You say this is a love game?

[Blue-haired Water Monster: I encountered this strange story at our school, and I also found the victim... I will terminate the victim's contract next.]

[Blue-haired Water Monster: Terminating the contract isn't difficult, the hard part is dealing with this strange story... As long as the strange story surrounding the contract isn't eradicated, it's only a temporary solution.]

[Blue-haired Water Monster: However, my underwater combat capabilities are very weak, and based on my observations, this ghost story might even have a powerful underwater boost... I'm really out of ideas for underwater combat. So, I'd like to ask Senior Miyamizu: if I were to encounter such an underwater combat scenario, what methods would you use?]

The girl swung her arms and grabbed the pillow next to her to support her chin.

To be honest, Miyamizu Inaba had never encountered such a strange story.

She had been slaying demons and monsters for three years, and most of the monsters she dealt with were traditional monsters.

After all, ghost stories are a relatively modern existence.

Within the world of exorcists, there's a widely held belief that the birth of yokai is linked to the stories spread by humans, and their strength is often closely tied to the content and popularity of those stories. Based on this, the modern-day kaidan (strange tales) are essentially a new type of yokai.

The difference between them and the monsters recorded in picture books such as "A Hundred Demons Night Parade" is similar to the difference between e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, which is the difference between reformists and traditionalists - the form is different, but the core is cigarettes.

Therefore, considering the influence of factors such as "popularity" and "popularity", the number of modern ghost stories is actually far less than that of traditional monsters.

Although some modern ghost stories spread very quickly, they have only appeared for a very short time. It is impossible to say that once a ghost story spreads, related ghost stories will appear immediately... This generally requires a period of "formation". For example, ghost stories such as Hanako-chan in the Toilet, the Staircase Ghost Story, and the Ninomiya Statue have all accumulated fame for decades before they emerged from the ghost stories.

And in this regard, traditional monsters have a great advantage.

If placed in the Chinese neighborhood, the story would have accumulated thousands of years of culture and popularity.

Even in Japan, the ancient traditional monsters would have required hundreds or thousands of years of spread.

If we project these situations into reality, the monsters that exorcists encounter are mostly traditional monsters.

For example, the monsters that Makoto Mizutani recently encountered, such as Zashiki-warashi, Tubi, Wow, and Ippon Taro.

The strange tales and monsters he encountered actually all crawled out of the cracks in the crash course, and their conditions cannot be generalized with the real world. For example, the Hanako-chan he encountered, JK Hanako-chan was obviously the product of the union with the student "Koizumi Hanako", and was not even a pure strange tale.

"Senior...are you encountering another strange story?"

Miyamizu Inaba was surprised and couldn't help but think deeply.

But there is no need to doubt it.

Modern ghost story culture is growing wildly, with several new urban legends emerging every year. And ghost stories like "The Contract" that have been circulating for more than ten years...

You say it's new, but it's actually old stuff from more than a decade ago. Just like the post-00s generation always thinks they're still teenagers, but to the post-10s generation, the post-00s generation looks like old uncles and aunts, so it's really not new.

It’s not surprising that corresponding “contracted” monsters will appear.

Miyamizu Inaba sent a message to Mizutani Makoto, "Senior, please wait a moment," and immediately searched the Internet for this ghost story.

The girl couldn't help nodding as she read: "Well, this story is too old, even older than me."

Trivia.

This year is 2025, and Miyamizu Inaha is 15 years old. Compared with the post-00s who are unaware of their age, she, the new generation born after 10, is the one who is truly young and lively.

The girl thought for a moment: "I don't think I have any experience in underwater combat."

So, the girl's sight immediately turned to Doraemon Shuten. This old monster was a real know-it-all. She even relied on Shuten to teach her how to practice. When she encountered a monster she didn't understand, she would turn to her own portable grandmother on the spot.

"How to deal with it?"

Shuten rolled his eyes at Miyamizu Inaba and said speechlessly, "Oh, just crush her to death violently."

Miyamizu Inaba: "?"

"What are you looking at? Do you think I've ever been bothered by something like this? Who am I? What kind of monster am I? What level am I? Why are you asking me such a question?"

Who is she?

Drinking boy!

The Ghost King of Dajiangshan who commands all the ghosts in Dajiangshan and brings disaster to the world!

Isn't this just like holding up Chu Renmei and saying, "Oh, how can the Monkey King become immune to Chu Renmei's mental attacks?"

Is there anything to talk about?

"site?"

Shuten poked Miyamizu Inaba's cheek hard, and without saying anything else, he just threw out this word and then burst into laughter.

The strong must severely humiliate the weak!

Until she laughed so hard that she seemed to be out of breath, she held her belly and leaned on Gong Shui Inaba's shoulder, saying lazily:

"You should use your brain more, little rabbit. Otherwise, how will you live when I'm gone?"

"Come on, let's analyze it—since it's a monster in the pool... oh, a strange story, the important thing is that it's extremely powerful underwater and lives in groups. So what's its strength? Brother said it's a lower-level monster, right?"

"How come they were able to gain such a huge advantage in the field?"

"Then let me give you a suggestion. Find a way to drain the water from the swimming pool. When the tide goes out, won't you know who's been swimming naked?"

As he spoke, Shuten stretched his waist and yawned repeatedly:

"You humans just love making up these weird stories. Aren't they just new-generation monsters? You make up these bizarre stories, and then when you look closely, you realize that compared to traditional monsters, these new-generation monsters have certain limitations that are hilarious."

Is it funny?

As a "weakling" of the same level, Miyamizu Inaba only felt that he was hit by a map cannon.

No more wasting time talking to Shuten, typing quickly, she has been leaving the senior alone for a while!

[Inaba: Mizutani-senpai, get on the pump!]

【Blue-haired water monster: Huh?】

On the other side of the phone screen, Mizutani Makoto's head was buzzing.

[Inaba: Dealing with underwater monsters like this would be extremely troublesome even for an exorcist!]

Inaba: Underwater combat is certainly not humanity's forte, and not everyone is an Onmyoji capable of commanding a Shikigami. Even if we were to pinpoint individual Onmyoji, it's unlikely that every one of them possesses a Shikigami capable of dealing with underwater monsters.

【Inaba: But, we are modern people! 】

As a modern person, it is best not to let your thinking be bound by rules and regulations.

Like Miyamizu Inaba, she's also very pragmatic when it comes to exorcism. She doesn't care about reformists or conservatives; as long as it's practical, it's the best way to exorcise spirits! And the most important thing is to make full use of modern technology; you never know what the results might be!

Inaba: So, to deal with that "contract" ghost story you mentioned, isn't it more powerful underwater? Then use a pump. If one isn't enough, use two, three! How much water can there be in a swimming pool? Senior, just drain the pool completely and fight it on land. The difficulty will definitely be greatly reduced.

【Inaba: And I have another idea! 】

Miyamizu Inaba glanced at the bookshelf in the distance. On the third shelf of the wooden bookshelf was a ceramic lucky cat, and behind the lucky cat were junior high school textbooks.

The focus is on "physics".

Inaba: Poison generally doesn't have much effect on youkai, but physical explosions or shockwaves can often cause damage... Well, we need to first determine if the other party actually has a physical form. If so, Senior, you could try to obtain some explosives, or even dynamite. That might make this situation easier.

Inaba: Sodium was actually an idea, um... never mind, Senior, just forget it. If we were to use sodium as an explosive, I wonder how many kilograms would be needed to have that kind of lethality. Dynamite would be more practical. Senior, you could discuss this with others on the Exorcist forum.

Inaba: Of course, if you think the explosives are too powerful, or if they're inappropriate to use, draining the pool while the phantom appears is the most basic solution... but you absolutely must capture their true form. Since you've mentioned that, there must be a way to lock onto this phantom, right? I won't elaborate further.

"hiss……"

The warrior was frightened unconscious by the new generation of exorcist.

Mizutani Makoto stared at the two plans and felt for the first time that he was a little behind the times.

That's a bit weird, I'll take a closer look.

Mizutani Makoto went backstage and entered the Exorcist forum. After hesitating for two seconds, he typed in keywords like "explosives" into the search bar, and a dozen pages of posts popped up.

One of the more popular articles is titled "Snow Girl! Eat your grandfather's big black gunpowder! !"

Mizutani Makoto: "..."

Countless people followed suit and imitated it.

The world's strongest Iai that has been passed down in the family for hundreds of years - the American Iai with the Silver Bullet for Exorcism!

When I clicked on the IP address, I found that the Western exorcists on the other side of the ocean, whose ancestors were the people who puma in the wilderness, did indeed practice the American-style Iai.

The gunpowder exorcism method seems to be very popular among exorcists.

It is understandable. After all, most exorcists are at the paper level. The output power of this level is definitely not stronger than the instantaneous power of a gunpowder explosion. Even if you set up a sniper rifle from a long distance, you can kill all the paper-level trash one by one.

If conditions permit, then aren't guns and gunpowder the most cost-effective solutions for exorcism?

"I feel like even an Onmyoji who can summon Shikigami is at risk of being eliminated."

"Wait, that doesn't seem to be the case... Onmyoji can control Shikigami to place explosives, wouldn't that be safer?"

Mizutani Makoto's expression gradually became strange.

[Blue-haired Water Monster: Senior Miyamizu's words have opened my eyes, like a ray of hope.]

Inaba: Senpai, you're exaggerating a bit.

Inaba: By the way, Senior, since this is a lower-ranked Kaidan youkai, do you want me to join you? I'm also quite good at dealing with youkai...

Of course, Mizutani Makoto declined.

The place he wanted to go was the crack.

Miyamizu Inaba had warned him a few hours ago that the crevices were dangerous and that they were places not to be entered, so how could he open his mouth?

Inaba: I'll leave it to you, Senior. Don't be careless. Even a lion will use all its might to fight a rabbit, let alone a monster of the same level. No matter how much preparation you make, the danger is always there. You must be extremely careful!

[Blue-haired water monster: Definitely.]

That night, Mizutani Makoto was in no mood to fall asleep.

Yoshiko Satori tucked into his bed, sleeping soundly. He, on the other hand, was alone browsing the exorcist forum. Someone had already responded to his earlier post asking for help, and the answer was very similar to Miyamizu Inaba's: pragmatism. Damn it!

Of course, this trick only works against physical monsters.

There is no way to deal with monsters that can turn into hollows.

Just like the post about “blowing up the snow girl”, the poster forced the snow girl into a space where she had no escape, and then used explosives to solve the problem all at once, which was more like the way a master would do it.

Makoto Mizutani does not have a swordsman complex of "must use kendo to kill the enemy", he is also a pragmatist.

However, Miyamizu Inaba's words also triggered his thinking.

To be fair, isn't the rank weak?

Judging from the visual point of view, he is of the Paper Rank. If he falls into the lake, even Paper Rank monsters may find it difficult to deal with him. From this point of view, it is really unreasonable.

But that’s not the case.

The reason he was so embarrassed in the underwater combat situation was due to his inherent weakness as a human. When a human is completely immersed in water, their strength, agility, and stamina all suffer huge penalties, essentially rendering them crippled.

Not to mention that he is also a swordsman.

Even if he was sitting in a wheelchair and PKing with the sword ghost from the Kendo Club on land, it would not be as frustrating as fighting underwater.

Not to mention the underwater combat, judging from the combat power on land, the shocking battle between him and the gap girl was completely a battle between supermen. Their strength and speed were far superior to ordinary humans. The more classic teacher Kitajima treated the armed troops like pigs and finally alarmed the army and was bombarded to death by artillery fire.

Being killed by artillery fire is their weakness as human beings.

If it was the Gap Girl, maybe even the artillery wouldn't be able to kill her. After all, she was a spirit, and there was a high probability that she would be able to rush out despite the suppression of the artillery and continue to kill anyone she saw.

"And the lower position, not weak anymore."

"Take me as an example. With two knives, I can hack my way across Night Light City. Even if the police were called in, they wouldn't be able to stop me unless they were surrounded and suppressed by fire."

“…External forces can be helpful sometimes, but the key is still within yourself.”

"What kind of scenery is it at the level of strength?"

He thought of Tang Shizi who had kicked him to death as if he were a stray dog ​​on the roadside.

Imagine the scene of Tang Shizi rushing into the artillery fire.

If this thing really goes crazy, even if we send out the army and tank units, they will be torn to pieces by Tang Shizi, right?

"...I went to play with the JK ladies."

Driven by a strong sense of professionalism, Mizutani Makoto logged into the Rift again and took a look at his remaining soul balance. He had previously spent 1500 on [Sin Smelling Salts], leaving him with only a little over 1,000 souls. Fortunately, he had also farmed a lot of them along the way, bringing his soul balance back to around 3,000. He also had 11 [Ordinary Souls] he had picked up at the swimming pool, as well as many [Weak Souls] in his pocket.

Mizutani Makoto thought about it and acted according to the previous plan.

After pinching a few souls, I instantly gained 2000 more souls.

At Furuya Ruriko's place, she offers two different types of Demon-Breaking Arrows: [Demon-Breaking Arrow Kill] and [Demon-Breaking Arrow Purify].

The former is for killing, while the latter is for healing.

Among the fighting skills of [Senko Kurei], there is a move called [Fox Holding Ears of Grain], which is said to be a nanny-like fighting skill, a manifestation of Inari Daimyojin's power over grain and harvest.