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That night, in a mixed-use residential and commercial building on Ome Kaido in Shinjuku Ward.

Lin Yi sat on the balcony, taking in the night view with a glass of wine beside him.

His conversation with Suguru Geto earlier that day remained vivid in his mind. Now, even he was a little unclear about where he stood.

Going by his personality and his original plan upon learning that he had arrived in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, he should have kept his head down and quietly used his Cursed Technique to make money in Tokyo. Then, the day before the Shibuya Incident broke out, he would grab the cash and flee back home. He would watch the main cast fight Sukuna in Shinjuku, place a few bets to make another fortune, and live out the rest of his days in peace.

But plans could never keep up with change. First, he had somehow become entangled with Suguru Geto's faction. Then he discovered that even if he kept a low profile, Kenjaku, the thousand-year-old sorcerer hiding somewhere out of sight, had still set his sights on him. He had only barely shaken Kenjaku's attention for now, far from truly escaping danger.

At a time like this, the most straightforward thing to do was pack up and run without hesitation. Forget this side's mess.

But why did Lin Yi feel like running away like this was kind of humiliating?

He had transmigrated, gotten a localized cheat ability, and even had the advantage of knowing the plot in advance. Yet he still had to live with his tail between his legs? What had he transmigrated for, then?

And Kenjaku, that thousand-year-old sorcerer, had played him too. Was he really supposed to just let that go?

"Damn it, at the very least, I should learn the Reversed Cursed Technique and Domain Expansion before running away. What the hell is this supposed to be?"

Having found himself a reason to stay, Lin Yi finally took out his phone and dialed one of the few numbers in his contacts.

Kabukicho First Avenue.

Jewel Box Underground Bar.

This was a pleasure district where people from every walk of life came to indulge themselves, with all three poisons present.

As a fairly well-known City Hunter and private detective in the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku Ward, Lin Yi had long been a regular here.

"Yo, Yi-chan. No job today?"

"Yeah, I was run ragged a while back. One big job after another. Oh, and this lovely lady looks unfamiliar."

"Oh my, this is Koto. She's new."

"Really? Hello, Miss Koto. My name is Lin Ichiro, a handsome and capable City Hunter. What time do you get off work?"

"Mr. Lin Ichiro, the boss is waiting for you inside."

A yakuza kid with absolutely no sense of timing had interrupted Lin Yi's conversation with the bar's new bartender. Lin Yi could only straighten his expression and give the young bartender a helpless smile before following the underling into the bar's VIP lounge.

The VIP lounge had been cleared of guests. Only an old man in a wheelchair and a group of underlings were waiting for Lin Yi.

Seeing Lin Yi enter, the old man gave a nod to the deputy behind him. The underlings in the lounge obediently left, leaving only Lin Yi and the old man sitting across from each other.

"You're looking much better, old man Akutsu."

"Thanks to you. If it hadn't been for your help, Ichiro, I would've lost more than just my legs by now."

"Don't say that. You've helped me a lot too, old man. You were the one who arranged both this place for me to stay and my identity."

The old man speaking with Lin Yi was named Akutsu Chojuro. He was the underground boss of the Kabukicho area. More than three months ago, shortly after Lin Yi had arrived, he happened upon the old man being plagued by a Cursed Spirit. It was during that conflict that Lin Yi discovered his cheat ability was Cursed Technique: Polarity Reversal and learned that this was the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.

By showing off in front of a crowd and saving the man's life, Lin Yi had gained an agency, a legal identity, and the old man's friendship.

Most of the jobs he had taken in his first three months had been introduced by the old man. Exorcising a few Cursed Spirits, teaching some clueless gangs a lesson—those were what had made his name in Shinjuku Ward.

"You've helped me plenty too, Ichiro. But this is the first time you've called to ask me for help. What do you need?"

"Old man, you have so many people under you. Could you help me look into something? Has anything strange happened in Tokyo lately? Like what happened when I saved you."

"Strange things happen in Tokyo every day, Ichiro. That's too broad a scope."

"Hmm... schools. Right, narrow it down to schools. Find out whether any schools have had students mysteriously disappear."

"That'll be much easier to investigate. But you're not the sort of exorcist who takes the initiative to seek out trouble with these things, Ichiro."

"How should I put it? There are some personal reasons. Please help me out, old man."

"Since it's your request, Ichiro, I'll agree. You'll have your answer within three days."

"Three days? That's really efficient. I won't disturb your rest any longer, old man."

"You're leaving already?"

"No, there's a new young bartender outside. I need to go have a chat with her."

"You can take her with you."

"Mm, that would make it boring. But old man, a small piece of advice: over the next year, you might want to consider moving your business out of Tokyo. It would be best if you moved out of Tokyo too. Kyoto seems like a pretty good place."

"That's no small piece of advice, Ichiro. Your intuition?"

"Not intuition. It's something very likely to happen. Something big. Besides, you've helped me a lot, old man."

"A year from now? I'll keep it in mind."

Lin Yi left the lounge, closing the door behind him, then headed straight for the bar to have a heart-to-heart with the new young bartender.

Three days passed quickly, and Lin Yi arrived at the entrance of an elementary school.

It was early April, the perfect season for cherry blossom viewing.

Cherry trees were in full bloom on both sides of the school gate. Birdsong and insect chirps mingled with the spring sunlight, making for a rare day of fine weather.

Yet no sounds could be heard from the school apart from the birds and insects. The gates were shut tight. There was no bell, no sound of students reading aloud. It was deserted and silent, adding an unsettling air to the rare fine weather.

Lin Yi took out the sunglasses Jujutsu High had issued him from inside his jacket and put them on. His vision immediately became much clearer.

Azure Cursed Energy poured out from the school building, radiating an unsettling presence, but there was no sign of any Cursed Spirit activity for the moment.

That made sense. In broad daylight, those unranked and Grade 4 Cursed Spirits would not come out to stir up trouble. Any Cursed Spirit that could cause trouble in broad daylight was generally Grade 3 or above.

And a barrier technique like a "Curtain" was also quite helpful for drawing out Cursed Spirits.

Looking at the information old man Akutsu had provided on his phone, Lin Yi muttered, "Hmm, two students have already gone missing? So this is the training spot where Satoru Gojo had Yuta Okkotsu get used to life as a sorcerer. Let me give you a hand, Yuta Okkotsu. Come to think of it, I've never used this barrier technique before."

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, lightly leaped over the gate, wandered over to the school field, raised his right hand with two fingers held together like a sword, and began reciting the incantation.

"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."

As Lin Yi recited the incantation, a black, translucent "Curtain" descended from above the elementary school. The surrounding light dimmed as though night had fallen.

Then, three similarly shaped white humanoid Cursed Spirits appeared before Lin Yi.

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