A Core Ship From The Start

In Japan, the tug-of-war between civilians and the authorities has never stopped. From the initial entertainment establishments, to water vendors, and then to "Papa-katsu," they're essentially all the same. The main tactic is exploiting legal loopholes, with a brazen attitude.

However, with the evolution of the internet era, the form has gradually changed. When the internet was not widespread, offline entertainment clubs and venues served as platforms for introductions between men and women. But with the advent of the internet and the era where everyone has a smartphone, online platform transactions have become mainstream.

This unlucky guy followed the same pattern. According to Yuko Shionji's investigation, he was using a kind of Papa-katsu app similar to a local dating app. It primarily searches for women interested in such activities within his vicinity, and then interacts with them. In this context, both the randomness and the anonymity are strong, so even Yuko Shionji couldn't identify all the targets.

But she did offer a suggestion.

"I can tag the location and area of this person's activity, and you can try using this app yourselves."

"..............."

Upon hearing Yuko Shionji's suggestion, Duanmu Huai and Xie Sita exchanged a glance.

"Should I go?"

"If I go, it'd become Mama-katsu."

Xie Sita decisively withdrew, leaving only Duanmu Huai.

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Duanmu Huai had been a bit frustrated because he hadn't found Nyarlathotep recently, and this case was clearly related to the past. Besides, for Duanmu Huai, this wasn't really a tough job, more like a relaxation.

Strictly speaking, Papa-katsu is like an evolved form of the water vendor, given that Japanese law is strict in these matters. So if the police see a man giving money to a girl on the street, they will intervene, which is why water vendors, who operate as a kind of false-front business, emerged to give street transactions a legitimate name.

But Papa-katsu, as an evolved version, takes it a step further, entirely avoiding legal risks. Because on the surface, it's essentially a dating app. This way, men and women meet up, sometimes even skipping the cash transaction stage entirely by mainly taking girls out for meals or shopping. Since that's mostly what the girls spend the money on anyway, it's a one-step process.

Moreover, this avoids transactional risks. Of course, you might get caught by the police giving a girl cash on the street, but strolling with her and buying her a luxury bag as a gift isn't against the law. Even if she's a high school student, the police can't interfere because she might claim he's her dad or a relative giving her a present.

Additionally, there's a distinction between Papa-katsu and water vendors, which is that the former doesn't necessarily include sexual transactions. You can seek out girls to simply accompany you for a meal or a date, but not go all the way.

As to whether someone might think spending tens of thousands just for a meal with a girl is insane... well, isn't that what clubs are for? People pay hundreds of thousands to drink, and only get to hold hands. The Japanese are accustomed to it.

Of course, Papa-katsu isn't without risks either. If girls are compared to commodities, then hostesses at clubs come with quality assurance—safe, clean, and low-risk, reassuringly reliable.

But girls involved in Papa-katsu are like unlisted products at street stalls—buyers assume risk, never knowing when they might spread something like a virus.

If you happen to encounter an SSR, then congratulations, you hit the jackpot.

This is one of the reasons why venereal diseases are rampant in Japan. If Duanmu Huai hadn't maxed out his Physical Attribute points to withstand liquid nitrogen baths, he'd hardly consider trying it.

After all, pleasure is fleeting, but contracting a disease isn't worth it.

Since Xie Sita stepped back, Duanmu Huai had to register on a Papa-katsu app himself, then began searching according to the action routes marked by Yuko Shionji. Fortunately, according to her investigation, the guy's route was very restricted; he typically activated the app near his company, which was understandable—slacking off at work...

So Duanmu Huai went to the commercial area near the guy's company, opened the app, and started searching for "nearby friends."

So who would be the infection source?

Staring at the information displayed on his phone, Duanmu Huai fell into deep thought. Honestly, finding someone fitting the criteria through such an app wasn't an easy task. All users on it were anonymous, and ages were faked—even if you're 16, no one would bat an eye if you wrote you're 20.

"Ding."

As Duanmu Huai swiped through his phone, a notification tone suddenly chimed, followed by a chat message popping up.

[Looking for a good Papa, are you free?]

Oh? Volunteering?

Seeing this message, Duanmu Huai paused for a moment, but wasn't surprised. The app catered very favorably to women, but was strict with men. It almost felt like probing personal identity information, even requiring annual income and bank transaction verifications. Duanmu Huai had plenty of money, so he was naturally flagged as a high-income user.

No wonder he'd attract attention from girls.

Whatever, he was idle anyway, might as well call her over for a chat. Since they're all in the same game here, maybe they knew something that could help.

With this in mind, Duanmu Huai quickly responded, and after a few exchanges, they arranged to meet.

He was already near the square, so he didn't change locations and waited for the person to arrive.

Soon, he heard hurried footsteps from behind, followed by a cheerful voice.

"Hello, Daddy!"

"Oh, hello......"

He turned his head, and... was at a loss for words.

Before him stood Mianmu Zuoniao, excitedly waving at him. Not far behind her, Inaba Tsukuyo stood silently with a sword in her arms.

"..........What's the situation?"

"Because Daddy never takes Satori out to play~~~ so Satori came to find Daddy to play, this is compensated dating~~~ yo~~~~~"

"...............…"

There's nothing much to discuss with a crazy person, so Duanmu Huai silently shifted his gaze to Inaba Tsukuyo. The latter seemed to notice Duanmu Huai's gaze and tilted her head slightly.

"I tried to stop her."

Is that why you came along?

"Besides, I'm curious about compensated dating too."

"What's there to be curious about...…"

Duanmu Huai sighed quietly.

Forget it, it's better to send these two ancestors back first. People around here were already watching; Mianmu Zuoniao was one thing, but Inaba Tsukuyo looked just like a little girl and a blind one at that. If they continued tangling here, it would only become more complicated.

"Alright, let's go, let's go, I'll take you to… what do you want to do?"

"First, eat~~~ then go shopping yo~~~~"

That's the standard procedure for compensated dating. You must have checked it online.

Seeing Mianmu Zuoniao proudly waving her phone, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.

What else can he do?

He could only take them along.

Mianmu Zuoniao had checked the process online, and Duanmu Huai didn't bother to interfere. Treating it as a rehearsal, he first took the two to a high-end restaurant for a meal, and then to a luxury store to buy branded bags—along the way, the three were frequently the center of attention. Not to mention Duanmu Huai, his height made him noticeable anywhere, and Mianmu Zuoniao was a pretty girl. Inaba Tsukuyo, even more so, wearing a red and white witch's clothes and being blind, attracted attention wherever they went.

When entering the branded store, Duanmu Huai even clearly noticed several pairs also out for compensated dating, casting curious glances their way, engaging in whispers… as for what they were saying, Duanmu Huai didn't bother to find out.

Of course, usually, it ends here. If they were to go to a hotel next, it would be extra charges. So Duanmu Huai stopped there.

"How do you feel? Did you eat well?"

"It was okay~~~~"

"Do you like the branded bag?"

"Don't like it yo~~~~"

"I can't see, but it doesn't feel special to touch."

".........… Why buy it if you don't like it?"

"Because compensated dating is all about buying branded bags."

Hearing Mianmu Zuoniao's straightforward answer, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes silently. As expected, Mianmu Zuoniao was just bored and playing a mimicry game for fun… Oh well, it doesn't matter, just treat it as playing along with them.

Besides, this trip wasn't in vain either. Mianmu Zuoniao might have researched compensated dating strategies online, so the stores she took Duanmu Huai to visit were commonly frequented for such dealings. Whether in high-end restaurants or in luxury stores, Duanmu Huai saw several pairs that seemed to be engaged in compensated dating. However, unfortunately, upon Duanmu Huai's observation, they were all ordinary people, none of whom were the targets he was looking for.

"I want to go back, thank you for the gift."

Inaba Tsukuyo looked a bit tired, grabbed Mianmu Zuoniao's hand, and bowed to Duanmu Huai. Her eyes didn't see, but her ears were sharp, so she never liked noisy places, and after Mianmu Zuoniao dragged her around all day, she was mentally and physically exhausted. She was initially just intrigued and let Mianmu Zuoniao have her fun, but now it seemed, this compensated dating wasn't that interesting.

Better to go back and meditate while practicing swordsmanship.

"I'll give you a ride home."

After running around all day with Mianmu Zuoniao, Duanmu Huai's plans for the day were utterly thwarted, leaving him to start over the next day.

Currently, both Mianmu Zuoniao and Inaba Tsukuyo lived at Duanmu Huai's place, so he drove the two of them home together.

At the office, Xie Sita and Yuko Shionji had been waiting for results, and seeing Duanmu Huai return with Mianmu Zuoniao and Inaba Tsukuyo left them dumbfounded. After hearing about the day's events, they burst into laughter.

They knew Mianmu Zuoniao too, aware that she seemed eccentric and not like a usual person, yet didn't expect her to pull off such peculiar antics…

"Then, perhaps go once more after dinner," Yuko Shionji suggested to Duanmu Huai, trying to hold back her laughter.

"I've checked his schedule. He mostly goes hunting after work and seems to work overtime until around ten every night on weekdays. Thus, the people he finds must also be active around that time."

"That does make sense."

No matter how he calculated, he didn't factor in Japan's overtime culture, which took Duanmu Huai by surprise. But thinking it over, he nodded.

"I'll give it another try after dinner."