I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

We have to move into the mall.

Because it's definitely not allowed to go outside.

Chisa thought of the countless unprotected, terrified strangers outside the shopping mall and the shed, who were powerless to do anything.

Her upbringing taught her that everyone should be harmonious, loving, and helpful to one another, so she had to help them.

Even a casual remark of key information can unknowingly save many lives.

But in the end, the girl clenched her small hands tightly against her chest.

"Chisa... there's nothing I can do."

I don't care if I'm called a selfish bad kid!

—Chisa, all I want to do now is protect my family!

Chisa pinched her stiff cheeks, then squatted down in front of her two younger brothers who had just started elementary school, and gave them a bright, sunny smile.

She pointed to the road leading straight to the mall from the shed: "Yang Yi, Yang Er Jun, can you take your mother inside? It'll be cooler there with air conditioning."

"oh oh."

The two boys, who didn't quite understand what had happened but whose emotions had calmed down, nodded as if they understood.

They walked around the woman who had fainted on the cushion for a while before, with Chisa's guidance, they each took one arm.

The younger Yoji looked at Chisa, who was still standing there, and asked in a low voice,

"Sister, aren't you coming?"

"I'll come right away!"

With a heavy heart, Chisa smiled and made a heart shape with her hands before continuing to struggle with her difficult decision.

She looked down at the tall, imposing Special Affairs officer, who was at least three times her weight.

—This uncle had just saved their family, but he was just too heavy. Chisa felt that she could not possibly move him no matter what.

We have no choice but to leave the old man here.

Chisa swallowed the air that felt almost solid in her throat.

The girl bent down, grabbed her father's arms with both hands, and used all the strength she had ever had to drag her father, who weighed a full 160 pounds.

"Huh...huh..."

Before she had even covered half the distance, Chisa felt as if a fire was about to ignite in her chest.

They weren't this tired when their PE teacher made them run 200 meters before.

Fortunately, just as they were about to reach the pillar in the mall, his two younger brothers came running over, and the three of them worked together to finally drag their father behind the huge pillar on the first floor of the mall.

Next, Chisa found a clothing store as a hiding place—so many clothes would surely provide some cover.

After finishing everything, Chisa, her arms weak, plopped down and listened to the uneasy whispers in the mall, panting heavily.

At this moment, these sounds unexpectedly brought Chisa a sense of security.

After resting for two minutes, Chisa looked back at the original location of the shed with a complicated expression.

Sure enough, it still doesn't work.

The girl struggled to her feet, realizing that she couldn't just irresponsibly leave that old man there.

"You two sit here and play for a while, okay? Don't run around or talk too much." Chisa patted her two younger brothers' heads. "I'll bring that uncle in too."

"We're here to help!"

Yang Yi immediately raised his hand.

Yang Er glanced at his brother, not to be outdone: "Then we want one too!"

Chisa shook her head resolutely, making an arm-bending gesture at them—a gesture that showed strength but ultimately delivered nothing: "Such a small matter is enough for my older sister to handle alone! Understand?"

—Just kidding. If my brothers got into trouble because they went out with her, I would really feel guilty for the rest of my life.

Without saying anything more, Chisa immediately tiptoed back into the shed.

"Gulu..."

This time, just walking this far, Chisa felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her neck.

The middle-aged man in black was still lying on the ground, unconscious.

Trembling all over, Chisa wrapped her arms around the operator's arm, which was as thick as her thigh, and with all her might, she managed to drag him a dozen centimeters.

Chisa was already panting heavily.

"If my older sister knew I did this, she'd definitely scold me to death..."

She dared not look at the street outside, which had been swallowed by the thick darkness, and just kept her head down, struggling with the unconscious special affairs officer.

Several minutes later, an exhausted Chisa dragged the operator back to the previous pillar.

"This is... the best we can do..."

The girl, who was panting heavily, braced herself against her knees to keep from collapsing.

She didn't dare linger. Instead, she immediately lifted her lactic acid-filled legs and walked into the clothing store. When she saw her brothers, who were unharmed, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Yang Yi and Yang Er, well done..."

Chisa was about to encourage her younger brothers when she suddenly realized something.

When did shopping malls become so quiet?

Moreover, it was even quieter than before.

It was so bad it took my breath away.

The girl's smile, along with her body, froze.

Silently moving behind the oversized XL-sized clothes, Chisa cautiously peeked out again.

Then, in the very center of the mall's first floor, I saw an old-fashioned telephone booth covered in dust, rust, and grease.

She was less than fifty meters away!

In an instant, Chisa's heart turned ice-cold.

She turned around somewhat dazedly, looking at her two younger brothers who were staring at her with unwavering trust, and suddenly felt like crying.

Chisa wondered if she shouldn't have gone into the mall in the first place, and if running away outside would have been the right choice.

"Sister..."

Just as Yang Yi was about to speak, Qian Sha covered his mouth with her hand and made a shushing gesture.

"Yang Yi, Yang Er."

Chisa spoke in a whisper, "After you see your older sister run out, take your father and mother and run in the other direction, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the two children were on the verge of tears.

"Yangyi, don't separate from your older sister."

"Yang Er doesn't want it either."

Chisa thought to herself that her older sister didn't really want to be separated from them either, but that phone booth had already tracked them all the way here. If she didn't go out and act as bait to lure it away, then by the time it found this place, everyone would be doomed.

How heartbroken must Tamamo-nee be?

If she were the only one not there, at least when Tamamo-nee cried, there would be many people to comfort her.

It's very lively.

Isn't this ending pretty good?

"Sweethearts, if Yang Yi and Yang Er do as your older sister says, then I'll secretly bring you gummy candies every day during summer vacation, okay?"

Chisa smiled and spoke to her younger brothers, immediately capturing their attention.

"Then, sister, pinky promise, no take-backs allowed."

Yang Yi immediately stopped crying and extended her little finger with considerable experience.

Yang Er followed suit, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Chisa dared not delay any longer, so she immediately made a pinky promise with her younger brothers, and heard Yoichi say in a very low voice,

"A liar must swallow a thousand needles..."

Chisa had pricked her finger with a needle once before, so she thought swallowing a thousand needles must be very painful.

I really wish I had a chance to change my mind...

Chisa stood still, counted down from three in her mind, and then darted out of the clothing store.

At the same time, she shouted at the top of her lungs, imitating the busy tone of a telephone.

"Beep, beep! Beep, beep!"

After running a dozen steps, Chisa closed her eyes again and roared to the sky, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, run! Get as far away from this phone booth as possible!"

She didn't know how many people in the mall could hear her.

In short, this would create chaos, making her less likely to be noticed...

Qian Sha turned around, clinging to a sliver of hope.

Then, I saw a black telephone booth that had moved at some point and was now only thirty meters away from me.

So Chisa dared not look anymore.

She could only run forward as if her life depended on it, jumping over any obstacles in her path, climbing up any high stairs, and gritting her teeth to get up and keep running even when she tripped over a shelf.

Chisa thought she had never run so fast in her life, not even when the teacher said the first place winner would get a snack... Was she about to break the world record?

Vague and chaotic thoughts rose one by one amidst increasingly labored breathing, only to vanish just as quickly.

As Chisa tripped over again and was about to get up, she saw the old telephone booth already standing in front of her.

I can't run anymore.

Chisa opened her mouth, but decided not to waste any more effort.

She struggled to her feet, walked to the black telephone booth, and pulled open its rusty doorknob.

Went in.

It perfectly follows the rules for the occurrence of ghost stories.

Chisa stood in the dark, damp phone booth, her body trembling uncontrollably.

She remembered, or rather, vaguely remembered, that her older sister had said that if she made a phone call, she could buy some time.

These are the rules of the ghost stories from the black phone booths.

Jingle Bell.

The shrill ringtone sounded inside the phone booth, as if urging Chisa to pick it up and dial the number quickly.

The girl placed her hand on the delicate telephone dial, instantly silencing the phone booth.

So now, who should she call?

After Chisa hesitated for two seconds, the bell rang again, sounding like a death knell.

It doesn't seem to matter who you hit.

The key is...

With trembling fingers, the girl randomly dialed a number, then picked up the elegant red phone and shakily placed it to her ear.

Just as the chilling, deathly wail was about to pierce the phone, Qiansha forcefully closed her eyes and preemptively recited the "life-saving incantation" her older sister had told her.

"The Special Operations Division's Countermeasures Office is located at ■■■■■■■■■!"

The crying suddenly stopped.

"Aaaaaaaaaa!!!"

The next instant, a deafening scream and shriek came from the other end of the phone, causing her to drop the phone in fear.

But soon, Chisa realized that she was alright.

The incident occurred in this phone booth.