Chapter 437
This approach is certainly not as effective as Yuki's, where whatever he says is the truth, but it's easily overlooked in large-scale screening.
"Happy?"
"Hmm, it's been a long time since we went out on business alone." The girl walked ahead with her hands behind her back, her personality as ever-changing as her character.
"Speaking of which, what's going on with Kaguya? Why didn't she cause trouble this time?" Yuki couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know, maybe Miss has figured something out. Whatever, this way I'll have less trouble." Hayasaka covered her head, feeling torn between these two equally dear friends. "I'm more surprised that Senpai didn't stop it?"
"She wants someone to keep an eye on me, right? Who else could it be but you?" Yuki shrugged. Working with him meant he couldn't leak any information about 'Thorny Rose'.
As expected, it was worth spending a lot of specialization points.
Hayasaka Ai gave a satisfied hum, looking around, unsure which area of Borderlands they had entered, surrounded by gigantic buildings of various shapes.
"Shall we go straight to those ship girls?"
"How could that be? Even if the Judge are incompetent, they still have the power to monitor them. It's too dangerous to make contact now." Yuki had already made arrangements, and asked with a smile, "Besides, are you so eager to finish this and go back?"
"I don't want to go back. I'll leave it to you." Hayasaka Ai jumped over, took Yuki's hand, and followed him into the next area.
This is the entertainment area; anything you can imagine, or even more, that stimulates the senses, pleases the mind, and satisfies the soul is here.
Chemical ecstasy, holographic perception—when Transcendental Grade abilities are applied to 'pleasure,' the resulting flourishing is enough to captivate Slaanesh.
There was a giant Rubik's Cube on one side of the street. Yuki glanced at the sign and was immediately amazed.
This is a scripted murder Reincarnation Game, but it's a million times better than a group of people sitting around a table on Earth listening to a host ramble on and on.
Once you truly enter the script, you can become a king who holds the power of life and death over thousands, or a hero revered by millions. You can also 'resurrect' your deceased lover and experience a heart-wrenching love story anew.
"Number one on the bestseller list, a 'Dragon Pride' story?"
With a shudder, his underlings immediately bowed in submission; a mere glance was enough to make a beautiful woman fall for him, and countless idiots would come knocking on his door for him to kill. This kind of thing is incredibly absurd in real life, but trying it out occasionally can help you forget the frustrations of dungeons.
Across the street, there's a beautiful glass building—the Illusion Cinema—that truly immerses you in the movie, allowing you to fight alongside the main characters. If you encounter any plot points you don't like, you can even jump in and intervene directly.
Further on, the buildings vary in size, and as long as you have enough points, any race, any player, and any quirk can enjoy them to their heart's content.
A tiny pill can bring supreme pleasure to every cell, and any beautiful woman you can imagine will appear before your eyes.
"A playground for Reincarnation Game?" Hayasaka Ai looked around, seeing that the players on the road all looked satisfied.
She had known about this place for a long time. Most factions didn't accept missions very often, so they needed to have some fun during their downtime.
Yuki had heard of it before, and this time he finally managed to find the time to come and see.
"It's roughly the same idea. There are relatively few strong individuals in places like this, and if you get too caught up in it, you can easily lose your fighting spirit."
"Then why did you come?"
"This area is complex, and the Judge probably wouldn't have time to come here for entertainment." Yuki went against the grain. 'Taiyi' could be cunning and cruel, but he would never indulge in such base pleasures.
Not only does Yuki Sorajima know how to do it, but she's also very interested in it.
"Besides, we're kind of on a date, and there's not much to do in the other areas of the Borderlands."
Dating!?
Yuki's direct attack satisfied Hayasaka Ai, and she stopped daydreaming. As a country bumpkin from Earth, it would be a lie to say she wasn't interested in this kind of Transcendental Grade pleasure.
"Where shall we begin?"
"How about this Rubik's Cube? I saw on the hint board that it can create its own script."
"I'll listen to you."
Hayasaka Ai was unusually lively today. After paying the 100-point fee, the two entered the Rubik's Cube hand in hand.
The room was divided into numerous partitions. It wasn't large, and the walls were all gray. Apart from a crystal ball, there was nothing there. Yuki scanned the area and confirmed that there was no surveillance.
That makes sense. Recklessly spying on players' privacy is a business that can't last long. Without income, it becomes a huge burden.
That's it? Could this be a scam?
Yuki around but couldn't see any trace of anything Transcendental Grade. Hayasaka Ai was busy working on the crystal ball, her butt sticking out. Writing a script was simple; all she had to do was input her ideas.
Before he could ask a question, he felt a downward pull, and the small room receded into the distance. In just a few seconds, the scene before him had completely changed.
A bright classroom, the second-to-last seat by the window, familiar school uniforms, and students talking in hushed tones.
Shuchiin?
The feedback from his five senses was so real that he could even feel his stomach growling slightly hungry as noon approached. If he weren't unable to alter his memories and could see the player panel, Yuki would have thought he was under some kind of advanced illusion.
"Hello, Yuki, would you like to have lunch together?"
A familiar voice came from behind him. Yuki and finally saw Hayasaka Ai. Yes, it was Hayasaka Ai, whom he had first met during Bloodthirsty Red Moon.
Shuchiin's school uniform, bubble socks, light blue manicure— Yuki raised an eyebrow, somewhat incredulous.
"What kind of faction is this, using such high-level illusion items to do business?"
"This thing is very fragile. Any Transcendental Grade power can shatter it. It has no practical value in combat. Hey, have you ever played a murder mystery game? The first step is role-playing. You're a first-year student in Class C at Shuchiin. Be serious."
It's a bit like children playing house, but the sensory feedback is so realistic that it's a very sophisticated form of playing house.
"Uh, so what is my persona?"
"She came from a poor family and relied entirely on her studies to gain admission to the Shuchiin. Both her parents were deceased, and she had a younger sister named Mona."
Such a standard template for everyday youth life... wait, why does this setting seem so familiar?
Yuki chose to cooperate, tilting his chair back to see two more people behind Hayasaka Ai —wasn't that Kaguya Shinomiya and her senior?
"Why are they here too?"
"In my script, the Hayasaka family replaced the Shinomiya Clan, so these two are my maids." Hayasaka Ai twitched her fingers, making a tsk-tsk sound, her expression turning pleased. "This is a rare opportunity, so let me vent my pent-up resentment. Remember to keep it a secret."
Yuki glanced at her, then at Kaguya and her senior who both looked humble, and gently covered her head.
When you cut open this golden retriever, it's black too.
Chapter Twelve: A Completely Different Art Style
"Wow, that feels so good! Even though I know it's fake, it still feels amazing."
Hayasaka Ai stretched, feeling all the darkness that had been building up inside her finally burst forth. She had just had a passionate romance with Yuki at Shuchiin, turning all her seniors into losers.
Especially when Kaguya, or rather, the maid Kaguya, begged him to let her accompany him on his dowry, it was incredibly satisfying.
Is this the form of entertainment in the Reincarnation Game? Directly experiencing another life?
Unfortunately, it's too expensive and the time is too short. The phrases like "the next day" and "after that" that suddenly advance the timeline are a bit jarring. If you had a thousand points and could stay in the game for half a year like in the real world, you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between reality and fantasy when you came out.
No wonder other players are leveling up slowly; they participate in quests infrequently, spend a lot of money, and don't have many points left to improve their strength.
This stuff is really addictive. It's another real life, making up for all regrets and satisfying all desires. If she didn't have a clear goal, she really wouldn't want to come out. It just proves that old saying:
Escaping reality is shameful, but it can be useful.
"Yuki, remember to keep this a secret. If my senior finds out, she'll definitely start a fight too, and then I'll be in big trouble in the script."
She hopped around and turned around, giving the nth instruction.
"Now you know shame? But this thing is really amazing. If used well, it can even simulate dungeons." Yuki was also amazed, fully experiencing the high efficiency of the Reincarnation Game.
In the script, he and Hayasaka Ai went to amusement parks and aquariums countless times, spending twelve Borderlands hours experiencing almost every kind of date. There was no need to waste time in reality. In terms of sophistication, it even surpassed The Matrix.
"But that crystal cannot withstand Transcendental Grade power."
"You can play puzzle-solving dungeons to accumulate experience. Wow, the items in the Reincarnation Game are really bizarre. This even works." Yuki stroked his chin, feeling that there was still a lot to explore in the Reincarnation Game, and then glanced at the satisfied players.
It's a money pit! Players with slightly weaker willpower can easily become addicted, wasting a lot of points on such meaningless things.
Yuki exhaled a breath of stale air; burning 200 points in just twelve hours was really ruthless.
"Yuki, where do we go next?" Hayasaka Ai asked, still wanting more. Having been a player for so long, she had never experienced anything like this before.
"Virtual dreams are getting boring. How about we go to the Ferris wheel?"
He pointed to the distance, where there was another Ferris wheel, only dozens of times larger than the one on Earth. Yuki had seen a description of it before.
From the deep sea to the sky, and even the boundless stars, this Kaleidoscope Ferris Wheel offers a panoramic view, which sounds incredibly romantic.
Hayasaka Ai naturally didn't object and sat down with Yuki. As they gradually rose higher, the scenery outside the window changed rapidly.
The deep blue sea appeared before my eyes, like a flowing sapphire, and I could even see mermaids swimming by.
This is a high-level virtual image, accompanied by a subtle mental inducement, making people feel as if they are actually there, maximizing the visual effects, as if they are truly in the deep sea.
"So beautiful." Yuki leaned back in the soft chair, looking around at the deep sea, and gently inhaling the girl's fragrance.
Hayasaka Ai leaned against his shoulder without saying a word. With no one to disturb him, he felt his heart racing. Just as he was wondering what to do, Yuki's hand quietly reached out.
No words were needed; their fingers were intertwined.
"I suddenly realized that while the script was exciting, this feeling was more real."
"After all, we are writing our own script, and it is precisely because of the unknown that it is so exciting." Yuki sat up slightly, making Hayasaka Ai's head, which was resting on his shoulder, more comfortable.
"Starting to be a philosopher again?" Hayasaka Ai wrinkled her nose and said with a smile, "Compared to the script, I prefer the upperclassman in real life. Although she often messes things up with me and often doesn't keep her word, well, a script with conflicts is more interesting."
"Oh, I'll definitely pass on that assessment."
"Don't say that!" The girl rolled her eyes at Yuki, just as the Ferris wheel rose and they were already above the sea.
It was dusk outside, and the boundless sea was dyed golden. A string of seagulls flew close to the surface of the sea, and every now and then, creatures from fairy tales would leap out of the water.
This landscape must have been taken from a certain instance. Looking up, Yuki could see a blurry shadow in the clouds, like Sky City.
A Western fantasy-style sailboat sails on the sea, with a handsome young man at the bow playing the violin. Then, an indescribably beautiful song comes from the sea, as a mermaid leaps out of the water and sings.
Imagine being there, with the most romantic and beautiful scenery brought right to you, as the Ferris wheel continues to rise, getting closer and closer to the Sky City.
"So beautiful, like a fairy tale." Hayasaka Ai opened her mouth and murmured to herself, then slightly covered her head. "Why are other people's dungeons Taiyi from ours?"
They had traversed through a bloodbath, witnessing the Bloodthirsty Red Moon and the city filled with Living Corpse, not to mention the Demon Hospital and the Calamity of Blood that followed, even the Cosmic Insect Disaster left the city devastated.
"Same here. It's possible that we were just too rushed and didn't appreciate the scenery along the way. I also saw such a magnificent sight when I was riding the 'Raven'."
Yuki a long sigh and gazed into the distance at the endless Wall of Sighs. He had experienced its magnificence before, and he had also witnessed the Eye of the Gods from the Witch God's Tomb overlooking the continent.
"Our story is more like 'bitter before sweet,' just like mine, where after hardship comes happiness."
"Hehe, I almost forgot how pathetic you looked under the Crimson Moon." Hayasaka Ai covered her mouth and chuckled. Like Mai Sakurajima- senpai, she had witnessed Yuki taking his first step, so she did not agree with Mona's assessment of him as 'omnipotent'.
He can be afraid, he can waver, and he can even become hysterical.
"Uh, that's a dark history. Don't tell anyone it'll ruin my image." Yuki awkwardly turned his head to the side, and as his field of vision rose, he reminisced about his gaming life.
Just like now, he stepped over endless corpses, climbing step by step to the peak. The number of enemies blocking his way was decreasing, and he was gradually getting closer to the end.
It wasn't easy, but with my senior classmates always by my side, I wasn't lonely.
"We will go back."
"Um?"
"I said we'd get out of this nightmare."
Hayasaka Ai nodded gently. She never doubted Yuki's promise. With no one else around to disturb her, she let loose today and was quite lively.
"I don't actually hate the Reincarnation Game that much, because without it, I wouldn't have met you, senpai, or even now that we're in our second year. Kaguya- san will probably fall for someone too, and she'll definitely ask me for advice. Knowing her idiotic nature, she'll surely embarrass me."
Yuki couldn't help but smile as he listened to her whispered daydreams. The plot of "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" unfolded in his mind—a lighthearted comedy without Transcendental Grade powers.
But after a while, he stopped laughing. No matter how humorous and lighthearted it was, he was just an observer, and their worlds would never intersect.
Without Reincarnation Game, Yuki's so-called wish is just wishful thinking, just like his previous disdain for harem themes like AoHi. No matter how one travels through time, humans are ultimately not NPCs. Under strict logic, wanting to build a harem in the Azure Sun World?
The ending for Bai Xue is a basic operation; if it's not handled well, you might just get a ticket and board the ship.
"Hmph, are you thanking the Reincarnation Game?" Hayasaka Ai read Yuki's mind and poked him directly.
"Uh, if there were no Reincarnation Game, would I have had any chance of developing a relationship with you to this point?"
"First of all, a college student like you would never come looking for me. Besides, with your dull personality, I'd be even less interested."
Yuki nodded with a wry smile. He wasn't really good at pursuing girls, and he hadn't even considered the Shuchiin as his targets because the difference in their social status was too great; it wasn't as simple as just getting on the ship.
"Hmm? You wouldn't be targeting my senior right now, would you?" Hayasaka Ai raised an eyebrow.
"How could that be? She's a high school student, and an idol too. I'm just an ordinary student at Izu University. How could I possibly challenge such a difficult goal?" Yuki guiltily turned his head away. In fact, if his last test was correct, he really was preparing to challenge Mai Sakurajima.
Hayasaka Ai, seeing through the situation but saying nothing, held up a second finger. "Secondly, of course you're very smart, and perhaps you really can do it, but do you dare to juggle multiple relationships?"