Psychics, huh...
Ryuji narrowed his eyes. He figured this was a perfect opportunity.
He could play the role of a miracle healer! A qigong master or something along those lines.
Dragonfire flickered at his fingertips, mixing with the power of his blood energy. With his current abilities, he could easily channel his blood qi into another person's body through physical contact, strengthening their vitality and organs. With that, curing certain illnesses would be a trivial matter.
Blood deficiency? Minor internal organ damage? His blood energy and dragon fire could fix them without effort. Kidney stones or gallstones? Even with just the basic "wave power" he'd dabbled in, that was enough to handle it. Unlike ultrasound, there'd be no discomfort or reliance on the patient to pass the fragments he could simply pulverize and burn them away completely, leaving no chance for blockages.
His mastery of wave power was just the basics, even at full force it could barely produce a shockwave strong enough to knock down an adult. But thanks to his high level of blood energy, he could apply it with incredible precision.
In truth, his wave power was so weak it could hardly be called "entry-level."
But cardiovascular issues? Brain damage? Ischemic injuries? For someone who could manipulate Qi and blood as the so-called Blood Evil, these were child's play.
And if he advanced further achieved a second awakening even many congenital conditions so long as they weren't caused by gene defects, could be completely healed through the unique fusion of dragon fire and blood energy.
Realizing this, Ryuji couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Damn it... why do I fee like the best path for a Berserker like me is to become a doctor? At this rate, if I got famous, I'd probably end up saving more people than I kill. This identity should be enough even Shizuko's father wouldn't be able to complain. After all, mysterious power speaks for itself especially when it's undeniably real."
Ryuji couldn't help but think he was a genius.
After deciding on his future "career plan," in this world, he lounged back, humming a tune as he flipped through the newspaper, before settling down to study some mathematics.
He had only just begun when a pair of long, stocking-clad legs strolled into his field of vision. He lifted his gaze and there she was: Saeko, or rather, Chingmy Yau wearing that radiant, mischievous smile.
Strictly speaking though, for someone like Ryuji who had watched City Hunter Chingmy Yau didn't suit the role of Saeko at all. Every time he looked at her, he thought of Princess Jianning...
Especially Princess Jianning's servile temperament aura was unforgettable.
Saeko was supposed to be a composed, intelligent woman, the type who gave off the calm confidence of a capable proprietress of a high-end shop.
But the woman before him exuded something far more teasing: playful, seductive, almost girlish. Perhaps it was because Jianning's lascivious aura clung too strongly to her image in his mind. Whatever the reason, she struck him as too flirtatious for the role.
And the fact that this police officer was deliberately using her body to tempt him the notorious womanizer only reinforced that impression.
"Mr. Ryuji, you seem to be in quite a leisurely mood," Yaeko said, amusement sparkling in her eyes.
She had been curious about him for some time, especially his inhuman skills.
In her eyes, Ryo Saeba's skill was already superhuman. But compared to Ryuji, Ryo didn't even come close. Speed, power, reflexes Ryuji made the so-called City Hunter look clumsy by comparison.
Ryo was like that because he'd grown up in war, with special experiences that forged him.
But Ryuji? On paper, he was just an ordinary Hong Kong resident with some martial arts training.
So Saeko was genuinely curious about Ryuji.
She wanted to probe him, to test him. If he turned out to be suspicious, she would arrest him on the spot. If not... well, perhaps she could recruit him into their unit. Or even convince him to join the police force in Japan and become her partner.
"That's right. Gotta kill time somehow," Ryuji said.
He would've liked to play some games, but his laptop had died. And as for consoles those were too advanced for this era, so he wasn't about to take them out in public.
"I see. Well then, would you mind if I asked you a few things about yourself?"
Saeko chuckled lightly, settling down beside him. Crossing one long leg over the other, she let her sheer stockings and shapely thighs draw his gaze. Her tight skirt rose just slightly, revealing enough to suggest but not expose inviting the imagination to wander.
This was her tactic.
She had already observed that Ryuji was a lustful person. That made it easy to decide which approach to use.
"You want to know why I'm so strong, don't you?"
Ryuji saw through her ploy easily and cut straight to the point.
"That's right," she said, voice tinged with playful ambiguity. "You're incredible, Mr. Ryuji. I always thought Ryo Saeba was the strongest man alive, but you... you've replaced him in my eyes."
Her words carried a faint blush and an air of expectation, as though she were half-confessing something.
If Ryuji didn't already know how cunning this woman was and how expertly she wielded her charm he might've had a thirty percent chance of falling for it.
But he wasn't some naive rookie anymore. If he came off like one, it was only because he'd long grown tired of pretending otherwise.
"Well then, Saeko... do you believe in magic and qi?"
Ryuji said with a smile.
"Magic?"
Saeko gave a soft laugh.
"I didn't expect someone who makes time to study mathematics to also be superstitious. There are no ghosts in this world so how could there be such a thing as magic? Sure, there are mysterious phenomena, but everything can be explained by science. If there really were ghosts and magic, don't you think the streets would be full of them?
Hearing that, Ryuji raised a brow.
He couldn't see spirits with his bare eyes, true... but if he slipped into meditation and expanded his awareness with spiritual perception, he was fairly certain he could see ghosts.
It's just that, his blood energy was so strong that, he could erase millennia-old wraiths back in Arad. Ordinary ghosts wouldn't dare come near him anymore.
"So then... you believe in qi?"
Saeko nodded but couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Of course. Qi is nothing more than a way to help people breathe better and sleep better. I've practiced a little myself."
She really had, and she knew it worked at least in terms of health and relaxation.
But to Saeko, it was nothing more than a simple method of tuning the body.
"As for firing off shockwaves like in manga... Mr. Ryuji, this is the 20th century. Science rules the world."
...Well, damn.
Ryuji tapped a finger against the newspaper, pointing at the article about the World Psychic Conference, and muttered in protest.
"It's printed right here in the paper, and you're telling me that?"
"Ha..."
Saeko laughed even harder.
"Oh, come now. Pharmaceutical ads also claim their pills can cure every illness. Doesn't make it true. Most of those people are just frauds."
She studied Ryuji's expression. In her mind, he wasn't about to admit anything outright. More likely, he was the disciple of some hidden martial sect. After all, she had seen feats of strength before her senior at the dojo could smash a utility pole with his bare hands. That alone told her Ryuji must belong to a similar tradition.
So she decided not to press the point. Better to maintain a good relationship.
"Speaking of which, I once ran into an exorcist named Reiko Mikami. She's pretty famous. If you really claim to have spiritual powers, you must know her, right?"
Saeko gave him a teasing look, then smoothly shifted the topic.
"Ah, I think I've heard the name somewhere," Ryuji said.
Reiko Mikami?
The name tugged at his memory, but he couldn't quite place it. His instincts told him she was probably a beauty.
Still, since he didn't know the storyline, there was no point in overthinking. When the time came, he'd just observe what she needed and then quietly shift her fate. That had become his way of handling unfamiliar worlds—intervene where it mattered, bend the trajectory.
He sighed inwardly. There were simply too many plots he didn't know. Even City Hunter he hadn't finished it. All he remembered was that Ryo ended up choosing Kaori, who died, donating her heart to someone else. Then that person looked just like her. Something like that.
It was a common flaw in manga of that era.
So many tragedies.
Because tragedies lingered longer in memory.
But how those tragedies unfolded, what the details were, whether Kaori was truly dead he had no idea.
"By the way," Saeko said casually, "I heard you're planning to go to Japan soon. Is it for work? Or just sightseeing?"
"I'll be living there for a while. You could say it's work."
Ryuji wasn't even lying.
He fully intended to stir things up in Japan, disrupt the flow of the plot, and force the monsters hiding in the shadows of this world to show themselves. Calling it "work" was perfectly accurate.
"I see..."
Saeko smiled lightly.
"Then I'll have to tell you about some of the more... interesting things in Japan."
She wasn't about to come right out and ask if he'd consider joining the Japanese police force. If he refused outright, that would be the end of it. Better to take the gradual approach.
Step by step.
"Recently we've had quite a few phantom thieves pop up in Japan. They've been giving us no end of headaches."
"Oh? Phantom thieves?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow.
"That's right."
Saeko sighed, reached over for a Japanese magazine, and pointed to a page for him to see.
"The first one is this monkey-looking guy... Lupin the Third. He hasn't been very active in recent years, but back then he was a real headache."
Lupin the Third...
The moment Ryuji heard the name and saw the magazine, he felt that this world was getting even more chaotic.
Still, it wasn't too bad. Lupin carried a certain air of mystery, and if Ryuji remembered correctly, his world overlapped with Conan's in some way. That wasn't too surprising.
"And then there's Cat's Eye," Saeko continued. "To this day, we still don't know how many members they have, or even if they're men or women. What we do know is that their targets are usually rare works of art especially modern ones. Sometimes they even steal gems that aren't all that valuable, but beautiful nonetheless. Honestly, they have excellent taste. Some of my colleagues insist Cat's Eye must be a team of hulking men, given their stamina and skill. Personally, I'm convinced there are women among them their choice of targets is far too... interesting."
Ryuji: "…"
Cat's Eye—the three sisters.
No problem. They were tied into City Hunter's world, maybe even the same universe. Sure, the timeline was messy, but that hardly mattered.
This world already had Conan in it. Believing the timeline was "consistent" was laughable.
Saeko didn't notice his train of thought, only that his expression had turned oddly stiff. She assumed it was simple dislike for these phantom thieves.
"There's also this one Kaitou Kid," she went on. "He's different from the others. A lot of the time, he even returns what he steals. And like Lupin, he doesn't bother hiding his appearance. But strangely enough, no one's been able to catch him."
Saeko tapped the last picture, showing Kid's unmistakable face.
This time, Ryuji felt no particular shock.
After all, in a world with Conan, it was only natural that Kaitou Kid would exist.
Still, what Saeko said piqued his curiosity.
Kid never even hid his face or his build. So how the hell did he keep escaping capture?
"Shouldn't someone like him be the easiest to catch?" Ryuji asked.
It was the same question he'd had while watching the anime.
Saeko, however, wasn't bothered. The fact that Ryuji was showing genuine interest in the phantom thieves was exactly what she'd been hoping for.
"They say it's because too many people look like him. And Kaitou Kid is a master of disguise. Who knows if that face of his is even real? For instance Shinichi Kudo, who hasn't shown himself much lately. Or Inspector Hattori's son. Or any number of others who all happen to look exactly like the face Kaitou Kid shows. None of them could possibly be the criminal, which leaves us at a dead end."
Saeko shook her head. She had no fondness for phantom thieves at all especially Kaitou Kid.
The others, at least, stole for money. They provoked the police, yes, but it was still understandable.
Kaitou Kid, though he went further.
He sometimes gave things back.
That was infuriating.
If you stole for money, fine that was at least a motive. But to go through the entire spectacle of stealing, only to return the loot? That was nothing less than mocking the police.
This kind of person was intolerable.
Catch him, and the police looked incompetent. Fail to catch him, and they looked negligent. And if one day he decided not to return what he stole? Then all the wasted manpower and resources would have been for nothing.
"To be honest," Saeko admitted, "he's the one who causes us the most trouble. He's too high-profile. He steals as though it were a stage performance like a magician's trick. Not for money, but purely for show."
~~~~~~~~~~
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