And so, having received his orders, Sawamura picked a time to head to the café he had visited previously, the Amazon café.
He walked inside.
"Hello, is this Miss Osada? We need you to come with us to answer some questions."
Sawamura pulled out his police ID and addressed Yuka as she was cleaning the bar counter.
Yuka immediately looked utterly lost and flustered, never expecting the police to show up at the café.
But just as she began to panic, a voice called out from the wooden staircase nearby.
"If you have business, talk to me, Officer."
Raven was coming down from the second floor. He recognized the man instantly as the one who had been investigating Yuka.
In the original story, it was this same man who revealed Yuka's location to Masahiko Minami of the Orphnoch research lab, which led to Yuka being captured, tortured, and eventually killed.
This time, with him here, he would never allow Yuka to suffer such hardships again.
"Sir, who are you to her?" Sawamura asked when he saw Raven appear.
"I am her family," Raven said flatly.
An invisible aura of pressure bore down on Sawamura.
Hearing Raven call her 'family,' Yuka's heart instantly warmed.
"Hello, sir, it's just that… Miss Osada is the sole survivor of a major case, and we need to question her for more information." Sawamura's body involuntarily tensed, but he continued speaking.
"Tell me, where is the person who sent you to find Yuka?" Raven knew exactly who was behind this.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Please… cooperate with us," Sawamura said, looking nervously at Raven.
This was the first time he had ever felt such a crushing, dominant aura from someone.
"Have the person behind you come and speak to me personally," Raven said, narrowing his eyes before giving his final word.
Sawamura could only nod dumbly, then left the café, retreating glumly.
Not long after he left, he called Masahiko Minami.
"I think we ran into a little problem."
Meanwhile, inside the café.
Yuka threw herself into Raven's embrace, her eyes red-rimmed and close to tears.
"Mr. Raven, I was so scared just now. What if I never saw you again…" she said, still shaken.
"Don't worry. Even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. They're just a few police officers. I won't let anyone hurt you," Raven said, tightly embracing Yuka and comforting her.
At the same time, he was calculating in his mind that it was time to resolve this problem once and for all.
He knew well that the root of the problem lay with Masahiko Minami. Everything else would be easy to handle.
So, Raven called Murakami. He told him about Masahiko Minami.
"My King, our company does indeed secretly fund the National Police Agency's research on Orphnochs, and that man is the one in charge," Murakami quickly replied.
"Send people to destroy that lab. Everyone in it, don't let a single one get away," Raven said coldly. "Furthermore, I want Masahiko Minami alive. Lock him up and wait for me to arrive personally."
"Understood, my King," Murakami replied immediately.
Smart Brain had previously funded the police's Orphnoch lab because they wanted to understand the secrets of the Orphnochs and utilize the police's resources. It was also a way to secure the police's help in dealing with thorny issues.
But now that the Orphnochs' defects had been resolved, they no longer needed these 'tools' from the National Police Agency.
Thus, Murakami arranged for Takuma and Saeko to personally lead a few Orphnoch subordinates to an underground research facility in the suburbs.
At the research facility.
Masahiko Minami walked in.
Researchers in white lab coats were gathered around an operating table.
They were administering special electroshock treatment to an Orphnoch lying on it.
"Ahhh…!!!"
An Orphnoch, restrained at the limbs, lay on the table, howling in pain as it was shocked. Its body kept switching back and forth between human and Orphnoch forms.
A nearby researcher said, "He's about to reach the limit of what an Orphnoch can withstand."
"Continue! Keep increasing the current!"
Masahiko Minami's eyes were devoid of any mercy, as if he were observing lab rats.
"If we continue, he'll die," another researcher said worriedly.
This was not the first experimental Orphnoch that had died, and if another one perished, research would be difficult to continue.
"It doesn't matter. They're no different from garbage anyway," Minami said dismissively, looking down at the Orphnoch.
Soon after, as the current continued to surge into the Orphnoch's body, the creature finally went still.
"He appears to be dead," the surrounding researchers confirmed after checking its vital signs.
"The grade of these Orphnochs is still too low. We must acquire those higher-grade Original Orphnochs," Minami lamented.
In his heart, he was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the (tricked) Yuka Osada. With her as a high-grade Orphnoch test subject, the research might make a breakthrough.
However, unexpectedly, he received the phone call from Sawamura.
"What did you say?! So you just got scared off? Idiot! I'll file for your dismissal with the higher-ups!" Minami was furious, exasperated that Sawamura was so incompetent.
He immediately spat out his anger.
"Fine, I'll take people and go find her myself," Minami said, adjusting his mood.
"I'm afraid you won't have the chance."
A soft, eerie voice drifted in.
Minami was startled and quickly turned around.
Several figures had appeared at the lab entrance without him realizing it. The guards had been silently dealt with.
Leading the group were Saeko and Takuma.
"Who are you people!" Minami immediately pulled a handgun from his person and pointed it at Saeko.
"Haven't you been looking for us?" Saeko said mockingly.
"Miss Saeko, let's not waste time with them." Takuma adjusted his glasses, a slight smile playing on his lips.
It had been a long time since he'd had a chance to let loose like this.
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