Late at night, the road was extremely quiet as I hurriedly walked until I reached Dr. Sakaki's house, and nothing had happened along the way. Outside the garden wall of Dr. Sakaki's house, I prepared to climb over the wall while feeling quietly pleased.
I was pleased because, firstly, the entanglement between Fang Tian and me had turned in my favor. Secondly, the personnel from the embassy and the Moon Society who were tailing me would never have expected that the gardener at Dr. Sakaki's house, where they were searching, would be their target. I felt remarkably relaxed, extending my hands, bending my body, and pushing off with force, grabbing onto the top of the wall.
As soon as I grabbed onto the top of the wall, my relaxed mood immediately vanished!
With my hands on the wall, I could naturally see what was inside. I saw the garden, which had been meticulously tended and where I had spent many afternoons, now in a state of unusual disorder!
The lawn was trampled and the potted flowers along the path were nearly all knocked over, with some even broken! I stood there in shock, then mustered strength to climb over the wall and landed in the garden.
Without pausing, I immediately rushed towards the house.
Even before I reached the stone steps, I realized that within the approximately one hour since I had left, something remarkable had occurred here. The first thing I noticed was a large piece of glass on the main door that was shattered.
I leaped up the steps, pushed open the door, and saw a person lying on the ground. I quickly bent down, and although the person's face was down, I could already tell it was Dr. Sakaki.
I flipped Dr. Sakaki over, his face pale as wax, sending a chill down my spine. Just seeing this complexion, without checking for breath or pulse, was enough to know that he was dead.
A wave of anguish swept over me, causing my limbs to convulse!
Dr. Sakaki had once saved my life, saved countless lives, but now he was dead. Of course, everyone dies, but Dr. Sakaki died from an assassination.
I stood there for a while, then suddenly screamed madly, "Where are you? Where are you? You killed Dr. Sakaki, where are you hiding now?" I didn't know who killed Dr. Sakaki. Of course, I knew the murderer had already left, but I couldn't control my own shouting.
I shouted for who knows how long.
The neighbors near Dr. Sakaki's house were far away, so if they heard my voice, they would think a madman had escaped from the asylum, as my voice, due to fury, had become extremely sharp and piercing.
After a while, I stopped shouting. I stumbled forward a few steps, pressed my hand against the wall, and happened to touch a light switch. I turned on the light, took a deep breath, and looked again at Dr. Sakaki's body.
This time, I looked more carefully, noticing a stab wound on Dr. Sakaki's left shoulder and a fatal blow to the back of his head.
He couldn't have been dead for more than ten minutes, which was shortly before I returned here. I felt extreme regret. Why did I leave? Why didn't I come back earlier?
But now, regrets were useless; Dr. Sakaki had already passed away!
Leaning against the wall, I stood there for a long time. In my confused mind, I suddenly remembered Kiko! Dr. Sakaki was dead, what about his daughter, Kiko?
I immediately shouted loudly, "Kiko! Kiko!"
I only shouted twice before stopping.
Because I had just screamed madly, if Kiko was in the house and alive, she had no reason not to come out to see what was happening!
A chill ran through me. Could Kiko also be dead? What was the purpose of the assailant?
I reluctantly turned around. Although the light was very bright, it appeared ghastly to me. I focused and noticed a trail of blood from where Dr. Sakaki's body lay to his study.
That indicated Dr. Sakaki was attacked in the study and, after being injured, had walked out. Perhaps the assailant had stabbed Dr. Sakaki in the study, then when they saw him walk out, delivered a fatal blow to the back of his head.
I immediately walked towards Dr. Sakaki's study, finding it in disarray as well.
As I was about to turn and leave the study to search for Kiko, I suddenly saw several Japanese characters, now brown with dried blood, on the glass on the desk.
I turned on the light and saw that it read, "He took her."
"He took her," undoubtedly referred to Kiko. But who was "he"? "Took her" — was it Fang Tian?
Fang Tian had left before me, and I had walked home. Although I wasn't slow, if Fang Tian had a car, arriving ten to twenty minutes earlier than me wouldn't have been a problem.
In other words, Fang Tian had ample time to commit the crime, and Dr. Sakaki's body, still warm, proved that everything had happened in a very short time.
I never thought Fang Tian would do such a thing and let him go! I turned around and rushed out of the house, across the garden, and arrived at the front gate.
At the gate, a gust of cold wind blew, gradually calming my mind.
Dr. Sakaki was dead, a painful but irreversible fact. What could still be salvaged was Kiko. Fang Tian had taken Kiko in such a way that undoubtedly put her in grave danger!
I took a deep breath. Since this had happened not long ago, if I didn't waste a single second and chased after them tightly, I might catch up with the culprit!
I had no time to contact Mr. Nelson or the Tokyo police. I had to take swift personal action and race against time with the culprit!
I lowered my head and saw fresh tire tracks at the gate. Dr. Sakaki didn't have a car, so it must have been left by Fang Tian. The tracks were chaotic.
But after a few steps, the tracks became clearer. They came from the east and headed east again. Following the tracks, I dashed forward. After about twenty steps, the tracks became unrecognizable.
Sweat began to bead on my forehead. The tracks were the only clue I could follow, but now they were lost. Where would Fang Tian take Kiko? What would he do to her?
I reached into my pocket for a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat. In that instant, I suddenly saw my shadow cast by the streetlight, and beside my shadow, another figure moved!
I recoiled, and as I did, my elbows struck backward. I heard someone scream in agony and ribs snap. I immediately turned around, swinging my arms, and two figures flew forward. One collided with a lamppost, likely fatally.
But at that moment, I received a heavy blow from behind.
The force sent me lunging forward, but as I did, I extended my foot backward, tripping the assailant who attacked me from behind.
I rolled, grabbed a stout wooden stick, and swung it to the side.
To my surprise, it struck two people!
Then I realized the number of assailants ambushing me far exceeded my expectations. Someone shouted, "Don't let him get away!" Then I heard a hissing sound, and a thick fog descended upon me. I swung the stick, and several assailants fell, but as I turned, I suddenly felt dizzy.
I knew they had used a tranquilizer gun on me, and since I hadn't anticipated it, I fell victim to their plan. Although I understood, my body gradually stopped obeying my commands.
I continued to swing the stick, surrounded by shadows under the streetlight's glow.
I no longer had the ability to discern who they were. I only heard them continue to exclaim in surprise at why the tranquilizer hadn't knocked me out yet.
I just wanted to hold on. If I could endure for another five minutes, they might scatter in fear. But I couldn't hold on any longer. My head grew heavier, my limbs numb, and unexpected colors swirled before my eyes, like countless Impressionist paintings.
Finally, I collapsed!
As I fell, I received a heavy blow to the back of my head, accelerating my unconsciousness.
The last thing I heard was footsteps closing in on me, clear and distinct. Then, I knew nothing.
When I regained consciousness, my first thought was: I'm in Japan, and this is the second time I've passed out, and I've come to again. Then, I felt a deadly thirst, as if there were hot coals burning in my throat.
That was the inevitable consequence of the anesthesia wearing off.
I tried to open my eyes to see my surroundings, but my eyes wouldn't cooperate. I tried to listen for any sounds nearby, but I heard nothing.
Suddenly, a wave of fear washed over me: Had I been buried alive?
The thought made me struggle, imagining I was buried in the ground. But in reality, I wasn't buried. I sat up, opened my eyes, and found myself in total darkness. I reached out, stretched my legs, and aside from the throbbing pain in the back of my head, realized I was in a cellar. I wanted to light a fire, but all my belongings were gone.
I knew I was a captive, but sadly, I didn't know who had captured me!
I had to focus on regaining my strength. After about half an hour, I heard someone above say, "Has he woken up?" Another voice replied, "He should have, otherwise, shining a bright light on him would wake him up!"
As soon as the person finished speaking, I looked up and suddenly realized the voices were coming from above. Then, a strong light illuminated me from above, blinding me in an instant!
I quickly shielded my eyes with my hands, hearing someone say, "Ha ha, he's awake."
I felt extremely angry, stepping back against the wall and opening my eyes again.
It took a long time to adjust to the intense light, and my anger intensified. I was at the bottom of a ten-meter-high building with a railing encircling the top, allowing those above to look down below, where the intense light focused.
Due to the intense light, although I saw figures behind the railing, I couldn't make out their faces.
But they could see me clearly, as if in a theater's balcony, watching the stage below. Suddenly, I felt this architecture resembled places where Roman nobles kept wolves and crocodiles!
Under such circumstances, even the most composed person would rage because suddenly, you realize you're not human but a beast being kept.
I shouted angrily, "Who are you people?"
From above, faint voices could be heard, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded like two people were arguing. Initially, I stood with my back against the wall, looking up and enduring the intense light that stung my eyes.
I lowered my head to avoid the harsh light. Although the place where I was and where those people were seemed high and inaccessible, I could manage to reach it with some effort.
I took a deep breath and let out a roar that even made my ears ring, then charged forward. When I reached the opposite wall, I leaped with all my might, hands and feet pushing against the wall, climbing up a few steps!
There was nothing to hold onto on the wall, yet the key to ascending the smooth surface lay in speed. Anyone with quick reflexes could achieve it.
I believed the exaggerated "gecko wall-climbing" skill depicted in martial arts novels was based on this fast action. People trained in rigorous military exercises had experienced this kind of agility.
I ascended about four meters in one breath, causing several exclamations from above.
I looked up, although the intense light was blinding. Due to the proximity, I could see the two individuals more clearly, though I still couldn't make out their faces. However, I could see their peculiar attire.
I shouted again, kicked my feet, and sprang into the air. As I reached out, I almost caught hold of the railing.
At that moment, an elderly voice in Japanese exclaimed, "My goodness, he's the one!"
Before I could react, a heavy object crashed down on my head. I had no chance to evade, and the force of the blow made me see countless fiery orbs in an instant, followed by darkness.
I felt myself fading away. All I could do was relax my muscles to prevent fractures and injuries when I fell.
As for how I fell, I didn't know, because the blow had knocked me out before I hit the ground.
When I regained consciousness, I felt my head like a bomb about to explode, expanding rapidly. It felt at least five or six times larger than usual.
After a struggle, I managed to open my eyes.
This time, opening my eyes surprised me even more.
It wasn't another flash of intense light that startled me, but something else.
Firstly, the soft lighting in the room where I was stunned me. Gathering my senses, I saw three young women standing in front of me, while I sat on a peculiar chair resembling the oldest style of sofa, but comfortable.
Sitting in a chair with three young women in front of me didn't seem extraordinary, nor did it warrant surprise.
What surprised me was that the three young women weren't wearing any clothes! Of course, they weren't naked, but their bodies were covered in extremely thin white veils.
The color of the veils was indescribably pure and soft, and between the thin veils, much of the young women's bodies could be seen. The expressions on their faces were shocking.
Their facial muscles seemed frozen.
Initially, they were all extremely beautiful young women, but even the most beautiful person with such zombie-like expressions was nauseating. Their expressions seemed as if they were all hypnotized.
My surprise peaked. I didn't know whose hands I was in, where I was just now, how I ended up in this room, why the three young women were standing in front of me wearing only thin veils.
I stood up.
As I stood up, as if triggering a mechanism, the three young women suddenly stepped back. At the same time, a deep drumming sound echoed in my ears.
The three young women began to dance to the drumbeat.
Although the young women were beautiful and graceful, their dance, accompanied by the drumbeat, did not evoke beauty but an eerie feeling, a thick atmosphere of strangeness.
I took a deep breath and ignored the young women, turning towards a door. I pulled the door, but it was locked. I thrust my elbow against the door to break through.
With a loud crash, the door gave way.
The drumming suddenly stopped. I was about to step out without a second thought when the three young women suddenly screamed. I couldn't help but look back.
I saw them huddled together, their faces no longer blank but filled with shame and fear. They desperately tried to cover their naked bodies with the thin veils.
Seeing this, I was certain they had been hypnotized earlier, and their dance to the drumbeat was purely instinctual.
I didn't move forward but asked, "Who are you people, and where is this place?"
The three young women trembled, silent, only staring at me.
I asked again, and a very gloomy voice replied, "Don't ask them, ask me." I turned around to see a man, entering through the broken door.
He was a middle-aged man, quite stout, dressed in a pale satin kimono, with a peculiar appearance.
As he entered, he waved to the three young women, who hurriedly left. He closed the door and glanced at the broken hole I had made, chuckling. "These three aren't the most beautiful here. No wonder you got angry." His words were utterly baffling to me!
However, his condescending tone and attitude infuriated me.
I shouted, "Who are you?"
He shrugged, saying, "I'm the master here."
I took a step forward, and immediately, he subtly shifted his stance, a sign of a skilled judo practitioner. "Then let's sit down and talk, Mr. Fang."
I heard him call me "Mr. Fang" and couldn't help but be surprised.
Before I could respond, the man said, "Mr. Fang, why don't you sit down and talk?" I wanted to tell him that he had the wrong person, that I wasn't Mr. Fang. But after considering for a dozen seconds, I didn't say anything.
Firstly, everything here was so strange and eerie, attracting my curiosity. I decided to play along with this man to see what was going on.
Secondly, the mention of "Mr. Fang" intrigued me. While there were many people with the surname Fang, I couldn't help but think of Fang Tian. I had encountered trouble right after leaving Dr. Sasaki's house. Could this man be mistaking me for Fang Tian?
So, I sat down in the chair again. The man approached and tapped the armrest of the chair, saying, "This is an artifact from the Tokugawa Shogunate era, a true antique."
I replied coldly, "I don't appreciate antiques."
He turned around and faced me, asking, "Then, what interests you? Women, money? Did you see those girls earlier? What's wrong with their appearance or figure? But we have even better ones if you're interested..."
The more he talked, the more disgusted I felt, just staring at him coldly.
However, he became more excited as he spoke, saying, "Money, how much do you want? Just name it, we have plenty of money!"
I looked around and asked, "Can I ask a question first?"
He replied, "Of course."
I asked, "I passed out twice. The first time I woke up, I found myself in a very strange place, bathed in bright light. Was that also your place?"
He said, "Yes, because the three elders here want to prove whether the ancient legend is true or not."
I became even more confused. What did he mean by "elders" and "whether the ancient legend is true or not"?
His earnest gaze made me sigh and ask, "What do you want from me?" He came closer, his oily face almost touching mine, and in a mysterious tone, said, "We want you to perform a flight for us, to demonstrate the supernatural powers of our three elders."
Initially, I thought his question would clarify things, but his answer only confused me further!
"Perform a flight." What did that mean? I'm not a pilot?
As I thought, "I'm not a pilot," it suddenly hit me!
Because at this moment, the chubby man in front of me mistook me for "Mr. Fang," and whoever "Mr. Fang" was, he must have had special flying abilities for such a request.
After a moment of thought, I asked, "Who are you people?"
He replied, "You don't need to worry about that. On the night of the full moon this month, at the beach north of Sekigoe, we have a grand gathering, and we want you to perform at this gathering."
I asked again, "Perform what?"
He said, "Fly, demonstrate your abilities of centuries past, fly to the full moon, fly into the ethereal space!"
I thought to myself, "Is this a lunatic asylum?" However, although he spoke with enthusiasm, he seemed serious. Clearly, his excitement was genuine, not madness.
In this situation, I had nothing else to say.
While his nerves seemed normal, what he said was complete nonsense. What could I say to such a person?
I just looked at him. He became increasingly excited, saying, "After you perform, you will become our idol, and you can have whatever you want."
He emphasized, "Anything, just name it, and we can give it to you."
I was puzzled to the extreme. After a while, I said, "Who are you people, and how do you have such power to do anything?"
He leaned in, his eyes flashing strangely, and said, "The Moon God Society."
Those three words shook me like nothing else. I stood up suddenly from the chair, then immediately sat back down!
The Moon God Society! So I had fallen into the hands of the Moon God Society!
I cursed myself inwardly for being foolish. I should have known earlier that they were from the Moon God Society. The mention of the "three elders," the gathering on the beach on the full moon night (a religious ritual often held by Moon God Society believers), the three hypnotized girls in veils... everything pointed to the involvement of this powerful and incomparable cult.
However, although I now understood that I had fallen into the hands of the Moon God Society, I still didn't understand what they wanted from me.
Although the chubby man had asked me to "perform a flight" at their grand gathering, I still didn't understand what he meant.
I was puzzled for a long time before sighing and saying, "So it's you, and you're treating me like this!"
Originally, I said this casually, without any special meaning.
But as soon as the chubby man heard it, he immediately looked frightened, stepped back, and almost knelt down, his hand on the table. He said, "We... we shouldn't have treated you like this, but we must prove whether you are that person."
I interrupted, "What person?"
The chubby man, as if he hadn't heard me, smiled ingratiatingly and said, "To tell you the truth, without you, there would be no Moon God Society!"
At this moment, I really began to doubt whether this person's nerves were normal.
The flourishing development of the Moon God Society occurred after the end of World War II. Like thatch, it grew vigorously on the ruins of post-war Japan. However, although the Moon God Society had no conclusive evidence of its existence, it had been around for one or two hundred years. Yet, this chubby man said that the Moon God Society only existed because of me. Wasn't that madness? I smiled bitterly and said, "What nonsense is that?"
The chubby man stood up, as if reciting poetry, and said, "Our ancestors said that he founded the Moon God Society because he saw someone coming down from the moon. He believed that living on the moon was more fulfilling than on Earth, and that's the purpose of the Moon God Society."
I believe that the Moon God Society may have had such a purpose at its founding. But now, the Moon God Society is a true cult, and its original purpose has completely deteriorated.
I said, "Well, what does that have to do with me?"
The chubby man's smile grew even wider as he said, "Mr. Fang, the person who came down from the moon was you. It was you who told our ancestors in person. You performed flying skills in front of him, and the initial ten followers of the Moon God Society came from this. There are detailed records of this in our classics!"
After listening to him, my patience had reached its limit. I stood up abruptly, my hands pressed on the table, leaning towards him, and said, "Listen to me! First, I'm not Mr. Fang at all. Second, even if I were Mr. Fang, he wouldn't be able to fly. He's not a monster. Get out of here!"
Perhaps my words shocked him too much because in that moment, he was completely stunned.
This gave me a perfect opportunity. Without giving him a chance to catch his breath, my right fist landed heavily on his chin.
Almost immediately, my left fist struck heavily at the back of his neck.
With that punch and strike, the chubby man collapsed like a pile of fat, unable to crawl up again.
I had already observed that the chubby man was highly skilled in judo, so even though he was down, I wasn't taking any chances. I delivered a heavy kick to the back of his head, ensuring that he wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Then, I turned and walked towards the door.
As I peered outside, I saw a long corridor stretching beyond the door.