Want to play cards? I have a great deck!

Wherever you walk, you will leave traces.

No matter how the mastermind hides himself, there is no way there will be no trace. Sometimes, starting from some seemingly impossible places may really yield some unexpected gains.

"As expected of Xiaoxue, you have a lot of experience in investigations and can come up with new ideas for investigation so quickly."

Izayoi Yuki shook her head in disbelief.

"It's just a helpless move. If I can, I don't want to do it this way."

She is now being restricted by Ushio Tsuyoshi and cannot use the regular duel guard method, and doing so is also very inefficient.

[Doomsday Clock] has been dealing with the Public Security Bureau for so long without being defeated, which means that this enemy must be very familiar with the Public Security Bureau. Conventional methods are unlikely to be of much use.

In fact, as time went by, Izayoi Yuki's confidence in whether she could catch her opponent became lower and lower.

She just couldn't bear to do nothing and watch the enemy slip away.

"Then I'll help you too."

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

Izayoi Yuki looked over in surprise: "Izumi-san? What did you say?"

Facing the girl's gaze, You Xi spoke carefully this time: "I say, let me help you, Izayoi-san. You see, there are a lot of true and false news in urban legends, and it would be difficult for Izayoi-san to improve efficiency alone. If you are really in a hurry, having one more person to help should make it faster."

"no!"

Upon hearing this, Shizayoi rejected Youxi's proposal without a second thought.

"This is too dangerous. Izumi is just a civilian, not a duel guard. There is no need and should not be..."

"Xiaoxue is wrong to say that."

"dance?"

Feng Shui turns.

Shizayoi Izayoi had interrupted Youxi once not long ago, but the same thing happened to her soon after.

Xingye Wu and Izayoi Yuki looked at each other and said seriously: "We are indeed not duel guards, but we are your friends. How can we stand idly by when our friends are in trouble?"

"but……"

"Besides, we don't really need to go to the battlefield. We are just helping you find clues and eliminate the wrong parts. There shouldn't be any problem with something of this level."

Xingye Wu did not give Izayoi Yuki a chance to speak, and continued: "You don't have to worry about his strength. I don't need to say anything, you are also very clear about You Xijun's level. And he has gained a lot of powerful new powers recently, not just the level of "Black Witch" and "Snake Eyes". "

"A powerful new force?"

Izayoi Yuki was attracted by some information mentioned by the blonde girl, and looked at Yuki with her red eyes.

You Xi hummed and said, "It's like this, something happened when you were away..."

Shizayoi Yuki listened quietly, and the more she listened, the more surprised she looked.

It wasn't until You Xi uttered the last syllable that she digested this shocking information.

"God's Card? Izumi-san always brings surprises to people."

"Yeah, You Xijun is very interesting, in every sense of the word."

What exactly is the meaning of this?

You Xi had a lump in his throat that he couldn't spit out. He wanted to ask something more important than this: "By the way, does Miss Xingye want to come too?"

"Of course. You Xijun is doing it, so how can I fall behind? Don't forget, I am stronger than you." Xing Yewu's expression was as if she was saying that You Xi asked a stupid question. "Besides, searching for urban legends is such a fun thing, I don't want to be excluded by you guys."

"This is not fun."

Izayoi Shizayoi complained about the girl on behalf of Yuki, then she sighed helplessly and looked at the two people who had firm expressions and no intention of backing down.

She knew that she couldn't convince Youxi and Izayoi Yuki at her current level.

Just like there are some things she absolutely cannot compromise on, both You Xi and Xing Ye Wu also have things they cannot compromise on.

"Okay, Izumi-san, Mai, please help me. But I have to say this in advance. This is just for intelligence gathering. I won't let you participate in the battle."

"Okay! It's settled! Then--"

Xingye Wu stretched out a palm, urging Youxi and Izayoi Yuki to put their palms on hers, and then shouted with a smile: "From today on, the Qingcheng Urban Legend Investigation Team is established!"

"1, 2, 3, Let's Go!"

Volume 106: Chapter Devil's Alley

Just do what you say. With Xingye Wu's passionate slogan, the "Qingcheng Urban Legend Investigation Team", which has not yet been recognized by the school, officially started its first club activity.

"The direction of investigation on urban legends is relatively clear."

In the living room of Izayoi Yuki's home, the three of them each had a glass of juice, a few plates of snacks, and an open laptop in front of them.

This was the first time that You Xi came to Shizayume's home. The furnishings and decorations in the house were all in warm colors, which gave it a cozy feeling. However, because his father was in the hospital and his mother was away from home for a long time, the house seemed a little deserted.

As the host of the house, Yuki Izayoi entertained the two guests and said, "Rather than urban legends that harm humans and make people lost, we are looking for those that can drive people crazy, strengthen them, and gain special powers. This type meets our requirements."

"Oh, I understand, I understand."

Xing Yewu understood: "It's the old doctor's advertisement, right? The one that says it can increase this or that. That should be considered an urban legend, right?"

"Why did Miss Xingye think of that first?"

You Xi couldn't help but complain that this blonde girl who lived with him would come up with some unexpected dirty jokes from time to time.

"Uh... roughly the same idea."

Hearing Xingye Wu's words, even Izayoi Yuki's expression froze slightly. She stuttered before continuing, "Our first task is to search the Internet to summarize the number of urban legends in the local area in recent months, and to make a simple comparison with my and the Public Security Bureau's internal investigation data. I have the relevant database permissions, so you can log in with my ID to query."

Due to credibility issues, urban legends do not have a high priority in the Public Security Bureau, but some investigations are still done every once in a while.

If we can refer to the official internal information, we can undoubtedly screen out a large number of counterfeits and save a lot of unnecessary effort.

When some valuable clues are found, Izayoi Yuki and Ushio Tsuyoshi will report it and request official support.

What You Xi and the others immediately followed up on was naturally Shizayezue Shizayezue's progress over the past few days.

"After investigation, I have determined that these are forum websites with good credibility and popularity among urban legend enthusiasts. I will share the URLs with you now. Except for the one at the top, please choose one and start your investigation."

"Ok!"

"learn!"

When it came to business, You Xi and Xing Ye Wu stopped joking around and their expressions became serious.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room besides the typing of keyboards were simple conversations as people confirmed each other's progress.

It was not until several hours later, when the clock hands passed ten o'clock, that their work was officially completed and a preliminary result was achieved.

It has to be said that there is strength in numbers.

If Izayoi Yuki were to do it alone, it would probably take several times longer, and the efficiency would be terribly low.

Even so, there are still a lot of people who meet all the conditions in the end.

"17. Are there still so many?"

Looking at the data files compiled on the screen, which were full of urban legends that were difficult to distinguish between true and false, You Xi looked quite surprised.

He thought that with so many restrictions, the range could be narrowed down to less than ten.

"It's a big city after all, and there are a lot of people and a lot of trouble. There are always bored idiots who have nothing better to do."

As Shizayoi answered Youxi, Xingye Wu thought about it and said, "Hmm... there should be some baits put out by the underworld to lure in fat sheep, right? Or maybe it's an underground transaction or something like that?"

"Yes."

Shizayoi nodded and confirmed Xingye Wu's guess: "So if conditions permit, we can also take advantage of the situation to destroy some criminal dens or something. But for things like this, we still have to do it within our capabilities. If we really encounter it, calling the police directly is the best option."

Yuki sighed, "What Izayoi-san said does have a duel guard feel to it."

"I was originally a dueling guard."

Shizayoi sighed slightly, then clicked on the information with the mouse and marked a part of it in red.

"Don't worry about these urban legends in East District 1. I have checked them all in the past two days. They are not our target. Next, let's start from East District 2 to confirm the authenticity of these urban legends bit by bit."

The East District 1 is the residential area where Yuki Izayoi's family lives. It is normal for her to sweep here first and then advance to the surrounding areas with this as the center.

After hearing what Shizayezue said, Xingye Wu asked suspiciously, "Wait, Xiaoxue, you're not planning to stay up all night again? It's already past ten o'clock."

Normal students should have gone to bed by this time.

Besides, apart from having a meal, Izayoi Yuki hardly had any rest.

"I can't help it. Some urban legends only happen very late. I have to wait in advance."

There was no hint of wanting the day to end just like that in Izayoi Yuki's voice: "Mai and Izumi-san, I really appreciate your help. You two can just go to the guest room and rest. I'll be back when I'm done."

"That won't work."

Yuxi shook his head and rejected Shizayoi Izayoi's suggestion.

"If we're going to do it, we have to do it to the end. Izayoi-san has already taken action, and I don't want to wait here any longer. There are quite a few urban legends in the East Second District, and just like this time, it will be more efficient if we all work together. If everything goes well, we might be able to solve the urban legends of the East Third and East Fourth Districts at once."

"Yeah, You Xijun is right. You Xijun and I have the same idea."

Xing Yewu chuckled and agreed with You Xi, shaking her arms: "It just so happens that I am also tired of sitting, so I want to go out and stretch my muscles. I can also have a midnight snack on the way back."

"… whatever you want."

Izayoi Yuki regretted telling Yuki and Xingye Wu about this, but after the argument during the day, she knew that it was impossible for her to convince them, so she gave up the futile attempt.

"Well, in order to support each other in time, everyone must keep their phones on and in communication. Contact each other immediately at regular intervals and when any abnormality occurs. Is that ok?"

"no problem."

Izayoi Yuki's proposal was implied in the topic, and of course no one would object to it.

So after packing up, the three of them took their organized data files and followed the instructions on the map navigation, heading towards the places mentioned in various urban legends like a group of protagonists who like to commit suicide in horror stories.

Over the next few days, the Urban Legend Investigation Team tried their best to use their free time during the day to rest and recover their energy. At night, they discussed intelligence and investigation ideas related to urban legends and visited locations in person overnight.

Some urban legends were proven to be false by several people, some were caused by the duel elves, some were exaggerated, and some were indeed traps set by some criminals to lure naive people as Izayoi Yuki said.

At such times, they will take action to resolve the situation or call the police.

The records of urban legends recorded in the data were crossed out one by one, decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye. After a short while, more than half of the urban legends had been conquered by the trio.

Unfortunately, these have basically nothing to do with what they are looking for.

Only the last few are left waiting for their arrival.

"Today's target is [Devil's Alley]."

After getting off the train at the South Fourth District station, Izayoi Yuki and her teammates confirmed the intelligence one last time.

"It is said that in this area, if you walk through the alleys and streets at night, you may encounter a being called the Devil Merchant. By trading with the Devil Merchant, you can gain powerful power from him and be reborn."

As Izayoi Yuki briefly recounted the outline of this urban legend, Xingye Wu judged, "Hmm... this is a typical method of swindling people, and most of the related comments on the Internet are just groundless speculations, so it doesn't seem to be a big deal."

During this period of time, she has done so many investigations related to urban legends, and with the guidance of the trainee duel guard Yuki Izayoi, Xingye Wu has now accumulated some experience.

She could tell at a glance that this trip would probably be in vain.

Yuki did the same. He asked the white-haired girl, "Izayoi-san, how is the progress of Officer Ushio and the others? Have they found anything?"

"The progress is very poor." Izayoi Yuki shook her head. "Uncle Ushio and his team have checked all the outside population and found nothing wrong. They did catch a lot of other wanted criminals. There are no traceable clues left in the phones of Mr. Kno and his team. The confidentiality work is done very well."

You Xi understood and said, "So, we really can't count on that side."

"maybe."

Izayoi Yuki said, "Uncle Ushio has received news that the higher-ups will send an ace to support us. I think there will be a solution when the ace arrives. But by then it will be too late."

This was the second time the girl said this.

Her brows were furrowed, her lips were tightly pursed, and her voice was very soft, but anyone could hear the suppressed anxiety in it.

"Then, let's rely on our Urban Legend Investigation Team to turn the tide!"

Xingye Wu clapped her hands and said in a cheerful voice: "Although this [Devil's Alley] sounds unreliable, it might be the real deal this time. So... You Xijun, Xiaoxue, let us, the famous detectives, open our eyes and uncover the truth of this urban legend today☆!"

As if there were stars in her words, the blonde girl's declaration drew the two men's attention back.

"That's true. This urban legend involves a wide range of topics and might take a lot of time. Let's not chat about it here any more."

Izayoi Yuki took a deep breath, opened her eyes again, and opened her mouth towards her two teammates.

"Next, let's split up. I'll go to the left, Izumi-san will go to the south, and Mai will go to the right. The people in between should keep in touch at all times. After we complete a circle, if we find nothing unusual, we'll return to this station and gather again."