21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 930 - 923 Surveillance
Chapter 930 -923 Surveillance
No wonder the man felt fatigued. For months, all they had done was track Inomata Naoki and tail Minami. Nothing else.
For men who once were mercenaries in war-torn regions, licking the blood off the edge of their blades daily, the past few months felt like a rare vacation. No danger awaited them, and they had the luxury to enjoy the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. The task itself wasn’t too taxing either—taking turns on surveillance was far more comfortable than dodging bullets on a battlefield.
But staying too long in a peaceful and cushy environment like this was unequivocally poisonous for mercenaries. It made them complacent, eroded their resolve, and made them unwilling to return to the deadly battlegrounds they once called life.
The crux of the issue was that they had stayed only out of obligation—they owed a favor to Kusanagi Ritsuko, and the money she paid them was merely a token gesture.
Favors are hard to repay, but spending months tangling with a Legendary-rank opponent without any progress? Even goodwill runs its course under such strain.
For these mercenaries, money was ultimately the most tangible incentive. Perhaps they would hold off mentioning it out of courtesy, but as the favor drained away and no substantial payment followed, they wouldn’t hold back their frustrations for long.
Still, having been in Kusanagi Ritsuko’s debt, and maintaining passably cordial relations, the man merely hinted at his reluctance to waste more time like this—without outright breaking ties.
Kusanagi Ritsuko was well aware that the mission had already dragged on excessively. Months had passed, and even she began to entertain thoughts of abandoning it altogether.
But every time she recalled that bizarre typhoon from months ago, an intense sense of crisis surged through her.
She believed Chen Yu’s words back then: if Inomata Naoki and Minami were truly together, the world would face an unparalleled catastrophe.
Now, Inomata Naoki and Minami had met. They weren’t officially together, but Kusanagi Ritsuko could tell their relationship had already exceeded the boundaries of the ordinary. Following the shift in their relationship came the typhoon incident, making it impossible for her not to connect the dots between these events.
Even if Kusanagi Ritsuko could prove the connection and justify her actions as an effort to prevent a global crisis, convincing and placating a bunch of mercenaries driven by self-interest remained a daunting task.
They were merely holding back out of courtesy—for now.
Kusanagi Ritsuko understood that if no breakthrough occurred, it was only a matter of time before the mercenaries she’d enlisted turned against her.
“Surveillance is the only thing we can do now. You know he’s a Demigod, and you’ve already witnessed the power of the Legendary-rank Supernatural under his command. Do you really want to take him on head-on?” Kusanagi Ritsuko casually remarked, though she fully admitted surveillance was futile. But… who dared to stir up trouble under the nose of a Demigod?
The man also understood the situation. If not for their commitment to this job, maintaining their reputation as mercenaries, they would have long fled under the crushing pressure of the Demigod.
“We can’t mess with the Demigod. What about the young girl? Are we just going to watch her? I think we should deploy more effective measures—she might just be the perfect breakthrough,” the man said, brimming with eagerness. For mercenaries, terms like “civilians” or “Geneva Conventions” simply didn’t exist.
But it was obvious Kusanagi Ritsuko would never condone such actions. Ethics aside, kidnapping in Tokyo, Japan, was a far cry from doing the same in a war zone. And the potential target—Minami—had been continuously monitored by both the Japanese Metropolitan Police Department and the Public Security Bureau. The difficulty and risks of pulling off and escaping such a stunt were astronomical.
And most importantly…
“Are you sure this won’t provoke the Demigod into taking direct action? That girl’s connection to him isn’t anything ordinary,” Kusanagi Ritsuko stated plainly. She didn’t bother with high-minded arguments but instead laid out a simple fact: if Chen Yu found out Minami had been kidnapped, the consequences would be catastrophic—far beyond what a handful of mercenaries and a suspended Public Security Bureau agent could withstand.
The man clearly understood this point, though his expression twisted with dissatisfaction. Yet doing nothing while the time ticked by filled him with even greater frustration.
In a battlefield setting, they had countless methods to wield, bound by neither morality nor law. How could they find themselves so restricted here? Even against a Demigod—why not simply kidnap someone, extract the intel, and disappear? Could a Demigod truly chase them across the entire globe?
Such thoughts flitted through the man’s mind, though he knew deep down they were nothing but fantasies.
Though they had no idea the full extent of a Demigod’s power, witnessing the might of the Legendary-rank Supernatural firsthand had already made it clear. Methods below the Legendary-rank were utterly meaningless against such beings, and provoking them would lead to consequences far beyond what mere mercenaries could bear.
Just as the man grumbled under his breath, lifting his camera again for continued surveillance, he suddenly caught sight of a luxury sedan pulling up to the hospital entrance. Intrigued, he adjusted the camera’s zoom, assuming it was some VIP—but what he saw was four elementary school girls in sailor uniforms leaping out of the car. They playfully argued at the hospital entrance but didn’t step inside, as though waiting for someone.
“Whose daughters are these? Four young girls getting out of such a fancy car without an adult around—they’re not afraid of running into trouble?” The man muttered skeptically.
Hearing his words, Kusanagi Ritsuko grabbed a pair of binoculars nearby and curiously observed the hospital entrance. Her expression shifted as she spoke, “Those aren’t just little girls…”
