Rhode continuously fulfilled the Ajins' wishes and plundered their abilities with points, while also not forgetting to spend points to add numerous entries to Suzuki Jun.
In this world, any conventional ability, even at the highest level for mortals, would only be classified as D-rank by the System.
Therefore, even if granting it to others required 1.5 times the points, it was still only 150 points each time.
And so....
After being granted Grace by Rhode.
Etiquette, documentation, accounting, public relations, illustration, management, marketing, maid service, programming.... a series of professional skills were forcibly crammed into Suzuki Jun's brain.
"I can't take any more, I really can't, boo hoo hoo hoo....."
In Japan, at a residence.
Suzuki Jun knelt on the carpet, tightly hugging Rhode's legs, crying loudly.
"It's already so full it's about to overflow!"
Rhode glanced indifferently at Suzuki Jun, who was dressed in a maid outfit and looked pitiful.
"At the beginning, didn't you say you'd do anything if I took you in?"
"But why, even though I'm an adult, do I have to stay up all night every day like in school, learning and adapting to those skills, yada yo~~"
"Pouting won't help. I told you, I need you to demonstrate your value."
"Boo hoo hoo hoo, I thought you meant my physical value, but it turns out you meant my surplus value!"
Suzuki Jun had naively thought she only needed to lie down and take it, but she never expected that even as a little slave, she'd have to study!
Rhode reluctantly put down his PSP and rubbed her head.
"Has the video been released?"
When the topic turned to business, Suzuki Jun stopped pouting, took a deep breath, and switched to professional mode.
She confidently pushed up her glasses on the bridge of her nose.
"I have already hacked into local forums and video websites in various countries around the world, and have localized them and opened them up for secondary creation."
"The gathering points and times for each country have been individually marked. Anyone who wishes to return to a normal life will at least come to investigate."
"And the gathering day for Japan is, one day later, at the Tokyo Prosecutor's Office entrance."]
Suzuki Jun leaned her cheek against Rhode's leg, smiling.
"The guy you want to catch, if he's really in Japan, he'll definitely be unable to resist showing up~"
Rhode narrowed his eyes, glanced at the clock on the wall, stood up, and spoke indifferently.
"It's about time. Let's go. After meeting the last clear target, we'll go welcome your future companions."
In the original work, most of the well-known Ajin with names were in Japan.
The moment Rhode arrived here, he had Suzuki Jun lock onto their locations via the internet and sought them out one by one.
There were indeed some who didn't want to lose their Ajin power, and even provoked Rhode, relying on their ability to revive endlessly.
Their fate...
After their Ajin power was plundered, Rhode gave them a free trip to space.
Now, only one last target remained.
Likely one of the Ajin with the highest concentration of IBM particles in this world!
The evening sun cast its rays on the school gate, where Rhode and Suzuki Jun stood side by side.
The handsome man and beautiful woman naturally formed a very eye-catching pair.
Students leaving school frequently cast curious glances, some discussing in low voices, others secretly snickering.
The girls, in particular, stared at Rhode with burning eyes, unable to help but cover their mouths in surprise.
Some bold 'hot girls' even mustered the courage to step forward and ask for his Line account.
Even under the murderous, sharp gaze of Suzuki Jun, who was clinging to Rhode's arm, they still pushed forward.
Although Rhode admired their courage, he politely refused. The 'hot girl' instantly teared up, her eyes reddening, almost on the verge of crying.
Suzuki Jun let out an unreserved laugh. The 'hot girl' glared at her fiercely, muttered a few words like "What's so good about an old woman?" and then, without waiting for Suzuki Jun's angry retort, she turned and ran off.
"Damn it!"
Suzuki Jun stomped her foot in exasperation.
"These young girls nowadays are too much!"
Rhode laughed heartily, looking at the students playfully bustling inside and outside the school gate, a nostalgic and faintly melancholic expression on his face.
After a moment of annoyance, Suzuki Jun quickly cast her bad mood aside, shaking her head with a sigh.
She used to be a carefree literary girl, but now, after experiencing drastic life changes and Rhode's 'training', she had transformed into a standard professional office lady.
Her every move exuded a strong, unassailable 'older sister' aura, which was also why no boys dared to approach her to strike up a conversation.
It certainly wasn't because the man next to her had an even more terrifying gaze...
However, the mature and aloof Suzuki Jun in front of outsiders was completely different when facing Rhode in private, still retaining her original personality.
She would always act spoiled and throw minor tantrums to flirt, and sometimes gaze at him blankly, occasionally breaking into a silly, innocent smile.
All her sharp edges were replaced by a sweetness and softness exclusively for Rhode.
Suzuki Jun's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"Master, the target has appeared."
Rhode narrowed his eyes, took a step, and walked up to a black-haired boy.
"Nagai Kei?"
Nagai Kei looked up in surprise, carefully scrutinizing Rhode's appearance, and asked doubtfully.
"Do we know each other?"
"Shall we talk somewhere else?"
Although it was a question, Rhode's tone was unchallengeable.
Just then, a blond boy suddenly rushed over, spreading his arms to block Nagai Kei.
"Hey, what are you doing to my friend!"
"Kaito, you..."
Rhode didn't spare a glance for the hot-headed guy, just chuckled softly and turned to leave.
"I'll wait for you at the construction site on the street corner. It's up to you whether you come or not. But if you don't, it won't be so easy to see me next time."
Nagai Kei frowned, watching Rhode's retreating back, falling into a dilemma.
"Kaito, do me a favor..."
After a while, Nagai Kei eventually came to the construction site alone, his expression tense as he saw Rhode leisurely eating oden.
"Who are you? What do you want to say?"
For some reason, despite his intelligence far surpassing his peers, he could quickly make calm, even cold, judgments no matter how chaotic the situation.
But only when facing this person did an unshakeable fear arise within him.
He was extremely wary, on high alert, and tried his best to remain calm.
"Just a heads-up, I've already had my friend wait at the intersection in the distance. If I don't return within fifteen minutes, he'll call the police immediately."
Rhode discarded the skewer in his hand, giving Nagai Kei an appreciative look.
This guy's personality was different from most Japanese anime protagonists; he was a purely rational egoist with extremely high intelligence.
Such a person could play a significant role in any field, but Rhode wasn't interested in wasting energy to subdue such a person as a subordinate.
"Let's make a deal."
A pistol appeared out of thin air in Rhode's hand, aimed at Nagai Kei's forehead.
"Until you wake up again."
Nagai Kei's eyes widened.
"!!!"
Five minutes later.
Rhode and Suzuki Jun walked out of the renovation site.
Suzuki Jun frowned, not hiding her disgust and revulsion.
"That guy is so strange... After knowing he was an Ajin and that you could take that power from him, he immediately knelt and begged you to take this ability without any hesitation."
"There was no struggle or confusion at all; he was just like a machine that only judged pros and cons."
Rhode showed a faint smile.
"Isn't that good? I like making deals with such sensible people the most."
After all, without wasting a single word or a moment of time, he gave me a big one!
[A-rank Wish completed.]
[Task completion normal, wish-maker satisfaction exceeded.]
[Congratulations on obtaining A-rank reward.]
[Congratulations on obtaining Nagai Kei's ability: Ajin.]
[Congratulations on obtaining 3000 Wish Points, current balance 45900 points.]
Because he so clearly understood the immense impact revealing his Ajin identity would have on his life, he was willing to pay any price to eliminate this ability.
This extreme rationality resulted in the final Wish Points exploding to even higher than an S-rank reward!
These points were now almost enough to fulfill Rhode's second step plan.
After all, the abilities he wanted to acquire in that world might cost an unimaginable number of points.
And not only that...
Hovering over the entire sky was a monstrous beast, visible only to Ajin, like a natural disaster.
It was a pitch-black dragon, so massive it almost covered all of Tokyo!
Nagai Kei had actually died and revived, activating his Ajin bloodline, at the moment of his birth, and IBM particles had been growing within him for over a decade!
One wish, decades worth of IBM particle concentration, once again caused his IBM ability to surge!
"Now, it's time to meet her~"
-
"Well then, I'm off work."
Forcibly ignoring her boss's probing, Retention tone, Taiinaka Yoko suppressed the disgust in her heart and walked out of the convenience store expressionlessly.
The streetlights were already on, and young couples were already boldly showing affection on the streets, while she just walked with her head down, dragging her tired body.
As she passed a cake shop, she couldn't help but quietly gaze through the display window at the inside.
A mother was smiling brightly, choosing a cake for her adorable daughter, while the father watched with a cheerful smile, ready to pay at any moment.
She watched them so intently that she didn't even notice when they had left.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she suddenly came to her senses, turning to leave in a daze.
While waiting for the traffic light, a conversation between two brothers nearby caught her attention.
"Hey, have you seen that video?"
"Duh, you mean that handsome uncle who claims to be the Ajin savior... Honestly, I never thought those Ajin were so miserable in private. Seeing those scenes, I had nightmares at night."
"Actually, I didn't care about them before, and I even envied their immortality. Now that I think about it, it's a good thing I'm not an Ajin."
"Yeah... Damn it, some trolls are popping up in the comments again, saying that uncle is just a showboating clown. Ugh, don't make me use the box weapon!"
"Every time I see such idiots, I wish I had the ability to shoot them through the screen!"
Taiinaka Yoko secretly perked up her ears.
Ajin... savior... what are they talking about?
The two brothers continued their lively conversation.
"Don't you think the uncle's speech is so captivating? It even makes normal people like us feel an uncontrollable urge to follow him!"
"That's charisma, pure charisma. Wasn't that German fellow the same?"
"And he's truly like a saint, standing up for those Ajin who are unrelated to him, without even getting any benefit!"
"His ability is also very strong; even YouTube can't block his videos! By the way, should we make a fan-made video or vlog to help him spread the word?"
The older brother gestured with his phone, which had been recording the whole time, and smiled proudly.
"What do you think I'm doing?"
The younger brother looked at his older brother's phone and suddenly asked reflexively.
"Brother, did you get a new phone? What about the old one..."
Whack—
"Damn it, you idiot! We are fighting for a great humanitarian cause, not shooting commercials!"
The younger brother clutched his aching forehead and said aggrievedly.
"Sorry, brother, I just got used to it."
The older brother suddenly looked at Taiinaka Yoko nearby, his eyes lighting up, and went over to interview her.
"Hello, how do you feel about the Ajin savior?"
Taiinaka Yoko's eyes were dim, and she gave a self-deprecating smile.
"I don't understand Ajin, and I don't believe in the existence of a savior."
"Sorry, I have something to do, I'll be leaving now."
Without waiting for a reply, Taiinaka Yoko somewhat frantically grabbed her bag and ran off, leaving the two brothers standing there, looking at each other.
She ran wildly through the streets, constantly wiping tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.
A savior? Don't joke around!
How could such a thing exist?
Speaking of which, everyone around her thought she should be living a very happy life.
Although her biological father passed away when she was in her first year of high school, her stepfather, brought in by her mother's remarriage, was very caring towards her.
Her mother also never spoke ill of her, this burden, remaining as she always was.
However...
Only she knew that everything was a suffocating illusion.
Her stepfather was a drunkard and a gambler. He cared about her because he wanted her to go out and earn money working, then come back and "lend him money" to go out and play.
Her mother remained as she always was because she only wanted to maintain her current life and didn't want to hear her express her inner confusion and sadness, choosing to ignore everything.
In high school, she was determined to work hard, wanting to move out after graduation.
She finally managed to secretly save a million, but when she returned home, her stepfather had secretly gambled away more than half of it....
Unable to bear that feeling of despair, she tearfully questioned him, only for him to casually brush her off, then excitedly offer to introduce her to a job that could earn even more money.
When she communicated privately with her mother, that respectable lady would always just say, "Don't talk about it anymore."
She used to be happy when she learned her parents had a shotgun wedding.
She naively thought that they got married because of her, which meant her parents loved her very much.
But... no one in this world loves me!
Running all the way to an empty park, Tanaka Youko squatted on the ground and cried loudly.
After a long time, she stood up expressionless, scoffed, wiped away her tears, and numbly dragged her body back towards her residence.
When she opened the door with her key, she heard men talking inside the house.
Tanaka Youko frowned in disgust.
Is it her stepfather's drunkard friends again....
However, after pushing open the door, she saw a handsome, cheerful boy waving and smiling at her.
"Welcome home."
Tanaka Youko's heart trembled violently, and she almost burst into tears.
How long had it been since she last heard those four words...
She secretly glanced at the beautiful older sister standing behind the boy, who seemed to be scrutinizing her as well.
Tanaka Youko immediately felt an indescribable sense of loss and, feeling inferior, lowered her head and walked towards her room.
"I, I'm going back to my room to do my homework."
Her stepfather's rough voice boomed out.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't you see we have guests? Who raised you to be so impolite!"
After speaking, her stepfather fawned over the handsome boy, rubbing his hands and smiling.
"A wild girl without a biological father's upbringing is like this, haha. Don't worry, sir, once you buy her, you can discipline her as you please!"
"Don't let her frail appearance fool you, she's actually quite capable. Of course, if you want to do 'that,' she's also old enough...."
Tanaka Youko's bag fell to the floor, and she stood there, stunned.
The previous insults were already commonplace, but that last sentence made it impossible for her to pretend not to hear it anymore!
They... they want to sell me?!
I've already endured so much; have they really gone this far? Damn it!
She gritted her teeth and angrily turned to look at her mother on the sofa, hoping she would loudly refute such an absurd joke.
But that lady just looked down, fiddling with her fingers, seemingly tacitly agreeing to everything.
.....
The last bit of color in Tanaka Youko's eyes vanished.
Heh heh....
Am I still abandoned?