Chapter 955: Liu Xin |
The next step depended on Shima Mitsuhiro's thoughts.
After sending Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen away, Liu Xing stood alone before the floor-to-ceiling window, pondering a question: who had turned Shima Takeshi?
Based on current circumstances, the force behind Shima Takeshi's defection seemed powerful. Just the belt alone hinted at a strength surpassing even the Shimazu Family. The belt's technological complexity far exceeded the Shimazu Family's treasured Exoskeleton Armor.
Initially, Liu Xing suspected the United States of America's Freemasons. But upon closer reflection, Liu Xing deemed this unlikely. The Freemasons, with their capabilities, could simply orchestrate an assassination, eliminating Shimazu Nakano directly. This would be more efficient and convenient, considering their goal was to throw the Shimazu Family, or the Warrior Faction, into chaos.
However, the force behind Shima Takeshi's defection didn't seem to have placed their own people around him, which was odd. Were they not seeking any return for their efforts?
Liu Xing found himself increasingly puzzled by the motives of this force.
Deciding to stop racking his brain over the matter, Liu Xing shook his head and prepared to go to bed.
As he was about to lie down, a flash of unusual light caught his eye on the rooftop across the street.
A sniper scope?
Or simply a window pane?
Thoughts raced through Liu Xing's mind as he involuntarily rolled off the bed.
Crack!
The moment Liu Xing landed, his pillow burst.
What the heck!
Liu Xing rolled towards the corner, seeking cover from potential gunfire. Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen, alerted by the sound, rushed in.
"Liu Xing, what happened?" Li Hanxing asked from outside.
"Someone's trying to kill me," Liu Xing replied, "They have a sniper rifle on that rooftop across the street."
As soon as he finished speaking, two sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed from outside. Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen must have rolled away from the window, avoiding the line of fire.
After a long moment, Li Hanxing said, "It's safe. We've confirmed no one's left on any potential sniper positions."
He opened the door and entered.
Liu Xing finally rose from the floor.
Sun Huiwen, trailing behind Li Hanxing, looked at the broken pillow and began a meticulous inspection.
Soon, she frowned and said, "Interesting. It seems the killer only wanted to warn you, not kill you. The pillow wasn't destroyed by bullets, but by a small explosive device."
Liu Xing, still catching his breath, glanced at the pillow and the mattress beneath it. No bullet marks were visible.
"So, the killer infiltrated my room beforehand?" he asked, astonished. "That's even scarier. Who knows what else they planted here."
Li Hanxing patted Liu Xing's shoulder and said reassuringly, "Calm down, Liu Xing. Don't worry too much. We can confirm that no one entered our room. After arriving, Sun Huiwen and I set up some warning devices. None have been triggered. Of course, bypassing those devices isn't impossible. They could use teleportation, for example, or the killer might even be a spirit."
"But if the killer could do that, why not just appear before you and scare you? It would be much more effective. So, I believe the explosive device was launched as a grenade. It seems to be low-yield, too. Even if you took it head-on, Liu Xing, you wouldn't have been in any life-threatening danger. No disfigurement, even. Therefore, I think this killer never intended to kill you from the start."
Liu Xing calmed down and said, "You're right. The killer definitely wasn't trying to kill me."
As he spoke, he shot Li Hanxing a look.
Li Hanxing understood and immediately initiated Private Room time. After all, Liu Xing had a limited number of Private Room time uses left. Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen hadn't used Private Room time since the Public-Military Conflict event, until they met Liu Xing. So, Liu Xing had been relying on their Private Room time all this while.
"Now that I think about it, the KP didn't warn me of Judgment. This means the killer never intended to kill me. The explosive device was launched only after they confirmed I was off the bed... but then the question arises, who sent this killer? Shima Takeshi or Ii Naoyoshi?" Liu Xing said while sitting in a chair, "Or some other force? But why didn't they kill me directly? Why just threaten me like this?"
Upon reflection, Liu Xing found the situation increasingly unsettling.
He was still disguised, meaning everyone except Shimada Sho and Matsui Yui should be unaware of his true identity as Liu Xing. This suggested the killer must have targeted him because of his tracking of Shima Mitsuhiro and Shima Takeshi today.
So why didn't they kill him?
From the events just now, it was clear the killer had the ability to kill him, but they didn't do it.
This was the most perplexing aspect of the whole situation.
Because no matter how Liu Xing reasoned, he should be dead.
Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen shared his bewilderment.
"Yeah, whether it's Shima Takeshi or anyone else, they should have gone for the kill after discovering Liu Xing's actions. Not this meaningless threat. I'm really stumped now..." Li Hanxing rubbed his temples. "I can only think of one ludicrous possibility – this was a prank. Someone just wanted to stir things up."
"Could it be someone from Ryukyu? This is arguably the best hotel in Kagoshima City, and we're staying in one of its top suites. If we report this incident to the hotel and the police, Kagoshima City will be thrown into chaos. Imagine a killer committing random acts of violence in the city. It's terrifying just thinking about it." Sun Huiwen stroked her chin.
Hearing Sun Huiwen's suggestion, Liu Xing began to believe it.
But the Ryukyu region was currently embroiled in internal conflict, so they should have been too busy to stir up trouble in Kagoshima.
Liu Xing remained clueless.
On the rooftop across the street, a person clad in night clothes, only two eyes visible, clutched a bizarre firearm and chewed gum.
Suddenly, the iron gate on the rooftop opened.
The individual crouched low and darted through the gate, disappearing from the rooftop.
"Boss, how'd it go?"
"He he, do you think things could go wrong when I personally handle them? Our objective has been achieved."
"That's good, but are we sure we won't be alerting them by doing this?"
"Knowing Liu Xing, he won't guess it was me. He simply doesn't know I exist."
"That's true. How could Liu Xing ever imagine your existence."
"Alright, drive me to Shima Takeshi, no, Shimazu Nakano. It's time to solve Kagoshima City's problem."
"No problem."
A black car emerged from the underground parking lot and quickly reached the Shimazu Group building.
The Shimazu Group building was still bustling with office workers working overtime. To avoid attracting attention, the two figures emerging from the black car didn't use the usual entrance. Instead, they pulled out a grappling hook and shot it towards the rooftop of the towering Shimazu Group building.
Soon, they entered through a broken window and found themselves in Shima Takeshi's office. Shima Takeshi was sitting behind his desk.
"You finally came... wait, SawadaRyuusei!" Shima Takeshi exclaimed, his face filled with shock. "What's going on? Was this all planned by the Sawada Family? Why are you doing this?"
Indeed, one of the figures standing before Shima Takeshi was an exact replica of Liu Xing!
He stared at Shima Takeshi, or rather, Shimazu Nakano, and shook his head, smiling, "Mr. Shimazu Nakano, you seem to have mistaken me. My name is Liu Xin. I'm a surfing enthusiast and instructor. If you ever go to Hawaii for vacation, you can sign up for my lessons. I'll give you an 80% discount."
Shimazu Nakano stared incredulously at Liu Xin, at a loss for words.
The younger man beside Liu Xin stepped forward, his tone serious, "My name is Zhang Shiwu. I'm a Kamen Rider passing through."
Shimazu Nakano furrowed his brow, "We have no quarrel, I assure you. Why force Shima Takeshi to rebel?"
Zhang Shiwu shook his head, "We do have no quarrel, but we are good friends with Shima Takeshi. We were colleagues, after all. You, Shimazu Nakano, for your selfish gain, turned Shima Takeshi into this ghost. We must seek justice for him, so we encouraged him to follow his own heart."
"That's impossible. Shima Takeshi has been under my constant surveillance since childhood. His parents were my informants, so I knew everything he ate, every conversation he had. I can assure you that Shima Takeshi has never had any connection to you two. And before coming to Kagoshima, he hadn't even held a part-time job, let alone worked!" Shimazu Nakano said, his voice laced with disbelief. "You should at least make your lies believable."
Zhang Shiwu shrugged and shook his head, "For the head of the Shimazu Family, you seem quite oblivious. But then again, it's been too long since I worked with Shima Takeshi. And not in this world, either."
"Dreamrealm!" Shimazu Nakano blurted out. "That's even more impossible. All Dreamrealm gates in Tokyo have been secured by various forces. Unless a new Dreamrealm gate opened beneath Shima Takeshi's room, deep underground, it's impossible for him to enter the Dreamrealm without my knowledge."
"You have much to learn," Zhang Shiwu said with a smile. "Let's get back to the point. You should know why we're here."
Shimazu Nakano hesitated.
Just then, the phone on the table rang.
He pressed the speaker button. A young woman's voice filled the room. "General Manager, the Chairman is here."
Shimazu Nakano's pupils dilated. He looked at Zhang Shiwu and Liu Xin with disbelief.
At that moment, "Shimazu Nakano" stepped out of the elevator.
Seeing this, Shimazu Nakano immediately closed his eyes and muttered a prayer. But a minute later, he looked at "Shimazu Nakano" with despair.
"He... is Shima Takeshi?"
Gazing at Shimazu Nakano, his voice trembling, Zhang Shiwu nodded. "Yes, he is Shima Takeshi. Shima Takeshi, who has become Shimazu Nakano."
Shima Takeshi sighed, "I never imagined I was a clone, parentless. For decades, I lived a life of lies and constant surveillance... Shimazu Nakano, you should have just locked me in a cage, raised me like an animal. At least it would have been easier now."
Shimazu Nakano was starting to panic, trying to stand up and say something.
"Don't bother with the charade, all your subordinates have already fallen under my control," Shima Takeshi shook his head. "After all, I am you now."
Shimazu Nakano tried to clap, hoping something would happen, but nothing did.
"Cleverness backfires. To control your subordinates, you poisoned them, making them only obey your orders. So now, Shima Takeshi, who has become you, seamlessly inherits your subordinates." Zhang Shiwu stroked his chin, "I know you have questions. Let me just say, the bronze bell was mine originally. It was lost for a while. So, I can deactivate its effect, separate Shima Takeshi's soul, and use it to control your body."
After Zhang Shiwu finished speaking, Liu Xin shook his head. "Let's go. Shima Takeshi knows what to do."
Zhang Shiwu nodded and followed Liu Xin, jumping out of the broken window.
Meanwhile, Shima Takeshi pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Shima Nakano. "I'll play your role well. Farewell."
A gunshot rang out. In the distance, Liu Xing and the others received a notification from KP Duanqiao, "Mission accomplished."
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 956: Baffled