Chapter 109: About the April Fool's Day Reprint Event
Matsuda Jinpei lowered his head and looked at the business card he had just taken out of his pocket.
The back features a design of a nail piercing a brain, while the front contains very little information, just an address.
There wasn't even any basic job information written in it; it was as if they were just informing the person who received the business card where to find them.
Even small workshops wouldn't do this. Besides, what kind of name is that?
He struggled for a long time but couldn't figure out the meaning of the first word; he only understood the suffix that represented the company.
The address is still in Tokyo, but it's extremely remote.
The curly-haired officer looked at the business card again, then at the wasteland in front of him, and fell into deep thought. Had he been deceived?
The business card had a high-quality feel, definitely not a cheap mass-produced product. He even searched for the company name on the business card.
There were no business information popping up on the search engine; instead, there were mostly medical papers and news articles.
Matsuda scratched his curly hair and randomly clicked on an article. It was an educational page that explained the meaning of the word: prefrontal lobotomy.
A method for treating mental patients that has been almost completely eliminated—that does fit their story, but… it’s still strange. Surely their predecessors were specialists in this surgery?
Why not just call it that as a memorial? Matsuda frowned as he noticed the side effects of the surgery.
He only had basic medical knowledge and first aid skills, which were not typical of a professional doctor. He didn't really understand things that were highly specialized, but then he suddenly thought of that monster.
That monster that obeys commands to some extent, whose true form is unknown, and who most likely wears human skin and disguises itself as someone else.
It maintained a smile on its face, and aside from its low intelligence, it really resembled the aftereffects left on the people he had just seen who had undergone surgery.
Almost without exception, those patients became walking corpses.
This is almost indistinguishable from that monster, the only difference being that they don't skin their own kind and then disguise themselves as him.
But things have hit a dead end. The address is fake, there's no contact information... Wait, he could go to the manor; there might still be some clues there.
It was another familiar wasteland. Matsuda Jinpei even felt like he hadn't woken up yet, like he was dreaming. Otherwise, why would a place that should have been a magnificent manor be empty?
However, he quickly dismissed the idea when he ran into an acquaintance.
The one with long black hair and a knitted hat is suspected to be acting with his two old classmates who are currently undercover.
He walked over slowly, without the guitar bag he had last time, just a regular backpack.
“It’s gone.” He walked over to the policeman who had discovered the monster with him, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and offered him one.
Matsuda took the cigarette. It wasn't work time, so he didn't have to follow the rules he used at work.
"What are you doing here?" asked the off-duty police officer.
"You came here too, it was just a detective's curiosity, but unfortunately... you were a step too late."
The FBI agent, who wasn't a detective, spoke with a tone full of regret.
He was naturally there to carry out the newly assigned mission; Scotland had gone to Bourbon to get intelligence, leaving him alone to wait here.
Instead of finding any monsters, they ended up finding the police.
"Well, officer, would you like to hire me?" The knitted hat, perfectly playing the detective, was trying to solicit clients for himself.
Matsuda watched as this person, who was most likely a member of an illegal organization, put on an act in front of him.
"Are you the only one in your firm?" He feigned interest, as if he was very interested in his suggestion.
To my shame, it's common for Japanese police officers and detectives to work together, so I had no problem with my actions.
He continued, "Didn't you come with three people last time? Were the other two detectives too?"
The person in the knitted hat nodded calmly, seemingly accepting the explanation.
"Do they also know about the monsters?"
Upon hearing this, Shuichi Akai's face, which certainly didn't look like that of a good person, showed a troubled expression:
"As you know, some things are simply unbelievable to people who haven't seen them with their own eyes."
"So you're the only one investigating this?"
“That’s how it is right now,” he changed the subject, also showing some curiosity about why Matsuda was there, “Officer Matsuda, what brought you back here?”
Deep in the mountains and forests, two "good people" who didn't look like good people were testing each other with their own thoughts, if only there were no one else around.
If any concerned citizen were to pass by, they would surely assume they were engaged in illegal transactions and would call the police to arrest them both.
*
Two people with nothing were sent to the experimental table together. Thanks to the room that could be changed at will through the back door of the bus, when the door was opened, they were directly in the laboratory.
X was completely unaware that the other dog had eaten the whole golden branch. She could feel the special sensation brought by the golden branch, but she still thought it was the small tree branch.
Who knew that a big one would come along? The dog that Mephisto had smashed into a pancake was very bouncy. After being torn off the front of the car, it swelled up back to its original shape.
The bouncy dog was placed on the experimental table. Jinzhi was shaken inside its body by the impact. Now its translucent body showed a uniform gold color, and some darker sediments rose and fell with its movements.
"My Lord Administrator," Don Quixote's voice was more serious than ever before.
Not only X, but even Adam, who was sharpening his knives and had nothing left, turned to look at this usually loud and boisterous blonde girl.
"I want one too!"
What do you need? Do you need to use the lab bench?
X's first thought was this. There was no other reason than that the room was incredibly monotonous. Apart from the usual laboratory equipment, there was almost nothing there. What could Don Quixote possibly want?
She stared at the lab table with shining eyes. Just as X was wondering if she had seen some strange legend about a finisher again, he realized that she was actually looking at nothing.
The next moment, Don Quixote's answer confirmed his guess: "This is the real lira! I will also make one to house myself!"
Flowing hemp? What's that?
Faust thought that Miss Don Quixote was referring to the effect of having golden branches flowing through a body that had nothing.
The white-haired woman, who had changed into a white coat along with them, dragged Don Quixote out while talking.
Unmoved by those bright eyes, he closed the lab door and locked it from the inside.
Very well, the most uncertain factor has been eliminated, and Faust returned to the lab table in a good mood.
Then her good mood came to an abrupt end.
Before her was the door she had just closed with her own hands; she should have been inside, but she was outside.
Faust's breathing became unsteady. She trembled as she held her hand up to her face, and upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't Faust's hand, it was... Don Quixote's hand!
Good news, the golden branch has been successfully separated, and the dog has turned back into a dog. Bad news—X is looking at himself holding the golden branch. So here's the question: if we know that "X" is holding the golden branch, then who is he?
He reached up and touched his head. It was nice; there was a large, firm bun. Adam had plenty of hair, and it was long. His bun was tied very tightly. This was Adam's body.
Adam, holding the golden branch, also looked at himself, who was making a bun, and saw the clear, or perhaps a little silly, look in "his" eyes, like a college student.
Adam immediately knew what had happened; it was X, and X also confirmed that the gaze belonged to Adam.
The two, now in swapped bodies, looked at the other person in the room. X's heart skipped a beat. How familiar that look was, that scene.
Today should be November 8th, right? Not April 1st, is it?
He held the pieced-together nothingness in his arms, so that He could never touch the golden branch again.
The white-haired figure opened the locked door. Don Quixote's face showed a look of utter despair, while Charon, who had been sitting in the carriage eating candy, walked towards them with a hostile expression.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, some transcendent being will be surprised to find that their superpower has turned into a "little girl" who likes cocoa and loves sweets.
Charon realized something was wrong because of the strong sweet taste lingering in his mouth. He hadn't been summoned in the first place, and his ability was completely different from his previous way of life.
He thought it was Dante, the transcendent being, who had suddenly gone mad and was drinking sugar water, which affected him as a superpowered being. But what he saw reflected in the car window was Charon's face.
Inside the bus, the petite gray-haired girl looked around and saw the snacks made by Koizumi Akako on the seats, as well as the open back door.
For the first time ever, Don Quixote's face was expressionless. The door that had been closed opened, and he met a face that was equally expressionless.
X… No, this is more like the legendary different personalities. The guide, who has never seen Adam, is analyzing the identity of the person who came to open the door.
The white-haired young man, who had just been looking down on everyone, completely collapsed. He held the dangerous anomaly that only existed at the headquarters of Lobotomy Corporation and sighed deeply.
“So that’s how it is,” the pieced-together nothingness gasped for breath, looking at the girl who suddenly gave him a different feeling, and tilted his head. “Long time no see, Virgilius.”
"I feel I need an explanation: where did Charon go again?"
"She went into your body. As you can see, we swapped bodies for some reason."
Adam, whose body had been swapped, held two intact golden branches in his hands, scrutinizing the soul that had been forcibly dragged into this world.
"Master Administrator!!"
Honestly, this is terrifying.
Faust, his eyes shining, hugged an open cardboard box and excitedly showed it to them.
Red, rose-like flowers.
X was almost immediately drawn to this; wasn't that insane?!
But why is there such madness here? Never mind, I'll just draw some more first!
The supervisor was blinded by madness, while the personality-extracting engine continued to function normally.
Good news, you can draw a prize; even better news, green light!
Green light?!
The supervisor, disguised as Adam, punctured the glowing green chain.
It's not a personality card, it's an EGO set, the Paradise Lost set, the one with weapons.
At Lobotomy Corporation headquarters, Kingsley, from the Records Department, happily clocked out and went to dinner with his colleagues. Suddenly, a green light flashed, and his weapon was gone.
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Author's Note: Kingsley: Uh oh, Paradise Lost has run away from home!
White Night's Full-Time Nanny: Ah! My clothes!!
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