Fast forward half a year, and the novel I co-wrote is finally close to completion.
One day after school, Atsuko Taketori came home and found Ryoichi Takahashi in her room, looking through the novel manuscript.
Ryoichi Takahashi was one year below Atsuko Taketori, so he could use her notes.
Taketori Mie was busy preparing dinner. When Takahashi came to visit, she couldn't spare any time, so she asked people to go up and look for it. In her eyes, Takahashi Ryoichi was a family member morning and night, and there was no need to worry too much.
Takahashi Ryoichi didn't know which book was the notebook, so he picked it up casually and accidentally caught the manuscript of the novel.
After discovering that the content was wrong, he originally wanted to close the book, but the beginning was so attractive that he couldn't help but read half of it.
Taketori Atsuko was very nervous when she found out. She also knew her mother's attitude, and she also knew that Takahashi Ryoichi had a good relationship with Taketori Mie, so he might tell her.
But soon, Taketori Atsuko realized that Takahashi Ryoichi did not see the relationship between the two heroines in the book and only thought that they were very good friends.
The neighbor was sent away without incident, and a few minutes later, Chikako Ikeda arrived carrying a bag of snacks.
The two finished writing the ending of the novel while chatting and laughing. After accidentally mentioning the word "publish", Atsuko Taketori became depressed.
The two protagonists of "Blue Kingdom", one is named "Taketori" and the other is "Ikeda", and their personalities are very similar to them. Although the probability is very low, if Mie Taketori sees or hears about it, she will definitely...
I can't hide it anymore...
When Atsuko Taketori whispered, "This kind of book cannot be published," Chikako Ikeda noticed the change in her mood.
However, she misunderstood the specific reason, thinking that Taketori Atsuko was worried that no publisher would accept this subject matter.
Chikako Ikeda immediately thought of her brother - the Ikeda family is also a large conglomerate, and her brother happens to have some business in the publishing industry.
The sentence "I asked him to find a way to publish it" almost blurted out, but at this moment, Chikako Ikeda suddenly remembered that Atsuko's birthday was coming soon.
...This book can definitely be used as a birthday surprise. Is there anything more memorable than publishing a book that has been poured into two people's efforts?
No!
Therefore, although Taketori Atsuko's disappointed look made her feel distressed, Chikako Ikeda still held back her words and said nothing.
When leaving this time, Chikako Ikeda borrowed the manuscript on the pretext that she wanted to read it again.
My birthday is next Wednesday, and I don’t know if I can make it in time. If not, I think I can expedite it by paying a few times more money...
Taketori Atsuko sent him out without knowing anything, and went to a stationery store to buy a few tubes of pencil lead.
When she got home, she opened the door to her room and was shocked to find Taketori Mie standing in front of her desk, flipping through her diary.
Taketori Atsuko underestimated a mother's intuition.
Taketori Mie has always known where her daughter's diary is hidden - hiding the diary between the books and the bookshelf is her remaining method. But in the past, she felt that her well-behaved daughter would not go out of her way, so she did not deliberately
Peep.
There were no straightforward words in the diary, but the vague feelings made Taketori Mie suspicious.
The two quarreled for a while, and Taketori Atsuko snatched the diary with red eyes, wiped her eyes, and ran out the door.
…
Chikako Ikeda is in her brother's office, urging him to publish the book as soon as possible.
She had written a lot before, but this was the first time she wanted to publish an article.
Ikeda Sata turned over a few pages curiously, and frowned slightly after seeing the emotional lines in it. But in the end, he said nothing and only asked his sister what pen name she wanted to use.
Only then did Chikako Ikeda think of this problem.
According to her idea, just write the two people's names together.
But considering that Taketori Atsuko doesn't like to be pushy, she thought it was best to ask the other person for their advice first.
He was about to make a call to Taketori's house, but when he walked to the cabinet and picked up the receiver, Chikako Ikeda saw a familiar figure outside through the wide floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was raining heavily, but the man was walking with his head down, without an umbrella, and followed by his feet was a black cat that was wet by the rain and couldn't stop shaking its fur.
Seeing this miserable scene made her heart skip a beat, and she chased after him in distress.
They only caught the man after crossing a street. Taketori Atsuko looked very autistic and didn't say anything when asked, and didn't want to go home.
Chikako Ikeda sighed and thought of her usual "secret base" - a suburban villa left by her grandfather. Then she had an idea and took a bus to wander there.
Shiraishi's eyes became kind when he saw Chikako Ikeda - he was still thinking about how to deal with the Shura field, but Chikako Ikeda actually coaxed him away.
The two girls took a hot bath, put on clean clothes, leaned together and talked quietly. As they talked, they actually confessed to each other, and then huddled under the same quilt.
On the ground next to the bed, a black cat raised its head and stretched its neck longer and longer.
But just when his eyes were about to reach the edge of the bed and he saw the situation on the bed, a hand accurately pressed his head. Chikako Ikeda ruthlessly pushed the cat's head down: "Don't make trouble."
…
Ikeda Sata dialed the number, but the ringtone rang next to her. When she turned around, she saw Chikako Ikeda's eldest brother standing next to her umbrella. This one didn't have a phone at all.
"... When will she be able to change her habit of thinking about it? She has to do it on Friday. Time is so tight and she forgot to think of a pen name in advance."
Ikeda Sata threw the receiver back on the phone and looked at the secretary holding the manuscript next to her: "Forget it, you send the manuscript over for proofreading first, and use her real name as the pen name. I will ask her tomorrow if she wants to change it.
I will tell you."
If she couldn't finish it on time, she would definitely complain again. After all, it was just a child's game of house, so she just had to deal with it.
…
In the villa, Bai Shi lay on the carpet with a towel on his head and fell into deep thought.
What on earth is he here to do in this virtual world?
Specialty dog food taster?
While thinking about the meaning of cat life, a bright light suddenly flashed in front of his eyes. Bai Shi was startled and looked intently. It was a light screen.
There is actually a new task hanging on it:
[Rescuing the stubborn girl who was brutally cut into pieces x1
The reckless boy whose rescue plan was exposed x1]
[Start countdown 0:03:12]
[Mission location: Grove fifty meters away from the villa [map]]
"!"
Shiraishi looked back at the bed, slipped out of the bedroom, and found a place where no one was.
The countdown of the task is also based on the real time flow rate, so it has not changed.
Shiraishi was able to ask the question clearly: "Can I leave the virtual world temporarily? The tasks here will not be interrupted? Can it be paused?"
The Q-version assistant's eyes fell on the pointed cat ears. It took a while before he reluctantly came back to his senses and touched his pocket.
She took out three stacked question and answer cards and unfolded them with a swipe. On them were "?", "?" and "X".
Can walk without interruption or pause...
There doesn't seem to be much need for him in the current virtual world. As long as he completes the tasks in reality quickly, he should be able to catch up when he comes back.
...Since you can do both tasks, there is certainly no reason not to go back.
A little tired of eating the dog food, Bai Shi looked back at the bedroom and nodded: "Let's go."
…
Returning to the real world, when he opened his eyes, Shiraishi felt that something was not right with him.
When I looked down, I saw that my body was actually in a state of disintegration.
He immediately looked around and found that this was a room on the second floor of the villa. His body was lying on the bed. The raincoat had been peeled off and a towel was placed on his forehead. He didn't know who had moved it back.
He can be found even if he is so hidden, what a talent...
Progress is slow in the virtual world, and Taketori Atsuko may be the type who needs a long-term safe environment to "eliminate regrets."
Since you don't know how long you will stay there, you might as well put your body away first, otherwise you will feel very insecure if you leave it in a villa in the wilderness with no Maorilan or Saiyan guards around...
Anyway, he was the only one in the room at the moment. If someone came to the room on the way and found that he was missing, when he came back, it could be said that he had gone for a walk after waking up.
Thinking of this, as soon as the virtual state ended, Shiraishi immediately took out the elf ball.
Just as he was about to smash it down, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Conan and Mao Lilan walked in one after the other.
They were talking quietly, but when they turned around and saw someone else in the room, they were stunned.
Mao Lilan clenched her fists nervously, but perhaps because she was shocked by the strange mask, she did not rush over immediately.
"You're still alive?!" Conan was also shocked, and after he came to his senses, he was still a little emotional.
Then a series of questions came out of his mouth:
"Are you here for the bandage man? Where is he hiding now?" Looking at the body of Shiraishi lying on the bed, Conan realized something and added, "Do you know him?"
Skillfully ignoring Conan's question, Shiraishi looked at the two people at the door, then at the body, and suddenly realized that this was also a rare opportunity for experimentation.
If it fails, the worst option is to return to the body and rush into the woods in the virtual state again.
The two protagonists saw the man in black glance at them indifferently, and then looked away as if looking at nothing. Then he raised his hand and smashed it down, using an unknown tool to hit their innocent neighbor on the head.
knock.
After knocking, the main body was still the same and could not be put into the ball.
Sure enough, "being stared at and unable to activate" is a common problem for most system props... This really shouldn't be taken seriously. To live in this world, props must be thick-skinned!
Mao Lilan didn't expect that Shiraishi would hit someone first after a disagreement. Although she was a little scared, in order to protect her neighbors, she shouted "Stop!" and wanted to rush over.
Conan suddenly stretched out his hand to stop her.
During the two seconds of delay, Shiraishi, who had satisfied his curiosity, opened the balcony door without hesitation, jumped on the railing and jumped down from the second floor.
Kamen's body was already on the lighter side, and the muddy ground and stacks of dead leaves also gave him some cushioning.
When Mao Lilan rushed to the balcony, she could only see a dark forest without night vision.
"Run away...is he the bandaged man just now? But his face seems thinner than the bandaged man."
A few strands of rain were blown into the balcony by the wind and stuck on her face. Mao Lilan wiped her face, thinking of her unlucky neighbor, and hurried back to the bedroom, worrying: "Is Mr. Shiraishi okay?"
"It's okay, the black cat just now...cough, the man in black was holding a plastic ball, it has no lethality."
Although Conan was very confused by this conclusion, it seemed to be true regardless of the style or the sound after knocking.
This made the questions in his mind increase instead of abating.
Perhaps what Black Cat is holding is a high-tech physical measuring instrument, but the method of use is rather special, just like the doctor's inventions occasionally have some minor flaws...
From this point of view, my previous reasoning was indeed correct. There is a certain connection between Shiraishi and Black Cat.
Since they are not the same person, does that mean they are acquaintances?
If Shiraishi is responsible for collecting information and Black Cat is responsible for rescuing people, then it would make sense for them to often appear in the same place.
But why did the two of them do this? Out of a sense of justice?
…
Bai Shi, who was running in the woods, didn't know yet that his ordinary body was labeled as extraordinary.
The distance of more than fifty meters is not too far. When I rush over, there is still a minute or two left in the mission countdown.
Under the tree, Chikako Ikeda and Ryoichi Takahashi were having an emotional argument. If it hadn't rained and the mountain wind passing through the forest had blocked them, their voices might have reached the villa.
Shiraishi didn't say much nonsense. Taking advantage of being in the dark, he tried to throw a tranquilizer bomb over.
However, this type of gas ammunition is easily affected by rain, and it does not make any difference because it is produced by "Butterfly Ninja".
There is no other way...
A rarely used lasso-shaped steel wire protruded from Shiraishi's cuffs.
The two people in front became more and more excited as they quarreled. When Takahashi reached for the murder weapon, Shiraishi swung out the wire, accurately caught him, and then pulled hard.
Takahashi Ryoichi wiped his back on the floor and slid awkwardly in front of Shiraishi. His clothes were messy and stained by the mud. The knife he had not yet pulled out hit the stone and made a clicking sound.
——After escaping from Mao Lilan before, Takahashi Ryoichi tried to find an axe, but couldn't find it at all. In the end, he had to steal a knife from the kitchen.
He rarely fights with others, and he has no experience in dealing with being pulled and thrown like this. When he finally wanted to draw a knife to resist, a black-gloved hand quickly reached over, pinched a spray bottle, and sneered in front of his face.
Clicked several times.
Takahashi Ryo's eyes went dark and he quickly lost consciousness.
Next to her, Chikako Ikeda was holding a flashlight and holding an umbrella, watching all this in confusion. Having grown up in a peaceful society, she had never seen such a scene.