Yowane looked at the songs she had made on the computer, a mischievous smile on her face. It was all filled with works like 'Tiger Looking at Its Prey,' which she sang in falsetto, making them a bit ambiguous and particularly 'seductive.'
If she released this online, many people would probably get addicted!
"For this splendid world, let us present a 'deadly poison'!"
With a joyful expression, Yowane clicked upload, sending over a dozen songs to the website. After doing all this, Yowane started walking back, no longer bothering with her little prank.
Several days passed after this incident, and Yowane had almost forgotten about it.
Then, during a get-together with Ruiko and the others, she suddenly heard the topic come up.
"'Mental poisoning,' huh? That's really quite strange."
Kuroko pondered with a serious expression. As a Judgment member, she had also dealt with cases of people suffering from what was called 'mental poisoning.' Typically, the victims would have either a phone or a player in their hands, loaded with over a dozen songs, playing on an endless loop. Those with weak willpower would keep listening, sometimes for days and nights, until their ears bled, they foamed at the mouth, and lost consciousness before stopping. Normally, phones in Academy City could be used continuously for half a month without running out of power, unless they were electrocuted! Like electrocution! Electrocution!.
That's why this situation occurred. Although these victims could be fully cured, when they woke up, they had no idea what they had done.
By the way, the first… cough… Mitsuko Kongou, was the first to be taken to the hospital.
Due to the emergence of this 'mental poisoning' phenomenon, the website that released these dozen-plus songs has been temporarily shut down. Judgment members have also begun to investigate if there are any re-broadcast channels and to find the person who released the songs.
"I never thought a few songs could torment people to such an extent. It's truly lamentable."
Ruiko said with a pitiful expression, but it seemed like she was not the one who should be saying that!
"You are the least qualified to say that, Satén Ruiko-san, user of Imagine Breaker."
Haruue was the most provoked by this statement. When she received Ruiko's call back then, her heart almost broke. Now, hearing such words, her usually gentle temper instantly flared, and her face turned red with anger.
"Uh! I'm sorry, I was wrong."
Seeing her good friend like this, Ruiko knew it was time to admit her mistake, otherwise, she might not even be able to lift her skirts in the future.
"Alright, let's discuss this 'mental poisoning' instead!"
Mikoto suddenly stood up from her chair and acted as a peacemaker. She didn't want their friendship to be affected by such a small matter.
Meanwhile, the 'culprit' of all this sat with her legs crossed, elegantly holding a cup of black tea, smiling as she watched everything unfold before her. This was what she wanted, even if it was a bit unfair to those people. But she needed to get this group into a state where they could react to incidents at any time, otherwise, the upcoming events would be difficult to handle.
"Don't argue anymore. Are there any developments?"
At this moment, Shokuhou suddenly interjected, asking Haruue.
"Not yet. We only know that those dozen-plus songs are from the same person, and that they can make people continuously addicted. Once you listen to one, you simply can't stop."
Haruue replied dejectedly. She had searched for a long time but couldn't find any information about the person, which made her a bit unconfident in her hacking abilities.
"In that case, let's investigate together!"
Yowane said with a serious expression, though inwardly she was already bursting with laughter. Ever since they started discussing this, she had wanted to laugh, but she held it in. 'No, I must hold it in, I'm going to die. If I laugh, they'll definitely notice something is wrong. Hold it in, I must hold it in.'
"Mm! We must get justice for those victims."
Mikoto was the first to respond to Yowane's words, but Mikoto, did you know that your words almost made Yowane burst out laughing? There was no helping it, the feeling of doing something bad and no one knowing was just too much fun.
Walking behind the others, Yowane tried her best to conceal her joyful mood. She followed them to the branch office, and the result was obvious: after a day of hard work, even after dinner, they still hadn't found out who released the songs.
"Make sure to get some rest, don't overwork yourself."
After pouring a cup of tea for the exhausted Haruue, Yowane said comfortingly.
"But I want to work harder. If this person has some ulterior motive, wouldn't we miss it again?"
As if recalling Ruiko, who had fallen into a deep sleep because of Imagine Breaker, Haruue's face showed a serious expression, proving that this child was constantly growing, and this realization, this thought, was the proof.
"Then, I won't disturb you, but please take care of your health."
Yowane said to Haruue with a smile, feeling relieved in her heart. Having this realization was good.
"Are you all ready to rest?"
"No, I'll wait for Haruue."
"Me too, I'll wait for the results and for the progress of the matter."
Yowane deliberately asked the others, and the answers she received reassured her a lot. Only with a potential 'enemy' hidden in the dark could their vigilance be maintained.
Thinking this, Yowane also sat down to accompany them.
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