19

A bit hot...

Noel exclaimed on a snowy night in Tokyo in November, and then he controlled the steering wheel with one hand, took off his black coat and threw it on the passenger seat, leaving only a thin light blue shirt.

Of course please don't read too much into it, he was wearing pants.

[Are you sure you want to go? ]

Xiao Hei kept chattering on the whole time, and the content revolved around the eight reasons why we couldn't go. The cold mechanical voice analyzed the matter clearly as if he was reporting work. Unfortunately, Noel was like that boss who never listened to others and was absent-minded the whole time.

【Noel! 】

"I'm listening, I'm listening. What were you talking about just now?" Noel replied lazily, unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, revealing his collarbone... which was wrapped with a bandage.

【......】

"It just occurred to me that since this is a comic book world, is it okay for me to change the plot so drastically?"

Xiao Hei didn't respond, maybe he was still angry. Noel didn't care. He just said to himself:

"But if this is a comic book world, then the people I killed are just ink drawn, and so am I."

"If it's true, then there's no need to change the plot. The lives I took are real. Is this good or bad?"

This again involves the question of whether the world we live in is real, and it is also a topic that is not suitable for overthinking, otherwise it is easy to become nihilistic. But for Noel, it seems that it doesn't matter whether it is real or not, and neither is a good choice.

There was no one on either side of the road, and even the street lights were flickering. A few snowflakes were slowly falling, but the number was too small to create any atmosphere.

The bar that Noel chose was remote enough, with no cameras around. It was a dark bar favored by creatures in the dark, so it was very convenient for discussing things.

And they wouldn't check any driver's license to prove that he was an adult. Noel couldn't help but remember that he had gone to a bar with Gin. He was too young at that time, and his underage features were too obvious, so the security guards stopped him in one fell swoop.

Gin should be blamed for this, because he completely ignored his age when he was given the code name. This is called child labor, and he deserved to be accused by the security guard of being irresponsible as a father.

[Wait, Noel, up there! ]

A sharp mechanical sound accompanied by the sound of electric current rang in his mind. Noel immediately became alert and tried to move, but his movement was blocked by the seat belt fastened around his chest. The sudden severe pain came quickly, and the strength of his limbs quickly disappeared.

A steel bar suddenly fell from the sky, passed through the glass diagonally from the front and top, and directly pierced into Noel who was driving in the driver's seat.

"Do you fucking want to be a Tokyo foodie?!"

Noel shouted this sentence with his last bit of strength, and then his vision went dark and his consciousness began to blur.

Hiss—that was dangerous.

Noel tried hard to open his eyes, but the severe pain in his abdomen made him unable to speak.

[Xiao Hei, this injury would normally result in immediate death.]

Noel lowered his head and could not move, as if he was welded to the seat. He also saw clearly that his abdomen was firmly nailed with steel bars as thick as his forearm. The bright red blood gradually dyed the blue lining of the edge of the metal object into the same color, like bacteria gradually growing larger in a culture dish, at a slow speed. After all, the steel bars also blocked the wound and played a certain role in stopping the bleeding.

If this continues, he will slowly bleed to death.

Noel thought, he knew there was no possibility of saving himself at the moment, and he was about to die.

If you must say it,

My mother's death was so painful. I thought I could enjoy the death process carefreely.

Noel tentatively moved his arm and felt that he still had some strength. He slowly raised his hand and touched the cold metal object.

It’s so cool, he sighed, and he also knew that his body would probably become this temperature soon. If no one found it, the hardness after rigor mortis would be quite significant.

hiss--

Maybe the movement touched the wound, Noel clearly felt a more terrifying pain, and he had no room to resist. If he still had the strength to speak, he would have screamed out loud.

No, it has to be quicker. This is really too painful. I still have some strength in my hands. In this case...

[Noel, don't move, don't pull it out, don't! ]

The young man pulled out the steel bars as thick as his forearm. He didn't expect that he could still have the strength to do so in this situation. Blood spurted out in large quantities. The scene was like a horror movie, and the entire piece of clothing was directly splattered into blood red.

【It turns out there is so much blood in my body. 】

Noel sighed, feeling very unreal.

【you......】

【Xiao Hei, were you not here just now? 】

Before Xiao Hei could say anything, Noel quickly asked back, but then he answered:

[That's fine too. If I die, you'll have a place to go.]

He did not give Xiao Hei time to interrupt, and just spoke quickly. He knew that he did not have much time left, and perhaps he was just using his thoughts to distract himself from the pain. In short, he spoke his guess in his mind:

[So this world is really a comic book world? ]

[The presence of steel bars is clearly very abnormal.]

[So Bourbon's role is not allowed to be removed? ]

【After all, he is a popular character. 】

Xiao Hei actually answered and accepted the settings of the comic world.

[Actually, I think he would be quite attractive in his police uniform.]

Noel heard it, but the first thing he thought of was a fan art he had seen in his previous life. It was of an adult Toru Amuro wearing a police uniform standing under a cherry tree with his peers. The painting was very well done and received a lot of likes.

【Maybe.】

Xiao Hei answered again.

[In the comic book world, is the plot about fate? But it’s too complicated. I don’t have that much time to think about philosophical questions…]

[It has nothing to do with me anyway, so I have no regrets. ]

If I don't go back for a few days, the organization will probably send people to look for me. If they find my body, they will probably bring it back. I don't know what to do with it, so I'll just leave it alone.

As for Xiaoguang, he would probably ask about me after he found out something was wrong, but he can't do anything with that body. Even if he can't contact Furuya Rei, he can go find those colleagues of the same period and his brother, and under their protection, nothing will happen to him. When the main storyline begins, Shirley will make the antidote and everything will be back to normal.

[It’s a pity that I didn’t sell more of the organization’s information. I hope Xiaoguang can find the USB flash drive I hid in the Doraemon bell if he’s more careful.]

[The others should be the same as in the original. If Matsuda and Hagiwara are not dead, it might be easier. As for Date Kou, it's hard to say. It depends on luck. With so many butterfly effects stacked together, such a small probability shouldn't be a big problem...]

[Is the process of death so long? I used to complain about how in movies and TV shows, people still have the energy to make instructions for their funeral after their blood has almost run out, but suddenly die before they can finish saying who the murderer is.]

At some point the snow grew heavier and lightly fell on Noel, but was quickly melted by the remaining temperature, diluting the blood into a light red color that quickly expanded.

[This snow is quite appropriate for the scene, like the white flowers scattered at a funeral.]

Noel's metaphor has no beauty at all, but rather sounds like a humorous and sarcastic joke.

[Why do I feel stronger now? Is this the last burst of energy? It can last so long? Does the comic world have an advantage in this aspect?]

【Noel...】

"Oh, Xiao Hei, don't interrupt me at this time. Can't you see that I'm busy giving a long explanation before death?"

He actually had the energy to say this out loud, which is worthy of the legendary last gasp of life. I give Death five stars.

【You are no longer bleeding.】

"What?" Noel's body shook suddenly. He straightened up incredibly and looked down at the wound on his abdomen which had already solidified. He felt a slight itching sensation.

"This is not scientific!" Noel finally couldn't help it. He quickly unbuckled his seat belt, endured the pain and got out of the scrapped car. He confirmed again and again that the blood-red shirt on his body was not dyed from somewhere.

"The experiment only made me more resilient. This is like coming back from the dead!"

[Your wound is not a penetrating wound, it was just slightly pierced by a thick steel bar. It is scientific that the wound healed after it was pulled out. ]

"You call this a bit rough?"

Noel bent down and picked up the steel bar that he had just thrown away. The bloody end didn't look like it was just a "shallow" insertion.

"This doesn't conform to the law of conservation of energy!"

[Kudo Shinichi went from a high school student to an elementary school student and lost dozens of kilograms out of thin air. This is very scientific! ]

【Besides, have you forgotten how much you just ate? 】

As soon as Xiao Hei finished speaking, Noel felt a sharp pain in his stomach which had just been repaired. He knew that this was the feeling of being extremely hungry.

Unfortunately, he had no appetite at all and just felt a little tired, so he sat down against the abandoned car and was silent for a while, then said:

"I still feel like I've been played a really bad joke."

[It seems so.]

"Is it warning me?"

【Maybe.】

"What's your relationship with Xiao Hei?"

【......】

"Ding-a-ling--"

The sound of a cell phone suddenly rang, causing Noel to stop exploring the issue. He turned around and looked at the car behind him, remembering that he had stuffed the cell phone into his coat and placed it in the passenger seat. Obviously, it was lucky enough to avoid being stained with blood.

The person who came was as expected, the Bourbon who let him enjoy the intimate contact between steel and belly.

"Hello,"

"Oh, it seems to be half past nine now, which is quite early."

"Late? Indeed, I don't like it either, so I won't go."

"Well, actually I was in a car accident, so you can have fun by yourself, have fun, partner, and just keep the bill with me."

Noel quickly hung up the phone, secretly sighing that he had accomplished a new achievement today after hanging up on Gin, hanging up on his own male god.

Then he continued to lean against the car, letting the snow fall on him.

A bit cold...