Chapter 118, Twenty-Third Cycle (1)
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"Zero, how did it go? Did it work?"
Rei Furuya had gradually gotten used to the aftereffects of the poison burning his internal organs, and since only he died, he didn't feel any psychological pressure, pain, or regret. He immediately came to his senses and started telling Hiro about his failures in the previous three playthroughs.
“Although I failed,” he steadied his breathing, “it’s okay. I’ll definitely succeed this time. Because I’ve gathered information on almost every possible reason for failure, and the ending from the last playthrough was also a CG that said ‘Failure at the Last Step,’ indicating that I was just one step away from success…”
Morofushi Kagemitsu was taken aback, then immediately realized that the answer he gave was not about Matsuda's death, but about his own.
He didn't ask any more questions, but simply put down his sniper rifle, sat down next to his childhood friend, held his cold hand, and listened quietly as he recounted all his previous failures.
After finishing talking about the last playthrough, Furuya Rei stared at him nervously and immediately continued to explain: "It was November 15th, only eight days before the save point, so the world after my death would probably only last for about half an hour, at most no more than an hour, instead of the maximum 12-hour buffer time caused by restarting for too long."
As far as he knows, Hiro's longest memory cycle is over five months, and the buffer time for the world restarting for five months is 12 hours.
Hiro's shortest memory is the ten minutes he spent jumping off the building to commit suicide; the buffer for restarting is one minute.
Therefore, it is tentatively concluded that the world restart will take a minimum of one minute and a maximum of twelve hours. There is not enough data to determine the exact timeframe, but the approximate range can still be determined.
“The organization will prioritize investigating my death during that half hour, and Hiro and Akai will help, so by the time they refocus their attention on Gao Ming, the world will probably have restarted,” Furuya Rei explained rapidly. “So Gao Ming probably won’t suffer any consequences…”
“Zero.” Morofushi Kagemitsu hugged him, feeling incredibly heartbroken and sad. “I know, I know. Zero, don’t take all the responsibility on yourself. You’ve done your best, really. No one will blame you. No one could have done better than you.”
Rei Furuya fell silent, slowly burying his head in his shoulder. After several seconds, he whispered, "I know. Even though I know, I still can't help but care. Takaaki-nii wouldn't have had to go through something like that..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu's eyelashes trembled slightly.
He was also... Whether it was the time when the class monitor, Hagiwara, and Matsuda were implicated, or this time when Komei was implicated, even though he has no memory of it now, just hearing Zero's simple description is enough to make his heart ache and feel suffocated.
He even wavered for a moment.
If his survival would inevitably lead to a butterfly effect that causes the world lines to converge, endangering the lives of everyone important to him, then he might as well...
Of course, this thought only occurred to him subconsciously for a moment before he immediately suppressed it.
You can't think like that. Zero, who has been through the most hardship and pain, hasn't given up yet. How can he think like that?
This not only breaks the promise not to abandon Zero, but it will also make everyone angry... Everyone is working hard, how can we just give up like this?
"It's alright, it's alright." Morofushi Kagemitsu and his childhood friend leaned on each other, drawing warmth from one another. "We've already gathered so much information, we're sure to succeed this time. Preparing early will prevent everyone from getting involved. After all, they weren't originally part of this calamity, so as long as we take precautions, we can avoid it."
This time, they will be fully prepared.
*
November 7th.
A Scottish defector was identified as a police mole, and the organization launched a full-scale manhunt, which was ultimately succeeded in killing him by Bourbon.
November 11th.
Bourbon and Rye passed the investigation and were released from the solitary confinement room, and the whiskey group was completely disbanded.
November 15th.
Rei Furuya sat in the car until midnight without receiving a single call.
The blond youth slumped over the steering wheel, letting out a long sigh of relief as his nerves, which had been tense for days, finally relaxed temporarily.
He got out of the car, stretched his stiff body, and went back to his room to sleep.
After washing up, Rei Furuya stared at the blond, dark-skinned young man in the mirror, who still looked serious and frowning.
The person in the mirror seemed to be saying to him: Did you succeed? Is it really that simple? That's Hiro, your most important childhood friend. Can you really get through this so easily?
The magic of cherry blossoms truly exists, and a miracle has befallen him.
But the greater the hope, the greater the despair.
Have his current hopes and despair been enough to offset each other?
Furuya Rei didn't know; he could only take it one step at a time. The development of events was no longer possible to predict accurately; the world would only give rise to countless possibilities. He could only try to make the most comprehensive preparations he could think of.
Within the convergence range of a world line, there will be hundreds of millions of world lines with different developments. Among them, there will definitely be a world line that can spread out of the convergence range, but at the same time, any tiny difference will become another world line.
Rei Furuya lay on the bed, pinching his brow in pain.
"Ding-dong—"
It's a specially configured email sound.
Rei Furuya immediately picked up his phone and opened it.
Everything is fine and things are progressing smoothly.
Zero, go to bed early and don't forget to rest.
Even though I'm not here to supervise you, you still need to take good care of your body, okay?
Don't overwork yourself, or I'll be very worried.
——Hiro】
A smile unconsciously appeared on the blond youth's face. He rolled over on the bed and typed a reply earnestly while lying down.
It's already 1:30 AM, how did Hiro know I wasn't asleep?
Of course I know everything about Zero. Even if we're separated, things will still be the same, so don't think you can do whatever you want just because I'm not around.
[I know, Hiro, don't worry. I understand that rest is also part of the job. Maintaining peak mental and physical condition is essential to cope with all difficulties. Besides, I have a lot of experience with how to fall asleep quickly.]
Seriously, Zero, you have to keep your word.
Okay, okay, Hiro too. Don't worry too much about me. Your situation is the most important. Get some rest. Goodnight.
Goodnight, Zero. (To you too.)
After chatting with his childhood friend, Rei Furuya felt much better.
"Goodnight," he said to his phone with a smile.
*
November 22nd, 11 PM.
Before going to sleep, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was already adept at removing his disguise, glanced at the calendar.
Tomorrow is their statutory holiday, Thanksgiving, also known as "Day of Thanksgiving for Hard Work," while the day after tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States.
Influenced by American culture, they generally celebrate Thanksgiving on these two days.
The November 23rd holiday is typically celebrated with various events across the country, the most famous being Nagano Labor Day. This event encourages reflection on the environment, peace, and human rights; elementary school students create drawings for the holiday and present them as gifts to local police officers as a token of gratitude.
November 24th is basically a day for young people to have fun and celebrate, and bustling cities often host costume parades and shopping sprees, as well as traffic congestion caused by people rushing to reunite with their families.
Whether it was the special location in Nagano, the gift to thank the local police, or the dangerous environment that would require the police to maintain order amidst the crowds, everything made Morofushi Kagemitsu somewhat uneasy.
Most importantly, there's a big sign hanging under the calendar for November 24th that reads "Unsuitable for all activities".
Morofushi Kagemitsu frowned slightly. A few days ago, he had talked with Zero about the possibility that the system might cause trouble during this holiday.
That is indeed a possibility, which is why Rei Furuya was prepared long ago.
Although it's Thanksgiving, police officers maintaining order can actually be in greater danger during large-scale celebrations and amusement events.
Moreover, the police receive not only gratitude, but also retaliation from the prisoners and their families.
Fortunately, nothing serious happened to anyone until at least November 23.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had been carefully and nervously watching the four policemen, breathed a sigh of relief. Although the squad leader, Hagiwara, Matsuda, and Takaaki had all encountered a lot of cases and dangers that day, they had already been warned and knew everything, so they managed to resolve them safely on their own.
Morofushi Takamichi even received a bomb as a form of "gratitude," and his keen sense of danger prevented a tragedy from occurring.
But it was this dangerous bomb that led to Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had secretly gone to follow and protect his brother, being discovered, and then being disliked and lectured.
"A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan."
Zhu Fu Gaoming frowned slightly: "Jingguang, you've lost some of your rationality and composure. You're in the most danger right now, and you should prioritize your own safety. I can't hide, but you can temporarily hide in a safe place until December 7th is over. What if something happens while you're running around outside at a time like this? Does Zero know that you ran away?"
Zhu Fujingguang obediently lowered his head and listened to his brother's scolding, scratching his cheek embarrassedly to indicate that he would not do it again.
Actually, at first, he and Zero originally planned to have Gao Ming also hide away for a month, just like him.
After all, it was purely accidental that the organization discovered that Morofushi Takaaki and Scotland were brothers in the last cycle. But it was precisely because it was an accidental coincidence that it was even more difficult to guard against. It would be better to simply remind everyone in Nagano who had seen Morofushi Kagemitsu and then have Morofushi Takaaki hide for the time being.
However, Morofushi Takaaki disagreed.
First, he believed that since he knew the specific information, he could prepare for any unforeseen event, unless it was a predetermined fate that was 100% unavoidable. However, judging from their statements, his fate wasn't fixed at this particular time, so that seemed unlikely. Jingguang's death, on the other hand, was quite probable…
Secondly, suddenly changing his lifestyle, making a well-known police officer on duty suddenly disappear without a trace, would be very obvious, even with the best excuse. It might actually hasten the organization's attention to his relationship with Kagemitsu in Nagano, thus putting Zero at risk of exposure as well. It's not a good approach.
Therefore, the best approach is to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.
And indeed, it is now midnight on November 24th. Although there were several dangerous moments, and he even almost met Rum himself, who was pretending to be a homeless chef, Morofushi Takaaki cleverly and safely resolved the crisis in the end.
Therefore, the key now lies with Morofushi Kagemitsu.
After being scolded by his older brother, Morofushi Kagemitsu realized that he had been too nervous. His older brother was so capable, he should trust him more.
He planned to drive back to the secret underground shelter of the Public Security Bureau in a remote suburb of Tokyo.
It was a shelter specifically prepared for dangerous cases such as bombs that could not be solved. It was very secure, and even if an explosion occurred underground, no one on the surface would know.
However, before successfully returning to the shelter, Morofushi Kagemitsu suffered an accident.
On the crowded street, a car seemed to suddenly go berserk and was about to crash into the sidewalks and shopping plazas packed with people celebrating the festival.
If that car had continued at high speed and suddenly plunged into the densely packed crowd, one can easily imagine the horrific scene of corpses strewn everywhere and limbs flying in all directions.
Zhu Fujingguang's eyes widened, and before he could even think, his body reacted first, slamming on the gas pedal and crashing into the car.
The two cars collided violently and rolled over on the road beside them, the loud noise causing people who had narrowly escaped a terrorist attack to scream instantly.
Morifushi Kagemitsu forcefully slammed open the twisted car door, clutched his injured right arm, and dragged his badly injured right leg several meters away from the vehicle that was about to explode.
Amidst the flames of the explosion, Morofushi Kagemitsu caught his breath, quickly looked up to assess the situation, seized an opportunity, and dragged his injured foot into the alley behind the crowd, escaping before the police and more people could gather around.
He ran into the most secluded and deserted dark alley, but at a corner he met the gaze of a silver-haired man smoking in the dark alley.
Morofushi Kagemitsu froze, clearly seeing Gin's expression change from indifference to surprise, then to a sneer and excitement, as he pulled a gun from his clothes.
Zhu Fujingguang raised his hand to touch his face and discovered that the disguise had been lost in the car accident.
"Zero, I'm sorry..."
[Morokushō Kagemitsu has died.]
[Achieve the Bad Ending: World Line Convergence - Death of Morofushi Kagemitsu]
When Morofushi Kagemitsu reappeared as a ghost, he was right next to Furuya Rei. Judging from his expression, it was clear that he had received his death notice.
However, it didn't make much difference, because Furuya Reiichi ran around the corner and saw the scene of his death the next second, as the other party had been watching his movements all along.
In that dark alley where he couldn't escape, the blond youth was being held at gunpoint by Gin.
Vodka, who had been following Gin, and Lei, who had just finished off their target and rushed over to join Gin, stood silently to the side, their expressions a mixture of surprise and complexity.
“Bourbon, do you have anything to explain?” Gin stared coldly at the blond youth who was completely ignoring them as they knelt down to examine the Scottish body, pointing his gun at the youth’s head. “Or, do you have any last words?”
"Zero!" Morabushi Kagemitsu instinctively stood between them, but he knew very well that his ghostly body couldn't stop the bullets.
“There’s nothing to say.” Bourbon didn’t turn his head, his voice calm. “It’s just that I don’t want to die by your hand, Gin.”
Morofushi Kagemitsu realized something and immediately turned around and ran to him.
“zero…”
Morofushi Kagemitsu saw that the blond youth couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood, his body swayed slightly, and finally collapsed on his corpse.
You are dead.
[End of 23rd playthrough]
[Resulting in a Bad Ending: Fish Collapse and Birds Separate]
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You have started your 24th playthrough.
"Zero, how did it go? Did you succeed?"
"..."
Rei Furuya took a deep breath, looked at his childhood friend who was alive and well in front of him, remained silent for two seconds, and shook his head: "It failed, but... although it was an accident, it was not entirely unavoidable. It's just that Hiro will probably have to stay in the basement for a whole month without going out."
After saying that, he realized what was happening and calmly began to explain from the beginning: "Matsuda's death challenge has been successfully overcome; now it's Hiro's. Under the convergence of world lines, I have already reincarnated..."
He paused briefly, then told the truth: "Four times."
Morofushi Kagemitsu's usually steady hand trembled slightly, and he almost lost his grip on the sniper rifle.
When he regained his memories of the previous timeline from his dream, Morofushi Kagemitsu felt even more distressed and guilty.
After successfully faking his death, Morofushi Kagemitsu stayed in a shelter in the Public Security Bureau's secret underground base.
Everything was fine until December 7th.
Then, the earthquake occurred.
Even underground shelters that could withstand explosions could not survive such a massive earthquake, and Morofushi Kagemitsu had to run out.
Fortunately, this was a remote mountainous area, so the casualties were not particularly serious.
Even though it wasn't very serious, it still caused a large number of innocent casualties.
Morofushi Kagemitsu's hands trembled as he thought in disbelief, "Is it possible for anyone who isn't a main character to have their life or death decided so arbitrarily? Could the system and the world really go to such an outrageous degree to kill me? And if I'm still alive, what will happen next? A tsunami? A meteorite? ???"
Before his breathing could return to normal, he felt a sharp pain in his heart and collapsed to the ground, only then realizing that he had been sniped.
His disguise was destroyed in the earthquake, and he was discovered by organized people outside.
Yet another ridiculous "accident".
"Zero, I'm sorry..."
[Morokushō Kagemitsu has died.]
[Achieve the Bad Ending: World Line Convergence - Death of Morofushi Kagemitsu]
Morofushi Kagemitsu squatted on the ground, holding the body of his childhood friend who had committed suicide. He subconsciously tried to push Rai away and go forward to examine Bourbon's hands, but the ghost could do nothing and could only watch as Rai placed his hands on Bourbon's body and examined them carefully.
Lei remained silent for several seconds before turning to look at Gin and Chianti behind him.
“Bourbon is dead,” he said.
You are dead.
[End of 24-week run]
[Result in a Bad Ending: Devastated Scales]
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You have started your 25th playthrough.
"Zero, how did it go? Did you succeed?"
It failed.
It failed.
But why?
Why did it fail?
Is faking death a dead end?
Can't faking death truly deceive the world?
Why did Morofushi Kagemitsu have to die?
No, no, it's impossible. He didn't believe it. He was determined to find a way to keep Hiro alive.
Instead of explaining to her anxious and worried childhood friend, Furuya Rei immediately started operating the computer.
This time, he tried to start by preventing the Scottish undercover agent's identity from being exposed.
Although it's difficult and the chances are slim, we should still give it a try.
November 7th, 12:10 PM.
Kazami Yuya, along with the Public Security Bureau, quietly apprehended all the undercover agents and traitors they had discovered, and captured Yoshizawa Takano. Using his phone, he sent a message to Rum, urgently adding that the intelligence he had received ten minutes earlier was incorrect.
That was false intelligence he obtained after falling into a trap. His undercover identity was discovered by the super hacker Sakura at some point, so he collaborated with the Metropolitan Police Department to create false intelligence in order to make people in the organization kill their own people.
As for why Scotland was chosen, it's obviously because they wanted to create bourbon.
If it weren't for the fact that saying Bourbon was an undercover agent would seem very fake without evidence, Sakura would have directly sent him the false information that Bourbon was an undercover police officer.
There was a more detailed explanation later, but the email was sent out as if the situation was so urgent that no more information could be written, and then the sender went missing, making it seem as if the sender had been arrested.
Rum was successfully fooled.
The intelligence that Scotland was an undercover agent was hard to verify, but it still aroused Rum's suspicion.
However, given that logically sound intelligence, coupled with the lack of evidence, even when Rum proposed directly brainwashing Scotland, the gentleman refused.
Rum's brainwashing methods had serious side effects. Although they were indeed very effective, the organization only used them when they were close to death during interrogations of confirmed moles and traitors.
Most of the time, after obtaining the intelligence, they also destroy the person's brain; even if the person doesn't die, they'll be turned into an idiot.
Treating Scotland that way without evidence would not only alienate the organization's members but also affect Bourbon and Ray.
Thus began a month-long review period for the Scotch, Bourbon, and Lyle whisky trio.
The primary target of the investigation was Scotland, with Bourbon and Rye being implicated due to their close relationship.
One month later.
December 7th, 11 PM.
Gin opened the door to the small dark room, followed by a group of men in black who were clearly Rum's men, all fully armed.
But Gin, unusually, did not show the disgust and annoyance he had shown before.
His gaze immediately fixed on Bo as soon as he entered, his eyes filled with surprise and malice.
“Bourbon, get up and come with me,” he said, as if to say, “I’m sending you on your way.”
“Wait, where are you taking Bourbon? What are you going to do with him? There’s still an hour left before the review period ends, right?” Scotland immediately stood up and asked.
Gin looked at him and suddenly smiled: "Okay, then you can come along too, Scotland."
That was a cruel smile about to tear its prey apart.
Bourbon stood up and pressed Scotland back into his chair: "Everything has to come in order, Scotland, don't rush, one at a time."
Scotland looked up and met his gaze.
The blond youth smiled and said, "I'll go first."
Gin just stared at them coldly, without saying a word.
About five minutes after the group left with Bourbon, the door to the small dark room was opened again.
Gin walked in looking annoyed: "Scottish, get up."
Scotland clenched his fist: "Where's Bourbon?"
“Dead.” Gin sneered.
Bourbon is cherry blossom, and he has been orchestrating his own deception of the organization with the police, so Scotland is also an undercover agent.
Rum gradually developed suspicions based on the intelligence he received on November 7th, and then proved them through various methods over the course of the month.
After Bourbon was imprisoned, no matter how big the event outside, Sakura never appeared.
When Bourbon's identity was exposed and he was about to be taken away for brainwashing, he bit off the poisonous fangs hidden in his mouth and committed suicide.
Having learned from past mistakes, Rum warned Gin to be careful not to let Scotland commit suicide as well.
But Scotland, with a speed that no one could react to, bent down and bit into the collar.
His collar was also coated with poison, and even though Gin immediately pried open his mouth and restrained him, he was unable to save him.
Lai stood there, feeling a chill run down his spine.
He looked down at the Scottish corpse, his expression momentarily blank.
You are dead.
[End of 25 playthroughs]
[Resulting in a Bad Ending: Moths to a Flame]
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You have started your 26th playthrough.
"Zero, how did it go? Did you succeed?"
"Failed..." the blond youth said, his head bowed, his voice barely audible, "Failed again..."
His voice was too soft, his throat too hoarse, and the few words he uttered were trembling, making it difficult to hear clearly given the bustling shopping plaza outside and the recent explosion.
Morofushi Kagemitsu was unsure and subconsciously asked, "What?"
"Akai..."
Now that he was closer, Morofushi Kagemitsu heard him clearly, but he was even more puzzled. He placed his hand on Akai's shoulder and asked softly, "Akai Shuichi? What's wrong with him?"
Rei Furuya remained silent for two seconds.
"Let's go and collaborate with Shuichi Akai."
Rei Furuya suddenly grabbed his hand, his face expressionless but his grip tight.
"If the Public Security Bureau and I alone cannot change the convergence of the world line after Hiro's death, then what about cooperating with the FBI?"
“But…” Morofushi Kagemitsu immediately realized that Matsuda had successfully survived his ordeal, and now it was his turn to face his own.
However, he was worried that Zero's method would change the main storyline by more than 2%, causing his childhood friend to die suddenly. He was also shocked and concerned about what Zero had gone through to take the initiative to cooperate with the FBI.
“No buts…” Furuya Rei’s hand suddenly fell limply again, his fingertips trembling slightly. “All other methods have failed, Hiro. The whole plan has failed.”
He hadn't felt this sense of powerlessness in a long time...
Rei Furuya took a deep breath and hardened his expression again before his childhood friend could say anything comforting. He calmly and earnestly explained, "It's not time to give up yet. This time the convergence of world lines is indeed more severe than ever before. But since Shuichi Akai is involved almost every single time, it probably proves that he is a key figure in this incident that he can't escape no matter what."
"Therefore, the breakthrough in Hiro's death throes is very likely with Shuichi Akai."
"Let's go find Shuichi Akai and cooperate with the FBI behind him."
"Is it really possible..." Morofushi Kagemitsu was a little worried.
“Okay!” Furuya Rei said through gritted teeth.
He'd pay any price to the FBI, as long as Hiro survives...
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