"Mr. Abe, if you don't mind, could you tell me why you want to follow this Masaki Negishi?"
Jiang Hang studied the photograph in the file. It showed a middle-aged man with a somewhat fierce and intimidating appearance.
If Jiang Hang had judged purely by first impressions, this man would have looked far more like a murderer.
Yet reality proved otherwise. The gentle and polite middle-aged man sitting in front of him seemed far more likely to become a killer.
It truly showed that appearances could be deceiving.
"Of course, that's no problem," Toyo Abe replied calmly. His expression didn't change at all, as if he had already prepared his explanation.
"In fact, Masaki and I have been friends since our university days. We've kept in touch for more than twenty years. However, a few days ago when we met up, he suddenly looked extremely nervous and told me something strange."
Abe paused slightly before continuing.
"He said, 'I think someone is watching me. I might even lose my life soon.' At first I thought he was joking, but judging from his expression, he clearly wasn't."
As Toyo Abe spoke, the two girls standing behind Jiang Hang—Shizuka Sakaki and Yoshino Koharu—were visibly startled.
They had originally assumed it was just an ordinary surveillance request.
Who would have thought there was such a twist hidden inside?
The world of professional detectives really was frightening.
"Someone is watching him?" Jiang Hang frowned slightly. "Did he say who it was?"
"Unfortunately, no," Toyo Abe said with a helpless smile. "No matter how much I asked, he refused to tell me."
He continued,
"I'm very worried about him. However, tomorrow morning I'll be leaving town with some employees from my company on a business trip. I won't be back for three days. So I hope you can follow him during those days and see if you can discover anything."
He looked at Jiang Hang.
"That shouldn't be a problem, Detective Jiang Hang, right?"
After hearing the explanation, Jiang Hang had already formed a rough idea in his mind.
If Toyo Abe wanted to use him as an alibi, that meant one thing.
Masaki Negishi would likely be found dead within the next three days.
Setting aside the question of why Abe would want to kill a friend he had known for over twenty years, Jiang Hang was more curious about something else.
How exactly did Abe plan to kill Masaki Negishi while he himself was supposedly away on a business trip?
Would he hire someone to do the job?
Or had he prepared some special method in advance?
Jiang Hang thought for a moment but couldn't determine Abe's exact plan.
Still, since the case had come directly to him, there was no way he would allow that reputation reward to slip away.
"Of course, there's no problem," Jiang Hang said calmly. "This is part of a detective's responsibility."
He accepted the commission without hesitation.
Toyo Abe also proved quite generous. The advance payment alone was two hundred thousand yen.
"Then starting tomorrow, my friend's safety will be in your hands, Detective Jiang Hang."
Abe stood up and bowed deeply.
"Please make sure to investigate my friend's movements over the next three days. If anything unusual happens, contact me immediately by phone."
With that, Toyo Abe turned and left the office.
After escorting him out, Shizuka Sakaki returned and handed Jiang Hang the notes she had taken during the conversation.
The summary was concise and clear. It seemed she was performing her front-desk duties quite well.
"Jiang Hang, this case sounds pretty dangerous," Shizuka Sakaki said with concern. "When you're following Mr. Masaki Negishi, please be careful."
Yoshino Koharu nodded in agreement.
If something happened to Jiang Hang, she would have to start searching for a new job again—and she definitely didn't want to relive the nightmare of endless interviews.
"But Mr. Abe really seems to care about his friend," Yoshino Koharu added. "Even before leaving town, he came to hire a detective."
While listening to the two girls, Jiang Hang quietly activated Eagle Vision, marking Toyo Abe—who had just left the agency—while pouring himself a glass of water.
Then he suddenly spoke.
"Don't you find something strange?"
"?"
Both girls looked confused.
"Jiang Hang, did you notice something?" Shizuka Sakaki asked curiously. She replayed the earlier conversation in her mind but couldn't recall anything suspicious.
Had Jiang Hang already discovered a clue in such a short meeting?
Jiang Hang calmly explained.
"Masaki Negishi said someone was watching him and that his life might be in danger. In that situation, what would a normal person do first?"
He pointed to himself.
"Would they hire a detective? Or would they call the police?"
"And not just any detective," Jiang Hang continued, "but a brand-new detective who opened his office only three days ago."
Hearing this, Yoshino Koharu also realized the inconsistency.
"That's true… it does sound strange," she admitted.
After thinking for a moment, she offered a theory.
"Maybe Masaki Negishi has some kind of problem himself, which makes him unable—or unwilling—to ask the police for help. For example, maybe he's secretly a gang leader with lots of enemies."
Her reasoning wasn't unreasonable. With Masaki Negishi's intimidating appearance, he did resemble the kind of character who might lead a criminal organization.
At least, television dramas often cast actors with similar looks for such roles.
"That's certainly possible," Jiang Hang said. "Unfortunately, my agency just opened. I don't have a reliable intelligence network or informants yet."
"If I did, investigating Masaki Negishi's background might reveal the truth."
After making that casual remark, Jiang Hang looked at the two girls again.
There was a high probability this was a premeditated murder case. Since he intended to follow Toyo Abe, it might even become dangerous.
It would be better not to involve them.
"I'm heading out for a while," Jiang Hang said. "I'll leave the office to you two. If I'm not back tonight, just close the office when you leave."
After saying that, Jiang Hang returned to his room and changed clothes.
Using the Beginner Disguise skill, he applied some simple alterations to his appearance.
When he stepped out again and spoke to the girls with a deliberately modified voice—asking casually, "How does it look?"—both of them were visibly shocked.
"That's amazing!" Yoshino Koharu exclaimed.
"You only changed your clothes, but it feels like you've become a completely different person. If the original you stood next to you, no one would realize you're the same person."
Shizuka Sakaki, however, focused on something else.
His voice.
Although the tone he used was plain and lacked distinctive qualities, it wasn't simply a lowered voice. Instead, it sounded like he had genuinely changed his vocal style.
As someone aiming to become a voice actress, she could clearly distinguish the difference.
So that's why Jiang Hang asked yesterday whether voice actors could freely change their voices…
It turned out he had experience in that area as well.
Perhaps in the future, she might even have the chance to discuss voice techniques with him.