Page 255
Page 255
Sakura Futaba kept her mouth shut, not daring to utter a sound.
But Izayoi's knocking grew stronger, and her voice became pleading, "The Phantom Thieves are in trouble right now, could you please help us?"
So that's what it was about... Sakura Futaba secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to answer her, but because she was often isolated from social interaction, her voice came out as a weak, hoarse sob.
She covered her face in great distress and then started typing on the computer.
Soon, a text message popped up on Jing Qinren's phone.
[Navi: Please go back, I'll figure something out.]
[Celery and Vegetable Salad: Thank you so much!]
Then Jingqinrencai left happily.
So this is why you skipped school? Futaba Sakura was troubled by this, but what troubled her even more was that Nina Izare somehow ended up back at her bedroom door.
She saw the girl's expression through the surveillance footage.
Futaba Sakura is all too familiar with this expression—
Just like the old teacher who used to give long lectures on life philosophy and principles of conduct when she was in junior high school.
Futaba Sakura tried to cover her ears, but it was too late.
The monster was roaring fiercely outside the door.
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(Too much to do, this chapter is a bit short. Regular updates will resume tomorrow.)
(The other 219 banned chapters have been uploaded to the full subscription group.)
(Finally, I'd like to recommend a book by one of our group members:)
221. Return to Takemi Hospital
"Ms. Sakura, may I have a word with you?"
The girl in the room answered with silence.
“I’ve heard some things about you from Amamiya…” Izayoi Nina whispered to Sakura Futaba in the room, leaning against the door.
Please stop talking. Futaba Sakura was so embarrassed she didn't know what to do.
"You joined the Phantom Thieves because you wanted to change something, right? But you're different from me; you genuinely have the ability to help them..."
"I don't know what happened to you that led you to shut yourself off..."
Jingqin Rencai was still talking to herself, but the hacker in the bedroom had gradually noticed something was wrong.
It was an ominous suspicion that sent chills down her spine.
Jingqin Rencai's voice was different from before; rather than a righteous and sermon-like reprimand, it sounded more like a remorseful self-reflection.
Since Jing Qinrencai's face was not visible in the surveillance footage, it was impossible to know her expression and eyes.
In a daze, Sakura Futaba felt many snow-like noises flashing on the computer screen.
Just like the "television set" often used in horror movies to create atmosphere and drive the main plot.
She rubbed her eyes, and suddenly the noise filled the entire screen, as if the graphics card had malfunctioned, with countless incomprehensible color blocks appearing on the screen.
The whispers outside the door quickly turned into a frantic knocking.
Sakura Futaba immediately screamed, kicked the chair away, and stood up. She wanted to run away, but didn't know where to go.
The bedroom that isolated her from the outside world had now become her prison.
puff.
With a sudden, heavy thud outside the door, the chaotic colors on the computer screen instantly returned to normal.
In the surveillance footage, Jing Qinrencai was found unconscious and lying on the ground.
At the same time, on the secondary screen to Sakura Futaba's right, the approval rating for the Phantom Thieves had settled at "43%".
She swallowed hard, feeling a sense of unease.
In the online war where "Megiddo" is officially investing its power and resources to destroy the public's trust in the "Mental Thieves", Futaba Sakura originally planned to "blackmail" the Phantom Thieves tonight to change her mind.
But what happened next was completely beyond her expectations.
The girl living under the same roof behaving strangely, as if possessed by a demon, terrifies Sakura Futaba due to the unexpected turn of events.
"If only Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen were still here..." Futaba Sakura murmured unconsciously.
Who are they?
Futaba Sakura was also taken aback by the English codes that she suddenly uttered.
As Ishigami Renna suddenly fell into a coma, memories that seemed so distant as to not exist in this world began to resurface from the depths of her consciousness.
But Futaba Sakura had no time to pay attention to these details at the moment.
Her immediate priority was to contact the leader of the Mind Thieves.
(In the Mind Thieves' makeshift chat room.)
[Navi: Joker! Something terrible has happened!]
[Joker: Why did you suddenly activate this chat room?]
[Navi: Nina fell down outside my room!]
As Futaba Sakura typed on the keyboard, she bit her thumbnail, her feelings extremely complicated.
This means the time it takes for the Phantom Thieves to change his mind will have to be postponed...
Well, with those big shots speaking out, "Megido" won't be able to achieve its goal anytime soon.
"Just bear with it for a few more days," Futaba Sakura muttered to herself, then looked at the portrait of her mother saved on her computer desktop, her eyes instantly darkening.
......
On a sweltering summer afternoon, the air was thick with pervasive heat.
The atmosphere in the streets of Shigenjaya was particularly somber.
The roar of a motorcycle approaching from afar suddenly shattered the somber mood, and sparrows in the bushes cried out and fled.
The black-clad rider brought his motorcycle to a stop next to Sakura's apartment.
Jingqin Rencai has been conscious for some time now.
She seemed to have completely forgotten why she suddenly skipped school and ran back to the Sakura family home, and she didn't remember anything she said in front of Sakura Futaba's bedroom door.
This sensible girl is feeling anxious because she has caused trouble for Akira Kurusu.
Izana followed closely behind Akira Kurusu as the two left the Sakura residence and walked slowly through the summer heat.
"Feel sorry......"
Suddenly, I heard the girl behind me muttering something like that.
Akira Kurusu recalls what Futaba Sakura told him through a chat about the strange changes that had occurred on Nina Izare.
He looked at the girl in front of him who was feeling guilty, and in a daze, he saw "Judas" wearing a pale white cloak.
“There’s nothing to apologize for, Nina didn’t do anything wrong.” Akira Kurusu stroked Nina Izayoi’s hair. “But just to be safe, shall we go to the community hospital next door together?”
During their conversation, the faded signboard of "Wumian Internal Medicine Hospital" came into view.
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(There will be another chapter updated in about three hours. Then, the next update will likely start around 23:50 PM tomorrow.)
222. Takemi Myo
The gray-white electric fan whirred and whirred, and the spider web in the corner trembled incessantly, like the tympanic membrane of a heart pumping blood.
A female doctor dressed in a punk style leaned against the cashier's counter, and through an iron window, one could see a hint of impatience on her face.
The phone was on the table, and one missed call after another appeared as overlapping notification bubbles.
Wu Jianmiao sighed, just as she finally made up her mind to answer the phone...
"Doctor Takemi".
Under the sign of "Wumian Internal Medicine Hospital", a familiar young man and woman approached side by side.
Takemi recognized them; they were students from Class D of the second year.
"Is there something you need?" Wu Jianmiao took out her medical record and turned to a new page.
"She suddenly fainted a while ago." Akira Kurishi described Ishigami Renna's symptoms, noting that she had significant confusion before and after fainting.
Although according to the information provided by Futaba Sakura, Izayoi's symptoms should be related to the mental realm, since it is an "illness," it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination.
Wu Jianmiao glanced at the thermometer beside her. "At this time of year, it's probably heatstroke."
Then, looking at Jing Qinrencai's thin and small figure, she added, "Of course, we can't rule out low blood sugar."
The female doctor put on her white coat, stood up, and opened the door to the back clinic.
"Come in and take a look."
Despite being bombarded with phone calls and text messages, Takemi Takashi pulled herself together to help the two young people with their check-up.
......
"No heatstroke, but definitely a bit of low blood sugar... Has this child been having a poor appetite lately?"
Wu Jianmiao inquired about Lai Xixiao.
The phantom thief looked at Inoue Rin, who was sitting upright in the chair with her legs together. Ever since she made a scene saying "I'm never talking to you again," she had indeed been "unable to eat or drink" for a few days.
At least in Akira Kurusu's memory, the girl who always wandered around the music classroom with a milk carton and instant bread during lunch break had been eating very little at lunchtime recently.
Jing Qinrencai's lunch usually consists of a carton of pure milk that she brings to school, plus two bags of fried noodles and bread bought from the student supermarket.
However, during the time she was not reconciled with Akira, she would usually drink her milk and then fall asleep on her desk.
She didn't start listening to the lecture until the afternoon bell rang—probably because she didn't like crowded environments. After all, given her size, it was quite difficult to grab a front row seat to buy bread during the crowded lunch break.
Previously, Lai Qixiao would buy bread for her and bring it back to her.
When Akira Kurusu is not around, Nina Izare can still get some bento boxes from the first-year Yoshizawa juniors.
However, Kasumi Yoshizawa and Sumire Yoshizawa were often not at school during this period, so Nina Izare could only sleep alone on the table. This girl was indeed raised with a personality of "not wanting to cause trouble for others" by her family education from childhood, so even though she was dizzy from hunger at noon, she did not ask Sakura Sojiro to make her a bento in the morning.
Thinking about it carefully, the little quirks of adolescence are actually quite funny and a little sad.
Hearing the doctor's words, she reflected on her actions. The girl on the chair, swinging her thin legs, felt embarrassed and whispered to Akira beside her, "I'll eat more next time."
Akira thought that your fainting had nothing to do with low blood sugar, but before he could investigate the truth in the Impression Space, he didn't draw any conclusions. He just patted Serina's head and said, "I'll have Shoko make you a bento box every morning from now on."
"Xiangzi...Eh?" Jing Qinrencai's pupils widened slightly.
She then remembered that Akira Kurishi was already living with his girlfriend.
For the first time, Igarashi Renna had such a clear and real feeling—her only close friend whom she could rely on and trust was gradually having her time and space spent with other girls taken away.
Seeing them enact such a complicated youthful romance script, Wu Jianmiao found it really nauseating. Just as she got up, she heard her cell phone ringing melodiously in her pocket.
She picked up her phone; the contact name on the screen was "Director Oyamada".
The expression that was originally a mixture of helplessness and joy instantly turned into indifference and annoyance.
Takemi took a deep breath, then picked up her phone and went outside. "Amamiya-kun, why don't you stay here and rest with your girlfriend for a while? I need to take this call."
Girlfriend... Originally lost in thought about the three-way cohabitation relationship between Akira Kurusu, Shoko Toyokawa, and Mutsu Wakaba, Nina Izayoi's thoughts were immediately brought to a halt by Takemi Tae's address.
She felt dizzy and looked at Akira Kurusu beside her, feeling lost.
Akira Kurusu watched Takemi Mio's departing figure, then quietly got up and followed her.
"Amamiya, where are you going?"
"It seems that Dr. Takemi has encountered some trouble."
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