"Suspicious individuals?"
Faced with Soichiro Yagami's question, Ye Xing shook his head and chuckled lightly.
"At the time, I was doing some intimate things with my girlfriend, so I didn't have time to pay attention."
Soichiro Yagami was taken aback.
"There was an explosion, and you didn't even hear it?"
"Look at what you're saying," Ye Xing smiled.
"What is pure love? It's about completely immersing both body and soul in intimate moments. The fact that I was oblivious to the outside world only proves the genuineness of my pure love."
Soichiro Yagami wore an expression of speechless exasperation.
He thought to himself that if he had been half as smooth-talking as this kid back in the day, perhaps his wife would have agreed to move to Kyoto with him. Then he wouldn't be a lone criminal director now, having not taken a single holiday in over half a year and not returned to Tokyo to see his wife, son, and daughter.
Ye Xing pretended to be very curious and asked,
"Chief Yagami, may I ask what exactly happened?"
"Well..." Soichiro Yagami hesitated. In principle, cases under investigation should not be disclosed to others.
However...
The other party was also a victim of this incident, so it wasn't unreasonable for him to want to know the details.
"Don't post this online or tell anyone else," Soichiro Yagami emphasised first, then looked at the charred remnants left by the explosion and the scorched, dismembered bodies of the truck drivers scattered on the ground. The chaotic scene made his expression turn grave as he sighed deeply.
"Although it's still hard to say for sure, according to the Metropolitan Police Department's investigation, these drivers were all ex-convicts recently released after serving their sentences. They weren't professional truck drivers to begin with. For some unknown reason, they stole these trucks and carried out this... suicidal terrorist attack."
At this point, Soichiro Yagami took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag, his thick eyebrows furrowing tightly.
In his career as a criminal investigator, he had never encountered a case as bizarre as this.
These ex-convicts had been released at different times, months apart.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department's findings, they hadn't known each other beforehand and had no connection whatsoever.
Was it a sabotage operation planned by foreign terrorists?
Then they should have targeted places like the Metropolitan Police Department or the city government.
Why choose an amusement park?
Moreover, if it really was a terrorist attack, why hadn't any statement been released yet?
Were they still assessing the situation, or was this not a terrorist attack at all?
Then what should it be called?
A sudden collective mental breakdown?
"And what about the casualties?"
Hearing Ye Xing's question, Soichiro Yagami sighed.
"Fortunately, it happened during lunch break."
"There weren't many people on the path from the Ferris wheel to the amusement park entrance, and those trucks weren't moving very fast initially."
"Plus, the alarm was raised quite promptly. Only dozens of visitors were injured in the chaos, and aside from these ex-convicts, no one died."
"It's practically a miracle."
As an experienced Director of Criminal Investigations, Soichiro Yagami knew one thing well.
Cases involving deaths were completely different in nature from ordinary cases.
Moreover, the public pressure they faced was worlds apart.
At this critical juncture, when the Sunny Doll Killer hadn't been captured yet, what the Metropolitan Police Department needed most to avoid was another decline in public trust.
Thinking of this, Soichiro Yagami couldn't help but sigh subconsciously.
"Fortunately... there's Mask."
"Mask?"
Ye Xing looked puzzled.
"Isn't that just an urban legend?"
Hearing this, Soichiro Yagami frowned slightly and said gravely.
"You don't even know who saved you? Well, having one more witness doesn't matter anyway. Let me tell you - Mask really exists."
Ye Xing seemed completely indifferent as he waved his hand.
"Just an ordinary criminal, no need to pay special attention."
Hearing this, Soichiro Yagami's brow furrowed deeply, his expression displeased.
"Is that your attitude toward your saviour?"
Then, with a completely serious expression, Soichiro Yagami spoke.
"As the Director of Criminal Investigations at the Metropolitan Police Department, I do consider Mask to be an outlaw operating outside the law."
"But from a personal perspective, I believe that regardless of his true identity, he is Kyoto's hero."
"Do you know how many innocent lives have been saved because of Masks' existence? How many families have been kept from falling apart?"
"That mysterious person protecting Kyoto from the shadows - even though he's never revealed his true identity..."
At this point, Soichiro Yagami's expression became very solemn and respectful as he slowly said.
"As a member of Kyoto, I respect Mask."
Ye Xing seemed somewhat shaken by what Soichiro Yagami had said, half-believing as he asked.
"Is he really that remarkable?"
"Of course."
A trace of pride suddenly appeared on Soichiro Yagami's face.
He thought to himself that, although he didn't know Mask's true identity either, Mask ultimately acknowledged him as an excellent Director of Criminal Investigations and even recognised him as his collaborator.
Fighting side by side with the hero, protecting Kyoto from the shadows.
This made Soichiro Yagami rediscover that burning passion he'd felt when he first became a detective, along with the sense of mission that came with responsibility.
"So..."
Soichiro Yagami patted Ye Xing's shoulder, his expression softening slightly as he smiled.
"Some things may not follow legal procedures, but when you think about the people who were saved - including that female classmate of yours and her younger sister - don't you feel that Mask is a true hero?"
Ye Xing seemed to have been convinced by Soichiro Yagami, nodding with great sincerity.
"Yes, a hero secretly protecting Kyoto is really cool. Even if he were to have a harem, I'm sure everyone would understand."
"You brat, stop talking nonsense."
...
After Ye Xing left, Soichiro Yagami watched his retreating back and shook his head with a wry smile, thinking that this boy, who was about the same age as his own son and also a first-year high school student, gave off a completely different impression.
Soichiro Yagami had a feeling.
Although his son, Light Yagami, was perfect in every aspect, as a father, he always had the intuition that his son was hiding something.
What kind of matter could it be that even his own father - the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau Director, whom his son admired most and wanted to emulate - needed to be kept in the dark about?
Soichiro Yagami shook his head and was about to continue investigating the scene when the faces of the Kawasaki sisters, Saki and Keika, suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Wait a moment... those sisters are..."
Soichiro Yagami frowned slightly and beckoned to a subordinate nearby.
"Bring me the list of passengers who were trapped on the Ferris wheel."
"Oh, right away."
When the list was brought over, Soichiro Yagami scanned through it and, as expected, saw a very familiar name.
"Saki Kawasaki..."
Seeing this familiar name, combined with Saki Kawasaki's light blue high ponytail and outstanding appearance, Soichiro Yagami finally remembered where he had seen her before.
During the Kyoto train malfunction incident, this girl and her younger sister were among the passengers trapped onboard.
This time, they appeared again during the amusement park attack?
And on both occasions, Mask was involved?
Was this really just a coincidence?
Or perhaps...
Did these sisters have some private connection with that Mask?
Even to the extent that...
Saki Kawasaki was Mask herself?
At this thought, Soichiro Yagami forcibly interrupted his train of thought, unwilling to continue pondering.
Initially, he had been very keen on capturing Mask.
After all, the other party was the most difficult and elusive criminal he had encountered in his detective career.
But now, Soichiro Yagami's attitude had changed.
Rather than a criminal, he preferred to believe that Mask was someone with special abilities who, unwilling to be bound by the existing legal system, chose to protect Kyoto City in secret through this method—a uniquely individualistic person pursuing justice.
Moreover, he himself was now Mask's accomplice.
Given this situation, why continue investigating the true identity?
Wouldn't that be cutting off one's nose to spite one's face?
Although Soichiro Yagami's character was somewhat rigid and stubborn, he wasn't the type to be inflexible.
Since Mask was only doing good deeds, even if his methods were radical, as the Criminal Investigation Bureau Director, he still had to publicly condemn him as a criminal.
But privately?
Just say the trail can't be followed. Whoever thinks they can track them down should go ahead and do so, as long as they don't come looking for him.
...
Meanwhile, after leaving the amusement park, Ye Xing didn't head directly home.
In the eyes of Soichiro Yagami and the Metropolitan Police Department members, the explosion site was charred black, with mangled flesh and blood. The corpse fragments and blood baked by high temperatures emitted a nauseating stench, leaving behind few clues worth investigating.
But in Ye Xing's eyes, it was completely different.
From the death sites of those ex-convicts driving the large truck all the way to the amusement park entrance, there was an extremely obvious trail of black, viscous residue.
Mass sudden mental breakdown?
This was entirely the work of evil spirits' guidance.
Like an experienced hunter, Ye Xing concealed his own Qi and followed the sticky black trail on the ground, heading in a certain direction away from the amusement park.
Amusement parks with large land areas like this are usually built in relatively remote, sparsely populated locations due to land prices.
After walking for about ten minutes, Ye Xing could see that the black trail on the ground hadn't faded but instead had become increasingly viscous, even continuously writhing.
"So this is the place..."
He looked up and saw before him a small building that had once served an unknown purpose but was now abandoned, resembling a school teaching block.
Judging by the peeling wall plaster, the length of weeds on the ground, and the randomly open iron gate in front, this place had been abandoned for at least a decade.
The sky was no longer clear as before but had become overcast with dark clouds. The air carried a slight chill, as if a heavy rain could start at any moment.
Japan's weather had been this unpredictable for the past few months, largely unrelated to the current evil spirits.
Boom!
Before the rain could fall, a blinding flash suddenly lit up the dark clouds.
Accompanied by deafening thunder, the light illuminated this dilapidated building.
What caught Ye Xing's eye was a terrifying face pressed against a third-floor window—features twisted into a mass, eyes filled with venomous hatred, staring fixedly at him.
Faced with this sudden gaze, Ye Xing first froze momentarily, then shook his head with a light laugh.
'Psycho made me laugh.'
Immediately after, his figure vanished from the spot.
The evil spirit behind the third-floor window was stunned by this sight.
Wait...
Where did he go?
Where did that human disappear to?
This evil spirit was at its most twisted, filled with the strongest malice.
It had painstakingly selected several individuals with twisted desires who could be manipulated, devised the perfect method of driving a large truck into crowded areas to cause massive human casualties, satisfying its own malice and bloodlust.
Unexpectedly...
It had failed.
Of course, although the evil spirit harboured intense resentment, even with ten thousand times the courage, it wouldn't dare seek out that Mask for any form of retaliation.
Whether it was that being or that black-and-white headless monster, in its perception, both were powerful evil spirits it absolutely couldn't contend against.
After fleeing all the way here, it had already accumulated intense resentment and murderous desire. Finally encountering a human who didn't know any better - someone who dared to enter this area actively and seemed able to see it - it was ready to feast heartily.
First, appear in the target's field of vision.
Then, the next second, directly appear behind that male human and ask in a terrifying, hoarse voice, word by word:
"You... can see me?"
This was the evil spirit's original plan.
But it never expected that just after executing the first step, that human actually disappeared.
What's going on?
Just then.
The evil spirit caught a glimpse of something dark appearing beside it in its peripheral vision.
Followed by a query spoken with amusement.
"You... can see me?"
The evil spirit stiffly turned its head to see a mysterious figure wearing a pitch-black mask, emitting an aura that made it feel immense fear, standing quietly there.
On the mask was a white smiling pattern that appeared even more eerie in the dimly lit corridor.
"You... you..."
"Oh my?"
Hearing the words muttered by this evil spirit, Ye Xing was somewhat surprised.
"You can speak? This little thing is quite interesting."
Facing Ye Xing's question, the evil spirit didn't hesitate at all, immediately making a survival-instinct-driven choice without the slightest delay.
Turn and run.
Only then did Ye Xing finally get a clear look at this evil spirit's full appearance.
Its body was similar to a normal human's, standing about 1.7 meters tall.
Its ash-white hair was very long, with pitch-black shackles around its wrists and ankles.
"Shackles... an evil spirit born from negative impressions of prisons, perhaps..."
According to Rio Futaba and Miko Yotsuya's summaries, the extent to which evil spirits could exert influence over humans also reflected the evil spirits' power to some degree.
The first tier naturally consisted of powerful evil spirits that could pull humans into the Reverse World, had Gates fused within them, and could directly harm humans.
For example, the Train, the Flying Head Monster in the unfinished building, and that ten-meter-tall giant evil spirit all belonged to this tier.
Aside from special circumstances like possession and fusion, the second tier included the category to which this shackled evil spirit before him belonged.
Although unable to directly harm humans, they could achieve nearly one hundred percent control over humans with twisted desires and fragile mental states, commanding the controlled humans to act against their survival instincts.
For instance.
Launching suicidal terrorist attacks.
Watching the evil spirit rapidly fleeing into the distance, Ye Xing just shook his head with a light laugh.
"Really now, what's there to run from?"
"Come out."
Meanwhile, the evil spirit had already reached the stairwell, feeling it was about to escape this certain death situation.
But what appeared before its eyes wasn't any dawn of hope.
Rather, two enormous ghost hands.
The evil spirit halted abruptly, stopping right where it was.
It could feel the heart-palpitating terror emanating from those two ghost hands.
If it took one more step forward...
It would definitely be crushed.
"What's there to run from?"
Ye Xing's amused voice sounded from behind the evil spirit, growing closer as he spoke.
"I don't eat people."
The evil spirit turned around and saw that the other party now held a long blade as black as ink in their hand, approaching step by step.
"Oh right, I'd forgotten..."
His footsteps seemed to tread upon the very depths of the evil spirit's soul, each step eliciting an increasingly intense fear and trembling.
Ye Xing stared directly at the evil spirit's ferocious, twisted face, the smiling pattern on his black mask having vanished.
"You're not human."
By the time he said this, Ye Xing had already reached the evil spirit's front. Though his voice carried laughter, his eyes held no trace of pity.
"Although devouring an evil spirit of your level won't provide much improvement for my current self..."
"It's not bad to enjoy more pleasure."
As the words fell, the black-and-white ghost hands behind the evil spirit shot out, grabbing its limbs and the shackles and forcibly tearing them off.
Listening to the agonised howls from the evil spirit and seeing its limbless body writhing and squirming on the floor, the madness and excitement in Ye Xing's eyes intensified as he softly spoke.
"There's still plenty of time."