the 'Industry Template' will officially activate, providing the host with substantial monetary income and reputation rewards."

Jiang Hang was stunned. Why did this dog system suddenly unlock a new feature? And it seemed like it was offering to pay for him to take over this museum?

Something was off, very off. When had his system ever been this generous?

"If the host agrees to take over the art museum, the subsequent acquisition will be handled by this system under the Foundation's name on the host's behalf. If the host disagrees, the Industry Template will automatically close."

Hearing the system's urging, Jiang Hang quickly asked one last question.

"I agree, I agree... but System bro, can we negotiate a change of venue or something? I'm not exactly opposed to an art museum, but if you could swap it for an animation company, I think I'd be a lot more motivated to do commissions in the future!"

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: I Never Had a Choice Before, Now I Just Want to Be a Good Detective

After the system made it clear it was "take it or leave it," Jiang Hang could only reluctantly accept a private art museum worth about seven billion yen.

Even after returning to his office, Jiang Hang couldn't help but let out a wistful sigh.

He was a perfectly good, positive little detective. At most, he dreamed of one day having enough money to make the entire industry fight over producing the anime he wanted to watch. How did he suddenly become a big collector before even getting a foothold in the animation business?

Wait, if I sold that museum now... wouldn't I instantly become a real billionaire?

After all, the system only said the Foundation's money couldn't be withdrawn—it never said he couldn't cash out this way, right?

This thought flashed through Jiang Hang's mind, but it disappeared after a single loop. He didn't want to hear that Director Ochiai, locked up in prison, had died coughing up blood upon hearing the news.

Anyway, this was a museum he'd gotten for free. And with the Industry Template activated, according to the system, not only would he not have to pay a single yen in maintenance, but it would also regularly bring him monetary and reputation rewards.

After fleecing the system for some wool and getting a new feature for free, Jiang Hang felt the system's generosity this time was almost too much.

Sorry, System bro. I used to say your rewards were watered down. Turns out you were saving up a big surprise for me. I was wrong about you.

Jiang Hang sincerely apologized to his system in his mind, completely forgetting how he'd been calling it a dog system just moments ago.

At the same time, he started thinking about this so-called Industry Template.

If this were a game, the Assassin's Creed series had similar industry-related mechanics—like the villas in AC2 and AC3, the heaven-and-earth-spanning Jackdaw in AC4, the cafes in Unity, and the Rooks in Syndicate. All of them needed to be built up step by step, leaving a deep impression on Jiang Hang back then.

In the game, Jiang Hang loved idling while waiting for villa income to come in, buying all the available gear and maxing out every skill before heading out to go on a rampage.

Unfortunately, later Assassin's Creed titles changed their style, and this element was greatly weakened. Thinking about it was a bit of a shame.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Jiang Hang finally noticed the strange looks Shizuka Sakaki and Koharu Yoshino were giving him.

Clearly, Shizuka had already told Koharu everything that had just happened, and Jiang Hang felt it was fine for them both to know.

If interpersonal relationships soured because of this, then Koharu and Shizuka would only ever amount to this much.

He naturally understood why they were so shocked—he'd been just as shocked when Eri Kisaki told him how amazing he was.

He couldn't help but sigh, then walked up to them.

"I originally planned to get along with you as an ordinary person. Didn't expect to get investigated."

"No more pretending. I'm a billionaire. I'm coming clean." Jiang Hang shrugged and said this directly to the two girls.

Hearing Jiang Hang's words, Shizuka Sakaki immediately looked at him with an even stranger expression, while Koharu Yoshino stared at him like he was talking nonsense.

Gotta say, when it came to facial expressions, Koharu was definitely stronger.

"What do you mean 'originally planned to get along as an ordinary person'? From the start, we knew you were at least a billionaire, okay?" Koharu couldn't help but retort.

"In your eyes, do ordinary people rent places worth ten million yen a year and casually donate a hundred million?"

Jiang Hang coughed awkwardly. That was one of the "classic cool-guy lines" he'd wanted to say but never had the chance to before transmigrating, and it had just slipped out.

"If you already knew, then why make that face? Is it that scary?"

"Even though we knew Jiang Hang-kun was rich... we never imagined it was to this extent. It's really shocking." Shizuka Sakaki said honestly.

"I was only planning to donate a hundred million yen to the museum, and then I step out for a bit, come back, and you tell me you just bought the whole place outright?" Koharu Yoshino was even more bewildered. She'd been diligently gathering intel on Keiji Aso back at the office, and her boss just casually strolled out and dropped at least several billion yen?

And to him, that was apparently just a drop in the bucket—a thousand billion dollars... how much would that be in yen? If she had to count it all herself, she'd probably never finish in a lifetime.

Right then, Jiang Hang quickly chimed in to clarify. It wasn't like he actually had that much money; it was all thanks to the system "keeping him."

"You're thinking too big. That money's only mine in name. Actually inheriting all those assets requires meeting some ridiculously strict conditions—basically impossible."

"You've heard of the Twelve Labors of Heracles, right? Inheriting that Foundation's wealth is about that level of difficulty."

"This museum is just an exception. The Foundation decided it was worth investing in, and that's got little to do with me. Normally, the cash I can get my hands on is only a little more than the average person." Jiang Hang cleared his throat, then held up his hand, pinching his thumb and forefinger together to show a tiny gap.

"Just a little better than average?" Shizuka Sakaki stared at him with extreme suspicion. That "little" of yours sure is a "little" bit.

"Don't sweat the details. Anyway, the money I can actually use is just a small portion. If I really had that much to spend, I wouldn't be renting this floor for the office—I'd have bought the whole building."

"In short, I've given up on inheriting that fortune. I'm content just getting a monthly allowance to live comfortably. Honestly, I kinda like this life."

Koharu Yoshino actually believed Jiang Hang's explanation this time.

After all, a billionaire randomly showing up in Japan to be a small-time detective was way too bizarre.

If it was because he knew he couldn't inherit the money and decided to live the life he wanted, becoming a detective in Japan—that struck her as having a bit of romantic flair.

Seeing how Jiang Hang ran around all over Tokyo every day, hustling for commissions without a trace of billionaire arrogance.

Seeing that he'd pretty much convinced the two girls, Jiang Hang let out another heavy sigh, finally putting the topic to rest.

"I didn't have a choice before. Now I just want to be a good detective, bring some positive energy to this restless society. Let's drop the rest."

Chapter 46: Arrival at Moon Shadow Island

Three days had passed since Jiang Hang said he'd bought the museum.

During that time, just as the system had promised, he didn't have to worry about a thing. That so-called Foundation handled all the follow-up procedures.

Today, the Beika Art Museum officially came under his name. Though it was still closed, the Industry Template had been activated.

After some research, Jiang Hang realized the core of this Industry Template wasn't the money or reputation you could collect every so often.

In fact, after deducting the museum's daily operating and maintenance costs, the leftover cash was about the same as what he'd earn from taking on one extra junk commission per day.

The heart of the Industry Template was something like the Brotherhood's individual training system.

He could now see the two girls' core personalities and the talents they could develop.

Skills like cooking and driving were trivial, but Koharu Yoshino's special talents included advanced potential in intelligence gathering—currently only at a basic level—and interpersonal skills and leadership, which were still unactivated but had advanced potential.

After all, in the anime, Koharu Yoshino managed to give a rundown tourist town a second wind in just a year, even reviving it. Having leadership skills wasn't surprising.

As for Shizuka Sakaki, her talents were mostly in performing arts, and her potential was high too. That meant if she kept going down the voice-acting path, she might not reach the absolute top tier, but she'd definitely become a well-known voice actress.

The training method was simple: he could choose any employee to cultivate a specific talent, and their efforts in that area would yield twice the results with half the effort.

The speed of improvement depended mainly on the industry level, but more importantly, on the individual.

Talented people who worked hard would improve faster; if someone was mediocre and didn't put in the effort, this training feature was basically useless.

Typical of his rigid system, Jiang Hang muttered to himself as he read the description.

Overall, he didn't need to worry about the two girls' personalities. Shizuka Sakaki was a hard worker, while Koharu Yoshino was lazy like him when there was no work, but once she got into work mode, she was diligent enough.

He selected Koharu Yoshino's intelligence gathering and Shizuka Sakaki's acting skills for training. The rest was up to them.

In short, this Industry Template was a tool for expanding his influence.

If the Office Template was about pushing Jiang Hang to take on more commissions personally, then this talent training was about cultivating more "capable hands" to work for him.

Jiang Hang even wondered if the system was trying to get him to build a "Brotherhood" of detective (assassin) organizations to go toe-to-toe with the Black Organization.

But then he thought again—he was living just fine now, and the Black Organization hadn't come after him. Why would he bother messing with that bunch of traitors?

After all, the system never said he had to set up an assassin group. He certainly wasn't going to do something so thankless.

Maybe if he finally managed to build a decent organization, the next day every random intelligence agency in the world would send agents to infiltrate it.

Just imagining that scenario made Jiang Hang quickly drop the idea. It'd be better to wait until he had enough money to buy an animation or game company, raise the industry level, and train a batch of talent to make anime and games for him. Wouldn't that be great?

After handling all that, with three days left until the full moon night, Jiang Hang finally set off for Moon Shadow Island.

With Officer Takagi's help, Jiang Hang had gathered enough intel on that old case over the past few days. To give him a heads-up, Jiang Hang also told him there were huge doubts in the case—Keiji Aso's death was likely a murder.

But a case that had been filed as "suicide" twelve years ago was extremely hard to overturn. If anyone else said that, few would believe them.

Unexpectedly, Takagi Wataru trusted Jiang Hang's abilities and directly told him, "If the police really got the truth wrong back then, please, Mr. Jiang Hang, be sure to find the real culprit."

Even though it would make the police lose face, for a man with a sense of justice like him, letting the real killer go unpunished was far more unforgivable.

It was just that most of the detectives in the serious crimes division were busy handling major incidents all over Tokyo, or else he'd have volunteered to come along and investigate.

The contents of the case file were about the same as what Koharu Yoshino had dug up—just a guy going crazy, killing his wife and daughter, then burning himself to death.

But the newspapers Koharu Yoshino collected, aside from the more reputable ones, were full of sensationalist tabloids that added their own spin—some fake news here, some there. With her intelligence gathering still at a basic level, it was a stretch for her to tell fact from fiction.

Still, Jiang Hang wasn't in a rush. Koharu Yoshino had potential in this area; he just needed to wait for her to grow.

Now, he could already see the outline of Moon Shadow Island.

Moon Shadow Island was located over twenty kilometers offshore from Tokyo—not a particularly great distance, really, taking just over an hour to reach by ferry.

Over a thousand households lived on the island, most having moved there gradually over the past century. In all those years, the only notable person to come from the island was Keiji Aso. And after what happened with him, the island had become even more insular.

It was clear that the village head wanted to turn the island into a tourist attraction—you could see some changes at the port—but it obviously hadn't yielded much result.

On the entire ferry, aside from their group of three, there were only seven or eight residents heading back to the island. And this was with the ferry running only five trips a day.

All in all, Moon Shadow Island wasn't completely cut off from the outside world, but its way of life still retained the style of the previous era.

At least, the moment Jiang Hang set foot on the island, he immediately noticed that the internet signal had gotten much worse. It looked like catching up on his anime here would be a luxury.

"So this is Moon Shadow Island? It's a bit bigger than I imagined." Koharu Yoshino let out an exclamation. She'd thought it was just a small, ordinary island, but it turned out to be fairly large.

Although the island was a little behind the times, its facilities were still relatively complete. After getting off the boat, they quickly found an inn and checked in.

He didn't plan to reveal his identity as a detective just yet—that might alert the enemy.

"Remember your cover identities now. You're reporters for a small news website. Don't say anything about being detectives or the like." He handed newly acquired press passes and business cards to Koharu Yoshino and Shizuka Sakaki respectively.

These had all been arranged through an intermediary. A press pass could fend off suspicion in most situations.

After all, no one liked being investigated by a detective. But if a reporter said they wanted to ask a few questions to write a news article, people's reactions were completely different.

"When you go out to question the island residents, say your website assigned you to do a feature on a musician who died young, and you were sent to this island to gather information about Keiji Aso."

Jiang Hang gave the two girls these instructions, making sure they wouldn't slip up.

Though still a bit confused, the two girls sensed Jiang Hang's seriousness and carefully memorized his words.

What they didn't know was that Jiang Hang had never intended to find the person who sent him the invitation from the start.

He already knew who that person was. He just wanted to uncover the truth of what happened back then before meeting them face to face.