When in Trouble, Call the Model Worker

Under Gin's watchful gaze, Jiang Xia walked over to the Porsche and handed Miyano Shiho's wallet to him.

As he withdrew his hand, his fingers casually hooked, stealing a trace of the Killing Intent hanging off Gin.

If possible, Jiang Xia would have liked to harvest more.

But Killing Intent could not be harvested simply by grabbing fistfuls. Taking it all required certain conditions to be met. Otherwise, he could only collect the tiny amount that naturally overflowed.

In this situation, a flick of his fingertips yielded about as much as reaching out and grabbing it, while the latter might earn him a bullet to the head from the wary Gin. It was not worth it.

When Gin took the wallet, he caught the slight movement of Jiang Xia's fingers from the corner of his eye, but did not pay it much attention.

Every time Jiang Xia handed him something, he would make that little hooking motion when withdrawing his hand.

The first few times, Gin had secretly been on guard.

But as it happened more often, he guessed it was some uncontrollable physical reaction. Like how a cripple could not help limping when walking, Jiang Xia was probably the same—after all, there had once been such a deep cut across his left wrist, and hands were delicate structures that were difficult to fully recover after injury.

Gin briefly inspected the wallet, then passed it into the car for its owner to check for any problems—Miyano Shiho had already rolled down the window when she saw Jiang Xia earlier.

Miyano Shiho was a genius scientist in the Organization, codenamed "Sherry."

...In the future, after taking poison and shrinking, she would probably change her name to "Haibara Ai."

Sherry had always been cold and sparing with words. But this time, she was not deliberately hiding in the car to act mysterious. When the robber had shoved her down earlier, she had sprained her ankle and could not easily get out.

At the time, her Bodyguard had been some distance away, and his reaction speed fully lived up to the title of cannon fodder—by the time he came to his senses, the passing bag snatcher had already vanished without a trace.

Losing money was no big deal, but the wallet contained Sherry's various certificates, as well as the research institute's access card. Those absolutely could not be leaked.

The situation was urgent, but fortunately, the Organization lost bits of information every so often... The Bodyguards were experienced. They immediately pulled out their phones and called Gin.

When trouble arose, calling the Model Worker was never wrong.

After hearing what had happened, Gin remembered that Jiang Xia was familiar with this kind of street block and summoned him.

...Unexpectedly, Jiang Xia solved the case in seconds. It saved them a great deal of trouble and was far more efficient than staking out the area to search for the man.

While Sherry checked the certificates in her wallet,

Jiang Xia secretly clenched the freshly harvested Killing Intent, preventing it from returning to its original owner.

Outwardly, he reported in a very serious manner:

"The bag snatcher is named Yamada Tomo. He has no steady job and makes a living doing odd jobs, as well as theft and robbery. Two years ago, he rented a haunted house nearby at a low price, so he often operates around here—I don't think he was after information. He probably just wanted money."

That sounded as though he were making excuses for the bag snatcher.

But Jiang Xia soon made it clear that was not his intention:

"He's currently at 2-Chome 21-305. He'll probably be unconscious for half an hour. He's rather heavy, and carrying him all the way here would have been too conspicuous, so I didn't bring him over... If you don't trust me, you can stop by on your way out and take him back for interrogation."

Gin gave an impartial nod.

Jiang Xia had not immediately silenced the man, which could barely be considered thoughtful—the bag snatcher was a habitual offender in this area, so perhaps some of the passersby who had Witnessed the robbery knew him.

If the bag snatcher were suddenly found dead on the spot today, then "Sherry," whom he had just robbed, might be connected to the Murder Case and attract trouble—after all, Sherry was a beautiful mixed-race woman with a very distinctive aura. One glance was enough to remember her for a long time.

Gin: "..." Even so, anyone who had taken Organization secrets had to die.

With that thought, Gin casually assigned Jiang Xia a task. "Keep an eye on him for the next few days. Make sure he dies in an accident within a week..."

"Ahem."

Sherry suddenly cleared her throat from inside the car.

Though her expression was tactful, the meaning was obvious: Pick someone else.

"..." Gin frowned and bit down on the Cigarette Butt at the corner of his mouth.

Jiang Xia had the distinct feeling that Model Worker had nearly said, "Women are such a hassle."

But in the end, Gin swallowed the words.

...The wishes of a precious genius scientist like Sherry were worth considering. Besides, it was no major matter.

Gin took out his phone, sent a message, and selected another disposable tool.

Then he looked up at Jiang Xia. "Nothing else. You can go back."

"Alright." Jiang Xia nodded and turned to leave.

At that moment, Sherry suddenly called out to him and passed a bag out of the car.

Jiang Xia recognized what was inside at a glance.

Supplements.

Brain-boosting ones. Very bitter.

Sherry had made them herself; they were one of a kind. She liked keeping some in her car and had previously mailed some to Jiang Xia separately, but Jiang Xia had refused every delivery.

Jiang Xia did not actually dislike Miyano Shiho.

From the fragments of memory he had deciphered, Jiang Xia Tongzhi did not hold much resentment toward her either.

—When Jiang Xia's parents were in that car accident, as the Truck bore down on them, the couple and Sherry had all been in danger of being crushed into human pancakes.

At the time, the couple had fiercely shoved Sherry out of the Truck's path, losing precious time they could have used to escape.

But judging from the footage of the accident, even without pushing Sherry aside, the two of them, who had been farther back, would still have found it difficult to escape.

—More than an accident, it had looked like a targeted murder.

So Sherry could not really be blamed for this.

But not blaming her did not mean he had to stick close to her and maintain a good relationship—before the accident, Sherry and Jiang Xia Tongzhi had known each other, but they had not been close and had rarely interacted.

Jiang Xia felt their current relationship was quite good. There was no need to take it further—Sherry was a core member of the Organization, and there would be no shortage of troublesome matters and troublesome people around her. As for Jiang Xia, an unlucky Spirit Medium without any Ghosts... all he wanted now was to maintain a peaceful life.

With that in mind, Jiang Xia lowered his head and looked at the beautiful, adorable Sherry inside the Porsche, then at the beautifully packaged but far less adorable supplements in her hand. He did not reach out to take them.

He merely declined politely. "There's no need. You're being too kind."

The hand Sherry held out with the bag stiffened slightly.

After a brief pause, she expressionlessly withdrew her hand, tossed the bag of medicine back onto the car seat with a slap, crossed her arms, and turned her head away.

...Then she turned back again, still uneasy.

Her gaze paused briefly on the Wrist Guard around Jiang Xia's left hand before quickly shifting away. In a cool voice, she said:

"I heard from Doctor Kazato that you did not return for your checkup on time—the next appointment is on the twenty-third. Remember to go."

Doctor Kazato was a doctor in the Psychosomatic Medicine Department at Beika Yakushino Hospital.

Hearing this, Gin's gaze moved back and forth between Jiang Xia and Sherry.

He had never thought Jiang Xia had any problems. Only now, hearing the word "doctor," did he learn that this useful Peripheral Member had not yet recovered.

Gin spoke in a low voice. "We do not need a Time Bomb that could die at any moment. If one day you cannot carry out a mission because of your mental state—human experimentation happens to be short on material."

"..." Jiang Xia glanced at the increased Killing Intent around him, his eyes brightening slightly as he nodded. "I understand."

Gin said nothing more.

He did think Jiang Xia was a useful subordinate, but only useful, not irreplaceable. Reminding him to seek treatment in time for Sherry's sake was enough.

Having recovered Sherry's bag, Gin and Vodka returned to the car, and the three soon drove away.

Jiang Xia pretended to watch them leave for a while.

The Black Porsche had barely turned the corner before Jiang Xia spun around and headed straight for his Motorcycle.

In the past, he might have stayed behind for a while, carefully searching the places Gin had stood to see whether any extra Killing Intent had dropped.

But since last week, Gin had no longer been his only hope for activating his ability.

That was right. Jiang Xia now had a new target.

It was the recently rising young idol and triple-threat entertainer—Kinoshita Yoko.

Jiang Xia had actually gone out today intending to find Kinoshita Yoko.

He had merely been dragged halfway there by Gin to serve as a disposable tool.

...Fortunately, the matter had been resolved quickly, so he did not have to postpone his real business until next time.

The matter of replacing his "Golden Finger activation Spare Tire" had begun last week.

After school that day, Jiang Xia had been walking home. As he passed an electronics store, he casually glanced at the display TV in the window and abruptly stopped.

—Kinoshita Yoko's cooking show was playing on the TV.

And Jiang Xia saw that around her wrist was something translucent, like a crystal bracelet.

The "bracelet" wriggled faintly, and he could vaguely make out a human shape within it.

Jiang Xia recognized it at once: that trembling little lump was the Ghost Fetus he had been searching for so long.

...It was simply much smaller than a normal Ghost Fetus.

A normal one would be at least as large as two hands pressed together. But this one was exceptionally tiny... perhaps because it had only been an embryo when it died.

Still, it was already very good.

A Ghost Fetus was the best medium for a Spirit Medium to wield their power. Even in his previous life, it had been a rare and highly sought-after treasure. Without one, a Spirit Medium would be as miserable as a summoner with zero summonable creatures.

But if he had one...

The instant he finally saw a Ghost Fetus after a year, Jiang Xia felt both gratified and moved.

...The goddess of luck had not abandoned him.

He was still himself, the clever and handsome European Emperor.

Recalling the Ghost Fetus on TV, Jiang Xia soon arrived where he had parked his Motorcycle.

At that moment, his phone suddenly rang.

The technology in this world was wildly inconsistent, sometimes advancing and sometimes regressing, with no discernible pattern.

At present, Jiang Xia used the most ordinary kind of 3G phone.

He swung onto his Motorcycle, glanced at the caller ID, and answered. "Something came up just now. I'll be there soon."

A faint, excited voice came from the phone. "Alright, Big Brother!"

Jiang Xia said nothing more. He hung up, put on his Helmet, and sped away in a cloud of dust.