"Amamiya, here's your salary. Contact me if you want to work again."
"Thank you, manager."
Ren accepted the envelope of cash with a polite nod before turning to leave.
The female store manager watched his retreating figure and sighed softly.
"He's such a good kid."
---
With his pay in hand, Ren didn't leave Tropical Land immediately.
Although he disliked unnecessary trouble, he couldn't resist the urge to witness the famous roller coaster murder case from a safe distance. After all, it was a significant event tied to the "Death God."
There was no need to approach the crime scene. Ren found an empty spot nearby where he could sit and observe.
It also gave him the perfect opportunity to update his diary.
---
[Diary Entry]
[My luck today has been terrible. I came to Tropical Land for work, thinking nothing would go wrong, only to have trouble appear at the very end.]
[The roller coaster murder case… I didn't expect to witness the iconic incident from the original plot. The Death God truly is the source of Beika Town's endless crime waves.]
[Unfortunately, I'll likely encounter many more cases in the future.]
[As a resident of Beika Town and a student of Teitan High School, murder cases will inevitably cross my path. But as long as it doesn't concern me, I'll make sure not to get involved.]
---
"It'd be nice if I could take photos or videos of this moment," Ren muttered to himself.
To his surprise, the diary responded with a new line of text:
[Photos and videos can be added to the diary content.]
Ren blinked, stunned.
"Huh, so I have to think about the diary's features to unlock them?"
It seemed the diary didn't offer any guidance on its own. Ren had to explore its functions through trial and error.
He thought back to the year he had spent without writing in it. The diary had remained dormant the entire time, which confirmed it wasn't a mandatory task.
But once he began using it, the rewards were too enticing to ignore. And when benefits were involved, human greed inevitably followed.
Pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, Ren focused on experimenting with the newly revealed photography and video features.
---
[Photography Mode]
[Recording Mode]
There were no physical buttons to activate these modes. Simply thinking about them enabled the functions. The diary allowed him to capture what he saw with his eyes or even create shots from various angles.
He also discovered that the photos and videos didn't need to be added to the diary. They could be stored separately without taking up memory, making the feature even more versatile.
Satisfied, Ren tested the feature. From his seat by the roadside, he locked his gaze on the roller coaster area, which was cordoned off by police.
With a single thought, he captured a photo that appeared as if it had been taken from up close.
He added the photo to his diary entry.
[The photography function is excellent, and the clarity of the images is incredibly high. This feature is genuinely impressive.]
[Now, all that's left is to wait.]
---
An hour passed.
The police team investigating the roller coaster murder began to leave, though a few officers stayed behind to handle the aftermath.
It was clear that the roller coaster wouldn't be operational for the rest of the day.
While observing from a distance, Ren noticed three familiar figures exiting the roller coaster area: a young man and two girls.
The two girls looked pale and nauseous, one of them even retching occasionally. In contrast, the young man seemed completely unfazed, full of energy as he walked.
"Today was the worst! I came to an amusement park and ended up seeing a decapitated body… Ugh…"
Sonoko shuddered at the memory, recalling the headless corpse on the roller coaster and the severed head discovered in the passage. She felt her stomach churn and nearly vomited again.
"Sonoko, please don't talk about it anymore…"
Ran sitting next to her, also looked queasy.
Unlike Sonoko, Ran had been closer to the body. She could still feel the sensation of blood splattering on her neck. Covering her mouth, she fought the urge to retch again.
"Is it really that bad?"
Shinichi Kudo glanced at the two girls helplessly.
"You'll get used to it eventually."
"Get used to it?!"
Sonoko glared at him, her frustration boiling over.
"Who in their right mind would get used to seeing corpses? We're not detectives or medical examiners!"
"Huh?"
Before Sonoko could continue her tirade, Shinichi's peripheral vision caught sight of a man in a black suit and a round hat.
"We saw him on the roller coaster earlier. Where's the other one?"
The detective's instincts flared. The man exuded an air of danger, his cold demeanor unshaken by the murder scene.
"There's something off about those two…"
Without hesitation, Shinichi broke into a run, chasing after the man.
As he sprinted, he called back to the girls, "Ran, take Sonoko home! I have something urgent to do!"
"Eh?!"
Sonoko stared at him in disbelief.
"What the hell is wrong with that guy?!"
Leaving them behind in an amusement park where a murder had just occurred, Shinichi dashed off without any further explanation.
Fuming, Sonoko grabbed Ran's hand.
"Come on, Ran! Let's catch up to that idiot and give him a piece of our minds!"
"Eh?!"
Ran barely had time to react as Sonoko pulled her along.
But before they could take more than a few steps, their shoelaces snapped simultaneously, causing them to stumble.
"No way…"
Sonoko stared at her broken shoelaces, then noticed that Ran's had also torn.
Ran froze, staring at her shoes, then at Shinichi disappearing into the crowd. A sinking feeling welled up inside her.
This entire sequence was captured by Ren.