Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Aoi Jinguji was right beside him, gently patting his sweat-soaked back.

"It's okay... gulp gulp... ha..."

Xia Fan picked up the can of beer in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.

"It's really uncomfortable to experience near-death memories... Hiccup..."

The depression and fear that remained in my heart disappeared completely after being washed down by the cold beer.

"According to Tomoguchi Katsuya's memory, the manual suddenly appeared when he was in the lowest mood, and it seemed to have a strange power to guide people to commit suicide..."

"At the moment when Tomoguchi Katsuya committed suicide, the manual turned into foul black smoke and disappeared."

"Although he did look through the manual, there is no relevant content in Tomoguchi Katsuya's memory."

"As for the appearance, it's about A5 size, 4 centimeters thick, and the title on the cover is "The Complete Suicide Manual". As for the pattern, bring a pen and I'll draw it..."

He described his "near-death memory" in detail to Jinguji Aoi and Higurashi.

"A manual that draws people to despair, tempts them to commit suicide, and then disappears without a trace..."

"No wonder, we couldn't find any clues in the previous 'suicide cases'. No, even now, we have no way of tracing how many of the seemingly normal 'suicide cases' that have occurred are related to this manual."

After listening to Xia Fan's description, Jinguji Aoi and Higurashi felt a chill down their spines, and even the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped by several degrees.

"Report, based on the clues provided by Consultant Xia Fan, we have found relevant information about the manual!"

"The Complete Suicide Manual, author Jian He, was published 20 years ago. Six months later, it was banned and removed from the shelves because the content was too shocking, and all copies were destroyed..."

Ten minutes later, an agent handed the three a tablet computer.

"Yes, this is the one I saw in Tomoguchi Katsuya's memory!"

The cover of the scanned e-book on the tablet computer was the manual that Xia Fan had seen in his "near-death memory".

"I hope everyone can die as they please, without being bound by worldly ties."

Opening the title page, you can see the handwritten message from the author "Jianhe".

"How could such a book be published?! What were the reviewers and editors doing back then..."

As Higurashi quickly flipped through the book, the shocking contents of the book appeared one by one in front of the three people...

"The Complete Suicide Manual" details common ways of dying, such as taking drugs, hanging, jumping from buildings, and throwing oneself into rivers, as well as unconventional methods, such as being bitten to death by animals, starving to death, and self-immolation.

The book not only explains in detail the implementation process of various methods, but also evaluates and scores them based on multiple items such as pain, trouble, condition of death, degree of involvement, impact and lethality.

It even introduces the physiological reactions and related instructions of various suicide methods, as well as "cold knowledge" such as the lethal doses of various drugs available on the market and various "popular suicide sites".

The author explains in the book that he wrote the book with a scientific attitude because he was tired of the idea that "suicide is not allowed", which "has no basis whatsoever, but is believed by the public so naively".

His real purpose was to circulate this book and create the option of "seeking death when absolutely necessary", hoping to "open a vent in this closed and dying society to allow air to circulate and make life easier."

"I'm not saying something as boring as 'Let's all commit suicide!' If you want to live, you should live freely, and if you want to die, you should die freely. That's what life should be like."

At the end of the book, the author concludes as follows.

Just by glancing through the book, Xia Fan could feel the negative atmosphere of "death, cruelty, despair, etc."

"This madman... a psychopath..."

Thinking of what happened to Katsuya Tomoguchi, he, who had always been docile, couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

"Where is the author Jian He? Can you contact him? Arrest him immediately!"

Higurashi asked gloomily after closing the tablet.

"The author Jian He committed suicide one year after writing this book because he could not withstand the pressure of public opinion. The method of suicide is said to be mentioned in the content of this book."

The agent shook his head helplessly.

"Since the author has been dead for twenty years, and the book has been off the shelves for twenty years, what on earth happened during this period..."

"It seems that we can only start with basic investigation."

Although he knows nothing about "psychic communication", when it comes to investigation, Inspector Higurashi is naturally a professional.

"We need to conduct an in-depth investigation into the author's life and the circumstances surrounding the publication of this book. However, 20 years have passed and the 'paperless' process was not yet popular, so I'm afraid the investigation will not progress quickly."

"At the same time, confirm whether there are any physical books on the market or in private collections. If there are any, collect them and ask the two consultants to test them..."

"Over at the suicide prevention hotline center, increase publicity for the hotline number. Section 24 will send agents to be on duty hours a day, paying special attention to cases that mention the 'handbook'. Ask the members of the Psychic Association to intervene."

He quickly sorted out his thoughts and developed a preliminary investigation plan.

Chapter 113 The Curse of Half-Demon Bloodline

2024-07-13

"That's all we can do. I hope that during this period, fewer people will be killed because of this 'handbook'..."

"Is it the book itself that has become a 'tsukumogami', or is it the ghost of the author that is haunting it, or is there some other reason?"

Xia Fan and Jinguji Aoi looked at each other in silence, feeling that there was no better way.

Judging from Katsuya Tomokuchi's experience, the manual came and went without a trace, and there was no way to check it beforehand, and no way to prove it afterwards.

Even the original author is dead, and there are no clear clues to investigate the origin, so we can only rely on the "needle in a haystack" in Lesson 9.

"By the way, Mr. Xia Fan, the investigation you commissioned last time regarding the Tsukumogami electronic keyboard has produced preliminary results."

The investigation was over, and the few people returned to the business car. Inspector Higurashi suddenly remembered something.

"This electronic keyboard was donated to the school by the parents of the late student Manshima Kana 32 years ago. Although Manshima Kana's parents have passed away now, we visited their distant relatives and found this item among the relics left by the Manshima family. Perhaps it can be helpful to you..."

He took out a yellowed notebook and handed it to Xia Fan.

"Thank you so much."

Xia Fan carefully opened the notebook and saw the words "Kana's Creative Notes" written in beautiful handwriting on it.

"Is this her notebook? So, that senior is called Manshima Kana..."

……

That night, Tokyo University of the Arts, student dormitory.

"I have found and sorted out the music score of Senior Manshima..."

"The problem is, there's only sheet music."

Xia Fan sat on the computer chair and turned around helplessly.

On the table in front of him was Manshima Kana's yellowed creative notebook.

The notebook is cluttered with a variety of content, including music excerpts, inspiration notes, song breakdowns, etc.

On the last page, there is a relatively complete handwritten musical notation that has been revised several times.

At the end, there are beautifully written words "Must complete it!" and a hand-drawn cartoon figure with an expression of "hard work".

"That should be the case. She didn't have time to write the lyrics in the end. What a pity."

"But if there's only music but no lyrics, there's no way I can perform on stage."

"The second round of the campus singing competition will be held in two days. I don't know what songs the class monitor has arranged. He didn't inform me about the rehearsal at all?"

Xia Fan sighed, closed the creative notebook and placed it on the electronic keyboard on the wall.

"Oh, right, about the song about Yayoi Tsuki..."

"The rhythm of 'that song' is very strong, which should meet her requirements. Judging from the song and content, she should be able to fully understand the emotional core of the song as she has had a 'suicide attempt experience'."

"However, this style of music doesn't seem to be suitable for 'public tastes', and I'm not sure about the market response."

Thinking of Yayoi Tsuki's "single customization business", Xia Fan hesitated for a moment, opened the VOCALOID software, and skillfully wrote on it...

"Whatever. There's no more suitable channel for this song right now. I'll just make a demo and send it over to try..."

The title of the song is, "I once thought about ending it all."

……

The next afternoon.

In a high-end apartment, the fingerprint lock made a "click" sound, and Xiaoxi's agent pushed the door open and walked in.

The living room was simply decorated, with no lights on and the curtains tightly drawn, making it dark.

"Yayoi, how are you, are you feeling better today?"

Agent Xiaoxi pressed the switch, and the light dispelled the darkness in the living room.

"I'm fine... I just can't hear as much today as I did yesterday..."

Yayoi Tsuki, wearing only underwear, curled up on the sofa holding a white fox pillow.

Under the light, her long snow-white hair, her curvaceous upper body, her round and snow-white buttocks, and her long and shiny legs all looked particularly dazzling.

"Don't be so depressed. The cause hasn't been found yet."

"I have made appointments with several of the most famous professors of otolaryngology and neurology. I will take you to see them one by one in the next two days..."

Manager Xiaoxi took a thin blanket and covered her slender and attractive body.

"Humph, seeing a doctor? You might as well go to the shrine and worship the gods."

"Moreover, the paparazzi who are waiting outside 24 hours a day are just waiting for me to go out for the consultation and secretly take pictures to get further 'solid evidence'."

Yayoi Tsukishima turned over and buried her stunningly beautiful face deep in her long white hair.

"Well, you have to get treated. I brought you up single-handedly, and we agreed to 'smash the six eggs in District 11' together. I haven't given up yet, so you can't give up either."

"Anyway, the royalties from those songs alone are enough to serve as your 'long-term meal ticket'. Even if my efforts yield no results, at least I won't have any regrets, right?"

Manager Xiaoxi neatly sorted out the messy clothes, food packaging, and cosmetics in the house and muttered to herself, like a mother visiting her stay-at-home daughter.

"I've already said... I'm not sick..."

As if unable to bear her nagging, Yayoi Tsuki took off her hearing aid and put on a pair of noise-isolating headphones.

"This is... a bloodline... curse..."

She covered her head and muttered in a voice that she couldn't even hear.

The place where his hands were covering happened to be the location of the animal's ears which were difficult for ordinary people to see.

Yayoi Yue knew very well that her hearing loss was not caused by disease, but the awakening of some kind of "blood talent".

Although the probability is very small, it is normal for a "half-demon" to awaken some "supernatural" talents due to the concentration of their blood. As long as they are identified as harmless by an official psychic, they can live a normal life.

As a "half-demon of the fox clan", she has had outstanding appearance since childhood, with a cold and charming temperament. She has awakened a half-demon talent called "Mischievous Music", and can hum touching songs.

In addition, she has a pair of "fox ears" that can only be seen by psychics, which are made of demonic power and have no other function.

But a month ago, Yayoi Tsuki discovered that the "fox ears" that had accompanied her for many years had quietly begun to "change".

This pair of "fox ears" began to become as sensitive as animal ears, taking in all subtle sounds beyond the human frequency range, even including the sounds of some "supernatural beings".

From then on, the "fox ears" made of demonic power and the human ears of Yayoi Tsuki have been in violent conflict.

Hearing sounds from "different worlds" in two pairs of ears at the same time caused her auditory system to become completely disordered. The sounds she heard were not only louder and softer, but also distorted in tone, and sometimes she even became deaf.

In the several live performances that followed, she couldn't hear the BGM and her own voice in the earphones clearly, and there were obvious amateur characteristics such as "distortion" and "off-tune", which made it impossible for her to continue singing live as a singer.

According to Yayoi Tsuki's estimation, her human ears will be eroded by the overly strong "fox ears" after this month, and will be suppressed to the point where she will completely be unable to hear the "sounds of the normal world."

"By the way, the music department of Company Be sent me another demo of a song. I've transferred it to your email."

"I listened to it from the perspective of an ordinary listener. The production quality of the song is pretty good, but the subject matter is a bit dark and doesn't match your previous style. I don't think the market acceptance will be very high, so don't hold out too much hope."

After cleaning up the messy bedroom, Xiaoxi's agent took out a bunch of vegetables and fruits and started cooking a salad in front of the open kitchen.

Chapter 114 I want to try

2024-07-13

"A DEMO? Even if I listen to it now, I can't hear the real melody at all..."

"Besides, a song that even you don't think highly of probably won't have much of a chance to win."

Yayoi Tsuki smiled at herself, took out her cell phone and swiped it casually.

As a top singer of the new generation in Bethesda, she could originally "flip" any of the dozens of songs prepared by the music club, but now she has fallen into the embarrassing situation of having difficulty finding a song.