Gensokyo Detective, but surrounded by Shura Field

Reimu perked up instantly. Could it be that a believer had come to the shrine?

She quickly pulled open the shrine's doors, a wide smile ready to greet them.

But all she saw was a homeless young man draped in old rags, squatting at the entrance and shivering.

"...We don't have any leftovers here. Go beg somewhere else."

Disappointed, Reimu prepared to slam the doors shut.

But then, the homeless man burst forth with incredible speed, instantly appearing before Reimu:

"Reimu, it's me, Reimu! I'm your good friend, Chu Bai!"

"...Huh??"

Reimu rubbed her eyes, staring blankly at the disheveled figure before her.

After a long moment of stunned silence, she finally exclaimed in surprise:

"Chu... Chu Bai?"

"What happened to you? Why are you a homeless guy??"

......

......

Back at the shrine.

Reimu directly brought out the remaining lunch.

The dishes were simple: a plate of stir-fried greens, a plate of pan-fried fish bones, a bowl of glutinous rice, and a bowl of salted soup.

But even this humble lunch was devoured by Chu Bai, as if a starving ghost would shed tears at the sight.

Reimu stared at him in astonishment:

"What on earth happened? I thought you were rich. How did you suddenly become a homeless person?"

"Ah... it's a long story!"

Chu Bai was on the verge of tears, shoveling rice into his mouth as he recounted his tragic experiences.

It turned out that after they parted ways that day, Chu Bai immediately began his money-making plan.

He actually had a grand vision.

Rather than completing the system's tasks, he wanted to genuinely start a business and have a constant source of income.

Therefore, he planned to use the gold bars for large-scale investments, but every single time, it would fail for various reasons.

"For my first investment, I used my previous experience to open a buffet restaurant."

"The novel dining style did attract a lot of customers, and I even reached a supply agreement with the Hieda family's dedicated collection merchants."

"But on the second day of opening, a glutton from the Netherworld came..."

"The restaurant closed down on the spot, and I had to pay a large sum of penalty fees and rent..."

Chu Bai wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, seemingly unwilling to recall that dark moment.

Reimu also broke out in a cold sweat. The glutton from the Netherworld should be Yuyuko, right?

Meeting this emissary of the abyss could be considered Chu Bai's misfortune.

"For my second investment, I noticed that many merchants were being threatened by youkai, so I opened a bodyguard agency."

"But because the business was repetitive, the Self-Patrol Squad mistook us for troublemakers."

"After defeating all the members, we encountered Fujiwara no Mokou, who came to support them."

"The battle affected a wide area and had a significant impact on the human village. Although the misunderstanding was eventually resolved, my shop was left with a bad reputation for resisting law enforcement, and the business was dismal, forcing it to close down."

Chu Bai sighed leisurely and scooped another large bowl of rice.

His eyes were filled with countless vicissitudes:

"For the third time, I rented a high-end motorcycle and went to participate in the winter motorcycle cross-country race."

"Because it was said that the race champion could win a 10,000 yen prize, and even the top three would get 5,000 yen."

"But it turned out that the contestants this time were all cheating gods!"

"Some summoned Stands, some levitated upside down... and there was an even more awesome woman with purplish-gold hair who punched through a hill, directly taking a shortcut from a physical level!"

"As a result, this time there was still no gain, and I wasted the motorcycle money for nothing."

"Of course, there was a fourth time, a fifth time..."

"Until now, most of the money I had has been lost. Yesterday, I didn't eat anything all day to save money!"

Chu Bai recounted his experiences with tears in his eyes.

Reimu also frequently added rice and dishes for him, feeling embarrassed.

Until finally, Chu Bai ate three bowls of rice in a row before finally putting down his chopsticks:

"I can't eat too much at once after being hungry for so long, so I'll rest for a while..."

"You've already eaten enough! You've eaten my lunch for tomorrow too!"

Reimu raised her question:

"And aren't you on good terms with that puppeteer? Why don't you ask her for help?"

"Oh, you mean Alice."

Chu Bai sighed:

"I did visit her house before, and she prepared a very lavish dinner."

"She also said that I could go over anytime in the future, and there would be no problem with food or accommodation."

"But how should I say it, it always feels like being taken care of... I can't make money that way."

What a strange man.

Reimu couldn't understand Chu Bai's thoughts. In her opinion, she would do anything as long as she could make money.

But since Chu Bai was considered an acquaintance, Reimu still said:

"You really are pitiful..."

"But for the sake of our acquaintance, I'll tell you some information about making money."

In Chu Bai's suddenly hopeful gaze.

Reimu continued to introduce:

"Not long ago, the Scarlet Devil Mansion issued a notice that a theft case occurred in the Great Library."

"Whoever can help find Patchouli's missing magic books will receive a high reward."

Chu Bai snorted arrogantly:

"Just finding a few books. Although I'm down on my luck, I don't accept just any task..."

"The reward is 10,000 yen."

"!!!"

Under Reimu's contemptuous gaze, Chu Bai straightened up with a snap, his eyes radiating a shining golden light:

"It turns out I was shallow. How could I not participate in such an elegant activity as finding books?"

"Reimu, quickly give me the map! I'm going to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to help!"

Chapter 6: Me beating Reimu? Really?

[Objective: Earn 10,000 yen of initial capital within one month]

[Reward: +2000 points]

[Remaining: 14 days]

This is Chu Bai's current task data.

Although he earned some money by opening a buffet restaurant, he quickly lost everything.

So the current progress is still zero, and the task deadline is only 14 days left.

Although there is no penalty for failure, Chu Bai is still very greedy for the reward of two thousand points.

That's two thousand points!

He did business for half a month and interacted with so many girls, and he only managed to earn a few thousand points...

"So I must find out the truth about the theft! That way I can buy the products I want!"

Chu Bai made up his mind and quickly headed towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion...

......

......

The Scarlet Devil Mansion is a huge Western-style mansion located on the shores of Mist Lake.

The owner of the mansion is the vampire noble Remilia Scarlet.

It is said that she was also the initiator of the last incident of the old era and the first incident of the new era in Gensokyo.

Standing in a position like the fate of the change of era, it also fits her ability to manipulate fate.

And this request is to go to the Great Library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion to help the magician Patchouli find her lost books.

"Damn, there are already so many people..."

Arriving at the entrance of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Chu Bai saw twenty or thirty people waiting in line.

These people were all confident and dressed differently, obviously all warriors who came for the reward.

Chu Bai even found a familiar figure among them:

"Yo, isn't that Alice?"

Alice turned around and immediately saw Chu Bai waving to her.

So she also showed a gentle smile:

"It's Xiao Bai, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Xiao Ai, are you here to earn the reward too?"

Chu Bai was full of fighting spirit:

"It seems we are enemies this time. Don't be beaten to tears by me later, okay?"

"...If I remember correctly, this is a detective request, right? Why would there be a situation where someone is beaten to tears!"

Alice couldn't help but say:

"And I'm not short of money. I was dragged here by a friend to join in the fun, but she disappeared instead."

"Friend?"

Chu Bai was shocked: "Xiao Ai actually has friends?"

"Of course I do."

Alice also raised her chin slightly, showing a proud look:

"Although I'm not good at socializing, I still have a few friends for the time being."

"Could it be an imaginary friend?"

"How is that possible!"

"...Imaginary friends don't count, okay?"

"If you tease me again, I'll stab you!"

Alice snorted: