115 Pursuing Differences

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In Mist City, Sha District, Three Gorges Square, at the Seventy-Two Trades Restaurant. Watermark ad test. Watermark ad test.

Duan Yibin and his parents had arranged a banquet here to thank the Yang family for their help during the admissions process.

After several rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes, Yang Jixue took the initiative to bring up Duan Yibin’s desire to transfer to a better major.

“I’ve inquired about Binzi’s situation. The admission notices have already been sent out, so transfers can only happen within the same department.”

Unexpectedly, Duan’s father waved his hand. “Old Yang, no trouble needed. I don’t know what kind of stroke of luck my little Bin had, but he actually got accepted by Mist City Law School.”

“Law School!?” Yang Jixue was momentarily stunned. “That’s excellent news!”

“Exactly, otherwise we’d have to trouble you.”

“All right, all right, no more talk!” Relieved to be spared the hassle, Yang Jixue exhaled softly. “Let’s drink!”

At the same moment, Yang Tang was raising a glass with Duan Yibin. “Old Duan, in the coming years while you’re studying at Mist City University, drop by my place for a bite whenever you have time, okay?”

“Of course, no problem. Cheers!” Duan Yibin clinked glasses without hesitation and downed his drink.

Yang Tang matched his empty glass and added, “And when something comes up at home, whether it’s your place or mine, remember to give me a heads-up!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The next day, Yang’s mother brought up the idea again of taking Yang Tang to Beijing for a full medical check-up. Yang Jixue hesitated but was about to agree.

Yang Tang, however, said, “Dad, Mom, I think this isn’t urgent.”

“Why not?” Yang’s mother asked.

“Remember when Dad went to Beijing to ask Uncle Qin about the entrusted training? I think we should call him first, tell him I got accepted to Peking University, so that when the time comes, we don’t suddenly spring this on him. That way, he won’t feel awkward.”

Yang Jixue paused, then nodded. “Right, right, Xiao Hong is thoughtful—I almost forgot. We should call Xu Wu in advance.”

Seeing this, Yang Tang seized the moment. “Also, we shouldn’t rush to Beijing right after the call or start bothering him to arrange hospital visits. That would seem insincere. So, I’m thinking we call soon, but the whole family should go in early August.”

“That’s over a week away. Why wait so long?” Yang’s mother sounded a bit displeased.

“Heh, Mom, you don’t understand,” Yang Tang coaxed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “If we all go to Beijing, no matter if there’s anything wrong with me or not, you two can tour the city. You could even stay until I start school.”

Yang’s mother rolled her eyes. “If it turned out you had a real health problem, would your father and I be in the mood to sightsee? And staying until your school starts isn’t impossible, but hotels are expensive.”

“Mom, don’t worry about that. I’ve already checked online. We can buy an apartment right near Peking University in Yujing. That way, not only do you save on the hotel, I can save on dorm fees too.”

“Buy a house?!” Both Yang’s father and mother were startled. “Is that reliable?”

“That’s why Dad should first call Uncle Qin to thank him for the entrusted training! Then, after a few days, we can ask about buying a place. If he says it’s doable and money isn’t a problem, wouldn’t that settle it?”

Yang Jixue chuckled dryly, nodding to Yang Tang. “You’re always creating work for me, kid.”

---

Tokyo, Shinjuku Residence.

“Play back that last segment of the recording,” Okita ordered his subordinate.

“Yes, team leader!”

“Is that all? What about the rest?”

Okita, who had been standing with his back to the window, suddenly turned and glared sharply at the subordinate.

The subordinate who was playing the recording cautiously spread his hands. “That’s all.”

“What do you mean?”

“This segment 3 was recorded by violently switching between various communication channels using a high-power eavesdropping device, so each clip varies in length. We could have recorded a fixed channel manually, but under the current circumstances, it seems neither Gu Hai Youde nor his men did that.”

Hearing this explanation, Okita cursed, “Baka moron!!” After a pause to calm himself, he asked the bespectacled, deferential subordinate, “Nagano-kun, I hear you graduated with master’s degrees in Applied Physics and Applied Chemistry from Tokyo University and are currently pursuing a doctorate, correct?”

“Hi, nothing escapes the team leader!”

“So tell me, what might ‘equals squared’ represent in the two disciplines you studied?”

Nagano was momentarily stunned, then grimaced. “Team leader, without a frame of reference, that’s too broad! Conventionally, it represents energy or mass, but in this formula, that doesn’t seem to fit because no existing theory connects energy and mass like this yet. If it’s neither energy nor mass, and the speed of light in this world is unknown, then the formula’s possibilities are vast.”

“Hmm.”

Suddenly, a phone rang. “Ringing, ringing.”

Okita answered casually, “Hello, this is Okita.”

“Come to me immediately!” came Shinjuku Jūshirō’s voice from the other end.

“Understood!”

Ten minutes later, inside the Director’s office.

“Okita, any results from the re-examination?”

Okita hesitated, then bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, Director, not yet.”

“It’s better if not. Immediately have your trusted men send all of Gu Hai Youde’s belongings here!”

“Now?” Okita was taken aback.

“Yes, immediately!”

Okita reluctantly used the office phone to call Nagano. Soon after, Nagano delivered all the items and was sent away.

“Director.”

Just as Okita was about to present the case file with both hands, he suddenly noticed two figures flanking him at his sides, startling him. One of them spoke sinisterly, “Just hand over the items.”

“Director, they—”

Deep sigh from the Director. “Give them the items.”

---

Okita complied.

The man who took the items kept his head bowed low; even face-to-face, Okita couldn’t see his features clearly.

At that moment, the other man, also looking down, said, “Director Shinjuku, thank you for your generosity. Our prior agreement remains valid—you may redeem it at any time!” With that, they left the office carrying the case file.

“Them?”

“They are from the Ima-kai. On the day of the Tipping Gate incident, two registered members of the Ima-kai died in the traffickers’ lair. The fatal wounds matched those of Gu Hai Youde. However, the Ima-kai has confirmed the killer must be a ‘Third Type’!”

Ima-kai? Third Type?

Listening to this, Okita suddenly understood why Shinjuku had urged him to hand over the items so quickly.

The so-called Ima-kai was actually a ninja organization formed by the merger of the Iga and Fuma clans. The Iga clan, due to Hattori Hanzo’s influence, had long served the Tokugawa shogunate into modern times. The Fuma clan, after the Hojo clan’s fall, lingered as bandits in the Sagami region and were eventually absorbed into the Tokugawa ninja forces after Hideyoshi’s death. Over time, the two clans united to form the Ima-kai.

As for the “Third Type” mentioned by Shinjuku, this referred to the “Primordial Energetic Individuals” that Mingwu had warned Yang Tang about—distinct from ordinary people (Type One) and elite athletes or intellectual prodigies (Type Two). The crucial difference is that the Third Type pursues self-empowerment, not external power.

However, precisely because of this, what the Third Type—or the Ima-kai—sought from Gu Hai Youde’s relics was completely different from the clues Okita had uncovered. So much so that the very next day, the Ima-kai discarded the seemingly useless relic box into the incinerator.

---

Having received his admission notice and with no immediate need to travel to Beijing, Yang Tang finally had some free time.

At night, he would slowly recall beautiful poems and songs in his mind, search online to check for duplicates, then upload his unpublished works to the official website for verification. As for registration fees, he wasn’t short of money these days.

During the day, he frequented music stores, occasionally performing his newest certified piano pieces, which amazed the shop owners beyond words.

“Little Yang, your piano skills rival those of concert pianists. Doesn’t your family support you buying a piano?”

Just after casually playing a segment of “Flight of the Bumblebee,” Yang Tang paused and said, “Uncle Yu, it’s not that I don’t want one; there’s just no place to put it at home!”

Indeed, although Yang Tang’s family had multiple rooms, apart from the living room, each was barely ten square meters, barely enough for an upright piano, and certainly not with good acoustics. So even if he had the money, Yang Tang never seriously considered buying one.

However, Uncle Yu, the music store owner, heard it differently. He assumed Yang Tang’s excuse about space was a polite way of saying he couldn’t afford it and sighed quietly, feeling it was a pity to waste such a promising talent.

“By the way, Uncle Yu, do you have guitars?”

“Sure, but why do you want one?”

“I want to learn guitar. When school starts, I can show off a bit of an artistic vibe—to impress girls!” Yang Tang, despite being a grown man, spoke bluntly, unlike the shy youth.

“Hahaha, straightforward enough. I’ll find you a good one!”

Just as Uncle Yu was about to select a guitar for Yang Tang, a clear, graceful female voice came from the store entrance.

“Hmph, Dad, why bother with someone like him who only wants to learn guitar to pick up girls?”

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