When Gao Hai arrived near Maki's residence, police officers had already surrounded the area.
For such a vicious incident to occur in one of Tokyo's most exclusive, high-end villa districts, the police response was swift. They cordoned off the chaotic scene, which was littered with signs of a fierce struggle, and temporarily escorted Maki's family away from the villa to calm their nerves, preparing to question them later about the specific details of what happened.
One could imagine this would become a sensational major case.
It might even become one of those major cases that capture national attention. After all, this area was home to many people of high status. They would never tolerate a situation where the security they spent a fortune on each year was breached by two people, who then fought their way into a home and turned it upside down.
That is, if the officers at the scene weren't occasionally zoning out.
And if the surrounding neighbors, who should have been outraged, didn't all quickly begin to feel that this matter required no attention.
Ultimately, no one would remember this incident. No one would pay it any further mind. Even if they occasionally came across related information, they would only care for a brief moment before forgetting it again, as if nothing had ever happened.
Except for the players.
When Gao Hai arrived near the Shijo residence (having managed to get the address beforehand), although the police were still maintaining the cordon, its enforcement had clearly weakened significantly. So much so that Maki was able to sneak out after changing her clothes and quickly met up with Gao Hai.
"Are you hurt?"
Seeing Maki, Gao Hai immediately asked, his eyes constantly scanning the girl to assess her condition.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to have any major injuries.
However, there were scratches on her fingers, looking like cuts from glass.
"I spotted them before they came in. They were very arrogant, probably because they had Obsession Items and thought they could get away with anything. I… went to the kitchen and got a knife beforehand, then locked my parents in their bedroom and removed the doorknob. Those two were strong, each holding one or two Obsession Items, but their combat skills weren't that great. It took me some time, but I managed to defeat them. It's just that Dad broke down the bedroom door and saw what I was doing."
Maki gave a rough summary of her fight with the two invading members of the [Woman-Face Gang].
Although the girl did her best to describe the events concisely, judging from her still-shaken expression, the battle must have been extraordinarily dangerous.
"That flesh Obsession Item of theirs… it probably has some very bizarre effect. These people aren't strong, but their unity and fanaticism are hard to imagine. Still, as long as you're okay in the end, that's all that matters. Don't worry too much about those guys. Come on, you definitely can't rest at home tonight, right? Want to find a hotel for the night? Or come to my place? Don't worry, it'll be fine. If nothing unexpected happens, your parents won't care about this anymore by tomorrow. After all, you used Obsession Items during the fight, and under their influence, ordinary people will gradually forget related events."
Gao Hai reached out and gently patted Maki's shoulder, then, after a moment's thought, pulled her straight into his arms.
The girl's warmth was exceptionally clear at that moment.
Faced with Gao Hai's bold action, Maki first trembled slightly, then her body quickly relaxed, and she leaned against him for a short while.
"Becoming a player... I really wish this had never happened to me."
Gao Hai could hear the heavy weight in Maki's words.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Knowing that saying too much wouldn't help right now, Gao Hai simply held Maki gently, quietly keeping her company and waiting for her emotions to calm.
In the Shirakawa Apartments, it was Gao Hai who had taken the lead against the two veteran players. Although Maki had played a crucial supporting role, she had never been the one to directly confront the enemy or get her hands dirty. But in tonight's conflict, she had personally eliminated two living people. Moreover, because of that bizarre flesh Obsession Item, she actually had to kill each of them twice to truly finish them off, which naturally brought a greater psychological burden.
Even so, this girl was formidable enough, a girl from a peaceful era taking down two veteran players. However, considering the level of the veteran player disguised as Miwa Maeda and the two he had encountered, it could only be said that the [Woman-Face Gang]'s overall strength was indeed not high. After all, back in the Shirakawa Apartments, even Kaguya Shinomiya, with no blessings at all, was able to fight back against the female spy after being ambushed. As veteran players, the Woman-Face Gang could probably only throw their weight around in front of ordinary players who had no faction backing and lacked strong Obsession Items from A-rank Twilight instances.
At this moment, Gao Hai clearly didn't realize just how overwhelmingly powerful his own S-rank evaluation with its double blessing, and Maki and Kaguya's A-rank evaluations with a single blessing (Xusheng's blessing was given only to Gao Hai), were compared to other players. But considering he hadn't encountered any proper players, such a miscalculation was inevitable.
He wondered if they had, in a way, exterminated a group of pests from the player community.
"O-Okay, that's enough. You... stop hugging me already."
Having recovered, Maki's face flushed red, and she shyly broke free from Gao Hai's embrace.
The disappearance of the warmth from his arms, it had to be said, brought a strange sense of loss.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Gao Hai and Maki walked along the street for a while until they reached a deserted path by a river. They sat down together on a bench and began to discuss the night's events.
"Anyway, if what that Miss Gotoh said is true and there were only four of them left, then I guess this takes care of it. But… that flesh Obsession Item is just too bizarre. To think it completely devours its host after death…"
As she spoke, Maki opened a pouch she was carrying, and Gao Hai saw a dark red substance inside, wrapped in several layers of plastic.
Even now, the thing was still writhing.
"Don't tell me this is their flesh Obsession Item?"
The unexpected situation made Gao Hai's expression turn to one of surprise.
"I used Lao Guo's faceless head. That thing devoured one of them and spat this lump of flesh out. I felt there was something wrong with it, so I wrapped it up and made sure it never touched me the entire time."
Maki nodded slightly, explaining the situation to Gao Hai.
Lao Guo's head Obsession Item really seemed to be a pure player-versus-player weapon. But to be able to extract an Obsession Item that would otherwise have run rampant upon its host's death in this way, perhaps this head was even more useful than expected.
"Give it to me. My watch can store this thing. I suspect this Obsession Item is different from the others we've seen; it might have some very strange properties."
Of course, despite his surprise, Gao Hai immediately took the Obsession Items Maki had confiscated from the two women during the battle, especially that lump of flesh.
As items carrying strange obsessions, it was best for Gao Hai to hold onto them until their functions and costs were understood. After all, the mysterious watch he wore seemed capable of completely suppressing all Obsession Items while they were stored, so there was no need to worry about them going out of control.
And then, after they finished their serious discussion, Gao Hai began to shift the focus to another topic.
"For tonight, why don't you stay over at my place for a night? My house is pretty big, with plenty of rooms."
Gao Hai said with a straight face.
"...After what happened last time, do you really think I'd go to your place?"
However, Maki didn't fall for it at all, adopting a thoroughly wary attitude toward Gao Hai and rejecting him on the spot.
"Then let's find a hotel to rest at. By the way, can high school students check into hotels by themselves here in Japan?"
So Gao Hai offered a second option.
"And then you plan on staying in the same room with me for the night, is that it?"
Maki just shot Gao Hai a sideways glance and asked in a flat tone.
"Yep."
Gao Hai's reply was incredibly honest.
"My foot you will! No way! You were so serious at the beginning, how have you turned into some kind of sexually frustrated pervert?"
Finally unable to hold back, Maki reached out and gently tapped Gao Hai's chest as she grumbled.
Sexually frustrated? To be fair, have I ever been satisfied even once?
Gao Hai really wanted to reply with that, but before he could say anything, Maki's phone rang. Pulling it out, Maki just glanced at the screen and then stood up.
"I'm going to stay with my parents at a relative's house for the night. You should head back too. By the way, what's with that look? Are you really that disappointed?"
As she said this, Maki noticed the undisguised look of regret on Gao Hai's face.
"Isn't that a given? How could I not be disappointed? Are you sure you won't reconsider? I can promise I won't try anything."
Gao Hai just smiled as he spoke, also getting up to leave.
The suggestions about going to his place or a hotel were, of course, jokes. Gao Hai was just using this method to help the girl cheer up, to keep her from dwelling on what had happened.
Of course, if such a possibility were to actually arise... no, no, that wouldn't be in Maki's character.
As he turned to leave, Gao Hai didn't see Maki's lips part slightly, only to close again in silence.
She admitted that for a moment, she had considered whether she should go with Gao Hai. For a girl who had just survived a life-or-death struggle, only Gao Hai, who she saw as being in the [same world] as her, could bring her a sense of calm.
But something like that… she probably still couldn't bring herself to do it.
In the end, Maki just said "Be careful on your way" to Gao Hai and returned to her parents.
The night thus gradually passed.
When the morning sun rose the next day, Gao Hai—who had slept very well, completely unaffected by having killed two villains—got out of bed and saw a new message on his phone. It was from Kaguya Shinomiya.
Using the contact information for Hitori Gotoh that Gao Hai and Maki had gotten last time, she had found a seller who held three instance entry tickets for the same Twilight-level instance.
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