Chapter 1 Part 3 The last Enemy

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The old man's whispers reached my ears.

"Does that mean..." I finally realized where the old man was coming from. "You want me to be the perpetrator of the 'Black Challenge'?"

"Oh my, I thought you already knew."

The black business card, the voice whispering relief, and the persuasion of revenge... This old man is not an ordinary staff member of the Crime Victims' Relief Committee, but a business window. The perpetrators of the 'Black Challenge' all joined the game through headhunters like him, I've heard this before from an arrested perpetrator.

"Do you even know where I stand? I wish you guys would disappear from this world. Did you select wrong or something? Do you think I'd ever agree to your invitation?"

"It's not for us to decide, it's you."

—Life is what you make it. Johnny's words crossed my mind.

The old man never turned to face me from beginning to end, he is still blocking his eyes with his hat, and staring at what's in front of

him. Am I really talking to the old man on the phone? The strange sense of distance made me lose the boundaries of reality.

"Now, I don't think I need to explain the rules in detail. As before, the murder weapons, techniques and location necessary for revenge will be prepared by us. Of course, according to the cost of the cards you hold, we will summon a detective. As long as you can successfully avoid the detective and kill all the targets, you will be able to gain a new life and say goodbye to your bleak tragic past."

"That's enough."

I threw out those words, intending to stand up from the chair. However, I suddenly changed my mind.

Why am I here?

It was hard to get our hands on the one-way ticket, so I should use it effectively.

If I go along and pretend to accept what he says, maybe I dig out some information related to the organization?

Since the fight with Johnny, the Crime Victims' Relief Committee has been inactive. For Kirigiri and I, it was a much-needed time of peace and quiet, but I can't just let go of Shinsen.

Besides, if we let Shinsen go silent like this, it would give him a chance to breathe and make a comeback.

I sat down again, took a sip of iced tea, and pressed the phone to my ear again.

"...What do you mean by revenge? I don't have anyone who I want revenge on."

When I said that, the old man grinned.

"Lying is wrong, you know. there is one person you want to kill."

"Who?"

"The real murderer who killed your sister after kidnapping her."

That sentence made my mind go blank for a moment, as if my heart have been pierced, and a sharp pain passed through my chest. The smell of blood spread in my mouth, and my hand holding the phone started shaking.

"You know... who the real murderer of my sister is?"

"You should already be well aware that our investigations are seamless."

He is right. All the perpetrators of the 'Black Challenge' that I had encountered so far had received information on the real murderer and reason for revenge from the organization, which drove them to muster up their courage to face this unconventional game.

The leader of the organization is a former Triple-Zero rank detective. It should be easy for him to uncover the truth of unsolved cases and find the real culprits. There should be no lies, falsehoods or mistakes in this information, since the true perpetrators who are the targets for revenge are the essence of the 'Black Challenge'.

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