Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

——Or, follow her and strive for greater benefits in this upcoming bloody storm;

Or, like Sasaki Tsuyoshi, become an insignificant victim in her plan.

He has no choice.

Or rather, he had made his choice from the moment he first began to waver about the woman's proposal.

...

The sirens pierced the Tokyo night sky, shrill and sharp.

The police quickly blocked the area around Yueying Pavilion and set up a yellow cordon.

Countless flashing police lights illuminated this originally dark corner as bright as day.

Media coverage vehicles swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, with cameras pointed at everyone who walked out of the blockade.

"Excuse me, is this explosion a gang fight?"

"Are there any casualties?"

"What clues do the police have at the moment?"

Various speculations and reports flew into major news editorial rooms like snowflakes.

Initial reports mostly attributed it to a "fierce gang fight" or some kind of "unfortunate accident."

After all, for ordinary people, this kind of violence happening in dark corners is not worth exploring in depth except for adding some after-dinner conversation to their dull lives.

However, the atmosphere inside the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division office was far from as relaxed as reported by the media.

Nikaidou Kiriko was staring at the preliminary investigation report sent back from the scene with a frown on her face.

Her fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, and her eyes were so sharp that they seemed to penetrate the paper.

"No direct explosive residue was found at the scene?"

She murmured to herself, with a barely perceptible solemnity in her tone:

"The explosion was so powerful, but so precisely controlled, and it didn't start a massive fire. This didn't seem like a typical gang fight."

She subconsciously felt that behind this seemingly simple "gang vendetta" lay a deeper and more complicated conspiracy.

This is not something that an ordinary organization can do.

The clean, efficient and traceless method of committing the crime made her smell a hint of unusual danger.

The difficulty of the investigation exceeded expectations from the very beginning.

The collapse of the Sasaki faction was like a blockbuster bomb, triggering an even more violent chain reaction within the Yamaguchi-gumi.

This faction, which once held an important position within the Yamaguchi-gumi, collapsed overnight.

The huge network of interests and territory under his control instantly turned into a huge piece of fat exuding an enticing aroma, attracting countless greedy eyes.

The Yamamoto faction, as the long-time main rival of the Sasaki faction, naturally felt the brunt of this tremendous pressure.

And...unprecedented opportunities.

When Shinji Yamamoto learned of Tsuyoshi Sasaki's death, a rare look of shock appeared on his weather-beaten face.

His hand holding the teacup even trembled slightly.

"Sasaki, dead?"

His voice was low and his eyes were full of disbelief.

He had fought with Sasaki Tsuyoshi for most of his life and was well aware of the other's cunning and caution.

What kind of power could uproot him so easily?

But after the shock...

"Chance.."

He uttered these two words almost subconsciously.

The demise of the Sasaki faction was undoubtedly a godsend for the Yamamoto faction, which had been committed to expanding its influence.

"Call all core members immediately!"

Shinji Yamamoto's voice regained its former calmness and majesty:

"We must seize Sasaki's territory as soon as possible! Tell the people below to buckle up. Anyone who dares to slack off at this moment will be rude to me!"

A feast of division is about to begin.

However, the Yamamoto faction is not the only aspiring member of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

Other factions, big and small, are also ready to move like hyenas smelling blood.

Some want to take advantage of the chaos to get a piece of the pie, while others are secretly vigilant, wondering whether there is a more terrifying force hidden behind this incident.

For a time, undercurrents surged within the Yamaguchi-gumi, and suspicion and distrust spread like a plague.

Everyone is wondering who has such extraordinary means to destroy a powerful faction overnight?

Is it a deeply hidden internal enemy? Or is it an even more terrifying force from outside?

And what is the instigator of all this doing?

Well, he was carrying a woman down the mountain.

To be more precise, he was carrying Nagasaki Suyo on his back.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched the shadows of the two people very long, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of grass and soil, as well as a subtle, unpleasant atmosphere.

Nagasaki Suyo lay on his back, and Xiangzi's soft hair rubbed her cheek, bringing a slight itch.

"You're so out of breath carrying someone?"

Nagasaki Suyo's voice came muffled from behind his neck, with a hint of suppressed sarcasm.

Yes, she was afraid of this moody "monster", but she still couldn't help but want to say a few words to him.

Just like a cat crossing the road, its subconscious reaction before being crushed into a cat pancake by a truck is to pancake.

Jiujo Renji couldn't help but sneer:

"I can't help it. This body really can't bear the weight of your tenderness."

"you...!"

Nagasaki Suyo's cheeks instantly turned red.

Is this guy making fun of her weight?!

And he used Xiangzi's voice! This is an even greater crime!

"It's better than some people who do inhuman things in front of others!"

"Really?"

Jiujo Renji chuckled:

"At least what I do can earn the admiration of some discerning audiences who say 'good looking'. Unlike some people who just sneakily slip little surprises into their friends' guitar bags and then get completely overwhelmed with self-importance."

Here we go again! Another bug! Is this guy just going to keep harping on this?!

Nagasaki Suyo was so angry that she almost bit his shoulder.

But reason told her that doing so would only bring about more terrible revenge, apart from a brief venting of anger.

"Hmph, same here. You're no better for taking advantage of other people's bodies."

She could only squeeze out this weak rebuttal from between her teeth.

The night wind blew, bringing with it the cool breath unique to the mountains and forests.

The conversation between the two was just like the mountain breeze, cold and sharp, yet with a strange tacit understanding?

Maybe. After all, those who can develop mutual ridicule into a fixed communication mode can be considered "close friends" to some extent.

Finally, before Nagasaki Suyo felt that her waist was about to be broken, and before Kujo Renji began to doubt the endurance limit of "Toyokawa Shoko"'s body, they finally walked to the foot of the mountain.

The car that had been booked in advance was parked quietly in the shadow of the street lamp.

Kujo Renji carefully took Nagasaki Suyo off his back. His movements were surprisingly gentle, in stark contrast to his previous harsh words.

Nagasaki Suyo staggered and barely managed to keep her balance.

The tingling pain in her ankles reminded her that this absurd "journey" tonight was not a dream.

She looked at the bastard in front of her with Xiangzi's face, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings.

Fear, disgust, humiliation, and a subtle sense of identification that she herself was unwilling to admit?

The vehicle started slowly, drove away from Mount Takao, and merged into the Tokyo night that was lurking like a huge monster.

Inside the car, there was silence all the way.

It was not until he sent Nagasaki Suyo to the downstairs of her high-end apartment that Kujo Renji spoke again, breaking the suffocating silence.

"See you later, Miss Nagasaki."

Su Shi didn't look up, but just made a vague "hmm" sound from his throat.

Kujo Renji nodded with satisfaction:

"Well, good night, I hope you can have a good dream tonight."

After saying that, he stopped looking at her, closed the car window, and disappeared into the night.

Nagasaki Suyo stood alone downstairs of the apartment building, watching the black car merge into the traffic and eventually disappear.

The evening breeze blew, bringing a hint of coolness, making her shiver.

She looked down at her still red and swollen ankle, and thought of the bizarre things that happened tonight, and the "monster" with Xiangzi's face who carried her down the mountain.

An absurd feeling overwhelmed her like a tide.

She didn't know where this strange relationship between herself and that "monster", full of sarcasm, temptation, exploitation and being exploited, would lead.

But she knew that from tonight on, her life would never be the same again.

At the same time, Ryuichi Yamamoto finally plucked up the courage and called Shoko Toyokawa.

His voice was a little hoarse and distorted because of a mixture of awe, fear, and a hint of uncontrollable eagerness:

"Ms. Fengchuan, the matter of Yueying Pavilion is yours..."

He didn't even dare to express the guess in full, as if just mentioning it would touch upon some taboo.

On the other end of the phone, Kujo Renji seemed to chuckle, and the laughter was as light as a feather that brushed across Yamamoto Ryuichi's tense nerves, but it also carried a tremendous weight.

"Mr. Yamamoto, now is not the time to discuss such boring questions as 'Who is the murderer?'"

His tone was still so casual, as if he was talking about an insignificant drama:

"What's important is that the opportunity is right in front of you, like a peeled lychee. It's your choice whether to grab it and savor its sweetness while it's fresh, or to watch it rot and stink before someone else snatches it away."

After a pause, he changed the subject:

"Your father probably needs some 'constructive' advice, right? After all, it would be really disappointing if he didn't know how to take such a big piece of meat right in front of him."

Yamamoto Ryuichi's heart suddenly sank, and he instantly understood what the other party meant. This wasn't just an instruction, it was also an order?

"I understand, Ms. Toyokawa."

His voice trembled slightly with excitement, and his tone was full of undisguised urgency and resignation.

He knew that from this moment on, he had completely handed his fate over to the other party.

"very good."

There seemed to be a hint of satisfaction in Jiujo Renji's voice:

"Well, listen carefully..."

In the next few minutes, Renji Kujo outlined a clear blueprint of action to Ryuichi Yamamoto in her unique, casual tone.

First, public opinion must be properly guided. The explosion at Yueying Pavilion should not be associated with the Yamamoto faction.

Secondly, they had to act quickly. While the other factions were still watching, suspicious, and even wary of each other, the Yamamoto faction had to seize the Sasaki faction's most valuable territories and businesses as quickly as possible. Casinos, high-end entertainment parlors, and those lucrative loan sharking businesses were all "hard currency" that could be quickly converted into cash.

Again, incorporate the remaining forces.