As a weirdo, I like being a Kamen Rider

Zuo Xiangtaro recognized the phone at a glance, knowing it was the communication tool used by Lin Chen's undercover identity. Upon seeing this, he immediately asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Lin Chen looked up and placed his phone flat on the table. Mick's photo was clearly displayed on the screen. "The owner has come looking for me. New instructions: find this cat."

Shotaro leaned over to look at the screen: "So, this seemingly docile and obedient cat is indeed one of the museum's executives?"

Philip held Mick in his arms, and the little guy seemed to sense the danger and rubbed against his arm uneasily.

The atmosphere inside the office gradually became heavy. Several people gathered around the table and began to discuss how to deal with Mick.

"What should we do with it now? Should we send it back directly, or leave it for the time being?" Shotaro Sato asked first.

He knew perfectly well that the organization had started searching for the cat less than half a day after it went missing, clearly taking it very seriously. If he were to forcibly detain Mick, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the organization.

With their current strength, they are simply powerless to confront this shadow that entrenched itself in Fengdu.

Recalling their previous experiences, Shotaro's tone grew increasingly somber: "We were already in a very bad situation when we were just facing one of their officers. If it really came down to a full-scale war, we would have absolutely no chance of winning."

Philip nodded in agreement, a hint of concern on his face. Though he was reluctant to part with the familiar kitten beside him, he understood just how dangerous their current situation was.

After much deliberation, everyone finally reached a consensus: to send Mick back. The choice of who would return him naturally fell to Lin Chen, who was infiltrating the organization. This act of returning Mick would further solidify Lin Chen's identity and position within the organization—a win-win situation.

As for the Executive Driver and Sabertooth Memory on the table, the group had other plans. Shotaro wanted to destroy the two dangerous items to prevent future troubles, but Lin Chen immediately objected.

"Don't destroy them." Lin Chen reached out and pressed down on the objects, his attitude clear. "I'll keep these two things as a trump card to save my life. In case my identity is exposed or I encounter danger, the memory and the driver can help me escape."

Shotaro and Philip exchanged a glance, still wanting to dissuade him. They felt the saber-toothed tiger's memory had unique properties and might not be compatible with Lin Chen; premeditatedly preserving it would only increase the risk. But before they could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred.

The saber-toothed tiger memory, its body entirely gilded, lay quietly in Lin Chen's palm. In sync with his steady breathing, it shimmered with interwoven light and shadow, exhibiting an extremely high level of resonance.

The scene before him stunned Shotaro, his eyes wide with disbelief. Philip took a half-step forward, his gaze fixed on the memory, and exclaimed in amazement, "Incredible! I've never seen anyone achieve such a high level of resonance with the Gaia Memory."

Faced with the facts, all words of persuasion were swallowed back.

The saber-toothed tiger memory has clearly accepted Lin Chen, and the ownership of the two items has been settled, with Lin Chen to keep them safe.

Philip, who was standing to the side, held Mick and gently stroked the kitten's soft fur with his fingertips, his eyes filled with reluctance.

He really didn't want to just watch Mick leave.

“I know you’re reluctant to part ways.” Zuo Xiangtaro patted his shoulder and patiently comforted him, “But we can’t be willful in the current situation. There’s nothing we can do about separating for now.”

Seeing this, Lin Chen spoke up to ease the tension and offered a compromise: "You don't need to send it back now. You can hand Mick over in two days. Let it stay here for the next two days, so you can spend more time together."

Upon hearing this, the disappointment on Philip's face lessened slightly.

With the problems resolved one by one, the tense atmosphere in the firm finally relaxed.

Mick seemed to sense the change in everyone's emotions, curled up in Philip's arms, and purred softly.

Chapter 130 Mysterious Invitation

The morning sunlight streamed through the glass windows of the Narumi Detective Agency, casting warm, dappled patterns that dispelled the stuffiness of the night.

As per the instructions given by Sonozaki Kirihiko, Lin Chen was supposed to officially report for duty today, but a series of unforeseen events disrupted all plans. Now he has been assigned a new mission: to search for the missing Mick, but Mick is already in his hands.

Mick was safely in the office. Philip was squatting on the floor, tapping a cat toy with his fingertips, teasing the lazy, rolling British Shorthair.

Mick would sometimes stretch out his paws to pat the fluttering fur, and sometimes curl up and purr softly. The two seemed to get along very well.

Akiko, however, was far from relaxed. A Lost Driver was neatly fastened to her waist, and a green slipper was held high in her right hand. Emulating Kamen Rider W's classic pose, she lowered her voice and feigned a cold indifference as she mimicked his transformation line: "So, count your sins!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she flicked her wrist, and a thick stack of bills slammed onto Shotaro's desk with a "whoosh."

Shotaro was engrossed in organizing his treasured collection of hard-boiled novels when a sudden bill and shouts disrupted his work. His face was filled with confusion, and for a moment he couldn't understand what Akiko meant by "evil."

When he looked down and saw the densely packed expense records on the bill, his face immediately froze. Each item on it was an expense for buying novels.

"Shotaro! Look at you! You're always wasting money on books, and you're almost bankrupting the agency!" Akiko said, hands on her hips, angrily launching into a tirade.

“I collect these novels as a hobby, how can that be considered wasting money? The hard-boiled literature in Fuuto is unique!” Shotaro immediately retorted, and the two of them argued back and forth, soon becoming very noisy over the expense.

During a lull in the argument, Akiko's mood gradually soured, her tone tinged with barely concealed grievance and worry: "After all this talk, there's still something I want to ask you. So much time has passed, why haven't we been able to contact my father? What happened?"

This question weighed heavily on Shotaro's mind. He couldn't answer truthfully at all. Faced with Akiko's clear and expectant gaze, he could only dart around, stammering and giving vague answers. He couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time, and the scene became awkward.

Just as Shotaro was at a loss, the office doorbell rang. Akiko was overjoyed; another new case had arrived. Five anxious, worried figures strode in, just in time to save him from his predicament.

All five clients looked flustered and spoke urgently about what had happened.

Their relatives were all well-known pastry chefs in Futo, but they had recently disappeared one after another under mysterious circumstances, leaving no trace of their bodies. After searching everywhere without success, the group, having exhausted all other options, sought help from the renowned Narumi Detective Agency.

After careful questioning, the group pieced together a crucial clue: all the missing pastry chefs had received invitations to a banquet at a mysterious mansion on the outskirts of Fengdu. The families, sensing something was amiss, immediately reported it to the police, but the local police investigation yielded little progress.

Upon hearing this, Shotaro Sato immediately showed his dissatisfaction and couldn't help but complain about the police's inaction.

To find out the truth, he immediately decided to seek out two acquaintances of his in the police force—Makura and Renno. The group met at a ramen shop on the street, and as the steaming ramen was served, the two policemen finally revealed the truth during their conversation.

It wasn't that the police deliberately ignored it; they had already deployed officers to search every street, alley, shop, and residence in Fengdu, but they couldn't find any trace of the missing person.

However, during the investigation, the team discovered an area that had been deliberately bypassed: the last place the last missing person, Asakawa Yuzo, visited before disappearing was the renowned Sonozaki family mansion in Futo. The police, wary of the Sonozaki family, dared not rashly enter and search.

Shotaro Zuo complained, "You guys are police officers, how come you're so useless?"

“We want to investigate too.” Renno waved his hands repeatedly, a look of fear on his face. “You have no idea how terrifying the head of the Sonozaki family is.”

The two men's conversation completely piqued Shotaro's curiosity. The more mysterious the Sonozaki family became, the more he wanted to find out.

When Shotaro returned to the agency, after Philip searched for all the information, he learned that Akiko had already infiltrated the Sonozaki mansion alone to conduct an investigation. She disguised herself as a maid and secretly investigated the truth behind the pastry chef's disappearance, while also secretly protecting Mai Asakawa, the pastry chef currently working at the Sonozaki family. Mai Asakawa is the daughter of the missing man, Yuzo Asakawa.

Because of Mick's disappearance, the entire Sonozaki Mansion is now shrouded in an atmosphere of anxiety, which makes Akiko's infiltration path completely different from the original plot.

Inside the mansion, Wakana Sonozaki paced anxiously back and forth in the corridor, her mind filled with thoughts of the missing Mik. She could no longer contain her worry; her usually charming face was now contorted with anger, and she couldn't help but lash out. The servants in the mansion fell silent, not daring to approach her.

Akiko, disguised as a maid, happened to walk towards her. Seeing her looking worried, Akiko, being her carefree nature, immediately said, "Princess Wakana, you seem troubled. Have you encountered any problems? Perhaps I can help."

Upon hearing this, Sonozaki Wakana looked at the unfamiliar maid in front of her, her eyes full of doubt: "I've never seen you before, who are you?"

“I’m a new maid,” Akiko replied calmly, then added, “I know a highly skilled detective who is adept at finding lost pets.”

Ruocai was skeptical, but having no other choice, she could only give it a try. She took out a photo of Mick from her handbag and handed it to him: "If you can really get that detective to find Mick, I'll make you my personal maid. But if you can't, you'll have to leave the Sonozaki family."

Akiko reached out and took the photo, her gaze falling on the round, plump British Shorthair in the picture. A storm raged in her heart. This was clearly the same one currently in the detective agency! Shocked, she quickly calmed down. Seemingly carefree, she knew exactly what was important and forcibly suppressed the words that were about to spill from her mouth.

Her subtle changes in expression did not escape the keen-eyed Wakana's notice. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Wakana raised an eyebrow and asked.

“No problem.” Akiko immediately regained her composure, bowed slightly, and said firmly, “I will contact that detective right away and do my best to find the kitten.”

Outside the mansion, Shotaro remained worried about Akiko, who had infiltrated the premises. Standing outside the tall wrought-iron fence, he looked up at the magnificent mansion and felt as if the entire building was a lurking, menacing beast, exuding an unsettling sense of oppression. He took out his communicator and quickly contacted Akiko, urging her to temporarily evacuate the mansion and rejoin him.

Not long after, Akiko went out under the pretext of going out to buy some things and handed Shotaro Hidari a photo of Mick. Shotaro Hidari looked down and was equally astonished.

"It's it..." he muttered to himself, numerous clues intertwining in his mind. Philip had an inexplicable affinity for this cat, and now that the cat's ownership pointed to the Sonozaki family, a bold guess surfaced in his mind: Could it be that Philip's relatives were connected to the people in this mansion?

Considering Mick's position as a museum executive, the Sonozaki family is definitely suspicious!

After informing Shotaro about this, Akiko temporarily put aside the search for the cat and accepted the commission to investigate the case of the missing pastry chef, and went to investigate suspicious persons related to the disappearance of Mai Asakawa's father.

Shotaro Sato returned to the detective agency with the photo, placed it in front of Philip, and asked him to enter the Earth Library to retrieve relevant information about the Sonozaki family.

After searching, Philip shook his head helplessly: "No, the library can't find most of the information about the Sonozaki family. Although we can't find it, it must be related to the organization!"

At their wits' end, the two turned their gaze to Lin Chen, who was sitting quietly to the side. Lin Chen must know the inside story.

Constrained by various limitations, Lin Chen could not reveal the secret directly and could only act as a "riddler." He said calmly, "The clues are already in front of you. Trusting your own judgment is enough. This is all I can do. Now, it's up to you to see if you can find the answer you're looking for through this incident."

Although Zuo Xiangtaro was dissatisfied with such an ambiguous answer, he understood Lin Chen's predicament and could only give up.

At that moment, Philip suddenly looked at Shotaro and asked softly, "Are you planning to keep it from Akiko and not tell her the truth about her father?"

After a moment of silence, Shotaro replied with a complicated expression, "I know this matter cannot be delayed indefinitely. I will find a suitable time to explain it to her as soon as possible."

Worried about Akiko's safety, and wanting to infiltrate the Sonozaki mansion to uncover the organization's secrets, Shotaro Hidari set off again, returning to the manor's perimeter, intending to sneak in and investigate while the guards were lax.

But just as he took a step, a hand suddenly pressed firmly against his shoulder, and a steady force rendered him instantly immobile. Shotaro's heart tightened, and he turned around sharply, meeting a pair of cold and stern eyes. The person who came was none other than Kirihiko Sudo.

At this point, neither of them had ever seen the other's appearance outside of their transformed state, and they were completely unaware of each other's identities. When Kirihiko saw him sneaking around outside the mansion wall, he subconsciously assumed that he was a stalker following Sonozaki Wakana.

The two men instantly became tense and locked in a brief standoff.

"I noticed you a long time ago, you stalker who followed Wakana?" Kirihiko's tone was icy, and he was extremely wary.

Shotaro quickly tried to explain, "I'm not a stalker, I... I'm a fan."

This explanation clearly failed to convince Kirihiko, who directly reached out and pinched Shotaro's mouth shut, interrupting his explanation.

Looking at the young man in front of him, Wu Yan's eyes flashed with disappointment, and he couldn't help but complain, "I never thought that the young people of Fuuto would become like this."

Before he could finish speaking, he abruptly changed the subject and began to ramble on about his love for the city of Fuuto. As he spoke, he brought up his past relationship with Saeko Sonozaki, and his originally aloof demeanor vanished, replaced by the mannerisms of a self-amusing comedian.

Just as Kirihiko was engrossed in his own words, a sharp scream suddenly came from deep within the mansion, shattering the tranquility of the courtyard.

With a sudden burst of energy, Zuo Xiangtaro seized the moment when Wu Yan was distracted, broke free from his restraints, leaped over the wall, and rushed into the manor, running wildly in the direction from which the screams came.

Meanwhile, inside the Narumi Detective Agency, Lin Chen sat quietly by the window. The screen of the phone he was using to impersonate Kimura Osamu suddenly lit up, and a new message popped up. Initially, Lin Chen intended to directly decline the invitation, but when his gaze swept to the end of the message and the sender clearly called out his real name, his expression instantly turned serious.

The other party knew his true identity and was no ordinary person. He had no choice but to accept the invitation. Lin Chen stood up, straightened his clothes, and pushed open the door. He wanted to see who it was.

Chapter 131 Sherrard

Lin Chen followed the address all the way to the depths of the forest on the outskirts of Fengdu. The intertwined branches and leaves filtered out most of the sunlight, and all around was quiet and still.

A figure stood in the open space ahead, wearing a large black fedora with the brim pulled low, obscuring his face in shadow. His ankle-length black trench coat swayed gently in the wind, and his dark brown curly hair cascaded down his shoulders from the edge of the hat. He remained motionless, his back to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen slowed his pace and concealed his aura. He stood a few steps away, his gaze fixed on the other person's back.

She was filled with surprise: Sherrard?! I didn't expect that before I could even find her, she would come to me first.

Lin Chen recognized the other person and slowly walked behind Sherrard. Hearing the soft footsteps, the other person immediately noticed and slowly turned around.

Her entire body was tightly wrapped in layers of bandages, with only her eyes showing, and she looked exactly the same as I remembered.

Sherrard's gaze, hidden beneath her hat brim, remained fixed on Lin Chen, her expression one of obvious wariness. She had previously been looking after Teruyuki elsewhere, a partner she had carefully chosen and considered the most suitable for Philip. Not long ago, her informant in Fuuto sent word that someone was tracking her. Initially, she assumed the investigation was only targeting her identity as Ayane Sonosaki and didn't pay much attention.

But she never expected that the visitor's target was her new identity. Very few people knew the details of this new identity, so she couldn't help but be wary.

During this time, she kept a close eye on the Narumi Detective Agency.

Lin Chen suddenly appeared in Fengdu and stayed by Philip's side, his words and actions full of strangeness, as if he knew many secrets, all of which she observed. She originally planned to continue to secretly observe Lin Chen's origins and purpose.

But Lin Chen's act of bringing Mick back to the agency yesterday completely disrupted her plans.

Since the matter involves the Sonozaki family and the museum, the situation has spiraled out of control. She can no longer remain uninvolved and has no choice but to show herself to test the other party's true intentions.

Lin Chen spoke first: "Sherrard? Sonozaki Ayane?"