Knight Asylum

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm just looking for someone." Sonoda Mari took out a group photo from her pocket, moved closer to Red, and gently pointed at a person in the photo with her finger. "His name is Masato Kusaka."

Although the photo is a bit old, it is still easy for acquaintances to recognize it at a glance. In addition, since there is a specific name, it is likely that the man named Masato Soka will be found quickly.

"I understand. Just wait until we find Masato Kusaga. Got it?"

After Red exchanged the photo with Mari, he looked around, trying to figure out which direction to start searching for Masato Soka. Mari Sonoda leaned back slightly, grabbed her backpack, stared at the backpack on Red's back, and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, just find Masato."

----

When they arrived in front of the Hongshang Fund Building, in order to prevent Mobile Pegasus from sneaking out to find Red, Qiao deliberately raised his hand and slapped Mobile Pegasus's goggles when getting off the car, "You guy, don't think about sneaking out. I can't go back, and Red will definitely wait for me or come to find me. Next time, Red may not ride you out."

Under normal circumstances, Qiao might have started to think that he had a mental problem, as he actually used his interpersonal relationships to threaten a motorcycle. However, Qiao had seen the evil side of Mobile Pegasus, and if he treated Mobile Pegasus as a machine, he would definitely be badly cheated.

Without waiting for Mobile Pegasus to react, Qiao directly hung his helmet on the rearview mirror, clapped his hands, turned around and came to the door of Hongshang Fund Building. Two tall security guards were looking back and forth between Mobile Pegasus and Qiao with surprised eyes.

Qiao, who had excellent observation skills, immediately noticed the looks of the two security guards. It was obvious that Hong Shangguangsheng was waiting for Reid to come over by himself and had already made arrangements for the people to be received.

"No need to wait for Red. Red won't be here today. Just tell me if you have anything to say." Qiao smiled complacently. "If it's not that important, I can leave now."

Of course, it is impossible to leave. According to their speculation and the clues in the previous Gamego incident, the Hongshang Foundation is very likely to know about and even promote the leakage of the mirror world research. As for the purpose of the Hongshang Foundation, they don’t know, but the process is definitely very dangerous.

After the two security guards looked at each other, the one on the right turned around, picked up the intercom and reported the situation. After a long while, the security guard who reported the situation made way with a subtle expression. Mitsuo Hongo's secretary Erika Tanaka pushed the door open, looked at Qiao, then turned sideways and raised her hand.

"Please come with me."

"Thank you——" Qiao grinned.

Under the guidance of Erika Tanaka, Qiao boarded the elevator that went directly to the top floor of Hongshang Building. As soon as she entered the elevator, Qiao leaned against the corner of the elevator, staring at Erika Tanaka who generously exposed her back with her chest crossed.

Generous, elegant, capable, and mysterious.

This woman is not simple.

"Why is Hongshang Fund targeting Reid?" Because there is still some time before reaching the top level, Qiao decided to spy on the intentions of Hongshang Fund.

"It's not that Hongshang Fund targeted Reid, but Reid appeared in front of Hongshang Fund. You might as well ask your good roommate why he didn't run away at that time, but chose to wear the belt instead," Erika Satonaka said lightly without even turning her head, "Maybe this is the reason why President Hongshang targeted Reid."

Qiao's eyes twitched violently.

I was very angry. I was inexplicably angry.

Out of revenge, Qiao deliberately raised his voice, "But unfortunately, you miscalculated this time. It's not Red who came, but me."

"About this point..."

Erika Satonaka turned around and shrugged.

"Actually, I don't care who comes."

"what?"

"stare--"

The elevator door opened, Erika Satonaka turned around, shook her hair, and walked out of the elevator, leaving Qiao alone standing there staring blankly.

Chapter 91: You Are Empty

Masato Soka seemed to be a very famous person. Red just asked a few people and found out much more detailed information about Masato Soka than what his childhood friend Mari Sonoda had provided.

He is a versatile man who is both civil and military. He is the director of three sports clubs: tennis, fencing, and equestrianism. He is a mature and steady gentleman, respected and trusted by others, admired by men, and loved by women. He is simply a perfect college student.

To the point that Sonoda Mari covered her mouth the whole time and shouted, "Is this true? This must be a lie. Is that Masato?"

Because in Mari Sonoda's opinion, Masato Soka is just a cowardly little boy who needs her help.

However, when asked about the whereabouts of Masato Soga, neither the male college students who admired Masato Soga nor the female college students who loved Masato Soga knew where he lived now, nor what he was doing now. They only knew that Masato Soga had been busy with something recently and rarely appeared in front of them. The most embarrassing thing was that when they mentioned Masato Soga, they all spoke in a tone of "we are good friends", but none of them even had Masato Soga's contact information.

On the contrary, the investigation into the mirror legend has made rapid progress. Although the college students said they did not know the details, they knew very well the location where the legend occurred and the names of the people involved. Moreover, the legend itself seemed to be expanding and was no longer limited to the mirror where the dance club danced. Many people saw human figures in the nearby glass.

After another person awkwardly said that he didn't have Soka Masato's contact information, Sonoda Mari lowered her head in frustration and followed Red with her bag. Red noticed Sonoda Mari's emotion and reluctantly handed a can of hot coffee to Sonoda Mari.

"At least we can be sure that Masato Kusaga is at Seimeiin University. If you ask a few more people, he will most likely know that you are looking for him and come looking for you."

"Thank you..." Sonoda Mari took the coffee.

"Of course, this presupposes that the perfect man still remembers you, a little one." Because Sonoda Mari still looked listless, Red thought for a moment and raised his hand to pat Sonoda Mari's head, rubbing it vigorously left and right. "It's okay, it's okay. Kusaka Masato is a good man. Even if he doesn't remember you, he will pretend to know you and won't leave you alone."

Mari Sonoda, who didn't expect Red to be so shameless in exposing her inner thoughts, blushed immediately, turned her head away and shook off Red's right hand, "W-what! I won't worry about such things!"

"Really? Never mind. If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

Red shrugged, turned around and prepared to leave. Sonoda Mari, who didn't expect Red to leave so easily, was stunned for a moment and immediately chased after him, grabbing Red's arm and saying, "Wait a minute! Didn't you promise to help me find Masato?"

"So...it won't be long before that Soga Masato comes to you on his own, and I have something important to do," Reid dealt with Sonoda Mari helplessly while looking at everyone around him.

He had already seen the photo of the lucky four-leaf clover that Iida had sent him. The cadre dispatched this time, Takuma Ichiro, was a gentle-looking man wearing glasses and carrying a collection of William Butler Yeats' poems. He was the type that could be spotted at a glance in a crowd, but he had not found any trace of him until now.

Is it still lurking, or has it found its target and achieved its goal?

Red felt uneasy.

"Is it something important? Is it the mirror story? I can help you." Seeing that Red was looking around, Sonoda Mari immediately changed her tone and said sincerely, clasping her hands together, "You have helped me so much. I would feel embarrassed if I didn't help you a little. Please."

Reid's mouth twitched slightly.

"Besides, the parties involved in the mirror ghost story are several female college students from the dance club. If it is inconvenient for you, I can help."

I have to say that what Sonoda Mari said really hit the nail on the head. Those female college students were one of the first witnesses of the mirror incident, and he had to investigate. However, due to the howling of Sato Mitsuru and other wolf friends, the dance club was extremely exclusive to men, and would end the activity immediately if they found any men approaching during dance practice.

"Please - I won't cause any trouble for you!" Seeing that Red's eyes relaxed, Sonoda Mari immediately grabbed Red's arm and shook it left and right, "Until Masato comes over, how about that!"

After hesitating for a while, Red nodded reluctantly.

"That's fine—"

"Then let's start the investigation! Hmm, which direction should we start from?" Sonoda Mari's eyes lit up, she pulled her backpack, and looked around with great energy.

"Eat first—"

Red took out his cell phone, and the empty message bar made him feel uneasy. With the speed of Mobile Pegasus, Qiao should have already arrived at the Hongshang Foundation and contacted Hongshang Mitsuo. With Qiao's personality, it is impossible that he did not reply for so long.

What happened?

Red's intuition was correct, something did happen.

Qiao sat on the chair, crossed his legs, and tapped his fingers on his arms in an extremely impatient manner. The reason was simple. From the moment he entered the office until now, Mitsuo Hongo only said "please sit down" and "wait a moment", and then he just kept making cakes, and from time to time he would look up and sigh.

"Hey - your cake isn't ready yet!"

Qiao, who could no longer bear it, stood up suddenly, walked quickly forward, raised his hand and slammed the table heavily.

"President Hong Shang, the person who invested in Professor Kagawa's research on the mirror world is you, right? Where are they conducting experiments now?"

Although Takumi looked like he had lost his mind, he was actually observing the two people who were still present with his peripheral vision. Erika Tanaka, the secretary, was eating ice cream, and not only did she not intend to step forward to stop them, she even had a look of watching the fun. Goto Shintaro, the captain of the Hongshang Fund's reception team, looked like he wanted to stop it, but he looked quite reluctant, and seemed to have some opinion on Hongshang Mitsuo's investment in Professor Kagawa.

"You, your name is Qiao, right? You're Faiz's dresser and Red's roommate," Mitsuo Hongo was not angry because Qiao contradicted him, and he even glanced at Qiao meaningfully.

"Any questions?"

"No, I'm just a little disappointed. I thought Red would come, so I prepared a cake, but it turned out to be you. I had to make a new cake."

Mitsuo Hongo raised his right hand, and Qiao looked over. There was a cake with a black background and decorations like a sunset glow placed in the direction of Mitsuo Hongo's right hand. But the cake made by Mitsuo Hongo could only be described as empty. Qiao, who had seen Reid's afterglow sublimating into the void, immediately understood what Mitsuo Hongo meant, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Oh, by the way, you are here to ask about Kagawa Hideyuki, right? He is undoubtedly a hero, and a truly tragic hero. Of course, the most tragic thing is that he is completely unaware that what he thinks is right is pushing him to his doom," Mitsuo Hongue completed the last stroke of the boring cake and pushed the cake towards Qiao.

"You just watched helplessly. No - so you pushed him from behind, leaving him no chance to turn back." Qiao narrowed his eyes. "Why did you do that?"

"If a person has no desires, he is just like a walking corpse. Depriving a person of his desires is the cruelest thing in this world. Of course, Kagawa Hideyuki has a will as strong as steel. Even without my support, he would not give up." Mitsuo Hongo looked sideways at the vast scenery outside the French window behind him and sighed, "What an amazing man."

"You, with nothing, cannot defeat the tragic hero with a will as strong as steel. The one who can defeat him..."

"Now, Red is alone."

"Let Reid and Kagawa Hideyuki meet, is this your purpose?" Qiao narrowed his eyes, "What... are you craving for?"

Mitsuo Hongo didn't say anything, he just pushed the boring cake towards Qiao, and his meaning was obvious.

Qiao glanced at Hong Shang Guangsheng angrily, grabbed the fork and smashed it down as if to poke Hong Shang Guangsheng again.

Chapter 92 Central Air Conditioning

Life is so boring. Everyone is like an NPC operating according to a program.

This is Jun Shibaura's evaluation of the surrounding area. Even in [S·L], which is known as the most exciting place in the world, it cannot change the fact that most people are NPCs. Of course, Jun Shibaura is not dissatisfied with this matter at all, and even enjoys it, because he knows very well that he is not an NPC but a player.

The only thing that bothered him was that the NPCs were too boring and could not provide him with any stimulation or inspiration. He himself had no chance to trigger events and could only watch other players, including Servier Turia, playing the game happily. But all this changed on that day, and every day after that made him very happy.

Shibaura Jun pushed the door open and walked in. Several college students who were playing games inside immediately stood up. A tall young man with slightly curly hair and a sunny smile immediately walked up to Shibaura Jun and took the bag from him very considerately. "Brother Shibaura, you're back. What are we going to play today? I'm ready!"

Jun Shibaura glanced at the young man and nodded with satisfaction.

The name of this young man is Mitsuru Sano. He is not a college student of Qingmingyuan, but a security guard of a nearby shopping mall. He is very good at saying nice things. Even he is coaxed into being comfortable by Mitsuru Sano. And as long as the money is in place, Mitsuru Sano will work very hard. Even if it is something immoral that is close to breaking the law, Mitsuru Sano will do it as soon as he says it. He can do it very well and does not feel that he is wrong at all. Coupled with that handsome face and the tone of his voice, sometimes the victims will be fooled by Mitsuru Sano and treat him as their own.

For example, in that post, the female college students in the dance club originally wanted to cause trouble for Sano Mitsuru, but Sano Mitsuru used a lot of coaxing and deception to make those female college students forgive Sano Mitsuru.

The only problem is that Sano Mitsuru is extremely serious about money and even goes to great lengths when preparing the contract, but coincidentally, the thing he has the most is money.

"There's no rush now."

Jun Shibaura took out a checkbook from his pocket, wrote a string of numbers, signed his name, tore it off and threw it back.

When Sano Mitsuru saw Shibaura Jun take out a check, he immediately stepped forward to catch the check. After seeing the number on it, Sano Mitsuru cheered in surprise, "Brother Shibaura, you are really extraordinary! I wish I could be half as good as you~"

The other people around also rubbed their hands and nodded, but in front of Sano Mitsuru, who was a professional in saying nice things, their flattery was somewhat stiff and awkward.

But Shibaura Jun didn't care. He sat in front of the game console, raised his finger and shook it left and right. "Selvi Turia has come to Qingmingyuan University to investigate. Now, they have noticed my mirror ghost story."

Hearing that Serviera had come to investigate, the expressions of the other college students changed, they knew that Shibaura Jun had been waiting for Serviera, but now that it really happened, they were somewhat worried, but Sano Mitsuru just sighed.

"Great - everything is just as Brother Shibaura expected."

"It's still early. Their main target is Mr. Kagawa. They started investigating the mirror incident in order to find Mr. Kagawa."

Jun Shibaura reached out and opened the middle drawer of a cabinet. Dozens of black boxes were neatly arranged in the drawer. Jun Shibaura raised his hand, slid it over the black boxes, pulled out one, and threw it to Sano Mitsuru.

Sano Mitsuru immediately took the black box with a flattering smile.

"But this is just a trivial matter. The important thing is that our game needs to be upgraded," Shibaura Jun smiled happily and threw the black box to the remaining people.

"Really?! I'm so excited about it," Sano Mitsuru clutched the card box in his hand, his happy expression making him look forward to the game even more than Shibaura Jun.

"Of course, I still need to think about it a little bit. My mirror story... at least it has to be judged by Servier Turia as an abnormal incident that cannot be contained."

Shibaura Jun raised his hand and waved, and Sano Mitsuru, who understood what he meant, immediately signaled with his eyes for others to leave.

After closing the door and walking a distance away, Sano Mitsuru raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, changing his previous ingratiating attitude towards Shibaura Juntoki, "You guys, your expressions were too stiff just now, what if you make Brother Shibaura unhappy? It's not like anything will happen."

Several college students apologized awkwardly. They were all young and energetic, and they were the kind of college students who were not very serious about studying. Normally, they would hate flatterers like Sano Mitsuru to tell them what to do.

but……

"Here—" Sano Mitsuru took out the check that Shibaura Jun had thrown to him earlier, "Don't spend it too quickly."

"Thank you, Sano-nii."

Several college students nodded and bowed as they took the check handed over by Sano Mitsuru. The generous amount on the check made them whistle happily. This amount of money was enough to make them happy for a while.

This is why they could not refuse Sano Mitsuru and were willing to obey his orders.

Mitsuru Sano is like a central air conditioner, blowing air everywhere to ask for benefits, but Mitsuru Sano is not stingy. After getting the money from Jun Shibaura, he will not use Jun Shibaura to pressure them to do things, but will directly give them money and let them do the work.

The price was right and Sano Mitsuru had never humiliated them, so they were naturally happy to maintain this symbiotic state.

"You can have fun, but don't forget what happened today," Sano Mitsuru reminded them when he saw the excitement of the college students.

"It's okay, it's okay. Brother Sano, just give us a call and we'll be there whenever you call."

The young man with highlighted hair on his forehead and wearing earrings patted his chest, made a promise, and walked away arm in arm with the others.

Looking at their departing backs, Sano Mitsuru put his hands behind his head and let out a breath. The premise of flattery and getting along with everyone is to observe the other person's expression and judge his character.

At first glance, it is obvious that Shibaura Jun is a second-generation rich man who has nothing to do and his mind is full of thoughts about doing dangerous and exciting things. To Shibaura Jun, money is the most unimportant thing. As long as he flatters in this direction, he will naturally get benefits. As for the few people who left just now, he also knows that the other party did not really listen to him, but were only smiling because he gave them money. As long as he has no money to give, those people will turn against him faster than turning the pages of a book.

But Sano Mitsuru really didn't care. Without money, why should he expect the other party to listen to him? As for what the other party was thinking... was it that important? Anyway, he definitely needed money, so wasn't that enough to know?

"That's great - it would be great if I had that much money..."

Sano Mitsuru stretched out his voice and staggered forward along the dim corridor.

Chapter 93 I have a belt! Take yours away!

A cute and lively girl.

This was Red's first impression of Mari Sonoda.

"Crash-"