Chapter 15: Third Playthrough (3)
May 1st.
Six o'clock in the afternoon, the time when the police academy lets out.
Rei Furuya lay on the bed with his hands behind his head, his face serious as he rapidly processed all the information in his mind, going over everything from beginning to end, preparing for the dangerous convenience store robbery that night.
A month has passed since the third cycle began, and his plan is progressing relatively smoothly.
Most things went as he had predicted, and everyone seemed safe as long as he did nothing to recreate the original world experience as much as possible.
Although there were dangers, they eventually passed safely under his watchful gaze.
However, some details that he was very concerned about seemed to have gone wrong.
First, the class monitor remembered what happened in the previous timeline, but since things had developed differently, he asked the other three more questions. The class monitor's concern about that nightmare puzzled the three at the time, and they only completely gave up trying to figure out what kind of dream it was after Furuya Rei's guidance and diversion.
Secondly, he lost control of himself for a moment, and Hiro noticed that his expression towards Tomokazu was strange. Although Hiro, who had absolutely no information, was easily fooled at the time, it's possible that if things continued to develop, Hiro's attitude towards Tomokazu might change after remembering this incident.
Third, when the class monitor stood up for him and taught those two a lesson, he didn't mention the person's toothpick in his mouth as he had before, and it seemed that he didn't feel as disgusted by the toothpick incident as he had before.
Fourth, when the squad leader reprimanded him during the arrest session, this time he didn't use his own father as a negative example, but added the line, "Even a policeman only has one life."
Rei Furuya wanted to ask for clarification, but fearing further changes, he could only hold back.
These details don't seem to be a big problem.
But the so-called butterfly effect means that the flapping of a tiny butterfly's wings in South America can cause a massive tornado in Texas two weeks later.
Even the smallest detail can be the trigger that ultimately leads to tragedy.
Rei Furuya has to take this seriously.
But how exactly can we create a world where his rebirth will not cause any butterfly effect?
Rei Furuya has tried his best, really, really hard.
He endured it all, working hard alone until now, but gradually, without realizing it, red butterflies, representing danger and death, began to appear around him.
The red butterflies gradually surrounded him, and the scarlet scales falling from their wings made it hard for him to breathe.
He watched each butterfly with vigilance, constantly worried that they might produce some deadly toxins that could harm those around him.
Tonight is the biggest and most dangerous moment yet.
Whether he could get through the night safely was the key to his entire plan.
The world is ever-changing, and he has already prepared for the worst.
*
It's 9:30 p.m.
Under the cherry blossom tree at the school gate.
Five young men stood obediently in a row, heads bowed, being lectured by the instructor standing in front of them with a terrifyingly angry face.
"Are you guys trying to drive me crazy?! Do you even know what you're doing?! I've never had such a disruptive class of students!!!"
Onizuka Hachizo was so angry at these five scoundrels that his liver hurt and he was furious.
"You guys are really something! You've only been in police academy for a month and you're already acting like heroes, fighting off armed robbers without any weapons! I wonder if you're planning to fly to the heavens next time?!"
"It's commendable that you knew to call on your classmates when you encountered danger, but a better approach would have been to directly notify your instructors or call a police officer! The police academy is right next door! I was in my office! I could have even brought a gun! Why didn't you notify your instructors immediately? Why didn't you call the police? Why did you take your classmates and start the operation without any weapons? This kind of dangerous situation isn't something you students should be taking risks for! Where has all your knowledge gone?!"
Onizuka Hachizo didn't know why, but the overwhelming palpitations and lingering fear he couldn't control caused him to lose control of his emotions.
"You guys were lucky this time that nothing bad happened. Have you ever thought about what would have happened if anyone had been in trouble?!"
After giving him a good scolding, he gradually realized he had gone a bit too far. It was indeed a good thing that the young man had acted bravely, and he deserved praise, but…
"I know you're all good kids, and it's true that youthful vigor can easily lead to impulsive actions. But being a police officer isn't about acting on impulse. You're still students, not yet graduated. Next time something like this happens, be sure to tell your instructor first. If I find out you're acting recklessly again..."
"We're sorry, Instructor! We know we were wrong! We promise we won't do it again!!!" The five young men who were being scolded closed their eyes, raised their heads, and loudly admitted their mistakes together. Their loud voices and imposing manner directly interrupted Onizuka Hachizo's mutterings.
Onizuka Hachizo: "..."
Onizuka Hachizo raised his hand and smacked each of the five brats on the head, then turned and strode away angrily, preparing to continue cleaning up the mess for them.
"Damn those foreigners, why are they so angry?" Matsuda Jinpei muttered, rubbing his head in frustration, looking unconvinced. "We solved this case without getting hurt, shouldn't we be praised?"
"The instructor was just worried about us," Ida Kou laughed. "After all, what he said wasn't wrong, but the situation was urgent and we didn't have time to think about that."
"Morofushi, did you ever play Morse code with Furuya using lights before? Otherwise, your reaction is too fast, isn't it?" Kenji Hagiwara asked Morofushi Kagemitsu curiously. "If it were me, I might have simply thought it was a bad connection of the light and ignored it."
Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and began to reminisce: "Yeah, we used to play a lot of similar games. Zero was amazing. I even think that if Zero hadn't become a policeman, he would have been a very famous detective."
"Huh? A famous detective? With that silly look on his face?" Matsuda Jinpei pointed speechlessly at the blond youth next to him.
Despite being severely scolded and punched on the head by the instructor, Furuya Rei could barely contain his relaxed and happy smile, leaving Matsuda Jinpei utterly bewildered.
Rei Furuya coughed, composed himself, and then looked the three of them up and down with deadpan eyes: "What? You're the ones talking? I haven't even asked you where you got these outfits so quickly. I didn't know you guys had this kind of hobby?"
If the instructors hadn't personally guided them, these three wouldn't have been able to get into the police academy, right?
The three police academy students, who were originally quite normal, are now dressed in increasingly outrageous outfits. Their frivolous and eye-catching polka-dot shirts are already quite sleazy, but they deliberately wear them loosely. They also wore exaggerated sunglasses before. This look is truly shocking.
Rei Furuya couldn't resist taking out his phone and quickly snapping a few photos of the three of them. Later, while being chased by Jinpei Matsuda, he even took close-up photos of him while running.
Matsuda Jinpei: "???"
Although I understand that they dressed like this on purpose to fool the robbers and make them lower their guard temporarily, Ida was still very curious about how they managed to get such strange equipment so quickly at this hour.
Morofushi Kagemitsu smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said, "This? It was borrowed from Hagiwara."
Kenji Hagiwara smiled and gave a peace sign: "Hey~ Hagi-chan can do anything, you know~"
Wataru Date couldn't help but marvel at how many and how wide the range of people Kenji Hagiwara knew, including all sorts of types.
Matsuda Jinpei finally let Furuya Rei go, hooking his finger around the sunglasses and laughing, "But this thing feels pretty good, I'll buy one someday."
“You’d better not,” Rei Furuya said with a shrug. “You already have a menacing face. If you wear these dark sunglasses, I’m afraid the police will mistake you for a gangster and arrest you on the street.”
Matsuda Jinpei: "?"
Matsuda Jinpei's rebellious spirit flared up. He immediately pulled his sunglasses up over his shoulder, grinned menacingly, and reached out to the blond youth, deliberately lowering his voice to say, "Fine, since you've discovered my identity, I'll have no choice but to finish you off right here. What a pity, officer~"
Jianggu Ling: "?"
Rei Furuya: "Wait, you're actually acting?"
The blond youth grabbed his hand to block, his smile suddenly turning into a blank expression. He instantly overpowered the man and chuckled menacingly in a low voice, "I think you've got something wrong. You, codenamed Mazda, have long aroused the organization's suspicion, which is why they sent me, an undercover agent, to test you under the guise of a police officer. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "...Hey! This script is way too complicated!!"
The three people watching, who had been watching in a daze, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Matsuda does look like a big shot of some dark force, but Zero, you don't look like someone who can go undercover at all. How can there be such an obvious undercover agent as Zero? Hahaha—" Morofushi Hiromitsu was so amused that he bent over and held his stomach, laughing uncontrollably.
"What the heck is the codename Mazda?! Hahaha! Is that organization a car manufacturer? Then please let me join them! Maybe the organization will go bankrupt and I, the undercover agent, will make a great contribution!" Kenji Hagiwara laughed until tears streamed down his face. "So, is Furuya at odds with Jinpei because they want the codename 'Mazda'? After all, Mazda is known as the 'Zero Spirit,' and 'Zero' suits that codename perfectly, hahaha—"
"What kind of weird setting is this? Hahaha, I'll join in too!" Standing at two meters tall and with an intimidating aura when serious, Date Wataru waved his hand, pressing down on the shoulders of the curly-haired and blond youths who were wrestling together, and said in a serious tone, "Then I'll be the boss of the organization, no problem, right?"
"Hahaha! Absolutely no problem!" Matsuda Jinpei couldn't help but laugh. "Boss! Commander! General! Let's take care of that blond bastard! This black-faced, even black-hearted guy is the real undercover agent!"
Rei Furuya: "Hey!"
Rei Furuya couldn't hold back and burst out laughing too.
Finally, Kenji Hagiwara and Hiromitsu Morofushi also joined in with great enthusiasm, and began thinking of their respective car names, code names, and factions.
A group of 22-year-olds suddenly started playing around under the cherry blossom tree like childish teenagers.
Some people performed without props, holding non-existent guns and making "biu~biu~biu" sounds, while others picked up tree branches and used them as swords to "fight".
The five of them started playing a game of "Who's the Spy?" and in the end, everyone turned out to be a spy, so the car factory went bankrupt. What a relief!
The lively laughter of the young people attracted the drowsy gatekeeper to peek out. Infected by the atmosphere, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head, sighing, "What youth!"
but--
"Hey! It's almost lights out! Hurry up and go back to wash up and go to bed!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the five youths laughed and shouted in response, then playfully wrestled and walked away into the distance.
*
After saying goodbye and goodnight to his four classmates, the blond youth closed the door and faced the room where he was all alone. The smile on his face slowly faded.
At this moment, the blond youth seemed to have become a completely different person, instantly transforming from the carefree 22-year-old police academy student Furuya Rei into the 29-year-old Furuya Rei who had experienced three cycles of life and death.
He leaned against the door, tossed his hair with one hand, and let out a long breath.
"We've made it safely..."
"Rei Furuya said in a low voice, clenching his fists with some excitement."
He always kept a detailed list in his mind, recording several events that he considered important milestones.
0. Reload the save for the third time and start from scratch.
1. At 2 AM on April 1st, I got into a fight with Matsuda under the cherry blossom tree and went to Hiro for treatment. During morning training, I became acquainted with Hagi and the squad leader.
2. On April 5th, during the first pistol training session, we worked together to save Instructor Onizuka. That night, we went to the rooftop to talk with Matsuda about why he entered the police academy to become a policeman.
3. On April 30th, I was defended by the class monitor twice in a row, and together with others, I learned that the class monitor had a girlfriend. That night, we gathered together and saw Natalie's photo.
4. On May 1st, during Arrest Techniques class, I fought the class president, who had a ten-game winning streak, in the dojo. After losing, I was lectured about not being soft-hearted. That evening, I encountered a gang of armed robbers at a convenience store and worked with everyone to solve the problem.
So far, all have been successful.
Rei Furuya successfully completed the first month of his third loop and successfully dealt with the robber gang that caused the tragedy of the previous loop.
It seems possible; it seems feasible.
Under his tense and careful approach, time passed day by day, and events unfolded one by one. Finally, even the last question received a satisfactory answer.
So, can he maintain this state and ensure everyone gets through the remaining five months of police academy safely?
Can we just let everyone live to graduate like this?
If so, then it means the butterfly effect is indeed controllable, which is a good thing.
But this can only end when you graduate from police academy.
After graduation, he will definitely change his original fate and will never stand by and watch everyone die in the same old events again.
Therefore, he will ultimately change the future and trigger a new butterfly effect.
The butterfly effect is ultimately unavoidable.
Even though the room was empty, Rei Furuya felt as if he were surrounded by countless crimson butterflies fluttering their wings.
He tried to find a way out, but he couldn't find one.
but……
Rei Furuya thought of the group of people who had just been standing in a row under the cherry blossom tree being lectured by the instructors, and of the group who had been laughing and playing childish games. Thinking of their smiles and laughter, he suddenly felt that everything was worth it and that he could continue to work hard.
He sat up against the bed, took out his phone, opened the photo album, and began to look through the photos he had just taken, one by one.
In the darkness, the blond youth's face was illuminated by the glow of his cell phone, and his dark purplish-gray eyes gradually brightened, becoming clear and transparent.
As Rei Furuya looked at the funny and cheerful photos of the young people, a smile unconsciously crept onto his face.
What else can he do? He just happened to have a few toxic friends.
So be it, it's the butterfly effect. He's not afraid anymore now.
No matter how many times, he will always save everyone.
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