Persona: Devil Summoner

"What do you say if it's yes? What do you say if it's no?"

"If not, I will naturally find a way to make you unable to utter a single word."

Jiang Tianwei was not joking, he clenched his left fist and punched the cement wall next to Bai Zhongzhidou. With a dull thud, Jiang Tianwei's fist bone sank into the cement, and although his skin was cracked and bleeding, it was still very intimidating.

He pulled out his fist, leaving only a clear dent in the fist and a few spots of blood inside.

The human skull is definitely not as strong as cement. His fist can break cement, so it can also break the human skull.

Bai Zhong Zhidou just looked at him calmly, and suddenly smiled: "You are really easy to understand."

He extended his hand to Jiang Tianwei. Jiang Tianwei thought it was a gesture of goodwill and was about to shake it... The next second, he noticed a black muzzle of a gun in Bai Zhongzhidou's black sleeve.

“!”.

Jiang Tianwei's fists are so powerful because he inherited the skills of a bullfighter, but he is still a human being. He feels pain when he is beaten and will vomit if he drinks too much. As for being shot by a pistol... Of course, he will die.

"Don't be so nervous. If what you said is true, since I didn't report you directly, there must be something that needs your help. How about it? Can we chat?"

As Bai Zhong Zhidou spoke, a slight smile appeared on his lips, as if he was sure of victory.

"Then let's talk about it here."

Jiang Tianwei unhappily let go of Bai Zhongzhidou's collar.

Originally, this action should be a normal scene. However, Jiang Tianwei was pointed at with a gun just now, and he was naturally shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. His muscles were trembling with tension. He did not control his strength well, and directly tore off the button of his shirt!

"!"

This time it was Naoto's turn to be stunned!

Without the restraint of buttons, the collar was opened wide, revealing the white skin and collarbone, and below... were layers of lining...

As we all know, there is no need for men to use chest wraps...

"You, you are a woman?!".

"What? Is there a saying in Japan that women can't be detectives?"

Compared with Jiang Tianwei's panic, Bai Zhongzhidou seemed very natural. After the initial panic, he... Oh no, it was she who buttoned up her collar, tightened her tie, and raised her collar.

"Rather than my gender, you should focus on my abilities, right?"

Seeing Bai Zhongzhidou being so nonchalant, Jiang Tianwei gradually calmed down.

"I see. Anyway, what do you need me to do?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 114 Trading

"Don't be so nervous."

Bai Zhongzhidou smiled and explained to Jiang Tianwei one by one.

Bai Zhongzhidou has been investigating the "disabled person" issue for a while. However, there is really no starting point for disabled person. It is understandable that so many policemen, after such a long investigation, have no clues at all, and there is really no way to start.

However, the appearance of the Phantom Thieves gave Bai Zhongzhi a chance. He keenly noticed that the changes before and after Kamoshida could be similar to the crippling. So he turned to investigate the Phantom Thieves. Regardless of whether the Phantom Thieves were the murderers of the crippling, it is true that they do have the ability to modify the human spirit.

Afterwards, Shiraishi Naoto personally sneaked into the Palace of Cognition and witnessed the style of the Phantom Thieves, which made him certain of several things.

"First of all, I believe that your Phantom Thieves are not the murderer who became disabled, and it probably has nothing to do with your becoming disabled."

This was Naoto's first conclusion.

The members of the Phantom Thieves were all students. They had little interaction before they formed the group. Naoto also investigated each person's past individually and could not find anything suspicious. What is certain is that they should have just formed the group after the Kamoshida incident, and the previous incident of being disabled should have nothing to do with them.

"Secondly, there are a series of events that have disabled people. No matter how hard I try, I can't find the common points among all the events. But if I change my way of thinking and think that it is not [one murderer], then my thoughts will suddenly become clear."

This is Naoto’s second conclusion.

He firmly believed that disability was not a special disease, but a crime. However, since it was a man-made crime, there must be a motive for the crime. Even pleasure criminals have a motive for the crime, and the motive is happiness.

But no matter how hard you try, you can't determine the motive of the criminal.

This is because Bai Zhongzhidou has always believed that the cripple was committed by a murderer. It may not be a person, but it must be an organized crime. However, the emergence of the Phantom Thieves made her realize that there may be other organizations with similar abilities.

If you think about it this way, it makes sense.

"For example, a while ago, a subway driver was disabled. As a result of this incident, the Minister of Land and Resources stepped down. The person who benefited the most from this incident was, of course, the political enemy of the Minister of Land and Resources. But some time earlier, there was an incident in which the owner of a restaurant suddenly became disabled and started killing people with a kitchen knife. There was no such obvious profit point. Can we assume that there are two groups or even more people who are disabling people?"

Bai Zhongzhidou noticed this keenly.

Jiang Tianwei narrowed his eyes, thinking that this detective was really amazing, his logical thinking ability was really strong, and he dared to guess and think. After he said this, Jiang Tianwei also felt that the strange bee palace he went to with Amamiya Ren for the first time was different from the palaces of Kamoshida and Madarame that he met later.

"In the end, I think you are good people."

This is Bai Zhongzhidou’s third conclusion.

Sometimes, everyone says that children are naive and irrational, but in many cases, it is because of their innocence that they will pursue the only truth and justice regardless of all difficulties and obstacles. When adults encounter such situations, they often "stay out of it" or tell themselves not to delve into it and protect themselves.

A person who possesses power but does not have the corresponding will will only become a disaster.

Bai Zhongzhidou's former companions and the murderer who triggered the serial murders can perfectly prove this point from both positive and negative sides.

Bai Zhongzhidou's calm analysis made Jiang Tianwei feel that he had lost from the bottom of his heart. The level between him and this detective was too far apart.

"So, what kind of deal do you want to make with us?"

Jiang Tianwei asked.

"A detective always has only one goal - the truth. I would like to entrust you, the Phantom Thieves, to thoroughly investigate the truth behind his becoming disabled."

"…This is exactly what I want."

Jiang Tianwei nodded.

"Yes. That's why I took the initiative to contact you instead of contacting your team leader."

Bai Zhongzhidou smiled. She had naturally investigated Jiang Tianwei and knew about his complicated family situation. Why did she contact Jiang Tianwei instead of Amamiya Ren? It was because his goal was very clear, that is revenge. This kind of person is often easier to cooperate with because his goal is too obvious.

Moreover, Naoto didn't know who Amamiya Ren was and what her personality was like. He wondered if the Phantom Thieves would change in the future, and the deal would fall through. But Jiang Tianwei was different.

"Really, I admire you... You are such a great detective. I promise, I will introduce you to our captain..."

"Oh, that's not necessary for now."

Unexpectedly, Bai Zhong Zhidou directly rejected his kindness.

"Judging from your Phantom Thieves' style of doing things, you are so high-profile that you will definitely be targeted by the crippled real murderer in the future, right? The enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, so it is difficult to choose a targeted response plan. I plan to support you secretly, so that when you are set up by the real murderer, I can judge the situation more accurately. You Chinese have a saying, 'Those who are involved are confused, but bystanders can see clearly', isn't that what it means?"

"I see. It's like, I'm communicating with you one-on-one? It feels a bit like spying... I quite like it."

Jiang Tianwei smiled. What else could he do? He had been clearly calculated by the other party. What room for maneuver was there for him?

"You don't need to have so much psychological burden, just live a normal life."

"Psychological burden...ah!"

When Jiang Tianwei heard this term, he suddenly thought of a person - the psychological counselor, Maruki Takuto! He had always said that he would go to visit him, but he forgot about it!

--------------

After Jiang Tianwei left, Bai Zhongzhidou breathed a sigh of relief. Although she acted calm, she was actually quite nervous.

When it comes to logical thinking, she is confident that she will not lose to anyone.

But when it comes to emotional understanding, that’s another matter.

She was not very good at emotional communication between people. Often, people acted based on emotions rather than logic. Fortunately, Jiang Tianwei was calm enough to allow normal communication.

"I was really scared. That person is a high school student, but his aura is not weak at all."

Suddenly, a female police officer came over from the street. She was wearing a brand new police uniform, and you could tell at a glance that she had just put it on. She had short orange hair and was in high spirits.

She is a senior of Shirakari Naoto, Chie Satonaka. After graduation, she took the police academy entrance exam, and just recently, she finally became a reserve member of the glorious Japanese police - the police.

She had received an invitation from Naoto before, and after some effort, she was transferred to Tokyo. Because of the crippling incident, the Tokyo Police Department really wants all the police forces in the country to be concentrated here. Other police officers are also afraid to come here, fearing that they will encounter something they cannot solve, be punished, and even more afraid that they will be crippled by bad guys...

The result was that the Tokyo Police Department was short of staff, but police officers from other police stations were unwilling to come. Chie Satonaka applied for the job and was basically begged by the Tokyo Police Department to take the job.

This is Naoto's trump card. If Jiang Tianwei had just abused him, then Satonaka Chie would have been able to rush over from nearby to rescue him.

"If we just talk about temperament, it's like a combination of Narukami-senpai and Tatsumi-kun."

As Bai Zhongzhidou spoke, an expression of nostalgia involuntarily appeared on his face.

"Narukami-san... Oh, I was thinking we could get together in Tokyo, but it turns out no one has time."

Chie Satonaka also sighed, growing up is so helpless.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 115 This is my friend's story

I don’t know who started it, but when discussing your own problems with others, you must add “This is my friend’s story” at the beginning.

This routine is universal whether in China, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia. You can clearly feel this when you watch their TV series.

So, does this excuse work?

It's like if you ask middle and senior leaders: "Do you embezzle?" Their answer will definitely be "No."

As for whether you believe it or not, the speaker himself believes it.

"Teacher Maruki, this is the story of my friend."

In the infirmary of Shujin Academy, Jiang Tianwei put his hands together and held his chin. He looked like the famous Japanese 2D character Commander Ikari, but he was missing a pair of sunglasses. Maruki Takuto was sitting on the sofa beside him, still wearing the same clothes that he didn't know how to dress up. Fortunately, he looked quite elegant, otherwise he would be hopeless.

It was obvious that Jiang Tianwei came to him for psychological counseling. Although the notice issued by Xiujin College did not directly state that he had to attend, he should still attend in order to prevent the school from paying attention to him...

After all, the student council president Niijima really had his eyes on him.

Then, why is psychological counseling in the infirmary?

Of course, the school never thought of making this psychological counseling long-term from the beginning, and even Maruki-sensei only served until November. It would be a waste to build a department specifically for a project that lasts less than a year. So I can only ask Maruki-sensei to bear it in the infirmary.

(Look, it seems like this is Jiang’s own business…)

Maruki Takuto is a psychologist after all, and he immediately understood what Jiang Tianwei wanted to express. He nodded and continued: "So, what happened to this friend?"

"Well, this is the story of my friend. She had an older sister, who was very powerful. Then one day, her sister died, and she couldn't accept it, so she became her sister. Do you think it's possible for her to become another person?"

(Does this example sound familiar?).

Maruki Takuto couldn't help but frown.

The school hired him to calm the students' mental state and prevent anyone like Reijing Shiho from jumping off the building. Although the school does not care how many students die, the students' parents and public opinion are not a joke, so the school has to pretend to care about the students.

Naturally, when the school hired Maruki, they also told him the basic information of the students who needed special care.

So, when Jiang Tianwei came to see him, he thought he would be asked about family discord or how to deal with the relationship with his stepfather. This kind of psychological consultation is also a fairly common problem. He didn't expect to be asked such a question...

"Your friend must have always felt inferior to her sister. Generally speaking, everyone has had the feeling of 'wanting to become someone else'. Generally speaking... well... it's like a child's admiration for his father or a hero, or when you read a novel, you also want to become the protagonist of the book, right? But this kind of emotion usually does not reject oneself, so the driving force behind the heartfelt desire to become another person is usually not [admiration], but [self-loathing]. Does your friend dislike himself?"

Maruki Takuto couldn't figure out why Jiang Tianwei suddenly brought up such an abnormal and true "story of my friend", so he could only give an ordinary answer.

Jiang Tianwei listened and felt that what he said made sense, and then continued to ask: "If, Mr. Maruki, you were in such a situation, would you want to become someone else?"

"Hmm? Me? Hmm... this is a really difficult question to answer..."

Maruki Takuto touched the back of his head a little embarrassedly and gave a troubled smile.

"From a teacher's perspective, I still want to choose the one that can make others happy."

"Making others happy? Isn't that making yourself happy?"

Jiang Tianwei asked back. Wan Xi nodded: "That's not right. After all, if I were a teacher, I would feel happy when I see everyone happy. You Chinese have a saying, "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you." Is that what it means?"

"Uh, no, I don't think that's what you mean..."

"Hey... Teacher, did I make a mistake? Oh... I'm so sorry, Chinese is so profound..."

Maruki Takuto smiled awkwardly, and Jiang Tianwei couldn't help but laugh along with him. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Tianwei was suddenly startled: "No! The topic has gone off track!"

Thanks to Jiang Tianwei's ability as a great monk, otherwise he would have been taken away by Maruki Takuto! This man is a very good psychologist. When faced with some difficult questions, he would divert the topic without leaving any trace.

"Teacher, what do you think about this idea of ​​wanting to become someone else?"

Jiang Tianwei brought the topic back. Maruki Takuto's expression did not change much either. He continued to speak in a relaxed tone, "I support it. It is natural to want to escape from pain. It is the instinct of living things to seek benefits and avoid harm. Heroes can overcome pain and set up lofty goals again, but unfortunately, not everyone is a hero. As an ordinary person, it is a common desire to want to escape from painful things and to become a perfect self. I think this is normal."

(Maruki supports others becoming other people, but he himself doesn’t want to become someone else? In other words, this person also has a very painful past?).

Jiang Tianwei was keenly aware of the subtle meaning between his two answers.