Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week-Chapter 416 - 414: The World is So Big, I Want to Go and See_1
Drama, endless drama.
Ayatsuki Ayaka and Takahashi Saeko didn’t continue shopping at the mall. Instead, they went to a café, ordered coffee and cake, and Ayaka began browsing the internet.
If there had been any hesitation before, the web had now completely erupted into a frenzy.
Just opening Twitter, one could see various celebrities and bloggers discussing Nett’s statements.
What was the Different World like? Were there humans besides Monsters? Or species unknown to humankind?
Some men were even shouting, "Long live Elves and beast-eared girls!"
Others posted pictures: "It’s time to draw the Hero’s Sword I’ve hidden for 30 years." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
There were other posts, like "Kamen Rider makes a dazzling entrance!" and "The Demon Fruit, originally 100 million, now 50 million—who wants it?"
Aside from the purely entertaining posts, many people were seriously pondering: Did the Different World have magic? Was there science? Did alchemy, like turning stone into gold, exist? What were the medical standards like in the Different World?
Food, housing, culture—a whole series of questions were raised, allowing the vast internet community to freely concoct answers.
Bombarded by a mountain of messages, Ayatsuki Ayaka found her head spinning. She turned her attention away from the exciting internet and towards her three friends, saying, "Speaking of which, Maru, that blond man you mentioned last time—could he be from the Different World?"
Tama Chan lifted her coffee, a smile on her face. "It’s very possible. What a shame I didn’t get to see his gun in person."
"Maru, seeing it in person might not have been such a good thing," Takahashi Saeko said, slicing her cake with a knife. With Ayaka present, she hadn’t looked at any news online.
Ayatsuki Ayaka looked curious. "Saeko, you don’t seem very interested."
"Some secrets aren’t for us to casually probe. It’s fine to chat about it here, but don’t try to delve deeper."
"Haha, Saeko, sometimes you sound just like an old lady."
Ayatsuki Ayaka smiled dismissively. "We’re not anyone special, so how could we possibly understand that kind of thing? We’re just talking, of course."
The moment her words fell, an unusually deep silence pervaded the café.
The air conditioning hummed steadily. She blinked, then, with a shocked expression, said, "Wait, you three aren’t hiding some special identities from me, are you?"
"No. What are you thinking?" Takahashi Saeko said, taking a sip of her coffee.
Tama Chan nodded. "Yeah, we’re just ordinary Hot Girls. What could we possibly hide from you?"
Miyahara Kaoru laughed. "You’re too sensitive, Ayaka."
Ayatsuki Ayaka glanced from one to another. Could they be Succubi? The thought flickered through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it, telling herself she was definitely overthinking. She laughed. "Anyway, let’s not talk about this. Let’s go to the mall later and check out some nail art. I want to try a brand-new style."
RING! Takahashi Saeko’s cell phone suddenly chimed in her bag. She skillfully reached for it, pushing back an inquisitive Ayatsuki Ayaka who was trying to lean in.
Ayatsuki Ayaka chuckled. "Saeko, is it a new boyfriend?"
Her wide, sparkling eyes fully revealed her curiosity.
Rather than the online uproar over the Different World and Monsters, Ayatsuki Ayaka was more interested in what was happening right in front of her.
Takahashi Saeko unlocked her phone. It was a message from Peter.
’Saeko, I finally understand why I had to come to Tokyo. Can you help me find out more about the Different World?’
The flashy text spoke volumes about his narcissistic personality.
"’It’s Peter, asking me out on a date,’ Takahashi Saeko said casually, deflecting Ayatsuki Ayaka’s question, then quickly typed a reply: ’Peter, I suggest you’d be better off not getting involved. This isn’t something high school students can participate in. Let me give you a piece of advice: when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.’
The message showed as ’read’ instantly, and he quickly responded, ’I see. I understand.’
Takahashi Saeko sent a smiling emoji, trusting Peter’s intelligence to grasp the underlying meaning of her words.
Just because The White House announced the existence of the Different World and Monsters doesn’t mean they’ve relaxed their control over such information, she thought. In fact, control over this news will likely become even stricter, with The White House able to deploy more personnel for surveillance."
Ayatsuki Ayaka asked, full of curiosity, "Did you agree?"
"Of course not. Getting involved with a boy from class is a real hassle."
"Exactly! I learned that the hard way," Tama Chan nodded in agreement. She hadn’t always been this kind of ultimate Hot Girl; it took many setbacks for her to figure out her current approach to friendships.
"Oh? What kind of setback?" Ayatsuki Ayaka asked, her face alight with curiosity.
Tama Chan thought for a moment, then said, "I’m not telling you."
With that, she speared a piece of her own cake and stuffed it into Ayaka’s mouth, effectively silencing her.
A dark glint flickered in Miyahara Kaoru’s eyes; she was annoyed that Tama Chan had fed Ayaka before she could.
After Ayatsuki Ayaka swallowed, Miyahara Kaoru quickly speared a piece of her own cake and proactively offered it.
Ayatsuki Ayaka accepted everything offered.
She was the type who never gained weight no matter how much she ate, so she didn’t need to diet and could eat whatever she wanted. Consequently, her friends often fed her their portions to avoid wasting food.
Moving past that subject, they began discussing manicures and clothes again.
Contrary to what Aozawa thought, when Ayatsuki Ayaka and Saeko went shopping, Ayaka didn’t feel the need to share everything with him right away.
Only if something extremely delightful happened would she want to share it with Aozawa.
For ordinary happy moments, she generally wouldn’t message him, sharing them only with Saeko and the others.
「In Shimane Prefecture, deep within the mountains, lay a research institute.」
The institute wasn’t cut off from the external internet, but its employees were prohibited from posting on social media or communicating with outsiders. Browsing online information, however, was allowed.
News of the Different World naturally reached this place.
They were astonished.
Previously, their sole responsibility had been researching the related Superhuman Medicine, but their superiors hadn’t informed them about the existence of Monsters from the Different World.
"So, the higher-ups wanted us to research the Superhuman Medicine for *this* kind of purpose."
"It must be. Otherwise, with old man Hikoshiro’s temper, how could the higher-ups tolerate him?"
In the cafeteria, several researchers were eating.
Their meal times were never fixed, depending instead on the progress of their research.
Sometimes they ate breakfast at five in the morning; other times, they didn’t start breakfast until six in the evening.
Their irregular lifestyle had, ironically, become its own kind of routine.
"Research progress is slow. I’ve tried several concoctions, and they all failed. One of the lab mice just exploded from the inside."
"That’s nothing! For the one I worked on, all its muscle mass seemed to move to its brain, and its head swelled to double the normal size."
"Haha! The one I concocted made the lab mouse bleed from its eyes, vomit continuously, and convulse non-stop."
As he said this, the man even mimicked the lab mouse’s expression, drawing a few slight smiles from his colleagues.
This scene was quite normal for them.
To perform various experiments on the lab mice, they first had to abandon any pity for them. They had to treat the mice like sheets of paper to be written on or towels to be wrung out. Only with such a mindset could they continue their research dispassionately.
If they regarded the lab mice with human-like empathy, they could never perform such cruel experiments.
Kajiyama Arisa knew this, yet she still felt a knot of disgust in her stomach.
We’re eating. Do they really have to talk about such sickening things? It’s nauseating.
She swallowed the food in her mouth, stood up, and walked toward the utensil cleaning area. After placing her empty tray on the conveyor belt, she continued towards the laboratory she was in charge of.
「First Basement Level.」
She found her colleague in the observation room and said, "I’m full. You go eat. I’ll keep an eye on things here."
"Alright. Just remember to inject him with Superhuman Potion X in three minutes," the man instructed before leaving the observation room.
Kajiyama Arisa looked through the glass into the room beyond.
Number Nine was sitting there, reading a book.
Kajiyama Arisa kept track of the time. Three minutes later, just as her colleague had instructed, it was time to administer Superhuman Potion X.
She picked up the syringe, opened the metal door, and walked from the observation room into the laboratory.
Number Nine closed his book, tilted his head, and smiled. "Is it time?"
"Yes," Kajiyama Arisa replied. "Hold out your arm."
Number Nine placed the book on the table, stood up, walked over to her, and extended his right arm.
Just as she always did, Kajiyama Arisa injected the Superhuman Potion X into his body.
"You seem troubled," Number Nine said, his voice gentle, as if speaking to a family member.
A hint of surprise flickered across Kajiyama Arisa’s face. She glanced up at him, then said impassively, "It has nothing to do with you."
"I’m sorry. I just wanted to show my concern."
"Don’t forget who you are."
"Of course, I know I’m a clone human. You created me. To use the words from the books, that means you are all my family," Number Nine said, his voice filled with tenderness.
Kajiyama Arisa felt a strange stirring within her. Her gaze swept over his body, and her expression turned icy. "You don’t need to concern yourself with such things. Just comply with the experiment."
"If that is what you wish, then I am happy to do so. Your words are more important to me than all the knowledge in books," Number Nine said, his voice gentle, his posture utterly submissive, as if her will was his command.
Kajiyama Arisa glanced at him once more, said nothing, and turned back towards the observation room.
Number Nine watched her retreating figure, and deep beneath the warmth in his eyes, a glint of ice lay hidden.
He possessed an extremely high IQ. Days of devouring books and undergoing physical training had taught Number Nine who could be controlled and who couldn’t.
To control someone, all one needed was to cater to their deepest desires.
This woman was his key, his means of escaping the research institute.
Unlike the genuine indifference of the others, her coldness was more of a facade; inwardly, she was wavering.
This was something he had gleaned from his study of psychology.
Clone humans were different from ordinary people. From the moment of their creation, they either had to be an almost perfect replica of the original, or they would perish.
There had been eight failures before him.
Truth be told, Number Nine didn’t resent what the researchers did to him. It was just that the world was so vast, and he longed to see what lay beyond these walls.
