The lighting inside the supermarket was scarce, and the interior, shrouded in white mist, was inevitably unsettling.
The door, somewhat warped by the earthquake, was pushed open, emitting an irritating metallic screech.
Gao Yi, holding the 【Inflatable Giant Hammer】, walked out of the staff lounge, followed by a somewhat bewildered Xiao Hong.
The entrance was now surrounded, with almost everyone in the supermarket having gathered there.
Uncle Fujimoto, the office worker, Manager Yamada, the old hunter, Ms. Naiga, the three students, and the old woman.
Their expressions were solemn, fearful, and flustered.
Clearly, Xiao Hong’s screams and cries from inside the room had attracted a lot of attention.
Their reasons varied, but everyone was somewhat puzzled.
Some were wondering what had just happened inside the room, while others were curious about what Gao Yi was holding in his hand.
Of course, none of that mattered.
Looking at the crowd before him, Gao Yi nodded with satisfaction; there was no need for him to actively gather them, the stage for the finale was already set.
The white mist outside the supermarket seemed to grow thicker, and the dark figures became agitated and distorted.
Gao Yi took a deep breath, tilted his head back, narrowed his eyes slightly, and directed his gaze toward the ceiling:
“You know, ever since I came to this world, I’ve found that the puzzles keep increasing, yet I can barely find answers to any of them.”
Strangely, Gao Yi used the pronoun “you,” but did not specify who that person was.
It was as if… that person should know who he was.
Gao Yi’s voice was steady, calm, as if he was recounting old stories unrelated to himself.
“Let’s not talk about the backgrounds, every person is full of mysteries, but without solutions.”
“Ms. Naiga, anyone can see that she has been a long-term victim of domestic violence, but she herself doesn’t know it.”
“This is because she is merely an image in someone’s mind, containing her injured appearance, but not the reason for her injuries.”
Ms. Naiga in the crowd looked at her hands, and a dazzling halo seemed to appear around her body.
A puff of white smoke drifted upwards from her body, causing her entire being to dissipate as if sublimating.
A few seconds later, Ms. Naiga vanished inside the supermarket, as if she had never existed.
Even stranger, the other people in the supermarket showed no reaction—well, except for Xiao Hong.
Without looking down, maintaining a thoughtful tone, Gao Yi’s narration continued.
“The middle-aged office worker, I don’t even know his name, but I guess he wouldn’t be able to say it either.”
“And his job, I only know it’s selling things, but what he sells is unclear.”
“Because you haven’t had a deep conversation with him, have you?”
The middle-aged office worker in the suit showed a confused expression, clutching his head, seemingly trying hard to recall something, but finding nothing in his mind.
A few seconds later, he also gradually dematerialized, turning into smoke and disappearing just like Ms. Naiga.
Outside the supermarket, the previous scene reappeared; the white mist began to spread into the supermarket, and the dark figures grew larger and larger.
“Mr. Fujimoto and the old hunter said they had some conflict, but they couldn’t even explain what the conflict was about.”
“The old woman kept saying she didn’t want things from out of town, but she couldn’t explain why she came to the supermarket.”
“And the students, needless to say, family, school, friendships—they knew nothing when asked.”
Gao Yi also heard the commotion from outside and felt Xiao Hong, trembling, pulling at his sleeve behind him.
The fragile barrier at the glass door was easily destroyed, and the sound of iron frames breaking was clearly audible.
As Gao Yi spoke, one by one, the townspeople began to dissipate into white mist, merging with the mist outside.
“Everyone’s memories are chaotic, fabricated.”
“Who, then, instilled them into everyone?”
The mist’s spread noticeably quickened, already engulfing half the supermarket’s area.
And wherever the white mist covered, the dark figures would advance with it, bringing with them the heavy sounds of shelves and wires being crushed and torn, like desperate wails.
“I should have noticed earlier, that from the very beginning, you were the one introducing the situation to others.”
【Ms. Naiga, you also saw that man who just went out, he…】
“You were the one who told everyone there were monsters outside.”
【Monsters… the monsters are here again….】
“And the one who truly started this farce, was also you.”
【I just started the backup power, it’s all fine now!】
“Besides you, who else could it be, Manager Yamada?”
Gao Yi slowly withdrew his gaze, looking straight ahead at the only “survivor” in the crowd.
Standing there was the obese supermarket owner.
At this moment, his plump face trembled incessantly, and sweat poured uncontrollably from his palms.
He tried to speak several times but failed, only managing to emit an incomprehensible, hoarse wail.
With great difficulty, he finally managed to squeeze out a garbled sentence in a high-pitched voice:
“How dare you… how could you…”
“No, or should I call you by your real name?” Gao Yi, however, didn’t give him a chance to ask, roughly interrupting him, and added thoughtfully, stroking his chin:
“Masugi Sho, right?”
This sentence seemed to instantly break the other party’s last line of defense; the fat man in the supermarket uniform’s knees buckled, and he nearly fell directly to the ground.
And after finally steadying himself, the color drained from his face visibly.
And his voice was even more terrified than before:
“You… you…”
“How did I know?” Gao Yi took over the other’s question, lifted the 【Inflatable Giant Hammer】 in his hand, and summarized as if recalling:
“I have Xiao Hong’s final hint to thank for this. Before that, I always thought your abnormality, like everyone else’s, was due to the confusion of memory and space.”
“Although sloppy and lecherous, the locker was so tidy.”
“Although he was a pervert, the resigned female employee’s letter still expressed great trust in him.”
“Finally, I realized that you are not Manager Yamada at all, but the fat employee who committed sexual harassment in the letter.”
“That messy, chaotic locker, that Masugi Sho, that is you.”
The white mist was rapidly closing in, and the last remaining space in the supermarket was just these few rows of shelves and the open area at the staff lounge entrance.
Saying this, Gao Yi took out the two plastic cards he had previously put in his pants pocket and threw them in front of the other party.
Two employee IDs, one with the photo blackened, and the other belonging to the real Manager Yamada.
“Ah, he’s the man who was dragged out by tentacles earliest!”
Xiao Hong, who had been silent behind him, also saw the ID and pointed excitedly at the photo on the ground.
“Every employee has two uniforms and one name tag. You took Yamada’s name tag, but you couldn’t fit into his clothes…”
“With so many clues right in front of me, I overlooked them all…”
Without further ado, Gao Yi slowly sighed, rested the inflatable giant hammer on his shoulder, and walked step by step towards Masugi Sho, who had collapsed on the ground.
“Social relationships, social status, knowledge and education, family and friends—all a tangled mess, causing you to start indulging in fantasy and escaping reality.”
“This supermarket, this environment, is the only scenario in your illusion where you could feel valuable, trusted, and respected.”
“Everyone is helpless and panicked, and then you become the savior.”
“The ironic thing is, even in this environment, even after being in this environment repeatedly, you still couldn’t become a ‘leader’.”
“You would only make Xiao Hong’s clothes increasingly conform to your preferences, and then continue your fantasy.”
Gao Yi approached step by step, the fat man sat slumped on the floor, his face terrified, retreating backward using both his hands and feet.
As he retreated, he suddenly touched something.
Turning his head, it was the double-barreled shotgun dropped by the old hunter after he disappeared.
As if grasping a lifeline, Masugi Sho suddenly aimed the gun at Gao Yi, finally managing to stammer out a complete sentence:
“Don’t, don’t come closer!”
But unexpectedly, Gao Yi’s steps did not falter in the slightest, his tone full of disdain:
“Didn’t you even notice it yourself? This space conforms to basic laws and principles; do you really know the structure of a gun and how to fire it?”
The man’s face stiffened, as if he was considering the credibility of Gao Yi’s words.
But with that hesitation, Gao Yi, who was already closing in, suddenly accelerated, and the inflatable giant hammer swung in an arc, smashing towards Masugi Sho’s wrist.
And after instinctively pulling the trigger, the gun, which had already deviated from its target, shot out two tongues of flame, and the bullets violently struck the already heavily damaged ceiling.
“You believe that too? Do you know how light bulbs work? They still turn on, you brainless idiot!”
The skill effect of 【Enthusiastic Citizen】 was activated, and Gao Yi’s agility and strength improved significantly.
The lightweight 【Inflatable Giant Hammer】 in his hand was now incredibly powerful.
Masugi Sho, whose chest was stomped on and face hit twice by the hammer, let out a muffled scream, his fat face twisted into a knot.
“You know what, you’re not only a bad person, you’re not a good store clerk either.”
“There’s no reason to put dog food and potato chips together!”
Gao Yi roared, his hammer not stopping for a moment.
The 【Inflatable Heavy Hammer】 was extremely light, but it was incredibly powerful when hitting a person, not to mention its inherent chance of causing dizziness.
The space shrouded in white mist was now only a small area left; a large number of dark figures and tentacles had already appeared in sight.
System prompts and light screen notifications appeared several times, seemingly telling him that the mission was complete.
But Gao Yi, lost in his frenzy, paid no attention to any of them, merely stubbornly swinging the giant hammer.
“You… what exactly are you, why are you doing this?!”
Lying on the ground, the man with a bloodied face struggled to shout out his final question.
“Me?”
Gao Yi paused his movements slightly, then grinned ferociously, raising the giant hammer high:
“Just a passerby, an enthusiastic citizen planning to smash your dog’s head in!”
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