Chapter 46: Puppet arranged by the script
After Hikigaya Hachiman dealt with Mei Bilan Ji, he did not leave the scene as usual, but stood there silently, looking at the middle-aged woman who was kneeling on the ground not far away, holding her son's broken body, who was bleeding and had lost his life.
The other party is now completely immersed in her own world, still whispering comfort to her son who will never hear her words and will act coquettishly with her to buy snacks and toys, telling him not to be afraid.
She knew her son's death, but she refused to accept the cruel reality and would rather live in a beautiful fantasy.
"No. 4, you don't have to blame yourself. You've done very well."
Even though Sato Jin did not read the changes in Hikigaya Hachiman's emotions through the window of his soul obscured by the fiery red crystal, he could still understand what he was thinking from the heavy aura that permeated around him at that moment.
That's why there was that consolation which was not really a consolation.
There was no reply, as Hikigaya Hachiman leapt onto the hunter and disappeared from his sight from high above.
"Number 4~"
Sato Hitoshi looked at the direction he left with some worry, but hearing the hoarse voice of comfort still ringing in his ears, he knew that as a policeman he could not turn a blind eye, so he shook his head and was about to go and comfort the victim's family, but suddenly stopped.
A small trace of blood appeared in his field of vision, and judging by the way it slowly spread outwards, it was obviously still fresh.
"Number 4, you...ah~"
He knew exactly who the blood, which had not yet had time to coagulate, came from, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Because dead lives cannot be revived because of human hope.
So, there was nothing he could do for his guilty partner.
His identity is the same as he is now.
————
"Hachiman, shall we go home now?"
The hunter flying in the air with Hikigaya Hachiman on board asked the boy who had been silent for a long time.
"…"
There was no reply, but the hunter knew that if the boy returned home in his current mental state, it would definitely be disadvantageous to him.
It slowed down its flying speed and flew towards a remote and uninhabited mountainous area, giving the boy on its back enough time to come out of his sadness.
It didn't believe that someone who could use the Yam Damu Spirit Stone would have such a weak will that he couldn't overcome even this little hardship.
So, after finding an uninhabited and remote forest, it landed smoothly on the top of the mountain and waited quietly.
————
"Sato, what's going on?"
Sato Jin, who had just finished explaining the situation on the scene to his colleagues and was about to go back to let Zhixiong Li Ke check the equipment and then trick them from there - bah, borrow some black technology, when he heard a voice that was most familiar to him.
When he turned around, he saw the perfect young man walking towards him, who was also his most respected senior - Sakaki Gami.
"Gamisan, the unconfirmed life form No. 11 has been eliminated by No. 4 and I, but..."
His originally high-pitched voice became much lower when he saw the middle-aged woman who was still sitting on the ground, immersed in the virtual world constructed by her self-protection consciousness and ignoring everything in the real world.
"We were all too late. The lady's child was killed right in front of her..."
The conversation did not continue, but Sakaki Gami understood what the next words were from the younger generation's behavior, who lowered his head and clenched his fists.
He reached out and patted his junior on the shoulder. "It's not your fault, Sato. We are human, not gods. As long as we have done our best, we can only accept the outcome no matter how bad it is."
The voice had an incredible magic that alleviated Sato Jin's guilt and self-blame.
"However, we cannot take it lightly. We must remember this tragedy and the guilt and self-blame that fill our hearts at this moment, and let it become a driving force for us to become better."
The voice gradually became steady and powerful. "This is all to prevent the tragedy at this moment from happening again before our eyes, but we are still the weak ones who can't change anything at the beginning."
"But he is a strong person who can definitely eliminate tragedy and bring smiles to people's faces."
"Yes, I get it, Gami-san!"
Gami Sakaki looked at the junior who had calmed down and regained his spirits, and smiled with relief, "Well, if you have nothing else to say, go find your partner. Isn't there something you need to tell her?"
Sensing the teasing in his senior's words, Sato Jin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Hahahaha~ So Gami-san guessed it."
"It would be strange if you couldn't guess. Apart from her, you don't know anyone else who can give you these equipment."
Sakami took a look at his junior's belt, and then said to him after he had released his transformation: "Stop talking so much, and go over there!"
"Okay, bye, Gami-san!"
After saying goodbye to his respected senior, Sato Jin drove away in the Chaser.
After watching his junior leave, Sakaki Gami did not say hello to his colleagues present. He slowly left the scene and when he passed by the middle-aged woman, he just left indifferently, without showing any concern for human life as before.
It's like a different person.
——————
The wind blew gently, picking up the fallen leaves on the ground and drifting away.
Hikigaya Hachiman raised his head, which had been lowered all the time, "Hey~ Hunter, let's go home!"
"Okay, Hachiman!"
Without asking if his mind had calmed down, the hunter began to rise into the sky, flying towards their home at its usual speed.
[I am a human, not a god. I have said this many times, Hikigaya Hachiman...]
[Don't be so arrogant!]
Soon, the hunter landed in a dark alley not far from home. Hikigaya Hachiman transformed from a monster back into a human and drove the hunter, which had turned into a motorcycle, home.
After placing the hunter in the warehouse as usual, Hikigaya Hachiman opened the door to the entrance. When he changed into his indoor shoes, he heard the excited barking of a dog and the sound of feet stepping quickly on the floor.
"I forgot. Yuigahama just sent her dog here. I think his name is Sabre, right?"
The doubts that had just arisen were soon answered in his memory. When Hachiman Hikigaya was about to pet the dog to satisfy his regret of not being able to pet the cat, he discovered that Sabrel, who was about to jump into his arms and cling to his savior, was shaking with fear when he turned his head and was about to catch him.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell..."
Hikigaya Hachiman was worried that the cat might be feeling unwell and was about to go forward to check it out, but when Sabrel saw him, his movements were like a rabbit seeing a tiger, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
He stood there in a daze, and then quickly figured out why the other party ran away.
His hands were spread out in front of his eyes, and they were clearly a pair of normal, clean human hands.
But in Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes at this moment, it was a pair of hands covered in blood, belonging to a monster that was born for killing, hideous and terrifying with some thorns, and not belonging to human beings.
He raised his right hand and patted his forehead, "Well~ forget it, I have always been the lowest in this family, it's just that I have become even lower."
After saying this, he walked into the living room.
"Hey~ Brother, are you back from running?"
What came into his eyes was the lovely smile of his younger sister, Hikigaya Komachi. At this moment, his broken and dry heart was nourished by the spiritual spring and regained vitality.
[I am just a despicable person, and my purpose of wanting power is selfish.]
"Yes, hurry up and make something delicious for your hardworking brother. I'm so tired."
"But you don't have any sweat on your body? Brother, you are not lying to Komachi, are you?"
[I just want to protect Komachi's smile, that's all.]
Faced with his sister's suspicious gaze, he not only subconsciously imitated the gesture of a brother who was super obsessed with his younger brother, but also put his right index finger and middle finger together to poke Hikigaya Komachi's smooth forehead.
"It's really sad. Look at my stronger muscles. Do you think I'm lying?"
Hikigaya Hachiman pulled up his shirt, revealing his eight clearly defined abdominal muscles, which immediately attracted the shocked gaze of Hikigaya Komachi. She didn't even bother to cover her forehead that was poked and pretend to be pitiful.
"You're so good after just a short workout? You must be kidding, right?"
"In fact, I have been exercising secretly for a long time, but I just don't want you to know. Huh, huh~ Are you scared?"
Hearing this, Hikigaya Komachi nodded dumbly, "It seems that Komachi really misunderstood my brother."
"Then make something delicious quickly. You know, brother is still growing!"
"Yeah, okay, for my brother's health, Komachi will go make something delicious now!"
Hikigaya Komachi skipped towards the kitchen.
[Hehehe~ My brother has such a good figure now, it will definitely be easier for him to get a girlfriend than before. Next, we just need to deal with his weird personality and those damn dead fish eyes.]
[So, he must have sneaked out to exercise before, otherwise his muscles wouldn't have been built so quickly, he must have been exercising secretly before.]
[Alas~ Komachi just realized a while ago that she is such a failure as a younger sister.]
In the kitchen, Hikigaya Komachi decided to make a sumptuous meal based on the few ingredients left over from lunch today as a reward for her brother who had worked hard to make changes.
[Komachi should have guessed the reason why I ran away secretly by now. In this way, I can also answer Mr. Hiratsuka's doubts about my growing strength by saying that I have been exercising all the time.]
[Although it's impossible to convince her, at least I can stop her from secretly following me.]
Hikigaya Hachiman lay on his back on the sofa, thinking about the success rate of his simple plan.
As he thought about it, a feeling of mental fatigue came over him. He did not put up any resistance and simply succumbed to the sleepiness that swept over him and fell into a dream.
I don't know how much time had passed before I was woken up by my sister and allowed to taste the delicious food she had made.
[It is this smile that I want to protect! ]
Hikigaya Hachiman raised his head and glanced at Hikigaya Komachi, who was staring at him with her chin supported by her hands and a look of joy on her face.
————
"It's not that easy to break, but it's normal. After all, you are a rational monster. If it breaks so easily, you wouldn't be so special, Hachiman!"
A blurry black shadow stood on the eaves not far from Hikigaya Hachiman's house, looking at the boy who was playing with his sister as usual.
"It looks like it will be born soon. I really want to see what your true desire is right now, Hachiman!"
Chapter 47: Hermit Crab Gurongi - Mei·Gallido·Gi Appears
It is still a scorching summer day that makes people walking on the street feel like they are slowly turning into jerky. The office workers on the street are complaining and grumbling about this damn capitalism. It is clearly a dangerous period when their lives cannot be guaranteed if they go out, but they still have to come out and work so hard.
However, faced with the strings of numbers that they need to pay for in life, they can only overcome their fear and go to work. Otherwise, even if they are not killed by unconfirmed life forms, they will starve to death.
This may be the sadness of ordinary people.
"Beep, beep, beep~"
The shrill sound of a truck's horn suddenly rang out on the road. People subconsciously looked back, estimated the distance between themselves and the truck, and made way for it to pass.
"…"
This was the sound made by a car driving at high speed. Perhaps it was a living creature's premonition of danger. The pedestrians on the road turned their heads and were almost scared to death.
The truck, which was supposed to go straight, actually made a U-turn on this road which was quite narrow for trucks due to the truck driver's driving skills, which might have been cheating.
Of course, for experienced drivers, it is just a small challenge, but the problem is that they only have about five seconds from giving way to turning back. They can make a U-turn in such a short time, and they can reverse and hit them so quickly. Are you afraid?
At this moment, the passers-by didn't know whether other people were afraid or not. Anyway, they were scared to death and wished they had two more legs so that their speed could increase by one or two levels. Otherwise, it would be difficult to escape the fate of being flattened.
"Help! Someone is killing me..."
"Don't run away~ Let's just climb up the wall next to us."
"Yes, yes, yes, we can be saved if we just crawl over there!"
There are always smart people in times of crisis. Soon someone discovered the correct way to escape. After his kind reminder, many people followed his example and climbed up the wall.
"Oh my, you are really smart, but this is so stupid."
Sitting in the driver's seat of the truck was a young man dressed in a rather alternative style, who looked to be in his twenties.
With a sadistic smile on his face, he admired through the rearview mirror those people who thought they were smart, but still could not escape death after climbing up the wall. After being squeezed to the point where he could barely recognize their original faces, he stopped this cruel behavior.
"Three hundred people in five days. The rule is to kill them by reversing a truck. We must ensure that the bodies can be identified."
"The Ge Group's method? I really couldn't imagine it before!"
Mei Galido Kim recited his own rules of the game and drove away in a swagger, leaving behind a group of "people" who only complained about their unhappy lives but still worked hard for a better tomorrow, but now became cold corpses.
"So, where should we choose the next game location?"
He drove the truck with one hand and pointed randomly at the map with the other hand, muttering something. After he finished muttering, his finger stopped at a spot, "Yoshi~ Then, the next game location is decided to be here."
After choosing the next place to massacre humans, the hermit crab Gurongi, whose strength had been enhanced to an unknown extent, drove the blood-drained, brand new, odorless truck, just like any ordinary truck people saw on the road, and even more law-abiding than others, to the place he had chosen.
The only thing people can remember is that the driver was a Shamatte youth, but he drove in an unsocial way.Wow~"
"Brother, can you yawn a little quieter? I just had an idea for the solution, but you ruined it."
At the Hikigaya household, Hikigaya Komachi had been frowning and thinking deeply, racking her brains to piece together the knowledge she could remember at the moment. Finally, an inspiration came to her. Just as she was about to seize that inspiration and solve the problem that had been bothering her for a long time, she was interrupted by her good-for-nothing brother who had just woken up from his sleep, stretched and yawned on the sofa.
In an instant, Hikigaya Komachi expressed that she was in a bad mood.
He immediately rolled his eyes at his confused looking brother.
However, when she saw the fatigue in the other person's eyes, she couldn't express the complaints in her heart.
"Hey, brother, if exercising is too tiring, you should just stop doing it."
His sister's words finally awakened Hachiman Hikigaya's still hazy consciousness.
"It doesn't matter if you become a useless person in the future. At most, Komachi will support you. Anyway, it's not so easy to support a useless brother like you."
Two blushes appeared on the cute face of the little sister in my eyes, and her cuteness value instantly increased by several points.
"Hehehe~ Komachi scored very high just now!"
"Yes, yes, yes~ If you want to support your brother, you should finish your summer homework first!"
Although he was deeply moved and even wanted to hug the cutest sister in the world and spin around a few times, Hikigaya Hachiman was a more rational than emotional person, and he would never do such a thing unless it was absolutely necessary.
Therefore, in order to hide his inner embarrassment, he decisively began his usual course of action - changing the subject.
"Hey, brother, can you help me figure out how to solve this math problem? I've been thinking about it for a long time and I still can't figure it out."
Hikigaya Hachiman knew his sister's character very well. She seldom asked him for help, and when she did, it was definitely because she had encountered a problem that she couldn't solve. So he didn't say anything else, but walked over and took a look at the math problem she was pointing at.
"Brother, I remember your math seems to be about the same as Komachi's. Are you sure you can do it?"
Faced with his sister's doubts, Hikigaya Hachiman decided to prove himself with practical actions.
So, relying on his increasingly inhuman brain, he solved the math problems that he used to be unable to find a solution for, even if he gritted his teeth or banged his head against the wall, in a few strokes, and won the admiring gaze from his sister.
"Okay, if you have any questions, come and ask me. Nothing can be difficult for me now."
Hikigaya Hachiman, who had successfully acted cool in front of his sister, felt his throat a little dry. After saying goodbye to his sister, he went to the refrigerator in the kitchen and took out a bottle of refreshing Max coffee. He took a few big gulps and felt refreshed.
"Woof woof woof~"
Maybe he had overcome his fear, or maybe he was as heartless as his master, but Sabre started to stick to Hikigaya Hachiman again and ran around at his feet.
"I don't have the heart to play with you right now. I have to help Komachi with her homework, so Sabre, you can play by yourself first."
Hikigaya Hachiman squatted down, rubbed the head of Sabre who was wagging his tail madly, then stood up and prepared to return the same way.
But at this moment, Sabre probably didn't want him to leave too quickly, so he rushed forward to intercept him, but unfortunately he rushed too fast and was about to hit the corner of the wall.
"Danger~ Sabre..."
Seeing that it was completely unable to stop and was about to crash into the corner of the wall in front, Hikigaya Hachiman, who was worried that it might get hurt, stepped on the ground and rushed forward to protect it before it hit the wall.
"Really~ He was almost injured, but he was still so lively. That's why they say ignorance is sometimes a bliss!"
Hikigaya Hachiman rubbed Sabure, who was screaming excitedly in his arms, and shook his head in a helpless manner.
In order to prevent the situation from happening again, he carried it back the same way this time. But just as he was about to take a step, he accidentally saw that the wooden board where he had just stood had collapsed completely.
His pupils shrank as he stared at the broken wooden board. After a moment, he scratched his head helplessly. "This is really troublesome. It seems that after today, I have to add another practice goal, which is to control my strength. Otherwise, I will be heartbroken if Komachi gets hurt."
He put Sabre down, walked to the place where the toolbox was placed at home, found some tools, and relied on the skills he had acquired from his dream. After spending some time to finish the task, he walked towards the living room where his sister was.
Chapter 48: Tracking the traces of unidentified life form No. 12
Chiba Police Station.
Sato Hitoshi was standing in front of a white blackboard with a clearly organized case map written on it, including information such as "all the victims were crushed to death", "tire marks suspected to be from a truck were found at the scene", "no one saw the vehicle passing by at the time of the incident", and "the number of deaths in XXX district was..."
He frowned as he looked at the death toll. "I feel like this case is a bit similar to the previous one where someone died from a broken skull and was suspected to have been killed by an unidentified life form."
"It seems necessary to investigate."
He said something to his colleagues around him, and drove away in the handsome car under the envious gazes of his colleagues at the door.
The blurry black shadow that had appeared several times before looked at the direction he left. "So it turns out that you are the backup, but you are too weak. What can a mere human do?"
There was a lot of teasing in the voice.
——————
One day later, at the Chiba Police Station, Sato Jin stood in front of a whiteboard that had been updated with a lot of information, with his right hand supporting his chin. "Based on the investigation over the past two days, Unidentified Lifeform 13 should have used a truck to kill people, but after each murder, it should have some way to make the bloodstained truck look brand new."
"Plus, it didn't show any weird behavior, and the nearby surveillance cameras didn't capture its appearance. Looks like I'll have to trouble Science again."
Sato Jin, who was at his wit's end, picked up his coat and drove to St. Cronia College where Shikuma Riko was studying. He felt a little embarrassed when he thought about the past when he was criticized for "only coming to Riko when there was something, and never thinking about Riko at all when nothing happened."
The journey was smooth and after showing his police ID to the guard, Sato Jin drove easily to the secret base of black technology that Hikigaya Hachiman had visited once before.
Before I could call my cousin to tell her what was happening, the door opened by itself.
The moment the door opened, Zhixiong Li Ke crossed his arms over his chest, staring at his cousin who was smiling awkwardly in the distance with neither sadness nor joy, "So, what are you going to ask me to do for you this time?"
"No…"
Originally he thought no, but thinking about the fact that he had already said a lot of big words, even if they were all due to various force majeure reasons, a broken appointment is a broken appointment, so this time Sato Jin did not say anything else and directly stated his purpose.
"In fact, it is like this, like this, like this, like this, like this."
After hearing his words, Zhixiong Li Ke showed an expression of "as expected", but as a genius in the eyes of others, she still knew what was important.
"Based on the information you provided, I will leave a small program on the cameras across the country that can capture cries for help within a one-kilometer radius. In this way, the surrounding cameras will immediately turn to that direction."
Zhixiong Li Ke had some resentment in his heart, so he spoke in a harsh tone.
"At the same time, I will also set up an alarm. If it is indeed an unconfirmed life form that commits the crime, the murderer will contact you in real time."
Sato Jin wanted to say, "Can this really be done?", so that even laymen could understand how outrageous this operation was.
But thinking of the high-tech belt he was wearing around his waist, and the multifunctional pistol that caught Mei·Bilan·Ji off guard the day before yesterday and killed it with the help of Hikigaya Hachiman, he suddenly felt that this operation seemed too simple.
So, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you."
As an upright and responsible police officer, and a straight man.
Sato Hitoshi was originally planning to turn around and leave, and go back to investigate other news, but when he saw Shixiong Rika's somewhat lonely eyes, his emotional intelligence was rarely online.
"Hey~ Li Ke, my cousin doesn't have anything to do today, is there anything you want to play?"
Zhixiong Li Ke was stunned for a moment, and then she smiled with joy. It seemed that she was still a rare beautiful girl. However, that sweet smile only lasted for three seconds, and her smile instantly became dazzling.
Sato Ren, who had refreshed his understanding of her and had a new definition of what kind of person "Shikuma Rika" was, quickly said before the other party could speak: "Of course, those with colors are prohibited, except for those, everything else is fine."
Sato Jin, who righteously and tactfully told his cousin not to play all kinds of games and should play some positive games, felt that his current image must be upright and dignified, and he would definitely be able to keep his cousin away from "color".
He could even imagine that the other party was moved by his image, decided to mend his ways, smashed all those "color" games to pieces, hugged him and cried, denounced how indecent his former self was, vowed to study hard and make progress every day, and their relationship returned to the friendly state it was before he became a policeman.
But unfortunately his fantasy is unrealistic.
After all, studying hard and making progress every day is simply impossible for Zhixiong Like, who has a very high IQ and can come up with black technology at any time.
"ha?"
The master's tone full of disgust woke Sato Ren from his beautiful fantasy. He lowered his head and saw the expression of his cousin looking at him as if he was a scumbag.
"Who would play with you? I only play those games with my seniors. Are you thinking too much?"
Zhixiong Li Ke waved his hand at him with a look of disdain, "You'd better get busy. I don't have time to play with you now. There are a lot of things that need to be tested and sorted. How can I have time to play games, really?"
After saying this, without paying any attention to Sato Jin who seemed to have turned gray, she turned around and went back to the laboratory deep inside the base where she developed various unseen black technologies.
"Alas~"
Sato Jin sighed deeply, and knowing what his cousin meant, he shook his head and rode on the Pursuer to collect other information.
"I don't know why, but we must develop more powerful equipment, and the G1 armor also needs to be updated and strengthened."
Zhixiong Li Ke's hands turned into afterimages as he typed on the computer keyboard, and a dazzling string of codes appeared on the computer screen.
"Otherwise, I feel like I will regret it to death."
——————
"Grandpa, I got 100 points on the test today. The teacher praised me. There are only five people in the whole cram school who got 100 points!"
"Really? Then Yuta is really smart."
"Yoshi~ Grandpa will buy you ice cream today, don't tell mom!"
"Yeah, Grandpa is the best!"
This is a very common conversation between a grandfather and his grandson.
"Hey~ Mom, I got my salary today, so I'm going to take you out for a nice meal."
"Don't waste money. You've worked so hard for so long. Isn't it normal for your son to treat you to a good meal after paying his salary?"
This is a filial son's promise to his mother.
"We agreed to have a book club at my house later, don't forget it."
"Don't worry, I won't forget it."
This is an agreement between friends.
"Hmm? There are quite a lot of Lindo here, so I decided to go here."
"…"
There was other pretty normal conversation.
This was a street that Mei Galido Ji accidentally discovered when he was leisurely searching for his target. The people in the street did not have too many worries, and their faces were filled with happy smiles.
"It's really an eyesore, that smile and all."
But it was the smiles on their faces that made Mei Galido Ji feel disgusted.
Because this means that the terror that the Gurongi clan brought to people was not strong enough, otherwise their faces should be filled with panic about whether the future would be safe, and confusion about how they should survive.
Instead of smiling like now, with eyes full of hope for the future.
"If you hate me, then just kill them all, hahahahahaha..."
So, it turned the car around, changed gears, stepped on the accelerator pedal, looked through the rearview mirror at the people who were still unaware of the coming death, and prepared to enjoy the "funny show" that was about to be staged.
"…"
After a moment, the shrill screams stopped abruptly, and Mei Galido Ji drove his brand new truck away from the street that was now littered with corpses.
At the same time, at St. Lonia College of Higher Education, Shixiong Riko, who was creating high-tech in her laboratory, heard the alarm that she had set up not long ago go off, and she immediately sent the location to Sato Jin.
"That's too much…"
Shixiong Rika didn't feel anything when she sent the pictures of Mei Galido Ki and the truck captured by the camera to Sato Jin, but when she saw the tragedy of the broken limbs and arms in the picture, her pretty face turned pale, and the fact that she didn't vomit showed her strong psychological endurance.
"We must develop more powerful weapons. Unconfirmed life forms should not exist."
With the blessing of his awareness that had doubled in strength, Shixiong Rika felt that his brain was bursting with unprecedented inspiration, and he had many plans on how to upgrade and transform the G1 armor and create weapons that would allow Sato Jin to kill unconfirmed life forms more easily.
——————
"Finally I caught you, Unconfirmed Lifeform No. 12."
Sato Jin activated the Pursuer and rushed to the location that Shikuma Rika had just sent, and said, "Pursuer, help me contact Gami-san."
"Okay, Ren-kun!"
As a murderer who also comes from Shikuma Rika, it is natural that he also has the artificial intelligence that the hunter has.
"Sato, what's going on?"
Soon, Sakami's voice came from the front of the car that was chasing the murderer.
"Gami-san, I found No. 12's trail, but I can't win alone."
"…"
"When did you know?"
After a brief silence, Sakami's somewhat helpless voice was heard.
"Yesterday."