Chapter 29: The Ninth Playthrough (1)
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"Hey! You blond bastard! Let's fight!" Matsuda Jinpei yelled.
“I refuse,” Furuya Rei said.
Matsuda Jinpei: "?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "Why?! Then why did you come to this appointment? Did you suddenly get scared and want to run away?!"
Rei Furuya shook his head: "I just suddenly realized that I might not be suited to be a police officer. I'm going to drop out of school."
Matsuda Jinpei: "???"
*
I've returned to April 1st.
This is my ninth reincarnation, my ninth cycle since my rebirth. This time, I'm going to try a completely different path.
Since I am the main cause of their continuous deaths, and since my attention is the reason they are being targeted, then perhaps I should just leave them.
As long as we haven't become friends, as long as we haven't created those beautiful memories together, as long as our relationship is severed, as long as they are no longer important to me, then they won't be targeted by the world maliciously, right? They won't be an obstacle for me to overcome, right?
[I don't have to be a policeman; I can become a detective; I can even go back home and take the path of a politician, and then start directly solving the organization's problems right now. What if the organization became the center of my game?]
Can wishes be changed? Can the main storyline of the game be altered?
[This time, let's try drastically altering the original course. If I control the biggest and most terrifying butterfly I create, can I use that enormous butterfly to change the world?]
Let's make a bet.
This time, Rei Furuya didn't burn the notebook. Instead, he put it in his backpack, packed his things quickly, and left the school.
The blond youth didn't properly say goodbye to his childhood friend with whom he had grown up and promised to become a policeman together, nor did he apply for school permits in advance. He left school that very night, completely cutting off his future as a policeman.
*
Fall to Valley House.
The atmosphere gradually became tense as the father and son confronted each other upstairs and downstairs.
"Ha, didn't you say you'd become a policeman even if it meant severing ties with me? Your resolve is so weak. Didn't you say you'd be fine without me? You talked such tough talk, but you still came back to me for help. Furuya Rei, this is what happens when you disobey!"
Masahiro Furuya stood on the second-floor railing, arms crossed, sneering as he looked down at his rebellious son.
“It’s utterly shameful that I, Masaki Furuya, have a son like you… If you remain stubborn and unrepentant, and refuse to follow my instructions, then get out of here immediately! And don’t ever say you’re my son again; I can’t bear the shame!”
"Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean to ask you for help. I hope you won't tell anyone else that I have a relationship with you, or I'll feel disgusted." Furuya Rei didn't even glance at the other person. His politeness was only applicable to this man. He walked past him upstairs expressionlessly. "I just came back to get something. I don't want to argue with you."
"Besides, this house isn't just yours, it's also my mother's. You have no right to tell me to leave. The one who should get out is you, the one who killed her." He emphasized this fact coldly.
"What—Rei Furuya! Stop right there! Is this how you treat your father?! Where did you learn your manners?! Is this how your mother taught you?!" Masahiro Furuya instantly flew into a rage.
"Masaki Furuya! You have absolutely no right to speak of my mother!!!" The blond youth suddenly turned his head. "Father? How dare you use that word to refer to yourself? You don't deserve it!!"
The sudden burst of power startled the stern-faced middle-aged man, who was momentarily stunned, before becoming even more enraged.
"I... I did mistreat you and your son before, but I had no choice at the time! I was also in a difficult situation! There was nothing I could do! I didn't know you... Didn't I go to find you later?!"
"No matter what, I'm still your father! What kind of attitude is this?!"
"That's how you treat scum." Furuya Rei sneered and turned to leave.
*
"It's impossible to change the world in the short term by relying on politicians, isn't it..." Rei Furuya sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I guess I'll stick to being a detective, or rather, just..."
If he weren't a policeman, and disregarding other factors, he would probably most like to become a detective.
"No, but let's give it a try anyway. If I want to do it, I can still do it."
Rei Furuya rubbed his temples, his expression immediately turning serious. He began diligently searching for information, while simultaneously organizing and analyzing the memories and intelligence from his 29-year-old future self.
The political and economic circles are the circles most heavily infiltrated by the organization.
Many politicians are pawns of the organization, while others are coerced into doing things by the organization after being caught doing something wrong, and still others are lured in by their pursuit of immortality.
The problem was that although Furuya Rei did obtain those lists as an undercover agent and send them back to the Public Security Bureau, he didn't look at them carefully because of the urgency of the situation; he was simply stunned by the length of the lists.
Then he died, so although he knew many people were henchmen of the organization, he didn't know their names.
"Want to give it a try? We can always try again. Even if we fail, it's okay. We can gain experience and try a few more times. We'll succeed eventually."
In the darkness, the dark-skinned youth almost blended into the shadows, his expression illuminated by the light was incredibly crazed and terrifying, yet his blond hair was so dazzling.
It's almost like a mad gambler who straddles both darkness and light.
*
One month later.
Rei Furuya has gradually gained a reputation in political circles, and many people have taken notice of him, marveling that there really are geniuses in this world.
His confrontation and bet with his father, Masaki Furuya, has also sparked heated discussions and curiosity. Some people think that Furuya is so good that he will eventually surpass his father, while others think that experience matters and that Furuya is too young and arrogant and does not know how to restrain himself, and will eventually suffer a heavy blow.
Morofushi Kagemitsu naturally learned of this matter as well.
“Zero…” The blue-eyed youth returned to the police academy dejectedly, and anyone could see his dazed, confused, and heartbroken state.
"Didn't you see him?" Date Wataru asked Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji, who were standing next to him.
“Yeah, I can’t find him, and he’s not replying to any messages.” Morofushi Kagemitsu lowered his eyes. “Why is he like this? He could at least tell me. This is just too much…”
"Tsk, what on earth does that blond bastard mean?" Matsuda Jinpei was furious, throwing a punch at the air. "Since his bastard father looks down on the police so much, does he think the same way?! Mr. Jing, just leave that guy alone! He's infuriating! I really want to punch that arrogant face!"
“Zero isn’t that kind of person.” Morofushi Hiromitsu immediately shook his head in firm denial, then said worriedly, “I think Zero might have encountered something, which is why he suddenly went to do something dangerous alone without saying anything…”
"Haha, Morofushi, you're definitely overthinking it. His family is so powerful, and he's so famous now, how could anything happen to him?" Hagiwara Kenji laughed and put his arm around the cat-eyed youth's shoulder. "But his father is really annoying. His attitude is really uncomfortable, and he won't even let us see him. Maybe he's being forced by his father to study to become a politician? Look, you can tell at a glance that he's the kind of unreasonable, feudal, and domineering patriarch."
Morofushi Hiromitsu shook his head again: "Zero wouldn't be so easily controlled, and wouldn't be controlled to the point of not even replying to my messages. Zero is very powerful, but... I don't know, I'm completely confused, why..."
"If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it anymore. Let's go, let's go. Didn't we agree that Hagiwara would treat us today?" Date Wataru laughed and patted Morofushi Kagemitsu on the shoulder. "We finally made it through a month and can leave school. Let's go and relax!"
"Hey, hey, hey, it's not a dinner party, it's a social gathering!" Kenji Hagiwara corrected with a helpless smile.
*
September 13th, cloudy
Suitable: None
Taboo: Not suitable for any activity
Rei Furuya glanced at the calendar, momentarily lost in thought, before quickly focusing all his attention on the pile of documents on the table.
Even at midnight, he was still working.
It's not just about being a politician; there are also hidden plans targeting the organization's henchmen in the political arena.
It's almost done. Many people have given themselves away, but I really didn't expect that those people would cooperate with the organization.
[So much time has passed, and I haven't even kept up with their news, not even opened Hiro's emails. I wonder how everyone is doing? They should be doing well.]
It's okay, his identity is well hidden and won't be discovered. We can continue like this.
All preparations have been completed, and the Black Organization's base has been confirmed to remain unchanged. Therefore, as long as the Crow's claws and wings are severed, the organization can be quickly and completely eradicated.
[They should be able to survive until they graduate from police academy, at least until then. Once everyone graduates, and the second save point appears, I won't have to worry about any butterfly effects anymore and can just wipe out the organization in one fell swoop. Then... I can slowly solve everyone's problems.]
However, we cannot act rashly now. Unless we can completely eradicate the organization, we must not alert them and prevent future changes in intelligence.
After all, the political arena is really complicated.
It's better if that intelligence is useless; it would be terrible if it were to lead him in the wrong direction and cause him trouble.
Masahiro Furuya is dead.
[Side ending unlocked: Family destroyed, Masahiro Furuya's death]
Furuya Rei was stunned, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the pen in his hand drew a long black line on the paper.
Who died?
Furuya Masashi died? How could that be?
Was it because he was exposed that that person was implicated?
No, it's impossible for him to have been exposed. If he had been exposed, he wouldn't still be sitting here peacefully.
Why is that?
Rei Furuya immediately took out his phone and quickly obtained the information.
Just now, Masaaki Furuya was shot and killed as he got out of his car in front of his house after finishing work late at night.
The murderer was his political enemy and one of the henchmen of the organization that was exposed and ousted. He has been caught.
Are they decades-long enemies, so they want to drag Masaaki Furuya, who's currently riding high, down to hell in the end?
Is that why? It's so familiar and hard to guard against, so... Masaaki Furuya can actually become his "difficulty level"?
"A scumbag father... is he still a father...?"
He took a deep breath, got up, picked up his coat, put it on, and drove to the Furuya residence, where he saw with his own eyes that face was no longer arrogant and hateful.
After all, he was already dead.
12 noon.
Furuya Masaki's body had been cleaned up by the mortician. Furuya Rei stood in front of the coffin, silently gazing at his scumbag father who would never argue with him again.
"It's ridiculous. You're always mocking me, but you're such a despicable bastard that you didn't even bother to get yourself a few more bodyguards. As a result, you died so easily at the hands of the enemy. You're the one who's more shameful."
"I was thinking that you would get a beating if you went down there and saw your mother, but then I thought, your mother will definitely go to heaven, while you will definitely go to hell, so you will never see your mother. You deserve it."
Rei Furuya felt that he was actually quite calm, and could even joke and mock the other party.
Matsuda Jinpei is dead.
【Hagihara Kenji is dead】
[Ida Aircraft is defunct]
The three voices that rang out in quick succession made Rei Furuya's eyes slowly widen.
[Side ending unlocked: Cherry Blossoms Fall - The Death of Matsuda Jinpei]
[Side ending unlocked: Cherry Blossoms Fall - Kenji Hagiwara's Death]
[Side ending unlocked: Cherry Blossoms Fall - The Death of Date Wataru]
The blond young man in the black suit clenched his fist and turned around abruptly, stiffening for two seconds before relaxing his fist again.
"So it failed again..." he murmured, head bowed.
[Why?! What happened?! Why did everyone have to die at this time?! Why did they still die even though I had nothing to do with them anymore?! Where's Hiro? I have to get there right now, Hiro... no... not now...]
"So what's wrong this time?" The blond youth sighed and took out his phone. "It still doesn't work? What went wrong this time? Let me see..."
The intelligence was easy to obtain, given the scale of the operation.
The laundromat in Waishou exploded.
Ryouku Zero gritted his teeth.
He understood.
Since he wasn't there, the four of them didn't need to clean the bathhouse for causing too much trouble, and no one stopped them at noon. So, the three of them took their soiled class flag to the Waishu Laundry Shop to wash it, only to run into Waishuichi, who was kidnapping a little girl and planting a bomb. They were all killed in the explosion.
[Morokushō Kagemitsu has died.]
Rei Furuya suddenly gripped his phone tightly.
[Side ending unlocked: Cherry Blossoms Fall - Death of Morofushi Kagemitsu]
"...So why this time?"
He used almost all his self-control to keep his fingers from trembling, his eyes fixed on the information on his phone.
Why?
Upon hearing this devastating news, Morofushi Kagemitsu was shocked to discover that he was the one who had caused the deaths of three of his classmates. It was because of him that those three were drawn into danger and killed by Soto Moriichi.
He lost his parents, his childhood friend, and finally, even three new friends died because of him.
So the young man with the cat-eye eventually died from being hit by a car that ran a red light while crossing the road because he was too disoriented.
He could have dodged it, but he stood still.
Moreover, the person driving the car... was one of the organization's henchmen that Furuya Rei was dealing with. At that time, they were on the run for their lives, which is why they ran the red light.
[Is it because of me, or because of me...?]
Furuya Rei silently opened the unread emails and read through all three hundred-plus emails from his childhood friend over the past five months.
"Ah, this experiment has completely failed. Was the method too extreme and reckless? Let's try a slightly more moderate approach next time. At least we learned a lot of information this time. Next time, let's try having someone protect and watch over them even though I'm not physically present..."
The blond youth sighed, very naturally took out his gun, pointed it at his head, and pulled the trigger in less than two seconds.
"Bang--"
You are dead.
[Ninth playthrough completed]
[Resulting in a Bad Ending: Like Strangers]
But unlike before when he could immediately reload his save, the world suddenly froze at the moment of his death.
Rei Furuya subtly felt what it was like to be a ghost, but the world was also still.
In that instant, he knew he had succeeded.
[I'm sorry, your experiment has failed again. This is not surprising; cause and effect are not so easily changed. The causal ties and bonds between you cannot be easily severed, and fate cannot be changed so simply. Abandon this method.]
"Oh? So you're finally not playing dead? That means I did pose a threat to you, or at least had a negative impact, right? So, am I now qualified to speak with you?"
【You are very intelligent, and we are happy to have chosen you. We believe you are indeed qualified to speak with us.】
However, knowing the truth often doesn't solve everything, or in other words, knowing too much isn't always a good thing.
Throughout history, the more intelligent humans have been, the more they have suffered, because they know everything yet are powerless to change it.
The only thing we cannot control or understand, the only thing we are curious about, is human emotion, which is why we responded to your call.
"I didn't call upon you. What exactly is your relationship with the organization? Are you products of the organization's research? Or did you respond to the organization's call? Why was I chosen?"
[Rei Furuya, you don't need to harbor malice or suspicion towards us. This is an equal exchange. Why hate us? We give you hope and opportunities for miracles, and you bring us energy and feedback. What's wrong with that?]
[We forced you to sign the contract at first because you didn't trust us. But now, if you want to end the contract, you can simply say "no" and stop reloading. You're smart enough to know this already, but you haven't given up—isn't that because you don't want to give up on miracles? So, facing the corresponding despair is only natural, isn't it? There's nothing truly free in this world, and miracles are no exception.]
"Changing the subject... I know, this is the result of making a deal with the devil, and it's something you can't explain to you. I just want to ask one thing: why was I chosen? Why were we chosen? There should at least be a reason, right? I've already reasoned it out pretty well."
This is confidential; I cannot tell you.
"...This time it's very direct."
[Actually, we also can't understand your current actions. We would normally punish you accordingly; brainwashing and memory erasure wouldn't be difficult for us. However, because you are exceptionally talented, we're going to give you one last chance.]
[Generally, we don't target human memories, please trust us, because human emotions are composed of memories. We value and are very curious about human emotions. We can understand most things theoretically, but the existence of "love" is something we simply cannot comprehend. If we were to truly make you forget their importance, then you, this precious host, would be rendered useless, which would be such a waste.]
Humans are truly amazing. Love for friends, family, lovers, even for organizations, nations, and humanity—these emotions vary greatly depending on the individual and the circumstances. Why are human emotions so rich? Why are humans willing to give everything for others, even to the point of saving or destroying the world?
We don't understand, but we're very curious, so we don't want you to abandon all your important bonds to play this game like crazy.
We've encountered hosts before who succumb to complete madness towards the end of the game. They completely reverse their initial intentions, utterly losing love and hope, reduced to nothing but despair, madness, and numbness. Even destroying the world wouldn't elicit any emotional response. They've completely lost their value; they're trash, and we have to abandon them.
Therefore, we hope you can continue to persevere and bring us more surprises. We don't want you to fail and give up. Once you become useless, we will have to abandon you. At that time, you will die along with your important people, never to be brought back to life.
We all desire the same strong emotions you have: love and hate, hope and despair.
"That sounds nice, but for humans, negative emotions like despair can easily become the most powerful feelings within them, right? For most people, positive emotions are like a giant balloon, while negative emotions only need to be punctured by a single needle to cause all positive emotions to burst. You guys are definitely more inclined to collect despair energy. Hope only exists to prevent us from collapsing too quickly, so that we can continue to generate new despair energy for you, isn't that right? Heh, capitalists like that will get hung up on streetlights."
We cannot understand human emotions; what we are doing now is simply to obtain the optimal solution for energy, the most perfect program after testing.
We are merely observers; we only set up some initial procedures and do not participate in them.
Your world and lives are interesting enough; we don't need to get involved. What you call "the malice of the world" is merely the convergence of timelines, and has nothing to do with us.
Even without us, all your friends would die, and those important to you would leave you one by one. In the end, all you would be left with is your country and your belief in justice. But with us, you have the possibility of repeatedly trying and failing to save everyone. You can still become a normal Rei Furuya with family and friends, instead of the lonely Tooru Amuro.
In other words, hope and despair coexist. Whether you ultimately succeed or fail depends entirely on your own actions and has nothing to do with us. Conversely, you should be thanking us for bringing miracles and opportunities, so why do you hate us? We simply cannot understand it.
"Ha, you're quite the smooth talker, your eloquence rivals that of a politician. Do you really not understand emotions? Or have you become so skilled at deceiving so many people?"
Alright, stop trying to probe our intelligence. It's time for the next game.
We don't only have you as an option. If your fierce resistance causes us to expend more energy than we gain, then even if you don't want to give up, we will have to abandon you.
"Oh dear, I'm so scared. But the kind of person I am is the type who gets crazier the more I'm threatened or intimidated. If you push me too far, I don't even know what I might do. So how about we both take a step back? I won't waste your energy on this crazy probing anymore, and you won't keep increasing the difficulty of my game, okay?"
We will not interfere with the game midway, nor can we completely control the entire world. Everything is a convergence of world lines, a choice of fate. What you need to do is defeat fate and create a new world line where others can survive, not target us.
[It's because you've already lost important people, because the world has already taken everyone away from you, because a powerful desire to save them arose, because you yourself possess incredibly strong energy of hope and despair, that we came into being. It's not that our existence caused all of this; please don't confuse cause and effect.]
We are merely observers, not creators, so don't waste your energy on us; this is our final advice.
"..."
"Wait, what's with 'because a strong desire to save them arose'? This sentence doesn't have 'my' as a subject, does it? And it doesn't sound like it's talking about me. So where did this desire come from? And why is it so strong that it attracts you? Are there other people besides me who want to save them?"
"Detective Conan, save file loading, game... Could it be that this world isn't just a game, but perhaps also a comic? A novel? A movie? Or even a live stream? And there are countless viewers watching us from outside this world? Did that intense, enormous desire originate from the hearts of our fans? You actually exploited those fans' beautiful wishes? You took advantage of their love for us?!"
"...You guys aren't going to be broadcasting the stories of our four worlds to audiences in other worlds right now, are you? Are you also collecting the despair from the audience?"
Love is a truly magical thing.
[So, let's choose, Rei Furuya.]
Should I continue playing, or give up?
"They've started avoiding the question and changing the subject again, which means my guess is at least half true."
"Then let's continue. Whether it's you, the world, or fate, just watch closely. I will never give up."
"If there really is an audience watching... don't be afraid, don't despair, believe me, I will definitely defeat them. Whether it's fate, the world, or anything else, I will never let them have their way, I will solve everything successfully."
"No matter what difficulties we encounter, no matter how many cycles of reincarnation we go through, I will definitely save everyone, and no one will die."
"Just watch, I'm definitely going to get the perfect Happy End and finish this game."
[Rei Furuya, you are truly outstanding, and we eagerly anticipate your performance.]
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【yes】
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