In less than half a night, the largest conglomerate in all of Japan, the Shinomiya Zaibatsu, had thus become Kaguya's possession.
To be honest, for Gao Hai, this matter didn't bring him much of a sense of reality. After all, from beginning to end, it was Kaguya Shinomiya herself who led the charge. All he did was bring her there, stand by the side to appreciate the martial arts show, and help identify the marbles thrown by that bit-part player who didn't even give his name. Aside from that, he could basically be said to have been a spectator for the entire process.
On the other hand, the two girls who weren't present, Maki and Chika, were incredibly nervous. Maki kept asking Gao Hai about the specific situation through the mental link, while Chika had Gao Hai put his phone on speaker mode, listening to the situation on this end throughout the entire process.
Anyway, no matter what, this matter had already concluded.
If it were a guy with more guts and ability, perhaps he would attempt to do something to Kaguya after this, but Huangguang Shinomiya was not a man with such capability. Since he had already chosen to surrender, this matter was completely over; there would be no sequel.
"Gao-kun, thank you. If not for you, I might not necessarily have had the courage to take this step."
After the matter was settled, Kaguya, upon leaving Huangguang's residence, bowed her head seriously to thank Gao Hai, her tone extremely sincere.
"No, I didn't really do anything. There's no need for this. In the final analysis, this was a choice you made yourself. Keep doing your best from now on."
Gao Hai scratched his head. He really didn't feel he had done anything worthy of thanks, so he answered Kaguya casually. Then, he bid farewell to her and walked in the direction of his home.
Pedestrians came and went hurriedly on the streets at night. Weary office workers carried briefcases, groups of young students gathered talking and laughing, and elderly people with leisurely expressions strolled about. Everything presented a calm and mundane appearance.
But in Gao Hai's line of sight, it was not entirely like this. He could see those illusory black shadows—those twisted and hideous anomalies wandering the streets and alleys, floating in mid-air, silent and soundless, with no one able to detect their existence.
Neither Kaguya, Maki, nor Chika could see the existence of these things. Even if they passed through the phantoms of these eerie objects, they wouldn't feel any discomfort.
It was like an illusory reflection that did not exist in this world; only Gao Hai himself could pry into their movement trajectories.
Will these things remain in this phantom state forever?
Will there be a day when these eerie illusions truly condense, becoming something that can be seen by everyone, realized by everyone, and interacted with?
Gao Hai couldn't come up with an answer to the question.
Therefore, he simply gave up thinking about it, not tangling himself in such meaningless questions.
After confirming that the matter was over, both Chika and Maki quieted down. It was visible that everyone was actually very concerned about Kaguya's family affairs. Now that they could finally heave a sigh of relief, the two of them probably needed a little time to adjust their mindsets.
As for Gao Hai's thoughts at this moment...
"Sure enough, she didn't come over. Well, that makes sense. After all, her family isn't easy to deal with."
Opening his door and confirming that Chika Fujiwara hadn't come to his home, Gao Hai felt somewhat discouraged.
Although he had realized this from the very beginning, knowing that it was unlikely for Chika to spend the night at his place for two days in a row, actually confirming that she wasn't here still gave Gao Hai a feeling of great helplessness.
Standing in the corridor, Gao Hai closed his eyes. What surfaced in his mind was the process of holding the young girl in his arms as he strode forward.
Returning to the bedroom and looking at the bed that had already been tidied up by Chika, what Gao Hai thought of was the low murmuring of the girl lying on the bed last night.
Walking into the toilet, Gao Hai's gaze couldn't help but turn to the position of the bathroom door, remembering the process of taking a shower together with her in the bathroom this morning.
Is this what they call 'craving more after the first taste'?
Gao Hai, who increasingly felt the desire to do it again, lamented silently in his heart.
I really want to do that kind of thing with Chika right now.
Hmm, I'll figure out a way to find some time for the two of us to be alone tomorrow.
However, the daytime is mostly reserved for Maki; that was agreed upon beforehand. If I were to sneak off to find Chika again, it really wouldn't be very good. Tsk, I feel like I've thoroughly become 'scum' in the worldly sense now, to actually be thinking about this kind of problem so naturally. Speaking of which, over the past month, I've made moves on Maki so many times. If I were to express my desire to 'do it' to her now, she probably wouldn't kick me flying and run away again, right?
Various unspeakable little scenarios began to emerge in Gao Hai's brain.
But mere fantasy scenarios obviously couldn't satisfy Gao Hai, who already had practical experience. Rather, having had the real experience, these fantasy scenarios only generated an even stronger craving.
Therefore, after playing games at home for a while and killing some time, Gao Hai felt it was simply too boring and couldn't distract himself no matter what. So he left the house again, intending to find a barbecue stall or something similar to get a late-night snack, using food to divert those little thoughts in the bottom of his heart.
"Hmm?"
Just as he walked out of his house, Gao Hai noticed a certain black-haired girl who was bidding farewell to her classmates and about to embark on the road home.
Miko Yotsuya.
The protagonist from the manga Mieruko-chan. Because she suddenly awakened a very powerful Yin-Yang Eye one day, she became able to see all the ghostly and monstrous things in the world. Consequently, she lived a life of fear and trepidation every day, a girl who was always being bullied to tears.
In this world, this girl and Gao Hai could be considered neighbors, though there was basically no interaction between the two sides. Gao Hai himself merely saw this girl going to and from school occasionally. As for Miko, she probably wouldn't have any impression of Gao Hai, a neighbor with whom she had never even spoken.
However, because of this girl's experiences in the original work, Gao Hai still paid a little attention to her. Especially after seeing these illusory shadows wandering everywhere every night, Gao Hai became even more concerned about Miko Yotsuya, concerned about this girl who 'can see'.
Hmm... Do there seem to be faint dark circles under her eyes?
Although the girl looked to be talking and laughing with her classmates without any abnormality, if one observed carefully, one could still notice that her condition was much more haggard than before. It seemed she hadn't had a good sleep for a long time.
Can she already 'see'?
To be honest, Gao Hai didn't have a deep impression of the original plot of Mieruko-chan. He only remembered there was a story involving cat abuse, and a Cthulhu-style lesbian woman pestering Miko all day long. Nevertheless, Gao Hai tentatively recalled that after Miko Yotsuya could see those things, she basically hadn't slept well a few times. She was in a state of high tension all day long, so her dark circles were particularly severe.
Although these eerie phantoms wandered ceaselessly through the streets and alleys, it currently appeared that they would not interact with the real world. In that case, if Miko can see those things, can they interact with Miko? Or is it like when he tried to touch those things—the two sides simply cannot make contact, and one wouldn't feel even a trace of sensation when passing through them?
Thinking of this, Gao Hai shifted his steps and walked in the direction of that girl.
At the same time, Miko Yotsuya herself said goodbye to her classmates, smiling as she watched them leave, then turned around preparing to go home.
Her gaze glanced slightly past the black illusory shadow over two meters tall beside her, then quickly moved away, turning her line of sight to the front, toward the location of her own home.
It's okay, it's okay...
The girl comforted herself silently in her heart.
Although these things are very scary, they are just hallucinations. As long as I don't pay attention to them, there is no problem.
Although they pop up in my room, although they pop up in my bathroom, although they pop up from under the covers when I'm sleeping... B-But, that's right, as long as I don't pay attention to them, there won't be any problems. After all, these terrifying things are just illusory phantoms. Even if I scream in fright, they won't do anything to me. So as long as I pretend I didn't see them, as long as I treat these things as non-existent, there will be no problem.
Thinking this way, Miko Yotsuya then noticed footsteps approaching her.
Raising her head, the girl discovered it was a tall man, staring at her with an expression of great interest.
"Hello, I am your neighbor, Gao Hai."
The other party spoke in a flat tone, greeting her.
"Hello, I am Miko Yotsuya. Um, is there something you need?"
The girl, who had already reached the door of her home at this time, blinked and replied. It took her some time to recall that a man surnamed Gao indeed lived next door. If she remembered correctly, he was a weirdo who almost never left his house and never conversed or interacted with the surrounding neighbors. She hadn't expected him to take the initiative to greet her today.
What does this guy want to do?
Miko Yotsuya walked to the doorway of her own home, her gaze looking at Gao Hai carrying a bit of doubt and curiosity.
"As for the matter, well, it's just a small question. Miss Yotsuya, recently, are you able to see some strange things?"
Gao Hai wore a smile, looking at the girl as he asked slowly.
In the next moment, he saw the expression on the girl's face undergo a drastic change.
Can she see them after all? Even though she couldn't see those things at all a month ago, did some change occur in this girl?
"You... Um, Mr. Gao, do you know something?"
The girl, eyes wide open, hurriedly rushed forward a few steps. As if she had finally found a savior, her golden pupils stared tightly at Gao Hai as she asked hastily.
"No, to be honest, I don't know much either. Aside from the fact that these things seem to be merely phantoms and won't interact with our world no matter what you do, so far I haven't seen anything special about them."
Gao Hai shook his head. He had no intention of deceiving the girl or giving her meaningless hope.
"Anyway, since you can see them, then it's best to pretend you can't."
"I suspect that although these things are harmless now, if this continues to develop, they might evolve into something very terrible."
"So before that, please hide yourself well, Miss Yotsuya. Do not expose your existence in front of them."
Leaving behind these few sentences, Gao Hai turned and left, walking away under the gaze of Miko Yotsuya behind him.
Before leaving just now, he could see the helpless and lost expression on Miko's face. It was just regrettable that he indeed had no way to help that girl. After all, even he himself had no way to make those things disappear from his eyes; even using Obsession Items had no effect at all.
Perhaps, only after those things truly 'arrive' in this world will there be a tangible and effective way to expel them.
I wonder if the existence of the [Sacrificial Game] has some kind of connection with these things.
On another note, the experience of being a 'Riddler' seems not too bad. Although what I said can't be considered complete riddles, just telling the truth.
Speaking of which, Chika said she plans to take everyone to a hot spring hotel to have fun on the weekend. I'm slightly looking forward to the situation then. Will there be some mixed bathing benefits or similar scenes?
Thinking about various messy things in his brain, Gao Hai quickly walked to a small shop still open at night, opened the door, and walked in.
What he didn't see was that after he left, Miko Yotsuya stood at her door for quite a while longer before sighing softly and whispering to herself.
"Hide myself well, don't expose my existence? Isn't that... what I've been doing all along..."
That weirdo named Gao Hai—just now I thought I had really found a savior. In the end, is there still no way to change this situation?
The girl, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness in the bottom of her heart, ultimately just sighed. She took out her key, opened the door to her home, pulled the door open, and walked inside.
What appeared in front of Miko in the next moment was a thing occupying more than half the corridor. Half of its head was completely shattered, leaving only the bloody remaining half. It was lying prone on the ceiling, raising its head to emit incessant, indistinct screams.
"..."
The girl kept her face taut in the next moment, her whole person freezing in place without moving. After stagnating like this for several seconds, she finally continued to walk into her home expressionlessly. Closing the door, taking off her shoes, and then walking toward the room while avoiding that anomaly.
This kind of experience is really too terrible.
Such a life is simply too dark and lightless.
What exactly do I have to do for my life to return to normal? I really don't want to have this kind of terrifying thing anymore!
The anomaly lying on the ceiling was still emitting piercing screams.
The girl, roaring inside her heart, continued to move forward with heavy steps just like this, continuing to live through each of her unbearable days with nothing to live for.
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