Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

"There's something wrong with that 'island owner'."

It's like Lucy can use 'surveillance' to confirm the surrounding situation, so she hides in an enclosed space that she can't escape. If someone approaches, she can directly use 'extra-dimensional navigation' to enter the 'cognitive world'. So there is no need to worry about anything and she can directly use the data cable to invade the internal network of the 'Eighth Generation Shipyard'.

Because of the support of the "extra-dimensional navigation", Shirou Emiya was very arrogant and directly set up his gun on the top of the "Yashiro Bed Factory" and used a sniper scope to lock all possible places where "enemies" might appear.

It was obvious that Shirou Emiya was mainly responsible for preventing external intruders, while Lucy was responsible for monitoring 'Yashiro Hideto' and notifying Shirou Emiya to take action when necessary.

But what Emiya Shirou said was equivalent to saying that Lucy had 'failed her duty'.

Lucy couldn't help but take it seriously.

She quickly called up the locations of all the surveillance cameras in the entire 'Yadai Shipyard', and then her brows furrowed slightly because she also noticed something wrong.

Perhaps because it involves confidential information, or perhaps to prevent sabotage, the 'Yashiro Shipyard' has a large amount of surveillance unlike other places. This undoubtedly makes Lucy's work more convenient and also makes it her 'home court'.

What about the very few areas that are not monitored?

This is actually normal in Neon.

But she didn't notice it, but Shirou Emiya did, and he marked all the monitoring points in several obvious blank areas on the 3D map.

"These surveillance cameras were intentionally set up with 'flaws'. Did that guy sneak out?"

On the other side, Emiya Shirou, who had already jumped down from the "factory roof", couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth when he heard Lucy's analysis.

It really makes things easier when smart people work together.

"That's right. Although I don't know what this guy is planning to do, he definitely has some secrets. After all, he's much smarter and more timid than the previous targets."

They were smart because the other party did not ignore the "warning letter" they sent; they were timid because the other party directly called the police and asked them to protect them.

But such a person actually gave up the police protection and secretly went to a place...

This means that at least in the other party's eyes, there is something in that place that is more important than his safety, or something that can protect his safety but cannot be easily shown to others!

Although he didn't know what it was, he needed to find out, whether to satisfy his curiosity or for the 'Heart Stealing Plan' to proceed smoothly.

Lucy, who understood Shirou Emiya's subtext, quickly left her previous hiding place through "extra-dimensional navigation" and then released a small drone outside the factory.

Although the usage time is longer than that of ordinary drones and does not even require normal charging, these "special equipment" that appear with the "Phantom Thief Suit" also have their own limitations, that is, after using it for a period of time, it needs to be returned to her for a period of "recharge".

Therefore, in order to ensure that it does not go on strike when needed, Lucy naturally cannot use it at will.

But now is clearly the time to use them!

As small drones took off one after another, Shirou Emiya had already caught up with the footsteps of the Eighth Generations Eito.

The fact that he deliberately chose a road that could not be captured by surveillance cameras to run here shows how careful he is.

It's a pity that he never imagined that there would be a man with true "Eagle Eyes" on the "high ground" who was observing the surroundings all the time. There was even a small drone in the sky to guide him when the other party caught up with him.

Under the guidance of Emiya Kiritsugu, Emiya Shirou had already mastered good stealth skills. Now that he has been enhanced by the "Phantom Thief Suit", he is even more at ease.

Not to mention an ordinary person like Yashiro Eito, even professionals may not be able to detect Shirou Emiya's presence.

In this way, despite the other party's cautious, suspicious, but actually useless efforts, the other party finally reached the destination.

It was a group of buildings that looked out of place outside the factory area.

It looks like an original building that existed before the factory was built.

I just don't know why it wasn't demolished.

And the answer was soon revealed!

After carefully opening the door, the other party did not open any secret passage as Emiya Shirou had imagined, but walked straight to the corner and lifted a piece of cloth.

"Wow~"

As countless dust flew around, even though Yashiro Yingren had already put on a mask, he couldn't help but cough instinctively.

This also resulted in Shirou Emiya actually being able to see what was underneath more clearly than the other party.

But it was precisely because of this that Emiya Shirou became even more confused.

Because underneath the cloth was a black 'box' covered with barnacles and shells, and there were so many barnacles that Shirou Emiya couldn't even determine what the box was for a moment.

The only thing he could be sure of was that the box must have been buried on the seabed for quite some time.

Under Emiya Shirou's gaze, Yasiro Hideto finally calmed down his cough and opened the lock on the box with great effort.

"Kacha ~ Kacha ~"

The lid of the box was lifted up with a strange sound, and Emiya Shirou finally saw the 'cross' on the box.

Suddenly, an answer that surprised him greatly appeared in his mind.

This is a—coffin?!

Shirou Emiya had countless guesses during the tracking process, but he still didn't expect this outrageous answer.

But then even greater doubts emerged.

What was the other party looking for in the coffin? Could it be that he thought he was being targeted by the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and so found a "box" for himself in advance?

Chapter 36 Coffin/Mask.

Just as Josuke Higashikata, Shirou Emiya and the others had judged, Hideto Yashiro was indeed frightened after receiving the 'warning letter'.

After all, in his opinion, even someone like 'Arasaka Saburo' could not escape the sanctions of the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. How could he, who was just the captain of a shipyard and not even the 'Eighth Generation Foundation Chairman', possibly escape the clutches of the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'?

In the end, he decisively chose to call the police.

Although ordinary people think that the police have failed to catch the Phantom Thieves of Hearts so many times simply because they are too weak, but after careful study, he feels that maybe the police are not as weak as imagined. After all, none of the targets whose hearts were "stolen" before actually cooperated with the police operations.

So he not only chose to call the police, but also chose to follow all the police's arrangements.

After all, he had no psychological burden in calling the police. You know, although he made money, he was only making money "within the scope allowed by the rules." Even if he was prosecuted, there were countless ways to deal with it, so he was naturally not afraid of the police.

Even in his opinion, isn't it just for times like this that he paid so much tax?

But he still underestimated the oppressive feeling brought by the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. Even after the 'expert team' from Tokyo arrived, his heart did not remain calm for long. Instead, his emotions fluctuated more and more violently as time went by.

To him, the existence of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts is like a guillotine hanging over his head.

Compared to the moment when the guillotine fell, the process of waiting for it to fall without being able to escape was more painful for him.

It was not until this moment that he suddenly remembered something, a memory that he had long forgotten.

The reason why the 'Yashiro Shipyard' was chosen to be located in Izu was naturally because of its excellent hydrological conditions, but the reason why it was decided on the current site was the result of his on-site investigation.

He was extremely satisfied with this piece of land at that time. Not only could it be used to build factories, it also had a gentle slope close to the sea, and it was difficult to invade from other directions. Once the land bridge was closed, this place would be like an independent kingdom.

But the question is, what about the original residents here?

Most of them accepted the money from the 'Yashiro Group' and left happily. After all, the price offered by the 'Yashiro Group' at that time was quite fair. He was appreciated by his father-in-law for his designs, and becoming the president of the 'Yashiro Shipyard' was both a reward and a test.

After all, the other party has only one daughter, and the future husband marries into the family to help the "eight generations" pass on the family line better, and a waste is not qualified to take on such a responsibility.

So in order to complete the assessment, he was naturally very generous.

But at that time, they encountered an unexpected trouble: an old man who firmly refused to move.

The other party's children took the money and happily planned to move to the city. When they learned that their father was unwilling to leave, they tried their best to dissuade him. Finally, after negotiations, the children learned that the reason why the other party was unwilling to leave was because he claimed to be the "guardian of God."

He could never forget the hunchbacked old man standing in front of the ancient coffin, shouting at them angrily and saying firmly, 'This is where the gods are reborn. God will eventually return here. As a believer in God, I will never abandon my duty.'

At that time, everyone thought that the old man was crazy, and Yashiro Hideto thought so too.

Not long after that, the man unfortunately passed away due to old age. His children naturally left happily with the money, leaving behind only the dilapidated house.

At that time, many people suggested that this place should be demolished like other buildings, but the eighth generation of British people at that time somehow said that this place would not actually affect the construction of the factory, so they just left the house there.

His subordinates naturally didn't care, and even took the opportunity to praise the Eighth Generation British for being "kind-hearted".

In fact, many people know about the existence of this "coffin", but it has always been placed here.

After all, this thing is really too weird. Who would make trouble for no reason?

As for the eighth generation of British people?

At first he didn't believe those nonsense.

But as he kept the coffin, the establishment of the factory went more smoothly than he had imagined. In addition, he later passed the test and married the daughter of the Yashiro family. His career also went smoothly, which made him occasionally wonder, "Maybe my choice at that time helped me."

To most people who know about it, that strange coffin is like an 'urban legend'.

But for the person involved, this strange coffin is like his "lucky star".

After being targeted by the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' this time, he couldn't help but recall a lot of rumors about the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'.

Especially since 'Ren Ren' kept muttering words like 'devil' and 'messenger of hell' after turning himself in, coupled with the elusive behavior of the Phantom Thieves, under the influence of fear, Yashiro Eito couldn't help but think of the 'coffin' again.

The strange thing was that when he really stepped into the somewhat dilapidated house, although the surrounding environment was desolate and terrifying, his heart seemed to calm down.

It was as if there really was some special power here that soothed his heart.

This further solidified his suspicion that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, like this coffin, possessed some special abilities.

If possible, he really wants to move the coffin into his office.

However, this coffin covered with barnacles and shells was much heavier than expected. To move it, at least a forklift was needed. However, the strong possessiveness brought about by "greed" made him not want to reveal the existence of this observer.

"As long as I get through this, with its power, I will definitely be able to take the next step! !"

At this time, Yashiro Hideto seemed to have completely fallen into madness, muttering strange words, which caused him to not notice that his originally normal eyes were emitting a faint golden halo.

Although he couldn't move the coffin, he had already made up his mind.

See if there is anything he can take away from it, maybe it can bring him "good luck" and help him overcome the current difficulties.

It's strange to say, this coffin was obviously fished out of the sea, and it's obvious that it's quite old, but it's not damaged.

He kept searching in the coffin.

It’s a pity that there seems to be nothing in this coffin.

But at this moment——

"Kacha ~ Kacha ~"

With a sound like something cracking, the thick barnacle shell on the coffin suddenly cracked and part of it fell off.

Yashiro Eito instinctively looked over there, and then found that there seemed to be something under the barnacle shell?

It looks like a... weird mask?

This thing, which was obviously different from a normal coffin, instantly attracted the attention of the eighth generation British man. He almost instinctively wanted to dig out the "mask".

Unfortunately, although a part of the barnacle shells had broken off, the main body of the mask was still buried in a large amount of barnacle shells. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it off, even -

“Ahhh~!!”

Yashiro Hideto let out a cry of surprise because the sharp barnacle shell actually cut his hand.

Blood dripped onto the mask along the cracks in the barnacle shell, and then an even more bizarre scene appeared!

The blood that should have slid down actually seeped into it slowly...

It’s a pity that Yashiro Hideto, whose face was full of pain, did not notice this scene. He just covered his hands and frowned.

It was as if the pain woke him from that strange state of frenzy, but just when he was considering whether to leave.

"Kacha ~ Kacha ~"

The strange noises grew louder, and then he saw the barnacles on the coffin continue to crack, until—

"Clap~"

With a crisp sound, the strange mask covered with barnacles fell directly from the coffin and landed at the feet of Yashiro Eito.

After seeing this strange scene, the eight generations of British people became ecstatic after their initial shock.

Finally, he left the house and retraced his steps, holding the strange mask.

Being an ordinary person and being too excited, Yashiro Hideto naturally didn't notice that there was actually a figure at the corner of the house.

At this time, Shirou Emiya, who was wearing a helmet, was frowning and looking at the back of Yasiro Hideto without saying a word.

As a bystander who witnessed everything, the only feeling Emiya Shirou had was - weird.

He couldn't understand the logic of the Eighth Generations Englishman.

However, as an 'executor', Emiya Shirou is undoubtedly perfect.