Yes, I did all of this!

"..."

Ms. Maeda hesitated for a long time, but finally agreed and wrote down the information requested by Duanmu Mo.

This matter concerns her family, and she can't afford to be ambiguous about it.

"Let me see..." Duanmu Mo took the notebook, looked at the information on it, and then fell silent for a moment:

"...Does your husband work at a newspaper? As a reporter?"

"No, it's work like layout design for reporters' information... but it does involve working at the newspaper office."

Ms. Maeda asked in confusion, "What's wrong? What does it have to do with the request?"

Duanmu Mo didn't say anything. He went to the drawer of his desk and took out a business card. It was a business card that Longka had given him.

And the address that Ms. Maeda provided was written on this business card.

Chapter 543: The Bar

"What's wrong, Mr. Duanmu?"

It looked like Duanmu Mo was about to cancel the commission at any moment.

"Um......"

Duanmu Mo hesitated for a moment, then finally placed Longka's business card on the table, looking at her worried expression:

No, there's nothing there.

"That commission..."

"Don't worry, I will get it done." Duanmu Mo's attitude remained calm. "Now, Ms. Maeda, you can go back and wait for my news."

"OK......"

Despite saying that, Ms. Maeda still looked uneasy, but she did not stay there any longer. After thanking Duanmu Mo, she left.

"..."

Watching her leave, Duanmu Mo sat back down in his chair, looking at the address she had given him.

As Duanmu Mo, he certainly cannot know Longka's true identity now. After all, if he breaks with Longka, it will be difficult to investigate the purpose of the magical girls sealing the monsters in the past.

—On the other hand, Longkabi Duanmu Mo herself did not want him to discover her true identity. She had only just begun to understand the magical girls, and if all her previous efforts were wasted like this, she could not imagine how anxious she would be.

After fiddling with the business card that Longka had given him on the table, Duanmu Mo stood up, took out his trench coat from the hanger, put on his motorcycle gloves, and left the agency.

. . . . . .

"call--"

—In an unassuming newspaper office in Kamishiro City, Ronka opened his eyes and made a strange sound.

His eyes, which had revealed a dull expression, shifted slightly, flashing a hint of algae-green light before quickly regaining their clarity.

It stood up, turned its head to look out the window, and saw a person walking casually along the roadside, as if they were just passing by.

“Duanmu Mo…” Longka stared at the figure, but quickly retreated behind the window.

What is he doing here? Is he simply looking for someone, or does he have another purpose?

As a strange being with the ability to bewitch, it was very good at reading people. At least in its eyes, Duanmu Mo's actions here always carried a hidden meaning, obviously coming here to explore something.

Just as Duanmu Mo learned of its true identity, if it really couldn't hide it anymore, it had no choice but to take a risk and use a more radical method... even if this might be noticed by Cang Yuan.

—And so it silently observed Duanmu Mo's actions, not only from the perspective of this body, but also from the perspective of many employees in the newspaper who were bewitched into becoming followers of Leviathan.

This kind of behind-the-scenes dissemination isn't very effective, and these employees aren't as easily swayed as the patients in the hospital. Therefore, even today, 30% of them still retain their individuality.

They watched Duanmu Mo from different perspectives, observing him from day to night, until the employees left after get off work, before he finally began to take action.

"..."

Duanmu Mo leaned against the alley wall, looked at the somewhat absent-minded man who came out of the newspaper office, took out his phone to look at the photo on it, nodded, and silently followed behind the man.

"Hey, Maeda, how about we go for another drink?"

Several people surrounded Maeda around the target, speaking as if they had a good relationship.

"Hmm..." Maeda nodded listlessly and followed the others in another direction.

—Upon entering a bar, the glaring lights distracted people, and the chaotic music made it easy to get lost in the atmosphere.

However, if you want to stay awake inside, you will be enveloped by a strong sense of loneliness, as if it has a magical influence on those who come inside.

And Maeda is one of them.

"There are just more and more weirdos these days."

Next to Maeda, his colleague drank his drink and exhaled as he spoke.

"That's right. Recently, the boss has found some information from who-knows-where, and we reporters have nowhere to use it—but you, Maeda, still have a job. That's great."

"..."

Maeda didn't say anything, he just silently drank his wine.

Meanwhile, the others continued talking amongst themselves: "Forget about work, even the restaurant I used to frequent has closed down. I asked around, and they said the owner moved to another city because of some weirdo... Sigh, I really want to leave."

Another colleague said, "Leave? What are you leaving for? I have a wife and kids here."

"That's true. My whole family's roots are here. Staying here might mean death, but leaving here would definitely mean a life worse than death."

The gloomy words spread, affecting everyone's hearts, but what was worse was that what these people said was true.

There was a moment of silence, as if no one knew how to answer the question, before someone let out a long sigh: "Why is life so tiring?"

“…Exactly. We feel like we’re here to suffer.” Maeda finally spoke, finishing his drink and calling to the receptionist, “Bring me some more drinks, the best you have!”

"Okay, please."

The bartender nodded and poured him a glass of wine.

"—Give me the same one as him too." At the same time, a voice rang out from the side, and Maeda turned his head to look at the stranger.

Not knowing when the person had sat down next to him, Maeda frowned, and the person turned around and nodded at him.

"Hello."

"......Hello."

Maeda didn't recognize the man, but she still subconsciously responded.

"Bartender." The newcomer was none other than Duanmu Mo. He took a sip of the wine the bartender had poured for him, nodded in satisfaction, and pointed to Maeda and his colleagues, saying, "This wine tastes good. Give this gentleman and his colleagues a bottle each, as my treat."

Who are you?

Humans, as social creatures, cannot live without their companions. However, when they form enough groups, they instinctively begin to exclude others. At this moment, one of Maeda's colleagues was no exception, revealing an unfriendly expression.

Duanmu Mo held his wine glass, observing the wine's trails on the surface, and calmly said:

"I overheard your conversation and it made me want to share my thoughts. However, since we don't know each other, how about I buy you a drink and we become friends?"

As he said this, before they could respond, he continued, "Whether life is good or bad is a matter of personal perspective. Everyone has a different viewpoint and therefore a different view of life."

Duanmu Mo took a sip of wine and cleared his throat: "Not long ago, I could barely be considered living alone. Sometimes when I came home, I felt like it wouldn't matter if the world ended. But recently... because there's another person in the house, I feel like I can go on no matter how hard life gets."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Maeda fell silent.

“But that’s just your own feeling,” one of Maeda’s colleagues said, frowning. “Don’t project your experience onto us.”

“This statement applies to you as well.” Duanmu Mo’s tone remained unchanged: “Even if you do the same job, your perspectives on things will be completely different due to family, personality, and other reasons.”

"So what?" Maeda looked at Duanmu Mo and couldn't help but ask, "Do you think saying this will defeat all the monsters? Will it bring back all the people who fled Kamishiro City?"

"—No." To his surprise, Duanmu Mo said directly and decisively.

"Varied......"

"But at least it will make things a little easier for you. After all, no matter how the world changes, the most important thing is still your own decision, isn't it?"

Duanmu Mo turned his head and looked at Maeda and his colleagues.

"..."

Everyone was silent for a while, but Maeda's expression remained unchanged as he drank his wine in a gloomy mood.

"So what you said is the same as saying nothing at all? We're all adults, what's with all this talk about ideas? Can't we be realistic? This is the situation right now, we can only stay here and barely survive!"

He put down his glass, his face already showing signs of intoxication.

"What the hell is better? In my opinion, people are just on the road to dying and dying!"

"..." This time, Duanmu Mo remained silent. He stared at Maeda and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

—There are different kinds of people who are bewitched. Maeda's colleagues are beyond saving. Perhaps they have already lost themselves and their souls are connected with Leviathan. They may be observing themselves through the bodies of these people.

Maeda, on the other hand, was one of the more severely misled individuals. Although he hadn't fully connected with Leviathan, he was close enough.

"I see, I understand now." Duanmu Mo put down his cup and stood up.

"Everyone has different thoughts and opinions, which is normal—although it's still a bit of a regret, it would be better if there were more people who take an optimistic view..."

"Anyway, having drinks with you guys was a great experience. Everyone, see you next time if you have the chance." Duanmu Mo nodded to everyone, then turned and left.

"What the hell...?"

Maeda watched Duanmu Mo leave, his brows furrowed, before turning back to continue drinking in silence.

—But he was so drunk that he didn’t notice that his colleagues around him had all fallen silent, their eyes becoming blank for a moment.

. . . . . .

Chapter 544: The Second Commission

After leaving the bar, Duanmu Mo stood against the wall not far from the bar, where he could see the customers coming and going. His gaze lingered on the entrance as he dialed Longka's number.

"Hey."

"...Hey, Mr. Duanmu."

On the other end of the phone, Longka's voice came through: "Is there anything else so late?"

Leviathan had anticipated that Duanmu Mo would call him. In the bar, through the perspectives of his colleagues, Leviathan had roughly guessed the purpose of his trip.

It's probably related to a commission. Duanmu Mo's questioning and probing tone suggests that his target is Maeda.