Chapter 12

"Eri-chan is in the conference room with everyone."

Hearing Dazai Osamu's question, Nakajima Atsushi quickly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and told the other party in a thick nasal voice.

"In addition to me taking care of you here, Dr. Yosano also participated in the meeting."

It can be said that the Armed Detective Agency currently has only some part-time and non-part-time clerks and Edogawa Ranpo who is far away and cannot come back. Everyone else gathered in the conference room, and sitting in the main seat was the president of the Armed Detective Agency, Fukuzawa Yukichi.

"How is Dazai's situation?"

Hearing that his team members were in crisis, as the president of the entire office, Fukuzawa Yukichi was naturally very concerned, not to mention Dazai.

Even if he was not overly attached to the members of the Armed Detective Agency in the past, who was Edogawa Ranpo? As early as when Dazai Osamu first joined the agency, he had already spoiled Fukuzawa Yukichi, so this The president has long known that the other party's predecessor was one of the mafia cadres of the Port Mafia. He was extremely cold-blooded, cruel as a wolf, and cunning as a fox. The crimes committed by this cadre can be said to be countless, but Since the other party decided to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, and worked in vain for the official organization for several years, it seemed that he had proved his determination. Therefore, after the other party passed the social examination, Fukuzawa Yukichi accepted him in a reasonable way. " As

Eri-chan said, after cutting off the most severely 'alienated' part, Dazai's condition has improved a lot. Mucus no longer leaks from his body, and no more scales have grown on his skin."

Yosano Akiko sat next to Miyako Eri and reported that she was the one who knew the changes in Dazai Osamu's body best. Before the meeting, she and Miyako Eri were working together to study whether there were other ways to alienate Dazai Osamu. Slower.

To completely solve the other party's alienation, we can only wait for Miyako Eri and the others to solve the so-called "source of pollution".

After hearing Yosano Akiko's report, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Dazai Osamu usually doesn't behave like a human being, he is still a member of the Armed Detective Agency. Everyone is a companion, and his usual complaints and fights are just based on the love of his companions. When Dazai Osamu really encounters any problems, they will not meet him. Dead without help.

What's more, this crisis is not just faced by Dazai Osamu alone.

According to Miyako Eri, the "pollution source" may move freely. After leaving the warehouse at the port terminal, how many places in the city has this thing been to, and how many things like the woman in red have been polluted? Also, besides those provided by Ogai Mori and Osamu Dazai, how many other people were also contaminated?

"How is the investigation?"

Yukichi Fukuzawa turned his attention to Kunikida Doppo. The blond young man immediately stood up and flipped through the notebook in his hand. At the same time, he also answered the phone of Junichiro Tanizaki who was investigating clues outside. "Tanizaki has already taken the Arriving at the video near the pier in the past week, Miyazawa was checking to see if there was anything unusual. Miyazawa asked his informants to inquire about the origin of the urban legend about the woman in red, and found several people involved. "

Although I don't know Miyazawa . How could Sawa Kenji with such a natural character have very reliable informant resources? However, he did obtain a lot of information by relying on his natural and cheerful character. He even had supernatural powers that surpassed the intelligence investigation speed of Port Mafia and was the first to find the information. The publisher of urban rumors.

"The woman in red...have you seen her too?"

The first person who spread this rumor was not the group of bulging muscular men in black suits at the port mafia, but a few delinquent teenagers walking on the street. Of course, from some kind of source To a certain extent, it can also be said to be the reserve force of the port mafia.

They have a superior-subordinate relationship with a certain port mafia member, and they usually run errands and do small chores for each other, such as debt collection and the like.

That day, I also found a debt collector from a certain old man who was addicted to gambling and had hard-to-change bad habits. Unfortunately, the other person had already exchanged all the valuable things on his body for gambling money, and his wife at home could not stand him for a long time. He had taken his children back to his hometown before, so he was left alone, living a life of eating and waiting to die.

"I... I have no money... nothing..."

The gambler who was beaten with a bruised nose and face sat down on the ground, hunched over and begging for mercy, "Give me a little more time... Give me a little more time, I'll do it right away I can make my money back!"

"Just give me two more days!"

The bad youths run a lot of errands, and they grew up in the city of Yokohama, so they naturally know what this guy calls "two days." It's just an impossible dream. In essence, it's just for the chance to gamble again, even if it means sacrificing everything.

This kind of account is generally a bad debt for the port mafia, so it arranges this kind of unscrupulous young man to collect the account. It doesn't matter even if he doesn't receive a penny, then it depends on whether there is any other money to be made from this person. If you look good, you may arrange to serve some people with special quirks after some training, or you may send them out to sea for fishing. If there are really no skills that can be used, then see if the other person has any suitable resources. Used to sell.

After all, the port maifa is not a serious businessman. Sometimes it still needs some cannon fodder that can give its life. It is perfect to use this kind of gambler who is in debt and has nothing.

"If you don't look good enough and your body isn't strong enough, then you have to see if there are any healthy organs on your body that can be sold?" There are also many "artists" who are obsessed with the human body in the black market who have great concerns about this. Demand, these people don't care about face, as long as they are alive.

"Giggle...giggle..."

Before the leader of the blonde delinquents could finish speaking, a gust of cold wind suddenly blew from behind them, and then a female voice trembled,

"Excuse me...please ask..."

"Have you seen it ? "Is it?"

Although his voice was good, he was suddenly interrupted when he was doing serious business, and he was impatient no matter how beautiful the woman was.

The bad young man turned his head. He wanted to scare the other person not to mind his own business, but he didn't expect to be frightened by the other person first.

It was a woman wearing this bright red skirt. Her whole face was blocked by her long black hair. She looked like she had just climbed out of the water. Her whole body was wet, and there were water droplets running down her hair. Drops dripped down the cheeks.

The delinquent young man had very good eyesight, and he even saw that the other party's hair was entangled with the kind of water plants that only grow at the bottom of the river. He looked like a female ghost in a ghost story.

He was frightened now, and he swallowed with a dry throat, unable to make any sound.

However, the gambler, whose nose was bruised and his face was swollen and couldn't see the woman's appearance, groaned, and was immediately noticed by the woman in red.

"She" turned her head and looked at the gambler on the ground through the gap in her hair. "Did you see it?"

she said softly, approaching him step by step.

"You saw it, my...my...liver!"

"You thief! Stole my liver——"

Although the gambler just moaned and did not respond to the red-haired woman's question, the other party But he pointed at the gambler and screamed as if he had discovered something. The long black hair that was originally scattered around his body twisted and moved towards the gambler as if he had a consciousness. His posture reminded the delinquent young man of a snake.

There were more and more black hair, and soon the gambler was entangled into a pure black cocoon. The gambler who originally made some noise was wrapped in the cocoon and could not hear any sound at all.

"No...no...not mine..."

The blonde delinquent was actually sitting on the ground with his legs weak at this moment. To be honest, if he hadn't started the rich and enjoyable nightlife, he would have peed right now.

The woman in red quickly took back her hair, revealing the gambler's purple face, and then walked step by step deeper into the alley with a disappointed tone, until she could no longer be seen.

The blond delinquent and his friends finally managed to save their lives. They rolled up from the ground and ran for their lives in the opposite direction. The gambler's body was simply thrown into the alley.

Soon after, urban legends about the woman in red quietly emerged in the city.

"Only target one target at a time. The key is 'sound'..."

After hearing Miyazawa Kenji's report, Miyako Eri frowned and struggled to recall whether she had any impression of this type of pollution.

After a long time, he shook his head in pain, "No, I can't remember."

"It doesn't matter if you can't remember. We already know the origin and triggering method, so we should be able to discover the preference rules of this 'pollutant', right? ?"

Gojo Satoru made a vague stroke on the spread out paper map and circled most of the area close to the dock.

"Now that we have the target range, let's take a guess, what does the new spokesperson 'it' choose look like?"

"The spokesperson who drowned but did not die, and even successfully delayed the 'alienation' with our help, is not here Where?" Miyako Eri knew exactly what Gojo Satoru meant and followed Gojo Satoru's thoughts.

Although no one else here could react to this leaping conclusion, Miyako Eri and Gojo Satoru looked at each other and gave a positive attitude to each other's guess.

"Wait... your guess is too much. Why did Dazai become a target all of a sudden?"

Kunikida Doppo, who heard the conversation between Miyako Eri and Gojo Satoru, asked on behalf of others.

Was he distracted for a moment in the meeting just now, and suddenly he couldn't understand?

"It's very simple." Dazai Osamu himself was able to understand the conversation between the two people faster than others who didn't react, "because 'I' became like this."

He held up the half-cut piece to completely help The bandaged hand didn't feel any pain due to the anesthesia. He didn't react much yet. He just sighed lightly, without his usual malicious show of grievance. His tone was calm, "Because 'I' am the source of pollution." "Alien in the eyes."

Since Miyako Eri judged that the other party was a living creature, although it is not known whether her judgment was based on intuition, she must have her own reasons for saying so.

If you treat the "pollution source" as a living thing, then the other party must also have emotions of his own.

Dazai Osamu was exposed to the pollutants of "it" development and became alienated. The result is that he either ended his life before completing the alienation, or he couldn't find a solution and was alienated and became its new spokesperson.

But at this moment, the alienation in Dazai Osamu has been restrained, and even has a reverse trend. How can this make "it" not curious, not surprised, and not angry?

After all, my new favorite spokesperson was snatched away by some little goblin.

Can "it" endure this?