Chapter 295: There's Another Insider!

Chapter 295: There's Another Insider!

"Huh?"

Sayuri Midorikawa was startled, trying hard to recall when the two of them had met.

Someone she knew?

A guest at the bar?

If she was blackmailing someone she used to have a good relationship with, it seemed a bit awkward.

However, if she had met Nonohiko Ike, it would be impossible for her not to remember.

When exactly had they met?

Sayuri Midorikawa was full of doubt.

Seeing as there was a little girl present and she herself had been tracking him, it was naturally good to have a way out.

She smiled, "Well... long time no see."

Ai Haibara: "..."

They knew each other after all?

No wonder she found it strange that Nonohiko Ike wasn't in a hurry at all.

So he had known all along...

"Want to feed the cats together?"

Nonohiko Ike invited.

"Ah, okay..." Sayuri Midorikawa got out of the car.

"How much?"

Nonohiko Ike asked the driver.

He knew Sayuri Midorikawa was in a tough situation and needed money badly.

Taking a taxi in Japan wasn't cheap.

If she kept following him like this, he suspected the one million yen she planned to extort might not have much left in the end.

"Um... no need, I'll..." Sayuri Midorikawa was about to say she would pay herself, but Nonohiko Ike had already given the money.

The taxi drove away.

A lot of house cats and strays had already gathered at the alley entrance.

Nonohiko Ike walked over to his car, opened the trunk, took out two pieces of cardboard, and poured out some extra cat food.

Ai Haibara looked at Nonohiko Ike, then tilted her head to look at Sayuri Midorikawa, preparing to watch the drama unfold.

It was the first time she had seen Nonohiko Ike invite a woman to do something together and even pay for her taxi fare...

There was gossip!

Sayuri Midorikawa felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at.

She lowered her gaze and stepped forward, "Mr. Ike, actually I..."

"I'll drive you back later, then we can talk," Nonohiko Ike said without lifting his head.

He couldn't let Ai Haibara know about his business with Senzo Masuyama yet.

"Okay..." Sayuri Midorikawa glanced at Ai Haibara, stopped talking, and stood awkwardly to the side.

"You can ignore me," Ai Haibara said with a half-smile, "or I can go back first."

"Don't overthink it," Nonohiko Ike said, watching the gathering cats.

"Miss Midorikawa's family situation isn't good.

I helped her, and she probably came to thank me?"

"Yes, I have someone I like, so... please don't misunderstand," Sayuri Midorikawa looked up at Nonohiko Ike, her gaze carrying a hint of seriousness.

"I'm just very grateful to Mr. Ike, grateful to be able to meet someone like you in this cold city."

Although she didn't know how Nonohiko Ike knew her, from the situation just now, Nonohiko Ike must have known she was the one trying to blackmail him, yet he still understood her situation and helped her pay the taxi fare.

Ai Haibara felt a little disappointed, glancing at Nonohiko Ike with a look of wanting better for him.

You have quite a few female friends, but just can't find a girlfriend, right?

"It feels so warm, truly..." Sayuri Midorikawa smiled, but her eyes were a bit red.

She lowered her head and bowed, saying, "I'm truly sorry, and also, thank you very much."

Ai Haibara was taken aback for a moment, her gaze softening.

That's right, hadn't she felt the same way back then...

Nonohiko Ike squatted, watching the cats eat.

He didn't turn around or say much, "It's nothing.

I just appreciate you.

If it were someone else, I wouldn't care even if they died."

"Nono-nii, you're hopeless," Ai Haibara muttered, squatting down to pet a cat.

After the cats finished eating, Nonohiko Ike took them to run a couple of laps in the park.

At first, Ai Haibara and Sayuri Midorikawa followed, but eventually, they couldn't keep up at all.

"How about we go to that cafe over there and get something to drink?"

Sayuri Midorikawa bent down and asked Ai Haibara.

Ai Haibara was exhausted.

Propping herself up with her hands on her knees, she nodded, unable to speak.

Sayuri Midorikawa suddenly remembered she was apparently still the blackmailer.

She turned to look at Nonohiko Ike, "Mr. Ike, I didn't mean anything else, I just..."

Nonohiko Ike waved his hand, "You two go to the cafe.

I'll come over later."

"Thank you," Sayuri Midorikawa said again.

After the two left, Nonohiko Ike turned to the cats, "We'll climb over the wall."

The cats' eyes instantly lit up.

One of them was the first to dart out, looked back to see Nonohiko Ike following, and then continued climbing up the wall.

Around eight in the evening, the main street was still bustling with traffic.

In the deserted alleys, dark figures darted by - a night parade of a hundred cats!

However, Nonohiko Ike didn't run towards the villa area, keeping far away from that vicinity.

Someone had just died last night.

Although the reports showed that the Yamaguchi-gumi had suppressed the news and seemed to plan their own investigation, there was no guarantee that the police weren't investigating.

Running over there and climbing walls would not do any good.

After running for over an hour, Nonohiko Ike was also quite tired.

Climbing walls was different from running on flat ground, but he hadn't done any extra training recently besides his morning exercises, so considering this extra practice wasn't bad.

After drawing a map for the cats and marking his address, Nonohiko Ike went back to the cafe to pick up Ai Haibara and Sayuri Midorikawa, drove Ai Haibara home, and then drove Sayuri Midorikawa home.

In the Haido Town apartment, Ai Haibara turned to wash up, looking thoughtful.

Did he deliberately separate her to say something?

So... would she still get to hear the gossip?

...

Outside an old apartment building, the car was parked at the street corner.

Sayuri Midorikawa remained silent the whole way.

She took out the photo and negative and handed them to Nonohiko Ike, "Mr. Ike, I'm sorry.

You've probably guessed that I was the one who sent you that email."

Nonohiko Ike took the items and looked down at the photo.

"Emotions have a big influence on a person's consciousness, leading people to make some unwise choices."

"What?"

Sayuri Midorikawa was puzzled.

"Like you, because of your emotions, you voluntarily handed the items to me and exposed your address," Nonohiko Ike turned to look at Sayuri Midorikawa.

In the dim light of the car, her young face seemed expressionlessly cold, and his voice was terrifyingly calm.

"Emotions can sometimes lead people to make wrong choices."

Sayuri Midorikawa was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Mr. Ike, are you saying you were tricking me before?"

"Not necessarily," Nonohiko Ike withdrew his gaze.

"I originally thought you could be useful, but unfortunately, you are too emotional.

However, I still want to ask you, how far can you go for money?"

Sayuri Midorikawa carefully pondered Nonohiko Ike's words.

"What does Mr. Ike want me to do?"

Nonohiko Ike didn't answer but instead said, "Plus, I'll help you find the person you're looking for."

Sayuri Midorikawa lowered her eyes, her expression gradually calming down.

"I can do anything you want!"

"Senzo Masuyama was silenced," Nonohiko Ike suddenly changed the subject.

"Otherwise, why would he, an entrepreneur, do something like murder?"

Sayuri Midorikawa couldn't smile anymore.

She suddenly remembered that reporter's speculation, the speculation that Senzo Masuyama was acting under someone's orders.

At the time, she thought that unrealistic, wildly speculating reporter was truly detestable, but now that Nonohiko Ike had spoken truthfully, it meant that even if Nonohiko Ike wasn't the mastermind, he was involved.

No, looking at it this way, the photo she got wasn't that simple.

It might contain some kind of clue, and it was inherently dangerous for her to know about this kind of thing...

No wonder Nonohiko Ike mentioned 'exposing your address.'

Now that she knew about this matter, could the other party still let her go?

"Help me gather some information, just like the information you collected when you blackmailed others.

It doesn't matter who it is; record everything useful.

When necessary, I will specify a certain person's information for you to gather.

Of course, I will also provide you with some help," Nonohiko Ike directly stated his conditions.

"The reward will be enough for you to pay off the debt that man owes.

I will help you find that man.

You should be very clear: how many years can you keep waiting like this?

Even if you want to find him, you don't have the connections or channels to investigate.

I only need one year of your time.

After one year, I will let you go."

"I agree," Sayuri Midorikawa's gaze was resolute.

She knew very well that what Nonohiko Ike had just said was a clear indication that the information she was asked to gather probably wouldn't be used for anything good, but to find that man, she didn't care.

"As long as I can find him, I can agree to anything you ask!"

"I don't want you to become emotional again," Nonohiko Ike warned.

He wasn't surprised at all that Sayuri Midorikawa would make this choice.

It was true that this woman's nature wasn't bad, but it was also true that she was completely obsessed for a man.

Since she could blackmail, then gathering information wasn't necessarily out of the question.

His appreciation had nothing to do with good or evil; he simply admired Sayuri Midorikawa's unwavering persistence, like a 'Waiting-for-Husband Rock'.

Actually, from the moment Sayuri Midorikawa got the photo, it was destined that she couldn't escape.

To avoid future trouble, he knew he absolutely had to report this matter.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain later, and many people would suffer misfortune, perhaps even involving those around him.

And once reported, the organization might not care who got the photo, but they would definitely focus on whether that person had been dealt with.

If Sayuri Midorikawa wasn't handled, 'arranged' away, she probably wouldn't agree and would still insist on waiting for that man.

Then she would become entangled and could run out anywhere, causing him trouble if discovered by the organization.

It would be better to bring her in from the start, keep her close.

Moreover, Sayuri Midorikawa was smart and had a talent for gathering information.

A penniless woman relying on collecting others' weaknesses to blackmail many people - that was a skill.

Anyway, that person had reminded him to find a few peripheral members himself, those who would only be under his command and could be used as cannon fodder if necessary.

It wasn't good that he hadn't taken action yet.

He wouldn't treat Sayuri Midorikawa as cannon fodder, but developing her as his own information gatherer was a good choice.

His people, especially a peripheral member that the organization didn't even know about, wouldn't be heavily interfered with by Gin.

He would find a time to report it to the Public Security Bureau.

Sayuri Midorikawa couldn't be an undercover agent, but he wouldn't let her do anything too dangerous.

Gathering information, confirming situations - he could handle the rest himself.

It would make it easier to whitewash Sayuri Midorikawa together later.

The only problem was that he worried Sayuri Midorikawa would become emotional and make wrong choices out of reluctance or sentimentality.

His actions alone were fine, and adding the actions of people like Bourbon and Kir wasn't a big deal either; he still had the final say.

But if an operation led by Gin failed because the information provided by Sayuri Midorikawa was flawed, Sayuri Midorikawa would definitely die if she was discovered!

That's why he reminded Sayuri Midorikawa not to be emotional.

Sayuri Midorikawa nodded heavily, "I understand."

"I hope you truly understand," Nonohiko Ike picked up the photo and stared coldly at Sayuri Midorikawa.

"Looking at the details of this photo, it's clearly taken by a reporter.

Who gave it to you?"

If Sayuri Midorikawa said who that person was now, she would likely push someone towards their death.

He needed to confirm how far Sayuri Midorikawa could go.

If she wasn't willing to say, it would be better to 'arrange' her away, lest she die later and implicate him.

Sayuri Midorikawa was silent for a moment, then steeled her heart and truthfully said, "It was indeed taken by a reporter.

His name is Tetsuya Aoyagi."

End of Chapter