"Huh?"
A chill ran down Gao Mo's back. He turned his head and met the sharp gaze of the elite-looking, short-haired man.
It felt as if there was hostility.
Who was he?
"Officer," one of the supermarket employees said anxiously, "can you let us go back now? I have other work!"
"Me too!"
"Everyone, please wait a little longer."
Inspector Megure was quite flustered. Seeing that the supermarket manager had also shown up, he could only prepare to withdraw his team and investigate separately.
"Keep your phones on later. If there are any new clues..."
"Inspector Megure!" Takagi received a call and quickly leaned in to whisper in Megure's ear, "The other side found the whereabouts of that manager's wife. Someone saw her around the time of the incident..."
New clues?
Gao Mo shook hands with the last employee. Seeing that the police were about to leave, he quickly confirmed the mission draw.
His female colleague definitely had a big problem. The manager's wife was probably framed.
It would be troublesome if they shifted their focus at this time.
Whoosh!
At this moment, time seemed to slow down, and the brightness of his entire field of vision dropped sharply.
By the time it returned to normal, only a single line of glowing text was projected in his eyes...
It was actually the female colleague's mission: [Avoid Arrest].
Bad luck.
Should he cover for this woman?
Gao Mo silently looked at his female colleague, who had her head down.
He could vaguely see her shoulders trembling slightly. It wasn't crying, but rather her barely suppressed expression.
He didn't know if it was the passive effect of Eagle Eye Vision, but he felt that the woman had an urge to laugh out loud, a smugness almost overflowing from the corners of her mouth.
Just like before, this woman seemed to lower her head every time she was about to lose control of her expression.
It was the same at the supermarket yesterday.
At the time, he thought she was shy. It turned out she was laughing at him...
Activate the second chance!
Gao Mo's gaze hardened.
The mission text rapidly rearranged and transformed.
After a brief, breathless wait, just as Gao Mo was thinking he would rather give up the mission, the system finally landed on Megure.
No need to solve the case, just provide clues.
This one!
But what clue should he provide?
Gao Mo frowned in thought.
Thinking back, the mission information actually only indicated that this woman was the murderer or one of the murderers.
She might not even be the one who did the killing. There were no clues at all...
The manager's phone call?
Gao Mo's eyes lit up as he remembered Furuya Rei's earlier suspicion.
The key to the female colleague's alibi was that phone call—the one she used him for.
"Inspector Megure! I remember now," Gao Mo called out to Megure, much to the female colleague's astonishment. "The manager did indeed call me yesterday morning, that's true. But it doesn't necessarily mean the manager was still alive at that time."
"What do you mean?" Megure's eyes widened in confusion.
He made a call but wasn't necessarily alive? Could it be a ghost?
"Maybe it was a pre-recorded message or something," Gao Mo pondered and reminded him. "The officer can investigate the manager's phone more thoroughly. That bald guy... the manager called me too many times yesterday morning.
I'm not an important employee. Logically, the manager would only call me once, or even not bother with me at all. That guy would love for me to be late so he could deduct my pay. Besides, there aren't many customers in the morning."
"Is that so?" Megure turned his questioning gaze to the others.
"The manager is indeed that kind of person," everyone nodded repeatedly. "He only knows how to deduct money."
At this point, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly froze.
No one said it explicitly, but the female colleague still became the focus and was isolated.
Their testimonies conflicted.
"Mr. Kido..."
The woman covered her mouth, looking at Gao Mo with tear-filled eyes of disbelief, a hint of panic in them.
She seemed to have never expected Gao Mo to say such a thing.
This was almost no different from directly identifying her.
The has-been idol seemed like a completely different person.
His gaze had also become entirely different...
"I really saw the manager call you, Mr. Kido!" the woman said, her eyes brimming with tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
If he hadn't seen the mission information [All men deserve to die], Gao Mo might have actually been fooled.
"Are you still going to lie now?"
Gao Mo turned his head, not looking at his female colleague's pitiful appearance.
Beauty had no effect on him.
He hated the bald manager, and he also hated being used.
"The manager only said one sentence in that call, 'Do you still want this job or not?'... He didn't even mention me being late. I remember when I first came to the supermarket, the manager scolded me just like that." Gao Mo's thoughts became completely clear.
"Mr. Kido, you... Indeed, no man is any good!"
The female colleague looked stunned, lowered her head, sobbed, and wiped her tears.
"I didn't actually hear the manager make a call. I just saw him go out the back door before work... I lied because I was worried about Mr. Kido. Who knew Mr. Kido, you..."
Gao Mo looked back speechlessly.
Was she trying to say he killed the manager?
If he hadn't happened to encounter Megure investigating a case yesterday, he really wouldn't have been able to explain himself.
"Mr. Kido had no time to commit the crime. We went to Mr. Kido's apartment at 9 o'clock."
Megure remained unmoved as he walked towards the woman, his tone stern.
"Besides, if you didn't hear the manager make a call, how did you know it was Mr. Kido who hung up the phone?
"Can you come with us? We believe we'll soon find out the specific situation."
"I..." The female colleague's limbs stiffened.
For the police, the direction of investigation was important. With a direction, they weren't afraid of not finding anything.
Where did it go wrong... It shouldn't be like this. It was clearly a perfect plan...
The woman, in the shadows, slowly glanced at Gao Mo.
It was all because of this man—because this man had suddenly changed.
That annoying vitality and hope, a renewed life, an eyesore of a glow...
The young idol from the stage seemed to have been resurrected.
Only she was pushed into hell...
[Mission Complete]
The anxiety in Gao Mo's heart subsided again. His gaze towards Megure became much friendlier.
Such an intelligent and assertive inspector from the Metropolitan Police Department, how did he seem like a fool in the anime, always being used as a tool?
"Brother Kido," Inspector Megure smiled at Gao Mo, his chubby face gentle. "You don't need to go to the police station again this time. Go home and rest."
Gao Mo not covering for his female colleague, with whom he had such a good relationship, was truly a relief to him.
So principled.
"Don't be too sad. There will definitely be a girl more suitable for you."
"?"
"Hahahahaha!"
After briefly lowering her head, the female colleague suddenly burst into hideous laughter, her bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at Gao Mo, devoid of her previous gentleness and sweetness.
"Damn it! All of you deserve to die! That guy took advantage of me and refused to take responsibility, how could he? All men deserve to die! You too, Kido Takamori!
"I'll be waiting for you in hell, haha!"
"Take her away!" Megure coldly handcuffed the woman.
"Kido Takamori—! May you die a horrible death!!"
...
Gao Mo's gaze was calm.
Compared to the malice of the world he had felt after his rebirth, the woman's curses echoing in the streets seemed somewhat ordinary.
Just feeling a bit sentimental.
This world seemed determined to destroy his good impression of women.
A bit scary.
How would he be able to look directly at gentle and cute women in the future?
"I thought I'd have to remind you. You reacted so quickly... Are you really Kido Takamori?" Furuya Rei walked up from behind, looking at the unfazed Gao Mo, and casually probed.
Recently, for some unknown reason, the organization had suddenly started recruiting all over the world, and he had also been assigned a mission.
He needed to investigate and recommend a prospective cadre within a year. If successful, he might have a chance to meet that person.
The Public Security Bureau and other departments were being watched very closely.
Therefore, he had been scouting for suitable candidates everywhere. This time, he was originally supposed to meet with a Public Security informant.
But he suddenly got involved in an incident and encountered someone like Gao Mo, who had strange potential...
He might very well be the next organization cadre.
Gao Mo's pupils trembled slightly, a sudden chill gripping his heart. He quickly forced a laugh and replied, "Of-of course."
Phew!
He didn't know what Furuya Rei was planning.
It actually gave him that feeling of death again.
The mission system seemed to be able to directly or indirectly provide clues about the culprit, which was indeed very suitable for detective work. But he didn't necessarily have to be a police officer.
Once things stabilized, he could try to save some money and open a detective agency.
Follow Mouri Kogoro's path and cooperate with the police.
The chances of encountering cases might not be many, but it was safer.
Whoosh!
At the same time the female colleague was taken away, Gao Mo's vision was once again filled with glowing data.
Case settlement.
Unlike before, this time he only drew one book.
Slightly disappointed.
The additional reward was only 1 star.
He didn't know the specific mechanism yet. Was it related to his level of participation?
...
The reward book was Green Tea Guide: How to Conquer Different Men, 3 stars.
Gao Mo looked disgusted.
The thought of having to read the entire book to get stars made him feel quite uncomfortable.
Why did he have to draw this one?
Even a skill book related to Furuya Rei would have been fine.
Even the previous Guide to Saving Money had more practical value, at least he understood how rich Furuya Rei was.
However...
3+1.
4 stars would be just enough to meet the actor profession upgrade requirements.
"Mr. Kido," Takagi thought of something and, before getting into the car, suddenly approached Gao Mo and handed him a business card. "Can we exchange contact information? You can call this number in the future."
"..."
Gao Mo was briefly bewildered.
Why did it feel like this kid had ulterior motives?
Did he think he would get involved in cases again?
"I'm not home much, so let me leave you my number too," Furuya Rei also handed Gao Mo a business card. "If you're looking for a job, I might be able to help."
Gao Mo thought of Furuya Rei's identity: "Are there any part-time jobs? Nothing dangerous."
Furuya Rei's smile stiffened slightly. He hadn't expected Gao Mo to have a need so soon.
Part-time, no danger...
"If you have a computer, you could help organize data. I have a friend in the Metropolitan Police Department who often has a large amount of documents and data that need to be outsourced... But the timing isn't fixed, so I don't know when there will be tasks." Furuya Rei resumed his smile.
There was still plenty of time, they could take it slow...
No matter what Kido Takamori was all about.
At the very least, he had to make Gao Mo lean towards Public Security and prevent him from being pulled into the organization by others, becoming the organization's second Gin in the future.
"Sorry to trouble you."
Gao Mo felt a little relieved.
With the manager killed this time, he might soon be unemployed again.
The original manager might not have cared about his work skills, but the new manager might not. Moreover, with his female colleague arrested, he couldn't handle it alone.
He estimated that when the new manager arrived, it would be time for him to leave.
Such bad luck.
Why kill the manager at this particular time?