Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

He had actually once regarded the old man Toyokawa Sadaharu as a potential "ally" who could jointly fight against other forces within the family!

The results of it?

As a result, they actually put him under house arrest. Doesn't this show that they don't take Toyokawa Shoko seriously at all?

Aren’t you afraid that Toyokawa Shoko will suddenly have a brain storm and turn against you, Toyokawa Sadaharu, with outsiders?

Kujo Renji now seriously suspects that the people of the Toyokawa family have different thinking patterns from normal people?

It's fine that all of Toyokawa Shoko's friends are eccentrics with "supernatural powers," but how come all of her family members are also "supernaturals" who don't play by the rules?!

Although he could not understand the brain circuits of these "gods" of the Toyokawa family, Kujo Renji had to sadly admit a fact.

——He had indeed fallen into the trap of the old fox Toyokawa Sadaharu.

After hunting geese all day, he was finally pecked in the eye by a goose.

It was unknown how long it had passed, but when Jiujo Liansi's consciousness gradually regained consciousness from the chaos, the first thing he felt was a severe headache and soreness and weakness in his limbs.

The effect of the medicine seems not to have completely worn off.

Before he could fully wake up, Toyokawa Shoko's consciousness in his mind seemed to have woken up even later than him. She murmured in a lazy tone, as if she had just woken up:

"Hmm... black tea... so delicious—"

"..."

"Is it delicious?" Kujo Renji replied in his mind unhappily, "It's delicious! I'll give you a few more pots next time!"

"Eh?"

It seemed that Toyokawa Shoko realized that something was wrong and her consciousness became clearer.

"Where... where are we now? I feel... dizzy..."

Kujo Renji struggled to open his heavy eyelids and looked around.

He found himself lying on a soft and comfortable big bed, covered with a thin silk quilt.

The room was elegantly furnished, with a rich Japanese atmosphere, yet cleverly incorporated modern conveniences. The windows were closed, and heavy curtains blocked out the light, making the room seem dim and oppressive. A faint, calming aroma, similar to incense, hung in the air.

"Your grandfather has put him under house arrest."

“Huh?!”

Toyokawa Shoko's voice was filled with disbelief and panic.

"House arrest?!"

She wanted to say, hasn't Grandpa been convinced by you? Hasn't he promised not to interfere anymore?

At this moment, as if hearing a movement from the room, there was a slight sound of footsteps at the door, followed by a respectful female voice belonging to the housemaid:

"Miss, are you awake? The master specifically instructed us that if you have any needs in your room, you can tell us directly and we will do our best to meet you."

"need?"

Jiujo Liansi sneered and said loudly to the outside of the door:

"My biggest need is to leave this damn place right now! Can you satisfy me?"

The servant outside the door was silent for a moment, then replied in a more humble tone:

"I'm very sorry, young lady. The master has instructed that for your safety, you cannot leave here for the time being. However, apart from leaving your room, if you have any other needs, such as food, water, books, or any entertainment, we will arrange them for you."

Sure enough.

Kujo Renji sat up from the bed and stretched his still somewhat weak limbs.

He walked to the window and tried to open the heavy curtains, but found that the curtain rails seemed to be fixed and could not be opened at all. He tried to push the window again, but the window did not budge, obviously locked from the outside.

He walked to the door of the room and turned the doorknob hard - not surprisingly, the door was also locked from the outside.

It seems that Toyokawa Sadaharu is determined to trap him here this time.

In the following time, Kujo Renji tried almost every way he could think of to leave the room without causing too much commotion.

He checked every possible exit in the room, including the vents—they were too small to get through.

He tried to pry the lock with some small tools - the lock in the room was specially made with a complex structure and could not be opened without professional tools.

He even thought about pretending to have a sudden illness, tricking the domestic helper outside into coming in, and then taking advantage of the situation to subdue the helper and snatch the key - but he quickly gave up the idea.

Firstly, his physical condition had not yet fully recovered, so he might not succeed; secondly, even if he subdued a servant, there would definitely be more people outside, and the possibility of forcing his way out was very slim, which would only expose his intentions and make the other party more vigilant.

I tried various methods, but without exception, all of them failed.

...

In addition to the restriction of his own freedom, there is a more serious problem that worries him.

——Completely isolated from the outside world, he was unable to grasp the latest developments of Ave Mujica and the firm, and was unable to respond to any emergencies that might occur in a timely manner.

Especially Wakaba Mu. Although that child has special abilities, his mind is still immature. If he is "out of touch" for a long time, will Mu do something unpredictable out of worry?

Or, will those forces that are eyeing "Toyokawa Shoko" take advantage of the time when he is trapped to take action against Mu?

These potential risks made him feel a little uneasy.

If he wanted to get out, he could definitely get out. It was just a matter of how long it would take, and... how much it would cost.

Thus, Kujo Renji once again demonstrated his powerful action ability and accurate judgment of the situation that far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Instead of making futile attempts to force a breakthrough, he began to systematically collect information and analyze the current situation.

In just one afternoon, through seemingly casual but actually probing and guiding conversations with the servants outside the door who were responsible for "taking care" of him, he roughly figured out the composition and shift patterns of the servants responsible for guarding this "prison cell", and even indirectly found out who their leader was - a middle-aged driver named "Kawai", who seemed to be one of Toyokawa Sadaharu's confidants.

On the contrary, Shoko Toyokawa developed a feeling of powerlessness... of leaving everything to fate.

"Lian Si..."

Xiangzi's voice was filled with frustration. "Can we really get out of here? Even if we can find a way to escape this room, we can't open the door to the Toyokawa mansion. Those walls are so high, and I'm not Superman. How can I possibly climb out?"

In her opinion, since her grandfather had already made up his mind to keep them under house arrest, he must have made all the necessary preparations. It was simply a fantasy to think that they could escape from this impregnable mansion.

When Kujo Renji heard Xiangzi's almost giving up words, he replied in his mind speechlessly:

"Who said we were going to escape?"

"There's only one way left, and that's to have the people who are holding us lead us out personally."

Hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko was a little puzzled.

"Have you figured out a way to convince Grandpa?"

In her opinion, since her grandfather had made a decision, he would never change his mind easily.

Jiujo Renji shook his head and replied

"You don't need to convince your grandfather, you just need to 'convince' his subordinates."

He knew very well that a superior like Toyokawa Sadaharu could not do everything himself.

The ones who actually carried out his orders were his servants, housekeepers, and bodyguards. Although loyal, these people were not without weaknesses, nor were they incorrigible.

As long as you can find the right breakthrough, take advantage of human weaknesses, use coercion, inducement, deception... there is always a way to use them for your own benefit.

In less than a few hours, Kujo Renji began his "persuasion" plan.

He first used his identity as "Miss Toyokawa" to express extreme dissatisfaction and pickiness with the servants outside the door. Sometimes he demanded to drink imported mineral water at a specific temperature, sometimes he wanted to eat some extremely rare and difficult-to-obtain fruit, and sometimes he complained that the aromatherapy in the room smelled wrong and demanded it be replaced immediately...

In the midst of this constant "troublemaking" and "difficulties", Kujo Renji was also secretly observing the reactions and personality traits of each servant.

Finally, he found a breakthrough

——A maid who looks relatively young, with a hint of uneasiness and dissatisfaction with the current situation in her eyes.

He first revealed in a "casual" tone that he knew her family had recently encountered some financial difficulties.

He had obtained this information indirectly from the gossip of other maids.

Then, he used a "superior" attitude to imply that if she could "help a little", he would not only forgive her some "small negligence" in her previous work, but he would even "consider" saying "a few good words" to her grandfather when she encountered difficulties, or... give her some "generous rewards" in private.

Under the influence of multiple factors such as the temptation of money, worries about the future, and fear of the power of the "young lady", the young maid finally wavered.

In a seemingly casual moment, while the other maids were not paying attention, she secretly stuffed an old-fashioned but fully functional non-smartphone into the pages of a thick hardcover book that Kujo Renji had requested.

"Miss...this...this is the backup phone I secretly hid...it can only...can only make calls and send text messages...please...please don't tell anyone..."

The young maid's voice was trembling and uneasy.

Kujo Renji took the book.

"Very good." He said lightly, "You made a wise choice."

The channel to contact the outside world...is at hand.

......

That old-fashioned non-smartphone that even had a barely-available internet function, now became a key in Kujo Renji's hand, about to pry open this magnificent cage called "Toyokawa Main House".

Without any hesitation, he immediately and skillfully dialed a number that he knew by heart.

The call was connected quickly, but the voice on the other end was a little wary and suspicious.

"...Who is this?" Ishikawa's voice was low and hoarse, and he was obviously wary of this unfamiliar number.

"it's me."

There was silence for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, as if trying to identify the voice.

Then, Ishikawa's tone became more confused and uncertain:

"...Miss Xiangzi...?"

He was obviously very surprised that "Toyokawa Shoko" would contact him using such an unfamiliar number.

After a long while, he said:

"I need to verify your identity."

Kujo Renji was not surprised by Ishikawa's caution.

After all, he was now using the identity and voice of "Toyokawa Shoko", and this number was not their usual method of communication.

If Ishikawa believed it easily, he would start to doubt Ishikawa's professionalism.

So, Kujo Renji calmly told some details and codes about some secret operations in the past that were only known to him, Ishikawa, and a very small number of former core members of the Canglongkai.

This information is impossible for any outsider to know and is the most reliable "identity verification" between them.

"Miss Xiangzi, is it really you?"

"This is an emergency, so I'll keep it short."

Kujo Renji didn't waste time explaining why he used this number and got straight to the point:

"I am now trapped in the Toyokawa residence, my movements are restricted, and my connection with the outside world is cut off. I need your help."

"Trapped?!"

Ishikawa's voice suddenly became serious: "

It was done by the Toyokawa family. Do you need us to send someone to pick you up?"

Ishikawa's solution was as "rough" as ever. If he really sent someone, it wouldn't be to pick someone up.

That kind of momentum will definitely leave room for suspicion, and it may not even succeed.

"Okay, put away your gangland brawl tricks."

Jiujo Renji interrupted him rudely:

"I don't need you to send someone to 'pick me up'. That would only make things worse. I need you to help me with something else."

"Ms. Xiangzi, please give me your instructions!" Ishikawa responded immediately.

"Help me find someone."

Jiujo Liansi paused:

"Toyokawa Sadaharu's personal driver, a man in his fifties, whose name should be... well, let me think..."

He recalled the information he had indirectly obtained from the maid: "It seems to be... Kawai Masao. I want to know everything about him, his home address, family members, daily routine, financial situation... Everything you can find out, the more detailed the better. Remember, we have to do it quickly and in absolute secrecy, without alerting anyone."

If you want to leave with dignity, you will definitely need a vehicle.

Apart from Toyokawa Sadaharu himself, the only person who could freely enter and exit Toyokawa's house and had the authority to send the "young lady" out was probably this trusted driver.