Chapter 349: Player |
For "Hacker 01"—or rather, Carole Ellen Morris—who possessed the inherent ability [Game World], the very moment her supernatural genes awakened, reality transformed into a colossal video game.
Ordinary people were NPCs, and transcendents were the player base. It was as if she wore a pair of natural AR glasses. In her eyes, this world was incredibly vibrant, offering unparalleled gameplay and freedom!
Player Basic Skill, [Appraisal]!
Carole framed Asaba Shinichi with her fingers like a camera lens. Immediately, a window panel naturally materialized in her vision—
[Player ID: Asaba Shinichi]
[HP: 12880/12880]
[MP: 12750/13000]
[Inherent Abilities: Shadow Prison, Black Devour, Shadow Orochi...]
[Special States: Fiendish Soul. Oni Transformation (III), Orochi. Great Serpent (Fragment), Soul Pact. Tamamo-no-Mae (1/3)]
[Comprehensive Tier Assessment: SS]
"Whoa!"
Sweeping her gaze over the details, Carole could not help but exclaim, "You really are a huge boss!"
Behind his sunglasses, Asaba Shinichi narrowed his eyes. Being completely seen through like this was truly irritating...
A pair of Shadow Wings, as dark as ink, suddenly unfurled from his back. With a gentle flap, he instantly caught up to the speeding supercar.
But just as he raised his hand to deliver a vicious blow to this annoying girl, she leaped out of the sports car into midair. With a light wave of her hand, the speeding blue and pink Bugatti vanished into thin air—as magically as a [Game Item] being recalled into a player's [Inventory].
"Your level is way too high! I will come back to challenge you once I have grinded enough levels," Carole said, winking her left eye at Asaba Shinichi in midair. Then, just like the car moments before, she vanished without a trace.
It was exactly like the common Player Basic Authority found in most games—[Teleport].
"..."
Utterly outplayed, Asaba Shinichi hovered in the air. Instead of showing any frustration from being thwarted, his lips curled into an amused smirk. "This city is really getting livelier by the minute..."
His figure soon dissolved into scattered shadows, silently fading away into the deep darkness.
...
For the entirety of the next day, Segawa Private Academy remained immersed in a quiet and solemn exam atmosphere. It was not until the exams finished and school let out in the afternoon that the suppressed campus finally sprang back to life, its corners filling with noisy uproar.
However, none of this had much to do with Hoshino Gen. As a rare member of the Go-Home Club in this school, there was only one thing he did after classes ended—leave the campus.
The noise was gradually left behind, replaced by the familiar, endless chatter of Shimizu Yu walking beside him.
But unlike usual, she was surprisingly not rambling about boring, insignificant trivialities today—
"Sawami and the others invited me to explore an abandoned school in Minato Ward that is supposedly haunted..."
Before she could finish, Hoshino Gen interrupted, "My advice is not to go seeking death."
After a pause, he added, "Of course, if you insist on looking for a thrill, I have no objections."
Shimizu Yu pouted. "I never said I agreed to go..."
"That abandoned place seems to be the old school building of Kamishirogawa Private Academy. I just wanted to ask you if there really are ghosts there."
"How should I know?" Hoshino Gen rolled his eyes at her. "The aura in the city is a chaotic mess, blocked by skyscrapers everywhere. Plus, most vengeful ghosts know how to conceal their ghostly aura. Nobody can tell if they are there without visiting in person."
"Oh," Shimizu Yu dragged out the syllable, then quickly changed her tone. "Then... do you want to go take a look? Do you not love seeking out these supernatural incidents to solve them?"
She was right about that. Hoshino Gen was certainly very interested in supernatural incidents. In fact, the main reason he had agreed to cooperate with the Special Affairs Group in the first place was simply because they could provide him with intelligence on where these incidents occurred.
Therefore, regarding Shimizu Yu's proposal, Hoshino Gen's thought was naturally: 'Why not?'
Provided, of course, that there was actually a ghost there.
He thought for a moment and said, "The outbreak rate of supernatural incidents has indeed been increasing year by year, but it probably has not reached the point where every supposed haunted spot is guaranteed to have a real ghost. I do not want to end up making a wasted trip."
"With the location being in a place like Tokyo, and an urban legend already circulating, it is impossible that the Special Affairs Group has not noticed..."
As he spoke, he had already pulled out his mobile phone, scrolled through his phonebook, and dialed a number.
After waiting for about ten seconds, the call connected, and Kiryu Wakaba's energetic voice rang out from the speaker. "Good afternoon, senior student! Calling me at this hour—are you trying to invite me on an after-school date?"
"Good afternoon," Hoshino Gen automatically ignored the second half of her sentence and asked straightforwardly. "Is it convenient for you to access the Special Affairs Group's supernatural incident files right now?"
"..." Hoshino Gen was momentarily speechless. "Having outside help to solve supernatural incidents, should you not be happy as a member of the Special Affairs Group?"
"Hmph! The Special Affairs Group might be happy, but after experiencing the rollercoaster of 'being super happy because my senior student called me on his own initiative, only to find out he just wants to talk about work,' I am not happy at all! My expectations were completely shattered!"
"...I will treat you to a meal next time."
"Just the two of us?" Kiryu Wakaba's tone instantly became expectant again.
"As you wish."
"Hehe! Alright, now you can tell me what files you want to check, senior student."
"The old school building of Kamishirogawa Private Academy in Minato Ward. Do you have any records of supernatural incidents regarding that place in your files?" Hoshino Gen asked.
"Kamishirogawa, is it... let me take a look."
The faint, rapid tapping of fingers against a screen could be heard over the line. It was likely Kiryu Wakaba typing on her phone, searching through the Special Affairs Group's online database.
"Ah, found it." After just a few seconds of waiting, Kiryu Wakaba responded from the other end. "Incident Number D4-230829. It is a supernatural incident that was just resolved a couple of days ago."