There was a lot of noise in the old community. Several police cars gathered here. The sounds of wireless communications rang out, clicking on the walkie-talkie on a chest. Those were other colleagues from the joint search headquarters and the police in this area.

.

"I am Ichijo, please come here."

After saying this, Ichijo Kaoru turned off the intercom. In this dark place, Yukari's back, sitting there blankly, was visible to Tono and the others, and they could only leave like this.

Walking on the gravel-covered ground, it obviously took less than a minute to walk back to the place where the motorcycle was parked, but several people felt that this long time was annoying.

Godai, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stopped and spoke in a distressed tone, "Ryujie-san, why do creatures like Gurungi exist..."

Sure enough, even Godai couldn't help but feel angry for such a guy, a guy who ruined other people's smiles!

Although his fists had been loosened, it was because no matter how angry he was, he could not keep clenching his fists to face the person he wanted to protect.

"I don't know..." Higashino Ryusuke replied in a muffled voice, "I haven't found the answer yet. However, if they really shouldn't exist, let us destroy them..."

As Higashino Ryusuke was talking, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure quietly leaving in the distance.

Asama... Shota?

Why did he appear here? Ryusuke couldn't help but frowned. Isn't he a member of the Intelligence Department?

An increasingly bad feeling appeared in his heart, and he turned to look at Kaoru Ichijo.

"Mr. Ichijo, I have something to ask of you..."

…

At night, when Ryusuke Higashino returned to Asama's house, there were only Asama's mother-in-law and Xiaolizi at home, Shota was not at home as usual, and Wang Shen had not been back for a month because of school matters.

A short while later, Shota Asama called and said he didn't have to work overtime today and would be back soon.

This is somewhat unexpected. Shota has been working overtime frequently for more than a month, and he can count the number of times he has come home from get off work on one hand.

However, between the battle in Setagaya Ward and the appearance of No. 44, there was almost a month's gap without any unconfirmed life form incidents. Why do we need to work overtime at this time?

While Higashino Ryusuke was deep in thought, the little girl Riko came over holding a bunch of washed grapes.

"Brother Ryusuke, let me eat it for you."

"Ah, thank you." Dongye picked one and threw it into his mouth, smiling and saying, "Well, it's very sweet!"

However, Xiaolizi was only happy for a moment, and then frowned her thin eyebrows in distress, put down the fruit plate and sat next to Ryusuke.

"What's wrong?"

"Ryuusuke-nii, does dad's job make it easy to get injured?"

"Hmm...why do you ask so suddenly?"

"Because the dad who came back last time was different!" Riko said waving his little hand: "Usually dad touches my head with his right hand, but last time he used his left hand. Riko was not used to it, so he just touched me with his left hand.

I wonder if dad’s right hand is injured..."

Ryusuke was stunned for a moment, his mind was flashing with lightning, and a certain guess became clearer and clearer!

There is a full moon hanging outside the window, and the moonlight is bright.

Outside the abandoned factory, black spots in the shape of vultures hovered under the moonlit sky. After falling to the ground, they turned back into a scarf man and walked into the dark factory with an abacus in hand.

The game ended in only three days, and the vulture announced the ending of the first Gurungi in the Coffin of Darkness to the Rose Girl here.

The rose girl in a white dress walked out of the darkness, touched the ring on her finger, and said behind her: "Zeragu's game has failed, and next is you, sarubo."

As he finished speaking, a figure wearing a police uniform appeared from the shadows behind him, and on his abdomen was a jet-black ghost-faced belt.

…

"Wow!"

Shota Asama pushed his head out of the water with all his strength, finally getting rid of the feeling of drowning and suffocation.

"Huh...huh...!" He gasped in fear and opened his eyes suddenly, but found that he was lying on the tatami at home completely intact, and the alarm clock above his head was only one minute short of eight.

Clicked.

How could that happen?!

Was it a dream just now...

Shota sat up straight and stared blankly at the half-open door for a while, until the sound of the alarm woke him up a minute later.

It was already daylight. After washing and dressing, Shota came to the window and thought. He couldn't remember when he came back last night.

Dreaming? No, it’s definitely not that simple!

Not long ago, he had noticed his own abnormality - he would always lose memories for a period of time inexplicably, and then some unreasonable memories would appear to fill the gaps, but he knew that those memories were all false.

Shota pondered silently, when did this abnormality begin?

I remember that five months ago, he received an order from the Joint Investigation Headquarters to join the Intelligence Department. When he first took office, he was entrusted by Chief Matsukura with the task of investigating the true identity of No. 1.

The most suspicious thing for him at that time was the new tenant who suddenly arrived in his house, a man named Ryusuke Higashino.

But when Locust No. 6 appeared and kidnapped her daughter Satoko, Higashino Ryusuke single-handedly rushed out and rescued Satoko intact. From then on, this suspicion only deepened.

Of course, Shota didn't do anything out of the ordinary or offensive. On the one hand, it was suspected that No. 1 saved his daughter; on the other hand, No. 1 and No. 4 were fighting together to protect mankind, and he would not act just because of suspicion.

Who to question.

The real identity was determined after No. 6 was eliminated. One day, Ryusuke Higashino drove back a brand new motorcycle, which was the new motorcycle TRCS-2000a equipped by the Metropolitan Police Department.

After Shota's silent investigation, it was confirmed that the car was the same one called by Officer Kaoru Ichijo who searched the headquarters.

Later, when he took the investigation results to report to the head of the department, he suddenly lost consciousness.

When he came to his senses again, he had already walked out of the director's office. The entire process of reporting between himself and the director was clearly in his memory, but he had a strong feeling that that person was not him!

After that, this situation became more and more common. Sometimes after working for a day, I would go home and lie down in a daze... but the next day I would wake up in the lounge of the Metropolitan Police Department, and he would remain in the memory.

I worked overtime at the police station and never went back...

Occasionally, he will meet colleagues and ask him if he has been ill recently and has a bad memory, because he has not completed many commissioned tasks, but he himself cannot remember when he received those commissions...

When he looked in the mirror, he looked exactly the same in the mirror, but at a certain moment, he seemed to be able to see someone else in his reflection!

All of this gradually gave him the illusion that someone was replacing him! From appearance, conversation, to work, life, and family, everything that originally belonged to him was taken away from him!

Returning from memories to reality, Shota took a deep breath and exhaled.

When he received the news of No. 47's confirmed death yesterday, he felt palpitations for no reason. Especially when he saw the photos of the scene and Kaoru Ichijo's summary report, he vaguely felt that he would be next...

(Because the Shogun and others were witnessed during the battle of Setagaya, the Gurungi's number was also No. 46. Although the jellyfish that appeared later played the game earlier than the Shogun, it was numbered No. 47.)

It was already time to go to work. He found the gun from his police uniform, loaded the prepared muscle relaxant bombs, then packed his clothes and went out.

Come on, whoever it is!

He is ready to meet his enemies. Those who want to take away everything from him, even those Gulungi guys, he will not compromise easily!

... From the window on the second floor, Ryusuke Higashino watched Shota Asama get on the police patrol car and rush to the Metropolitan Police Department. Then he went downstairs and borrowed Asama's landline to make a call to Polepole.

"Hey... Oh, is it the fifth generation? Please help me tell dad that there are very important things that need to be done today, so I may not be able to go to polepole to work for a while, um... No, it's nothing, I can handle it myself.

…”

The investigation he entrusted to Ichijo Kaori to investigate yesterday afternoon had already yielded results by evening.

According to Kaoru Ichijo's account: Police officer Shota Asama has very few overtime records in the past month. However, according to his colleagues' descriptions, Officer Asama often wanders around the Metropolitan Police Department after get off work and behaves quite inappropriately. Something weird...

Ryuusuke Higashino hung up the phone and when he passed by the table in the living room, there were still grapes washed by Satoko Asama last night. He picked another one and put it in his mouth.

It’s really sweet! And what’s sweeter than grapes is the beautiful feelings between people and the affection between families.

But the Gurungis of the Coffin of Darkness use skills similar to mimicry to replace the victim's life by becoming someone else, destroying all these beautiful things.

Shota Asama, I really don’t want this to happen to you...

Ryusuke Higashino followed him out, driving his motorcycle and following Shota at a distance.

He already doesn't want tragedies like Yamano Aimi and Yukari to happen again!

…

Bunkyo District.

polepole restaurant, 8:30am.

Saburo Kazudama, who had put on his apron and was about to start work, received a message from Yusuke Godai, "What? Ryusuke can't come today?... But it doesn't matter, just do what you need to do, and don't leave any regrets."

This middle-aged man who looks ordinary and likes to tell cold jokes from time to time has a firm and clear belief whenever it comes to these matters.

"By the way." Saburo Shidama suddenly looked at Godai, "Are you worried about anything recently? You seemed to be in a bad mood when you came back yesterday..."

As he spoke, he walked to the door and opened the door with the sound of wind chimes. Outside the door was the bright sunshine. Looking at the sunshine, Shi Yusanlang said: "If you want to take risks, you can go at any time!"

Godai Yusuke was stunned for a moment, and after a while he showed a slight smile, "Thank you for your kindness, but..."

He pointed to the Kuga logo on his clothes and said with a smile: "But, I will continue to work hard for the adventure here!"

"That?... Let me think about it, um... Sora, is it Sora? I must have guessed it right this time!"

"Haha, that's right!" Godai gave a thumbs up.
To be continued...