A white car sped down the highway at night.
Throughout the drive, Sagawa Ryu revealed the full extent of his obnoxious personality—swearing, cutting lanes, and honking—causing Seiran Hoshi to frown in irritation.
Still, she endured it.
After all, she planned to kill him soon.
The farther they got from the city, the quieter Seiran became.
Just as she started to wonder whether Sagawa Ryu was deceiving her—and at the same time anticipating the treasure she might seize—he, seemingly relaxed with one hand on the wheel, suddenly muttered, "Hmm?"
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Sagawa Ryu didn't respond immediately.
He frowned and tapped the brake pedal a few times, but the speedometer needle didn't budge. His expression abruptly turned serious.
"I can't slow down… What's going on?"
"The brakes aren't working!"
His alarmed tone made Seiran Hoshi sit up straight.
She watched as he repeatedly slammed the brake pedal to no effect. The speedometer continued to climb.
"Shift to neutral—now!" she shouted.
"I freakin' know! I tried!!"
"The handbrake—wait, there's a curve up ahead!!"
Snapping his focus to the road, Sagawa Ryu gripped the steering wheel. The scenery outside blurred by, and the curve loomed rapidly ahead—
Panicked, he swerved.
The car's front tires howled as they turned sharply, barely managing the turn. Just as Sagawa Ryu began to relax, the vehicle barreled forward again—straight toward another sharp curve.
Seiran's body tensed. Her killer instincts told her this was a disaster she couldn't control.
"Ahhh! No! The handbrake, pull it!!!"
Screaming, Sagawa Ryu stomped on the useless brakes again and yanked the handbrake.
But the car had already lost balance during the earlier swerve. The second he pulled the brake, the high-speed tires locked. The unstable frame twisted violently—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The heavy car flipped over completely.
Metal shrieked against the asphalt. Seiran Hoshi felt her vision spin wildly. Pain slammed into her body from multiple angles. Her breath caught.
The airbags deployed.
Still strapped into her seat, Seiran felt dizzy. A warm, sticky trickle slid down her forehead.
She clenched her teeth. In her entire career as an assassin, she had never felt so humiliated.
She twisted violently, trying to unbuckle her seatbelt and escape—there was a gun hidden on her, and if police were drawn to the scene, her identity would be exposed.
"You're quite a sight, Scorpion."
A voice echoed inside the vehicle, startling Seiran Hoshi.
Hanging upside-down, blood rushing to her head, she looked toward the driver's seat. Sagawa Ryu's body lay limp, face smeared with blood. From the breast pocket of his shirt, his phone screen glowed blue.
Someone was on the line.
A wave of dread washed over her. She froze, holding her breath.
"Trying to fake unconsciousness?"
"Unfortunately for you, I can easily tell you're still conscious."
"In fact, it's more convenient for me this way."
"What will you choose?"
The mysterious voice threw her into a spiral of confusion.
As she tried to shift her position, she demanded, "Who are you?"
Finally freeing herself, Seiran Hoshi fell from the seat with a thud. The warped wreckage of the car, strewn with shards of broken glass, made movement agonizing.
That's when she heard it—
Calm, deliberate footsteps...
Looking up, she saw a tall figure crouching outside the vehicle. The familiar, smiling face made her pupils dilate.
"Good evening, Miss Seiran."
"I'm really glad to see you…"
"But it's time for you to sleep now."
His voice was soft, almost scholarly.
In her final conscious moment, she saw Hayashi Yoshiki take out a peculiar mask that covered the lower half of his face.
A red glow blinked from the device in his glasses.
—It was the Spider's Illusion Mask.
Seiran had unknowingly been inhaling hypnotic gas since she first got into Sagawa Ryu's car.
Her mind slipped into a haze.
Her vision blurred. Her muscles slackened. Already weakened from injuries and blood loss, she was now completely helpless before Hayashi Yoshiki.
Once he confirmed she was fully unconscious, Hayashi Yoshiki pulled her from the wreckage with effort.
Her red cheongsam was torn in several places. Her body was scratched and bruised, but none of the injuries were life-threatening.
As for Sagawa Ryu—he was already dead.
A flying shard of glass had sliced through his carotid artery during the crash. He had already lost consciousness from the impact before he even began to bleed out.
This area had no surveillance.
Hayashi Yoshiki placed Seiran into a different vehicle he had prepared earlier. After checking the time and confirming everything was aligned, he got in and drove away swiftly.
To prevent attention from locals or emergency services, he had used the Death Note to prepare further distractions around the area. It would be at least twenty minutes before anyone discovered the accident.
Hayashi Yoshiki drove back toward the city.
Along the way, he pulled out his phone and dialed Kaito Kuroba.
Beep... beep... beep—
He typed a message instead:
"If you keep playing dead, I won't give you the rest of the intel."
"Hey, my dear Yoshiki~ What do you need from me?"