An infinite journey starting from paradise

……

Late at night, at Abe Keisuke's official residence.

The streetlight across from the official residence was dim. A tall figure, holding a black umbrella upside down, slowly emerged from the shadows beside the streetlight. The dim light stretched his shadow long, pointing directly in the direction of Abe's official residence.

Lin Shangren, dressed in a black windbreaker, gazed at the brightly lit official residence with a slight smile on his face.

"I prefer being a killer to being a detective. Are you ready, bastards? The Grim Reaper is here to take you away."

The author says:

Author's words: These chapters may be a bit boring, as they are basically just introducing the characters and laying the groundwork, so please forgive me.

Chapter 67 There is an old Chinese saying: "Heaven created all things to nourish man..."

The night was dark, and the moon hanging high in the sky looked like half a pale skull.

The two guards at the gate of Abe's official residence were staring blankly in boredom. One of them kept tugging at the cigarette case in his pocket, thinking about taking a few puffs during the next shift change.

Another was reminiscing about the girl he'd slept with the previous night: long eyelashes, a thin nose, a broad forehead, small breasts, and a slender waist. While not exactly a beauty, she was a genuine virgin. Judging by her mannerisms and clothing, she seemed like a student from a well-off family.

He had originally intended to go to a red-light district to spend some money and have some fun, but he didn't expect to meet a female student who threw herself at him. The female student didn't ask for money or anything else, and her only request was that he not go too far.

The experience was average, but it still felt novel to him, after all, it was his first time sleeping with a young student.

"I don't know if I can be that lucky again." He thought to himself, "I have heard that some female students organize themselves to sell their bodies, but it is still very rare to find a completely free virgin..."

Suddenly, he heard a melodious whistle.

Looking up, I found a tall man in black appearing under the street light opposite the official residence.

Before he could open his mouth to question the man's identity, the man in black disappeared on the spot as if he had never appeared.

However, the melodious whistle did not stop, but instead sounded beside him.

Before the two guards could figure out what was happening, they felt a hand on their shoulders. Before they could react, they fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth, unable to get up.

The door of the official residence was not opened, but the melodious and slightly eerie whistle sounded from inside the residence.

In his study on the second floor, Abe Keizo was unaware of what was happening outside. He was reading a secret letter from Zinc Co., Ltd. They hoped that Abe and the party behind him would help cover up the truth about the "minor illness" in Kumamoto Prefecture.

"It's no wonder that problems arise when nitrogen production wastewater is discharged untreated into the local ocean. However, the nitrogen fertilizer plant is the economic lifeline of Minamata City, so it absolutely cannot be moved. So let's just make things difficult for the people. Since we can't eat the fish in the sea anymore, why not eat more vegetables and rice... So noisy! Who's whistling? What's that?"

The catchy yet eerie whistle melody came from far away, making Abe Keisuke feel upset.

Of course, he didn't know what tune the whistle was playing. After all, it wasn't until the 1968 thriller "Twisted Nerve" was released that the song with the same name was introduced to the public. And the song really became well-known in "Kill Bill" directed by the old foot fetishist Quentin Tarantino in 2003.

Of course, none of this matters to Abe Keisuke. After all, he is about to die.

"Who is whistling? Someone come, someone come!" Abe Keisuke shouted anxiously.

Naturally, no one answered, but the eerie whistle had already reached the door of his study.

"What the hell is going on? Who's outside? Who!"

Abe Keisuke took out a pistol from under the desk, and he mustered up the courage to stand up and walk towards the door.

Suddenly, the whistle stopped, replaced by a cold male voice.

"Are you looking for me?"

The voice came from behind Abe. Having spent some time in Manchukuo, he could tell it was Chinese.

Abe, with his hair standing on end, turned around suddenly and saw a young man in black sitting at his desk, staring at him with a cold expression.

Abe, a former lieutenant in the Kwantung Army, reacted quickly. He did not ask a meaningless question like "Who are you?" Instead, he raised his gun and prepared to shoot.

But the young man sitting at the desk suddenly vanished. Then Abe felt a sharp pain—his right hand, along with the gun in it, was chopped off by Lin Shangren's sword, falling to the ground. Then he was kicked in the knee. He knelt before Lin Shangren.

"Abe Keisuke, right?"

Without waiting for Abe to answer, Lin Shangren swung his knife and chopped off his entire left arm.

"Oh, before I officially begin interrogating you, I need to take care of your body first. After all, vermin don't deserve limbs."

"Pfft."

His right arm was also chopped off at the root.

"Well, I'll leave my legs to you. They'll be useful later."

Seeing Abe about to faint from the pain, Lin Shangren used the Eagle Finger to force him to stay awake.

"Next comes the interrogation. I hope you can cooperate. After all, there's an old Chinese saying, 'All things are created to nourish man...'"

……

The next morning, a maid employed by the Abe family woke from a coma. She was horrified to see the servants lying unconscious beside her. Little did she know, something even more terrifying awaited her.

She mustered up the courage to walk into Abe's study, and then she saw a horrible scene that she would never forget.

Rivers of blood, literally rivers of blood.

Dozens of corpses lay displayed in Abe's study. Their heads had been severed and neatly stacked, facing west, to form a Jingguan. Their features were distorted, as if they had witnessed something horrific in life. Abe, his wife, children, and his attendants and guards could be vaguely identified.

After their headless bodies were displayed in the Jingguan, they all knelt facing west with their limbs prostrated on the ground, as if they were kneeling or apologizing.

Let’s not talk about how the maid screamed and fainted, how the Metropolitan Police Department was furious, how the newspaper reporters celebrated, and how the various political parties reacted. None of this has anything to do with the newly promoted teacher, Mr. Hayashi Shangren.

At this moment, Lin Shangren had just finished his self-introduction and speech in front of the entire school. He walked off the stage and sat in the teachers' seats, observing the students and teachers present with great interest.

No one among the students whispered, all staring fixedly at Saeki Tokisei as he spoke on the stage. The profiles of these students listening to the speech all looked identical—their features and hairstyles differed, of course, but overall, they all looked the same, dull and lacking any individuality.

"The atmosphere is quite oppressive. The uniform dress code and the strict adherence to rules seem to have almost erased the individuality of these students."

This scene reminded Lin Shangren of the evening self-study sessions when he was in high school in his previous life: all students had to concentrate on their studies, and their pens must never stop. Apart from that, they were not allowed to move around, talk, drink water, or even... look up.

Those idle "teachers" in the so-called Moral Education Department would even check the so-called head-raising rate during evening self-study. They would deliberately make some noise in the classroom, and if the students looked up, they would be criticized at best, or sent home to reflect on their behavior at worst.

In this way, Lin Shangren and his classmates were tamed into the habit of never looking up during evening self-study. Until one night, a madman sneaked into the school and threw a Molotov cocktail into a classroom.

The students who were studying hard heard the sound of glass bottles exploding, but they did not dare to look up. It was not until they smelled the burning smell that they realized that the classroom was on fire.

The incident resulted in one death, three injuries, and thirteen hospitalizations. Even after such a serious incident, the school rule prohibiting students from looking up during evening study sessions was never abolished.

"Smoothing out the edges, erasing individuality, domesticating living 'people' into 'objects'... I can kind of understand why children in later generations of China would crave the Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination). But why would they do this? Currently, Japan doesn't have a nationwide 'Common Academic Ability Test,' and certainly hasn't even begun tracking high school enrollment rates. Universities admit their own students. Does this school deserve such strict management?"

Thinking about it, Lin Shangren looked at the teachers around him again.

As a girls' school, most of the teachers at Yingyu Girls' Academy are middle-aged women. They all have solemn expressions, just like a group of old nuns in traditional religious paintings.

"Even the teachers are the same? They're all so serious...huh?"

Suddenly, Lin Shangren saw a young woman in white. She was standing in a corner at the edge of the church, looking at the students from afar.

"Magnify and identify."

[Name: Zhu Qiningning]

[Race: Human female]

[Identity: Teacher (under review)]

【Status: Anxious】

[Note: She was originally a health teacher at Yingyu Girls' College, but was temporarily relieved of her duties for various reasons.]

"The health teacher who was temporarily dismissed? She's pretty good-looking."

Seeing that there didn't seem to be anything special about Zhu Qiningning, Lin Shangren withdrew his gaze.

……

Soon, the morning meeting ended.

Lin Shangren did not go to the teaching building or the staff office, but chose to wander around the school.

As soon as he arrived at school, Tokio Saeki told him that he didn't need to attend classes today.

The world history course that Lin Shangren is in charge of will not officially start until tomorrow, and the course content needs to be prepared by Lin Shangren himself - Yingyu Girls' College does not use fixed textbooks. For history classes, as long as it is within the scope of world history, it doesn't matter what is taught.

"Strict school rules, sloppy course content, I really don't understand this school. I don't understand..."

Lin Shangren shook his head. Compared to this strange school, he was more concerned about the information he had forced out of Abe last night about the man who was wearing a mask.

The so-called "Three Kingdoms" is a group of people who believe in the "Three Kingdoms" and the "Mother of God", but their doctrines are different:

Some people believe that the 19th-century Austrian Empire was a very important ceremonial institution, and that the 19th-century Austrian Empire was a very important ceremonial institution, and that the 19th-century Austrian Empire was a very important ceremonial institution.

Another group of people believe that the 20th anniversary celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China is a celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Others believe that the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre is a tragedy that has a profound impact on people's daily lives.

In addition, there are many scattered sects with different doctrines.

This place was awash with activity, a scene of chaos, fanaticism, money-making, and political scheming—all gathered here to participate in the grand event. For a moment, it actually felt like it was thriving with vitality, a scene of everything vying for development.

And those who colluded with Abe were the Japanese who wanted to sacrifice themselves to the Virgin Mary of the underworld and gain eternal life.

Abe himself is very concerned about the situation of the Taiwan Strait and the Taiwan Strait, and he believes that the situation of the Taiwan Strait will be very different from that of the Taiwan Strait.

It's not just Abe. There are many right-wing politicians in high positions who have sided with the right-wing faction and are working to protect the interests of the people.

"Who are we going to kill tonight? A politician or a cultist?"

Lin Shangren rubbed his neck and fell into deep thought.

Chapter 68: Despicable Outsiders

After walking around the school, Lin Shangren returned to the main teaching building.

It was break time, and several female students were walking in the corridor. Just like what Lin Shangren had seen in the church that morning, they still had gloomy faces.

"Good morning."

Lin Shangren tried to greet a female student.

"Good... good morning, teacher."

The female student bowed and then hurried away.

"Ah this..."

Lin Shangren scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Some of the students here are too quiet. It's clearly during recess, but I can't hear any noise."

"May I ask you are?"

A voice that was obviously not a student came from behind Lin Shangren.

He turned around and saw a charming woman with short golden hair.

flirtatious.

Although she did not wear heavy makeup and was wearing ordinary black lining and a white coat, looking like an ordinary female doctor, Lin Shangren still instinctively commented that she was "seductive".

The feeling was the same as when he first saw Saeki Kaori.

Lin Shangren suddenly became extremely alert and looked at the character panel of the woman in front of him.

【Name：Kitami Reika】

[Race: Human female? Demon transformation]

[Identity: Health teacher at Yingyu Girls' College, devil believer]

【Status: Doubtful, curious】

[Note: She was once just an innocent girl, but now, she has become a servant of desire.]

"Demon transformation? Demon follower? So, could it be that Saeki Kaori being possessed by a demon has something to do with her?"

Although he felt a little suspicious, Lin Shangren remained calm and responded, "My name is Lin Shangren. I'm the new priest and world history teacher. I introduced myself at the morning meeting this morning."

"Oh, so you're a teacher too. I just arrived at school and didn't attend the morning meeting this morning. My apologies, I'm Kitami Reika, the health doctor."

Kitami Rika smiled and extended her right hand to Lin Shangren.

"Hello, Father Lin Shangren."

Lin Shangren also stretched out his right hand to prevent the devil believer in front of him from playing tricks. He deliberately clenched his right hand and liquefied the shadow of the palm of his hand by one millimeter to prevent direct contact with the skin.

However, when Lin Shangren stretched out his right hand, Kitami Rika directly took Lin Shangren's hand and lowered her head to kiss it gently.

"what?!"

Lin Shangren could feel the warm and soft texture of Kitami Reika's lips, and the soft, wet texture of her tongue. But she only pecked at him lightly like a young bird, and then let go of Lin Shangren's hand.