Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

Japanese food store.

The chaotic rescue scene was over. Yoshiko Sawamura, who had almost been sent to her grandmother's house by a piece of bluefin tuna sushi, sat back down in her seat with a hot towel around her neck and a glass of warm water in front of her. Her face was still a little pale.

She survived.

Very tenacious.

Even after being attacked twice by her own daughter's sonic waves, the great mother still managed to save herself from death thanks to her unwavering will and a sufficiently wide throat.

Ritsuki Sawamura sat beside her, her long pink hair disheveled, her eyes red and swollen, clutching her phone tightly in her hand. Her expression was even more desperate than Yoshiko Sawamura's, who had almost choked to death earlier.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

Little pink-haired girl, you have no heart... Waaah!

"I have a date with my senior..."

"No time..."

"He's going out with his senior tomorrow..."

Ritsuki Sawamura kept her head down, repeatedly reading the message sent by Shido Kuroba. The more she read it, the more she felt that the words had grown sharp teeth, gnawing at her heart bit by bit.

Yoshiko Sawamura took a sip of warm water, which finally soothed her throat. She carefully picked up the remaining tempura and prepared to continue enjoying her hard-earned dinner.

"Auntie"

Yoshiko Sawamura's chopsticks stopped moving.

For some reason, she had a very bad feeling.

"what?"

Riki Sawamura raised her head, a terrifying light appearing in her eyes.

Yoshiko Sawamura slowly shrank back while holding the tempura: "Little pink-haired girl, calm down. Mommy almost died just now and is seriously injured. The doctor said that seriously injured people cannot be stimulated."

"Where did this doctor come from?"

"I diagnosed it myself."

Ritsuki Sawamura: "..."

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

The next second, Ritsuki Sawamura pounced on her.

"Ahhhhh—"

The shop assistant and the surrounding customers all turned around at the same time.

The upscale Japanese restaurant, which had just returned to quiet, was once again the scene of a heartwarming, harmonious, and intensely affectionate post-dinner activity between a mother and daughter. Sawamura Ritsu pressed her elderly mother into her seat, grabbed her face with one hand, and shoved her phone in front of her with the other.

"Prove it to me!"

"What are you trying to prove, you little pink-haired brat? You're going to tear Mommy's face off!"

"I didn't post that!"

Yoshiko Sawamura's mouth was pinched so hard it was crooked, and she struggled to look at the chat box.

[Shido, I miss you.]

She glanced at it.

I took another look.

A very smug expression gradually appeared on his face.

"oh--"

Ritsuki Sawamura's face instantly turned bright red: "What the hell?!"

"It's nothing, I just didn't expect our little pink-haired girl to have grown up so much, already telling a man she misses him. Mom is so touched..."

"Shut up!"

"Ahhh, stop pinching! Mommy's face is natural, it can't be sent back for repairs!"

Ritsuki Sawamura pulled Yoshiko Sawamura's face apart, her little fangs showing in anger: "Tell me, you sent that message!"

Yoshiko Sawamura: "???"

"Why did I post it?"

"Because you posted it!"

"It was clearly your own slip of the hand!"

"You saw it?"

Yoshiko Sawamura paused for a moment.

Oh no.

I let it slip.

Ritsuki Sawamura slowly narrowed her eyes: "Auntie, you've been peeking the whole time?"

"Mom, that wasn't peeping. Mom was just concerned about her daughter's love life..."

"So you'll care!"

"Ahhhhh—"

Yoshiko Sawamura's health bar -1 -1 -1...

After a round of family education, Yoshiko Sawamura lay on the table, her hair disheveled and her face flushed, looking as if she had just experienced a deep-sea battle that had nothing to do with bluefin tuna.

Ritsuki Sawamura placed the phone in front of her.

"hair."

Yoshiko Sawamura raised her head, looking weakly, and asked, "Why should Mom take the blame for you?"

Riki Sawamura raised her fist.

Yoshiko Sawamura immediately sat up straight: "I think it's only natural for a mother to occasionally help her daughter with some relationship problems."

This is motherly love.

It won't appear unless you hit it.

Yoshiko Sawamura reached for her phone, but then stopped abruptly. She glanced at the unfinished sashimi platter, grilled silver cod, Wagyu beef nigiri sushi, sea urchin gunkan, and the eel rice that had just been delivered.

"But I need to finish eating first."

Ritsuki Sawamura: "?"

"It's so expensive, we can't waste it."

"You almost choked to death just now."

"That was an accident; we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

Yoshiko Sawamura spoke with righteous indignation, as if she weren't the one who had just been leaning over the table with her tongue almost sticking out.

Ritsuki Sawamura stared at her.

Yoshiko Sawamura fiercely protected her plate: "Even if you hit me, I'm eating! Mom walked so far today and almost died twice; she needs a lot of food to replenish her life force!"

In the end, Ritsuki Sawamura let her go for the time being.

It's not because I'm soft-hearted.

The main problem is that if Yoshiko Sawamura were to send a voice message with her mouth full of food, Shido Kuroba might mistakenly think that some kind of "old lady eating incident" was happening on their end.

After receiving approval, Yoshiko Sawamura immediately entered "big appetite mode".

One bite of sashimi.

One bite of sushi.

Grilled silver cod, two bites.

The elegant lady who had previously pretended to appreciate the texture of the oil and the aroma of the ingredients has now completely abandoned her elegance, waving her chopsticks as if she were participating in a limited-time sweep of some Japanese restaurant.

"This is delicious."

"Sea urchins are delicious too."

"Why is the eel rice bowl so small? Give me another one!"

Ritsuki Sawamura sat beside him, her impatience growing more and more obvious: "Didn't you say you'd post it after we finished eating?"

"It'll be here soon."

Five minutes later.

"Auntie"

"The last one."

Five more minutes passed.

"Old lady!"

"This is really the last one!"

After finishing her sentence, Yoshiko Sawamura stuffed the newly delivered Wagyu beef sushi into her mouth, her eyes squinting with happiness. Then, when Riki Sawamura wasn't looking, she secretly raised a finger at the clerk.

One more, please.

Ritsuki Sawamura saw it.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

The mother and daughter looked at each other across the dining table.

Yoshiko Sawamura slowly withdrew her fingers, swallowed the Wagyu beef in her mouth, and let out a small burp.

"knock off."

She leaned back in her chair, her hands patting her slightly protruding belly with satisfaction, her face filled with the happiness of a working person after completing a difficult task.

Although my great mother didn't find Kuroba Shido today, she did manage to fill her stomach.

It wasn't a complete failure.

"cell phone."

Ritsuki Sawamura handed over the phone.

Yoshiko Sawamura lazily took the chat box, opened it, and started typing.

[Little Shido, that "I miss you" message was sent by me, not Liyue. Don't misunderstand.]

Editing complete.

send.

Before her finger could even touch the phone, it was snatched away by Riki Sawamura.

Yoshiko Sawamura: "?"

What are you doing?

"Cannot send text messages."

Why?

Ritsuki Sawamura glared at her: "Are you stupid? How did he know it was you who sent the text message?"

Yoshiko Sawamura replied matter-of-factly, "Because the text says it was posted by me."

Ritsuki Sawamura: "..."

Yoshiko Sawamura: "..."

The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Riki Sawamura took a deep breath, feeling as if her brain cells were dying off en masse while she was explaining this to the old woman.

"You're holding my phone."

"yes."

"You used my account to send a text message, claiming it was you."

"yes."

"Then why can't he assume that this text was also sent by me pretending to be you?"

Yoshiko Sawamura opened her mouth.

Then it closed again.

After thinking for a moment, she spoke again: "Because Mom is an honest person?"

Riki Sawamura raised her fist.

"Wait a moment!"

Yoshiko Sawamura quickly covered her head: "I understand, I need to send a voice message to prove that I'm really the one holding the phone right now!"

"You've finally gotten your brain working."

"What do you mean 'finally'? Mom has always been smart; she just ate too much, and all the blood went to her stomach, so her brain is temporarily lacking oxygen!"

Ritsuki Sawamura, too lazy to listen to her excuses, shoved the phone back in and pressed the voice call button.

"explain."

Yoshiko Sawamura cleared her throat, her expression suddenly turning serious, as if she were about to issue a crucial diplomatic statement on behalf of the Sawamura family.

"Ahem, Shido, about that 'I missed you' line just now..."

Ritsuki Sawamura's eyes are dangerous.

Yoshiko Sawamura immediately changed her story: "I posted it."

Loosen up.

send.

Riyue Sawamura snatched the phone and listened to it again.

In the audio recording, although it was indeed Yoshiko Sawamura's voice, the line "I miss you" was spoken extremely naturally, even carrying a strange flavor of a mature middle-aged woman flirting with a young and handsome boy.

Ritsuki Sawamura's face darkened.

"Resend."

Why?

"The tone is wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"Why do you speak so fluently!"

Yoshiko Sawamura: "???"

Didn't you tell her to say it?

Just as Yoshiko Sawamura was about to retort, Ritsuki Sawamura pounced on her.

The third round of friendly communication between mother and daughter begins.

……

Inside a luxury apartment.

Kuroba Shido remained lying on the soft bed, the game on the tablet already in its second playthrough. The two switched roles: Ito Fusei controlled the blonde beauty, while Kuroba Shido controlled the black-haired male protagonist.

The game's storyline progresses to a beach date.

The blonde beauty controlled by Ito Fuma, wearing a swimsuit and blushing, asks the male protagonist if she looks good today.

Three options appear.

【First, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.】

II. Today, you shine brighter than the ocean.

[Third, it's alright, but the swim ring is a bit leaky.]

Kuroba Shido chose the third option.

The blonde beauty looked down at her waist.

There were no swimming rings there.

[Favorability-30]

Ito Fusei: "Are you sick?"

"This is called testing the character's resilience. True love cannot be maintained by sweet words alone."

"Hey, you were just walking the horses. Last time you slapped me and gained some goodwill, but this time you call me fat and lose thirty points?"

"Perhaps this character's minefield is more clearly defined."

When it was Ito Fuma's turn to choose, the blonde beauty could invite the male protagonist to go into the water or sit on the shore and chat. Ito Fuma unhesitatingly chose the fourth hidden option.

Push the male protagonist into the sea.

【Favorability +20】

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Ito Bosei: "..."

"There's definitely something wrong with the game development team."

"I now suspect this isn't a dating game, but a simulator of attempted murder."

The two continued to hurt each other, and Ito Fusei suddenly sighed.

"Shido, I've made up my mind."

"Have you decided how to kill the rice ball?"

"No, I'm planning to find an opportunity to get a terminal illness."

Kuroba Shido manipulates the male protagonist to climb out of the sea: "What illness?"

"The more serious the better, ideally something that has never happened before in the world, something that doctors would shake their heads at first glance, and something that would make your family prepare for a feast."

"and then?"

"Then I used the account that had a crush on Yamamoto to send a suicide note, telling Yamamoto that I was leaving this world because of an incurable disease, and asking him not to contact me again."

Kuroba Shido thought for a moment: "There's a loophole."

"where?"

"He might ask where your funeral is, and he might even send a wreath as a friend."

Ito Bosei: "..."

This is indeed something that Yamamoto Shinjin would do.

"Then say the body was donated."

"He will go to the medical school."

"His ashes were scattered at sea."

He will go to the beach to pay his respects.

"The whole family immigrated."

"He might ask where the immigrants are going."

Ito Fusei's voice grew increasingly pained: "Then what should we do?"

Kuroba Shido took a sip of his soda and said in a deep voice, "The safest way is to destroy the world that this account is in."

"?"

"Tell Yamamoto that you come from another parallel world, and because the spacetime rift is about to close, you will never be able to contact it again, and the world will be destroyed along with it. Tell him not to look for it."

Ito Fusei's eyes gradually lit up: "Delete the world?"

"right."

"Wow, that's brilliant!"

Ito Fusei slammed his hand on the table: "That way, even if he finds a loophole later, I can just say the world is gone, and there's no way to prove it!"

"And you can also arrange a final battle, saying that you sacrificed yourself to protect the world, and that your only regret before dying was that you were unable to tell Yamamoto your feelings in person."

"Isn't that a bit too touching?"

"Only touching words can make him stop the investigation."

The more Ito Fusei thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and he began to conceive of a final letter before the end of the world.

【Yamamoto-kun, by the time you see this, my world will have already been destroyed by the evil demon king. I will never live to see the day I can meet you again…】

Halfway through writing, Ito Fusei suddenly stopped.

"Wait, why would I write him love letters just to get rid of him?"

The black-feathered warrior said, "This is called a good beginning and a good end."

Ito Bosei: "..."

He had a feeling that things were getting increasingly wrong.

buzz-

My phone suddenly vibrated.

Kuroba Shido picked it up and glanced at it. Sawamura Riyue sent him a voice message.

It's not text.

The audio is seven seconds long.

Kuroba Shido frowned slightly.

He didn't open it immediately, but glanced at the chat history first. The first message was "Shido, I miss you," which was sent by Ritsuki Sawamura. This voice message followed immediately afterward, which looked like some kind of emergency remedy.

"Whose message?" Ito Fusei asked.

"It might be Aunt Yoshiko."

"Who?"

"The mother of the pink-haired netizen."

Ito Fusei: "When did you start adding online friends' mothers as contacts?"

"No, it's a pink-haired account."

"Then how did you know it was her?"

Kuroba Shido turned on the voice chat.

Yoshiko Sawamura's voice came through the phone.

"Shido, the 'I miss you' message I just sent was mine, not Liyue's. Don't get the wrong idea."

His tone was somewhat stiff.

In the background, you can faintly hear Ritsuki Sawamura giving a low-pitched reminder.

"Be natural!"

Immediately following was a hissing sound, as if someone had been stepped on.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Ito Bosei: "..."

The only sound in the room was the game's background music.

Kuroba Shido had heard of Sawamura Yoshiko's voice before. When he played games or voice chatted with Sawamura Riyue, a woman would occasionally pop up in the background, shouting things like "You hateful lolicon!" "Stay away from our little pink-haired girl!" "You loser little golden retriever, are you chatting with that poor bastard again?"

If nothing unexpected happens, it's Aunt Yoshiko in front of me.

But this was the first time I had actually spoken to him in person.

Moreover, the very first sentence proves that "I miss you" was written by her.

Kuroba Shido stared at his phone, his expression growing increasingly complex.

Aunt Jiazi.

Married.

I have a daughter.

Late at night, I used my daughter's phone to send a message to a handsome young man saying "I miss you."

In some strange works, this plot would be enough to jump straight into the main storyline.

Kuroba Shido bowed his head in reply.

Aunt Yoshiko, the relationship between you and your daughter is more open than I imagined.

At a Japanese restaurant.

Yoshiko Sawamura's eyes widened instantly upon seeing the reply.

"What does he mean?"

Riki Sawamura snatched the phone, and after reading it, her face turned red from her ears to her neck.

"It's all your fault!"

"What does this have to do with Mom? You're the one who told me to post it!"

"Your tone is so strange!"

"That's how Mom always talks!"

"That's why it's strange!"

After another round of communication between mother and daughter, Yoshiko Sawamura, with her messy hair, was forced to record a second voice message.

Ritsuki Sawamura stood behind her, one hand on her phone, the other clenched into a fist, her face screaming that if she said one wrong word, she'd be a real old lady on the spot.

Yoshiko Sawamura cleared her throat.

"Shido, don't misunderstand. I was just using Liyue's phone to send those messages randomly. It has nothing to do with her. Also, we're in Tokyo now. Can we meet up tomorrow?"

Send a voice message.

After listening, Kuroba Shido casually replied.

I really don't have time tomorrow; I already have things to do.

When Ritsuki Sawamura saw the reply, the light in her eyes dimmed considerably.

She bit her lip, staring at the words "something has already happened," and knew without even thinking what it was.

Senior student.

It's that senior student again.

Seeing her little pink-haired girl's expression, Yoshiko Sawamura's smug look softened slightly, and she took the phone to continue sending voice messages.

"Shido, what about the day after tomorrow?"

Ritsuki Sawamura whispered a reminder from behind: "Monday."

Yoshiko Sawamura: "Monday night?"

Ritsuki Sawamura kicked her: "School's out this afternoon!"

Yoshiko Sawamura nearly bumped her head on the table, but could only maintain her composure in her voice.

"Well, how about we meet near your school after school on Monday afternoon? Auntie has something she wants to talk to you about."

Kuroba Shido glanced at the time.

There were no plans for Monday afternoon.

As long as Kiyoshi Miyazaki doesn't suddenly issue an emergency mission to the Nozomi Club, Kaoru Amamiya doesn't lie in the infirmary pretending to be dead, and the Jingu family doesn't drag him back to see Daimi's rehabilitation, he should have some free time.

Okay, I'll contact you after school on Monday.

The message was sent.

In the Japanese restaurant, Ritsuki Sawamura held her phone. Although she couldn't arrange a meeting for tomorrow, at least she had confirmed the time, and she felt a little more refreshed.

The thought of Kuroba Shido going out with his senior tomorrow quickly dampened his spirits again.

The pink-haired girl lowered her head.

The pink-haired girl sighed.

Pink-haired girl's frustration increases by 1+1+1...

Seeing her daughter like this, Yoshiko Sawamura reached out to comfort her.

"It's okay, Monday isn't too late. Let that senior go first tomorrow..."

Ritsuki Sawamura looked up.

Yoshiko Sawamura immediately changed her tune: "Let's experience the treatment of ordinary netizens first; the truly important things will come later!"

"Shut up."

"oh."

……

In a luxury apartment.

After dealing with the news about Sawamura and her daughter, Kuroba Shido refocused his attention on the game.

On the screen, the blonde beauty controlled by Fuma Ito is saying goodbye to the male protagonist under the setting sun because "the world is about to be destroyed".

Ito Fusei even typed in the lines he had just come up with.

I'm sorry, I can't be with you until the end. After the world ends, please forget me.

Kuroba Shido manipulates the male protagonist to reply.

Can you leave me your game account?

[Favorability-100]

Ito Fusei: "I'll fucking kill you!"

buzz-

My phone vibrated again.

This time, the person who sent the message was Onodera Zanne.

[Shido-kun, would it be alright if we met at the main entrance of Ueno Zoo tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM?]

A route map was attached.

From the luxury apartment, it clearly indicates which line to take, which station to transfer at, which exit to exit from, and the estimated travel time.

It even mentions the possibility of brief showers tomorrow and suggests bringing a folding umbrella.

Kuroba Shido looked at the date route, which was so detailed it resembled a battle plan, and rubbed his smooth chin.

My senior is really reliable.

Completely different from some guys who only make phone calls at the last minute, send messages late at night, and suddenly appear to beat people to a pulp.

No problem, I'll be there on time.

Onodera Zannen quickly responded.

Okay, see you tomorrow.

It was followed by a simple smiling emoji.

Kuroba Shido glanced at it, didn't think much of it, put the phone back next to the pillow, and continued to discuss with Ito Fusei how to process the death cancellation for a virtual world.

Big Black lay on the small mat by the bed, hugging a nut and crunching away.

The bedroom was dimly lit.

Game sounds.

Chatting sounds.

The Happy Water Bottle occasionally bumps into the bedside table.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

However, at the junction of the ceiling and the wall, an inconspicuous little black dot slowly rotates.

There was almost no sound.

The camera pans across the large bed, capturing Kuroba Shido lying on the bed playing games, then slowly tilts towards the bedside table, taking in the lit-up phone screen, chat messages, and the zoo location sent by Onodera Tsuneo.

The data was transmitted out of the apartment via a hidden network.

Through the night.

We arrived at another room several kilometers away.

On the phone screen, the real-time monitoring image is clearly displayed.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi sat at the table, holding an unopened book in his hand, his cool gaze quietly fixed on that sentence—

Meet me at the main entrance of Ueno Zoo tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM.

Her finger paused lightly at the edge of the screen.

"Senior?"