Had Chisato Nishikigi come from the Abyss?
And not just her-all five people in the café had come from the Abyss?
What...
As Luo Shu reeled in surprise, Chisato Nishikigi put her hands behind her head and said nonchalantly:
"When we came to this world, the Metropolitan Police Department's special operations team nearly killed us... We were already exchanging fire with them. If the boss hadn't stepped in to negotiate and used her position to vouch for us, we'd probably have been specimens for quite a while by now."
At that, Chisato Nishikigi lowered her hands, folded her arms, and said with a troubled expression:
"But even with someone vouching for us, we apparently still aren't allowed to attend school. Honestly, I couldn't go to school back home because I wasn't registered, and now it's the same here. I have pretty mixed feelings about that~"
"That actually happened?" Luo Shu was stunned to hear it and couldn't help asking, "But speaking of which, Chisato, what exactly is the Abyss like?"
"Ah, I can't really explain that either."
Chisato Nishikigi scratched her cheek awkwardly, then folded her arms and considered the question seriously:
"The world Takina and the rest of us lived in was relatively ordinary. Aside from some slightly better technology, there weren't any sorcerers, people with superpowers, demons, or anything like that."
"Everyone at the café was actually an agent working for a government department in that world. Wait, do Lycoris count as agents? I think they should."
Chisato Nishikigi thought for a moment, then explained:
"We were doing our Monday deep cleaning at the café when everyone in the building suddenly came to this world. A few rats, cockroaches, stray cats, and things like that came along too. Come to think of it, finding those things was why we were cleaning in the first place."
"After we arrived in this world, nothing much happened to us people, but the rats and stray cats suddenly turned into monsters, and they were especially fond of attacking people."
"According to people here, that's apparently a phenomenon unique to an 'Abyss' manifestation."
At that, Chisato Nishikigi scratched her head sheepishly and said:
"But if you ask me what the Abyss is like, I really don't know. I don't understand it at all. As far as I experienced it, there was just a pop, my vision blurred, and I was here."
"Besides, my life was pretty ordinary, you know? There wasn't anything weird at all. If anything, things only got weird after we came to this world, right?"
Giant rats... Is that where the irradiated rats on the news came from? Ordinary rats from their original worlds turn into monsters like that when they arrive through the Abyss?
And this so-called 'Abyss' is actually other worlds, right? A bunch of other worlds stacked together like a layer cake-is that what the 'Abyss' is?
Animals turn into monsters when they pass through the Abyss, but what about people? Chisato Nishikigi and the others all seem perfectly normal.
While Luo Shu was thinking, Chisato Nishikigi seemed unsure how to explain the Abyss. As though afraid he would ask more questions, she abruptly changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, I heard some special sorcerers called 'Mediums' have special eyes that let them see strange things other people can't. And apparently, if you respond to them, those strange things will descend from the Abyss."
At that, Chisato Nishikigi asked Luo Shu with an extremely serious expression:
"Luo Shu, could you take a look and see whether there are any of those strange things in the café?"
Luo Shu looked at her speechlessly. "...You just said only special sorcerers can do that. Do I look like that kind of sorcerer?"
But as soon as he finished, Chisato Nishikigi patted his shoulder. "Haha, I was just messing with you~"
"The café is our base, after all. The boss set up items here to block those strange things ages ago, so even if you were a Medium, you wouldn't see any of them here."
Then Chisato Nishikigi added, "Oh, right. Speaking of items, she found you because you picked up her wallet, didn't she?"
Luo Shu froze. "Don't tell me Chief Tachibana's wallet is a special item too?"
"It is a special item. They're also called Abyss items, of course." Chisato Nishikigi nodded with a radiant smile and explained, "I call that thing the Lucky Wallet. It's a wallet that can get lost at any time, but once it's found again, something good happens."
"Come to think of it, that's how the boss got her most powerful weapon. She even picked it up herself right in front of me."
So that wallet was something that amazing? Shit, I was too hasty. I actually let that woman buy me off with just 200,000 yen!
Now Luo Shu understood just how formidable Tachibana Kirika was. That woman actually used entrapment!
"All right, we've picked out your clothes. Let's go." Chisato Nishikigi gave Luo Shu a light push, urging him to leave.
"That's it? Don't I need to try them on?" Luo Shu asked in confusion as she pushed him along.
"Nope, no need. My eyes are better than a machine, you know. I already figured out your measurements. These clothes are actually the best fit."
Chisato Nishikigi finished with a smile, then immediately realized something was off and hastily corrected herself:
"Ahem, just kidding. Anyway, let's go to the armory first and get you a weapon."
At that, Chisato Nishikigi made a finger gun:
"One of these, which you've never handled before!"
Hearing Chisato Nishi-
kigi say that, Luo Shu fell silent for a moment. Carrying the clothes, he let her push him out of the storeroom and over to a door with a mechanical lock.
"Since you'll be using firearms from now on, Mika will take a photo of you downstairs in a bit and send it to the Metropolitan Police Department so they can make your firearms permit and police ID. Oh, right, are you left-handed or right-handed?"
"Right-handed." As Luo Shu answered, he watched Chisato Nishikigi deftly unlock the armory.
Click!
The motion-activated lights came on.
Despite having braced himself, Luo Shu was still startled by the sight inside the armory.
Pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, and even man-portable rocket launchers filled the armory in densely packed rows. Luo Shu even spotted drones equipped with missile mounts.
Apart from big hardware like tanks and helicopters, the armory could practically be said to have everything.
But seriously, isn't this way too much firepower for the SDS? Are you sure you're China and not America?
Meanwhile, Chisato Nishikigi put her hands on her hips, walked into the armory, and said with a grin:
"Since you're a beginner, and a wind sorcerer on top of that, I suggest you only carry a pistol for protection. You can use it to intimidate people who don't know what you are if necessary.
"After all, letting a beginner like you use anything other than a pistol could put you at risk of accidentally hurting yourself. Oh, but you should carry a few grenades. I hear wind sorcerers in China are pretty formidable with grenades. Apparently, they're called technical bombers."
"..."
Luo Shu silently watched Chisato Nishikigi walk over to a counter, take out a pistol, and hand it to him.
"A SIG P226 Pistol. Fifteen rounds, a muzzle velocity of 350 meters per second, and an effective range of 100 meters. This model is ideal for beginners. Here, see how it feels."
Luo Shu reached out and took the grip, squeezing it a little to get used to it. It felt pretty good, though as someone who knew nothing about pistols, he would probably have thought any gun felt good.
But bullets started out traveling faster than sound. That was probably much faster than his wind magic. After all, when he had killed that rat earlier, he had been able to see the wind's path clearly. It most likely hadn't reached the speed of sound.
So were his superpowers too weak, or was modern technology too strong?
"Like it?" Chisato Nishikigi asked with a smile as she watched Luo Shu handle the gun.
"It feels pretty good." Luo Shu nodded.
Hearing that, Chisato Nishikigi clapped her hands and held her palms together. "In that case, you wouldn't mind if I took you to the shooting range to try it out now, would you?"
Luo Shu smiled at her words. "I'd love to."
Before you continue