A crossover anime/manga story, set in everyday Tokyo, but within a loop of a game.

Asuna Yuuki looked at the large amount of yellowish-green viscous liquid clinging to the ground, walls, and surrounding vehicles, then glanced at Asagiri beside her and spoke softly.

"It seems we're very close."

While tracking bile traces and searching for the "special infected person," Asagiri and the others determined their location. The straight-line distance from the "Ren'ai Hospital" in the city center was about 20 kilometers. Even an ordinary person could reach it in about three hours if they sped up.

However, it is necessary to constantly observe the surrounding environment and be wary of special infected individuals who may appear at any time. Ordinary players cannot act without fear and hesitation like Asagiri and others. Considering this, it is unknown how much time it will take.

"Yes, and it just so happens to be a parking lot..."

Just as Asagiri was speaking, a sound like vomiting came from behind a van about twenty meters in front of them.

"vomit……"

Accompanied by the sound of vomiting, a large clump of yellowish-green viscous liquid fell to the ground.

The next second, a bloated creature emerged from behind the van. Its belly was bulging to an exaggerated size, and its face, belly, and arms were covered with tumor-like growths.

"So that's a special infected person...?"

Upon seeing this special infected individual appear, Asuna Yuuki gripped her exorcist sword tightly, preparing to launch an attack, but was stopped by Asagiri.

"Wait a minute, step back."

Asagiri led Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi away silently, raising his black gun-shaped summoner and aiming it at his temple.

“Persona…”

"Human Asura".

The moment the human-like Asura appeared, the bloated, swollen-bellied special infected seemed to sense the commotion coming from this side. It slowly turned around, took a step, and slowly walked towards the direction where Chaowu and the others were standing.

Before it could even take two steps, the human demon was already in front of it. Its huge right hand reached out and grabbed the head of the special infected person like a ball. Then, ignoring the other's two cystic arms thrashing about, it dragged the infected person back to the back of the van.

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud bang.

"boom!!!"

Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga were both very familiar with this sound. They had heard a similar sound during the last hotel instance when the bodies of those two reckless players exploded.

"OK, solved."

Asagiri canceled the summoning of Human Shura, and because the Persona was a power condensed from his mind, he could also sense the approximate destructive force produced when the bloated special infected exploded through Human Shura.

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri led Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi to the back of the van. What they saw was a scene of utter devastation: body parts, fragments of internal organs, yellowish-green slime, and blood and flesh. This disgusting mixture caused Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi to instinctively turn their heads away, unable to bear the sight.

Kotoko Iwanaga, however, did not look away, as if this disgusting scene did not affect her at all, and simply murmured.

"I see. This thing's belly is so swollen it's filled with bile. It'll burst open if it gets hit by an external force. It's the kind of thing you can't kill at close range, you can only use long-range attacks..."

After saying that, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri and asked curiously.

"You said before that you wanted to confirm something through special infected individuals, what was it?"

"This is it."

Asagiri pointed to the ground. Iwanaga Kotoko, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi looked in the direction he was pointing. Amidst the blood, flesh, and yellowish-green slime scattered on the ground, there was a black object about two centimeters long, easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention. It was lying there quietly.

"This is……"

Kotoko Iwanaga recognized the item at a glance and frowned.

"Implantable positioning device?"

68

Chapter 68 Kotoko Iwanaga, who made a great contribution.

Asagiri nodded noncommittally, looking at the black implanted locator, and said calmly.

"It should be something roughly similar."

Kotoko Iwanaga murmured, somewhat puzzled.

"How could there be an implanted positioning device in the body of a special infected person? Could it be..."

Asagiri said softly, "Yes, this city is not a city that has experienced a zombie apocalypse in the usual sense. Instead, it has been cleaned up by some unknown force. Almost all ordinary zombies have been eliminated, leaving only these special infected individuals. They have implanted locators in their bodies, making it like a scientific testing ground."

"A scientific testing ground... No wonder, that explains it."

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki's thoughts instantly became clear.

"No wonder there are no ordinary zombies on the streets. It turns out that the area has been thoroughly cleared out. Also, the doubt that the biting virus does not have secondary infectivity can be explained if the experimenters deliberately set it up this way to ensure that the experiment was kept under control."

After saying this, Asuna Yuuki looked at Asagiri with a surprised expression.

"But how exactly did you come up with that idea?"

"Read more novels and watch more TV series, play more games, and combine that with the information we have, and you'll be able to come up with these ideas. It's not a big deal."

Although Asagiri spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yuuki Asuna did not think that it was really a big deal.

In any case, this can be considered the core hidden storyline of this dungeon, right?

How long has it been since they entered the instance? Just half an hour, and Asagiri has already deduced this, and even found an implanted locator in the body of the special infected person, providing decisive evidence for his deduction.

As expected, as a gamer, Asagiri was better than any of them. That's why he was able to get generous rewards for clearing levels every time and even obtain the privileges of a high-level player.

Perhaps even the game's system doesn't want such a talented player to be eliminated.

At this moment, Kato Megumi spoke softly and raised a crucial question.

"Since the special infected individuals have implanted locators in their bodies, is it possible that we might encounter personnel from the faction that conducted experiments on this city in this instance? They are definitely hostile to us, right?"

"It's highly unlikely, but we can't completely rule out that possibility."

Whether it was a misperception or Asagiri really meant it, Kotoko Iwanaga and the others felt that when he said those words, there was a... inexplicable expectation in him?

"Being able to wipe out an entire city of ordinary zombies while selectively preserving the special infected species and implanting locators in them is far more difficult than simply eliminating all zombies. The enemy is not just a small-scale organization; at the very least, it must be a well-trained and battle-hardened regular army capable of doing something like this."

"Most players at this stage would have a hard time escaping unscathed, let alone facing a regular combat squad, or even just amateur thugs armed with guns. So the first phase of the dungeon shouldn't present such troublesome enemies."

Just as Asagiri finished speaking, Kotoko Iwanaga's dark purple eyes suddenly lit up.

"Wait a minute, I sense something strange around here... there seems to be a strange aura."

"weird?"

Upon hearing this, both Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi couldn't help but show wariness, wondering why the type of dungeon had suddenly changed again, and why it was so strange? Could it be that this dungeon was actually of the eerie type as well?

"Don't panic, the other party doesn't seem to be hostile."

As Kotoko Iwanaga spoke, she walked forward and finally stopped beside a black sedan not far away. She then took off her white beret, held it gently in front of her chest, made a very standard polite greeting, and said with a smile.

"Hello."

To the surprise of Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and even Asagiri, after Iwanaga Kotoko finished greeting them, a man, faintly visible like a phantom, covered in blood and pale-faced, actually emerged from under the black car.

"You... hello..."

After receiving a response, Kotoko Iwanaga turned her head, looked at the three people standing there, and smiled.

"It's alright, he's not an evil spirit, just a wandering soul."

Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki asked in confusion, "Wandering spirits? How could there be wandering spirits here?"

"Of course there will be."

Kotoko Iwanaga replied in a flat tone.

"Where people die, there will surely be wandering souls. However, I can't be sure if the laws of this world are the same as ours, nor can I be sure if those who become zombies are truly dead. It seems, then, that there are indeed wandering souls."

After saying this, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at the undead man and asked with a smile.

"Sir, do you know anything about what's happening in this city?"

"That...that..."

The undead man seemed to be afraid of something, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Iwanaga Kotoko noticed that his gaze would occasionally drift towards the direction where Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi were standing. After thinking for a moment, she immediately understood and gently comforted him.

"Please don't be afraid. Those three are my partners. They mean you no harm. They just want to ask you a few questions."

"You really meant no harm...?"

The undead man looked timid and cautious, like a thief, stealing glances at Asagiri standing there. The moment their eyes met, his body trembled involuntarily.

"He... that thing he just summoned... and there's an aura about him that... terrifies me..."

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright."

Kotoko Iwanaga waved her hand, looking kind and gentle.

"He won't attack you as long as you answer my questions honestly, but..."

At this point, Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly changed her tone, speaking in an icy manner.

"If you try to hide it, it's hard to say what might happen."

Seeing Kotoko Iwanaga's sudden change in demeanor, Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato were both taken aback.

For a long time, Kotoko Iwanaga had always presented herself as a funny, abstract girl who would occasionally say something surprising and always had a sweet smile on her face. This made them almost forget that she was not just a high school girl with a love-struck mind, but also the goddess of wisdom of the supernatural beings who had encountered supernatural phenomena before entering the "game".

With this identity, how could Iwanaga Kotoko be the kind of person who only laughs and jokes and has no intimidation?

However, when she's with Asagiri and the others, she only shows the side of a normal high school girl.

"I...I mean...please, please don't let that guy come over!"

The undead man seemed terrified of Asagiri, his body trembling. Before Iwanaga Kotoko could ask any questions, he quickly spoke up.

"Most of my memories of my life before I died are blurry. I only remember that I dropped my car keys on the ground, and then I wanted to go back to pick them up. Then... there was pain, and finally, darkness."

"Your memory is fading?"

Asagiri took two steps forward and said in a calm tone.

"Actually, I also know a little about memory restoration techniques."

Although Kotoko Iwanaga didn't know what the memory restoration technique was all about, she could tell what Asagiri was up to just by looking at her, and she tried to dissuade her.

"No, he was probably telling the truth. Many souls are like that. As time goes by after death, their memories of their previous life become increasingly blurred, leaving only those memories that they are deeply attached to."

Immediately afterwards, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at the spirit man.

"You just said you lost your car keys? Do you remember where you lost them?"

"It's...it's right over there...in front of the right front tire of that car..."

Kotoko Iwanaga followed the direction the ghostly man pointed and walked a few meters. Sure enough, in front of a car's tires, in a place that was hard to notice because of the tires, she found a dusty electronic car key lying there quietly.

"Hey~"

She bent down, picked up the car keys, blew on them gently to remove the dust, and then tossed them to Asagiri with a smile.

"Aren't we going to Ren'ai Hospital in the city center? Twenty kilometers is too far to walk, let's take a car."

"Traveling by car is no problem..."

Asuna Yuuki hesitated slightly.

"But... does any of you know how to drive?"

Kato Megumi shook her head: "I can't."

Kotoko Iwanaga also shook her head: "I don't know either."

Under the expectant gazes of the three women, Asagiri nodded and smiled.

"I can."

"really."

For some reason, Asuna Yuuki wasn't surprised at all that Asagiri, a high school student, could drive. After all, after spending time together in these dungeons, her threshold for shock had been raised by him.

"However, if I drive, wouldn't that attract the attention of infected individuals?"

Asuna Yuuki pursed her lips and hesitated.

"That special infected individual's movements were even slower than ordinary zombies, but the special alert I received indicated that there are special infected individuals in the instance with high speed and agility. This means that there are at least two, or even more, types of special infected individuals. To be on the safe side..."

"Don't be overly cautious. Our strength is definitely overwhelming for so-called special infected individuals. Besides, can't you also gain strength through killing them?"

Before Asuna Yuuki could finish speaking, Kotoko Iwanaga sighed, her face full of genuine emotion, and said with a pitiful expression.

"Besides, can you please consider my feelings? I've been walking for so long, I can't take it anymore. If I have to walk another 20 kilometers, my prosthetic leg will burst. Please, let's take a car, okay?"