Chapter 55

Star Alliance Calendar year 612, June 13.

The third day of the Heaven Gate Travel Plan.

... third day........

Why is it the third day?

Why only the third day?

"Only three days... I thought a year had passed."

Ignoring Morisen's call completely, he stared at the electronic calendar for three full minutes, and only when the other was about to consider calling the hospital did Aomo finally stop maintaining the still image.

He let out the aforementioned sigh.

His demeanor was already that of a Dao master who had seen through the mortal world and weathered countless hardships.

What Dao?

Monster Dao!

At this very moment, thirteen hours have passed since last night's feat where Aomo, using the power of Belial Ultraman and Mechanical Godzilla, transformed into a giant beast and killed two in a row.

The artificial light satellite had long been on standby, the native star that emits light and heat in the distance of Heaven Gate City had shifted here, and true daylight had arrived.

As a traveler, without the habit of hiding by day and moving at night, when daytime comes one should go out!

That's how it should be!

It should be this way!

But why is it like this?

Why is the news feed full of monster remnants, and even tagged with my name?

Why is the email inbox full of emails, with fifty-six missed calls, and unread messages overflowing?

Why can't he even stay at the hotel he booked, and must instead stay in a temporary room in the Two Worlds Safety Bureau staff dormitory?

Oh, although it's not the Two Worlds Safety Bureau of the Gate District, it's still the Two Worlds Safety Bureau.

Could I count myself as having achieved my dream in one go... at 0.3?

But why can't I feel happy?

Thinking back, what did I do yesterday? I remember being pretty tired; after walking just two steps, a group of people picked me up, and then I woke up.........

Why is it so fuzzy—has Grandpa's crystal core finally settled in Clam Dock?

He still remembered that the crystal core in his brain had been a cheap item for several years, so he ignored a strand of white hair hanging before his eyes and first raised his hand to pat his head.

Perhaps he was thinking whether he could strike a cow from across the mountain, channeling force into the crystal core to achieve the repair method for antique electronics.

But the force of that pat was unexpectedly strong; Aomo directly heard a bang, his head and neck tilting slightly, and though there was little pain, he felt mostly dazed.

"Is this kid okay?" the chibi vampire on the light screen was somewhat speechless.

To Morisen, Aomo's foolish act of this rare scene certainly had preservation value, but compared to synchronized recording, it was obviously more worrying that his brain might have a problem.

After all, the most useful aspect of this adopted son is his mind; if that fails, it could be worse than any situation.

But before he could do anything, he saw the other pat his head, then stare at his own palm as it fell silent for ten-odd seconds, his eyes actually regaining some light, and then the whole person began to go numb again.

Moreover, that tangible low pressure made the Morisen sitting before the screen hesitate and ask anxiously:

"Aomo... you... came back?"

Somewhat unclear concern, as if saying Aomo had just gone out, but Aomo firmly replied:

"Ah, I'm back."

He even added: "Actually, I don't want to come back."

Avoiding reality, huh... Morisen was somewhat speechless; usually the roles of the one teasing and the one being teased are reversed, which also let him feel that Aomo is indeed only 19 years old.

Last night he witnessed in the electronic stream Aomo's giant beast form, that slaughter—precise, efficient, with no hesitation or extraneous motion—although it was indeed the posture Aomo had learned and trained under him, the ensuing brutality and ferocity made him feel utterly unfamiliar.

He knew that child had long borne much pressure and was especially stubborn, never voicing it.

It can be said that in this situation, anyone's mind would inevitably accumulate black sludge.

Morisen naturally considered guidance, but over the years he never got the hang of it, merely trying to keep that child from overworking.

But this time, seeing that child display such posture yet never letting it affect him, instead taking on harm for the crowd—this kind of rational demeanor made Morisen breathe a sigh of relief.

Aomo finally released some of his inner repression, and was not controlled by those emotions; his only worry was what Aomo would become after this.

Whether to keep that posture or return to his original appearance.

Now it seems, fortunately, it's the latter.

He is still the familiar adopted son, not someone who overnight grew into an adult that would make him completely unfamiliar.

Only a strand of his hair had turned white, like a bleached highlight hung on the curved bangs in the middle, resembling a crescent moon.

Morisen was quite satisfied with this look; he used to think Aomo's previous appearance was too plain and ordinary, lacking youthful vigor and individuality, but now he looks like a young person pursuing trends.

And how to say it? This highlight style is so damn familiar! After pondering for a long while, Morisen suddenly recalled the Derby contender he had originally favored.

Then he also recalled the champion of the first horse race he had taken the kid to watch.

He thought, you still say you don't want to be a trainer!

However, Morrison only dared to joke about it in his heart; if he actually said it out loud, he'd likely be rebuked, after all he somewhat understood why Aomo's hair changes.

Nowadays, the ethnicity entry on the household register perhaps can no longer be simply filled in as 'human' as before.

According to an acquaintance from the Two Worlds Safety Bureau, the Technical Bureau's research conclusion on those two cards is: using them will inevitably cause some kind of mental effect on the user, but it will only be a mental effect, with no additional memories or any bodily anomalies.

However, Aomo actually acquired some foreign memories earlier, but those fragmented, sealed memories at least won't turn Aomo into another person.

And the current Aomo is still a young person who is not thorough enough in handling affairs.

As for revenge, he has already done enough, but after revenge... he seems not to have thought at all.

He never imagined his name would be splashed across the media, or rather he still thought reality would be like the tokusatsu works he'd seen——where everyone tries as much as possible to help heroes conceal their identities, even if exposed internally they'd still hide it externally.

But what was the result?

LOL, the Two Worlds Safety Bureau didn't even consider hiding it.

Rather than hiding one's identity and then having too much evidence dug up and being widely publicized, it's better to go public first, actively guide public opinion, then strongly arrange other heavyweight news to divert attention, and then gradually shelve things afterward—this is the decision made by the officials of Heaven's Gate City.

That is naturally feasible.

Given Heaven's Gate City's development to date, similar situations have occurred many times before; the Two Worlds Safety Bureau and Heaven's Gate Safety Bureau, which often cooperate with mercenaries and enthusiastic helpers, are already quite familiar with this procedure—it's just that the parties involved need to be kept as low-key as possible.

It's best to stay indoors, avoid appearing in public view, and when going out, use disguises or concealment; of course, if conditions allow, it's even recommended to just leave.

With news like this spreading everywhere and hordes of media waiting for interviews, the level of social death is such that Aomo could already consider changing to a different universe (x).

Of course, if he were a social stud—or even a social terror—he could gladly embrace it, and by handling it well he might even get the chance to be molded into a star or hero.

But Aomo is clearly not that kind of person; he has even always strived to be an outsider, pretending to be an ordinary person, and then today......

Aomo glanced again at the TV, where the giant beast roared the heavens, its posture perfectly recreating the iconic scene from Godzilla movie posters, then turned back to Morrison and asked:

"Morrison, why did you die that day?"

"?" Morrison hadn't seen that weird matricide animation; hearing this, he immediately gestured that the enemy had vanished.

"You can't blame me for being unskilled, can you?"

On a normal day, Aomo would probably seize the opportunity to expound for fun, building his pleasure on mockery, but he doesn't have that mood now.

So he just waved his hand.

"Yeah, go play your game; this matter is settled, there's nothing you need to keep an eye on."

"Sure thing!"

Morrison nodded, then looked at Aomo again, seeing that although this kid was clearly in low spirits, he also wasn't showing a tendency to avoid reality anymore.

He then rose to his feet reassured: "Call me if anything comes up!"

Although he had become an electronic wraith, his LINE and Twitter accounts were still directly connected, most games are compatible with these communication tools, so Aomo could easily send him messages through those channels.

Time to go gallivant in games!

Having just made contact with a new game world, Morrison chose to watch him for a while due to Aomo's decision; still experiencing some newbie withdrawal from being forced to stop, as soon as he relaxed he vanished from the screen, and within less than a minute he could see the game platform pop up a prompt.

【I'm peddling garlic paste to the Hei'an Council, they all say I'm fucking weird

Currently playing

BusouRenkin】

What a fast login!

Large games loading slowly? That poses no problem for him!

An electronic wraith unrestricted by hardware is just badass.

But at least this is quieter now.

Aomo sighed silently and lifted the terminal screen before him again.

He was wondering what he should do.

He had originally come to Heaven's Gate City to travel, but now not only his travel plans—he even had the very idea of traveling shattered.

He picked up the data storage device on the desk, connected it to the terminal, and flipped through the public opinion handling plan prepared for him by the Two Worlds Safety Bureau, even considering whether to just head straight back to Earth.

He wanted to finish before the God-tier show team of the 'Appraising Heaven's Gate City's Popular Creatures' program paid a visit, and also before even more people showed up in all that chaotic mess.

It's hard to find anyone in Heaven's Gate City who doesn't know him; might as well just go back to Earth.

Even with interconnected networks, at least the folks in the World Gate Area are still more interested in Uma Musume.

Moreover, he had just graduated from the college entrance exam, so teachers and classmates had no reason to bother him.

——Coming just because of fame is hardly a good reason; Aomo would turn them down outright.

Looking at this proposal, it wants him to at least go incognito, hide his identity for over half a month, and preferably stay at home; they're willing to cover all expenses—this last part is still somewhat appealing to Aomo, but thinking that he originally came here to travel, only to end up staying far away in Heaven's Gate City as a shut-in......

Could something have been messed up?

I might as well just go home!

Indeed, you can't stay on an alien world—Earth is truly home.

Aomo pulled out his original travel plan document and began the process of archiving it as abandoned.

Preserve, we still have to preserve.

Heaven's Gate City is still a place you can come to, but no matter what, it's something to talk about later.

As for this moment...

By the way, I'm a bit hungry—I have the room key here; can I mooch a meal at the bureau's cafeteria?

Aomo fished out the room card to have a look, threw on his coat and scarf, tried to check out the cafeteria here, but instead heard the doorbell and voices coming from the entrance first:

【May I ask if you have time, Mr. Aomo? Mr. Morrison said you've woken up; the bureau hopes you can cooperate with a statement and examination.】

Well... looks like this procedure is inevitable after all.

But could I eat first and then go?

Aomo subtly rubbed his own stomach.

When was the last time I felt this kind of hunger?

Although I wanted to say I couldn't remember, the crystal core told him it was the day after he and Morrison arrived at the World Gate Area.

And today is the third day since he and Morrison arrived in Heaven's Gate City.

I suspect this is some kind of Möbius loop; next time I go out with Morrison, I hope to last until the fourth day.