Chapter 158 Fifty-Eight Weeks (6)
December 24th.
Christmas Eve.
Takagi Wataru's Christmas Eve was anything but peaceful, as he unwittingly got caught up in the mudslide party.
Fortunately, he was reassured by the presence of his seniors, Wataru Date, Kenji Hagiwara, and Miwako Sato. However, he never expected that he would also accidentally drag Jinpei Matsuda from the virginity-breaking group into the mess.
That's Officer Matsuda! The Officer Matsuda whom even Officer Shiratori is most wary of and respects!
Hmm, but this is a bit surprising. The relationship between Officer Matsuda and Officer Sato... doesn't seem to be what everyone is guessing. Although they do have a good relationship, there's really no romantic feeling between them?
But the way they argued was really scary...
Takagi Wataru trembled among the top officers in the Metropolitan Police Department, and became even more nervous when they split up and worked with Sato Miwako.
Because, because he and Miwako Sato played a couple! And they were dressed as Santa Claus and reindeer!
The dashing Officer Sato looks stunning in a cute yet sexy red Christmas dress!!!
Even the fluffy reindeer hat couldn't hide the blush on Wataru Takagi's face.
But this was ultimately a serious matter, and the deeper he investigated and the more he learned about the Muddy Association, the more serious Takagi Wataru became, almost completely forgetting his own romantic fantasies.
This incident seems to be anything but ordinary.
That leader of the Mud Gang is absolutely despicable! He must be arrested and taken to the police station!
We absolutely cannot let him go, otherwise it will definitely cause more tragedies later.
Looking at the tall, thin, black-haired police officer on the monitor who proved to be more reliable in crucial moments, and noticing the admiring look in Sato Miwako's eyes beside him, Furuya Rei felt that the plan was probably going to succeed.
Rei Furuya didn't participate personally this time. Instead, he acted as a support staff member, similar to Hiroki Sawada and Noah's Ark, helping with online monitoring and system intrusion.
Just a few days ago, when the plan was being discussed, the others unanimously refused his personal involvement and even asked Morofushi Kagemitsu to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't do anything reckless.
Now there's no need for him to test the limits of the world program as a worldline change measuring instrument; if something really goes wrong, it will only add trouble to the plan.
Moreover, even if it is measured, it may not necessarily be a love line. After all, when he kidnapped Takagi Wataru alone in the last cycle, he suffered severe heart pain, but still could not change Date Wataru's fate of death.
Moreover, once all the clues are sorted out, this plan is actually not very difficult to carry out, and it does not require Rei Furuya and Hiromitsu Morofushi, who are undercover agents in the organization, to risk exposure by participating.
Rei Furuya had no rebuttal; for the first time during a critical period of death, he found himself with almost nothing to do.
Seeing his awkwardness, Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but laugh and comforted him, "Alright, alright, having nothing to do is the best thing, right? Besides, I think there's a high chance of clearing the game directly this time, so Zero doesn't need to be so nervous for now. The last failure was just because we were going in the wrong direction."
Rei Furuya knew this, but he couldn't quite control his emotions and didn't really hide himself from his childhood friend.
He frowned: "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be, but..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu met his gaze: "But Zero is worried about the system causing trouble, right?"
Rei Furuya nodded, his face serious: "The system won't let me off so easily. There's still no movement in the chat group. Everyone is still stuck in the same predicament. I'm the only one in a better situation. How is that possible? The system must have a backup plan, but I'm not sure what it's going to do. There are just too many ways they can manipulate things. In short, those guys who only care about maximizing energy won't let us off so easily."
Morofushi Kagemitsu agreed with this: "Moreover, if things go too smoothly, it can be unsettling, like the time when Matsuda and I faced our death. Matsuda seemed to have passed the death smoothly, but successfully saving the game almost blocked all my paths to survival, forcing you to go through so many playthroughs and even come up with a plan like the 'trick of switching the sky' before you finally managed to complete the game."
"During the police academy period, almost all the difficulties were caused by the system, but after that, it wasn't as rampant or powerful. It seems that the closer we get to the main storyline, the harder it is for them to manipulate things," Furuya Reiichi recalled. "The difficulty of Hagi's death was because we didn't understand the world and the system at that time. There was world line convergence, but also a lot of manipulation by the system. The difficulty of Hiro's death was because the system didn't manipulate Matsuda's death at all. Instead, at the moment of the final save, it guided Hiro to make an irreversible mistake after the save. That kind of method shouldn't be done by the world program, so it can all be considered that the system used the world line convergence as a weapon to kill us."
Morofushi Kagemitsu frowned slightly as he thought of his near-death experience, but quickly put it aside for the time being and thought about Date Wataru: "The class president's situation is a bit like Hagiwara's and a bit like Matsuda's. We have changed too much before, which is why the class president's situation is so complicated."
After he finished speaking, his expression became more serious than ever before, and he met Furuya Rei's earnest gaze.
“Zero, if it’s the latter, then you need to be careful that the system might have left something in the class monitor’s death record that could affect your future death,” he said.
“I know, I’ve been paying attention, but I haven’t found anything wrong yet.” Furuya Rei nodded seriously.
He seemed very confident and serious, which made Morofushi Kagemitsu relax a lot, believing that he was indeed well-prepared.
Rei Furuya continued watching the monitor, but his mind was no longer on the future couple on the screen.
But he thought, those red butterflies that could influence what followed wouldn't be noticed until the very end.
Just as they had been on high alert, the system must have been prepared.
Unlike a rigid world consciousness devoid of independent thought, the system possesses extremely high intelligence and a mind unbound by any moral or emotional constraints.
The scheming among clever people is always layered and interconnected, and until the very end, no one can be sure who has fallen into whose trap or who will be the ultimate winner.
But he was just an ordinary human being, and he was inherently disadvantaged by those higher-dimensional beings who called themselves God and Demons. He could only walk on the edge of a knife and play games with the demons.
Ryougu Zero can never relax; he's probably providing the system with enormous energy all the time.
He needs to be on high alert in dangerous situations, and he also feels more anxious and uneasy when things are safe.
Even so, Rei Furuya still hoped that he could get through this ordeal that would be the class president's death.
*
December 25th.
The plan went very smoothly.
This time, not only was the Muddy Association incident resolved, but the love story between Wataru Takagi and Miwako Sato finally underwent a qualitative change, and Rei Furuya was not harmed in any way.
The last time Takagi Wataru was kidnapped alone, it almost caused Furuya Rei to die suddenly, but this time, when Takagi Wataru and Sato Miwako were pretended to be in danger, nothing happened.
Although the two of them were in danger together, Sato Miwako had the best chance to shine. However, since it was just the two of them this time, it was a rare opportunity for Takagi Wataru to show off in front of Sato Miwako.
Moreover, it's not about being powerful, but rather about being calm, gentle, kind, and upright.
Most importantly, Takagi Wataru is the one who never falters, especially in critical moments. Even when Sato Miwako is getting angry and anxious, he remains calm and persistent, and is not easily influenced by other things.
He doesn't care about small things usually, but when it comes to his bottom line, the seemingly weak Wataru Takagi is probably calmer and more determined than Miwako Sato. It's as if even killing him wouldn't shake him.
It was this point that made Sato Miwako take notice of this man who usually had little presence, and she even smiled and praised him earnestly.
There are many powerful people, but few are kind, gentle, and strong-willed. Moreover, Wataru Takagi has never given up on becoming a powerful police officer.
Sato Miwako had a good impression of this police officer who was serious, responsible, gentle, kind, and always firm in his belief in justice. Although it was just appreciation and goodwill towards a police colleague and ordinary praise, it was enough to completely stun Takagi Wataru.
How many people have received such praise from the outstanding and capable Miwako Sato?
When he received the approval of the person he liked, Wataru Takagi's entire demeanor changed instantly.
He was in a terrible state, but his eyes shone with a light he had never seen before.
Even in matters of love where he had the least confidence, he finally found the strength to keep going.
Rei Furuya gave the two people who were leaving in a harmonious atmosphere, chatting and laughing, a deep look before turning off the monitor.
It was a success.
It's precisely this delicate balance of possibility but not actually being together that's best; the task and plot to bring them together completely are left to the protagonist.
Rei Furuya took out his phone and glanced at the time.
December 26, 1:30 a.m.
Christmas is over.
However, this time, there was no longer that strange group photo of them from behind.
Rei Furuya was lost in thought for two seconds, feeling a little regretful.
He really liked that photo; it was the only group photo the five of them took after graduating from police academy.
Rei Furuya couldn't help but turn to look at his childhood friend beside him.
He had read Hiro's memo and listened to the recordings from that time. He knew that neither the memo nor the recordings recorded the Christmas group photo taken near the end of the fifty-seventh cycle. It was probably because he lost all his memories before he had a chance to record it.
Morabu Kagemitsu looked at him with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"
Rei Furuya shook his head and looked down at his phone again: "No, it's nothing."
So what exactly is he expecting?
Forget it, it's already too late. Let's not talk about it and only increase everyone's regret and worry.
After everything is over, we can take as many group photos as we want.
*
February 6th.
It's 11 p.m.
Ida Kou is writing his will.
It wasn't written in the small black notebook I always carry with me, but rather when I used my phone, something I rarely do when I'm not in contact with anyone.
His suicide note was written in his phone's memo app.
The black notebook was given to Wataru Takagi as a gift to encourage him to continue growing into a real man.
Takagi Wataru was also very excited and happy, saying that he would work hard with his senior's notebook and hope to become a police officer as strong as Mr. Date.
Thinking of the other person's smile at that time, Ida Wataru couldn't help but smile as well, feeling surprisingly calm inside.
What worried him was not his own safety, but the reaction of those around him after his death.
Although neither Furuya Rei, who possesses complete memories, nor Morofushi Kagemitsu, who has partial memories, said anything, Date Wataru still understood a lot of things from some details.
The self from the previous timeline must have been very sad at the end, because of the hope that couldn't be grasped, because of the innocent passersby who died because of his own calamity, because Natalie and her parents' lives were in imminent danger, and because the relatives and friends he left behind would be in great pain.
But that happened in the last playthrough.
After the world restarted and a new cycle began, in this cycle, he was well protected by those guys and has not encountered any accidents or taken any lives so far, and has also grasped the tail of hope.
The fact that there haven't been any of the continuous traffic accidents like in the previous game suggests that their success rate is as high as 80%.
More importantly, he has said goodbye properly to friends, lovers, and family, and has worked hard all this time, so he has no regrets.
They gave it their all until the very last moment, had no regrets, and did the best they could.
Although we should do our best and leave the rest to fate.
But they even defied fate and played games with demons, and that's how they got to where they are today, overcoming countless seemingly impossible difficulties.
So what is there to be afraid of?
No matter how many trials and tribulations they face, they will eventually succeed.
The worst that can happen is death.
Death or rebirth, it all depends on the day that comes next.
*
February 7th.
10 PM.
The five of them gathered together, anxiously awaiting the final moment.
Knowing that his weak body would only make things worse, Hiroki Sawada, despite wanting to go with them, wisely stayed at Professor Agasa's villa, keeping watch on all the surveillance cameras around them, both on the ground and in the sky, along with Noah's Ark.
February 8th.
Midnight.
The clock struck midnight almost simultaneously with the system's announcement.
[The fifth save point, "The Worldline Where the Three-Petal Cherry Blossom Survives," has been completed]
[Achieve the HE (Happy Ending) side story: A Match Made in Heaven]
Furuya Rei, who was staring intently at the clock, was taken aback.
I actually beat the game in one go?
[Sixth save point discovered: The world line where the four-petaled cherry blossom survives]
[Automatically saving]
Save successful
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