Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

The entire junkyard area was enveloped in dense spiritual energy, possibly the strongest Yuri had ever seen... or even tied for first place? If that incident at school wasn't an illusion.

Calming himself, Yuri began to observe the visible parts of the landfill more closely.

Chapter Ninety-Five Countdown

During the time Yuri observed the landfill from outside the high-rise building, he did not reach a clear conclusion.

But it was clear that the situation was likely heading in a worse direction. Or rather, much of the information pointed to a worse direction, but Yuri told himself to stay hopeful and not to scare himself unnecessarily.

This method was somewhat effective in stopping the anonymous Mr. You from coming up with reasons to back down... However, ultimately, one cannot reverse reality solely through willpower.

The information is clear: the power that the Rat King can mobilize is expanding further. From the initial one or two upright rat spirits leaving each team, it has now become two or three upright rat spirits, while the weaker mouse groups following them have remained unchanged.

The best-case scenario is that, unable to break through the enemy lines, the Rat King decides to intensify his offensive, even at the cost of increased resources, leaving the rear vulnerable—Yuri thinks this is unlikely, because the "concentration" of spiritual energy in the junkyard is slowly increasing.

That would lead directly to a very bad situation, namely, the Rat King is gaining some kind of advantage over time.

The enemy's advantage is our own disadvantage; there is no doubt about that.

Furthermore, as a key piece of evidence in the previous conclusion... the slowly increasing "concentration" of spiritual energy in the landfill is certainly not a good sign.

It's not that spiritual energy is a specific substance with a concentration that Yuri can quantify, but Yuri's intuition in this regard should be trustworthy.

If you feel that the other person is getting stronger, then the other person is very likely to be getting stronger.

From Yuri's perspective, it was relatively easy to see... or rather, to sense the crack in the Shadow Gate.

Compared to Mingmei's description, Yuri felt that this crack was relatively well-formed, and he felt that he could pass through it without being shaved into a knife-cut surface.

Perhaps it's because I am a spirit while Akemi is a mortal.

However, the most important mastermind behind the scenes is nowhere to be seen.

Regardless of what the Rat King actually looks like, it certainly won't be as eye-catching as Line 2.

At this distance, in terms of perceived intensity, the rat spirits in the junkyard were almost mixed together, giving Yuri the illusion that the rats were united as one.

After all, the rats that left the junkyard area didn't have this trait at all, and Yuri suspected that it was because his perception was not sensitive enough.

All problems, isn't there any good news? Like, maybe there's some big red button in the junkyard that can make all the rats explode with just a light tap...

Unfortunately, Yuri searched for an hour with this mindset, but still couldn't find such a clear weakness.

First, the spiritual energy supporting the rats' actions must be astronomical, and Yuri considered the possibility of cutting off their power supply if they were powered by the spiritual energy veins of the junkyard.

This was undoubtedly a failure.

Yuri didn't know how to block the spiritual veins (perhaps he could study them after getting closer, but would the rats give him that opportunity?), and at the same time, he didn't sense any obvious spiritual energy coming from the earth's veins.

He mentally accessed Mingmei's spiritual map and concluded that this garbage dump was not a well-known spiritual site.

It has some charm, but that's about it.

This raises the question: what exactly is driving the rats' behavior? Discovering this might provide an opportunity to manipulate the situation.

However, the reality is that you can't discover it unless you get close, and if you get close, you'll be eaten by rats. There's only one chance to find out what happened, and that's to launch a decisive attack—of course, you can't stop to study it during that process.

Secondly, the mice's behavior might follow a certain pattern, and if this pattern could be found, it might be useful in dealing with them.

Leaving aside the Rat King, the other rats don't seem to be very intelligent. If they act more based on instinct, the patterns of their behavior, or the things they won't do, are likely to be their taboos or sources of trouble.

If we force them to confront these things directly, we might be able to make them collapse without a fight.

...Speaking of which, werewolves are predators no matter how you look at it, but in reality, they are still pinned down in key positions and unable to move.

The sheer number of rats is overwhelming; they can win even in a direct confrontation with their natural predators.

Then there are only taboos. Are there any behaviors that rats would absolutely never do?

No, that's not right. They're too low-level. Even if we violated the taboo, it wouldn't cause any major problems. Finding them wouldn't be of any use.

Yuri tried to think, but the more he thought, the more desperate he became.

Finally, there's the question of whether the landfill's defenses have any weaknesses.

That's quite obvious.

Whether they are small or large mice, they walk on the ground and are not incapable of climbing walls, but they do not tend to do so unless there is a target on the wall.

In any case, they cannot fly, they cannot move in places without solid spiritual energy, and they cannot jump very high.

If Yuri could fly, things would probably be much simpler.

However, Yuri can't fly, and it's probably too late for him to try to grow wings now.

Try to make a slingshot to launch yourself there? That seems to require inertia, and Yuri has already been disappointed by the inertia of a spirit once.

Try to make a slingshot, then have Yuri hold the projectile and launch it.

It might be a bit complicated, but it can certainly be taken into consideration as a last resort.

It's inefficient, but I really can't think of a better way right now.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As Yuri was lost in thought, time was ticking away.

Around 11 p.m., Mingmei and her motorcycle appeared on the street and quickly approached the meeting point.

The direction she came from was at an angle different from where Yuri was hanging, so Yuri didn't have time to intercept Akemi halfway down the stairs.

Then Yuri saw Minmei rush into the rendezvous point—then the rat swarm rushed into the rendezvous point—and then Minmei rushed out again.

In the back seat of her car, there was something that looked like a tree root, violently hitting a rat with a wooden stick.

Meanwhile, Yuri, having covered about half the distance, came into Akemi's view.

The high school girl motorcyclist immediately changed direction and rushed over, reaching out to grab Yuri—this time he adjusted the angle so that Akemi could grab his arm—then Akemi pulled him up and threw him onto the back seat, where he hung together with his root carving friend who was also hanging on the back.

Kind of embarrassing.

While Yuri was still figuring out how to start the conversation, Root Carving took the initiative to speak, "Hey, is she always this impulsive and unpredictable?"

It may not sound like a compliment, but it's the truth.

“Yes, I prefer to call it decisive, shrewd, and courageous. What did she do to you?” Yuri struggled to find the right words.

“She didn’t do anything to me, except she barged into my house and asked me for help—” the root carving said with a hint of resentment.

“Thank you for your help. We don’t need any assistance now—” Yuri was very moved. These days, there are fewer and fewer people who know how to repay kindness. He didn’t expect to find one here.

“Oh no, I initially refused.” Root Carving immediately shut Yuri up. “I do owe you a favor, but participating in this kind of suicide activity is simply not something I’m considering.”

Yuri had to admit that it really did resemble a suicide mission.

"But then she told me that if the rats expanded their attack range further, then the other spirits who were temporarily guarding the corners would definitely be within their attack range as well. The spirits that caused the fire last time were in cahoots with them!"

While it might sound alarmist, it's certainly a possibility that this could happen. Yuri immediately responded, "And then you agreed?"

"Yeah, and then I agreed. I was dragged out by the anchor point the moment I agreed. There wasn't a second's hesitation!" The root carving spirit's resentment was almost overflowing. "Do I think I've been tricked? If I think about it for a while, will I be able to figure out where the problem is?"

"No, that's unlikely," Yuri thought to himself. Mingmei was telling the truth. Of course, the root carving friend would probably come up with another excuse after thinking about it for a while, which was true.

The sound of the motorcycle subsided, and the two spirits quickly closed their mouths.

“We should be out of danger for now that we’ve gotten here. Were you talking bad about me just now?” Mingmei parked her motorcycle in a small alley and glared at the two spirits in the back.

"No, no, I wouldn't say anything bad about you, I was praising you—right, Root Carving Friend?" "That's right, that's right, your reaction speed is ten times faster than ours—right, Yuri Friend?" The two spirits who were badmouthing each other behind their backs shook their heads together.

"Tsk." Akemi didn't pursue the matter further.

Accordingly, she started another topic, "Yuri, you came at just the right time. I thought I would have to lie in wait nearby and call you when you arrived."

"Actually, I arrived a long time ago, but at that time I felt that the rendezvous point was too dangerous, so I ran out and found a safe place - that is, I hung on the wall near the top of that building."

Because Akemi was basically rushing towards Yuri, Yuri, who was being dragged away, returned to the direction where he had been hiding.

It's a little further away than the previous location.

“Okay, as long as we avoid it…” Akemi nodded.

She then turned to her friend who was carving roots, "And what I said is certainly true. You may not have noticed because you don't go out often, but Yuri goes out often, so he would definitely notice—Yuri, haven't you noticed that something is missing from the streets compared to before?"

Yuri thought to himself that some common items were indeed missing, but he wasn't sure if that was what Akemi had said.

Think it through in your mind before you answer.

The crowds on the streets have decreased somewhat, but only somewhat. The various items on the streets, the rats haven't materialized yet. The tape recorders on the street… wait, where are the tape recorders? It feels like I haven't seen a tape recorder for several hours.

"The weak ghosts have disappeared; they have most likely been murdered."

Yuri discovered another piece of evidence confirming his moral collapse: he suddenly realized that his first reaction included "Damn rats stole my supply source".

“That’s right, that’s exactly it.” Mingmei nodded decisively and turned to her root carving friend. “The rat swarm’s attack range is anything that can come into contact with them to some extent. This applies to inspired people, to broken record players, and even to someone like you who is alone in an empty room.”

"Alright, alright, I know I can't argue with you, so you don't need to keep emphasizing it!" The root carving shook its head violently. "Besides, will there be any problem with the payment?"

There's a reward? Yuri was somewhat surprised.

No, it's not that he thinks root carving shouldn't be paid for, but rather that neither of them had mentioned this to him before.

Before Yuri could even process his heartbreak, Mingmei responded to the root carving, "Of course, no problem. As agreed, you'll hang on the motorcycle to protect the shrine. Afterward, half of the energy remaining in the shrine will be yours—the other half will be Yuri's."

Yuri looked at where the shrine should be.

The shrine really did a great job in this event, acting as both bait and reward; it basically did everything. I'll probably have to be more careful when cleaning it next time.

The root carving nodded in agreement.

Now that their problems have been resolved, Yuri intends to raise his own questions.

“But Mingmei, why did you choose such a dangerous rendezvous point? It’s too close to the rats’ route!” Yuri thought this situation could have been avoided. “Wouldn’t a slightly farther but safer rendezvous point have been better? Now, the people coming here will have to be chased by rats for hundreds of meters before they can escape.”

The group had just driven quite a distance on their motorcycles to shake off the rat—luckily, the rat had poor eyesight.

“Yuri, I may not be smart, but I'm not stupid either. That rendezvous point was where I parked to observe the junkyard earlier. I watched it for a long time and wasn't attacked by any rats—their range wasn't there at the time!” Akemi sighed. “God knows why they expanded their range—”

Both of them stopped moving at the same time.

The answer seems quite obvious, of course, because the Rat King's influence is expanding further.

It's only been about twelve hours since the Rat King actually appeared (actually, less than that), but its main node range has already included a city block and is still expanding.

If when Akemi went to check, they hadn't reached the rendezvous point yet, but they have now.

Yuri did a quick calculation and found that the expansion rate had not decreased.

Assuming the Rat King's directly controlled area is a circle—Mingmei says it's similar to a circle, but not quite perfect, while Yuri simply considers it a circle—and the rate of increase in the radius of this circle has not decreased, at least not significantly.

Mingmei's book says, how does the area increase in this situation?

"Hey, you two, stop standing there! What's the next plan?" The voice of the root carving spirit broke the silence. "We can't hide in this alley for long. If the rats pass by the alley entrance, we could be surrounded at any time."

The root carving friend wasn't very willing to cooperate with this operation, but what it said made sense. The current location wasn't within the junkyard area, but it could still be discovered by the rats coming out. Of course, they could win a fight, but it would probably be a meaningless victory.

It's time to move on to the next step, before it's too late.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Personality Weaknesses

“Our next plan is to wait for everyone to arrive. When will the werewolves arrive, Akemi?” Yuri asked Akemi with great anticipation.

Just as he arrived two hours early and Mingmei arrived an hour early, the werewolves probably wouldn't arrive on time either. He'd only seen one werewolf before, and it was extremely impatient; it would almost certainly appear early.

Akemi's expression was a little strange, and Yuri's heart sank little by little.

"I have bad news for you, Yuri."

No, I don't want to hear it. Really, there's been enough bad news lately. Yuri felt a little delirious. "Go ahead and say it."

“The werewolves don’t really want to come; they think the plan is too risky,” Mingmei sighed.

"Shall we turn back now? I don't think this fight is going to work." Yuri felt this was not the time to sigh; the priority was to run away... If they couldn't stay in Tokyo, should they head to Sendai and then Hokkaido?

“No, they don’t want to come, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. I have a way to get them here, at least one or two.” Akemi paused, ignoring Yuri’s fluctuating emotions, “—but I need your permission to use this method, Yuri.”

"What permission?" Yuri thought he had a thousand words to say, but in the end he could only manage to utter one sentence.

“Here’s the thing, I can try to make Murakami realize that I’m in danger. I’m sure she’ll rush over in that situation, and very quickly—but at the same time, if my situation is extremely dangerous, she probably won’t listen to any of my explanations and will just drag me away.” Akemi observed Yuri’s condition. “So in that situation, I’ll probably be in charge of driving, taking the shrine and the root carving friends, wandering around the junkyard, attracting the rats and creating gaps.”

This was pretty much in line with Yuri's plan.

"And then?" He gestured for Akemi to continue.

"Then, if the plan shows signs of success, I'm sure she won't let the opportunity pass by and will lend a hand... but just a hand. She certainly won't fight to the death for it, and most likely she'll drag me along so we can retreat at any time."

What Akemi said made perfect sense, except for the part where she could ensure that Murakami Akisa would come.

However, if it's just the outer swarm of rats, even without support, Akemi should be able to break through on her own.