I said you are all war criminals

Chapter 20: An ordinary day in the life of Tatsuki Shiina.

Shiina Riki felt that today was no different from the previous days.

The streets were not crowded in the rain, but they were not unobstructed either.

On the streets, pedestrians held a variety of umbrellas, their colorful umbrellas like flowers blooming in the rain, adorning the gray streetscape. The crowds hurried along, their footsteps blending with the sound of the rain, creating a slightly noisy urban symphony. Occasionally, a car passed by, its splashing water interrupting the rhythm of the rain and startling the cats sheltering on the roadside.

In this sparsely populated crowd, Shiina Riki walked on the wet sidewalk, holding a dark blue umbrella. Rainwater slid down the umbrella, forming small puddles on the ground.

She kept moving forward.

"Well... today we have to go to Ring to find that wild cat. We must get her to join our band..."

After a lot of random thoughts yesterday, Li Xi decided that he should return to the band. Only by doing a good job with the band would the future be smooth sailing.

Even though they weren't Crychic anymore, they could still play in a band with Deng. Just for that, Li Xi was satisfied.

Li Xi is a person who is easily satisfied.

As long as she has a little happiness, Lixi will be satisfied... Yes, she doesn't need any lofty goals, as long as she can always be with Deng, she will be satisfied.

Lixi imagined a small livehouse in the future, dimly lit, with Deng and she standing side by side on stage. Deng, wearing her favorite dress, clutched a microphone, her eyes gleaming. The sparse audience below, some holding glow sticks, some gently swaying to the beat, others simply listening quietly with a faint smile on their faces. They didn't need rabid fans, packed stadiums, or chart-topping music; just sharing their music in this small space was enough.

"Ah... that's enough..."

Li Xi sighed softly, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. She felt extremely happy to be with Deng, even if it was just a small, unknown band.

But happy times are always short.

Unconsciously, the originally sparse crowd suddenly became dense.

If I were to use a metaphor, it was like solidified asphalt, tightly blocking the road. Li Xi paused, her dark blue umbrella tilted slightly, shielding her from the fine rain. She frowned, a sense of irritation rising in her heart. This was her only way to school, and taking a detour would add at least half an hour to her journey... Li Xi wasn't a pushover, but she wasn't one to deliberately be late or leave early.

...There's no other way, just squeeze through.

"Excuse me, can you lend me that for a moment..."

Li Xi whispered, trying to push her umbrella forward, trying to open a small passage in the crowd. However, the dense crowd surged like a tide, and every step forward was extremely difficult.

It’s strange, why are there so many people?

Li Xi was puzzled. She took this route to school every day, and there weren't usually so many people around at this time of day. Could it be the rain? Even if it was raining, it wouldn't be as crowded as it is now, making it almost impossible to move.

"What happened?"

Li Xi tugged at the corner of the clothes of a man in a black windbreaker next to him and asked.

The man glanced at her impatiently and muttered, "It seems there is a case ahead...it seems to be a murder case."

"A murder case?"

Li Xi was startled when she heard these words, and her original irritation was instantly replaced by uneasiness. She tried to tiptoe and try to see the situation ahead through the crowded crowd, but she could see nothing except the black mass of heads and colorful umbrellas.

At that moment, a commotion erupted in the crowd. Someone shouted, "The police are coming!" and the crowd began to slowly move to the sides, clearing a path. Li Xi followed the flow of people and slowly moved forward, finally catching sight of the area being watched: within the yellow cordon, several police officers were surveying the scene. A white sheet covered the ground, vaguely revealing the outlines of human figures. Scattered around the sheet were a few items: a black notebook, a broken pen, and a blood-stained...

Li Xi's breathing suddenly stagnated, and a chill instantly rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She felt difficulty breathing and trembled all over. That... That was the notebook that Deng often carried!

"Light! Light!"

Li Xi's mind was blank, with only these two words echoing in her mind. She desperately tried to squeeze through the cordon, but was stopped by a young policeman.

"Student, this place is forbidden to enter!"

The policeman said seriously.

"I...I know him! Let me in! Let me confirm!"

Lixi explained to the police incoherently, her voice trembling violently, and rain slid down her cheeks, making it hard to tell whether it was rain or tears.

The young policeman hesitated for a moment, talked to an older policeman next to him who looked like he was in charge of the investigation, then turned to Li Xi and said, "You can go in, but... you'd better be mentally prepared."

Be mentally prepared... Hearing this, Lixi stumbled into the cordon and came to the white cloth trembling.

The policeman who came with her stopped Li Xi, reached out his hand on her behalf, and pulled away the white cloth covering the corpse.

Li Xi's first reaction was that he had seen it wrong.

Because that... doesn't look like a corpse at all.

Many flowers are scattered under the white cloth.

Yellow daisies, purple lavender, blue forget-me-nots, bright red roses... all kinds of flowers, as if growing out of the asphalt road... no, growing out of something on the asphalt road...

what is that?

Those flowers...are flesh-colored...and seem to have...human-like...figures...

“…What is this?”

Li Xi's voice trembled.

Her mind finally cleared up.

These flowers grew on someone who had already died——

The reason why it is not said to be "covered on someone who is sleeping" is because... that person's body... was cut open... longitudinally... from the chest to... the abdomen!

Yes... that's right.

It's like... a puppet divided into "left and right" -

"Uh-uh--"

Li Xi bent down, as if he wanted to vomit out everything that belonged to him.

The police officer who brought her here showed pity on his face, but he still asked softly, "Please look carefully. Is this woman who was cut in half someone you know?"

Is this someone you know?

Just kidding...what a joke.

How could Li Xi admit his mistake?

That thing that was completely split in two from the top of the head to the bottom of the body... was once human...

"It's...it's her...it's Takamatsu Deng."

Li Xi held his chest.

She squeezed out her pain, turning her sorrow into rage.

"I'm going to kill the murderer! Tell me who the murderer is, tell me who he is!"

21

Chapter 21 Wakaba Mutsu is uneasy Desu.

Wakaba Mutsu was watering his cucumbers in the back garden of Tsukinomori Girls' Academy.

This is a famous school with a century-old history.

The students who go to school here are either daughters of wealthy families or top talents who have won awards in major competitions.

Mu hoped she was the latter...which meant she was only the former.

Ruoye Mu took one last look at the cucumbers she had carefully cultivated. The emerald green vines were covered with plump fruits, which shone attractively in the sun. She gently stroked the largest one, and an indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up in her heart.

Even now, she still hopes to cultivate plants.

...My favorite is still cucumber.

Mu felt that the cucumber was very similar to himself.

She is... a fragile cucumber.

"Have you heard? A girl was murdered near the school. Her death was horrific!"

"Is this true? How did he die?"

"I heard... the body was cut in half! The internal organs were spilling out..."

Gossip flows into the ears.

Mu didn't listen to those words deliberately.

Ruoye Mu didn't like gossip, but she had to admit that this murder case near the school made her a little concerned. It wasn't because the deceased was so pitiful, or because the murderer was so cruel, but because... she vaguely felt that this matter had something to do with her.

She continued watering, but her ears were like radar, capturing every tiny syllable around her.

"Have you heard? That girl seemed to have been killed by some monster!"

A girl lowered her voice and spoke mysteriously to her companions.

"Monster? Is it real? Don't scare me!"

The companion was obviously frightened and his face turned pale.

"Why would I lie to you? My cousin works at the police station, he saw it with his own eyes! He said the scene was... horrific! It was like being chopped in two by a knife..."

"What does that have to do with monsters?"

"Listen to me... A lot of flowers actually grew inside that corpse... That's right, they grew in the flesh..."

This doesn't seem like Xu's style.

Harmony thought.

As a Quincy, she knew that besides Hollows, there were also monsters like youkai and half-demons wandering around in the world. Perhaps this case was the work of the monsters.

Nothing unusual.

In fact...

Her best friend, Toyokawa Shoko, is a half-demon.

For some reason, Xiangzi seemed to cherish his half-demon bloodline more than the pride of being a Quincy. Mu was puzzled by this. To her, half-demon bloodline was just an inferior racial label, symbolizing chaos and lowliness, and was a far cry from the Quincy bloodline that symbolized glory and power.

Why is Xiangzi so obsessed with such a lowly bloodline?

Mu couldn't understand or agree with it.

Half-demons are just a mere race, but Quincy are an honor and glory.

The evidence is that a Quincy would never harm ordinary people like this.

"...Mu."

Wakaba Mu stopped moving.

In fact, she had already noticed the person who was speaking and also noticed that the person was standing behind her, but before the other person spoke, Mu had no intention of speaking.

This is basic courtesy.

"Su Shi."

Mu replied calmly, without turning around. The water continued to flow steadily over the cucumber vines, making a slight rustling sound, as if to mask the turmoil in her heart.

The person who spoke was Nagasaki Suyo, Mu's... good friend. Or rather, she used to be. Ever since Suyo became Xiangzi's girlfriend, Mu's relationship with Suyo had become complicated.

However, this is something that happens in the future.

At present, Su Shi has not yet become Xiangzi's girlfriend.

and so……

The sound of running water suddenly stopped. Wakaba Mutsu put away the kettle, and the remaining water droplets dripped onto the thick cucumber leaves like crystal tears. She finally turned and looked at Nagasaki Suyo. Suyo looked a little haggard, her eyes red, as if she had been crying.

"Mu..."

Su Shi's voice was trembling, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

After a long while, Su Shi bit her lower lip and finally couldn't help but let her tears roll down.

"Xiangzi...Xiangzi is missing..."

"Gone?"

Mu frowned slightly, but there was not much emotion in his tone.

"When did this happen?"

"Today, she didn't come to school today..."

Su Shi said with a sad voice.

"Xiang, maybe he dropped out of school."