Through Eagle Vision, Jiang Hang confirmed that the person who had just arrived was indeed Masaki Negishi, the man Toyo Abe had hired him to follow for the next three days.
Judging from Negishi's expression, he didn't seem surprised that his friend had summoned him here so late at night. Clearly, this wasn't the first time Abe had called him out at such an hour.
Since Jiang Hang had no concrete proof yet that Toyo Abe intended to commit murder, he didn't reveal himself immediately. Instead, he continued to wait in the shadows.
Once Abe made his move, Jiang Hang would step in and save Masaki Negishi's life.
After Negishi arrived, Jiang Hang increased the frequency of using Eagle Vision. Although this placed greater strain on his eyes, he had no choice—ensuring Negishi's safety was more important.
However, Toyo Abe clearly lacked patience.
After leading his friend into the warehouse, Abe simply glanced around to confirm that no one else was nearby. Then he quietly pulled out an iron rod and slammed it heavily into Masaki Negishi's head.
At that very moment, a system notification appeared.
[System Notification]
A murder attempt has been detected near the host. Please arrive at the scene immediately to prevent the crime. Successfully stopping the incident will grant corresponding system rewards.
The moment Jiang Hang saw Abe pull out the iron rod, he had already dialed Inspector Megure's phone number. In the shortest possible time, he reported the location of the murder attempt—information he had learned earlier from the taxi driver.
Then Jiang Hang rushed into the warehouse.
By this time, Toyo Abe had somehow produced a can of gasoline. He poured it over the unconscious Masaki Negishi.
He intended to burn him alive.
Hearing the sound of someone entering the warehouse, Abe froze in shock. He immediately dropped the gasoline container and grabbed the iron rod lying nearby.
Toyo Abe was stunned.
He had just mustered the resolve to attack his longtime friend, and now someone had unexpectedly witnessed the crime.
His murder plan—carefully prepared over several months—had been exposed in an instant.
Originally, he had planned to proceed with the next stage of his plan. But now that someone had seen everything, a darker thought surfaced in his mind.
The intruder had already approached him.
After seeing the scene on the ground, the young man seemed to freeze in fear.
In the dim warehouse lighting, Abe didn't immediately recognize that the person standing before him was the detective he had hired earlier that afternoon.
He simply assumed it was an unfortunate passerby who had heard the noise.
Clutching the iron rod tightly, Abe made a ruthless decision.
Since the witness was unarmed, he might as well eliminate him too.
As for the alibi—he could deal with that later.
"Hah… hah…"
Having just knocked down his longtime friend and now preparing to kill another person, Abe's expression twisted into something almost feral.
Breathing heavily, he raised the iron rod and swung it toward the "terrified" stranger's head.
But before the weapon could land—
A sudden, intense pain exploded in his abdomen.
In the next instant, Abe's body was violently thrown backward.
Only then did he realize what had happened.
The young man had kicked him squarely in the stomach.
Toyo Abe rolled across the ground several times in miserable pain, tears welling in his eyes.
"Ugh…"
He curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach. The iron rod had flown somewhere into the darkness.
Not far away, Jiang Hang watched calmly.
Seeing that Abe had completely lost his ability to fight, Jiang Hang felt quite satisfied with his move.
The Beginner Combat Skills he had gained the previous night in the system's training space—after being brutally beaten for hours by the simulated Ezio—had proven surprisingly useful.
His body had practically learned those movements through instinct after being pummeled all night.
When Abe attempted to attack him, Jiang Hang's body had instinctively delivered that kick.
Judging by the result, the effect was excellent.
Still, Jiang Hang did not relax his guard.
He swiftly restrained the groaning Abe with one hand and then checked Masaki Negishi's condition.
Fortunately, although Negishi had taken a heavy blow to the head, he was still breathing.
There was a good chance he could be saved.
Jiang Hang then called the taxi driver who was waiting on the street outside. He asked the driver to guide the police to the warehouse once they arrived and to call for an ambulance as well.
After finishing these arrangements, Jiang Hang noticed that Toyo Abe was beginning to struggle again.
Without hesitation, Jiang Hang applied pressure to Abe's joints.
The pain was immediate.
As Abe cried out and begged for mercy, he quickly stopped resisting.
"You… you… who exactly are you?" Abe stammered.
Pinned to the ground in a humiliating hold, Abe couldn't understand what had happened.
His carefully planned murder had collapsed before it even truly began.
And who exactly was this young man who had suddenly appeared?
Jiang Hang spoke calmly.
"Just an ordinary detective, Mr. Abe. There's no need to worry too much about it."
Then he added lightly,
"After all, as detectives, our job is simply to complete the client's request properly. Don't you agree, Mr. Abe?"
By this time, Jiang Hang had already returned his voice to its normal tone.
The moment Abe heard the word detective, his face changed dramatically.
Jiang Hang had practically spelled it out.
How could he possibly fail to recognize him now?
"It's… you!?"
Toyo Abe nearly went mad.
Who could have imagined that the rookie detective he had hired to fabricate an alibi would end up becoming the very person who caught him?
"Detective Jiang Hang… perhaps there's some misunderstanding between us?" Abe said desperately, still clinging to a final shred of hope.
"There's no misunderstanding," Jiang Hang replied casually.
"You said your friend was being watched recently and that someone might try to take his life. You hired me to follow Masaki Negishi for three days."
Jiang Hang shrugged.
"Yet in just one night, I've already discovered the person targeting his life—and I've ensured that person will never threaten him again."
He smiled slightly.
"Shouldn't you say something about the professionalism of our detective agency, Mr. Abe?"
Jiang Hang delivered those words without the slightest trace of shame.
If you try to use me, then I'll show you what a true detective of justice looks like.
Hearing the blatant sarcasm, Toyo Abe felt as if he might cough up blood from pure rage.
Comment on their professionalism?
If he had known this detective was so capable, he would have walked two more blocks and hired the Mouri Detective Agency instead.
He had heard that the detective there was an incompetent fool.
Surely someone like that would never have uncovered his carefully prepared plan.
Now, however, it was far too late.
All Toyo Abe could do was regret ever choosing Jiang Hang's detective agency in the first place.