Two Screenwriters, One Script

"Professor Liu. The satellite is monitoring in real-time."

Mengchao nodded, pressed a hand against his ear, and spoke into the headset, "Check the surroundings. Look for any unusual individuals. Our top priority right now is to ensure that no opposing Reincarnators have appeared in the vicinity of Light Yagami."

As Liu Mengchao spoke, he walked forward slowly, with Light Yagami just ahead of him.

"Why?"

Takashi Komuro’s puzzled voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

"Why?" A disdainful smile touched the corner of Liu Mengchao's lips. "Our enemy, when all is said and done, is only the opposing Reincarnator. Alright, maintain radio silence. Light Yagami is making contact with his date!"

With that, Liu Mengchao halted his steps.

"Light!"

The young woman standing by the station suddenly waved excitedly in the direction of Liu Mengchao—no, to be precise, toward Light Yagami.

Yagami nodded and quickened his pace. The moment he reached the girl's side, she eagerly linked her arm through his.

"It seems Light Yagami is quite popular with the girls."

Liu Mengchao deftly concealed himself in the shadows, watching Light Yagami converse with the girl beside him. Unconsciously, his mind began to replay his own deductions.

If a person being followed wants to identify their stalker, they will inevitably place themselves in a confined space. Anyone who suddenly appears within that space will necessarily be the pursuer.

Then show me, do it quickly, Light Yagami!

As if hearing Liu Mengchao's inner thoughts, Light Yagami wrapped an arm around the girl's waist. Right in front of them, a public bus pulled to a stop at the exact right moment.

"Let's go to the amusement park."

Without waiting for the girl to react, Light Yagami directly grabbed her hand and pulled her aboard.

"No abnormalities in the surroundings. You may continue the pursuit."

Hearing Qi Xiaoxiao's voice in his earpiece, Liu Mengchao nodded. With a sudden, forceful push from his feet, his entire body seemed to take flight. In the blink of an eye, he was already right behind Light Yagami, boarding the bus immediately after him.

"The second row from the back..."

The moment he stepped onto the vehicle, Liu Mengchao noted Light Yagami's location.

The second row from the back of the bus, with the very last row left empty. According to the conventions of surveillance, sitting in the final row makes it easy to record the target's words and actions while remaining inconspicuous and within earshot of their conversation.

"You've already chosen the seat for me, Light."

Liu Mengchao walked up without a trace and silently took the seat directly behind Light Yagami.

Rumble...

The bus started moving.

"Say, Light, didn't you say you wouldn't go out to play until after the exams?"

"Ah, that's because I ranked first in the national mock exams."

"Ugh, you really can just say that straight-faced!"

The conversation was completely ordinary—or rather, exceptionally well-masked, Light Yagami.

Liu Mengchao leaned back against his seat, watching Light Yagami's performance unfold before him. He knew the good show was just beginning.

Within five minutes, the bus pulled up to another stop.

Someone boarded.

"Acting a bit unusual, aren't you, Light Yagami?" Liu Mengchao narrowed his eyes slightly. Light Yagami, seated before him, neither showed the curiosity of the other passengers toward the sudden intrusion nor turned his face to look at his companion like the couple in the front rows.

"If I could see his expression, I'd probably witness that feigned look of shock all over again, wouldn't I?"

The corners of Liu Mengchao's mouth curled upward as his hand instinctively slid into his pocket.

Click!

A soft sound.

The sound of a gun being cocked.

"This bus has been hijacked by yours truly!"

In an instant, screams rang out inside the bus.

A bus hijacking... It seems the opposing Reincarnators haven't managed to make contact with Light Yagami yet.

Simultaneously, the fugitive holding a gun to the driver's head began to speak.

"Quiet! Whoever moves an inch, I'll blow his brains out!" With that, the fugitive pressed the barrel hard against the driver's head. "You know the number for the Space Land office, right? Call them!"

"Yes..."

The driver replied briefly, his hands trembling as he lifted the transceiver from beside the steering wheel.

"I am the driver of route 174, Sasaki."

"Tell them the current situation of the bus," the fugitive demanded.

"The bus has been hijacked by a gunman."

Perhaps feeling that the driver was communicating too inefficiently through the transceiver, the fugitive snatched it away directly.

"Listen to me carefully. Have a woman drive and bring yesterday's takings to the station two stops before Space Land. She must arrive before this bus gets there. If you try any tricks or call the cops, I'll slaughter every passenger here!"

Snap!

With a fierce yank, the fugitive ripped the transceiver free and hurled it violently onto the floor. As if that alone wasn't enough to convey his terror, he brought his foot down heavily upon it.

With a shattering crash, the transceiver instantly broke into a pile of fragments beneath his boot.

At that exact moment, Light Yagami, seated in front of Liu Mengchao, made his move.

A small slip of paper was slowly slid toward the girl beside him. However... Liu Mengchao noticed that the angle was just right for him to read the message written upon it.

You really are thorough, Light Yagami.

The note read:

"Yuri, don't worry. When the criminal isn't paying attention, I'll pin down the hand holding the gun."

"It's too dangerous. Don't do that," Liu Mengchao leaned forward slightly and said to Light Yagami ahead of him. "At that moment, I'll subdue him."

"It's fine. Even without passing notes, if we speak softly, our voices will be masked by the noise of the moving vehicle. The criminal won't hear us."

Clenching his fist, Light Yagami stopped writing on the note and leaned back against his seat without leaving a trace.

"Is there any proof you aren't an accomplice of that criminal?"

"An... an accomplice!?" The girl beside Light Yagami, called Yuri, was clearly startled by his words and almost cried out.

"This happens often—making people think there's only one criminal, while actually having an accomplice monitor from the rear to handle unexpected situations. What's wrong?"

"No way, it can't be true..." The girl beside Light Yagami was immediately consumed by fear at his words.

Is this to make me prove my identity, so you can show me your credentials, Light Yagami? An FBI badge complete with name and photograph... At the same time, under such circumstances, you shouldn't suspect me of being Kira, because if you were Kira, you would naturally already know the criminal's face by now. And as for his name, you would have learned it yesterday, so you'd naturally kill the man in front of you using a heart attack right now...

What a pity... Liu Mengchao smiled. A well-laid plan.

His hand emerged from his pocket.

"Here is my badge, take a look."

"FBI?!"

The gasp sounded genuinely shocked, though the pitch was just a fraction too rehearsed.

Liu Mengchao smiled as he watched Light Yagami's actions before him. He heard Light Yagami say, "I believe you. I won't ask right now why an FBI agent is riding the same bus as me. Do you have a gun?"

"Yes."

"Then in a moment of crisis, can I entrust my back to you?"

"Mm."

The terser the response, the more it heightened the tension of the situation. Can you trust me now, Light Yagami? Liu Mengchao leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing, looking as though he might draw a pistol from his coat and shoot the fugitive on the bus at any second.

Clatter.

A soft sound.

A small piece of paper slipped out of Light Yagami's pocket.

"Hey! Kid, don't move!"

Light Yagami, who had bent down to retrieve the note, suddenly froze.

"What the hell is that piece of paper? Are you passing notes and plotting something with someone else, you damn bastard!"

With those words, the fugitive gripped his gun and marched step-by-step toward Light Yagami, stopping right in front of the fallen note.

Then... hurry up and pick up the paper!

This thought simultaneously flashed through the minds of both men.

Both playwrights, both eagerly anticipating the performance of the actor before them.

Light Yagami. Liu Mengchao.

Smiles bloomed at the corners of their mouths at the exact same moment.

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Actually, I suddenly want to say... who is the true heroine of Death Note... I think it's L╮(╯_╰)╭ Mutual affection and mutual destruction... Oh ho ho ho ho ho~~~~~~~
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Thanks to Light's Afterglow, BXeroXB, Young Master Lan, Wangchen 2, Step by Step, Today is Judgment Day, Kiririn☆, Gu Yu Wuchen, and Deadly Rampage for their generous tips~~~~~~~~~~~~~