"Don't blame me!" the fat man gritted his teeth, his voice low. "It's your own fault, pretty boy, for seeing what you shouldn't have... That woman was no good either, flirting around everywhere...
"Haha, after I got fat, that bitch didn't even recognize me... I used to be handsome too!"
"Ugh!"
Gao Mo's fingers flailed, scratching and struggling.
This was ridiculous. What had he seen?
If this continued, even if someone heard the commotion and came out, they wouldn't be able to save him.
He couldn't hold on!
Gao Mo's forehead throbbed. In his struggle, he grabbed the baseball bat from the corner and, with a burst of potential, fiercely struck the fat man's temple.
Once!
Twice!!
Blood splattered.
"Cough, cough!"
As the fat man's grip loosened slightly, Gao Mo ferociously bit down.
Adrenaline surged.
Stimulated by repeated near-death experiences, Gao Mo seemed to transform into a demon, tearing away flesh and blood.
Die!!
"Ah—!"
The fat man, wracked with excruciating pain, screamed and broke free. Dizzy and disoriented, he missed his footing and his obese body tumbled headfirst down the stairs before he could react.
By the time Gao Mo came to his senses, all that remained in his hand were blood-stained, shattered glasses.
"Hah!"
His throat burned as if on fire, followed immediately by the exhaustion of his spent strength.
Enduring the pain, he leaned on the railing and struggled to his feet. Bathed in the light of the voice-activated lamp, he stared blankly at the fat man at the bottom of the stairs, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle.
The dizziness from lack of oxygen was swept away by a rush of cold air to his head.
The fat man's head was still bleeding continuously, but he was no longer moving, only twitching sporadically as if having a seizure.
He didn't look like he could be saved.
He had killed someone...
What kind of mess was this?
Gao Mo's feelings were complicated and uncomfortable. Pressing his still faintly aching chest, he felt an indescribable sensation.
After resurrection, perhaps he could never return to a normal life.
"Hah, hah!"
Heavy breathing echoed.
Suddenly, a cascade of light, like a stream of data, surged before Gao Mo's eyes. The voice-activated lamp and the fat man's corpse seemed to become illusory backdrops at this moment.
What?
A strange and mysterious bloody aura permeated the emergency exit.
The sound of a notebook's pages turning.
A transparent bronze badge condensed within it and entered his vision.
[Book Badge, proof of a Defier of Fate's progression towards the extraordinary.]
[Current level, First Order Bronze, ability acquired—Eagle Eye Vision.]
[Enhances observation, enhances dynamic visual acuity, PS: Can be actively activated to acquire environmental details, lasts for 5 seconds.]
[Default drawn mission—"Catch the culprit," completed, drawing reward...]
[Obtained Zero's Guide to Saving Money: How to Spend Two Salaries (1-star miscellaneous book), The Acting Career of a Has-Been Idol (3-star), additional reward (2-star).]
[Current occupations, Actor lv0, Supermarket Cashier lv0, amateur level.]
[Currently available 2 stars. Please absorb book knowledge to obtain star ratings, use star ratings to upgrade professional levels. Possessing one lv5 profession allows entry to the next order, delving deeper into the supernatural realm.]
[Actor lv1 upgrade requires 10 stars and one actor-related book. Supermarket Cashier lv1 requires 10 stars and one month of work experience.]
[He is still...]
...
"Are you okay?"
The voice of the mixed-race young man from next door roused Gao Mo.
"Should I call an ambulance?"
"No need. Just call the police directly." Gao Mo took a deep breath and looked at the fat man, whose eyes were wide open in death, then gently closed them.
After the interruption of the cascading text, he surprisingly wasn't flustered at all, calmer than an ordinary person, and even felt a sense of true rebirth and relief.
However, these text prompts...
A profession system?
"Don't worry," the mixed-race young man also saw the situation at the scene, frowning slightly as he comforted him. "I roughly know what happened. I can testify for you later. Self-defense won't be an issue."
"Thank you."
Gao Mo had a good impression of this neighbor. He was a bit tanned, but no less handsome than himself. Most importantly, he had a good personality and didn't give him that dangerous, near-death feeling.
"I'm Kido Takamori from room 1604."
"Amuro, from room 1602. I also just moved in yesterday," the mixed-race young man chuckled and nodded. "You should be more careful in the future. Criminals are particularly sensitive shortly after committing a crime. You probably unintentionally provoked him."
Upon hearing this, Gao Mo took a few more glances at the young man.
Amuro, and Zero's Guide to Saving Money: How to Spend Two Salaries... Could this guy be Furuya Rei from the original work, the one with multiple identities?
Before his rebirth, he was fairly familiar with the characters in Conan, having followed various fan works and shipped many pairings. Conversely, he paid little attention to the specific detective cases in the original work, only vaguely remembering the culprits of a few early cases.
He was certainly no stranger to a popular character like Furuya Rei.
Originally from the Public Security Bureau, he went undercover in the Black Organization, codenamed "Bourbon." Later, under orders from the organization, he took on the identity of "Amuro Tooru" and became Mouri Kogoro's apprentice, working part-time at Café Poirot... an all-around talent juggling several jobs.
Could he be on an organization mission at this time too?
Gao Mo didn't continue to interact with the mixed-race young man.
He wasn't keen on getting involved with the Black Organization right now.
...
Due to the special nature of the case, the police took both Gao Mo and Amuro to the police station.
Giving statements and waiting would take at least until the next day.
Gao Mo used this time to thoroughly study the Book Badge that only he could see.
The bronze level only provided "Eagle Eye Vision," but he clearly felt his eyesight had improved considerably, and he noticed more details, including the behavior of pedestrians that he normally wouldn't even think about.
He hadn't tried the active ability because he was at the police station, but it initially seemed very suitable for professions like detective or sniper.
When the Book Badge was expanded, glowing text would appear on nearby walls, newspapers, or books.
He couldn't discern much for now, only knowing that what he had previously seen above Inspector Megure and the others' heads was all pre-selected mission information.
This time, it was probably because he was passively involved in the case that Megure's "solve the case" mission was drawn by default.
It was settled the moment he dealt with the fat murderer.
As for the rewards...
Gao Mo casually picked up a magazine in the break room, and the two books currently stored immediately appeared in his vision.
Zero's Guide to Saving Money: How to Spend Two Salaries and The Acting Career of a Has-Been Idol.
These two books, rewarded after completing the mission, seemed to grant stars after being read. Like the additionally rewarded stars, they could all be used to upgrade professional levels.
He didn't know if they had any other uses...
He couldn't calm down enough to finish reading them now.
However, one thing bothered him greatly. He had at least dabbled in the entertainment industry before, yet his actor profession was only at an amateur level.
Weren't the standards a bit high?
...
The case proceedings were much faster than expected. Just as dawn broke, a police officer informed them of the results.
At this time, Gao Mo, under Amuro's bewildered gaze, had successively finished reading the two starred books.
Zero's Guide to Saving Money was fine, just a humorous book.
How to spend two salaries? Spend them however you want.
This guy had never been short of money and usually used public funds.
The second book, however, made him a little sad.
It turned out that 90% of the money his predecessor had earned was taken by a parasitic company, which was why he was left with only the house after being abandoned.
The good news was that this book met the upgrade requirements. Now, he was only 10 stars away from Actor lv1... No, he was only 4 stars away.
Including the 1 plus 3 stars from reading the books, he already had 6 stars.
He didn't know what effects upgrading would have.
He didn't seem to have any other choice; he couldn't very well go upgrade Supermarket Cashier.
"Are you really okay?" Amuro asked, unable to hold back his suspicion as he walked out of the police station with Gao Mo.
For the past few hours, Gao Mo had been staring at the magazine, flipping through it again and again, but crucially, his gaze wasn't focused on the text at all.
Reading from the void?
Had this neighbor been traumatized by accidentally killing someone, developing some kind of mental disorder?
But he didn't seem like it... If there was something wrong, it was probably that his reactions weren't typical for a normal person.
Amuro's peripheral vision inadvertently glanced at Gao Mo, and suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply.
Like an illusion, as if something was gripping his throat, the terrifying sensation of being on the brink of death countless times erupted in an instant...
This is?
"Mr. Kido! Wait a minute!"
Sergeant Takagi came chasing after them from outside, panting.
"There's, there's another case! A murder has occurred at the supermarket where you work!"
"Huh?"