Trigger Locked: The Mind Control Assassins

Chapter 8

Every day is like a typical day to Yuuto and me. As always, we will help dad in the coffee shop after we come back from school. As we're about to close and starts cleaning the coffee shop, Ms. Shoko comes to see us. Besides her, Mr. Sakakibara is also coming with her. Dad then orders Hayato to make coffee since it's going to be a long conversation.

"I hate to say this, but Satoru Yuuya has tricked us," Ms. Shoko says, "He knew that we would come to save Shiori. But then again, he didn't expect that Hayato would disguise as Dr. Frederick Choo. So, everything is a setup from the beginning. He has been aiming for Touka all this time."

Ms. Shoko then shares the file with us. The file is about their finding related to our last mission. I can't recall much about what happened to the surrounding area. I only remember that Shiori's house was blown to smithereens. According to the report, there was nothing left in the scene other than the two dead bodies. The bodies were burned to crisp which makes it complicated for the coroner to identify them.

Just like the last time, there were no traces of microchip implant in their body. But they did find out traces of drugs in both of them. The drugs happen to be the same drugs used in Transhuman Development Project. But the dosage exceeded the recommended dosage. As for the identity of these men, they happened to be the members of Awatori Group. They were missing for a couple of years and were only found recently.

Apart from the dead bodies, they also found traces of surveillance devices. There were a lot of damages reported in the apartment building. Luckily, none of the residents were injured. Only a few houses in the same row as Shiori's house had minor damages.

"Touka, I need you to clarify something," Ms. Shoko says to me. She then transfers a picture to my smart watch. The picture which she sends me is the concierge who was present when I went there. "Was he the one you met at that time?" She asks me. I nod my head, confirming that he was the concierge I met at that time. "What happened to him?" I ask her.

Ms. Shoko takes a sip before she answers my question. "He was blown to smithereens. We weren't so sure when that happened, but I think maybe during the time when Shiori's house exploded." Everyone looks terrified when Ms. Shoko says that the concierge died due to the explosion. "Oh, don't worry," she gestures, "That concierge was a humanoid. We happened to find traces of his parts outside of the apartment compound. There was also no sign of damage in the lobby."

We feel relieved that the concierge was actually a humanoid. In today's world, it's hard to recognize human and humanoid. It's because humanoid also possesses similar traits as human. "Sorry, I don't mean to hide the fact. I just want to see your reaction when I told you that." She laughs at us. "Well, I also can't differentiate between a real human being and a humanoid too. You'll never know that I'm also a humanoid. You can't tell the difference anyway."

Mr. Sakakibara then grabs Ms. Shoko's wrist. "Hey, what are you trying to do? You're not planning to harass me, are you?" Ms. Shoko shouts at him. Mr. Sakakibara sighs when he sees Ms. Shoko's reaction. "Don't worry about it, guys. She's a human. I don't think our technology is advanced enough to imitate a real human pulse," Mr. Sakakibara says to us.

Ms. Shoko pouts after Mr. Sakakibara lets go of her wrist. "Shoko, what else do you find about the humanoid? I don't think Satoru Yuuya would just blow off the humanoid for no reason, right?" Dad asks her. "We did bring the pieces back for the analysis. Even with just a tiny part, we noticed that he did hack the humanoid system. Not only that, but he also hacked the apartment's concierge system too," Ms. Shoko answers.

Ms. Shoko is still examining her wrist. It must be hurt for her that she keeps on examining her wrist just to see if there is any swelling. Mr. Sakakibara must have grabbed her wrist way too hard. "So, that explains why the concierge was able to know who I was and convinced me to go to Shiori's house. Does the leasing company or the real estate developer know about this?" I ask her.