Suimi High School,
"Have you heard?"
"About the monster incident in Kawasaki yesterday?"
A girl whispered to her classmate,
"I heard a streamer was live at the time, but unfortunately I didn't catch it."
"There are all kinds of rumors flying around online. Is it true that a giant octopus fought the American Navy?"
"Apparently an American experiment went out of control?"
"How come I heard it was a mutation caused by nuclear wastewater?"
"Either way, it's terrifying."
As the girls chatted, they were no longer as excited as usual about gossip. They were all worried. Kawasaki was right next to Tokyo, just an hour away by boat. If a giant octopus could run wild in Kawasaki, it could just as easily wreak havoc in Tokyo.
"Relax. Even if a monster attacks, it'll hit Chuo Ward or Minato Ward first, right?"
"Monsters? That's just too unbelievable."
As the girls talked, an ordinary-looking boy in the class suddenly stood up and shouted.
"Monsters exist in this world!"
He wasn't answering the girls' question. He was arguing with his friends.
Rumors spread fast among students, and just moments ago, their group had been discussing the same topic.
But as the saying went, "No picture, no proof." No one could convince anyone else with nothing but words.
The boy sounded so sure of himself because he clearly had "proof."
After he spoke, he pulled out his phone:
"If you don't believe me, here's a video I saved yesterday."
"Is it real?"
"Send it to me—"
"Come on, let me see!"
His words set the whole class buzzing, and most of the students crowded around him.
They peered over one another at the screen. Those who couldn't squeeze their way in simply climbed onto desks and chairs to crane their necks.
Although many people