Super Soldier in the City

Chapter 2444 - 2,508: Lost Ninjutsu

When it was time for romance, they were romantic, but when it was time to focus on business, they wouldn’t let other matters interfere. Despite being anxious about her father’s disappearance, Aoki Reiko remained calm on the surface. After meeting with Li Yifei, and listening to his suspicions, she immediately called her subordinates over and instructed them to use the power of the ****** to track down that strange woman.Aoki Ryota went to the bathroom, which took about ten minutes. Recently, he had some digestive issues, so the bodyguards were somewhat negligent. Normally, Aoki Ryota would also take that amount of time. By the time the bodyguards sensed something was amiss, Aoki Ryota was no longer visible in the bathroom.

"Reiko, if you were to list the possible people or forces involved, who do you think it would be?" Li Yifei asked seriously.

Aoki Reiko thought for a moment, shook her head, and said, "I can’t think of anyone, but it seems almost impossible for anyone to act. At this level, even if there is enmity..."

Li Yifei nodded. He was puzzled by one thing. If it was truly done by the organization he suspected, Noah’s Ark, why go to such lengths? Sending a master to kidnap Aoki Ryota—his bodyguards wouldn’t stand a chance, and even without a strong master, it could be done... What’s the purpose of all this effort?

Is it because they’re afraid I might deal with Aoki Ryota? But that doesn’t make sense... If Noah’s Ark had made a move, they should know my relationship with the Aoki Family...

This was a point of doubt, so Li Yifei said, "Maybe we’re overthinking it. The surveillance footage or maybe the bodyguards might have been distracted at the time, and perhaps Uncle Aoki simply left on his own. However, you still need to stay calm and ensure the group operates normally, don’t get distracted, and leave this matter to me. You just need to have them cooperate with me."

"Alright!" Aoki Reiko immediately nodded and had her subordinates unconditionally cooperate with Li Yifei. This was expected, and Aoki Reiko wouldn’t hesitate. This matter didn’t need to alarm the police for now. The Aoki Family’s influence, along with the Yamaguchi Group personnel Li Yifei could mobilize, should be enough to carry on the investigation.

However, as the investigation expanded, although the personnel made some progress tracking the suspicious woman, tracing her through several streets, she suddenly disappeared. It was at an intersection; her figure reached that point and seemed to vanish instantly. From the surveillance footage at the intersection, it could be seen that she disappeared in just an instant, even causing bystanders to look around in confusion, thinking they were seeing things.

This wasn’t an illusion. Li Yifei knew that the person had indeed disappeared suddenly, but it wasn’t truly vanishing; rather, it was... ninja techniques! Li Yifei slapped his hand, suddenly realizing and said, "It’s ninja techniques, how could I have overlooked this?"

"Mr. Li? Are you saying it’s ninja techniques?"

"Yes, it’s almost certain that it’s ninja techniques, the escape techniques of ninjas. Although the video shows a sudden disappearance, that’s not the case. Watching the video in slow motion would reveal the person making strange hand gestures, which are used to activate ninja techniques."

"Oh, oh! What should we do now?" the other person asked.

Ninja techniques weren’t unfamiliar to Li Yifei. In the past, Japan, influenced by Huaxia culture, adopted the knowledge of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, evolving into the path of ninja techniques. Over time, it further developed into a myriad of ninja arts. Li Yifei had encountered many, even the Earth Escape and Water Escape techniques. What kind of escape technique was this?

The Aoki Family also had ninjas. The bodyguards quickly reviewed the footage at home and confirmed with the family ninjas that it was indeed ninja techniques.

Li Yifei didn’t mind the bodyguards’ distrust. After all, they weren’t familiar with him and didn’t know much about him, and Li Yifei wouldn’t explain much either.

However, a new issue arose. Could Aoki Ryota perform ninja techniques? The answer was obviously no. Both Aoki Reiko and the bodyguards shook their heads. With the woman using escape techniques to flee, then... where was Aoki Ryota?

Li Yifei recalled those two bathrooms. Whether it was the men’s or women’s bathroom, he had checked. Extending his senses, Li Yifei didn’t believe any ninja technique could escape his inspection. Aoki Ryota had certainly left; he hadn’t gone through the ventilation ducts, nor could he have exited through the sewers.

Then where did he go?

As he pondered, a man strode over. Seeing him, the bodyguards immediately bowed and greeted him. Li Yifei glanced at him and immediately knew who it was—Aoki Takeshi, Aoki Reiko’s cousin, also the nephew of Aoki Ryota, and the direct person in charge of Kenboku Planning, the one Li Yifei was investigating.

Aoki Takeshi had a typical Japanese face: slender and stern, with sharp features, and an overbearing look in his eyes. As Li Yifei looked at him, he also glanced sideways at Li Yifei, treating him like air, and loudly asked the bodyguards in charge, "How did you guard him? Aoki Chairman disappeared right under your noses? Let me tell you, if anything happens to Chairman Aoki, you all should commit suicide in repentance!"

"We’re sorry, we’re sorry!" The bodyguards turned pale with fright, repeatedly apologizing.

"Useless, a bunch of useless people. Get the Chief of the Yokohama Police Department over here immediately. I want him to take direct responsibility, conduct a citywide search, and make sure to find Chairman Aoki!" Aoki Takeshi started commanding without ever interacting with Li Yifei.

The bodyguards hesitated, looking at him and then at Li Yifei, while the latter chuckled softly. Li Yifei had seen much worse than this kind of posturing, so he took a few steps forward and told the bewildered bodyguards, "Stick to the plan, don’t get confused."

"Who are you? Is there anywhere for you to stand around here?" Aoki Takeshi seemed to notice Li Yifei for the first time, speaking disdainfully.

"And who are you, coming here to bark orders? Don’t say I didn’t warn you; you’d better get out now, or you’ll have to face the consequences!"

"You!" Aoki Takeshi choked on his words, not expecting the other person to be even more arrogant and directly include a threat. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but get angry, his eyes bulging as he said, "I am Aoki Takeshi, Aoki Ryota’s nephew, a director of the Aoki Group. I have both personal and professional rights to command the search for my uncle!"

"Oh!" Li Yifei responded flatly. He pondered how this Aoki Takeshi seemed suspicious too. This guy directly managed Kenboku Planning, which supplied key raw materials for research by the Noah’s Ark Organization.

Even if they weren’t supplying raw materials to Noah’s Ark, the actions of this company alone were egregious enough. These people sent out ocean-fishing boats, wreaking havoc worldwide, hunting whales, sharks, and dolphins, reducing the numbers of these species. This harm alone is intolerable.

Li Yifei certainly didn’t believe Aoki Takeshi was just some headstrong punk. At thirty, maybe many people aren’t that mature, but if he had reached a high position in the Aoki Group, he couldn’t be a fool. Coming over and bossing around while ignoring Li Yifei suggested this guy knew who he was and was acting deliberately.

Seeing no response from Li Yifei, Aoki Takeshi ordered the bodyguards, "Get this person out of here. With such a big incident, instead of reflecting on your mistakes, you’re letting some unknown individual take command. This is ridiculous!"

"Heh!" Li Yifei stepped towards Aoki Takeshi, who immediately questioned, "What do you want?"

"That’s enough, there’s no place for you here. If you want to make your presence felt, you’ve done it. Go back to where you came from. Now that Uncle Aoki is missing, every minute wasted could be an additional danger to him. If you don’t want a beating, leave now. And stop shouting; I don’t believe you don’t know my identity!" Li Yifei coldly replied.

Releasing his aura, Aoki Takeshi, who had been domineering, suddenly deflated, his gaze faltering and lips moving slightly. He snorted and addressed the bodyguards, "Are you not going to obey my orders, and instead listen to this outsider?"

"That’s enough, Aoki Takeshi, this is your last warning!" Li Yifei shouted.

"Fine, when Uncle returns, I’ll deal with each of you. Damn traitors, you’d rather obey a stranger than me, just wait!" Aoki Takeshi spat these words, but his steps retreated from Li Yifei, putting some distance between them.

"Young Master Gohei... We take orders from Miss Reiko, and we must obey Mr. Li’s commands absolutely, please understand!" one of the bodyguards in charge said.

"Get lost!" Aoki Takeshi rolled his eyes, glared venomously at Li Yifei, turned, and left. Li Yifei watched his retreating figure, frowning. This guy shouldn’t act this way; why come here to cause a scene on purpose? Was he just trying to seize the narrative for finding Aoki Ryota?

There’s no need for that. Even if he wasn’t granted the authority, he could still search on his own...

Just as Li Yifei was about to ask Aoki Reiko, a discovery was made instead. The family’s ninjas recognized the escape technique as one that had been long lost, disappeared for hundreds of years, and now unexpectedly resurfaced.

"Someone who knows this technique can usually carry a person, even several people, and ordinary people can’t detect it. The technique can last long enough to reach that intersection," the family ninjas concluded.

"So Aoki Clan Chief was carried away by them at the time?" Li Yifei asked.

"Yes, it’s almost certain, but unfortunately, it’s just video, so it’s not 100% conclusive!"

"Then, summon your forces to locate sects or individual powers who might know this escape technique. You have more experience in this area than I do. You may call upon Yamaguchi Group members as needed. Notify me immediately if there are any leads, and don’t alarm any experts you encounter—leave them to me," Li Yifei instructed quickly.

Everyone nodded eagerly, finally having an idea of Aoki Ryota’s whereabouts, or at least a direction for the lead.