I said you are all war criminals

She bowed rather dramatically, like a long-necked crane.

"The prosecutor has no objection."

"Why does Liang want to prove that I was killed by a monster... Did I do something bad to her? No, from the perspective of tracing back to the source, Liang is doing the real thing... So she did this because I was nice to Liang?"

Bai Ye felt his head was in a mess.

"Tsk, so what's going on here..." Hakuno scratched his hair, feeling like his brain cells were being mercilessly slaughtered. His intelligence clearly didn't allow him to come up with an answer before the puzzle was fully unfolded. After all, Hakuno wasn't Sherlock Holmes, nor was he Edogawa Conan.

With a lot of questions and complaints in his mind, Bai Ye pressed the controller again to advance the game.

The Witch Court vanished, replaced by a dim forest. Towering trees obscured the sun, leaving only a few faint rays of light filtering through the gaps between the branches, casting dappled spots of light on the ground. The air was filled with a damp, decaying odor, mingled with the fragrance of unknown flowers, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression.

The crime scene was an ancient shrine nestled deep in the mountains, but it was a bustling place. However, because a murder had recently occurred there, the police had sealed it off with tape.

[Xingge gazed at the crime scene from afar.]

【Just then, her cell phone rang again.】

[The woman with brilliant blonde hair lowered her head and looked at the text message on her phone, which had been sent by someone unknown.]

"Without hatred, one cannot see."

Chapter 41: Final Stage

Simulate the final game.

After repeated investigations and court dramas, Hakuno finally uncovered the truth of the incident.

However... this truth is a little bit outrageous.

To put it simply, it is similar to "twenty tons of gold".

Everyone in this town was bribed by Hakuno in the simulator, and the corpse was just a disguise made of someone else's corpse. Yamada Ryo was also an insider. It was a complete replica of "Umineko no Naku Koro no Cry".

And to ask why...

“…PA, you died tragically.”

Bai Ye wiped away his tears hypocritically.

That's right.

In fact, Xingge had already killed PA at the beginning of the simulation. Then she awakened her superpowers and hypnotized herself to forget the incident.

In the simulation, Bai Ye was using this method to awaken Xingge's memory... to let Xingge know that "there are supernatural powers in the world."

As long as Xingge knows the existence of the supernatural and believes in it, she will be able to wake up and remember everything.

On the other hand, it was precisely because Xingge did not want to accept the fact that he had killed PA that he so stubbornly refused to believe in the existence of magic in the simulation.

"To be honest, I kind of understand why the readers who were following Umineko at the time wanted to kill Dragon Knight's mother. I also kind of want to kill Simulator's mother," said Hakuno.

But the simulator has no mother.

So, it continued to spit out words slowly.

[The rain...is falling quietly, quietly.]

[The sad rain soaked the outer walls of the chapel, slowly trickling down, quietly sweeping away the mundane dust of the world.]

【Chapel, open door.】

This type of building is generally used as a venue for two types of events.

【Wedding, or funeral.】

If it is a wedding, then only those with invitations can attend.

[However, if it is a funeral, the door will be open to all those who miss the deceased.]

[…So, this is undoubtedly a funeral.]

The chapel is open, awaiting the arrival of mourners...

Xingge slowly walked into the chapel and found that there were not many people attending the funeral. There were only a few people.

[Yamada Ryo, Ichichi Hongxia, Hakuno. 】

They stood at a distance, not too far away, looking at their guest, Ichichi Hoshige.

In the center of the chapel, a pitch-black coffin rested silently, like a dormant beast, emitting a heart-pounding sense of oppression. Xingge's steps faltered, and she practically dragged herself to the coffin. Her outstretched hand trembled, but she couldn't muster the courage to touch the cold surface.

“Xingge…” Bai Ye’s voice was low and hoarse, as if coming from far away. “Open it and take a look.”

Xingge took a deep breath, and with trembling hands, she slowly opened the coffin lid with Baiye's help.

[Inside the coffin lies P.A.]

[The sound engineer who belonged to Ichichi Hoshika slowly lay down in the coffin with the same cold expression as in life.]

"Finally, we're almost at the real-life storyline... The million-word mystery storyline was so frustrating," Hakuno complained. "Especially in the second chapter, when Yatengu suddenly transformed into a beautiful girl and flirted with Xingge, I was really scared."

Even though it was a dream and time wasn't important, it felt like I had finished playing "Ace Attorney 123" in one go... Having played this far, I actually felt a sense of relief.

"In short, this is a mind palace created by Xingge's superpowers, right? Liang, Hongxia, and I are all copies of each other in Xingge's mind? After this funeral, we can move on to the real story, right?"

Xingge stared blankly at PA in the coffin, memories flashing through her mind like fragments.

[That day, it was also raining heavily like this... PA said something to Xingge in the rain.]

【What is it? That doesn't matter anymore.】

[In short, the argument turned into a quarrel. No one knew who started the fight or who waved the umbrella first...]

[But, in the end, it was PA who died. Lying in this coffin, Miss PA made people feel "still alive."]

【And the one who became the murderer was Ichichi Hoshika. 】

[Xingge stood there blankly.]

【And just then, Hakuno came over and hugged her from behind. 】

"Putting aside the possibility that Xingge and I will actually have a bloody argument in two or three days, why are we so familiar with each other... No, although Xingge summoned me twice in the plot, and I called out things like 'Ichichi Xingge—', I'm not really that familiar with her."

Bai Ye couldn't help but complain.

Is this simulator really ok?

Hello, is this simulator really ok?

While complaining, Bai Ye picked up the Coke in his dream and prepared to drink a glass.

[“Don’t be sad anymore. That happened thousands of years ago.”]

【Hakuno said gently.】

"puff--"

Hakuno spurted out.

What the hell is Millennium?

According to the script, the time that passed was only about a week at most, right? Even if we include the reincarnation of "Chessboard", it was only about two months, right?

Hakuno is a little confused about the direction of this script... Isn't this "Umineko no Naku Koro" or "13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim"?

“Alright, Xingge… let’s fall asleep again. Let’s sink into our dreams once again, and return to the day we began our journey together.”

Bai Ye's arms were wrapped around Xingge's slender waist, and his head rested gently on her shoulder.

[His voice is like crystal clear, like crystal petals.]

“This time, it took you ten years to solve the puzzle… It’s okay. I’ll adjust it later and make it even more difficult to solve.”

[“Bai… Ye?” Xingge murmured softly.]

“As long as the mystery remains unsolved, as long as no one else can solve it, you will forever be lost in the dream… Xingge in the dream will never die.”

[In other words, you'll die after waking up, right?]

【Xingge almost realized this subconsciously.】

[Then... Ijichi Hoshika will...]

【"Sister!" Hong Xia's sharp voice rang out.】

[Xingge turned around and saw that Yidizhi Hongxia had changed.]

She was wearing a tight-fitting outfit that showed off her figure. She was also much taller than before, and her face looked as if she had grown several years older in the blink of an eye.

[Hong Xia spoke loudly with a voice that Xingge was not familiar with, and with a face that Xingge was not familiar with.]

"Sister, that's a sin that can never be atoned for... At least, at least you should die awake, instead of sleeping forever!"

[In Hongxia's eyes, a light flickered that was unfamiliar to Xingge.]

【"elder sister--"】

[Hongxia pleaded.]

"Let me kill you."

【Ijichihoshi song selection:】

【1. Live with Hakuno.】

【2. Killed by Ichichi Nijika.】

PS: To celebrate your discharge from the hospital, I will see if I can add another chapter tonight.

Chapter 42: The Real World in Simulation

How many years did it take for humans to evolve into what we are today?

Tens of millions of years.

Prosimians became apes, apes became Homo sapiens, and Homo sapiens became humans.

This took a long, long time.

Even if we become humans, it took tens of thousands of years for humans to evolve into what we are today.

Logically speaking, it will take at least tens of thousands of years for humans to become extinct, right?

No, that's not it.

Ijichi Hongxia sat on the dark ground, gazing at the sky, which was shrouded by gigantic trees. She remembered that the last time she had seen the sun was three hundred years ago... Ever since the infinitely growing tree had engulfed the entire surface of the Earth, swallowed the entire planet into its belly, Hongxia had not seen the sun again.

If you look down at the Earth today from space, you can only see a sea of green.

There is no sea, no ground, only trees, infinitely derived trees.

This is already a tree star.

In a world without a trace of light, Hong Xia still survived, unlike all other humans.

This is not because Hongxia modified her own body - her companions who modified their bodies with her died one by one, and in the end only Hongxia Ijichi survived.

Hongxia was able to survive until now because the tree that enveloped the world prevented her from dying.

Not being able to die is really a troubling thing.

If Hongxia wants to hang herself, this tree will let her down.

If Hong Xia wants to fall to her death, the ground will turn into a soft trampoline.

When Hongxia wants to kill herself with a knife, the branches will take the knife away from her hand.

This tree just won't let her die.

...Because the name of this tree is "Ichichi Star Song"!

"Ahh...why did it become like this?"

Hongxia closed her eyes and recalled what happened a thousand years ago.

Thousands of years ago, Hong Xia ran away from home, searching for the whereabouts of the "Golden God". After spending nearly two months, she finally dug up the Golden God and used it to create her first prosthetic body, which she replaced with herself.

Just when Hongxia came out from underground, she found that the whole Tokyo was surrounded by huge trees.

After finally contacting Bai Ye, Hong Xia finally found out what happened...

"After you ran away from home, your sister turned into a giant tree and swallowed up everything around it! At first it was just Shimokitazawa, but now it's all of Tokyo..."