Chapter 15 Chapter 7 Trace

Masami Naoi appeared in front of the coffee shop in a pink shirt and jeans, her long hair tied into a ponytail.Carrying the kind of large backpack used by athletes on her shoulders, she said that she would go to an amateur school later, and Chongshi couldn't help becoming interested in the content of the courses she was taking. After Yami saw him, she walked over here with a smile on her face, ordered a cup of iced coffee from the waiter who just passed by, and then sat down on the chair.Chongshi also handed the payment slip in front of him to the waiter, saying "pay together".

Yami looked embarrassed, "It's my turn to invite you today." "It's okay, don't worry about it, by the way, I'm sorry to call you out suddenly" Takashi called Shinozaki Goro's ex-girlfriend Masami Naoi on the phone last night.After taking a nap on the train home, a sudden inspiration came to my head, so I contacted her. "Is there any news about Wu Lang's whereabouts?" "There is no news, but I found something that seems to be a clue." "clue?" "He once participated in a very important research project conducted by Vitec Corporation, and his disappearance is likely to be related to this research"

"It's related to research... what's going on?" "I don't know the specifics, but I can say that Shinozaki didn't go missing voluntarily. I'm afraid it's out of Vitec's consideration." Masami still didn't understand, and looked at Chongshi with uneasy eyes, "Is it Vitec's consideration? In other words, is it an order from the company?" "Normally not," Chongshi replied, "but this time is by no means a normal situation, everything." "How...why would the company do this? It's just ridiculous"

"I'm going to investigate this next time." "It's unbelievable." When Yami was talking to herself, the iced coffee was served, but she didn't mean to reach for it at all, but asked Chongshi, "What is your so-called research?" "I don't want to disclose the details, and you won't understand if I tell you." Chongshi was vague. Not only Yami, but ordinary people don't understand the concept of memory tampering. If the explanation is inappropriate, it will cause her unnecessary panic . "Anyway, it is a research with trans-epochal significance, I am sure of this"

"Oh?" She finally took the straw out of the bag, inserted it into the iced coffee and stirred.The ice cubes made a cool sound, "Did Wu Lang participate in such a remarkable research?" "Yes." Chongshi nodded. "I really can't believe it." Yami shook her head, and her ponytail also shook, "I heard from Wu Lang that he is surrounded by a lot of good people, and he is just constantly being ordered. Sometimes after listening to the instructions of the leader, he will be ignorant What should I do?" "He's being humble" "Is that so?" Yami tilted her head and brought her mouth closer to the straw.

Watching her drinking iced coffee, Chongshi reckoned in his heart: he can't tell her the truth.Hearing about participating in the research, Masami's first thought must be to participate in the research work, but his actual role is just an experimental subject. "In short, there is such a behind-the-scenes story about his disappearance. Here I want to ask you first, has Vitec not contacted you? For example, met you or called you." Before Chongshi finished speaking, she began to shake her head non-stop. "Never before, Mr. Tsuruga is the only one who contacted me about Wu Lang."

"yes……" "Hey, Mr. Tsuruga, what should I do next? Wu Lang disappeared because of the company, should I contact the police?" "It's useless for you to call the police, because there is no evidence, and your best choice is to keep silent. By the way, what I asked you to do yesterday is all right?" "Go and see what happened to Wu Lang's place? Well, no problem." Yami patted the bag on the chair next to her. "I got the key from his mother." "Then let's go quickly, oh yes, wait until you finish this cup of coffee" "I'll drink it right away," Yami quickly sucked on the straw.

To be honest, Chongshi still had no idea what to do in Shinozaki's room.If I have to give an explanation, it is to find clues, but what kind of clues are they?He had no specific conjectures at all, he just felt that Shinozaki's disappearance was inseparably related to this series of events, and he wanted to see his room with his own eyes before talking about it anyway. After walking out of the coffee shop in Ikebukuro, Takashi hailed a taxi and said to the driver, "Go to Asagaya." Masami looked slightly surprised. "Have you been to Wu Lang's apartment before?"

"No, I haven't been there" "Then how do you know it's in Asagaya?" "Well, I've heard him mention it before" A scene emerged in Chongshi's mind: it was at the party venue, and Shinozaki Goro was talking to a few men beside him. "Is he a native of Hiroshima?" When asked by Chongshi, Yami was a little strange, he asked what he was doing, nodded and answered, "Yes" "Then have you ever heard that his parents lived in Tokyo?" "I've never heard of it. It's impossible. As far as I know, his parents have never set foot outside Hiroshima."

"Hey..." Takashi turned to look out the window, he recalled the party held last summer, Shinozaki tried his best to claim that he was from Tokyo, and his tone didn't sound like a joke or bragging at all. His memory has been modified, Chongshi reasoned, I don't know which link went wrong, he appeared in that state at the party, and Zhiyan and the others looked flustered. "Wu Lang himself said this?" Yami asked from the side. "Say what?" "Say his parents are from Tokyo" "No, of course not, I just want to ask, you don't have to take it to heart"

"Really?" Yami began to bow her head in thought.Did she think of something? When Chongshi became curious, she immediately raised her head and said to him, "But I think Goro might tell that kind of lie." "Why?" "Wu Lang hates that he was born in Hiroshima, no, it has nothing to do with Hiroshima, he is ashamed that he is not a Tokyo native" "There are such absurd things?" Chongshi smiled wryly. "It's true, he said country people would be ridiculed... so he made a lot of effort to look like a Tokyoite, such as taking care not to show a Hiroshima accent" "Oh, this is actually not a big deal, I'm also from Shizuoka." "Wu Lang has a weakness in his heart," Masami summed it up simply. The taxi turned into a side road from Qingmei Street, and a few tens of meters to the north, it turned again at a narrower path.This is the road Masami pointed to during the drive. The apartment has cracks in the walls and has changed colour, making it look like it's been built for over 20 years.The paint on the exterior stair banisters was also peeling off in patches like a skin disease and was rusty.Chongshi followed Ami up the stairs. Shinozaki's residence was on the far side of the four houses side by side.As soon as Chongshi walked in, he was greeted with a musty smell mixed with dust and the fragrance of curry, probably because it permeated the wall. Masami turned on the fluorescent light, and a dilapidated Japanese-style room appeared before her eyes.There are two storage cabinets and a small storage box by the wall.There is a CD player on the storage cabinet, and a 24-inch color TV by the window.There are some old magazines piled up next to it, and the cover of the top magazine is rolled up, and inside it is a female star in a swimsuit. Chongshi hesitated for a while, then took off his shoes and walked into the room.He opened the drawer of the tidying box and looked. There were a few pieces of clothing inside, but the quantity was not enough to meet the needs of daily life. Chongshi asked Yami, and she was also a little puzzled: "If Wu Lang really goes on a trip, it is possible to bring all the necessary clothes." "Conversely, is it possible to take off some clothes in order to pretend to be him and travel alone?" Regarding his hypothesis, Masami frowned in displeasure. Chongshi inspected the room carefully, not missing any details, because he was extremely eager to find revelations that could explain this incredible situation.However, the newspapers and magazines piled up like a hill can't seem to be any clues, and the clothes stuffed in the closet can't provide useful information. Although I dug out a few professional books, I can't feel any hints from them. Chongshi sat cross-legged in the center of the room, and immediately felt a strong dusty smell on the tatami. Yami was looking at the small sink, with a paper bag at her feet, "What is that?" Chongshi asked her. "Is this? Work clothes and shoes or something" "Let me see." Chongshi took the paper bag and looked at the items inside. It was a set of beige overalls and a pair of safety boots.These are worn by the male assistants in MAC. Takashi remembers that Shinozaki also wore them, and the top has 'SHINOZAKI' written in black pen. It seems that something is not right, and it seems that I can't let go of this thing in my heart.Why is this?Chongshi himself did not understand. "Excuse me, is there something wrong with that thing?" Yami asked with some concern. "No, of course it's fine." He put the overalls and safety boots back into the paper bag, the lump on his chest still there. "I can't seem to find a clue." "yes" An awkward silence enveloped the room for a moment. "Mr. Tsuruga" "What's wrong?" Chongshi looked at Yamei, and couldn't help but feel that her eyes were full of fear. "Wu Lang, is he still alive?" "Ok?……" "Isn't it already dead?" Yami's words pierced deeply into Chongshi's heart.It is undeniable that he did vaguely feel this possibility, but deliberately turned a blind eye to it. "Don't think so," Chongshi said, and this was something he wanted to say to himself. "I don't want to think about it, but unconsciously..." Yami lowered her eyes, "I have been having the same dream every day since a few days ago. It was the dream of my father's funeral. During the funeral, I held the The portrait of my father, the scene at that time repeatedly appeared in my dreams..." "That's nothing to do with it, and I've heard that dreams about funerals are good omens." Unexpectedly, Chongshi's consolation didn't work, she still stood there with a blue face and motionless. Chongshi stood up, he thought it would be better to leave here as soon as possible, and drew the curtains. At that moment, an incredible picture appeared in my mind. The trigger was the word 'funeral', the coffin, the long thin box, and the coffin bearers. Chongshi suddenly felt that his consciousness was being sucked away, and all the strength in his body was being drained. Yami's voice sounded farther and farther away.