Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 95 Destined to be hacked to pieces?

Chapter 95 Destined to be hacked to pieces? (Seeking first subscription!)

Ken Sakamoto's fingertip hovered over the phone screen, remaining motionless for a long time.

[Judge: Ai Hoshihara]

He even zoomed in on the page to carefully confirm the three words, and they were correct.

Last week, he had never even heard of this call for submissions, let alone participated in it, so naturally he didn't know who the judges were.

However, Ai Hoshino did publish a science fiction novel that sold quite well during her university years, and it won an award. She also joined SFW, making her a formal science fiction writer.

From this perspective, she is indeed a likely candidate to be invited to serve as a judge, especially given her position at a university, where she would be well-suited to be in charge of the selection process for the Campus Star competition.

However, after publishing her first work, she devoted herself entirely to her studies and research, and never ventured into the field of literary creation again.

Why is he now serving as a judge for a comic book submission contest?

Ken Sakamoto understood Ai Hoshihara; she only cared about a few things that mattered to her, and regarded everything else as trivial matters that distracted her.

Logically speaking, she wouldn't participate in this kind of call for submissions and selection process.

It seems that this week's meeting with Ai Hoshihara will begin with "Looking Back".
Ken Sakamoto analyzes the current situation.

Things seemed to be unfolding in a familiar direction, with a sense of déjà vu everywhere, yet also something different in every aspect.

The reunion with Natsume Mio was something I had expected, since I had known her for a long time.

She possesses some memories from last week's story, and her coming to him was entirely within Sakamoto Ken's expectations.

The reunion with Haruna Mikazuki has even more unexpected elements.

This guy copied his work from last week's episode, and it just so happens that it was serialized in JUMP+ at the same time.

Haruna must have seen the name of Ken Sakamoto, the author of "Chainsaw Man," which led to their subsequent meeting in the live stream.

And now, Ai Hoshihara has also appeared.

Even though she had already made so many changes since being reborn.

But the timeline seems to have its own will, and no matter what, it eventually makes them appear in her life one after another.

It's even much earlier than last week's playthrough.

However, Ken Sakamoto thought about it again and realized that he had actually met Ai Hoshihara once in this playthrough.

That afternoon, he only intended to take a short nap, but instead entered an incredibly vivid lucid dream.

The scene in the dream was Ai Hoshihara's apartment.

The feeling was similar to when I dreamed of Mikazuki Haruna before, but it was also different.

Haruna's dream was intense but short-lived. The second time, it had just begun when it felt like an online game suddenly disconnecting. Everything went black, and I woke up.

But the dream with Ai Hoshihara lasted for an entire afternoon.

From the bedroom to the living room, and then to the balcony, every detail is incredibly realistic.

When I woke up, it was already dusk outside the window.

In that dream, although the passion was just as intense, he always felt that Ai Hoshihara was thinking about something.

Ai Hoshihara said some strange things, such as, "Are we destined to be entangled together?"

The "entanglement" she mentioned probably doesn't refer to romantic entanglement between men and women, right? She's not the type of person who talks about love and romance.

Ai Hoshihara even talked about how he was a jerk in his previous life.

At the time, Ken Sakamoto thought that since it was just a dream, it wouldn't hurt to say it, and he almost blurted out the names of Mio Natsume and Haruna Mikazuki.

However, he changed his mind at the last minute.

Looking back now, Ken Sakamoto still feels a bit scared.

He had a strong intuition that if he had actually uttered those two names back then, it might have triggered some unpredictable consequences...

The current situation is that Ai Hoshihara has become a judge for the writing competition and even gave him a perfect score. Her comments are quite objective.

Whether it was a coincidence or something she did intentionally, it shows that the entire timeline has undergone a huge change. This is based on Sakamoto Ken's understanding of these three women.

Last week, Haruna Mikazuki was rather willful, and Mio Natsume was a bit emotional. These traits were troublesome, but their emotions were outwardly expressed.

Having the memories of the previous playthrough and a good understanding of their personalities, it shouldn't be too difficult to control them.

But Ai Hoshihara was too calm.

Unlike the other two, she did not have a strong emotional desire for him.

What Mio and Haruna want is nothing more than companionship, favoritism, and the satisfaction of their increasingly unfulfilling needs.

It's just a waste of kidneys.

Ai Hoshino is different.

Although she was tempted, those things were clearly ranked much lower in her mind.

Her decision to be with him was a very rational one.

Last week, Sakamoto Ken felt the least sense of crisis from her.

But in this playthrough, the woman whose purpose and actions are unknown brings the strongest sense of crisis to Sakamoto Ken.

Could it really be some kind of choice from Steins;Gate...?

Ken Sakamoto had seen the work called Steins;Gate.

There was also recent news that a new game based on the β world line, Steins;Gate 0, is going into production and will be adapted into an anime at the same time.

In Steins;Gate, there is a theory of world line convergence.

Simply put, there are countless parallel realities, and every tiny change leads to a new world line.

A large number of world lines will be categorized into several large convergence ranges. Within the same convergence range, no matter how much the process struggles or changes, certain major "outcomes" are destined to occur.

Is it possible that this predetermined "outcome" is "destined to meet them"?
Surely it can't be that they're "destined to be hacked to pieces," right?
……

Ai Hoshino finished her drink, and the ice ball made a crisp clinking sound at the bottom of the glass.

She got up, intending to pour herself another glass.

At that moment, the phone screen on the table lit up with a message notification.

It was sent by her graduate student, Haruka Suzuki.

Haruka Suzuki: "Teacher, we have finished debugging the equipment in the laboratory at Keio University, and it will be officially open for use next week."

Ai Hoshino immediately put down her wine glass, picked up her phone, and quickly replied.

Ai Hoshihara: "Are you still in the lab?"

Haruka Suzuki: "Yes, Yui-senpai, me, Anna, we're all here."

Ai Hoshihara: "Wait a moment, I'm coming right now!"

Haruka Suzuki: "Eh? Teacher, it's starting tonight?"

Ai Hoshino: "Wait for me to get here. You can go back first. I can manage on my own in the lab."

She strode into the dressing room, opened a drawer, and casually took out a set of pure cotton white underwear and put it on.

Then he put on a loose and comfortable set of casual clothes.

Upon entering the foyer, she casually picked up her car keys from the cabinet beside the door.

His hand paused slightly as he remembered that he had just drunk alcohol.

Ai Hoshino put the keys back in their place and took out her phone to call a taxi.

After going downstairs, the taxi quickly arrived at the apartment entrance.