I was the fourth disaster in Yokohama and was loved by everyone.

Then she paused, pointed to the cakes in the cupboard and said, "You can feed the cakes; we'll make sure you're full of them."

"!" Junsuke's hand trembled as he took the calico cat, almost dropping it. "W-Is this something a cat can eat? Even if I'm uneducated, I know cats can't eat cake!"

"Oh~ I see." Zhu Yu gave an "I see" look, once again marveling at the meticulous design of this little game. While other games require players to spend money to buy "hamburgers" and "pizzas"—foods that "pets cannot eat"—this game still insists on being relevant to daily life. That's really great.

"Then you can watch and feed him first."

Upon hearing Zhu Yu's hasty decision, Junjie's thoughts went through a series of transformations: "Thank goodness the cat is alright" to "Is this really okay, boss?" and finally, "Ah, anyway, the cat didn't actually eat the cake. Boss is just too naive~". He was beginning to resemble a brainless underling.

The calico cat, who had been listening in, twitched its ears: ...Actually, having a few desserts once in a while isn't bad.

*

"Hi—Chuuya, I've come to see you."

Zhu Yu broke down the door without any hesitation.

However, she was dumbfounded.

What came into view was an empty bed—the bed was made so neatly that it looked like no one had ever lain on it, the curtains were swaying gently in the wind, and there was a half-empty glass of water on the table.

Where did I, this big, sneaky chicken, go?

Chapter 38 The Wise Player Had Already Seen Through Everything

Zhu Yu fell into deep thought—where did Chuuya go?

Haha, we can't exactly play hide-and-seek with the players, can we?

Zhu Yu forced himself to stay awake and suddenly peered under the bed. Well, the empty hospital bed didn't even have a single hair left.

I pulled back the curtains, and well, it was obvious that such a big person couldn't be hidden.

Zhu Yu plopped down on the hospital bed, wondering where Zhong Ye had gone. She had arranged to visit him in the afternoon, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Is it some new mission?

Just as I was thinking this, the system popped up a selection prompt.

You discover that Chuuya Nakahara isn't in his hospital room, and somewhat disappointed, you decide—

[A. Don't underestimate the bond between us! (A) Dedicated to finding Chuuya Nakahara.]

B. Ah... anyway, it shouldn't be a big problem, go home and rest!

C. It's been a long time since I've seen the Armed Detective Agency. Let's go find them and have a chat!

Is there even a question? Option B obviously can't trigger the mission (disdainful face), and option C seems like it's just there to fill in the options. Haha, the wise players have already seen through everything!

Choose A, and time begins to flow again. After rolling around on the bed with a bit of merriment, she jumped off Chuuya's hospital bed, intending to first conduct some pre-operation intelligence gathering.

She walked up to the nurse NPC at the lobby reception and started a conversation: "Hello, where is the patient in room 3306, Chuuya Nakahara?"

The nurse NPC was a pretty lady with a professional smile. She said in a friendly manner, "That Mr. Zhongyuan has already left the hospital."

"If you want to find him, maybe you can check with the Port Mafia."

Her voice was soft, yet carried an elusive quality.

Masaka! Could he have been kidnapped by the Port Mafia? After all, Chuuya is quite vulnerable right now, and the Port Mafia has a history of abducting people...

The murderer is you—the Port Mafia!

Zhu Yu agreed with her own reasoning. She opened the map, located the port mafia's location, and then manipulated the little man to rush towards the location.

Chuuya, I'm here to save you!

At this moment, it feels just like a knight in a fairy tale rescuing a princess who has been captured by a dragon.

As Zhu Yu thought about it, he pedaled his bicycle at breakneck speed with great enthusiasm, as if he could already foresee the scene of him wreaking havoc in the Port Mafia and rescuing the weak "princess" - Nakahara Chuuya.

At the same time, the nurse watched Zhu Yu's departing figure, and after confirming that she would not return, her expression changed. She put away her smile, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed.

Her voice was low and calm, with a hint of relief after completing the mission: "Yes, the mission objective has been achieved."

A deep male voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with satisfaction: "Very good..."

The nurse hung up the phone, her lips curving into a smile again, as if nothing had happened. She turned and walked back to the ward to continue her work, her movements elegant and composed.

*

The Port Mafia building is not far from the hospital. Zhu Yu can reach the five iconic Port Mafia buildings in about fifteen minutes by bicycle.

The towering black building, like a giant monster, stands menacingly in the center of Yokohama. The windows are covered with thickened, bulletproof glass, which, from a distance, seems to devour all light, leaving only bottomless darkness.

Of course, in Zhu Yu's eyes, everything was in a cute, chibi style.

She stood in front of the imposing building without any fear, only a bit puzzled—which building was Chuuya in?

I randomly chose a building and walked in. A large group of mafia members dressed in black suits were guarding the entrance. They were all armed and wearing black sunglasses, and they looked very intimidating.

To her surprise, these mafia members did not show any intention to attack her as she approached. Instead, they asked in a rather gentle manner, "Are you Ms. Kawakami Socks?"

She moved her hand away from the button to activate her special ability, which she had intended to press the attack button, and clicked on the dialogue.

"it's me."

The man in black who had spoken to her immediately bowed respectfully: "Miss Kawakami, please come with me. The leader said that if you wish to see Mr. Nakahara, please come upstairs for a chat."

Zhu Yu blinked. Okay, they say you can't hit a smiling face. The NPC in black was so polite, she felt too embarrassed to tear down his building.

Since the goal is to find Chuuya, it would be best to find him directly.

After thinking about it, she agreed and was taken to the leader's office after being covered with a black cloth.

Although the Mafia's move was intended to prevent her, a non-Mafia member, from learning the true location of the Mafia leader's office, it had no effect on confusing Zhu Yu.

After all, she had a small map that allowed her to clearly see her location. She had been to the leader's office before, so this was just a revisit.

"drop--"

The elevator reached the top floor, and Zhu Yu followed the NPC out of the elevator. They were only allowed to remove the black cloth when they arrived at the leader's office.

"Knock knock—" The NPC in black knocked on the door, put his hand on the earpiece beside his ear, and said, "Leader, the person has been brought."

He then bowed and withdrew, leaving Zhu Yu behind, before quietly taking the elevator downstairs.

After he finished his report, the door opened automatically, revealing the scene inside to Zhu Yu.

Sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling window of the leader's office, illuminating the previously dark and gloomy space.

Mori Ōgai and Nakahara Chūya were inside the room. The former leaned back in a chair, facing the window, bathed in a blinding halo of light; the latter knelt on one knee, his back to Zhu Yu, solemnly and earnestly swearing an oath—

“I am willing to give myself to you, Chief.”

In the empty leader's office, these firm words echoed like the distant tolling of a bell in an ancient clock tower, ringing in the room and sounding an alarm bell in Zhu Yu's heart.

???

Wait, what are you doing, Chuuya!

Upon hearing Zhongye's outrageous remarks, Zhu Yu felt as if struck by lightning, freezing in place.

"I will protect the organization you would support even at the cost of becoming a slave..."

Zhu Yu didn't have time to see the subsequent chat bubbles clearly, because she had already fallen into a terrible conjecture—had Chuuya gone astray?

I don't want this to go from a shonen manga style to something like an 18+ anime! (shouting)

Words like "all" and "dedicated" sound awful!

No matter how you look at it, it's all the fault of this all-black-clad leader NPC.

Zhu Yu stared helplessly at Chuuya's back, like a useless old father watching his daughter fall into adolescence but unable to control her, and became dejected.

At this moment, automatically adopting the perspective of her maternal family, she couldn't stand the dark NPC in front of her. "Whoosh—" she suddenly controlled the little figure to block in front of Chuuya.

He said firmly, "I do not agree to this marriage!"

Chapter 39 I'm ready!

Thinking it was an assassin, he was about to unleash his special ability to attack, but upon looking up, he realized it was Zhu Yu's Chuuya: ......

Mori Ōgai, who had noticed her long ago but never expected her to suddenly appear just to say that: ......

Chuuya belatedly realized what Zhu Yu had said, his face instantly turning red as if he had been roasted by fire. He glared at Zhu Yu and said, "You're talking nonsense again!"

"And how did you end up here?"

"I made plans to visit you this afternoon, but you weren't here." Zhu Yu turned to look at Chuuya and objectively described the situation. "I heard you were taken away by the Port Mafia, so I came to rescue you."

"But I never expected... that Chuuya would actually go down the path of 'selling himself' and never return." Zhu Yu put on a sorrowful expression, as if she was regretting not watching her child properly, which led the child astray.

Chuuya, who was initially touched, was now furious at what she said: "...It's not what you think." He practically squeezed out each word through gritted teeth.

"Don't overthink it, I just..." Chuuya Nakahara paused halfway through his sentence.

Just yesterday, he was extremely disgusted by the Mafia's ways and considered them irreconcilable enemies, but today he joined the Port Mafia and swore allegiance to Boss Mori.

How was he supposed to explain to her that he was actually offering his loyalty to Chief Mori...?

Chuuya Nakahara's eyes began to flicker, his lips parted slightly, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Mori Ougai quietly observed everything. Seeing that Nakahara Chuuya looked conflicted, he smiled and said, "Chuuya-kun wasn't captured by us. He came here voluntarily. Moreover, he's now a member of the Port Mafia."

Haha, so he wasn't kidnapped after all... Wait, something's not right!

Zhu Yu seemed frozen in place by a spell, his brain frantically working to conclude that Chuuya had joined the Port Mafia.

After a long pause, she suddenly turned to Chuuya Nakahara with grief and indignation and said, "Haha, Chuuya, I must have misheard you. You wouldn't betray our friendship, would you...?" No way, my secret weapon is going to be taken away by this damn mafia member too!

Zhu Yu's mind flashed through countless anime series—the two main characters went down different paths due to their differing ideals, and their longtime best friends became sworn enemies, only to become familiar strangers when they met again.

Don't do this kind of thing!

Feeling a little guilty but not wanting to deceive Zhu Yu, Zhong Ye touched the tip of his nose and turned his face away from her accusing gaze: "Um...you heard me right, I, I did join the Port Mafia, but..." But I didn't mean to betray our friendship!

"How could you leave me out?!" Chuuya had secretly joined a new "team" behind his back!

Zhu Yu interrupted him angrily, then raised her right hand high like a well-behaved student giving a report in class, and gestured to Mori Ougai: "Hello, Port Mafia boss. Since Chuuya has joined, I also want to join the Port Mafia."

Chuuya Nakahara: ...Are you some kind of elementary school student who absolutely has to go to the toilet with a friend?!

Mori Ougai, who was actually planning to invite Zhu Yu to join the Port Mafia, was somewhat surprised. He didn't expect that before he could even speak, this "diamond" would jump into his arms on its own initiative.

This is truly...a pleasant surprise.

A barely perceptible tremor flashed across his previously calm face, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, forming a very slight curve.

He then leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and gave a meaningful look: "Ms. Kawakami, are you serious? After all, once you join the mafia, there's no escaping it. If you rely on reckless enthusiasm without enough awareness, you'll fall and be shattered in the darkness."

"The Mafia maintains its rule through violence and fear, and sin and desire flow in the blood of every Mafia member. Becoming a Mafia member means never being able to bask in the sunlight in this life, and will forever struggle in the shadows of the city."

Are you ready to step into the darkness?

His dark red eyes, like a bottomless, icy pool, were silently scrutinizing her, trying to discern her most genuine emotional fluctuations.

The Port Mafia boss has sent you a job offer. What will you choose?

A. I haven't decided yet, I'll go home and rest first.

B. Join (your faction will automatically change to "Port Mafia")

Having already made such a request, her choice was obvious. She raised her arms high and declared, "Of course, I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!"

She imitated the tune of a certain yellow sponge while hopping around Mori Ōgai, as if performing some kind of ancient sacrificial ritual.

The captivating singing and movements clearly shocked Chuuya Nakahara and Ougai Mori.

The two: ......

Mori Ougai raised his right hand and gently pinched his brow, trying to ease the tension in his nerves caused by his headache. He raised his voice to interrupt her: "Alright! I know your determination. There's no need to keep going on and on."

Because he had spent a lot of time with Zhu Yu, Chuuya Nakahara was obviously more resilient to pressure. At this moment, he simply looked away and pretended not to see anything.

"Oh, okay." Zhu Yu obediently stopped and tilted her head to look at Zhong Ye. "Great, we can be together again."

"Ah..." Zhongye seemed to be burned by her gaze, feeling his cheeks slightly hot. He looked away for three seconds, then looked back firmly. His clear blue eyes could clearly reflect her figure. He replied, "Yes... it's together again."

"Tsk tsk tsk, Chuuya-kun is really completely under his thumb." Mori Ougai observed Chuuya's awkward reaction and secretly marveled.