Chapter 109, Twentieth Round (28)

November 6th.

A bomber has escaped from prison.

He was one of two criminals who planted bombs in two apartment buildings four years ago in an attempt to extort a billion dollars from the police.

Both of them originally planned to escape from prison, but they were discovered. One of them was caught, but the other escaped and is now being pursued by the police.

Rei Furuya knew he might escape from prison and knew where he was, but he didn't take action.

The best crises are those that are known and controllable.

Sometimes, the world line's persistent efforts to bring events back together can also bring him this kind of convenience.

No matter how many butterfly effects there are, it's hard to change the fate of those targeted by death. There's no way to escape it; what is destined will still happen, and the only thing to do is to overcome it.

However, compared to the bomber, the person we need to pay more attention to now is Pramiya.

She and the Avengers chasing after her have arrived.

Pramia, an internationally wanted criminal, is adept at concealing his identity and escaping. He is intelligent, cunning, and exceptionally skilled in combat, with a cruel and ruthless personality.

She is most active in Russia, is skilled at using chemical/liquid bombs of unknown composition, enjoys causing bomb panics and tragic deaths around the world, and revels in seeing people cry out in despair because of her.

Pramia has killed countless people so far, yet no country's police have been able to catch her, not even knowing her true identity, nor have they been able to find any clues at the explosion site to deal with the dangerous chemical bomb.

The relatives of the victims she killed could not bear it any longer and formed a private, transnational revenge organization.

The group clashed with Pramia in Shibuya, Tokyo on November 6th, and coincidentally ran into four people who happened to be visiting Kenji Hagiwara's grave that day.

Although he suffered a great loss back then and Pramia escaped, if he were to do it again, with preparation and accurate intelligence, Furuya Rei would be fully confident in dealing with that dangerous guy.

The premise is that he goes there in person.

After all, Pramia is really strong, and also very cunning and ruthless. Even if more people are sent over, Furuya Rei is not too comfortable with others dealing with that guy, and is worried that something even worse might happen due to the convergence of world lines and the butterfly effect.

So even though they were likely to be watched by the organization and their identities might be exposed, Rei Furuya ultimately chose to participate personally with Kagemitsu Morofushi. As long as the five of them worked together, there would definitely be no problem.

November 6th, 3:30 PM.

Disguised as other people, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu pretended to be active in the commercial and residential building where the incident was originally supposed to take place, while Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Date Wataru were also waiting nearby, ready to act at any time.

But nothing happened until nightfall.

“It’s the butterfly effect.” Rei Furuya said seriously. “It seems like it will all be concentrated tomorrow. The situation will definitely be more complicated and dangerous then. This won’t do.”

The revenge of the escaped bomber and the events at Pramia will converge to become Matsuda's fatal predicament, making it no longer a simple matter of 1+1.

Rei Furuya wants to take action to deal with Pramia ahead of time, since the butterfly effect has already occurred, so it doesn't matter if it gets bigger.

Later, he discovered that Pramia's change of plans was related to the recent changes in the Yamaguchi-gumi. However, he encountered difficulties in further investigating Pramia's exact location, as even he did not know Pramia's identity at this time.

Pramie is not only skilled in chemistry and disguise, but also in electronics, making her untouchable even by the world's most skilled hackers.

The situation remained deadlocked.

But the world always seems to make things worse when you think things are already at their worst.

Noon on November 7th was Matsuda Jinpei's original time of death.

Originally, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu planned to go and work together with everyone to overcome the difficulties, but they were the ones who encountered trouble first.

“Scott is an undercover agent, a lackey of the Metropolitan Police Department,” Gin said. “Bourbon, Ray, if you want to prove your innocence, kill him yourself.”

Morofushi Kagemitsu's undercover identity was exposed.

No matter how hard they tried to clear their names, the problems that arose from within the Metropolitan Police Department could not be avoided. They caught one undercover agent and another new one was put in, and they controlled one member who had been turned by the organization and yet another one appeared, and they would be even harder to detect.

They no longer had any energy to pay attention to what was happening with Matsuda.

"This is absolutely terrible," Furuya Rei thought, "but it's not time to give up yet."

Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance. Even if his identity is exposed now, Hiro can react immediately and cooperate to escape safely. He can find an opportunity to fake his death like Ethan Hondou and survive.

But they happened to run into Pramia.

Pramia didn't go to Matsuda's side to cause trouble. She learned about the organization's existence through the Yamaguchi-gumi, became interested in it, and wanted to blow up some of its members for fun.

As luck would have it, she happened to stumble upon the organization hunting down the undercover agent in Scotland. Wouldn't it be a great pity not to get involved?

Rei Furuya dodged her bomb and was not killed or injured like the other members of the organization that was hunting down Scotland and the police who were helping Scotland. He pretended to be angry and went after Pramie to let Scotland go, but he was blown away by a grenade from Pramie.

—That damn grenade again!!!

"This is unbelievable," Furuya Rei cursed inwardly.

Scotland, who was almost able to escape, suddenly stopped and looked back with concern. In the end, he couldn't help but run back and shoot Pramie in the shoulder, who was about to finish off Bourbon.

Lai next to him: "..."

The wounded Pramie escaped, but Scotland's escape route encountered trouble.

However, thanks to Bourbon and Rye's double blunder in the chaos, Scotland managed to escape the encirclement, though it seems to have been injured...

Lei immediately gave chase.

Bourbon was seriously injured. He was dizzy and it took him a while to wipe away the blood that had slid down his head. He gritted his teeth, leaned against the wall, stood up, and continued to chase after them.

It's okay, he tried to reassure himself. This time the situation is different from last time. Even if Scotland is still caught up by Ray because of Pramia's interference, Scotland will not commit suicide like last time.

The current Hiro would never abandon him to face everything alone and then resolutely commit suicide.

The weather in November was already quite cold, and the night was pitch black.

Despite being in pain all over, Furuya Rei decided that his broken ribs wouldn't affect his life, so he continued the chase. However, the excessive blood loss and pain, along with the cold air and the dark night, caused his hands to tremble uncontrollably.

Before him stood an abandoned building that he knew all too well.

The rooftop where Hiro died is in this building.

Furuya Rei ran frantically up the stairs, panting, as if he had returned to that nightmarish night. He grew increasingly frightened in the seemingly endless stairwell, his mind flashing back to the horrifying image of his childhood friend lying on the rooftop covered in blood. He even had auditory hallucinations of gunshots.

But this staircase seems to have no end, like an endless hell.

His phone was destroyed in the explosion, and he was in a deserted area on his escape route. He didn't know the exact time, but he was certain it was past 11 p.m.

After noon, Matsuda reported that everything was safe and sound. With sufficient intelligence, they had safely dealt with the bomber. However, they were subsequently unable to leave to help due to other dangers.

Moreover, the system did not play the save/exit sound.

Rei Furuya felt like he was about to suffocate; his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was being torn apart, and the air he breathed was filled with the nauseating smell of blood.

At 12 o'clock, he thought to himself, 12 o'clock at night is still 12 o'clock, Matsuda and Hiro may both be in trouble, and may both be in danger of death.

Is this the ultimate move the system prepared for him after being quiet for so long?

"Bang--"

The gunshots were crystal clear in the still of the night.

Rei Furuya, who was just one step away from reaching the rooftop, froze.

He shuddered and almost fell down. After staggering for a moment, he rushed forward like a madman and smashed open the door.

Under the pale moonlight, everything on the rooftop was so clear, every detail so familiar it was ingrained in my bones.

The childhood friend, leaning against the wall with her head tilted to one side, had silently closed her eyes. There were strange bloodstains on her hands, and the clothes with her phone in her chest were quickly stained with blood from the bullet hole. There was also a large, shocking patch of scarlet blood on the wall next to her.

[Morokushō Kagemitsu has died.]

[Side ending unlocked: Worldline convergence - Death of Morofushi Kagemitsu]

The man standing in front of the deceased childhood friend had long black hair, held a bloodstained gun in his hand, and turned to look at him with cold, sinister green eyes. His face was covered in Hiro's blood.

He coldly raised his hand to wipe the blood from his face: "Bourbon, you're too late. The traitor has already been..."

"Why didn't you save him?!" Furuya Rei suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his collar, his eyes bloodshot with madness, anger, and deep hatred.

He was completely disoriented at this point. His body was already at its limit, and his brain was buzzing like it was broken. He couldn't tell which world he was in anymore.

He even began to doubt the reality of the world.

After all, how could Hiro possibly commit suicide again?

What exactly happened? What's going on? Why? Why is it Shuichi Akai again? How did things get to this point? He truly couldn't understand anymore…

Ray frowned slightly: "What are you talking about? Bourbon, Scotland is an undercover agent, and traitors should be punished. Even if you have a good relationship, if you don't want to be seen as a traitor by the organization..."

"Shuichi Akai! I'm asking you!! Why didn't you save him!!!" Rei Furuya raised his voice to interrupt him, grabbed him forcefully, slammed him against the wall, and roared.

Shuichi Akai's pupils constricted sharply when his real name was called out. He stared incredulously into those trembling purple eyes, his heart instantly filled with turmoil.

"Why is it you again! If it's you! If you're someone as powerful as you! You should have many ways to save him, right?! Even if you didn't save him! But why did you show up?! Why did you chase him here? If you hadn't come, he would have been fine! He could have survived!!!" Furuya Rei's hand, gripping his collar, trembled, his teeth almost grinding to powder.

If Shuichi Akai had known sooner, would none of this have happened?

No, that's not right, wait, why... Furuya Rei suddenly snapped out of it, realizing that now was not the time to do this kind of thing, and his eyes went blank for a moment.

Even when he regained his senses, he still couldn't understand why Hiro wanted to commit suicide.

"...Why would he commit suicide?" Rei Furuya asked, suppressing his emotions. "He knew I would come; he couldn't have left me to commit suicide."

Shuichi Akai looked at him quietly, intending to ask something and explain, but when his gaze fell on the overwhelming pain and despair on the blond youth's face, he suddenly couldn't say anything.

Everything is obvious now.

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure either. I actually came to save him..." He finally sighed softly, "I'm really sorry about what happened to him."

I still feel very sorry about what happened to him.

Rei Furuya suddenly lost all his strength.

His expression also disappeared.

Shuichi Akai was unusually flustered and didn't know what to say.

Then he saw the blond youth release his grip expressionlessly and reach into his pocket to pull out a gun.

Shuichi Akai immediately took a step back warily.

Without hesitation, Furuya Rei turned his gun on himself.

"What are you going to do?" Shuichi Akai suddenly grabbed his hand and held it tightly without letting go. "Don't do anything stupid, Bourbon. Scotland is already dead. What difference would it make if you did this? Scotland would never want to see you die."

He had already failed to stop Scotland from committing suicide, and this time he would absolutely not let Bourbon die in front of him again.

Rei Furuya's eyes widened in shock for a moment, then he struggled desperately: "Let go! Let go now! There's almost no time left!!!"

"Calm down, Bourbon." Shuichi Akai completely restrained the severely injured, weakened blond youth and took his gun.

Unable to break free, Furuya Rei, both anxious and angry, opened her mouth and bit his hand hard.

Shuichi Akai stiffened for a moment, but still showed no intention of letting go. He had only relaxed his grip slightly, which gave Scotland the opportunity to commit suicide.

Furuya Rei was trembling with anger. Having no other option, she gritted her teeth and tried to explain, "I didn't mean to commit suicide. I just want to save Scotland. You can think of this as the virtual holographic game world we experienced with Rum before. I won't die, and Scotland can still be saved, but if you keep delaying, Scotland will really die!!!"

Shuichi Akai remained unmoved: "I know the difference between virtual and reality very well. Bourbon, wake up, this is not a game, it's reality."

Rei Furuya was practically going crazy: "Shuichi Akai! Do you really have to make me hate you completely?!"

Shuichi Akai remained tightly embracing him against the wall, his legs pinned down and unable to move. He didn't speak, seemingly waiting for him to calm down before saying anything.

Rei Furuya's eyes hardened, and he opened his mouth, preparing to bite his tongue and commit suicide.

Shuichi Akai sensed something was wrong and narrowly managed to grab his teeth at the last moment.

"Ughhhh!!!" Furuya Rei tried to speak, but could only make ughhhh sounds.

[The third save point, "The Worldline Where a Cherry Blossom Petal Survives," has been completed]

[Achieving the Bad Ending: A Balance of Gains and Losses]

Rei Furuya's struggling movements suddenly froze.

Matsuda...did he clear the game?

[Fourth save point discovered: The world line where the two cherry blossom petals survived]

"Ah! Ahhh! Ahhhhh!!!"

No! No way! Don't save! I refuse to save here!!!

[Automatically saving]

"Ughh ...

I need to load my save file! I need to load my save file now! System, I need to load my save file!!!

Save successful

Rei Furuya was completely stunned.

*

"don't want--!!!!!!"

Rei Furuya abruptly sat up in bed, clutching his chest and gasping for breath for a while before he could catch his breath. His trembling fingers also regained feeling.

His frightened and confused eyes gradually cleared as he looked at his surroundings.

It was a dream.

Rei Furuya fell back onto the bed, covering his face and uttering broken syllables.

Thank goodness, it was just a nightmare.

A few seconds later, he suddenly got out of bed, casually wiped away the cold sweat with his hair, and glanced at the time. It was 3:30 a.m. on November 6.

After hesitating for a moment, Furuya Rei still ran over and knocked on his childhood friend's door with a straight face.

The door was opened very quickly, so quickly that it seemed as if the other party had been preparing to come out all along.

"Did you see that message too?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked, holding his phone and speaking quickly. "I was just about to go and talk to you about it?"

“Something’s not right.” Morofushi Kagemitsu’s sharp gaze swept over the blond youth, and he reached out to touch the boy’s slightly sweaty temples, his eyes filled with concern. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

"Hmm, but it's okay, it was just a dream." Furuya Rei's dazed gaze gradually hardened, his expression returning to seriousness as he pressed, "What news did you just mention?"

He didn't check his phone when he woke up, and he didn't even bring it with him.

"The bomber has escaped from prison," said Morofushi Kagemitsu.

Reiichi Furuya almost suffered cardiac arrest for a moment.