Chapter 042: Urban Legends

Kenji Ono felt a boundless terror spreading through his heart. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and a bluish tinge crept across his face, all because of the horrifying ghostly visage that had appeared behind him.

“What the hell is this thing? You guys, come over here and help me pull this woman off!” Kenji Ono tried to feign composure, but his eyes betrayed a profound fear.

As the saying goes, a clear conscience fears no ghosts knocking at midnight. These debt collectors from the syndicate had done too many shameful deeds; at a time like this, they were more afraid than anyone.

“Hehehe, don’t you recognize me?” The disfigured female ghost clinging to Kenji Ono let out a chilling, eerie laugh, her scarred face nearly pressed against his neck.

A cold, icy sensation crawled along his skin, sending a shiver through Kenji Ono’s entire body. Suddenly, he remembered who this woman was.

Half a year ago, a girl had borrowed money from a loan company to pay for her boyfriend’s medical treatment. Though her boyfriend recovered, she was left with a massive debt. To force her to repay, Kenji Ono brought acid to threaten her at her home. In the ensuing struggle, he splashed the acid onto her face, causing severe burns and permanent disfigurement.

Not long after the girl was disfigured, news spread that she had committed suicide by jumping off a building. The reports described the scene as gruesome—her body shattered, and her white clothes soaked crimson with blood.

“It’s… it’s you.”

Kenji Ono’s teeth chattered audibly. The girl he had disfigured had returned from hell to exact revenge.

At that moment, he suddenly felt something cold and wet on his face—a blood-soaked hand caressed his cheek.

Then, the bloodied fingers dug into his flesh and viciously tore, ripping away half the skin on Kenji Ono’s face, exposing the raw, bloody tissue underneath.

“Ah! My face!”

The agony was so intense that Kenji Ono could barely breathe. In his terror, he lashed out like a cornered beast, pulling a knife and stabbing wildly at the ghostly figure behind him.

But the vengeful ghost that had been clinging to his back vanished without a trace.

“Kenji, are you all right? Do you want us to call an ambulance?” With the ghost gone, the other syndicate members finally dared to approach. When they saw the wound on Kenji Ono’s face, they all gasped, a chill running through their hearts.

His face was ruined; even plastic surgery would do little to help.

“Damn it, hurry and get me to a hospital!” Kenji Ono had done many dirty deeds for the syndicate over the years, and there were several lives on his hands. If all those vengeful souls came for him, not even ten lives would be enough to pay his debt.

It must be that kid’s doing, Kenji thought with a twisted expression, suddenly wary of Su Cheng.

Could that Chinese exchange student be one of those legendary exorcists who command ghosts?

“All right, we’ll take you to the hospital right away.”

One of the syndicate members near Kenji Ono smiled strangely, suddenly pulling a short knife from his clothing and, still grinning, plunged it into Kenji’s chest.

Swish!

The blade pierced deeply, stabbing straight into Kenji Ono’s heart.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, staring in shock at the suited man who had stabbed him.

When he looked up, the man’s features shifted and morphed into a stranger’s face—one that Kenji Ono remembered. He had once dragged this man, unable to pay his debts, to an illegal research lab for human experimentation, where the man died from heart failure due to an allergic reaction to a drug.

In the next instant, all the syndicate members surrounding Kenji Ono’s body had changed faces and, smiling, plunged their knives into him as well.

Soon, Kenji Ono’s body was riddled with blades like a pincushion, blood gushing from his wounds and soaking his shirt.

As his consciousness faded into darkness, Kenji Ono saw countless vengeful spirits staring at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

…

On the neon-lit streets of Shinjuku, a few syndicate members stood around the fainted Kenji Ono, their faces full of confusion.

“Kenji was fine just a moment ago. Why did he suddenly run into the street like a madman? He was almost hit by a car.”

“Something weird’s going on tonight. Let’s get him to the hospital first.”

No one noticed the little girl in a white dress watching them from a nearby alley, dark eyes brimming with blood.

“Xiaobai, let’s go home.”

Su Cheng patted Xiaobai’s head. After refining the Soul Crystal, Xiaobai’s spirit had become much more stable, and she’d gained the ability to create illusions by manipulating the darkness in people’s hearts.

However, the illusions Xiaobai could create with her spiritual power were fragile and only affected ordinary people with weak wills; they’d be useless against players or professionals.

Su Cheng had not chosen to kill Kenji Ono. The nearby surveillance cameras had recorded him entering the alley with these men—if they died, he would never escape suspicion.

Besides, after that illusion, Kenji Ono would likely live the rest of his life in endless terror, a punishment far crueler than death.

It was only fitting.

When Su Cheng returned to the apartment, Chiyuki Kamihara had already prepared dinner.

Seeing him return unscathed, a look of relief instantly softened her face.

“Cheng-kun, who were those men? They didn’t look like good people.” Chiyuki’s expression was full of curiosity. Those suited men seemed like syndicate members—why would Su Cheng be involved with such people?

Su Cheng gave a casual excuse. Maybe it was the influence of that strange cat demon, but he subconsciously wanted to keep a distance from Chiyuki Kamihara.

Fortunately, the oblivious Chiyuki didn’t notice Su Cheng’s deliberate detachment. After dinner, she happily chatted about interesting things in Tokyo and shared a few urban legends.

“Recently, there’ve been some terrifying murders in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. I heard the business there has really suffered,” Chiyuki confided with a mysterious air.

Kabukicho?

Su Cheng vaguely remembered that Chu He had invited him to experience Tokyo’s nightlife in Kabukicho, but he’d politely declined.

“Not long ago, a guy who often picked up girls in nightclubs was found dead in a hotel. The scariest part was that his body had been gnawed by beasts—when they found him, the corpse was incomplete, only the head was untouched.”

“The police didn’t want to alarm foreign tourists, so they covered up the details and treated it as a common murder case.”

Gnawed by beasts, mutilated… Could there really be ghouls in Tokyo?

“How do you know these details if the police haven’t released them?” Su Cheng asked, curious.

“Hehe, my brother’s a detective with the Metropolitan Police. I even saw the crime scene photos!” Chiyuki said proudly. If she had a tail, Su Cheng was sure it would be wagging behind her.

“Have they caught the killer yet?” Su Cheng speculated that the murderer was likely a professional like Jun Miike—anyone who dared to kill and eat corpses so brazenly had to be formidable.

“Not yet, and there have been new victims these past few days. One was even eaten until only a blood-soaked human skin remained. I almost threw up when I saw the photos in my brother’s office.” Chiyuki stuck out her tongue, looking both cute and shaken.

“Later, someone leaked the monster-eating-people angle to the media. The government suppressed most reports, but word still got out. Tourist numbers in Kabukicho have dropped a lot lately.”

Su Cheng fell silent. The killer was almost certainly a professional. But catching murderers was a job for the police—he wasn’t some champion of justice. This was none of his concern.

“My brother thinks the killer might not be human,” Chiyuki continued, seeing his skepticism and eager to share more.

“Not human? What makes him say that?”

“The police compared the bite marks on the bodies and discovered they belonged to a canine species.”

A canine species?

Then it wasn’t a ghoul. Ghouls might devour human bodies, but they weren’t beasts and wouldn’t leave dog-like bite marks.

“Aren’t these details police secrets? Are you sure it’s okay to tell me?” Su Cheng asked in amusement.

Chiyuki squeaked, her cheeks flushing bright red. “Please, promise you won’t tell anyone! If my brother finds out I leaked this, he’ll kill me for sure.”

Su Cheng smiled. This girl was almost too adorably naive.

That very night, Kenji Ono woke in the hospital, his mind shattered by the ordeal. He rushed into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and confessed all the crimes he’d committed over the years for the Kurotaki Syndicate.

With this evidence, the police quickly moved in and wiped out the syndicate.

Tokyo Headquarters, Department of Supernatural Investigations.

“Detective Kubbe, something interesting just happened over at the Metropolitan Police,” Hiroshi Kitagawa announced, knocking on Goro Kubbe’s office door and placing a file on his desk.

“A notorious syndicate member suddenly had a crisis of conscience, turned himself in, and confessed everything about the organization.”

“Oh? Let me see his statement.”

Goro Kubbe’s eyes glinted with interest as he leafed through the confession.

“The statement says that Kenji Ono went to threaten a foreign exchange student for unpaid debt, but something drove him insane, and that’s why he ran to the police.” Kubbe’s eyes brightened, as if he’d found a clue. “Pull up the file on that exchange student.”

With the department’s high security clearance, Su Cheng’s file arrived promptly.

“Detective, this Chinese exchange student’s background is spotless—nothing suspicious at all.” There was little information, only Su Cheng’s recent activities since arriving in Tokyo.

“Not necessarily. A few days ago, this student received a transfer of five hundred thousand from the heiress of the Yagami Group.”

Detective Kubbe tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk, a meaningful smile on his lips.

“So what if she’s from the Yagami Group?” Kitagawa asked, puzzled.

“Heh. The Yagami heiress is a formidable professional. Which means this Su Cheng is likely a player in the horror game as well.”

Kitagawa’s face showed sudden understanding. “Should we send someone to arrest him?”

“Arrest him for what? He hasn’t broken any laws. In fact, he’s indirectly helped us bring down the Kurotaki Syndicate.”

In the vast city of Tokyo, there were no shortage of horror game players. The Department of Supernatural Investigations supported and protected those who kept to themselves or even helped the police fight crime.

Sometimes, they even recruited powerful professionals into their ranks.

“However, we’ve discovered a criminal organization behind the Kurotaki Syndicate, made up entirely of players—many of them very skilled. I suspect they’ve already set their sights on him.” Kubbe rubbed his brow, troubled. The Kabukicho murders remained unsolved, and now the Kurotaki case had blown up. Tokyo was about to become even more chaotic.

“Assign someone to keep an eye on that organization. If necessary, give Su Cheng a warning.”

With their limited manpower, the most they could do was issue a warning—they couldn’t provide protection.

Whether Su Cheng survived what was coming would depend on his own luck.