Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

The poisonous snake lurking in the shadows, which was already difficult to resist, relied on his "foresight" to make the "script" naturally fall in the destined direction even with his interference.

And he had no clue even about it.

Lost again.

Failed again.

Got plotted again.

In the "script", the companion who was supposed to survive to the end, the fear and anger on her face were frozen in "death".

'And you, my friend, Zheli!'

In the memory, the monster named Aberut laughed loudly.

In front of the dead reporter, the monster showed a face that was exactly the same as his own.

"You are the culprit of all this! Hahahaha..."

——Using the body, lurking in the consciousness.

He thought he could save the world, but even that inflated wish itself was an illusion fabricated by the venomous snake.

At that moment, he was almost melted by the snake's venom in despair...

"Hey." The man suddenly patted his cheeks.

The expression that was as dead as death a moment ago was rekindled into a smile.

He stared at his reflection in the glass for a long time.

until.

"…We've arrived at Ikebukuro Station. We've arrived at Ikebukuro Station…"

The arrival notification sound pulled him out of the overly strong impression, and he almost breathed a sigh of relief.

He raised his head quietly.

"Let's go."

Walking against the crowd, he was wearing a long windbreaker and striding towards the spring sunshine.

Lost Star Chapter 4 Summer Time Record: Chapter Azure

The moment he stepped into "RiNG", Bao Deng Zheli attracted many people's attention.

The "era of big girl bands" is the defining setting of this world, so naturally, those who yearn for music are mostly young girls. We're used to seeing girls carrying their guitars and basses, chatting and laughing in groups of three or five, but suddenly, a tall man walks into the store, drawing the attention of everyone from the staff to the sparsely populated customers.

Sometimes he also has some doubts, is there any unspoken rule in this live house that is limited to women?

But in the few times he had been here, he had never seen the staff treat him abnormally. At most, they would look at him a few more times like everyone else. So he had to temporarily ignore the gazes of the surrounding customers who were looking at him as if he were a rare animal.

……

Ever since he spotted the Afterglow poster at the entrance of the live house "RiNG", he's been coming here almost every day. Initially, he didn't quite understand why he kept coming here, but these past few days, he's figured it out.

It turns out that the Sasato in me is stirring!

But unfortunately, he didn't get to meet Mitakeran (the character played by Sakura Ayane, the lead singer of Afterglow), so he gradually stopped paying attention to it and tried to enjoy the rock and music atmosphere here - after all, it was just one of the ways of expressing the homesickness of a time traveler, and he was not a true fan of Afterglow.

Approaching someone with such a half-hearted attitude is also a form of disrespect to the other person.

Now, he can adjust his mindset and try to integrate into this world as an ordinary person who is interested in the band.

Baodeng Zheli walked straight to the counter with a polite smile on his face.

"Hello. Is there a performance schedule I can refer to?"

The clerk, displaying professionalism, replied with a smile, "Yes, I do. Please wait a moment..."

After the clerk brought the schedule and exchanged a few pleasantries, Bao Dengzheli memorized today's performance schedule and went to the cafe on the second floor of "RiNG". He ordered a cup of milk tea and a sandwich, found a seat in the corner, sat down, and took out his mobile phone.

He stared at the screen and pretended to be watching the news, but in fact his mind began to play back memories.

Some people say that growth is a process of constant giving up.

Killing the weak self again and again, discarding the unnecessary things again and again.

In other words, the "present" self is made up of traces of the past.

The taste you love might be the same sweet you tasted one afternoon when you were a child.

Your favorite sports may fill every moment with your friends from school days.

Favorite books, music... every moment that touches my heart makes up who I am today.

Whether he likes it or not, some "traces" were left on Baodeng Zheli.

——On a rainy night, I met the elegant coffee shop manager.

—Together with the fool who claimed to be a genius physicist, we put on masks and fought in the darkness of the city.

——Even though he had known in advance that "betrayal" was coming, he could only grit his teeth and watch his best friend cry sadly.

I once thought of myself as a savior, and believed that I could change the predetermined outcome with my "knowledge".

But in the end, the person who "should not have died" died in a sudden "betrayal"...

In your own hands.

Suddenly, the palm holding the phone seemed to be stained bright red.

"……Ah."

He chuckled and lowered his hand.

'At the end of the day, I'm the same as I was then, and nothing has changed.'

The spring sunshine sprinkled on the hurried crowd, birds were singing and flowers were blooming, but that warmth could not reach his heart.

The video wall shows the most popular stars and groups singing, dancing, or even chatting and laughing in the studio...

Each of them is a scene that Baodengzheli has imagined countless times in the past year, but has also felt out of reach countless times.

Baodeng Zheli knew that the world "now" was very peaceful, but he felt a little confused.

Namba Heavy Industries, Himuro Taizan, Katsuragi Takumi, Sato Taro... He spent more than half a month searching the city but couldn't find even a single familiar name.

It was as if I had just had a long, overly realistic dream, and then woke up in another dream.

Collapsed high-rise buildings, burning rubble, mechanical monsters rampaging in the streets...all those memories that made his heart twitch were shattered into pieces by the dazzling sunlight, and the vivid pain was obscured by his eyes as he opened and closed them.

It was as if all the experiences could melt and evaporate in this unreal bright scene, and then disappear into nothingness...

But the "something" buried in his body repeatedly proved that it was not an illusion.

The heavy, gloomy sky is the color that belongs to him and them. They fight side by side to change that bleak future...

“…——.”

The man held his breath unconsciously, then sighed a little late.

The morning sun was warm, but it was like a reminder that he was alone.

This place felt like their ideal "new world," yet Baodeng Zheli had arrived alone. All the familiar names seemed like fleeting dreams, as if they would shatter into dust in the next moment if he didn't make an effort to remember them.

He couldn't even be sure whether their final struggle was a success or a failure.

Did he retire after completing his mission? Did he claim the dungeon rewards and move on to the next dungeon?

Or did he just run away again?

The complicated thoughts were tangled in his mind and he was a little dazed for a moment.

The floor-to-ceiling windows blocked out the noise, and he looked out at the crowds on the streets of Ikebukuro's business district: merchants coming and going, students gathering in groups, with completely different looks and emotions, but they were all following their own life trajectories.

Even if Baodeng Zheli wanted to blend in, his legs, which were too heavy, would still make him stand still like a rock.

He stared at the world intently.

It wasn't until the ice cubes suspended in the milk tea melted and tapped the sides of the cup that he finally blinked.

——The torrent of emotions gathers into a river, but it proudly reins in its horses and holds its head high in front of the dried-up tears.

He laughed quietly.

Yes, Baodeng Zheli does not think of himself as a fragile person.

The tears of despair had long since dried up along with his blood, and now he only needed to show his best smile to the world.

Because even when he was on the verge of despair, he did not give up struggling.

...Fortunately, his companions never gave up on him.

Even though the poisonous snake had already wrapped around his neck, it was almost taking away all the sound and breath.

Still he waited and hoped.

Until the last moment.

Until despair finally caught up with his best friend.

Until everything comes to an end amidst the overwhelming power and strategy of the venomous snake—

"——Hey, Battle Rabbit."

It's like a replay of the past.

The man who was once controlled by the poisonous snake, in turn controlled the poisonous snake.

'There's still time.'

That may be the only moment that can be touched in the long wait.

Beneath the monster's inhuman appearance, a voice as steady as usual was heard.

"Kill me now."

……

Baodeng Zheli raised his head.

The sky beyond was clear, with no dark clouds, no walls, and no towers to symbolize the end.

This place is like their ideal "new world".

"...That's fine."

I used to think I would go to hell after I died, but I didn't expect it would be heaven.

As for those idiots... I hope they can live well in the world that belongs to them.

A calmness close to death suppressed the swirling emotions and turned memories into a relieved smile.

The man smiled at the French window.

Smiling very silly.

Chapter 5 of Lost Stars: Summer Time Records: Episode : Clearing the Clouds and Seeing the Sun

"Lena, are we going to use the open mic today?"

"Ah."

"Please wait a moment, someone has already made a reservation."

"Um……?"

The silver-haired girl with heterochromic eyes paused, her ethereal gaze directed towards the small stage in the corner of the cafe.

A man in a long black trench coat was squatting in front of the device, plugging a guitar lead into the input jack.

The shop assistant didn't deliberately lower her voice, so the man could hear it clearly. Hearing the conversation between the two, he stood up, turned around, and smiled and waved when he saw the silver-haired girl.

"Hey, we meet again."

There is no doubt that this person is Baodeng Zheli.

Lenai first looked at the guitar in Zheli's hand, then moved his gaze to Zheli's face.

She opened her eyes slightly and said, "It's someone who looks like a cloud."

"Like a cloud?" Zhe Li was stunned for a moment, and recalled that he had indeed been called that by the other party at that time, but he thought that he was referring to the cream on his lips, but it turned out that he was referring to him.