Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Finally, everything will be fine as long as Yuri launches an attack from the main gate with the anchor.

After handing the plan over to Mingmei, Mingmei said that the plan was well done but still needed some modifications.

First, Yuri arrived at the slot machine shop ahead of time and, relying on his immense hatred, steadily taunted the hunter.

Next, when the hunters were ready to rush in, Yuri signaled to Akemi, who was half a block away.

Then, Mingmei rode her motorcycle and brought Huogen to the scene as quickly as possible. At this time, Yuri and the slot machine gang should have been being beaten up together in the store.

Finally, everything will be alright as long as Akemi launches an attack from the main gate with the anchor.

...This is basically the complete opposite.

“My plan is better than yours. First of all, I can ride a motorcycle, so I’ll be faster than you—it’ll be more convenient for me to run over from a distance to provide support,” Mingmei explained the advantages of her plan with great enthusiasm.

This is true, and Yuri has absolutely no way to refute it.

"Secondly, as you said, the last time the other party saw you was at a slot machine shop. If he doesn't see you this time, he might think you're plotting something. But if he sees you, he might not realize it and think you're planning to fight a desperate battle with a few other ghosts, or that you're deciding to die together out of loyalty."

“That’s not necessarily true. I think that given his arrogance, he probably thinks I’ve gone into hiding and run away, and that he’ll come looking for me after he kills these gang members,” Yuri objected.

"Then let's move on to the next one. Are you confident in the fighting ability of these ghost gang members?" Mingmei didn't dwell on it and moved directly to the next step.

...I think it's unlikely. Their skill level is probably Yuri minus his tricks. If they get distracted by things like shrieks and illusions, they'll probably be finished. Yuri didn't hold out much hope.

"Judging from your expression, you also agree that their combat capabilities are unreliable. — Therefore, you need to stay in the store as well, and act as the main force to hold off the hunters, instead of waiting until you finally manage to bring the troublemaker there only to find that all the collaborators inside are dead or have lost their fighting ability."

“You… the problem isn’t with me, it’s with you.” Yuri found a point of attack. “I’ve fought the Hunter several times, so I have a general understanding of what it can and is capable of doing. Therefore, it’s only natural for me to deal with the Hunter. You haven’t met the Hunter before, and even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to fight it. It’s better to let me handle the anchor—”

"Then you should definitely let me use the anchor, right?" Akemi asked, puzzled. "It's true that you might be able to launch a more effective attack using the anchor, but giving it to someone as inexperienced as me also means that I'm less likely to be at a disadvantage in battle, and you won't need to worry about my safety. It shouldn't be considered a loss, right?"

"..." What? This part of my plan didn't include you?

“Anyway, according to your original plan, I’ll definitely get on the boat once you arrive with the anchor—” Mingmei seemed to realize something was amiss. “You don’t expect me to stand by and watch my friend risk their life when I have the ability to intervene, do you? Don’t forget, even if it’s about escaping, it’s easier for me—I can drive, can you?”

Modern technology is truly amazing.

Next, we'll discuss the details.

As for where to hide the motorcycle to best avoid the hunters and reach the scene as quickly as possible, Mingmei needs to scout the location over the next two days.

Regarding communication signals. Indeed, Mingmei has a cell phone, but Yuri doesn't, and the ghosts in the shop probably don't either. Using a public phone wouldn't guarantee a timely dialing—the ghost responsible for dialing would likely be killed by the hunter first. In the slot machine shop… Yuri racked his brains for a moment, unable to recall where he'd seen a landline, but he did remember the human clerks using cell phones to call the owner.

Mingmei suggested using fireworks and assured that she would be able to see them.

As for whether setting off fireworks during the day will cause other problems, who cares about other problems at this time? Anyway, everyone (ghosts) can just scatter like birds and beasts afterward.

The problem is, the hunter can see the fireworks too. While Yuri is inclined to believe the hunter will kill the people in the shop before leaving, what if the hunter notices in advance?

After confirming the fireworks production process with Mingmei, he came up with a solution.

Fireworks and firecrackers should be thrown at the hunter as if they were projectiles—this is more likely to convince the hunter that these things are weapons to deal with it rather than signals.

Conversely, this means it can't be played very high, but Akemi says the sound quality is the same.

As for the chaos that followed... it was the same as before; everyone just scattered like birds and beasts, there was no other way.

Then came the training on weapons, which involved swinging the anchor in the air without hitting oneself to pass the test.

Originally, the two should have trained together, and it was important not to hit the teammate, but... but if anchors had to be categorized, they could only be considered as temporary weapons of a different species—and this anchor had been stored somewhere for who knows how many years. Although its overall shape hadn't changed, and it didn't look like it would break with a single tap, its center of gravity had long since changed beyond description.

As a result, Akemi picked it up and swung it a few times, but then realized she was off balance and put it down in time. After Yuri materialized, he swung it around and lost his balance. In order to protect the coffee table from being smashed, he had to use his other hand to stop the anchor, catching himself off guard.

And there will be five players just coasting along on the field then, so how can you expect them to attract attention...?

and many more?

Yuri realized his mistake.

As an ordinary object, the anchor, though a source of trouble for the hunter, cannot touch other spirits in their ethereal state. Therefore, there's no need to consider the other five—those five, like the hunter, are perpetually in an ethereal state. Furthermore, if Yuri himself remained in an ethereal state, the anchor would naturally pass right through him.

Yuri himself needs to maintain a physical form to effectively use the anchor. Infusing the anchor with spiritual essence isn't impossible, but the anchor's large size means greater energy consumption.

So indeed, the most suitable user is Akemi. She never becomes ethereal, so she can always reach the anchor. Moreover, when she uses it, as long as the friendly forces are all ethereal, there is no need to worry about attacking teammates. Did she think of this? It seems unlikely. It's more likely that she stumbled upon it by accident. If she had thought of it, she would have mentioned it in the previous rebuttal.

On the other hand, is it possible to suddenly remove a prop like the rosary during the battle to prevent Akemi from contacting the ethereal hunter? This way, if Akemi gets entangled, it could help her escape. If some spare rosary beads are prepared near the slot machine shop, she could consider escaping and then returning to fight again.

Yuri decided to confirm his second thought with Akemi. As for the first one, it wouldn't change anything anyway.

“What you’re talking about… I’ve thought about that before too.” Akemi, having lowered the anchor, composed herself. “According to my grandfather, some people who have achieved success in this area don’t need any aids, or rather, they can use themselves as tools to directly contact spirits. I thought about that back then too—it’s very convenient, but what if something goes wrong and you can’t escape it?”

Yes.

“My grandfather said that for those who haven’t yet completed their cultivation, it’s crucial to throw away the magical artifact and run away when necessary. However, it’s very difficult to do this when you’re no match for the spirits. Even if you throw away the artifact, it won’t immediately cut off your contact with the spirits. This is because cultivation in this area will more or less enhance your ability to contact the spirits, and the artifact can amplify this effect—even after you throw it away, the effect won’t fade away in a short time.”

In other words, this ability to contact spirits is not something that can be used, removed, and eliminated instantly.

"If you're already being beaten down, then trying to throw away your magic weapon will probably get you into trouble even faster. Of course, if you're evenly matched with your opponent, then if you throw away your magic weapon and run away, and your opponent isn't in such a hurry to get revenge, they might let you retreat so you don't have to pick it up and continue fighting them."

"So even if you throw away the prayer beads at the last minute, you won't immediately break free from contact with the spirit?" Yuri confirmed.

"That's exactly what I mean. A few years earlier, I would have become so weak that I couldn't even touch a spirit, but now... I can't just downgrade myself in the middle of a battle, can I? I can't do that."

The scheme to outsmart the system has failed yet again.

As planned, when Akemi was home, she was responsible for familiarizing herself with the anchor—while when Akemi was out, the task was handed over to Yuri. Furthermore, the anchor had to be stopped at night, as the wind noise from swinging it would keep Akemi awake.

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.

Time always seems to fly by when you don't want it to.

Three days (or more precisely, two days and a few hours) have passed.

Akemi found a suitable spot—a place along the street where the slot machine shop was located, leading to an intersection and then turning a corner. She thought it was a good spot—she could hear the "loud enough" sounds coming from the slot machines, it wasn't too far away, it provided some privacy, there weren't many people around, and she wouldn't have to worry about traffic lights when she got there.

Akemi handed Yuri fireworks of unknown origin. No instructions were needed; just light them and throw them. "Hopefully, others will think this is some kind of opening celebration," Akemi said. After all, even Yuri knew how to use a lighter and firecrackers.

Three days is far from enough to master a new weapon, especially since the two of them seem to be quite far from being martial arts prodigies—Yuri is far from it, and Akemi is a little less so—but at least they won't hit themselves or lose their balance when they just swing it in the air.

Yuri's hat regenerated, but at the cost of consuming too much spiritual essence during the regeneration process. Now his energy has returned to the danger zone. To put it bluntly, if the hunter had forced Yuri to keep the protective barrier open with his shriek, Yuri might have exhausted his spiritual essence—not to mention the potential treatment of any injuries.

I secretly stole some spiritual essence from the Bamboo Village Repeater as a supplement. Yuri, oh Yuri, you've fallen.

Unfortunately, even if one falls into depravity, the limit is only the ability to digest it; one has only escaped the danger zone and is far from being able to use it freely and abundantly.

Yuri had read "Hunter in the Ocean" three times, but hadn't gleaned any more useful information. In fact, Yuri now greatly admired Takemura's investigative abilities—how could he actually find the real root of the problem from a book full of contradictory rumors and wild speculation? How did he develop such intelligence analysis skills?

Finally, six hours before the planned time, at 5 a.m., Yuri arrived near the street where the slot machine shop was located.

Thanks to the ubiquitous murders, Yuri wasn't completely clueless; all he had to do was bring fireworks and firecrackers into the slot machine shop beforehand.

Then the plan can officially begin.

Chapter Twenty: Plans Changing and Changing

According to the plan, Yuri will enter the slot machine shop and then pose with a mocking expression to attract the attention of the tentacle monster. Akemi will arrive at the designated location around 10 or 11 o'clock. Once the hunter enters the shop, she will give a signal and arrive as soon as possible.

Once inside the slot machine shop, Yuri was confident he could deliver the taunt with just his face.

That's right, Yuri sighed. Now, it's just one step away.

—All you have to do is enter the slot machine shop right under the hunter's nose. As Yuri reached one end of the street, he saw the hunter staring menacingly at the entrance, not quite at the point where he was practically pressed against the door, but not far off.

...You're here pretty early too? I thought I was already quite early, arriving several hours early.

Should we immediately return to reunite with Minmei and switch to Yuri's version of the plan? But that would mean giving up even more advantages.

This street is different from the last one; it's not thin enough, and most shops don't have back doors. Although Yuri in his ethereal form could slip through the windows, he wouldn't be able to carry fireworks that way. Besides, the slot machine shops don't even have back windows.

After trying to observe from several different angles, it became clear that the ghost gang inside had, as agreed, reopened the locked gate. Once Yuri reached the gate, he could pass through.

However, Yuri and the hunter don't act in turn-based sequences. If the hunter doesn't move, it's virtually impossible for Yuri to reach the gate without being intercepted. Therefore, the hunter must be moved.

First, observe the environment. This street is mainly for various entertainment activities, and it's probably more lively at night than during the day. However, right now, the people who stayed up all night have just left, and those who rested during the day haven't come yet. Besides, it's not a holiday, so the flow of people is extremely sparse. In terms of vehicles, this street isn't a main road, but it's not exactly remote either. Currently, there are very few vehicles passing by, but it's expected that the traffic flow will improve after a while.

According to the map he had previously noted, the nearby districts were all fairly standard rectangles, with no particularly oddly shaped structures that could be used. Yuri considered going through the rooftops, but ultimately, he still needed to use the only main entrance to get to the slot machine shop. Besides, as fellow spirits, the hunters could naturally also go up on the rooftops. Drilling underground... getting to the ground was difficult in itself, and he would also be ambushed by the hunters nearby.

The conclusion remains the same: the hunter must be moved to clear the way, and Yuri has no other suitable bait to do so.

After waiting a while, the traffic on the street increased slightly, making it easier to escape. Yuri first tried to approach the slot machine shop; if the hunter really wouldn't move, he would have to change his plan.

He approached slowly. It was clear that, regardless of whether he had noticed before, the hunter had detected him as he closed the distance. The hunter slightly turned, facing Yuri sideways. Although his tentacles showed no obvious change, Yuri believed they were poised to strike; his intuition told him so.

Although Yuri didn't know if the sea urchin had any side views, the hunter-takemura hybrid in front of him definitely rotated. The clothes that were almost tattered could prove it; the writing on them was completely illegible. The hunter's invasion of Takemura seemed to have entered its final stage. If it were to be completed... who knows what would happen, but it would most likely not be a good outcome.

“You’re really not being enthusiastic this time, sea urchin.” Yuri felt a little uneasy at the absence of the familiar shriek. “We’ve dealt with each other quite a few times already, shouldn’t you be reacting a little?”

"Whether they die first or you die first, it's all the same. — Get closer, and it'll be even better if you die first." Fortunately, the hunter wasn't completely unresponsive; although his voice wasn't loud, the chill in his words was undiminished.

That makes sense. These gang ghosts also escaped from the hunter—or rather, repelled him—so their hatred must be incredibly high. Besides, Yuri sensed a certain shrewdness in the hunter's words, which didn't seem like a misperception.

“Can you really do it? What makes you so confident? I’ve escaped from you three times already,” Yuri continued to approach, clutching a piece of firecracker he had just removed. “And this time I’m prepared.”

"Hoo." The hunter responded with a simple onomatopoeic sound, followed by a hissing sound. "Seaweed's preparations? All Seaweed needs to prepare are her last words."

Just a little closer, one step, two steps, and we're almost at the charging distance of the hunters of the past.

The hunter sprang up and launched a familiar charge at Yuri, but this time the distance was longer and the speed was faster.

"I knew it!" Knowing that you would recover, I knew that your abilities would improve one day. Fortunately, this error was still within Yuri's expectations.

Yuri threw a firecracker infused with spiritual essence at the hunter, but didn't light it, since lighting it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. At the same time, Yuri shouted, "Take this!" hoping the hunter would dodge due to the unclear enemy situation.

However, the hunter neither dodged nor avoided, charging straight at them, and the firecrackers infused with spiritual essence were easily deflected.

It seems the hunter never considered Yuri a threatening opponent, so Yuri's bluff had no effect.

Yuri's plan to scare the hunter into making way for him to pass by in a moment failed. Before he could even sigh, Yuri quickly retreated to dodge the hunter's tentacle attacks.

The number of tentacles the hunter can manipulate simultaneously has not increased significantly. Although some of the tentacles appear more powerful than previous designs, their agility has not improved. Strength is certainly an important factor in attack speed, but while they possess faster extension and sweeping speeds, their ability to change direction has not been significantly enhanced.

Overall, Yuri believes that the hunter's enhancement is not that significant—the hunter's confidence probably comes from other aspects.

Since we can still dodge for now, we'll proceed with the plan of fighting and retreating. Plan two is to drag the hunter around in a lap. If we can hold out, we'll turn left at the next intersection, left, left, left, and then Yuri will be closer to the shop door than the hunter.

This route will pass by the preparation point that Mingmei planned to use, but she is not there at the moment, so it works without any problems.

Of course, this is dangerous, Yuri reminded himself. He was already very experienced at dodging, but experience did not mean he could dodge everything. If he were to get entangled with the hunter, he would still be in a situation where he would eventually lose.

However, it's not all bad. From another perspective, if the hunter uses his usual method of rushing directly behind Yuri to block his retreat, it would mean the plan has succeeded ahead of schedule. Yuri could simply continue advancing and storm into the store.

Yuri, fighting and retreating, pulled the hunter back to near the intersection (if simply dodging without fighting counts as fighting). A middle-aged man jogging early in the morning came running up behind him, but fortunately, Yuri had a wide field of vision and they didn't collide. The man's eyes were very strange, which was normal, since what he could probably see was a suspicious guy appearing out of thin air... jumping and hopping while moving sideways, which was obviously very strange.

So what if it's suspicious? There are still plenty of suspicious things to do today.

Yuri continued to lure the hunter to the crossroads, then turned, and then… the hunter's relentless attack failed to materialize. Yuri saw the octopus monster begin to shrink in his field of vision; it was drifting back—it had stopped chasing!

Hmm... Now it's certain that its taboo is never to negotiate peace, not never to let them go. Yuri found a bittersweet moment, never having imagined that the hunter not pursuing him would become a problem.

Plan Two failed.

Then let's plan 2.5. This plan requires the cooperation of surrounding vehicles. Specifically, we need to first try to lure the hunter away from its original position, and then try to jump onto a passing car—but that won't work. In the past, getting onto a car relied on the fact that a virtual being wouldn't get hit by the car, allowing us to find our position by passing through it. If a physical being suddenly runs onto the road, it obviously won't end well.

The planned pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 2:05.

"If I could foresee the future, I would have come much earlier. Unfortunately, there's no going back." Yuri repeatedly tried to pull the hunter away, even getting so close that he was hit several times. The only result was that the hunter stopped chasing him altogether, remaining firmly guarding the entrance and refusing to move. Unless Yuri got too close, practically placing his head under the hunter's mouth, it would only use its tentacles to drive him away.

I wonder what the ghost gangs inside think. I hope they weren't scared to death by Yuri's helplessness.

“I have to pull the hunter away, otherwise… um?” A thought flashed through Yuri’s mind.

Otherwise... the hunter would stay firmly at the door, and I would be nearby to know when it would rush in... wouldn't that have already been a success?

"I'm so stupid, so incredibly stupid," Yuri scolded himself, suddenly relieved. Once again, he'd only seen what was in front of him and failed to consider other factors. Fortunately, this accidental turn of events yielded a positive result; in conclusion, it had indeed kept the hunter stationary.

Once Yuri calmed down, he adopted a posture of confronting the hunter, internally summarizing his actions.

During the recent pursuit, the hunter did not make frequent advances, let alone use the illusion technique, which is only particularly effective the first time. It is likely that the hunter decided not to consume too much spiritual essence before dealing with the ghost gang.

If the hunter had increased the frequency of his shots, Yuri believed he could still defend, but things would definitely be dangerous.

The opponent's current actions... If it were Yuri, when repeatedly harassed by the enemy and unable to catch them due to more important matters, he would probably choose to simply ignore them. Meanwhile, he would build up his anger, preparing to eliminate the annoying fly once he had dealt with one side.

The hunter was much more arrogant, so Yuri tried many times before finally choosing this path.

Yuri paid a price: he consumed some spiritual essence to heal his injuries and was surrounded by onlookers—some even took out their phones to take pictures, though they stopped after Yuri glared at them. The good news was, no reporters came; otherwise, Yuri estimated an article titled "Suspicious Mentally Ill Person Performs Martial Arts in the Street" would have been published in the gossip section of a third-rate tabloid.

Thank goodness I still had my trench coat, sunglasses, mask, and hat on; otherwise, Mingmei would have nagged me about it afterward, and I wouldn't have had a chance to talk back.

Keeping a close eye on the hunter, Yuri was certain that it wasn't a hallucination. Beneath the tattered clothes, a carapace-like structure was visible, with elongated tentacles extending from every corner. The face, which had previously resembled a human, was now flattened.

The only thing that could prove this was once human was the body forcibly constricted by the clothes. After careful observation, Yuri confirmed his judgment; the clothes didn't look like they could last much longer.

Time passed by, second by second, and this time it seemed to drag on forever.

Yuri would occasionally step back to peer through the glass at the clocks of other shops. He was quite certain that he looked suspiciously astonishing—because he could even feel the people around him transmitting spiritual essence to him.

It's an illusion, definitely an illusion. Truly conveying the essence of the spirit is not so easy or superficial.