Chapter 1: An Encounter Amidst the Downpour
Rain. Heavy rain. A relentless, soul-crushing deluge.
On a nameless street somewhere in Chiba Prefecture, a man dressed in black suddenly materialized on the deserted pavement.
A curtain of water swallowed his figure, washing away the crimson stains clinging to his body. The blood mingled with the rushing torrent, swirling down into the abyss of a dark drainage pipe.
Splash.
The man in black stepped into a deep puddle. His body swayed precariously, looking so frail that it seemed he might collapse at any given second.
And then, he did.
The downpour hammered against him. Rolling onto his back, the man stared up at the sky. The rain blurred his vision, but a self-deprecating smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Early summer rain was biting cold. It seeped into his clothes and stung the open gashes on his skin. He could feel it clearly—the sensation of life slipping away, his body temperature plummeting toward the freezing point.
"Am I going to die soon?"
He asked himself the question, his lips moving, but no sound came out. The mocking smile on his face only deepened.
Rainwater trickled into his mouth. It tasted... slightly sweet. Why hadn't he noticed that before?
If this is the end, then what was the point of all my struggling?
What is a home? What is a family?
If I die, will all these worries finally disappear?
And yet, a lingering sense of resentment remained...
His thoughts were a chaotic jumble, drifting from one thing to another—reflecting on his miserable past life, and the one before that.
CRACK-BOOM!
A deafening roar of thunder shook the air. Purple lightning crawled across the sky, momentarily splitting the universe in two.
This was the fiercest rainstorm Chiba had seen in a decade. Low-lying areas were already submerged, and the drainage systems had long since reached their limit. Government departments were frantically, yet helplessly, issuing orders to organize rescue efforts.
The sky was a dull, oppressive gray. It was barely five in the afternoon, but the streets were void of both people and vehicles.
Was this place really that remote? Perhaps.
Or maybe something else was exerting its influence.
The thunderclaps jolted the man in black, snapping him out of his hazy consciousness.
He finally realized something was wrong; he was in a completely different place.
That's right. He had been moved.
So?
Was this still "Infinite Flow"?
Grappling with the thought, he crawled up from the ground, dragging himself toward a low wall nearby. He managed to prop himself up against it, which made him feel a fraction better.
The rain continued to wash over him relentlessly.
System! he screamed in his mind.
An emotionless, mechanical voice echoed back: [Host, I am here.]
"What happened? Explain. Wasn't I supposed to die along with that guy?"
He had blacked out during the explosion. Now, realizing he was somehow still breathing, he instinctively wanted to light a cigarette, only to realize he didn't have any.
Even if he did, it wasn't like he could smoke in this weather anyway.
Heh.
He thought back on his past, a wave of melancholy washing over him.
His name was Akishin, a transmigrator from China.
Including this mysterious relocation, this was likely his second transmigration.
He was an orphan who grew up in an orphanage, dreaming of nothing more than a decent, comfortable life. After finally grinding through university and preparing to make his mark on the world, he was told he had cancer.
God really loved playing jokes on him.
Only Akishin knew how much effort an orphan had to exert, and how much injustice he had to swallow, just to graduate from a top-tier university. It wasn't the kind of thing you could summarize in a single sentence in a book.
But Akishin hadn't given up. He stood his ground, started a company, recruited staff, and literally risked his life for his career... only to die of cancer just as the business began to flourish.
He died in a quiet, lonely corner with no one by his side. His body probably wasn't even discovered until days later.
But perhaps the universe felt a shred of pity for his misfortune.
After his death, something called the "System" chose him, promising that as long as he completed its missions, he could keep living.
People who haven't stared death in the face can't truly understand that primal urge to survive. Like a drowning man clutching at a final straw, Akishin accepted the deal.
He transmigrated into the world of Detective Conan. His mission: infiltrate the Black Organization as a spy and eventually dismantle it from the inside.
That was the ultimate goal.
There were various sub-missions along the way. Completing them granted items or high-level skills, while failure meant "erasure of existence."
The System's logic was simple: he was technically already dead, and he was merely fighting for his life for the sake of a slim possibility.
The irony was that Akishin only knew Detective Conan was a popular anime featuring a "Death God" elementary student. Beyond that, he knew nothing.
Plotlines, organization structures, world-building, characters—he had zero meta-knowledge.
His previous life had been consumed by studying and part-time jobs. His only leisure was scrolling through news for thirty minutes before bed.
Anime was a distant, unreachable luxury for someone like him.
The System gave him an identity but kept him in the dark about the plot. Once a mission was assigned, he was on his own.
During his year within the Black Organization, Akishin killed many villains, and occasionally, some good people too. Every time he took a life, that nagging sense of wrongness never quite went away...
With the System's help, his abilities skyrocketed. Within a year, he had caught up to his superior—a terrifying man named Gin.
But then, a slip-up occurred. During a side mission, Gin uncovered his identity as a mole. The two of them had a final showdown in a chemical plant.
Akishin lost. In his final moments, he fired a desperate shot into a tank of flammable liquid, intending to perish with Gin in the inferno...
Was that the end of the story?
Of course not. The System interfered one last time, and here he was. Otherwise, there was no way he'd still be drawing breath.
[System: Our apologies, Host. Due to a system error, the Host received a mission that guaranteed death. According to Void Law Article 3576, Paragraph 7, the System will provide compensation. Currently, the Host's health status has been locked. Until the System departs, the Host will not die.]
"Oh? Compensation?"
Akishin wiped the rain from his face. His eyes fluttered open slightly, only to be immediately assaulted by more water. He noticed his body no longer felt cold, and the bleeding had stopped. He could move, though it felt like he was operating a heavy machine.
"What kind of compensation? And wait—you're leaving?" he asked, surprised.
Akishin didn't realize there was a hint of relief in his voice. Who would feel comfortable carrying a ticking time bomb in their head, being forced into life-or-death missions? Getting rid of it was the best-case scenario.
That previous mission was absurd; it was the sole reason for his failure. Maybe that was the "error" the system mentioned.
[System: Based on regulations, the Host's greatest wish will be granted according to the situation. You are now being granted freedom. Since the Host is dead in his world of origin, a world of the same level has been selected for relocation.]
"A truly new world? Another transmigration?"
Akishin finally confirmed the reality. Given the situation in his previous world, there was no going back. His heart hammered with a mix of excitement and relief. He had stained his hands with blood for the organization; he could never have returned to a normal life there. This new world could be a fresh start.
[System: Correct, Host.]
Simultaneously, a profile appeared in Akishin's mind: Chishima Akishin. Orphan. Male. Twenty-four years old. Single. Residing at 77 Konishi Street. Occupation: PE Teacher. Formerly of Sanyo High School (disbanded). Recently transferred to Sobu High School (yet to report). Cause of death: Excessive alcohol consumption during a celebration ten minutes ago. Host has now assumed this identity.
They even had a new identity lined up.
Akishin was amazed, but mostly glad. Being an illegal resident in a civilized society would have been a nightmare.
The System had been surprisingly thorough.
Since the original Chishima Akishin was already gone and had no living relatives, Akishin felt no guilt about taking over—the body was just a vessel; the soul was what mattered.
[System: Host, the System will now detach. In addition to granting your wish, an extra Patch is being provided. The Host may choose one skill to be upgraded to Grandmaster level, and two skills to Master level. This is per Void Law Article 3576, Paragraph 9. If the System leaves the Host of its own accord, appropriate compensation must be rendered.]
Instantly, a glowing screen—visible only to him—floated amidst the rain. It listed over a dozen skills.
Hand-to-Hand Combat, Cooking, Firearms, Chess, Go, Swordsmanship...
Half were skills he'd honed during his missions; the rest were his own. Among them, Hand-to-Hand Combat and Firearms were his highest, both at Expert level. The others were mediocre at best.
There's more?
The surprises kept coming. It felt surreal. Was this really the same "comply or be erased" system?
But he had nothing the system wanted. This "compensation" seemed genuine. After a moment of thought, Akishin chose Swordsmanship for the Grandmaster level. In Japan, that meant Kendo. He chose it purely because he liked it; the core of the sword was about tempering the heart—one strike to clear the path, leaving no room for doubt.
Akishin was a man of very clear goals.
Next, he chose Cooking and Go for his Master levels. Cooking was purely for the sake of enjoying good food.
After living twice—though his combined years didn't even reach the twenty-five of this new body—Akishin was tired of the grind. He wanted to rest. This was his heart's desire: I do it because I want to. Whatever others thought didn't matter, as long as he had no regrets.
As for Go, he simply enjoyed the game. Akishin loved the battlefield, the thrill of the stratagem, but he hated the actual death that came with it. A chessboard was a bloodless battlefield. Perhaps it could offer a different kind of happiness.
Besides, Go was a game of pure talent. He had studied it for a long time before but could never break past the average level.
[System: Considering the Host's current condition, these three rewards will be applied via the Patch once the Host is safe. The contract with Akishin is now terminated. Commencing automatic detachment.]
"Hey, wait—"
Akishin didn't know why he shouted; maybe he just wasn't ready to let go of the only constant he had.
Before he could finish, he knew the System was gone. It was a strange feeling, like losing a familiar piece of himself.
CRACK-BOOM!
The universe roared again. Purple lightning illuminated the world. Akishin let out a soft groan, leaning helplessly against the wall. The moment the System left, the cold, the emptiness, and the sensation of blood loss came rushing back.
A simple blue light screen appeared before his eyes:
Chishima Akishin (Status: Near Death)
Strength: 18 (Normal adult male: 10)
Agility: 15
Charisma: 12
Constitution: 19
Skills: Swordsmanship—Grandmaster (Pending), Cooking—Master (Pending), Go—Master (Pending), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Expert), Firearms (Expert)...
Skill Points: 0
...
So this was what the System meant by a "Patch"?
Akishin gave it a quick glance and closed it. It was just a status interface. His stats were far above average thanks to his training in the organization.
The only mystery was the "Skill Points." Anyone who'd played a game knew what those were. He'd figure that out later.
The priority was the present.
The rain showed no signs of stopping, the sound filling the street. Akishin tried to stand. He needed to find shelter, or he'd be dead in thirty minutes.
However...
As soon as he tried to push himself up, Akishin fell face-first into the water. He couldn't crawl. Finally, he could only slump back against the wall, staring at the sky.
He suddenly had a dark thought: maybe that "compensation" was a lie. Maybe the system was just waiting for him to die. If no one saved him, he was finished, and the system wouldn't have to pay out a thing.
But...
Did it really have to be this much trouble?
Wouldn't it have been easier to just let me die in that fire? Heh.
Akishin closed his eyes, letting the rain wash over him.
"Hey! Are you alright? Do you need help?"
Suddenly, an abrasive female voice, barely audible over the rain, reached his ears. The owner sounded like she found this a massive pain, yet couldn't bring herself to just walk away.
Akishin's head snapped toward the sound.
A woman in a long white coat stood about two meters away. She looked like she'd just stepped out of a lab, though something felt off about that. She held a black umbrella. The rain was too thick to see her face clearly, but based on her silhouette, she seemed quite beautiful.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Dammit, the ambulances are all backed up... what are these tax-eating politicians even doing..."
Akishin heard those words through a fading consciousness. He smiled. He knew he might just live. Then, he blacked out—his body couldn't take it anymore, the biting cold giving way to a sudden, searing heat.
No, from now on, he was Chishima Akishin.
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