Arakawa Ward, Fukuzawa Special Environment Cleaning Company.
The lobby had been reduced to rubble.
Human-shaped holes dotted the walls, the floor was covered in cracks, and the air still carried the lingering smell of blood and dust that hadn’t yet dissipated.
Master Fuze was directing a few of his underlings, trembling as they dragged the thugs Ashura had brought—dead or alive—down to the basement for disposal.
“Hey… easy, easy! Don’t get blood on the walls, the paint’s still fresh…”
Master Fuze winced at the damaged decor. That was all money.
On the second floor, at the edge of the corridor that had lost its railing.
Gluttony sat cross-legged on a broken load-bearing pillar, still fiddling with an ashtray.
She didn’t look like someone who had just been through a fierce battle, more like a wandering spirit staring blankly at the ruins.
“Brilliant, truly brilliant.”
A round of applause came from the shadows.
Gluttony didn’t turn her head, not even lifting her eyelids. “Watched the show for so long, finally willing to come out?”
The shadows twisted, and Liu Ming’s figure slowly emerged.
He still wore that slightly thin shirt, dark circles under his eyes so heavy it looked like he’d been punched.
“Please don’t misunderstand, Miss Gluttony.”
Liu Ming smiled as he walked forward, stepping on broken glass and bloodstains. “I meant no harm, just admiring the birth of a new candidate.”
“Candidate?” Gluttony tilted her head. A muffled voice came from under the face mask that covered half her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do—or rather, your instincts do.”
Liu Ming pointed at Gluttony’s one hollow eye. “That craving for devouring, that pursuit of evolution… you and I are the same kind.”
“I am Liu Ming, an executive officer of the Inferior Breed Mutual Aid Society.”
Liu Ming gave a slight bow, performing a standard gentleman’s salute.
“On behalf of the Mutual Aid Society, I sincerely invite you to join us and become part of the Divine Selection Project.”
Gluttony finally turned her head and looked at him directly.
“Join you?” She let out a sneer.
“I might not be qualified, but the resources the Inferior Breed Mutual Aid Society possesses can definitely satisfy your appetite.”
Liu Ming wasn’t angered. Instead, his tone grew more tempting.
“Groups like Kyokuto Construction are nothing but slightly sturdier ants in our eyes. You defeated Ashura today, but if Toudou Daigo takes personal action, or if you attract the attention of the Management Department…”
“I can smooth over everything that happened tonight.”
Liu Ming snapped his fingers. “That includes cleaning up the scene, suppressing Kyokuto Construction’s retaliation, and even… arranging an absolutely legal identity for you in this society, making it easier for you to feed.”
Gluttony fell silent.
She was thinking—or rather, Jiang Jianyue, far away in Fortune Village, was thinking.
This was exactly what she wanted.
But if she agreed too quickly, it would arouse suspicion.
After all, Gluttony’s persona was a violent monster.
“Sounds good.”
Gluttony stood up, flickered, and instantly appeared right in front of Liu Ming.
The distance between them was less than ten centimeters. Liu Ming could even smell the faint dead air around Gluttony.
“But why should I trust you?”
Gluttony extended her hand, sharp fingernails lightly grazing Liu Ming’s neck, leaving a shallow trail of blood.
“Maybe if I eat you right now, I’ll get everything I want to know.”
Liu Ming didn’t dodge, not even his heart rate changed.
He looked directly into Gluttony’s bloodshot left eye and smiled.
“Because a dead man can’t get things done. And… if you eat your guide, you’ll never find the path to the Screen of Truth.”
Screen of Truth…
Gluttony withdrew her hand, placed the drop of blood on her fingertip into her mouth, and tasted it.
“A bit bitter.” She frowned in disgust.
“I don’t want to be anyone’s dog,” Gluttony said coldly.
“Of course not a dog, a partner.” Liu Ming pulled a black metal badge from his chest pocket, engraved with a twisted double helix pattern.
“In this Mutual Aid Society, strength is status. With your power, you’re qualified to become a Great Sin Executive directly.”
“Great Sin Level?”
“Yes. Besides the mysterious President, there are four Great Sin Executives.”
Liu Ming handed the badge over. “As long as you nod, the underworld of Arakawa Ward will be your hunting ground from now on.”
Gluttony took the badge, tossed it in her hand.
“Deal.”
She casually stuffed the badge into her pocket, as if accepting some worthless trinket.
“But don’t expect me to come running at your beck and call.”
“Of course.” The smile in Liu Ming’s eyes deepened. “Welcome aboard, Miss Gluttony.”
“As for the cleanup tonight, leave it to me.”
Liu Ming turned and walked downstairs. “You can continue running your cleaning company. In a few days, I’ll bring you to meet the other executives.”
Watching Liu Ming’s retreating figure, the corner of Gluttony’s mouth lifted slightly under her mask.
“Step one, infiltration successful.”
……
Fortune Village, Room 205.
The night was deep. Jiang Jianyue had finally finished a day of “Construction Simulator” and “Gangster Simulator” dual-wielding.
Jiang Jianyue skillfully turned on her computer to check if there were any new anime episodes.
Sure enough, a red “NEW” tag appeared in the list.
Jiang Jianyue tore open a bag of potato chips and hit play.
She wasn’t watching anime; she was checking her popularity.
As a cognitive monster, Jiang Jianyue couldn’t survive without a sense of recognition.
Scrolling through the comments, Jiang Jianyue nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed the popularity of her two avatars, Gluttony and Sato Ai, was still stable.
Then the story moved to the family restaurant the next morning.
In the scene, Nakamura Kusano snapped his laptop shut, pulled down his cap brim, and a sharp cold light flashed across his lenses.
His inner monologue played as a voice-over:
‘Got you, you’re showing your tail.’
Then the ED rolled.
click.
The potato chip in Jiang Jianyue’s hand fell onto the keyboard.
“…What the hell?”
“I’m screwed, I’ve been found out.” Jiang Jianyue slapped her forehead in frustration.
But she wasn’t that worried. Found out is found out; after all, Sato Ai was just a playful alt.
“Nakamura Kusano…”
Jiang Jianyue narrowed her eyes, slid her finger across the touchpad, exited the player, and opened a hidden folder.
It was part of the personnel files she had grabbed when she hacked into the Management Department earlier.
Even though it wasn’t top secret, it was enough to look up an analyst.
Soon, she found Nakamura Kusano’s file and discovered he was an Esper.
That made things a bit troublesome.
Jiang Jianyue closed her laptop, lay back on the tatami, and stared at the ceiling, spacing out.
The current real situation was: Yuki Asahi temporarily believed she was an innocent bystander.
But that Joint Investigation Team—or rather, a specific individual within the team—had confirmed she was an ability user, and one deliberately hiding her power.
If Nakamura Kusano threw that evidence directly at Yuki Asahi…
Then the Sato Ai account would have to be deleted and restarted.
“Should I kill him?”
Jiang Jianyue’s finger traced lightly through the air, as if cutting someone’s throat.
With Gluttony’s current abilities, assassinating an intelligence officer wouldn’t be hard.
Stage an accident, or make him disappear into the sewers.
But Jiang Jianyue quickly rejected the idea.
“No, too stupid.”
Nakamura Kusano must have been investigating Sato Ai all along, and he was probably acting alone.
If he died suddenly, the prime suspect would be Sato Ai.
“Can’t kill him, and can’t let him keep investigating…”
Jiang Jianyue rolled over and hugged her pillow.
If she couldn’t eliminate him physically, she had to mislead him logically.
Nakamura Kusano had discovered that Sato Ai was an ability user, but he didn’t know she was Gluttony or the mastermind behind everything.
In his eyes, Sato Ai was at most an “unregistered wild ability user.”
“If I act guilty, if I try to run, that’ll only confirm I’m a big problem.”
“Therefore…”
Jiang Jianyue’s eyes gradually cleared.
“I’ll take the steady approach.”
“As long as I don’t do anything bad, as long as I keep being a good cleaner, what can they do even if they know I’m an ability user?”
Having figured that out, Jiang Jianyue felt a bit relieved.
Still, this was a wake-up call.
Her defense on the official side was too weak.
Right now, she had two cards to play:
First, the Monster Card: led by Gluttony, commanding the semi-devourers and freaks in Arakawa Ward, now part of the Inferior Breed Mutual Aid Society. That was purely violent output.
Second, the Underground Card: the small-time gang network controlled through Da Gongbi.
Though still weak, it had many eyes and ears, providing good intel and a channel for dirty work.
But both cards couldn’t be shown in the light.
Once the national machine like the Management Department or SAAC came crushing down, these cards were fragile.
She needed a third card.
Jiang Jianyue sat up from the tatami, picked up a pen, and drew a triangle on her notebook.
Third card: the Legal Card.
A force that could stand in the sun, influence Management Department decisions, and even have a say in joint operations.
If she could control or infiltrate an officially recognized organization, then an investigation at Nakamura Kusano’s level could be suppressed using authority, or he could be “legally” transferred.
But where to find such a force?
SAAC? Management Department? Forget about SAAC—it’s a foreign group. And the Management Department… Jiang Jianyue didn’t really want to face Imai Yayoi.
The Metropolitan Police Department? Ordinary police couldn’t handle Esper affairs.
Politics? Uh…
Forget it, think about it later.
Since things had come to this, let’s watch some fan works first…
……
Toudou Daigo’s hand gripping the satellite phone was bulging with veins.
“Wiped out?” The words squeezed through his teeth, and the secretary’s trembling confirmation came through the receiver.
Bam!
The genuine leather sofa beneath him exploded, stuffing flying like snowflakes.
Raging pressure crushed the room, and the tempered glass floor-to-ceiling windows burst into spiderweb cracks.
A million-yen antique sword stand collapsed, famous blades scattering across the floor.
But soon, Toudou Daigo calmed down.
Now was not the time to be angry. He needed to think about how to wrap this up.
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