Fang Zheng had to admit that technological advancement truly was the key to swagger.
Back in his own era, the protagonist would coolly make a phone call, and armies would appear to meet him. But here? He literally had to go to a public phone booth and connect through a switchboard... The proper Hollywood atmosphere was completely ruined by this backward, crumbling technological standard.
After assigning tasks to Tomitake, Fang Zheng returned to Hinamizawa. There wasn’t much for him to do in Okimiya; instead, coming back to see Miyo Takano’s failure was a form of entertainment and pleasure. However, what surprised Fang Zheng was that upon returning to the school, he found several unexpected people.
“Keiichi? Shion? And Director Irie? What happened to you all?”
Seeing everyone hiding in his room, weapons in hand, Fang Zheng was taken aback. Seeing him return, the originally tense expressions of everyone immediately turned to joy.
“Teacher, you’re finally back!”
Through Shion’s explanation, Fang Zheng finally understood what had happened to this group of characters.
Afterward, Keiichi still wanted to investigate the Irie Research Institute. Then he met Shion, and after discussing, they immediately agreed and decided to visit the Irie Clinic under the guise of seeking treatment. However, what Keiichi and Shion didn’t expect was that they had just arrived outside the Irie Clinic and hadn’t even begun their plans when they discovered Dr. Irie being chased by a group of people.
Being protagonists, however, Keiichi and Shion were no fools; they helped Dr. Irie successfully escape from those pursuing him. Along the way, they encountered Rika and Satoko, followed by Rena who also rushed over. Eventually, on Rika’s suggestion, they came to the school to seek help from Fang Zheng. Without Fang Zheng there, they had no choice but to hide here and wait for him to return.
Luckily, this also indicated that what had previously occurred was indeed just a dream.
But why did Miyo Takano suddenly turn against Dr. Irie?
“It seems Takano received a report... I’m not very clear on the specifics, but it seems to involve an issue with Lieutenant Tomitake...”
That idiot!
Hearing Dr. Irie’s reply, Fang Zheng’s expression darkened. He had always known that guy was unreliable, but since he was the only one who had a way to communicate with “Tokyo,” Fang Zheng had no choice but to entrust Tomitake Jiro with the task. This guy had no sense of confidentiality at all. Takano’s sudden move was probably because she had learned from a traitor within “Tokyo” that the organization was aware of her embezzlement of funds, and she intended to strike before the organization could!
It was already mentioned in the story that the “Tokyo” organization wasn’t united internally; the current leader faction wanted to stop the research on the Hinamizawa Syndrome, but there was also a group that wanted to take down those leaders using this opportunity. Thus, they directed Takano to act against Hinamizawa, as such a large-scale disaster would undoubtedly require someone to be held accountable and resign. The benefit promised to Takano was that she would still be in charge of the Hinamizawa Syndrome research after everything ended.
Of course, if Takano had even a bit of sense, she’d know that even if those people came to power, she would still be thrown out as a pawn. But... well. Expecting her to think was like expecting a sow to climb a tree.
“Whoo...”
Just then, a noise suddenly came from outside the window. Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed slightly, and then Keiichi walked to the window to take a look, immediately becoming tense.
“Oh no, those guys have already chased us here!”
“What do we do?”
“Let’s just fight them!”
Since today was a holiday, there were no other students in the school besides Fang Zheng. It was precisely for this reason that the Mountain Dog could brazenly appear here and surround the entire school. Seeing those fully armed soldiers wielding guns charging down from their vehicles, everyone tensed up. After all, they had only seen such scenes in movies before, but facing it in person was another matter entirely.
“Teacher, take Rika and the others and leave!”
While speaking, Rena raised her machete.
“According to Dr. Irie, these people are after Rika. As long as she is safe...”
“No! If we go, we go together! I don’t want to lose a single friend!”
“Rika...”
“But...”
“No buts!”
Seeing her companions blocking in front of her, Rika also felt a twinge of sadness. She had felt despair before, but now, even though her companions hadn’t believed her initially, they still stood by her side, which was enough for Rika.
“Teacher, you must have a way, please, help us.”
“Of course, I have a way.”
Seeing the girl pleading desperately, Fang Zheng gave a faint smile and reached out to pat Rika’s small head. Now that he had achieved “mastery of divine skills” and resolved the ultimate question of this world, Fang Zheng indeed had ways to handle everything.
“Leave it to me. You all stay here, don’t go anywhere. Just sit back and enjoy my performance.”
At the same time, the fully armed Mountain Dog Unit had already arrived at the school entrance. Seeing the closed gates, the squad leader made a gesture.
“The targets are inside. Remember, capture the target alive, then eliminate all other witnesses—Aah!!!”
But before the squad leader could finish his sentence, the gate that had been closed in front of him suddenly flew up, smashing squarely onto the unfortunate man, and with a scream, the assault leader was immediately thrown backward, crashing to the ground. Seeing this scene, the other Special Forces members were also taken aback, hastily raising their submachine guns aimed at the door. But before these soldiers could even pull the trigger, Fang Zheng rushed out like a hurricane, fists clenched, and pounded the enemies before him fiercely!
“Bang, bang, bang!”
To be honest, as a special forces unit, Mountain Dog was rather weak within the military. After all, they specialized in intelligence gathering, not combat. They only bullied civilians with superior weapons and numbers. For Fang Zheng, these guys were barely different from targets. He didn’t even need to activate Time Manipulation; using his own speed and strength was enough to take down this group of fools.
However, to the Mountain Dog Unit, this was a completely different scenario.
They only saw a blurry shadow flash before their eyes like a ghost, and the next moment, a massive force struck them head-on, mercilessly tossing them into the air. For a time, screams filled the air as the members of the Special Forces, dressed in work uniforms, were thrown skyward and then fell heavily to the ground. When Fang Zheng ceased his attack, before him lay those who initially boasted with their firearms, now silent and motionless.
“God, oh God.”
Seeing this scene, everyone in the command vehicle behind sweated coldly, even Miyo Takano turned pale. She had once defied Haneiru, believing her firm will could defeat fate and even deities. But now, for the first time, she felt that, in the face of overwhelming power, she was as helpless as a child.
“Quick, get out of here!!”
Thinking this, Miyo Takano couldn’t help but tremble all over. In her eyes, Fang Zheng’s figure began to blur, merging with the man who had abused her at the orphanage in her youth; she had been just as powerless then......
“Move, let’s go!”
“Thud!!”
However, as soon as Miyo Takano’s words fell, a loud bang came from behind the command vehicle. The next moment, the firmly shut door of the vehicle was torn apart effortlessly by Fang Zheng, like tearing paper. He reached in to pull the whole door open, then quietly looked at the woman before him.
“Who, who are you exactly? What do you want to do?!”
Watching this unfold, not only was Miyo Takano stunned, but everyone else in the command vehicle was also dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. However, Fang Zheng didn’t pay much heed to Miyo Takano’s questions; he just stepped onto the command vehicle and walked towards her.
“No, don’t come closer!!”
Seeing Fang Zheng approaching, Miyo Takano raised the handgun in her hand in terror and pulled the trigger. But the next moment, Fang Zheng suddenly appeared beside her, stepping on the handgun and crushing it into pieces.
“Bang!!”
“Ahhhhhhh!!”
The handgun exploded instantly, and the ensuing pain made Miyo Takano scream. However, Fang Zheng was completely indifferent to her cries. Instead, he reached out, grabbed a handful of Miyo Takano’s blonde hair, and dragged her out of the vehicle like dragging out trash.
“No! You can’t do this! Please, I beg you to spare me! Help me, Grandpa! Grandpa!! Help me!!”
Miyo Takano struggled frantically, rolling around, crying out. But Fang Zheng was entirely unmoved; he only dragged her by the hair from the vehicle and threw her onto the cold cement floor.
“To be honest, I’ve always found you very displeasing.”
Looking at Miyo Takano collapsed on the ground, Fang Zheng slightly smiled.
“But now, it doesn’t matter anymore, your plan has already failed...... Soon, Tokyo will send someone to take over everything. Honestly, from my standpoint, someone like you doesn’t deserve to live, but......”
Saying this, Fang Zheng paused, then turned his head to look towards the school windows. There, Furutega Rika watched with a complex expression the woman lying at Fang Zheng’s feet. It was she who had disemboweled herself time and again in endless loops, she who had killed her friends over and over, destroying the entire Hinamizawa.
And all this, merely for...
“Foolish research.”
Fang Zheng reached out and snatched the documents that Miyo Takano clutched tightly to her chest. Seeing Fang Zheng taking her possessions, Miyo Takano suddenly became stiff, then she suddenly stood up and lunged towards him.
“Give it back to me! That’s my grandfather’s research! My grandfather’s life’s work!”
“A third-rate pseudoscientific study?”
Facing Miyo Takano lunging at him, Fang Zheng showed no mercy and slapped her across the face, knocking her to the ground.
“A mere pseudoscience? For this, you would sacrifice over two thousand lives? For this?”
While speaking, Fang Zheng threw the documents onto the muddy ground and then forcefully stepped on them. Under Fang Zheng’s feet, the documents that Miyo Takano had treasured like jewels now turned into a pile of trash.
“No!! No!! Grandpa!! Grandpa———this is Grandpa’s research, the key to human evolution!!”
“Unfortunately, this is just the delusion of a pseudoscientist.”
Fang Zheng watched the woman crying violently before him, then shifted his gaze to someone beside Miyo Takano———there, Furutega Hane in her red and white shrine maiden outfit, watched the scene with complex eyes.
“How about you, Oyashiro-sama? What do you think of this woman?”
“Er...ah...”
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s query, Haneiru exhibited an embarrassed expression. She complexly watched Miyo Takano lying in the muddy ground, and eventually lowered her head, saying nothing.
“Well, since the principal party doesn’t plan to settle accounts with you after autumn, I might as well stop here too.”
Glancing at Furutega Hane beside him, Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and stepped back. Miyo Takano, however, lunged forward like a madwoman, grabbing onto the research materials in the mud and began sobbing softly.
“However...... it’s over for her.”
While speaking, Fang Zheng looked at the sky.
There, the rumbling noise of a helicopter grew from distant to near.

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