Chapter 172: Let’s unite!
In many games, there's always this kind of plot: an NPC friend who's been with the player through thick and thin sacrifices themselves for justice/ideals/saving the world/saving humanity, or simply to save the protagonist, leaving the player feeling even worse than if they had died themselves.
...After all, if you fail, you can always play again or reload the game, but if an NPC dies or disappears, you often can't survive - there are even games where almost all NPCs are dead, and important NPCs who have accompanied the protagonist for several chapters can die again, and die as deadly as possible, making countless players wail and cry.
Chaomu had played many similar games and had fallen for them many times, so he remained relatively calm when he heard the news of Hagiwara Kenji's death.
...Compared to those mobile games where whether an NPC can be resurrected after death depends entirely on the planner's mood, in this kind of game that can save and load the game, the probability that an NPC will definitely die is still relatively low...Most of the time, players can change the plot line through their own efforts and achieve a happy ending.
But all the other miscellaneous things are false. What gives Chaomu the most confidence is... She had played the previous game of the same company before. It was okay in the early stage. Although it was thrilling, everyone was still alive. But in the later stage of the main storyline, teammates were dead everywhere on the road.
And she! A hardworking and brave player! Relying on superb skills and...repeated reloads! She successfully saved everyone! And achieved the "Everyone Survived" achievement!
The most challenging character to rescue was the kind red-haired NPC who had played with her in the game. She was murdered by the idiot plotter before anyone could even begin to explore the mechanics of the boss. Although the rescue process was difficult and the game was stuck for over half a month, she ultimately managed to rescue the red-haired princess from the storyline.
All in all, the player has extensive SL experience and is very good at being a rescue dog... rescuing raccoons.
"So, exactly when did Hagiwara-kun pass away today?" She rummaged through her notebook, inquiring about the deceased's circumstances with a scientific and rigorous attitude. "Afternoon, evening? Any specific time?"
She had to research what was going on—at least when she and Blackface had just returned to the fighting arena, Hagiwara was definitely still alive. She'd check the saved data...
…It was hellish, but at a time like this, the ability to save freely was the real advantage of the monthly membership. She had saved several games before and after that, and now she could load them back at any time, saving her from having to work for an extra day.
The player herself was so confident, Matsuda Jinpei thought she was crazy—games, save files, resurrection, what did she take the real world for? The dead couldn't be resurrected, so how could Hagi possibly come back...?
Just like what Hagi said, this kid is like this, it seems like he always has an innocence that ordinary people don't have, and he always has the hot-blooded spirit of "you can do anything as long as you work hard" in the orthodox comics... But the reality is not the orthodox comics. When people die, they are dead. They will not be resurrected just because the protagonist shouts a few words of friendship or bond... These people are not the protagonists either, they are just a group of passers-by.
The anger surged into his brain almost instantly. For a moment, looking at those eyes, Matsuda just wanted to get angry.
But who was he venting his anger on? Her? Or himself, powerless? If only he were the kind of protagonist who could bring his friends back to life by citing the bonds of friendship... If only Hagi could actually come back.
But he wasn't—Hagi was really dead! Why did he have to force himself to accept this ending over and over again, while the guy in front of him was still talking nonsense...!
He wanted to roar at her, to pound this cruel reality into her head, which seemed always to be inappropriately naive.
"...Researching this is meaningless for you." But in the end, the curly-haired young man just pressed her shoulders tightly, his knuckles turning white. He suppressed all his emotions and tried to appear mature. "You are not a police officer. There is no need to review this..."
Grow up, Jinpei Matsuda, and stop taking it out on an innocent child. Her reaction might just be some kind of... self-healing method in the face of a drastic change she's unwilling to accept. Think about how Hagi would have comforted her? She's barely twenty, still young, and it's inevitable she's never experienced anything like this...
He felt like his emotions were about to collapse, and by the end, he felt that his words were empty and powerless. He couldn't even convince himself, so how could he convince her?
As expected, Chaomu didn't flinch, nor was she "comforted" by him. She simply tilted her head back and looked at him stubbornly, without a wavering look in her eyes.
"For me, this is a game." Her voice was not loud, but very clear. "In my game, as long as I don't want to, important people don't have to die."
"Isn't your intuition very accurate, Matsuda? Believe me, this is the only thing you need to do now. Tell me the specific time and the location of the bombs, and I will go back to rescue Hagiwara-kun."
The game…intuitive.
Jinpei Matsuda's confused mind was buzzing.
Yes, intuition. His intuition had been blasting him from the first day he saw this girl, telling him she was dangerous, she was strange, she was definitely not an ordinary person. But his intuition also told him she meant no harm.
And now, his intuition, which he was so proud of and had saved his life countless times in front of bombs, was screaming with an unprecedented intensity - trust her.
Yes, this little ghost... has been so strange since the beginning. She can pull out all kinds of things from thin air, live in strangers' homes as if nothing happened, and appear anywhere like a ghost. She always mutters about "missions", "NPCs", "favorability"...
The idea that "the world is a game" is ridiculous and unbelievable, but...
What if?
What if what she said was true?
The thought was ridiculous, yet like a vine growing from the edge of a cliff, it entangled his falling heart. He had already lost once, so what could happen? If there was a chance, even a billionth of a chance, to bring Hagiwara back, he would seize it without hesitation, even if it meant selling his soul to the devil.
Besides, he didn't actually have to pay any price. He just had to tell her the information... and Hagi would come back. That's what she promised.
"Around two o'clock in the afternoon, the first bomb exploded. Hagi stayed behind to investigate. The location was on the xxth floor of the commercial district shopping center. They eventually discovered that there was an unexploded bomb in the men's restroom on the third floor of the Beihu Shopping Center... in the ceiling mezzanine of the last cubicle. I went to Beihua Hospital, and another team went to the station. From the various investigations after receiving the report at noon, we learned that this group of criminals chose places with a lot of people."
He heard his voice calm down and narrate the case in the same tone as usual.
"I successfully apprehended two suspicious individuals at Mihua Hospital. The police are surrounding and negotiating with those at the station."
The public security people... should be the colleagues arranged by Xiao Heimian and Scotland.
Remembering the information he had overheard under the sofa, Chaomu recalled it and roughly understood the reason for the matter: it seemed that he had heard them say that terrorists were planning an attack and the public security needed to impose martial law or something like that...
"So the siege and negotiations failed?" She mentally despised the professionalism of the Japanese-affiliated agencies. It felt like there weren't any reliable, respectable people there besides Officer Megure, Officer Aida, Matsuda Hagiwara, and Scotch Bourbon—and even the latter two weren't really respectable. Hadn't they taken precautions? How could the public security system have let something like this slip up?
"The police had originally reached an agreement with the criminals, who agreed to disarm the bomb upon receiving a ransom. The station staff thought they had the situation under control..." Matsuda Jinpei's voice was strained, "...but at the last moment, they suddenly changed their minds."
When he said this, his fists clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms. "I don't know if it was because he saw the helicopter broadcasting the news, or if it was just out of malice... The main culprit laughed wildly on the phone and said, 'You will all be buried with the head of the family and the young master,' and then detonated all the bombs... including the one Hagi was dismantling."
"Hagi... was still in the shopping mall building at the time. He stayed in order to dismantle the most complex bomb... and most of his team..."
Apart from the most crucial clue, Chaomu could no longer hear what was said next - her attention was completely attracted by the arrogant remarks of the main culprit.
...What was this, a plot of ill-conceived pleasure? The Hyakkikai launched an attack to find someone to bury with her in honor of the young master of the family she had killed. The bomb killed her best friend, Kenji Hagiwara...
What a closed loop.
Chaomu felt as if he was pinned to the ground and laughed at by the planner.
To avenge Scotland and Bourbon for deceiving her, she chose to take off her vest and confront them instead of completing the special bomb disposal mission. This action caused her to miss the best opportunity to save Hagiwara Kenji. Hagiwara's death was caused by the remnants of the Hyakkikai seeking revenge for their leader, whom she had killed... In a twist and turn, all the cause and effect swirled back to her.
What is this? A classic case of player behavior leading to the death of an NPC?
The nameless anger in the player's heart suddenly burned from the bottom of his heart to the top of his head.
In her heart, she cursed the planner for being so cunning and deceitful that he tricked people into opening a monthly membership card just to save and load files, and decided that she would definitely not renew the monthly membership card next month. At the same time, she honestly thought that the pet column was also very cost-effective, and she knew in her heart that she would have to renew the membership card next month.
…This crappy game better make sure Hagiwara-kun can be rescued…otherwise she’ll definitely flood the complaint mailbox.
"I roughly understand the situation - rescuing him is a piece of cake." With a burning hatred towards the Hundred Demons Society and their plan, Chaomu clenched his fist and waved it at the curly-haired young man in front of him. "Just wait for our reunion next week, Matsuda-kun. This time, I will definitely eat your midnight snack!"
She checked the time. The standoff and fight with Scotland and Bourbon had lasted over an hour. By the time she'd gone back to the time when the vest was activated, she should have been in time to save the people. She'd go defuse the bomb, while sniper Scotland would find the culprit, and Bourbon would handle the negotiations...a perfect split.
As for how to convince them, Chaomu felt that letting them leave and expressing his desire to save the police should clearly demonstrate his position. Human life was at stake, and neither of those two seemed indifferent to the lives of their fellow justice workers.
She patted Matsuda's shoulder and decisively clicked back. Matsuda Jinpei's pupils widened slightly as he watched the girl's figure in front of him twist and disappear in front of him: "...Wait...No way...?"
Could it be...
...What is it?
What was he suddenly thinking about?
"Officer Matsuda! Come over here! A bomb has been found!"
The afternoon sun stung people's eyes and also woke up Jinpei Matsuda from his distraction.
A strange feeling, a mixture of extreme sadness and surprise, still lingered in his mind, causing him to instinctively take out his phone and dial a number: "...hagi..."
Is he here?
The voice that came from the other end of the line was Hagiwara Kenji's usual cheerful voice with a slightly rising ending tone: "Hey, Jinpei-chan, what's wrong? You missed me so soon? I just finished one here and was about to go to the next location."
Jinpei Matsuda's mind went blank.
The sharp pain of "loss" lingering in his nerve endings had not completely dissipated, but the voice coming from the phone was a familiar and vivid voice.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. The sun, the sound of the wind, the calls of his colleagues—everything seemed distant and unreal. The only real thing was the voice of Xiaojun Ran in his ears and the firm promise the girl made before she disappeared in his mind.
"...Nothing." He finally squeezed out a few dry syllables from his throat, his voice so hoarse that it didn't sound like his own. "...Idiot, don't die."
"Eh? You're looking down on someone by saying something like that all of a sudden?" On the other end of the line, You Xunran's voice was quite confident, "Don't worry, Xiao Zhenping, I'm sure I'll be fine. You should be careful too, okay? We still have to go back home to have a midnight snack with Xiao Chaomu tonight."
Hearing this name, Matsuda Jinpei's mood suddenly became more complicated.
He suddenly found that he also wanted to see her, just like the promise he had made with her in the past, which he had forgotten...the promise to work hard together.
Where's that kid now? Do you remember to be careful? Don't do anything dangerous...
…………
"...Even if you're the eldest daughter of a Vongola family, you'll encounter some... 'dangerous situations'."
The words rolled over Furuya Rei's tongue, carrying an eerie sense of familiarity, as if he had said them only moments ago. He could even sense what he was going to say next, a feeling that sent chills down his spine.
What frightened him even more was that he saw the same pain in the eyes of Xiao Xunran opposite him - in that moment just now, they almost felt indescribable sadness at the same time, as if they had lost something important and urgently needed to recover it.
Chaomu didn't know what they were thinking, nor did she have time to delve into the differences between this replay and the previous ones. Time was pressing, so she chose to get straight to the point: "I guess I'm not the one in danger right now? I've heard that the remnants of the Hundred Demons Society are carrying out attacks everywhere."
"I've dealt with those guys before. They seem to believe in some strange religion. This time, they're here to bury their young master and patriarch alive." "Normal negotiation tactics won't work. They won't give up until they make some big news... and I don't intend to let them succeed at all."
"The Vongola intelligence network is stronger than your Public Security Bureau. To protect the safety of the public and the police, and for the sake of love and justice... will you join forces with me, Mr. Public Security?"
...to save people.
Zhu Fujingguang's eyes flickered slightly as he looked at his childhood sweetheart, with obvious hesitation in his eyes.
"...zero." He spoke with difficulty, his voice hoarse.
No further words were needed. At that moment, Rei Furuya made his decision.
His reason told him that this was absurd, that this might be a trap carefully designed by the enemy to throw them off balance. But the grief that came from the depths of his soul, as if he had experienced it personally, overwhelmed all rational analysis.
He would rather risk everything to verify a false lie than bear the one in ten thousand chance that it was true.
The blond young man finally released his grip on her.
"Tell me your plan." He took a step back and finally said something harsh that didn't sound very public. "If you dare to play tricks on us... I guarantee that even the identity of a Vongola lady won't be able to protect you."
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The author has something to say: Let's unite! We will become two breads and cheese sandwiches!
After taking medicine and regulating my condition, my menstrual period, which had not come for almost half a year, finally came. Although my condition was very bad (my originally slightly better condition got worse again and it got worse), I was very touched... After all, if it didn't come again, I would feel like I was going to die.
(And then because the typhoon passed by, my rental house is located in a windy area and has a shed that looks like an iron structure. When the wind blew, it made a loud clanging noise. I couldn't sleep for two days. Now I'm holding my stomach and staring blankly. It's so painful, I feel like I'm going to die (cheerful))
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