Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

The coach, who was observing from the sidelines, saw this and immediately blew his whistle.

Although the coach didn't say anything, his wide-open eyes revealed his feelings at that moment.

Upon hearing the whistle, Fujii, who had fallen to the ground, tried to stand up, but the pain in his abdomen left him too weak to move and he could only continue lying on the ground, clutching his stomach.

Ryūno: "???"

Fujii: "???"

Fujii thought about many things in that instant.

He deliberately held back the power of his right punch just now. He planned to wait for the kid in front of him to block it, and then gently knock him down with his left fist.

The problem is, before he could even finish his left punch, he was already lying on the ground.

What just happened?!

Was this intense pain in my stomach really caused by the child in front of me?

Fujii gritted his teeth, clutching his stomach, unable to even open his mouth for a moment.

Seeing that his opponent showed no intention of getting up, Longye prepared to go forward and help him up.

But before Longye could take a step, he heard that small but extremely clear voice in his mind.

[Mission complete. Reward: 3 Karate C+ Fragments.]

[First-time completion of the mission doubles the reward. The reward is upgraded to a Karate C+ skill card.]

Um? ! !

Tatsuno suppressed the urge to burst into laughter and continued forward to help Fujii up from the ground.

A moment later, Ryūno helped Fujii walk to the coach.

The coach kept his eyes fixed on Longye with intense gaze.

Longye felt uncomfortable under the coach's gaze and quickly asked, "What's wrong, Coach?"

The coach then withdrew his burning gaze and put on what he thought was a friendly smile, saying, "Kid, what's your name again? I take back what I said before; I've decided to make an exception and take you on!"

"My name is Takashi Ishikawa. I am the owner of this dojo and also everyone's coach. You can call me Coach Ishikawa from now on."

Before the coach could continue, Fujii interrupted, "Um, Coach, can I go and rest for a bit?"

His voice and his posture both appeared weak.

Coach Ishikawa scratched his head and said, "Ah, Fujii-kun, I'm sorry! You should go and rest first, and don't do the rest of the training for now."

After Fujino left, Coach Ishikawa continued to speak to Ryuno: "I saw your performance just now. You have a great talent for learning karate, and your physical abilities far surpass those of children your age."

"If I train seriously for a few years, I might become a professional player in the future!"

"Of course, you don't need to think about these things for now. Since you want to learn karate, you can just come to the dojo to train from now on."

"Okay, Coach Ishikawa. My name is Takeda Tatsuno, and I'll be leaving things to you from now on."

After agreeing to the coach's request, Ryūno remembered something important and quickly asked, "Coach Ishikawa, will I have the opportunity to practice with others like today in the future?"

Seeing Ryūno's enthusiasm, Coach Ishikawa laughed heartily, "You mean the scrimmage? Don't worry, there will be plenty of scrimmages today! Playing scrimmages with your teammates can not only improve your skills but also deepen your friendship!"

"By the way, Takeda, could you please give me your contact information? Also, could you tell me your height and weight? I'll order some training clothes for you. I'll call you again once they arrive."

"Okay, thank you!"

After registering his height and weight, Ryūno said goodbye to Coach Ishikawa.

After seeing Ryūno off, Coach Ishikawa looked up at the quiet, deserted street and muttered to himself, "I've met an amazing little guy. They say there's a martial arts tournament coming up in a few years, maybe he'll be there..."

Thinking of this, Ishikawa Takashi suddenly remembered Ryuno's age, shook his head and said with a self-deprecating smile, "What am I thinking? Even if it's a few more years, he'll still be a child!"

After saying that, he returned to the training ground and continued to instruct the students in the gym.

Chapter 4 The Mysterious Man in the Library

After leaving the dojo, Tatsuno bought lunch on the way.

Back home, Longye opened his system inventory and checked the rewards he had received that morning.

In no time, a green card appeared in his field of vision—Karate C+.

After clicking to use it, the card turned into light spots again and merged into his body.

The instant the card completely disappeared, Ryūno found that his mind was filled with many new karate techniques and experiences.

After digesting and absorbing the card, Longye began to analyze the system's mission.

It seems that the so-called interference is indeed just "fighting".

And is the amount of the reward determined by the situation of one's opponent?

It's unclear whether it's a physical or psychological issue; further experimentation is needed to determine this.

Regardless, I've joined the dojo today, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

He remembered that there were about a few dozen people in that dojo. Even if they changed people every day, it would be enough for him to complete the tasks for a long time.

Thinking about this, Longye suddenly had a question.

If someone has already been "interfered" with by him, will they still be able to complete the system tasks if he "interferes" with them again?

To put it bluntly, can someone who has already been rewarded get a second or even more rewards?

However, he didn't care too much, since the answer to this question would be revealed soon.

Although there are many students at the dojo, even if you meet different people each time, after a few months, you will inevitably run into people you have met before.

You'll know the answer to this question when the time comes.

Looking at the food on the table, which was almost cold, Longye decided to fill his stomach first.

...

Saturday night

Teitan Elementary School

"How could there be ghosts in this world!" Shinichi Kudo said dismissively, looking down.

"But..." Ran, who was following behind Ryuno and Shinichi, looked scared and hesitated to speak.

Ryūno noticed that Ran was about to cry, so he immediately comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm here. Don't worry, Mori!"

Only after seeing that Xiaolan had calmed down did Longye breathe a sigh of relief.

He has been afraid of seeing children cry since he was a child. He always felt that the sound of children crying had a kind of magic that would make people feel inexplicably irritable.

After the incident, the three of them climbed over the school gate and entered the building through an unlocked window that Shinichi had prepared beforehand. Then they walked together towards the library.

When they got near the library, Tatsuno suddenly heard a noise coming from not far away. He reached out and pulled Shinichi and Ran back, signaling them not to make a sound.

A moment later, the security guard from the library came out, holding a flashlight and burping.

Judging from his unsteady gait, he must have drunk quite a bit before his patrol.

After the security guard walked away, the three quickly slipped into the library.

Under the full moonlight, the reflection of the library curtains looked like a strange man wearing a hat.

Upon seeing the shadow, Xiaolan immediately grabbed Longye's sleeve with her small hand.

Shinichi Kudo immediately began to explain the principle behind the "ghostly" phenomenon in great detail.

Just as Shinichi Kudo was smugly believing he had solved the mystery, Ran suddenly pointed at a bookshelf and asked fearfully, "Th-what's that?...

Ryūno and Shinichi turned their heads to look.

A strange man was sitting elegantly on the bookshelf, holding a book.

Noticing the gazes of Longye and the other two, he realized that he had finally been discovered.

The man no longer concealed his intentions, and instead spoke slowly and deliberately: "Are you sure? Don't you think you've just read the prologue and are already assuming the whole book is about something? This world is far more profound than you imagine; many things are inexplicable."

After saying that, the man closed the book and jumped down from the bookshelf.

Shinichi Kudo tensed up and shouted, "Who are you?!"

At that moment, taking advantage of the man's inattention, Longye rushed forward and threw a punch at him.

After all, he knew that this man was the legendary Kuroba Touichi!

I deliberately didn't go to the dojo to do quests today, just so I could fight him and get better rewards from him!

Although I definitely can't win, it doesn't matter. As long as we've fought, we can complete the mission.

Not only is there no danger, but you might even get a decent reward!

Kuroba Toichi clearly hadn't anticipated Ryuno's actions. He instinctively blocked Ryuno's fist and then dodged backward.

Feeling the force coming from his hand, Kuroba Toichi looked at Ryūno in surprise: "Oh? Kid, you're pretty strong! But I didn't come here to fight you."

After saying that, the man turned to Shinichi and continued, "I am your brother, although we are a bit younger, I should say I am your younger brother. I am here to challenge you."

The man then took out a wallet from his coat and laughed, "Let's see if you can find the treasure hidden in here. If you do, you win, and the treasure is yours."

"Furthermore, I will let you know my true identity; whether you accept it or not is up to you."

"By the way, I really love gore; I can't stand anything red!"

To intimidate Shinichi Kudo, Toichi Kuroba even pulled out a small knife, its blade gleaming silver in the moonlight.

Unlike the nervous Ran and Shinichi, Ryuno even wanted to laugh after hearing the man's words.

The famous first-generation Phantom Thief Kid's purpose in scaring them here in the middle of the night was simply to deliver a message to Yusaku Kudo.

The reason why Tatsuno remembers this incident so clearly is not only because of Kuroba Toichi, but also because this incident is one of the few cases in which Shinichi Kudo's reasoning has some problems.

What made Ryūno laugh, besides Kuroba Touichi's act of scaring the child, was also the system's mission reward.

[B: Voice changing]

That brief exchange just now allowed him to complete his mission.

This reward is quite generous; it's the highest-level skill Longye has ever obtained.

Furthermore, he gained a more detailed understanding of the system's missions. The rewards from these missions were indeed closely related to the people he was fighting.

After calming down, Ryuno said to Shinichi Kudo, "I promised him, Kudo, that I also want to know his true identity."