Chapter 28

Is everyone ready?

Sitting in the chair that Wargrave had just moved in, Agatha Christie was checking on the UN members who had been deployed.

"Pu Songling, Cervantes?"

Pu Songling, who was going upstairs, picked up his communicator at the opportune moment and leisurely replied with "Everything is ready".

Behind him, Cervantes was trying to safely climb the stairs with his view completely blocked by five cardboard boxes.

"Barry, Exupé?"

Barry, who was floating high in the air with Exupéry, frantically retrieved the communicator that he had almost dropped. He first gave Exupéry, who had witnessed everything, an "OK" sign before replying to Christie, "Everything is OK."

"Stevenson, Shelley?"

Having just dumped the blood-drained Kunikida Doppo and the unconscious Miyazawa Kenji on a street halfway out of town, Robert, now back to his original form, drove off without glancing at the road and reached for his communicator: "Everything is ready."

In the passenger seat, Shelley was anxiously looking at a Rubik's Cube she had just taken from the car.

—By the way, the car was stolen, and Robert is now parking it back.

Nabokov?

Sitting atop a high-rise building, idly sunbathing with a sniper rifle in hand, Vladimir lazily picked up the communicator she had tossed aside: "Everything's ready—"

"Roland?"

Romain Rolland, who was completely submerged in the ground, had just finished inspecting the last red sphere and walked up from underground step by step: "Just in time, everything is ready."

"Then, with everything ready, let's begin."

After receiving the proposal from Vargrave, Christie reviewed the process once again.

"The first step is to expel those who are not involved."

Christie's voice came through the communicator as calm as ever, and the UN members all looked relaxed.

It was as if all they were doing was a normal picnic.

"Barry, dispel the superpower."

"learn!"

Standing high in the air, looking down at the city below, Barry snapped his fingers with a grin.

In that instant, it sounded as if something was breaking in the air.

Standing on the ground, Romain Rolland, wearing a gas mask, calmly watched the hole in front of him spewing out a large amount of pale red gas.

The red sphere that was originally buried underground has lost its shape and turned into a thick mist.

"A specially formulated 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' with a specially lowered concentration and increased pressure, combined with a makeshift poison gas bomb made from 'Neverland' that can control time—Christie really dared to dream this up."

As his body gradually sank into the ground, Romain Rolland glanced at the ordinary citizens whose expressions were gradually turning terrified, affected by the fog.

"Good luck to you."

They spent four days burying these makeshift poison gas bombs throughout the target area.

Hopefully they can get out in time.

Soon, the "big guy" was about to arrive. High in the air, watching the pale red color gradually begin to cover the city, Barry glanced around at the ground.

He was now floating in the middle of a large cloud, with clouds swirling around him, yet leaving a large empty space around his body.

Even more surprisingly, Exupé was standing on a cloud not far away.

This is a large cloud layer fixed in place by "Neverland".

"Let's get two more there."

He stretched out two fingers and slid them down. Immediately, two red spheres identical to those buried in the ground appeared in the large cloud formation behind him, which was solidified by "Neverland," and they fell straight towards the ground.

Seeing that the spheres had reached roughly the same height, Barry released the supernatural power attached to the two spheres.

The previously solidified, high-pressure red fog instantly exploded in the air, spreading to every corner of the street.

Exupé stood on a cloud, using a paintbrush to draw large crosses over the area where the red ball had just appeared.

"98 extra 'Surprise Boxes' left, Barry."

Due to their altitude, they communicated via radio.

"Exupé doesn't need to count at the beginning. Tell me when there are fewer than fifty."

Looking at the ground, Barry's smile was radiant.

"It's definitely more fun this way! If I had the time and energy, I would still want to plan in this way!"

Exupé, who was drawing an X, looked up: "Barry, isn't it because we can't find enough clouds?"

"Yes, they are! They are all!"

Just as Barry was trying to figure out how to fool Exupéry, Christie's voice suddenly came through the communicator.

"Barry, how's the smoke spreading?"

"Hmm, things are going well."

Barry, holding the communicator, stopped bothering Exupéry, who was trying to color the crosses on his drawing into solid squares, and started talking to Christie.

"From my perspective, this area is basically covered. I'm now checking if there are any places that need more smoke."

"They all seem pretty much the same... Ah, that higher-up position needs to be filled!"

With a wave of his hand, another sphere plummeted downwards.

Exupé picked up a paintbrush and ran back to the spot where the red sphere had fallen, and once again carefully drew a huge cross.

"If there are no problems, I will let Pu Songling begin the second part."

Even though Christie wasn't there, Barry still subconsciously made an "OK" gesture.

"OK!"

After cutting off communication with Barry, Christie, like a relay station, immediately reconnected with Pu Songling.

Even Jules Verne looks exhausted.

In a telecom exchange, Christie, without any embellishment, got straight to the point: "Pu Songling, let's begin the second part."

"learn."

As soon as Pu Songling finished speaking, Christie hung up the call.

Cervantes, who was arranging the boxes, turned around: "So why isn't Christie using a radio this time?"

Pu Songling shrugged: "I heard that the radio station was smashed when Vladimir and Barry were fighting while we were out, and it hasn't been repaired yet."

Cervantes made a face with a look of utter bewilderment.

Those two guys just can't stop for a single day.

"Enough of that, let's begin the second part—the second part of expelling the irrelevant."

As Pu Songling walked to the two boxes of books that Cervantes had specially brought out and placed on the eaves, his face gradually faded and returned to the faceless man he had been at the beginning.

Reaching out to steady the cardboard box, Pu Songling gently pushed it down with a slight push.

"【Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: The Ghost's Lost Journey】"

The box tipped over, and the papers began to fly through the air, then abruptly began to fold and stretch, constantly changing shape.

The flyers transformed into green-faced monsters flying in the air.

"The 'Ghostly Wanderer' generated from the printed copy is weak in combat, but it should be sufficient for this situation."

Watching the ghosts and monsters constantly flying in the air, Pu Songling gave the order.

"Go and drive everyone out of this area from the Red Mist Zone."

The ghosts made a series of incoherent noises before scattering away.

Pu Songling nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, now we just have to wait for the results."

Sitting to the side, Cervantes, bored because he hadn't brought a novel, rummaged through the other three cardboard boxes and pulled out a flyer to read.

Or rather, this is a printout, the simplest A4 paper, without any decoration. Just a story printed in the appropriate font.

A story called "The Ghost Lost".