Chapter 40: Ten Playthroughs of Saving (11)

What a tragic scene!

All efforts were in vain.

All hope has been destroyed.

All memories have been forgotten.

Only despair continues to spread.

In the end, he was alone.

Starting from scratch

Where is the CG for the tenth playthrough's Bad Ending?

[A fleeting year]

[Any idioms to describe the fleeting nature of time and the approaching end of a year? Good, preparing to generate.]

The storylines of the four worlds are now synchronized.

How are things going with the live stream viewers?

[The emotions were extremely high, and the comments section went wild.]

[Excellent, this time we'll definitely be able to absorb an immense amount of despair energy.]

Wait, something's wrong. Why are they here?

[It has been confirmed that obstacles have been set up to prevent anyone from getting here.]

[Impossible, how did those three people manage to overcome all the obstacles so quickly to get here?]

It failed.

No obstacle could stop them.

*

"Zero! Zero, wake up! Hang in there! Don't pass out!"

Rei Furuya barely surfaced, gasping for breath. His situation had worsened after the tree branch broke and he fell into the floodwaters.

But they are still alive.

Rei Furuya strained to open his eyes and saw Hiro's hand gripping a rope tightly, the other end of which was looped around a broken tree branch, barely supporting the two of them.

The cherry blossom pendant on the rope rose and fell in the flood, just like them at this moment, always on the verge of being completely submerged and swallowed up.

Rei Furuya was suddenly incredibly grateful that the rope he had used to make the cherry blossom pendant was strong enough. Although he was suffering from PTSD at the time and was a bit neurotic, he had used the strongest material and the most durable wrapping method. He never expected that it would save their lives at such a critical moment.

Sometimes, the butterfly effect isn't all bad.

Even so, the thin rope couldn't support two adults for too long.

Rei Furuya suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

He had been mentally prepared for this cycle to fail, but all that preparation, composure, and self-comfort were now destroyed by his childhood friend's tears.

He suddenly didn't want to die.

He wanted to live, and he wanted to continue living with everyone in this cycle.

We were just one step away from success.

He didn't actually want to do it all over again.

How many times has this happened? How many months has he repeated his police academy experience?

They've worked so hard together to get to this point, and he really doesn't want to start from scratch again.

“I…” Rei Furuya’s previously limp hand suddenly surged with strength and grabbed the hand that was tightly holding his. His emotions suddenly crumbled. “I really wanted Hiro, who knows everything, to stay by my side! I had a really happy time this time around, and those memories are the most precious things to me. I will never forget them! And I don’t want you to forget them either! Because even if I could do it all over again, the feeling would be completely different… I… I don’t want to do it all over again…”

However, "wanting" and "facts" are not the same thing.

The greater his hope and desire for "life" is now, the more painful and unacceptable it will be when he faces the despair of "death".

Just like now, he clearly doesn't want to die anymore. He clearly wants to continue walking in this world with his childhood friend who remembers everything and everyone who has worked hard together until now. He wants to graduate with everyone and reach the next save point together.

But he still failed.

It was so close.

But the cherry blossom pendant rope that was gradually breaking before his eyes made him feel even more desperate, like a spider silk that was gradually breaking in the sky above hell.

He could fall back into hell at any moment.

To die suddenly at the very moment one wants to live...

"Then let's not start over!" Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly gave him a bright smile, his blue cat eyes filled with hope and joy.

“Zero, you’re never alone! And we’re never alone either!” he said with a smile. “Look, everyone’s come to rescue us!”

Rei Furuya paused, then turned to look in that direction, where three blurry yet still familiar figures instantly came into view.

"Found it!!!"

"They're there!!!"

"Furuya! Morobuchi! Hold on! Don't be afraid! We're coming to save you right now!"

The three voices, carrying an absolute penetrating power, successfully reached his ears amidst the cacophony of the floodwaters.

Everyone……

"zero".

Rei Furuya turned around again and saw the disheveled black-haired, blue-eyed youth give him a firm yet gentle reassuring smile.

“Feelings are mutual, and so is saving others,” he said. “It’s not just you, Zero, who wants to save everyone; we want to save you too. That’s why we train so hard to become stronger, isn’t it?”

"If one person can't do it, then two people can work together."

“If two people can’t do it, then three, four, five.” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked earnestly into those moved, purplish-gray eyes. “As long as we all work together, there’s no difficulty that can’t be overcome!”

The blond youth's eyelashes trembled violently. He looked up as if to say something, but the next second he was slammed into the water by a giant wave.

"Zero!" Morofushi Kagemitsu cried out in alarm, struggling against the rapids to pull the person to the surface, but in the end, the string of the cherry blossom pendant snapped completely, and he himself was pulled into the water.

Is it really possible?

Rei Furuya struggled to swim upwards in the water, but suffocation and death held him captive. His body felt incredibly heavy, and the dizziness made him feel as if he were being pulled into a dark abyss below.

But Hiro still wouldn't let go of his hand. Would this lead to Hiro getting into trouble too? Would it put everyone who came to help in danger as well?

Have we become strong enough to fight against the world and fate?

Suddenly, someone approached him from behind and abruptly pulled him out of the water.

"Cough cough cough—"

"Kuroya! Komobushi! Hold on tight! It's okay! Don't be afraid! We'll get to shore safely!"

The newcomer had messy, black hair plastered to his face, but his expression was extremely serious and earnest.

It's Hagi.

Furuya Rei struggled to stay conscious and saw the rope binding him, as well as the squad leader and Matsuda pulling the rope in the distance.

I see. That way, even if Hagi is carrying two people in this raging flood, they can be pulled ashore together. This way, even if Hagi is held tightly, it won't affect his actions.

Because it would be impossible for one person to swim ashore from the floodwaters during such a terrible natural disaster.

But it can be done by five people working together.

Everyone looked disheveled, but no one wanted to give up.

How did they manage to find him and Hiro so quickly in such a chaotic and terrible situation? Just like when he saved everyone before, they must have encountered many huge obstacles that were life-threatening.

Even so, they still came, and they made it to the destination.

Is salvation mutual...?

So, he could at least rely on these treacherous but reliable friends who like to court death, right?

Just by relaxing for a little while, Furuya Rei's tense nerves suddenly snapped and he lost consciousness. He only regained consciousness when he was suddenly pulled ashore and heard Matsuda and the squad leader shouting.

"Cough cough, I didn't..."

Rei Furuya didn't get to finish his sentence because he was hugged tightly by his childhood friend.

Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't speak, but the hug was very tight, every cell radiating intense joy and lingering fear at having something lost and then regained.

Furuya Rei paused for a second, then reached out and hugged him back, burying his head in the black-haired youth's still trembling shoulder.

He was very clear about the feeling of something lost and then regained.

"Alright, it's alright, it's alright now." Date Hang gently patted their backs to comfort them. "Can you still stand up? Let me carry you."

“There’s blood. They’re all injured. Wait, Kofuruya’s head wound is a bit serious. We need to bandage it and stop the bleeding first.” Kenji Hagiwara, who had just untied the ropes, squatted down beside them and frowned.

“I have bandages here,” Matsuda Jinpei said seriously, quickly and steadily taking a roll of bandages from his rescue backpack.

Morofushi Kagemitsu finally calmed down and, once he regained his composure, immediately grabbed Furuya Rei's shoulders and carefully lifted his hair, revealing the terrible wound on his forehead.

Rei Furuya was surrounded by them. He blinked a few times, but the harder he tried, the blurrier his vision became.

They survived.

He thought.

They succeeded.

After a quick bandage, Furuya Rei was carefully carried on Date Wataru's back, while Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei supported Morofushi Kagemitsu, preparing to rush him to the hospital.

“The village…”

Hearing the weak voice of the blond youth on his back, Ida Hang was stunned for a full two seconds before smiling helplessly and saying, "Really, don't worry, the village is fine. You two successfully saved that village. The only ones who got into trouble this time were the two of you. The instructors have also arranged the follow-up matters. Can you relax now?"

Rei Furuya finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Surrounded by his companions, he finally felt safe enough to succumb to the darkness.

*

September 27th.

I'll be graduating in three days.

On this day, Rei Furuya, who had been in a coma for two days, finally woke up.

Today, Date Wataru, who was in charge of guarding and caring for them, immediately notified them, and Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji rushed to the hospital.

"Furuya is finally awake. I was really worried he'd miss his graduation ceremony. That would have been such a shame," Kenji Hagiwara said with a sigh of relief.

"After all, the doctor said he's not seriously injured. He's unconscious mainly because he's overworked and his injuries have completely flared up. He just needs a few days of rest. This is ridiculous. Does he even get enough sleep?" Matsuda Jinpei gritted his teeth, looking more like he was there to take someone's life than to visit someone in the hospital.

But when he pushed open the ward door, his hand movements were completely opposite to his expression—gentle and careful.

"Has that blond bastard finally woken up?" Matsuda Jinpei walked in and asked in a low voice.

Sitting in front of the hospital bed, Ida Wataru turned around and nodded, but his expression was a little strange.

“Where is Zhufu?” he asked.

"Master Jing has gone shopping," Matsuda Jinpei said.

Now that you're awake, there's no need to be so quiet. Kenji Hagiwara smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Why that expression? Has Furuya lost his memory?"

"Do you think this is some kind of melodramatic soap opera?" Matsuda Jinpei retorted.

But when the two walked to the bedside and saw what the blond young man on the hospital bed looked like, they both fell silent.

Matsuda Jinpei was silent for two seconds, then turned and asked, "Didn't the doctor say there wasn't much damage to his brain? How come he looks like he doesn't even have a brain?"

"Yes, it's just a mild concussion. He's recovering very well and may even be discharged in a few days," Ida Wataru nodded in confirmation.

"What's wrong with Furuya now?" Kenji Hagiwara sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to poke the blond youth's baby face, but the other boy didn't move at all, still looking blankly at the ceiling.

“I got yelled at by Hiro…” Furuya Rei suddenly murmured.

Hagihara Kenji: "..."

“I got yelled at by Hiro…” Furuya Rei repeated blankly.

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."