Watanabe Tetsu suspected that the system was trying to swallow his rookie gift pack, but he didn't really care.
Even without this limited-time event, he would still have to find a way out of here. Staying meant becoming nothing more than the Organization's experimental guinea pig.
Watanabe Tetsu stripped off the oversized clothes on his body. It was already warm in May—going shirtless wouldn't be unbearably cold.
He began examining his surroundings.
As expected, every door and window of the detention room was locked tight, not even leaving the width of a crack. It was sealed so thoroughly that even a fly wouldn't be able to get out.
But Watanabe Tetsu didn't lose heart. Since the system stated that limited-time events never presented truly impossible tasks, then there had to be a way out of this room.
Could there be a hidden mechanism? A secret passage?
He perked up, lowered himself to the ground in a lizard-like posture, and tapped each brick one by one.
Clang—
A strange sound made his eyes light up.
The tone was crisp—likely hollow beneath. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a subtle groove below one of the wall tiles.
There it is!
Watanabe Tetsu hooked his fingers into the groove and pushed upward. The tile lifted.
Behind it was a pitch-black passageway, destination unknown. A faint stench drifted out.
The passage wasn't wide, but barely enough for him to squeeze through.
"Looks like a garbage chute," Watanabe thought. It was the only exit—complaining would do him no good. He grabbed his discarded clothes and slipped into the chute. After lowering the tile back into place, he crawled forward in the dark.
Two minutes later, Watanabe reached the end of the chute. He pushed aside an aluminum grate, scrambled out in a sorry state, then glanced left and right cautiously. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he relax.
Grandpa's finally out.
And that pathetic cell thought it could trap me?
Tch.
At that moment, the system flickered.
[You have new mail.]
[Escape Detention Room event completed.]
[Reward issued.]
[Rookie gift pack issued.]
Already?
Watanabe opened the [Panel], and sure enough, the data had changed.
[Character: Watanabe Tetsu]
[Physical Recovery Rate: 0%]
[Points: 11,100]
[Skills: Grandmaster—Disguise, Grandmaster—Handwriting Imitation]
[Items: Branded Children's Outfit ×1, 10-Billion-Yen Cash Extraction Card ×1, Puppet Gu ×1]
Clearly, everything aside from the event rewards came from the rookie gift pack.
Watanabe opened the descriptions for the cash card and the Puppet Gu.
[Cash Extraction Card: A cash extraction card from the future. After inputting an amount on the card surface, the equivalent amount of cash will appear within half a meter of the user. Can also be used for transfers.]
[Puppet Gu: A type of Gu worm capable of controlling the human mind. After infection, the caster can manipulate the target's thoughts. Note: Prolonged control can cause mental damage or even dementia. Use with caution.]
Pretty powerful stuff.
Watanabe was satisfied—especially with the children's outfit, which couldn't have come at a better time.
With a thought, a perfectly fitting set of children's clothes appeared on his body.
"Alright, time to get out of here." Watanabe rolled his shoulders, glanced back at the building behind him, and then walked into the night without the slightest hesitation.
…
Beika Avenue, inside a 24-hour KFC.
Watanabe Tetsu stuffed the last French fry into his mouth, then carefully licked the ketchup off his fingers. He let out a small, satisfied burp.
It was already ten at night, yet the streets were still bustling. His seat faced the entrance, giving him a clear view of the street. Across from him was a bar, from which drunk patrons staggered out from time to time.
Watanabe had no interest in Tokyo's nightlife—for now. He cleaned up the food scraps on his tray, pushed it aside, and pulled a newly bought map from his pocket.
He felt that he was actually pretty lucky. At least he didn't transmigrate into sparsely populated places like Gunma or Tottori. Beika Town, Tokyo—this should be the place he was "most familiar" with.
According to the map, he was currently at the center of Beika Town. Nearby landmarks included the Beika Art Museum and Teitan Elementary School. About a kilometer away stood the place that interested him most—the Mouri Detective Agency.
After getting a general understanding of the area, Watanabe folded the map and began assessing his situation.
He had 10 billion yen. Food and shelter weren't problems. But what he wanted most was points.
His situation was far from safe. Only by exchanging points for items and skills could he protect himself from the dangers he would surely face in the future.
But there were only two ways to gain points: triggering limited-time events and capturing criminals.
The former was too unpredictable. To earn a steady supply of points, he had to rely on the latter.
Which raised an important question:
In a world where murder cases were anything but rare… how was he supposed to get access to them?