This bug is amazing!

Chapter 6 Dark Ghost
"His strength could uproot mountains, his spirit could overwhelm the world!"

Ji Yi raised her voice and sang a line in a strange, incoherent operatic style, dragging out the tone.

He tried to push the red phone booth outwards.

No success.

"Yes, that's only natural."

Even if his panel wasn't locked, it was unlikely he could push a phone booth embedded in the ground.

Ji Yi then walked into the phone booth and looked at the landline phone embedded inside.

This thing probably can't be taken apart.

But dismantling part of it should be possible.

He took the receiver off his hands and pulled the telephone cord with both hands.

"Overlord Pink!"

Snapped.

The telephone line snapped.

"It's out!"

Ji Yi was delighted to see the item information.

【Name: Telephone Handset】

[Type: Other]

[Quality: Deteriorated]

[Effect: Those cursed by Misaki can use it to make calls]

Can it be taken out of the instance: No

[Note: Part of the red telephone booth appears to have been damaged by someone, but fortunately, due to some supernatural force, it still functions normally.]

As expected, the red telephone booth is indeed one of the ghost stories, and its power comes from Misaki.

Call Schrödinger's Cat again.

Beep. Da.

This time it was answered after only one ring.

"Is something wrong?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was a little soft.

"Boss, please help me out."

"Don't call me 'boss,' I have a game name."

"To avoid being accused of padding the word count, may I call you Miss Cat?"

"Either is fine, Mr. Giba."

"."

Okay, let’s play it this way, right?

"Please feel free to ask if you need anything. I really haven't been bothered by you at all, so I don't mind helping you out a few more times."

"."

Why are you getting so worked up?

Well, Ji Yi did indeed have some fault to offer, so he got straight to the point:

"I need to stay on the phone to deal with the Dark Ghost. Miss Cat, is it convenient for you? If not, I can think of another way."

They hesitated for a moment.

"Well, convenient."

"Okay, let's all go about our business. If anything unexpected happens, we'll let each other know."

"Ah."

The person on the other end of the phone quickly stopped talking, and then the sound of running could be faintly heard.

Ji Yi didn't have time to think about it in detail, and walked out of the phone booth with the receiver in her hand.

If the power of the phone booth can suppress the Dark Ghost, then the power of the phone receiver can do the same.

really.

As he walked into a completely dark area, the streetlights overhead suddenly began to flicker, and a static sound came through the receiver.

A few seconds later, the streetlights came on, and the receiver returned to normal.

Very good, now we have the confidence to confront the Dark Demon head-on.

But this is a puzzle instance; survival is only the most basic requirement. More clues need to be found.

Is the pattern of lights going out random, or are there clues hidden in the darkness?

Ji Yi pondered to herself, her gaze soon drawn to something.

A missing person notice was posted on the utility pole next to the streetlight.

Step forward.

"Shota Suzuki went missing on February 6, 1999, near Ebisu-cho, Naniwa Ward."

The notice included a photo of an adorable little boy with delicate features and a mushroom haircut; if you didn't see his name, you might mistake him for a little girl.

"Is this the prototype of the Dark Demon?"

It also happened to be a missing person case.

Given the previous reports of a series of missing young girls, is this a coincidence or something else?
Ji Yi secretly memorized the details. Although the time of the crime and the target did not match, there might be a connection.

After searching under the streetlights for a while longer, they made sure that no clues had been left behind.

Ji Yi walked toward the next dark streetlamp. The light that had just been on did not go out again after Ji Yi left.

In that case, wouldn't it be possible to use the power of phone booths to light up all the streetlights?

You can also exploit bugs like this: use one ghost story to deal with another ghost story without having to do anything yourself.

He became bolder.

The sound of footsteps and panting could be heard intermittently from the other end of the receiver.

Walking at night isn't so scary anymore.

The receiver in his hand gave him a bit of courage, whether from the supernatural power of the phone booth or from Miss Cat, he didn't know.

"Meow~"

Suddenly, a cat's meow came through the receiver.

"Miss Cat? Do you have a cat?"

"Hmm, but it seems to be mute."

That shout just now
“You didn’t hear anything,” she suddenly said.

"Ah."

I don't know where she got the time to be idle. Didn't she just say she was quite busy?
Without much thought, Ji Yi went to the next street lamp.

This time the clue was given very directly.

On the lampposts, black strokes are crookedly arranged to form Japanese kana characters.

Although I've never studied Japanese, the meaning is automatically translated in my mind:

"Misaki-neechan, this is scary, go away."

This was left behind by the Dark Demon; it's clear he was terrified of Misaki.

"Then I'm really excited."

Ji Yi immediately walked toward the next street lamp.

I saw the text again:

"No, don't come any closer."

Ji Yi ignored it completely, quickening her pace. The words on the next streetlight were even more eye-catching:
"Get away! What do you want?"

Without even carefully reading the contents, Ji Yi headed straight for the next place.

Please, don't.

The next streetlight:
"Already needed"

Ji Yi sneered: "Haji'an is no good?"

A woman's voice came through the receiver: "What are you doing?"

"Shh, I'm helping you get your shadow back."

Ji Yi continued moving towards the next street lamp without stopping.

There weren't many streetlights that were off on this street, and Ji Yi quickly reached the corner.

Turn and continue forward.

Wherever he went, patches of darkness were illuminated.

Things went surprisingly smoothly.

As the space around the Dark Ghost gradually shrinks, the words on the streetlights convey an increasingly urgent emotion.

Ji Yi knew when to stop and stopped under the next street lamp.

"Your name is Shota, right? Can you hear me?"

The original text on the lamppost was quickly erased, and new text appeared just as quickly:

"はい、文こえる(Yes, I can hear it)."

"That makes things easier. You just took my friend's shadow, which is wrong. How can a child steal? But if you return it to us now, I promise I won't use Misaki's power against you, okay?"

The text changes rapidly:
"114514 (Okay, come on)."

"Hmm, very good. There's an old Chinese saying, 'A wise man submits to circumstances,' and you're quite savvy."

No new words appeared on the streetlights.

The shadow of the lamppost suddenly began to twist and deform.

Immediately afterwards, a beautiful figure with long hair walked out.

She was wearing a short skirt and had a tall figure, but unfortunately, there was only a silhouette, so we don't know what she looked like.

New handwriting appears:

"Step on the shadow, and you can take it away."

Everything went so smoothly.

Ji Yi didn't linger and walked towards the shadow.

But just as his feet were only thirty centimeters away from his shadow...

"Meow!!!"

A piercing meow came from the receiver.

Followed by.

Beep. Beep beep
The call was hung up.

The next instant, the streetlights went out with a "snap," and pure darkness enveloped Ji Yi.

(End of this chapter)