Chapter 73: Quests Given by NPCs

"Hey, you're all employees of the same company? That's really tough, getting stuck in this place at a time like this."

Since the gray-haired researchers only needed to wait to wake up, and they were among the few patient families in Leibo Street who wouldn't cause trouble, the middle-aged doctor used mismatched cups to temporarily entertain his guests.

"At a time like this?" Gregor, sitting to the side, asked with some confusion.

"Don't you know? There's a huge monster in Yokohama right now."

As Dazai Osamu spoke, he curiously poked the red, bulging bell.

Upon noticing the anomaly, Li Xiang fixed his gaze on his former student and asked softly, "Dazai-kun, how old are you this year?"

The boy paused, and Mori Ougai also stopped pouring tea, asking in a somewhat ambiguous tone:

Is there a problem with this child's age?

“It’s just strange,” Li Xiang said, glancing at the calendar on the table. It showed Tuesday. “Doesn’t he need to go to school today?”

“Now I’m sure you’re not really from Yokohama,” the thin child, whose hands were wrapped in bandages, laughed. “Judging from the current situation, most schools are probably closed, and people with money will probably move away from Yokohama.”

"That's why Dr. Mori is wondering why we're here."

The supervisor subconsciously rubbed the personality card in his pocket.

He currently only has two people at his disposal: Li Xiang and Gregor. He and Abram are purely clerical workers and can be relied upon at all.

However... he didn't know if his sinners could be summoned when he crossed worlds.

Let's try it sometime.

The gray-haired man lying on the hospital bed made some slight noises; Abram had woken up.

He turned to look at X, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and asked, "Have you seen Carmen?"

The black-haired youth nodded and helped himself up, feeling dejected.

Some things are better said when you're alone, at least when there are no outsiders around, especially when those two ill-intentioned "former employees" are secretly eyeing this place.

No one knows what kind of work they do in this world; they are filled with suspicion and distrust of the outside world.

Mori Ougai waved his hand: "Your companions are just resting here for a bit, they don't need to pay."

Watching the group leave, the Port Mafia boss, now stripped of his benevolent doctor persona, asked his student:

"Dazai-kun, what do you think of these people?"

"They lack vigilance and possess some fighting skills, but those two people with golden eyes are purely non-combatants."

The boy twirled a gilded card in his hand, a slightly amused smile on his face: "I wonder when Mr. X will realize that his things are missing."

The answer is immediately.

The supervisor, who had just stepped out the door, discovered that one of his personality cards was missing—the most important one. Honglu's card was gone; that was the tuner's card! All of them stacked together wouldn't even be enough to cover the difference between Honglu's and Honglu's cards with a single finger.

He handed Abram over to Gregor and hurried back to the somewhat dilapidated clinic.

What came into view was... a long-haired tuner standing there, wearing a black and gold cloak, and Dazai Osamu sitting on the ground.

Before the mischievous kid could even warm the card in his hand, the child demonstrated what it meant to make a person appear out of thin air. The metal box seemed to flash for a moment before transforming into a long-haired man wearing a fur cloak.

At a time like this, Dazai Osamu was actually thinking that the last intact table in Mori's clinic had also been destroyed, and that the Port Mafia's financial situation was now one step closer to deficit.

The supervisor's focus was completely different from his; he didn't care about the doctor's desk, he only cared about the coordinator in front of him.

It's over.

Without companies, how can we compete?

Inside the room, Dazai Osamu, sitting on the floor, looked at his empty hands and the person in front of him, and let out a genuine "Wow!"

The long-haired young man who suddenly appeared looked around the room and asked the only person who looked somewhat familiar, "Where is he?"

"who?"

Dazai Osamu realized that the other person actually knew him, and became even more interested.

"manager."

The tuner, or rather Binah, as a personality that was taken over by unorthodox methods, failed to synchronize the memories within "himself" and ultimately crashed and burned at that unremarkable research institute in the suburbs.

X then heard Jarrion call out "Supervisor," and the tone of his voice...

"Binah?"

You've already gone through the non-standard version of the R&D department's core suppression, and you still managed to fail?

Bina? The imposing long-haired man in front of him actually had such a feminine name? Dazai Osamu was slightly surprised.

"I never expected to be back on the ground, don't you think?"

Binah used honorifics, but what he said was completely different.

“Well, you are not that person, and I am not yours either. It’s good that you can come out, but,” the head of the research and development department of the other world glanced at Dazai Osamu, his azure eyes gleaming with an inorganic light, “you should also be more vigilant, especially when you don’t have anyone you can use.”

Honglu is very aggressive.

Mori Ougai looked distressed: "Mr. X, this is the only intact table I have here."

Now your people have broken my table, what are you going to do about it?

Having understood the implication, X subconsciously took out a card, then his movements froze slightly.

If this world is not his original world, can his original card still be used?

He's out of money?! The energy company executive is out of money?!

“You seem to be in trouble,” whispered the demon, the head of research and development from another world. “Do you need me to remove the obstacle?”

Sensing that things were going a bit wrong, Mori Ougai said, "Don't tell me you're planning to kill me over a cheap table?"

"Wait, I have some more here."

The supervisor still had some loose change in his magic pocket. He had forgotten when he put it in, but there was still some left. He wouldn't order his employees to commit such a tragedy just because he couldn't afford to pay for the table.

Thank you, banknotes are universally accepted.

Realizing that the person opposite him was in financial straits, the new leader of the Port Mafia had an idea. Although he didn't have much money either, in the current chaotic situation, it wouldn't be a bad thing to do to curry favor.

"By the way, Mr. X, do you accept commissions? I can provide payment."

Recently, a lot of inexplicable things have happened, causing them to lose a lot of people. It's also a good opportunity to see what's going on with these people.

Looking at the middle-aged doctor across from him with the few coins he had, X wanted to ask, "You can't even afford a new table, so why are you so confident that you can pay the commission?"

“Yokohama has been really unsafe lately,” the doctor said, stuffing money into his pocket. “I heard that something terrible has happened on the other side of the city. You see, my little clinic doesn’t have a single customer, and it’s about to go out of business.”

"If you could help me solve this, I'm sure my business would improve."

NPC Mori Ougai has issued a mission to Mr. X, the manager of Lobotomy Corporation from another world. Do you accept?

X patted his head. This wasn't a hallucination; a gentle female voice was really speaking in his head!

Okay, since you remain silent, it is assumed that you have accepted the task.

The moment Carmen's voice disappeared from X's mind, Mori Ougai's expression changed. As if he had heard X's response, he happily handed him a map and warmly saw them off.

Dazai Osamu watched this somewhat strange scene with a blank expression. He was certain that the person named X had not said a word, but Mr. Mori seemed to have received an answer... Psychic ability?

But is it really necessary? All you need to do is give an answer.

Mori Ōgai had just handed over the hot potato when he noticed his student looking at him with a very strange expression.

"What's wrong, Dazai-kun?"

The boy gave an irrelevant answer: "Mr. Mori, were you just talking about the monster that appeared in the old town?"

"Yes, it would be best if they could solve it, but it doesn't matter if they can't."

They were just strangers anyway, so it wouldn't be a pity if they died.

“But…” Mori Ougai rubbed his temples, “This is difficult. If only these people could handle that monster.”

"You and Chuuya-kun absolutely must not go to the old town."

His purple eyes stared at Dazai Osamu, who was still sitting on the ground, his expression more serious than ever before. This was his biggest hand, and he absolutely could not afford to make a mistake.

“Hongye told me that none of the lower-level members who went there survived.”

"Were they all parasitized?"

"That's right. The only one who came back alive, Oshima-kun, also had his throat torn open by the monster three days later, causing quite a bit of chaos in the medical department. In the end, it was Kouyou-kun who led the people to quell the chaos."

"Didn't they say that the Special Abilities Division sealed off the old city? How are they going to get in?"

...

In fact, it was a one-way barrier; you could enter but not leave. However, a normal person would not have the crazy idea of ​​going in, since it was a real hell on earth, teeming with monsters.

X, who wasn't a normal person, stood in front of the barrier with the equally abnormal head of the R&D department. Looking at the worker bees flying around inside and the queen bee as big as a small mountain, they didn't know what to say for a moment.

Why is the queen bee here?

He sent the two sinners to stay with Abram. If even Binah's personality, Honglu, couldn't resolve this incident, then adding the two of them probably wouldn't be of much use. It would be better to keep an eye on the other self first.

What if he somehow gets another golden branch, and the Comic Train crashes into him again?

"Let's go," the golden-eyed young man said, plunging headfirst into the blood-stained swarm of bees.

The long-haired youth gave a cryptic smile and followed him inside.

"They really went in."

Having removed the white coat that symbolizes a doctor, Mori Ougai sat in his office listening to the intelligence relayed by the low-level personnel deployed in the old city.

"Yes, Chief, they went in without any hesitation."

The boy standing outside the door waited for the intelligence department members who had given the report to leave before sauntering into the leader's office.

“That Mr. X seems to know the monster inside,” said Dazai Osamu, who was holding an earphone. “I heard him call it, ‘Queen Bee.’”

"The Queen Bee? That's an accurate name. Dazai-kun, it seems Yokohama is about to change."

X, who recognized the monster yet still dared to enter, did he have some trump card he wasn't revealing? Or was it that he was the one who released the monster?

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Author's note: X: I never imagined that one day I would find myself in a situation where I have no money to spend.

Carmen: I've already agreed for you, you're welcome.

Dazai Osamu: Nobody's saying anything? Is Mr. Mori getting old and hallucinating?