radicalducati Page 355
Page 355
"That's enough for us to live it up for a month!"
Kuonji Yuzu's gaze lingered on the banknotes for a second before slowly moving up to Aozaki Aoko's face.
"Where did you get it?"
“I have a brilliant plan~” 733 Aozaki Aoko shook her head smugly.
"How about we go downtown for a big meal tomorrow?"
Kuonji Yuju reached out and picked up a banknote, examining it closely under the light.
"Aozaki Aoko."
Her voice suddenly turned dangerous.
Are you sure this is real money?
"what?"
Aozaki Aoko's smile froze on her face.
"Of course it's true! I did it myself—"
Her words stopped abruptly.
Kuonji Yuju's fingertip was pressed against the intaglio printing on the banknote, where, at a certain angle, it faintly glowed with an unnatural fluorescence.
Aozaki Aoko's hands began to tremble.
"Impossible... I clearly checked..."
Kuonji Yuju neatly laid out the three banknotes and took out an amethyst lens from the drawer.
"look here."
She handed the lens to Aozaki Aoko.
"The fluorescence reaction of the intaglio printing is too strong."
Looking through the lens, Aozaki Aoko felt a cold sweat instantly soak her back.
Those tiny fluorescent dots arranged in strange patterns are definitely not normal anti-counterfeiting features.
"This...this..."
Her voice was so dry it didn't sound like her own.
"I was actually scammed?"
Kuonji Yuju gently shook her head, her black hair swaying like a waterfall.
"You weren't fooled, Aozaki Aoko."
She flipped the banknote over, pointing to the almost imperceptible distortion at the watermark.
"This is industrial-grade counterfeit money; ordinary people can't tell the difference at all."
Aozaki Aoko's fingers gripped the edge of the banknote tightly, the paper crumpling into a ball in her palm.
"That bastard... he actually used counterfeit money..."
"More importantly."
Kuonji Yuju's voice was like an ice dagger.
Who would give an ordinary high school student 30,000 yuan in counterfeit money?
"I'm such an idiot..."
She muttered to herself, her voice hoarse.
"How could I believe that bastard who colluded with Aozaki Touko..."
Several ten-thousand-yuan bills lay spread out on the coffee table, gleaming unnaturally in the sunlight.
Kuonji picked up a banknote and examined it carefully against the light.
"Except for fluorescent intaglio printing, it is almost indistinguishable from the real thing."
Kuonji Yuju's voice was as calm as a stagnant pool.
"This level of forgery technology is even more dangerous than the Sealing Designation. No wonder Aozaki Touko took a liking to him."
Aozaki Aoko suddenly jumped up from the sofa and grabbed the banknote.
"This damn fluorescent design! They could have made it much more discreet, instead they had to make it so conspicuous, it's completely unnecessary!"
"Do not."
Kuonji Yuju gently shook her head, her black hair swaying with it.
"This is the creator declaring their uniqueness. And..."
She pointed to the subtle patterns on the edge of the banknote.
"These anti-counterfeiting features are even more sophisticated than those on genuine banknotes."
Aozaki Aoko's fingers trembled slightly.
She remembered the gentle-smiling man from yesterday—Shiraishi Chuan.
He was dressed in a smart suit, spoke elegantly, and claimed to be an antique dealer who wanted her to appraise some ancient coins.
She actually believed him so easily and even accepted the deposit he gave her.
Five million...
Aozaki Aoko covered her face in anguish.
"I've never seen so much money in my life, and it turned out to be all counterfeit!"
Kuonji Yuju watched her quietly, her gaze as if examining an experimental specimen.
"As a magician, you need to learn to distinguish the rules. The rules of the world of money, the rules of the world of magic, and..."
"Those gray areas that straddle the line between the two."
Aozaki Aoko raised her head, her eyes filled with stubbornness.
"I'm just an apprentice magician, how would I know all these intricacies!"
"So you will be scammed."
Kuonji Yuju stood up, her skirt fluttering like night mist.
"But next, you must be prepared to face even bigger choices."
Aozaki Aoko clenched her fist, the counterfeit money crumpled in her palm.
Chapter 442 A Deeper Conspiracy
She suddenly realized that this wasn't just about money.
How much chaos would it cause if these counterfeit bills entered the market? And behind Shiraishi River, there is clearly a deeper conspiracy.
"We can't just let this go."
Aozaki Aoko stood up, her eyes rekindling with fire.
"Even if the possibility is very small, I cannot leave the risk of these counterfeit bills to others."
Kuonji Yuju's lips curled up slightly, revealing an almost imperceptible smile.
"That's true."
"That Shiraishikawa..."
Aozaki Aoko frowned in thought.
"Who exactly is he? Why is he targeting us?"
Kuonji Yuju walked to the window and looked at the roses blooming in the courtyard.
"To be able to easily enter the barrier of Misaki City and make no attempt to conceal one's goals, one must either be an arrogant person who doesn't take us seriously, or..."
She turned around.
"He's a complete idiot."
Aozaki Aoko shuddered as she recalled Shiraishikawa's unfathomable eyes.
"What I'm more worried about is his destructive power. These counterfeit bills... could they be related to his abilities?"
"If they're coming for us."
Kuonji Yuju's voice suddenly turned cold.
We'll see each other again soon.
Aozaki Aoko suddenly slapped her forehead.
Oh no! I forgot to get his contact information!
Kuonji Yuju raised an eyebrow.
“I originally planned to use a chocolate-made familiar to track him down.”
"Chocolate Familiar?"
Aozaki Aoko blinked, then seemed to remember something, her expression turning awkward.
"Ah... those strangely shaped chocolates in the fridge yesterday..."
"You ate half of it."
Kuonji Yuju said expressionlessly.
"So now, you go out and find it yourself."
"But I haven't finished my studies yet!"
Aozaki Aoko protested.
"And there's an exam next week..."
Kuonji Yuju had already headed towards the stairs, leaving only a single sentence floating in the air.
"Finish today's patrol mission, we'll talk about the rest later."