Chapter 38: The Tenth Playthrough (9)
September 18th.
It's 2 a.m.
Metropolitan Police Department Police Academy.
A man dressed entirely in black, carrying a huge backpack, struggled to climb over the wall and enter the school. He carefully looked left and right, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that no one was around.
Even so, he was extremely nervous. While on his way, he couldn't help but reach into his pocket to check if his belongings were still there. Only then did he take a deep breath, grip the shoulder strap of his backpack tightly, and carefully sneak into his destination—the stadium.
The stadium was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but the man who had already scouted the place skillfully turned on his small flashlight and headed to the equipment room at the bottom.
The gymnasium is located at the very center of the police academy. The auditorium inside is the venue for large-scale events such as the opening and graduation ceremonies of the police academy. Almost everyone will gather there at the end of the last day of this sports meet.
It is said that even the Superintendent General of Police will come over this time to take a look and say a few words.
This is simply a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The man let out a few eerie, manic laughs in the darkness. He carefully opened the door to the equipment room, gently put down the backpack he was clutching, squatted down, bit the flashlight with his teeth, and slowly unzipped it with trembling hands.
What appeared before him was a backpack full of bombs.
"Haha, hahahaha—"
In the dim light, the man, his face contorted with mad hatred, reached out towards the bomb.
"Bang!"
"Ah!!!" Before he could even react to what was happening, he felt a sharp pain in his face and was sent flying backward.
"Who is it?!" The man, his face covered in blood, screamed and rolled on the ground several times. After a couple of seconds, he realized he had been attacked and immediately looked up fiercely to see who it was.
The flashlight had fallen not far away, and the light it emitted could only illuminate half of the person's body. The person then zipped up their backpack again and gently placed the backpack, which was full of bombs, in the corner next to them.
He couldn't see the man's face clearly, but he could vaguely make out that it was a man in uniform, probably a classmate from the police academy.
"Fine, whoever you are, since you've been discovered, there's nothing I can do." He suddenly pulled a pistol from his pocket. "Then you can just die!!!"
However, before he could pull the trigger, and even while he was still speaking, the man in the darkness opposite him flashed and was in front of him the next second.
A strong gust of wind swept in, and he had no time to react. His vision blurred, and he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. He subconsciously let go before realizing that he had been kicked by the other person.
In an instant, he stared wide-eyed as the gun flew up and fell back down, before being precisely caught in the hand of the man opposite him.
Then, the gun was turned around, and the black muzzle, a symbol of death, was pointed at him.
The man froze.
At this moment, the person finally stepped completely into the range of the flashlight beam, and his swaying vision gradually became clear.
Then he discovered that what was watching him from behind the gun barrel was a pair of cold, sharp blue eyes.
"Zhu...Zhu Fujingguang?!" He was so shocked that he felt like he was dreaming, doubting whether the cold-faced man pointing a gun at him was the gentle cat-eyed youth he remembered.
"Tanaka Genichi." Morofushi Kagemitsu called out his name as well, his hand holding the gun unwavering. "It really is you."
"As expected?" Tanaka Genichi was shocked again. "You knew all along what I was going to do?!"
In the moment of his shock and disorientation, Morofushi Kagemitsu suddenly stepped forward, grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, and pinned him to the ground, unable to move.
The movement was swift as lightning, and the force was so great that Tanaka Genichi screamed again. No matter how much he cursed or struggled, it was no use until the cold barrel of the gun was pressed against the back of his head, at which point he froze and stopped moving.
"Tanaka Genichi, ten years ago, your mother committed suicide because of the wrongful arrest of the current Superintendent General of Police, Momota Rikuro, and your father also died from excessive drinking due to grief."
The man behind him spoke with utmost calmness, yet his words sent a chill down Tanaka Genichi's spine.
"You prepared those bombs to detonate during Superintendent General Momota Rikuro's speech at the end of tomorrow's sports meet, killing everyone present, right? You hate all the police?"
Tanaka Genichi struggled and screamed in disbelief, "How did you know all this?! Why do you know?! When did you find out???"
Morofushi Kagemitsu did not answer him. He took out a rope and tied the man up before getting up to call Furuya Rei.
The phone rang several times but was not answered. Morofushi Kagemitsu's hand holding the gun gradually tightened, and the bulging veins on the back of his fair hand were very conspicuous.
Fortunately, the call was finally answered.
"Hiro, how's it going on your end? I've taken care of it here."
Morofushi Kagemitsu breathed a sigh of relief, his body instantly relaxing, and said in a gentle voice, "It's the same on my end, it's definitely Tanaka Genichi, just like our deduction."
The sounds on the other end of the phone were somewhat noisy, including a man's screams and curses. It seemed that Furuya Rei had walked a little further away before continuing to speak.
"I've confirmed the situation on my end too. These guys are the remnants of the gang we wiped out last time. They provided bombs to Tanaka Genichi in order to get revenge on the police academy and us. They probably want to blow up everyone at the end of the sports meet tomorrow. Are the bombs on Hiro's side okay? It seems like they've got a lot of bombs."
"It was them." Morofushi Kagemitsu frowned. "I'm fine here, the bomb hasn't been planted yet, is Zero injured?"
"I'm fine, don't worry." Rei Furuya smiled. "I've already called the police. Now we just need to wait for them to arrive. Let's agree on our story first..."
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Zhu Fujingguang nodded, his smile gentle and soft.
Tanaka Genichi, who was tightly bound to the ground, was still in shock and in excruciating pain. He looked up at him with wide eyes as if he were looking at a ghost.
*
The sheer number of bombs, the involvement of gangs, the hatred towards the police and the revenge against the Superintendent General, and the fact that a police academy student colluded with an off-campus gang to bomb the school—the implications were truly terrifying. It alarmed many police officers, as well as police academy students and instructors, even in the middle of the night.
However, the students were quickly sent to sleep and were not allowed to participate. Only Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu were taken to give statements because they were the discoverers and had made a great contribution.
They were not released until 4 a.m.
“Superintendent General Rikuro Hyakuta.” Rei Furuya scoffed softly. “Isn’t that the same Superintendent General who mistakenly arrested Matsuda’s father and ruined their family? Just how many times has that guy made mistakes and how many families has he destroyed?”
The butterfly effect this time is actually quite obvious. Because they offended that gang, the remaining remnants of the gang are willing to fight to the death to take revenge on them. That's why they set their sights on Tanaka Genichi, who hates the police and wants revenge.
Without the help of the yakuza, Tanaka Genichi, an ordinary student, could not have accomplished something like this.
And because the five of them did so many earth-shattering things during their time at the police academy, the Superintendent General of Police, who originally had no intention of participating in the sports meet, became curious and wanted to come and see the police academy. This news caused Tanaka Genichi to completely lose his mind.
Fortunately, their actions were all detected by Furuya Rei's intelligence network, and Tanaka Genichi's strange behavior was also noticed by Morofushi Kagemitsu.
As for why he was discovered by Morofushi Kagemitsu from the next class, it was because the inspiration for planting the bomb came from the bombing incident a few days ago when Morofushi Kagemitsu caught the murderer of his parents, Soto Moriichi. So, the way he looked at Morofushi Kagemitsu these past few days was a bit strange, which was noticed by the ever-vigilant Morofushi Kagemitsu.
“Matsuda would be furious if he knew,” Morofushi Kagemitsu chuckled.
"Ah, he's definitely going to cause trouble." Furuya Rei laughed too. "He might actually punch the Superintendent General in the face this time. We have to keep a close eye on him tomorrow."
As they walked back to their dorm, both of them appeared relaxed to varying degrees.
"The butterfly gathering should be over by now, right?" Morofushi Kagemitsu asked softly.
"Yes, that's true in theory, but we still can't let our guard down until the second save point appears," Furuya Rei replied quietly.
"The Butterfly Binding" is the name they've given to this recent series of events.
Because it's a combination of worldline convergence and the butterfly effect that hasn't officially started yet, it was given this name.
Based on the patterns observed so far, the butterfly formation can occur either before or after a significant turning point.
Especially after they do something impactful at a crucial juncture, a harbinger of events of varying sizes will emerge, depending on the severity of the event, typically within a few days to a month after the event.
And today's events, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be the last butterfly to be captured.
After killing this butterfly, there shouldn't be any more problems for the remaining two weeks of my police academy studies.
Rei Furuya returned to his dorm, took out his phone, glanced at the group chat member list, and his brows furrowed deeply.
[1. Subaru Natsuki: From Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, currently on his 20th playthrough, and has died 20 times.]
[2. Homura Akemi: From *Puella Magi Madoka Magica*, currently on her 17th playthrough, has died 0 times.]
[3. Shinpei Ami: From "Summer Revisited," currently on his eleventh playthrough, and has died eleven times.]
[4. Rei Furuya: From "Detective Conan," currently on his tenth playthrough, and has died ten times.]
More have been added...
Will things really continue to go smoothly for him?
Rei Furuya looked at the calendar and saw that there were less than two weeks left, his eyes gradually hardening.
It will go smoothly, absolutely.
*
the next day.
After learning what had happened last night, Matsuda Jinpei was indeed furious.
The curly-haired youth, who already possessed an intimidating and menacing aura, became even more terrifying. He now looked as if he could actually punch the Superintendent General in the face if he appeared.
Kenji Hagiwara, standing nearby, sighed at how he was wasting his handsome face.
Date Wataru stood sternly in front of Furuya Rei and Morofushi Kagemitsu, reprimanding them for acting recklessly on their own. He said that they should at least call everyone together when they realized something was wrong and were about to cause trouble. After all, they had resolved the Tomomori incident together last time, hadn't they?
Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi obediently admitted their mistakes, saying they would never do it again.
But it's clear they'll have many, many more "next times."
Helpless, Date Kou reached out and ruffled the hair of the two brats.
"Never mind, I'll settle accounts with you later. The competition is about to start, is everyone ready?" he asked.
"Ready!" the four of them replied with a smile.
The last event of the sports meet was the relay race.
Of course, Onizuka's team arranged for the five magpie kings to be placed last.
These five gorillas practically swept all the awards at the Games, but the relay race was different; it was all about teamwork.
Therefore, the other classes were instantly ignited with fighting spirit, and the atmosphere on the scene became heated, with cheers and shouts growing louder and louder.
Especially when the top students in Onizuka's class gradually fell behind or even became ranked last, the atmosphere at the sports meet was as exciting and thrilling as if they were finally about to defeat the Great Demon King.
"Go for it! Defeat the Onizuka Squad!!!"
"Charge! Defeat those five devilish gorillas!!!"
"Go Onizuka team!!!"
This atmosphere made the five people, who weren't initially that concerned, a little nervous and excited.
Kenji Hagiwara was the first to receive the baton.
Although Kenji Hagiwara's stamina wasn't great, his explosive power was outstanding. He quickly caught up with someone and handed the baton to Jinpei Matsuda in front of him.
"Jinpei! It's up to you now!"
The second one is Matsuda Jinpei.
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji's teamwork was excellent; they sprinted off the moment they received the baton, putting immense pressure on the runners on the adjacent track with both speed and momentum.
In the end, he overtook one person and forcefully placed the baton into Morofushi Kagemitsu's hands.
"Master Jing, kill them all!!!"
The third is Morofuku Kagemitsu.
Morofushi Kagemitsu's face also showed a rare serious expression. When he burst out and rushed out, he startled those who did not know him well and thought he was very gentle and therefore not afraid.
He finally smiled when more than one person passed the baton to Date Wataru.
"Squad leader, the rest is up to you."
The fourth is Date Air.
Despite his tall stature, Date Wataru was not clumsy at all.
We've now entered the final sprint to the penultimate spot. The last few are the best students from each class, and it's practically impossible to catch up when you're so far behind.
Even so, Date Kou later surpassed one person and passed the baton to Furuya Rei, who was in the final position.
"Furuya! Go! Go and bring victory back!!!" he shouted with a loud laugh.
"Leave it to me! I will make sure everyone's efforts are not in vain!" Furuya Rei couldn't help but smirk, got into position, and charged forward the moment he took the baton from him.
Amidst countless shouts under the sunlight, his platinum blonde hair danced in the wind, his vision filled only with the back of the person in front of him and the finish line not far away. At this moment, even the wind seemed to become his aid, making his body light and full of power.
"Charge! Zero!!!" the other three shouted from behind.
Rei Furuya gripped the baton even tighter. He didn't look back, but charged forward with an even more determined and passionate gaze.
Until he finally overtook the person in front of him, until his body broke through the red line representing victory at the finish line, until he achieved final victory.
At that moment, the entire venue erupted in deafening cheers and screams.
Furuya Rei, panting, turned to look at them, but was suddenly embraced by four people who rushed over, almost losing his balance and being tackled to the ground.
"Hahaha! We won! We won!!!" The four people excitedly surrounded the blond youth, rubbing and hugging him.
"Yes! We won!" The blond youth surrounded by them couldn't help but laugh. Although his hair was messy and sticking up from being ruffled and his clothes were wrinkled, his smile was even brighter and more dazzling than the sun. His jewel-like eyes were full of joy and hope.
“Of course we will win!” he said.
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