**Chapter 73: Under the Shadow**
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At the intersection.
As the dump truck closed in, its engine roared loudly in Fujino's ears.
"Enough already!"
Fujino muttered a curse under his breath and activated the Driving Skill card.
[Driving Skill Enhancement Activated, Remaining Time: 599 seconds]
The system's notification chimed in his ear.
In the next moment, a strange sensation spread throughout his body.
Fujino felt that his understanding of motorcycle driving had reached a new level.
The motorcycle beneath him no longer felt like a vehicle but like a third leg!
Glancing back at the approaching dump truck, Fujino took a deep breath and slammed on the rear brake.
Suddenly, the motorcycle's body began to shake violently as the rear wheel skidded on the snowy road.
Fujino timed the shaking perfectly and released the brake.
The motorcycle, which had been spinning wildly, slid out in a strange manner.
"Boom!"
A loud crash sounded.
Fujino leapt off the motorcycle, tumbling through the snowy road several times before finally coming to a stop.
The abandoned motorcycle continued to slide until it crashed into a utility pole, coming to a halt.
Moments later, Fujino struggled to get up from the snow.
He first removed the broken visor and tossed it aside, revealing the fishing hat he wore underneath. He then looked up at the dump truck in the distance.
The truck had crashed into a concrete wall, its cab crushed from the high-speed impact.
Fujino took a deep breath and calmed down.
Soon, a sharp pain began to radiate from his entire body.
Looking down, he saw blood dripping from the wound on his elbow.
"Has the adrenaline effect worn off?"
Fujino frowned and then took out the [Fizzy Drink] he had previously acquired from his space.
After downing an entire bottle, the agonizing pain was instantly suppressed.
[Fizzy Drink: Enhances Host's Recovery Ability, with Additional Pain Relief Effect]
"Who could it be?"
Despite the pain being subdued, Fujino's heart was still racing, and his breathing deepened.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and then, after calming down, carefully removed the wooden sword from his neck and cautiously approached the crumpled dump truck.
Arriving beside the deformed cab, Fujino peered through the shattered glass and saw the face of a gaunt middle-aged man, now covered in blood.
"Dead already?"
Fujino stared at the crushed body, his expression growing colder.
He then pulled out his phone and dialed Mogi Jūzō's number.
...
Not far away, an old Porsche slowly drove by.
"Boss, the plan failed."
Wearing a black suit and a small black hat, Vodka retracted his gaze and asked the person in the passenger seat, "Should we go up and take him out?"
"No need."
The man named Gin, with waist-length silver hair and dressed entirely in black with a black fedora, replied as he glanced at Vodka. "This failed operation has already lost a valuable operative for our organization. If we do anything further, we might expose our presence."
"If exposing the organization just for a discarded pawn is too costly."
"But if we let him go like this, how will we explain it to that person?"
Vodka frowned, looking somewhat uncertain.
"Explain?"
Gin sneered and then turned his gaze out the window, speaking in a deep voice, "Remember, it's not us who need that guy, it's that guy who needs us. Without us, he is nothing."
Vodka nodded, seemingly understanding Gin's words.
After a moment of thought, he asked, "But what if Miyano Akemi really got her hands on the 1 billion yen? We wouldn't have a reason to eliminate her then."
"Does the organization need a reason to eliminate a mere outer member without even a codename?"
Gin snorted coldly, his gaze growing icy. "From the day she brought Black Label whiskey into the organization, her fate was sealed."
"Traitors to the organization deserve to die, even if they are that person's sister."
...
Late at night, Fujino's home.
The light from the fluorescent bulb seeped through the gaps in the curtains, and the room was eerily quiet, with the ticking of the clock sounding unusually loud.
Having just returned from the accident scene, Fujino went to the bathroom.
"That dump truck was definitely out to kill me…"
Fujino stripped off his clothes and looked at the bruised and bloodied wounds on his body in the mirror, his expression growing colder.
Without the detective enhancement effect activated in advance, and the protective coat absorbing the most severe impact, the accident might have resulted in more than just minor injuries.
But who would want to kill him?
Shaking off these thoughts, Fujino sighed and focused on the wound on his elbow.
"It would be troublesome if there are gravel fragments left in the wound."
After cleaning the wound with water, Fujino applied hydrogen peroxide from the sink.
"Ouch…"
Feeling the intense pain from the elbow wound, Fujino gritted his teeth, tears almost welling up in his eyes.
After a moment, the pain subsided.
He then applied iodine to the wound and wrapped it with a bandage.
[Congratulations Host for completing the live murder case, gaining 200 Detective Prestige Points]
[System reward bounty has been issued]
[Detective Level Up, Beginner Four Stars]
[Congratulations Host for obtaining a new skill: Detective Intuition]
[Current Detective Career Allocation Points: 1]
After treating his wound and sitting down on the sofa, Fujino heard the system notification.
"Expected level-up?"
Fujino perked up and opened the system interface:
[Main Profession Detective: Beginner Four Stars (0—700)]
[Full-Time Detective: Extra prestige reward for completing case commissions]
[Detective Time: Beginner (During your reasoning, no one can interrupt your reasoning within 60 seconds)]
[Detective Enhancement: Beginner Four Stars (Limited-time enhancement 200% body ability) Beginner One Star (Enhancement time 120 seconds)]
[Detective Aura: Automatically mentally crush suspects during detective effects, reducing suspects' 10% combat power]
[Detective Intuition: Beginner (Increases reasoning ability by 25%, active skill increases reasoning ability by 100%; Note: Active skill duration: 60 seconds)]
[Current System Balance: 2.85 million yen]
"So this new skill enhances reasoning ability?"
Fujino was surprised, looking down and pinching the philtrum. "Enhancing reasoning ability does fit the detective skills."
Shaking off his thoughts, he allocated the skill points from his detective level-up to extend the duration of the Detective Enhancement:
[Detective Enhancement:
（Enhancement Beginner Four Stars: Enhances Host 200% Body Ability）
（Time Beginner Two Stars: Enhancement Duration Four Minutes）]
"A full doubling?"
Fujino marveled at the enhancement effect now extended to four minutes and then turned his attention to the career ball draw interface.
**(End of Chapter)**