Chapter 172: Makino Yuzuha

Lianma District, the warehouse where Jiang Jian Yue once obtained the Light Bug Ability from a corpse.

For now, Koji Hattori was playing the role of Jiang Jian Yue’s “bodyguard,” accompanying her to meet with The Light Extinguishers.

Though with Jiang Jian Yue’s current strength, it was uncertain who was protecting whom.

On The Light Extinguishers’ side, it was still Long Yin and Beiye— it seemed only these two guard dogs remained in Japan.

They had just returned from Hokkaido after the New Year, and it was clear they hadn’t yet recovered from their vacation.

As the two entered through the main doors, they saw some Hokkaido souvenirs piled atop boxes at the entrance.

“Beef Da Zhuang!”

Jiang Jian Yue waved expressionlessly.

“I told you, that’s a fake name!”

Long Yin was speechless, dismissing the matter, and asked, “So, what does the young lady need to know?”

“Shock Core.”

Jiang Jian Yue reminded him, pulling out her phone and typing: “What exactly did you Light Extinguishers do in Australia?”

“Our movements were exposed. The official departments in Australia are now clearing out our bases.”

Long Yin replied straightforwardly.

He remembered the leader’s direct orders—maintain a good relationship with the young lady—this level of information wasn’t a secret, so there was no harm in sharing.

“What the hell are you guys doing, dragging DRG into this too… shouldn’t you compensate us?”

Jiang Jian Yue considered it, then added an angry emoji at the end.

“Sorry, we really can’t produce any more corpses.”

Long Yin looked embarrassed.

“There are only a few of us left in Japan lately, and there haven’t been any tasks… we can’t just go steal from a morgue, right?”

“All right… Then can I ask, what exactly do you need the Shock Core for?”

Jiang Jian Yue had originally not been very interested in that thing which could awaken Heart Worms in people.

But now, after her enlightenment by the seaside, she somewhat regretted not swallowing the goods herself back then.

The Shock Core could awaken Heart Worms… then was there a way to reverse it, to eliminate them?

“I can’t disclose that.”

Long Yin shook his head—plans at that level wouldn’t be shared with outsiders.

“I see.”

Jiang Jian Yue wasn’t surprised, and shrugged.

“Then… can I steal it?”

“Ha… the young lady sure loves to joke.”

Long Yin forced a smile.

“It’s not a joke.”

Jiang Jian Yue’s expression remained blank, her eyes calm as water.

Koji Hattori pressed a hand to his waist under his suit, his gaze tense—having studied Chinese, he could now understand some of their coded conversation.

Beside him, Beiye, who was fixing his hair in a small mirror, froze mid-stroke with his comb.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.

Long Yin’s smile faded.

He spoke cautiously.

“It’s fine if you want to use the Shock Core for a while, but not now.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Jiang Jian Yue shook her head, neither agreeing nor refusing.

***

“Dun dun dun, welcome one ( )!”

In the LINE chat group of the Supernatural Club, new member Makino Yuzuha greeted everyone with stiff formality.

“Please take care of me. My name is Makino Yuzuha.”

Saiyonji Saori and Yamanoi Yayoi, the two members from outside the club, also chimed in.

“Cough, cough, as expected, those busybodies aren’t here! Let’s talk about GSAC instead!”

Neither Jiang Jian Yue nor Yuki Asahi had read their messages.

“Eh… do we really have to participate? Fighting and all that… sounds painful…”

This was Yamanoi Yayoi’s reply.

“Even Heyo-chan has defeated a monster! How can you be afraid of something like this?”

“So who is Heyo-chan, anyway?!”

In the LINE group, Saiyonji Saori seemed perpetually stuck as the straight man.

“I learned the term from Jiang Jian Predecessor. You’re Momoko-chan, and Yamanoi is Heyo-chan… ah, don’t change the subject!”

“Supernatural Club in crisis! Those busybodies aren’t competing with us!”

Kaori Onishi sent several angry strawberry bear stickers.

“Busybody?”

“They mean Yuki-kun and Jiang Jian Predecessor, right?”

“They’re busy people now! Especially Yuki-kun, the traitor… he’s actually going to compete with the Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu team!”

“I heard about that. Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu announced they’d be sending three teams… basically, our National Team.”

Saiyonji Saori didn’t see it as “betrayal,” since Yuki Asahi’s status and strength within Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu far surpassed the “juniors” born from the Ability Awakening Event like themselves.

Besides, this was a matter of national honor—a cause worthy of unconditional support.

“Amazing…”

The two girls echoed in unison.

“Cough, cough, Jiang Jian Predecessor is also busy and probably can’t participate, so the real issue now is… where do we find a fifth member?”

A team battle required five people to participate.

“What should we do…?”

Although she’d just joined the Supernatural Club, Makino Yuzuha couldn’t help worrying about GSAC.

“Yuzuha! No slacking off!”

A woman’s voice called from outside the partition.

“Yes! Mom!”

Makino Yuzuha hurriedly stuffed her phone into her apron pocket, forced down her worries about GSAC, and walked quickly out of the small partition.

The familiar aroma filled the air, mixed with the sharp sounds of spatulas clashing and the murmur of customers’ voices.

“Table three needs clearing.”

Behind the counter, a middle-aged woman with a kindly but tired face, wearing an apron, spoke in accented Japanese.

This was her foster mother, Lin Xiumei.

“Yes, Mom.”

Makino Yuzuha answered, and efficiently began to clear the dishes.

The Chinese restaurant called “Kawakaen” wasn’t large, but it was the hard-earned pride of her Chinese foster parents.

Makino Yuzuha had grown up here, always helping out after school or during holidays.

Though it couldn’t be called high-class, the food was authentic and affordable.

The place was well-known in the area and always packed during dinner.

As she bent down to wipe a greasy tabletop, the shop’s door was violently shoved open, banging the bell behind it and sending a sharp, chaotic jingle through the air.

Three youths in flashy shirts and outrageous hairstyles swaggered in.

The leader was a short, stocky man with tattoos covering his neck and arms, his gaze sweeping the store menacingly.

“Hey! Boss! Got any seats?”

The tattooed man shouted.

Lin Xiumei hurried over.

“Welcome! There’s a table free at the back—this way, please…”

She tried to guide them to a recently cleaned table in the corner.

“The back? That’s too far. I want the window seat!”

The tattooed man shoved Lin Xiumei aside and went straight for the table Makino Yuzuha was halfway through clearing.

His two underlings followed, laughing, one deliberately bumping Makino Yuzuha as she held a tray of dirty dishes.

“Ah!”

Makino Yuzuha cried out, nearly dropping the dishes as some broth splashed onto the floor and her apron.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

The delinquent who’d bumped her sneered, glaring at Yuzuha.

The tattooed man plopped down by the window, planting a foot on the empty chair beside him.

“This one. Bring the menu, now.”

Lin Xiumei turned pale.

“Gentlemen, this table isn’t fully cleaned yet, so please—”

“Enough with the talk! Clean it up, quick!”

The tattooed man waved her off impatiently, his eyes roaming over Makino Yuzuha.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

The crude laughter of his companions echoed.

Makino Yuzuha’s face flushed red, her fingers clutching the cloth tightly as her body trembled.

She could feel the stares of the other customers.

Her power threatened to activate on reflex—to slow these bastards down and give them a beating.

But reason stopped her.

No!

Doing that would only bring more trouble to her parents.

Biting her lip, she bowed her head, quickening her cleaning, desperate to escape.

“Hurry up!”

Another delinquent drummed his fingers on the table, growing impatient.

“Enough!”

Suddenly, every gaze turned.

By a small table near the kitchen, a young man in a plain jacket stood up.

Beneath his light brown bangs, orange-red eyes flashed with faint annoyance.

He’d been eating Mapo Tofu rice quietly, drawing no attention until now.

He set down his chopsticks, staring directly at the trio.

On his table lay a plain black badge case, a corner opened to reveal a glint of gold sakura police insignia.

“You three, that’s enough.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but even though he was young, it carried a subtle sense of authority.

“If you’re here to eat, then eat. Don’t harass the staff or the other customers.”

The tattooed man narrowed his eyes, focusing on Hanyu Yukiki, especially the badge on his table.

“You’re a nosy one, aren’t you?”

He recognized the police badge, but his tone was mocking and defiant.

He might have been more cautious with Tokyo’s police, but this man’s accent was obviously not local.

The man’s face remained impassive.

“I’m Hanyu Yukiki from the Fourth Investigation Division of the Osaka Prefectural Police. Our job is handling violence groups like yours! Anywhere, obstructing business, intimidation, and harassment are illegal acts.”

“Osaka?”

The tattooed man and his companions paused, then burst into even louder laughter.

“Ahahahaha! An Osaka country cop, coming to Tokyo and acting all tough?”

“Hey, officer from Osaka, this is Tokyo! You get jurisdiction mixed up?”

“That’s right! You want to arrest us? Show us a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department warrant!”

They ridiculed Hanyu Yukiki for his origin and status.

Hanyu Yukiki’s face remained expressionless, though he almost felt like laughing.

Violence groups, no matter where they were from, were all brainless.

Well, these days, only fools would choose to mix with the underworld.

He was indeed an Osaka officer on training, without jurisdiction here, but it was simple enough to work with the local police.

The tattooed man’s smile faded as he faced Hanyu Yukiki’s silence.

As the boss, he was quicker than his underlings to realize the situation.

They’d come today just to collect a bit of “protection money” and score a free meal. Causing real trouble wasn’t on the agenda.

Even as a rising violence group, unnecessary conflict was to be avoided.

Their boss was a superhuman, with Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu backing him up—recent superhuman crime cases had all been covered by the department, and with the usual pace, it took years to process any charges.

But the small fries weren’t so lucky.

The tattooed man spat, glared at Hanyu Yukiki, then stood.

“Fine, Osaka cop, you win this time. We’re leaving!”

He kicked a chair aside with a screeching noise.

“But remember this—don’t let me see you somewhere else next time!”