Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

After all, this hotel wasn't known for its cheap and affordable prices, but rather for its romantic atmosphere. Now that it's turned into this, where's the romance in it? It might be more appropriate to just transform it into a haunted house.

In an effort to salvage the hotel's reputation, the owner took a multi-pronged approach. On one hand, he sought out occult practitioners to perform exorcisms (which, according to Yuri's personal experience, likely failed). On the other hand, he hired journalists to conduct in-depth investigations, installing numerous security cameras in the room where the murder occurred. Finally, he launched a free accommodation program—anyone willing to write a short essay proving they encountered no problems in the room would stay for free.

In conclusion, it seems that nothing has been effective so far.

Glass Eye originally lived here and made a living by peeping. He had suffered a lot of losses because no one wanted to stay here and almost had to run away. However, although the owner's efforts did not save the hotel, they successfully boosted the popularity of the haunted house, from which Glass Eye also benefited.

After Yuri's targeted, friendly, and kind inquiry, Glass Eye admitted that he would take the initiative to maintain the stability of the surveillance system here.

In other words, even if the data cables are all unplugged, it will still use its own capabilities to keep the monitoring equipment running—unless it feels that there is absolutely no need to watch what is currently being monitored.

Yuri assured it that there would be big news to see—and then it simply and happily left.

...It might not be so simple, but Glass Eyes are all privacy voyeurs who can't suppress their curiosity, especially lower-level ones like this. After Yuri specifically mentioned that there would be big news here, it will definitely stay to observe...maybe it can even become good friends with the reporter.

The hotel's structure resembles a U-shape, with the recessed part facing the road and serving as the main entrance. There are also smaller doors on both sides of the building—but at this moment, the smaller doors are all locked.

It wasn't a big lock; it could keep out thieves, but not robbers. If Hirozaki and his group wanted to come in, they could do so no matter what.

None of the other rooms are occupied now—there was a couple last night who left this morning, shortly before Yuri arrived.

The waiters were all gathered on the first floor. They had been enjoying some peace and quiet lately—they expected that by evening, everyone except a few on duty would be going home, and by then, nothing would stop Hirozaki from rushing in and taking action.

The hotel has five floors, accessible by elevator or stairs. Yuka Yamanaka is currently staying in a room on the fourth floor.

After checking the hotel's condition again, Yuri decided to return to the room to guard the patient—there wasn't much to use or much to prepare—it was impossible to defend the entire hotel by one person; the focus had to be on one room.

There are likely four people on the other side, and Yuri has almost no chance of defeating them with just fists and feet. The good news is that the spirit that was just taken away is unlikely to follow them immediately, but the bad news is that one of them has been working with his spirit for a long time.

Mingmei's opinion was that as long as their actions were recorded, they could be forced to back down through threats—but this was based on the premise that Yuri was not directly defeated in one fell swoop.

The spells were ineffective against living people, and there were no suitable locations to set traps in the inn—which could easily lead to accidental deaths.

So this is the last one... Yuri squeezed the metal box in his hand.

His spoils were hidden inside.

Perhaps after conducting some research using magical vision, Yuri could figure out why this thing couldn't be fired in his hands... or maybe not.

However, if we can utilize the power of modern firearms, combined with the fact that we have no vital organs, we can at least exert some restraint on the enemy's actions, preventing them from doing whatever they want.

175 Short circuit

Ultimately, why can't I fire this gun when it's in my hands?

Yuri had initially suspected that it was due to some kind of mechanism or latch that required the weapon to be switched to a specific position before firing. However, he had already compared the two weapons and found that the appearance of the guns was identical when he and Nakamichi pulled the trigger.

Later, during his escape, he repeatedly made the same comparison but found no difference.

Considering my own memory, I can assume that there is no difference in external mechanisms.

If it's an internal mechanism, then it's hard to say... it would require supernatural powers to sense it.

Coincidentally, Yuri is currently hesitant to take out this weapon, and can only perceive it through supernatural means.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"..."

Perceiving what's inside a box through the box requires extra effort—that is, you have to consider the box and its contents as a single entity.

Fortunately, Yuri has gradually become accustomed to self-hypnosis in various ways, interpreting things in his favor—these interpretations cannot change the actual effect of the spell (or can they?), but they allow him to concentrate more easily when using the spell, instead of interrupting himself because he feels something is wrong.

Then he realized he was a fool.

The candies weren't strictly fixed together to begin with, and they inevitably wobbled when moved, resulting in the spherical candies now covering the gun—one of them even slightly embedded in the trigger.

It looked as if a further jolt could pull the trigger at any moment—a risk he had been unaware of all along the way.

If there had been a loud bang inside the box (it should have been a muffled sound with the silencer, but with the box inside, it would have been a loud bang), and a bullet had flown out and hit someone unknown, or pierced through the car wall and flown to an unknown location, that would have been a huge problem.

Even now, a sudden jolt could trigger the gun.

Moreover, Yuri had just been carrying this box around the hotel for a whole time.

Return immediately.

Back in his room, Yuri steadied his hands and gently placed the box on the table.

The sound of soft, steady breathing came from the bedside; she must have fallen asleep. Although the various events that had unfolded in just a few hours must have been disheartening, they had also exhausted her, and she had fallen asleep as soon as she was safe.

Is it really safe? Should we stick to our initial suggestion and just run straight out of the city? Mingmei said she would use the footage here to threaten them, but is it too late? Is it possible for them to force their way through and include Mingmei in their attack?

Yuri began to sense the box again.

The box wall, I've seen it once; the candy, I've seen it once; the pistol, the target of my observation.

Start with the trigger to sense the action—establish a flow chart of "what will happen if the trigger is pulled," with the ultimate goal of figuring out how to fire the bullet.

The structure is not particularly complex, at least this part is not particularly complex.

If all goes well, the trigger will fire a firing pin that strikes the tail of the bullet—which in turn activates the gunpowder inside the bullet, propelling it forward.

Or, to put it another way, it explodes into two pieces, with the front warhead being launched out.

Yuri's attention was focused on the bullet flying toward him, but upon closer reflection, he remembered that something else had also ejected from the chamber.

Compared to the bullets currently in the magazine, it should be what are called cartridge cases.

Cartridge casing, gunpowder, bullet—the gunpowder explosion ejects the bullet, while the cartridge case remains in the chamber and is ejected by some mechanism.

The trigger-to-firing pin structure was simpler than Yuri had expected, which was a good thing, meaning that the structure to stop a bullet from firing was probably also easy to find.

Almost instantly, Yuri discovered a small knob on the side of the gun. Turning it would cause a metal structure to jam the trigger into the firing pin's transmission point. In other words, once it was turned to the other position, the trigger would be impossible to pull down.

Based on Yuri's knowledge of movies and TV shows, this should be the so-called safety mechanism, but it's not the factor that caused the bullet not to fire when he pulled the trigger—clearly, the safety mechanism is now in the position that allows firing.

Before proceeding with further research, Yuri carefully adjusted the safety mechanism to a position where it would lock in place.

That way, you won't have to worry about Candy shooting for you.

Then, delve deeper—there must be something new somewhere.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The first thing that comes to mind is the trigger. If there is a fingerprint lock, it would explain why Yuri pressed it and there was no response.

But unfortunately, no.

There's nothing complex enough on the trigger to collect fingerprints, and there's nothing else on the other parts of the hand that would be gripping it for identification... After all, even if there were other parts, it's unlikely that the hand would always be facing that spot. It would be too complicated to design, and it shouldn't have existed in the first place—but who knows how crazy these "hunters" are?

Next section.

There were seven bullets left in the magazine, making eight in total, including the one in the chamber.

According to what Zhongdao had blurted out before... these bullets are so-called "ether bullets," which is likely related to the strange powder inside the bullets—upon closer inspection, the bullets are not completely solid, but have a small cavity inside that contains strange powder.

It can only be confirmed that it is different from the gunpowder outside. We may have to open one up to find out exactly what it is, but it is most likely something used to harm spirits.

Another piece of information is that the warhead is made of silver—not pure silver, but a silver alloy with a considerable proportion of silver.

The silver bullets have an anti-spirit effect.

It does look similar to the mysterious hunters mentioned in some occult stories—but those hunters use revolvers or even horn guns, while these "hunters" use modern weapons, perhaps from the same series.

They're well-prepared, but I wonder if vampires will be afraid of silver.

The problem isn't with the bullets. No matter how unique the design of these bullets is, the firing mechanism remains the same—it's not the bullets themselves that identify who is firing at whom.

The silencer fitted in front of the muzzle has no variable structure and cannot affect the firing process.

The bullet in the gun barrel... no, that's not right.

Magazine, no.

Gun barrel—Yuri discovered a strange structure here.

It would be difficult to detect this thing if you couldn't see inside, but Yuri could sense it—there was a small crystal beneath the barrel.

Following the crystal inwards, one can connect to a strange chip—it looks similar to the one in Mingmei's radio, but it is actually much more complex.

The chip continued inward, connecting to a transmission mechanism that Yuri hadn't paid much attention to before, and finally, it led to the firing pin.

The operation of this transmission mechanism would cause a slight change in the position of the firing pin—Yuri imagined that after this change, the effect of the trigger on the firing pin "might" be so great that it would be impossible to ignite the primer.

Based on previous experience, it was indeed not stimulated.

Yuri checked the other areas one last time and found nothing else that might affect the use of the firearms, then withdrew from the observation.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"It really is... both simple and complex," Yuri murmured silently.

They used a strange chip that they couldn't understand at all, but in the end, the simple trigger and firing pin were still the deciding factors.

Thinking about it carefully, Yuri did see the crystal when Nakamichi pointed the gun at him, but from the outside, the crystal looked more like an ornament—if it could reflect red light on Yuri, it would look a bit like a scope.

Perhaps it serves the same purpose... to determine in some way whether the target the gun is pointing at is a normal target, and if not, to directly stop the firing pin and prevent the bullet from being fired.

To use this weapon, you must prevent this judgment.

The crystal and the muzzle are too close. If given enough time and suitable materials, Yuri could prevent the crystal from receiving information—though he doesn't know what that information would be. However, he currently lacks both time and materials. Simply covering it with a piece of cloth or paper would likely render the signal ineffective immediately after the first shot and might also interfere with the bullet's trajectory.

Yuri's marksmanship is already at a completely untrained level, so it's best not to further increase the possibility of bullets missing. This plan will be kept on file for now.

Secondly, the most obvious method is to directly control the firing pin with magic every time you fire—use magic to complete what the trigger can't do.

This plan doesn't have any particularly serious flaws, but not only can Yuri use it himself, he also has to actively cast the spell each time, which might cause him to miss the opportunity to fire.

Next, pull the trigger while the gun is pointed elsewhere, and then quickly turn the gun towards the actual target the instant the gun fires.

Yuri can't use this plan; his reaction speed isn't that fast, and his proficiency with firearms is also a serious problem—perhaps Minmei could do it after special training?

Yuri cut off the thought process in his mind. He realized that only he could wield this gun; even Yuka Yamanaka wasn't suitable. From a combat perspective, giving her the gun would indeed compensate for her lack of mobility. Even if she were almost completely immobile, she could probably still pull the trigger. However, she appeared too weak. Even disregarding accuracy (which Yuri wasn't particularly good at either), whether she could even hold the gun steadily was questionable.

Then... we directly isolated the chip from the impact on the striker.

Directly damaging the transmission structure is difficult, and impossible (this tiny structure is extremely fragile; Yuri felt he could easily fix it by shaking it with magic from a distance), but it might have some adverse effects on the firing pin next to it, as it's too close.

The best way is to use his own magic to modify the circuitry used to control the transmission structure internally. Yuri can't understand the chip's internal processing at all (maybe he can in the future, but for now, seeing it only gives him a headache), but the external circuitry only has a few wires.

All we need to do is figure out which component is controlling the transmission structure.

Yuri took a deep breath; a few dozen seconds should be fine. Having rested, he felt he could concentrate again.

Keep observing, quickly open the metal box, take out the pistol, and Yuri reverses the gun to point it at himself.

The transmission structure remained unchanged. If the safety hadn't been in the open position preventing the firing pin from firing, pressing it down should have been enough to shoot Yuri in the chest again.

To further confirm, Yuri quickly deactivated the safety mechanism, but the transmission structure remained unchanged.

Yuri silently cursed himself for being rude and pointed his gun at Yuka Yamanaka.

Yuri (a complete spirit), Yuka Yamanaka (a living person with supernatural powers), and ordinary humans—these are clearly three levels.

It's unclear which category Hirosaki belongs to after seizing the power of the Sin Eater—whether he's an ordinary human or a Sin Eater. Let's test his reaction to Yamanaka Yuka first. If that still doesn't work, we'll have to try it on a waiter who isn't paying much attention to what's behind him.

If the waiter doesn't react either... Yuri stopped his increasingly pessimistic imagination.

In reality, the gun reacted when it was pointed at Yuka Yamanaka, and returned to its original state after being moved away.

It seems that these "hunters" included "living people with supernatural powers" in their "untargetable targets" in order to ensure they would not be harmed.

After trying twice more and confirming that everything was working correctly, Yuri, with the firing pin in normal condition, used his mind to cut the thin wire that controlled the transmission mechanism.

I aimed at Yuka Yamanaka again, but there was no reaction.

Successful.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Quickly release the safety, put the gun back in the candy box, and close the lid. That's it.

Eight bullets, a very limited number, but they can be a trump card in a critical moment—no other means Yuri possesses have such a superior and rapid wounding capability.

Yuri breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered something he had forgotten to test—just how far could this thing's self-locking ability extend? If it was infinitely far, should he follow the example of various hostage-taking bandits and put the Sin Eater girl in front of him?

Thinking about it again, Yuri's effective firing range is probably about the same as shooting at someone's chest, so studying how far the barrel can travel is probably useless. The bullet itself may be able to fly tens or hundreds of meters, but as long as the distance exceeds ten meters, it will probably enter a state of "neither I nor this gun know where the bullet will fly, you know?"

Finally, draw the curtains and stick talismans on them to prevent spirits from passing through. This concludes the tasks that can be done immediately.

Yuri floated to the bedside table and began to rest.

Then all that's left is to wait.

I wonder if the mountain will wake up first, or if the hunter will arrive first?

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