Two days had passed, and You Hong didn't know if Paul would once again embark on the path of a Rider.
Because he knew that from the moment he entered this world, everything that followed had already changed.
As for now, he had his own things to do.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Chief's Office
Behind a dark solid wood desk, Ichiijo Kaoru's fingers tapped rhythmically on the tabletop, his gaze sharp as an eagle, piercing through the rising coffee steam, fixed on Police Inspector You Hong who stood before the desk.
"So, Police Inspector You Hong," Ichiijo Kaoru's voice was low and steady, carrying an undeniable authority, "your 'Special Supernatural Phenomenon Investigation Department' has been established for a week, and your achievement is to tell me that those people who vanished into thin air were dragged into the Mirror World?"
You Hong stood ramrod straight, yet showed no tension on his face, calmly stating: "Yes, Chief. Based on cross-analysis of existing clues, especially the testimony of survivor Iida Megumi and the... special channel information I possess, all 'bizarre disappearance cases' originate from the Mirror World."
He paused, then pulled a document from his briefcase and gently pushed it across to Ichiijo Kaoru.
"And here, is an important node we've tracked down: Seimeiin University, Institute of Applied Physics, 401 Advanced Laboratory."
His fingertip traced a paragraph highlighted prominently with a marker, "'Dimensional Phase Interference Phenomenon Observation,' 'Spatial Fold Stability Maintenance Experiment'… Don't these terms have an excessively high correlation with the 'mirror devouring people' incidents we are investigating? Too many coincidences are probably not coincidences."
Ichiijo Kaoru's gaze swept over keywords like "Seimeiin University" and "Professor Kagawa Hideyuki" on the document, his brows furrowing into a frown.
He picked up the document and quickly flipped through a few pages, which contained some blurry surveillance footage screenshots and energy anomaly reports, indeed showing strong directionality.
"Man-made... armor to enter the Mirror World?" Ichiijo Kaoru put down the document, his eyes deepening, "Kagawa Hideyuki... I remember he is an authority in Materials physics and energy application. If this is true..."
He looked at You Hong, his gaze filled with scrutiny and a hint of imperceptible expectation, "How reliable is your 'special channel'? How confident are you in intervening?"
You Hong straightened his back, his face full of confidence: "Very high, Chief. The meaning of SPID's existence is to handle these 'special' situations, isn't it? Please rest assured and leave it to me."
Ichiijo Kaoru was silent for a few seconds, his fingers ceasing their tapping.
He picked up his coffee and took a sip. When he put it down, his eyes had become resolute: "Good. I'll give you maximum operational authority, including the necessary deployment of special equipment and area lockdown. Remember, You Hong, I want results, and even more, I want it controllable! Don't make me clean up your mess."
"Understood!" You Hong's smile widened, and he gave a standard police salute, "Mission accomplished!"
...
Tokyo, Bunkyo Ward, deep within Seimeiin University.
Physics Department Experiment Building, fourth floor, Laboratory 401.
This didn't look like a laboratory; it looked more like a set for a sci-fi movie.
Cold silver-gray tones dominated the space, complex wiring like blood vessels crawled over the walls and floor, finally converging in the center of the room—before a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror surrounded by various sensors and emitters.
The air was filled with the faint smell of ozone and overheated metal.
"Energy output peak stable! Spatial resonance frequency Lock-On!" Kagawa Hideyuki shouted, his voice shrill with tension, as he stared at the screen.
The mirror surface began to fluctuate violently, no longer reflecting the interior of the room, but presenting a distorted, constantly tearing and reassembling gray and white urban silhouette—a scene from the Mirror World!
"So! Now!" Kagawa Hideyuki, standing in front of the main control panel, abruptly pressed a control button and roared into the communicator, fine sweat beading on his forehead.
Nakamura So, standing before the mirror, took a deep breath and let out a low growl: "Henshin!"
Buzz—!
A piercing noise like steel needles pricked the eardrums, and the mirror surface rippled wildly as if a stone had been thrown into water.
A blurry silver-gray Rider figure struggled to condense in the ripples, attempting to rush into the mirror.
The next second—
Sizzle! Boom!!!
Violent energy turbulence exploded like an out-of-control beast.
The silver-gray Rider was thrown out as if slapped by an invisible giant palm, tumbling awkwardly to smash onto the cold laboratory floor, the heavy Tackle making one's teeth ache.
The armor on him, called "Alternative," flickered a few times like a faulty light bulb before completely extinguishing and disintegrating, revealing Nakamura So's pale face underneath.
He curled up, coughing violently, as if trying to cough out his lungs.
"So!"
Kagawa Hideyuki pushed aside the control panel and practically pounced to Nakamura So's side, carefully helping him up, "How are you? Where are you hurt? I told you, the System isn't stable yet! Your body can't withstand a fourth forced access! If this continues, you'll..."
"I'm... I'm fine, Professor..." Nakamura So gasped with difficulty, forcing out a weak smile, but his eyes were unusually stubborn, even with a hint of fanaticism, "As long as I can... can gain power... as long as I can get revenge on Shiro Kanzaki... this small price... is nothing..."
"Revenge?"
A cold sneer suddenly rang out, like ice cubes hitting hot oil.
Tojo Satoru, who had been leaning in the shadows by the wall, straightened up.
He strode over, looking down at the disheveled Nakamura So, his face filled with displeasure.
"Trying to activate the System with such a thought, gnawed into dregs by hatred,"
Tojo Satoru's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife, cutting through the tense air of the laboratory, "Even if you miraculously crawl back from the Mirror World alive, so what? You are no hero!"
"Tojo Satoru!" Nakamura So suddenly looked up, his eyes red with anger, "What do you know?! Shiro Kanzaki, he..."
"Hero?"
A completely unfamiliar voice, without any warning, interjected into the imminent argument.
The three people in the laboratory froze instantly as if a pause button had been pressed, looking in astonishment towards the sound.
They saw that at some point, the laboratory door, which should have been tightly closed and required Advanced authorization to open, was ajar.
A tall young man in a casual jacket was casually leaning against the doorframe, still holding a half-eaten red apple in his hand.
He chewed on the apple, a half-smile on his lips, his dark eyes scanning Nakamura So and Tojo Satoru with interest, finally settling on Professor Kagawa's tired face.
He slowly swallowed the apple pulp, his tone relaxed, yet carrying a sharpness that pierced to the core:
"So..."
"Do you few, consider yourselves heroes?"