Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

After seeing Li Xin out the back door, watching his departing figure, Lai Sheng Lei hesitated for a long time before finally going to the bar and dialing a number: "Hello, Uncle Yongshi..."

....................................

"Captain Okamoto."

Upon arriving at the headquarters of the Tsukamoto Group, as soon as "Okamoto Sho" entered, a security guard bowed to him.

"Okamoto Sho" nodded slightly, appearing quite arrogant. The security guard was not surprised at all, because those who could become bodyguards were completely different from the lowly security guards who stood guard. The security guards were employees of the Tsukamoto Group, while bodyguards like Okamoto Sho were directly under the jurisdiction of Chairman Tsukamoto Kazuo. Outsiders had no say in the matter and were more like his personal attendants.

This is also because Kazuo Tsukamoto is extremely suspicious and doesn't trust his bodyguards to interact with others. Therefore, these bodyguards only obey Kazuo Tsukamoto's orders. Even Kazuo Tsukamoto's son, the president of the Tsukamoto Group, cannot command the bodyguard team.

Therefore, those bodyguards have extremely high status. Even some senior executives within the group will show them deference when they encounter them.

Therefore, with his "Okamoto Sho" face, Li Xin could act with impunity, at least within a certain range.

Upon arriving at the lounge on the ninth floor, Li Xin was immediately greeted by several bodyguards in black suits who said to him, "Okamoto, you've come at the right time. Let's go and have some fun together."

Li Xin coughed and said in a hoarse voice, "Forget it, I think I've caught a cold, I really don't have any energy..."

"You have a cold but instead of resting at home, you come to work. You're really going all out!"

One of the bodyguards said with a smile.

"There's no way around it. The pay for duty is so high, who would be willing to give it up? Besides, the chairman has a $100 million revenge fund. Who would dare to kill the chairman? It's not easy to find such an easy and lucrative job!"

Li Xin replied naturally.

"That's true."

The other bodyguards also nodded in agreement.

It was only because Tsukamoto Kazuo was extremely afraid of death that he continued to employ these bodyguards after investing a $100 million revenge fund. After he established the $100 million revenge fund, no one dared to risk their lives to assassinate Tsukamoto Kazuo anymore. Fortunately, their work as bodyguards was exceptionally easy. What they did most was actually help Tsukamoto Kazuo kidnap the girls he had his eye on.

This is certainly illegal, but the problem is that he's paid such a high salary, so what's wrong with doing something illegal for him? Besides, Kazuo Tsukamoto is generous, and the girls he's used will eventually be handed over to these bodyguards. The so-called "entertainment" of these bodyguards just now was actually the innocent women that Kazuo Tsukamoto had gotten tired of.

"Cough cough!"

Li Xin coughed again, then said to the others, "Don't tell anyone about my cold. I'll rest here for a while and come find you when I feel better."

"Ok, no problem."

The bodyguards agreed.

As colleagues, they would naturally help with such a small matter, because they might also have such a day. Today they helped Okamoto Sho, and perhaps one day in the future it will be Okamoto Sho's turn to help them.

The bodyguards went off to "have some fun." Li Xin wasn't the real Okamoto Sho, so he didn't know what their so-called "fun" was and just assumed they were going somewhere to play.

After the lounge was empty, Li Xin seized the opportunity and quickly scanned the ceiling. He soon found the ventilation opening, jumped up, used his palms to grip the sides of the opening, disassembled it, and climbed inside. Before leaving, he carefully restored the ventilation opening to its original state to avoid being discovered.

Before arriving, Li Xin had memorized all the structural diagrams of the Tsukamoto Group headquarters building and knew its layout like the back of his hand. Following the planned route, Li Xin avoided all surveillance cameras and quietly climbed to the outside of the garbage room on the ninth floor.

The Tsukamoto Group headquarters building has strict access control. Even bodyguards like Sho Okamoto are not allowed to go up to the tenth floor unless they are on duty. Only close confidants such as Kazuo Tsukamoto's family members and secretary are qualified to enter the floor where Kazuo Tsukamoto is located.

Apart from the elevators, the floors of the building are not connected to each other, and the elevators are the most closely monitored places by all the bodyguards. However, according to the structural diagram provided by Lai Sheng Lei, in addition to the elevators, there is actually another place that connects the entire headquarters building, which is the construction waste chute.

To facilitate garbage disposal, the Tsukamoto Building has a construction waste chute that connects the entire building. Although this chute can only be opened from the outside and cannot be opened from the inside, even if someone wanted to climb to other floors through the construction waste chute, it would be impossible without someone to help them. But this was not a problem for Li Xin at all.

The plan that Kisei Rui arranged for Li Xin was to use a construction waste chute to assassinate Tsukamoto Kazuo unexpectedly and pin the blame on Okamoto Sho.

Following the plan provided by Laishenglei, Li Xin entered the garbage room and saw a cleaner throwing garbage into the garbage chute. Li Xin walked behind the cleaner, silently said "sorry", and chopped the back of the cleaner's neck with a hand chop.

The hand strike came down, but missed. The cleaner moved with lightning speed, easily dodging Li Xin's hand strike. At the same time, her eyes turned cold, and she slid a short sword from her sleeve, thrusting it straight at Li Xin.

Seeing the masked cleaner draw his sword, Li Xin felt an instant familiarity with the swordsmanship and couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Yi?"

The cleaner's short sword stopped abruptly when it was close to Li Xin's throat. He then quickly sheathed the sword and pulled down his mask, revealing Yi Tianxun, whom he hadn't seen for several days!

Chapter 112 Assassination Squad, Assemble!

Li Xin spoke in his original voice just now, which Yi Tianxun recognized. For some reason, Yi Tianxun, disguised as a cleaner, asked in an uncertain voice, "Ah Xin?"

Li Xin quickly said, "It's me, Brother Yi. What are you doing here?"

"Tell me why you're here first."

Yi Tian asked Li Xin a question, his tone quite wary.

Without any hesitation, Li Xin said directly, "I'm here to kill Tsukamoto Kazuo."

Upon hearing Li Xin's words, Yi Tianxun breathed a sigh of relief. He said, "Seeing you dressed as a bodyguard, I thought you had sided with that old scoundrel, Tsukamoto Kazuo!"

Li Xin laughed and said, "If I were to pledge allegiance to him, why would I be using someone else's name?"

"So I gave you a chance to explain."

Yi Tianxun said calmly.

"Brother Yi, you've come here. Could it be that among the Japanese officers who killed your ancestors at Mingjian Manor and stole those eight precious swords, Tsukamoto Kazuo was one of them?"

Li Xin guessed that it was because of this guess that he directly revealed that he came to kill Tsukamoto Kazuo.

Yi Tianxun nodded slightly: "The person who was killed back then was my great-grandfather. After he died in battle, the eight precious swords he carried were divided up by the Japanese officers who led the troops at the time. Later, my grandfather inquired in many ways and finally found out the names of those Japanese officers, and he remembered them well. However, my grandfather died in the war, and my father went mad from practicing martial arts too much. So, the heavy responsibility of revenge fell on my shoulders..."

"After I completed my studies, I came to Japan to find those officers from back then. I found five of them, killed them and retrieved four swords. As for the other two, I only learned that they seemed to have passed away, and the whereabouts of the swords they took are unknown. Fortunately, with your help, I was able to find them."

Yi Tianxun sighed.

"So now, Brother Yi, you only have Tsukamoto Kazuo as your enemy?"

Li Xindao.

"Yes."

Yi Tianxun nodded and said, "Actually, the first enemy I found when I came to Japan was Tsukamoto Kazuo. But as you know, Tsukamoto Kazuo was rich and powerful. At that time, my martial arts skills were far inferior to what they are now, so I could only hold back for the time being, searching for other enemies and precious swords while practicing my martial arts diligently. Now, I have found seven precious swords and killed all my enemies except for Tsukamoto Kazuo. As long as I get rid of him, the blood feud of my Famous Sword Manor can finally be put to rest."

The hatred that had lasted for over fifty years and spanned three generations was finally brought to an end by Yi Tianxun. However, he was unsure whether he could actually take this final step.

Kazuo Tsukamoto had too many skilled men around him. He disguised himself as a cleaner and infiltrated the Tsukamoto Building, but after several days, he still couldn't get close to Kazuo Tsukamoto, let alone find out the whereabouts of the last of the eight swords.

Thinking of this, Yi Tianxun felt somewhat discouraged. He asked Li Xin, "Ah Xin, why did you come to kill Tsukamoto Kazuo?"

Li Xin then told Yi Tianxun what Yu Xuehe had heard at the Zhonghua Building.

Yi Tianxun gritted his teeth and said, "That scourge of Tsukamoto, even cutting him into a thousand pieces wouldn't be enough to atone for his sins!"

Li Xin said to Yi Tianxun, "Brother Yi, if we join forces, we can definitely kill that villain!"

When Yi Tianxun drew his sword just now, Li Xin felt that the sword energy on Yi Tianxun's body had become several degrees stronger, and his strength had increased to a higher level and was even more terrifying. Originally, Li Xin was still a little uncertain about whether he could kill Tsukamoto Kazuo, but now that he had the greatly improved strength of Yi Tianxun as an ally, Li Xin's confidence increased.

"If the goal is to kill Tsukamoto Kazuo, count me in!"

A girl's voice suddenly rang out, and the window of the garbage room opened with a whoosh. A girl floated into the garbage room as lightly as a piece of paper.

The girl who suddenly appeared was dressed in clothes that made it difficult to move. Judging from the style, it seemed to be a shrine maiden's outfit. She wore a very gorgeous headdress, had a beautiful face, and smiled with her eyes. She seemed to be very kind.

The strange witch gently covered her nose with her hand and said to Li Xin and Yi Tianxun, "Why do you two like to talk in such a smelly place? Can we find a cleaner place to have a proper chat?"

Li Xin and Yi Tianxun both looked at the strange witch who had suddenly appeared with wary eyes, and then asked, "Who are you?"

The strange shrine maiden gave a business-like smile and handed out business cards to Li Xin and Yi Tianxun, saying, "Nice to meet you. My name is Qian Jialuo. I am an exorcist from Shikoku. I specialize in exorcising demons and spirits, and I also do curse killing. If you two have anyone you hate, feel free to come to me. In consideration of this cooperation, I can give you a 1% discount!"

Li Xin glanced at the business card and indeed saw the name "Qian Jialuo" printed on it, but it only had the first name and no surname. He didn't know if it was real or fake. On the back of the business card, there was something that looked like a price list.

"Death from illness - 1 million yen, death by hanging - 1 million yen, death by burning - 2 million yen, death by drowning - 1.5 million yen, death by collision - 1.8 million yen..."

It turns out there are various ways to charge for different methods of death; it seems this is the curse-killing service she was talking about.

"Neuropathy……"

Yi Tianxun also saw the price list behind the business card, and without thinking, he threw the business card into the trash can—this was the trash room, and while there might not be anything else, there were plenty of trash cans.

Li Xin, however, did not discard the business card. Instead, he asked Qian Jialuo very seriously, "Why is burning someone the most expensive?"

Qian Jialuo paused for a moment when faced with Li Xin's question, then laughed heartily: "You're the first person to ask me this question. It's not that others don't believe me..."

Qian Jialuo glanced at Yi Tianxun: "...They just called me 'crazy' directly."

"I've also heard a little about the art of curses; if used properly, it can indeed kill without leaving a trace."

Li Xin put the business card away. Who knows when it might come in handy? He'd keep it for now.

According to Crocodile, the basic price for killing someone in Tokyo is five million yen, while the most expensive "burn to death package" on Chikara's price list only costs two million yen. If Li Xin gets a difficult job and doesn't have a chance to do it, he can ask Chikara to help him with his curse technique, and then he can earn a commission.

Li Xin thought he was a true genius.

Qian Jialuo showed a very interested expression: "You, a martial artist, actually know about curse techniques?"

Li Xin nodded. He hadn't read the old witch's notes for nothing, so of course he knew about curse techniques. What Togo Miyoko used on Gao Jin before was actually a type of curse technique.

Although the prerequisites are quite troublesome, if the curse is used well, it can kill people invisibly and take their lives from a thousand miles away. It is very suitable for killing people. Even if a powerful martial artist is tricked and the conditions for the curse are met, he will be severely injured even if he does not die.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xin asked Qian Jialuo, "Since you know the art of cursing, why do you need our help? Tsukamoto Kazuo is just an ordinary old man. If the target is him, you should be able to easily curse him to death."

The more powerful the target of a curse, the more demanding the conditions become. Take Togo Miyoko as an example. To deal with Kojin, she needs to use Kojin's hair as a medium to cast the spell, because Kojin is in his prime and strong, making it relatively difficult to kill him with a curse.

But Tsukamoto Kazuo is an old geezer, with one foot already in the grave. Cursing him to death shouldn't be difficult for him. Based on Li Xin's perception of Chika's spiritual power, this woman's spiritual power is probably even stronger than that of Togo Miyoko before. She could curse an old man to death with almost no effort, so why would she need Li Xin and Yi Tianxun's help?

Qian Jialuo's smile revealed a hint of helplessness: "There's nothing we can do. That old man has the most powerful ability in the world!"

"What ability?"

Yi Tianxun couldn't help but ask.

Although he didn't believe in any curses, he was very interested in Tsukamoto Kazuo's abilities.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!

"He's rich!"

Qian Jialuo sighed, "He provides funding to the government's psychic department, and they send psychic practitioners to protect him. I tried to use my magic on him several times, but it was all blocked. I've been busy with this deal for almost a month, but I still couldn't kill him. It's a huge loss!"

Chika felt incredibly unlucky. Her first business deal in Tokyo had turned out like this. Weren't people in Tokyo supposed to be rich and foolish? Why was business so difficult?

Upon hearing Qian Jialuo's words, Li Xin and Yi Tianxun exchanged a glance. Yi Tianxun nodded slightly: "There is indeed a woman who looks like a high school girl with Tsukamoto by his side. I heard she is a supernatural expert from the 'Super Disaster Countermeasures Room'."

He had been lurking in the Tsukamoto Building for many days. Although he had not found an opportunity to assassinate Tsukamoto Kazuo, he had gotten a general idea of ​​the security situation around Tsukamoto. He knew that in addition to several teams of bodyguards and at least five martial arts masters, there was also a very young master of supernatural abilities around Tsukamoto Kazuo.

Although the woman was holding a samurai sword and looked like a swordsman, Yi Tianxun could still sense that she possessed spiritual power rather than internal energy, so she must be a sorcerer.

It's not unusual for a sorcerer to know martial arts. When Yi Tianxun was in the Central Plains, he met a Taoist priest from the Maoshan Sect who was not only skilled in Taoist magic but also had extraordinary martial arts skills.

This is also the norm for many Taoist practitioners in the Central Plains, who emphasize "cultivating both body and mind." They do not practice martial arts or other arts separately, but rather both simultaneously. Although this approach is much slower than practicing martial arts or other arts separately, it is incredibly solid, less prone to qi deviation, and does not suffer from the problem of shorter lifespans common among spiritual practitioners in Japan.

"Yes, yes, that's the 'Super Disaster Countermeasures Room'! Honestly, instead of doing their proper job of eliminating evil spirits, they come here to interfere with my business. It's outrageous!"

Qian Jialu nodded vigorously.

"'Super Disaster Countermeasures Room'..."

Li Xin knew about this organization; it had been mentioned briefly in the old witch's notes. It was an organization led by the Japanese government and composed of members from other exorcism families, dedicated to eliminating evil spirits.

What is an evil spirit?

After a person dies, their consciousness does not immediately dissipate. Instead, a ball of spiritual energy, which is generally considered to be the "soul," is generated. If this ball of spiritual energy is left unattended, it will quickly dissipate and cease to exist in the world within one night to seven days.

This spiritual energy cluster is what people generally consider a "soul" because it does indeed possess some of the deceased's memories and emotions from their previous life. However, it is not directly called a soul because a soul exists based on a physical body. Without a physical body, a soul cannot continue to exist. Therefore, this so-called "soul" is not a soul in the true sense; at most, it can only be considered a fragment of a true soul, or even a remnant of a soul.

Such "souls" can become evil spirits by chance when they rely on powerful spiritual energy. These evil spirits will retain some characteristics of the "soul" in life. At the same time, due to the nature of spirits, these evil spirits will instinctively devour other spirits. Simply put, they will attack humans and devour their souls.

In recent years, evil spirits have frequently appeared in various areas of Tokyo, even causing disasters, which the government has dubbed "super disasters".

It's fortunate that the evil spirit is a psychic entity, only those with psychic vision can see it, otherwise Tokyo would have been in complete chaos long ago.

The "Super Disaster Countermeasures Office" was established to deal with so-called "super disasters," and it is because of this that Tokyo is able to have the peace it has today.

Everything seems to be going well, but the problem is that the chances of a real evil spirit being born in nature are extremely low. A city with a population of one million might not produce a single truly evil spirit in ten years.

Previously, when Li Xin was protecting the old witch, he faced a tidal wave of evil spirits. These evil spirits were not naturally generated, but rather created by sorcerers using their magic. Such evil spirits were generally weak, but they also possessed the characteristic of devouring spirits. With proper nurturing, they might even grow into true evil spirits.

The "Nine Chrysanthemums School" and many other sorcerers have a habit of cultivating evil spirits. In order to cultivate powerful evil spirits, these evil sorcerers release evil spirits to wreak havoc, which is the reason for the "Super Calamity".

The above is the official statement, but according to the old witch's notes, she herself scoffed at this claim.

If those sorcerers were truly cultivating evil spirits, why would they place them in Tokyo to "prey" on them? In Tokyo, once an evil spirit appears, it would easily attract the attention of the "Super Disaster Countermeasures Office" and be annihilated by them.

It would be better to place it in a remote area, in a village that has little contact with the outside world. It would devour the entire population of the village, and the local government would only find out that a village was missing from its jurisdiction when the votes were tallied.

Therefore, the old witch was skeptical as to whether those evil spirits were released by sorcerers to cultivate, or whether they were merely a pretext to gather a force of spiritual cultivators that could be mobilized at will.

When Li Xin first saw the old witch's notes, he thought she was being too conspiratorial. But now, after hearing Chikaro say that Tsukamoto Kazuo could bribe and manipulate those spiritual practitioners under the guise of funding, Li Xin couldn't help but wonder if the old witch's speculation was true.

All I can say is that if you think the Japanese government couldn't possibly be that bad, well, then you definitely don't know enough about it.

Chapter 113 Blood and Violence