Long-term salvation

Suppressing the inexplicable uneasiness in his heart, Su Shi took a few deep breaths and nodded in agreement.

+ + + + + + + + + +

An ordinary house.

The curtains were drawn and the window slits were nailed shut. Only the musty smell of the old, decaying building and the stench of rotting human blood filled the air.

"We've lost too many [Fragments], we must find the one who stopped us and those lost [Fragments]... The first ceremony... That blue-haired girl, she's the key... Qi Kexiu, she's the bait with the qualifications!"

"She's the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family."

"Worldly money and power are no longer meaningful to us. Maintaining our basic physical existence is all that matters."

"But the Toyokawa family's power will hinder us, and now is not a good time to show our presence."

"In that case... let's start with her close ones... Everyone, a young lady attending Tsukinomori Girls' Academy has contacted a private investigator and provided a photo of the girl in blue... inquiring about her current situation under the guise of a friend."

"She's clearly hiding her existence from her friends."

A commotion of joy.

"Let our newly recruited 'detective' handle this. Although he initially thought we were just foolish scammers trying to steal our money, after the master's 'persuasion', he has become one of us. He will take the [Fragmented Page] and handle this matter."

"Use that foolish girl as a lure to lure her out! Find the missing [fragmented page] from her brain!"

+ + + + + + + +

Toyokawa Group headquarters office building.

"What are you doing? You can't even find out what's going on with your eldest daughter?!"

The old man in a well-tailored suit slammed the table angrily, his chest heaving, obviously extremely angry and worried, while the several strong bodyguards standing in front of him did not dare to breathe.

"The Toyokawa Group hasn't been supporting you for so long, it's not like you're just eating rice for free! I'll find connections in the political and police circles to assist you. If I can't find any, get lost in Thailand—the Inugami Group's team leader is in need of a female idol singer!"

"?! Yes!!! We will definitely find the young lady!"

Looking at those fleeing figures, Toyokawa Sadaharu, the helmsman of the Toyokawa Group and the head of the Toyokawa family, sat back in his chair dejectedly, his heart filled with worry for his granddaughter and longing for his deceased daughter... If only she were still alive.

The old man looked out the window, wondering how long his prestige could suppress those who were ready to make moves within the Fengchuan Group.

+++++++

Future Props Research Institute.

Xiangzi opened the shoe cabinet expressionlessly and took out his little leather shoes from the pile of pink letters inside - fortunately this time, no contact cards with lip prints or other "○○" marks were stuffed in there.

"Shoko, you're really popular," Saikawa Ayane joked nearby, "Many armed shrine maidens want to be your teammates, and they're almost calling you 'Onee-sama'."

Hearing this, the girl sighed and responded helplessly:

"I don't want to be 'welcomed' by so many people. I hope I won't be entangled in any weird interpersonal relationships again."

"Oh? Then did you know that someone has been investigating and following you recently?"

"???"

Armed Miko Shoko Toyokawa (10): Do you want me to help you dispose of the body?

Xiangzi, Fengchuan Group has been looking for you recently, and people from different forces are also tracking you. The latter have a considerable degree of anti-reconnaissance awareness. Our investigator lost you once, so you have to be careful - haven't you encountered any problems recently?

A little bit.

In that case, you can conduct an anti-tracking investigation. After all, it is an important matter related to you.

"Then why was my paid leave canceled?"

Xiangzi muttered softly as she, wearing a shrine maiden costume and exoskeleton, and carrying a heavy cello case on her back, slowly walked up the fire escape to a higher floor.

"I'm the one being stalked! If I had paid leave, I could find a way to put pressure on that pink-haired girl... so she wouldn't have to hang around me all day."

The girl kept muttering to herself, and when she reached the rooftop, she kicked the locked iron gate open - the twisted and deformed iron gate slammed into the wall next to it, and drooped down crookedly - looking at the unfortunate iron gate, Xiangzi hesitated for a few seconds, and then straightened the iron gate in an attempt to cover up his mistake, as if he was apologizing.

After setting up a ringing alarm at the door, Xiangzi walked to the edge of the rooftop and took out a telescope.

"Let me see... Forget about the Toyokawa Group, but why would someone hire a private detective to look for me?" Xiangzi frowned and glanced at the street across the street, where there was an expensive cafe - according to the intelligence, the private detective would meet with the employer here.

In the telescope's lens, the gloomy man in the photo in the intelligence document indeed appeared. Even in this season, he was wearing a very formal coat and carrying a black briefcase on one shoulder. His face looked very bad and it looked like he hadn't slept for several days.

Suddenly, Xiangzi felt something strange and out of place from the man.

Suppressing her uneasiness, Xiangzi continued to monitor, but soon, two people appeared in the telescope's image, people she had never thought of, but if she thought about it carefully, it was reasonable.

Nagasaki Suyo, and Wakaba Mutsu.

What the hell? !

"It must have been Su Shi's idea... What nonsense is that woman stirring up again?!" Xiangzi squeezed the binoculars tightly in his hand, making them make a miserable, muffled sound like plastic being squeezed. "My paid vacation! My rest time! I've already chosen the pink-haired person to pressure!"

His facial muscles twitched slightly, and Xiangzi took a few deep breaths to let the anger in his heart dissipate - it didn't dissipate, it even began to burn fiercely - but no matter what, the girl still needed to report to the headquarters:

"This is Oblivionis. The identities of the employers have been confirmed. They are Nagasaki Suyo and Wakaba Mutsu from Class 1-A of Tsukinomori Girls' Academy High School. The former is 162cm tall and has an I cup..."

"Wait, there's no need to be so precise! Is this someone Xiangzi knows? An old friend?" Saikawa Ayane's voice came from the communication channel, full of joy. "By the way, why do you know so clearly even the I cup size?"

Tsk, useless emotions interfere with judgment, and this woman actually seized the opportunity.

Xiangzi could easily imagine that this seemingly gentle older sister-like senior must have started snickering with her lover.

"We used to be friends, but now we're just strangers. I'm very sorry for causing you all any trouble."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Xiangzi locked his gaze on Su Shi and He Mu in the coffee shop. Both of them looked unhappy, as if the private detective had failed to achieve his mission goal.

This was perfectly normal. Xiangzi had been busy with school and training during this time, returning home at midnight at most to bring her useless father lunch. Furthermore, she'd deliberately avoided Ruoye Mu's attempts to block the door—she'd climbed over the wall from the back door several times! She'd become so skilled that even the physical education teachers on campus couldn't catch up. With this level of randomness, it was a bit of a stretch for one person to track Xiangzi down.

"In that case, please ask Xiangzi to continue tracking the private detective and find his residence. Then the GOC investigators will come and erase his memory."

"Yes, Oblivionis understands!"

With a long sigh, Xiangzi, who had barely calmed down, continued to observe the situation in the coffee shop across the street... Well, they had finished their discussion and seemed to have terminated the commission... They were paying... The private detective left...

and many more.

The private detective did not leave. He stood in the shadow of the alley around the corner from the coffee shop, as if waiting for something.

Seeing this, Xiangzi frowned slightly.

On the other side, Nagasaki Suyo and Wakaba Mutsu had already come out of the coffee shop. After a brief conversation, the two walked towards their respective residences.

The private detective seemed to have contacted someone and then caught up with Nagasaki Suyo - this scene almost made Xiangzi's blood run cold! She subconsciously panicked, worried that her former friends would fall into "unusual" situations. Even the most ordinary criminals should not break into their lives.

"The idiot dropped his stockings! The idiot with no sense of vigilance dropped his stockings!"

Xiangzi, whose mouth habit was annoyed, angrily put away the telescope, took out a rope gun from the cello case, and pulled the trigger towards another building - a high-strength rope immediately connected the two high-rise buildings to facilitate the girl to move quickly between the two.

"This is Oblivionis. The private investigator is tracking the hired person... Yes, I understand. I'm following up and will intervene depending on the situation. Thank you, Saikawa-senpai."

Nagasaki Suyo was completely unaware of what was happening under the Tokyo night sky.

The distraught light brown girl walked slowly along the street, through the crowd, letting the neon lights of the high-rise buildings on both sides shine on her body.

It took Su Shi half an hour to return to the luxury apartment where she lived. Although it was luxuriously decorated and quite spacious, it was filled with silence and loneliness. The girl's mother worked overtime and went on business trips all year round, not to mention the family problems caused by her early divorce. All of these made Su Shi gradually become the person she is today who longs to be "needed".

After returning home, Su Shi, who was worried, had just half-closed the curtains and was about to go to bed when she heard a slightly heavy knock on the door.

"Who? Neighbor?" Su Shi didn't think much about it. After all, not everyone could enter this luxury apartment. "It's not even seven o'clock yet. You can go and take a look."

Thinking this way, the girl walked towards the entrance, but every time she took a step there, she felt a layer of uneasiness and vague fear pressing into her heart! This strange feeling forced her to stop at the pillar leading to the door, but the door in front of her... the door seemed to be twisting, twisting and slowly reaching in through the crack of the door.

Then, there was the sound of the door lock being unlocked.

The sound was crisp, too crisp, so crisp that it seemed to open the door of fear in the girl's heart—

The apartment door slowly opened, and the first thing that popped out was the doorman's head.

There is only one head.

The guard's dying expression was completely frozen, his hollow eyes revealing the girl's speechless face of utter terror! The next second, those eyes were pierced from the inside. A finger emerged from the eye socket, hooked upward, and lifted his head forward, continuously approaching the girl.

"Hounds...eat her," the private detective chuckled. The guard's head and face in his hand slowly stretched out, transforming into a sharp canine mouth. "Tear her limbs apart, eat her organs, and suck out her brains!"

"!!!"

Su Shi finally managed to let out a scream and stumbled backwards, but soon fell to the ground. She was just an ordinary girl. Even if her family was wealthy, what good would it do? How could a wealthy family face that terrifying monster?

As if waiting for something, the private detective continued to slowly approach. A new canine head grew on his chest, and his skin was covered with words from some book.

"Your friend...the blue-haired girl, the subject of my investigation."

The private detective walked slowly. The act of summoning supernatural forces in the absence of sacrifices also put him under great pressure, but the extreme fear emanating from the girl before him eased the pain:

"She's obstructed us many times, but it's different now. She'll come to us on her own initiative. Even if she doesn't show up, she'll receive a warning made of 'you'. Let me think about it. Spell out words with your intestines? Or blood? Or tear you into pieces and place a piece in each of our future ritual sites? That's a great idea."

The detective who once held the idea of ​​ending the spread of the cult also degenerated into an accomplice of darkness through torture and brainwashing. The kindness and justice of the past were no longer seen in his chest, only cruelty and ruthlessness remained.

Su Shi's back was pressed tightly against the tall, bright floor-to-ceiling window. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and nowhere to conceal herself!

In the girl's frightened light blue eyes, the twisted beast skull emitting a foul smell continued to enlarge, and then...

stop!

A pitch-black long knife pierced through the glass and went straight into the beast's skull!

With the piercing sword blade as the center, the cracks on the floor-to-ceiling window spread out like a spider web, with a unique and creepy cracking sound.

In an instant, the glass shattered, and each piece of glass reflected the beautiful amber eyes.

"Stay away from her!"

Xiangzi shouted angrily, she smashed the glass directly, stepped over the collapsed Nagasaki Suyo, and descended here like a god - the curtains were blown up by the whistling wind, like the pure white feathers draped on the armed shrine maiden - the long sword blade drew a bright blue arc of electricity, and a crackling and cheerful chirping sound was emitted in the air, like a thousand birds singing in unison!

Moonlight was pouring in through the broken glass curtain wall, and the girl's blue hair was shining with a beautiful mother-of-pearl luster under the silver light.

Nagasaki Suyo stared blankly at everything in front of her, blankly imprinting the thin figure in front of her in her heart.

"You're here after all!!!" The gloomy private detective let out a fierce scream. His head twisted, and a canine mouth grew out of it. Several animal eyes roamed within that face. "Give me your brain! Give me everything you know!"

"Shut up, trash!"

Xiangzi roared through her teeth. She could hear the high-pitched hum of the exoskeleton on her body, and the lights and electrical appliances around her began to flash rapidly - the energy of the other world was gradually invading reality, carrying almost infinite malice and expectation.

Take a half step back, draw the sword, twist, and chop down!

The beast skull that the guard's head had transformed into was almost smashed in two, and the next second it was burned into charcoal by the high-intensity electric current. The foul-smelling smoke was then shattered by the girl's body, and the astonished face of the fallen was reflected in her eyes.

The enemy obviously didn't imagine that such a petite girl could burst out with such power with the help of a strange machine - it should obtain more sacrifices, should kill and torture everyone in the apartment before completing this task.

Now, there was no point in thinking about this, as both sides were responding with the purest murderous intent.

The capacitor of the long sword exploded, and Xiangzi threw it away, picked up the M4A1 rifle hanging on the exoskeleton behind his waist, and the M995 bullets poured out like a rainstorm, almost turning the enemy's middle body into minced meat!

But this wasn't the end. Xiangzi picked up the empty rifle and, with the help of his exoskeleton, swung it down with all his might! Again and again, each time with more force than the last, the rotten blood splattered on the girl's face, but it still didn't falter the face twisted with fear and anger.

"I! Said! Stay! Away! From! Her!"

The muffled thud of metal and engineering plastic hitting flesh continued incessantly, one after another, filling all the sounds Xiangzi could hear. Beastial eyes shone through the twisted, cracked flesh, seemingly mocking the girl's hysteria, mocking her inability to protect the people she wanted to protect... You are so weak, Toyokawa Xiangzi.

Feeling this malice and mockery, Xiangzi almost suffocated completely - she couldn't refute it - and because of this, her arms were still waving again and again, like a stubborn child, proving to the dark and chaotic world again and again that she had the power!

until—

“Xiangzi!” Su Shi suddenly hugged Xiangzi from behind, crying, “That thing is no longer moving, it’s completely smashed!”

Xiangzi's movements faltered slightly, she blinked, and her breathing returned to normal. Then, the girl coldly pushed her former friend away, letting him fall to the ground, while she stood calmly in front of the pool of minced meat.

"I told you, we are not on the same path."

The fear had not yet subsided. Su Shi raised his head, panting, and his eyes swept across the bloody mass, finally falling on Xiangzi in front of him.

The blue-haired girl's face was splattered with dark red rotten blood, which was now slowly flowing down, as if she was crying.

At this moment, the lights in the apartment have completely collapsed. There is only darkness, only shadows, and only the moonlight shining from the window on Toyokawa Shoko.

Su Shi, whose heart was blown away by this scene, suddenly felt a strange emotion:

She is so beautiful.

Want to...

A blasphemous thought flashed through Sushi's mind, but she quickly returned to her ordinary girlish self. She shrank away from the pool of minced meat, trying not to imagine Xiangzi fiddling with the corpse with the remains of his rifle, and asked aloud:

"Now...what should we do now?"