Tokyo Psychic

The driver was a young man who looked to be in his late twenties. He had shaved his beard cleanly, was dressed in a suit and tie, and wore glasses. He was as elegant and gentle as a university professor.

Wearing white gloves, he waved enthusiastically at the approaching Toyokawa Shoko. "I'm just about to take one last customer and then go home. Excuse me, classmate, are you going to Chiyoda? I live in Chiyoda and can take you to the station for only a third of the price."

Fearing that Toyokawa Shoko might change her mind, the driver fumbled for his driver's license and the professional certification issued by the union, and turned on the trip recorder to show her. After all, a pretty girl riding alone at night would be afraid of encountering the terrifying situation of "the driver is a potential criminal."

Toyokawa Shoko looked at the desolate and deserted scene around her, then at the taxi in front of her and the sincere expression of the driver. After hesitating for a moment, she opened the door and got in. "Then please take me to Chiyoda Station."

The man whose last name was "Maruki" on his driver's license breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great! I didn't expect to save some gas money so soon as I'm almost off work."

As he turned the car key to start the ignition, he kept muttering, "Why are you going out alone so late at night? Isn't your boyfriend with you?"

Toyokawa Shoko held the phone a little nervously, looking at the [Emergency Contact] dial button on the screen from time to time. Faced with such a topic, a girl traveling alone at night would definitely not dare to tell the truth, so she had to learn from Kurusu Akatsuki and "tell a little lie."

"My boyfriend and I have agreed to meet near the station. I'm going to accompany him to the Metropolitan Police Department to register his lost residence permit... We've already made an appointment with the Metropolitan Police Department."

Mr. Maruki seemed to have not heard the second half of the conversation at all. His expression was very natural, without any guilt or nervousness. He smiled happily and said, "Miss, your boyfriend must be a very handsome boy, right?"

"Hmm," Toyokawa Shoko answered the question in a nasal voice.

She didn't dare to explain or refute. Having a fake "boyfriend" was definitely the safest answer option.

Soon the taxi was on its way. The scenery outside the window was like an eraser rolling over a sketch, wiping the green belt shrouded in darkness into torn, blurred blocks of color, occasionally interspersed with a myriad of white lights, which were the afterimages of street lamps passing by very quickly.

The driver was very talkative and seemed more interested in the "boyfriend" that Toyokawa Shoko mentioned than her purpose.

"Do you dye your hair? Do you wear glasses? Do you like to dress up on a daily basis?"

Strange questions were thrown one after another, but he seemed not to care at all what Toyokawa Shoko answered. He drove on his own and made guesses for his own entertainment.

Piecing these questions together, they surprisingly pieced together the image of the rhythm guitarist who had left a deep impression on Toyokawa Shoko: he didn't dye his hair, wore glasses, disliked dressing up, was handsome, had excellent grades, knew a lot and seemed to have a conversation about anything, had an impeccable work ethic, was far more mature than his peers, and was incredibly responsible...

As he spoke, the driver seemed to be moved himself, "Miss, you are so lucky to have such an excellent boyfriend."

Shoko Toyokawa still didn't dare to answer his question.

The driver laughed happily to himself, and then stopped trying to find topics to chat with the passengers behind him.

The road was very wide at night, and there were almost no other vehicles on the road. It was just speeding along at lightning speed.

The journey from Kita-ku to Chiyoda took only sixteen minutes.

When the taxi arrived at the station, Shoko Toyokawa opened the door and got out as if running away.

But when she was about to pay, Maruki stopped her. "You shouldn't pay for the fare. After all, it's just a ride home. I'd be uncomfortable charging a high school student more money... Oh, and if I don't charge, I think you'd be uncomfortable too... Then, please give me 500 yen so I can have a beef bowl at Yoshinoya near my house later."

Shoko Toyokawa bowed to him apologetically and thanked him.

Maruki, however, looked nonchalant. He took the 500 yen coin from her hand and smiled a blessing smile. "Be careful on the road."

"Also, your boyfriend is very good, please cherish him. If you encounter any emotional problems in the future, please give him more understanding and tolerance. In short..."

"You must live happily, young lady."

He rolled the window all the way down, operated a few things on the car's computer, then stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

I could faintly hear some old Showa golden songs playing in the taxi, which seemed to be singing lyrics about happy life and perfect life.

What a strange person.

Shoko Toyokawa watched the taxi disappear in the distant traffic, completely blending into the prosperity of Tokyo at night, and felt an inexplicable similarity and familiarity.

It seemed as if I had seen the driver before, in a research paper or on the front page of a newspaper that reported a scientific success.

But...why do I always feel that there is a strong sense of incongruity in what he said along the way that is hard to explain.

Shoko Toyokawa slapped her face and soon stopped caring about the driver who lived in Chiyoda, whom she had only met once.

Tokyo is too big, and they will probably never have the chance to meet again.

She took out her cell phone and prepared to search for the location of the Metropolitan Police Department on Google's navigation app.

Ok?

Toyokawa Shoko was somewhat surprised to find that the "Isekai Navigation APP" on her mobile phone homepage, which she could never delete no matter what, had disappeared.

When I opened the message box, I found that after the mobile phone system was automatically updated last night, an update log was sent. In it was a sincere apology from the operator, and they even gave me a 400 yen package fee.

This is selective amnesia.

Shoko Toyokawa is currently at Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, and the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters she is going to is Kasumigaseki in the Kanda area of ​​Chiyoda Ward.

It's about a 1.5-kilometer walk from Tokyo Station to Kasumigaseki.

She followed the instructions on the navigation and soon reached a pedestrian bridge. Occasionally, she looked up and saw a Morfonica concert advertisement playing on the business building nearby.

This band, launched by Tsukinomori Gakuin, has been widely discussed on the Internet recently. Many girls in Haneda High School, where she is currently studying, are loyal fans of Morfonica.

Occasionally, someone would anonymously contact Toyokawa Shoko, a former student of Tsuki no Mori, on Line to ask for the contact information of Morfonica members. Of course, she would firmly refuse them all.

Because she really has.

I attended their concert in Shibuya last time, and after the curtain call I went to ask for autographs and merchandise – to my surprise, the lead singer actually recognized me!

Then the other party enthusiastically added me on Line.

This made the other girls in the band who went to ask for autographs extremely envious.

Shoko Toyokawa looked at the stage on the screen with some longing, but as she walked down the overpass and continued walking towards Kasumigaseki, the stage picture of the concert fell far into the commercial center behind her.

So contrary to the norm.

It was as if she was sinking deeper and deeper into the mud from which she could hardly escape, and the stage she had longed for just now, even though it was separated by a long distance, still emitted a burning light.

Toyokawa Shoko tried her best to find routes with streetlights and cameras, or at least places with a lot of pedestrians. Even though she found the courage to face her family's difficulties in the gratitude and admiration of the "Psychic Thief", it still couldn't change the fact that she was just a helpless first-year high school girl.

Walking alone at night is dangerous, and even running away may not be useful, so you must be very cautious and keep yourself under the attention of the public security system at all times.

At this moment, she couldn't help but think, if only she really had a boyfriend who promised to go to the Metropolitan Police Department together, just like what Mr. Maruki said...

The street ahead was very noisy. It seemed that an electronics store was having a large-scale discount sale. An LCD TV was only half the price before, and there was also a lottery for lucky customers.

When Shoko Toyokawa passed by, the enthusiastic store clerk immediately handed her a lottery ticket.

Being pretty has these advantages: when sampling food at a mall, people will proactively ask if they want a second helping, and free event tickets are readily given away – this is certainly good for the store's business. Products or events frequented by beautiful women must have something particularly appealing about them, right? Passersby, with this in mind, become the "customer traffic" the store needs.

At this time, a group of old people were waving banknotes and blocking the store. The host holding the microphone was sweating profusely while dealing with their excessive enthusiasm. When he turned around, he saw Toyokawa Shoko who took the lottery ticket, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

She hurriedly tried to dissuade Toyokawa Shoko from leaving, "Miss over there, could you please come back for a moment? The raffle tickets can only be used for tonight's event!"

Shoko Toyokawa was a little embarrassed. She looked around for a while, wanting to find a passerby to give the lottery ticket in her hand.

Suddenly, a short-haired girl rushed out of the crowd very quickly and ran in front of Toyokawa Shoko.

"Hmm...?" Shoko Toyokawa was a little overwhelmed holding the lottery ticket, but still handed it over.

Do you really want another chance to win the lottery?

Just when Toyokawa Shoko was confused, the short-haired girl took a step back in fright, her eyes fixed on the back of her, as if she had seen some scary creature.

Shoko Toyokawa immediately turned around subconsciously.

An invisible hand seemed to reach out from the darkness and cover her mouth and nose tightly.

Ten fingers dug into her face, then suddenly clenched—

The ability to think was taken away in an instant.

Everything in front of Shoko Toyokawa's eyes went dark, and she lost all sense of the outside world.

Yuzuki Yajima hugged Shoko Toyokawa with a look of "surprise" on his face, and then quickly apologized to the people who were paying attention.

"My friend suddenly had a private message for me. Sorry to bother everyone."

She gave the lottery ticket to an old man at random, and immediately put her arm around Toyokawa Shoko's shoulders, as if they were very close and left the electronics store.

No one noticed that when the two girls passed by the green belt, a fluorescent object flew out and fell deep into the grass.

The area on this side happened not to be covered by cameras, as all the cameras were installed inside and outside the appliance store.

After a while, a person dressed as a cleaner came with a light-proof nylon bag and a pair of pliers, rummaged through the grass, then picked out the phone with its back facing up and carefully stuffed it into the nylon bag.

......

"If we do this, will the monster really come looking for us?"

"Don't worry, it will definitely happen."

When Shoko Toyokawa regained consciousness, she heard two women talking in front of her.

She was strapped to her seat with a seatbelt, and outside the car window was what seemed to be a pitch-black night scene on the edge of the city.

"So what should she do? Kill him directly?"

"God has strictly forbidden any harm to this girl." The short-haired girl sat in the driver's seat, steering the wheel with an impatient tone.

"She is the Devil who can build the Tower of Babel for the Fool in the future!"

"So what? Will it be your turn to fight the Devil in the future?" Yajima Yuzuki sneered, "The wisdom of the Gods is beyond the comprehension of mortals like you and me! Doing so will only cause the Fool to completely lose control!"

The beautiful woman sitting in the passenger seat was filled with resentment. "Out of control? It's because of these restrictions that we haven't been able to complete the 'sacrifice' required for awakening. We've finally come into contact with the true face of the world, and are you willing to remain weak forever?"

Yuzuki Yajima slammed the steering wheel in frustration, honking the horn.

"According to the 'prophet' in the organization, we have already caused two consecutive world line reversals by prematurely killing these future Personas!"

"The first time, it was that clown from another world who tried to assassinate the Hanged Man, but he was completely defeated. Even the Death Rewind Ring couldn't save him! And the second time, you took it upon yourself to arrange a plan to prematurely suppress the awakening of Love in the 'base' where she was to be imprisoned. Not only did it cause the world to restart again, it also indirectly led to the birth of a 'Time Rewinder'!"

The woman in the passenger seat was silent for a long moment. "So what should we do? Is our mission to use her as bait and take her outside to distract the Phantom Thief?"

"Of course, we have to find a way to permanently deprive her of the chance to awaken her Persona." Yajima Yuzuki took a deep breath. "In Tarot interpretations, [Devil] holds a position that mirrors [Love]. We can't just let her awaken her power as fate would have it."

"Don't you mind that she's listening to you from behind?"

"She will soon forget all this." Yajima Yuzuki said indifferently.

"To delete her..."

"Yes, there's only one chance left to use the sickle bestowed by the gods. We're going to take away the friendship she's built with the Phantom Thief, as well as all the memories of 'resistance' and 'pain'... Of course, we'll have to go to Mr. Kaneshiro's casino at the end and get rid of her father, whose desires were accidentally twisted by Mr. Kaneshiro's palace and turned him into a scumbag. Then we can let her return to her ordinary life. Hehe, sounds so happy."

Toyokawa Shoko did not have as much knowledge of ACGN as An and Subaru, and could not fully understand their words, but she still understood some terrible truths that made her feel extremely angry and hateful.

She wanted to scold them, but she found from her extremely dull perception that there seemed to be a layer of tape on her mouth, and she could only make some whimpering sounds.

Yajima Yuzuki said arrogantly, "Stop yelling from behind, Ms. Toyokawa, this is the normal life you've always dreamed of."

"After your father 'disappears', we will help you settle those debts."

"Next, you might receive a transfer invitation from Yuezhisen. Of course, you can choose to decline and continue your current school life, or you can return to that music school full of young ladies... No matter what you choose, you will definitely not remember our conversation today."

The woman in the passenger seat said, "We're already quite far from the city. Let's quickly prepare to use the 'scythe' to harvest her current despair, along with all her emotions and memories beyond her normal life! Otherwise, the Phantom Thief will really catch up!"

"Sagawa! Stop pointing fingers at me!"

Despite scolding like this, Yajima Yuzuki still turned the steering wheel and parked the car in an abandoned factory.

She opened the car door and cooperated with Sagawa to roughly pull Toyokawa Shoko out of the back seat.

She had already used her personality mask to "poison" Toyokawa Shoko to make her lose her strength, and she was not worried at all that she would struggle or resist.

Shoko Toyokawa couldn't even commit suicide, and could only walk into the factory with her hands held by the two personality masks.

You can hear the calls of wild cats on the road.

As she entered the spacious factory, she was kicked to the ground by Yajima Yuzuki, and dust quickly covered her body.

Then Sagawa closed the factory door, and a cloaked figure emerged from behind her as a personality mask, and then touched the door, turning it into a state where "no one would notice it."

Sagawa's personality mask has the ability to "make things lose their sense of existence". She was hiding in the dark just now, using the personality mask to help Yajima Yuzuki conceal her sneak attack on Toyokawa Shoko.

In her previous reincarnation, she also used this method to disguise herself as an ordinary person in order to deceive Kurusu Akatsuki's intuition, which had been weakened to a certain extent in reality.

"It's about to start. Stand far away and don't get affected."

Yajima Yuzuki gave these instructions, then kicked Toyokawa Shoko in the stomach. When the girl whimpered in pain and almost lost consciousness, she bent down, stretched out her hands, clasped the girl's slender neck, and then slowly exerted force.

When Shoko Toyokawa is about to fall into a coma, she will turn the watch to release the power of operational memory sealed inside.

Just like erasing Shinma Xiaolian's memory, all the extraordinary possibilities that had accumulated in the girl "Toyokawa Shoko" were erased.

......

With a roar like thunder, the roaring sound of the tram in the tunnel of Tokyo Impression Space came to an abrupt end.

Because "Yasen" stopped it with a slap.

Kurusu Akatsuki jumped onto the platform, compared its layout with reality, and immediately went into the nearby "maintenance workshop", then began to float up from the space of impressions -

This was a skill he developed after he obtained partial access to the Velvet Room from Igor in his previous life. With the help of the Velvet Room, a realm existing between the worlds of "consciousness" and "matter", he only needed to expend enough mental energy to break through the barrier between "consciousness" and "matter" and forcibly break into the palace or return to reality.