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"whispering sound……"
Kotoko Iwanaga hissed like a cat, but she didn't argue with Asuna Yuuki.
She was indeed shy, but given her level, it wouldn't be that she would feel shy just from seeing those toys. The main reason was that the moment she saw the Fiji Cup, she suddenly remembered the night she spent with Asagiri a week ago.
At that time... it seemed like she was playing the role of that toy.
Kotoko Iwanaga didn't dislike it; on the contrary, she quite liked the feeling. But she couldn't very well tell Asuna Yuuki that she blushed because she was reminded of the Fiji Cup and the scene where Asagiri picked her up and did *that* to her.
……
Upon arriving at the double room, Kato Megumi looked around at the room, which was only about seven or eight square meters in size and seemed rather cramped, with two computers placed inside. She tentatively inquired.
"The space seems a bit cramped..."
Before Kato Megumi could finish speaking, the petite Iwanaga Kotoko quickly took off her shoes, her small feet in white socks stepping onto the floor. Like a wild dog that had broken free, she rushed to one of the computers and sat down cross-legged.
"Whoosh! I got a seat! Now the Leader has to sit next to me."
Kotoko Iwanaga first made this victory speech, then turned to look at Asuna Yuuki, a provocative smile on her lips, and slightly raised her chin, smugly saying.
"Hmph, even though it's a flash, your speed is too slow at a time like this~"
"You guy..."
Yuuki Asuna shook her head, speechless.
"Aren't you afraid of breaking your prosthetic leg? Fine, if you want to sit next to him, then sit here. Who wants to take it from you?"
"Hmph, if you can't win, just say you can't win~ Hehe~"
Just as Kotoko Iwanaga was overjoyed and feeling smug, she saw Asagiri lead Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato in. After closing and locking the door to the private room, she slowly extended her right hand.
"Persona, Mita".
The moment Kind Mita appeared, the already cramped double room became even more crowded, making it almost impossible to move one's legs.
"you……"
Kind-hearted Mita was caught off guard and fell directly into Asagiri's arms, tilting her head up with a slightly helpless expression.
"Looks like that cake wasn't for nothing, this working environment is just too terrible!"
Asagiri smiled and said, "Go quickly."
"Oh, okay."
After giving a reply, kind-hearted Mita squeezed her way to the empty computer and laboriously sat down cross-legged.
"Eh?"
Kotoko Iwanaga was taken aback when she saw this.
"Leader, shouldn't you be sitting here? Why..."
"I'm not a hacker."
Asagiri leaned against the wooden wall and chuckled softly.
"Everyone has their own expertise, so of course we should send Mita."
Asuna Yuuki knelt down to Asagiri's left, near the door, her shoulder resting on Asagiri's shoulder. Seeing Kotoko Iwanaga's bewildered expression, she couldn't help but tease her.
"As expected, you were quick enough to choose the position furthest from the Leader. You're truly amazing."
"Yes."
Before Iwanaga Kotoko could even sit down next to Asagiri, Kato Megumi had already taken the seat next to Asagiri on the right and delivered the final blow to Iwanaga Kotoko with her words.
"Perhaps this is what they mean by trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead."
Today's Kotoko Iwanaga is not laughing.
……
after an hour.
"found it."
Kind-hearted Mita raised her hand from in front of the computer screen, stretched lazily, and turned to look at Asagiri.
"I hacked into the databases of multiple official agencies in every city in this world, including power stations, the Metropolitan Police Department's back office, the Municipal Planning Bureau, and the Water Supply Bureau. Combined with the recent news about a demi-human's identity being exposed, and the Metropolitan Police Department's advance announcement of clearing certain road sections, I can roughly confirm that in this place..."
At this point, kind-hearted Mita reached out and pointed to the map on the computer screen.
"The research institute's base should be located in these deep mountains near Chiba Prefecture, but I can't provide any more specific location information."
"It's okay, that's enough, you did a great job."
Hearing Asagiri's praise, kind-hearted Mita smoothed her long hair, her face slightly flushed, and said in a nonchalant tone.
"Then...shouldn't there be some kind of reward?"
After saying this, before Asagiri could answer, Kind Mita quickly explained.
"Of course, I'm not doing this out of selfishness. I just think that if I tell them when I get back that I received your reward for doing a great job, it will definitely motivate them. That's all. It's not something I particularly want..."
"Oh? Then tell me, what kind of reward do you want? How about I buy you a cake?"
"I don't want to eat cake..."
Kind-hearted Mita blushed slightly and spoke in a voice barely audible.
"Besides, you guys still have a discussion, right... Well then, let's have a kiss as a reward..."
"A kiss? Sure."
Asagiri moved closer to Kind Mita and gently kissed her cheek. Kind Mita seemed not quite satisfied and turned her head away, her eyes filled with shyness and bashfulness, but she still slowly moved closer to Asagiri's lips.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing?"
Just as kind-hearted Mita was about to kiss Asagiri, Kotoko Iwanaga swiftly reached out and blocked their lips from touching, pouting indignantly.
"Kissing in front of us? No way, I won't allow it!"
Just as Iwanaga Kotoko was getting furious, Kato Megumi's soft words stunned her instantly.
"Huh? In front of 'us'?"
Kato Megumi's expression was calm, her voice soft, but her words instantly silenced the air.
“It should be ‘in front of me,’ right, Necro?”
"Uh...yes, yes, it was in front of me, I just blurted out 'fast'..."
"Ah."
Faced with Kotoko Iwanaga's obviously flawed explanation, Megumi Kato simply nodded, responded softly, and then spoke calmly as if nothing had happened.
"Now that we've confirmed the location of the research institute's base, what should we do next?"
Seeing that the topic had been steered back to a serious level, Asuna Yuuki composed herself and replied earnestly.
"Should we go there now? Chiba Prefecture isn't far from Tokyo. If we can find the research institute's base first, even if we can't force our way through now, we can prepare in advance and at least avoid being ambushed by players who arrived earlier."
There's no need to rush.
Asagiri shook her head, canceling the summoning of Kindness Mita, and then slowly spoke.
"Although you don't need to register your identity to ride the Shinkansen, you just need to pay for a ticket, but... taking the Shinkansen to Chiba is like taking an elevator or entering a confined space in a horror movie, there is a lot of risk."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly, as if deep in thought.
"You mean... if we take the Shinkansen, we might encounter danger because we can't easily leave the high-speed train, or fall into a trap after arriving at our destination? But the people in this world don't know we're players. If there's a possibility our identities could be exposed, how would it happen..."
Asuna Yuuki frowned slightly, her beautiful, delicate eyebrows furrowing as she murmured to herself.
"News broadcast?... No, that would mean not only the people in this world, but all the players in this instance would know the identities of the other players. Before entering this instance, the system specifically reminded players that the completion time would be at least 24 hours, and advised them to take care of their real-world affairs. This means the system is unwilling, at least for now, to allow players to expose their identities in the real world, so..."
Just as Asuna Yuuki was speaking, Asagiri suddenly raised her hand and made a shushing gesture.
Immediately afterwards, a series of footsteps approached from a distance and stopped in front of the private room where the four people were.
The next second, amidst the silence of the four members of the team, a slightly impatient and urgent knocking sounded on the door.
"Boom boom boom!"
"Routine identity check, open the door!"
26
Chapter 26, the first test.
Hearing the shouts outside the door, not only Asagiri, but also Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi all sensed that something was wrong.
Routine check?
A normal routine check should start from the entrance of the internet cafe and proceed by knocking on the doors in order. There's no reason to skip checking the previous rooms and go straight to the room where we are.
Moreover, the attitude of that person outside was far too rude and forceful. Normally, a patrol officer responsible for identity checks would not act like that. After all, this is an internet cafe that needs to be quiet. How could they speak so loudly and disturb other customers?
Kato Megumi looked at Asagiri and spoke in a barely audible voice.
"Leader? What should we do? My unique talents and special professional skills are useless in this situation."
Kagutō Megumi's unique talent effect is not invisibility, but rather reducing her own presence. In other words, it's not about making others "unable to see her," but about making others "unable to notice her."
The double booths in the internet cafe were very cramped, and the entire room could be seen at a glance. Judging from the manner of the people outside, they were there specifically to find the four members of the team. Once the door was opened, they would definitely be observing intently. Under such circumstances, even if Kato Megumi tried to minimize the presence of herself and Asagiri and the others, it would be of no use.
Before Asagiri could answer, the person outside the door seemed to be getting a little impatient, and a deep, middle-aged man's voice rang out.
"Kick the door open. You, and you, aim at the doorway. If they make any sudden moves, shoot immediately."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki's expression changed. She immediately drew her exorcist sword and held it in her hand, waiting for Asagiri's command so that she could force her way out before the other party was ready.
But the next second, Asagiri gently pressed down on Yuuki Asuna's wrist as she held the sword, then reached out her left hand and caught a phantom tarot card that was falling from mid-air, quickly clenching her five fingers to crush it.
"Persona, Mita".
"Ugh...so sleepy..."
A woman named Mita, dressed in red pajamas, with an eye mask on her head, looking sleepy, and with long, messy blue hair, appeared in the narrow private room.
The moment she appeared, both Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato felt an extremely strong drowsiness, like the kind of drowsiness that comes from staying up for three days and three nights and then running a marathon, leaving the brain unable to think of anything except "sleep".
Kotoko Iwanaga, whose profession is a sorcerer and whose mental strength is extremely high, is slightly better than the other two, but not by much; her eyes are gradually becoming unfocused.
"Let's go back."
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Sleepy Mita rubbed her eyes and said weakly.
"Okay, then I'm going back to sleep..."
With a drawn-out, languid tone, Sleepy Mita disappeared, and Asuna Yuuki and the others also regained their senses.
"terrible……"
After regaining her senses, Asuna Yuuki shook her head and whispered with lingering fear.
"Sleepy Mita's abilities are too strong... I have absolutely no idea how she could fight in that state..."
Let alone fighting, under the influence of Mita's ability to make them fall asleep, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato had to grit their teeth to keep themselves from closing their eyes and falling asleep.
"It's not that strong."
Asagiri shook her head, opened the locked door of the private room, and looked at the four men in suits who were lying on the carpet in the outer corridor, fast asleep like babies, even snoring. She spoke in a flat tone.
"It's not just you guys. When I summon Sleepy Mita, I'm also affected in the same way. It's just that my mental strength is the highest, so I can barely stay awake. If I encounter an enemy with the same mental strength, both the opponent and I will be affected and unable to gain any advantage. Moreover, using her ability will cause me to consume a lot of mental energy. It can only be used in this situation."
As he spoke, Chao Wu walked over to the four sleeping men in suits, squatted down, and began to check their belongings.
"This is……"
Seeing Asagiri pick up a black pistol from the ground, Kotoko Iwanaga immediately went over to examine the gun's appearance, her brows furrowed.
"The standard sidearm for ordinary Metropolitan Police Department members should be a small-caliber, low-powered revolver, whose bullets cannot even penetrate the human body. But these people are different; they are semi-automatic pistols with much greater power. This indicates that they are not ordinary police officers."
As Kotoko Iwanaga said, most police officers in the Metropolitan Police Department are not armed. Even those front-line detectives who need to be armed only carry small-caliber revolvers. This is partly to ensure that the criminal can be stopped and to avoid killing the criminal on the spot, and partly to prevent stray bullets from penetrating the target's body and causing harm to innocent civilians in the vicinity.
However, the sidearms carried by these four men in suits were semi-automatic pistols, which were more lethal and more difficult to use.
Asagiri took out the wallets of the four people, but found nothing inside that could prove their identities. Then, he took one of their phones and activated Crazy Meta's ability.
"Okay, let's go."
Nearly thirty seconds later, Chaowu threw his phone back to the ground. He naturally took the guns carried by the four men in suits with him. There were four people in the team, including himself, so each of them had a gun.