An infinite journey starting from paradise

"Huh? What the hell is this about popularity with women? What does a normal greeting between a student and a teacher have to do with popularity with women?"

Yu Zhu Jia San thought, is this a normal greeting between a student and a teacher? That little girl with twin pigtails is looking at you with such a piercing look, and you're still talking about a normal greeting?

Before Yuzumi Jiasan could translate his complaints into polite, normal language, Lin Shangren spoke first: "Are things not going well between you and Xingzi? No, you haven't made any progress at all."

"Kyoko and I...ah...well...mm."

Yuzumi Jiasan fell silent.

"You strike hard at criminals, but act submissive to your sweetheart. What? Xingzi is scarier than those psychopathic murderers? You're already quite old, and you know her so well. Judging from your behavior, she'll understand your feelings unless she's blind. You can't expect a widow to confess her love to you, right? If you're a man, just confess directly and give it a shot. If you get rejected, you can deal with it later."

Regarding Lin Shangren's statement that he could talk without any back pain while standing, Yu Zhu Jiasan could only sit there with his back hurting and remain silent.

Lin Shangren continued, "Can't you be more frank? If she likes you, then she likes you. If she's unwilling to exchange her heart for yours, is it that difficult for you to continue playing the role of the infatuated secret keeper?"

"Be honest...? It's not that simple, Mr. Lin."

The relationships between Uozumi Kazuzo, Hazuki Anko, Anko's late husband, and Tokisaka Reito are indeed complex, their love-hate relationship enough to make a melodramatic romance drama. Hayashi Naoto was unaware of this, and while he certainly wasn't being honest, his words didn't make sense.

"Well, whatever you like."

Lin Shangren stuffed the last piece of cake into his mouth, then stood up and said, "I'm going to go first. Tell Xingzi that the money for the cake and coffee should be deducted from the bonus at the end of the month... or from Gaoyue's salary."

……

In Inokashira Park, beside a patch of grass, four girls were squatting there observing something.

"Shhh."

Zi signaled Zhuizi and Dongzi to keep quiet, then she suddenly reached out and caught a small, tender green locust.

"Caught!"

"Is this the ingredient you're looking for?" Dongzi looked at the little bug in Zi's hand with interest. "Are bugs edible?"

"Locust larvae contain a large amount of protein and various trace elements. They have the medicinal effects of detoxification, cough relief, and shock relief. They can also assist in the treatment of vitiligo and frostbite." Takigawa Yumi on the side explained, of course mainly from a medical perspective.

Because Fuyuko always came here to sketch after school, Yumi would also stop by after school to go home with Fuyuko. As time went by, she became familiar with Yukari and Tsuchiya.

"You can eat it, and it tastes delicious, just like fried shrimp." Zi explained, "Miss Natsume said that my brother's condition has suddenly improved a lot and he should wake up soon. So I wanted to make him some insect dishes that I am good at."

"Ah...haha...ha. Zi Zi is really gentle...haha." Zhuizi laughed dryly. She once ate insects made by Zi out of curiosity. It couldn't be said that they were extremely delicious, but it could be said that they were hard to swallow.

"Zi Zi is obviously a good cook, so why does she have to be obsessed with bugs?" Zhuizi thought to herself.

Taking advantage of Zi's distraction, she kicked the little locust in her hand hard and escaped.

"Oh... it ran away. The little guy is really energetic." Zi said, looking at the locust leg that remained between her fingers. "Locust legs are very strong and the most delicious. You can eat them raw."

"Ah, Tokisaka, forget it. Even if it's good for your health, eating insect legs raw is really..." said Yumi.

Zhuizi quickly changed the subject: "Zi, can you show me the locust legs?"

"Hey, do you want to eat some too?"

"I just wanted to see. Phew! They're so small, but their legs are so powerful. If a human had locust legs..."

"Then I'll become Kamen Rider."

Lin Shangren's voice suddenly sounded from behind everyone.

"Wow, you want to scare people to death."

Zhuizi seemed to be startled and "accidentally" dropped the locust leg in his hand into the grass.

"Hey, I just gave you a great writing idea, and you treat me like this?"

"what?"

"Locust cyborgs," Lin Shangren explained. "The remnants of the Nazi organization captured a talented young man and transformed him into a half-human, half-locust war machine. However, through his own strong will, the young man overcame the Nazi brainwashing and, as a locust cyborg, fought against the evil organization's conspiracy while bearing the sorrow of being a non-human. Isn't the story framework good?"

"It's really quite interesting..."

Tsuiko seemed to have been inspired again. Meanwhile, Fuyuko, standing nearby, teased with a sour tone, "Someone is really biased. They always provide writing material to Shishinomiya, but never offer drawing advice to us art club members."

"Because Dongzi doesn't need it," Lin Shangren said with a smile, "Because Dongzi is no longer confused. She knows exactly what she wants to paint and what kind of life she wants to create. I don't need to propose a theme to guide her. I just need to lend a hand when you need help."

"Oh, smooth talk."

Dongzi turned his head away, having already thought about how to punish this philandering guy tonight.

"Hey, so what you mean is that I'm confused and have no goals in life?" Zhuizi asked with puffed cheeks and a little dissatisfaction.

"That's what you said yourself," Lin Shangren laughed. "However, there are indeed those who are so lost that they can only imitate others' lives. Their self is empty, and they can only imitate and play the idols they have created in their minds. When they lose the objects to imitate and have to rely on themselves to live, they become at a loss, confused and not knowing what to do."

Lin Shangren's voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly in the ears of Mizuhara Touko, who was peeking from behind a distant banyan tree. This was of course done intentionally by Lin Shangren.

"Poor little girl, do you want to help her with physical correction?"

Chapter 176: Late Night Demon Hunter

Mizuhara Toruko originally thought she could truly become, or even replace, Fuyuko, but she forgot one thing: she was just an empty shell, capable of imitation. Without the idol model she emulated, she would be at a loss and stagnate. If she wanted to continue to grow, she could only imitate that idol again.

But Fuyuko is no longer the same Fuyuko in Mizuhara Toruko's heart. She has become very feminine: the moment when she lifts her hair, the eyes looking into the distance, the melancholic profile, even makes Toruko, who is of the same sex, feel very moved.

But Dongzi cannot be feminine, she must remain as she is, she must be the ideal person in Touzi's mind.

If God no longer seems like God, what should believers do?

"I was wrong... I shouldn't have dreamed of replacing Dongzi, I shouldn't have usurped her throne... I just wanted to be closer to Dongzi, but she completely distanced herself from me.

Is it all because of you? It’s all because of you that Dongzi has become what he is now! "

Touzi looked at Lin Shangren's back with a fierce look.

"As long as I let you leave Dongzi, Dongzi will be able to return to her original appearance, right? As long as you disappear... As long as I kill you..."

"what!"

Touzi was frightened by the terrible thoughts that emerged in her mind. At this moment, Lin Shangren's words that were enough to break her defense sounded in her ears.

"...People like this are suffering from mental illness, so it's better to see a doctor."

"I'm a shell? I'm...sick?"

Touzi looked blankly at the girls not far away, tears finally welled up in her eyes, and she fled away from here.

Lin Shangren originally just wanted to say a few words to Touzi, but he didn't expect that he would really break her defense. He didn't expect that she would remember the sentence "she suffers from a mental illness" so deeply, which caused Lin Shangren a lot of "trouble" later.

After sensing Touko's escape, Hayashi Shangren naturally wouldn't chase her. After all, the girls around him were much more important to him than Touko. After strolling around Inokashira Park with the girls for a while, Hayashi Shangren returned home with Fuyuko and Yumi.

Takashiro Hiroko, who had returned home earlier, had already prepared dinner. Yura and Misaki, two girls nearly twice their age, played together like a kitten and a puppy. Satsuki and Riko wouldn't be getting off work for a while, so first they'd eat, then draw lots to decide who would bathe and sleep with them. Once they'd coaxed the girls to sleep, Hayashi Naoto would begin his hunt for the night.

"The streets are extended gutters, and the gutters are filled with blood. When the gutters finally scab over, all the vermin will faint, and all the accumulated filth of sex and murder will surface at their waists, and all the politicians will look up and yell, 'Save us.' And I'll whisper, 'No.'" On the rooftop of the Ministry of Education, Tokyo, Hayashi Naoto is having his own chuunibyou moment: he's wearing a brown trench coat and a white hood, which he's adorned with a constantly changing Rorschach test pattern using materialized shadows. Clearly, he's cosplaying Rorschach from Watchmen.

[I think you're more suitable to dress up as Batman than Rorschach. ?( 'ω' )?]

"Because I am also an orphan whose parents are both dead?"

[That's not what I meant... Uh...]

"Batman doesn't kill people casually, except for a certain unknown 'Wei Yixiao' and his accomplices."

Having just dealt with a few pests responsible for writing toxic textbooks and formulating extreme right-wing education policies, Lin Shangren was in a very good mood and was even ready to play the role of a superhero to rectify Tokyo's public order tonight.

"I'll randomly beat up a few lucky thugs, then go home and hug Dongzi to sleep~"

Lin Shangren slipped into the shadows, spreading his senses, teleporting between buildings as he surveyed this filthy city. Suddenly, a fight in an alley caught Lin Shangren's attention.

In an alley, a group of ferocious men armed with steel pipes and machetes were assaulting a one-armed woman wielding a knife. Oh no, it was the woman assaulting them. In the narrow alley, Aoki Fuyushi effortlessly dodged beer bottles thrown by the other men, repeatedly slashing down the opposing team with the flat of his knife amidst a cloud of dusty lime.

In the darkness, Aoki Fuyushi's eyes flashed with amber light, like some kind of nocturnal beast, constantly hunting the prey wandering in the dark.

"Witcher senses?"

Lin Shangren used the identification function on Aoki Fuyushi, and sure enough, her race column had changed from [Human female] to [Human female? Demon Hunter mutation].

"Is it because of my blood? But why haven't Dongzi and the others, who communicate deeply with me every day, changed?"

With this question in mind, Lin Shangren joined the fray. Because Aoki Fuyushi was present, he avoided a bloody scene. He simply crushed the lumbar vertebrae of several thugs, solving their lower body problems for the rest of their lives.

"Mr. Lin?"

Although Lin Shangren was wearing a homemade Rorschach mask, Aoki Fuyushi still recognized Lin Shangren's smell with his extremely sensitive sense of smell as a witcher.

"Yo."

Lin Shangren waved to Aoki Fuyushi, and at the same time, he stepped on the radius of the gangster lying at his feet, breaking it, making it impossible for him to reach the homemade pistol that fell to the side.

"Who are these guys?"

"A bunch of scum who force female students into prostitution and drug trafficking," Aoki Fuyushi replied. Perhaps influenced by the Green Grass Trial, her expression was cold and emotionless. "I was originally trying to gather some evidence to expose them. Unexpectedly, my whereabouts were exposed, and they blocked me here."

"Hmm...looking at their current state, they'll have to stay in the hospital for a while before going to prison." Lin Shangren chuckled and took off his hood. "Judging from the situation at the scene, this should be considered self-defense, right?"

"Eh? Mr. Lin, aren't we just innocent passers-by passing by here?" Aoki Fuyushi asked back.

"No, that's not right. We were just friends drinking alone in the nearby Shakujii Park. We never passed by this dark alley."

"Don't you need to call an ambulance?" asked Fuyushi Aoki.

"Whose son is it that matters whether they die or not?" Lin Shangren replied.

The two men smiled at each other after reaching a consensus. Lin Shangren then asked, "If you're on the way, let's deal with the boss behind this bunch of bastards?"

"If you kill him directly, the victim won't get any compensation. You still have to go through legal procedures." Aoki Fuyushi replied, "No rush. I'm already exhausted tonight."

"So... let's go have a drink together?"

"Mr. Lin, are you treating?"

"Then let's walk."

As Aoki Fuyushi was about to leave the alley with Lin Shangren, she suddenly felt something muddy beneath her feet, as if she had stepped into a quagmire. The next moment, her body was completely enveloped by a dark shadow. In the blink of an eye, the shadow completely faded, and the scene before Aoki Fuyushi had completely changed.

"here it is…?"

"Shakujii Park."

Hayashi Naoto's voice rang out beside Aoki Fuyushi. The two of them were sitting on a bench in Shakujii Park, and Hayashi Naoto had two bottles of shochu in his hands.

"That……"

"Magic. Just like what's happening to you."

Before Aoki Fuyushi asked the question, Hayashi Naoroto gave the answer first.

"Is it related to the special medicine you gave me that day?"

"It's very likely," Lin Shangren said. "Originally, it was a panacea for all diseases, but for some reason, a strange reaction occurred in you, transforming you into a demon hunter."

"Demon Hunter? What?"

"If we really explain it from the beginning, there's a lot to talk about. The story of the Wolf School pile driver alone is enough to last us until tomorrow," Lin Shangren said. "Think of him as a combination of a ronin and an onmyoji. A ronin with physical abilities far superior to those of an average person, who can use simple magic, hunt monsters, and protect ordinary people."

As he spoke, Lin Shangren drew a circle in the air with his right hand, and a small flame spurted out from his palm to light the cigarette in his hand.

"Igni Sign. Concentrate your mind, draw the shape of the sign with your bare hands, and imagine yourself spraying..."

"boom!"

Before Lin Shangren could finish her words, a huge flame shot out from Aoki Fuyushi's hand, almost burning the hair on her forehead.

"Hmm...you're a quick learner, but you still need to work on your control."

"Wow! Is it so magical?!"

Aoki Fuyushi looked a little excited. She released the Igni Sign several more times, and then a feeling of fatigue began to invade her body.

"Don't use it all the time. It's very tiring."

Lin Shangren handed a piece of chocolate to Aoki Fuyushi and said, "Not only this, there are also several commonly used seals. I will teach them to you later."

"Mr. Lin is really going to teach me such a magical thing? And... the potion that turns people into demon hunters must be very precious, right? Why would you give it to me?"

"Didn't I tell you that the tube you were given was supposed to be a panacea? It must be a genetic mutation that's causing the problem. I was also wondering why your hand hasn't grown back? Normally, severed limbs should be able to regenerate." Lin Shangren looked at Aoki Fuyushi's empty sleeve in confusion. "How did your arm get broken? Last time you said a beagle bit it off."

"It's all old news." Aoki Fuyushi shook his head. "If Mr. Lin is interested, I'll tell you. ... I have to start from my childhood, otherwise it won't go smoothly. Well... my parents thought I was a monster when I was born, but luckily, they didn't throw me away or kill me. Instead, they raised me until I was eleven. At that time, there was a war, and my parents couldn't afford to support me, a burden, so they sold me to a brothel.

Because of my strange appearance, the brothel owner didn't want me to work as a prostitute, so I was just a handyman. Besides the food and lodging, which wasn't enough to eat, there was no other pay. Then the US bombing raids hit, and the brothel was destroyed. I ended up living on the streets, and I met a big brother who started picking pockets.

"Brother? I remember your previous gang was called Death Wrist, right?"

"No, Big Brother has nothing to do with the Wrist of Death. But I did enter the Wrist of Death because of Big Brother. Big Brother's name was Nanxiang Ganye. At that time, I was fourteen and he was sixteen. He led a group of unwanted homeless children like us to beg and steal on the streets. We were able to barely make ends meet, but then one day, Big Brother stole from the wrong person...

He stole something from Long Heixing, the eldest brother of the Death Wrist. Then the Death Wrist came looking for revenge and killed everyone except me and my eldest brother. My left arm was also bitten off by a vicious dog released by a member of the Death Wrist.

I remember that time, I was about to pass out from the blood loss, when Long Hei Xing threw a knife beside my eldest brother and me, telling us to kill each other. He said he would adopt the one who survived and let him join the Death Wrist. Then... my eldest brother picked up the knife and rushed towards Long Hei Xing...