**Chapter 115: The Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual**

Heavy rain continued to pour as the armed kidnapper quickly returned. He pushed open the car door and let the rain drench his fur-lined jacket. He looked up at the small building of the car disposal factory.

"The glass is shattered?"

Through his sunglasses, he frowned as he observed the broken window on the second floor. Then, pulling out his gun, he walked up to the iron door of the open-air staircase.

"Did they manage to escape? This guy is really useless!"

Kicking open the iron door, he was met with a scene of shattered glass scattered on the floor and his tied-up accomplice lying unconscious.

"宫原悟史, I assume that's your name?"

At this moment, a youthful voice came from behind Miyahara Satoshi.

"Who is it?"

Miyahara Satoshi raised his gun and looked back, seeing a figure in a black trench coat and black fishing hat with a mature face standing behind him.

"I'm Fujino."

Fujino raised the wooden knife in his hand. "I'm a detective!"

"A detective?!"

Miyahara Satoshi frowned at the mention of Fujino's profession. Just as he was about to shoot, he found himself unable to pull the trigger.

"One year ago, you killed an unidentified man at the Seigen Temple. The police were quickly alerted and arrived at the scene. You claimed that you were attacked by a mentally unstable man with a gun and that the shooting was an accident during a struggle."

"The police concluded it was a case of justifiable self-defense, based on the gunshot residue found on the victim's hand and the missing bullet from the magazine."

Fujino continued as he walked forward, his eyes fixed on the gun in Miyahara Satoshi's hand: "But the truth is different. Your so-called self-defense was merely a smokescreen to cover up your murder."

"The truth is, you arranged to meet the victim at Seigen Temple that night. You brought the gun, shot him in the heart, and then reloaded a bullet into the magazine and fired a shot into the ground using the victim's hand. This created a justification for self-defense."

Fujino took another step closer. "You kidnapped Twomix because they happened to hear the two gunshots at Seigen Temple while they were there. When you learned that the new song they created was inspired by that location, you feared exposure of your secret, so you decided to obstruct their release of the song."

"Ha ha ha... I didn't expect you to figure it all out."

Miyahara Satoshi sneered, removing his disguise to reveal his true face. "Yes, I'm Miyahara Satoshi. The person I killed was an accomplice who fled overseas after a robbery eight years ago. He returned to claim his share, so we killed him at Seigen Temple."

"But I never expected that those damn celebrities would discover it!"

"I originally planned to kidnap them, force them to hand over the demo tape, and fake a fire to kill them, but you messed up everything..."

Miyahara Satoshi revealed a cold smile. "After all, you should die now!"

"Wait, I haven't finished speaking yet..."

As Fujino spoke, Miyahara Satoshi's hand, which was about to pull the trigger, seemed to malfunction, unable to press the trigger no matter how hard he tried.

"What else do you have to say?"

Frustrated by Fujino's interruptions, Miyahara Satoshi's resentment built up.

[Detective Time Countdown: 10 Seconds]

[Detective Enhancement Activated, Strength Enhancement: 200%]

Fujino glanced at the remaining time of the detective period, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "I bet your gun has no bullets!"

"What?"

Before Miyahara Satoshi could react, Fujino rushed forward.

With a swift movement, Fujino knocked the gun out of Miyahara Satoshi's hand with his wooden knife. In Miyahara Satoshi's surprised gaze, Fujino's wooden knife swung again, hitting him squarely in the face.

Smack!

A sharp pain spread across Miyahara Satoshi's face, causing him to stagger back.

Taking advantage of the moment, Fujino executed a powerful kick with his enhanced legs, sending Miyahara Satoshi stumbling backward and collapsing onto the ground, spitting out yellow water.

"Mr. Miyahara, I heard you wanted me dead just now..."

Fujino, holding his wooden knife, turned off the visual enhancement glasses' recording function and slowly approached Miyahara Satoshi, his face displaying an eerie smile.

Miyahara Satoshi: "..."

---

**Some time later.**

The police arrived at the scene.

Mogure Juusan anxiously led his team to open the iron door, and upon seeing the two kidnappers tied up with red rope and Fujino sitting leisurely while playing with the wooden knife, he asked, "Fujino, are you alright?"

Although Fujino appeared unharmed, Mogure Juusan couldn't help but ask.

"I'm fine."

Fujino, noticing Mogure Juusan's arrival, stood up and waved his hand.

Sato Miwako, who arrived with Mogure Juusan, checked the kidnappers and confirmed they were only unconscious before nodding to Mogure Juusan.

Understanding, Mogure Juusan waved his hand and instructed his team, "Take them back to the station for questioning!"

Typically, in such situations, the suspects would be sent to the hospital first. However, considering Fujino's past achievements, Mogure Juusan decided to skip that step. After all, people who had been beaten by Fujino often ended up in the hospital with no significant injuries.

---

**As the sunset, the artist kidnapping case came to an end.**

Due to the upcoming concert by Takayama Minami, Mogure Juusan did not take the suspects directly to the station for formal questioning. Takayama Minami and her team went to the concert venue, while Fujino returned home to copy the footage from his visual enhancement glasses.

After the concert, Yoshino Shii, who had been injured slightly by a gun butt during the kidnapping, went to the hospital for a check-up to ensure there were no concussion or other injuries.

Takayama Minami, who was unharmed, went to the police station to give her statement after the concert. In the parking lot of the police station, she remarked, "I didn't expect that the demo tape would lead to such a big trouble."

"Some things are just unpredictable."

Fujino, taking out his car keys, replied, "Even something insignificant can attract fatal danger."

"Detective Fujino, you must have figured out the truth of this matter long ago, right?"

Realizing this, Takayama Minami asked Fujino.

"Yes."

Fujino nodded and explained, "During the investigation of your stalking case, I inadvertently deduced the details of the Seigen Temple murder. But without evidence, I couldn't bring those responsible to justice."

He paused and then added with a standard apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, Miss Takayama, for causing you so much trouble."

"It's nothing..."

Takayama Minami smiled, "If it weren't for your investigation, I might have been in serious danger. I'd probably be in a worse situation if not for your help."

"It's part of the job..."

"If Miss Takayama is dissatisfied, I'll waive the commission fee this time."

"Detective Fujino, don't say that."

Takayama Minami chided softly, "You saved my life and completed the commission. Of course, I have to pay you."

She took out a credit card from her bag and continued with a smile, "Can I pay with this?"

"Sure."

Fujino's smile grew slightly as he received the 600,000 yen payment.

After dropping Takayama Minami off at her home, Fujino returned to his own place.

In the late night, as soon as he got home, system notifications appeared before him:

[Detected that the host has completed the detective task: Top Star Kidnapping Case]

[System Reward: 1,000,000 yen and 100 Detective Reputation Points have been issued]

[Detected that the host has completed the bodyguard task: Protecting Twomix]

[System Reward: 500,000 yen and 50 Bodyguard Proficiency Points have been issued]

[Bodyguard Profession Level Upgraded to: Intermediate]

[Current Bodyguard Profession Unallocated Points: 1]

[Current Balance: 4,200,000 yen]

Fujino checked his profession interface and decided to allocate the bodyguard profession point to Professional Protection.

[Professional Protection: Bodyguards are not mere human shields; professional protection requires knowledge of counterattacks (Intermediate: All attributes +40%)]

"The soul lotus growth has reached 100%."

Just as Fujino finished allocating the points, he felt a bit parched and decided to get a bottle of green tea from the fridge. Suddenly, a system prompt sounded in his ears.

"Growth completed?"

Fujino was taken aback. A light screen appeared before him.

[Soul Lotus has matured]

["Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual" has been issued]

"Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual?"

Fujino, puzzled, was hit by a rush of memories. Along with those memories came some sharp pain that lasted a moment before disappearing.

As the pain faded, Fujino felt many unfamiliar memories filling his mind.

If he was right, these memories were from the "Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual."

After sorting through these memories, Fujino walked past his spacious bedroom and into the bathroom where the soul lotus was located.

"What is this?"

Opening the door, Fujino was shocked by the sight before him.

The bathroom was a tangled mess of roots. The bathtub was covered by lotus leaves,

 obscuring the contents. At the top of the lotus leaves was a pink lotus flower blooming gently.

"Why did these roots grow so quickly?"

Fujino furrowed his brows, confused. "I remember it wasn't like this in the morning."

He quickly searched the Cultivation Manual for any instructions related to this situation.

Soon, he found the relevant information.

He first peeled off a bandage, letting a drop of blood fall into the bathtub.

In the next moment, a burst of light appeared.

Accompanied by specks of light, the surrounding roots began to dissipate, followed by the lotus leaves, and finally the lotus flower.

The once chaotic bathroom was restored to its original clean state.

A lotus flower-shaped badge floated in the air. Fujino reached out, and the badge gently fell into his hand.

[Lotus Badge: One of the media for connecting with the Soul Lotus]

Storing the badge, Fujino swallowed hard and approached the soul lotus.

In the bathtub was a young woman in her twenties.

"Cough, cough."

Fujino cleared his throat and gently lifted the girl from the bathtub.

---

**Moments later.**

The girl, who had just been pulled from the bathtub, now lay on a pristine white bed, dressed in a deep red shirt, a red leather jacket, and a white skirt.

She looked exactly like Miyahara Akemi.

No, to be precise, she was Miyahara Akemi.

Not only was her appearance identical, but even her physique was very similar.

"That should be fine now."

Fujino took a deep breath and calmed his nerves.

He looked at the system interface for the soul lotus:

[Soul Lotus: Level 1 (0|100)

Soul Puppet: (The host can control the soul lotus, which can have awareness if the host decides so, or remain inactive.)

Soul Lotus Immortality: (The body composed of the soul lotus has significantly enhanced recovery abilities. In case of fatal injury, it will automatically decompose and return to the host's lotus badge slot.

Skill Note: If the soul lotus dies from fatal injury, the host must re-cultivate the soul lotus. The growth time will be half of the initial growth period.)

Puppet Show: (Appearance and characteristics of the soul lotus are determined by the host.)

Note: For details, refer to the "Soul Lotus Cultivation Manual."]

"Can I control the soul lotus?"

Examining the system description, Fujino thought to himself.

Then, with a mental command, he took control of the soul lotus.

With a sense of dizziness, the soul lotus lying on the bed slowly sat up. She first clenched her fists, then stretched and shifted, finally sitting up from the bed and placing her feet gently on the carpet.

---

**End of Chapter**