Want to play cards? I'll use my King's Deck!

"Wasn't Teacher Kno killed by the mastermind behind the scenes? That means we can't find him through his subordinates, right? Are there any other clues?"

"Uncle Niuwei and his team are investigating the data records on the cell phones and computers left behind by the previous prisoners, such as Teacher Keno, as well as their social connections. They have also decided to check the entry and exit records of the past few months and the foreign population and undocumented immigrants staying in the area. They will also look for informants in the underworld to gather intelligence and see if they have found anything suspicious in those social activity groups recently."

Now that things have come to this point, Izayoi Yuki naturally wouldn't hide anything anymore, and besides, it wasn't anything particularly worth hiding.

However, these are just routine operations for dueling guards, which in turn shows that the Public Security Bureau has not yet obtained any particularly important or useful clues, and the progress of the case is not optimistic.

If that were the case, I guess Izayoi Yuki wouldn't still be sitting here.

But Izayoi Yuki's actions weren't without purpose.

"There's nothing I can do to help with that kind of thing; I can only rely on the large manpower of the Public Security Bureau to investigate bit by bit. So I plan to try a different approach, starting with urban legends, to see if I can get any clues."

Xing Yewu's eyes lit up.

"Urban legend, huh? I see. That's a pretty good idea."

While most urban legends are fictional, this is a world where anything is possible, and occasionally some real things are mixed in.

Wherever you walk, you will leave traces.

No matter how well the mastermind hides, it's impossible to leave no trace. Sometimes, starting from seemingly impossible places can yield unexpected results.

"As expected of Xiaoxue, she has a wealth of investigative experience and can come up with new investigative ideas so quickly."

Izayoi Yuki shook her head noncommittally.

"It was a last resort, a desperate measure. If I could, I wouldn't want to do it this way."

She's currently under strict control by Ushio Takeshi, making it difficult for her to use proper dueling guard methods, which would also be inefficient.

The fact that this enemy has managed to hold out against the Security Bureau for so long without being eliminated suggests that they are very familiar with the Bureau. Conventional methods are unlikely to be very effective.

In fact, as time went by, Izayoi Yuki's confidence in whether she could catch up with her opponent also decreased.

She was simply unwilling to do nothing and watch the enemy slip away.

"Then I'll help you too."

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Izayoi Yuki looked at her in surprise: "Izumi-kun? What did you say?"

Meeting the girl's gaze, Yu Xi spoke carefully this time: "I said, I'll help you, Izayoi-kun. You see, there are so many true and false stories in urban legends, it's hard for Izayoi-kun to be efficient by himself. If we're really in a hurry, having more people help should make things faster."

"no!"

Upon hearing this, Izayoi Yuki rejected Yuki's suggestion without even thinking.

"This is too dangerous. Izumi is just a civilian, not a duel guard. It's neither necessary nor appropriate for her to do this..."

"Xiaoxue is wrong to say that."

"dance?"

Feng Shui turns.

Izayoi Yuki had interrupted Yuki not long ago, but she immediately encountered the same thing.

Hoshino Mai and Izayoi Yuki locked eyes, and Izayoi Yuki said earnestly, "We are indeed not duel guards, but we are your friends. How can we stand idly by when our friends are in trouble?"

"but……"

"Besides, we're not really going to the battlefield. We're just helping you find clues and eliminate the wrong ones. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Before Hoshino Yuki could speak, Hoshino Mai continued, "You don't need to worry about his strength either. I don't need to elaborate; you're well aware of Yuki-kun's level, right? Besides, he's recently acquired many powerful new powers, not just those like 'Black Witch' and 'Snake Eyes.'"

"A powerful new force?"

Izayoi Yuki was drawn to a certain piece of information mentioned in the blonde girl's words, and her crimson eyes looked at Yuki.

Yu Xi nodded and said, "It's like this, something happened while you were away, Quan-kun..."

Izayoi Yuki listened quietly, her expression growing more and more astonished.

It wasn't until Youxi uttered the last syllable that she finally processed this astonishing information.

"The God Card... Izumi-kun always manages to surprise people."

"Right, Yu Xijun is very interesting, in every sense of the word."

What exactly does it mean?

Yu Xi had a mouthful of complaints stuck in his throat, but he had something else he wanted to ask: "Speaking of which, is Miss Xingye coming along too?"

"Of course. If Yuki-kun is going to do it, how can I fall behind? Don't forget, I'm stronger than you." Hoshino Mai's expression was as if she was saying that Yuki-kun asked a silly question. "Besides, searching for urban legends and stuff, I don't want to be excluded from such a fun thing as you guys."

"This is no laughing matter."

Izayoi Yuki spoke for Yuki, criticizing the girl. Then she sighed helplessly and looked again at the two who had resolute expressions and no intention of backing down.

She knew that she couldn't persuade Yuki and Izayoi Yuki on her own right now.

Just as there are some things she absolutely cannot compromise on, neither Youxi nor Xingyewu have things they cannot compromise on.

"Alright, Izumi, Mai, I'll have to lend you a hand. But let me make this clear, it's only for intelligence gathering; I won't let you participate in the battle."

"Alright! It's settled then! So—"

Hoshino Mai extended a hand, urging Yuki and Izayoi Yuki to place their hands on top of hers, then shouted with a smile, "From today onwards, the Kiyosumi Urban Legend Investigation Team is established!"

"1, 2, 3, Let's Go!"

Chapter 106 Devil's Alley

Without further ado, the "Kiyosumi Urban Legend Investigation Team," which had not yet been recognized by the school, officially began its first club activity amidst the passionate slogans of Hoshinobu.

"The direction of the investigation into urban legends is relatively clear."

In the living room of Izayoi Yuki's house, each of the three had a glass of juice, several plates of snacks, and an open laptop in front of them.

This was Yuki's first time visiting Izayoi Yuki's home. The house was decorated in warm colors, creating a cozy atmosphere. However, due to her father's hospitalization and her mother's long hours away for work, the house felt somewhat deserted.

As the host, Izayoi Yukimichi, who was entertaining the two guests, said, "Instead of urban legends that harm humans or cause people to lose their senses and become lost, we are looking for the kind that can drive people mad, strengthen them, and grant them special powers. This kind is what we are looking for."

"Oh, I understand, I understand."

Xingye Wu understood: "It's like those old doctor ads, right? They say they can increase this or that. You could probably call that an urban legend."

"Why did Miss Hoshino immediately think of that kind of thing?"

Yu Xi couldn't help but complain that the blonde girl he was living with always kept coming out with some unexpected dirty jokes.

"Uh...it's roughly the same idea."

Upon hearing Xingye Wu's bold and audacious words, even Izayoi Yuki's expression stiffened slightly. She stammered for a moment before continuing, "Our primary task is to search online and summarize the number of urban legends in the area over the past few months, and then make a simple comparison with the investigation data from me and the Public Security Bureau. I have the relevant database access; you can just log in and query using my ID."

Due to issues of credibility, urban legends are not a high priority for the Public Security Bureau, but they are still investigated periodically.

If we could refer to official internal information, we could undoubtedly filter out a large number of counterfeit products, saving a lot of unnecessary effort.

Once they find some valuable clues, Izayoi Yuki and Ushio Tsuyoshi will report to the authorities and request their support.

What Yuki and the others immediately followed up on was Izayoi Yuki's progress over the past few days.

"These are some forums and websites that I've investigated and determined to be quite credible and popular among urban legend enthusiasts. I'll share the URLs with you now. Choose one of them (except the one at the top) and start your investigation."

"Ok!"

"learn!"

When it came to serious matters, You Xi and Xing Yewu stopped joking around and both became serious.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room besides the tapping of keyboards were the simple conversations as they checked each other's progress.

It wasn't until several hours later, when the clock struck ten, that their work officially came to an end, and they achieved a preliminary result.

It has to be said that there is strength in numbers.

If Izayoi Yuki were to do it all by herself, it would probably take several times longer, making it incredibly inefficient.

Even so, the number of those that ultimately met all the conditions was still quite large.

"17 items? There are so many?"

Looking at the compiled documents on the screen, filled with urban legends that were hard to distinguish between true and false, You Xi looked quite surprised.

He thought that with so many restrictions, he could narrow the scope down to ten or less.

"After all, it's a big city, and with more people comes more trouble. There are bound to be plenty of bored idiots who have nothing better to do."

Izayoi Yuki answered Yuki, while Hoshino Mai pondered and said, "Hmm... there should be some of these being bait released by underworld figures to lure in fat sheep, right? Or maybe it's some kind of underground transaction?"

"Yes."

Izayoi Yuki nodded in agreement with Hoshinobu's guess: "So if conditions permit, we can also take the opportunity to destroy some criminal dens or something. But we should act within our capabilities. If we really encounter something, calling the police is the best option."

Yuki remarked, "What Izayoi said does have a real 'Duel Guard' feel to it."

"I was originally a dueling guard."

Mushiro Yuki sighed softly, then clicked on the data with the mouse, highlighting a portion in red.

"We can ignore the urban legends in East Zone 1. I've already investigated them all over the past two days, and they're not our target. Let's start from East Zone 2 and gradually verify the authenticity of these urban legends."

The East 1st District is the residential area where Izayoi Yuki's family lives. It's normal for her to sweep through this area first and then use it as a center to advance outwards.

Upon hearing Izayoi Yuki's words, Hoshino Mai asked suspiciously, "Wait, Yuki, you're not planning to stay up all night again, are you? It's already past ten o'clock."

Normal students should be washing up and going to bed by now.

Moreover, apart from having one meal, Izayoi Yuki hardly rested at all.

"There's no other way. Some urban legends only happen at a very late time, so I have to wait in advance."

Izayoi Yuki's voice showed no intention of ending the day like this: "Mai and Izumi, I'm very grateful for your help. You two can go and rest in the guest rooms. I'll be back when I'm done with my work."

"That won't work."

Yuki shook her head, rejecting Izayoi Yuki's suggestion.

"If we're going to do it, we should see it through to the end. Izayoi-kun has already taken action, and I don't want to just sit here waiting. There are quite a few urban legends in East District 2, and like this time, it'll be more efficient if everyone works together. If all goes well, we might even be able to take care of the urban legends in East District 3 and East District 4 all at once."

"Yes, Yu Xijun is right. I think the same way as Yu Xijun."

Xing Yewu chuckled and echoed You Xi, shaking her arm, "I'm tired of sitting too, so I want to go out and stretch my muscles. I can also grab a late-night snack on the way back."