Chapter 35: Three Red Dots

Junta Nakao had always had something he wanted to say, but he could never find the words. Every time he saw Izumi Akazawa, he felt a slight tightness in his chest, as if breathing had become difficult.

He was in love with this girl.

That was why, even in the pouring rain, he pedaled his bicycle with frantic speed. The wheels spun rapidly, kicking up a spray of rainwater that trailed behind him.

"Izumi!"

Despite the downpour, Junta recognized her instantly—the girl standing on the street corner, the object of his secret affection, Izumi Akazawa.

An inexplicable sense of excitement surged within him. He suddenly let go of the handlebars, stood up on the pedals, and waved his arms wildly at her.

Hearing someone call her name, Izumi turned her head instinctively toward the sound.

Suddenly, she froze.

"Stop! Please, stop!"

Izumi stood up and waved her hands frantically, signaling for him not to come closer. But her actions only led to a misunderstanding on Junta’s part.

He thought she was beckoning him to come over.

With that thought, Junta leaned low over the frame and pedaled even harder.

"Oh no!" Tao Yunchuan, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly shouted as a figure appeared in front of him. "Stop the car!"

Long Xiang’s reaction was far faster than Tao’s. The moment he saw Junta burst into the road, he instinctively slammed his left foot down, pinning the brake to the floor.

*Screech!*

The black tires locked instantly, straining to stop the speeding car through friction against the wet road. If only it hadn't been raining, if only there hadn't been a layer of water on the ground.

But it was too late.

It was the first time Izumi had witnessed such a sight—the first time she saw a living classmate die right before her eyes.

With a sickening *thud*, Junta was launched from his bicycle. He traced a parabolic arc through the air and landed with a wet smack right in front of Izumi.

The angle at which Junta landed was gruesome. His neck hit the ground first, snapping with a sharp *crack*. His head was bent back at a ninety-degree angle, as if he were straining to look up at the sun.

Blood began to ooze slowly from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. He lay there face down, his head tilted back, staring at the girl he had loved with eyes flowing with blood.

Izumi Akazawa.

Izumi was completely paralyzed, watching the blood seep from Junta’s body and mingle with the rainwater on the ground.

She recoiled, desperate to escape the blood that seemed to move with a life of its own, spreading toward her. But it was all in vain.

Izumi’s foot slipped, and she fell backward into the rain. Before the pain of the impact could even register, the blood had already reached her.

The crimson liquid crawled slowly along the rainwater, staining her skirt.

In that moment, the blood seemed to possess a soul—Junta’s soul—crawling desperately toward the one he loved. Along with his lifeless, vacant eyes, the image was seared deeply into Izumi’s heart.

When a person is terrified to the point of extremity, they lose the ability to speak. Like Izumi now, she could only keep her mouth agape, letting the rain fall into it.

The rain seemed to carry the metallic tang of Junta’s blood.

Izumi, unable to comprehend what had just happened, shakily stood up and walked toward the car that had come to a halt.

She peered inside. It was empty.

The curse!

The curse of Class 3-3!

The words played over and over in her mind like a broken record. Driven by a maddening obsession, she pressed her face against the car window. She stared until all light faded from her eyes, and then, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from her, she collapsed to the ground.

The rain continued to fall, pitiless and unrelenting.

Suddenly, a black umbrella appeared above her.

She looked up.

"Teacher Zhang?" Izumi whispered the man’s name instinctively.

Old Snake nodded, his face heavy with solemnity as he crouched down. "This is also the curse of Class 3-3. A curse you cannot escape."

*Curse…*

It was that word again!

The words of Tatsuji Chibiki flashed through her mind once more.

*"I saw that boy last year..."*

*The extra person is Mengchao Liu! How much longer are you going to hide it, Izumi Akazawa!* Deep within her, a voice seemed to be screaming at her.

"Teacher Zhang..." Izumi turned her head, looking at the old man helplessly, like a drowning person clinging to a raft. "Do you... really know Mengchao Liu?"

"Do you know him?" Old Snake didn't answer; he countered with a question of his own.

"I..." Izumi closed her eyes, and Mengchao Liu’s face immediately appeared in her mind. "I know him. He can’t be the extra person, can he? He only just arrived in Japan this year!"

Silence followed, save for the patter of rain hitting the ground.

Neither spoke for a long while. Finally, Old Snake let out a long sigh, his face filled with sorrow.

"At noon, I called back to China," Old Snake said, holding Izumi’s gaze—experience told him this was the best way to earn someone’s trust. "I asked them for the room numbers we stayed in while we were in Tokyo."

"Room numbers?"

Seeing Izumi ask, Old Snake’s heart settled. The prey had taken the bait; now all that remained was to let Izumi fill in the blanks herself, convincing her of Mengchao Liu’s identity as the "extra."

"We stayed in two rooms. One was a triple business room, and the other was a double business suite."

As soon as he said those words, the look in Izumi’s eyes changed.

A triple room plus a double suite meant five people in total!

*So… there was an extra person among them!*

"You’ve realized it too, even if you don't want to admit it," Old Snake sighed, as if speaking of the most unbelievable thing in the world. "There was suddenly one too many of us Chinese exchange students. It was as if we were haunted."

"Who is that person..."

Izumi’s voice trembled. In her heart, she prayed that he wouldn't say that name—not even a syllable.

"It’s Mengchao Liu."

*Boom!*

A muffled roll of thunder shattered the last of her illusions.

"No... that’s impossible..."

"I checked. There were students who came to Yomiyama last year, too. They said it was for a trip. They never went back."

"That could be... it could be someone else..." Izumi shook her head, desperately trying to deny his words.

"But... when I called back, I could only find records for five visas..." Old Snake said firmly. He knew that the more composed he appeared when she was in a panic, the easier it would be to deceive her.

With the aid of death and the help of *that lord*, Old Snake was certain the girl in front of him believed him.

*The extra person is Mengchao Liu!*

Reiko Mikami’s face, Yukari Sakuragi’s face, the face of the Chinese exchange student Weijie Zhao, Ikuo Takabayashi’s face, the face of Takeru Mizuno, and finally... the face of Junta Nakao, who had just died before her eyes—one after another, they spun through her mind like a revolving lantern.

"Your hesitation killed us."

"It killed us!"

Every one of them was saying the same thing. The words turned into liquid, flowing and blurring, dyeing Izumi’s vision red.

"Sister..."

In her daze, Izumi seemed to hear her brother’s voice calling out to her.

"Kill... the extra person... avenge me..."

"Avenge..."

Izumi stood up slowly, muttering silently. She wandered aimlessly, as if her soul had been stripped away.

Watching her receding figure, Old Snake smiled—a triumphant, smug smile. The ring on his finger seemed to hear his laughter, gleaming in the dim, overcast sky.

"That lord truly gave me a wonderful gift!"

Old Snake leaned down and kissed his ring.

The rain grew heavier.

Mengchao Liu was right there in the rain—or rather, at the place closest to the sky.

Beneath his feet stood an abandoned water tower. At this moment, the entire town of Yomiyama lay at his feet.

"Agent... two game participants, Tao Yunchuan and Long Xiang, have been erased for killing a plot-critical character."

Valia’s voice suddenly rang in Mengchao’s ear.

"I know," Mengchao nodded. "They were fluctuating wildly just a moment ago. Now the prize pool has reached 850,000 points."

"By the way, Valia, didn't you say that erasing a reincarnator costs 100,000 points from the pool?"

"No, that is not necessary in this world, for those points were paid for by the other party on your behalf."

"Oh, what generous enemies," Mengchao said, standing up. "Tell me, why did you come to find me all of a sudden? I recall this world isn't over yet."

"Because it has been detected that an anomaly has occurred in this game world," Valia’s voice paused, as if weighing her words. "You may have to face something new."

"Something new?"

"The Fantasy Kingdom... no, perhaps that won't be used." Valia started to say something, then suddenly retracted her judgment and changed the subject.

"Agent, what are you looking at? The scenery?"

"Scenery?" Mengchao laughed. "Not scenery. Just red dots. Three little red dots hiding in this town."

"Red dots? What are those?"

"Enemies. Enemies that Eagle Eye has revealed to me."

High above the wind, Mengchao’s tone was colder and more ominous than ever before.