Seeing Ye Xing agree, Rio Futaba couldn't help but curl her lips upward, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes.
'This guy, although he says he can't stand others acting recklessly in Kyoto City...'
'Actually, it's to protect the citizens' safety, right?'
'What a tsundere villain hero.'
"Then it's settled."
After making the decision to pursue the Sunny Doll Killer, Ye Xing began arranging the specific plan.
"Futaba, Miko, you two go investigate whether you can find the specific death scene of the victim."
"If we can find it, take Mai and Dango with you to visit their home. Be friendly, of course - the key isn't questioning the living, you can use offering condolences as an excuse."
Hearing this, Mai Sakurajima nodded in understanding.
"You mean we should check whether the victim's spirit is still lingering at the scene, to find information and clues about the killer's identity?"
"Exactly."
Then, Ye Xing turned to Hina Amano.
"As for you... Just be careful about your own safety. After all, this serial killer turns the victims' bodies into sunny dolls, proving he might have some strong obsession with the weather. Your reputation as the 100% Sunny Girl has spread, so it's hard to say whether you might become his target."
Hina Amano nodded obediently.
"Mm, I understand."
Finally, Ye Xing summarised.
"Anyway, no need to worry too much. Since you've all made contracts with me, unless there are barriers like between the real world and the Reverse World, the contracts can activate at critical moments to transport me to your side."
"That's all. Dismissed."
...
When they returned to the club room to collect their things, Marin Kitagawa suddenly called out to Mai Sakurajima.
"Mai-senpai."
Marin Kitagawa looked very mysterious as she secretly handed a small bag to Mai Sakurajima.
"Here, it's done. The pyjamas."
"It's done?"
Hearing this, Mai Sakurajima quickly took the bag and secretly peeked inside.
Marin Kitagawa patted her shoulder with a smile.
"Don't worry, Mai-senpai, everything was made according to your requirements. The accessories are done too, everything's complete."
Mai Sakurajima nodded, looking very grateful.
"Thank you for your trouble, Marin."
"Eh, no problem, no problem."
Marin Kitagawa waved her hand casually, then asked curiously.
"By the way, why didn't you go directly to Saki? You could have told her exactly what kind you wanted."
"Kawasaki-san..."
Mai Sakurajima murmured to herself, her eyes looking somewhat complicated.
"Better not tell her."
Mai Sakurajima was a very perceptive person.
She'd noticed that recently in the club room, Saki Kawasaki had been stealing glances at Ye Xing more and more frequently.
There was something going on here.
Something wasn't right.
Of course, Mai Sakurajima couldn't let Saki Kawasaki, who might be a rival, know that she had prepared such an important secret weapon.
As for Marin Kitagawa...
Looking at Marin's confused expression —her large eyes with coloured contacts blinking, completely unaware of what was going on —Mai Sakurajima just smiled and said.
"Anyway, thank you very much."
After saying goodbye to Marin Kitagawa, Mai Sakurajima dialled Ye Xing's number.
"Hey, can I pick up Menma and bring her home tomorrow?"
Ye Xing chuckled from the other end of the phone.
"Up to you. It's your home, not mine."
"Alright... alright."
Mai Sakurajima pursed her lips, a blush spreading across her pretty face as she covered her mouth with her left hand and whispered shyly:
"Then tonight... It's a rare chance for us to be alone. Would you... like to come to my place? I've prepared a surprise."
"No problem, I'll come over after I finish my work."
"Mhm, it's a promise then."
...
Meanwhile, outside Sobu High School, walking alone on the street while looking at his ended call, he shook his head with a light laugh.
'The so-called surprise is probably a bunny girl outfit.'
Though he'd guessed it, Ye Xing wasn't so tactless as to spoil the surprise Mai Sakurajima had specially prepared for him.
"It's raining..."
Watching the raindrops beginning to fall from the sky, Ye Xing, holding a black umbrella, turned and entered a secluded alleyway.
The Sunny Doll Killer, having committed multiple horrifying crimes without being caught by the Metropolitan Police Department, proved that this person was definitely no ordinary criminal.
After all, while Soichiro Yagami might be quite rigid, his investigative experience was extensive—he truly was an excellent Director of Criminal Investigations.
If he could use a psychic's Mystic Eyes to find victims' spirits and obtain information about the killer's identity, that would be ideal.
But since he'd decided to pursue the Sunny Doll Killer, Ye Xing wouldn't show any slack.
The information possessed by the Metropolitan Police Department was also necessary.
"Seems it's time to visit Soichiro."
Ye Xing murmured with a light laugh as the black umbrella in his hand instantly transformed into raging black flames, forming a mask that covered his face.
The villain Mask had officially arrived.
...
That evening, the Criminal Investigations Division of the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department.
"Sigh..."
Soichiro Yagami sat in his office, a lit cigarette held in his left hand while his right rested on the mouse, once again browsing through crime scene photos he'd reviewed countless times, every detail memorised perfectly.
Every victim was found in the same condition.
Limbs severed, eyes gouged out, internal organs removed - the remaining hollow shell hung up like a sunny doll, swaying in the breeze.
All victims were vibrant young junior and high school girls.
This vicious case had attracted attention not just in Kyoto but throughout Japan.
As Director of Criminal Investigations, having just achieved a significant reduction in Kyoto's crime rate without time to rest, Soichiro Yagami immediately threw himself into investigating this case.
After reviewing the scene photos once more, he still hadn't gained any new insights. His gaze fell upon another case report on the police intranet.
"Kira, huh..."
Looking at the various murders committed by the mysterious self-proclaimed "Kira" against criminals and ex-convicts in Tokyo, Soichiro Yagami took a deep drag of his cigarette and muttered bitterly:
"When society deteriorates to this point, it's hard to say you can't understand why someone would lose faith in the judicial system..."
Just as Soichiro Yagami's words fell, a blinding flash of lightning suddenly streaked across the sky.
He abruptly noticed that, at some unknown moment, a person wearing a black coat and a pure black mask had already seated himself opposite his desk.
"Since you understand, how about having your Metropolitan Police Department cancel the warrant for my arrest?"
Soichiro Yagami was so startled his body jolted, but after getting a clear look, he relaxed and said helplessly,
"You bastard, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"If this is enough to give you a heart attack, then it just shows how useless you are."
Soichiro Yagami wanted to retort, but after thinking carefully...
He really couldn't refute it.
As a veteran detective with over twenty years of experience, what scene hadn't he witnessed?
But the scene in the underground passage that day was something he truly hadn't seen before.
It was just too shocking.
And from Mask's words and the combat situation at the time, the other party was clearly very familiar with those things - whether you called them evil spirits or spectres.
When it came to mental fortitude, the other party might genuinely be much stronger than him.
Soichiro Yagami shook his head helplessly and said in a deep voice,
"Have you come because there's another supernatural incident somewhere?"
After saying this, he immediately added,
"My office is soundproof and has no cameras, so you don't need to worry."
"Convenient for messing around with female subordinates, is it?"
Faced with Ye Xing's abstract remark, Soichiro Yagami looked utterly exasperated.
"What nonsense are you talking? This is to protect confidentiality. I'm married with two children - why would I mess around with female subordinates?"
"Who knows?"
After this bit of teasing, Ye Xing got to the main point.
"I came this time for information about the Sunny Doll Killer."
"Sunny Doll Killer?"
Soichiro Yagami frowned slightly and said in a deep voice,
"Do you suspect he's connected to supernatural phenomena?"
"That question isn't important."
Ye Xing waved his hand, his eyes beneath the pure black mask fixed directly on Soichiro Yagami.
"You just need to tell me the information about this serial murder case."
Soichiro Yagami knitted his brows tightly, stubbing out the nearly finished cigarette in his hand in the ashtray, and asked in a low voice,
"Even if I tell you, what do you plan to do if you find him? Take the law into your own hands?"
Ye Xing didn't directly answer Soichiro Yagami's question, merely saying with laughter in his voice,
"If your Metropolitan Police Department has already identified a target and is preparing to make an arrest, then I won't get involved."
"But if your investigation progress isn't going smoothly, then Chief Yagami, please consider this question."
"How many more innocent people will he kill before the Metropolitan Police Department arrests him?"
"How to deal with him is something to discuss after we find him."
Hearing these words, Soichiro Yagami glanced at the crime scene photos on his computer screen, his face showing hesitation and conflict.
In principle, as the Director of Criminal Investigations, he absolutely should not disclose information about an ongoing criminal investigation to outsiders.
But...
The other party wasn't wrong.
So far, the Sunny Doll Killer had committed five crimes, taking the lives of five innocent young women.
And from the first crime to the fifth, it had only been a little over half a month.
At this crime rate, it meant he was killing someone every three or four days.
Before the Metropolitan Police Department could apprehend this person, how many more innocent lives would be lost?
Moreover...
Soichiro Yagami was no longer certain whether the Metropolitan Police Department alone had the capability to capture the true culprit.
He was indeed a stubborn man.
But when weighed against innocent lives, all principles had to yield.
Thinking this, Soichiro Yagami finally made his decision and spoke in a low, grave voice.
"At present, our Metropolitan Police Department actually doesn't possess much intelligence."
"But from the victims' bodies, we can deduce certain things."
"Firstly, the victims' limbs were not severed by tools. According to forensic examination, every victim's limbs were torn off by an immense external force."
Ye Xing nodded, his tone flat as he inquired.
"Cause of death?"
"Without exception, all died from excessive blood loss."
At this point, Soichiro Yagami clenched his jaw tightly, his fists involuntarily tightening.
"According to the autopsy reports, the victims received no anaesthesia throughout the entire process... meaning they were fully conscious when their limbs were torn off and their bodies drained of blood..."
No emotional fluctuation showed in Ye Xing's eyes, though the black flames beneath his coat seemed to burn more fiercely.
"What else?"
Soichiro Yagami took deep breaths, struggling to calm the fury in his chest as he slowly continued.
"Next, the perpetrator hollowed out the victims' internal organs and removed their eyeballs. Judging from the suturing marks on the victims' abdomens, the perpetrator lacks professional knowledge in this area."
"Specific time of death?"
"From autopsy results, the crimes were consistently committed during rainy weather."
"Did surveillance cameras along the routes capture anyone resembling the perpetrator?"
Hearing this question, Soichiro Yagami lit another cigarette, massaged his temples, and sighed.
"Due to the recent continuous heavy rainfall, cameras on many road sections have malfunctioned. Among the remaining functional ones, we've obtained little valuable information. After all, everyone carries umbrellas or wears raincoats - even normally suspicious attire doesn't appear conspicuous in the rain."
"I see."
Ye Xing nodded noncommittally, then said softly.
"It seems these five lives must also be accounted to that deity controlling the weather. I'll deal with it sooner or later."
"Eh?"
Soichiro Yagami stared blankly, mentally dismissing it as another of the other's eccentric outbursts.
After all, fighting such terrifying monsters daily, some mental instability was only to be expected.
"Anyway, at this stage, we have no identity information regarding the Sunny Doll Killer."
Soichiro Yagami looked at Ye Xing and tentatively asked.
"If... you really catch that person... what do you plan to do?"
"What will I do?"
A white patterned smiling face appeared on Ye Xing's pure black mask.
"I never torture humans."
Before Soichiro Yagami could feel relieved at these words, he saw Mask's figure gradually fade away, leaving behind a statement that left him with complicated feelings.
"But torturing beasts - that's a process I would thoroughly enjoy."
...
Half an hour later, Mai Sakurajima's home.
Ding!
At the sound of the doorbell, Mai Sakurajima stood up, feeling slightly nervous.
She hadn't changed directly into that semi-transparent bunny girl uniform; instead, she wore a plain-coloured dress.
"Yahallo yahallo."
Upon opening the door, Mai Sakurajima saw Ye Xing standing outside, his hair and shoulders damp from the rain. Her brows furrowed slightly as she immediately pulled him inside.
"Sit properly on the sofa."
Mai then hurried to the bathroom and returned with a dry towel. Sitting beside Ye Xing, she began gently drying his hair while softly chiding, "You know it's been raining frequently lately, why didn't you bring an umbrella? Look how drenched you've become."
The scene, combined with Mai's appearance, conveyed a distinct sense of a gentle, caring wife.
After his hair was dried, Ye Xing chuckled lightly and asked, "Mai-senpai, what about the surprise you promised me? Surely it wasn't just drying my hair?"
Hearing this, Mai's face flushed red. She silently stood up and entered the bedroom, pausing at the door to specifically instruct, "No peeking, okay."
"Alright."
While Ye Xing maintained a neutral expression outwardly, he thought to himself, 'As if I won't be able to look and touch however I want later anyway. How strange that she's being shy about this particular thing.'
...
Nearly ten minutes later, Mai slightly opened the bedroom door, her face unable to conceal her embarrassment as she whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "It's... It's ready. You... you can come in now."
Ye Xing chuckled lightly, "Double meaning? Driving?"
Mai looked confused, "What driving..." Mid-sentence, she suddenly understood, and her face turned deep crimson. "You... you pervert, you lecherous junior!"
"Heh, you haven't even seen the real perversion yet."
As he spoke, Ye Xing pushed open the bedroom door and entered.
Mai had now changed into a semi-transparent bunny girl outfit.
Her long, shapely legs were encased in sheer black stockings.
Around her pale neck was a light pink lace choker, while white, long bunny ears adorned her head.
She had also put on black high heels.
Under Ye Xing's gaze, Mai covered the faintly visible expanse of pale skin at her chest. Her originally fair complexion took on a shy pink glow as she asked hesitantly in a soft voice, "H-how... how is it?"
"Hmm, not bad at all."
Just as Mai was about to smile at his compliment, she noticed his gaze wasn't on her face at all. He had moved closer, examining with great seriousness...
"The craftsmanship of this outfit is really good. Kawasaki has improved quite a bit."
Mai gritted her teeth slightly, saying resentfully, "You... at a time like this, you're still thinking about Kawasaki? Hmm?"
Ye Xing responded righteously, "Can't I even think about it? I'm here with you now, aren't I?"
Mai was almost amused by his audacity. "You're quite bold, aren't you?"
"I ranked first in the joint exams, can't I be a little bold?"
Mai sighed helplessly and extended her fair right index finger to tap Ye Xing's forehead gently. "Other than your terrible personality, you really don't have many flaws, do you?"
"You haven't truly experienced my greatest strength yet."
As he spoke, Ye Xing leaned in and kissed Mai's lips.
His hands grew restless, caressing Mai Sakurajima's long, well-proportioned legs encased in black stockings.
"Mmm..."
Mai Sakurajima let out soft, sob-like gasps, her eyes misting over with moisture.
"Let's... go to the bed."
"Alright."
After turning off the lights, Ye Xing's hands kept exploring.
"There's even a zipper here? Kawasaki-san is quite professional."
"Don't... don't say such things. I... I specifically asked for it to be added so it wouldn't get torn."
"As expected of Mai-senpai."