Not a detective

Page 13

He rarely came to this place, but he felt like he had seen it somewhere before. Asakawa Riku became interested and searched his memory for the information while waiting in line.

correct.

He suddenly remembered that he had not "been to" this place, but had "seen" it a few days earlier while searching.

Asakawa Riku looked up. It was an office building across the street, an unremarkable five or six-story firm, no different from the surrounding buildings.

However, one of the signs hanging on the building reads: "[Dongyun Detective Agency]".

It turns out... the place where he was going to work was right in front of him!

------

Today is a trial run, I hope everyone will read it and just scroll to the end of the update.

It's still in its early stages, so this book will depend on everyone's efforts. Thank you.

Earth Spider Spring: Chapter Twenty-Two - Chizuko-senpai Can Eat Two Servings

Asakawa Riku really wanted to go and take a look, but it was only a little past five o'clock, and the agency might not have closed yet.

But now that we're halfway through the queue, it's impossible to suddenly abandon Chizuko-senpai, so we have to give up.

Tomorrow is the weekend, and I had originally planned to go tomorrow with my business card. There's no need to rush since it's only one day late, so he looked away.

Now that I've memorized the location, I'll be able to find my way here more easily tomorrow.

Lost in thought, the queue quickly stretched into the store.

"Two limited-edition spring strawberry tarts."

"That's what Chizuko-senpai said to the shop assistant."

"Excuse me, miss, each person can only purchase one limited-edition item." The shop assistant politely declined with a smile.

"She and I are together."

Asakawa Riku quickly chimed in, pointing.

"Oh well……"

"Then, please add one of our signature mango mousse cakes and two coffees, thank you."

Chizuko gave Asakawa Riku a grateful look, and then placed another order.

"The total is 5000 yen. How should I pay?"

As soon as the clerk asked the question, he took the card Chizuko handed over, processed the payment, and returned the receipt.

The price was much higher than I expected. No wonder it's a trendy dessert shop in such a prime location. At least I, Asakawa Riku, would never dare to dine at a shop like this.

He inadvertently saw Chizuko's wallet. There wasn't much cash inside, but there were many different kinds of cards. He couldn't tell if they were bank cards or dessert shop membership cards.

In any case, they must not be an ordinary family, otherwise how could a student come for two consecutive days?

I remember she was said to be the daughter of a shrine...

So the two of them went to a window seat. The store was still quite crowded, with everyone else sitting there.

"Asakawa-kun, this meal is on me."

As soon as she sat down, Chizuko said with a smile.

Asakawa Riku had anticipated this: "Thank you... but I know the price is that both strawberry tarts are offered to the president, right?"

"Oh my, Asakawa-kun is very insightful. She will definitely become an excellent professional after entering the workforce."

Chizuko laughed heartily, making no attempt to conceal her greed.

Asakawa Riku knew why this guy insisted on dragging him over. It was because each person could only buy one limited-edition seasonal item. If two people came, she could eat two items at the same time. And Chizuko-senpai didn't seem to have many friends at school. Asakawa Riku was probably the only one she could get to help.

"The mango mousse cake here is also a signature dish, it tastes really good. Let me let you try this first, maybe next time you'll be willing to come and buy the strawberry tart yourself."

As Chizuko introduced the cakes, a waitress came over with a tray, arranging three cakes and two cups of coffee.

"With my mouth, I probably wouldn't be able to taste anything."

Asakawa Riku took his own plate.

The strawberry tart was similar to the one in yesterday's photo, a very luxurious design, so I won't go into details.

The mango cake here looks more like the cakes I remember.

It wasn't a whole cake, but rather cut into small pieces, though the portion was still quite generous. Sliced ​​mangoes and yellow cream were mixed together, and the soft mousse cake looked delicious. Asakawa Riku wasn't good at describing the appearance of desserts, but even he could tell that the plating was exquisite, no wonder it was so popular.

Chizuko-senpai didn't take any photos today. She whispered, "I'm starting to eat," and picked up her spoon to begin eating.

The two didn't exchange many words and suddenly fell silent. Accompanied by the soft piano music in the store and the occasional laughter and playfulness of the girls at the next table, it felt like a quiet afternoon.

The queue outside the store seemed to be getting longer and longer. I was so glad they arrived early, because I wondered when the staff would say with a regretful look, "Today's portions are sold out."

Although the limited-edition item was only available to one person, Asakawa Riku inadvertently saw a blonde girl walk in and take away two strawberry tarts.

It could be a pre-booked reservation, or a regular customer with connections?

The shop assistant seemed indifferent, but the other customers in line were subtly showing their dissatisfaction.

Stop speculating, Asakawa-kun.

As if shouting to himself, he turned his gaze back to the present.

Over the past few days, Riku Asakawa had observed Chizuko-senpai during lunchtime. She always ate with great elegance, never showing her teeth, sitting upright, and chewing slowly.

But only today did I see another side of her, like a gluttonous sea otter, frantically devouring the strawberry tart in front of her.

……How is this going?

Asakawa Riku could hardly resist the urge to take a picture with his phone, but he felt that if evidence was left behind, he might be eaten along with the strawberry tart.

The ancients said that beauty is food for the eyes. With long eyelashes that seem to almost sink into a strawberry tart, this adorable appearance can indeed stimulate one's appetite.

Even someone who doesn't like desserts found joy in the mango mousse cake.

I took a few sips of coffee, without adding milk or sugar like Chizuko did. The original bitterness, though heavy, neutralized the cloying sweetness in my mouth, which was just right.

After she finished making two plates of strawberry tarts, she walked out of Alice's shop with a sense of satisfaction.

...

I walked a few hundred meters along the pedestrian street, and it was almost six o'clock.

"Asakawa-san, the mission is now being issued."

"Yes."

"Please follow this map to these seven locations. After arriving at a location, stay for about ten minutes before moving on to the next one."

Chizuko made a few moves on her phone, and immediately Asakawa Riku received a new message: "Until all seven are completed."

Riku Asakawa glanced at it; it was a marked Tokyo map. Zooming in revealed the names of routes and streets.

He recognized it at a glance, and even if he didn't remember, he could guess it from the number "seven".

"Is this the residence of the seven victims?"

“Yes.” Chizuko nodded. “I put their home addresses from their files onto a map and got this result.”

She said very seriously, "It's 6 o'clock now, which is about the same time last year when the crime started. Seven students disappeared during this period. They were only found out by their families when they were called to dinner. So I deliberately chose this time to try to perfectly replicate last year's events."

"You want me to run?"

Asakawa Riku frowned. The seven red dots on the map were fairly regular, mostly surrounding the vicinity of the school.

However, there is one of them, which is near present-day Shibuya, and two others are far to the west and south, clearly within a train's reach...

After all, not all students can live near the school; some will live quite far away.

"Asakawa-san, I remember you."

Chizuko patted him on the shoulder and smiled encouragingly, "Didn't you say you could run as fast as a car?"

Spring of the Earth Spider: Chapter Twenty-Three - Not a Leaf Sticks to Its Body

what.

He remembered, he really had said it. Asakawa Riku never expected that a casual remark he made would actually be hit by a boomerang.

He pointed to the street, trying to find an excuse to refuse: "In that case, I wouldn't be able to run as fast as a car, would I?"

The streets of Shibuya were packed with people, so crowded that you had to slow down even to walk, let alone run.

“It’s okay. It’s rush hour right now, and vehicles can’t move quickly. On this level, you’re all equal.”

Chizuko seemed to have already prepared her response.

Asakawa Riku was choked by this. He saw that the roadway was indeed very congested, with people barely able to move.

Actually, it's not that he couldn't move quickly in this situation, but his real reason was that he didn't want to attract attention.

If someone were to scale walls and rooftops in a place like this, it would probably become a hot topic online by tonight, not even tomorrow.

"Asakawa-kun, this is an important task for the club activities, and only you can do it."

Chizuko gave a sly smile and pointed to her legs, implying that it was impossible for her to undertake a long trek.

"I understand." Asakawa Riku sighed.

Despite his traditional mindset, he couldn't shake the idea that "he who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," and he had made up his mind to stop eating and drinking Chizuko's things for free.

Hmm... only desserts.

"Asakawa-san, actually... you're quite looking forward to it yourself, aren't you?"

Before setting off, Chizuko suddenly asked a question.

"nonsense."

Asakawa Riku retorted, then took a step forward, bursting forth with a speed that Chizuko had never seen before.

...

Let's set aside the preconceived notion that "the prisoner is a spider" for now. The purpose of this experiment is to "prove that the prisoner is an ordinary human being."

If humans could do that too, then they could banish the monsters from the case.

To carry out this kidnapping, transportation is essential; it's impractical to take several hostages on a tram.

Moreover, there were seven victims, and even a regular car or van might not be able to fit them all; it would probably require a large truck.

Riku Asakawa simulates the imagined "culprit A," starting from Shibuya and heading to the homes of seven victims in an attempt to reconstruct the kidnapping case.

Police have likely conducted similar simulations, but the results are unknown; they will have to try it themselves.

Both he and Chizuko were students and couldn't drive, so they had to rely on their own two feet to get around...

Riku Asakawa was able to do that.

He moved through the crowd like a ghost, a whirlwind, or flowing water.

On such a crowded pedestrian walkway, if someone suddenly appears in a hurry and bumps into innocent passersby, even the Japanese, who are good at being polite, will not be able to resist pointing their finger at you and cursing you. But Asakawa Riku did not receive such treatment.

In fact, most people didn't even notice what happened.

It was like a gust of wind brushing past my ear; by the time I came to my senses, that figure had already disappeared in front of me.

He seemed to dance among the crowd, his nimble steps and spinning movements, his body drifting up and down, easily breaking through the tide without losing any speed.

This is a skill he mastered, known as "passing through a sea of ​​flowers without a single petal clinging to you."

The theoretical basis is that everything has "apertures" or "eyes".

For example, striking a person's pressure points can cause massive damage; attacking the weak points of armor can transmit force; and destroying a building's load-bearing walls can demolish the entire building.

People also have their own "tricks".

A crowd is not a tightly packed mass of flesh; it consists of separate individuals. There will be times of crowding and times of estrangement. You just need to find a gap in the crowd, slip in, and you can silently blend into the atmosphere. Then find a way out. By repeating this process, you can seep through like water.

As long as you can predict the direction of others' movements and the swing of their arms and legs, just like facing an enemy's punches and kicks, you can calculate how to dodge without touching anyone.

This is what "not a single leaf sticks to you" means. Asakawa Riku felt that this was just an improvement on the foundation laid by his predecessors, and not a particularly sophisticated technique.

This wasn't actually for traveling; he originally developed this move to deal with situations where he was outnumbered.

By using precisely calculated footwork, one can deceive the enemy's eyes, keeping one's own figure hidden behind others and using the enemy to obscure their vision.