It was past four o'clock in the afternoon, four hours since lunch, and dark clouds were gradually gathering on the horizon.
Yuu Hoshimiya sat on the veranda holding Yui Uehara in his arms. With their feet resting on the courtyard ground, he leisurely combed through strands of Yui's hair.
"Now do you know what you mean to me?"
With eyes half-closed and looking delightfully dazed, Yui gave a slight shudder and immediately replied, "Papa!"
Black lines formed on Yuu's forehead. His large hand delivered a firm smack.
Smack!
A crisp slapping sound echoed!
"Wrong. You should call me Husband. You can only call me Papa in very specific situations!"
The beautiful matron's face instantly turned crimson. She rested her small head on Yuu's shoulder and murmured softly.
"Husband!"
The beautiful wife was incredibly submissive at this moment. That "Husband," uttered with the tender lilt of a traditional maiden, was enough to make anyone feel a surge of pure comfort and satisfaction.
A smile touched Yuu's lips, and he replied softly, "Hmm!"
"Wait, no. Calling me Husband always makes me think of your dead husband, and that's bad luck. You'd better go back to calling me Papa!"
Hearing this, Yui Uehara rolled her pretty eyes, opened her mouth, and sank her pearly white teeth into Yuu's shoulder.
"Ouch, ouch! I was just teasing you, and you bite me like a little puppy."
Receiving this evaluation, Yui scrunched up her delicate nose and bit down even harder—though unfortunately, it still didn't break his skin.
Yuu didn't mind at all, treating it as nothing more than playful banter.
"Will you ever dare say you want to forget about today again?"
At this, Yui finally released her bite and snorted lightly, "Hmph. If you ever dare forget about today, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you."
Heh! What a fickle woman!
Earlier, she was the one saying they should act like strangers going forward. Now, she was threatening to kill him if he dared to forget. A woman's heart is truly unpredictable.
However, Yuu was very satisfied with this answer. His large hand wrapped around her back pulled her in tighter, fully embracing her soft warmth!
Sensing Yuu's attitude, a faint smile appeared on Yui's lips.
"Have you fully comprehended the 'Furinkazan' strategy I just taught you?"
Hearing the word "strategy" again, Yui's body shuddered, and her face turned pale.
"Uh..."
"Heh, useless. I just wanted to ask: out of the entire strategy, which line is your favorite?"
It's always necessary to collect post-reading feedback!
The wife's heart finally relaxed a little, though her face flushed inexplicably.
"It should be... 'As gentle as the Forest'!"
Yui wanted to maintain a good image in front of Yuu, which is why she chose 'As gentle as the Forest.'
"Liar. Your heart rate has increased by thirty percent, and your breathing is heavier. It definitely isn't that one!"
The beautiful wife guiltily turned her small head away and remained silent.
"I think Yui's favorite must be the line that follows the 'Cold as Ice' technique: 'As fierce as the Fire'! The contrast of ice and fire... quite a wonderful sensation, isn't it?"
The expression on the woman in his arms froze—a look of someone whose deepest thoughts had been completely exposed.
This adorably silly reaction caused Yuu to turn his head and capture her lips in another kiss.
Hehe, teasing this 'virgin wife' brings a truly indescribable sense of comfort!
Holding Yui Uehara, Yuu teased her for another half an hour.
Throughout the entire process, her face remained flushed. She looked both overwhelmed by his teasing and eager to hear more—truly a delightful sight.
Her arms were wrapped around Yuu's neck, and she remained seated on his lap with no intention of getting up.
Thanks to Yuu's efforts, Yui Uehara had completely forgotten about the case she had been pursuing so desperately.
However, this romantic interlude was interrupted by the increasingly dark sky!
"It looks like there's been a change in circumstances. The final murder is going to happen early."
Yui finally snapped back to reality and couldn't help but ask, "Why do you say that? Didn't you say it would be tonight?"
"Because of the weather. It looks like it's going to rain. If the killer intends to murder Akira Tatsuo tonight according to the phrase 'As fierce as the Fire,' they will definitely use a fire attack."
"But if it rains, a fire attack is highly likely to fail."
"Now that the sky is darkening, the killer will probably move up their schedule. They're likely on their way as we speak."
The beautiful wife's face instantly filled with anxiety. She hurriedly stood up. "Yuu-kun, what should we do?"
"Relax. I told you, this 'drawing the snake out of its hole' plan was devised by Hyoye Kuroda. He's already made all the arrangements. Kansuke Yamato, Heiji, and the others are at the Tatsuo family shrine. There won't be any problems."
"I just didn't expect this plan to draw out not only a poisonous snake but also an old fox!"
"An old fox?"
Yui thought for a moment, and her eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"It can't be helped. Every effect has a cause. Senior Kai's death seemed accidental, but it was actually inevitable."
"Alright, go change into some casual clothes. I'm going to take you down a hole to catch a fox."
Yuu patted her perky buttocks and cast a healing spell simultaneously.
Yui, lost in thought, didn't even notice she had been restored to full health. She turned and headed into the back room to change.
Meanwhile, inside the Tatsuo family shrine, Akira Tatsuo—dressed in traditional samurai garb—held a longbow, practicing his archery in front of Takeda Shingen's crimson armor.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The feathered arrows struck the bullseye with perfect precision.
"Yoshiro... Koji... Ayaka... Shigeji... I will definitely avenge you."
With each name he muttered, another arrow struck the center of the target. Akira Tatsuo was fully prepared.
Just then, a clap of thunder resounded, and the sliding door to the shrine was pushed open.
The lightning illuminated the face of the person outside in stark, terrifying contrast.
Standing outside was a person with a drooping face, eyebrows raised high like a hanged ghost, wearing a green suit. It was none other than the wife of the Takeda patriarch—Kano Takeda!
"It's you! You're the one who texted me?"
Akira raised his bow immediately, but before he could nock an arrow, his expression changed drastically.
The old woman pulled a hunting rifle from behind her back and aimed it at him. Cold weapons against firearms—he stood no chance!
"Tsk, heh heh heh. Honestly, I really didn't have the heart to kill you. What a pity. But who told you to monopolize the role of the Yabusame archer for six years, winning easily every time? You cost me an untold amount of money!"
The role of the Yabusame archer?
Right... I've heard rumors that people gamble on how many arrows the archer will hit during the festival. People from neighboring villages have even approached me, asking me to miss on purpose to rig the bets, but I always refused!
With this realization, Akira instantly understood where the old woman's murderous intent came from.
"But what does this have to do with Ayaka and the others? If you didn't want me to be the archer, you could have just targeted me. Why did you have to kill them?"
"Who told them to be so stupid? They actually wanted to expose what happened to Kai Nagato six years ago. Couldn't they just let it be ruled as an accidental fall?"
"Yoshiro and Koji were planning to go to the police. I had no choice but to send them to hell first!"
"Heh heh. I didn't expect God to be on my side. Yoshiro was swept up by a tornado and died, so I only had to kill Koji myself!"
"But I was planning to stop there! Why did you all have to make it so obvious, forcing me to keep killing?!"
Hearing this, Akira looked utterly astounded.
"Silencing witnesses... You're the one responsible for what happened to Officer Kai six years ago?"
Kano Takeda laughed maniacally.
"That's right! That rigid fool—he didn't know how to make money, and he kept hoarding the archer role. He hit every target every time, making us lose a fortune. What was the point of keeping someone like that alive?"
She patted her hunting rifle. "Six years ago, I used this very gun to spook Kai Nagato's horse, causing him to fall off the cliff."
"Those four pathetic idiots popped out of nowhere and actually thought their trap had worked! They became my perfect scapegoats!"
"If they had just quietly carried the blame, everything would have been fine. But no, they insisted on going to the police. They brought their deaths upon themselves; they can't blame me."
A cold sneer touched Kano Takeda's lips.
"Alright, I've told you this much so you can die knowing the truth. That's more than fair. The script I wrote for you is that you committed seppuku (ritual suicide) out of overwhelming guilt for causing so many deaths."
"How about it? Why don't you be a good boy and use Shingen's treasured sword behind you to kill yourself? I'll at least give you a dignified end. How's that?"
Kano Takeda burst into arrogant laughter, looking like a madwoman convinced of her victory.
"Old hag, you're getting way ahead of yourself!"
Just then, the left sliding door slid open, revealing Heiji Hattori striking a pose in the adjacent room.
"Everyone already knows you killed Madam Ayaka. The reason you approached the scene on horseback from behind the trees was to cover up the hoof prints you left earlier."
"As swift as the Wind! I snuck in here four hours ago and have been waiting for you for a long time!"
The sliding door on the other side opened as well, revealing little Conan with a highly punchable smirk on his face. He launched into a rare moment of grandstanding.
"You tricked Madam Ayaka onto your horse, draped a black towel over her head, and while pretending to search, took her deep into the woods to hang her. Did you really think such a cheap trick could fool anyone?"
"As gentle as the Forest! I've been hiding in this room, not daring to breathe, waiting for you for a long time as well."
The old woman, Kano Takeda, stared in disbelief. "You brats... how?!"
Then, a deep, powerful male voice echoed from behind Shingen's armor on the offering table.
"As unshakable as the Mountain! Even after uncovering the truth, one must not act rashly. One must wait quietly, watching for the opponent to reveal a fatal flaw!"
Kansuke Yamato pulled off the armor's mask, revealing his lone eye and a mocking sneer.
Seeing the police appear, Kano Takeda was instantly drenched in cold sweat, her face a picture of sheer disbelief.
Akira Tatsuo felt as if he had been pulled from the brink of death, his face washing with relief.
Meanwhile, riding toward the woods outside the village with Yui and Ran, Yuu Hoshimiya gave a violent shudder.
He hadn't expected Heiji, Conan, and Kansuke to actually recite those chuunibyou lines out loud. One line per person, as if they had choreographed it beforehand—it was just too much grandstanding.
There was no need to keep an eye on the rest of the development. With Conan, Heiji, and Kansuke inside, and Hyoye Kuroda and Takaaki Morofushi's police forces lying in ambush outside, there was no way Kano Takeda could escape.
Even if she had colluded with people from the neighboring village, they were no match for that lineup.
Yuu stopped paying attention and cut the connection with Noah.
The three of them rode their horses into the woods, turned at the three-way intersection, and followed a muddy path deeper into the forest.
Before long, they arrived at an open valley.
This valley had clearly been excavated by heavy machinery in the past and then abandoned. The ground was covered in gravel, and it looked entirely unremarkable.
There was a wooden cabin in the valley—the very same "treasure-hunting base" belonging to Shigeji Takeda that the Takeda patriarch had wanted to take them to earlier but never reached.
This was the base of operations for the treasure-hunting team. The five members usually gathered here to study the map.
Yui obviously recognized the place; it wasn't exactly a well-kept secret.
She looked at Yuu with confusion.
Ran asked directly, "Brother Yuu, this place has been dug up entirely. Could the '100,000 Gold Coins' really be here? Did you guess wrong?"
"The Art of War states: 'Make the real seem fake, and the fake seem real.' In truth, the treasure's location was discovered long ago. However, someone wanted to keep it all to themselves, so they covered it up."
Hearing the words "Art of War," Yui Uehara instinctively shuddered, her thighs trembling slightly and her slender calves actually cramping up!
Yuu glanced at Yui and couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. I better not leave this newly-minted young matron with some kind of trauma.
He immediately dismounted. The two women followed suit and entered the cabin together.
Pushing the sliding door open, it appeared to be nothing more than a simple tool shed. Various tools were piled left and right: shovels, drills, jacks, an automated excavator—everything you could think of.
Ran and Yui looked at Yuu with even more confusion.
Yuu didn't explain. He walked over to a workbench, picked up a pair of pliers, and yanked out a prominent nail from the wall.
RUMBLE!
A hidden mechanism engaged beneath them. The wooden floorboards slid back, revealing a secret passageway before the three of them.
"Sugoi!"
Yui Uehara gasped in amazement.
She had been here several times and had never noticed a passageway underneath.
"There should be someone inside. Be careful."
Saying this, he took the lead and stepped into the passageway.
Ran was already excited. She reached into her cleavage, pulled out a small flashlight, and lit the way for Yuu.
The beautiful wife followed closely behind the two of them.
Once all three were inside, the wooden boards above closed automatically, cutting off their retreat.
The passageway was incredibly narrow; Yuu had to stoop to move forward.
After walking for about three to four hundred meters, they saw a faint light in the distance—the exit.
Suddenly, the light was blocked as a figure stepped into the opening, projecting an aura of "one man holding a pass against ten thousand."
Yuu's sharp eyes instantly recognized what the figure was holding—a submachine gun.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The person blocking the exit didn't utter a word. The moment they saw them, they opened fire into the tunnel.
The two women behind Yuu paled in terror. Yuu let out a muffled grunt as several bullets struck his body.
Mmm, no damage.
He quickly pulled the two women behind him. A magical shield expanded instantly, completely enveloping the three of them.
The submachine gun bullets were all deflected.
Because they were in a pitch-black tunnel, the shield was completely invisible, and the attacker didn't notice a thing.
Both Ran and Yui knew Yuu could use magic.
This was why Yuu had revealed the existence of supernatural powers to Yui, even though he couldn't contract her yet.
Rather than trying to explain things awkwardly later, it was better to be upfront when the timing was perfect.
During those moments of heavenly pleasure earlier, Yui Uehara simply didn't have the energy or the state of mind to investigate the details.
With the shield active, Yuu crouched down and picked up a rock the size of a fist.
He weighed it in his hand, then hurled it toward the sound and the muzzle flashes.
With a whistling sound, the rock hit its mark with terrifying precision.
The gunfire ceased, and a man's scream echoed from the exit.
Yuu reached back and grabbed the two women to ensure they were unharmed.
He deactivated the shield and said, "Pick up the pace. Let's get out of the tunnel first. Stay close to me."
With that, he sprinted toward the exit, the two women following closely behind.
In less than ten seconds, the three of them burst out of the tunnel.
The area beyond the tunnel was much wider. Yellow mining lamps hung on the walls—it was a man-made cavern.
A trail of blood on the ground led deeper into the cave.
Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Yui grabbed Yuu and asked in a panic, "Yuu-kun, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. A submachine gun can't break through my magical shield."
Hearing this, Ran also breathed a sigh of relief.
After calming the women, Yuu said, "The enemy is injured. Let's go after him!"
"Don't worry, he won't be moving very fast. Even though I held back, that rock definitely fractured some bones."
The three followed the blood trail deeper into the cavern.
After chasing for several hundred meters and passing through several natural grottos—all of which were empty—they reached the end.
It was a stalactite cavern, and set into the wall was a bizarrely shaped, massive gate.
Upon arriving, Yuu heard obvious, ragged breathing. The guy was hiding in ambush behind a stone pillar.
Yuu chuckled and called out to the empty cavern, "Things have come this far, and you still don't dare come out to talk? Patriarch Takeda?"
Ran exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Yuu, the one ambushing us is that fat, bald guy? That doesn't seem right; he was so heartbroken at noon!"
"That just proves the old bastard is a great actor who fooled you all."
"A man who would use the wife he lives with every day to distract the police... how could he possibly be sad about his son's death?"
"Remember, six years ago, it was this old fox who personally climbed down the cliff and buried the unconscious Kai Nagato—who was pinned under his horse—with fallen leaves."
"Otherwise, how could a single night's worth of leaves completely bury a horse and a man?"
Yui's eyes were full of confusion. "But... why?"
"You're already at the bottom of the cavern, and you're still asking why? You really are too silly, Yui. For the treasure, of course!"
"Shigeji Takeda was the youngest and most naive member of the treasure-hunting team. Why was he ostensibly the leader? Why was the cabin even registered under his name?"
"Naturally, there was a calculating mastermind behind the scenes calling the shots—his father, the Takeda patriarch."
"I felt something was wrong from the very beginning. The '100,000 Gold' treasure is real, yet the Takeda patriarch dismissed it as nonsense, constantly berating his son as a failure and distancing himself from the hunt."
"He was trying to divert my attention away from the treasure. How detestable. What a pointless endeavor!"
Cough! Cough!
A hoarse cough echoed from behind a stalactite pillar, and a fat figure stepped into view.
He clutched his chest as he emerged from the darkness. The orange glow of the mining lamp illuminated a bruised and swollen, fat face. It was indeed Nobushige Takeda!
Yui Uehara stared in sheer disbelief; she had never once suspected her nominal father-in-law.
Yuu continued, "An innocent man is considered guilty if he harbors a treasure. Kai Nagato possessed clues to Shingen's treasure, which drew the greedy eyes of so many."
"The treasure-hunting team set a trap that injured him. Kano Takeda fired a gun to spook his horse, causing him to fall. Then, the Takeda patriarch buried his last chance of survival under fallen leaves. His failure to survive was the cruel fate assigned to him."
Every single member of the Takeda family was rotten to the core. Yui Uehara had sacrificed a lifetime of happiness to go undercover for six years, yet she had discovered absolutely nothing...
Truly living up to the standards of the Japanese police.
Fortunately, she had married a homosexual man who only used her for cover, so she only wasted six years of her life and didn't throw away her chastity and body for nothing.
The bald old man looked incredibly weak. "Cough, cough! As expected of Consultant Hoshimiya. Your eyes are far too sharp. Trying to act in front of you was like trying to teach a fish to swim."
"I found the exact location of Shingen's treasure two years ago. I worked hard with Shigeji to dig these tunnels, but unfortunately, we were blocked by this gate."
"I originally planned to wait until we actually saw the treasure before silencing them one by one. I didn't expect my gambling-addicted wife to strike first. She really did me a huge favor."
"Cough, cough... Consultant Hoshimiya, please don't turn me in. Technically, I haven't done anything yet."
"We can cooperate. We'll extract Shingen's treasure—half for you, half for me. How does that sound?"
The Takeda patriarch's face flushed with what appeared to be excitement.
However, from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but glance behind the three of them.
About ten meters behind them, a sand-covered wooden board slowly pushed open. An armed man stood up from the pit, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Yuu let out a light laugh. "You already know my eyes are sharp, yet you still dare to act in front of me? You're courting death!"
Without even turning his head, Yuu manipulated earth-element magic, condensing a massive stone spike and firing it backward.
In a mine like this, earth-element magic is definitely the best choice.
When explaining it later, he could just say he picked up a rock from the ground.
Fireballs, wind blades, ice lances, or lightning would be far too troublesome to explain.
A scream of agony echoed instantly!
It had to be said, magic is incredibly useful.
Fast and convenient.
The cavern was dim, and the Takeda father and son were too far apart to see clearly what had happened.
Yui turned around and saw Shigeji Takeda, who had been ambushing them from the pit, fall to the ground. His submachine gun clattered against the floor.
"What's going on? Shigeji? Wasn't he dead?"
Yuu shook his head. "How could he be? He's the Takeda patriarch's biological son. Since the patriarch knew his wife's plan, he naturally warned his son."
"The charred corpse on the train tracks is probably some gambler from the neighboring village they set up as a scapegoat."
"Shigeji faked his death to escape. If Kano Takeda's plan to murder Akira Tatsuo succeeded and she killed the rest of the treasure hunters, she would have effectively silenced all witnesses for the father and son."
"Then, Shigeji, hiding in the shadows, would turn around and silence his own mother. Since he 'died' and vanished during the case, it would become a true unsolved mystery."
"The father and son truly worked together with one heart, treating the rest of their family as expendable outsiders."
"If this patriarch wasn't worried about his son lacking food and water while hiding in this cave and didn't come to deliver supplies personally, I wouldn't have caught him either."
Half-leaning against the edge of the sand pit, Shigeji Takeda struggled, trying to pull the stone spike out of his palm.
A cold glint flashed in Yuu's eyes. He crouched down, pretending to pick up a rock, but secretly condensed another sharp stone spike.
The spike tore through the air and drove straight through Shigeji's other hand.
He shrieked in agony again.
Leaning against the stalactite, the Takeda patriarch roared, "Consultant Hoshimiya, you truly are skilled, but I had anticipated this exact situation!"
"I've buried enough explosives at the bottom of this cavern! If you push me any further, we'll all go to hell together."
"I'm just an old bag of bones anyway. Dying means nothing. Having the famous police consultant join me in death is a pretty good deal."
Yui Uehara panicked and tugged at Yuu's shirt, signaling him not to act rashly.
This was a case she had pursued herself, and dragging Yuu into this deadly situation filled her with immense guilt.
Yuu smiled and patted her small hand, silently telling her to relax.
He then spoke up. "Oh? You talk a big game. Since you've planted bombs, why not detonate them right now and let me see?"
He turned and walked over to Shigeji. Raising his foot, he stomped directly onto the stone spike protruding from Shigeji's hand.
AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
A blood-curdling scream echoed through the cave.
"...If you have the guts, blow us up."
Yuu continued to provoke the Takeda patriarch. The fat, bald man broke out in a cold sweat instantly, panting like a broken bellows, his body trembling violently.
He clutched the detonator tightly in his hand, his expression changing wildly. Listening to his son's screams, his face twitched uncontrollably.
In the end, the Takeda patriarch gave up. Drenched in sweat, he collapsed to the floor and begged for mercy, "Consultant Hoshimiya, please don't do this. We can still negotiate."
"We don't want the treasure anymore. It's all yours, all of it! Just let me and my son go!"
Yui Uehara finally snapped out of it and regained her composure.
Her expression was incredibly cold. "Let you go? Then who will let Senior Kai go? His death was caused by all of you..."
The Takeda patriarch became agitated, his face flushing crimson.
"If you don't let us go, then we'll all die together!"
"I'm giving you the chance. Detonate the bombs. Let's see if we die together!"
Another bucket of cold water was poured over the Takeda patriarch's head.
A look of disdain hung on Yuu's face. He had seen through this man's cowardly, life-fearing nature from the very beginning.
Besides, even if the old man really did press the button, Yuu wasn't afraid.
As long as there was a signal, Noah controlled everything.
Noah had already hacked the remote detonator system for the bombs planted below, leaving Yuu completely fearless.
Yuu kicked the submachine gun far away. After ensuring the father and son posed zero threat, he pulled a small, black iron token from his pocket.
Engraved on it were the characters for "Kai."
Yui Uehara looked at it in surprise.
She shook her head and couldn't help but ask, "Yuu-kun, is that the key to the treasure room? Can you open this gate?"
Hearing this, the severely injured Takeda father and son also turned their heads to watch.
"Mmm. If my deduction is correct, this Kai token is the key to open the door."
"I found this token in the shrine at Kai Nagato's house. The material is very special—it's likely a type of meteorite iron with a unique magnetic field."
"Historical records show that during the Warring States period, 'A great star, almost the size of the moon, was seen over Nagano.' Nagano Prefecture was struck by a massive meteorite at that time. Shortly after the famous trap-master Mitsu Hisashige was invited to Koshu by Shingen, he contracted a severe illness and died."
"In reality, he was likely invited to build this treasure vault using the meteorite iron from that event. It's incredibly hard—not even explosives can breach it. That's why Takeda and the others were stopped by this door."
As he spoke, Yuu approached the bizarrely shaped massive gate.
It was engraved with countless animal reliefs, resembling a clash of beasts. Despite its age, the carvings remained perfectly clear.
Yuu couldn't decipher the intricate patterns of the reliefs, nor did he have any memory of them from his past life.
Fortunately, he had Noah. After connecting to the supercomputer for intel search and calculation, Noah quickly figured out how to open the door.
First the Phoenix tail, then the Horse nose, Dragon eye, Fox body, Deer antler...
Yuu pressed the reliefs one by one. The massive gate began to emit a rumbling, grinding noise, and dust rained down from the ceiling.
Finally, as the surface reliefs shifted, a small depression the exact shape of the token appeared.
Yuu inserted the token engraved with 'Kai' into the slot and rotated it 180 degrees.
A vibration echoed through the cavern. The three of them stepped back as the mechanical gate slid open to the left and right.
Behind them, the Takeda father and son craned their necks, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the inside.
This was the sight they had dreamed of day and night—it should be filled with radiant jewels and mountains of gold!
In reality, it was, but to save himself some trouble, Yuu used an illusion spell to deceive the Takeda father and son.
In their eyes, the treasure vault carved from solid meteorite iron was completely empty.
This was partly to break their spirits, but also so that when the police eventually questioned him, he could confidently and secretly pocket the treasure for himself.
In any country, historical treasures of this magnitude cannot be privately owned; they must be turned over to the state.
If he wanted to keep it, he couldn't let it be exposed.
Before the Nagano police discovered this place, Yuu needed to quickly transfer the treasure.
However, this was incredibly easy for him.
Noah had already contacted Ayako Suzuki. The Witch Squad would soon bring personnel to complete the transfer.
As for efficiency... they would definitely be faster than the Japanese police, who didn't even know the treasure's location yet.
Craning their necks and finally seeing inside the vault, the Takeda father and son were instantly dumbstruck. Blood rushed to their heads, and they felt a wave of dizzying vertigo.
No treasure. No gold. There's nothing inside.
So many years of painstaking effort... what was it all for?!
The father and son began to doubt their entire existence, looking as if their souls had left their bodies.
The "empty" treasure vault dealt a devastating blow to the two men.
They had originally planned to let Kano Takeda take the fall, dig up the '100,000 Gold', and flee the country to live as wealthy men abroad.
But now, their dream had shattered. Their hands were stained with blood, and their painstaking efforts had yielded absolutely nothing.
Having lost their goal and suffering from severe injuries, the father and son looked like walking corpses, completely devoid of life.
Yuu shook his head inwardly.
These two were truly short-sighted fools who "bought the wooden box but returned the pearl."
Even without the gold and jewels, the massive meteorite iron carved into a vault was worth a fortune on its own!
This was a material capable of withstanding explosives without a scratch. At roughly sixty square meters, such a massive quantity was likely worth as much as the 100,000 Gold treasure itself.
But Yuu didn't say a word. He turned around, took the nylon rope Ran had brought, tied the Takeda father and son up, and dragged them toward the exit.