Heiji had just landed on the roof when he heard the system's new mission, and he almost fell off.
"System, explain yourself. What is this?"
"I am the Night Baron. How am I supposed to rescue Miwako Sato from myself?"
"Wait... does this mission also require me to kidnap Miwako Sato?"
Heiji's face darkened. This system just isn't happy unless it's screwing me over, is it?
However, the system remained silent, as always.
"Night Baron, you are surrounded! Put down the painting and surrender!"
Inspector Megure's voice roared from the sky.
He was clearly not in the helicopter, just using the internal police channel to broadcast his voice.
"A radio?"
Heiji's eyes lit up. Miwako's car must also have a police radio.
"Miwako, there are three more buildings ahead. You block the main entrance."
Hearing the order, Miwako Sato nodded seriously.
"Takagi, get to the next building over. Wait on the roof for the Night Baron. Don't let him turn back."
"He can't escape. We're catching this coin thief today."
The police cars sped over, and the helicopter circled overhead, its beam fixed on him.
"The Night Baron has stopped on a roof. There are no more buildings for him to jump to."
"He's surrounded by roads on three sides and a river in front. He has nowhere to run."
The pilot's words made all the officers' hearts leap.
"Excellent! Keep on him! We're almost there!" Megure cheered.
"Inspector, I've arrived at the ground floor of the building. Should I go up?"
Miwako Sato didn't draw her gun. The Night Baron hadn't shown any malice toward the police so far.
He was probably like Kaitou Kid, an unwritten rule of not hurting anyone.
"Wait for me. The Night Baron is good at disguise. Don't let anyone leave," Megure said.
Miwako Sato's eyes were fixed on the building's entrance.
"The Night Baron has entered the building! Repeat, the Night Baron is inside!"
The pilot's shout came over the radio.
"Miwako, be careful. He'll probably disguise himself as a resident."
"Understood. I won't let a single person leave."
Miwako Sato slowly drew her gun. Sometimes, a gun was just for show.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from inside the building.
Sato's grip on her gun tightened, her expression grim.
A group of people suddenly ran out.
"Police! Don't move!"
The dark barrel of her gun was aimed at the group.
"Don't kill us! We don't know anything! Don't kill us!"
The group's faces paled, and they froze in terror.
Miwako Sato frowned, then realized. "What did someone tell you? I'm really the police!"
"The person who spoke to you was the Night Baron! You can't believe him!"
However, the people didn't believe her.
"We really don't know anything!"
They were all trembling, too scared to move.
Miwako Sato bit her lip. Damn it. Who knows what the Night Baron told these people.
I'll just have to wait for Inspector Megure.
"Nobody move! Wait for the police to arrive!"
The people didn't dare say anything, just stood there shaking.
Miwako Sato sighed in relief. The important thing was to not let the Night Baron escape.
Suddenly, a sound came from above.
Just as Sato was about to look up, she felt a sharp pain in her neck. Her vision went dark, and she lost consciousness.
Heiji caught Miwako Sato's body and lifted her into his arms.
"Young man, why did you jump from the second floor? That's too dangerous," an old man in the crowd said.
"That's right! We were nice enough to help you trick your girlfriend. What if you'd gotten hurt?" a woman added, annoyed.
The group chimed in.
"I'm really sorry. But she wouldn't have come with me otherwise. Thank you all for your help today."
Heiji smiled at the group, then carried Miwako Sato into her Mazda and drove off.
Watching the Mazda leave, the old man shook his head. "Such a pretty girl, but she's lost her mind. And she likes to pretend to be a cop."
The group nodded in agreement.
Soon, Inspector Megure and his team arrived.
"Officer, are you the doctors from the psychiatric hospital? Don't worry, the young man already took that girl away," the old man said.
"What? Miwako was taken?" Megure's eyes went wide.
"Sir, what exactly happened?" Officer Takagi asked anxiously.
The old man explained what had happened.
"We saw how heartbroken he was, so we decided to help him out. It's a pity about that girl. To think she's mentally unstable."
"What? Miwako... is mentally unstable?" Megure was dumbfounded.
"Isn't she? She likes to pretend to be a cop. Aren't you all just playing along with her?" the old man asked.
Megure felt his anger rising. "We are the police! And that 'young man' you helped was the Night Baron, a master thief!"
"Really?"
Seeing Megure and the others nod, the group of people froze, stunned.
"Inspector, what do we do? Officer Sato has been kidnapped again!" Takagi said.
Megure shot Takagi a glare and grabbed his radio. "03, 05, listen up! Search for a red Mazda. Direction unknown, location unknown! Notify me immediately!"
The two helicopters began to scan the night sky.
"Sir, you should all go home. And next time, don't just trust strangers."
The group nodded meekly.
"Inspector, why would those people believe the Night Baron?" Takagi didn't understand.
"How can ordinary people resist the tricks of a master thief?"
Megure's face was dark. He didn't even know where to start looking.
"Notify all units! No one sleeps until we find Miwako!"
When the MPD heard that Sato had been kidnapped again, the officers saw red.
Heiji put the unconscious Miwako Sato in the back seat, drove around, and returned to a nearby underground parking garage.
As a top-tier "mechanic," his tracking and anti-tracking skills were unmatched.
Even in a car, he could evade the helicopters and police sirens.
He parked the car, lifted Miwako Sato, and returned to the same building.
The top-floor apartment was still empty. He got in easily.
"You'll stay here for tonight."
Heiji sighed.
If this were just a C-Rank mission, he would have ignored it.
But it was a chain mission. He had no idea what the total Sin Value would be.
If an S-Rank mission popped up later, the Sin Value would be catastrophic.
For now, Miwako Sato would have to be inconvenienced.
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