Beep! Beep!!
In Miyukicho 4-chome, pedestrians hurried past.
At the street corner, several housewives with children whispered as they stared at the crosswalk.
"Was there an accident?"
"It seems the one lying on the ground suddenly ran a red light and got hit by the car."
"How unfortunate for the driver. Why did that girl have to run the light?"
"Ah, the patrol officers are here. Looks like there'll be some excitement."
In the driver's seat, Luo Shu quietly opened the compartment by the armrest, retrieving his credentials while popping a sweet into his mouth.
The sweet had been forcibly stuffed there by Kisara before they left, claiming it would help Luo Shu stay alert while driving.
Whether it actually helped with alertness was debatable, but it certainly helped calm his nerves.
"This woman... looking for trouble?"
Luo Shu's lips twitched as he observed the green-haired woman playing dead on the ground.
Just then, a knock sounded at the window.
The street patrol had arrived.
Luo Shu turned to see a female officer holding up her police notebook outside. With a sigh, he rolled down the window.
"Good day. Please show me your driver's licence."
Luo Shu glanced at the notebook, noting the familiar name Yumi Miyamoto and her rank of Police Sergeant. He studied her briefly.
'Ah, this is Beika Town...'
Realising this, Luo Shu understood he'd encountered a familiar character.
However, he remained composed as he pressed the window control. While lowering it, he handed over both his driver's licence and police notebook.
The officer blinked in surprise, accepted both documents, verified their authenticity, and then immediately saluted.
"My apologies, Director Luo."
Luo Shu's new police notebook listed his rank as Director - a position typically held by department heads with considerable field authority.
In his cover identity, Luo Shu currently serves as Director of the Metropolitan Police Department's Special Data Management Office, Sixth Section, a standard mid-level SDS position within the police hierarchy.
Meanwhile, Yumi Miyamoto thought to herself as she returned the documents: 'This is troublesome.'
Having been patrolling nearby, she knew full well the accident was entirely the downed woman's fault. Yet Director Luo's senior rank complicated matters.
When high-ranking officials were involved in traffic incidents, who knew if they'd take their frustrations out on subordinates?
In Japan, superiors berating juniors was practically routine.
'Great, I'll probably get an earful now.'
As Yumi tensed, Luo Shu inside the car tugged at his collar.
Yumi froze, then instinctively leaned closer towards Luo Shu's face.
'Wait... why is this young director adjusting his collar? Does he want me to come closer? Is he... asking for my number?'
Her heart pounded wildly until Luo Shu's magnetic voice broke the silence:
"The woman on the ground strongly resembles a fugitive our investigation unit has been tracking. Have your partner help me get her into the car."
Yumi's eyes widened as she jerked back to stare at Luo Shu.
Nodding, Luo Shu pushed open the door and stepped out.
Swallowing her earlier thoughts and silently scolding herself, Yumi followed Luo Shu to where her partner stood.
"Are you alright?" Naeko Miike, Yumi's patrol partner, nudged the fallen woman before reaching for her radio:
"Calling headquarters, calling headquarters. A traffic accident has occurred at the intersection of Mihamacho 4-chome. One female victim is down at the scene. Please arrange for an ambulance."
As Naeko Miike spoke, Yumi Miyamoto stepped forward beside her and continued:
"There's no time to wait for an ambulance. Let's put her in this gentleman's car and take her directly to the hospital."
"Yumi?" Naeko blinked in surprise. Just as she was about to say that non-medical personnel shouldn't move injured patients casually, she noticed her partner winking at her repeatedly.
Naeko immediately understood and said:
"If this gentleman is willing to help, that would naturally be for the best."
"Yumi, give me a hand."
As she spoke, Naeko lifted one of the victim's arms while Yumi came forward to assist. Together, they carried the person into Luo Shu's car and placed her on the back seat.
During this process, Yumi discreetly handcuffed the woman's hands.
Seeing this, Luo Shu immediately got into the car and nodded at the two officers:
"Thank you for your hard work."
As the two policewomen saluted, Luo Shu started the car again.
Only this time, he had a passenger with strikingly messy green hair lying on his back seat.
Takatsuki Izumi.
Or rather, Eto Yoshimura, the bestselling author who wrote under the pen name Takatsuki Izumi.
Her father was the SSS-rated Ghoul Yoshimura, and her mother was a regular human journalist. Born as a half-Ghoul, she grew into an SSS-rated Ghoul with terrifying talent and was revered by Ghouls as the One-Eyed King.
Although Luo Shu had heard from Meer that Takatsuki Izumi had purchased information about him, he never expected her to pull this stunt—directly delivering the first car accident of his life in this world.
This move was truly something else.
Luo Shu took a slight breath before speaking quietly:
"If you keep pretending to sleep, we'll soon arrive at Yoshimura's café."
The moment he finished speaking.
The supposedly unconscious Takatsuki Izumi suddenly opened her eyes.
A single crimson Ghoul eye, brimming with madness, fixed on Luo Shu's back.
...
"Will this really work?"
Mihamacho 4-chome.
The eighth floor of a hotel.
Tatara, the white-haired high-ranking officer of Aogiri Tree and an SS-rated Ghoul, lowered his binoculars and turned to his white-masked companion Noro:
"Making contact with that so-called 'great figure who can decide whether Ghouls continue to exist' in this manner..."
"Are you sure Eto's plan is sound?"
"...Trust...her," Noro spoke sluggishly before falling silent again.
Seeing this, Tatara scratched his head and sighed:
"No choice, I suppose."
"Recently, Aogiri Tree members have been relying on shady dealings, theft, even wages from construction site jobs—plus the advance royalties Eto practically extorted from her publisher—all just to buy that information."
"Tch. Never thought crossing worlds would make organisational funding our biggest headache."
With that, Tatara leaned against the window, watching the distant car, and murmured:
"Now we can only see if Eto can extract more intel."
"This world...is truly a bit dangerous."