Great, we're doomed now!

For passionate and energetic Brazilians, going to a bar without drinking or flirting is practically a form of performance art.

Kirino noticed Masaki's gaze and explained, "I don't drink outside."

Upon hearing this, Masaki Keigo's lips curled into a knowing smile, and he gestured to the bartender. A short while later, a crimson "Scarlet Mary," adorned with orange peel, was pushed towards Kirino.

“It’s on me,” Masaki said, swirling the whiskey in his glass. “Since you’ve invited me to the bar, wouldn’t it be impolite of you not to touch a drop?”

"..."

Kirino looked at the crimson liquid but didn't touch it immediately. He just smiled and said, "Speaking of which, we used to secretly drink non-alcoholic beer when we were kids. The taste was truly unforgettable."

"He hid all day, afraid of being discovered, and drank warm beer in the sweltering summer heat, practically like a rag... Kids are so curious, they only learn their lesson after they've suffered a loss." Masaki sighed nostalgically, then lowered his gaze. "You remember the past very well, Maki."

"Perhaps it's because there are too many things I don't want to forget."

"So...you still hold a grudge against me?"

Masaki Keigo looked up and met the gaze of Kirino, who was wearing glasses and had a calm look in his eyes: "Actually... no, now all I can say is sorry."

I sincerely want to say 'I'm sorry' to you, Xiaomu.

That incident was truly a terrible thing I did. I hope—well, never mind—I don't have the right to say that. Whatever you think of me, I accept it!

Kirino shifted her posture, looking at Masaki with complete composure. There was no anger or hatred on her face; instead, she wore a faint smile: "Why are you apologizing to me? It seems that neither of us owes the other anything."

"No!"

Masaki shook his head, his brows furrowed, his lips pursed: "No matter what, I was the one who abandoned you, and I have no room for excuses!"

"..." Kirino pushed up his glasses, and a cold white light flashed on the black-rimmed lenses.

To describe the relationship between these two, it would be inappropriate to classify them as enemies; they should even be called "close friends."

Kirino Makio is a very special person. He is a superpowered person like Nishikida Keiryu, but he is not good at martial arts or exorcism. He is also a bit weak and his talents are concentrated in the spiritual realm.

Mind reading, prophecy, telepathy... most thoughts are transparent to him, and the future is crystal clear in his eyes.

If he had that intention, he could have easily obtained money and status; if it were in the ignorant ancient times, he might have even become a saint or a prophet.

—But his abilities weren't always this strong; there was a process of gradual growth and control over them.

When he was a child, during the period when he had just shown his talent, he couldn't distinguish between other people's "words" and "inner thoughts." As the saying goes, children speak without restraint, which naturally caused a lot of trouble.

This caused a rift in her parents' relationship. In their eyes, Kirino was a source of misfortune, and even blood ties couldn't overcome their intense fear and disgust. Therefore, Kirino was basically raised by her grandparents.

The world of children is crueler than that of adults. Due to family reasons and her own abilities, Kirino became withdrawn and naturally became the target of bullying and exclusion. The ignorant and fearless children called her a "monster".

It's as if by doing this, they would become allies of justice after defeating Kirino.

And the one who changed all of this was Masaki Keigo!

Masaki, who is more mature and stronger than his peers, stood up for Kirino when bullying occurred and protected her from the little villains.

Generally, this would escalate into bullying both of them at the same time, but Masaki showed great initiative at that time and had the upper hand in several "confrontations". He was also a top student in the eyes of adults, and soon those people consciously distanced themselves from them.

For Kotori, Masaki was more than just a childhood friend; he was a benefactor who changed his life. To put it somewhat sentimentally, he actually "admired" Masaki back then.

The two played together and became best friends. Even when Kirino told Masaki about his special abilities, it did not change their friendship. Young Masaki Keigo was truly open and honest, with no secrets he couldn't share.

...However, these happy days didn't last long. Masaki suddenly distanced himself from Kirino, even deliberately avoiding him. Kirino was puzzled, but Masaki treated him like a plague, making him feel very disappointed.

Then, after some time, Masaki's family moved to Tokyo, and Kirino was alone again.

But by this time he had begun to control telepathy and had learned to keep a low profile—or rather, to lose interest in others, spending his student years as a withdrawn and introverted person.

Even after entering society, Kirino did not form any intimate relationships with anyone that exceeded the limit. He had no children and did not get married. He lived alone in an apartment and did a job with little performance pressure. In short, he just lay around and did nothing.

—It was quite unexpected to meet Masaki again.

Because in the "future" he foresaw, he would no longer meet Masaki. Even if he could search for someone's location like Professor X, there was really no reason for him to meet him specifically.

But his prediction was unusually wrong that day!

Kirino couldn't see any "future" for Kuze Yoru, and it was as if he had a built-in signal jammer. The closer you were to him and the more you interacted with him, the more unpredictable his "future" became, making it impossible for Kirino to be sure.

Kirino Makio became extremely interested and then sensed Ye Shou's presence in his mental realm, including giving him hints when dealing with the crow people, and also apologizing for his behavior—he was a normal person, not some pervert with a stalking fetish.

After discovering his childhood friend, Masaki kept trying to contact Kirino, and finally got the chance to meet him in Brazil.

Masaki felt very sorry for his childhood—he naturally assumed that Kirino resented him.

However, things might not be as bad as Masaki thought. After the two confronted each other, Kirino did not get angry, and the atmosphere around him remained peaceful.

“You just moved with your parents, so it’s not a matter of abandonment or not—I’m not a stray dog ​​you adopted.”

In fact, I am very grateful to you, Keigo. Without you, it would definitely have been the darkest period of my life, but it was your appearance that gave me a chance to breathe... and taught me how to face the future.

So you don't need to worry, I've never held a grudge.

Kirino chuckled, then asked seriously, "But I really want to know, why did you distance yourself from me before you moved?"

“This…” Masaki’s expression turned strange. He scratched his head, wanting to say something but feeling embarrassed.

Seeing his reaction, Kirino narrowed her eyes slightly: "You don't want to drag me into this, do you?"

"!" Masaki Keigo suddenly raised his head.

You... you know all this?

"More or less. Actually, I vaguely understood it at the time, but children don't really understand these things, so they thought your actions were inexplicable."

Kirino sighed softly: "Back then, I couldn't control my abilities very well, and I would randomly read other people's thoughts and memories. This wouldn't be a problem for an ordinary person, but you..."

"I was being plagued by nightmares at the time."

Masaki Keigo said solemnly, "I don't know what it is, but subconsciously I know that you must not know, otherwise you will definitely get caught up in it too - after all, in my heart you have always been a weak and frail person."

So I deliberately distanced myself from you… Looking back now, it was the right decision, because even I couldn't bear the torment of nightmares, and if you had seen that thing, you certainly wouldn't have fared any better. But I shouldn't have left you like that without even a proper reason…”

"...It's too much to ask children that age to think so comprehensively."

Kirino shook his head: "That's enough... I'm satisfied with this answer."

He actually knew all along, but some things can't be left unsaid!

After saying that, Kirino smiled sincerely, stood up, and extended his hand to Masaki Keigo.

"Long time no see, Jingwu!"

"Ah, it has indeed been a long time, Komaki."

Masaki Keigo and Kirino Makio clasped hands together, their previous animosity gone.

Kirino seemed to have nothing more to say. He picked up his glass, drank his Scarlet Mary, then grabbed his coat and nodded to Masaki: "Let's talk again next time. I have to catch my flight."

"So urgent?"

"Not all companies are as free as TPC."

Kirino waved to his childhood friend next to the bar, then casually pushed open the door and disappeared into the Brazilian night...

Masaki Keigo wanted to persuade him to stay, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to do so, and the idea of ​​inviting Kirino to join TPC naturally fell through.

The bespectacled man walked out of the bar, took a breath of fresh air, and was about to stride forward when suddenly his legs went weak, his whole body trembled violently, and his head became dizzy.

—Actually, Kirino doesn't drink at all.

……

The temporary command center was set up in the gymnasium of a local school. The once empty floor was now covered with cables, and various pieces of equipment were leaning against each other, with several paths for people to walk through.

Various instruments were placed on the makeshift workbench, and data and charts flowed on the screens. The air was filled with the strange smell of instant coffee and new electronic devices.

Ye Shou stood in front of a screen, his gaze calmly sweeping over the constantly updating analysis reports. Sawai Soichiro walked over from the side, his face showing a hint of fatigue, but his eyes remained clear.

The Mark of the Holy Grail gives him far more energy than his peers; he can last longer than many young men.

"Ye Shou, let me introduce you." Ze Jing greeted him, and when Ye Shou turned around, he stepped aside to introduce a young researcher behind him who was wearing a white lab coat, slightly chubby, and had a slightly naive smile.

"This is Masami Horii, a rising star in the TPC's Integrated Science Division. The United Nations headquarters received our report and specially sent a team to provide technical support, and he is a highly regarded genius."

"Oh dear, that's too much of a compliment! I'm just a newcomer, I can't possibly deserve that!"

The young man named Horii appeared somewhat reserved, but his eyes revealed the focus characteristic of a researcher.

He cleared his throat, stepped forward, and greeted Ye Shou earnestly: "Hello, Mr. Kusei. I have long admired your name. I have heard of you from many seniors such as Dr. Agasa, Professor Feynman, and Dr. Wang."

Just as rumored, young and promising!

He was referring to senior researchers at TPC, most of whom had long received research funding from the Kuze Group, so they naturally had a very good impression of Ye Shou.

"Horii... um, hello." Ye Shou shook hands with him in a friendly manner, but a strange light flashed in his eyes:

The repeated appearances of important characters from the original Ultraman Tiga are really unsettling!

"Regarding this mission, Secretary General Sawai has already given me a brief explanation of the attack that occurred the day before yesterday."

Ye Shou focused his attention on the present, setting aside distractions and, without any unnecessary formalities, asked directly, "What did you discover?"

Horii immediately got to work, picking up his tablet and quickly bringing up the research report.

"We conducted emergency sequencing and analysis on enemy biological tissue samples collected during the battle."

His tone turned serious: "Gene comparison confirms that those attackers... their original genetic sequences are highly similar to those of humans, so it can be determined that they were not invaders from outer space."

"Originally?" Ye Shou caught the key word.

“Yes,” Horii nodded firmly, swiping his finger across the tablet to bring up a complex virus model. “What caused their mutation is a virus we’ve never seen before!”

Ye Shou was impressed by Horii's efficiency. How long had it been? He had already accomplished so much—one person could do the work of an entire team!

"After this virus invades the host, it forcibly rewrites some gene segments, causing drastic changes in physiological structure."

Strength, speed, and sensory acuity have increased dramatically, accompanied by an extreme sensitivity to light and an abnormal craving for...blood.

He paused, then looked up at Ye Shou and Ze Jing: "In other words, they are 'vampires' who were transformed from humans after being infected by some kind of special virus!"

The low hum of the temporary equipment inside the stadium seemed to become clearer at that moment.

“What’s even more troublesome,” Horii pulled up another set of data, “is that this virus has a very ancient sequence when it was traced back to its origin… In short, it was already circulating on Earth before humans appeared.”

"An ancient virus...?"

"Fortunately, this virus is very sensitive to light and will quickly lose its activity under direct sunlight, and the invaded body will also be burned away - so there is no need to worry about airborne transmission."

However, according to model calculations, if the source of infection is not found and completely eliminated, the virus still carries the risk of large-scale spread, because each 'vampire' is a mobile pathogen, and once the numbers begin to increase exponentially, it will no longer be just small-scale nighttime attacks.

“The source…” Ye Shou repeated softly, his eyes sharpening, “We must find it as soon as possible.”