Chapter 306 Cursed Kill
"Asou-san, a package just arrived at the residence. It's signed 'Mercenary Tao'. Shall we keep it for you?"
In the presidential suite on the top floor of the Aman Hotel, a man wrapped in a bath towel answered the phone. The voice of his residence's security personnel came from the other end.
He ran his fingers through his hair, and the moisture instantly evaporated, leaving it dry and fluffy.
With a thought from Asou Shinjiro, the television in the suite turned on automatically. The screen changed to display the scene inside his residence.
Sure enough, a member of the family's security team was holding the phone, contacting him.
He sat down on the sofa, a smile on his face.
That beast, Mercenary Tao... he couldn't hold back so soon?
He hadn't actually intended to recruit Mercenary Tao. He was skilled at psychological profiling, and although they had only met a few times, he was certain that Mercenary Tao was absolutely not a beast that could be easily tamed.
And for beasts like that, rather than taming them, it was far more convenient to kill them and eat their meat.
"No need to keep it. Open the package right there. Let's see what it is."
As one of the heirs to Japan's most powerful clan, Asou Shinjiro was convinced that even among Reincarnators, he belonged to the blessed few.
Just like in many manga and novels, people had different aptitudes, and Reincarnators were no exception.
Compared to talents in magic or taijutsu, Asou believed that a Reincarnator's talent actually lay in two areas.
One was the natural endowment anchored after entering the Nexus.
The other was the power the Reincarnator possessed in the real world!
Although Reincarnators performed missions in the Nexus, when measured by real-world time, they still spent the vast majority of their time in reality.
Therefore, before becoming powerful enough to reach a certain level, real-world influence provided an overwhelming advantage.
As a male heir of the Asou clan, he excelled at utilizing this advantage.
Information gathering, assassination, detainment, surveillance—all kinds of modern methods were part of his arsenal against Reincarnators. Furthermore, he was attempting to spearhead the establishment of a [Special Ability Countermeasures Division] in Japan. Once passed, he could use Japan's financial power to further specialize his advantages.
In the future, it might not even be impossible to turn Japan into his own personal garden.
Asou Shinjiro had great ambition, but at the same time, he was extremely cautious.
He chose not to live in his family residence because he feared a powerful Reincarnator might discover his identity and launch a direct assault to kill him.
Due to the Asou clan's immense wealth and power, the residence was quite peaceful.
But in battles between Reincarnators, a secluded environment wasn't an advantage; on the contrary, it made one more susceptible to assassination.
He chose to live in Tokyo's most luxurious hotel, renting out the entire top floor. He used technological means to monitor every location in the hotel, with numerous cameras connected to the network, endlessly recording everywhere outside his room.
As long as a Reincarnator used extraordinary abilities within this range, he would publish the footage on the internet, causing the Reincarnator to violate the Nexus's regulations and ultimately face erasure.
Furthermore, on this floor of the hotel, he had placed a considerable number of remote defense charms to guard against beyond-visual-range sniping or bombing.
Asou Shinjiro wore a smile, curious to see exactly what Mercenary Tao had sent him.
"Asou-san, it's a videotape."
The security guard looked at the old-fashioned VHS tape with some confusion. If someone wanted to send a video, sending it directly via the internet or mailing a USB drive or disc would theoretically be better methods. This kind of videotape had been obsolete for over a decade; nowadays, only collectors kept them.
Seeing the item, Asou Shinjiro's eyes narrowed. He looked at the security conference room fully displayed on his monitor and said:
"Find a VCR and see what's on the tape."
Several security guards in suits with pistols at their waists looked at each other, but ultimately chose to obey the order.
They had a VCR brought in, connected it to the TV, and started playback.
Asou Shinjiro sat on the sofa, shifting his posture. He raised his left hand, and a glass of red wine automatically flew into his grip.
Mercenary Tao, you actually want to use something like that to kill me? Heh, creative, but you're thinking a bit too simply.
As a veteran Reincarnator, he had a certain sensitivity to various items from the Nexus. Just as everyone in reality called him [Asou Shinjiro], he had actually hidden his true name long ago. His current name was re-inserted into various records using his family connections.
This was to avoid being cursed to death by items like the [Death Note] if his true identity were exposed.
The appearance of this old-fashioned videotape instantly alerted him. Watching the security personnel play the tape and seeing the TV screen start to flicker incessantly...
He knew he was right.
He switched the camera angle, observing the situation inside the room only from a hidden angle outside. Simultaneously, the cameras inside the security conference room were already connected to a social media live-streaming software.
In the next moment, the image on the monitor began to flash irregularly, and then the picture started to distort.
Subsequently, the elite security personnel, armed with live ammunition, kept backing away. Even after hitting the wall, they still tried to retreat. One of them pulled out his gun, but his hands were shaking so uncontrollably that he couldn't fire.
Asou Shinjiro pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking to himself that it was indeed that thing.
The Cursed Videotape from the Ring world—a dangerous item capable of carrying a terrifying curse meme.
To actually use something like this to curse-kill me... tsk, you're practically opening a new Pandora's box in the real world~
Asou, codenamed [Clear Spring], wasn't afraid. He hadn't watched the content of the tape himself. Moreover, although the curse meme of The Ring was terrifying, the method to break it was actually quite simple.
He just needed to copy the cursed tape and give it to someone else to watch, spreading the curse.
But in the next moment, the situation changed.
The screen on the monitor flickered. A woman with black hair and white clothes appeared on the monitor. Moving with jerky, frame-skipping motions, she suddenly appeared in front of the security personnel in a bizarre manner.
Then, the security guards twitched a few times and fell to the ground, silent.
He frowned. Logically, Sadako's curse should kill the cursed person after seven days. Why was it so fast?!
He saw the vengeful spirit on the screen twist her body, slowly turning around. In the next second, she looked up at the surveillance camera outside the room.
Asou instantly shut off the monitor. That momentary eye contact had indeed sent a chill through him.
This isn't an ordinary cursed videotape. This thing has been modified!
He suddenly felt a sense of unease. This kind of tactic didn't seem like the style of the rumored Mercenary Tao, who was supposed to be a martial artist.
Just then, the phone that had been hung up rang again. Asou Shinjiro frowned and answered it, intending to tell the staff at the residence to dispose of the tape—or, to be safe, make a copy and arrange for someone else to watch it.
Bzzzt~
Static came from the phone. In the next moment, a voice that was both familiar and strange appeared in his ear.
"This is Asou Shinjiro. I am reading a book in the afternoon. I might return to %&￥ after the New Year..."
The beginning was normal speech, but the content was completely nonsensical. Then, the latter part turned into something he couldn't understand at all—it didn't sound like Japanese.
The only constant was that the voice, the tone—the person speaking was clearly himself!
Asou Shinjiro suddenly realized something, and a chill rose from his tailbone.
[You have been subjected to the Curse · One Missed Call]
His voice on the phone slowly faded, replaced finally by a female voice, sounding childlike.
"Clear Spring, you are no longer qualified to continue this hunting game."
"Hunting Reincarnators is a game for the strong."
"Farewell, insect~"
[Breaking News: Today at noon, the Asou clan of Japan is suspected to have been poisoned. All members within the residence have died.
Currently, the Prime Minister of Japan has issued an order to investigate this matter thoroughly.]
Kaito Shirogane lay on the hotel bed, watching the news report on the screen.
Tsk, she really is a lunatic.
He now understood a bit better why others liked to call her a maniac. Some people's thought processes were indeed completely different from others.
That [Clear Spring] hadn't even offended the Heart Demon. Just because the Heart Demon wanted to cooperate with Kaito, she felt displeased and annoyed on her own accord.
And because of that alone, the Heart Demon found his hiding place in the real world and successfully killed him in an incredibly short amount of time.
This kind of person was indeed a bit crazy.
Tsk, getting entangled with a guy like this is really... interesting.
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