"Kitagawsan won't believe me if I said I didn't," Kamiya Mirai admitted composedly.

"Really?" Kitagawa Tera took a good look at Kamiya Mirai and simply told her what she wanted to know to avoid any misunderstandings, "I didn't commit murder."

"Hehe. I guessed it vaguely. If Kitagawsan were a murderer, you wouldn't talk to me so calmly. Dead men don't talk." Kamiya Mirai smiled.

Kamiya Mirai deduced that the possibility of Kitagawa Tera being a murderer was extremely low from the conversation just now.

Would a murderer with so much blood on his hands care about taking one more life?

Moreover, Kitagawa Tera looked at her calmly, seeming to be neither worried about her running away nor calling the police.

It's just…

"I have one more question. How did Kitagawsan become like this?"

Kitagawa Tera was covered in blood and holding a bag of meat with arms forcibly bonded with quicklime.

To be honest, Kamiya Mirai would have run away as soon as she saw Kitagawa Tera if her legs had not turned into jelly by the shock.

"I found these in the thicket by the lake. It took a lot of time to dig them out of the mud," Kitagawa Tera said lightly.

The process was not as easy as what Kitagawa Tera described.

This place was a wraith gathered. Grudges in the air had blended together and finally formed a wraith with many arms.

Even Kitagawa Tera had spent a lot of effort to deal with that wraith.

But the results were good.

A cold message came.

'Recovered the ghost hand by the lake. One advanced-stage elementary wraith. Gained two skill points. Five skill points remaining.'

'System Notice: Mission chain in progress (Two)'

'There may be a hidden wild and brutal serial murderer in the city. He has superb skills and cunningness, and he is proficient in surgical operations. He has caused pain to countless women and is everywhere. It might be the little girl you are talking to or the police superintendent you trust.'

'Condition for Completion: Please find this deranged murderer. Catch him or… kill him.'

'Reward for Mission Completion: Spirit Dagger Kanesada'

Kitagawa Tera did not expect that this little cabin in the forest to be the follow-up to the mission chain that he started when he first transmigrated.

Not only did it give him two skill points, but it also unlocked the second part of the mission chain.

Kitagawa Tera pondered.

If he could obtain the weapon from the mission reward, he would not need to fight wraiths barehanded in the future—it would be more convenient to have something in his hand. The five skill points he had intentionally acc.u.mulated would be enough for him to unlock the dagger skill branch.

As mentioned earlier, the skill tree was as vast as a sea, so densely packed that someone would lose track trying to trace it. Skill points were required to unlock the skills on it.

But this did not mean that skill points could only be used to unlock skills.

Primary skills that were already unlocked would continue to climb up the skill tree and generate branches after repeated use and obtaining proficiency in it. For example, Kitagawa Tera's 'Eight Extremities Fist' was a branch skill that evolved after mastering 'Fist Fighting'. Therefore, 'Eight Extremities Fist' did not cost Kitagawa Tera any skill points.

Skills that he used repeatedly and obtained after gaining proficiency were more natural than the ones he unlocked.

Therefore, under normal circ.u.mstances, Kitagawa Tera would not invest his skill points in upgrading already unlocked skills.

However…

Basic Equipment would use two skill points, and its branched-out Military Dagger Technique was three points…

Kitagawa Tera reserved his skill points for when he needed them. However, the mission this time would actually reward him with a weapon, so it would be a pity if he did not have matching skills.

While pondering over this, Kitagawa Tera's call finally connected.

While Kamiya Mirai stared at him curiously, Kitagawa Tera spoke on the phone expressionlessly.

"Is this Superintendent Arano? It's Kitagawa. The place is the lake park just a little distance away from the shrine of Nerima district. I found a large number of female corpses. Uhm, right, could I trouble Superintendent Arano to bring some clothes I can change into."

His conversation was not something secretive, so he certainly was not afraid of Kamiya Mirai's curiosity.

After Kitagawa Tera hung up, Kamiya Mirai came close to him with great interest.

"Kitagawsan, you make me more and more curious about you. What is your ident.i.ty? Police a.s.sistant? A hidden detective on the campus? Or…"

"I'm the same as you, a normal student of Kyokuboku High School."

Kitagawa Tera glanced at this little girl with her head full of fantasy.

Normal? Kamiya Mirai pouted. "Kitagawsan gave me a new definition of normal."

Kitagawa Tera ignored Kamiya Mirai. He went to the cabin and kicked hard on the lock of the blue steel iron sheets.

The lock fell with a crisp click. Kitagawa Tera burrowed into the cabin, and Kamiya Mirai followed closely behind.

When she saw the tragic scene inside, Kamiya Mirai could not help covering her mouth.

"It's really…"

Her stomach was twitching, and something was rolling within.

If Kitagawa Tera was not beside her, she might have vomited violently.

Other than the woman on the ground that just lost her life, several bodies were displayed horizontally on a neat wooden stand.

White muscle tissues and solidified blood spots constructed this desolate and tragic scene.

Most of these women had their heads split open by some blunt instrument, and their lifeless eyes were open.

Kamiya Mirai felt her body go cold and s.h.i.+vered.

Somehow, she felt the gazes of these female corpses all focused on her.

Her palms perspired as a chill burst out from the bottom of her heart.

Kitagawa Tera was much calmer than Kamiya Mirai. He was a medical student before he transmigrated; moreover, he had been 'nurtured' by the system over the past ten days. Therefore, his expression did not change much when he saw the bodies.

However, he showed a trace of surprise when he saw the face of the girl on the ground.

He did not think he would meet Hos.h.i.+no Nana this way.

The culottes of the deceased were soaked through. Her upper body was naked, and her arms were missing. The cut was unexpectedly beautiful, and the wound had been covered with quicklime, perhaps to prevent blood from flowing after removing the arms.

The blood plasma mixed with mud was frozen. The murderer seemed to have an unusual interest in female arms. The female bodies whose arms were removed were stored indiscriminately in the cabin, without any immoral post-mortem insults to their bodies.

There were not any obvious odors emitting from the pile of dead bodies because the weather was cold.

However, spring was imminent, and the murder would probably abandon this place soon.

Kitagawa Tera came in and briefly glanced at it before leaving.

His phone rang again.