Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

So when he heard that the new target was another member of a strange sect, Nakamori Ginzo felt a headache.

Compared to Nakamori Ginzo's headache, Higashikata Josuke was in a good mood.

In his opinion, although he didn't know how the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' 'stole hearts', or how they changed the 'suspects' mental state to make them surrender voluntarily, they would definitely leave traces.

The only possible reason why no clues were found before was that the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' had already succeeded in getting the 'suspect' before releasing the 'preview letter'.

Their 'teaser letter' might just be the final step!!

So Josuke Higashikata's idea was very simple - to lock on to the 'suspect' before the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts', then set up surveillance, monitor him and look for 'members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts' who might have come into contact with him.

Now that we have locked on to the possible target, the next step is to set up control!

"Inspector Nakamori, I'm applying to lead the surveillance team in Hokkaido!"

The 'Heart Phantom Thieves Countermeasures Headquarters' is a department led by 'Investigation Section 2' and assisted by 'Investigation Section 1'. The main person in charge is 'Inspector' Nakamori Ginzo, while the daily work of 'Investigation Section 2' is handled by Utsumi Toshio.

As for Josuke Higashikata, who is a 'Substitute Inspector', he is a person sent by the Investigation Division to be in charge of liaison and assist them.

Now that Josuke Higashikata has volunteered, Ginzo Nakamori naturally will not refuse.

"No problem! I'll have 'Utsumi Police Chief' lead a team to provide support and notify the local police..."

"Regarding this, Inspector Nakamori, I think we need to reconsider it."

Before Nakamori Ginzo could finish his words, he was interrupted by Higashikata Josuke.

Even so, he still understood Higashikata Josuke's subtext.

What does reconsider mean?

Doesn’t this mean that the local police are not trustworthy?

Higashikata Josuke was just being subtle when he said this.

If the reporters got to know about this, there might be a flood of reports about "discord within the police force."

However, although Ginzo Nakamori and Josuke Higashikata have not been working together for a long time, he has some understanding of this young and energetic junior and knows that he will not act without a purpose.

"Is there any evidence?"

It’s a pity that Josuke Higashikata just shook his head.

"No, but the Tachikawa Ryu case shows Renren's corruption of the political and police circles. Since the so-called Witch Cult is the financial backer of the Tachikawa Ryu, I think they couldn't help but do this."

Higashikata Josuke's attitude is already very clear.

The local police are likely to be corrupted, and the only way to catch people is to rely on the manpower of the "Heart Thief Countermeasures Headquarters".

Once such a thing is exposed, it will be considered as "overstepping authority". Even if the authorization of "White Horse Police Chief" has been obtained, it is estimated that there will be considerable trouble.

At this time, the leader "Nakamori Ginzo" needs to take the blame.

So Josuke Higashikata gave the choice to Ginzo Nakamori.

But what surprised him was that after listening to his explanation, Nakamori Ginzo did not answer immediately, but smiled, a smile mixed with sighs and exclamations.

"Ten years ago, when 'Kaito Kidd' was all the rage, I came up with many bizarre plans to capture him. Luckily, everyone in 'Investigation Section 2' was united. No matter how many times I failed, 'Inspector Chaki' always supported me, and everyone in 'Investigation Section 2' also trusted me..."

Having said that, he shook his head helplessly.

"Although I didn't catch Kaito Kid myself until he mysteriously disappeared, I was fortunate enough to catch quite a few other criminals, so I didn't disappoint everyone."

Having said that, Nakamori Ginzo looked at Higashikata Josuke with burning eyes.

"The reason why we in 'Investigation Section 2' have been able to fight again and again, and capture almost all the criminals, is because of our unity! Although you are not my direct subordinate, since you are now working under me, I will give you my unconditional support!"

"Just go for it! As long as you feel you're worthy of your badge! And worthy of everyone in the police force! Then I, like 'Inspector Chaki,' will be your staunch supporter!"

Nakamori Ginzo's words were so powerful that Josuke Higashikata was stunned and couldn't help feeling a burning sensation in his chest.

Facts have proved that although "Investigation Section 2" often becomes the background board of various thieves, it is definitely not because they are incompetent, but because the enemies are too powerful.

As an ace department with a crime-solving rate that is no less than that of the "Investigation Section 1", the Investigation Section 2 is indeed as capable as Inspector Megure said.

He no longer tested or hesitated, but saluted with great seriousness.

"Yes!!"

No unnecessary nonsense, but enough to express his determination...

Chapter 71 'Rider, the Lone Warrior in the Rain!'

"Just leave them like this?"

Looking at the 'Sakutsuki Shigeru couple' who had long been beaten back to their original form from the 'shadows', Emiya Shirou was obviously hesitant.

I just don't know whether I'm hesitating about how to deal with them, or whether I've beaten them enough.

Lan Ke signaled to the other party not to worry about it.

"Don't worry. Although the 'cognitive space' will affect the 'material world' to a certain extent, most people have no idea about it. To them, it's just a nightmare. As long as we don't 'change our minds' about it, then from other people's perspective, they're just in a bad state because of the nightmare."

"We can leave them alone until we deal with the 'culprit' to avoid alerting the enemy... Of course, if you're interested, Shirou, you can come here yourself..."

"Need not!"

Shirou Emiya looked at Lan Ke, who he didn't know whether to say was thinking about him or encouraging him, and he decisively refused.

It's not that I have any sympathy for these two people, but now that I know the "culprit", I am no longer so concerned about these small fry.

Lan Ke just shrugged his shoulders and didn't say much. After all, in his opinion, he was not a "brutal" person. The reason why he had acted so harshly before was purely to "collect intelligence as quickly as possible", because only by obtaining intelligence as quickly as possible could he protect those innocent people.

As for these two guys being "scum", there was nothing special about their "scum", so they could be dealt with normally. He had no intention of "lynching" them.

But as Shirou Emiya is the person involved, Lan Ke cannot guarantee that he will remain as calm as himself, so in his opinion, as long as Shirou does not "disable" the two of them, there is no need for him to stop him.

After all, the other party is the victim and has enough qualifications to seek "revenge".

But now it seems that although the other party has become somewhat "blackened" for unknown reasons, he is essentially still the "Emiya Shirou" that he is familiar with.

Perhaps not wanting to waste any more words on these two scumbags, Emiya Shirou took the initiative to skip the topic.

"What do we do next?"

"According to my method, I should extract information about the Witch Cult members related to these two guys from their mouths, and then search them one by one. I will eventually find information about the 'Cult Leader' or 'Count Mezas'. Then I can use the 'Alternate Dimension Navigation' to directly lock them down..."

Listening to Lan Ke's words, Emiya Shirou said nothing. It was obvious that as a 'newcomer', he was trying hard to absorb the information on 'how to become a phantom thief'.

But at this moment, Lan Ke looked at him and smiled brightly.

"But there seems to be an easier way right now. Shirou, can't you buy intelligence through 'special channels'? Maybe you can directly purchase the target's intelligence..."

Upon hearing this, Emiya Shirou's eyes lit up.

Indeed, according to Lan Ke, one of the most important pieces of information for "changing one's mind" is the target's name. Directly purchasing the information can greatly save time, and what he needs most at this moment is time.

Today is the weekend and tomorrow is Monday. The court will continue to be in session and it is very likely that the previous case will continue.

If possible, Emiya Shirou hopes to finish all the things today!

"No problem! Let's go back to my house first..."

"and many more!!"

"?"

Shirou Emiya, who was suddenly called, looked at Lan Ke with a puzzled look, and Lan Ke seemed a little helpless.

"Shirou, have you forgotten something?"

Looking at Shirou Emiya whose expression became increasingly confused, Lan Ke sighed helplessly.

"Code name! Code name!! Since we're going to be acting together, we'll definitely need to communicate. It doesn't matter in the 'cognitive world', but I can't call you by your name outside, right?"

It was not until then that Shirou Emiya realized that Lan Ke had always emphasized that he should call the other party by his code name, but he had not yet adapted to his identity as a "Phantom Thief". Now he thought that he really needed a code name.

But what code name should I choose?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Lan Ke, intending to use him as a reference.

"Doctor, what does your code name mean?"

Facing Shirou Emiya's questions, Lan Ke seemed very calm.

"Nothing. I simply feel that this world is 'sick'. Some things that are clearly wrong are taken for granted by people. So I want to 'cure' this twisted world, so I gave myself the code name 'Doctor'..."

"Of course, this code name is also meant to confuse others. After all, most people probably wouldn't be able to associate me, an 'ordinary high school boy,' with a so-called 'doctor' or 'doctor', right?"

After hearing Lan Ke's words, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

If he were to name himself according to his ideal, he could use "justice" as his code name. After all, his dream is to "become a partner of justice."

But when he carefully recalled everything he had done before, he couldn't help but reveal a rather helpless expression, because he realized that he was not actually as selfless as he imagined. In order to protect his sister, he could even resort to "lynching" without hesitation.

What about 'skeleton'?

After all, his 'persona' is a flaming skull riding a motorcycle.

But I felt something was wrong. I felt like I would become a comedian after using this code name...

"Doctor, why don't you help me pick a code name?"

The hesitant Shirou Emiya finally gave the decision to Lan Ke, someone he felt he could trust.

Lan Ke was also stunned when he didn't expect the ball to be given to him. After all, he was not good at naming!

My own assistant can testify!!

However, looking at Shirou Emiya's expression full of trust, Lan Ke couldn't refuse for a moment.

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly remembered something!

That's what Shirou Emiya did in the convenience store when the two first met outside of school.

"How about just 'Rider'?"

"Rider? Cavalry?"

Emiya Shirou recalled the feeling he had when he was driving the 'Soul Chariot' before, and he found that this code name might be quite suitable for him.

But what he didn't expect was that Lan Ke shook his head.

"Not only that, if I remember correctly, Shirou, you should like 'Kamen Rider' very much, right? I think Shirou, you might also be able to become a 'Kamen Rider'..."

Having said that, Lan Ke stopped talking and just looked at Shirou Emiya silently, as if waiting for his feedback.

It was obvious that Shirou Emiya did not expect Lan Ke to say such a thing.

"Masked Rider?"

This 'name' seemed to instantly awaken his memory.

When he was a child, he liked "Kamen Rider" simply because he thought it was cool!

With the cool belt and transformation, he beautifully eliminated the "monster"!

This is so cool!!

However, with that fire, Shirou Emiya's life completely embarked on a completely different path from before.

He abandoned many things, including some things that once seemed childish.

But with Kiritsugu's departure and his own growth, he suddenly found that the 'Kamen Rider' that he once thought was childish seemed to have become a little different.

He noticed that behind those handsome transformations there were often sad pasts.

It turns out that the back of someone fighting in the rain is not only handsome, but also lonely and persistent.

'Kamen Rider' is a group of people who will protect strangers even if they are covered in wounds.

This was undoubtedly a great shock to him, who was influenced by Emiya Kiritsugu and aspired to become a 'partner of justice'.

At that moment, the once naive boy resonated with the mature young man.

"How great would it be if I could become a 'Masked Rider'?"

But he once knew very well that this was just a delusion. After all, "Kamen Rider" was just a fictional existence.

But... the spirit of Kamen Rider is not fictional!!

Thinking of this, a smile unconsciously appeared on his originally serious face.

"Rider? I won't let you down, Doctor!"

Seeing that the familiar gentle smile appeared on Shirou Emiya's originally gloomy face again, Lan Ke didn't say anything more but just stretched out his right fist towards the other party.