“How is this possible!”
Changshi God sat cross-legged amidst a pile of takeout boxes and empty cans.
His greasy brown hair clung sparsely to his scalp, and thick layers of fat were piled on his neck, trembling slightly with every breath he took.
At that moment, his small eyes, squeezed into slits by his own flesh, were staring intensely at the dozen or so screens floating in the air before him.
“Damn it… Damn it! Damn it!”
Changshi God grabbed a soda can nearby and hurled it violently against the wall, splashing brown liquid everywhere.
The screens were filled with red.
There was the red of police lights, the red of flames, and the color of fresh blood.
The Chiba Factory had been taken down, their hideouts had been raided, and even the moles he had planted in the homes of several parliamentarians had been uprooted.
This was a total purge by the DRG — they were showing no mercy and giving him no room to breathe.
“Jiang Jian Yue… that kook!”
Changshi God spat the name through gritted teeth, his fingernails digging deep into the fatty flesh of his thighs.
“But… heh…”
He forced himself to calm down, shifting his gaze to the screen in the center.
It showed a luxuriously decorated hall where several young people were lining up to register — they were moving into the GSAC Athletes’ Village.
This was his final trump card and the true core of the Quiet Dream.
The ability user who could grant special effects to incense was in that very team.
This was also a crucial part of the sacrifice.
As long as he was still alive…
To protect this trump card, Changshi God had made an extremely bold decision.
He had formed a team and openly registered them for the GSAC!
The most dangerous place was the safest place.
Who would have guessed that the core members of the Saint Organization, whom everyone wanted dead, would actually hide among the high-profile contestants and stroll into the Athletes’ Village?
The incense ability user had registered a different ability.
That person was not a Dual-core Cicada Molt Body, but they possessed two abilities, which was a common occurrence among the Saints.
“God-bestowed Ability” — as the name implied, one received a gift from God and gained a new power.
There was no upper limit to these bestowed abilities; a single person could theoretically possess an infinite number of them.
However, ordinary cultists had no chance of obtaining them. Even Changshi God himself only had three abilities.
Only Changshi God knew the details of the incense user, so there was no risk of a leak.
‘As long as we get through these next few days, until the opening ceremony…’
Just then, the screen suddenly descended into chaos.
“What?”
On the screen, five core members of the Saints, including the incense user, were being subdued with overwhelming power by a black-haired boy with golden eyes named Yuki Asahi.
Black-clothed DRG soldiers pounced like hungry wolves, and the cold snap of Restraint Collars echoed through the air.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Changshi God collapsed into the pile of trash, his entire body shaking uncontrollably.
For the first time, a sense of dread — as if he were being watched by an omniscient and omnipotent god — overwhelmed his anger.
How… did they know?
Was there a traitor?
No, he was the only one who knew about the incense user joining the competition!
‘Could it be… the traitor is me?’
Changshi God could no longer think straight.
He crawled toward the corner of the room to an old-fashioned computer and typed a string of complex code with trembling fingers.
[Japan Branch sacrifice has completely collapsed]
[Requesting support… Requesting…]
A few minutes later, on the screen that resembled an old DOS interface, a blood-red skull icon jumped out like a jump scare, followed by a short line of text:
[Useless]
[Pluto has departed]
Upon seeing the name “Pluto,” Changshi God did not feel relieved.
Instead, his shaking intensified, and a wet stain spread across his crotch.
The Japanese Bishop of the Saint Organization had been scared to the point of wetting himself by a single line of text.
***
GSAC Athletes’ Village, Minato Ward.
The Tokyo night sky was reflected in a deep red by the city lights.
An MPV came to a slow stop at the entrance of the Athletes’ Village.
It was April 28, and tomorrow would be the first day of Golden Week.
“Wow! This is too much!”
As soon as the car door opened, a high-spirited voice rang out.
Kaori Onishi was the first to jump out.
She looked up at the luxurious complex, her green eyes sparkling like stars.
“Is this really an Athletes’ Village? I thought it was a palace in Dubai! Heyo, quick! Take a photo of me!”
She was wearing her Tokiwagi High School uniform, her blonde curls tied into twin tails that bounced with her every movement.
She had just gotten the curls permed that afternoon after school.
The girl she called, Yamanoi Yayoi, quickly held up her phone to take the photo, asking casually, “Kaori, why are you wearing your school uniform?”
“I should be asking why you aren’t wearing yours!” Kaori Onishi said, striking a pose.
“You’re already a high school freshman, right? It’s a JK uniform! Don’t you like wearing it?”
“I don’t like it.”
A flicker of gloom passed through Yayoi’s eyes, as if she had something on her mind.
“It reeks of decay.”
Following them out of the car was Saori Saiyonji, wearing a black mask.
He looked up with his hands in his pockets.
“I’m a part of this company, too.”
As “MOMO” of the Southern Cross, he had to maintain a disguise in public spaces.
“Don’t crowd the exit. People can’t get out from the other side,” a somewhat arrogant male voice came from behind.
It was a boy with dark blue hair, black-rimmed glasses, and orange-yellow eyes.
It was Yuma Endou from the Detective Club!
Since their clubs were on the same floor, the Supernatural Club and the Detective Club had interacted for a long time.
Now, he was here for only one reason: to serve as the fifth member of the Supernatural Club’s team for the GSAC Team Free-for-All.
Indeed, Yuma Endou, who had briefly appeared before, had also awakened a Heart Worm.
Makino Yuzuha, who was also wearing a mask to hide her identity, hopped out of the car, her pink eyes curving into crescents.
“Let’s go inside!”
The past six months of her idol career had completely transformed Yuzuha.
She now radiated an aura of confidence.
“Ah, so bright.”
As her teammate in more ways than one, Saori Saiyonji covered his eyes and ducked to the side.
“What was that for!”
The group chatted and played around as they finished the check-in process in the lobby.
After being guided to the suite belonging to their team, they were stunned by the level of luxury.
There were five independent bedrooms, and each room even had its own bathroom.
Their suite was on a high floor, and through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see the entire night view of Tokyo Bay.
After putting their luggage in their respective rooms, the five of them gathered in the spacious living room.
“What a unique layout. I feel like this could be used in a mystery novel,” Yuma Endou said, touching his chin as he looked at the doors around them.
“The Supernatural Athletes’ Village Locked Room Murder Case?” Saori Saiyonji teased.
“Or is it a ‘new orthodox’ mystery?”
“The ‘orthodox’ mystery doesn’t really exist anymore. Setting aside the issue of methods being overused, the superpowers of the ‘new orthodox’ genre already exist in reality.”
“I have no idea what you two are talking about.”
Kaori Onishi rolled around on the soft sofa for a bit before suddenly sitting up.
“Let’s go get a late-night snack! I heard the restaurant here has all-star chefs on a 24-hour rotation!”
“I second that,” Makino Yuzuha immediately replied, even though she had to watch her diet as an idol.
“Alright! Supernatural Club, move out!” Kaori Onishi raised her fist excitedly.
“I’m not part of your Supernatural Club,” Yuma Endou reminded her quietly.
And so, the group of five charged out of the room in high spirits.
It was late at night, but the Athletes’ Village was still bustling with people.
Just as they stepped out of the elevator, they ran into a strange group — four men with buzz cuts and a beautiful girl with silver-white hair.
“Is that… Art?” Yayoi whispered.
She had searched for popular teams online, and the Art Team from Tokyo University was one of them.
The buzz-cut youths looked straight ahead, carrying a mountain-like, steady pressure about them.
The girl leading them seemed to notice their curious gazes and returned a polite smile before passing them by.
“Such a strong aura…”
Kaori Onishi patted her chest.
“I feel like she’s even scarier than Teacher Fukada.”
“Are we really going toward the restaurant?”
Saori Saiyonji stared at the map on his phone, sounding a bit confused.
“Eh… I think it’s this way!”
Kaori Onishi pointed in a direction and subsequently led everyone the wrong way.
Before they knew it, they had circled back to the corridor next to the main hall.
A sudden burst of noisy commotion reached their ears.
“Let me go! This is illegal detention! We’re going to protest!”
“Keep quiet!”
They saw a group of men in black DRG uniforms escorting five or six people in plain clothes toward the exit.
Though the prisoners were struggling, they had all been fitted with special collars and looked quite pathetic.
At the very front of the line, a boy was looking down at his phone, seemingly confirming some information.
Kaori Onishi’s footsteps came to a sudden halt.
“Yuki?” she called out instinctively.
The figure seemed to hear the call and turned his head slightly.
His gaze swept past, but he didn’t seem to notice the group from the Supernatural Club.
Just then, a DRG staff member approached him to speak, and Yuki Asahi’s attention was drawn back.
“Yuki!”
Kaori felt a strange tightness in her chest and couldn’t help but want to rush forward.
However, before she could take two steps, a powerful arm blocked her path.
“Sorry, Miss.”
An expressionless DRG employee stood in her way.
“Official business is being conducted ahead. Please step back.”
“I know him! We’re classmates!” Kaori explained anxiously.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, you cannot interfere with the operation,” the staff member’s voice was cold and mechanical.
“Please cooperate, or we will be forced to take measures.”
Kaori froze.
She could only watch as Yuki’s figure grew further and further away.
‘Did he see me?’
‘He probably did, right?’
‘Why did he ignore me?’
He was calmly handling those dangerous individuals, standing side-by-side with those terrifyingly high-ranking figures.
It felt as if an invisible chasm had opened between him and her.
“Kaori…”
Yayoi pulled on her sleeve, feeling a bit sorry for her.
Kaori silently retreated, looking down and unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Yuma Endou looked back and forth at the scene; as an outsider, he felt like he was watching some juicy drama.
“Excuse me…”
The group turned around to see a blonde woman in a dark green tight suit.
Her figure was incredibly curvaceous, and she was watching them with her arms crossed, looking quite amused.
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