Chapter 134 Extra Chapter: A Visit to the Port Mafia (Part 1) (Bonus Chapter for Long Review): Where Did This Get Sent To?
How much longer until we arrive?
Having finally finished negotiations with the leading force in the neighboring city, Chuuya Nakahara yawned, leaning back lazily against the back of the car seat with his upper body and head tilted back.
"You look exceptionally tired, Chuuya."
Sitting next to her, Ozaki Koyo covered her mouth with her sleeve, her words tinged with a teasing smile, "How about we just fall asleep in the car? I'll use [Golden Demon] to carry you into the building later."
[Golden Yaksha] is similar to Izumi Kyōka's [Yaksha Shirayuki], a giant female spirit wielding a staff and sword and floating in the air.
Ozaki Kouyou, who possesses the [Golden Demon], also rose to one of the five executive positions in the [Port Mafia] due to her outstanding abilities, becoming one of the capable assistants to Mori Ougai, the leader.
The other one is naturally the top combatant of the martial arts faction, Nakahara Chuuya, who is also one of the five executives.
As renowned core members, Mori Ougai was naturally accompanied by his entourage at today's meeting—which could also be described as a demonstration.
"No, we can't let them be carried inside. It's too embarrassing for cadres."
Chuuya Nakahara showed a hint of disdain, decisively rejected Momiji's teasing, and then rubbed his face to clear his head.
"Anyway, we'll be there in a little while. I can lie down on the sofa for a bit then."
It's no wonder he's so tired. He received an urgent message in the middle of the night to suppress a hostile organization, and this morning he had to accompany the leader to the territory of a neighboring city to put on a show. It's already a result of Nakahara Chuuya's hard work that he didn't sleep in the car.
Fortunately, just as he had predicted, not long after, the car he was in came to a smooth stop in front of the headquarters building, following the impressive motorcade.
When Chuuya Nakahara got out of the car, Boss Mori was already waiting at the door with his superhuman, Alice.
From the cars behind them, Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Ichiyo Higuchi, along with Ryūnō Hirotsu, Michizō Tatehara, and Gin, who belonged to the [Black Lizard] squad, got out one after another.
"Chief, why don't we go in?"
Chuuya Nakahara was starting to feel the strain and yawned again.
"Looks like I forced you to get up early, Chuuya-kun."
Mori Ougai, the leader of the Port Mafia, dressed in extremely formal attire, stood at the door. Upon hearing this, he turned around and smiled at him. "I was just waiting for you. The meeting this morning was very successful, and I don't have any urgent matters that require me to leave everyone behind to come in."
"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's go."
Mori Ougai glanced around briefly, then strode toward the towering headquarters building of the Port Mafia.
The guards standing on either side of the gate immediately bowed respectfully, welcoming the group of people who maintained the organization's core operations inside.
"Ahhh, I was so close! I was just a tiny bit more to beat the game!"
"Waaah, it's Dazai-san again, it's that hateful yet adorable and handsome Dazai-san again..."
"Twin Priests! I got a ticket for the Twin Priests instance! Yay!!"
"Chuuya was so cute today! He even patted my head when I was scared and cried!"
The moment they stepped across the threshold and the scene changed, the overwhelming roar of voices and the sea of people standing shoulder to shoulder stunned all the members of the Port Mafia present.
What... what's going on? They've only been gone for a morning, so why is the headquarters of the port's Mafia suddenly as bustling as an amusement park during peak season?
The vast majority of these faces coming and going were extremely young. Some were queuing at the front desk, some had just come out of the elevator, and others were taking photos or chatting in the lobby. Their expressions were lively and happy, and they did not look like members of the mafia who had stepped onto the other side of the world at all.
But the main structure and interior decoration of this building look exactly like their headquarters building!
"...Enemy...enemy attack?"
Higuchi Ichiyo uttered those words in a daze.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Ryunosuke Akutagawa spoke up. He had already tried, but the [Rashomon] ability was unusable—and when he turned around, he found that Alice, who was always by the leader's side, had also disappeared.
"yes."
Mori Ōgai gave a wry smile in agreement.
Moreover, everyone noticed another anomaly—when this group of young people, who seemed to have wandered onto a movie set, left the building, they actually passed right through their bodies.
It was as if they were the ghosts who had wandered in here, unable to touch these people or be seen by them.
"Going out?" Chuuya Nakahara immediately became serious.
"I've already tried, but I can't get out. It's like there's an invisible wall."
Hirotsu Ryūrō reached out and pressed his hand against the air at the exit of the hall, as if pressing against a piece of transparent glass—if there really was glass there.
"Could it be that I'm actually under the influence of a psychic ability user, and only I'm real, while you're all just illusions within this illusion..."
Higuchi Ichiyo muttered to himself.
"..." Ozaki Koyo sighed, "But I also believe that I am real, what should I do?"
"Even if one is trapped in an illusion, what harm could such an illusion possibly do?"
Mori Ougai spoke up, "Did you go to all this trouble just to create the illusion that the port Mafia headquarters was occupied by ordinary people?"
Besides, this doesn't look like an occupation at all; it's more like...
"【The Rat in the Dead House】?" Tachihara Michizo suddenly spoke.
"…………"
"Um?!!!"
Startled by the sudden gaze directed at him, Tachihara Michizo cautiously raised his hand and pointed towards the front desk, "Hey, look at that huge signboard over there..."
—【The House of the Dead】brings you a thrilling new experience! The Twin Priests instance is now open on the 18th floor. Please purchase tickets at the front desk. Limited tickets available daily, first come, first served. —
The figure accompanying this advertising slogan on the standee, even dressed in new attire with religious elements, was still easily recognizable to the members of the [Port Mafia] as Fyodor Dostoevsky.
They are two people with completely opposite temperaments.
"………………"
stunned.
Utterly dumbfounded.
"Now, I'm starting to wonder if this is some kind of trick by that [demon]..."
Faced with the huge words "Rats in the House of the Dead," Mori Ougai looked completely dazed and couldn't muster any appropriate reaction.
“Silver.” Ryunosuke Akutagawa suddenly spoke.
“?” Standing next to Tachihara Michizo, Gin, who usually wore a mask to cover her face while working, didn’t understand why her brother was suddenly calling her.
Akutagawa quickly gave everyone the answer, “Over there.” His gaze fell on the reception desk surrounded by the crowd, “Gin is serving them.”
This time, when everyone deliberately looked through the densely packed crowd to the very back, they found a receptionist standing there, dressed in a white dress, with waist-length black hair and a gentle smile like that of a nadeko (a Japanese woman who is deeply devoted to her husband).
No matter how you look at it, it's Silver [Black Lizard] who has changed out of his work clothes.
Higuchi Ichiyo had the good fortune to see Gin's true face, and now her eyes widened in astonishment as she looked him over repeatedly, exclaiming, "Eh, this, Gin, you..."
silver:"…………"
Unable to bear being stared at, she whispered, "I am the person in question."
Her voice is still incredibly cute; it really is her.
Higuchi Ichiyo's pupils trembled violently.
"It seems that this illusion has many incredible transformations."
Mori Ougai pondered for a moment, "In that case, let's take the elevator up and see what surprises this 'House of the Dead' has in store for us."
Since the leader said so, everyone naturally followed without objection—but they had only gone a little further when they were stopped by a soft and sweet "brother".
Ryunosuke Akutagawa froze on the spot, unable to move an inch.
The person who called him "brother" was not [Black Lizard] Silver, but the girl in the white dress standing at the front desk, Silver.
She can see us!? — This is probably the thought in the minds of all the [Port Mafia] personnel at this moment.
"Why did you come in from outside, brother? Didn't you go to help?"
Yin and the players queuing to buy tickets bowed slightly in apology, then left the counter and walked towards them.
“And… Mr. Chuuya?”—Her eyes darted back and forth for a moment, her curiosity settling on Chuuya Nakahara.
As for the other people, she had never met them and did not know them.
[Black Lizard] Silver tied her hair up and wore her mask tightly, looking heroic and aloof. It was really hard for her to recognize that it was her.
But seeing Akutagawa and Chuuya walking so intimately with these people, she showed a slight look of realization.
"Did you bring special guests here for your visit?"
That's not surprising. Mr. Ihe and his colleagues know a lot of people, and Mr. Dazai would occasionally pull someone over and declare that the person was now a new employee.
People like Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Kyoka Izumi, and most recently Atsushi Nakajima were all lured in by Dazai-sensei's words...
Thinking of this, she placed her hands in front of her and gave a polite bow.
"I will speak with Manager Sigma and wish everyone a pleasant trip."
Watching Yin's departing figure, the members of the [Port Mafia] exchanged bewildered glances.
"Why can she see us?"
This problem is too difficult to figure out, let's just keep moving forward.
Just to be on the safe side, they went to the second floor first—they relied entirely on the players to press the elevator buttons, as they couldn't touch any physical objects.
When the elevator doors opened, what appeared before them was the area that should have been responsible for communications operations, mission arrangements, and the storage of related data. However, it had undergone a complete transformation, and the lights had been deliberately dimmed, making the place almost dark and cold, filled with a rather hardcore and dangerous atmosphere.
However, this did not stop a group of young people standing at the door from seeing them, and they did not seem afraid at all.
There was also a sign next to it.
[This floor is the entrance to the Legendary Agents Theater. Players, please wait here.]
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Mori Ōgai was the most silent.
There was more than just silence; there was also a hint of despair.
What exactly did this bizarre illusion transform his organization's headquarters into?!
Although the players standing in the waiting area were chatting excitedly and couldn't see the extra group of "ghosts," some people could see them.
"Mori Ōgai?"
Amidst a murmur of cheers, little Lambo, who had come to pick up the player, was taken aback, not expecting to see Mori Ougai dressed as a leader here.
"Rimbaud??!"
But the people on the other side were far more shocked than he was—especially those who knew him, who never expected to see this long-dead Port Mafia traitor here!
"…………"
Rimbaud frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, clearly wanting to know what was going on—but his experience as a top intelligence agent had given him keen insight, and he realized that the players couldn't see them at all.
This also means that, in the eyes of the players, what he just said was basically like talking to himself.
In this "House of the Dead Rats", the player's experience is very important.
Therefore, Rimbaud reacted quickly, ignoring the shocked members of the Port Mafia and focusing his attention back on the player.
"I'm sorry, you remind me of an old friend I met in Japan. We didn't have much interaction, but he left a very deep impression on me with his intellect."
Those honey-like eyes slowly swept over the expectant players, and beneath their quiet, melancholic gaze, like the withering of maple leaves, a hint of nostalgia mixed with unwavering joy.
"Perhaps you heard this from above before you were sent to support us, but I still want to emphasize this point. This infiltration mission is extremely difficult. The enemy is very cunning and has used many tricks to confuse the truth with falsehoods. We need to identify which documents are completely authentic and successfully bring them back to our homeland."
As the players responded with barely concealed excitement, Rimbaud turned around, his slightly wavy black hair tracing a soft arc in the air.
“You will definitely become excellent agents. Paul is waiting for us at the base gate. Let’s go, time is of the essence.”
"Yes, Senior Rimbaud!"
To the astonishment of everyone at the [Port Mafia], these players, who didn't look like agents at all, unanimously agreed and then followed Rimbaud away.
They chattered excitedly all the way.
If this is called infiltration, the alarm would probably go off from ten meters away.
Is this...is this a stage play?
“I said,” Chuuya Nakahara began dryly, “Paul, isn’t that Paul Verlaine?”
“That’s true,” Ozaki Koyo blinked twice, unusually abandoning all composure, “Why would I be here…”
Even if they had doubts, Rimbaud, who could see them, probably couldn't provide an answer—he was busy leading those agents on an infiltration mission and had no time to deal with them.
"If we go further up," Higuchi Ichiyo whispered, "will we be able to see Akutagawa-senpai again?"
Two Akutagawa-senpai... Waaah, she suddenly felt a little excited... No, Higuchi, she had to stay alert and on guard... But these are two Akutagawa-senpai, two of them! Maybe she should go downstairs and ask that guy... No, no, she had to stick with the group...
Ryunosuke Akutagawa silently turned his gaze to Higuchi Ichiyo, who was fluctuating between joy and confusion.
"Let's go up further."
Dazai-kun, who can nullify all supernatural abilities, is not here, and Mori Ougai has no other way to break the deadlock.
Perhaps only when we reach the leader's office will we be able to see what this illusion is trying to achieve?
After hitching a ride back to the elevator with another player, they arrived at the next area.
【Double Black Night Dungeon】.
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By the way, thank you everyone for your support with nutrient solution and free tickets~ JJ removed the one-click statistics button a few days ago, so I can't post it in the author's notes anymore, sob, but I remember it all, thank you so much everyone (hands clasped together)
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