A Scientific Urban Detective

"Hachihou, I'm going to meet someone later, so I won't be going back yet. Do you want to come with me?" Lin Wuming looked up at the girl pushing his wheelchair from behind.

"Go where?" Hachihou Toumi had a matter-of-course expression.

Lin Wuming didn't hide anything and showed her the address on his phone screen: "It's Kurozuma Menerau, you remember him, right? Sogo-san's friend."

"Of course I remember, I'm not you, Wuming." Hachihou Toumi couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Lin Wuming smiled helplessly, not explaining too much; while Hachihou Toumi didn't ask further, seemingly uninterested in what Lin Wuming wanted to do.

After walking for a while, Lin Wuming suddenly said, "Also, try not to let Yomikawa-sensei know about what happens next, please."

"Oh?" Hachihou Toumi raised an eyebrow, finally showing a hint of interest. This seemed to be the first time Lin Wuming had so clearly concealed something from Yomikawa-sensei.

"Okay, but I want twelve strawberry shortcakes as payment." Hachihou Toumi stated her price.

"That… that's no problem," Lin Wuming agreed, "but, can you eat that many cakes?"

"I only want the strawberries on top. The cake can be divided between Wuming and Yomikawa Aiho to eat."

"You're really fixated on the strawberries on the cake…" Lin Wuming said with a wry smile.

"Of course, they're the most precious jewels on the cake!" Hachihou Toumi urged, "Alright, hurry up and meet Kurozuma Menerau. If you drag it out too long, the cakes will sell out!"

The meeting place was one of "Great Spider's" usual hideouts, located in an abandoned factory building. Aside from the armed Skill-Out group, hardly anyone would usually approach this place.

However, today "Great Spider" was clearly having a gathering somewhere else—to free up the space for this meeting.

Besides Kurozuma Menerau, there was another person waiting here, wearing a mask and sunglasses, looking suspicious.

Seeing Lin Wuming and Hachihou Toumi walk over, he took off his sunglasses and mask, revealing his true face.

"You are…" Because they had just met recently, and even had the fate of "fighting side-by-side," Lin Wuming immediately recognized the other party's identity.

"You escaped from prison again, Hattori Hanzo?" Firmly gripping the other's hand, Lin Wuming questioned in a low voice.

This mysterious man was none other than the second-in-command of SKILL-OUT, Hattori Hanzo!

"Shh!" Hattori Hanzo also lowered his voice, "Don't make a fuss, and don't be nervous. I didn't escape, I just sneaked out."

"What's the difference between the two?" Lin Wuming retorted.

"The difference is, after I'm done, I'll go back to prison and continue to accept punishment! So don't worry, Disciplinary Committee member." Hattori Hanzo subtly broke free from Lin Wuming's grip. "Alright, I'm short on time, so let's get straight to the point!"

Saying that, Hattori Hanzo pushed a tin box at his feet towards Lin Wuming.

"I don't know why you want this, but this thing is hard to get!" Hattori Hanzo couldn't help but complain, "You can't find this thing on Academy City's weapon market at all."

"But you still managed to get it, thank you very much!" Lin Wuming opened the box. Among a pile of shredded paper used as cushioning, a miniature pistol lay quietly.

This was a delicate weapon less than the size of a palm, with two barrels arranged vertically, firing 0.22-inch bullets, with a bullet weight of 8.4 grams and a muzzle velocity of 130 meters per second—one of the weapons with the slowest muzzle velocity Lin Wuming found while researching.

"This was bought from a collector in Tokyo. In other words, it's a collectible, not a weapon." Hattori Hanzo complained, "Even the customs inspection recognized it as an antique collectible!"

"The D-100 double-barreled derringer pistol, said to be one of the first hundred manufactured in 1962, with less than twenty still in existence today," Hattori Hanzo introduced. "For this, that old guy charged me a full million yen!"

"…Actually, you didn't have to be so fixated on the original," Lin Wuming couldn't help but say, "A replica of the same model would have been fine too."

"Well, since the model you specified was this one, it's naturally less prone to error to choose the original." Hattori Hanzo said, "And I also bargained, and only ended up paying 400,000 yen."

Therefore, the old collector's introduction was likely exaggerated.

"As for the bullets," Hattori Hanzo took out another paper box. This was a box of one hundred 0.22-inch rimfire cartridges. "These are easy to get, they're everywhere on the black market—most pocket pistols and disposable self-defense pistols use this caliber."

"Thank you for your hard work." Lin Wuming nodded, he had of course researched this information as well.

In fact, from a purely practical point of view, Lin Wuming could have bought a self-defense pistol, which had even lower power.

But how should he put it, Lin Wuming was, after all, a man. He was captivated by the charm of the derringer double-barreled pocket pistol, and chose this pistol entirely for its appearance.

Aside from practical factors, Lin Wuming mainly wanted to play with it, so when he "ordered" from the armed Skill-Out group, he specifically emphasized this model.

And Hattori Hanzo implemented this request without any discount…

Not long ago, Lin Wuming had decided to get a pistol as his "combat tool."

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But considering that he was "illegally possessing a gun," it was naturally impossible to obtain the weapon he wanted through legal channels, so Lin Wuming thought of the "black market."

But the problem was, Lin Wuming had only heard of the existence of the "black market," but he himself had never been in contact with it; and with his identity as a Disciplinary Committee member, it was unlikely that he would directly go to the black market to buy things.

More importantly, Lin Wuming didn't have any money right now…

All of his scholarship money was, as always, invested in "Gekota" series merchandise, leaving him with less than 2,000 yen in pocket money.

This amount of money couldn't even buy a toy gun.

And the black market was obviously unlikely to let you swipe a credit card.

Helplessly, Lin Wuming thought of Kurozuma Menerau. That guy had a generous personality, many friends, and many connections. Through him, finding the black market, and even borrowing a little money shouldn't be a problem.

After all, Lin Wuming and Kurozuma Menerau were also comrades who had fought side-by-side. He should help with this little favor, right?

However, although Kurozuma Menerau knew the connections to the black market, he himself belonged to the relatively "law-abiding" type, so he had never traded illegal contraband in the black market. Moreover, his fighting style didn't favor dangerous weapons like guns.

Therefore, the question of how to buy a gun on the black market really stumped him. If the person making the request wasn't Lin Wuming, Kurozuma Menerau definitely wouldn't have bothered, and might even have reported him to Sogo Misaka…

But in the end, Kurozuma Menerau still expressed his willingness to help and would find a way to get Lin Wuming the small gun he wanted.

Then, Hattori Hanzo, who didn't know where he heard the news from, actually "escaped" again, saying that he could help get it done.

Hattori Hanzo, as a ninja, seemed to have his own special channels, and in the end, he did get the gun.

So, the result became like this now…

Thanks for the moon ticket support from The Moon in the Sea!