The One Who Drew

The countdown to the crossing has begun, day ten.

The meeting room on the top floor of the Osaka City Hall.

The conference room, which is over 400 square meters, has long solid wood tables. However, only six young people, five men and one woman, were sitting next to the tables, which could easily accommodate dozens of people.

Everyone was dressed in formal attire and silent, except for a young man sitting cross-legged in the last seat, meditating with his eyes closed. He wore an elegant white Japanese hunting robe, with finger pins on his lower body and a tall eboshi hat on his head.

This attire is the uniform of traditional clergy and also the samurai robes of the Age of the Kamishiro Family.

This attire would be nothing out of place within the Kamishiro Family of the Inner World, but it seems rather out of place here.

A tall young man sat comfortably at the head of the table, his bulging muscles making his black suit look exceptionally tight.

He glanced around and slowly said, "Kamishiro Unichi's death has been confirmed. We only have 10 days left before we can travel through time. How are we going to explain this to Uncle Kamishiro Seisho?"

"There's no point in explaining. The strategy was already decided in the meeting: first, send the search team to test the enemy's strength. But he was too eager to make a name for himself and went to get himself killed," said a young man on the left. "Kamishiro Yunxiu, you're now in charge of the Mysterious Affairs Department. Go and explain to Uncle Kamishiro Seisho how stupid his son was..."

The burly Kamishiro Yunxiu frowned. "There were only seven Chosen One left in the Outer World, and now one of them is dead. I advise you all, even if you're just putting on an act, to act a little more sorrowful."

The young man on the left shrugged. "Sorry, I can't. I find it hard to consider such a fool as an ally."

Kamishiro Yunxiu waved his hand. "Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's discuss what you think the killer's identity is. Is it Chosen One hidden among our native Time Walker, or is it the work of Jiuzhou?"

The only woman present calmly stated, "He's not from the mainland; Takashima Ichimei's identity is definitely fake."

"Why?" Kamishiro Yunxiu looked at the woman named Kamishiro Kongxu. She had long, straight black hair with sharp, angular ends like blades.

Kamishiro Kongxu said, "Si Nianhua represents the Kei clan, and Ji Guanya represents the Li clan. The timing of their destruction of the shrine is too coincidental. The people of Takayama Hida are creating opportunities for them. Therefore, this must be the Chosen One the Li or Kei clans."

Kamishiro Yunxiu: "But why would he appear in such a remote place as Shirakawa-go?"

Kamishiro Kongxu: "Perhaps the Li and Qing families discovered the little girl's special qualities a long time ago, and that's why they came here."

"Could it be Qing Chen?"

After contemplating for a while with his eyes closed, Kamishiro Kongxu said, "I think there's a 40% chance that this person is Qing Chen. The key point is that Qing Chen suffered humiliation and severe injuries at A02 Base. He's a very cautious person. After returning to the Outer World, he should have focused on recovering from his injuries and contacting various forces to discuss how to rescue him. But now, the time this Takashima Ichimei has given us isn't enough for Qing Chen to fully recover. It's foolish for a C-Class to cause trouble before he's fully recovered."

Kamishiro Kongxu said, "Now we're more inclined to believe it's the Joker. He briefly appeared at Osaka Airport and then disappeared without a trace, and the clues match. Currently, I suspect this Joker is the boss of Daylight. His familiar sniping skills and the strength level of the Chosen One all point to him. It's normal for him to want to help his own Daylight members get humiliated. Judging from his motives and abilities, I'm inclined to believe this person is the boss of Daylight."

In most people's eyes, Qing Chen is neither Bai Zhou's boss nor does he have the strength level of Joker.

The analysis by Kamishiro Kongxu was actually not wrong. If it were the Qing Chen of the past, he would definitely hide away to recover from his injuries, secretly advance his level, and then try to escape.

But Qing Chen was different now.

Having undergone redemption, the boy shed his last trace of timidity and impurities, leaving behind only unwavering courage and sincerity.

Kamishiro Yunxiu said, "Our power on the other side has been suppressed by Kunlun and Jiuzhou to the point of being unable to raise our heads. It just so happens that this boss of the daytime has come to the mainland. We must keep him here."

Sitting on the left, Kamishiro Yunwu calmly said, "Starting today, the six of us will split into two groups and cannot be separated. He has been hunted for more than ten days and has been in a state of panic. The remaining ten days are our best opportunity. Three people facing one of him, even if he had three heads and six arms, he would not stand a chance."

The burly Kamishiro Yunxiu nodded. "Yes, it's decided then."

However, at that moment, the Kamishiro Yunluo, suddenly opened his eyes. "I will not participate in this capture."

Kamishiro Yunxiu frowned. "Why?"

Kamishiro Yunluo said, "There's no reason why. As the Chosen One facing an enemy, to immediately cower and want the three of you to join forces is a cowardly act. Besides, I admire his courage to stand up and protect the little girl in front of hundreds of people; he's better than any of you."

Kamishiro Yunxiu: "Have you forgotten your own surname?"

Kamishiro Yunluo stood up and walked out of the meeting room. "Your direction of pursuit was wrong from the start. I guess he's neither in Hokkaido nor in Takayama Hida."

"Um?"

"If I were him, I would go back to Osaka and kill all of you idiots. After all, 80% of the members of the Mysterious Affairs Department are chasing him, leaving Osaka empty." Kamishiro Yunluo stood at the door and turned to Kamishiro Yunxiu: "You're going to hold a press conference tomorrow to quell the rumors about the recording, right? If I were you, I would deploy manpower to all sniper positions within a 2600-meter radius."

After saying that, Kamishiro Yunluo walked outside.

Kamishiro Yunxiu asked, "Where are you going? If you're alone, you might become his target."

Kamishiro Yunluo: "How can I lure him out if he's not alone? Don't worry, I'll kill him fairly. Also, keep your men in check; at least don't defile a nine-year-old girl. It's disgusting."

As they spoke, the young man in the white hunting robe walked away.

Shinsaibashi, Osaka.

This is perhaps the most bustling area in Osaka, with a constant stream of tourists. Ordinary people performing performance art thrive here; some perform magic tricks, while others dress up Spider-Man and take photos with tourists.

Right in the middle of the bustling city, a boy was sitting by the bridge with a drawing board in front of him, his pencil scratching on the paper.

If someone observes closely, they will find that the boy doesn't actually know any sketching techniques, and his technique is not professional; he doesn't seem like someone who has studied drawing at all.

The painting lacks any depiction of light and shadow; instead, it uses simple yet sharp lines to outline the facial features of the visitors.

But strangely enough...

More than a dozen tourists pass by him every second, yet he can remember someone's face in that instant, and even if the person has long since gone, the boy can still replicate it perfectly using completely unprofessional methods.

Just then, a couple walked by hand in hand. They saw the boy with his easel and asked with a smile, "Hello, how much would it cost to paint a picture of the two of us?"

The boy looked up and smiled, "One 'portrait' is 10,000 yen, so for two people it'll be 15,000 yen, okay?"

The couple exchanged a glance. The price seemed a bit high, but since they were already there, the girl happily said, "Then draw one for us."

"Thank you!" the boy said with a smile, "It doesn't seem like it's free."

He took out a razor blade and deftly sharpened the pen tip, then glanced at the couple before lowering his head to continue drawing.

The couple felt something was off, because artists usually don't need to repeatedly observe the appearance of the object they are copying, determine the proportions, the lighting, the outline, and so on.

But this young artist only glanced at them, yet he remembered them all?

Curious, the boy walked around to the front of the drawing board and saw that the boy had sketched the outlines of the two people with just a few strokes. With just these few magical strokes, the boy was certain that the drawing was indeed of him and his girlfriend.

This is practically a pixel-perfect sketch.

However, at that moment, seven or eight young men dressed in black suits walked by quickly. They wore gold brooches on their chests, which were the symbol of the Mysterious Affairs Department.

As these people passed by, passersby quickly made way for them.

The boy suddenly stopped drawing and said to the girl and the boy, "Excuse me, please wait a moment, 27 seconds."

As he spoke, he took the pencil in his hand and followed the Mysterious Affairs Department from behind.

The boy and girl stared at each other with surprise and uncertainty.

The next moment, the boy leaped forward, the tip of his pencil piercing straight through the carotid artery of a member of the Mysterious Affairs Department.

But the young man did not stop. In the blink of an eye, he killed all the members of the Mysterious Affairs Department in just a few breaths, and they all lay in pools of blood.

The killing was so fast that even tourists on Shinsaibashi didn't have time to react.

When he slowly walked back to his easel and sat down, the surrounding tourists screamed.

The boy wiped the tip of his pen with a napkin, looked up at the couple, and grinned, "Sorry, it'll be finished soon."

The couple noticed that the pencil tip, which the boy had used as a murder weapon, was still intact after he had killed eight people.

The two men trembled as they watched the boy paint, rise to kill, and return to paint, his movements fluid and effortless.

But what they remember most vividly is the 27 seconds the boy mentioned, a time filled with perfect precision and extreme confidence.

The couple didn't check their watches, but at one point they looked at the boy and felt that from the time he got up to the time he came back, it must have been exactly 27 seconds, no more, no less.

Tourists screamed and fled behind them, but the two of them stood still, too afraid to move.

The boy sighed, "I'm sorry, I might have scared you. This painting is free, and the canvas is yours too."

As he spoke, he stood up and handed over the drawing board, on which the couple's appearance had already been drawn, almost exactly like them.

The couple stared at the canvas in silence. They couldn't understand how their partner could calmly return to painting after committing murder. What kind of person was this?!

How can you be so calm?

Wait a minute, they suddenly realized the boy looked familiar... wasn't that Takashima Ichimei wanted by the Mysterious Affairs Department?!

The couple looked up suddenly, only to find that the boy had vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there and that everything here had nothing to do with him.

Meanwhile, the hacker who had disappeared for a day reappeared. This time, instead of releasing a new recording, all accounts kept spamming the same message: "I'm back. Are you ready to pay the price, you filthy Mysterious Affairs Department?"

This statement continued to spread, and even the murder case in Shinsaibashi was filmed and circulated online.

The video only begins after the murder is over. In the video, the boy returns to his drawing board and continues drawing with great focus.

There will be another chapter at 11 PM.