Sensing the killing intent emanating from Izumi Shirayuki, Fukuyama Shoichi felt a bit intimidated.
“Wait.” Fukuyama Shoichi looked at Izumi Shirayuki with as sincere a gaze as he could muster. “How about asking one more question? I promise to answer your next question immediately.”
The response to his plea was a cold, merciless thrust.
Without the slightest hesitation, Izumi Shirayuki’s Ice Spear pierced straight through Fukuyama Shoichi’s shoulder, creating a clean hole, its snow-white shaft stained red.
“Ah…”
The impact made Fukuyama Shoichi scream.
He couldn’t believe Izumi Shirayuki had acted so decisively. He had genuinely intended to answer a small question; after all, he couldn’t be completely impervious to reason. Only by answering some questions while guarding others could he demonstrate his value.
But why was this girl so resolute?
Seeing this, Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko couldn’t help but gulp. They felt that this ruthless Senpai was a little different from the gentle and sweet Senpai they remembered.
If Tsukiyomi Ruri had been secretly watching this scene, she would naturally understand Izumi Shirayuki’s actions.
For an experienced Reincarnator, ruthlessness was necessary. This was especially true for someone like Izumi Shirayuki, who was clearly a Solo Reincarnator without a team. Such a person couldn’t survive long without being decisive.
So, trying to manipulate Izumi Shirayuki with rhetoric was completely misdirected.
In front of Izumi Shirayuki, honesty was the best policy.
Izumi Shirayuki withdrew the Ice Spear, letting it melt away into the air, then waved her hand to freeze Fukuyama Shoichi’s wound shut.
“Speak. Tell us everything you need to,” Izumi Shirayuki said, looking at him.
Enduring the pain, Fukuyama Shoichi nodded hurriedly. This time, he understood what kind of person the girl before him was. When he had to be honest, he could only be honest.
Izumi Shirayuki asked, “Which Reincarnator team are you from?”
“Flame Bird Group.” Fukuyama Shoichi had no need to hide this, figuring they already knew it.
Getting the answer, Izumi Shirayuki exchanged glances with Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko. Since he was from the Flame Bird Group, it matched their suspicions.
“The one who ambushed Mizuhashi Yuzuki was you?” Izumi Shirayuki asked again.
Fukuyama Shoichi nodded.
This made Mizuhashi Yuzuki involuntarily crack her knuckles, looking very much like she wanted to give him a good punch.
“Where is your Commander?”
“I don’t know.”
“What is your Commander’s identity in Reality?”
“I don’t know that either. I only know the codename. The Commander is very good at hiding things.”
Fukuyama Shoichi’s gaze flickered. He wasn’t telling the whole truth. Since these were things the other side didn’t know, they also didn’t know the real answers, so he could make up whatever he wanted.
Izumi Shirayuki asked a few more questions, but the answers left her deeply unsatisfied, yielding nothing useful.
As they were speaking, the sound of voices came from nearby.
Izumi Shirayuki immediately waved her hand, sealing Fukuyama Shoichi in ice again, then said to Mizuhashi Yuzuki, “Is there a place nearby where we can temporarily keep him? This spot isn’t suitable for interrogation; we could be discovered by accident.”
Mizuhashi Yuzuki understood Izumi Shirayuki’s meaning and quickly replied, “There are some empty rooms in our Mental Hospital. We can move him there, but we absolutely can’t let anyone see.”
Izumi Shirayuki smiled. “Of course, no one will see. We’re Reincarnators, after all. We move very fast.”
“I’ll carry him,” Inoue Keiko said obediently.
Moving the frozen Fukuyama Shoichi was indeed easy. They placed him in an empty room, closed the curtains, locked the door tightly, and then left.
After walking out, Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked, “Are we just leaving him there? Not continuing the interrogation?”
She had thought they were just changing locations to continue, never expecting Izumi Shirayuki to lead everyone away.
Izumi Shirayuki frowned slightly. “I feel that this guy isn’t very honest. Much of the information he gave us is false. Continuing the interrogation won’t be very effective, so I intend to start from another angle.”
“Which angle?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked curiously.
Inoue Keiko also looked on with curiosity.
Izumi Shirayuki said, unhurriedly, “What we can confirm right now is that the Flame Bird Group is targeting us. Given the chance, the members of the Flame Bird Group will likely move against us. So, we just need to create an opportunity for the Flame Bird Group.”
She explained her plan: they would leave the Mental Hospital and go outside, ostensibly to go window-shopping. She believed this should attract covert surveillance from members of the Flame Bird Group.
Then, during this process, the others would stay in crowded areas to prevent the enemy from attacking, while she would occasionally “wander off alone,” creating an opening to lure the enemy into targeting her.
Izumi Shirayuki was confident that if she “wandered off alone,” the enemy wouldn’t let this “opportunity” slip, since they only thought she was a Mid-Level Reincarnator.
At this time, Izumi Shirayuki didn’t know that the Flame Bird Group Commander was Hino Kaoru, nor that Hino Kaoru was also a Senior Reincarnator. She also didn’t know that, excluding Fukuyama Shoichi, the Flame Bird Group only had Hino Kaoru left, assuming there were still a few Mid-Level Reincarnators remaining.
“That plan works. But when we go out to lure the enemy, should we bring Ruri with us?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki brought up that question again.
“Yes, we can bring her.” Izumi Shirayuki had already considered this. “I’m the one dealing with the enemy this time. You don’t need to fight the enemy. Your job is simply to stay with Ruri in areas with enough people. Just don’t go anywhere secluded, and there shouldn’t be any problems.”
Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko nodded.
As they talked, they arrived outside Tsukiyomi Ruri’s room.
Tsukiyomi Ruri looked up at the three newcomers, not paying it much mind.
“Ruri, you’re awake! We’re going out to shop. Are you coming?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki greeted her.
“With that waist of yours, you can go shopping?” Tsukiyomi Ruri asked.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki’s expression froze. She had almost forgotten she was still injured. But remembering their objective, she gritted her teeth and nodded emphatically at Tsukiyomi Ruri, signaling that shopping was absolutely no problem.
Tsukiyomi Ruri didn’t know why they suddenly wanted to shop. Was it a whim?
But regardless, she had no intention of refusing, because she suspected the shopping trip was just a cover. Perhaps these three, who had revealed their cards to each other, had some operation in mind and were bringing her along just so she wouldn’t be left alone.
So she would go and see. Although Izumi Shirayuki seemed reliable, wouldn’t it be safer for her to tag along?
