Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"Investigate, investigate." Miao Meng, with her back to Xiangzi, raised her index finger and twirled it in a circle. "Or you can do this job?"

"Then forget it." Xiangzi turned his gaze away, pretending to look into the distance. "Everyone has their own expertise, so let the professionals handle the professional matters."

Are you kidding me? You expect a pampered young lady who's never lifted a finger (in her own opinion) to personally flip this lump of meat? And most importantly, she has no idea what Miaomeng is messing around with.

To everyone's surprise, Miaomeng actually found something. Holding up a tattered piece of cloth, she wore an expression that said, "I knew it!"

"They were all in cahoots after all."

"Who?"

“These men with guns… well, to be precise, they are the country’s regular army.”

"Ah, these people are regular soldiers?" Xiangzi opened his mouth slightly. "I thought they were bandits."

"This village is poor and dilapidated. What reason could there be for bandits to visit it and carry out such a massacre?"

"I......"

When Xiangzi was asked the question, she realized she didn't understand any of it. She learned more about war-torn regions from movies and other entertainment than from international news. As for the people and things there, Xiangzi was full of stereotypes from these works.

-Moon Chair Sulfur》Strange Rise and Prosperity ba' Things Sis Dad|Meow Dream Looking at her appearance, it seemed like she had expected it all along.

Of course, this was also her first time in such a place. However, before that, Miao Meng had been searching for relevant information on the dark web for quite some time. She had seen everything she had ever seen through the screen, so she was definitely more mentally prepared than Xiangzi.

Moreover, she is an adult, while Xiangzi is a minor. Theoretically speaking, these scenes are R18G scenes that are not suitable for children.

“We’re already inside the jurisdiction of Ahmed’s government.” Miao Meng picked out something from the corpse that reflected light under the flashlight and tossed it to Xiangzi. “Here, take this. It should still work.”

Xiangzi caught the thing that Miaomeng threw to him, and the pungent smell of blood filled his nostrils.

"How disgusting." Xiangzi frowned. "What is this?"

"ID authentication key, please."

"WTF?"

“ID authentication key,” Miaomeng repeated, “is also a form of identification. Some weapons are equipped with the same ID authentication security, which requires key authentication to unlock, thus eliminating the risk that the weapon can still be used after being stolen by the enemy.”

"Why would we need something like this... no, why would such a thing even exist? Has this country's technology advanced to the point where it can be implanted subcutaneously for certification?"

Japan doesn't even have this kind of thing, otherwise she wouldn't have had to wander around for half a year.

"It must be some kind of new technology being tested and smuggled to these places by warmongers. After all, places where war is raging are the best testing grounds for products."

“...That’s true.” Xiangzi recalled some strange things he had seen at the military base in Ryukyu.

Technology has developed to an astonishing degree without our realizing it, while the vast majority of ordinary people are immersed in increasingly fragmented and more directional information, completely unaware of some changes beyond their field of vision.

I am one of them.

Just thinking about it... sends chills down my spine.

Xiangzi grasped the authentication chip that Miaomeng handed to her.

Toyokawa Shoko, you're already outside the everyday world. You'd better adapt quickly.

The Tale of Reincarnation: The Path of Fall, the Road of No Return: Chapter 578 The Butterfly's Wings

“By the way,” Miaomeng said, “I suggest we switch to another car for the rest of the journey.”

"why?"

“The further we go, the deeper we go into this country. That SUV might be recognized, but if we drive their own car, we'll avoid a lot of unnecessary questioning,” Miao Meng explained.

Xiangzi thought for a moment, and finally nodded.

Then let’s change it.

On the way back to the SUV, Miaomeng found a pickup truck with a machine gun mounted on it.

The pickup truck is covered in all sorts of bizarre graffiti, and a string of powerful characters is written on its side.

【The pain of death due to dew at night】

"Yoroshiku?!" Meowmon chuckled and covered her mouth. "Haha ...

“These are Chinese characters,” Xiangzi corrected.

“But who besides biker gangs would use Chinese characters like that? Ask any Chinese person if they recognize this string of characters!” Miao Meng burst into laughter. “To them, this is what they call ‘understanding each individual character, but not understanding the whole thing when put together!’”

"..."

"Do they even understand this string of characters?" Xiangzi knew a little about the joke, and looked helplessly at the neat Japanese characters. "Or is it just purely for decoration?"

“Many foreigners get Chinese characters tattooed on their bodies, don’t they?” Miaomeng said.

"It's more like using it as a pattern than as text."

"That's what makes it cool, right? Who knows what the four Chinese characters '夜露死苦' actually mean?" Miao Meng shrugged.

"That's part of the reason," Xiangzi pursed his lips. "Cultures that are difficult to understand are easily rejected, but they also easily become objects of worship and glorification..."

"Words like Amoris and Oblivionis sound cool, or rather, they convey a mysterious beauty stemming from an incomprehensible cultural pattern, right?" Miao Meng narrowed her eyes, pursing her lips meaningfully. "Oblivionis~ Miss~"

Although Xiangzi's commercial project was shelved due to various miscellaneous matters such as saving the world, Miaomeng did not forget those strange and unusual names.

"No, no, it's not the same as Desuwa!" Xiangzi's face flushed red. "Those are the names of the familiars themselves. I just used them in the project."

Miaomeng shrugged noncommittally, taking Xiangzi's words as true.

Of course it's real, there's no doubt about it!

The atmosphere cooled down for a few seconds, and Miaomeng seemed to be pondering some new insights.

"Hey, Xiangzi." Miao Meng's expression suddenly became very calm, and her voice became serious.

"What, what are you doing?" Xiangzi became nervous when she asked him that.

"What do you think language is?" Miao Meng crossed her arms and looked at the [Yoru Shiku] on the car door with a thoughtful expression.

Why are you suddenly asking this question?

"It's nothing, I just thought of it and was just asking." Miao Meng waved her hand. "If you don't know how to answer, that's fine. I'm not trying to make conversation."

She opened the car door, jumped in, pried off the plastic cover under the steering wheel, and started the car after a few simple operations. Then she patted the door, signaling Xiangzi to get in first.

Seeing that Miaomeng had no intention of continuing the conversation, Xiangzi went around to the passenger seat and sat down.

The witch wasn't far away. The machine gun pickup truck with the words "Yoru Shiku" written on it drove towards the pit filled with dead bodies, and soon they returned to where the SUV was parked.

Mu looks much better. She is sitting in the back seat with the car door open, with Delete, who looks like a strange cat, perched on her lap. She strokes its fur from time to time.

Later, Xiangzi asked around and found out that Mu's pale face wasn't just due to the horrific scene around her—the main reason was that she was carsick.

Perhaps because he wasn't used to his new body yet, Mu was carsick and couldn't sleep while Xiangzi was sleeping, so he looked particularly tired.

Seeing a machine gun pickup truck driving towards him, Mu was initially on guard, but then he noticed Xiangzi in the passenger seat and immediately relaxed. When he saw the large "Yoru Shiku" sign on the truck, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Xiangzi told her with a troubled expression that she would have to take this bus, "Yoru-shiku-hao," for the rest of the journey—that was the name Miaomeng had given it, and it had nothing to do with Xiangzi.

Mu shook his head and said it was alright, jumped out of the off-road vehicle, and got into the [Yoru Shikuho].

The flashy machine gun pickup truck turned its wheels once more, leaving the impoverished village and continuing its journey toward its destination.

“Language is probably just a tool to me,” Xiangzi suddenly replied as the pickup truck drove along.

"Oh? You're actually interested in this topic?" Miao Meng raised an eyebrow.

"...What topic?" Mu asked in a low voice.

“My mind just wandered a bit, and Miaomeng asked me about my views on language,” Xiangzi explained to Mu. “I thought about it, because a similar topic came up when I was investigating Medien before.”

At that time, Xiangzi had no idea that this casual conversation, which began with "language," would, like a butterfly flapping its wings, completely disrupt the future that was not far off.

"Human beings do not live in states, but in languages..." Mutsu silently repeated the sentence he had once seen in the library in Kamihama.

"Oh? You've actually heard of that phrase?" Miao Meng said, slightly surprised. "I didn't expect that."

“That sentence brought Medine’s existence to our attention,” Xiangzi said. “And how did you know that?”

"Let's watch a movie." Miaomeng shrugged. "I have a movie that I really like that deals with this kind of subject matter. I asked you about it just now because it reminded me of it."

"what movie?"

Have you heard of "The Phantom Pain"?

"......"

"......"

An eerie silence.

“Okay, I know you haven’t heard of it.” Miao Meng sighed. “It’s a spy movie. The final boss in the movie developed a biological weapon called ‘vocal cord parasite.’ It can be transmitted through the air and parasitizes the vocal cords of living beings. It is activated by a special audio frequency segment—that is, ‘language’—to kill the host. The final boss’s goal is to kill all the humans in the world who speak the dominant language and to re-establish world order. The line that Mu Zi just said appeared in the movie.”

"..."

"..."

Another eerie silence followed.

Miao Meng blinked.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked.

“I’m wondering if it’s possible that Medine used a similar… biological weapon?” Xiangzi said.

"How could that be? That's just fiction in movies. There are robots in movies that can jump around dozens of meters tall. Do they exist in reality?"

"Yes, there are mechanical ones, fleshy ones, fleshy ones that grow mechanical again, five meters, ten meters, a hundred meters..." Xiangzi said matter-of-factly, "...what kind of witch haven't we seen?"

“Tsk, I almost forgot that I myself am a supernatural being.” Miao Meng grinned. “However, I still think the possibility of vocal cord parasites is unlikely. Think about it, when you gave your examples, you subconsciously felt that only magic could do what I said. If that’s the case, as long as it’s the effect of magic, there will definitely be traces left behind. We can’t possibly not be able to find out—at least we won’t be completely clueless like we are now, having to go deep into the battlefield to find people related to her to get clues.”

"Can you speak in segments?" Xiangzi rubbed his temples, his head aching. "It always gives me a headache."

"Sorry, I'm used to it." Meow Dream stuck out her tongue.

"Fine, what you said earlier makes sense."

"As for my own opinion on language, which you just asked me about..." Miao Meng gripped the steering wheel, focusing intently on the bumpy road ahead, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "I think language has its own unique charm. Unlike sound and images, 'lines' and 'dialogue' are more traditional, more literary, and more localized. When they are conveyed to the audience through the screen, they have their own unique charm, different from what is on paper."

Miaomeng said.

Only when talking about things related to movies does Miaomeng change her usual carefree and unreliable image and become serious.

For her, language is an important piece of the puzzle in making up a film.

Delete opened its eyes, then closed them again, lying peacefully beside Mu. Xiangzi and Mu both quieted down. Xiangzi rested its chin on its hand, looking out the window. Mu was sitting in the back, raising a hand to stroke Delete's fur. Everyone in the car, including Qiu Bi, listened quietly to Miao Meng's story.

The carriage was filled with a storytelling atmosphere.

"You know I used to sneak into DVD stores to watch movies, right?"

"You used to be so wild, you even stole things."

"Oh, so you didn't know? I thought you found out about the birthmark on my butt when you were investigating me."

"Oh, is that so?"

“…Hey, no.” Miao Meng bit her tongue, forcibly pulling the topic back from its escalation. “Anyway, I’ve seen all the discs in that DVD store, even some ancient film restorations.”

Miao Meng was afraid of saying too much at once, so she deliberately paused and glanced to the side.

"Hmm." Xiangzi gestured for her to continue.

After receiving permission, Miaomeng continued:

"Maybe I have a natural talent for languages. Somehow I learned English, which makes up half of the film industry, and French, the language of the birthplace of film. These are just two of them. I also learned some independent films from various countries while watching DVDs."

You speak French?

"Yes, Je peux vous parl francais maintenant~"

"?"

“I can tell you the French meaning right now.” Miao Meng shrugged. “The French New Wave. You can’t talk about movies without it. You’ll learn it as you watch.”

"You even read the New Wave? My father never even read it seriously." Xiangzi became interested; she hadn't expected that Miaomeng, who hadn't even finished high school, could master so many languages. "What else?"

"Русский, Таковский, Куришов, Монтекки."

"Just translate it directly."

“Russian, Tarkovsky, Kuleshov, montage,” Miaomeng said, “is also an unavoidable part.”

"That's amazing!" Xiangzi praised sincerely.