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Lin Yi's life at the branch was pretty much the same every day. He kept in touch with the two sisters to maintain their relationship, and he discussed humanity's origins with Akira at home. Sometimes he also called Nishino. The weather outside didn't seem to affect him.
But today, something unexpected happened at the branch.
Inside his office, Lin Yi was busy correcting documents. As the head of the 20th district branch, he had more responsibilities now that headquarters was focusing on him. He couldn't delegate everything to Kurona. Sometimes he had to help out to lighten the workload.
There was a knock on the door, and Nashiro, dressed nicely, entered the room. The two sisters had been promoted to first-class investigators and were very capable.
"Senior Lin, we have a special guest," Nashiro said respectfully.
Nashiro still showed respect towards Lin Yi at the branch. After bowing, she continued, "There's someone strange person outside who wants to meet you."
"Strange Person?" Lin Yi paused for a moment. He didn't have many friends in this world. If it was the old man, he should have contacted him beforehand, and the two sisters would know him too.
"Yes, this person has your contact information and has white hair," Nashiro said, sounding a bit strange.
Lin Yi's eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled subtly. It must be Kaneki, so daring. He remembered from the original story that when Kaneki was feeling lost, he went to find the shopkeeper. Is he coming to find me now? It seems that the impression he made on Kaneki was important.
"Let him in," Lin Yi told Nashiro.
She acknowledged and left. It didn't take long before she returned with Kaneki, dressed in black. Nashiro was considerate enough to understand that Lin Yi needed privacy for their conversation, so she didn't disturb them. After bringing Kaneki inside, she closed the door and stood guard outside.
"You're braver than I thought, coming here. If the other Investigators knew who you were, they would probably attack you, Eyepatch," Lin Yi said, raising his head and jokingly examining Kaneki.
Many investigators at the branch were transferred from the 11th district. After the attack by Aogiri Tree, the 11th district was being rebuilt, and they were short on manpower here. It's safe to say that they all held deep grudges against the Aogiri Tree.
Kaneki lowered his head silently, showing remarkable composure. But Lin Yi could see confusion and a willingness to accept death in his eyes.
"No wonder, you must be determined to have come looking for me," Lin Yi said, becoming more serious. "What do you want to talk about?"
When Lin Yi asked Kaneki a direct question, he looked up and paused. Even though Kaneki was in a powerful state called Kakuja, Lin Yi managed to bring him back to his senses.
"Why didn't you kill me?" Kaneki asked, curious.
"Did I really want to kill you?" Lin Yi replied with a smile.
"Well, if you wanted to kill me, I wouldn't be alive right now," Kaneki said. He understood Lin Yi better than most Ghouls, having witnessed his actions at the Ghoul restaurant.
Lin Yi chuckled without confirming or denying it.
Suddenly, Kaneki spoke up, "I want to make a deal with you. I don't know what you want me to do, but I hope..."
"You want to help the people at Anteiku, right?" Lin Yi interrupted.
He stood up and casually handed Kaneki a document that had just arrived that morning.
Confused, Kaneki took the document and glanced at it, causing his eyes to widen.
The document suspected the existence of an Aogiri Tree stronghold in the 20th district and ordered Kaneki to investigate thoroughly.
Lin Yi remembered that in the original story, the Anteiku coffee shop was exposed when Eto Yoshimura, using her identity as a novelist, intentionally leaked information to Shinohara, raising suspicions that eventually led to the discovery of Yoshimura's true identity.
Although the story had changed somewhat now, if Eto wanted, the exposure of Anteiku was just a matter of time.
"No, there's been a misunderstanding. Anteiku has nothing to do with the Aogiri Tree. They've never done anything wrong," Kaneki tried to explain.
"It doesn't matter what you tell me," Lin Yi said, raising his hands and sitting in front of Kaneki. "I might know more about Anteiku than you think."
"But the Anteiku shop has already been involved with the Aogiri Tree, not just in the 11th district incident," Lin Yi's voice became serious.
Shinohara recognized Yoshimura not only because of the battle in the 11th district. Eto had attacked the CCG branch long ago, and Yoshimura had revealed himself to protect his daughter.
But the CCG didn't know there were two "Owls."
"Your Aogiri Tree has greatly affected the CCG and damaged our reputation with the public. We need a victory urgently to boost morale," Lin Yi explained slowly. "The appearance of the Anteiku shop is perfect, or rather, it may have been part of her plan. The shop was meant to be a scapegoat."
"It can't escape," Lin Yi's tone was determined.
"No," Kaneki protested. When Lin Yi mentioned "her," he was referring to Eto, the One-Eyed Owl.
Sometimes life can be ironic. The more you try to protect something, the more it gets hurt because of your actions.
If the Aogiri Tree hadn't repeatedly provoked the CCG, this war might not have come so soon.
~~~
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