Lu Mingfei, become the king of gambling in dungeons!

The record store owner appears to have been exaggerating.

On a rainy day, there weren't many fireflies taking shelter under the bridge on this path. During this season, adult fireflies choose to hide and rest in dark, low-light-pollution forests and grassy areas rather than moving into artificial structures. Even the slightest vibration in an artificial structure can disturb their reproduction and communication.

Lu Mingfei couldn't think of any part of the novel "Norwegian Wood" that required Haruki Murakami to use this road as a location for his writing... It would be more reasonable to say that the TV series "Country Love Story" was filmed here.

However, literature is indeed somewhat mystical and deceptive, much like photos circulating in social circles.

Sometimes a glamorous beauty and a haggard-looking girl with glasses are the same person; sometimes a seemingly otherworldly tourist lake and a large, muddy ditch in a photo are the same place. It all depends on the filter and the artist's skill in embellishing the image.

Lu Mingfei and Erii set off along a secluded path. Sometimes an overpass would cross overhead, and sometimes they would encounter abandoned railway tracks under their feet. One of them held an umbrella while the other used a bottle of instant coffee to catch fireflies.

The male and female pairs take turns playing. The speed of the super hybrids is unmatched by normal creatures in nature, and catching flying fireflies is a piece of cake for them.

With their superhuman eyesight, they could see the coffee shops with siphon teapots in the windows in the distance and the vermilion torii gate of Nezu Shrine. Whenever they discovered a shop or other building, they would excitedly inform the other party.

There is a philosophy park commemorating Socrates, Kant, Confucius, and Buddha; there is a taiyaki shop with no signboard. In this way, each place that is pointed out as belonging to their world is opened up a little bit.

This is something children should do, and Lu Mingfei is happy to do so.

The viaduct is about ten meters above the ground. On rainy days, the traffic roars overhead, but you can't hear it clearly when you stand below. The bridge is a bustling world of cars and people, while below it is a sparsely populated country.

The soundproofing panels muffled the sound, leaving only low-frequency vibrations coming from under Lu Mingfei and Erii's feet, like several subway trains passing by deep underground.

As Lu Mingfei walked across the abandoned railway tracks, he was momentarily dazed, and a dignified yet familiar voice reached his ears.

He seemed to have walked similar roads with some girl before, where it was pouring rain here and freezing snow there.

The girl's figure somewhat overlapped with Erii's, but they were definitely two completely different people... The girl wasn't as slender as Erii, and had light golden hair, leaning against his back.

"Renata Yevgeny Chicherin, will you flee with me?"

"What a silly girl... You don't even know how to use the swords I gave you... If you keep crying like this, you'll be abandoned... Let's use our swords to make a promise about how we'll greet each other when we meet again."

"Stop crying... You will be my beautiful maiden... Don't keep a straight face... From now on, I will bear your pain and loneliness... Your love and hate are my love and hate... This is the new covenant."

Lu Mingfei covered his head in a daze.

It feels like a very, very distant memory, yet it also feels like it happened just yesterday.

"Meow!"

A cute, innocent meow brought him back to reality.

Lu Mingfei and Erii stopped at the same time. They were almost at the streets near the University of Tokyo when a Siamese cat with a black backpack blocked their way.

The Siamese cat tried to strike a lazy and elegant pose, attempting to scratch its neck with its hind legs, probably to remove dust and soothe its skin. However, it lost control and fell into the grass, rolling around blankly for a couple of seconds before nonchalantly getting up.

Lu Mingfei: "..."

Erii: "..."

The Siamese cat, having adjusted its posture, held its head high, revealing the pet tag under its chubby neck, which was almost invisible, and pointed at it with its paw.

——"The Beloved Takanashi-chan"

Birdstalking… Lu Mingfei remembered that Lu Mingze had mentioned this name to him.

They say they're a brother and sister Siamese cats that the two of them raised together. Just looking at their appearance, you can imagine how well they were fed.

The name is probably taken from Rikka Takanashi, the female protagonist of the anime "Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions," who is the two-dimensional character who claims to have the "Evil King's True Eye."

He opened the small black bag on the cat's back, clicked his tongue, and found it was an iPhone that had been missed 701 times. The first text message inside was, unsurprisingly, from Lu Mingze.

"Brother, you must miss me a lot, and I miss you too. But right now I'm at 'Old Man Beng' exploiting the re-employment wages of retired teachers, so I don't have a chance to visit you for the time being."

"During the last dungeon run, I accidentally stole the iPhone that was supposed to be yours. I installed a minimap for you that shows enemy units, kind of like the basic cheat code 'Black sheep wall.' It's free, so don't love me too much!"

"Brother, you're in a little trouble. An old friend of ours is coming to meet your date, and several hundred combat units will be approaching you soon. If you want to fight, remember to use your vision; if you're merciful, run away quickly... Remember to feed the courier; it's like the 'Zergling' from StarCraft, one of the most mobile units of the Zerg, capable of quickly scouting and harassing the map. The map on your phone depends entirely on it."

Lu Mingze, open your eyes and look! Is this a Zerg?

Lu Mingfei silently watched the takanashi who was acting cute and charming towards him. He was filled with mixed feelings and thought to himself, "Could it be that the main story has finally begun?" This incongruous mix of Chinese and Japanese looked so familiar. Many game items are named in this way.

Last time, the delivery was made by a DHL courier. Although his language was abstract, at least he was a living person. This time, the delivery was made by a cat? The devilish capitalists in hell not only exploit humans but also small animals... However, given the size of this cat, perhaps it is the capitalist boss.

A text message notification sounded, but this time it wasn't from Lu Mingze.

The message contained a picture with a sticky note depicting a kitten and a white speech bubble.

"Takanashi's inner thoughts:"

"Please give Takanashi a bowl of tonkotsu ramen as a reward. I envy and am jealous of my stupid and ignorant younger brother who gets to be taken around by his owner to eat delicious food."

What a foolish way to speak up for a cat. The crooked, scribble-like handwriting and drawing skills looked somewhat familiar to Lu Mingfei, like his masterpieces when he was in junior high school, when he was working on illustrations for textbook characters.

The Siamese cat avoided Erii, who was bending down to hug it, and skillfully snuggled into Lu Mingfei's arms, closing its eyes contentedly and rolling around.

Lu Mingfei, who had never held such a fat cat before, had a complicated expression as he "huddled" the little bird. He wanted to change his position, but he couldn't hold it with one hand at all.

"Damn, you're so fat. Aren't Siamese cats supposed to be elegant and graceful? What kind of lowly cat are you... You really look like the one I own." Lu Mingfei rubbed the cat's head.

And with the heavy rain near the University of Tokyo, the vendors have probably all packed up their stalls. Where are they going to find this fat cat some ramen?

However, since he and Erii hadn't gone to the restaurant in Ebisu Ward that Caesar had booked for them in order to shake off the monitors, they were both in a state of needing to fill their stomachs, and it was indeed time for dinner.