Chapter 33: The Tenth Playthrough (4)
Rei Furuya hasn't gone to bed before 10 p.m. for a long time.
Generally speaking, it's normal for him to work overtime until 2 or 3 a.m., and working all night is also a frequent occurrence for him.
After all, neither the Black Organization nor the police would wait for him to rest properly before starting at the standard time. Even so, he still had to get up early to work at the coffee shop, and his time was allocated and utilized to the fullest extent.
Needless to say, the subsequent save-loading sessions were so intense that I dared not waste a single minute, and I only managed to get enough sleep to ensure it wouldn't affect my work.
However, under the kind smile of his childhood friend, Furuya Rei could only put away his book and obediently go to take a bath and go to bed.
"Don't worry, I'll go and talk to Matsuda. How about we postpone the fight to tomorrow?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked.
Rei Furuya nodded: "Okay."
If he had said that to Matsuda in the past, the two of them would definitely have started fighting on the spot.
But if Hiro goes there, then there's absolutely no problem.
*
Morofushi Kagemitsu stood apologetically in front of the dormitory door with the name "Matsuda" written on it, and apologized to the curly-haired young man who came to open the door.
"Zero is too tired today, so I let him go to sleep first. How about you two make plans again tomorrow night?" he said.
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "?"
Matsuda Jinpei felt both angry and uneasy after being stood up for the second time.
Matsuda Jinpei's forehead veins throbbed as he thought that if that blond bastard were standing in front of him, his fist would already be flying.
But facing the smiling Morofushi Kagemitsu, he couldn't utter a single "why."
Finally, he uttered a harsh threat: "You guys aren't playing me, are you? Fine, but you tell that blond bastard a thing—"
*
"He told you to wait for him tomorrow night, and if you run away again, he'll come and block your dorm." As Morofushi Kagemitsu said this, the smile in his eyes made Furuya Rei cover her face.
"So, is this fight absolutely necessary?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked curiously. "Does this aspect absolutely have to remain unchanged?"
“No, it’s not that. It’s mainly because if we don’t fight, Matsuda will keep disliking me.” Furuya Rei sighed. “Besides, every time I fought him and knocked out his dentures, I felt very relaxed. It’s become like a ritual. So I still want to fight him.”
Morofushi Kagemitsu: "..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu: "?"
"Don't let Matsuda know that I deliberately knock out his dentures every time," Furuya Rei said with a smile and a wink to her childhood friend.
Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but laugh: "Then Zero will definitely need a false tooth too."
The two chatted and laughed softly in the quiet of the night.
Time passed slowly, and the dormitory gradually quieted down. Both of them closed their eyes, but they could clearly tell that the other was not asleep.
"Can't you sleep?" Morifushi Kagemitsu asked in a low voice.
"Hmm... a little, because I rarely sleep at this time." Rei Furuya smiled, using a light and cheerful tone to dispel his childhood friend's worries.
"You can't keep staying up late like this. Even if you're young and healthy now, many problems will gradually appear later. No, there are quite a few news reports of young people dying suddenly from overwork these days," said Morofushi Kagemitsu.
"I think I'm at least confident in my physical condition. After all, having a healthy and strong body is essential to dealing with vicious criminals," Rei Furuya said. "Don't let my appearance fool you, even when I'm busy, I still make sure to cook for myself and exercise every day..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu listened quietly as his childhood friend spoke in an incredibly ordinary and cheerful tone about a future where he would strive to live well even without him, feeling both gratified and heartbroken.
Another half hour passed, and it was already 12 o'clock, but the two of them still couldn't fall asleep.
"Hiro, is it because you're thinking about something that you can't sleep?" This time, it was Rei Furuya who spoke first.
In the silent darkness, Morofushi Kagemitsu remained silent for a few seconds before finally letting out a soft "hmm".
"I still can't help but think about how painful it must be for Zero to die again and again, and how difficult it must be for someone to struggle in that malice and despair."
Morofushi Kagemitsu turned over and couldn't help but open his eyes with worry, looking at the profile of the blond youth beside him, vaguely feeling that there was still bloodstains on it.
"Even if Zero says he chose a painful way to die precisely to maintain reverence for life and to avoid becoming numb to death, but... but after dying so many times, can a human really endure the pain of so many deaths? Does Zero experience phantom pain and hallucinations in his daily life? I looked it up online, and they said—"
"So that's what Hiro was looking into before," Rei Furuya sighed.
So, while he was investigating time loops and the convergence of world lines, his childhood friend was anxiously checking on his mental state?
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I won't experience phantom pain, hallucinations, or auditory hallucinations, and I won't even have nightmares." Rei Furuya even joked a little, "Because my sleep time is so short, I can only leave that tiny bit of space for sweet dreams?"
Morobuchi Kagemitsu was almost amused by him.
“Compared to me…” Furuya Rei hesitated for a moment, but finally said it.
“I’m actually very worried about Hiro too,” he said. “If Hiro has any terrible nightmares, whenever it is, please don’t suffer alone. Come find me right away or call me over, okay?”
"I'm actually not that..."
“Kagemitsu.” Furuya Rei’s voice was serious.
Morofushi Kagemitsu: "..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu stared into those familiar purplish-gray eyes for two seconds before finally surrendering helplessly: "Okay, I will."
“Then we’re even.” Furuya Rei smiled, his eyes crinkling, and held up a finger to him. “We’ll pinky swear, it’s a deal.”
"Pinky promise, a hundred years from now." He was saying these childish words with a straight face, but he wasn't joking at all.
[Let's pinky swear, it's a promise. If Zero ever gets into a fight and gets hurt again, he has to come to me right away for treatment, okay? He can't hide his wounds and leave them untreated.]
[Pinky promise, a hundred years from now, whoever breaks it is a dog.]
Morofushi Kagemitsu couldn't help but laugh as well. He reached out and hooked his pinky finger with Morofushi's, then shook it up and down in a serious manner: "Pinky promise, it's a deal. Whoever hides things or makes the other worry is a little dog."
The black-haired youth and the blond youth lay on their sides on the small bed in the police academy, smiling at each other under the beam of moonlight shining through the window. They felt as childish as if they had returned to their childhood, as innocent and happy as they were back then.
This time, however, they were truly at ease. The chaotic thoughts in their minds were completely replaced by the beautiful memories of their childhood, and their bodies were quickly overwhelmed by fatigue after they felt relieved.
Despite having gone through so many terrible things, and even though they couldn't help but worry about the future before, at least they are now completely relaxed and happy.
Two tiny black heads and a golden head nestled close together, gradually falling asleep in the comfort of each other's company.
No one had nightmares that night.
*
Because they had already made an agreement, and there was also the matter of a duel with Matsuda Jinpei, Furuya Rei was not sent to bed early by his childhood friend on the second night.
He was still reading books and studying materials.
Rei Furuya was unable to find any information about world line convergence.
Speculation about the convergence of world lines is mainly based on inferences derived from the system's statements, and there is no actual evidence or theoretical basis.
He also asked the other three people in the group, but they didn't have any information about world line convergence in their world either.
Rei Furuya can only figure it out on his own.
According to the system, the world lines converge, which is an inescapable fate. No matter how many branches the world takes during the process, they will eventually reach the same end point, because this is the predetermined fate of this world line.
Everyone will die one by one, and Rei Furuya will be all alone, dying in the darkness before dawn. This is the unchangeable fate of this world line.
What Rei Furuya needs to do now is change this entire world line, to reach a new world line without these settings, a world line where people don't have to worry about when everyone will be killed by the world.
In other words, he has to fight against the world, change his fate, and at the same time be wary of the lurking system watching him from the sidelines.
Even with a clear goal and full of fighting spirit, Rei Furuya had no idea how to actually achieve it.
Is it a major divergence point in the world timeline? What is a pivotal event that could significantly impact the development of the world?
No, that's not right. This is a "game" based on his and the audience's wishes.
Therefore, the most significant point should be considered from the perspective of its impact on the game, that is, from the perspective of desire.
That was everyone's original death point.
But that doesn't quite make sense, because there weren't any death points during police academy, were there? At most, they could only be considered dangerous incident points?
If we count it that way, based on the several cycles he has already gone through, there are four major milestones in his current police academy period: Matsuda assembling a gun to save the instructor, the squad leader encountering a convenience store robbery, Hagi getting into a car accident and speeding, and Hiro investigating his parents' murder.
Continuing this line of reasoning, the difficulty of each step might increase accordingly, depending on the severity of the event and its importance to the participants, which is the so-called "level-clearing difficulty."
The first three incidents were easy to resolve, as he already had a wealth of experience. However, the incident involving Hiro completely stumped him.
It was as if no matter what he did, his childhood friend would be killed by the world sooner or later, and he was even mocked by the system for getting a bad ending called "unpredictable".
It's definitely because of the "difficulty in clearing the game"...
But it's still strange that even if the world lines are converging, they should only begin to converge after November 7th, which is the major turning point when everyone died on the original world line.
If it were truly just a matter of world lines converging, it would be impossible for him to have completed ten playthroughs during his time at the police academy.
No matter how you look at it, there seems to be only one reason.
The butterfly effect.
Yes, it's still the butterfly effect.
In other words, to prevent the world lines from converging, something needs to be done that has a significant impact enough to change the world lines.
However, once significant changes are made, the corresponding butterfly effect becomes larger and more difficult to control.
To succeed, one probably needs to do two things simultaneously: [do something that significantly alters the timeline] and [control the butterfly effect].
Rei Furuya pinched the bridge of his nose, looking troubled.
Don't rush. Even if you haven't found a solution yet, keep trying and you'll definitely find a way to succeed.
After a short while, Furuya Rei turned to look at the pile of books next to him.
After he finishes reading all the books and researching all the information, maybe he'll find out...
"Bang bang bang!" The dormitory door was suddenly knocked on loudly, startling Furuya Rei, who was lost in thought. He turned around instinctively, grabbed his gun on guard, and glanced at the time.
12 midnight.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Okay, he probably knows who it is.
Rei Furuya lowered his hand, walked over helplessly, and opened the door. Sure enough, he saw a fierce-looking young man with black curly hair standing in front of him with an oppressive posture.
"Third time's the charm." Matsuda Jinpei revealed a terrifyingly wicked smile. "You blond bastard, to prevent you from standing me up again, I'm coming to ambush you this time. Now you can't run away, can you?"
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Rei Furuya: "You know what? Matsuda, you look like a gangster extorting protection money or a yakuza boss seeking revenge."
"Enough talk! Let's go! Let's have a fight!" Matsuda Jinpei eagerly issued a challenge.
Because he had actually seen Furuya Rei's results these past two days and realized that the blond bastard was indeed quite skilled, he became even more itchy to play.
Of course, he also disliked this overly serious and meticulous blond honor student even more.
"It's not time yet, is it? I still have a few pages to read. Let me finish these last few pages." Furuya Rei let him in, sat down at the desk, and patted the books in front of him.
"A book? What are you reading at a time like this? Some kind of pornographic book?" Matsuda Jinpei walked over impatiently to take a look. "Heat death? The second law of thermodynamics? The ultimate fate of the universe? What the hell???"
Completely bewildered, Matsuda Jinpei turned his head and was immediately stunned by the pile of complicated and difficult-to-understand book titles on the table.
"Relativity, Information Theory, Evolution, Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, The Structure of the Universe, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, A Brief History of Time, The Time Machine, One-Tenth of a Second, A Map of Time, The History of Time, The Order of Time, The Time Paradox, The Prophet Paradox, The God Paradox, The Careless Tourist, Reason, Truth and History, Being and Time, Confessions, Tao Te Ching, Surangama Sutra..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "Why are there philosophical and Buddhist scriptures at the end?!"
"What kind of nonsense are you watching?!" Matsuda Jinpei was shocked, and the way he looked at Furuya Rei was strange.
"Honestly, you're such an annoying and irritating person because you overthink things." Matsuda Jinpei clicked his tongue in annoyance, grabbed the man, and dragged him outside. "Come on! You blond bastard! Let's go fight!"
"Huh? Wait, I already said it's not the agreed time yet, I'm going to—"
Rei Furuya was about to say something, but when he turned around and saw the confident and unruly smile on the face of the black-haired youth, he suddenly couldn't say anything and was a little stunned.
"A fight will make everything alright!" Matsuda Jinpei laughed and waved his fist. "I'll smash all the nonsense in your head out of your head!"
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