In a crossover anime, do you believe that a machine spirit can defeat a fake human?

......

School's out.

On my way home, I passed that convenience store again.

"Speaking of which, I think I need to find a job, and the money in my bank account isn't unlimited."

Chen Yi glanced over, looked at the job advertisement, and thought for a moment.

The pay for night shifts is quite good, a full 5000 yen per hour... This must be a deadly job.

Moreover, to survive in this world, one cannot simply passively wait for attacks; one must also develop one's own coping abilities.

Hmm, you can give it a try.

In short, go in and ask first.

The shop assistant is still Aoyama Nanami.

"Welcome...?" After bowing, Aoyama Nanami looked up and saw who it was.

"Um, could you please inform the store manager? I'm here to apply for the job."

"My name is Chen Yi, you can just call me Chen Tongxue." Seeing that Aoyama Nanami seemed hesitant to speak, Chen Yi finally remembered to introduce himself.

“Okay, Chen… classmate.” The word “Mr.” was about to come out, but he swallowed it back down. Aoyama Nanami picked up his phone and called the store manager.

"Hmm... Ah?" Aoyama Nanami said, a look of surprise appearing on her face.

"?" What's wrong? Chen Yi cast a questioning glance at him.

"The store manager said... I'll interview you, and I'll decide whether you pass or not... But I've never interviewed anyone before..." Aoyama Nanami said, sounding a little unsure of herself.

"So you just approved it for me?"

"That won't work... I'll search it online."

......

"So what's the difference between this and just passing it to me directly?"

After changing into his employee uniform, Chen Yi felt somewhat helpless.

This guy just asked questions based on a template the whole time, and then passed the test without any clear evaluation criteria.

"A sense of ritual?"

"..."

"So my job is to be in charge of the warehouse and occasionally go to inspect and replenish the shelves, right?" Chen Yi checked his employee badge to confirm.

"Then I'll call you Mr. Chen?" Aoyama Nanami smiled shyly.

"Please guide me, Senior Aoyama."

New Life: Chapter Seven - Attacked Again

It was past dusk, the sun had set, and Chen Yi looked out the window and saw only an impenetrable darkness surrounding a lonely street lamp.

The darkness was somewhat unsettling, and after a while, Chen Yi looked away.

"Tsk, hopefully there's nothing dirty in it..."

"The night shift has started. You can't leave the convenience store area until five in the morning." Aoyama Nanami took out a metal box from under the counter, opened it, and handed him a handgun.

The P320 is hailed as a legendary pistol with a history of accidental discharge.

Chen Yi took the P320 and removed the magazine to check the number of bullets.

A total of 10 rounds, in one magazine.

I hope this thing won't hit me...

"Hmm, I heard there are some scary customers at night, is that true?" After casually checking the shelves, Chen Yi returned to the front desk to chat with Aoyama Nanami.

"Right, I only arrived a few days ago... Tonight is my first night shift," Aoyama Nanami said somewhat uncertainly.

"Senior Aoyama, you're only starting your night shift today too?"

"After all, the salary here is very high... but there is a little bit of danger." As if to ease her tension, she picked up her thermos and took a small sip of water.

"You only started your night shift tonight, so weren't you on night shift the night you pointed a gun at me?" Chen Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ah, actually another senior colleague was on the night shift that day. Around 6:30, the store manager drove over to take the senior colleague to work and also gave me a ride home."

"Then why wasn't that senior on duty today?" Chen Yi asked, even more puzzled.

"Because it's a shift system, the store manager stipulates that night shifts can only be done once every three days."

A duty every three days? This somewhat strange time interval made Chen Yi even more curious, but he chose to put it aside for the time being.

"Speaking of which, I really apologize for mistaking Chen Jun for a fake before..." Aoyama Nanami felt a wave of fear as he recalled that he had almost killed someone.

“Those are all in the past, and it’s normal for an ordinary person to react that way when faced with a creature that could be a monster.”

......

The streets outside were quiet, and the two chatted idly.

"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the glass door, and the two looked in the direction of the sound.

"Here, here it comes." Aoyama Nanami's expression changed, but she pretended to be calm.

The cashier's counter was blocked by shelves, so you couldn't see anyone at the door from where you were standing.

“…I’ll go take a look.” Chen Yi glanced at the girl next to him, then came out from behind the cashier and walked to the door.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Chen Yi asked, while carefully examining the other person.

"May I come in?" Standing outside the glass door was a middle-aged man, wearing a white shirt and trousers, without a tie.

He just looks like an ordinary office worker who works overtime.

...if you ignore his nose above his eyes.

His mind went blank for half a second, then a chill crept up his spine and licked his neck.

"..." Chen Yi remained silent, his expression changing repeatedly, before finally forcing himself to keep his composure.

"I'm sorry, sir, we've closed for the day," Chen Yi said slowly, his voice calmer than he expected.

"I see..." The 'middle-aged man' staggered away and disappeared into the darkness.

"Senior Qingshan!" Staring at its back, Chen Yi did not turn around.

"This glass door... doesn't it have a lock?" Chen Yi's voice trembled slightly, a tremor he himself couldn't even detect.

"..." Aoyama Nanami was stunned for a moment, then gasped.

She recalled how completely clueless she had been the night before.

Chen Yi took a deep breath and adjusted his state.

This is different from before. This time, the distance is even closer than that of the "umbrella man" from a few days ago—so close that you can have zero-distance contact just by opening the door.

"...Only the roller shutter door can be opened and closed."

Aoyama Nanami shook his head.

"..." Chen Yi silently returned to the cashier, stared at Aoyama Nanami for a few seconds, and his pupils contracted slightly.

...In his field of vision, Aoyama Nanami's nose and eyes were moving towards each other.

“1、2、3、5、7、11......”闭上眼睛，陈易开始数质数。

"Mr. Chen, what are you doing...?"

"It's nothing, just prime numbers... Luckily, the other person wasn't very intelligent and didn't just push the glass door open and walk in, otherwise I would have been torn to pieces," Chen Yi said casually.

This was no laughing matter; Aoyama Nanami's face visibly turned deathly pale.

"Sorry." Chen Yi realized his mistake and understood that he had made an inappropriate joke.

And so the convenience store fell silent once more.

"Chen...Mr. Chen..."

"Does it look scary?" Aoyama Nanami asked softly.

"...Well, how should I put it, it's quite a challenge to your mental fortitude." Chen Yi opened his eyes, looked at Aoyama Nanami's delicate face, and breathed a small sigh of relief.

Well, things are finally back to normal... but now, they need to start thinking about how to get through the night.

......

"Seriously, nobody comes here at night anyway, so what's the point of keeping this convenience store open?"

Chen Yi took out a can of coffee from the freezer, opened it, and chatted with Aoyama Nanami to pass the time.

"The store manager said that keeping the convenience store open at night could provide a hiding place for people who accidentally get targeted..."

"..." Chen Yi fell silent, glanced at the glass door blocked by the shelves, and hesitated to speak.

Which dimwit went out knowing there were so many monsters outside?

"...This isn't the real reason, is it?" Chen Yi shook his head, touching the cold barrel of the pistol.

"I don't know..." Aoyama Nanami looked up at the clock. It was only eleven o'clock, and the night was still long.

"Squeak—" Someone pushed the door open and came in, and the two of them instantly tensed up.

"Behind, behind—" He slammed down as he entered the room, but still managed to shout for help.

Standing inside the cashier's counter, Aoyama Nanami reacted quickly and pulled down the lever controlling the roller shutter door.

The roller shutter door plummeted and closed within three seconds.

"Bang—!" Something hit the roller shutter door, the loud noise startling the three of them.

After waiting for a while without receiving a second knock, the group relaxed a little.

"Are you human?" Chen Yi gestured for Aoyama Nanami not to rush forward, then loaded his gun and asked the still-shaken man on the ground.

"I...I am human." The man was out of breath and hadn't caught his breath yet.

Looking at the pajamas he was wearing, a bad feeling suddenly popped into Chen Yi's mind.

"Have some water, and talk slowly." Chen Yi walked to the freezer, took a bottle of mineral water, and tossed it to the man from a distance.

He was now 50% convinced of the man's identity.

"...That monster, it...it hid in my house. I don't know how it got in; I always lock the door before leaving home..."

This answer made Chen Yi's heart skip a beat. He turned to look at Aoyama Nanami and saw that the other person's face was pale and his lips were tightly pursed, obviously thinking of the same thing.

The convenience store lights hummed, casting long shadows of three people on the ground.

PS: Second update! Just made it to the end of today's update. Time for a good night's sleep.

Newborn: Chapter Eight Approaching

"I remember the convenience store has security cameras, right? Are there cameras at the entrance?" Chen Yi reminded Aoyama Nanami after looking at the exit blocked by the roller shutter door.

"Yes, that's right!" Aoyama Nanami looked as if she had just woken up from a dream.

After returning to the cashier, Aoyama Nanami operated the computer, and soon a sound of dejection could be heard.

"The security cameras at the entrance didn't show any living creatures..."

"What if the other party is hiding behind a blind spot in the surveillance?" Chen Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

This is the worst-case scenario. It means that the one outside is different from the one we encountered before. Since it has the ability to sneak into people's homes and hide, it means that it is not unintelligent and is very likely to have laid an ambush on them.

"Are there any other perspectives?" Chen Yi asked, looking at Aoyama Nanami.

"Let me look... Ah!" Aoyama Nanami's mouse moved rapidly, and she suddenly let out a short scream.

Chen Yi moved closer and, in the darkness where the streetlights couldn't reach, he could vaguely see a tall figure.

"This location is...?" Chen Yi compared the camera angles and suddenly looked up at the wall next to the cashier.

It's right outside, just a wall away.

"Young man, what do we do now?" The man was terrified.