Ultraman: I am really just a human.

Chapter 321 Disappearance

"see through?"

Natsukawa glanced sideways at Hojo Emu, who had entered attack mode.

He didn't use any special moves, so how could he possibly see through anything?

"Having confidence is a good thing, but you can't be too arrogant, or you'll die."

"Why don't you give it a try and see? No matter how realistic this place is, it's still just a game. Let me show you the real gameplay!"

Hosho Emu's lips curled up under his mask.

Fighting opponents of a higher level has always been one of his specialties.

Not to mention that his current game level is already lv5, which is 2 levels higher than his opponent's, so he has even less reason to lose when he has the advantage.

Now that the boss has been defeated, he treats his opponent as the new boss.

"ha!"

Before Natsukawa could react, Hojo Emu swiftly flipped over and rushed behind a floating wooden crate, slashing with his longsword and instantly merging with the game item that exploded out.

"strengthen!"

"Hehe," after being bathed in the glow of the prop, Emu Hojo calmed down completely. "No skill can escape my eyes. That control move just now, it takes 1 second to activate, right?"

So the way to win you over is simple: speed! Speed ​​faster than you!

"Whoosh!"

Two afterimages appeared simultaneously on the left and right.

With the enhancement of the item, Emu Hojo moved at high speed, but did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, he waited for Natsukawa to reveal an opening first.

"This is what a game should be like! Haha!"

Has your personality completely changed?

Natsukawa clearly perceived the figure of Hosho Emu.

This level of speed can only fool the eyes of ordinary knights; it's far inferior to the Ascension Transformation.

What intrigued him most was Emu Hojo's personality transformation.

Once I get into the game, it's like I'm a completely different person.

The protagonist in "Ex-Aid" seems to have developed a second personality due to infection with the Collapse Virus.

But this kid in front of me can't sense the existence of the Collapse Source Body.

It seems like that's just how it is.

"call!"

Xia Chuan raised his arm once more, and a ring of sealing barrier patterns appeared beneath his feet.

The specifics don't matter; we can upgrade the Knight card first.

In Chronicles, a higher level is better for players as it affects their chances of progressing through the game.

"This is a great opportunity, now is the time!"

With a soft laugh, leaving afterimages, Emu Hosho accelerated further.

"Just as I expected, there's a one-second gap... Hmm?"

"Bang--!"

Hojo Emu, who was sprinting, suddenly appeared. Before he could react, he was suddenly launched into the air and, under the control of an invisible force, was sent flying and crashed hard into a stone pillar erected at the edge of the field.

"How could that be?"

After being unable to break free from the large, T-shaped embedded stone pillar, Hosho Emu looked at the ground in disbelief.

The sealing barrier remained at Xia Chuan's feet.

"The skill hasn't even been activated yet..."

"Who says you have to use the same skills?"

Natsukawa waved his hand to dispel the sealing barrier, and with a flick of his finger, Hojo Emu, deeply embedded in the stone pillar, was once again thrown into the air, crashing into the other side of the field like a cannonball. He rolled around in pain as he broke free of his transformation, and even the Chronicles cartridge fell out.

"Reality is not a game, and I am not a game boss with a fixed pattern. You simply don't understand the situation."

"hateful……"

As Hojo Emu watched Natsukawa walk past him, he struggled to pick up the Chronicle cartridge again, only to find that Natsukawa had already exited the instance through the portal.

"Emiya!"

"Are you alright?"

Having broken free from the game addiction, the trainees rushed into the arena, helping Hosho Emu return to the initial instance as the hidden levels dissipated.

"Who exactly was that player?"

"Feel……"

"Now is not the time to investigate," Natsukawa said, stepping out from among the remaining trainees and checking on Emu Hojo's condition. "Let's leave first and take Emu to the hospital."

He happened to be going to the hospital anyway.

The newly acquired Ex-Aid system is not as powerful as the Chronicles player because the basic cartridge can only be switched between level 1 and level 2.

The player's power comes from the ultimate game "Chronicles" cartridge, which integrates data from almost all game cartridges and has a high level cap.

Upgrading to Ex-Aid requires a complete cartridge, and the upgrade level is also linked to the cartridge's level.

Its greatest current function is to treat game-related illnesses through the level 1 form.

……

"Boom!"

Dongdu Hospital.

As if sensing the cries of anguish from within the hospital, a sudden thunderstorm broke out under the cover of night.

Goto staggered out of the ward, slowly squatted down in the corridor, hugged his knees, and buried his face in his hands, sobbing.

As the gaming disorder flared up, the noise in the hospital grew even louder. The medical staff were overwhelmed, but they couldn't change the cruel fate of the gaming disorder patients disappearing in despair.

"No, I don't want to disappear!"

"I don't want to die!"

In the same ward, the patient who watched helplessly as others disappeared into nothingness completely lost his composure and rushed out of the ward like a madman.

He had just stumbled into the lobby when his body finally succumbed to the erosion of the Collapse Source Virus. He turned into a pool of data amidst the overflowing electric current and vanished in front of Hosho Emu, who had just entered the hospital.

"Sizzle!"

"This is……"

With a trembling voice, Emu Hosho reached out and lifted the last drifting data point.

It's really gone.

The sound of wailing suddenly rang out in the hospital, as if opening a Pandora's box. All the patients began to react in a chain reaction, and in the end, they all turned into data points that spread throughout the main hospital area.

"Is this what my mentor meant by 'gaming addiction'?"

The other trainees' teeth were chattering.

If you get infected with game-related diseases every time you play a game, and the game bosses aren't dealt with in time, they might disappear.

This feeling is so desperate.

It is more cruel than dying in battle.

"It's all my fault."

Baosheng Yongmu collapsed to his knees, blaming himself as he clutched his fingers.

"If I hadn't been thinking about playing the game back then, and had instead focused on defeating the boss, maybe I could have brought out the hidden item to save people... That person was right, reality isn't a game..."

"Gentlemen!"

Amidst the chaos, the sound of a news broadcast broke out in the hospital lobby, and Tan Zhengzong's gentle face appeared on camera.

"I am the current acting president of Foundation X, and also the Alliance's designated person in charge of game-related issues. Today, I have something very important to announce to all citizens..."

Hosho Emu looked up at the sound, his gaze turning to Dan Masamune, who was solemnly announcing at the press conference.

Without the boost of the game, he reverted to his introverted nature, his eyes filled with confusion.

"The so-called 'game disease' is actually a computer virus that has evolved to infect the human body. We call it the 'Halogen Virus,' and its origin is believed to be a recently appeared game copy."

"According to feedback from the hospital, the psychological stress of infected individuals can lead to the onset of viral replication game disease, and the worst outcome is the digitization and disappearance of data."

Despite the barrage of flashing lights, Dan Masamune maintained his president-like demeanor, bowing deeply to the camera.

"This situation can be considered our mistake, but please rest assured that disappearance does not mean death. All patient data is stored in the final stage of Kamen Rider Chronicle."

Moving forward, we will do everything in our power to clear the borders, retrieve the data, and bring the patients back to the surface!

"Will...it still be able to appear?"

The middle-aged man muttered to himself as he stood up and ran to the side of the aisle to look at the television in the living room.

Xia Chuan followed him out of the ward, lost in thought.

He rushed over as soon as he left the game instance.

However, the actual situation differed from his assessment.

The patient was indeed infected with the schizophrenia virus, but the source was not ordinary schizophrenia.

Instead, it comes from the final boss of "Chronicles," the "Game God."

Xia Chuan's gaze swept over Dan Masamune, who was continuing to speak on the television screen.

The main villain has unexpectedly become the new representative of the X Foundation.

However, this guy wasn't lying; he could indeed retrieve the data and revive the patient.

The process isn't that simple.

Natsukawa pondered for a moment, then took out the Ex-Aid cartridge from his pocket. He paused, then turned his gaze to Hojo Emu, whose eyes were red and swollen.

My bronchitis has inexplicably relapsed, and the medication is not working.

(End of this chapter)