Once the affection level is maxed out, the rivalry begins!

The next day, Bai Ze went to the [Nine Balls] café.

At his usual round table by the window, Leia and Lu Xingyao were squeezed together on the same sofa chair.

Since the two weren't very familiar with each other and neither intended to start a conversation, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

However, compared to the person opposite them, the atmosphere between these two was incredibly lively.

She was a gray-haired girl wearing a high school uniform-style open-front shirt—dark blue fabric with white trim on the collar and sleeves. Her exposed neck and forearms were as white as snow, and a blue silk scarf was neatly draped over her prominent breasts.

Her neatly styled shoulder-length hair was covered by a brown checkered hunting cap, and the midday sun streamed through her gray hair.

This must be the reinforcements that Rhea mentioned for dealing with the phantom thief.

However, for some reason, she seemed extremely timid, huddled in her seat with her knees drawn up to her chest, biting her thumbnail—she was so nervous that she was almost neurotic.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

As Bai Ze approached and greeted him, a strange thought suddenly popped into his head.

—If I kill Rhea here, she will be unable to react to the surprise attack. Then, all I need to do is kill all the witnesses to complete the perfect crime!

—Why would I commit a crime later?

Although this subtle killing intent vanished in an instant and was quickly suppressed by him, it was definitely not normal!

"...What did you do to me?"

There were only three people present, and he quickly focused his suspicious gaze on the gray-haired girl.

The next moment, she slammed her head on the table with a thud, and it looked really painful!

"I'm sorry! It's my power acting up! I'm so sorry! It would be better for the world if mobile disasters like me just died out sooner!"

She struck an exaggeratedly apologetic pose; had there not been many customers in the café, she might have been mistaken for a victim of school bullying.

Leia explained, "Bai Ze, she didn't mean it. I also have a slight urge to ambush you right now."

"That's right, I also had the idea of ​​shoving a fork into her eye and then committing suicide with my senior."

Lu Xingyao added from the side.

Why is your thinking so strange?

It seems that everyone was triggered by the urge to kill, but was able to restrain themselves with reason.

"Since there was no malicious intent, I won't hold it against you. Besides, do you really need to belittle yourself so much?"

Since the sofa chairs were occupied, Bai Ze sat down next to the gray-haired girl and said to her.

As a result, she trembled like a startled rabbit, making a hissing sound.

To be honest, it looks interesting.

"Yes, you're right... It's too presumptuous of someone like me to call myself a 'mobile disaster.' Do you think 'public nuisance waste' would be a better term?"

"I'm not saying the way you address me is excessive!"

No, he couldn't communicate with her normally. Bai Ze looked at Leia for help.

She reliably understood and introduced, "This is the support sent by the [International Detective Association]. She has a bit of... social anxiety."

The gray-haired girl took the hot coffee Lu Xingyao handed her, finally calming down a little:

"Ah, yes, I'm a detective... um, my detective name is [Chain of Sins]."

The term "detective" here does not refer to a human profession.

Just like phantom thieves and groups of phantom thieves, the International Detective Association is an alliance of an unusual race called "Detectives".

The gray-haired girl's detective abilities manifest in two ways.

Firstly, it arouses criminal impulses in those around her towards targets other than herself, the most common being the urge to kill.

—That is, the ability to create murder cases anytime, anywhere to enable oneself to deduce and solve them.

"That's clearly the criminal! The apparent murderer is actually an innocent victim you instigated! You write about being a detective, but you're actually a mastermind! You're not Sherlock Holmes, you're Professor Moriarty!"

Having already experienced the effects of the ability, Bai Ze used all his energy to complain.

The detective girl blushed slightly after being scolded and lowered her gaze.

"I... I have a spell to seal this ability... The desires that have been aroused in everyone are now at a level that can be overcome with reason."

She raised her hand to touch her neck, and a black ring appeared on her fair skin, like an extremely beautiful necklace.

Rhea sighed: "Don't let her appearance fool you, she's actually one of the association's top detectives, a rare member who has won the title of 'Famous Detective' two times in a row."

"Before she sealed her abilities, she was known in the supernatural world as 'No vehicle she rides will fail, no building she enters will fail to collapse,' 'Her very existence increases the crime rate tenfold,' and 'A moving calamity that leaves corpses and rivers of blood in her wake'—[Grey Reaper] Natsumi Hoshino."

The detective, who had finally revealed his real name, shyly scratched his head: "...It's not as good as everyone says."

"Isn't this all bad reputation? Nobody's praising you at all!"

Bai Ze ruthlessly exposed the truth, and Xia Xingzhi shrunk back down dejectedly.

But the Gray Reaper... could it be that the image of the Reaper that Lu Xingyao prophesied yesterday refers to her?

"that!"

As soon as she thought of her, Lu Xingyao raised her hand to ask a question.

"I know she's a big shot, but what does that have to do with the phantom thief we're trying to catch?"

Could the wicked ability to incite human crime also be used to search for hidden enemies?

"This will depend on the second way Miss Xia uses her abilities."

Rhea stirred the drink in front of her. "Think about it, given the vile nature of her power, the fact that she's survived this long like a cockroach must mean she has some other special abilities."

"Even I would be hurt to be said that to my face..."

Xia Xingzhi protested tremblingly, but the three ignored her.

According to Rhea's explanation, her detective ability, [Chain of Sin], is primarily manifested in unconsciously inciting criminal desires in those around her;

Secondly, he will be involved in various dangerous crimes and unusual events, but even if all his teammates die, he will eventually escape unharmed.

The ability to create cases; and the ability to attract cases and survive to the end.

"In other words, we're going to use her as a lightning rod!"

Rhea made the final decision and glanced at the other three.

"Next, I hope we can split into two groups. I heard that Lu Xingyao is good at divination-related magic, so I'll go with her to look up information and try to find out the true identity of the phantom thief by following the clues in the phantom thief's notice."

Lin Tingwan has already informed the Bureau of Spirit Disasters that she has received the notice, so the plan to capture the phantom thief is now entering a race against time.

She was told to be vigilant and not let the thief take advantage of her vulnerability to launch a sneak attack.

"The other route is with Bai Ze and Miss Xia. I hope that Bai Ze will stay with her until we catch the phantom thief."