Chapter 924: A Mess |
I wonder how Yin En and the others are doing now?
Liu Xing looked at the full moon in the sky, wondering what Yin En and the others were doing at this moment.
Just then, Liu Xing's phone rang.
The caller was Shi Zixuan.
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that Shi Zixuan called him so soon, "Hey, Shi Zixuan, how did you finish the investigation so quickly today? Can you confirm Liu Xuyu and Ii Naoyoshi's hideout now?"
Shi Zixuan sighed and said, "Sorry, I lost track of them because someone was secretly helping Liu Xuyu. So when I chased him out of the city, I couldn't keep up with their pace. After Liu Xuyu drove into an alley, I completely lost his trail."
"Where are you now?" Liu Xing asked quickly.
"Let me see." After a while, Shi Zixuan said, "It seems that part of the mobile phone signal here has been jammed. It doesn't affect calls much, but it's a bit troublesome to search the internet. But it's still usable; if this location info is correct, I should be in a place called Lu Wu, located on the coast of Kagoshima City. I think Liu Xuyu and Ii Naoyoshi are planning to leave Kyushu from here and head to Ryukyu."
So it is in Lu Wu.
"Oh, is that so? Should I contact the people from Blackstone Mountain Prison to capture Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu now? I heard that Blackstone Mountain Prison has organized a Special Investigation Team to hunt Ii Naoyoshi in the real world, and they've even offered a substantial bounty." Shi Zixuan said with a smile.
Hearing that Blackstone Mountain Prison has set up a Special Investigation Team to hunt Ii Naoyoshi surprised Liu Xing, but after thinking about it, it made sense.
Although Ii Naoyoshi is the first prisoner to escape from Blackstone Mountain Prison, dealing with a lone wolf like Ii Naoyoshi, Blackstone Mountain Prison only needs to find some secret cults in the real world to help capture him, without needing to act themselves.
However, if Shimada Sho's guess is correct, then it's normal for Blackstone Mountain Prison to establish a Special Investigation Team to capture Ii Naoyoshi because there's likely another Great Old One behind Blackstone Mountain Prison. This Great Old One wouldn't just watch as a fellow subordinate causes trouble under their nose and even attempts to take over their territory. Therefore, the boss behind Blackstone Mountain Prison wouldn't sit idly by; they would not only dispatch a Special Investigation Team to capture Ii Naoyoshi but also likely contact the Freemasons and local secret cults in the Island Nation to investigate Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts.
So the question arises, should I inform Blackstone Mountain Prison about Ii Naoyoshi's whereabouts in Lu Wu?
I believe that upon receiving this intelligence, Blackstone Mountain Prison would immediately send personnel to surround Lu Wu, ensuring that Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu can't escape... However, Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu don't need to leave Lu Wu; they can directly enter the Dreamrealm to take refuge or even counterattack the pursuers.
After all, in Dreamrealm, Ii Naoyoshi has thousands of comrades ready to go, and the Special Investigation Team from Blackstone Mountain Prison is not enough to fill the gap.
So unless everything is revealed as reality, it is impossible for the Special Investigation Team from Blackstone Mountain Prison to catch Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu... But if Blackstone Mountain Prison learns the truth, the Special Investigation Team from Blackstone Mountain Prison will probably back off, as the entire manpower of Blackstone Mountain Prison might not be able to catch Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu in Dreamrealm... unless Mr. A personally steps in.
Therefore, a long-term plan is needed at this moment.
Thus, Liu Xing spoke up, "Regarding this matter, it's better not to contact Blackstone Mountain Prison for the time being. First, it's easy to alert the enemy, and now Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu are already like startled birds, likely to flee at the slightest sign of trouble; second, I suspect there's an insider in Blackstone Mountain Prison because Ii Naoyoshi couldn't have escaped from Blackstone Mountain Prison with just our help. He must have made some necessary preparations inside Blackstone Mountain Prison, and those preparations couldn't have been hidden from everyone. Therefore, I suspect Ii Naoyoshi must have bribed some staff in Blackstone Mountain Prison to cover for him."
"Uh, I remember Ii Naoyoshi lived in the same area as you, Liu Xing, and the person in charge of that area seems to be your friend, right?" Shi Zixuan suddenly interrupted.
Liu Xing was taken aback by Shi Zixuan's words because he suddenly remembered that among the staff in T District where he and Ii Naoyoshi were located, the management seemed to consist of only Matt...
Although Matt was nominally just the head of the Wine Brewing Center, because the Wine Brewing Center was the main industry of T District, Matt was also responsible for managing T District.
Therefore, if what he said is true, Ii Naoyoshi likely bribed Matt to cover for him, allowing him to prepare various materials in his room to escape.
After all, at that time, Yin En and Ding Kun only opened the safe, at most establishing a teleportation coordinate for Ii Naoyoshi, so Ii Naoyoshi still had to make some effort to leave Blackstone Mountain Prison.
However, speaking of which, Liu Xing suddenly felt that Matt might be included in the Special Investigation Team organized by Blackstone Mountain Prison because he must make amends for his crimes; and then there should be Liu Qindong, because with a Star Color in charge, the Special Investigation Team from Blackstone Mountain Prison would be more confident in capturing Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu... If they can't catch them, it would be much easier to silence them.
Therefore, Liu Xing suddenly wanted to contact the Special Investigation Team from Blackstone Mountain Prison again because if Liu Qindong really joined the Special Investigation Team, he could ask Liu Qindong to help solve many problems, such as the dispute over the head of the Shima family between Shima Mitsuhiro and Shima Takeshi.
However, it's not appropriate to change his mind now, so Liu Xing continued, "Yeah, but I believe my friend wouldn't cover for Ii Naoyoshi because he has other purposes for entering Blackstone Mountain Prison, so I think Ii Naoyoshi couldn't offer him a tempting condition, especially since his focus is still on the Wine Brewing Center; but more importantly, Shima Mitsuhiro and Shima Takeshi haven't settled their dispute yet, so when the Special Investigation Team from Blackstone Mountain Prison enters Kagoshima City, it might make the situation in Kagoshima City more tense, and some mishaps might occur."
"Wait, Liu Xing, do you think Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu might also be in contact with Shima Takeshi?" Shi Zixuan suddenly raised a possibility, "Although there's no evidence to prove this yet, I suddenly feel that Ii Naoyoshi might be in contact with Shima Takeshi because Ii Naoyoshi has always been developing in Hokkaido, so his influence in southern Kyushu is not high, and now it's even less influential."
"However, since Ii Naoyoshi's trusted subordinate has been operating in Lu Wu for many years, he should have established a simple intelligence network in Kagoshima City, and the main focus of this network is definitely the Shimazu Family, so the recent changes in the Shimazu Family can be hidden from ordinary people, hidden from those not very concerned about it, but it should not be hidden from an intelligence network specifically watching the Shimazu Family."
"So Ii Naoyoshi might already know about Shima Takeshi's situation, and he might offer himself to Shima Takeshi. Since Shima Takeshi's subordinates lack an industry bigwig like Ii Naoyoshi, they might hit it off and reach a cooperation; if this is true, then things could get complicated because Ii Naoyoshi can quickly train Shima Takeshi's subordinates into a group of fanatic believers."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xing couldn't help but say, "And what about the old ancestors in the Shimazu Residence? If Ii Naoyoshi finds them, things will get complicated because those old ancestors are the soul of the Shimazu Family. If they are swayed by Ii Naoyoshi, Shima Takeshi will really become the legitimate heir of the Shimazu Family... Even Ii Naoyoshi might occupy the Shimazu Family by deceit."
Liu Xing felt that with Ii Naoyoshi's abilities, he could easily disguise Liu Xuyu as Shima Takeshi and then use a trick to replace Shima Takeshi, silencing him and letting Liu Xuyu take his place.
However, at this moment, Liu Xing had another bold idea, which was that Ii Naoyoshi might be a person of Shima Mitsuhiro, or more precisely, a partner of Kitano Masakazu!
First of all, Ii Naoyoshi should know Kitano Masakazu because Ii Naoyoshi was very prominent in the Hokkaido area back then, and he must have had some connections with the Kitano family. After all, the Kitano family is one of the largest families in the Hokkaido area on the surface, and secretly, they are also one of the top existences among the local Deep One tribes. Therefore, Ii Naoyoshi and the representative of the Kitano family—Kitano Masakazu—must be acquainted.
Furthermore, according to Kitano Masakazu, their Kitano family has already started betting on both sides. One part remains in the Hokkaido area seeking achievements from the dragon, while the other part has come to Honshu to pledge allegiance to the Island Nation. So, it's possible that their Kitano family might want to place another bet in the southern part of Kyushu, taking advantage of the Shimazu Family's internal struggle for leadership to get a share of the pie?
Therefore, Kitano Masakazu might still be trying to recruit Ii Naoyoshi to work for him, especially now that Ii Naoyoshi seems to be quite down and out.
Alright, Liu Xing was starting to feel a bit of a headache again because the current situation in Kagoshima City was already tangled and confusing, with various characters taking the stage one after another. Besides being able to confirm that Shima Takeshi and Shima Mitsuhiro are mortal enemies, the relationships between the other characters are somewhat ambiguous.
For instance, whether Kitano Masakazu throws Shima Mitsuhiro off the ship to feed the sharks, or Ii Naoyoshi takes Shima Takeshi's head to present to Shima Mitsuhiro, Liu Xing wouldn't be surprised at all.
"Forget it, for now, let's just wait and see," Liu Xing could only propose a compromise in the end.
Shi Zixuan thought for a moment and finally agreed, "Alright then, I'll continue tracking the whereabouts of Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu in Lu Wu for the next couple of days. If there's any news, I'll inform you as soon as possible. However, I estimate that I won't find any clues in these two days because I've been in the Lu Wu area for less than half an hour and have already discovered at least two hidden sentries. It seems that Ii Naoyoshi's trusted subordinate does have some ability, having managed to operate quite successfully in Lu Wu over the past decade."
"Oh, is he that capable?" Liu Xing said somewhat surprised, "No wonder Ii Naoyoshi entrusted him with such an important place. It seems his ability is indeed quite impressive, being able to establish a foothold on the Shimazu Family's territory."
"Yes, you know, Kagoshima City has been under the control of the Shimazu Family since the Warring States period, so it should have been impenetrable long ago. Yet, Ii Naoyoshi's trusted subordinate managed to bite a hole in it. But speaking of which, I heard a piece of gossip about Shima Mitsuhiro yesterday. However, this news sounds a bit strange, so I'm not sure if I should tell you," Shi Zixuan said with some hesitation.
But this instantly piqued Liu Xing's interest, and he said with a smile, "Of course, you should tell us. I'm curious to know how strange this gossip must be to make you so conflicted, Shi Zixuan."
Shi Zixuan also smiled and said, "When I heard this gossip, I thought it was Shima Takeshi's employees making fun of him because this gossip is quite bizarre—half a month ago, a company employee suddenly remembered a work mistake after work, which might cause a problem for the next day's project. So, he immediately returned to the company to work overtime, only to find that Shima Takeshi's office lights were still on."
"So, the employee wanted to take the opportunity to make an impression on the boss. After correcting his mistake, he brewed a cup of coffee intending to give it to Shima Takeshi. However, as he approached Shima Takeshi's office, he suddenly heard Shima Takeshi muttering something softly in the office, so he curiously stood outside the door to listen carefully. It turned out that Shima Takeshi was reciting the transformation lines of Kamen Rider, and he could even hear the sound of Shima Takeshi fiddling with the Kamen Rider belt."
???
At this moment, Liu Xing was also somewhat amused, not expecting Shima Takeshi to be a fan of Kamen Rider.