Chapter 139: , The Road to Enslavement

There is a psychological phenomenon known as the suspension bridge effect, which refers to the fact that when a person is in a tense or stimulating environment (such as when walking across a suspension bridge), their heart rate will involuntarily increase. If they happen to meet another person at this time, they may mistake this physiological reaction caused by the environment for a physiological reaction caused by the other person making their heart flutter, thereby developing romantic feelings for the other person.

In the 1970s, scientists conducted an experiment where they had subjects walk across a suspension bridge that swayed violently. The subjects were men aged 18-35 without female companions, and an experimental assistant was arranged in the middle of the bridge to have the subjects fill out a questionnaire with obvious sexual connotations and evaluate the assistant; the subjects did not know the true purpose.

Facts proved that these subjects tended to give the female experimental assistant a higher rating than the male experimental assistant, and more than half of the subjects would attempt to contact the female experimental assistant afterward in hopes of further development.

Seeing Mai again today, Uesugi Muneyuki finally understood why his face always flushed, his heart raced, and his pulse quickened whenever he saw her, as if a little deer were bumping around in his heart.

It was not because he was so infatuated with her, but because subconsciously, his Inner World side was desperately trying to tell Uesugi Muneyuki: This woman is dangerous! Extremely dangerous!

Uesugi Muneyuki had not understood this earlier, mistakenly taking this emotion for a secret crush, which had carved a mental imprint that was now impossible to change. Moreover, she was indeed a goddess-level figure; even without the suspension bridge effect, Uesugi Muneyuki would have given her a very high rating himself.

This made him appear relatively passive.

Hearing Uesugi Muneyuki's question, Shirakawa Mai smiled sweetly. She did not answer immediately, but instead gazed out the window.

Konno's Vegetable Tempura shop was in the mountain area, more than four hundred meters away from the school. Apart from the woods, fields, and a few patches of farmland, the surrounding shops and streets were almost all closed. At this time of the New Year holiday, the surroundings were covered in white snow, and not even a shadow of a person could be seen; human voices and footsteps were, naturally, also unheard.

Unlike rain, snow has no sound. As the paper door closed and Mai remained silent, the room became a world of quietude, and Uesugi Muneyuki felt as if he had gone deaf.

Even so, he could occasionally hear the crackling sound of the flames in the heater nearby, as well as the faint sound of water boiling from where food was being prepared outside.

"Because she begged me," Mai said after a long silence.

"She? Who?" Uesugi Muneyuki thought for a moment: "Nanami?"

"Yes, she begged me to save you and to look after Asuka." Mai crossed her arms over her chest, her pair of cold, beautiful eyes looking calmly at Uesugi Muneyuki: "So I decided to save you once."

"Then why didn't you save her?" Uesugi Muneyuki looked puzzled: "And why won't you look after Asuka?"

After speaking, Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility: "Wait, could it be that you?"

"That's right, my secret cannot be exposed," Mai said in an intellectual and cold voice, her tone meaningful: "Would you tell others about your affairs? My cute junior, the legendary new Forensic Pathologist, Uesugi-kun?"

"I wouldn't," Uesugi Muneyuki replied immediately: "And neither would you."

"So that is the price," Mai lifted her proud chin and beautiful face, cold light flashing in her noble phoenix eyes: "You should understand why I invited you here, right?"

"We are the same kind," Uesugi Muneyuki understood: "We are dangerous to each other."

"That's right," Shirakawa Mai smiled. Beyond her incomparably beautiful appearance, her temperament seemed innate—dazzling and peerless: "We are the same kind, but for each other, being the same kind does not always mean empathy; on the contrary, it means danger. You must have already experienced this with Saijo Yasue."

"Yes," Uesugi Muneyuki lowered his head, feeling somewhat dejected: "And I don't even know what exactly is going on."

"That is the reason you came," Shirakawa Mai gave a brilliant smile, her expression one of 'I know how to handle you,' but she immediately sighed: "We are both too lonely. We both have so much we want to confide in others, but our reason tells us we cannot do so. I don't know what you said to Saijo Yasue, but from her actions, I have roughly guessed that you probably shared a bit of your experience."

"And it resulted in a fatal disaster," Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: "I regret it."

He did not lack friends, family, or women now, but he still often felt lonely. The pain of possessing supernatural energy yet being unable to confide in anyone had already begun to sprout.

"Very good, so I think you realize the danger of the Inner World, and I think you also realize the loneliness of us Inner World people, which is why I invited you here." From Uesugi Muneyuki, Mai received a very satisfactory answer. Her cold expression gradually became gentle, and there was a hint of appreciation and a smile in her eyes: "Your appearance here shows that you also yearn for it, just like me."

We are all so lonely.

"May I ask you a few questions?" Uesugi Muneyuki tried to say.

"I can answer three questions for you, and then I will give you a chance to choose," Shirakawa Mai pouted, a teasing smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

Such a calm, rational, and calculating little junior, yet in the end, he still understands nothing.

If he doesn't understand, he is easy to handle. His Inner World view, his outlook on life, and his use of supernatural power will be completely shaped and cultivated by me alone.

"Where does your power come from? Does this have anything to do with you being the Head of the Alliance of the Kanto Shinto Alliance?" Uesugi Muneyuki tried to ask the first question.

"That's two questions, Junior-kun," Mai met Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze, the goddess blinking her innocent, bright eyes as if to say, 'You little junior, don't try to play clever tricks on your senior!'

Uesugi Muneyuki chuckled.

You say three, so it's three?

The senior and junior exchanged glances for a round. Mai tried hard to hold back her laughter, reached out a small hand to poke the table, and said with a playful tone: "Asking such a rash question right off the bat? Fine, this time counts as a special discount for a junior, but don't let it happen again!"

"Actually, I don't know where my power comes from either. I was chosen by my master when I was very young and taken back to the Kanto Shinto Alliance to be trained, practicing Inner World Power according to my master's guidance all the way," Mai cleared her throat and put on a serious expression: "Seriously speaking, my supernatural power is related to the Kanto Shrine Alliance, but it is also unrelated."

"Yes and no, is it?" Uesugi Muneyuki kept a straight face, thinking to himself that this was equivalent to saying nothing at all.

Two questions left.

"Do you know about the existence of other Inner Worlds? For example, inside your Kanto Shrine Alliance?" Uesugi Muneyuki continued to ask: "Are they also this aggressive?"

This junior is asking more and more.

Mai tilted her head, a flash of cunning in her eyes, and decided it was time to provide some real substance: "Actually, of the other supernatural power holders I know of, not a single one is alive, because they are either dead or have gone into hiding."

"Not a single one? Then what about your master?" Uesugi Muneyuki widened his eyes.

"My master is already dead; I killed her," Shirakawa Mai seemed to have had some strange quirk activated. Her large eyes sparkled with brilliance as she said sincerely: "She trained me and then wanted to kill me to seize my Dharma Image, so she was killed by me. I even forged her notes and tone to announce that I would succeed her as the Head of the Kanto Shrine Alliance."

"Eh?" Hearing this, Uesugi Muneyuki was so angry he laughed: "Then what about the others? Could it be that you are the only supernatural power user in the entire Kanto Shrine Alliance?"

"They are all dead," Shirakawa Mai wrinkled her delicate nose and pretended to shed tears, looking pitiful: "They were all killed. Only my master survived, and later, my master died too, leaving only me."

"............ Really?" Uesugi Muneyuki narrowed his eyes.

"Why would I lie to you? Do you know about the Himiko Ancient Tomb incident?" Shirakawa Mai hooked a playful expression.

"!!!" Uesugi Muneyuki suddenly remembered the content his brother Uesugi Sadanori had investigated: "Wait, are you saying?"

"This is why the Inner World is particularly dangerous. Every Inner World existence is carefully hiding themselves, and every Inner World existence is striving to find an opportunity to devour others," Mai thought to herself that the little junior did know some things after all: "However, let me ask you a question, Uesugi-kun. How is Saijo Yasue's strength?"

"Very strong," Uesugi Muneyuki replied without hesitation.

"Then what if she faced a few armed police officers?" Mai continued to ask: "Just three ordinary detectives holding SIGs, what are her chances of winning?"

"Uh... well, the chances of winning are probably less than twenty percent," Uesugi Muneyuki said, sweating: "And it would have to be a sneak attack."

"The times have changed, Uesugi-kun," Mai gave him a speechless eye-roll: "In ancient times, the supernatural powers we possessed might have been truly formidable, but in modern times, the strong among us can at best deal with semi-automatic rifles. And this is still in Japan; in a place like the United States where everyone carries guns and armored vehicles are deployed, supernatural power users are finished the moment they dare to appear."

"I see," Uesugi Muneyuki understood completely.

The Kanto Shrine Alliance once had some supernatural power users, but with the excavation of the Himiko Ancient Tomb, a tragedy occurred similar to the infighting between the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect, which eventually drew the intervention of foreign forces, causing all these supernatural power users to die. In the end, only Mai's master remained alive, and Mai then killed her master in return, which resulted in Mai being almost the only supernatural power user left in the entire Kanto Shrine Alliance.

So that's it!

The last question.

"Why do you want me? Or rather, why didn't you kill me directly to seize my power, but instead chose to invite me here and want to meet me?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked the last question cautiously.

This is exactly what I wanted you to ask.

Shirakawa Mai secretly twirled her thumb, and upon hearing Uesugi Muneyuki's question, the corners of her mouth curled slightly as she whispered "idiot" to herself in her heart.

But she smiled very happily, her body and mind filled with feelings of joy and secret delight.

"If I said that you have already passed my tests several times, and that there were a few times before where if you had made the wrong choice I would have killed you without hesitation?"

"Eh?!"

"I'm being serious, you know, Junior!"

(End of this chapter)