Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

These secrets were too great, so great that even if he wanted to share them, the fragile darkness of night could not bear them.

Duan Zilian looked down at her left hand; the silver bracelet gleamed coldly under the streetlight.

"I'm sorry, Minister."

He murmured something to himself, then turned and walked toward that only safe haven.

Behind him, in that towering apartment building, Yukino Yukinoshita opened the window and watched the boy's lonely figure gradually disappear into the distance, her hand gripping the windowsill tightening slightly.

Under this torn sky, honesty has become the most luxurious wish.

……

The wind chimes made a sound.

Duan Zilian walked in, looking ashen and pale as a frost-bitten leaf, and moved to the bar.

Hong Kai leaned back in his chair, the bottle of wine in his hand already empty.

He looked Duan Zilian up and down, and asked in surprise, "Oh, you're back? Why do you look like the whole world has abandoned you? Weren't you quite spirited when you were escorting the beauty home under the moonlight?"

"Kaisang, just say less." Duan Zilian leaned on the bar, her voice muffled by her arm.

Hibino Mirai leaned closer with some concern, examining Duan Zilian's complexion: "Duan-kun, you look really bad. Did the injury you sustained at the art museum flare up again? Or did you have a fight with Yukinoshita?"

"No, she's a very nice person."

Duan Zilian raised her head, her eyes filled with dejection and confusion: "I was just thinking, are some things... destined to remain buried in my heart forever?"

Hong Kai and Wei Lai exchanged a glance. Although they didn't know what had happened, they could guess a little from the conversation about "honesty" in the store and the conflicted look in the boy's eyes.

Just as Wei Lai was about to offer her comfort, Hong Kai stopped her.

"Young man, stop overthinking things. Save your teenage troubles for later." Hong Kai's tone softened, but it was still serious. He stood up, strode to the window, and yanked open a corner of the blinds.

In the dead of night, the purple hue in the sky above Yokohama appeared even more glaring.

“Young man, take a look at that.” Hong Kai’s voice turned cold. “I felt something was wrong when I looked at it this morning. That gap in Yokohama… has widened. It’s no longer a matter of three meters. It’s like a wound that has been forcibly torn open, constantly devouring the stability of the surrounding space.”

Future walked to the window and nodded solemnly: "The frequency of the space has exceeded the critical point. The anomaly at the art museum tonight is a harbinger. The main body... is probably about to lose its composure."

"Just a bunch of rats hiding in the shadows, too afraid to show their faces, only daring to play little tricks in places like this," Hong Kai sneered.

Duan Zilian stared blankly at the purple light outside the window, the bittersweet emotions she felt were forcibly suppressed in the face of the enormous threat.

"So, what should we... do?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"We're closing down tomorrow, no more business. In the future, I'll fill up that van with gas."

Hong Kai turned his head, his tone filled with unwavering resolve.

"Duan Zilian, bring enough of your wound medicine. We're going to Yokohama first thing tomorrow morning."

After hearing this, Duan Zilian clenched her fist.

He felt a faint warmth emanating from his left wrist and replied softly, "...I understand."

Chapter 31 Let's have a hamburger first.

"—Take leave? Go to Yokohama? Duan Zilian, you've really got some nerve!"

The loud roar from Hiratsuka Shizuka through the phone's earpiece, which was severely affected by static interference, almost made Danzi Rei throw the phone out the window.

"Right now, Yokohama is teeming with Self-Defense Forces and investigation teams. That gap is hanging in the Minato Mirai Ward, and all the unfortunate souls in Japan are desperately trying to escape. What are you, an international student, doing going there to join the fray? Visiting relatives? You must be joking!"

"Teacher, I really am going to visit relatives... I have a distant cousin there, and because of this, he is moving now, and I need to help him move some valuables."

Duan Zilian huddled in the back seat of the van, glancing guiltily at the rapidly receding roadside trees outside the window while forcing a smile at her phone: "Yokohama is facing both cracks and regulations right now, he really can't handle it all by himself. Someone as kind-hearted as me can't just stand by and watch him die, can I?"

"Get lost! You're just trying to avoid your classical Chinese quiz on Monday! When I get back, I'll take good care of you!!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was attending a seminar in Tokyo, was standing on the terrace outside the venue, rubbing her temples in frustration.

She glanced at the sky over Yokohama, where even the clouds had turned purple, and her tone suddenly became somber.

"Listen, you brat, I've granted you leave, but... if you dare come back to Yokohama missing an arm or a leg, I'll feed all the remaining credits you have to the dogs."

"Also, stay away from that crack."

"Okay, I promise to return it intact."

After hanging up the phone, Duan Zilian breathed a sigh of relief, then hesitated for a moment before finding the black and white cat avatar on Line.

After a series of internal struggles, he finally said: "Minister, I need to ask for leave to go to Yokohama to take care of some personal matters, including club activities these few days..."

A few seconds later, a cold reply popped up on the screen:

[Yukikinoshita Yukino]:......

[Yukino Yukinoshita]: I understand. Don't die out there. Losing a member would be a real problem for me as the club president.

Duan Zilian looked at her phone screen, shook her head with a wry smile, and put the phone back in her pocket. Sure enough, this woman's concern always had a thorn in it.

"So... Kaisan, why don't we take the Shinkansen?"

Duan Zilian reclined her seat and looked at Hong Kai, who was leisurely turning the steering wheel in the driver's seat. "That's the Shinkansen! It's one of the things I most wanted to experience after coming to Japan. It only takes twenty minutes to get to Yokohama, but we have to ride in this rickety van?"

"Young man, this is the limitation of you being an 'ordinary person'."

Hong Kai adjusted his sunglasses. "Take a look at the map. The rail transit near Yokohama Port has been shut down for a long time due to the magnetic interference from the crack. Besides, our train has some advanced technology."

After saying that, he freed one hand and pressed the green button on the dashboard.

hum-

As the button was pressed, Duan Zilian suddenly felt that everything around her had changed. The glass was closed, the howling wind outside the window disappeared, and the entire carriage was plunged into a vacuum.

"Top-tier noise cancellation. There won't be a single sound except for our voices, understand?" Hong Kai smiled smugly.

"Wow, amazing technology..." Duan Zilian exclaimed as she touched the car window, feeling no vibration at all.

“This is a little gift for the future.” Kai glanced at Hibino Mirai, who was smiling in the rearview mirror. “Anyway, in this world full of jarring noise, even warriors need a quiet place to dream. Get some sleep, kid. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

……

Class F, Grade 2, Zongwu High School.

Sakuta Azusagawa twirled his pen, looking at the empty seat on his left, and stared at Hachiman Hikigaya across the distance.

"Hey, Hachiman, what's wrong with him? He didn't come today? Did he finally get abducted by aliens and taken back to be used as a specimen?"

"Who knows?" Hachiman Hikigaya propped his chin on his hand, his eyes still lifeless. "But it's definitely quieter around here without him, even though someone's gaze seems to be burning a hole in that empty chair."

The two of them looked to the left at the same time.

Yukino Yukinoshita was sitting there, her paperback book open on the same page for a full ten minutes without being touched. Her gaze would occasionally sweep over the empty seat, and deep in her eyes was a hint of anxiety that she herself was unaware of.

"...Ninety percent of the residents in Yokohama Minato Mirai Ward have been evacuated. The purple crack has expanded to fifteen meters in length. The magnetic field in this area is severely disturbed. Please detour if you are passing through..."

On the way to Yokohama, the radio in the van was playing intermittent broadcasts.

Duan Zilian didn't fall asleep; the completely noise-free environment actually made him more alert and able to think.

“Future-san, Kai-san.” Duan Zilian looked at the back seat, “Did you often encounter this kind of thing in your world before?”

Hibino Mirai stopped organizing the medical kit, lost in thought, his gaze becoming somewhat distant:

“In my world, although there are no such rifts, battles are just as frequent. Back then, I also had a group of noisy but kind human companions like your classmate. We fought together to protect the sun for the next day.”

He gave a nostalgic smile. "Back then, I was just like you, always worried about whether I could do well, and about those who were protecting us. But as long as I saw their smiling faces, I felt that no matter how deep the darkness ahead, the light would surely appear."

"I see..." Duan Zilian thought that the future sang was quite lucky.

Hong Kai chuckled softly, his fingers rhythmically tapping the steering wheel.

"I'm not as lucky as him. Most of the time I'm alone on my journey, but occasionally I have a companion, a fool who has been chasing me for thousands of years but refuses to admit that he's lost."

"Several thousand years?" Duan Zilian's eyes widened.

"Yes, his name is Jugglus Juggler." Hong Kai said the name with an indescribable complexity in his tone.

“We once practiced on the same mountain, fighting desperately to gain the power of ‘light.’ In the end, the light chose me, while he… chose darkness.”

Is he jealous of you?

“At first, yes, but over the long journey, it became more than just simple jealousy.” Hong Kai lowered the brim of his hat, his voice deep and clear in the absolutely noise-free carriage.

"He always appears when I'm at my lowest point, mocking my ideals with a cold laugh, but then, when I'm about to give up, he strikes me from the shadows and saves my life."

“He always said ‘light is deceptive,’ yet he longed more than anyone to see light illuminate the ruins.”

Hong Kai paused for a moment, looking at the purple clouds getting closer and closer in front of the windshield: "Duan Zilian, remember. In the future, you may encounter the kind of 'enemy' who seems to want to kill you, but is actually teaching you to grow with a knife. Don't be fooled by appearances. Sometimes, eyes in the dark are more sincere than smiles in the sunlight."

Duan Zilian fell silent; he found it hard to imagine that kind of love-hate relationship that transcended galaxies.

"That's the kind of person Kaisan is, isn't he? Although he mocks and teases me all the time, he's the one who most wants me to grow up... Speaking of which, you and your friend are really alike."

“Uh…” Hong Kai suddenly blushed, this seemed to be the first time he had been humiliated by Duan Zilian.

He paused, as if he had something to say, but in the end, he didn't say anything and focused on driving. However, deep in his heart, he still recalled that arrogant figure.

"Hmph, does it really look like it..." He smirked.

"The cracks in Yokohama are getting bigger," Duan Zilian said, looking out the window.

In the distance, the purple scar in the sky resembled a giant centipede, crawling across Yokohama's bustling cityscape.

……

As the van finally drove slowly into Yokohama city, the apocalyptic desolation made Duanzilian gasp for breath.

All the shops were sealed off, the streets were deserted, and only patrolling drones hummed overhead.

"Gurgle—" Duan Zilian's stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

Hong Kai glanced at the fuel gauge, then at a burger joint on the roadside whose sign was still glowing.

"We're here. Although this place looks like it's about to collapse, the aroma of meat still lingers." Hong Kai suddenly turned the steering wheel and brought the car to a steady stop in front of the hamburger shop.

"Are you hungry? Come on, let's go inside and get something to eat."

Hong Kai pushed open the car door, and a cold breeze carrying the scent of sea salt rushed in instantly.

"If we're going to fight, we should at least die with a full stomach."

Duan Zilian stepped off the car and looked up at the purple sky that was so close to her.

That was the first time he felt the shadow of death so close to him.

"Never mind, let's grab a burger first."

Chapter 32 Red King is 0 hours away from arriving.

The three of them pushed open the greasy glass door and walked in.

The shop was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a smell that resembled engine oil, which was completely unlike what one would expect from a burger joint. Apart from a table in the far corner, the entire shop was empty, with only the sound of rapid keyboard typing coming from behind the counter.

"Welcome... The menu is on the table, please take a look at what you would like to eat."

The speaker was an overweight man who didn't even look up. His wide white work clothes were stained with oil, and his small eyes were fixed on the three monitors in front of him. His hands were moving so fast on the keyboard that they were almost blurry.

Duan Zilian raised an eyebrow, and the three of them exchanged glances before silently finding a seat by the window.

Five minutes later, the man impatiently brought out three hamburger meals and immediately ran back to his keyboard.

"A programmer..." Future asked, puzzled.

Duan Zilian didn't respond. He took a bite full of anticipation, then froze.

He chewed with difficulty, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, until he finally had to gulp down a large mouthful of cola to swallow the piece of bread.

"The burger wasn't big, and the bun... was very dry." Duan Zilian put down the burger, her eyes filled with accusation. "What kind of food is this? Manager, are you sure this is for human consumption?"

Hong Kai picked up a limp fry with a look of disgust. He stood up, walked to the counter, and tapped the table: "Hey, boss, even though it's a special time, isn't this kind of work a bit too perfunctory?"

The man finally looked up from the screen. He looked at Hong Kai, who was clearly annoyed, but instead of getting angry, he gave a strange smile.

"What kind of time is this? You guys still have the mind to come here and nitpick about the taste?"

The man pointed to the increasingly menacing purple crack outside the window and said loudly, "If I were you, we should be hurrying to find a deep air-raid shelter to crawl into right now, instead of wasting our breath here."

“If I were you, I would have closed down and run away long ago. All the surrounding shops have closed down, so why are you still open?” Hong Kai confronted him, neither of them willing to back down.

“I’m not as shallow as you guys.” After the man finished speaking, a fanatical glint immediately appeared in his eyes.