Kurusu Akira returned to LeBlanc amidst the strong winds, heavy rain, and lightning. Even with an umbrella, most of his work uniform was soaked.
He simply hung a "Closed" sign on the door and then locked it from the inside.
He jogged up to the attic to find a change of clothes, pulled the curtain, and walked towards the bathroom while taking off his work uniform... At that moment, having taken off his shirt and revealing his gradually forming muscular upper body, Kurusu Akira bent down to sort the change of clothes in the plastic bucket, and happened to meet a dark, ovoid object installed at the innermost part of the door crack, directly in front of him.
Two tiny rings at its front contracted and expanded with extremely subtle movements, like the eyeballs of the living dead.
Kurusu Akira looked at the hidden camera in front of him, falling into a strange state of shock.
At the same time.
The dark bedroom on the second floor of the Sakura Residence.
Through the pre-installed listening device, Sakura Futaba, who had saved all the dialogue between the "Phantom Thief and time traveler" in LeBlanc, had not yet recovered from the "brain-shaking" terror of accepting that supernatural knowledge, and then heard the monitoring software running in the background emit a rumbling sound through the Bluetooth speaker.
She subconsciously opened the monitoring software.
The large screen was immediately filled by a handsome young man, shirtless.
Sakura Futaba could even clearly count his abdominal muscle lines...
Ugh?!
Sakura Futaba, who had been thoroughly corrupted into a seasoned shut-in by the internet, immediately let out a rather unbecoming cry of distress.
She looked around helplessly, then, following her instincts, pushed her chair forward, almost pressing her face against the screen, staring intently at the R-rated scene on the screen.
As she watched, she suddenly felt her nose warm up.
She reached up and wiped it, and it was covered in blood.
Soon, Kurusu Akira's figure disappeared from the camera.
The screen image spun and shook like the world was turning upside down, finally settling into darkness.
Only the remaining battery percentage in the upper right corner flickered on and off.
Sakura Futaba immediately turned pale with fright, hastily grabbed two napkins to stuff into her nostrils to stop the gushing blood, then found her self-made hacking software in the computer's taskbar, and typed on the keyboard with the fastest hand speed of her life...
...
Kurusu Akira, who was about to change into his wet clothes and call the police, found his phone buzzing on the table.
He walked over and picked up the phone, only to find that the main page had been replaced by a chat box at some point.
An anonymous account with no username or avatar was spewing out hundreds of messages with massive amounts of information.
Was this a hacker intrusion?
Kurusu Akira thought idly, could it be that they're eyeing my over ten million in debt and are preparing to be benevolent and "hijack" it for me?
Then he scrolled the chat box to the top and, unexpectedly, saw words like "Phantom Thief" and "Time Reversal."
He immediately took out the hidden camera from his pocket, his expression turning subtly strange.
He suddenly felt like silencing this hidden figure behind the scenes.
Never mind, let's see what this person is saying first...
About five minutes later.
Kurusu Akira sat by the dining table, deep in thought, looking at the chat bubbles constantly popping up on his phone screen.
After a while, he tapped the chat box and typed on the numeric keyboard.
[Kurusu Akira: You mean, Sakura Sojiro's autistic daughter, Sakura Futaba, is actually a hidden super hacker, and she secretly installed cameras and listening devices in the streets and alleys, and even in her guardian's coffee shop, in the middle of the night?]
That's too "autistic."
He rubbed his slightly throbbing brow, unsure for a moment how to deal with the other party.
Sakura Futaba, whose true name was involuntarily revealed, replied almost instantly after Kurusu Akira sent that message.
[Sakura Futaba: I'm so sorry! Terribly sorry! (Attached: Doraemon Dogeza.jpg)]
She would bet that her hand speed was never this fast, not even last month when she hacked into the public security system and battled wits with a group of cyber experts.
[Kurusu Akira: You should already know that I am a Phantom Thief, right? And you have repeatedly captured and recorded information about our Phantom Thieves of Hearts... Now, you have to pay the corresponding price.]
[Sakura Futaba: I really realize my mistake! Please don't kill me! And don't call the police!]
[Sakura Futaba: I've never talked about your matters with anyone else, and I will definitely keep it a secret from now on!!!]
[Kurusu Akira:?]
[Kurusu Akira: If you really leaked the news that I am a Phantom Thief, you might have already been silenced by those villains hiding in the dark corners of society.]
After all, if the news that "Kurusu Akira is a Phantom Thief" truly began to spread across Japan, those who consider themselves gods would certainly be more anxious than the politicians or chaebol owners full of scandals who hold high positions in society.
According to the operating logic of the cognitive world, the emergence of "cognitive superhumans" would indeed lead to the birth of various matching supervillains, in order to achieve the most basic "good versus evil" situation in the public's perception.
But those "old-generation villains" who couldn't keep up with the version updates might truly never see tomorrow's sun.
So this was an unspoken understanding between them and Kurusu Akira, a hidden rule that both sides had to strictly abide by.
Kurusu Akira hoped to limit various disasters in the world to a manageable scope, rather than constantly rushing around the globe every day to resolve world-destroying catastrophes.
The gods born from the cognitive world also didn't want to see this resurrected "Phantom Thief" be strengthened by the public's cognition to a level far beyond their comprehension.
It must be admitted that Kurusu Akira was feeling somewhat apprehensive at the moment.
He could be certain that if Sakura Futaba really leaked the Phantom Thieves' information, she would definitely be silenced by desperate enemies immediately, and all content she published online would be cleared.
Another nearly five minutes passed, and after a lengthy explanation, Kurusu Akira finally made Sakura Futaba understand her current predicament.
[Sakura Futaba: "I know too much."]
[Kurusu Akira: That's exactly what I mean.]
[Kurusu Akira: From now on, work hard for my Phantom Thieves of Hearts to atone for your sins, Miss Hacker. You have no other options.]
[Sakura Futaba: At least tell me the contact information of the other network technology experts in the Phantom Thieves. I will work wholeheartedly for you from now on... Please, don't tell Sakura Sojiro about this.]
Sakura Futaba's current situation was completely passive; she was unilaterally at the mercy of Kurusu Akira.
Now the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had her personal information and held concrete evidence that was enough to send her to a juvenile detention center... The camera was in Kurusu Akira's pocket.
Even if she disregarded her conscience and morality, she couldn't find any means of retaliation. Of course, even if she had, she wouldn't dare to use them.
[Kurusu Akira: Don't worry, I won't tell Sakura about your matters.]
[Sakura Futaba: What about my future colleagues?]
[Kurusu Akira: What colleagues? You are currently the only network technology-savvy supporter in the Phantom Thieves.]
In the chat window, Sakura Futaba's reply was long overdue.
Kurusu Akira was not in a hurry; he calmly began to unbutton his clothes, preparing to go back and take a shower.
By the time his soaked work clothes were taken off and thrown into the bathroom sink,
Kurusu Akira, returning to the dining table shirtless, found that new chat bubbles had finally appeared on the screen.
[Sakura Futaba: May I ask, the current number of people in the Phantom Thieves of Hearts is...]
[Kurusu Akira: Four people, just enough to play a round of Left 4 Dead 2.]
The leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who had gained a network expert to work for him with a mere flick of his fingers, plugged his phone into the charger, his mood exceptionally bright.
...
Sakura Futaba, with two rolls of tissue paper stuffed into her nostrils, attempting to cosplay Crayon Shin-chan, collapsed onto her bed piled high with dolls. She gazed up at the dark ceiling, suddenly feeling that her future was as dim and lightless as this small room.
The internet is terrifying.
Superpowers are terrifying.
Sakura Futaba was wrong. Sakura Futaba would never dare to do bad things again.
The fifteen-year-old genius hacker clutched her pillow, sobbing with such remorse, then self-deprecatingly pounded the bed.
Until Sakura Sojiro anxiously knocked on the door from outside, "Futaba, what happened?"
The room then fell silent.
"S-sorry, nothing happened," Sakura Futaba stammered in response to her guardian on the other side of the door.
----------------
After showering, Kurusu Akira returned to the attic, opened his laptop, found the user noted as "My BASS is awesome" in Line, and sent a video call.
There was no customary "tidying makeup, adjusting the camera and posture" preamble before girls answered video calls; the video request was accepted in about ten seconds.
Yamada Ryo, with a bare face, wearing light pink pajamas, sat cross-legged behind her computer desk. Her pair of bright yellow eyes looked at Kurusu Akira on the screen. "Is it about composing?"
This girl was actually very beautiful. Just like her name "Ryo," she was a cool and pretty type of beautiful girl. It was said that even among girls, she was very popular when she first entered high school.
It wasn't until she gradually exposed various strange personalities and interests that she returned to a state of being alone.
If it weren't for the promise to form a band with Ijichi Nijika during their most leisurely year of high school, she probably would never have had any interaction with Kurusu Akira... Such a boy, who clearly looked like a top-tier normie and was very popular with the opposite sex, was always someone Yamada Ryo felt she must "keep at a distance" from.
Although the idea of "dating a handsome boy who is dating many girls simultaneously" sounded very rock and roll, Yamada Ryo always felt that if the other person wasn't the type to make her heart race, doing so would be too hasty and irresponsible to herself.
Of course, now that everyone was crammed into the same band, she could only occasionally quip, "Amamiya-san is really too rock and roll," and then continue to play her bass in silence.
The only male member of the band was indeed very handsome. After careful grooming, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was "devastatingly handsome"; he was the best-looking boy she had ever seen in her life... When asked about romance by her classmates at school, Yamada Ryo had imagined herself dating Kurusu Akira, but she always felt there wasn't that "heart-racing" thrill.
Kurusu Akira got straight to the point, "I've downloaded all the software you recommended, but I lack the necessary equipment, so I can't input the guitar audio into the computer at all."
Yamada Ryo let out a long "Oh," "After all, Amamiya-san hasn't systematically studied music, so he can't directly upload recording files and then make detailed modifications according to the drafts generated by the software."
She pinched her chin, showing a thoughtful expression, "The weather station says the rain will be lighter tomorrow night. Shall we go to STARRY's recording studio together then?"
This typhoon at the end of April was very strange. It passed through Kawasaki City, destroying a large number of transportation facilities along the way, and then suddenly made a huge turn before reaching Tokyo, preparing to join the fun in earthquake-stricken Korea next door.
So, after a heavy rain, Tokyo residents still had to go to work and school as usual the next day.
Kurusu Akira took out his phone and checked the STARRY work group, "STARRY seemed to have been flooded at noon. The lobby is now full of standing water, and they've announced that they will suspend operations for a while. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, and basically no important equipment was damaged."
"In that case, the band's upcoming training will be delayed... The street performances will also have to be postponed, right? After all, everyone can't rent a large recording studio outside."
"Can the music classroom be used as a training venue?"
"Music classroom? Amamiya-san actually joined the Light Music Club?"
"Our school's Light Music Club disbanded a long time ago. It's just that I created a club, and it happened to be assigned a music classroom."
Yamada Ryo was a little curious, "I remember now, Nina did say you were the 'club president.' So, being able to get a music classroom... is it a rock club?"
Yamada Ryo and Ijichi Nijika didn't join any clubs to form the band; every time school ended, they would rush to STARRY.
"Psychological Health Education Department."
Facing the band's bassist's inquiry, Kurusu Akira hesitated for a moment, but still truthfully told her the name of the club.
...
The next day.
Ito Misui looked at the four "Club Application Forms" on his desk, adorned with artistic photos of beautiful girls in various styles, and then at their messy origins and school names. He finally couldn't help but look up at Kurusu Akira standing opposite him, his eyes filled with an awe-inspiring admiration.
"Even human traffickers in Tokyo would respectfully call you 'Master.'"
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