"Welcome back, Takina~~"
In the hotel conference room, Chisato Nishikigi rushed forward the moment Luo Shu and Takina returned, immediately grasping Takina's hand.
"Chisato..." Takina Inoue couldn't dodge in time as she was grabbed, immediately revealing a helpless smile.
"When I just found out you were surrounding the target, I was really worried. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened."
Chisato Nishikigi shook Takina's hand up and down, swinging it around before suddenly turning her gaze towards Luo Shu.
"This?" Luo Shu felt Chisato's stare and helplessly extended his hand.
"Hehe~~" Chisato Nishikigi cheerfully grabbed Luo Shu's hand and shook it several times: "Welcome back safely. Oh, right, you made a great contribution this time, Luo Shu."
"Whether it's a great contribution remains to be seen."
Luo Shu shook his head, denying Chisato's words, then turned his gaze towards Hilda and Mika standing by the projection equipment:
"What did the Chief say?"
"Told us to proceed with the wrap-up as normal."
Hilda spoke while retrieving a document from the table, handing it to Mika beside her to pass on to Luo Shu:
"Thanks to Mr Luo's investigation, we've successfully tracked down and eliminated our target, Katsuhiko Yakushiji. This is the autopsy report on his body."
Luo Shu glanced at the report Mika handed him and raised an eyebrow:
"What does this BS200 mean here?"
Mika, standing beside Luo Shu, explained:
"In the headquarters' research on demons, they found the average physical strength measurement among all demons is 200. For reference, an ordinary adult measures around 10."
Mika then pointed to a number on the document in Luo Shu's hands:
"Look at this MI210 here - that's the approximate power level of the extracted Demon Crystal, which is also a standard benchmark."
"You must have encountered Lesser Demons during your investigation? Their average measurements are about MI50 and BS50 - meaning both mental and physical strength five times that of an ordinary adult."
"As for demonkind above Lesser Demons, the average is around 200, according to the latest research from headquarters."
"These numbers seem perfectly normal, don't they? Almost too normal." Luo Shu's expression turned meaningful after hearing Mika's explanation.
"That's precisely why it's most abnormal."
Kirika Tachibana's voice came through the laptop's speakers on the table.
The projector behind Hilda flickered, revealing Kirika's image - sitting stern-faced in her office chair, wearing a police uniform:
"I refuse to believe someone bold enough to target a High-Rank Demon would be just an ordinary demonkind."
Chisato Nishikigi, hands clasped behind her back, hopped lightly to Luo Shu's side and addressed Kirika on screen:
"So we've been tricked? They've pulled a vanishing act?"
"First faking their death, then while we're off guard, heading to the actual demon's sealing ground to secretly steal its body..."
Takina Inoue's expression darkened as she pieced together Katsuhiko's likely plan.
"It seems they'd planned this well in advance."
"That possibility is indeed very high."
Kirika gave Luo Shu a calm look before asking:
"If I bring back that Kannagi family's young lady, could you persuade her?"
"I can only promise to try my best."
Luo Shu didn't mention how it's harder to fool someone a second time, because based on his impression of Ayano Kannagi, the girl was quite likely to fall for it again.
But right now, Luo Shu had something else on his mind.
"Chief... What if there's another possibility?"
"What?" Kirika turned her gaze to Luo Shu. "Feel free to speak your mind, Luo Shu. With your mental strength, you're more likely to notice subtle changes we might miss."
"To put it in our terms - your MI Value is exceptionally high, at least 300 or above."
'MI Value... So MI stands for Mental Intensity?' Luo Shu muttered inwardly before tentatively saying:
"You think this level of faked death might be something they've pulled off several times already?"
"What do you mean?"
Hearing this, not just Kirika Tachibana, but everyone present had their expressions change.
If Katsuhiko Yakushiji was an identity assumed after faking death, then who had they been before?
Chisato Nishikigi reacted quickly, immediately guessing what Luo Shu was implying:
"Hey hey, no way? But that person was killed by Natsuki-chan and that Sharon after entering Japan, weren't they?"
It was only then that Takina Inoue suddenly thought of someone:
"That defector from Truth Astronomy who suddenly entered the country?! The original owner of the Demon Heart?!"
"If that's really the case, then we're not the only ones who've been played."
Mika crossed his arms, his expression grave as he said:
"First, they entered the country carrying an Abyss Artefact stolen from Truth Astronomy, then used Sharon and Instructor Natsuki to fake their death while impersonating Katsuhiko Yakushiji, then faked death again, this time to assume someone else's identity and completely vanish from everyone's sight..."
"These methods... Should I say this is exactly what I'd expect from Truth Astronomy's Demon Warlock?"
Two faked deaths - one to evade pursuit from Truth Astronomy, Demon Hunters and the Onmyou Agency, the other to escape SDS surveillance, thoroughly disappearing into the shadows.
Faced with such methods, Mika couldn't help but feel impressed.
At this point, Luo Shu said meaningfully: "Only this can explain why Truth Astronomy members would cooperate with Katsuhiko Yakushiji, and why Katsuhiko continued pursuing the sealed demon after the Truth Astronomy member's death."
"After all, by normal logic, with the dominant partner dead and the Abyss Artefact for demon possession lost, even someone as foolish as Katsuhiko would realise the plan had no chance of success."
"Yet he still acted - that's the biggest problem here."
Here Luo Shu looked up at Kirika Tachibana: "Of course, there's another question - why didn't that Demon Warlock possess the demon themselves, instead needing to cooperate with Katsuhiko? But I imagine the Chief knows the reason?"
"Yes, I do."
Kirika Tachibana looked at Luo Shu with some surprise, inwardly exclaiming about finding a treasure - she'd never expected the rookie Awakener she picked up would turn out to be such a promising talent:
"The Truth Astronomy defector, Demon Warlock Mapa himself possesses Succubus Bloodline."
"Precisely because of this, he could activate the Demon Heart's power but not utilise it to its fullest extent - using the Demon Heart's power to hypnotise higher-level demonkind."
"Moreover, according to intelligence from the European branch, the Demon Heart appears to be an heirloom from Mapa's ancestors. This is another reason he didn't dare activate it to maximum power - he feared that after activation, he would no longer be himself."
'Mapa? Wasn't it called Ishaha? One of the demon Barons, a Mind-Snatching Demon capable of stealing human bodies... This doesn't match the intel Utaha gave me... Wait, could Mapa also be one of the bodies Ishaha stole? Was her identity as a Demon Warlock fake, too?'
Thinking this, Luo Shu pondered briefly and chose not to share what he knew with Kirika Tachibana...
Because such information couldn't be explained by simple deduction anymore—it would be like reading directly from the answer sheet.
Luo Shu wasn't ready to expose himself to that extent yet.
"So, because of her Succubus bloodline, she couldn't fully utilise the Demon Heart's power, which is why she logically targeted Katsuhiko Yakushiji and later stole his body. But simultaneously, to evade enemies, Mapa also prepared a spare body to possess the sealed demonkind..."
Hilda said this with a vicious grin: "I've encountered this body-stealing demon type in Europe before. For short-term possessions, their best targets are usually blood relatives..."
"Meaning the target is still hiding within the Yakushiji family?"
Chisato Nishikigi clapped her hands together in realisation:
"Right! In that case, Big Sister, I think maintaining the regional lockdown across Chiba Prefecture is still necessary."
"As long as we can locate all Yakushiji family members in Chiba, we can directly apprehend that Demon Warlock, then use them to find the demon's sealing ground, right?"
However, upon hearing Chisato's plan, Kirika Tachibana chuckled:
"No need to search for the sealing ground's location. Mizuki already extracted it from the demon's corpse earlier."
"Heh, that demon seemed to deliberately reveal the address to convince us of its death."
"Of course, it might still be a trap, but I'm inclined to believe it's the real location. Given current circumstances, our enemy likely intends to play the waiting game."
Seeing Kirika's cold smile, Luo Shu tentatively asked:
"Seems the Chief already has a plan in mind."
Kirika's expression turned cheerful as she said:
"Lift the lockdown, reassure the public—we'll head straight to the sealing site."
"Heh, if they want to play the waiting game, let them. We'll prepare a net to catch all those with ulterior motives in one go."
"I refuse to believe they won't make a move when we attempt to relocate the sealed demon."
With that, Kirika issued orders to those present:
"Hilda, take your team for a visible withdrawal, then secretly board speedboats from our controlled port and lie in wait off the Boso Peninsula in Tokyo Bay."
"Luo Shu, take Chisato and Takina to collect the Kannagi family's young lady, then lead three tactical squads to the demon's sealing ground in two hours to attempt relocation."
"Mika, you and Mizuki handle the hazardous materials and prepare to support Luo Shu."
"Understood?"
"Understood!" xN
"Then let's move out. Go go go!!"
Seeing Kirika Tachibana's urging on the screen, the group immediately prepared to take action. However, just as Luo Shu lifted his foot, Tachibana spoke:
"Luo Shu, wait a moment. There's something I need to discuss with you."
Luo Shu, who had been about to leave, halted abruptly. Watching Chisato Nishikigi wave at him with a grin while leading Takina Inoue away, his expression turned peculiar.
Under the others' meaningful gazes, mixed with congratulations, only Luo Shu and Tachibana remained on the screen in the room.