Volume 1, Chapter 17: Came Knocking
The fifth day after the Mother Hive incident.
11:20 a.m.
Shuichi stood beside the checkout area, holding a cup of pudding that had just been pulled from the refrigerated case.
The production date was fine.
The packaging was fine.
The temperature was fine too.
The only problem was—
"Why can't this be sold?"
He asked.
Asakawa Mio was crouched beside him sorting near-expiry items and didn't even look up.
"The packaging's torn."
"Where?"
"Bottom right corner."
Shuichi turned the cup all the way around.
He finally spotted a very faint dent.
The outer plastic film had been scraped by the edge of the shelf, torn less than a centimeter, and the sealed cup inside hadn't even been affected.
"It's still edible."
"I didn't say it wasn't edible."
Mio set the label gun aside. "It just can't stay on the shelf for sale."
"Then what happens to it?"
"It gets logged as shrinkage."
"And then?"
"Thrown out."
Shuichi went silent.
He looked down at the pudding.
Then at Mio.
"Wasteful."
"So why the sudden environmental awareness today?"
"The food didn't do anything wrong."
Mio looked up.
Right into Shuichi's perfectly earnest expression.
She held it in for two seconds.
"If you want to eat it, just say so."
"Can I?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"This is store shrinkage, not an employee perk."
"Isn't it getting thrown out in the end anyway?"
"Rules."
Shuichi was clearly not satisfied.
Mio held out her hand.
"Give it to me."
Shuichi didn't.
"What are you going to do?"
"Log it."
"And after that?"
"Throw it out."
Shuichi pulled his hand back.
Mio: "..."
The scene felt oddly familiar.
Yesterday's bottle of water had gone just like this.
She stood up.
"Shuichi."
"Mm."
"Give it to me."
"It doesn't have to get thrown out."
"The manager checks."
"You don't tell him."
Mio stared at him.
Shuichi looked right back.
The standoff lasted a few seconds.
Finally, Mio reached for it.
Shuichi dodged to the side.
The space between the shelves wasn't wide to begin with, and he'd barely taken half a step back before his back hit the display rack behind him.
Mio followed him in.
One hand grabbed the wrist holding the pudding.
"Let go."
"Promise you won't throw it out first."
"This belongs to the store."
"So I'll buy it after work."
"Damaged packaging can't go through normal sales."
"Then I'll pay for it."
"..."
Mio was getting a little fed up with his runaround.
"Why are you so fixated on one pudding?"
Shuichi looked at her.
"It's plain flavor."
"..."
A remarkably solid reason.
Someone nearby suddenly laughed out loud.
They both turned their heads.
Takahashi Misaki was standing at the entrance to the checkout area with a stack of shopping bags in her arms.
"Sorry."
She tried hard to hold it in. "I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose."
Only then did Mio realize she was still holding Shuichi's wrist, and that in the fight over the pudding, the two of them had gotten very close.
She instinctively let go.
Shuichi, for his part, didn't think anything of it at all.
"You think it's edible?"
He even sought a third-party opinion from Misaki.
"Me?"
Misaki looked at the pudding.
"Probably, yeah."
"Two to one."
Shuichi looked at Mio.
Mio: "..."
"What two to one?"
"A vote."
"Nobody voted."
"She said it's edible."
Misaki hurriedly waved her hands.
"I didn't say store rules allow it."
Shuichi went silent.
Traitor.
In the end, Tanaka Makoto walked by and glanced at the pudding.
"Log it."
Shuichi was instantly crestfallen.
Tanaka added one more thing.
"Then put it in the staff break room. Whoever wants it can eat it. Nobody takes it home."
Shuichi came back to life.
"Wise decision, Manager."
Tanaka looked at him.
"Since when are you this respectful to me?"
"Just now."
"..."
Tanaka couldn't be bothered with him.
Mio lowered her head and logged it on the shrinkage sheet.
Shuichi held his spoils of war.
He was in a noticeably good mood.
Misaki stood watching for a long moment.
Then suddenly said:
"You two are really getting more and more like..."
Mio looked up.
"Like what?"
Misaki thought about it.
And didn't say.
"Never mind."
Because for a moment she didn't know which word to pick either.
A couple?
Not really.
Siblings?
Even less.
Ordinary friends?
Just now Asakawa had practically plastered herself against Shuichi to grab something from him, and Shuichi had only dodged to protect his pudding.
At the very least, she and her ordinary guy friends definitely wouldn't act like that.
But she'd already asked once yesterday.
Asking again today seemed a little annoying.
Misaki decided to keep her mouth shut.
***
11:45 a.m.
The staff break room.
Shuichi sat at the table and finally opened the pudding that had nearly been executed.
Mio sat beside him.
Misaki sat across from them.
Yusei was still out front helping Tanaka haul a new shipment of drinks and would be a few minutes late for his break.
Shuichi peeled off the lid.
Took a bite.
Utterly content.
Mio glanced at it.
"Is it really that good?"
"It's all right."
"You fought me for ages over an 'it's all right'?"
"Can't let it go to waste."
"Didn't you just say the plain flavor was what mattered?"
"Two reasons."
Mio couldn't be bothered to argue.
She had brought a dessert herself today too.
Not pudding.
A small slice of caramel cheesecake the convenience store had just released.
The moment she opened the packaging, Shuichi looked over.
Mio's hands paused.
"What?"
"New?"
"Mm."
"Is it good?"
"Haven't tried it yet."
Shuichi kept looking.
Mio looked back at him for two seconds.
Finally she cut off a small piece with the plastic fork.
"Just one bite."
She had been planning to find an empty paper tray to put it on.
But Shuichi had already leaned in, very naturally.
And opened his mouth.
"..."
The fork in Mio's hand stopped in midair.
Shuichi was still waiting.
"What?"
"You..."
Mio looked at the fork.
Then at him.
"You can't take it yourself?"
"My hands have pudding."
He said it as if it were obvious.
His left hand held the pudding cup.
His right hand held his own spoon.
He really didn't have a hand free.
Mio was silent for two seconds.
In the end, she held the little piece of cake out to him anyway.
Shuichi lowered his head and ate it right off the fork.
For an instant, the two of them were very close.
Shuichi swallowed.
"Too sweet."
"Then why'd you eat it?"
"To try."
Mio pulled the fork back.
And cut a piece for herself.
As she brought it to her mouth, her hand suddenly paused.
Just now...
Shuichi had eaten off this very fork.
She looked down at the tines.
Then felt it was very strange to care about that now.
It was just eating together.
It wasn't like they hadn't swapped food that time outside the convenience store, either.
So she went ahead and ate it.
Misaki was sitting right across from them.
She saw the whole thing clearly.
She slowly set down the rice ball in her hand.
She wanted to say something again.
In the end, she held back.
Yesterday she'd asked "are you dating," and both of them had said no.
So they probably really weren't.
It was just—
If they weren't, how could they be this natural about it?
Only after swallowing that bite did Mio notice her expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Misaki immediately lowered her head.
She was already starting to wonder if she was just being too sensitive.
Right then, the break room door opened.
Yusei came in.
There was still a little sweat on his forehead from hauling stock.
"What smells so sweet today?"
He'd smelled it the moment he walked in.
Shuichi pointed at Mio.
"Hers."
Mio corrected him.
"My cake."
"Same thing."
Yusei came over.
He glanced at the half-eaten cake.
"Is it good?"
Mio: "It's all right."
Shuichi: "Too sweet."
They answered almost at the same time.
Yusei laughed.
"So is it good or not?"
"Try it yourself."
Mio pushed the cake a little toward him.
Yusei didn't pick up the spare fork beside it.
Instead, he casually took hold of the wrist of Mio's hand holding the fork.
"Borrowing this."
Mio blinked.
Yusei had already lowered his head and bitten off a small piece from the fork in her hand.
"..."
It happened so fast there was almost no time to react.
Only after he'd eaten it did he let go of her.
"It is a bit sweet."
Mio's hand stayed exactly where it had been.
Misaki froze too.
Shuichi, meanwhile, very naturally went on eating his pudding.
"Told you."
Yusei pulled out the chair next to Shuichi and sat down.
"Don't you usually love sweet stuff?"
"Not this sweet."
"And you still took some of Asakawa's."
"To sample."
"Why do you want to try everything?"
As he said it, Yusei casually took the pudding cup out of Shuichi's hand.
Shuichi reacted fast.
"Mine."
"You just ate Asakawa's."
"She gave me that."
"I'll just have one bite."
"No."
Yusei had already scooped out a spoonful.
Shuichi reached to grab it back.
Yusei leaned away.
Shuichi went straight over to grab his wrist.
The two of them crowded together beside one chair.
In the end, Yusei ate that spoonful anyway.
"Doesn't it taste about the same?"
Shuichi grabbed the pudding back.
"There's less now."
"One bite."
"Pay me back."
"I'll get you one."
"Two."
"Is this a robbery?"
"Emotional damages."
Misaki: "..."
She looked at Yusei.
Then at Shuichi.
And finally at Mio.
She suddenly felt that yesterday's line about "plenty of chances" had been way too premature.
What exactly was going on between these three?
One shared a fork with Asakawa.
The other also shared a fork with Asakawa.
And then the two guys could still fight over the same cup of pudding.
The strangest part was.
Not one of the three people involved thought anything was wrong.
Mio was even just sitting there, watching the two of them fight over the pudding, the corners of her mouth slowly curving up.
She was clearly used to it.
Misaki began seriously reflecting.
Maybe people in Linjiang City just stood closer to each other.
***
1:15 p.m.
Shuichi had only just gotten back to the sales floor when he saw Tanaka Makoto walking in from the entrance with a woman he didn't recognize.
She was probably twenty-seven or twenty-eight, in a very simple dark-gray suit, her long black hair tied back. She wore no extra jewelry, only a slim watch. Her features were pretty, but not in a way that deliberately drew the eye; she came across as crisp and quiet.
She looked completely out of place in a supermarket.
Tanaka Makoto's expression was different from usual too.
Not exactly nervous.
He just clearly looked like he was dealing with some troublesome official business.
"Where's Yusei?"
He asked.
Shuichi's hands paused.
"The stockroom."
The woman's gaze landed on Shuichi.
It stayed for less than a second.
And moved away, perfectly ordinary.
"Go get him for me."
Tanaka said.
Shuichi didn't move right away.
"Who's asking?"
Tanaka looked at the woman beside him.
She took a business card from the inner pocket of her suit on her own.
"Nexus Group, Linjiang Security Technology Center."
"Kamiya Risa."
Shuichi looked at the card.
Nothing changed on his face.
But inside, he had already gone quiet.
Sure enough, they'd come.
A little sooner than he'd expected.
Kamiya Risa noticed he'd looked at the card a bit longer than usual.
"Have you heard of us?"
Shuichi looked up.
"Seen you on the news."
"We have been appearing pretty often lately."
Kamiya smiled.
Perfectly normal.
No probing.
Shuichi turned.
"I'll go get him."
***
When Yusei came out, he was still wearing his work gloves.
"Looking for me?"
Kamiya Risa confirmed his face first.
Only then did she give a slight nod.
"Mr. Yusei?"
"That's me."
"Could I have a few minutes of your time?"
Yusei looked at Tanaka.
Tanaka waved a hand.
"Go ahead. There's a small meeting room next to the staff corridor."
The few of them headed that way.
Shuichi didn't follow.
He went back to straightening the shelves.
But his peripheral vision stayed on that direction the whole time.
Asakawa Mio soon came over from the other side too.
"Who is that?"
She asked very quietly.
"Nexus Group."
Shuichi said.
Mio looked at the meeting room door that had just closed.
"Here for Yusei?"
"Mm."
Her brows drew together slightly.
Nexus Group really had been showing up in the news a lot lately.
The preliminary analysis of the Mother Hive core's residue had been done with the participation of a research institution under them.
But—
Why would they come straight to Yusei?
It didn't occur to Mio that it might be about her.
When she was active publicly as Blue Lance, she never used her phone, her ID, or anything else that could be directly tied to her real identity.
Her formal combat suit itself also changed part of her hair color, her eyes, and the contours of her body.
Her movement routes were deliberately handled too.
That was basic awareness every long-term transformer had.
Otherwise, nobody would have survived to this day with their identity still a secret.
Yusei was different.
When he'd appeared, it hadn't been under any "hero identity."
He'd just been in his own clothes, prying open a bus door with his bare hands in the middle of the street, then holding up a falling ad frame.
His face hadn't been captured completely clearly, but his height, his clothes, his area of activity, and the surveillance tracks from before and after the incident all existed.
If someone really wanted to find him.
It wouldn't be hard.
Mio was silent for a few seconds.
"Do you think they've found out about the changes in his body?"
Shuichi opened a box of paper cups.
"Maybe."
"You're not worried?"
Shuichi looked up.
"Would worrying help?"
"..."
Still the same familiar answer.
But Mio didn't leave.
She kept looking at the meeting room door.
Shuichi lined up the paper cups row by row.
After a while, he suddenly said:
"Ask him when he comes out."
Mio looked at him.
"I know."
"Then stop frowning."
"I'm not frowning."
"You are."
Shuichi reached out.
His index finger pressed lightly between her brows.
Mio's body visibly stopped for an instant.
"..."
Shuichi smoothed away the tiny crease the frown had left there.
"Gone now."
Then pulled his hand back.
And kept arranging paper cups.
As naturally as if he'd just smoothed a label flat for her.
Mio stood there.
Two seconds passed.
She raised a hand and touched the spot between her brows.
"Have you been really into touching people's faces lately?"
Shuichi thought about it.
"Have I?"
"Yesterday you—"
She stopped halfway.
The meeting room door opened.
Yusei and Kamiya Risa came out together.
Mio's words stopped too.
She looked over almost immediately.
Shuichi noticed.
He didn't say anything.
***
Kamiya Risa didn't leave right away.
She stood outside the staff corridor, explaining something to Yusei.
"This isn't a mandatory investigation."
"We'd just like to run a set of basic tests."
"After the Mother Hive incident, some people exposed at close range showed short-term abnormal readings. Your case is also rather special, so the Center would like to confirm whether you've been affected by some kind of residual influence."
Yusei looked at the document in his hands.
"Special meaning?"
Kamiya didn't beat around the bush.
"In public footage, you pried open a severely deformed bus door with your bare hands."
"And a metal ad frame."
"That weight isn't within the range a normal adult male can safely bear."
Yusei wasn't really surprised.
Sooner or later, someone had been bound to come ask about this.
"So you think a calamity beast affected me?"
"Right now that's only one possibility."
Kamiya said. "It could also be a previously undiscovered ability awakening."
The moment that line came out.
Something flickered in Mio's eyes.
Shuichi, though, just stood to the side.
He didn't say anything.
Kamiya took an appointment form out of the folder she carried.
"If you're willing, we'd like to do an examination tomorrow afternoon. It won't restrict your personal freedom, and it won't require you to sign any long-term agreement."
Yusei took it.
"Location?"
"The Linjiang Security Technology Center."
"Nexus's?"
"Yes."
Kamiya smiled. "Don't worry, it's not some underground laboratory."
When Shuichi heard that.
He nearly laughed out loud.
That wasn't necessarily true.
Of course.
This Nexus probably wasn't qualified to use those old places anymore.
Kamiya then took out a pen.
"If it's convenient, please leave a contact number here."
Yusei reached out to take it.
Kamiya stood a little closer, flipping to the right page for him.
Only half a step remained between them.
Mio stood to the side.
Her gaze landed on the pen being handed over.
No expression.
She just suddenly felt that this woman always seemed to stand a little close to Yusei when she talked.
Probably a professional habit.
The meeting room wasn't wide to begin with.
And people were passing by outside now too.
Perfectly normal.
Kamiya pointed at the page.
"Here."
Yusei lowered his head and wrote.
She leaned down along with him.
A few strands of black hair fell from her shoulder.
Mio watched for two seconds.
For some reason, it grated on her a little.
The next second.
Shuichi walked past from the side.
Very naturally raised an arm and draped it over Yusei's shoulders.
And leaned his whole body against him.
"Done yet?"
The pen in Yusei's hand slipped.
"What are you doing?"
"Tired of standing."
"There's a wall right there."
"The wall's hard."
"And my shoulder's soft?"
"Better than the wall."
Kamiya Risa raised her eyes.
For the first time, she really looked at Shuichi, for two seconds.
Shuichi went on lazily leaning against Yusei.
With no intention of getting up at all.
Yusei was obviously used to it.
He only pushed him a little to the side.
"Don't lean on my writing hand."
"Oh."
Shuichi switched from his right shoulder to his left.
Kamiya: "..."
Mio stood to the side.
The unnamed discomfort she'd felt a moment ago suddenly broke off.
And turned into a different, more complicated feeling.
These two...
Why were they like this even in front of strangers?
Yusei finished filling in the information and handed the form back.
Kamiya took it.
Her gaze swept between the two of them once more.
Her professionalism kept her from asking anything.
She only said:
"Tomorrow at two in the afternoon."
"If you change your mind, you can also contact me in advance."
"Okay."
Yusei nodded.
Kamiya turned to leave.
As she passed Mio, she likewise just gave her badge a very ordinary glance.
【Asakawa Mio】
She didn't linger.
There was no reaction of recognition whatsoever.
"Sorry for interrupting your work."
"It's fine."
Mio answered.
Kamiya left.
Only once her figure had disappeared past the supermarket entrance.
Did Shuichi take his arm off Yusei's shoulders.
Yusei immediately turned his head.
"You did that on purpose just now?"
Shuichi: "Did what?"
"Leaning on me while I was writing."
"Tired."
"How many minutes had you even been standing?"
"Work is very exhausting."
Yusei clearly didn't believe him.
But Shuichi had already reached for the appointment form in his hand.
Yusei didn't stop him.
"Go ahead and look."
Shuichi skimmed it.
The items were very routine.
Blood.
Muscle strength.
Neural reflexes.
Abnormal energy residue.
None of them said "King" or "Operator" outright.
That was normal too.
Nexus might not be sure yet.
But since they had sent someone in person, it definitely wasn't just to check whether Yusei had eaten something bad.
Mio came closer too.
The three of them very naturally gathered around the same sheet of paper.
She stood on Yusei's left.
Shuichi on the right.
Because the paper wasn't big, their shoulders nearly touched.
"Are you going?"
Mio asked.
Yusei: "I'll go see."
"Alone?"
"They said it's just an examination."
"You believe everything they say?"
Mio's tone was a little faster than usual.
Yusei turned his head.
"You're worried?"
Mio paused.
"Normal judgment."
"Mm."
Yusei smiled a little.
He didn't keep teasing her.
Instead, he folded up the appointment form.
"I'll go check the place out first."
"If there's really a problem, I'll leave."
Mio looked at him.
"And if they don't let you leave?"
"Then I'll run."
"You don't even know how fast you can run at full speed right now."
"So I'm harder to catch."
Mio was so exasperated she didn't know what to say.
Shuichi suddenly spoke up.
"Don't go alone."
The two of them looked at him together.
Shuichi still had that not-quite-awake expression.
"What?"
Yusei asked.
"Unfamiliar place."
"Then you'll come with me?"
Shuichi thought about it.
"I can go as far as the entrance."
Yusei raised an eyebrow.
The guy had agreed that easily.
Mio said almost at the same time:
"I'm coming too."
Then all three of them stopped.
Yusei looked left.
Then right.
"It's just an examination."
Mio: "I know."
Shuichi: "Mm."
"Then why are you two tagging along?"
Mio, very naturally.
"To see if you get tricked."
Shuichi, even more naturally.
"To watch the show."
Yusei: "..."
Each reason was worse than the last.
But the corners of his mouth still lifted a little.
"Fine."
"Then tomorrow, all together."
***
Nothing else special happened at work that afternoon.
The only change was that Mio was noticeably quicker than usual to glance over at Yusei.
A glance when she went to the back.
A reflexive check even while talking to Tanaka.
She wasn't aware of it herself.
But Misaki noticed.
At first she figured it was because of that woman in the suit earlier.
So when Mio was alone tidying the refrigerated case, Misaki asked quietly:
"Was that someone Yusei knows?"
"No."
"Oh."
Misaki thought about it.
"She was pretty."
The yogurt in Mio's hand paused.
"Was she?"
"You didn't think so?"
"Didn't notice."
The answer came fast.
Misaki glanced at her.
She didn't call her on it.
A little later, she said again:
"She seemed really elegant."
"Mm."
"She and Yusei standing together looked kind of—"
THUNK.
Mio put a cup of yogurt into the refrigerated case.
A little harder than necessary.
Misaki stopped.
So did Mio.
Then she set the yogurt upright again.
"Sorry."
"..."
Misaki blinked.
The corners of her mouth slowly curled up.
Asakawa seemed to care a little more than she thought she did.
But this time Misaki had wised up.
She didn't ask anything further.
***
It was nearly eight in the evening by the time they got off work.
Takahashi Misaki left first.
Tanaka was still in the office doing the accounts.
The three of them came out of the staff corridor together.
Yusei had his uniform jacket slung over his shoulder.
"What are we eating?"
Shuichi: "Curry."
Yusei: "You said curry yesterday too."
"Didn't get to eat it."
"Because you didn't buy potatoes."
"I'll buy them today."
Mio walked beside them.
"The near-expiry potatoes in produce are discounted in the evening."
Shuichi immediately turned his head.
"How much?"
"Thirty percent off."
"Buy them."
Yusei laughed.
"You sure remember discounts fast."
Shuichi: "Saving money."
"Yesterday you wanted me to buy a sofa that costs over a hundred thousand."
"That's quality of life."
"It won't even fit in your place."
The three of them walked all the way to the produce section.
They were off the clock, yet they went around the store again like ordinary customers.
Shuichi picked potatoes.
Yusei was in charge of the meat.
Mio stood in front of the seasoning shelf, looking at curry roux.
Once he'd picked out his items, Yusei walked over.
"Which one?"
"Medium hot, maybe."
"Shuichi can't really handle spicy."
Mio looked back.
"Didn't he say he could?"
"When he says he 'can,' that basically means he'll drink two liters of water after eating it."
Mio thought about it.
She switched to mild.
"Then this one."
Yusei looked down at the box in her hand.
"What about you?"
"Either's fine."
"Don't you like spicy food?"
"There's no need for me to be the only one who enjoys it."
Yusei looked at her for a while.
Then suddenly reached out and ruffled the top of her head.
Very gently.
"Nice."
Mio froze completely.
"...What are you doing?"
Yusei himself seemed to only realize it after he'd done it.
But he didn't immediately drop that naturalness.
He just smiled.
"Praising you."
"You have to pat someone's head to praise them?"
"It was on the way."
"I'm twenty-two."
"I know."
"I'm not a kid."
"I know."
Mio looked at him.
For some reason, the sides of her ears slowly grew warm.
"Then why are you still patting me?"
Yusei finally drew his hand back.
"I won't next time."
His tone was quite earnest.
Mio had been about to keep going.
When she heard that.
For some reason, she felt...
He didn't necessarily have to stop, either.
The instant that thought surfaced, she froze herself.
So she turned around at once.
"Let's go check out."
Yusei stood behind her.
He didn't see her expression.
But he smiled.
Not far away.
Shuichi was holding a bag of potatoes.
He had watched the whole thing.
When Yusei walked over.
He asked:
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing."
"Something."
"None of your business."
Shuichi looked at him for two seconds.
Then suddenly raised his hand.
And gave the top of Yusei's head a careless rub too.
Yusei: "?"
"Praising you."
Shuichi said.
"Are you sick?"
"It was on the way."
Yusei's face went dark.
He reached out to grab him.
Shuichi backed off, clutching the potatoes.
"Public place."
"Oh, now you know it's a public place?"
"Asakawa."
Shuichi started calling for backup.
Mio, up ahead, turned around.
She saw Yusei with one hand already pinning the back of Shuichi's head.
His other hand going for the bag of potatoes.
Shuichi's head was pushed all the way down.
He was still shouting:
"He's bullying a customer."
Yusei: "You're an employee!"
"I'm off the clock."
"You still rubbed my head first!"
Mio stood there and watched for a few seconds.
And suddenly burst out laughing.
The strange flutter left over from getting her head patted just now inexplicably calmed down too.
Honestly.
These two.
***
9:10 p.m.
Yusei's place.
The curry was already simmering in the pot.
Shuichi was lying on the sofa.
Mio sat at the dining table, the pale-blue mug from yesterday in front of her.
It held warm water.
At some point, without anyone noticing.
That mug had come to stay here by default.
Nobody asked whether she wanted to take it home.
She didn't bring it up either.
Yusei was in the kitchen cutting the last of the fruit.
Shuichi suddenly said:
"Don't wear your work uniform tomorrow."
Yusei poked his head out.
"Obviously."
"Charge your phone."
"I know."
"Send me your location."
Yusei's movements paused.
"You're this worried?"
Shuichi looked at the ceiling.
"If you get tricked and sold off, I lose my cook."
There it was again.
Mio lowered her head and drank some water.
The corner of her mouth moved slightly.
But Yusei didn't chew him out like usual.
He just leaned against the kitchen doorframe.
And looked at Shuichi for a while.
"Got it."
Shuichi turned his face away.
Yusei went on:
"I'll send it to you."
A very ordinary line.
Yet it made Shuichi go quiet for a moment.
"Mm."
Mio sat to the side.
Then suddenly spoke up too.
"Send it to me too."
Yusei looked at her.
"Okay."
He didn't ask why.
***
At the same time.
The Linjiang Security Technology Center.
Basement level two.
Kamiya Risa uploaded the afternoon's contact record to the internal system.
Three simple personnel files appeared on the screen one after another.
【Yusei】
Male, 24.
Supermarket employee.
Abnormal individual in public Mother Hive incident footage.
Suspected abnormal awakening.
Further examination recommended.
Next page.
【Asakawa Mio】
Female, 22.
Employee at the same store.
Ordinary social background.
No abnormal ability registration found.
No need for further investigation.
Kamiya swiped straight past.
Third page.
【Shuichi】
Male, 21.
Employee at the same store.
Ordinary social background.
Partial gaps in health records.
No abnormal ability registration found.
No signs of direct connection.
Kamiya paused on this page for two seconds.
Because she remembered him that afternoon, leaning his whole weight on Yusei's shoulder.
In the end she added one line in the notes field:
【Subject has fairly close personal relationships with two co-workers.】
Saved.
Uploaded.
The screen quickly showed:
【Investigation record received.】
In another laboratory.
A fist-sized core was fixed in the center of a transparent isolation chamber.
Its surface still showed no change at all.
Until a staff member loaded Yusei's public footage into the analysis system.
On the screen.
That young man was lifting the falling metal ad frame with his bare hands.
The next second.
Deep inside the black core, which had lain dormant for dozens of hours straight—
Something lit up, ever so faintly.
It was a golden thread so fine it was almost impossible to see.
The researcher on duty froze.
"...What was that just now?"
The monitoring curve jumped at the same time.
For just 0.7 seconds.
Then dropped back to zero.
The researcher immediately pulled up the records.
And at the very bottom of the automatically generated anomaly report.
An old field that hadn't appeared in Nexus's current database for many years had been forcibly called up by the system from a deep compatibility protocol.
Just two words.
【King-type】
The researcher stared at the screen.
With absolutely no idea what it meant.