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

However, to everyone's surprise, the door opened very quickly.

"Ah, Yukiho, what can I do for you?"

Unharmed and radiant, Honoka stood at the doorway, gazing at Yukiho with a gentle smile.

"Ah, oh..." Xuehui looked at her older sister. Her clothes were intact, there were no marks on her body, and although there were tear stains on her face, she seemed to have successfully turned her emotions around... In short, she didn't seem to have been treated badly.

What's going on? I guess I was overthinking it...

Kosaka Yukiho breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, speaking of which, you haven't met yet, have you?" Honoka beckoned Jiang Jinghua to come up from behind her, and then said to Xuehui, "Xuehui, this is Jiang Jinghua, she's my friend from outside of school."

Then, she turned to Jiang Jinghua: "This is Kosaka Yukiho, my younger sister... Although her hair color looks completely different, she is definitely 100% my biological sister."

"Huh? A male friend outside of school?" Kosaka Yukiho was shocked upon hearing this bombshell news. "Dad will be angry, won't he? He'll definitely be angry!"

“It’s alright. Jinghua-kun is a very honest and kind person,” Honoka said with a smile. “Besides, as long as we tell Dad he’s a martyr’s family member of the foundation, he probably won’t make things difficult for him.”

"I see..." Xuehui nodded, "In that case, there shouldn't be any problem..."

"Why would telling him that I have connections with the foundation would protect me from trouble?" Jiang Jinghua asked, puzzled.

“Although Dad is just an ordinary cook now, he used to be a cook in the forward base in another dimension,” Honoka explained with a smile. “He is very proud of that experience, so he respects everything related to the Foundation.”

"So that's how it is... You really are a family of loyal martyrs," Jiang Jinghua said half-jokingly.

Honoka smiled and said, "Well, now you've met everyone in my family except for Dad. How about you come over for a meal sometime? That way, my parents can get to know you better."

"Ah... this, does this count as meeting the parents or something..." Jiang Jinghua stammered.

"What are you thinking about!" Honoka angrily smacked Jiang Jinghua on the head. "You boys are all like this, your heads are full of all sorts of nonsense!"

"Do you have the right to criticize me after drawing those kinds of pictures..." Jiang Jinghua said helplessly.

"What picture?" Xuehui asked curiously from the side.

"Aaaaaah, that's not something a child should know! Xuehui, go play somewhere else! You didn't hear anything!"

Honoka hurriedly shooed Yukiho downstairs.

So, only Jiang Jinghua and Honoka Kousaka remained in the corridor.

"Your dad'll be back soon, right?" Jiang Jinghua said. "I think it's best not to meet him in person until I'm ready for a formal meeting. So I'll leave now, let's talk via video."

"Okay, sure." Honoka nodded. "But there's one more thing I want to ask you."

"what's up?"

"You said before... that I'm cute... right?"

"Yes what's the matter?"

"So... those pictures from before... if you want them... I can give them to you too, okay?"

Honoka gave a sly smile.

……

Jiang Jinghua accidentally forgot how to breathe.

what

Chapter 107, Section 108: And then... there was no more.

Sunday morning.

A light drizzle was falling outside the window, so it wasn't exactly good weather to go out.

In this state, Jiang Jinghua was happy to stay in his room, typing on the keyboard and looking at the various things on the computer screen while thinking about problems, just like on his usual days off.

...That's what I say, but I can't help but think about what happened yesterday.

Jiang Jinghua sighed, closed the webpage on his computer screen, and looked up at the ceiling in silence.

Looking back now, what happened yesterday seems so unreal, like a dream...

Jiang Jinghua's phone suddenly beeped with a message notification.

He picked up his phone and, as expected, saw a message from Honoka Kousaka: "Jinghua-kun, please make sure to come to the shrine this afternoon! d('ω｀*)"

...From this perspective, what happened yesterday seems not to be a dream, but to be real.

Whenever Jiang Jinghua thinks of yesterday, he feels an overwhelming sense of joy.

That kind of truly fulfilling scenario actually happened in my life. Thinking about it carefully, it's really hard to accept: after all, I've long been used to being ignored and have long accepted the fact that I'm not needed by anyone.

Although the current situation has changed, the inertia of our thinking is not so easy to reverse.

But sooner or later I would have to do it. Jiang Jinghua was certain of this.

The matter of the Sea of ​​Miracles, the recent training camp, and my own special identity as a transmigrator—all of this has destined me to be caught in the eye of a storm.

And now, after transmigrating, I am undoubtedly no longer related to that incompetent person who lived on Earth in my previous life. I must now admit: I have the ability, the will, and the necessity to strive to "do something."

It was at this moment that Honoka Kousaka's smile appeared in his mind.

Judging from the harmonious atmosphere yesterday, her favorability rating must have reached a fairly high level, right? Since I'm gradually transforming into a positive and responsible person, perhaps I should consider...

...No, I guess I should just forget about that kind of thing.

Even disregarding all other factors, the idea of ​​"idols dating" is unacceptable to the public... After all, those guys don't have the luck to spend time with real, lively people, nor do they have the ability to do anything meaningful for them. Aside from generating their own interest through merchandise and video footage, they don't have any other enjoyment...

Perhaps we should try to be a little more understanding of the feelings of ordinary people. Having this thought, Jiang Jinghua couldn't help but feel that he was being rather obnoxious.

Jiang Jinghua put away his phone, intending to continue studying the content on the computer. However, just then, his phone beeped again.

This time, the message wasn't from Honoka Kousaka, but from someone nicknamed "The Real Wild East Asian Monkey." To be more formal, it was Dr. Briet.

This busy, mischievous monkey doesn't have the energy to casually send you messages asking pointless questions like "Have you had breakfast yet?" If he actually takes the time to send you a text message, it's definitely because something really terrible has come up to bother you.

"2 PM, training facilities, same place as always. Important matter."

The wording is very concise.

Jiang Jinghua put away his phone and sighed helplessly.

There's nothing we can do about it. Compared to interacting with girls, the great cause of benefiting human civilization is certainly a slightly more important matter.

However, before Jiang Jinghua could finish his reflection, another text message arrived on his phone:

"I'm sorry, Jinghua-kun! I have something to do this afternoon and can't come to the shrine! I'm very sorry!"

...What's going on? So Honoka can't come either.

That would be just right... and so on.

Recalling what had happened some time ago, Jiang Jinghua suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu.

Come to think of it, the last interdimensional exploration mission seemed to have been arranged as part of a broader context of "friendly exchanges between the Clock Tower and the Foundation." So, is this one similar?

This world is far too small...

It was as if some grand cosmic will was deliberately trying to force him and Honoka together.

……

Meanwhile, somewhere.

The walls were pure white, the floor was pure white, the furnishings were pure white... even Ji Kong's prison uniform was pure white.

If this typical slice-of-life otaku novel protagonist, who transmigrates to a crossover anime world with a system, had even a little bit of cultural common sense outside the ACG field, he would definitely realize with great horror that this is a "place without darkness".

It has been a long time since he was arrested by the SCP Foundation for the bizarre charge of "illegal interdimensional travel"... He doesn't even know how much time has passed. There are no calendars or clocks here, and the guards come to deliver food and clean at completely irregular times. Ji Kong doesn't even know how many times a day they do these things.

The room contained a simple iron bed, a small table for eating, and a toilet that offered no privacy from the outside world. In this completely idle environment, Ji Kong's nerves were stretched to the brink of collapse.

It wasn't that the Foundation intentionally wanted to torture him; it was simply that repatriating illegal transmigrators was an extremely difficult task, and Ji Kong's system, which could only be used to exchange for "toilet paper," was completely useless to the Foundation. He was already lucky not to be executed on the spot or given a free orange jacket.

Loud footsteps.

Suddenly, loud footsteps rang out.

Even though long-term imprisonment had almost robbed Ji Kong of most desires, including his appetite, he was still jolted by the sudden sound of footsteps and reflexively turned toward the source of the sound.

Unlike the footsteps of the guards delivering food, the footsteps that rang out this time sounded particularly loud and imposing, as if they were wearing boots specially designed to make a sound on the ground.

The sound came from a pair of heavy black military boots, above which was a pure black woolen military dress uniform. The dress uniform was simply cut, dignified and proper, exuding an awe-inspiring aura of authority from head to toe.

A deep red armband was strapped to his arm, and a bright silver and black-gray cross was pinned to his chest. His wide-brimmed military cap was decorated with an eagle emblem and a skull—and beneath the cap was a typical Western European face.

The officer in black appeared to be around thirty-five years old, with a handsome and neat face, and an elegant and gentle, gentlemanly smile. However, this kind-looking officer did not evoke any sense of warmth in Ji Kong: because no matter how illiterate he was, he couldn't possibly be unaware of what the striking black symbol on the officer's armband represented.

Ji Kong was gripped by extreme fear and an inescapable sense of absurdity.

"Choose," the officer said with a smile, speaking in standard Mandarin. "Two choices."

“We can help you undergo another ‘soul transfer’ and grant you the freedom you crave. In return, you must provide us with assistance.”

"Or... die here right now, die in this shallow and boring dream."

what

Chapter 108, Section 109: The Expedition

"No way! Ju, it's going to take that long?"

Seeing the apologetic look on Minami Kotori's face, Honoka screamed in utter astonishment.

“I’m sorry… This, this was my father’s arrangement. This series of plans is also quite important to the Clock Tower…” Minami Kotori explained while apologizing, “Because the situation in this alternate dimension is too special, neither the Foundation, the GOC, nor the Clock Tower are willing to let the other two parties control the situation while they themselves remain uninvolved…”

"But! Doesn't that mean μ's has been split in two?" Honoka Kousaka shouted in dissatisfaction. "Look, me, Koto, Maki, and Eli have been transferred to another dimension, leaving only five of us!"

Honoka lowered her head dejectedly, puffed out her cheeks, and muttered pitifully, "It's rare that I've finally cheered up a little and wanted to practice properly..."

"Well, practice can be done with video calls, right?" Maki Nishikino comforted her. "Even though it's an alternate dimension, a bandwidth of three to five gigabytes should be enough."

"Really? Maki is the best! It's so good to be rich!" Honoka excitedly hugged Maki, making strange noises as she rubbed against her chest like a little animal.

"So, that's why you shouldn't do weird things!" Maki blushed and pushed Honoka's head away, sighing with a wry smile. "Honoka, what's wrong with you lately? You're acting like you're going crazy every day?"