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Chapter 289: Immortals Arranged Like Hemp
Chapter 289: Immortals Arranged Like Hemp
After sending the email, Asagiri did not hesitate.
"Drive. You know what to do, right?"
"Understood."
Ashikaga Miwa nodded slightly, then pulled open the opaque soundproof panel between the rear passenger seats and the front seats. She gave an order to the driver sitting upright behind the wheel.
"Turn on the navigation. Search the route of the train Kayaba Akihiko is on, then drive to intercept the moving train."
"Understood, Ashikaga-sensei."
Ashikaga Miwa was very familiar with Asagiri’s ability.
Entering a high-speed train would be absolutely impossible for ordinary Players. But for Asagiri, as long as he first used Cyber Hunt to make Crazy Mita appear inside the train, then brought himself within fifty meters of her, he could instantly swap positions through Kings Gambit.
"Could it be... a Player?"
Hearing the slight worry in Kato Megumi’s voice, Iwanaga Kotoko replied calmly.
"Kayaba Akihiko is quite famous as a scientist. There must be others besides us who recognize the value of his research theories. Of course, it could also be one of Ashikaga-sensei’s enemies, someone who simply wants to disrupt her plan. Either way, daring to make a move on a train means the opponent definitely isn’t ordinary."
Yuuki Asuna frowned, anger flashing in her eyes.
"There aren’t only Kayaba Akihiko and the people Ashikaga-sensei arranged on that train. There are ordinary passengers too. To act inside a high-speed train... they’re too reckless."
"It’s not that bad."
Asagiri lightly patted Yuuki Asuna’s shoulder and smiled.
"There are people who dare to kill someone in the middle of the road. Besides, acting inside the train isn’t recklessness. It’s because choosing this timing is the safest. They’re far from the city, so the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department won’t be able to arrive quickly. They probably believe that even if Ashikaga-sensei has Players on her side, it’ll be hard for them to enter the high-speed train and provide support."
At this point, Asagiri suddenly changed the subject.
"Besides the two possibilities Kotoko mentioned, there’s another one."
When Yuuki Asuna heard this, she vaguely guessed what Asagiri meant, and her eyes trembled slightly.
"You mean... Players from another world came to our world for a Dungeon mission?"
"That possibility can’t be ruled out. Logically speaking, I think it’s actually the most reasonable explanation."
Sitting inside the speeding black extended luxury sedan, Asagiri looked at his three teammates and the serious-faced Ashikaga Miwa, then slowly continued.
"Only Players from another world currently completing a Dungeon mission could completely disregard the consequences of doing something like this. They wouldn’t have to worry about being pursued or investigated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department afterward, because they don’t belong to this world in the first place. As long as they complete the mission given by the system, they can leave. If that’s the case, then their clear condition should be..."
Asagiri turned to Ashikaga Miwa and asked.
"I remember you said Kayaba Akihiko brought all his relevant experimental data with him this time, right?"
"Yes. But the computer he’s carrying has been professionally encrypted. It’s impossible to crack it in a short time..."
Ashikaga Miwa stopped halfway through, realizing the limitation in her own assumption, then sighed heavily.
"But the enemy doesn’t need to crack it immediately. Perhaps the system will give them the corresponding reward once they obtain the computer. Or perhaps they can take it back to their own world and crack it slowly. They might even possess hacking abilities like yours, abilities that exceed the technological limits of this world. It’s impossible to infer Players’ actions and motives using common sense..."
"Kayaba Akihiko’s research achievements..."
Iwanaga Kotoko pursed her lips, supporting her fair chin with one hand as she sank into thought.
"If this really is a Dungeon mission given by the system, and it’s the first Dungeon mission in our world, then does that mean Kayaba Akihiko and his research achievements are considered one of the most valuable things in our world by the system?"
"Maybe, but..."
A faint dark-gold light flickered in Asagiri’s black eyes, and he spoke in a relaxed, almost casual tone.
"This world belongs to us. So the things in this world belong to us too."
...
Meanwhile, inside the train heading toward Tokyo.
A plain-looking man dressed in a shirt, suit pants, and tie, with a white lab coat over his clothes like a researcher, sat quietly in his seat while holding a laptop bag.
Around him were more than ten bodyguards in black suits, all with serious expressions.
Judging by their movements, either resting their right hands near their waists or slipping them inside their jackets, they were clearly carrying firearms. Although security checks were required before boarding the train, with Ashikaga Miwa’s connections and influence, arranging for her people to bring guns onboard was barely worth mentioning.
Just then, one of the bodyguards’ phones suddenly rang.
The instant he took out his phone, before he could even look at it, a cute twin-tailed girl jumped out from the phone screen.
"Who’s there!?"
"Relax, look how scared you are."
Facing more than ten guns instantly drawn and aimed at her, Crazy Mita merely wore an impatient expression and waved her hand.
"Check your phones. You should’ve all received a notification from that middle-aged old woman. I’m here to take over."
The bodyguards took out their phones and glanced at them. Sure enough, they had received a text from Ashikaga Miwa, and its content was very simple.
Obey all orders from this twin-tailed girl.
"Sorry."
The people arranged to protect Kayaba Akihiko were naturally Ashikaga Miwa’s most trusted and capable subordinates. They immediately put away their guns and waited for Crazy Mita’s instructions.
"How many enemies?"
"We aren’t certain yet, but since we boarded the train, five suspicious people have been lingering near the connection between our carriage and the next. They seem to be observing something."
"Five people..."
Crazy Mita snorted disdainfully.
With her personality, she wanted nothing more than to attack the enemy directly with grenades and a chainsaw. However, Asagiri’s order was to delay as much as possible. No matter how reluctant she was, she could only obey.
She first glanced at the display screen above the carriage connection, confirming the number shown there. Then she looked at the scenery flashing past outside the window. Finally, her gaze fell on Kayaba Akihiko, who remained seated with a calm expression.
"A speed close to four hundred kilometers per hour... It’s an express train. Looks like there’s no way to simply take you away."
Crazy Mita had considered whether she should grab Kayaba Akihiko and jump off the train directly.
But at this speed, even she would suffer serious injuries after jumping out, let alone Kayaba Akihiko, who was only an ordinary person. Even if he did not hit the ground directly, the impact upon landing would still kill him.
Perhaps the other side had considered exactly that and deliberately chosen to act inside a moving train.
"Hmph. They thought this through pretty well."
While Crazy Mita observed the surrounding environment, Asagiri was also collecting information through her as his Persona.
If it were only a matter of killing every enemy inside the train, it would not be difficult for Asagiri.
The real problem was how to ensure Kayaba Akihiko survived.
If the train were damaged during the fight, then at nearly four hundred kilometers per hour, Kayaba Akihiko, an ordinary person, would have no chance of survival.
"How much longer?"
Hearing Asagiri’s question, Ashikaga Miwa glanced at the navigation map on her phone and replied.
"Seven minutes until we reach the rendezvous point."
"Seven minutes..."
Asagiri looked at Iwanaga Kotoko.
"Why do you think they didn’t act as soon as they boarded the train and waited until now instead?"
"Hmm..."
Iwanaga Kotoko was also thinking about that question, her brows tightly furrowed.
"Yes... Although it’s difficult to provide support to a high-speed train, if they were being cautious, they should have acted earlier. Could the system have given some kind of restriction? But according to the rules of this game system, it doesn’t directly limit Players’ actions through explicit rules. So..."
Iwanaga Kotoko recalled the several Dungeons they had experienced so far and came to a conclusion.
"Could it be that the goal of their Dungeon mission this time isn’t to kill Kayaba Akihiko or steal his research results? Maybe that’s only a hidden bonus route, while the real clear condition is like the Kyozan Mental Hospital Dungeon we experienced before: reaching a certain evacuation point?"
Kato Megumi heard this and asked tentatively.
"Then could it be... that the evacuation point set by the system is somewhere in Tokyo?"
"Oh, now this is truly hell difficulty."
Hearing Asagiri’s smiling evaluation, Ashikaga Miwa, Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and Iwanaga Kotoko all had the same thought.
The originally heavy and serious atmosphere even became strangely cheerful.
Although they did not know the exact mission assigned to those Players from another world, setting the evacuation point somewhere in Tokyo was indeed wicked.
Who were the Players in Tokyo?
Utsunomiya Asagiri.
Yuuki Asuna.
Iwanaga Kotoko.
Kato Megumi.
Ashikaga Miwa.
Kaguya Shinomiya.
Fujiwara Chika.
Hayasaka Ai.
The three on Kaguya Shinomiya’s side stood at the top of the current Player power pyramid.
As for Asagiri’s team of four, they were even more terrifying.
They were the very tip of that pyramid.
It could truly be said that immortals were arranged like hemp.
The difficulty of a third-stage Dungeon certainly lived up to its reputation.
.....
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