Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

The plan also included communicating with them, but that was done after we found the major local clients.

If we can solve the problem with the big players, none of these issues will arise, and there's no need to resort to second-best solutions from the outset.

But where exactly is this big spender?

Yuri's worst-case scenario was that the moment he stepped into the area, a hostile giant would appear and kill him.

The current situation is certainly better, but we'll have to find our own goals.

After some thought, he concluded that the most obvious possibility was that the other party was at the exact intersection of the spiritual veins, which was also the place where the spiritual essence was most abundant.

Yuri sensed the energy roughly and headed towards the direction with the strongest energy.

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.

Yuri walked for several more tens of minutes, but still couldn't find his target.

It wasn't that the station was too big, nor was he proceeding with a plan to search the entire station. The problem was that the target seemed to be forever ahead.

It's not that his perception was wrong; while it wasn't precise, the general direction was correct.

But the result is that now, he has been acting according to the principle of "going in the direction of stronger energy," but he has ended up back where he started.

After several small turns and one or two 90-degree turns, he has now drawn a not-so-standard circle.

He realized he might have made a mistake—this was indeed the confluence of spiritual veins, but the multiple spiritual veins did not converge at the same point; instead, they formed a network, the very center of which might not even be directly on a spiritual vein.

As a network structure, it's normal for it to have internal periodic changes. What's the term for that... eddy currents?

Fortunately, the wasted time did not lead to any visible consequences—just as Mingmei had predicted, although the other spirits he encountered looked at him differently, none of them pounced on him unless he actively went to disturb them.

The most ferocious one so far is just a cat spirit that stands up and makes a threatening gesture, and it's likely that it's because Yuri got too close while searching for the spirit vein, rather than because it naturally harbors any hostility towards Yuri.

As the confluence of spiritual veins, the spiritual essence here was far from what Yuri had imagined—a convergence of spiritual energy that "gushed forth from a single point." This was irrefutable proof that Yuri had not found his target.

We need to change our search methods.

First, consider whether there are any patterns in this network.

Yuri stopped and began to think in a place quite far away from the other spirits.

He actually came up with a suspicious point.

In his actions, he always followed the established path whenever possible.

In other words, in places where there are no tracks, he cannot find any pattern to the route, but wherever there are tracks, he moves forward by following them.

As a multi-line transfer station, the proportion of tracks here is already quite large, but it is still far less than half.

According to Yuri's estimate, the region accounts for about 20%.

The track, which only accounts for about 20%, always appears in a position that overlaps with the spiritual vein? This doesn't seem normal. Perhaps it has been altered by human intervention... by the spirit.

One phrase popped into Yuri's mind: "Damn train."

What someone associated with the Soul Hunters told Akemi some time ago was then passed on to Yuri by Akemi... and Yuri only just remembered it now.

Okay, case solved. Yuri felt ashamed that he had only thought of this now.

He knew what this big spender was; it must be a spirit related to trains. So, where should the train in the station be located? It seemed like a very simple puzzle.

Yuri wasn't very good at riddles, but this riddle itself didn't have many possible solutions.

If Yuri had calmed down, he would have thought of other possibilities, but he didn't. An intuition told him that this line of thinking was correct and there was no need to consider other possibilities.

After studying the route map on the wall for half a minute, Yuri found the only station he hadn't visited yet.

This platform is slightly off the edge, still within Yuri's circle. In fact, Yuri has passed through the passage leading to this platform several times, but he just hasn't turned in.

He approached the platform with great confidence.

Passing the "Under Maintenance" sign, we entered an empty passageway.

Two strangely shaped spirits were sitting facing each other in the passageway.

The one on the left looks like an alarm clock with several robotic arms, while the one on the right looks like a complex tire.

As Yuri tried to pass, they stood up and blocked his way.

Ah, we've found the right one. Otherwise, why would they be stopping Yuri? Someone must have made them do this, and who else here could command the other spirits?

Chapter Seventy-Eight: "Line Two"

Yuri had been staring at the two spirit guards in front of him for three minutes.

He had prepared himself to start inquiring and persuading others after being barred from passing.

But no, the other party didn't say a word, simply blocking the way with their body.

It seems these two are following the same plan as Yuri: listen first, then speak.

Yuri estimated the physique and speed of the two—the physique of spirits cannot determine their strength, and speed of movement is more about reaction speed than physical ability, but apart from these two factors, there seems to be no other way to confirm the other's ability level.

In short, broadly speaking, he is no worse than Yuri, and their levels should be the same. However, Yuri is not the type who is biased towards physical attributes—the plan to force a breakthrough through physical attributes and hand over the speaking order to the other party is doomed to failure.

Fortunately, Yuri felt he was already used to being humble and polite, so speaking up wasn't difficult for him.

"Could you two please let me through for a moment?" Yuri waited for their response.

The alarm clock spoke, its voice shrill, "Aren't our stance clear enough? Why are you moving in this direction, you unknown spirit?"

It was very obvious, very obviously unfriendly; they were blocking people from passing.

"Because I suspect the local master is in this direction, and I hope to ask him for help directly." It's better to tell the truth, otherwise Yuri won't be able to come up with any reason why he has to go in this direction.

The alarm clock answered again, "Your guess is quite—"

The tire bumped into it, interrupting its conversation. When the alarm clock spoke again, its tone shifted, "Just because you're guessing doesn't mean you have to go this way. What evidence do you have to prove your guess?"

Yuri cursed inwardly, "If there were evidence, would it still be considered speculation? Besides, aren't your reactions enough evidence?"

"Because we couldn't find it anywhere else?" Yuri realized the ambiguity of his statement after saying it, but both interpretations were plausible.

"State your name—" The tire hissed, and Yuri, focused, instantly realized it was the language of spirits.

"Yuri—Yuri." The first name was spoken in human language, and the second name in spirit language.

Although there is actually no difference, Yuri's name does not have any special meaning; it is just a simple pronunciation, and it would be the same if it were in the Spirit Language.

At least Yuri himself felt that by switching languages, things might sound different to the listeners.

"I've never heard of this name before, so it must not be very famous. Do you really think you can get help just by meeting someone like me?" The alarm clock changed its tone and began to persuade Yuri to give up.

"I can't be sure about this without seeing me, so I'd better meet him." Yuri didn't really believe that he would find out the other person was willing to help him after meeting him, but he couldn't just say, "You're right, I'm going back," could he?

"What if you offend the master with your words and get killed? Don't you consider that possibility?" Tire continued, "earnestly persuading" the master, of course, in the language of spirits.

“Of course I have considered it,” he replied in spirit language.

…………

The two sides argued for a while longer, and both intuition and experience told Yuri that both he and the other were actually doing the same thing... making excuses.

Neither side fully believed what they were saying; Yuri was just making excuses to let him in, while the other two were making excuses to prevent him from going in.

But Yuri really needs to go in, while these two bastards in front of him are probably just bored.

For them, making things difficult for Yuri might just be a way to add a little fun to life—for some, wasting other people's time is very interesting.

This situation doesn't make sense to the other side. Their goal is simply to prevent Yuri from passing through. Whether their deeper purpose is to kill time or to complete a mission, it's all the same. Their outward expression is just rhetoric, so they will persist no matter what.

Should we consider taking action? It's one against two; I don't know if I can win. Maybe I should assess their situation and see if there are any weaknesses I can exploit.

Dangerous thoughts raced through Yuri's mind.

The two guys in front of us seem completely oblivious... Don't they know that getting in the way and wasting other people's time will attract hatred?

"Let him in." A booming voice came from the end of the passage, accompanied by the sound of metal clashing.

The two annoying people blocking the way seemed a little surprised, but after a very short time, they obediently moved aside.

Tsk, in the end, we wasted another part of the plan. Yuri had already started mentally simulating how to continuously absorb the spiritual essence of one of the two annoying guys to sustain himself in the battle after launching the surprise attack.

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 road ahead was clear and unobstructed; no one stopped Yuri... In fact, Yuri did not encounter any people, spirits, ghosts, or anything else with self-awareness along the way.

He arrived at the platform.

An old-fashioned train sat on the tracks beside the platform, but Yuri would never mistake it for a retired vehicle; it was a spirit… a very powerful spirit.

It is about several tens of meters long and two or three meters high. It looks old but there is no rust. It is simply like the passage of time.

It is the strongest spirit Yuri has ever seen; its power can be felt without careful observation.

And it was sizing itself up.

"What are you trying to do, guards who are harassing me?" A roar came from inside the train. "If I understand correctly, are you preparing to launch an attack?"

The noise was making Yuri dizzy; it was probably infused with some kind of power—but Yuri didn't have the time to analyze what that power was.

His still-intact part of his thinking sent out an alarm—if the powerful spirit before him truly believed Yuri was there to cause trouble, then he was in deep trouble.

"I did consider it, but I didn't intend to cause trouble here." He quickly wrote out the answer, and it was indeed the truth.

The powerful spirit remained silent for a moment, and Yuri felt his thinking ability gradually returning.

Did it just say that its observation of Yuri began at the entrance to the passage?

"They are under my command to intercept all those who are not qualified. The standard for qualification is the same as theirs." The train roared again, but this time it did not knock Yuri unconscious.

Yuri reviewed the situation and had to admit that, judging from appearances alone, he couldn't be considered stronger than the other two.

If agility is taken into account, Yuri should be able to defeat a Spirit of the same level in a one-on-one fight (since I haven't fought one, I can't guarantee it), but this is probably impossible to tell before the battle even begins.

This raises a question: why would the train spirit take the initiative to let Yuri in...? What did it see in Yuri?

Yuri felt he had to figure out the answer to this question; it was important to him, even if not immediately, but there was no benefit in delaying it.

"My name is Yuri, may I ask your name?" Let's break the deadlock first.

“Names I’ve never heard of, faces I’ve never seen, people I don’t know—” The roaring voice paused for a moment, “It doesn’t seem like an old friend who’s suddenly come back to life to play a joke on me.”

It seems to be mistaking itself for someone else.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand the current situation very well. Could you please explain in more detail..." Yuri wanted to feign a pleading tone, but then he realized he didn't need to pretend at all.

"There's a vengeful pleasure in conveying messages to humans like you, but I've asked people like you before, and if I remember correctly, the answer was... 'Some secrets, if you can't discover them yourself, then you shouldn't discover them.'" The roar didn't seem malicious; in fact, Yuri felt the other was about to burst out laughing. "So, which way do you think I should act?"

"The kind that will tell me the details?" I replied boldly.

"Hmm, you can 'think' that way." After saying that, the train started chuckling softly, by its own standards.

What Yuri heard was basically maniacal laughter.

Yuri raised his eyes and focused his attention on the other person—

"Oh, don't do that, kid." The roar came again, making Yuri feel dizzy. "You may think you just want to learn some knowledge, but this is a hostile act, meaning I want to explore your secrets and take advantage of them."

Yuri stopped observing the moment he felt dizzy. Perhaps he could overcome the dizziness, but with both of these factors combined, he probably wouldn't have any other room for thought.

“Take this as a test—answer me a question, and I’ll tell you something… Let’s be fair. If you don’t want to answer, you can change the question, but you still have to answer one.” The train’s voice still carried an uncontrollable chuckle, but what it said made perfect sense.

But what if one party stubbornly refuses to answer any of the questions?

Yuri looked around; the platform was empty, with no one else around.

There are only two: Yuri and Train Spirit.

Yuri, Level 2. Train Spirit, Level 4 (estimated).

Now Yuri understood why—merely having this question meant he was being foolish.

“Okay, who wants to ask first?” Yuri nodded in agreement, then immediately noticed that if the other person was sharp enough, he could treat his words as a question—

“You haven’t become like those bastards yet, that’s good—let me ask first.” The train spirit didn’t seize this opportunity, and of course, it probably didn’t need to.

Yuri focused his mind and waited for its question. To be honest, he was also a little curious about what the other party was so concerned about about him.

"How did you become like this, human?" the train asked in a low voice, speaking at about the same volume as an ordinary person.

Good question. Yuri doesn't know either, but what did it say? Human?

Undoubtedly, the other side was eagerly awaiting Yuri's response.

“I don’t know.” Yuri had no other response. “I genuinely don’t know, not that I don’t want to say. But if I had to guess, it’s probably death—that’s how most people become ghosts, isn’t it?”

"You don't know? That's not a good answer—you haven't even forgotten who you are, have you?" The train spirit raised its voice slightly. "Have you simply forgotten how you became like this, or is there something else going on?"