My daily life in various anime crossovers can't possibly be this sci-fi.

“I see…” Eriri Sawamura nodded. “I don’t have such lofty goals. I draw simply to make money. No matter how much pocket money you have, it’s finite, but the desires of an otaku are infinite… so if I don’t find some ways to make money, my wallet will often be empty.”

"Oh, I see. I think it's great to draw to make money." Honoka smiled. "You see, things made to make money are generally of higher quality than creations made by enthusiasts out of pure passion, right? Having a skill that can generate income is something to be proud of, isn't it?"

"That's actually your opinion?" Eriri was somewhat surprised.

This girl seems more interesting than I imagined.

……

The two became unexpectedly congenial, so much so that when the deafening announcement blared from the lounge, signaling the preliminaries to prepare for their turn on stage, Honoka ended the conversation with a hint of reluctance.

Jiang Jinghua, who had been quietly standing to the side, came over and said, "I wish you good luck in the competition."

"Mm!" Honoka smiled and stood up.

what

Section 98 Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Battle of Akihabara by the Muses (Part Four)

Everyone's opinion is absolutely correct: there's no need to worry too much about the results. As long as you perform to your normal level, even if you don't even make it past the preliminaries, it's not something to be particularly disappointed about.

When Honoka and her eight companions stood together on a makeshift stage erected on the side of Akihabara Street, being scrutinized by hundreds of passersby, these thoughts came to mind.

Wow, there are so many people... Although I've seen crowded places before when I helped out at the shop at home, this is the first time I've seen so many people.

I feel a little nervous...

But at that moment, Honoka felt the warmth coming from the palm of her hand.

It was Umi Sonoda beside her. She gently held Honoka's hand and whispered, "Just like you taught me before, treat the audience like vegetables!"

Honoka responded with a slight smile.

Honestly, I forgot about the idea I came up with myself.

She raised her head and looked at the audience below the stage.

For some reason, she suddenly felt as if the audience below the stage had truly turned into vegetables. Facing hundreds of "vegetables," a sense of ease began to rise in her heart.

Just treat the game like practice and approach it normally!

Every scene within her sight seemed to have been filtered, making it all appear beautiful, and Honoka Kousaka was enveloped in a rosy mood. She seemed to have this illusion: if she continued like this, she would definitely be able to go anywhere!

The audience's clamor subsided briefly before erupting into a new frenzy: the background music for the song, which had suddenly begun playing. The intense rhythm and reverberation of electronic instruments seemed to be playing right next to their ears, or perhaps coming from the distant heavens, or even emanating from the very depths of Honoka Kousaka's soul.

Ah... in short, my mind seems a bit muddled.

But who cares?

As long as I keep singing and dancing like this...

"Sorry no brand"

"Knowledge No brand"

"なにもかもこれから热い気分"

Yes, that's us. We have nothing but ideals and courage...

Honoka Kousaka, dancing on the stage, began to indulge in pointless daydreams.

But the people in the audience were cheering for people like us...

In a daze, Honoka felt as if the scene before her had transformed into a large stadium, where the ragtag crowd of all sorts of people were uniformly beginning their well-trained cheering. The high-end sound system, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, was pushing its limits to the limit, and the dazzling stage lighting seemed to be strangling fate by the throat…

Honoka was unaware that her face was becoming increasingly flushed, nor that her steps were becoming increasingly unsteady. Even though the melody emanating from her lips remained beautiful…

"楽しいよでもNo brand（Do you know?）"

"张りきってるんだNo brand（Do you know?）"

...but if you listen carefully, you can detect subtle inconsistencies.

"... wall はHi Hi Hi bad せるものさHi Hi Hi pour せるものさ"

"自分からもっとチカラを出してよ"

Honoka Kousaka, who was singing with all her might, didn't notice anything unusual at all.

The scene before her eyes was becoming fragmented: the images of the audience were being torn into shreds by an unknown force. Thousands upon thousands of dazzling patches of color, some describable and some indescribable, were scattered like noise on an old videotape in every corner within Honoka Kousaka's field of vision.

This can no longer be called passion, but only morbid fanaticism.

……

"...Regarding the mutated influenza virus that has recently spread widely in the Tokyo area, its further effects have been verified by relevant departments of the GOC. It is reported that a very small number of infected individuals have experienced mental abnormalities similar to memetic catalyst contamination at the time of infection, and relevant departments of the Foundation are currently doing their utmost to provide treatment to patients with such symptoms..."

"Tch, what a hassle." Fully armed Dr. Kolev loaded the magazine into his assault rifle and switched off the radio mounted in his helmet. "Besides those Nazis having a party in another world, there's just so much trouble..."

“Let the disease control department worry about that,” Dr. Breet said, the eyes of the giant robot she was riding glowing eerily green. “We have our own things to do.”

At this moment, about fifty meters in front of the two people, a Standard Type IV medium-sized detached surface jumper device, powered by two micro fusion reactors, is preparing to start up amidst deafening noise.

……

"..."

Stopped abruptly.

The transition from passion to silence took only a few seconds.

Honoka Kousaka's emotions seemed to suddenly snap, plunging her into absolute calm.

The scene before me was as blurry as a watercolor painting with blurred edges, and I seemed to hear indistinct human shouts.

...it seemed to be calling its own name.

Ah... so the concert is over?

Did a viewer post this?

Since they shouted so loudly... they probably... succeeded, right?

Honoka Kousaka collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. Her pupils were unfocused, and the corners of her mouth remained upturned due to stiff muscles.

Haha. I did it!

Together with everyone...

...Have I been of any help to everyone?

...Did that make everyone happy?

...There should be..., right?

……

"Beep—beep—beep—"

strange sound.

In addition, there was a sound similar to that of wheels rubbing violently on the ground.

The shouts were a jumbled mess, and it seemed that English words were mixed in as well.

I don't want to understand the specific meaning... because English is already difficult enough. Besides, I'm so tired right now...

Honoka Kousaka had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

They don't even have a very clear concept of who they are.

"...It can be confirmed...that preparations are underway to use...in accordance with standard procedures...Plan Four..."

"...What should we do...Guoguo...what if she..."

"...It's nothing. I'm willing to vouch for it with the reputation of Nishikino General Hospital..."

"...common diseases...in terms of..."

What are they even talking about?

The only thing that is certain is that someone seems to have mentioned their own name.

Hmm... so... who's calling me?

If someone calls me, I have to respond...

……

"Hey Nishikino-kun, is that kind of thing really... reliable?"

Looking at the enormous machine that was looming over Honoka Kousaka's head—a machine with a grotesque appearance, its surface covered with various pipes, and a style that was somewhere between a modern technological product and an indescribable thing—Jiang Jinghua couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

During the previous performance, Honoka Kousaka inexplicably fell into a coma.

After that, she was quickly sent by Maki's people to Nishikino General Hospital, where everyone is now.

While the upper part resembles an ordinary general hospital, the underground level is like the secret hideout of an evil doctor typical of third-rate sci-fi movies. All sorts of medical devices, pushing the limits of human imagination and specifically designed for various magical and unusual phenomena, are readily available here.

“Absolutely no problem.” Maki nodded confidently. “For someone like Honoka who has learned some illusion techniques, all we need to do is induce her own brain to perform spontaneous internal intervention. This process is very safe.”

what

Chapter 99, Section 99: A Major Defeat to Force Retreat, Utter Failure

I no longer care about medical terminology.

In short, as long as Honoka can escape danger, Jiang Jinghua doesn't care even if the drug used is SCP-500.

Although he had been concerned about Honoka's condition, when the latter actually got into trouble, Jiang Jinghua found that he was not as panicked as he had imagined.

Apart from a constant feeling of urgency and suffocation, as if someone were choking me, I did not experience any other emotional fluctuations.

Kotori Minami sat slumped on a chair, sobbing softly, while the rest of μ's racked their brains trying to comfort her, though their own expressions were far from pleasant.

As for Eriri Sawamura, she did not enter the underground level where everyone was currently located.

"Ah... why would a perfectly healthy person suddenly..." Jiang Jinghua used deep, forceful breaths to calm himself down and suppress the urge to smash something. "This must be a symptom of being affected by mental factors, right?"

“Yes.” Maki Nishikino nodded with a sense of loss. “The news about that mutated flu virus has been spreading quite quickly in the industry lately… Damn it, I didn’t pay attention at the time…”