Chapter 219: Walking into the Trap
According to Liu Xing's observations, aside from the staircase leading to the second floor, the first floor of the underground casino had six tightly closed doors, each guarded by two security personnel. This indicated the importance of these six doors.
Liu Xing closed his eyes and appeared to be deep in thought, pondering the locations corresponding to these six doors. He quickly determined that one of them led to the convenience store and the sewer entrance. He also identified two doors leading to the residential areas within the sewer section and one within a construction site.
As a result, two doors remained unaccounted for, leading directly towards the outskirts of Ziwu City. Liu Xing began to suspect that one of these two doors might lead to Honda Koichi's laboratory.
However, even if Liu Xing knew how to access Honda Koichi's lab, he dared not venture inside. After all, Liu Xing's character card was quite lackluster, despite possessing Nyarlathotep's customized handgun as a weapon, which could deal substantial damage. Due to limited ammunition, facing a significant number of enemies would render Liu Xing powerless.
Furthermore, from the video featuring Honda Koichi's lab, it was evident that not only were there numerous Ghouls but also members of the Dark Willow Gang inside. Entering the lab would undoubtedly be a suicidal move.
Currently, Liu Xing contemplated whether there was a way to persuade Aoki Kawaguchi to lead a team of Ghouls for a surprise assault, seizing the opportunity to infiltrate the lab and eliminate the major threat, Honda Koichi.
At this moment, Liu Xing remembered that Otonashi Takuya hadn't mentioned anything about this matter. Logically, Otonashi Takuya should have informed Aoki Kawaguchi about the contents of those videos, and Aoki Kawaguchi should have taken action. Why had Otonashi Takuya remained silent on this matter?
Could there be more to this situation than met the eye? Liu Xing rubbed his chin, pondering with suspicion.
Just then, Liu Xing saw Juri Sonoda walking towards him, looking quite frustrated. It appeared that Juri Sonoda's mission had not been going smoothly either.
Juri Sonoda sat down next to Liu Xing, sighing in resignation. Seeing this, Liu Xing spoke, "In this world, most things don't go as planned. Miss Tanaka, there's no need to be so downhearted."
Juri Sonoda glanced around discreetly before speaking softly to Liu Xing, "Today has been incredibly unlucky for me. I had found a suitable target and was about to use my skills to open the door. But guess what? Mikageichi, the leader of the Dark Willow Gang, unexpectedly returned at that moment. Fortunately, I didn't reveal my intentions and managed to escape. The stakes up there are ridiculously high, with a minimum bet of a hundred thousand yen per token. Nevertheless, my luck held, and I won over a hundred thousand yen in tokens. It seems I have a knack for this."
She chuckled as she spoke.
Liu Xing shook his head, unable to resist pouring cold water on her enthusiasm. "Miss Tanaka, you should know that a skilled dealer can manipulate the outcome to a certain extent. So, as a new high-ranking member, the dealers on the second floor will surely give you some initial wins to lure you in. Once you're addicted to gambling, that's when they'll take advantage of you."
Juri Sonoda looked at Liu Xing in disbelief and then whispered, "You think I don't know that? But, in any case, Mikageichi shouldn't have come to this underground casino so early. He should be escorting his adoptive father to the spa right now. Plus, it seems like there's some major event happening since Dark Willow Gang's top brass are also here today. It looks like something significant is about to go down. I can't help but want to eavesdrop on their conversations."
Liu Xing realized that the situation might be more serious than he initially thought. The show of force clearly indicated that they were targeting Mian Gu Lu, and Mikageichi was likely planning to seize Mian Gu Lu by force.
"By the way, did you see those two doors on the left? I suspect one of them leads to the laboratory in the video, and the other four probably lead to different entrances and exits of the casino," Liu Xing shared his findings with Juri Sonoda.
Juri Sonoda didn't react visibly but gestured with her eyes towards the left door. "If my informants are accurate, the door on the left is the most recent addition, so I suspect it leads to the laboratory."
Liu Xing nodded, finally noticing the two guards next to the left door. While they lacked visible weapons, there was a noticeable bulge at their waist, indicating they were armed.
"It's safe to say that this door is suspicious, but it seems we have no way of entering. So, what do we do now?" Liu Xing asked.
Juri Sonoda pondered for a moment and said, "Forget it. We won't find any more clues here in the underground casino, especially with Mikageichi in charge. Let's head back directly. But before we leave, let's spend some time in the main hall to avoid drawing any attention from the casino staff."
So, Liu Xing followed Juri Sonoda to the main hall and played a few rounds. Juri Sonoda's luck was indeed extraordinary, as she won every round and earned over two hundred thousand yen in tokens. Liu Xing was starting to suspect that her luck was well above 90%.
Juri Sonoda was all smiles and wanted to continue gambling, but Liu Xing reminded her of her professional ethics and the illegal nature of excessive gambling. She finally restrained herself and decided to leave the underground casino.
Liu Xing's reason for encouraging her to leave was his concern that Mikageichi might come downstairs to the main hall. After all, Liu Xing had some history with Mikageichi, and being recognized by him could lead to trouble.
In the end, Liu Xing and Juri Sonoda retraced their steps and left the underground casino. While they didn't make any significant gains, they did gather some valuable information.
As they sat in the car, Juri Sonoda played with her tokens and grinned at Liu Xing. "Liu Xing, I told you my luck was good enough. I haven't lost a single round today. If it weren't for my professional ethics reminding me not to get addicted to this illegal activity, I might have achieved a small goal today and won a million yen."
Liu Xing looked at Juri Sonoda with a bewildered expression. What did she mean by professional ethics? If it weren't for his specific reminder, Juri Sonoda would have thrown her "professional ethics" out the window a long time ago.
"Alright, Miss Juri Sonoda, where would you like to go now? I can drop you off," Liu Xing asked Juri Sonoda.
Juri Sonoda checked her phone; it was already 3:00 in the afternoon. "It's already 3:00, so you can drop me off at a place where I can easily find a taxi. I need to get back to the residential area west of Ziwu City to cook dinner for my sister."
Liu Xing nodded and smiled, "Don't you want me to take you directly home?"
Juri Sonoda shook her head, looking serious. "That won't be necessary. It takes about three hours from here to my house, which means I won't get there until around 6:00. Then you'd have a reason to stay at my place, and if you happened to live in this area or the residential area to the north, it would take you over three hours to drive home. You'd have a reason to stay over at my place and sneak up on me!"
Liu Xing looked at Juri Sonoda, who was making humorous but bizarre assumptions, realizing that a journalist's thought process was quite different from an ordinary person's.
"Alright then, I'll drop you off on the outskirts of that residential area. There's a main road there, so it should be easy to find a taxi," Liu Xing said as he started the car and began their journey.
After dropping off Juri Sonoda, Liu Xing returned to Chen Wenbin's house, only to find it empty. "Strange, why haven't they returned yet?" Liu Xing wondered aloud.
At that moment, Liu Xing received a text message from Yin En. It turned out that Yin En and his team had finished their visit to the spa and met with Sawada Yinyin's father, Sawada Tsuo, the current head of the Sawada Family. Under Yin En's persuasion, Sawada Tsuo had agreed to take in Mian Gu Lu. Currently, Yin En and his team were staying in a villa provided by Sawada Tsuo. Yin En sent a message to Liu Xing and others, urging them to abandon Chen Wenbin's house and move to the villa area.
After reading the message, Liu Xing sighed and prepared to drive from the southwest corner of Ziwu City to the northeast corner. He estimated that by the time he arrived at the villa area, it would be around 11 or 12 at night. Liu Xing quickly had a light meal at home before heading towards the villa area.
As expected, Liu Xing encountered rush-hour traffic when passing through the central commercial district of Ziwu City, causing a delay of over an hour. When Liu Xing finally arrived at the villa area, it was already 11:00 PM.
Fortunately, Yin En was waiting just outside the villa area, so Liu Xing was able to enter without any issues.
Ziwu City had two villa areas, one in the southeast and another in the southwest. The southeast villa area had a higher class of residents, with a lower villa density, larger distances between them (over 500 meters), and dense vegetation, making it difficult to see neighboring villas. However, the southeast villa area had a cluster of villas developed by the Sawada Family, with the main Sawada residence at the center. The Sawada Family's mainline members resided in the Sawada mansion, while branch members and visiting dignitaries stayed in the surrounding villas. Private security personnel and some servants lived in the outermost villas.
According to Yin En, Sawada Tsuo had arranged for them to stay in one of the guest villas and had deployed a professional security team from the security company he invested in, called the Red Eagle Security Company, to protect Mian Gu Lu.
Speaking of the Red Eagle Security Company, Yin En shared some information. "Liu Xing, this is quite fortunate. I just contacted my friends, and they provided information about Sagami Hayato, the head of the Red Eagle Security Company. Sagami Hayato is skilled in analyzing situations, organizing formations, and strategizing, although his personal combat skills are average. Within his team, there's a mercenary named Akashi Izumi, known for extraordinary marksmanship, capable of hitting targets with pinpoint accuracy. Overall, their strength is impressive, and they should have no trouble dealing with the small-time hooligans from the Dark Willow Gang. Furthermore, Sawada Tsuo mentioned that in this villa area, there are over a hundred private security personnel armed with firearms. Heavy machine gun emplacements are positioned in the outermost villas, and the Sawada mansion has armored vehicles on standby. It's highly unlikely that the Dark Willow Gang could mount a successful attack here."
Hearing this, Liu Xing felt relieved. With such a robust defense by the Sawada Family, it would be challenging for the Dark Willow Gang to breach it, unless they resorted to using the dreaded artificially created Monsters and employed SAN attacks against the Sawada Family's private security, causing chaos.
"By the way, Yin En, have you already informed Sawada Tsuo about Mian Gu Lu's situation?" Liu Xing suddenly thought of something and asked Yin En.
Yin En nodded, "Of course. If we don't tell Sawada Tsuo about Mian Gu Lu's situation, how could he provide us with so much assistance? However, Sawada Tsuo's attitude seems a bit too enthusiastic. After hearing about Mian Gu Lu, he insisted on keeping us here and even mentioned using any means necessary to protect Mian Gu Lu."
Liu Xing couldn't help but feel uneasy. He sighed and said to Yin En, "Yin En, it's possible that we've walked into a trap. Sawada Tsuo may not want to protect Mian Gu Lu; he might want to control him."
Liu Xing then shared the information he had obtained from Juri Sonoda about Sawada Tsuo with Yin En.
"I see. It seems we might have indeed walked into a trap. Sawada Tsuo sees himself as the protector of Ziwu City, and if we can't help Mian Gu Lu break free from the possession of the Eldritch God Taketori, Sawada Tsuo might choose to eliminate Mian Gu Lu to rid himself of Taketori's influence," Yin En affirmed.
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