Later that night.
Seiji received a message from an unknown number. After reading it, he immediately opened up his chatting app and added a new account, "Intelligent Life."
"Good evening, Harano -san."
"Good evening, Anna-san."
"I need your help," little Anna told him directly. "Kazuhiko has been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped by a Spiritual Ability user?"
"Yes."
"What's the specific situation?" Seiji furrowed his eyebrows slightly.
Little Anna immediately explained the situation to him in precise words.
"Please save and protect Kazuhiko. In return, I'll do something for you," she requested after explaining the situation.
Seiji considered it for a moment while facing the computer screen.
"Alright, I'll help, but I can't guarantee success. If the enemy is too strong, I'll give up."
"I understand. Thank you very much."
In a short period of time, the two of them … no, the human and artificial intelligence came to an agreement.
This took even less time than little Anna expected. Kazuhiko didn't express any suspicions or try to take advantage of her. He treated her as an equal and trustworthy person to talk to.
This wasn't naivety. It was decisiveness.
He chose to take the risk and trust an artificial intelligence … an inhuman being. He chose to show his sincerity.
Heaven was being overly optimistic in believing, while decisiveness was being resolved to believe. Harano and Seigo were the latter.
Little Anna's evaluation of this human greatly increased.
Actually, Kazuhiko Haiga didn't tell her to ask Harano and Seigo for help.
Even though this high school Spiritual Ability user seemed like a good person, she still didn't truly understand him. Besides, even if he was trustworthy, would his organization or faction be trustworthy as well?
Haiga still had his suspicions, which was why he listened to Harano's warning. However, he didn't choose to join Kazuhiko Haiga.
In the worst-case scenario, Kazuhiko Haiga would rather commit suicide.
"As long as I'm dead, you won't need to worry about anything anymore, Anna," he told her.
That was indeed the case.
Ignoring Kazuhiko and allowing him to be kidnapped or even killed was also a choice. In fact, it was the best choice for little Anna.
However, little Anna felt that she would forever lose something if she made this choice.
She was unable to describe what that something was. She even felt that it was strange for her to have such a judgment. However, she felt that … this was the truth.
That was why she would never give up on Kazuhiko! With his own will, he asked Harano and Seigo for help.
…
Yamazaki Shinsei sped along the road.
A beautiful song echoed in the car. It was Miyuki Sakuraku's classic song, "Looking Back To See You."
He liked the song very much and hummed it softly.
The journey back was quite long. Yamazaki didn't hate the feeling of listening to music while driving at night. It would be even better if there were snacks at hand.
At this moment, the sound of a lighter came from behind, followed by the smell of smoke.
"Fujishima-kun, so you are a smoker."
"I want to smoke one occasionally." The deep male voice said, "How is Mr. Yamazaki?"
"I've been sober for more than a year. My girlfriend forced me to."
"It's good to have a girlfriend who forces you to quit smoking … Do you mind if I smoke one?"
"No, please feel free." Yamazaki smiled.
Although Fujishima Ishizumi was younger than him, he was an experienced combatant. He didn't talk much, reacted quickly, did things efficiently, and was very steady. He was a trustworthy partner.
"Fujishima-kun, what do you usually like to do?" Seiji casually started a conversation.
"… I just watch movies and drink alcohol."
"I like to watch movies as well. Recently, the movie 'Black Wing Killer' has received very good reviews. I intend to go watch it. Have you watched it, Fujishima-kun? "
"I have."
"What do you think?"
"Apart from the battle scenes, everything else is pretty good."
"Heh heh, such an evaluation coming from Fujishima-kun who's been through hundreds of battles is quite convincing."
"Being through hundreds of battles … that's a bit of an exaggeration."
"But that's about it. Don't be so humble. I've heard stories about your martial prowess. "
"Martial prowess? I wouldn't dare to call myself that." Fujishima sighed.
"I used to believe that I was very strong, but only when I met a truly strong opponent did I realize that I was actually a little brat who didn't know his own limits.
I almost lost my life at that time … If my opponent had the intention to kill me, I would have died already.
I don't know why she spared my life, but from then on, I understood that I was nothing more than a mediocre fighter. "
"… That opponent was a woman?" Yamazaki asked in a soft voice.
"Yes, and she was probably younger than me. She's probably just a high school student now." Fujishima took a puff of his cigarette and slowly exhaled.
The person next to him stirred.
Fujishima turned around and saw that the game designer named Kazuhiko Haiga was still sleeping while leaning against the car window.
This person adamantly refused to cooperate, so Fujishima could only bring him back to be dealt with.
It was just a game, so why bother?
Fujishima felt that this person was truly foolish.
The weak were unable to go against the strong. Constantly going against the strong would only result in a bad end for oneself … It was just a cell phone game, not his wife or children. It was only right for him to obediently hand it over.
That was all a weakling who didn't know what was good for him.
While Fujishima felt that this person was quite foolish, he was also somewhat impressed by his stubbornness.
Not everyone would be able to resist the strong to the end. At the very least, Fujishima felt that he wouldn't be able to.
Life was precious. If Fujishima had to face a strong opponent like that woman from before, he would choose to live on instead of stubbornly resisting.
Moments later, Fujishima finished smoking his cigarette.
"I'm going to rest for a bit. If Yamazaki-san gets tired from driving, call me. "Fujishima flicked the cigarette butt out of the car window.
"Alright." Yamazaki turned off the music.
Fujishima closed his eyes and relaxed, but he still maintained a basic level of vigilance.
The car continued speeding along.
When passing by an intersection, Yamazaki saw a black car parked by the roadside.
He didn't pay much attention to it. But then, he noticed that a car was following him, which instantly alerted him.
Right after that, Yamazaki saw the car's backseat doors open. Two people jumped out at the same time!
These two people were wearing respectively a trench coat and a skirt style spiritual combat attire. It was obvious that they were a man and a woman. Both of them were wearing full helmets, making it impossible to see their appearances.
Yamazaki became nervous when he saw them rapidly approaching after jumping out of the car.
"Fujishima-kun! There's an ambush!! "
Fujishima, who was in the backseat, suddenly opened his eyes. He took out his cursed dual pistols and aimed them outside the car window …
* Bang bang bang bang … *
The spiritual bullets pierced through the car window and shot at the ambushers. However, they were all blocked by the trench coat man who had activated his shield!
The skirt woman unsheathed her sword and flashed.
* Shing!! *
The car was sliced in half from the middle! It was as if the car had been sliced by a laser. The front and back seats were separated.
What a powerful slash! Fujishima instantly felt a chill.
If this slash was aimed at him, he wouldn't be able to block it!!
The enemy was powerful and had extraordinary equipment. He was no match for them.
Should he take the hostage and resist? Or should he escape?
The experienced Fujishima instantly made his decision …
'Run!!'
As the trench coat man charged at him with his shield, Fujishima did his best to dodge and ran as fast as he could!
"Hurry and escape! Yamazaki-san!! "
Fujishima shouted as he ran off the road at full speed.
The ambushers' target was most likely Kazuhiko Haiga.
Perhaps holding Haiga hostage and resisting would be effective. However, it was also possible that he would be defeated or even killed. It was far too risky.
Giving up on Haiga and fleeing at full speed, then reporting to his superiors would be the wiser choice.
Splitting up with his partner would increase his chances of success.
"Yamazaki-san, I hope that you can survive," Fujishima said in his mind.
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