Chapter 3: First Playthrough (3)

Is he from "Detective Conan"?

What initially attracted Rei Furuya was his name.

Detective Conan?

"Zero? What's wrong? Why that expression?" Morofushi Kagemitsu approached curiously and asked softly.

Actually, he had sensed that Zero was acting strangely since last night.

But under his gaze, the blond youth, who had just been looking serious as if he were thinking about something terrible, turned around and showed a nonchalant smile, as if everything just now was just his imagination.

"No, it's nothing. I was just thinking about what I should eat for the next few days if I can't eat spicy food for the time being," he said.

“Zero…” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked at him worriedly, “If anything happens to you…”

"It's really nothing." The blond youth sighed, looking away somewhat embarrassed. "Okay, I was just thinking, what if that curly-haired bastard provokes me during the day? I can't exactly fight him in front of my classmates and the instructors, can I?"

He raised his hand to touch the gauze on his face, hissing in pain: "It actually hurts quite a bit. It's really troublesome. That guy's punch was really heavy."

Morofushi Kagemitsu's attention was momentarily diverted, and he grabbed Morofushi's hand and pulled it down: "Does it still hurt? Honestly, don't touch the wound so carelessly. I'll help you change the dressing after training and breakfast."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you again, Hiro." The blond youth smiled, putting his phone back into his tracksuit pocket before going downstairs and being seen by others.

“What’s the trouble? Isn’t it always like this? It’s all because Zero has always been injured since he was a child.” Morofushi Hiromitsu sighed helplessly and asked, “Is it okay to bring your phone to training? You’ll definitely get scolded if the instructor finds out.”

Police academies allow students to bring cell phones, but they are not allowed to use them during training. Cell phone use is also prohibited after 10 p.m. when lights are turned off and dorm checks are conducted. Violating these rules may result in the phone being confiscated.

"No problem, it won't be discovered." Furuya Rei smiled, looking very determined and confident.

So Morofushi Kagemitsu stopped talking about it and walked towards the playground with his childhood friend, laughing and chatting about other everyday things.

Something's wrong, he thought, something must have happened to Zero.

But why are you unwilling to tell him?

Morofushi Kagemitsu thought about his nightmare from last night, about why he became a policeman, and about the case he had been secretly investigating alone...

But something's not right. It's not like his personality. Zero has always been very straightforward and serious. Even if there's something going on, he's never kept it from him.

Although he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong and couldn't find anything wrong no matter how he observed, Morofushi Hiromitsu still focused all his attention on observing Furuya Rei, thanks to his familiarity and concern for his childhood friend.

He even completely forgot the bloody shadow that had been haunting his heart, and focused all his worry on his childhood friend.

Police academy life has strict time regulations. You have to get up at six o'clock in the morning and assemble on the playground at six twenty for morning training.

April is the season of spring warmth and blooming flowers. The rising sun, along with the dazzling cherry blossoms, shines on passersby.

Morofushi Kagemitsu turned around and realized that his childhood friend had fallen behind. He looked up at the cherry blossoms in a daze. The wind ruffled his blond hair, making it difficult to see the expression on his face.

But Morofushi Kagemitsu felt as if he were in a daze, as if he had fallen into a world of his own, a world full of sadness and pain.

"Zero!" Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but call out to him.

The blond youth paused for two seconds before slowly turning to look at him, his blank and dark smoky purple eyes gradually filling with light.

He laughed and suddenly reached out and grabbed something in the air, then ran over to him like a child, raising his fist to show him.

"Hiro, look!"

Zhu Fujingguang breathed a sigh of relief, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his face as he looked down and asked, "What is it?"

Rei Furuya slowly opened his fist, and lying in his wheat-colored palm was a beautiful cherry blossom.

"It's rare for a cherry blossom to fall completely, isn't it?" The blond youth tilted his head and smiled, his smile so gentle it was almost tender, making one's heart flutter and feel sorry for him.

“A cherry blossom, five petals, all of them are there,” he said.

*

At 6:20 a.m., all of the more than 1,200 new students who enrolled this year had gathered on the spacious playground to begin their morning training.

Onizuka's team, however, encountered a slight problem.

"Matsuda! Furuya! What happened to your injuries?!"

Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had been worried about and secretly watching Furuya Rei, finally turned his attention to the curly-haired young man next to him.

Ah, she's definitely a troublemaker at first glance, even daring to use that tone to directly mock and provoke the instructor who looks terrifying.

...I never expected the class monitor to be like this. He lied without batting an eye and then followed the instructor's lead, leaving the instructor with nowhere to go. I wonder if the instructor who appointed him is regretting it now?

During the morning run, Morofushi Kagemitsu followed behind Furuya Rei with a smile, watching him bicker with Matsuda Jinpei in front of him, and finally being reconciled by the class president Date Wataru with his arm around each other's shoulders. Hagiwara Kenji, who was close to Matsuda Jinpei, laughed heartlessly on the side, even saying that Matsuda Jinpei had his dentures knocked out.

At this point, Furuya Rei seemed to have become perfectly normal again.

Moreover, he seems to really like his new classmates; he looks genuinely happy, Zero.

So Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but laugh.

He thought, "We'll definitely become good friends later."

*

At seven o'clock in the morning, breakfast time began.

When Furuya Rei was eating soba noodles, he tried to secretly add chili sauce, but was discovered by Morofushi Kagemitsu. Feeling guilty and resentful, he gave up on adding chili.

Reluctantly, Morofushi Kagemitsu added vinegar and pepper to make the noodles more flavorful.

At eight o'clock in the morning, today's theory class began.

Police academy students' mornings are usually filled with theoretical classes and practical training, but since they've just enrolled, most of their classes are theoretical.

Whether in theory or practice, Furuya Zero has always been undoubtedly number one.

What's even more remarkable is that, in addition to being a true genius, he is more serious, responsible, and proactive than anyone else.

However, to Morofushi Kagemitsu's surprise, Matsuda Jinpei, who seemed to have always disliked the police, actually recited the police code of conduct in its entirety.

His tone was serious, and he genuinely believed it.

Morofushi Kagemitsu noticed the smile in Furuya Rei's eyes as he looked at Matsuda Jinpei, and became even more convinced that they could definitely become good friends.

Noon is lunchtime.

Morofushi Kagemitsu ordered a chicken and egg fried rice set meal, then sat down next to Furuya Rei to eat, continuing to supervise him so he wouldn't eat spicy food.

“But I really want to eat spicy curry, Hiro.” Rei Furuya looked at him with a very aggrieved expression.

Looking at those innocent, droopy eyes, Morofushi Kagemitsu finally had no choice but to admit defeat and let him eat the spicy curry.

Sitting opposite him, Matsuda Jinpei first mocked Furuya Rei speechlessly, saying he was like a child being controlled by a madam. Then, when Hagiwara Kenji took out a tissue to wipe his face, he got angry and embarrassed. Finally, he was annoyed again when Furuya Rei was deliberately bumped into, and he made sarcastic remarks about his blond hair and skin color.

"To hell with the police!"

Morofushi Kagemitsu's anger and worries were all dispelled by his loud remark.

Rei Furuya even burst out laughing.

Matsuda Jinpei almost got into another fight with him in the cafeteria.

*

After lunch, it's lunch break time. Police academy students find it hard to get through the heavy training in the afternoon without taking a nap at noon.

Morofushi Kagemitsu took his first-aid kit from his room to Furuya Rei's dorm to change his dressing and bandage his wound again.

Morofushi Kagemitsu was really skilled at it; ever since he met Zero in elementary school, he had often bandaged his wounds.

I heard that Zero had always been bandaged by a female doctor, but before he moved to Tokyo, that doctor and her family disappeared.

Zero's idea to become a police officer and investigate stemmed from his search for the female doctor who mysteriously disappeared after their farewell.

In short, after that, he was the one who treated Zero's wounds. After so many years, he had naturally become very skilled at it.

"Hiro's technique is as perfect as ever." The blond youth, for some reason, kept looking at himself in the mirror with a sense of wonder.

Zhu Fujingguang paused in packing his medical kit.

He looked at his childhood friend, who seemed to stiffen for a moment, and wanted to ask something, but he couldn't say anything when faced with those innocent, droopy eyes.

Forget it, let's wait until he's ready to talk about it. Let's not pressure him and see how things go.

Having found nothing unusual at his childhood friend's dormitory, Morofushi Kagemitsu eventually left.

After the door closed, Rei Furuya's smile vanished instantly, and he slapped his forehead in frustration.

He was being far too lax with Hiro, but expecting him to be constantly vigilant towards Hiro would be asking too much.

But Hiro had clearly noticed something was wrong with him and had been observing him all day...

Forget about Hiro for now. He's not like Matsuda, who can't hold back and just rushes in when something's wrong. Let's deal with other issues first.

Rei Furuya sat at his desk, his expression serious as he took out his phone.

This group...

[—Rei Furuya has joined the chat group—]

[Natsuki Subaru: The new guy is back?]

[Natsuki Subaru: Thank goodness, are you alright?]

As Furuya Rei pondered the meaning of his words, he suddenly realized something was amiss.

In the upper left corner of each person's chat avatar and name, there is actually a small circle with a number inside, indicating that person's death and rollback count.

The number after Shenping Wang's name changed from 3 to 4.

Furuya Rei immediately opened the group member list in the upper right corner.

[1. Subaru Natsuki: From *Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-*, currently on his tenth playthrough, and has died ten times.]

[2. Shinpei Ami: From "Summer Revisited," currently in his fourth playthrough, and has died four times.]

[3. Rei Furuya: From "Detective Conan," currently on his first playthrough, already died once.]

The pupils constricted at zero.

In just one morning, the man named Shinpei Amishiro has died again.

[Shinpei, the online agent: Newcomer, don't be afraid. We're all the same. Subaru and I aren't bad people. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. We'll try our best to help you solve them. Only by pooling our resources can we explore and solve this terrible problem.]

[Natsuki Subaru: Shinpei? You died again? When did that happen?]

[Online agent Shenping: Just now (cat sighing.jpg)]

[Natsuki Subaru: Your world is really dangerous... So how did you die this time? (Sweating.jpg)]

[Shinpei Net: ? Are you serious? Subaru-kun, your world is at least a hundred times more dangerous than mine, right?]

[Rei Furuya: Hello, this is Rei Furuya.]

[Rei Furuya: Sorry, sorry. I'm not allowed to use my phone during training, so I only glanced at it this morning. I only had time to come back in during lunch break. (Neko bows her head in apology jpg)]

It's a lie. He actually pretended to go to the bathroom and took out his phone several times to peek at their chat, using incognito mode.

[Natsuki Subaru: It's alright, it's nothing serious, I'm just glad you're okay.]

[Shinping, the online agent: Yes, because our world is very dangerous, and you can die easily, so we were worried about you. We were relieved to see that your rollback count hadn't changed.]

[Natsuki Subaru: So, Furuya, what's the situation on your end? Can you tell us? If it's dangerous, we might be able to offer some advice. We're happy to have new members joining us, but if something like this happens and we don't have many comrades to talk to, we'd probably go crazy. (sigh.jpg)]

[Shinpei Net Agent: Actually, ever since Furuya-kun joined the group chat this morning, I've been thinking about what to do if new people join in the future. So I've been writing down some survival tips for newcomers that I've accumulated, but I ran into trouble and couldn't get away before I finished writing them...]

Rei Furuya blinked. These two people... seem to be very gentle and kind.

Rei Furuya was multitasking. On one hand, he was chatting with the two in the group to gain more favor and information, which he was already very good at. On the other hand, he was thinking about something very important.

His world, at least the police academy period in his memory, shouldn't be considered a dangerous world where you could die at any moment, right?

But... the images of those four people's deaths kept replaying and flashing uncontrollably in Rei Furuya's mind.

A bad premonition, like the sea, suffocated him along with his dark and bloody past, completely engulfing him.