An infinite journey starting from paradise

Like most people in the gypsy settlement, without an education and unwilling to work as a legitimate laborer, Aso Kasumi could only develop some less-than-legal side jobs, such as stealing and robbing. Oh, and prostitution didn't count, as it was a relatively legal gray industry in Italy.

Aso Kasumi's job at that time was to tell fortunes on the street, and her side job was stealing bags and breaking into houses.

That night, Aso Kasumi sneaked into an old house on the Arno River. She had been scouting the place for three days and was sure that the owner of the house was away on a long trip.

As Aso Kasumi had imagined, the house was quiet, dark and silent. A strange odor, a mixture of old cheese and decaying truffles, lingered in the air, like the sweaty feet of God. It wasn't pleasant, but it delighted Aso Kasumi—it meant the owner of the house must be wealthy, and she was sure she'd be able to reap a good harvest this time.

Aso Kasumi pinched her nose and began to explore. All she saw were old, empty wooden boxes and tattered papyri scattered on the floor. The walls were covered in empty picture frames. It seemed someone else had gotten there first. Aso Kasumi felt a little annoyed that she hadn't acted sooner, but she still climbed up to the second floor and entered the house's study.

Then she saw the owner of the house.

To be precise, it was the corpse or mummy of the owner of the house.

There he sat, his hair thinning, his body wrapped in a linen robe, his skin dry as rotten wood, his head sticking out of his collar like a turtle, his deep eye sockets revealing the bony skin beneath, like a dried-out snapping turtle mummy in the desert. He sat huddled behind a table with a dimly lit lantern on the table.

Seeing such a horrifying scene, most people would be frightened and even turn and run away. But for some reason, Aso Kasumi was not afraid at all and walked straight into the study.

The bookshelf behind the mummy was empty, and there were only three things on the table in front of him: a lantern, an open cowhide notebook, and a tied sheepskin bag.

Aso Kasumi curiously picked up the notebook and flipped through it. The first sentence she saw was "Kuloye is right, this world is constantly being destroyed!" (Kuloye = Kuroya = Black Arrow)

At this moment, Aso Kasumi had no idea what this inexplicable remark meant. In fact, her original intention was to search for anything valuable and then leave quickly. However, she could not help but flip through the notebook.

Due to her lack of formal education, Aso Kasumi didn't know much Latin. More importantly, the notebook used more than just Latin, so Aso Kasumi couldn't clearly understand what was written. Even now, Aso Kasumi still couldn't understand the notebook, because much of the content was written in a language that wasn't known—some were like made-up codes, others were like variations of kanji and kana.

However, at that time, Aso Kasumi still roughly knew from the few words she could understand that the owner of the notes was a painter named Michael Heinz, what he and a group of friends had done, and how they were being hunted down and fled by someone.

"Then I put down my notes and prepared to open the sheepskin bag to see if there was anything valuable inside," Aso Kasumi continued. "Before I could reach out, the bag untied itself, and bandages crawled out like snakes and wrapped around my body. The more I struggled, the tighter it got. I tried to escape, but ended up getting tangled up like a dumpling.

When I opened my eyes again, I was submerged in the Arno River, my clothes gone, and my body bound like a mummy. My left hand clutched a sheepskin bag, my right clutched a notebook. Several bodies lay beside me. I knew them; they were local thugs, all strangled. They must have been done with the bandages while I was unconscious.

Later, I found a considerable amount of cash in the sheepskin bag: lire, pounds, and dollars. There were also several gold bars. But the truly valuable items were a few pamphlets containing the appraisal tips of several great art collectors and the various magic tricks and theft techniques of the magician Maskelyne. Of course, none of these things mattered as much as the bag itself. It was as if the bag was magical: while it appeared to be only this size, it contained a full cubic volume, and the weight of its contents was negligible.

"Where is the body? Have you ever gone back to that house to see it again?" Lin Shangren asked.

Aso Kasumi replied, "I'd like to go back and look for any valuables I've missed, but... well, it's a little unbelievable, but the house and the nearby Trinity Bridge are gone, as if they never existed. It's like I've stumbled into Shangri-La by mistake."

"Is that so? Then what?"

"And then? Then I planned to leave Florence and use the money and gold in the sheepskin bag to change my appearance and start a normal life again. But the money turned out to be counterfeit bills. I was arrested for carrying a large amount of counterfeit bills, and I gave most of the gold to the police.

In desperation, I began to teach myself Latin and English, studying the information in those booklets. During this time, I also thoroughly understood how to control, or rather, how to use, this magic bandage. Later, I learned that Michael Heinz was a great German painter, that Maskelyne mentioned in the booklet was a famous magician during World War II, and what the so-called Monuments Men mentioned in the notebook were.

It's quite ironic that the knowledge and legacy left by those dedicated to preserving ancient monuments and cultural relics around the world ultimately gave rise to a thief like me who makes a living stealing art," Aso Kasumi lamented.

Lin Shangren chuckled and said, "A big thief? Picking bags at a celebrity dinner doesn't really count as a big thief."

"Since it doesn't count, can Officer Lin let me go? I don't want the bag and bandage. Besides, if Officer Lin wants to do it, it's not impossible for me to cooperate. Anyway, I've been tied up like this, and you've seen everything you should and shouldn't see." Aso Kasumi showed a charming smile.

"Haha, you're dreaming. My Yang Rui is not something that anyone can eat."

Hayashi Shangren reached out and pressed a hand against Aso Kasumi's forehead, using a dressing glove to change her clothes. Aso Kasumi's slender legs were draped in tight jeans, her slim waist hidden beneath a loose cotton blouse, only barely visible in the wind. Combined with her current suspended position, it was like an upgrade from Kasumi Touch to Touch the Girl. (A flash game, an upgraded version of Touch Kasumi, featuring customizable character design, clothing, and scenes, along with new props.)

The sudden change surprised Aso Kasumi: "Who on earth are you..."

"Just treat me as a magician," Lin Shangren said. "Let's move on to the next question. Where is the notebook now?"

Seeing that although Lin Shangren had severely humiliated and teased her, he didn't seem to have any evil intentions towards her body, and that the ability he displayed was far beyond her imagination, Aso Kasumi gave up the idea of ​​escaping and answered Lin Shangren's question honestly: "It's in the sheepskin bag. I always carry it with me."

"Oh? Miss Thief, lying is not a good habit."

Lin Shangren had already sensed the contents of the sheepskin bag through shadow touch. There were only the stolen property and sketchbooks of Aso Kasumi, and no brown paper notes at all.

"It's real. If you don't believe me, you can open it and check it yourself. It's inside the inner layer of the pocket!"

"Mezzanine?"

Lin Shangren raised his hand, controlling the bandages, and untied the sheepskin bag from Aso Kasumi's waist, bringing it to his own face. To prevent any deception, he wrapped the bag entirely in a shadow, then opened it within the shadowy space.

Lin Shangren probed the black shadow into it and took out the things that Aso Kasumi had just stolen, but did not find the so-called mezzanine.

"Can't find it? That shouldn't be the case... Maybe it's because the mezzanine is a private space that only the owner of the bag can open. Otherwise, let me go and let me try." Aso Kasumi said a little anxiously.

"I need to practice my acting skills more." Lin Shangren thought to himself. However, he still deliberately untied the bandage and handed the sheepskin bag to Aso Kasumi.

Aso Kasumi took the bag and reached into it, pretending to search for something. Then, a smile of triumph flashed across her face, and her body gradually faded. She said arrogantly, "Goodbye, Officer Lin. I'll leave these things with you for now. I'll come back to take them away later!"

Lin Shangren didn't try to stop her, allowing Aso Kasumi to vanish into thin air. He then closed his eyes, peering through the darkness at the crystal compass in the shadowy space. The compass's screen revealed Aso Kasumi's current location: she was outside the back gate of the Nagato estate, revving up the motorcycle she had prepared earlier, ready to flee.

"I've cast my line, but I don't know if I'll ever catch a big fish. This world is more interesting than I thought." Thinking this, Lin Shangren teleported back to the Nagato family mansion. After all, there was a top beauty waiting to meet him privately.

Chapter 304: Assault on Aso Kasumi

Later, in the banquet hall of the Nagato family mansion, as the dinner was drawing to a close, Lin Shangren also returned to the banquet hall.

"What did Mr. Lin do?"

The tears of the next life slowly approached, walking to Lin Shangren's side, bringing with them a rich, sweet scent that was neither musk nor musks, like a blooming violet. The wide-open collar of the thin silk lapel revealed the tender skin of her chest, and the deep ravines of her proud snow-white flesh pushed out the soft and smooth dress.

"Catch the thief."

Lin Shangren answered concisely, but his eyes unconsciously glanced at the two dangerous peaks on Shenglei's chest.

Noticing the change in Lin Shangren's eyes, Lai Shenglei smiled and thought to herself, "I didn't think he was truly so devoted to his feelings that he wouldn't be interested in other women. Sure enough, he can still be swayed by beauty. This is simple."

Thinking of this, Lai Shenglei pretended to be surprised and asked, "Catch a thief? There's a thief here? Did Mr. Lin catch him?"

"No." Lin Shangren shrugged. "She escaped very quickly."

"Then she must be even more powerful than Kaito Kidd."

"No." Lin Shangren shook his head. "In fact, I was able to catch Kaito Kidd because he sent me a letter of advance warning, so I was prepared. If he had sneaked into Kuchiki Mansion and stolen while I was away, I would have had no chance of catching him. After all, the security facilities at Kuchiki Mansion haven't been upgraded yet. The few security guards and the old surveillance cameras can only prevent ordinary thieves at best."

"Is that so..." Lai Sheng Lei maintained a gentle smile, her fingers carelessly brushing her long hair, "Then were Mr. Lin's belongings stolen?"

Lin Shangren replied, "The Karlsruhe sketchbook is still there. If Miss Laisheng is willing to assist me in my investigation, then we must leave quickly."

"why?"

"If the guest whose belongings were stolen discovers they've been robbed, I, the only police officer present, will probably have to work overtime." Lin Shangren smiled helplessly. "It's better to leave this matter to the Third Investigation Section, which specializes in theft cases."

"It's never nice to let personal matters interfere with business. Tonight is a bit rushed, so how about we change the time? How about tomorrow night? I can prepare properly then."

Lai Sheng Lei emphasized the word "prepare", and her charming tone was enough to make people imagine.

"Prepare...ah, I mean of course you can, if it's convenient for Miss Lei." Lin Shangren replied.

"Stare~"

Not far away, Yuanzi was staring at Lin Shangren and Lai Shenglei who were talking.

Noticing her best friend's strange behavior, Xiaolan asked, "Yuanzi, are you... spying on Mr. Lin?"

"No way, I'm just watching openly, okay!" Yuanzi turned her head and said.

"Ah...isn't your attitude towards Mr. Lin a little too fanatical? If you really want to date him, it would be difficult to succeed with a fan-like mentality, right?" Xiaolan said.

After hearing what Xiaolan said, Sonoko's attitude actually dimmed. She sighed and said, "I can only regard it as idol worship. If we really want to date him... it's unrealistic."

"Sonoko? What's wrong?" Xiaolan was a little confused. She thought to herself: "Did Sister Ayako say something to Sonoko just now? Why is Sonoko acting so strange?"

Xiaolan didn't ask this question out loud, and Sonoko forced a sunny and cheerful smile and said, "I'm just lamenting the age gap. After all, Mr. Lin is almost a generation older than us. Although handsome uncles are also very good, I still prefer young handsome guys. Hahahaha."

"Is... that so?" Xiaolan felt even more worried.

Seeing her best friend's worried expression, Sonoko quickly grabbed Xiaolan's arm and said, "Xiaolan, let me go over there. Uncle Maori seems to be drunk again."

“Oh…oh…”

Ran's guess was correct; Sonoko's change was indeed due to the conversation her sister had just had with her. As one of Japan's top chaebol families, the Suzuki family had only two daughters, Ayako and Sonoko, and no male offspring by Sonoko's generation. After Suzuki Ayako married, Sonoko became the sole heir to the Suzuki family.

To ensure the Suzuki Group remained firmly within the Suzuki family's bloodline, Sonoko's chosen son-in-law could not be from the "old money" class with a certain level of financial power, but rather an ordinary person willing to marry into the Suzuki family, or a "new money" without the financial power or ambition to take over the Suzuki Group. Hayashi Naoto clearly did not meet these criteria.

In addition, the consortium B formed by Hayashi Naoto was making an imminent move to invade various fields of Japan's manufacturing and entertainment industries, almost directly threatening the Suzuki family's business. So after noticing that her sister had developed a feeling of admiration for Hayashi Naoto, Suzuki Ayako explained the pros and cons to Sonoko.

The depression Sonoko experienced after this wasn't the pain of Juliet and Romeo, who were unable to reunite due to the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. After all, her feelings for Hayashi Naoto were merely admiration and worship. Admiration, as we all know, is the furthest thing from understanding. Sonoko's current frustration was simply the frustration of a high school girl being forcibly prevented from pursuing her idol by her parents. However, soon, these feelings would completely change.

At this moment, she just forced a smile and pulled Xiaolan to take care of the drunken Maori Kogoro, and Lin Shangren also ended his conversation with Lai Sheng Lei. It seemed that he would not be able to go any further with Lai Sheng Lei tonight.

However, Lin Shangren did not gain nothing tonight.

……

"Huh...huh..."

In a single apartment in downtown Tokyo, Aso Kasumi, having escaped death, struggled to catch her breath. The teleportation magic she'd used last time had taken a toll on her body, and she lay drenched in sweat, nearly exhausted. Her white blouse had been completely torn, her nipples faintly visible in the neon lights outside the window.

"We have to clean up quickly..."

Aso Kasumi forced herself to stand up and closed the curtains. "We have to prepare to run. I don't know if that guy will find this place."

Hayashi Naoto wasn't the first supernatural opponent Aso Kasumi had encountered. After stumbling upon Michael Heinz's inheritance, she was pursued by a mysterious organization: a hypnotic assassin wearing a spider mask, a strange figure with snake scales on his face, and a high school girl with dark red hair who claimed to be a witch. Despite their formidable abilities, Aso Kasumi always managed to escape danger with bandages and the teleportation magic engraved within a sheepskin bag, just as she had when Michael Heinz was being hunted.

Although the opponents she had encountered were formidable, their abilities were still within her comprehension range. However, the power displayed by Lin Shangren tonight was completely beyond her imagination.

"I don't know if that monster has the ability to track people. I don't have the energy to use teleport again."

Aso Kasumi reluctantly opened the safe hidden in the wall and placed some of the gold and cash inside into a sheepskin bag. Due to the bag's limited capacity, many valuables, such as the antiques she had previously stolen and Michael Heinz's inheritance, were hidden in another secret safe house. This safe house only contained cash, gold, some clothing, and common equipment such as firearms.

"And clothes."

With a hint of disgust, Aso Kasumi removed the blouse and jeans she'd been wearing, revealing a delicate figure glistening with sweat. Because the teleportation magic had depleted her body's nutrients, her slightly flabby belly revealed a beautiful waistline, and her slightly plump thighs became firmer. Her breasts and buttocks remained relatively unchanged, only her firmer, more slender waist made them appear even more...

"Clothes...clothes..."

Aso Kasumi opened her wardrobe and pulled open a bottom drawer. She was about to change into a pair of sports bras for ease of movement when the blouse and jeans she had carelessly tossed on the floor suddenly transformed into a pool of black liquid. The liquid swirled, forming a vortex. At the center of the vortex, a purple magic circle suddenly lit up, followed by a deafening sound.

[PORTAL～PLEASE～EXECUTE～NOW～]

The purple light illuminated the room, and Lin Shangren's figure slowly emerged in the center of the purple magic circle.

"It's over."

Exhausted, Aso Kasumi gave up resistance. Suddenly, a puff of pink smoke oozed out of the bandage wrapped around her thigh. Under the purple light, the pink smoke was barely perceptible.

When Lin Shangren's figure completely appeared in the room, the pink smoke had dissipated, leaving only a refreshing smell.

"What's going on... my body feels so soft..."

Aso Kasumi, already feeling weak, suddenly felt a sense of softness enveloping her entire body. Her muscles, tense from fear and tension, completely relaxed. She could only stand there helplessly, awaiting her fate.

As for Lin Shangren, after seeing Aso Kasumi, who was naked and covered in sweat, and smelling the familiar sweet scent in the air, he couldn't help but have wild thoughts.

Lin Shangren hadn't originally planned to do anything to Aso Kasumi, but for some reason, all sorts of charming and embarrassing scenes kept popping up in his mind. He wanted to lift her wrists, turn her firm, snow-white body, penetrate the slippery passage between her buttocks, savor the pinching sensation, slowly and firmly scrape her most delicate spot; and she could only grit her teeth, helplessly clutching the bedsheets, suppressing her shameful sobs, and enduring with a delicate and stubborn attitude...

"If I want to, I can do it. It's simple, isn't it? Let the shadows transform into tentacles to lift her beautiful body from the trampling rice and carry her to the bed. Control the bandages tied around her legs... the feeling of tightening the flesh isn't strong, but the muscular buttocks thrusting into her flesh is more exciting. Control the bandages to tie her hands behind her back. Press her down on the bed and spread her legs. No, no, no... I can't do that. It would be a shame to come directly from behind."

Lin Shangren turned over Aso Kasumi's body and let her lie on her back on the bed.

"What a stunner, an athletic beauty, tighter than Maya Tachibana and tighter than Fuyushi."

Lin Shangren's assessment was correct. Aso Kasumi's chest muscles were incredibly well-developed. Even when she lay down, her firm breasts showed no sign of flattening, remaining perky and pointed. A delicate indentation stretched between her breasts to her delicate navel, while the muscles on either side were dense and gathered into a small circle. Even as her owner panted softly, her chest and waist rose and fell, revealing no ribs; they were all soft, flexible muscles.

"Don't be nervous, I won't hurt you."

Lin Shangren unconsciously activated the Lucky Pervert and snatched the power of charm from the Slaanesh of the Shell Girl World, so that his words had an alluring charm.

Hearing Lin Shangren's voice, Aso Kasumi's resistance gradually subsided, and then her body tensed up again - Lin Shangren grabbed her waist.

"What a thin waist."

The muscles around Aso Kasumi's waist were very tight, but the skin on the surface was as smooth as cream. Lin Shangren enjoyed the narrow, tight and delicate touch in his palm.

Aso Kasumi's two snow-white thighs, which were spread across her waist, were arched into an obscene M shape. The tender muscles at her hips were tightly connected to her waist without any wrinkles at all. The curves were so amazing that Lin Shangren felt very excited.

"Just some sweat, but still not enough."

If Lin Shangren wanted to, he could have used the Eagle Finger to force Aso Kasumi into arousal, but that would have been too crude. He wasn't after that final thrill. He enjoyed the process of exploring, familiarizing himself with, and gradually igniting a woman's body, making her unable to stop wanting him.

"I can if I want to."

Lin Shangren held Aso Kasumi's left breast and used the palm of his hand to feel the process of Aso Kasumi's nipples becoming harder due to being scratched.

"It seems your erogenous zones are quite traditional."

Lin Shangren lifted Aso Kasumi's chin with his finger and smiled as he looked at her expression which was filled with fear, humiliation and shyness.

"Nice expression, worth the mess I made it into."

Chapter 305: The atmosphere suddenly became Cthulhu

"Help……"

Aso Kasumi closed her eyes in despair. She could foresee her own fate: her body being brutally penetrated and torn apart, toyed with and tortured without mercy.

She had seen women being tortured in various ways in the territories of the Mafia and the Gypsies: their tendons in their hands and feet had been severed, their teeth had been broken, and they had been tortured day and night until they were completely broken and died.

They loved to hear their playthings wail. She had witnessed that inhumane scene when she stole a porcelain jar from a gangster's collection. To save effort, he stabbed the girl's shoulder blade with his knife, using it as a handle. The girl cried and wailed in agony, eventually bleeding to death. The bastard, covered in blood, lay on top of the girl's body with a look of satisfaction on his face.