Japanese Terrorist: What? I'll fight Hellstar!

Terrifying! Powerful! Dangerous!

Based on the information revealed by Professor Matsuura, the hypnotist left this impression on Amamiya Rin.

If he hadn't been confident in his meditative state of mind cultivated over many years, Professor Matsuura's words would have been enough to dissuade him from visiting the hypnotist.

"His name is Murata Tomokichi, an ordinary name, but undoubtedly a dangerous person. He accepts commissions, takes money, and manipulates other people's thoughts. He always walks the line between right and wrong, and therefore is not recognized by the Hypnotherapy Association. But according to rumors, those whose perceptions have been manipulated by him are not good people..."

After calming down, Professor Matsuura hesitated, unsure whether he should give Murata Tomokichi's contact information to Amamiya Rin.

The more powerful a hypnotist is, the more they realize the gap between themselves and Tomokichi Murata, and the more they fear Tomokichi Murata.

This person's hypnotic skills are beyond imagination. Yet, he is also completely free-spirited, acting entirely on his whims and disregarding worldly laws.

When communicating with someone like that, you never know if you might unknowingly fall for their suggestive remarks.

"It's alright. Even if I accidentally fall for it, I can wash away its implications through the long years in the dream world."

Amamiya Rin could sense Professor Matsuura's apprehension, but he was not afraid.

Of course, he couldn't rely on a long dream. Even if meditation couldn't overcome Murata Tomokichi's suggestions, the thoughts of nearly a hundred Tomies in his brain could prevent Murata Tomokichi's suggestions from being successfully implanted.

However, although Professor Matsuura believes that Murata Tomokichi is very dangerous, Murata Tomokichi is also a good guy in the manga, and should not be in that situation.

"Alright, since you insist."

Professor Matsuura said with a sigh.

After hanging up the phone, Yu Gonglin leaned against the headboard, staring at her phone screen.

Soon, a text message arrived.

The content is a website address; the person named Murata Tomokichi runs a psychological counseling firm, and appointments can be made through the website.

"The most powerful hypnotist? That sounds suspicious."

A voice, tinged with languor and sarcasm, rang in my ears, and a warm breath brushed against my earlobe.

The vampire Tomie had somehow gotten close again, resting her pointed chin on his shoulder once more. Her light gold eyes, which had been modified at some point, glanced at the website address on the phone screen, her brows furrowing slightly, revealing undisguised resistance.

"I hate people who can arbitrarily alter other people's thoughts the most."

She pursed her lips, her fingertips unconsciously twirling a strand of her black hair.

Like repels like, and as the character most skilled at mental manipulation, she also despises those who can change other people's minds.

"No matter how suspicious you are, you're not more suspicious than me, are you?"

Amamiya Rin glanced at her, making a sarcastic remark as she casually brushed away the hair that was brushing against her.

"How can that be the same?"

Before she could finish speaking, Amamiya Rin felt a spasm in her stomach. Tomie immediately widened her eyes and retorted confidently.

"Our charm is innate! It's those men's own lack of willpower that's to do with us. His approach is deliberate manipulation, a technique, a despicable interference!"

She paused, then looked at Yu Gonglin suspiciously.

"Hey, you're not thinking of learning that dangerous technique to use against us, are you?"

"You're overthinking it. No matter how much you try to hypnotize them, they won't change their true nature."

Yu Gonglin looked away, picked up her phone again, and checked the missed calls.

Two were from Yuka Mamiya, and one from Terumi Fujino. Both occurred during the period when he was in a deep sleep that lasted for more than twenty hours.

Let's deal with Fujino Terumi first. She was involved in the vampire incident before, so this might be a follow-up reaction.

Amamiya Rin first called Fujino Terumi back.

After the call connected, I heard Terumi Fujino's tense voice, which also sounded somewhat resentful.

"Amamiya-kun? You finally called back..."

"Sorry, I overslept. Was there something you wanted to talk about when you called earlier?"

Amamiya Rin explained in a calm tone.

There was a moment of silence on the other end, broken only by soft breathing.

Fujino Terumi seemed to be carefully choosing her words, and only spoke after a few seconds, her voice lowered as if she was afraid of being overheard.

"I... I still feel something's not right. It's been like this since that incident... When I'm home alone at night, or sometimes when I'm walking home after work, I always feel... like something is watching me. Not a human kind of watching, just... eerie, like it's outside the window, or under the door..."

Fujino Terumi hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

A few days ago, Amamiya Rin claimed to have obtained clues, but there has been no response in the past few days. She thought Amamiya Rin had been killed in an accident.

"Have you found any clues or been attacked in the last few days?"

Amamiya Rin asked carefully.

"No, not at all..."

Fujino Terumi hesitated for a moment before answering.

"I've been very careful lately, trying to avoid taking secluded paths at night, and I check the doors and windows several times when I get home. But... that feeling of being watched just won't go away."

After hearing this, Amamiya Rin roughly understood the situation.

"Don't scare yourself. It's probably just your imagination. The day before yesterday afternoon, I caught the vampire in her true form and handed her over to the police who handle these kinds of special cases."

If you were attacked, it might be another strange tale you encountered; if not, it's probably just psychological.

Fujino Terumi doesn't have that kind of supernatural constitution that allows her to encounter paranormal events wherever she goes.

"They...they caught them? The day before yesterday? Really? Who's the killer? It wasn't reported on the news at all!"

Fujino Terumi froze, then her voice suddenly rose.

"The killer's identity is a bit unusual; the police may still be going through the procedures and haven't released anything yet... You should know the name Kawahara Miyuki, right?"

"……who?"

Terumi Fujino's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Who did you just say...?"

"Miyuki Kawahara."

"No way! That national idol, a singer with a brighter future than me, how could she possibly be a serial killer!"

Fujino Terumi blurted out, "This is so absurd, there's absolutely no possibility of it!"

"I'm not joking, although I wish I were, but it's true. She admitted it herself. It seems she was affected by some kind of curse during a paranormal program and made a big mistake without realizing it. But... even if she was unaware of it, the mistake has already been made."

As Amamiya Rin spoke, she couldn't help but sigh.

"There must be double-digit numbers of victims already, right? Even in Japan, where the death penalty is difficult to impose, she must pay the price with her life to atone for her crimes."

Although Miyuki Kawahara is also a victim, she is also a perpetrator, and the case is so heinous that she cannot escape the death penalty; it's just a matter of whether she dies sooner or later.

Fujino Terumi was clearly still in a state of great shock, muttering incoherently, "How could this be?" "This is terrible!" "I never thought Miyuki would turn out like this."

He finally calmed down a bit.

"A paranormal program? You just said a paranormal program? Another paranormal program?"

Terumi Fujino's voice conveyed an indescribable emotion.

Because of the factors mentioned by Amamiya Rin, she subconsciously thought of another victim of a paranormal program.

"Don't think about it anymore! These things have nothing to do with you! Also, there's something I want to ask you."

Upon hearing the sound, Amamiya Rin sensed something was wrong and immediately spoke up to stop them, while also diverting Fujino Terumi's attention.

"Huh? Lin-jun has something to ask me? What is it? I'll definitely do it!"

Fujino Terumi perked up, putting the paranormal program out of her mind, and immediately pressed Amamiya Rin for answers.

She always remembered Yu Gonglin's life-saving grace, but unfortunately Yu Gonglin never asked her for anything in return. Now she finally had the opportunity to repay him.

Have you watched that primetime talk show lately?

Amamiya Rin asked.

When the topic turned to the entertainment industry, Terumi Fujino's tone became much more natural, even carrying a touch of professional commentary.

"Oh, them. They've certainly been on a roll lately, I heard their ratings for that time slot are really high. Although..."

She paused, as if searching for the right words.

"I've seen it too, but to be honest, I didn't quite get their jokes, and the gags weren't exactly original. But what's strange is that the live audience and people watching on TV seemed to really like it. As soon as they opened their mouths, no matter what they said, the audience burst into laughter... It's like they have some kind of magic. If this level of popularity continues, their fame and commercial value as comedians will probably surpass mine very soon."

"Are you feeling a little anxious?"

Amamiya Rin keenly noticed Fujino Terumi's emotions.

When mentioning Miyuki Kawahara, he lamented that Kawahara's future as an idol singer was brighter than his own. Then he mentioned this "A-gei" and "Ao-dou"... what bizarre names, are they stage names? Hmm, he's starting to lament about his future again.

"There's nothing I can do."

Fujino Terumi sighed softly, not trying to hide it from Amamiya Rin.

"Although I'm a national idol now, my main focus is on acting, but I became popular mainly because of my looks. If I don't hone my acting skills, I'll easily be replaced when new talents emerge in a few years."

Amamiya Rin understood that this was the nature of industries that relied on appearance; the pace of change was extremely rapid. He was powerless to change it and could only remain a listener for the time being.

"Let's not talk about that anymore," Fujino Terumi quickly composed herself and got back to the point, "Rin-kun, you suddenly brought up that talk show group, is there something wrong with them?"

"You must have sensed something was off about them, right? It might not sound funny, but it's funny nonetheless."

Amamiya Rin went straight to the heart of the matter.

"So... I thought it was just that my sense of humor was weird, or that I just happened to be hit by something funny."

Fujino Terumi was taken aback. Actually, she hadn't thought about it too much at first, after all—"How could there be a superpower or curse like making people laugh!"

She couldn't help but complain, this ability itself was even more outrageous than the jokes of those two people.

"There are examples in this world of people who have died laughing."

Amamiya Rin's voice was calm, yet it carried a hint of coldness.

Making someone laugh themselves to death is anything but funny.

Fujino Terumi was speechless.

"...No way? A-Ge and Hong-Dou are such dangerous people? I've seen them a few times, and they don't seem like it..."

She had met A-gei and Hong-dou a few times and found it hard to associate their vicious behavior with the comedic performances on stage.

Ultimately, those two may not have had pure intentions, but they've already made a living as comedians through their abilities.

It's like someone with superpowers choosing to do manual labor. Such a simple and honest person wouldn't do evil so easily, right?

"As far as I know, they've already murdered a family because one of their members had the ability to see ghosts. They saw these spirits tickling the audience. By the way, A-Ge and Red Bean's abilities are spirits. Do I need to explain what spirits are?"

"No, I know that. But... just because someone could figure out how they made people laugh, they went to their door and killed their entire family..."

Fujino Terumi's voice lowered, filled with confusion.

She racked her brains but couldn't understand why A-Ge and Hong-Dou would chase after them to silence them over such a trivial matter. So what if someone saw their cheating methods? What impact would it have on them?

Are you worried that they'll expose their methods? Even if they did reveal this, no one would believe it, right? They'd just think it's a rumor.

"Don't try to understand this kind of mental illness; a person who can possess a living being cannot be a normal person."

Amamiya Rin said without any politeness.

The birth of living beings is due to negative emotions such as extreme jealousy and resentment. People who possess living beings are no different from mentally ill people. The only people who can understand the thoughts of such people are either mentally ill themselves or psychiatrists.

"..."

Fujino Terumi was speechless for a moment, then decisively gave up on pursuing the matter further and instead asked Amamiya Rin directly.

"What should I do, Lin-jun? How can I help you? Should we try to catch A-gei and Hong-dou?"

"No need to take any risks, just keep an eye on them for me. When they record their next show, give me a call and tell me your location, and I'll take care of them."

A glint of light flashed in Amamiya Rin's eyes as he calmly spoke.

If nothing unexpected happens, A-gei and Hongdou will be an important part of the realization of one of his inspirations.

"Is that all?"

Fujino Terumi confirmed.

"Okay, that's enough. Remember, your safety is the most important thing."

Amamiya Rin gave her further instructions.

"Okay, I understand."

Fujino Terumi could sense Amamiya Rin's concern, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she earnestly responded.

After ending the call, Terumi Fujino held her phone, the faint smile still lingering, but a strange unease—or rather, a slight anxiety—rose again in her heart.

Even she herself didn't understand why.

Even though Amamiya Rin had already told her that the serial killer had been caught and the vampire's true form had been brought to justice.

But the ever-present unease did not seem to dissipate with the news; it still quietly lingered in the corner of my consciousness.

It's as if what's been causing her unease these past few days isn't actually the vampire, but something else entirely.

"Aren't you overthinking it?"

Terumi Fujino shook her head.

How could such a bizarre thing happen, with one supernatural event after another?

Perhaps it's anxiety stemming from work.