Persona: Devil Summoner

"Wake up! What's going on?!"

"What are you doing... Dad... This is not rest time... Wow! Dad, why are you holding a kitchen knife? Don't be impulsive, Dad!"

"Boss, we dare not do this illegal thing. No matter how much money you pay us, we won't do it. My family has been good citizens for eight generations, big good citizens!"

The two were also shocked when they saw the situation on the table. They thought the boss was going to kill someone. The angry boss laughed instead: "Isn't this the thing you two bastards prepared?!"

"How is it possible, Dad..."

"Put it away quickly, boss!"

The three of them seemed to have completely forgotten why they were so angry before, so furious that they insisted on having Jiang Tianwei come to work, so angry that they wanted to take his life... as if nothing had happened.

There is no beehive, no bee-man, and no twisted desires. Everything is just a dream.

"Really... How come my body feels so refreshed... but my mind is so confused..."

The boss scratched his head as he walked towards the lounge, wondering if he hadn't gotten enough rest recently...

When I walked in, the first thing I saw was the shift schedule posted on the closet. It was only Jiang Tianwei's shift schedule that had almost no rest...

(Thinking about it, I was really too harsh on this Chinese man... It's not easy for him to be alone in a foreign country... Let's give him a few more days of rest next month.)

The boss thought so and was completely unaware of his own 180-degree change in perspective.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 28 Standard Development

"Unfamiliar ceiling..."

If this line were to be ranked, it would probably be on a list of what galgame players most want to say.

This sentence is often accompanied by the protagonist's amnesia, awakening, or identity change. It is a universal line that can be said in any occasion.

Naturally, Jiang Tianwei also thought about saying this line once one day - maybe after saying this line, he could meet a girl as sad as a lilac.

"You're awake."

Amamiya Lian greeted Jiang Tianwei.

"Hey, instead of saying hello, you should complain about the ceiling first!"

Black Cat Morgana said so.

Jiang Tianwei also felt that he deserved to be criticized like this.

Because... he was not lying on his back somewhere, but slumped on a sofa that looked quite elegant. When he raised his eyes, what he saw was not the ceiling, but a table, keyboard, mouse and computer screen.

It was obvious that the place where he was was some kind of Internet cafe.

Jiang Tianwei made a very simple judgment on this matter. Although the statement of being picked up by someone always made people think of Sese's incident, when considering the genders of the two people, there was nothing else to think about.

The fact was just as he thought. After coming out of the beehive, the three of them were at the back door of the Chinese restaurant, so Amamiya Ren didn't know what to do, so she could only take him to a random Internet cafe and rent a private room. After all, you can't carry someone on the subway, you will definitely be questioned by the police.

"Well, there are so many things I want to talk about. Where should I start?"

Jiang Tianwei looked at the two people's posture. He was sitting at the innermost part of the box. If he wanted to go out, he would have to pass by Amamiya Lian who was sitting on the outside. He knew that they would have to have a good talk today.

In fact, that was exactly what he meant.

Whether it's the palace, the persona, the demon summoning program, or the special ghost Kasumi Yoshizawa... I want to talk about everything...

This is also one of the bad habits of human beings. When they encounter problems that they cannot solve, or when they are in a state of confusion, they are often willing to rely on others, even if others can't help them at all...

After a brief chat with him, I learned that Amamiya Ren was originally studying in another place. One night when he was returning home, he saw a drunk harassing a woman, so he took the initiative to help her. As a result, the drunk stumbled and broke his head... It seems that this guy has some background... He took Amamiya Ren to court and was sentenced to malicious injury. The woman Amamiya Ren had rescued before also gave false testimony unwillingly, which is the origin of Amamiya Ren's criminal record.

Since such a thing happened, it is impossible for her to continue to go to school in the local area. People like to label people, and once they label someone, it is difficult to change their mind. In the minds of the locals, Amamiya Ren is a violent person who deliberately hurts people... The only way is to transfer to another school.

Then, since you're moving to another city, you have to have a place to stay. You can't stay in a hotel every day, right? If he had the financial resources, he would have asked someone to clear his criminal record long ago. Why did he end up like this? At this time, the one who allowed Amamiya Ren to stay was the manager of Lubron, Sakura Sojiro.

After listening to his story, Jiang Tianwei did not hide anything and told him about his past. When Yu Gonglian heard about his experience, her own experience did not seem so harsh in comparison.

"Um... Are you saying that your father suddenly lost his mind while driving out?"

Morgana confirmed this detail with him. Jiang Tianwei nodded, his hands resting on his knees: "Now that I think about it... Dad's symptoms are just like the mental disorder cases that are always reported on TV now... At that time, Dad was driving and happily told me that he had raised funds and the company was about to expand... But the next second, black water flowed from his eyes, and the car lost balance and crashed into the guardrail..."

One could clearly hear the gritting teeth of anger in Jiang Tianwei's voice.

He once thought that this was just an accident, and because of the pain and sadness, combined with the intense consumption of awakening persona for the first time, he forgot this memory. This is called [psychogenic amnesia] in medicine, which is essentially a form of self-protection, so that young children will not be damaged mentally due to pain.

Perhaps because of this past, Jiang Tianwei felt for a long time that the world was dark and gloomy, and he had no motivation to do anything. As a result, he just muddled through and ended up in his current state.

However, now that we know about this Mind Palace and that someone seems to be able to interfere with the spiritual world, then... a living person who was talking and laughing suddenly became mentally ill the next second, someone must have done something to the Mind Palace, right? !

(That is, this wasn’t an accident. This was murder. Someone ruined my life.)

Thinking of this, Jiang Tianwei firmly confirmed his future life goal in his heart: to catch the murderer.

From a great and glorious perspective, this is a matter of mending the fold after the sheep have been stolen, and we must cut off the chain of sorrow before it causes greater and more tragedies.

In the small sense of grudges and hatred, this is revenge. Blood for blood, tooth for tooth, it is normal.

"..."

After listening to it, Yu Gong Lian said nothing. Although he could not personally experience Jiang Tianwei's pain, as a person with a past that he could not bear to look back on, he knew too well that if he casually expressed sympathy or irresponsibly said something encouraging at this time, it might anger Jiang Tianwei.

Perhaps in terms of persona, the two could be evenly matched, but if they were to compete in terms of fighting qualities as human beings, Amamiya Ren, who had never learned any fighting skills, would never be able to beat Jiang Tianwei, who now teaches aerobic boxing in the gym.

"Well, let's stop talking about this kind of depressing stuff here!"

Jiang Tianwei stretched himself and felt refreshed. He didn't know if it was because he had finally let out all the emotions he had buried for years, or because he had found his future life goal and was no longer confused. In short, he felt really refreshed. It was as refreshing as putting on a new pair of panties on the first day of the new year.

"You two talked about something interesting on the rooftop before, right? Mr. Kamoshida or something...ah, I get angry when I talk about this! In Kamoshida's castle, I begged you to save me, and you just ran over there in such a cold-blooded way?!"

Jiang Tianwei suddenly changed the subject, which made Morgana jump: "What?! At that time, it was you who was imprisoned?! I thought it was the cognitive existence in Kamo Shida's heart..."

“Exactly like the real person.”

"That's me!"

"Ah, ahahaha, we, we also have our moments of misstep..."

Morgana scratched his head in embarrassment. Amamiya Lian smiled and said, "It's obviously the cat that lost its front paw..."

"I'm not a cat! I've told you so many times!"

Seeing the two of them teasing each other, Jiang Tianwei seemed to see the chat mode between himself and Fang Zexia...Ah? Where is Fang Zexia?

Jiang Tianwei then noticed that although Fang Zexia had been sitting diagonally opposite him, she had been looking at him with a faint smile without saying a word.

I have to say, although it is very pleasing to the eyes to see a beautiful woman smile, being stared at by a beautiful woman is a completely different experience... I always feel as if I am guilty...

(Have I ever offended her in any way?!)

Jiang Tianwei couldn't help but think so, and sweat started to flow down his forehead.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 29: Boys, Don’t Guess What Girls Are Thinking

If we were to conduct a survey among all the males in heterosexual couples around the world, asking them what problem they hate most about their girlfriends, I'm afraid "you guess" would definitely be among the top, and might even be able to compete for the first place.

Often, there will always be some friction between men and women in a relationship. From a man's perspective, if you just speak up, I will correct my mistakes and make up for the losses, isn't that the end of it? However, women tend to use a more reserved approach.

They often choose to sulk about one person, and when you ask them what's wrong, they often ask back: "Guess," or "Don't you know?" or "Ask yourself..." In short, few people will directly state the conflicting issues.

The result is that men are puzzled and when they question further, the conflict often escalates.

Although Jiang Tianwei and Fang Zexia were not boyfriend and girlfriend, she looked at him with such a smile, which made him feel uneasy. He didn't know what big thing this girl was going to do...

"Ahem... Fangze, if you have anything to say, just say it..."

Jiang Tianwei's words did not cause Fang Zexia's expression to change. She still faced him with that smile. However, Amamiya Lian and Morgana next to her looked towards Fang Zexia's position together.

Jiang Tianwei then noticed that he had not introduced Fang Zexia before...

(Is it because I didn’t introduce Fangze that she got angry? Angry that I didn’t introduce her? I ignored her? That must be it!)

"Let me introduce you. This is my partner, Fang Ze Xia."

After Jiang Tianwei said this, Fang Zexia narrowed her eyes and smiled even more brightly, but still said nothing. Jiang Tianwei felt even more pressured.

(Did I guess wrong?)

At this time, Yu Gong Lian and Morgana looked at Jiang Tianwei together: "You, you mean the girl who acted with you in the palace before?"

"Who else could it be but her?"

"Uh, why did you suddenly remember to introduce her?"

"I didn't want to either, but she sat opposite me, looking at me with a fake smile, which made me feel uneasy..."

Jiang Tianwei's words made Yu Gong Lian even more confused...

If you want to say why...

Because the opposite side is empty! This private room can accommodate 4 people. He and Jiang Tianwei sat on the same side. Morgana, as a cat, only needed to stay in Yu Gonglian's backpack. Opposite were two empty computers and a self-proclaimed leatherette sofa!

Jiang Tianwei swallowed his saliva and thought to himself, this is bad...

He originally thought that, just like Morgana, he could hear Morgana talking, and these two could also see Fang Zexia, but it turned out that they couldn't see it? !

(Could it be that Fang Ze Xia was teasing me on purpose?! That’s why she was looking at me with a smile, waiting for me to reveal my flaws?! This girl! Is extraordinary!)

However, Fang Zexia still said nothing and just looked at him.

"So, if I tell you now that she is actually a ghost, would you believe it?"

As soon as Jiang Tianwei finished speaking, Yu Gong Lian nodded neatly: "I believe it."

Through his glasses, Jiang Tianwei clearly saw the gentle concern in his eyes... Damn, this guy must have thought of himself as one of those middle school boys who wrapped toilet paper around his arm and thought that there was a black flame dragon sealed in his body. He was just imagining that he had a beautiful girl as his guardian spirit.

(So, what is she laughing at?)

Jiang Tianwei's mind is now full of this question and he is extremely concerned about it.

"Hehe - haven't you noticed yet?"

Finally, Fang Zexia spoke. As if she saw that his guess was wrong, she finally took the initiative to speak.

"?!"

As soon as she opened her mouth, Amamiya Ren was shocked. Because, from his perspective, a girl's voice suddenly came from the empty sofa opposite him!

"So what you said about ghosts is true?!"

"Of course it's real! Why is it okay for you to bring a cat demon, but it has to be fake for me to bring a ghost?"

"I am not a cat!"

After hearing Fang Zexia's words, Jiang Tianwei was no longer sweating profusely, but was soaked with sweat... What exactly has changed about her? When he read comics before, he only hated the male protagonist for being wooden and not understanding women at all. Now he finally understood that it was not that the male protagonists were not good enough, but when it comes to love, everyone will have a headache!

Fang Zexia seemed to be satisfied with Jiang Tianwei's embarrassed expression. She laughed happily and said, "Did you really not notice? That would be disqualifying for a man. Disqualifying."

Fang Zexia giggled, flew into the air, and danced in the air. Her sapphire blue dress looked particularly elegant...

"Ah, is it the styling?! You got a new dress?!"

"Hmm~"

It was only when he saw the new dress that Jiang Tianwei noticed that Fang Zexia had many other changes... For example, she had wings growing on her back, and the overall atmosphere she gave off was different.

This is another terrifying function of the "Devil Summoning Program" he possesses: demon fusion.

As the name implies, demon A and demon B can be synthesized. Generally speaking, people understand that A plus B synthesizes AB. A typical example is the combination of a lion and a eagle, which is a griffin. But demons are different from human imaginations. A plus B synthesizes C. Using the above example, a lion plus a eagle can form a werewolf or a tank... This irregularity is the biggest synthesis barrier...

Of course, they actually do have a complete set of synthesis rules, but they are different from the subjective understanding of ordinary humans. To put it in a fashionable way, it is anti-intellectual.

It was rare for Yoshizawa Kasumi to merge with Pixie in a desperate situation. Because Yoshizawa Kasumi is not a demon in nature, but a human. This kind of fusion is unheard of.

But the result was good. Fang Ze Xia gained considerable power, and at the same time, she did not lose her will. Even the appearance was similar. This example of A plus B synthesizing A was really an exception among exceptions.

Seeing Fang Zexia like this, Jiang Tianwei felt uncomfortable. She became like this just to help him deal with the red knight... How could he feel embarrassed...

"Hmm, it seems that the APP you use is different from the one I use..."

Morgana jumped out of Amamiya Lian's backpack, stepped on Jiang Tianwei, and looked at his cell phone over his shoulder.

"Do you have it too? APP..."

Amamiya Lian and Jiang Tianwei exchanged their phones. Sure enough, the icon of Amamiya Lian's APP looked like a big black and red eye, while the icon of Jiang Tianwei looked like an old man with a white beard.

Of course, the functions of these two apps are completely different. Amamiya Lian's app is called Different World Navigation, which can directly guide people from reality to the palace of the mind. And Jiang Tianwei's demon summoning program, as the name suggests, summons demons to fight.