pertwk Page 136
Page 136
Koshimura Sawa: "?"
"No, brother, the association's specialists have all been caught, and you want me, a level 4 high school sorcerer, to go and...check it out?"
“Because [Noise] and [Disorderly Individuals] both fall under the priority jurisdiction of our Bureau of Investigation. And among the people I can contact right now who are closest to me, you are the best at running away... uh, the most mobile,” Yuji Takamatsu explained.
"Then why can't we use teleportation spells to send someone there directly?" Koshimura Sawa asked.
"Do you think using long-distance teleportation spells in the stable spatial structure of the present world is so easy? Just constructing a temporary magic circle, charging it, and calibrating the coordinates will take ten minutes or so, which is no different from you just riding your bike there directly," Yuji Takamatsu said irritably. "Besides, it's not like you're going to confront it head-on. You just need to go over there, take a look, confirm the situation, send back the scene footage, and if things don't look good, use [Stealth Step] to run away quickly... There are already other agents from the Bureau of Anomalies on their way."
"Oh dear, I'm just a level 4 high school sorcerer. Even the Adventurers' Guild's commissioners struggle to defeat this monster; I'm afraid I'm no match for it..."
"...Your mission reward will be calculated according to the highest standard for emergency missions." Yuji Takamatsu interrupted his chanting.
"Yes, mission accomplished!" Yuecunze instantly perked up, handed over the phone again... no, hung up, stuffed the phone back into his pocket, bent down, and started pedaling like crazy.
------
"Forehead..."
A moment later, Koshimura Sawa casually parked his bicycle by the roadside, frowned as he looked at the deserted subway station entrance.
Something's not right. Something's very, very wrong.
It's impossible for a subway station, a place with such a large number of people, to be this quiet, right?
Moreover, it's still rush hour.
If a monster like [Noise] appeared, how could there be no commotion at all? Not even a single person escaped?
He took a deep breath, summoned Star Edge, and, using the starlight emanating from the sword, glanced at the now-stopped escalator. Then, he cautiously made his way down the steps to the pitch-black underground.
The surroundings were eerily quiet; the only sound was his own footsteps.
"pat".
Suddenly, I heard a crisp sound as I stepped on something.
Koshimura stopped and bent down to pick up the thing.
A...exam paper?
The crumpled and then flattened paper was covered with red pen corrections and densely written solutions.
Given the function f(x) = 2sin(x + π/3) + cos(2x - π/6), find the minimum positive period of f(x) and its maximum and minimum values on the interval [0, π].
I don't understand.
Damn it, is this what it feels like to have lost all your power?
Who would have thought that after being a student at Liben High School for so long, he would have fallen from the highest level of alarm clock student to high school senior?
Koshimura felt a surge of inexplicable grief and indignation.
He raised his head, held the Star Edge high, and let the light spread deeper into the distance.
Then, I witnessed a scene that sent chills down my spine.
The subway station's floor, walls, and even ceiling—everywhere it could be attached—was covered with countless sheets of white paper.
It wasn't scattered randomly, but rather as if deliberately placed, layer upon layer covering every inch of the surface.
The surface was covered with densely packed text in various handwritings, which was now moving on its own without any wind, making an unsettling "rustling" sound, as if countless people were whispering at the same time.
"If you don't get into the University of Tokyo, your life is over!"
"Have you paid the loan this month? The child's tuition hasn't been paid yet..."
"You're already like this at such a young age, what will you do after you turn 30?"
"Everyone else has already bought a house..."
"We only slept in the same bed for one night, and we really didn't do anything!"
"I'm wearing it."
"Do you think you've lived up to the kindness of our upbringing?"
"I'm so tired of living..."
"Why does nobody understand me...?"
Countless sheets of paper peeled off the walls and ceiling, like startled white moths, fluttering and swirling wildly in the air, forming a suffocating white ocean.
In the center of that white ocean surrounded by fluttering papers, stood a figure that defied description.
Its enormous body seemed to be formed by compressing, piling up, and twisting countless sheets of white paper, barely revealing the outline of a human, yet it was bloated and unsightly.
From that paper-like torso, dozens of slender, jet-black limbs, resembling withered tree branches, extended out and danced eerily.
From the gaps between the piles of paper, countless eyes opened—human, monstrous, empty, bloodshot, tearful, filled with anger or despair—densely distributed, all turning toward the direction of Yuecunze, reflecting the blue light of Xingzhifeng.
Disappointment, sadness, anger, fear...
So tired...
Why am I here? Why do I have to do something so dangerous...?
Why did I come into this world?
Why am I getting entangled with these clueless, sexist women...?
What they become is their own business, what does it have to do with me?
Why not just let them fend for themselves?
An overwhelming sense of exhaustion and emptiness instantly overwhelmed him.
His body gradually felt heavy, and the hand holding the sword began to weaken.
He looked down and saw that the skin on his fingertips, which had just touched the exam paper, was beginning to lose its color, gradually becoming flat, with rough edges, and rapidly turning into white paper.
...I see.
This is... [noise]?
Before his entire palm turned into a sheet of white paper, Koshimura bit his tongue sharply, forcing himself to come to his senses. With the hand he could still move, he quickly pulled a pair of flamboyant children's sunglasses from his pocket and slammed them on his face.
The dissociation process stopped instantly, and the hand, which had turned into paper, quickly returned to its original state.
Just then, a sharp, black limb, accompanied by a whooshing sound, suddenly pierced through the flying pieces of paper, aiming straight for his face!
Without a second thought, Koshimura Ze held the Star Blade horizontally in front of him, and flames shot into the sky from its blade.
[Blazing Slash]!
Sparks flew everywhere.
He took the opportunity to look up again, his gaze piercing through the fluttering papers to the constantly updating and scrolling text on the monster's body.
Through those round, colored lenses, the distorted monster in front of me had transformed into... an adorable white glutinous rice ball.
They were also wearing those cheap plastic glasses that were sold like hotcakes at the Yiwu small commodities market.
"Children who don't go to bed on time will be punished, okay?"
"Hurry up and finish your food. Santa Claus won't give presents to bad kids."
"If you cry again, I'll throw you out to feed the water monkeys!"
Koshimura suddenly smiled and pushed up the flamboyant children's sunglasses on his nose.
I really feel sleepy and I give you a pillow.
kid.
Your aggression is a bit weak.
His smile vanished instantly, and with a loose grasp of his left hand, a chestnut-shaped effect pedal appeared in his palm.
Without even looking, he forcefully inserted it into the groove on the hilt of the Star Edge sword.
"Wow—!!"
The sword trembled, emitting a strange hum, and blue starlight and distorted lightning intertwined and flickered, temporarily disrupting the trajectory of the surrounding flying papers.
Almost at the same time, silver mist burst forth again beneath Koshimura's feet.
Give it to Luda!
What a joke! The association's specialists have all fallen here. What am I, a scout who was dragged in to take the fall, doing here?
The boy's figure flashed repeatedly as he sped towards the stairwell he had come from.
That place, as long as you can get to that place...
However, just as he was about to reach the bottom of the stairs, and could even see the light coming in from outside—
"Swish, swish, swish—!"
Countless white sheets of paper, as if they possessed a life of their own, surged forth at an unprecedented speed, intertwining and overlapping to form an impenetrable paper wall, completely blocking the entire exit.
Koshimura instinctively wanted to use the Mysterious Steps again to cross the barrier.
However, the condition for using the Misty Step is... it can only teleport you to a space that you can see and that is not occupied.
His view was completely blocked by the paper wall.
Koshimura Sawa futilely scratched the sturdy paper wall twice with the Star's Edge, his heart sank, and he suddenly turned around.
Deep inside the subway station, the monster made of white paper was rapidly absorbing all the surrounding paper at an even faster pace. Its size expanded like an inflating balloon, and the eyes within its slits were all fixed on him. No matter how many times he blinked, one of the eyes facing him was always open.
Countless sheets of paper peeled off its surface, revealing new words and phrases in childish handwriting. Yet, once read, they sent a chill down one's spine.
"Don't go..."
"Stay with me..."
"Being alone...I'm so scared..."
Why... do we all have to leave...?
"Stay...and become...us..."
The pitch-black limbs thrashed wildly, churning the pieces of paper flying in the air like menacing shadows.
The rustling sounds throughout the subway station became even more intense, like countless people desperately whispering and crying in his ear.
Looking at the enormous figure that almost touched the ceiling, and then at the Star Blade in his hand, whose light seemed to have dimmed a bit, Yuecun Ze twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Me, making noise? Jiulingliu$④(six) weeping^twoba/Yi.yi"
Chapter Forty-Nine Ruomai
"I'm going to die! I ...!"
Yutenji Wakame crouched behind a pillar in the subway station, her body trembling.
The marble columns behind her sent a chill through her thin, off-the-shoulder top, making her heart sink even further.
She peeked out and glanced at the monster in the distance that was gradually dissecting the man in the Adventurers' Guild uniform into sheets of white paper.
I was just out gathering material because I was lacking inspiration for a new video, why did I have to run into this mess!
Yutenji Wakana was screaming inwardly, and quickly shrank back behind the pillar, looking down to open the bag she was carrying.
The girl's slender fingers frantically rummaged through countless bottles and jars, producing a crisp, clattering sound that seemed particularly jarring in the deathly silent subway station.
Poisonous gas spray, lightning pull, Tasha's acid brew, demonic fire...
She stared at the label on the alchemical potion in her bag, and cold sweat began to bead on her forehead.
Why is there not a single one that I can use?
With her last glimmer of hope, her gaze fell upon the exquisitely packaged little bottle at the bottom of the bag.
Bailong Fengyoujing (a type of medicated oil).
Made from pure white dragon blood extract, it's refreshingly cool, invigorating, and has a powerful and long-lasting effect!
—This is a proud product from Miaomeng Family Workshop!
What a ghost!
What use would I be to Tiger Balm at a time like this?! To wake that monster up and make it tear me apart even more?!