Chapter 130, Fifty-Seventh Cycle (2)
November 7th, 1 PM.
An underground bar owned by the organization.
"That bastard has definitely been hiding a lot of important things from us," Matsuda Jinpei asserted. "He's absolutely been doing a lot of dangerous things behind our backs, way too many, way too many!"
Currently disguised as "Bourbon," he needs to restrain himself from revealing the expression of "Matsuda Jinpei." He can only grit his teeth, clench his fists, and whisper, "Once this emergency is over, I'll pry open his mouth and make him spill everything!"
Morofushi Kagemitsu rested his chin on one hand, gently stroking the cold glass with the other. The noise of the bar and the flashing red and green lights did not enter his mind. He was still thinking about Zero. It took him two seconds to react after Matsuda finished speaking.
“Let’s wait for him to tell us himself.” Morofushi Kagemitsu looked down at the slowly swirling ice cubes in his glass. “He’s too tense. I don’t want to pressure him.”
“That guy who likes to show off needs to be pushed a bit, otherwise he will definitely keep hiding the truth from us under the pretense of ‘for our own good,’ even if he knows it’s wrong and feels guilty, he will still do it,” Matsuda Jinpei said calmly. “Of course, I’m not talking about now, I’m talking about asking him after this is all over.”
Morobuchi Kagemitsu hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pressure Zero; he would patiently watch Zero and wait for Zero to speak to him on his own initiative.
Because Zero doesn't want to talk about it, even if he really wants to know, he won't actually press him to tell him if Zero resists.
But this is no longer a normal situation; things have become so serious that they are affecting Zero's condition.
Why is Zero so skilled? Why does he know so much? How much blood and tears must have been shed to accomplish such a crazy, bold, and meticulously planned scheme?
Zero simply explained the plan to them and gave them a summary, but they were already racking their brains trying to figure it out. So how did Zero figure it out little by little through trial and error?
They originally had only a very vague concept of the world line rate of change and deviation value, and they did not have Rintaro Okabe's world line change measuring instrument.
So how exactly does Zero determine the specific values for every single thing that happens in a month?
If he had a good solution, there's absolutely no way he wouldn't have explained it to them.
His continued avoidance of this issue already demonstrates the seriousness of the matter.
Morofushi Kagemitsu clenched his fists tightly, lowered his head with patience, and pressed his fists hard against his forehead.
There are no other possibilities.
Those numbers are actually the experience Zero gained through repeated deaths and failures.
Morofushi Kagemitsu felt an overwhelming, suffocating pain and sorrow, along with a violent outburst of anger and heartache.
He couldn't imagine how many times Zero would have to try and retry to determine the specific world line shift values for each of the many dangerous events, big and small, over a whole month.
He used the speed of his own death and the intensity of his heart pain as tools to test the changes in the world line; he regarded himself as a human-shaped world line change rate measuring instrument.
Rei Furuya didn't even dare to tell them the specific number of reincarnations.
No one knows how much pain and despair Rei Furuya went through, or how much effort he truly put in and how many injuries he sustained.
Even Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was the reason for his reincarnation, was the same.
Why, why did he have to forget everything he went through with Zero? Why couldn't he keep those memories? Why can't he remember?!
Morofushi Kagemitsu pulled his trembling hands back under the table, clenched them tightly together, took a deep breath as Matsuda Jinpei asked him with concern, then returned to normal and shook his head, saying he was fine.
It's okay. Once things settle down, he'll ask him everything properly.
This time, Zero will absolutely not be allowed to run away again.
When a wound becomes so severe that it can no longer heal on its own, it must be forcibly removed and treated specifically.
*
On November 7, at 3 p.m., news of Rum's death reached the organization.
Rum died suddenly.
When the news broke, most people were incredulous, thinking it must be a joke, since that was the organization's second-in-command.
Rum's death was also very suspicious. No matter how much they investigated, they couldn't find out who killed him or why.
Although the organization's boss wanted to kill him, they had only just begun preparations when Rum died. They definitely needed to investigate the cause and find the killer.
However, in the end, the investigation revealed that there was only one prime suspect: the BOSS.
Secondly, there are Rum's other enemies.
Of course, the boss knew he hadn't killed him, but Rum had far too many enemies, having offended countless people both openly and secretly, making it impossible to investigate thoroughly.
Just on October 23rd, he had locked Vermouth, Gin, Vodka, Cohen, Chianti, Kiel, Ireland, Rye, Scotland, and Bourbon in the castle for a game that challenged people's mentality.
However, they all have alibis, and the game didn't warrant killing Rum to vent their anger, so it's completely illogical to suspect them of retaliating against Rum.
The investigation has reached a stalemate, but Rum's position is important, and he has left behind a lot of things, so managing and reorganizing the organization is still more important.
In any case, Rum's death is a good thing for the BOSS.
Rum's personality led to most of his men being brainwashed assassins without independent thought. His only confidant, Curaçao, was also in a special state due to a congenital head abnormality, belonging to the category of having only half of a self-awareness.
Therefore, dealing with Rum's power is actually quite simple.
However, Rum's individual power can be dealt with gradually, but the position within the organization that belongs to Rum cannot remain vacant for too long.
The position of head of the intelligence group must be taken over by someone.
In fact, apart from the research group, the other four departments of the organization are not clearly divided. They often work together when carrying out tasks, so everyone's capabilities are well understood.
There are many capable people in the organization, but most of them are too specialized or their personalities are not suitable for the position of intelligence team leader, so there are not many people to choose from, and they all have their own problems.
The boss is wary of capable veteran members, yet distrusts the abilities of new members.
After a period of testing and observation, the final candidates were gradually determined.
Vermouth won't do it; she doesn't want to.
Gin won't do; he's already in charge of the action group, so he can't have too much power.
Curaçao won't do; she's Rum's confidante and has been brainwashed by him. The boss doesn't trust her.
Pisco is no good; he's the next veteran figure the boss needs to deal with.
What about Bourbon? Bourbon won't work either; he's too difficult to manage, and he has other uses.
Let's go with Ray and Scotland. Their abilities are no less than Gin's, and they are very motivated. Their recent performances have been outstanding.
The boss originally intended to choose Laiyi.
Scotland and Bourbon are too entangled. He's usually very rational, but he easily goes crazy when it comes to Bourbon. It's a real shame.
Until Scotland betrayed Bourbon and defeated Rye to achieve the best result.
*
After Scotland became the head of the intelligence group, he became Bourbon's superior.
Although the codenamed members are basically on the same level, it's only "basically".
Apart from the veteran members, the status of other members depends entirely on whether the BOSS values them or not, and all power is granted by the BOSS.
Unlike Rum, Scotland is not the organization's second-in-command; he is simply responsible for managing and reporting the entire intelligence team and liaising with the BOSS, just like Gin.
Therefore, even though he is now Bourbon's boss, it is impossible for him to force Bourbon to do anything excessive.
Unless ordered by the BOSS.
But even so, it was unbearable for Bourbon. In addition, Scotland had completely tricked him and stolen his opportunity to take power. He was lucky he wasn't furious, so he couldn't possibly give Scotland a friendly look.
Scotland is very busy since taking office, and he can't afford to provoke Bourbon until he has secured his hard-won position. Logically, Bourbon would have to cause him some trouble.
Scotland was disappointed, and Morofushi Kagemitsu was also disappointed.
It's already December 1st. He thought he had finally succeeded in taking over, the most urgent matter was finally resolved, and he could finally relax and ask Zero in detail about reincarnation. He could start to address Zero's mental state issues, but it still wasn't working.
"Ding-dong—"
In the left pocket is a cell phone that Zero has encrypted and set up with a self-destruct program to contact the police.
After confirming that the surroundings were safe, Morofushi Kagemitsu took out the white phone and opened the pop-up chat window.
[WATARU (Class Leader): I've created a group chat. Join us and discuss Zero with us. We can't wait any longer; we need to take action.]
WATARU is Ida Aircraft, and the class monitor is a note.
Although they have taken precautions, they generally only address each other by nicknames when chatting online.
Even if it's a code name, isn't it a bad idea to create a group chat specifically to discuss undercover work? What if someone sees it and leaks Zero's identity?
[The class monitor invites you to join [ZERO Mental State Observation Diary]]
Morofushi Kagemitsu immediately clicked to join.
There wasn't even a moment's hesitation in that instant.
Hiro has joined the chat group.
There were already three people in the chat group called "ZERO Mental State Observation Diary". Now that Morofushi Hiromitsu has joined, only Furuya Rei himself is not in the group of five.
Of course, he can't discover this group for the time being.
After exchanging brief greetings, the four of them quickly began to seriously discuss business.
[Hagi-chan: How's Zero's mental state today?]
[Hiro: I can't see him right now, and I can't accurately assess his mental state based solely on online communication.]
[Squad Leader: Even you don't know? What did he tell you?]
[Hiro: It's the same as before. He said we can't relax yet, and that he knows everyone is worried. He said he'll explain everything properly to us after everything is over.]
[Mazda: Tsk, I don't believe him for a second! He's definitely just thinking about how to better cover up the past, right?!]
[Mazda: Can't we just rush over, grab him, and interrogate him?]
[Hiro: Let's wait a little longer. I'll be done with my work here in a few days and then I can go see Zero. According to the script, I can see him and spend more time with him then.]
[Squad Leader: The main problem is that Zero can't relax and feel at ease if he doesn't get past this save point. He'll be on edge every day he doesn't finish the game. If we forcefully break his state at this time, it will only do him harm.]
[Mazda: Ugh, this is so annoying! Time, please hurry up and pass!]
But time passed very slowly.
On December 3rd, when Morofushi Kagemitsu called to test the waters and discovered that Furuya Rei was still awake at 3 a.m., he finally couldn't hold back any longer.
However, he doesn't dare to get angry at Zero yet. Instead, he lowers his voice to coax him to sleep, making phone calls while supervising him as he sleeps.
With no other option, Furuya Rei lay down on the bed to get a few hours of sleep. Accompanied by the soft breathing of his childhood friend on the phone, he fell asleep within a minute, which shows just how tired he was.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, on the contrary, couldn't sleep at all.
[Hiro: Zero isn't sleeping again today. I feel his condition is really dangerous. We should try to find a way to ease his mind beforehand.]
This can't go on. Zero's condition is really serious. We need to work together to find a solution.
After much deliberation, Morofushi Hiromitsu finally confessed to everyone in the group chat that he and Zero had lied to each other about many things.
For example, Zero had already reincarnated 10 times during his time at the police academy.
However, he only has detailed memories of five reincarnations, and only has memories of five cycles.
So, including the one time Hagiwara died, and the two times Matsuda died, Furuya Rei had already gone through 13 cycles before his own death began.
[Hagi-chan: No, it's 17 times.]
Zhu Fujingguang's brow twitched.
[Hiro: What's going on?]
Hagiwara Kenji typed immediately with a solemn expression.
[Hagi-chan: I'm sorry, Zero and I also lied to everyone. Actually, four years ago, when I survived my near-death experience, I also possessed the memories of Zero's five reincarnations saving us. Zero reincarnated at least five times.]
At this point, all four people in the group fell into a brief silence.
what does that mean?
This means Rei Furuya is a repeat offender! He's been hiding the number of times they've been in the cycle for a long time!!!
Morofushi Kagemitsu and Hagiwara Kenji carefully reviewed the information and recounted all the details of their five playthroughs. They were both shocked by the pain, despair, and predicament they had endured, as well as everything that Furuya Rei had suffered.
Now, the four of them truly realized just how serious the situation was.
It's easy to imagine that once things are over, Furuya Rei, who had already prepared an excuse, will once again lie about the number of reincarnations and the details.
This time, there wasn't even anyone with the memories to share the burden with him.
Morofushi Kagemitsu and Hagiwara Kenji, the two accomplices, were severely reprimanded by Date Wataru and Matsuda Jinpei.
Afterwards, the four of them earnestly promised each other that they would not hide anything about Furuya Rei, that they would not ignore anything that seemed amiss, and that they would immediately share any discoveries in the group chat with everyone.
We must take Furuya Rei's psychological and mental problems very seriously; he is just too good at putting on a brave face and enduring hardship.
On this day, the four people in the 【ZERO Mental State Observation Diary】group chatted for a very long time, but in the end, only Morofushi Kagemitsu was able to carry out the plan.
The other three are now finding it difficult to even see Rei Furuya.
On December 7th, Morofushi Kagemitsu finally met his childhood friend whom he had been worried about for a long time.
The blond youth looked perfectly fine; if he concealed it carefully, even the most skilled psychologist probably wouldn't be able to detect anything amiss.
Fortunately, at least in front of Morofushi Kagemitsu, Furuya Rei is much more relaxed.
After Morofushi Hiromitsu and Rae finished rehearsing the final script together, he drove Rae home and pondered when he could bring up that matter with Zero.
But the closer it got to the end of December 7th, the more tense Rei Furuya became, and Morofushi Kagemitsu simply couldn't add anything more to his already strained state.
Whether it's good or bad, it will disrupt the last vestiges of balance that descent zero has been so painstakingly maintaining.
[ZERO's Mental State Observation Diary]
[Hiro: Zero is too nervous, I don't dare disturb him. Let's wait until the save is complete before talking.]
On December 7th, at 6 PM, Morofushi Kagemitsu and Furuya Rei started cooking.
On December 7th, at 7:30 pm, they finished dinner and cleaned the house together.
On December 7th, at 9 PM, after taking a shower, Morofushi Kagemitsu was blow-drying Furuya Rei's hair, who was still reviewing all the plans and procedures despite his wet blond hair.
On December 7th, at 9:30 PM, they sat together on the sofa watching the news.
On December 7th, at 10 PM, they started watching Kamen Rider.
Even at this moment, Furuya Rei was still in the mood to joke with Morofushi Kagemitsu.
"Hiro, could you give me that red scarf from your closet?" he asked, tilting his head.
Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't ask him how he knew where the red scarf he had just bought was.
He glanced at the Kamen Rider on TV, then turned around and went into his room to retrieve the red scarf, handing it to his childhood friend.
Rei Furuya enthusiastically went around behind him and tied a red scarf around his neck in a Kamen Rider style.
"Hiro, hero." He laughed and grabbed the end of the scarf. "I tied the red scarf tightly around the hero, huh? So, am I a monster?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu perfectly mimicked Kamen Rider's classic pose, and even blushed as he uttered the incredibly embarrassing line about a hero forgiving a villain who has repented and having a happy ending with him, which thoroughly amused Furuya Rei.
Finally, Morofushi Hiromitsu, still wearing the red scarf, sat back down on the sofa with him to watch Kamen Rider fight monsters.
On December 7th, at 11 PM, Rei Furuya could no longer watch TV.
He no longer had the energy to hide his mental state from Morofushi Kagemitsu.
Morofushi Kagemitsu grasped his cold hand, leaned closer to sit beside him, then turned off the TV. While reviewing the entire plan with him to reassure him that there wouldn't be any problems, he watched the clock slowly approach midnight.
When the clock struck midnight, it felt like a whole century had passed, and finally it was the early morning of December 8th.
The system announced that the game was successfully completed and the next save point had been reached.
For a moment, Furuya Rei was stunned, as if he couldn't quite believe that he had finally succeeded.
"Zero? Are you alright?" Morofushi Kagemitsu quickly grabbed his shoulder and asked.
After realizing what had happened, Furuya Rei immediately fell into an even more bizarre state of ecstasy.
He was so excited that his fingers were trembling, but he still insisted on sharing the good news with everyone.
But informing everyone seems to be the last task he has assigned himself.
Having successfully completed all the tasks, he finally managed to reach out and grab Morofushi Kagemitsu. As soon as he relaxed, he fainted, nearly scaring Morofushi Kagemitsu to death.
Because he had a childhood friend who always liked to cause trouble, Morofushi Kagemitsu later honed his medical skills as well, carefully and repeatedly checking him several times to make sure he was simply asleep before he breathed a sigh of relief.
With one hand tightly gripped by the subconscious mind of his unconscious childhood friend, Morofushi Kagemitsu could only helplessly type on his phone with his other hand.
[ZERO's Mental State Observation Diary]
[Hiro: Zero was so tired, he fell asleep as soon as he relaxed.]
[Hiro: It's nothing. I checked carefully. It's just drowsiness caused by over-fatigue and prolonged mental stress followed by sudden relaxation.]
[Hiro: We'll talk about the rest later. Let him rest now.]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
