You have a new order

The next day, Linhai City erupted.

On street corners and over meals, everyone was discussing two things.

First, Zhao Gang, the thug from Splendid Garden who abused his elderly father, had died of a heart attack.

Second, Wang Hu, the vicious robber at Intime Department Store, had inexplicably dropped his knife and fallen to his knees in full view of everyone, then died of a heart attack.

"This is downright eerie. Two bad guys dead in two days, both from heart attacks."

"That's karma! Heaven finally opened its eyes!"

"If you ask me, that robber did so much evil he scared himself to death."

At a breakfast stall, several elderly men and women were deep in lively conversation.

Kannazuki sat in a corner, quietly drinking soy milk and listening to the chatter around him.

He lowered the brim of his cap, his expression calm.

No one knew that "Heaven" was sitting right beside them, eating fried dough sticks.

"Ding! You have a new food delivery order."

Kannazuki glanced at his phone.

Splendid Garden again.

This time, it was Zhao Gang's home.

The note read: [Please bring a bag of spirit money, incense, and candles. Thank you. A generous tip awaits.]

Kannazuki raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Gang's home?

He accepted the order, bought the requested items at a nearby funeral supplies shop, and rode to Splendid Garden.

As soon as he entered the complex, he saw a funeral tent erected below Building 3.

Funeral music blared.

Zhao Gang's memorial portrait stood in the center. His brutish face, rendered in black and white, looked rather unsettling.

The cruel daughter-in-law was now dressed in mourning clothes, kneeling before a basin and burning spirit money, sobbing with tears and snot streaming down her face.

But Kannazuki could tell that it wasn't grief. It was fear.

As she burned the paper, she kept muttering, "Gang, rest in peace. Don't blame me... I'll take good care of Dad... Don't come looking for me..."

And on a reclining chair beside the funeral tent.

The ninety-eight-year-old man, Li Gensheng, lay there.

A brand-new blanket covered him, and he held a warm meat bun in his hands. A cup of hot milk sat beside him.

The old man still seemed unaware of what had happened. He gazed at the funeral tent with clouded eyes, chewing his bun as he mumbled, "Gang... Is Gang asleep?"

Kannazuki walked over with the supplies.

"Here's what you asked for."

At the sound of his voice, the woman jolted in fright and snapped her head up.

When she saw that he was a delivery rider, she let out a sigh of relief, though her face remained deathly pale.

"Th-thank you."

She fumbled in her pocket for a hundred-yuan bill and shoved it into Kannazuki's hand.

"Keep the change."

Kannazuki took the money without protest.

He glanced at the woman and asked coldly, "The old man's doing well?"

The woman trembled, casting a terrified glance at Zhao Gang's memorial portrait.

"Yes... Yes, he is! I'll care for him for the rest of his life and give him a proper burial! I'll never let him go hungry or cold!"

"Good."

Kannazuki turned and left.

It seemed that sometimes fear kept people in line better than morality.

This ignorant woman had attributed Zhao Gang's death to "karma" and "a vengeful ghost claiming his life."

To avoid being "taken away" herself, she would pamper the old man for the rest of her life.

A perfect ending.

Kannazuki climbed onto his electric scooter and was just about to twist the throttle.

A black Passat slowly pulled up outside the funeral tent.

The doors opened.

Two men in plain clothes stepped out.

The one in front was in his forties, with rough stubble but eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

An unlit cigarette hung from his lips. His gaze swept around the funeral tent before settling on Zhao Gang's memorial portrait.

Chen Lei, captain of the Linhai City Criminal Investigation Division.

"Captain, the forensic report's been checked three times. It really was a myocardial infarction. No traces of poison, no external injuries."

The young officer behind him delivered the report in a low voice.

Chen Lei said nothing, merely frowning.

"Zhao Gang, male, forty-five. Strong as an ox, no history of heart disease. Died of a sudden heart attack last night."

"Wang Hu, male, forty-two. Violent criminal, extremely fit. Died of a sudden heart attack this morning."

Chen Lei lit his cigarette and took a deep drag.

"Within twelve hours, two healthy men in their prime with no connection to each other both died of sudden heart attacks."

"And both were in the middle of committing crimes."

"Xiao Liu, do you believe in coincidences?"

The young officer scratched his head. "Captain, this... could just be a coincidence, couldn't it? Or maybe it's the recent swings in the weather?"

"A coincidence?"

Chen Lei blew a smoke ring, his gaze deepening.

"One coincidence is a coincidence. Two are a fluke. Three..."

"Are a lead."

He turned, his gaze happening to pass over Kannazuki as he prepared to leave.

A delivery rider.

The most inconspicuous, constantly moving people in the city.

Chen Lei's gaze lingered on Kannazuki for two seconds.

Kannazuki felt that gaze.

It prickled against his back.

But he neither looked back nor sped up. He kept a steady pace and rode naturally out of the complex.

Mental composure.

That was the first lesson he had learned from the Death Note.

When faced with suspicion, panicking was the stupidest thing he could do.

Only after turning the street corner did Kannazuki glance into his rearview mirror.

The two police officers were still questioning the woman in front of the funeral tent.

"The police are involved now."

Kannazuki wasn't surprised.

If the police lacked even that much perceptiveness, they would have been a joke.

But he wasn't worried.

Cardiac paralysis was a natural death. Modern medicine couldn't detect any signs of human interference.

Unless...

Kannazuki touched the notebook in his pocket.

Unless he was caught in the act.

"Looks like I'll have to be more careful from now on."

Kannazuki rode through the bustling traffic.

Two in the afternoon.

After completing his last delivery of the lunch rush, Kannazuki parked beneath a roadside tree to rest.

He took out his phone and scrolled through local news.

Suddenly, an inconspicuous local news item caught his attention.

[The Linhai City People's Hospital is embroiled in a medical dispute. The patient's family alleges that the surgeon deliberately caused the operation to fail after being refused a bribe, resulting in the patient's death. The hospital says an investigation is underway.]

The accompanying image showed the hospital lobby.

A group of relatives held up a banner bearing large, blood-red words:

[Zhang Wei, a heartless doctor with no regard for human life! A life for a life!]

Below the banner, a doctor in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses stood behind the security guards with an indifferent expression, arrogance and disdain in his eyes.

Kannazuki enlarged the image.

The doctor's name badge clearly read: Zhang Wei, chief of cardiac surgery.

"Zhang Wei..."

Kannazuki narrowed his eyes.

The name was far too common. Thousands upon thousands of people across the country shared it.

The notebook's second rule:

[When writing a name, it will not take effect unless you have that person's face in mind. Therefore, people who share the same name will not be affected.]

He needed to verify that face, as well as the man's crimes.

What if the family was simply making trouble at the hospital?

What if it was a misunderstanding?

Kannazuki wasn't a madman who slaughtered innocents.

He was a judge, and judgment required evidence.

"As it happens, my next delivery is near the hospital."

Kannazuki put on his helmet and started his scooter.

Ten minutes later.

Carrying a food delivery, Kannazuki walked into the surgical building of the Linhai City People's Hospital.

Instead of heading straight to cardiac surgery, he first went to the inpatient wards.

The news report had said that the deceased's family was still at the hospital, demanding answers.

Sure enough, cries and shouting came from the end of the corridor.

Kannazuki walked over, pretending to check the room numbers.

A plainly dressed middle-aged woman sat slumped on the floor, crying. Beside her stood a little boy of only seven or eight, his eyes vacant.

"We scraped together two hundred thousand yuan for the surgery... That money came from selling our house..."

"Dr. Zhang said it wasn't enough... He wanted another fifty thousand as an 'extra service fee'... We really couldn't come up with it..."

"So he delayed the surgery for three days... And my husband didn't make it..."

Quite a few patients and family members had gathered around, pointing and murmuring.

"Zhang Wei again. I hear he's ruthless. Without a bribe, he won't operate properly."

"Shh, keep your voice down. He's the deputy hospital director's nephew. He's got powerful backing."

"That poor family. With their breadwinner gone, how are they going to survive?"

Kannazuki stood behind the crowd, listening to these fragments of conversation.

The pieces fell into place.

Demanding bribes, delaying treatment, causing a death.

Powerful connections, and no fear of consequences.