A hospital abandoned for years suddenly lit up, with doctors and nurses moving inside.

Such a scene would send most people running away in terror.

But Rinji wasn't the type to be scared by something like this. At most he found it bizarre. Instead of retreating, he walked straight into the hospital.

Inside, all the facilities were fully intact. Nurses were stationed at the registration desk, patients were sitting in the hall waiting for their numbers to be called or lining up to register.

These were living, breathing people, not hallucinations.

"Yo, hey homie?"

"Hm?"

Hearing someone call him, Rinji quickly turned around.

It was a short-haired nurse in a white uniform, quite pretty, looking at him with concern.

"Are you here to see a doctor? Are you feeling unwell?"

"…I'm not sick."

"Really? In this weather you're still wearing just a jacket, are you sure you're alright?" The nurse still looked worried.

"Hah? Do you even know what month it is right now…"

"It's May."

"…."

Something felt wrong.

He wasn't so muddleheaded that he couldn't remember the date. It was winter break, just a few days after New Year's. Clearly January, no way it could suddenly jump to May.

"If you don't believe me, look."

The nurse showed him her phone. The date displayed was May 26.

"…."

"So, are you sure you're really fine?"

The short-haired nurse leaned closer and touched his forehead with the back of her hand.

"No fever."

"Of course I'm not sick." Rinji sighed. "By the way, nurse, you're pretty retro, still using a flip phone."

He had noticed earlier the phone in her hand—it was the same old-style flip phone Kaguya used, maybe even older.

"Eh? This is the new model I bought last year. How could it be old-fashioned?"

"Say whatever you want."

Not wanting to linger, Rinji decided to head further into the hospital.

"Wait, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. I don't need registration."

Waving his hand, Rinji walked inside.

Then, as if remembering something, he turned back to the nurse.

"By the way, did two girls come here today?"

"Eh?"

"I don't know their names, but they were distinctive. Both had eyepatches covering one eye."

"That… ah, you mean Misaki Fujioka?"

"You know her?"

"We're sort of friends."

"I see. She suddenly collapsed from leukemia symptoms and was rushed here. She just finished treatment today… do you want to see her?"

"Yeah."

"Then come with me."

The nurse didn't question him further, just led Rinji toward the inpatient ward.

At a room with the nameplate "Fujioka," she opened the door and brought him inside.

On the bed lay the chestnut-haired girl he had seen earlier, looking pale.

Hearing the door, she weakly turned her head.

"Nurse… eh? You're the one from this afternoon…"

"Seems you two know each other. Then I'll leave you alone."

The nurse smiled, waved, and quietly left, closing the door behind her.

Rinji pulled up a chair and sat by Misaki's bedside.

"So your name's Fujioka Misaki."

"Yes. I didn't get to thank you for earlier. On my way back I collapsed like this… at least I get to see my lifesaver one last time." Misaki smiled faintly.

"Don't be so pessimistic."

"But you actually found my hospital room. Could it be… you're investigating me?" She gave a playful smile. "Or did you suddenly fall for me?"

"Don't talk nonsense. I have zero interest in flat-chested women like you."

"You're so blunt!" Misaki puffed her cheeks. "I got hit on just this morning, you know."

"People are different."

Rinji looked at the frail Misaki on the bed.

"Your luck's really bad, huh. Almost fell off a Ferris wheel, then suddenly collapsed from illness."

"Ahaha, yeah."

Despite her misfortune, Misaki seemed cheerful.

Rinji, however, kept thinking over everything that had happened today.

An abandoned amusement park suddenly functioning. A deserted hospital suddenly active again. All of it was strange.

He took out his phone. Like in the amusement park, the display showed "out of range."

"…Could this be a space cut off from the outside world?"

"Blondie."

"My name's Rinji Takamine."

"Takamine? So you're Chinese?"

[Note: Dont mind these, As I've said. The mc original name is Yao Yaoling but I translated it to its Japanese Counterpart which is Rinji Takamine]

"Yeah."

"Oh, so you're a foreigner. Your Japanese is really good."

Misaki smiled, then curiously pointed at Rinji's phone.

"What's that you're using?"

"Huh? A phone. Haven't you seen one before?"

He turned the screen toward her. Misaki's expression became even more amazed.

"Eh? Such a big screen? And no buttons?"

"Smartphones don't need buttons. You just touch the screen." Rinji demonstrated.

Her eyes widened more and more.

"Amazing! Is this some newly developed technology?"

"…What are you talking about? This tech's been around for years…"

Suddenly Rinji froze.

Thinking back to the nurse's so-called "new" flip phone, something felt seriously off.

He opened a certain interface on his phone.

"I remember when this phone was handed to me, Uncle Sagara gave me a password. In emergencies I can use it to connect to IW's satellite, so…"

Rinji entered the code. After a few seconds, it connected successfully.

"Finally. Hm…?"

Before he could celebrate, he noticed the time displayed on the satellite connection.

1998, May 26.

1998…

---

Somewhere in the Middle East.

An eighteen-year-old black-haired youth stood atop a tall building, overlooking the city in flames. From here, he could clearly hear the gunfire and screams rising from below. Smoke billowed up to the very top of the building, and even from this height, the stench of blood lingered in the air.

"Boss."

An aging veteran walked up behind the youth. "This area has been successfully suppressed."

"All dead?"

"Huh?"

"George, what I asked is whether those trash who dared resist us are all dead."

The youth turned his head toward George.

"Well… not yet."

"Then it's not suppressed," the youth turned back to the burning streets below. "As long as even one survivor remains, it's a hidden threat. I want to see them all sent to hell."

"Yes, sir!"

Just as George responded, his phone rang.

"…What? I understand, I'll report it."

After lowering the phone, George's expression grew heavy.

"Boss, there's a problem."

"Oh? Did Sousuke cause trouble at the school?"

"No… Boss, do you still remember the communications satellite our organization launched last month?"

"Of course."

"Just now, we received notice. A string of mysterious numbers accessed the satellite, not from any of our members."

"I see. A hacker intrusion, then?" The youth's lips curled slightly. "Which organization could it be? Amalgam? Or Mithril?"

"We don't know, but the other party didn't even bother hiding their IP. Any hacker capable of breaching IW's comm satellite wouldn't fail to cover their tracks. Boss, I suspect it's a trap."

"What's the IP location?"

"Yomiyama, Japan. Specifically, a hospital there."

"Understood."

The black-haired youth patted George on the shoulder as he walked past. Beneath his bangs, one eye glimmered faintly with killing intent.

"It's been a long time since I've been to Japan. I'll investigate this myself."