Unspeakable bubbles

"Playing tricks." He sneered and smashed the teacup.

The steaming tea condensed into a snake-like shape, wriggling towards a corner of the room.

"Comrade, this is not how you treat a guest."

Three men dressed in gray robes and carrying religious texts appeared in the room.

The man in the middle smiled slightly, stepped forward, and stomped the water snake to pieces.

"Humph"

Professor Nakamura frowned as he sized up the uninvited men; they were all suspicious in every way.

"I don't have guests like you. If you have nothing else to do, please go back."

These guys looked like radicals from a suspicious church, and Professor Nakamura was quite wary of them, not wanting to have anything to do with them at all.

If possible, he hoped the other party would back down.

"We have come with sincerity, comrades."

It was the same man who spoke again. He said very seriously, "We chose to meet you here instead of at school. Isn't that enough of our sincerity?"

Upon hearing this, Professor Nakamura's expression softened slightly.

That's right, this is different from the school; it's his private space.

Professor Nakamura has set up countless mysterious mechanisms in this bedroom, which can unleash 200% of its power.

That's why I was able to spot their hiding place so easily; if it were at school, it would be hard to say.

"It seems our sincerity wasn't quite enough. Hmm, comrade, do you like that kind of thing?"

The man looked thoughtfully at the wall next to the bed, which was covered with countless photos of Ikuko Sakakibara.

Some were eating, some were daydreaming in class, some were running on the playground, some were sleeping in bed, and some were taking a shower...

Through these photos, the man sensed Professor Nakamura's deep obsession.

He couldn't help but laugh: "Comrade, if it's inconvenient for you, we'll do it for you, we guarantee it."

"Shut up!" Professor Nakamura's angry rebuke changed the atmosphere of the entire bedroom.

What was once a cozy room for an elderly person living alone now exudes a chilling murderous intent.

"You dare touch her and see what happens!" Sakakibara Ikuko held great significance for him, and without thinking twice, Professor Nakamura shouted sternly.

"Ah, calm down, calm down." The man reassured his restless companion, shrugging helplessly.

“We’re not very good at dealing with outsiders. We thought you would be better, but we still messed it up.”

"...Why do you keep calling me comrade?"

Professor Nakamura looked puzzled, but his heart was already burning with murderous intent.

In the heat of the moment, he hadn't thought much about it, but now that man realized how important Sakakibara Ikuko was to him.

If you use this to threaten him into doing something...

Outnumbered and outgunned, Professor Nakamura assessed the three men's strength and was unsure if he could capture them all.

"Look at me, I forgot to mention the most important thing. It's really too difficult to have normal conversations with others."

As he spoke, the man rolled up his sleeves under Professor Nakamura's wary gaze.

A mark was clearly etched on his wrist.

A single eye with a half-smile, tightly bound by chains.

Professor Nakamura's mind went completely blank for a moment, and he sat in his chair, lost in thought, without saying a word.

After a long pause, he said, his face pale, "What are you doing here? I am a formal member of the 'Seven Rings Tower,' and I have nothing to say to you."

Upon hearing his words, not only the man, but also the two suspicious figures behind him who had remained silent all showed pity in their eyes.

The man sighed and said, "My fellow countrymen, what are you saying?"

"The Seven Rings Tower? A full member? Have you forgotten how they treated you back then?"

Professor Nakamura's lips twitched; he seemed to want to say something, but his face burned with embarrassment.

That was thirty years ago, when I was full of vigor and ambition.

Many people are optimistic about him, believing that it is only a matter of time before he advances into the 'Fourth Ring' and becomes a core member.

But, but what did he do wrong?

He was only made some remarks during a public lecture, and he was being suppressed like this!

He seemed to hear that guy's hateful voice again: "God, Nakamura, how could you have such a ridiculous idea?"

How ridiculous! I was merely stating the truth!

In a daze, Professor Nakamura murmured, "I'm not wrong, because..."

"Chaos is chaos."

“Chaos is chaos.” The man spoke almost simultaneously with Professor Nakamura, his voice filled with fervor.

“Comrade, my fellow countryman, what have you done wrong?” The man’s eyes showed even more pity: “You are being oppressed for simply speaking the truth to the ignorant masses.”

"Thirty years have passed, and Zhongcun, located in the 'Third Ring Road,' is still in the 'Third Ring Road.'"

"Without a mentor to guide me, I explored on my own."

"Because of being ostracized by the mainstream, the Seven Ring Tower has never given you any important tasks."

"No contribution, no resources. Nakamura, you've been standing still for the past thirty years!"

"How dare you claim to be an official member of the Seven Rings Tower?"

The bedroom was quiet, and no one spoke for a moment.

"Back then, no, why are you only coming to find me now!"

Professor Nakamura covered his face, his voice trembling.

How could I not have considered betrayal?

Having suffered such humiliation, Nakamura waited for the legendary esoteric sect to contact him.

But as he waited and waited, year after year, Nakamura's hair turned white, and the esoteric sect never made contact with him.

"Comrade, it's not that we didn't look for you, it's that you didn't look for us."

The man closed his eyes, unable to bear watching his disgraceful state any longer.

"How am I supposed to find you?!"

"You have no idea how many people were watching me back then!"

Professor Nakamura stood up abruptly, glaring at the man: "Leaving aside all that, I don't even know where you are. How am I supposed to find you!"

Faced with Nakamura's questioning, the man calmly replied, "Didn't you hear a thing about us back then?"

Chapter 33, Section 033: Matthew's Gift

"this......"

Nakamura paused, and upon reflection, he realized that he had indeed heard some events that might be related to esoteric Buddhism back then.

But I only heard about it by chance.

I always thought it was a test from someone, but could it be...?

"Nakamura, we've been waiting for you all these years."

The man's tone was somewhat heavy: "Even if the timing wasn't right at the beginning, what about afterwards? In such a long period of time, was there really no chance for them to contact us at all?"

Nakamura remained silent. Of course, that's not the case.

At first, he was naturally furious, but he had to be careful because of the Seven Rings Tower.

Later, he got a wife and children. Although he never made any progress, he still managed to live a fairly good life in the city thanks to his accumulated savings.

He has a respectable identity and a complete family. Do you really expect him to give up everything to join Tantric Buddhism?

It's impossible, it's impossible no matter what.

Nakamura's waiting all this time was nothing short of an escape, even if these people had come looking for him a few years earlier.

Back then, my wife was still alive, and I wasn't as old as I am now.

The fear of not knowing death did not rekindle the desire for the mysterious.

What would I have done if I had encountered these people back then?

Professor Nakamura sighed, his face looking dejected.

"I'm old now, and there's not much I can do. I'm afraid I can't be of much help to you."

This is not an excuse; Nakamura himself is aware of his situation.

Because he hasn't made any significant breakthroughs over the years, he has remained stuck in the "third ring road" (referring to the area around the 3rd ring road).

Without awakening to one's own mystery, there is actually no essential difference between the first, second, and third rings.

Indeed, Nakamura's knowledge of occultism is superb.

Given the right preparation, he can even handle some serious and mysterious incidents with a danger level of C.

He showed no fear even when facing the three members of the esoteric sect in this decorated bedroom.

However, all of this comes with preconditions.

If he is not given time to prepare and is exposed to unexpected dangers... his performance will likely not be satisfactory.

After all, Professor Nakamura is getting old.

While growing older brought him a wealth of experience, it also significantly reduced his ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Often, when faced with mysterious and malicious events, even a slight delay in reaction can cost you your life.

“We have no demands of you, comrade.”