Chapter 130: Chapter 129: It’s Time to End This!
The Trial was passed!
Although there was no system prompt in the Free World, Fang Zheng could clearly feel it. After his “enlightenment,” Fang Zheng felt completely different.
Before, if he was like a bird locked in a cage, unable to escape no matter how hard he tried to fly. Now, for Fang Zheng, it was as if he had returned to the boundless blue sky, free to go wherever he wanted. He could watch a play on the East African Savannah or drink coffee at Kilimanjaro.
Not only that, but after breaking through this boundary, he finally understood what he had perceived as the “Will of the World”!
In fact, it wasn’t the Will of the World at all, but Fang Zheng’s “self-awareness”!
Frankly speaking, when facing Teppei Hojo, Fang Zheng did indeed want to kill him, but considering that he was a key figure driving the plot, Fang Zheng subconsciously held back. He was afraid that if Teppei Hojo died, the plot would collapse, and once the plot collapsed, he would be at a loss.
It was for this reason that Fang Zheng instinctively resisted changing any of this. And this world just magnified Fang Zheng’s hesitation and refusal internally, creating an illusion that it wasn’t him who didn’t want to kill the man, but the world that was preventing him. However, all along, the world had never stopped Fang Zheng from doing anything. The only thing stopping him was himself. Additionally, his “excessive understanding” of this world led him to become paranoid due to too much information, suspecting one moment that he was suffering from Hinamizawa Syndrome, and the next moment suspecting others were showing symptoms… But all this was merely Fang Zheng’s delusion, not reality.
But now, for Fang Zheng, this was no longer a problem.
“There’s been a car accident!”
Watching the chaotic intersection and the blond man being carried to an ambulance, Fang Zheng smiled slightly and casually picked up the soda placed on the nearby counter. Just moments ago, he had cast “Suppress Good Luck” on Teppei Hojo, then silently watched as he suddenly stumbled while walking, got hit by a speeding truck, and fell onto the steps beside—Fang Zheng even clearly saw his neck make intimate contact with the edge of the steps…
And now… according to the doctors who rushed to the rescue, Teppei Hojo was likely to be nothing more than a vegetative and fully paralyzed person if he was saved.
For him, this outcome was quite satisfactory.
However, for Fang Zheng, Teppei Hojo was just a small fry; what he valued was another bigger fish.
Just as Fang Zheng had finished the soda in his hand, he saw a man in a green vest walking out of the crowd. That man was the one previously with Miyo Takano, who claimed to be a wild bird photographer, Tomitake Jiro.
But his real identity was the liaison between the Irie Institution and the “Tokyo” organization.
Frankly, everyone in the Higurashi World was second rate, and this liaison was no exception. Initially, as a representative sent by the headquarters for inspection, Tomitake Jiro was utterly bewitched by that woman Miyo Takano, forgetting his own surname after a night in bed and ultimately getting killed by Miyo Takano.
Truth be told, Fang Zheng had no good impression of this man, a natural lover. Even after Miyo Takano’s conspiracy failed in the final resolution, he still thought about helping her escape punishment. Such negligence of duty… someone needed to deal with it.
With that thought in mind, Fang Zheng casually threw away the soda bottle and walked towards Tomitake Jiro.
“Hello, Mr. Tomitake.”
Startled by the sound of his name, Tomitake Jiro looked up at the approaching Fang Zheng, pondered for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face.
“Ah, Mr. Fang Zheng, I didn’t expect to meet you in Okimiya…” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel-com
“Neither did I expect to see you here. Would you be interested in having dinner together?”
Hearing Fang Zheng’s invitation, Tomitake showed some hesitation. Actually, upon seeing Fang Zheng, he felt somewhat embarrassed. He knew that Takano had deployed the Mountain Dog Unit to attack Fang Zheng, only for it to end up with Fang Zheng defeating them. To be honest, he was curious why Takano launched an assault with the Mountain Dog Unit against a normal person, although Takano claimed it was because Fang Zheng had an outbreak of Hinamizawa Syndrome. But clearly, that wasn’t the case. Although members of the Mountain Dog Unit were injured, no one died, and Fang Zheng’s behavior afterward was quite normal. This raised doubts in Tomitake’s mind, but well… he was still in the investigation phase, without any significant clues.
“I have recently taken some photos of wild birds…”
“It’s nothing, just having a meal… Oh, I’ve recently found a really nice ramen restaurant, but I don’t know where it is. Could you help me figure it out?”
As he spoke, Fang Zheng took a card out from his coat and handed it over. Tomitake hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the card and glanced at it. The next moment, his expression changed dramatically and when he looked at Fang Zheng again, it was with a hint of terror! Then Tomitake instinctively put down his camera and raised his right hand towards Fang Zheng.
“No need to salute; the Mountain Dog might be watching.”
Seeing Tomitake’s gesture, Fang Zheng snorted coldly. Hearing his voice, Tomitake hurriedly lowered his hand and glanced around.
“Inviting me for some ramen isn’t too much to ask, I assume you know a familiar place.”
“Of course, Mr. Fang Zheng.”
This time, Tomitake’s attitude toward Fang Zheng was much more respectful.
“Follow me, I know a ramen shop with excellent skills; you’ll definitely like it.”
No wonder Tomitake was so respectful towards Fang Zheng, because the card Fang Zheng had just handed him was not some chef’s business card but an identity card! Its content was simple, proving that Fang Zheng was the representative sent by “Tokyo”!
Indeed, when Fang Zheng arrived in the Higurashi World, his public identity was that of a classmate of Chie Rumiko, but privately, he was also the representative of the covert organization “Tokyo”!
If Tomitake was a frontier fighter, then Fang Zheng was akin to an imperial emissary; the status and identity of the two were naturally incomparable.
Originally, Fang Zheng came here in search of a trial, but now, he had seen through the true meaning of this world, and thus, it was time to end this game.
However, Fang Zheng hadn’t forgotten to deliver the final blow to Miyo Takano, a woman he had loathed while playing the game. If he didn’t crush her now, he wouldn’t feel enlightened at all!
“Miyo Takano embezzled public funds, secretly bribed the ‘Mountain Dog’ unit, and even tried to conceal her doings, making a move against me… Honestly, I never expected to encounter such things during my visit to Hinamizawa. The Irie Institution has always been controversial within ‘Tokyo,’ and now, the higher-ups will not let these matters slide!”
As he ate the ramen, Fang Zheng didn’t forget to spoil the plot to Tomitake; Miyo Takano had embezzled substantial public funds to bribe them, so the ‘Mountain Dog’ unit followed Takano’s orders against Hinamizawa. Now, Fang Zheng naturally didn’t need to provide evidence; his identity itself was the evidence.
Hearing Fang Zheng speak, Tomitake was sweating profusely. Although the ramen in front of him was delicious, he had no appetite to enjoy it. If Fang Zheng’s words were true, then it meant that the woman, Miyo Takano, had deceived him for a long time! And as a liaison officer, he hadn’t noticed any issue at all, a fact which, if revealed, would at least mark him as negligent!
“It’s not just that. I also received information that Miyo Takano intends to use ‘Hinamizawa Syndrome’ as a cover to conduct research and manufacturing of biological weapons! This is a very vile act, and if it gets out, ‘Tokyo’ will be put in a very passive position!”
It wasn’t difficult to deal with Miyo Takano, but the challenge was how to conceal the matter about “Hinamizawa Syndrome.”
Fang Zheng didn’t want Furutega Rika and the others to be taken for experiments and dissection, but the disease wasn’t so easily curable. His previous psychological discourse was to mock Miyo Takano for pulling a boss-level hatred. But whether Hinamizawa Syndrome really existed was always a mystery. Moreover, if the queen infector Furutega Rika died, would the entire Hinamizawa go mad?
Because in the first world of Cicada’s Song, Furutega Rika had been killed, yet Rena Ryuuguu survived and lived for more than twenty years. She neither went mad due to the death of Furutega Rika nor died. This indirectly proved that Miyo Takano’s so-called “all members rioting upon the queen’s death” was complete nonsense.
If Fang Zheng directly said that Miyo Takano was using parasitic worms from Hinamizawa for biological weapon research, it would definitely attract prying eyes. Then, if one Miyo Takano died, the higher-ups might even send someone else to take over.
But conversely, if it was stated that “Hinamizawa Syndrome” was used as a front for the secret development of biological weapons, that was a different story altogether.
This is like selling mutton while also selling its innards, as opposed to displaying a goat’s head but selling dog meat; the nature is completely different.
So, the art of language is so profound indeed, just changing the expression, suddenly it becomes different.
“I require you to immediately notify ‘Tokyo,’ to dispatch the ‘Hunter’ unit to the Irie Institution, and catch Miyo Takano and her accomplices in one fell swoop!”