"Look quickly, there's a child over there!"
A female office worker suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone looked over at the sound, only to see a figure in a yellow raincoat squatting by a trash can not far away. By its size, it was indeed a child, covering its face with its hands, seemingly crying helplessly.
"Did he get lost by accident?"
The female office worker subconsciously moved to check the situation.
"Don't move!"
Natsuki suddenly let out a low cry.
"Huh?"
The female office worker quickly stopped and turned to look over nervously.
Natsuki said in a deep voice:
"Do you remember the three things I just said?"
"I remember, but…" The female office worker quickly nodded, her expression hesitant, "He's just a child…"
Natsuki said:
"Do you usually watch horror movies?"
"No." The female office worker quickly shook her head, "I usually get back to my apartment after ten o'clock, so I don't have time to watch movies."
"No wonder," Natsuki complained. "No wonder you don't know that the more horror movies feature children, the scarier they are."
Female office worker: "..."
Natsuki looked around and said in a deep voice:
"The first priority in the Strange Tale world is to take care of yourself. Don't be overly compassionate for no reason. Even adults struggle to survive, so how can such a small child be perfectly fine?"
A passenger whispered:
"Maybe he's just very lucky?"
Natsuki retorted:
"He's encountered a terrifying Strange Tale, and you still say he's lucky?"
"..."
The passengers immediately fell silent.
Natsuki continued:
"Of course, you don't necessarily have to listen to me. There's absolutely no problem if you want to go and investigate, but there's a prerequisite—you are responsible for your own actions."
"If that the child monster jumps up and chases you, please run in another direction. Don't lead the monster over."
"..."
After a brief silence, someone quickly spoke up in agreement:
"That's right, Natsuki-sama makes sense."
"It's fine to be kind, but if the other party isn't human, please don't lead the monster over."
"You are responsible for your own actions."
In fact, everyone has some degree of kindness, but in a dangerous and bizarre Strange Tale, prioritizing one's own safety is the choice of most people.
Even the two female office workers who initially wanted to go and check were silent now.
Going together was fine; there was safety in numbers.
But if they were made to act alone, fear quickly overcame kindness.
Natsuki waited for a few seconds, and seeing that no one acted on their own, he said:
"It seems no one is choosing to go help. Then let's leave immediately."
After saying that.
Natsuki turned and left without hesitation, not even bothering to glance at the child in the yellow raincoat under the streetlamp.
Most of the other passengers looked at the child under the streetlamp, then moved their feet and followed Natsuki.
Only a few overly compassionate female office workers showed hesitation, struggled for a while, and ultimately made the cowardly choice.
As the group left, the crying the child under the streetlamp slowly stood up, then 'plop' fell from its shoulder, dropping to the ground.
A moment later.
An internet cafe appeared before everyone.
"Found it."
The passengers' spirits lifted.
It was already eleven o'clock at night. After a day of work, they were already exhausted, and then they were caught up in an incredible supernatural event. Both their bodies and minds were nearing their limits. At this moment, they just wanted to find a safe place to rest properly and didn't want to think about anything else.
"You wait outside, I'll go in and check first."
Natsuki, holding Miko's hand, led the way into the internet cafe.
Like the silent city, the internet cafe was also empty, with not a single person in sight.
Natsuki quickly walked around, confirming there were no evil spirits or monsters, then turned back to the ground level and said:
"The internet cafe is fine; you can come in now."
The passengers cheered and quickly lined up to enter the internet cafe.
The internet cafe was located on the basement level. Upon entering, they were greeted by an ukiyo-e relief. Turning right led to the lounge area, complete with sofas, bookshelves, and blankets.
Natsuki directed the passengers to work together to move the bookshelves to the corner, instantly making the space more open. Then he arranged for people to collect supplies, mainly cold-weather items like blankets.
By the time they finished their busy work, it was already past midnight. Most people were so sleepy they couldn't keep their eyes open and didn't have the energy to wash up. They spread out cardboard boxes on the ground, covered themselves simply with blankets, and fell into a deep sleep.
Natsuki, as the 'leader,' naturally had a different status. He didn't sleep on cardboard but sat on a soft, long sofa.
Of course, Miko was right beside him.
"I'll stand guard," Natsuki said softly to Miko, "You go to sleep first."
Miko worriedly asked:
"Will Natsuki get sleepy?"
"I'll definitely be a bit sleepy," Natsuki lowered his voice, "But if Miko kisses me, I'll be full of energy and can stay awake until dawn."
Miko: "..."
You can still say things like that; you're not sleepy at all, are you!
Miko glared at Natsuki, let out a soft snort, and closed her eyes, saying:
"I'm going to sleep."
Natsuki replied:
"Sleep."
After a while, Miko whispered again:
"I'll sleep for a bit first. When you get sleepy, wake me up, and I'll take over the watch."
"..."
The night passed without a word.
The next day.
When Miko opened her eyes, she found that many people in the internet cafe were already awake, and it was already light outside without her realizing it.
"Hmm… Natsuki?"
Miko looked beside her but didn't see Natsuki's figure. She quickly sat up and became fully awake.
"Little one, you're awake?"
A lazy, elegant voice came from the corner.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Miko turned her head and couldn't help but gasp.
She saw a tall woman, Hachishakusama, sitting on the sofa in the corner, so tall that she could touch the ceiling with her outstretched hand.
Hachishakusama held a cup of black tea and sipped it gently, saying:
"Natsuki-kun went out to find food and asked me to stay in the internet cafe to watch over you."
Miko was a little nervous and quickly said:
"Tha-thank you, Madam."
Hachishakusama smiled elegantly: "I like polite children, but it's a pity."
Miko curiously asked:
"A pity… what?"
Hachishakusama smiled:
"It's a pity you're a girl; otherwise, I could grant you happiness."
Miko: "..."
Sorry, I absolutely do not want the happiness you grant!
The other passengers in the internet cafe listened carefully to the conversation between Miko and Hachishakusama, not daring to interrupt.
Miko looked around, pursed her lips, and said:
"Um… Did only Natsuki go out?"
Hachishakusama took a sip of black tea, her expression pleased, and said:
"Well, acting alone is certainly more efficient than bringing a bunch of weak bugs."
Miko: "..."
As a weak bug, I'm truly sorry!
At the same time.
Natsuki was outside the internet cafe, gathering information alone.
Even in a survival Strange Tale, there had to be a main objective; they couldn't just hide in the internet cafe and wait to die all day.
How to return to the real world was the main objective Natsuki set for himself.
Besides that, there were several side quests.
For example, finding out why the game hadn't given any information yet.
For example, why Hachishakusama felt like a fish in water.
And what was the connection between this Strange Tale and Miko's dream…
"Found it."
Walking through the silent, deserted streets, Natsuki quickly found his target in a park square.
It was a girl wearing a traditional white sailor uniform, sitting on a swing set, swinging. From the side, her figure was curvy and quite good.
Unfortunately, she was cute but headless.
She was literally headless.
The sailor uniform JK's neck was empty above, with only air present, clearly no head.
If an ordinary person saw this, they would probably panic and run, but Natsuki stepped forward with interest.
The sailor uniform girl quickly noticed Natsuki's presence, let out a scream from somewhere, suddenly jumped off the swing, and then, holding a dagger, pounced towards Natsuki.
"Her speed is about 1.5 times that of an ordinary person…" Natsuki stood still at ease, waiting for the opponent to rush in front of him before striking like lightning, gripping the opponent's knife-wielding right hand, "Too slow."
Clang.
Natsuki distorted slightly, and the dagger in the sailor uniform girl's hand dropped to the ground.
However, this thing seemed to have no sense of pain and completely ignored its broken arm, kicking its leg towards Natsuki's legs.
Natsuki dodged the flying kick. Even he wouldn't dare to stand still and take such an attack; if he got hit, he would probably have to roll on the ground.
Taking out the magic rope with his backhand, Natsuki threw the magic rope onto the sailor uniform girl, and the rope immediately coiled itself, quickly tying the headless JK into a tortoise shell shape.
Restrained by the rope, the headless sailor uniform immediately lost its ability to move and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Done."
Natsuki picked up the headless JK with one hand, walked to a nearby bench, sat down, and began to gather information.
"Both speed and strength exceed ordinary people, between one and two times that of ordinary people."
"Her body is cold, without temperature."
"But the touch is soft, not stiff."
While speaking, Natsuki also extended his right hand and probed under the headless JK's sailor uniform hem.
"Hmm…!"
A soft hum sounded in the air.
The headless JK, who had been struggling and trying to attack Natsuki, suddenly stiffened, seemingly unable to believe that a human would put their hand inside her clothes.
"Hmm… no heartbeat."
"No chest rise and fall."
"But she is wearing underwear."
After checking her body, the next step was to try to communicate.
"Unable to communicate, with strong aggressiveness… but seems to have a faint sense of shame."
For example, when Natsuki tried to lift her skirt, the headless JK clearly resisted strongly, even making whimpering sounds.
After checking everything, Natsuki also tried to attack.
Ordinary physical attacks had no effect, and the opponent was immune to pain.
It wasn't until Natsuki used psychic attacks that this headless JK was finally injured, her body turning into black mist and dissipating, leaving only a sailor uniform on the ground.
Natsuki picked up the magic rope and continued to gather other information.
This city seemed empty, cold, and silent, but upon careful searching, one could find many wandering monsters in the city.
In the following time, Natsuki successively encountered equally headless guys, but they were young students, as well as office workers holding umbrellas and wearing suits, ghosts floating in mid-air, etc. There were many types and quantities.
Natsuki collected information one by one, quickly mastering the types and information of these monsters.
For him, these things posed no threat, but if the ordinary people in the internet cafe encountered them, they would be utterly defenseless; only good luck would allow them to escape.
"It's about time to go back."
Natsuki looked up at the sky.
The sky was misty, and light rain kept falling. Only the change between day and night could be distinguished, but the sun was nowhere to be seen.
His phone had long lost signal, but fortunately, the timing function was still usable. He had been out for two hours, so it was time to go back to the internet cafe.
The journey was silent.
Natsuki walked through the cold, silent streets and quickly arrived near the internet cafe.
"Hmm?!"
A figure suddenly caught Natsuki's attention.
In the alley next to the internet cafe, an OL wearing a suit and a hip-hugging skirt, with bespectacled girl, was running out in panic, her face full of terror.
Behind her, several monsters were chasing, including headless JKs and suit-wearing evil spirits holding transparent umbrellas.
"Is that Mrs. Ozawa?"
Natsuki frowned.
Last night, when they were resting in the internet cafe, everyone had introduced themselves. This female white-collar worker with bespectacled girl was named Ozawa Mika, the same female white-collar worker who said she still had a daughter waiting for her at home.
But… why was she outside the internet cafe?
And why was she being chased by monsters?
Natsuki hesitated slightly. Seeing that the other party was about to die under a dagger, he ultimately did not stand by and do nothing.
If he couldn't save her, that would be one thing, but if he clearly had the ability to rescue her but watched her get killed, his conscience would feel a bit uneasy.
Then… Time Stop!
Time suddenly solidified and stopped.
The bespectacled girl, with a face full of panic and regret, the monsters chasing her from behind, raindrops falling in mid-air, and leaves floating with the wind—everything solidified, and only Natsuki could move freely.
Natsuki didn't hesitate. His figure suddenly turned into an arrow shot from a bowstring, crossing dozens of meters of street at lightning speed, arriving beside the bespectacled girl.
The three-second Time Stop ended.
Time resumed flowing.
The bespectacled girl, filled with regret and endless self-reproach, had already closed her eyes in despair, helplessly awaiting the judgment of death.
The next second.
Boom!
A gust of wind suddenly exploded in her ears.
The expected pain did not come. Instead, a voice entered her ears:
"Stand by the side."
The bespectacled girl opened her eyes in a panic and saw Natsuki appear beside her at some point. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, nervously leaned against the wall, and only then had time to look behind her, seeing that the closest headless JK had been kicked more than ten meters away, tumbling all the way and crashing into the wall.
The other monsters didn't stop because Natsuki appeared; instead, they immediately switched targets and charged towards Natsuki.
Natsuki reached out and gripped the blood-stained fire axe, then met them head-on without evasion.
There were many weapons that could harm evil spirits and monsters, but Natsuki still found the axe to be the most comfortable to use.
No other reason: immense power and broad, sweeping movements were a man's joy.
Under the terrified gaze of the bespectacled office lady, in just over a minute, Natsuki had slain all the monsters. Their bodies dissipated into black mist, leaving only their clothes scattered on the ground.
Natsuki put away his axe and turned to walk in front of the female office worker.
"Th-thank you, Natsuki-kun…"
The bespectacled girl bowed hastily in thanks.
Natsuki said expressionlessly:
"Mrs. Ozawa, why are you outside the internet cafe?"
"I…"
Mrs. Ozawa's expression was hesitant, and she stammered, unable to speak.
Natsuki said:
"If you don't want to say, please leave immediately."
"I-I'll tell you!" Mrs. Ozawa immediately panicked. Having witnessed the existence of monsters with her own eyes, she dared not leave alone. "I wanted to use the restroom, but all the restrooms were occupied… I couldn't hold it anymore, so I came to the ground level…"
Natsuki said:
"Why did you come out alone?"
Mrs. Ozawa lowered her head: "I didn't want to trouble anyone."
Natsuki sighed helplessly.
This was the character of Japanese people; the unwillingness to trouble others was etched into their bones. Unless absolutely necessary, they would never ask others for help.
Of course, Mrs. Ozawa's unwillingness to speak to others might also be due to embarrassment.
Natsuki asked again:
"What was going on with those monsters just now?"
According to the information he had gathered, monsters did not attack each other, but they also did not gather together.
The monsters just now were clearly several types mixed together, which was obviously abnormal.
Upon hearing the question, Mrs. Ozawa's head drooped even lower, her glasses sliding down. She stammered softly:
"I heard a sound in the alley just now… Then, then I saw that the child in the yellow clothes…"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly at her words, glancing into the alley behind him, but he did not see the yellow-clothed the child.
"Then you went over?"
Mrs. Ozawa said softly:
"It seemed so pitiful, I couldn't bear it… Who knew that as soon as I walked up to it, it suddenly blew a whistle, and then the entire person disappeared into thin air, and then many monsters appeared in the alley…"
It sounded like some kind of monster with a special summoning ability. When gathering information before, he had indeed not encountered a yellow-clothed the child.
Natsuki silently noted the information, and at the same time made up his mind.
He had to catch a yellow-clothed the child for research.
"Mrs. Ozawa, do you still remember the three rules from last night?"
Natsuki spoke expressionlessly.
"I-I remember…"
Mrs. Ozawa nervously wrung her fingers.
Natsuki said calmly:
"It was made very clear at the time that anyone who violated the agreement should leave on their own. Mrs. Ozawa secretly snuck out and caused trouble. You know what to do, right?"
"I-I'm sorry…!"
Mrs. Ozawa immediately panicked and quickly bowed in apology, "Please don't make me leave!"
Having witnessed the ferocity and terror of the monsters with her own eyes, Mrs. Ozawa knew very well that once she left the group, she would not be able to survive.
Natsuki said expressionlessly:
"If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for?"
"I, I…"
Mrs. Ozawa's body trembled. She suddenly bit her silver teeth and, with a 'thud', knelt down in front of Natsuki.
Natsuki looked down from above, still unmoved:
"Madam, don't think that a dogeza can make people forgive you."
In Japan, after making a mistake, it seemed that one only needed to apologize with a dogeza to do whatever they wanted. For example, in the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, such a huge crisis occurred, and it was not dealt with in time, forcibly covering up a Level 3 nuclear accident into a Level 7 nuclear accident. The management of TEPCO, from top to bottom, should have been given the death penalty for crimes against humanity. However, the leaders of TEPCO apologized with a dogeza, and afterwards, there was no punishment whatsoever—
There really was none. TEPCO's management didn't even need to go to prison because the court's final verdict was not guilty, and even TEPCO became a victim of the accident.
Therefore, Natsuki refused to accept a dogeza apology.
A Madam with such overflowing kindness must be given a profound lesson to make her obedient.
If he easily forgave her today, she would cause trouble for others if an unexpected situation arose in the future.
Then Natsuki realized he was wrong.
What Mrs. Ozawa wanted to do was not a dogeza.
"I-I'm sorry…"
A blush spread across Mrs. Ozawa's face. She nervously reached out her hand and placed it on Natsuki's waist.
To go back and see her daughter, she had to survive no matter what! So she absolutely couldn't be driven away!
"Madam, what are you doing?"
Natsuki was shocked.
His goal was for her to sincerely apologize and promise never to offend again, not for her to apologize with her body!
"I-I promise I won't tell anyone…" Mrs. Ozawa was full of shame, her voice trembling slightly, clearly having never done anything like this before. "As long as Natsuki doesn't make me leave, I'll do anything…"
"No, you get up first."
Natsuki used force in his hand, helping Mrs. Ozawa to her feet.
"N-don't make me leave…"
Mrs. Ozawa pleaded helplessly, already convinced that Natsuki was going to drive her away, and mist welled up in her eyes.
"I'm not planning to make you leave." Natsuki took a half-step back, creating distance, and said seriously, "I just want to give Mrs. Ozawa a deep impression, to remember the three rules, and not to make the same mistake again in the future."
Although Natsuki was a scumbag, he valued emotions more than physical acts. If he were to force others in this way, he would despise himself.
"Eh?" Mrs. Ozawa, with teary eyes, cautiously said, "R-really not making me leave?"
Natsuki said gently:
"My word is my bond. If I say no, then no, of course. However, this is only once. If there's a next time, Madam, please leave on your own."
"Th-thank you…" Mrs. Ozawa finally relaxed, covering her face and crying, "Natsuki-kun… is a good person…"
Natsuki: "…"