Though it was a disgrace to his fellow transmigrators, Lin Xinyi decided to get a job and work honestly.
He had no choice. The original owner had left behind no capital he could invest to make money.
And he knew nothing about music or art, had not watched many anime or movies, and was a terrible writer.
He had struggled to squeeze out an eight-hundred-word essay in school. Trying to reconstruct a bestselling novel from an incomplete outline he remembered now? That was far too unrealistic.
Lin Xinyi basically could not learn any of the methods his transmigrator predecessors used to get rich.
Come to think of it, aside from knowing how to cut open corpses, the only thing he was good at was fighting—
If he treated the Criminal Law as a guide to getting rich, those two skills could work together to make him wealthy very quickly.
But if he wanted to obey the law and be a good person, those two tricks had basically nothing to do with wealth.
So how was he supposed to make money?
Was he supposed to use his current identity as a "Japanese friend" to return home and cash in on the secret to wealth, or simply apply to study abroad and scam scholarship money?
No. It was a possible path, but it was far too pathetic.
"I should just take the original owner's place and go to work."
"As long as I can keep it up for a while—even just three or four months—the salary I save will make things much easier for me."
Lin Xinyi had set his sights on the original owner's high-paying job.
He earned 890,000 yen a month.
If he bluffed his way through three or four months and got fired for incompetence, he could even collect another severance payment.
Altogether, that would amount to a few million yen, enough for Lin Xinyi to live on for quite some time.
Of course, if he could keep muddling through indefinitely—
If he lasted a full year, the salary he saved would be enough for him to quit, return home, and get rich.
With a trace of guilt, Lin Xinyi began planning how to impersonate the original owner and become a freeloader like Mr. Nanguo at the company.
Just then, the phone in his pocket suddenly began to ring.
Someone was calling.
"Who could it be?"
Lin Xinyi frowned slightly.
During the break in giving his statement, he had carefully checked the phone.
There was not a single call record on it. The original owner had likely wiped it clean before committing suicide.
And there were pitifully few numbers saved in the contacts.
Only two in total.
The first was labeled "Laboratory," obviously a work number.
The second was labeled "The Most Important Person."
That was also the number Lin Xinyi was most worried about.
Who exactly was this most important person?
His parents, relatives, close friends, or girlfriend?
No matter what the answer was, Lin Xinyi did not want to receive a call from that number.
After all, he was not the real Lin Xinyi. He had no idea how to get along with that "most important person."
And so, feeling slightly nervous—
Lin Xinyi took out his phone and saw that it was actually an unfamiliar number with no name attached.
Just as he guessed that this unlisted caller might not be someone the original owner knew, the call connected, and the voice on the other end sounded extremely familiar with the original owner.
"Hello, Lin."
The other party directly addressed Lin Xinyi by his surname.
"I just went to the laboratory. You weren't there."
"What is going on?"
It was a man's voice, neither young nor old, but steady.
There was obvious reproach in his words, yet not the slightest emotional fluctuation.
And the impression this voice gave—
Could only be described with one word: cold.
Even through the phone, Lin Xinyi could picture an imposing man with a cold expression giving orders.
"Going straight to asking about my unexplained absence... looks like the caller is my boss."
"Seriously, the original owner didn't even save his boss's number?"
Lin Xinyi silently complained about the original owner's laziness.
Then he casually glanced at the clock on the wall beside him.
"9:10."
Though so much had happened that morning, it was only just past nine, not much later than normal working hours.
But from the sound of things—
The other party was his boss.
And today, his boss had happened to come by the company for an inspection and caught him skipping work without cause.
"I'm sorry!"
Lin Xinyi still intended to keep freeloading under this man for a few months, so his tone was naturally extremely respectful.
He sounded exactly like an obedient underling, and the leader on the other end did not grow suspicious.
And since he did not know how the original owner normally addressed his boss, he simply used no form of address at all.
"I just got back from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and haven't had time to go to the laboratory yet."
Lin Xinyi gave this vague explanation.
He deliberately did not explain everything at once, leaving half of it for the other party to ask about.
After all, "I was delayed from work because the police treated me as a criminal suspect" sounded like a rather bizarre excuse for skipping work. Explaining it step by step would make it more believable.
"The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department?"
A nearly imperceptible fluctuation appeared in that cold voice.
But a leader was still a leader. His presence was formidable.
Rather than impatiently asking questions as Lin Xinyi had expected, he paused briefly before asking calmly.
"I need an explanation."
What an impressive boss.
Lin Xinyi silently marveled, then honestly explained.
"I was accidentally dragged into a Dismemberment Case during my morning exercise, so the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department took me in to make a statement."
"I also saw that somewhat famous detective, Kudo Shinichi. He was there as well."
To make his story more convincing, he specifically mentioned the famous detective's name.
But a leader was still a leader.
After hearing the bizarre tale of his subordinate being dragged into a Dismemberment Case and meeting the famous detective Kudo Shinichi, he did not show the slightest surprise.
The other party merely fell silent to think for a moment before saying in a deep voice.
"I understand."
"In that case, you can go to the laboratory now."
Lin Xinyi: "..."
His first reaction upon hearing that an employee had been caught up in a dismemberment case was to tell the employee to hurry back to work?
What a heartless machine for squeezing surplus value.
"Do your job properly."
Before Lin Xinyi dared complain aloud, the leader on the other end lectured him again in a voice cold enough to freeze a penguin to death.
"Your condition lately seems to have been rather poor. That is not good."
"The laboratory has been entrusted to you."
"Lin, do not disappoint me."
Lin Xinyi really did not want to pay attention to this boss who had no concern for people whatsoever.
But when he calmly considered that monthly income of 890,000 yen, he endured it.
"Yes, I guarantee I'll complete the task!"
The boss did not even respond with a hum before hanging up directly.
"Whew..."
Lin Xinyi let out a long breath.
"My boss doesn't seem easy to deal with."
"But from what he said, he probably doesn't come to the company often. I won't need to meet or deal with him every day."
"That is a good thing."
"But the laboratory has been entrusted to me?"
Hearing from his boss that he bore such heavy responsibility, his scalp went numb.
He knew how to manage a forensic laboratory.
But how was he supposed to manage a biological laboratory?
I won't expose myself on my first day at work, will I?
A primary person in charge of a laboratory was clearly not an easy job. Thinking of that made Lin Xinyi's head ache even more.
But the arrow was already on the bowstring; he had no choice but to fire.
Since his boss had already urged him to get to work, and he happened to need this salary, he could only force himself to go clock in at the company.
"No matter what, I'll try it first."
"After all, it's 890,000 yen a month..."
Lin Xinyi gritted his teeth and made up his mind. Then he turned and walked to the wardrobe, preparing to change before going to work.
There was nothing wrong with wearing his current black suit to work, but his trouser legs and shoes had both been soaked in water. If he did not change, they would start to smell.
But when he opened "his" wardrobe, damn.
It was all black clothing.
There was not a single item in any other color.
"This taste is probably because black doesn't show dirt, so he could wash his clothes less often."
Lin Xinyi rudely guessed at the habits of the original owner, who did not seem very clean.
After all, sloppy people liked black clothes. Before bed, they would take them off and sniff them; if they did not stink, they would wear them again the next day.
Thinking about it that way, even the clean clothes before him became somewhat disgusting.
Lin Xinyi tried hard to cast aside that awful thought. After picking through the wardrobe, he could only find a suit similar to the one he was wearing.
He put on the complete suit, straightened his cuffs, tied his tie, and pinned on the company's badge.
Then he looked in the mirror.
Hey, this appearance—
He looked exactly like a handsome, dashing real estate agent.
He would definitely leave a good impression on clients while selling houses.
Lin Xinyi was fairly satisfied with his appearance.
Then he went to the entryway, changed into leather shoes, and pushed open that unfamiliar front door.
"I'm going to work so soon."
The door opened, revealing the vast world outside, and Lin Xinyi felt uneasy again.
He was afraid his coworkers would notice something strange as soon as he started work, and that the company would throw him out before he had earned much salary.
But after that instinctive worry, he thought about it calmly. His starting situation was actually still acceptable.
"Fine. Getting fired wouldn't be such a big deal."
"No matter how bad things get now, they're still better than what I was worried about back then."
When the case had first occurred, Lin Xinyi had truly been afraid that he would go to prison.
After all, he did not have the original owner's memories. Even though he vaguely guessed that "he" had gone to the park to commit suicide, he could not completely rule out "his" suspicion.
And now, compared to those worries, no matter what—
"At least I'm not a criminal anymore."
Lin Xinyi pulled himself together and walked out of the house dressed all in black.
Before you continue