Chapter 10 10. Strange Old Man

Wise still lost in the end.Fortunately, his failure was not complete, because he perfectly accomplished the task of protecting Sanae. In Iwase's view, it is not very important that the female thief was not arrested. He sincerely thanked Akechi for saving his daughter, and praised his skills without hesitation.What's more, the situation will evolve to this point, and Iwase himself cannot absolve himself of the blame.Because he completely believed that the black lizard in disguise was his daughter, and sleeping in the same room did not see through the thief's trick. After all, it must be said that this was Iwase's negligence.

However, Akechi was not at all relieved.Thinking of falling into the hands of a weak woman, he was very annoyed. In particular, when he learned from the monitoring subordinates that the other party had quickly changed disguises and fled, he even became angry uncontrollably. "Mr. Iwase, I lost. My blacklist has never recorded that there is such a superb opponent in the world. It is incredible. I should not underestimate my opponent. I will not lose to her again. Mr. Iwase , I swear on my own reputation, if the female thief is ready to kidnap your daughter again in the future, I will never be defeated by her. As long as I am alive, your daughter will be safe and sound. I assure you clearly. "

Zhizhi made a strong promise, and a blush appeared on his pale cheeks because of the excitement in his heart.Facing a powerful enemy that is rare in a century, his fighting spirit is burning again. Readers, remember these wise words.Can he really keep his promise and not repeat the same mistakes and lose the battle?If the same thing happens again, then his detective career will be ruined in his own hands. The next day, Iwase and his daughter temporarily changed their itinerary and hurried back to their home in Osaka.Along the way, the two were anxious, but instead of continuing to stay in the hotel, it is better to return to Osaka as soon as possible, so that they can feel at ease with the company of their families.

Of course Akechi Kogoro agreed, and took on the responsibility of escort.No one can guess where the thieves will stretch out their claws. The car from the hotel to the station, the train from Tokyo to Osaka, and the welcome car from the house in Osaka are hard to guard against.So no matter which section he reached, he did it himself, taking on the responsibility of the most responsible personal bodyguard. Finally, Sanae and his party finally returned to Osaka safely.Of course, Akechi is still staying at the Iwase mansion, protecting Sanae with his shadow.This went on for a few days without incident.

Well, readers, the author wants to deviate slightly from the main line of the narrative and introduce the incredible experience of a woman that has not been mentioned before.It may seem that this woman has nothing to do with Black Lizard, Sanae, or Akechi Kogoro, but sensitive readers can definitely see at a glance how profound this woman's strange experience is to the whole incident. This happened one night not long after Sanae returned to Osaka.A woman browsed the windows on both sides of the street like a horse watching flowers, and walked aimlessly on the main road in the downtown area of ​​S Town, Osaka City.

The coat on the woman's body, regardless of the collar and cuffs, has a circle of fur rolled, which suits her very well.Even wearing high heels, her steps are still light.However, her outstanding appearance seems depressed for some reason, and there is a little self-abandonment and drifting in her eyes, which can easily be mistaken for a wandering warbler or something. In fact, for some reason, someone had been following her without showing a trace since the moment before.The other party was an old gentleman, with a brown fedora on his head, wearing a heavy brown overcoat, leaning on a thick rattan cane, and wearing a pair of big thick-rimmed glasses. unusual.

In fact, the woman had already discovered that the old man was following her, but she did not escape.She even used the window as a mirror to observe the old man curiously. Turning from the bright main road of S Town, there is a dark alley, and there is a coffee shop at the bottom of the alley, which is famous for its fragrant coffee.As if suddenly remembering, the girl turned her head back and glanced at the old gentleman who was following her, and then walked into the shop.Then, she chose a corner box surrounded by potted palm plants to sit down, and boldly ordered two cups of coffee.The other glass was of course for the old gentleman who followed.

As expected, the old man followed into the coffee shop, and then looked around in the dark shop.After discovering the box where the girl was sitting, he approached the box cheekily. "Ah, sorry, are you alone?" The old man beckoned and sat down opposite the girl. "I guess the old man will definitely come in, so I ordered coffee for you by the way." The girl boldly responded. The old gentleman seemed quite surprised, but soon showed a satisfied expression, looked at the girl's beautiful face with a smile, and asked a question that others could not understand: "How does it feel to be unemployed?"

Now it was a girl who was at a loss.Her face flushed immediately, and she stammered and replied: "Why, how do you know? Who are you?" "Hehe, I'm just an old man you don't know. However, I know something about you, why don't you allow me to guess. You are Yoko Sakurayama, and you used to be a typist at Kansai Commercial Co., Ltd. Got into an argument, just got fired today. Hahaha, how, I guess right?" "Well, yes, you're nothing short of a detective." After a while, Ye Zi returned to the look of giving up on herself just now, she seemed completely indifferent to what the old man said, and dealt with it casually.

"I haven't finished yet. You left the company at around three o'clock this afternoon, and you haven't returned home until now, and you haven't gone to find friends. You just wandered around the streets of Osaka. What are you going to do in the future?" The old man knew everything well.He must have followed Ye Zi from three o'clock in the afternoon until dark.Why on earth is it taking so much trouble? "Why do you ask these things? If I start tonight, I will become a wandering warbler..." The girl sneered with a broken jar. "Hahaha, do I look like that kind of old man? No, absolutely not, and you can't do that kind of thing. Do you think I don't know? Just two hours ago, you bought it at the pharmacy. Got something." The old gentleman stared at the leaves with a proud expression.

"Hehe, do you mean this? This is a sleeping pill." Ye Zi said, taking out two boxes of Adalin from her bag. "Are you suffering from insomnia at such a young age? Impossible. Besides, two boxes of Adalin..." "You think I want to kill myself?" "Well, although I am an elderly man, I still understand a little bit about women's minds. It is a youthful world that adults can't fathom. Young people regard death as a beautiful scenery. For a kind of virginal innocence that dies while the body is still pure. What is equal to purity is the masochistic psychology of letting the body sink into the quagmire without hesitation. These two contradictory thoughts always appear together, and you blurt out To fall into prostitution and buy Adalin is all due to youth." "So, are you preaching to me?" Ye Zi felt very disappointed, and replied coldly. "No, I don't do such ignorant things. This is not preaching, I just want to help you out of trouble." "Hehe, I guess it's the same. Thank you, can you please help me?" The girl kept joking, wondering if she still misunderstood the meaning of the old man. "No, you can't say such uneducated words. I discussed with you very seriously, and never thought about taking care of you. But, are you willing to work under me?" "I'm sorry, are you serious?" Ye Zi finally understood the actual intention of the old man. "Of course. But, with all due respect, how much does Kansai Shoji Co., Ltd. pay you?" "Forty yuan..." "Well, very good. Then I will give you two hundred yuan a month. In addition, I will bear your accommodation, food expenses or clothing expenses. As for work, you only need to play around." "Hehe, isn't that too easy?" "No, if you take this as a joke, then I'm in trouble. The secret behind this is very complicated. Compared with your job content, this kind of remuneration is actually not much for the employer. In other words, your Where are the parents?" "They're gone. I wouldn't be so pessimistic if they were alive." "Then you now..." "I live in an apartment by myself." "Well, very good, everything is perfect. Is it convenient to come with me immediately? The apartment you live in, and I will go to clean up the aftermath later." Such an unusual request, it would be impossible for Ye Zi to agree to it normally.But at this time, she no longer minded exchanging her virginity for money, and even considered suicide. Under the mood of giving up on herself, she subconsciously nodded in agreement. After leaving the coffee shop, the old gentleman stopped a taxi and took her to the second floor of a dilapidated cigarette shop on the outskirts of the city she was not familiar with.The shabby room is covered with faded tatami mats. The room is about three square meters in size. The only furniture is a small mirror stand in the corner and a box. The behavior of the old man became more and more strange, but Ye Zi had already learned a certain degree of secret about this strange employment contract from him along the way, so she didn't feel nervous at all, on the contrary, she developed a great interest in the role she played. "Change your clothes first, this is also one of the conditions for hiring you." The old gentleman took out a kimono with gorgeous patterns suitable for the age of the leaves from the box, as well as a belt, a long shirt, a black coat with fur trimmed at the neckline, and even sandals. "The mirror is a bit small, but please make do with it." After explaining, the old man went downstairs immediately.Ye Zi changed into an expensive kimono as instructed.In an instant, all the unhappiness dissipated. "Very good, very good, this is fine, it is very suitable for you." At some point, the old gentleman came up again, staring at her back with rapt attention. "However, short hair looks weird with this kimono." Ye Zi looked in the mirror, showing embarrassment. "I've been prepared for a long time, here, put this on." The old man took out an item wrapped in white cloth from the box.When it was untied, there lay a clump of hair, which at first glance was frightening, but was actually a wig, pulled into a bun at the back of the head. The old man went around in front of Ye Zi and put it on for her skillfully.Looking in the mirror, Ye Zi has completely changed. "There are still eyes, although there is a degree of prescription, but please be patient." The old gentleman held out a pair of rimless glasses.Ye Zi didn't ask much, and put it on directly. "It's too late, let's go immediately. The agreed time is ten o'clock." The old man kept urging, and Ye Zi hurriedly rolled up the clothes she had taken off, stuffed them into the box, and went downstairs quickly. After leaving the cigarette shop and walking forward for a while, I saw a car parked on the road.That was obviously not the taxi I took just now.Although it was an old car, the driver was well dressed and seemed to be acquainted with the old gentleman. As soon as the two got into the car, the car drove out without waiting for instructions.After turning a few turns on the well-lit avenue, we soon came to the dark suburbs. "Arrive at the destination, is there no problem with the time?" The driver turned his head and asked. "Well, it's exactly ten o'clock. Lights out, then." Upon hearing this, the driver turned the switch to turn off all the lights on the front, rear and passenger seats.The pitch-black car sped along in the dark night. After a while, the car moved slowly along the cement wall of a strange mansion.There is a street lamp every half town on this road, and the surrounding environment can be barely recognized by the shimmering leaves. "Miss Ye Zi, get ready, move quickly, understand?" The old man seemed to be cheering on the players who were about to enter the field. "Well, I know." Facing the unknown adventure, Ye Zi looked extremely nervous, but still answered vigorously. Suddenly, the car stopped in front of the mansion's convenient door, and the door was quickly opened from the outside, and the person who opened the door whispered: "quick!" Ye Zi quickly rushed out of the car without saying a word, and rushed into the small door in front of her as planned. At this time, another person rushed out of the small door, passing Ye Zi like a bullet, and jumped directly into the car that Ye Zi was riding in just now. In an instant, Ye Zi saw the other party by the dim light of the electric light in the distance, and couldn't help feeling horrified. Is that a phantom?Or was everything a terrifying nightmare until just now? A leaf sees another leaf.I have heard of the soul-departing disease before, could it be that I have got the rumored strange disease? Two Sakurayama Yokos appeared in front of my eyes, one rushed into the house, and the other jumped into the car. Are there two strangers in the world who are so similar in terms of hairstyle and clothing?No no no, not only that.What makes Ye Zi cold to the bone is that another person even looks exactly like her. However, the car carrying another woman didn't understand the endless fear in Ye Zi's heart, and it was like a black whirlwind, speeding away all the way. "Okay, come here." When she regained consciousness, the black shadow of the man who opened the car door earlier approached her ear and whispered instructions through the shadow of the night.