Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 548: Shell Company

If it’s really a case of "a raccoon replacing the prince", then things are getting interesting.

In that case, even if Tanaka Fuji was deceived by the Deep Diving Society, the most crucial point is that the real Oyamaya is most likely in dire straits. So, if Tanaka Fuji were to find out that his grandson has been killed by the Deep Diving Society, and he’s still working for his enemies, Tanaka Fuji would probably collapse mentally.

Although it might seem like rubbing salt in Tanaka Fuji’s wounds, Liu Xing feels it’s necessary to tell Tanaka Fuji the truth. After all, one can’t wait until Tanaka Fuji passes away and meets his grandson in the underworld to realize that the current Oyamaya is fake, right?

Of course, this is just a speculation for now. After all, in the real world, there have been cases where people undergo drastic changes in behavior after recovering from a serious illness. Also, tastes can change over time, so Oyamaya’s situation cannot be conclusively determined yet.

Furthermore, Ming Hanxing’s sources of information may not be entirely reliable. After all, the person providing Ming Hanxing with this information is just Oyamaya’s high school classmate, and their relationship with Oyamaya is average at best. Moreover, this information is hearsay from other classmates.

So, this kind of hearsay is not very reliable, especially in a school setting.

Liu Xing still remembers the numerous baseless rumors that circulated in his high school class. These rumors were passed around among classmates with great conviction, and Liu Xing once believed some of them.

But looking back now, these rumors should be considered a form of campus bullying, as they have harmed certain classmates and teachers. One rumor that still sticks in Liu Xing’s memory is about the Chinese language teacher harassing a female classmate, which escalated to the point where the whole school knew about it, and the result was the Chinese teacher choosing to resign...

(This is my personal experience, and at that time, I was also the class representative for Chinese language, so I had a good relationship with that teacher. Therefore, I knew that the teacher couldn’t have done such a thing, and before the teacher resigned, they talked to me about the matter, and I could feel how unjust and upset they were.)

In addition, Liu Xing also heard rumors about certain girls having abortions, certain boys being involved in drug use, and so on, but these rumors mostly fizzled out in the end because no one had substantial evidence to prove their veracity.

However, the individuals involved in these rumors were more or less affected to some extent.

And in Island Nation, such rumors are even more prevalent.

Due to the unique campus environment in Island Nation, various forms of campus violence thrive, and all sorts of chaotic rumors abound, especially on the school forums.

For example, in Watanabe Ryuusei’s memory, before "he" transferred to Morimoto Academy, various rumors circulated in the class because "his" father was secretly arrested. Initially, it was said that "his" father was a mafia boss, then it gradually morphed into "him" being involved in mafia activities, and eventually it spread that "he" had even killed someone.

Although "he" did indeed kill someone...

Therefore, Liu Xing estimated that there was a possibility that the information from Oyamaya’s high school classmate was just a rumor, so the reliability of this intelligence was not high.

However, this also gave Liu Xing’s group a new direction to strategize. They decided to investigate Oyamaya’s situation thoroughly. If they could uncover some dark history related to Oyamaya, they could magnify it and then expel Oyamaya from Tokyo Comprehensive University.

Once Oyamaya left Tokyo Comprehensive University, Tanaka Fuji would likely be implicated as well. At that time, Ming Hanxing would only need to "make some moves" with the school leaders, giving Ming Hanxing the opportunity to replace Tanaka Fuji.

If the branch of the Deep Diving Society at Tokyo Comprehensive University were to be led by an outsider, it would be very interesting.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing said to Honekawa Suneo, "Suneo, arrange for some people to investigate Oyamaya and Oyamaya’s parents. It would be best if they could find some juicy dark history about Oyamaya."

Honekawa Suneo nodded and replied, "No problem. In fact, I’ve already arranged for several people to investigate the company where Oyamaya’s father works. It seems that there are indeed some issues with that company, appearing to be a shell company."

"A shell company?" Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "Oh, how could the company where Oyamaya’s father works be a shell company? I remember that the company has donated a considerable amount of money to Tokyo Comprehensive University. So logically, it shouldn’t be a shell company because Tokyo Comprehensive University wouldn’t accept money from a shell company, right?"

A shell company is one without fixed employees, assets, or operating locations. Hence, the office supplies of a shell company are carried in a briefcase, hence the name "shell company."

Because shell companies are generally considered illegal in most countries, they are usually set up in certain "tax havens" abroad where the tax rates are lower.

Therefore, reputable universities like Tokyo Comprehensive University would not accept donations from shell companies. If this were discovered, most of the university’s leadership would have to resign, and the university’s reputation would suffer greatly.

It’s like Tsinghua University accepting donations from a pyramid scheme organization.

Moreover, esteemed universities like Tokyo Comprehensive University never lack donors.

Thus, Liu Xing was somewhat worried that Honekawa Suneo had made a mistake.

At this point, Honekawa Suneo shook his head and said seriously, "No, no, no. I’m sure I didn’t make a mistake because initially, I also doubted whether I had made a mistake. After all, I didn’t believe that the company where Oyamaya’s father works could be a shell company. So I conducted another investigation, and the result was the same. The company where Oyamaya’s father works is indeed a shell company, but their methods are more sophisticated. This shell company shares office space with another legitimate company associated with the Deep Diving Society. So, on the surface, the shell company appears to be a subsidiary of the legitimate company. However, in reality, these two companies have no relation whatsoever."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by this revelation.

At this moment, Alice interjected, "Indeed, I’ve heard about the Deep Diving Society setting up a batch of shell companies to take the blame. After all, even some legitimate large enterprises need to engage in some dirty work. And the companies under the Deep Diving Society would have to undertake even more illicit activities. So, for precaution, the Deep Diving Society would specially set up a batch of shell companies. So, Liu Xing, you guys are lucky. As long as you can find concrete evidence to prove that the company where Oyamaya’s father works is a shell company, then Tokyo Comprehensive University should respond accordingly."

Liu Xing nodded, turning to Honekawa Suneo, "Suneo, do you have any evidence on hand now?"

Honekawa Suneo shook his head somewhat embarrassedly, saying, "Actually, I don’t. Because I only stumbled upon the issue with that company by chance, and then asked a friend to check the company’s accounts. That’s when we found out that it’s actually a shell company. But my friend didn’t manage to obtain any substantial evidence before the company caught wind of it. So, the real accounts of that company should have been destroyed by now."

Liu Xing shrugged, this was also within expectations. After all, important evidence like this would require the player to obtain it personally; NPCs could only play a supporting role.

So, Liu Xing continued to say to Honekawa Suneo, "Then, Suneo, keep investigating. As the saying goes, ’If you often walk by the river, you will eventually get your shoes wet.’ Since they are a shell company, and the Deep Diving Society also needs this shell company to shoulder the blame, they will inevitably reveal flaws sooner or later. So, when you find out any news, Suneo, let me know immediately... Oh, Suneo, have you investigated Oyamaya’s father?"

Honekawa Suneo nodded, smiling, "Of course, I have investigated Oyamaya’s father. After all, Oyamaya’s father is actually the legal representative of that shell company. So, I’ve already arranged for someone to follow Oyamaya’s father. Therefore, I’ve gathered all the information available about Oyamaya’s father. Firstly, Oyamaya’s father’s name is Ooyama, born into an ordinary peasant family. After completing elementary school, he followed his cousin to Tokyo to seek opportunities. However, what legitimate work could an eleven or twelve-year-old child do in Tokyo? So, during that time, Ooyama was just a henchman for some underworld member, running errands."

"Then, when Ooyama was sixteen, he joined a new gang with that underworld member. At that time, Ooyama officially joined the underworld and quickly rose within the ranks in the following years, becoming a small leader. However, at this time, due to a car accident, the leader of the gang Ooyama was in was directly killed. So, the gang fell into internal strife, but Ooyama successfully sided in the internal strife and directly became a high-level figure in the gang. However, at this time, Ooyama met Oyamaya’s mother, a hostess named Honda Lizi."

"A few years later, Honda Lizi gave birth to Oyamaya, which made Ooyama consider leaving the underworld. After all, the Island Nation underworld at that time was in chaos, and it was unknown if the Island Nation police deliberately wanted these mafia groups to fight each other. In any case, at that time, the Island Nation underworld saw hundreds of deaths every day, and the injured mafia members filled the hospitals. So, Ooyama worried that his child would become an orphan, thus he entertained the idea of leaving the underworld. But as you all know, it’s not easy to leave the underworld in the Island Nation. Even if you are a high-level figure in a gang, you still have to cut off a finger to show your determination. However, this would also make it difficult for those who leave the mafia to reintegrate into society, facing discrimination. (At this point, I recommend a TV series, Yuko Oshima’s "Escaping the Mafia," which illustrates how difficult it is for Island Nation mafia members to leave the underworld.)"

"However, Ooyama had a good elder brother, so with his elder brother’s help, Ooyama successfully faked his death. After leaving the mafia, his elder brother also gave Ooyama a large sum of money. Therefore, after leaving the mafia, Ooyama directly took Honda Lizi and Oyamaya back to his hometown to start a business. Here, it must be said that Ooyama was very lucky because at that time, the Island Nation had emerged from the quagmire of economic collapse, so Ooyama’s business flourished and he became a successful local businessman. However, when Oyamaya was ten years old, Honda Lizi passed away from cancer, so Ooyama doted on Oyamaya, raising him alone."

"However, at this time, Ooyama discovered a truth, that is, Honda Lizi was actually an alias. His wife’s name should have been Tanaka Lizi, and his wife’s father was Tanaka Fuji. As for why Tanaka Lizi would use an alias, it was because Tanaka Fuji was a typical chauvinist in the Island Nation, often abusing Tanaka Lizi and Tanaka Lizi’s mother. So, Tanaka Lizi chose to run away from home, change her name to Honda Lizi, and became a hostess before meeting Ooyama and marrying him."

"Upon learning all these truths, Ooyama, although somewhat displeased with Tanaka Fuji, for the sake of Tanaka Lizi’s peace, brought Oyamaya to find Tanaka Fuji and explain everything. By this time, Tanaka Fuji was already filled with regret because Tanaka Fuji’s wife had also passed away, and their only daughter had run away from home, whereabouts unknown. This made Tanaka Fuji regret his actions back then, so he treated Oyamaya extremely well, giving him almost everything he wanted."

"However, good times didn’t last long. In recent years, due to the economic downturn and the mafia Ooyama used to be in finding him, Ooyama was forced to give up some money to sever ties with that mafia. So, by this time, Ooyama had gone from being a successful businessman to an ordinary one. But in the year when Oyamaya fell seriously ill, Ooyama suddenly received an investment and then established that shell company in Tokyo. However, according to Ooyama’s relatives, Ooyama seemed a bit eccentric at this time and no longer participated in some family activities. Even when Ooyama’s father passed away, Ooyama only showed up once on that day."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, it seemed that Ooyama was also a man with a story.

[Thanks for reading at Patreon.com/maxnkoga , if you supporting this novel, a heartfelt thankyou, enjoy the content!]