Chapter 43: Ten Playthroughs of Save Files (14)

"Waaaaah..." Matsuda Jinpei covered his face and cried for two seconds, then lowered his hands, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, "How is it? Does it look like me?"

"It doesn't look like it! It doesn't look like it at all! It's so fake, Jinpei, hahaha—" Kenji Hagiwara laughed so hard he slammed his fist on the table.

Rei Furuya lunged forward, grabbed Jinpei Matsuda by the neck, and began shaking him violently: "Aaaaaah, you bastard curly-haired jerk, how long are you going to keep bringing this up?!"

“I can laugh at you for the rest of my life, hahaha—” Matsuda Jinpei laughed loudly.

"How about this? Does it look like it?" Morofushi Kagemitsu stretched out two fingers and pulled down the corners of his eyes, then put on an extremely serious expression.

"Pfft, cough cough cough—" Date Kou spat out the wine.

"So alike! So alike! They're practically identical! But when did this turn into a contest to imitate Furuya? Hahaha—" Kenji Hagiwara laughed even more exaggeratedly.

"How can you be like this even with Hiro!" Rei Furuya stared at his childhood friend with disbelief and accusation.

Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his hand and smiled innocently.

Furuya Rei glanced at his friends who were laughing so hard they were practically falling over, and suddenly let go of Matsuda Jinpei, who was laughing like he was having an epileptic seizure.

Then, the blond youth raised two fingers to lift the corner of his eye, and slowly revealed a gentle smile to the four of them, similar to that of Morofushi Kagemitsu.

Morofushi Kagemitsu, Date Wataru, Hagiwara Kenji, and Matsuda Jinpei were all stunned, even getting goosebumps all over their bodies, but they were even more shocked and unable to react.

"How is it? Does it look like it?" Furuya Rei asked Shigemitsu with a gentle smile.

Zhu Fujingguang stared in disbelief: "..."

Others: It's not a matter of resemblance, okay, it really is almost exactly the same smile as Morofushi Kagemitsu, but it's terrifying!!!

Furuya Rei's smile vanished. He reached out and put on the new black sunglasses hanging from Matsuda Jinpei's collar, then ruffled his hair into a messy, tousled mess. With a dangerous slap, he slammed his hand on the table in front of Matsuda Jinpei and said in a deep voice, "How about this? Does it look like it? Hmm?"

Matsuda Jinpei stared in disbelief: "..."

Others: It's so similar! It really is! That sinister and dangerous aura, just like a mafia boss! Even the tone of voice is the same! They're even itching to handcuff him and take him to the police station!

Rei Furuya took off his sunglasses and put them back on Jinpei Matsuda's clothes, smoothed his hair, then turned to give Kenji Hagiwara a bright wink and said in a cheerful voice, "I imitated him very well, didn't I! Hagiwara~"

Kenji Hagiwara stared in disbelief: "..."

Others: Ahhhhhh, help! Is he possessed by something?! It's so scary but also so funny, hahaha!!!

Reiji Furuya's smile vanished instantly, his expression turning serious again. He straightened up, looking down at them with an undeniable air of authority, and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Am I wrong?"

Date Wataru stared in disbelief: "..."

Others: ...He really has the aura of a class monitor! It's exactly the same as when the class monitor used to give speeches and mediate conflicts!!!

Amidst the stunned gazes of the others, Rei Furuya's imposing aura suddenly dissipated, and he raised an eyebrow, regaining his composure, and asked, "Was that fun? Want to keep playing?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu, Date Wataru, Hagiwara Kenji, and Matsuda Jinpei all shook their heads, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Zero is amazing!!!" Morofushi Kagemitsu's eyes sparkled as the little seal clapped his hands.

"What?! You really scared me just now, especially your imitation of Master Jing and Hagi's laughter. It gave me goosebumps. I thought you were possessed by a ghost," Matsuda Jinpei said.

“We can’t say that, otherwise wouldn’t the demon possessing Furuya be us?” Date Wataru said.

“But it really looks like him! Kofuruya is amazing! You have the potential to be an actor!” Kenji Hagiwara said, then suddenly paused, stroking his chin as he looked at the blond youth: “Yeah, even his appearance is perfect. If you dress him up, you could totally be a star.”

"Hagiwara-chan—"

"Karaoke! Karaoke! Let's go to karaoke!" Kenji Hagiwara's hair stood on end, and he immediately changed the subject.

The others couldn't help but laugh.

However, the whole class wouldn't go to karaoke together, and some people had other things to do and left after the farewell dinner, so in the end, it was just the five of them who went to get together by themselves.

When singing, Kenji Hagiwara very much went with the mood and chose a song about friends parting. He sang it very emotionally and even cried, which earned him a photo and some teasing from Jinpei Matsuda.

Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi, who almost couldn't hold back their tears either: "..."

The five of them partied until 3 a.m. before heading home.

Even at night, the streets of Tokyo are bustling with activity. Colorful neon lights illuminate five young people playing on the street, making the moment feel like a dream.

Kenji Hagiwara put his arm around Hiromitsu Morofushi's neck and whispered something to him.

Date Wataru vaguely heard them talking about Furuya, so he turned to look at Matsuda Jinpei and Furuya Rei, who were standing next to him with their arms around each other and loudly gossiping about them.

Matsuda Jinpei: "Damn it! Why is the class president so tall?! Two meters! That's outrageous! Give me ten centimeters! I want to be over 1.9 meters tall too, taller than that arrogant Hagi!"

Rei Furuya: "Actually, I don't think 1.8 meters is short, but it's true... I was taller than Hiro when we were kids, but I don't know when he surpassed me! He's even still growing! Is that reasonable?! Damn it! Class representative, give me ten centimeters too!"

Date Wataru: "..."

Date Ko: "Are you guys drunk?"

Rei Furuya and Jinpei Matsuda: "I'm not drunk!"

Date Wataru nodded: "Looks like he's drunk."

However, they were definitely not completely drunk; most likely, they were just using being drunk as an excuse to have a good time at their last gathering before graduation and parting ways.

After all, there may not be another chance like this in the future.

*

"Zero...Zero-chan..."

who?

Rei Furuya was in a daze, and after a moment's recollection, she realized that she should have gone back to her dorm to sleep.

But where is he now? Who's calling him? That familiar voice... and that long-lost name...

In his blurry vision, a woman with dazzling long golden hair, whose face he couldn't see clearly, bent down and then reached out to hug him tightly.

"Mom knows Rei-chan is a very strong child. Even if Mom isn't here anymore, Rei-chan will definitely live well, right? I'm sorry, Rei-chan, I'm so sorry..."

"...I'm sorry I'm late, your mother has already passed away. Me? I'm your father, Masaaki Furuya, but for some reasons, I can't let anyone know you're my child yet, so...I'll arrange for someone to take care of you, and money will be sent every month. You can continue living here."

"Doctor, I'm going to a very, very far place now. Goodbye, Zero-kun."

[Ah, you mean Elena, the Hell's Angel? That couple died a long time ago, leaving behind two daughters. Do you have a grudge against them too? Do you want their information? Let's trade, Bourbon.]

"Furuya, even after you graduate, please keep in touch, otherwise Hagi-chan will be really sad."

[At 10:45 AM on November 7th, a massive explosion occurred at the Asai villa. It is understood that the police dispatched a bomb disposal team known as the "Hagiwara Squad" to handle the bomb; unfortunately, it has been confirmed that the team leader, Hagiwara, was killed in action…]

"I told you I'd make it back safely. But you, you blond bastard, you're injured like this. How pathetic. Alright, alright, I have something very important to do tomorrow. Let's talk about your business another time. Goodbye."

[At 11:00 AM on November 7th, a massive explosion occurred on the Ferris wheel at Beika Shopping Plaza, resulting in the death of one police officer.]

"I'm sorry, Zero, they've discovered my identity as a police officer. Maybe I can only escape to the other world..."

[Scotland is confirmed dead. The killer is Ray. He stole the credit for taking down the undercover cop. Looks like you're a step too late, Bourbon.]

"Where are you now and what are you doing? Keep in touch with me from time to time."

[Officer Date? He died in a car accident a year ago, didn't he? He must have been exhausted from days and nights of lying in wait to arrest criminals, and then...]

"Zero-kun, please don't fight with others so often anymore. Take good care of yourself. It would be great if you could make some friends. It's okay, we can still keep in touch. I'll contact you after I move!"

[Miyano Akemi? She wanted to escape the organization with her sister, so it's only natural that she was killed by Gin.]

"Don't make that face. Maybe we're not enemies. I don't actually want to be your enemy, Bourbon."

[Ray really is dead. It seems even that FBI undercover agent couldn't escape Gin's pursuit.]

“Bourbon…”

[Sherry is dead. She couldn't possibly have survived an explosion like that. Good job, Bourbon.]

[Because the world has already taken away all the important people in your life, even without us, they would have left you one by one. This timeline dictates that you will fight alone.]

So, do you want to sign a contract with us?

Whether it's reversing time to go back to the past or bringing the dead back to life, we can do it.

[Congratulations to player Rei Furuya for successfully clearing the first save point.]

[You have been awarded the reward of reviving one person.]

【Use now?】

*

Rei Furuya jolted awake from his nightmare. He curled up, clutching his chest and gasping for breath. It took him several seconds to realize what had happened.

"...Is it a dream?" he murmured, raising the back of his hand to cover his eyes.

[This isn't a dream; it's a reward given to outstanding players after completing the game.]

[If you work hard enough, you can even bring back people who died before you reloaded your save file; it's an equal exchange.]

The demon's voice rang clearly in his mind.

So, who do you want to resurrect now?