In this anime crossover, who stole my module?

This practice is called "observation of qi" (or "qi-gazing").

"Observing qi?"

Everyone was taken aback, not understanding why Natsume Ryo would suddenly bring this up.

"But in reality..."

Natsume Ryo continued:

"What they observed was not actual cloud formations."

"It is it."

After finishing speaking, Natsume Ryo raised his hand and pointed at the giant concrete angel.

"what do you mean……"

Upon hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita frowned, trying to understand the meaning behind Natsume Ryo's words.

"This... enormous thing... was it something that those ancient fortune tellers saw?"

"How is this possible... There has never been such a clear record in history books..."

“The records are naturally not that clear.”

Natsume Ryo shook his head, his tone indifferent.

"When faced with things that are beyond the understanding of the times, people often use the language and concepts that they can understand at the time to describe and distort them."

"Miracles, omens, demons, strange phenomena... different cultural backgrounds will have different interpretations."

"But in essence, they all point to the same thing."

"What we see now, according to modern terminology, can be called a kind of ghost or spirit."

"An existence born from the collective unconscious of humanity, or rather... collective desires and collective fears."

"Did it originate from the collective...subconscious?"

Yukino Yukinoshita murmured to herself. She had only read this word in psychology books, but she never imagined that it could be presented to her in such a concrete and terrifying way.

"Yes."

Xia Liang nodded slightly.

"When enough people have the same strong emotions about something, this huge, invisible spiritual force may take shape on the inner side of the world and eventually interfere with the inner world we live in."

"That is, the inner world."

"You might find this process quite mysterious."

"But now that you've seen it with your own eyes, do you still find it mysterious?"

Natsume Ryo asked in return.

The girls were unable to answer.

The fear and oppression they are experiencing now are real.

That kind of tremor that comes from the depths of one's soul cannot be faked.

“Then…then that…halo above its head…” Yui Yuigahama pointed at the concrete ring that kept collapsing and then recovering, her voice weak.

"She looks like an angel... so why does she make people feel so scared..."

"An angel?" Upon hearing this, Natsume Ryo turned to look at Yui Yuigahama, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Who told you that angels are necessarily friendly?"

"In the Bible, angels have also carried out destructive tasks and brought down calamities."

"Moreover, this is not a real angel."

"It was just posing as an angel."

"As for the halo above its head, the reason why it keeps collapsing and recovering is precisely because the prophecy it carries has not yet been fully manifested, showing its own instability. Each collapse represents the disappearance of a possibility; each recovery foreshadows new variables."

"Therefore, it is like an amplifier, which brings out certain strong, impending possibilities in the collective consciousness of mankind in this concrete form."

"It may not have a clear will in itself, but is just a passively manifested symptom."

"But its very existence represents a warning."

"As for what exactly happened, I cannot say for sure."

"Then, will that big guy... suddenly attack us?"

Yui Yuigahama asked in a trembling voice, a question that was also of utmost concern to everyone else.

"It depends on the specific content it carries, and whether it will be affected by other abnormal factors in the process."

"Other...abnormal factors?"

Yukino Yukinoshita once again grasped another key word.

"Yes."

"Just like you are now."

"The fact that it can be seen is itself an abnormal factor."

"Therefore, do not show any reaction."

"Because after it captures the fact that you can see it."

"It will then react."

"This is why, when ancient people recorded such things, they were often vague and even deliberately distorted their true appearance."

Chapter 95 God's Dining Hall

"Then, then..."

"If...if we were discovered and seen by that huge thing...what would happen?"

Yui Yuigahama swallowed hard, her voice trembling uncontrollably. Her usually vibrant light brown eyes were wide open as she gripped Yumiko Miura's arm tightly, as if trying to draw a sliver of courage from her.

Especially when Yui Yuigahama asked this question, she leaned closer to Yumiko Miura, as if trying to make her feel safer.

"What will happen?"

Natsume Ryo repeated it, then thoughtfully picked up the cup of green tea on the table, which had long since gone cold, took a small sip, and turned his gaze from the concrete angel that was still slowly moving among the city buildings in the distance back to Yui Yuigahama's small face, which was filled with fear.

"It's hard to generalize about that."

"After all, every anomaly has its own unique behavioral logic and... feeding method."

"Eating methods?!"

Upon hearing this word, Yumiko Miura's face, already pale with fear, drained all color from her skin in an instant.

She instinctively hugged her arms tightly, her body trembling slightly uncontrollably. The bloody scene of the Shiba Inu monster chewing on a human arm flashed through her mind the night before at the restaurant entrance, and that instinctive fear and disgust immediately surged into her heart like a tidal wave.

"Natsume-kun..."

"You mean...they...might also see us...as their food?"

Yumiko Miura's voice trembled noticeably; she didn't even dare to look Natsume Ryo in the eye, afraid of hearing the answer she least wanted to hear from him.

Even though Yukino Yukinoshita didn't lose her composure like Yui Yuigahama and Yumiko Miura.

However, a layer of unyielding solemnity was also present in Yukino Yukinoshita's clear, icy blue eyes. Her mind was racing, trying to use her past knowledge to understand this situation that was completely beyond the realm of reality, but she found that all logic and rationality seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Natsume Ryo's few words.

"emmm."

"It's actually quite difficult to define this point."

Ryo Natsume tapped his fingertips lightly on the railing a few times, producing a faint sound that was particularly clear on the quiet rooftop.

"However, I think you've all played, or at least heard of, the game 'Big Fish Eat Little Fish,' right?"

"Big fish...eats small fish?"

When Natsume Ryo suddenly changed the subject and asked a question that seemed out of place with the current terrifying atmosphere, he was met with a response.

Yukino Yukinoshita and the others looked puzzled and repeated the question.

Yes, big fish eat little fish.

Natsume Ryo nodded slightly.

"The fundamental laws of this world have never changed."

"Whether it lies beneath the familiar surface of everyday life, or within the deeper anomalies of this world that I have just revealed to you."

"The weak will eat the strong, and the fittest will survive."

"The small will be eaten by the big; the weak will be devoured by the strong."

"This rule is simple, brutal, and unchanging throughout history."

Natsume Ryo's voice remained calm, but what he said made the hearts of all the girls present sink simultaneously.

It's not that they don't understand this principle, but they never imagined that this cruel law would be presented to them in such a direct and terrifying way.

"Therefore, what happens after an anomaly is detected and becomes visible depends on many factors."

"For example, whether it was in a good mood or not at the time."

"For example, is it hungry?"

"Another example……"

Natsume Ryo paused, a faint smile curving his lips as he glanced at the girls whose faces were growing increasingly grim.

"It thinks that you little fish that accidentally wander into its field of vision are not even enough to fill its teeth."

"—!"

Yui Yuigahama and Yumiko Miura both let out a short gasp at the same time, their faces turning deathly pale.

Yukino Yukinoshita trembled slightly, her icy blue eyes filled with horror.

Rikka Takanashi was already clinging tightly to Ryo Natsume's arm, her ahoge (cowlick) drooping.

"Liang...that...that big guy...is it...is it very hungry right now?"

"Don't worry, it's not interested in you right now."

"and……"

Natsume Ryo raised his hand, gently rubbing Takanashi Rikka's head while lifting the black cat demon by the scruff of its neck, who was trying to keep its presence inconspicuous, revealing a smile that the cat demon found incredibly wicked.

"Even if it really has become interested in you..."

"So, what do you think of it compared to me, who can easily grant the level of spiritual vision that allows me to see it?"

"Who exactly is the man-eating fish in this link?"

As soon as Natsume Ryo finished speaking, he slowly walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down at the vast campus below.

"???"

Upon seeing this, Yukino Yukinoshita's clear eyes flashed with doubt as she walked to Natsume Ryo's side.

Rikka Takanashi, Yui Yuigahama, Yumiko Miura, and Hina Ebina also suppressed their fear, swallowed hard, and cautiously followed like frightened little animals.

Below the rooftop is the lush, green playground of Zongwu High School.

During lunch break, students were scattered around the playground. Some were eating their lunches under the shade of trees, while others were engaging in light physical activities.

Everything seemed so ordinary, filled with the peaceful atmosphere that a youthful campus should have.

……

immediately.

Natsume Ryo raised his hand and pointed.

Yukino Yukinoshita and the others were taken aback and looked in the direction that Ryo Natsume was pointing.

I saw.

A monster, about three meters tall, with a fat and bloated body and a sickly gray-green skin, was standing in the center of the playground.

Its limbs are short and thick, completely disproportionate to its huge and bulky body.