Kimie Shimashiro's Resolve

"You've been bound by your identity Miyo-sama for too long; perhaps even your mother hasn't seen through it."

"Don't you really realize that the old people on the island have always known the truth?"

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's words, Shimadai Kimie's expression froze for a moment, then she shook her head violently, looking incredulous.

"How could they know? They couldn't possibly know. If they knew back then, why haven't they said a word all these years?"

Jiang Hang simply held up one finger in response.

"Think carefully, how many years ago did the legend of Miyo-sama appear on the island?"

Shimadai Kimie was very aware of these matters.

"It was about half a century ago. My great-grandmother played this role and even hired a TV station to promote it. However, the promotion was not very effective, and the audience did not believe that my great-grandmother could really live on."

Jiang Hang snapped his fingers.

"So you all went to the TV station back then, so do you really think those elderly people who have lived for half a century don't know the truth of this matter?"

"The legend of the Miyo-sama is a lie fabricated by your island for propaganda purposes from the very beginning, and your Shimadai family, as the shrine managers on the island, naturally became the so-called Miyo-sama."

"Your parents, at least your mother, should know about this, but because of her sudden passing three years ago, she probably wasn't able to tell you these things."

"But half a century has passed, and seeing the island getting better and better, the old people on the island are naturally unwilling to tell the truth of the past. They just silently enjoy the popularity that Miyo-sama has brought to this small island."

"They might even choose not to tell the truth to their descendants to prevent the island's children from letting it slip and affecting their business."

"Just like your friends, they probably don't know that the legend of Miyo-sama is a lie fabricated on your island."

"This is what I told you last night. Miyo-sama retire is not a bad thing. They probably made similar plans three years ago, but they have remained silent because you have continued to inherit your mother's identity."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask the elderly people on the island anytime. Although they don't usually say anything, I think they will tell you the truth if you ask them."

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's analysis, Kimie Shimabukuro's expression began to waver.

She still couldn't believe that the uncles and elders on the island who had watched her grow up could do such a thing.

"So, now that things have come to this, are you telling me all this to make me hate everyone on Mermaid Island?"

She looked at Jiang Hang with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

She originally thought that the three friends she grew up with were the ones who killed her mother.

But now, it seems that all the residents of the island have become accomplices of those three.

She could kill those three people, but clearly she couldn't eliminate everyone on the island in pursuit of revenge.

Jiang Hang shook his head and finally gave Shimadai Kimie a choice.

"Actually, I can't really be considered a righteous detective."

"I just hope to reduce the occurrence of cases as much as possible, but sometimes I won't stop them from happening."

"If you are truly prepared to use your future to avenge your mother, I will not stop you from taking revenge, but I will personally put you in the police car in the end."

"But I feel that the Shimashiro family, who have sacrificed three or four generations of lives for Mermaid Island, should not have met such an end, and you should not have ended your life here in such a muddled way."

"If you trust me, I can make those three people receive the punishment they deserve."

Chapter 517: Chapter 513: Shimadai Kimie's Determination

"It's not just those three people. If you want, I can make the entire Mermaid Island fall into ruin because of this."

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's additional statement, Shimadai Kimie, whose mind was still a complete mess and who didn't know what to do, quickly shook her head.

"Don't do that. If you really do that, then I will really be letting down my mother's last words to me."

After realizing that she still couldn't sever her feelings for Mermaid Island, the murderous aura emanating from Shimadai Kimie finally dissipated completely.

"Let those three people receive the punishment they deserve, but three years have passed since that incident, and there's no evidence left."

"Furthermore, according to official records, my mother passed away five years ago. What do you want them to do to get punished?"

Seeing Shimadai Kimie's appearance, Jiang Hang shook his head.

"As I said before, the old people on this island know all the truth about what has happened on the island over the years."

"If we're talking about witnesses, they are the biggest witnesses."

Seeing that Shimadai Kimie's expression was still somewhat worried that this matter might reveal the secret of Mermaid Island, Jiang Hang reassured her.

"I know a lot of lawyers, and I can speak to many important people. More importantly, thanks to your efforts and promotion over the years, the tourism industry on Mermaid Island has flourished."

"I looked at the visitor registration forms for Mermaid Island over the years yesterday. In fact, more than half of the visitors come here for the seafood and scenery, and less than 30% of the visitors come specifically for the Mermaid Festival."

"A small portion of these people are willing to pay to borrow the Dugong Arrow from the island's inhabitants in order to obtain its blessing."

"In other words, the number of tourists who are truly attracted by the legend of Miyo-sama is only about half a percent."

"Just like the Muzo Kadowaki I told you about before, he made a million yen this year by selling Dugong Arrow."

"The traveler who bought the Dugong Arrow did so to pray for his seriously ill son. Although the surgery did go smoothly and his son's life was saved, if this continues, and if there are several instances where people spend a lot of money to buy the Dugong Arrow but it doesn't work, it will only corrupt the atmosphere of your Mermaid Island."

"So I think the Mermaid Festival can still be held every year, but the residents of your island still need to do a proper job of promoting the Dugong Arrow lottery and the Mermaid's blessing."

After listening to Jiang Hang's analysis, Shimadai Kimie couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

Despite having lived on this island for over 20 years, she didn't see things as clearly as Jiang Hang, who had only been on the island for less than two days.

To put Shimadai Kimie's mind at ease, Jiang Hang then unveiled another major event.

He took out several business cards.

These are business cards he customized for his different identities.

"This is my film and television company, this is my art museum, this is my television station," Jiang Hang said. "In the future, I will continue to acquire some cultural companies that can expand their influence to produce various film and television works and animations."

"I think Mermaid Island has beautiful scenery, and I can promote your island in my works."

It's easy to add a mermaid-related episode to a tokusatsu series, and it's even easier to use Mermaid Island as a filming location in an animation.

Looking at the business cards Jiang Hang took out, Shimadai Kimie couldn't help but feel that this world was really too magical.

Why would a detective own so many businesses?

What exactly is the identity of this detective in front of us?

She looked at the business cards in her hand; she didn't understand things like TV stations and art museums.

But she had indeed heard of Daibao Films, the company that produced Gomera, when she was still in school, and had even gone to see the movie in theaters.

That alone was enough for Shimadai Kimie to realize that the other party was not deceiving her.

But then another problem arises.

Why is the other person being so good to me?

Shimadai Kimie glanced at herself.

Could it be that the other person is after my body?

She thought about it and realized that apart from that, she didn't have anything else she could offer.

But Jiang Hang seemed to notice the hesitation in Shimadai Kimie's eyes and quickly offered an explanation.

"This is the business card of our the Pioneer Foundation. Our the Pioneer Foundation is a global investment group that selects industries and individuals around the world that are worth Foundation in."

"I think your disguise skills are quite good, but you haven't had systematic training, and there are still many areas where you can improve. If you are willing to join our Foundation, we can discover your potential more quickly."

There was something strange about it, but before Shimadai Kimie could speak, she saw Jiang Hang suddenly make a gesture to her, indicating that someone was coming.

Shimadai Kimie turned her head to look at the distance, and sure enough, she saw Sumi Ebihara approaching.

"So the mermaid's tomb was actually located above Mermaid Falls. I've searched for it in this area before, but I've never been able to find it."

Sumi Ebihara's words clearly stirred up Shimadai Kimie's emotions again.

Jiang Hang patted the other person on the shoulder, telling her not to worry.

As Sumi Ebihara approached, she naturally spotted Jiang Hang.

"Isn't this Detective? Are you also interested in the mermaid's tomb and want to work together to discover the secret of immortality?"

Sumi Ebihara spoke casually about what happened back then.

At this point, she would soon see the mermaid's grave that she had been longing for, and she really had nothing to hide anymore.

He directly stated that he personally witnessed the Miyo-sama death, and that apart from the mermaid-like corpse, the Miyo-sama actually reappeared in front of everyone two days later.

However, she still had some basic vigilance and did not directly say that the three of them had set the fire and burned the other party to death.

"I am indeed somewhat interested in immortality, so I asked Ms. Shimashiro to broaden my horizons."

"However, the main reason is that Ms. Shimashiro told me before that Ms. Kadowaki was very uneasy because she lost her arrow, so she specially brought her to this area and let her see the mermaid's grave with her own eyes."

"So I also want to see what Ms. Kadowaki discovered in this area that made her decide to leave Mermaid Island for good."

Sure enough, after hearing this, Sumi Ebihara's expression changed.

"Really, Junhui? You already brought Saori here to see it before?"

Shimadai Kimie could only continue speaking according to Jiang Hang's instructions.

"Yes, that's right. After all, Saori kept begging me to come to the mermaid's grave to repent for losing the Dugong Arrow."

"So I had no choice but to bring him here. I didn't expect that he would leave the island after seeing the mermaid's grave. So I asked Mr. Jiang Hang to help investigate. I also remembered that you had told me before that you wanted to see the mermaid's grave, so I told you about it."

After hearing these words, Sumi Ebihara couldn't help but look worried.

It seemed she was worried that Saori Kadowaki had already stolen the mermaid's remains, and the remaining ones wouldn't have the effect of granting immortality.

She nodded to Shimadai Kimie, indicating that she wanted to hurry over and check if the mermaid's grave had been vandalized.

"Saori isn't very bright. It would be troublesome if she destroyed the mermaid's grave."

She said those things, but no one knew what she was really thinking.

"By the way, did you witness that fire back then?"

On the way to the Mermaid's Tomb, Jiang Hang casually asked the other person this question.

"Pretty much. Anyway, the fire did spread right in front of us. We even considered putting it out, but it spread too fast and there was nothing we could do. Luckily, only Miyo-sama, who has the ability to live forever, was inside, otherwise we would have felt a little guilty."

This Sumi Ebihara was still inexperienced, and after saying a few words, she still let something slip in the end.

After all, he had seen the case files from Heiji Hattori back then.

These three people did not say any of these things at the time, let alone mention that they saw Miyo-sama enter the warehouse.

If they had said those words back then, they would probably have been prime suspects for arson.

After walking for about five or six minutes through the woods, they stopped in front of a mound of earth after crossing a small hill.

This is where the so-called mermaid remains are buried.

Only Shimadai Kimie knew that this was actually her mother's grave.

But because her mother had already died in a shipwreck according to official records, she didn't even dare to write her name on the grave, nor did she dare to clear away the plants growing nearby, for fear of being discovered by others.

She could only memorize this place and secretly come to pay her respects every year on the anniversary of her mother's death.

But Sumi Ebihara didn't have such thoughts.

Upon seeing the unassuming little mound of earth and the fact that the earth next to it hadn't been disturbed recently, a look of joy appeared on her face.

Fortunately, Saori didn't touch the mermaid's corpse, so she still has a chance.

After that, all you have to do is sneak over and take some of the corpses buried here when no one is looking.

Jiang Hang also pretended to observe the area.

"I couldn't see anything, and there were no signs of damage. It seems that Ms. Saori Kadowaki only came here to worship once and then left without doing anything."

He even waited a while to make a note of the situation around Sumi Ebihara.

With her impatient nature, she'll probably take action within the next couple of nights.

Four or five minutes later, he glanced at his phone and "reminded" Shimadai Kimie that the ceremony to award the Dugong Arrow was about to begin, which brought Sumi Ebihara back to her senses.

But now that Sumi Ebihara has seen the real mermaid graveyard, her interest in the Dugong Arrow has diminished considerably.

But we still have to put on an act.

She also pretended to be worshipping before nodding to Shimadai Kimie, indicating that they should go down to the waterfall together.

At this moment Shimadai Kimie truly used all the acting skills she had honed over the years to prevent the other party from seeing the anger and hatred in her eyes.