In the anime, people are in everyday Tokyo, but they are playing the reincarnation game

"Persona..."

"Human Shura."

The moment Human Shura appeared, the special infected person with a bloated body and a big belly seemed to have noticed the movement coming from this side. He turned around slowly, took a step, and slowly walked towards the direction where Chaowu and others were standing.

But before it could take two steps, Human Shura was already in front of it. He stretched out his huge right hand and grabbed the head of the special infected person like a ball. Then, regardless of the beating of the other party's two cystic arms, he dragged the other party back to the back of the van.

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud noise.

"boom!!!"

Asuna Yuuki and Kotoko Iwanaga were very familiar with this sound. They had heard a similar sound when the bodies of the two suicidal players exploded in the last hotel dungeon.

"OK, solved."

Asagiri canceled the summons of Ren Shura, and because the personality mask was the power condensed from his mind, he could also feel the approximate destructive power caused by the explosion of the bloated special infected person through Ren Shura.

Immediately afterwards, Asagiri led Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi to the back of the van. What they saw was a mess, with body parts, fragments of internal organs, yellow-green mucus, blood and flesh. These disgusting things gathered together made Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi subconsciously turn their heads away, unable to bear to look at the scene.

Kotoko Iwanaga did not look away, as if this disgusting scene had no effect on her at all. She just murmured.

"I see. This guy's belly is so bloated it's filled with bile. If hit by any external force, it will explode. He's the type that can't be killed at close range, so he can only use long-range attacks..."

After saying this, Iwanaga Kotoko looked at Asagiri curiously.

"You said earlier that you wanted to confirm something through the special infected. What was it?"

"This is it."

Asagiri pointed to the ground. Iwanaga Kotoko, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi looked in the direction of his finger. They saw a black object about two centimeters long lying there quietly among the bloody remains and yellow-green mucus. It was easy to miss if you didn't pay attention.

"This is..."

Kotoko Iwanaga recognized this thing at a glance and frowned.

"Implantable locator?"

068 Iwanaga Kotoko's great contribution

Asagiri nodded noncommittally, looked at the black implanted locator, and said lightly.

"It should be something similar."

Iwanaga Kotoko murmured, somewhat puzzled.

"How could there be an implanted locator in the body of a specially infected person? Could it be..."

Asagiri said softly, "Well, this city isn't one of those places where a zombie apocalypse crisis breaks out. Instead, it's been cleared out by some unknown force. Almost all the normal zombies have been wiped out, leaving only these special infected individuals. They've had implanted locators installed in their bodies, making this city like a scientific testing ground."

"A scientific testing ground... no wonder it's like this, that explains it."

When Yuuki Asuna heard this, her thoughts instantly became clear.

"No wonder there aren't any regular zombies on the streets. It turns out they've been completely wiped out. And the virus isn't particularly contagious. If the experimenters deliberately set it up that way to keep the experiment under control, that would explain it."

After saying this, Yuuki Asuna looked at Asagiri with a look of surprise.

"But how did you come up with that?"

"Read more novels and TV shows, play more games, and then combine that with the information we've got, and you'll figure it out. It's no big deal."

Although Asagiri said it in a matter-of-fact tone, Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yuuki Asuna did not think that this was really no big deal.

No matter what, this is considered the core hidden plot of this copy, right?

How long had it been since entering the dungeon? In just half an hour, Asagiri had already deduced this, and he had even discovered an implanted locator in the body of a specially infected individual, providing decisive evidence for his speculation.

Sure enough, as a game player, Chaogiri is better than any of them. It is precisely because of this that he can get generous rewards for completing levels every time and obtain the privileges of a high-level player.

Perhaps even the game system doesn't want such an excellent player to be eliminated.

At this time, Kato Megumi spoke softly and raised a key question.

"Since the specially infected have implanted locators, is it possible that in this instance we'll encounter members of the faction that's using this city for experiments? They're definitely... hostile to us, right?"

"It's highly unlikely, but we can't completely rule out this possibility."

I don’t know if it was an illusion or if Asagiri really meant that, but Iwanaga Kotoko and others always felt that when he said this, he had some... inexplicable expectation?

"Being able to clear an entire city of ordinary zombies, and selectively retaining these special infected species, and even implanting locators in them, is much more difficult than simply exterminating all the zombies. The enemy is definitely not just a small-scale organization. At the very least, they must be a regular army that has received professional training and has experienced many battles to accomplish such a thing."

"Most players at this stage would find it difficult to escape unscathed, let alone facing a regular combat team. Even if they were just facing amateur thugs armed with guns, that's why such a difficult enemy shouldn't appear in the first stage of the dungeon."

Just as Asagiri finished speaking, Iwanaga Kotoko's violet eyes suddenly lit up.

"Wait a minute, I feel something strange around here..."

"weird?"

Upon hearing this, Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi couldn't help but show their vigilance, wondering why the dungeon type had suddenly changed again, and why it was so strange. Could it be that this dungeon was actually a strange type as well?

"Don't panic, the other party doesn't seem to be hostile."

As Iwanaga Kotoko spoke, she walked forward and finally stopped beside an ordinary black car not far away. Then she took off her white beret, gently held it in front of her chest, made a very standard courtesy greeting gesture, and spoke with a smile.

"Hello."

What Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and even Asagiri didn't expect was that after Iwanaga Kotoko said hello, a man who was vaguely visible, like a shadow, with blood on his body and a pale face, actually crawled out from under the black car.

"Hello... hello..."

After receiving a response from the other party, Iwanaga Kotoko turned her head, looked at the three people standing there, and said with a smile.

"It's okay, he's not an evil spirit, just a ghost wandering around here."

Yuuki Asuna was puzzled when she heard this: "Ghosts? Why are there ghosts here?"

"Of course there will be."

Iwanaga Kotoko replied in a flat tone.

"Where there are deaths, there are bound to be ghosts. I'm just not sure if the laws of this world are the same as ours, and I'm not sure if people who turn into zombies are truly dead. It seems like there are ghosts after all."

After saying this, Iwanaga Kotoko looked at the undead man and asked with a smile.

"Sir, do you know anything about what's happening in this city?"

"That...that..."

The undead man seemed to be afraid of something, and looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. Iwanaga Kotoko noticed that his gaze would occasionally drift towards the direction where Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, and Kato Megumi were standing. After thinking about it for a while, she immediately understood and comforted him softly.

"Please don't be afraid. Those three are my companions. We have no ill will towards you. We just want to ask a few questions."

"Really no ill intentions..."

The undead man looked timid and cautious, like a thief, and stole a glance at Asagiri who was standing there. The moment his eyes met Asagiri's, his body couldn't help but tremble.

"He...the thing he just summoned...and his body, both have an aura...that scares me..."

"Oh, it's okay, it's okay."

Iwanaga Kotoko waved her hand and said in a kind manner.

"As long as you answer my questions honestly, he won't attack you, but..."

Having said that, Iwanaga Kotoko suddenly changed the subject and spoke in a cold tone.

"If you keep it secret, it's hard to say what will happen."

Seeing that Iwanaga Kotoko seemed like a different person suddenly, Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi were both shocked.

For a long time, Iwanaga Kotoko has always appeared in front of them as a funny abstract girl who would say shocking things from time to time and always had a sweet smile on her face. They almost forgot that she was not just a love-brained high school girl, but also shouldered important responsibilities. Before entering the "game", she had been exposed to supernatural phenomena and was responsible for maintaining the balance and order between monsters and humans. She was the god of wisdom among monsters.

How could Kotoko Iwanaga, who possesses this kind of identity, be the kind of person who only knows how to laugh and has no intimidating power?

But when she was with Asagiri and others, she showed the side of a normal high school girl.

"I...I say...please don't let that guy come over!"

The undead man seemed to be very afraid of Asagiri, his body trembling. Without waiting for Iwanaga Kotoko to ask, he quickly took the initiative to speak.

"Most of my memories of my life are blurry. I just remember my car keys falling to the ground, and then I tried to pick them up. Then... there was pain, and then darkness."

"Memory is fuzzy?"

Asagiri took two steps forward and spoke in a calm tone.

"Actually, I also know a little bit about memory recovery techniques."

Although Kotoko Iwanaga didn't know what the memory recovery technique was, she knew what Asagiri wanted to do just by looking at her expression, so she tried to dissuade him.

"No, he should be telling the truth. This is the case with many ghosts. After death, as time passes, their memories of their lives become increasingly blurred, leaving only those memories that they cling to deeply."

Then, Iwanaga Kotoko looked at the undead man.

"You just said you lost your car keys? Do you remember where you dropped them?"

"Right...right over there...in front of the right front tire of that car..."

Kotoko Iwanaga walked a few meters in the direction of the undead man's finger, and sure enough, in front of a car's tire, in a place that was difficult to notice because of the tire obstructing the view, she found a dusty electronic car key lying there quietly.

"Hey~"

She bent down and picked up the car keys, blew on them gently a few times to try to remove the dust on them, then threw them to Asagiri and said with a smile.

"Aren't we going to the Ren Ai Hospital in the city center? Twenty kilometers is too far to walk. Let's take a car~"

“Taking a car is no problem…”

Yuuki Asuna said with a slight hesitation.

"But...do any of you know how to drive?"

Kato Hui shook her head: "I can't."

Iwanaga Kotoko also shook her head: "I don't know either."

Under the expectant gazes of the three women, Asagiri nodded and smiled.

"I can."

"really."

For some reason, Yuuki Asuna was not surprised at all that Asagiri, a high school student, could drive. After all, after spending several copies together, her threshold of shock had been raised by the other party.

"But if I drive, won't it attract the attention of the special infected?"

Yuuki Asuna pursed her lips and said hesitantly.

"The movements of that special infected just now were even slower than those of ordinary zombies, but I received a special reminder that there are special infected with high speed and agility in the dungeon. This means that there are at least two, or even more, types of special infected. To be cautious..."

"Don't be too cautious. Our strength is definitely enough to crush the so-called special infected. Besides, can't you also gain strength by killing them?"

Before Yuuki Asuna could finish her words, Iwanaga Kotoko sighed and said with a sincere expression, sounding aggrieved.

"Besides, could you please consider my feelings? I've been walking for so long, I can't take it anymore. If I walk 20 kilometers, my prosthesis will burst. Please, let's take a car, okay?"

069 Special Infected Person in the Hospital

In the end, the team members reached a consensus and decided to drive to Jin'ai Hospital in the city center. After all, Kotoko Iwanaga's health was not conducive to long-distance travel. Although Kato Megumi and Yuuki Asuna were in good health, their physical strength at this stage was not much stronger than that of ordinary people.

Moreover, the time spent on completing the clearance goal is also an important factor that affects the clearance evaluation level.

As the leader, Chaogiri is the kind of professional player who never misses any opportunity every time he enters a dungeon and always aims for the highest level S+ rating. His philosophy and style of action naturally set the tone for this strategy team.

After getting in the car, Asagiri checked the dashboard and said thoughtfully.

"We're running low on gas. A family car like this shouldn't consume much fuel. As long as the roads are clear, we should be able to drive about 20 kilometers. But straight-line distance isn't the same as driving distance. Based on my rough estimate... we'll have to get out and walk about two kilometers from Ren Ai Hospital."

"We have to walk again..."

When Iwanaga Kotoko heard Asagiri's words, she leaned over from the back row and said with a smile.

"Then you'll carry me on your back then?"

"can."