Just as dusk slowly unfolded in the sky, and the car window was rolled down, Reiko Arakawa looked at the city in front of her that was completely different from a few years ago.
call--
The cold wind howled and the leaves rustled.
Nearby, passersby bundled up in their coats and hurried through the fallen leaves, as if they had no intention of staying for a moment.
In the distance, many of the homeless people in the park were wearing suits, but they were all crowded around a simple alcohol stove, looking longingly at the broken pot on the fire that was emitting a strange smell.
Real estate values have depreciated, stock prices have plummeted, companies have collapsed, banks have closed, and hordes of unemployed people are living on the streets...
Depression, dilapidation, indifference and depression.
This is the current situation in Yingzhou after the bubble economy.
"The good times of this country... have passed." Reiko Arakawa sighed, feeling a little depressed. She rolled up the car window again, watched the traffic light turn from red to green, and followed her into the traffic.
The sky is getting dark, and under the gray cloud dome, the densely packed buildings have an inexplicable and eerie feeling that makes people shudder.
On the rooftop, there were people lining up to jump off. With another snap, she felt the movement behind her. The woman raised her head, glanced at the rearview mirror, and then looked away again.
-
Passed through several avenues with neon signs, and then passed through several long semi-deserted streets.
Pattering... I don't know when the light rain started, the sound of the engine came, and then stopped.
In front of an old apartment in a remote area, Arakawa Reiko stopped the car, pulled out an old business card from the lining of a woman's suit, checked against the handwritten address on it, and whispered: "It should be here.
Yes, I hope the address given by the professor is correct."
With a gentle breath, she put away her business card, walked slowly into the apartment, and knocked on one of the doors.
"Excuse me, may I ask..."
Her words never fell, but with a creaking sound, the door seemed to have been forgotten to be locked. As she knocked, a small gap opened, revealing a bit of darkness.
Could it be that the person she was looking for suddenly went out at this time?
She shook her head quietly. This doubtful thought only flashed through Arakawa Reiko's mind, and was immediately denied by herself.
The next moment, she pushed open the door, and the patter of rain followed her into the apartment.
Turning on the lights and listening to the sound of rain, Arakawa Reiko stepped through the entrance hall and saw that various things in the house were meticulously placed in a strict obsessive-compulsive order, forming a cold-toned scene.
The records in the glass cabinets are displayed safely, the books on the bookshelf are neatly arranged, and there is an old-style record player next to the corner.
In this unusually simple apartment, the only exceptions are its owner lying on the sofa and the book covering his face to block the light.
"It will be July 1999."
"The Terror King descended from the sky, and the King of Angrumoa was resurrected. He will then rule the world in the name of Mars, the God of War..."
The young man's voice sounded like he was talking in his sleep.
The book slowly slipped from her face. Rosetta, who slowly opened her eyes, met the woman's gaze. She saw that this was a woman wearing a light gray suit, with beautiful features, medium-length short hair, and a head.
A woman who exudes neatness to the end.
"Nostradamus' "Century"?" Reiko Arakawa asked, without any timidity on her face. She took out a business card from her arms and put it on the table while standing up.
[Fuji TV Editor and Reporter Reiko Arakawa]
Rosetta's intuition made him smell a smell of trouble, which made him put down the business card with a silent sigh and stretched out his hand to signal.
"There's no tea, but please sit down first."
"Thank you. I was recommended by Professor Umi and was introduced to you, Mr. Luo."
Arakawa Reiko said this first, then sat down, took out another old business card from her arms, put it on the table, and pushed it in front of Rosetta. On it was clearly written "Umi Shiru, Professor of Folklore at Kyoto University"
'name.
Of course the name Rosetta is familiar, because this "Umi Shiru" was his mentor when he studied abroad in Yingzhou.
He is from Dashun himself and came to study in Yingzhou for further study and for some personal reasons.
Although it has been two or three years since she graduated, Rosetta did receive a lot of help from her mentor.
"Since it was the professor who introduced me here..."
He muttered, turned to the back of the business card, and sure enough, he found a line of address written in scrawled handwriting at the bottom. Then he raised his head and looked at Reiko Arakawa, and asked: "Then Miss Arakawa, why did you come to me?"
Rosetta put Arakawa Reiko's business card as a bookmark in the book "Centuries" and blinked at the same time: "In other words, how can I help you?"
"With such a straightforward attitude, Mr. Luo, you and Professor Umi have really completely different personalities."
Arakawa Reiko couldn't help but smile, showing her white teeth, and said: "When I tried to contact the professor, he said that Mr. Luo, you are the most talented student he has ever taught in his life, but unfortunately you are not the most talented student.
Interesting weirdo.”
"If he can still talk like this, the professor must be in good health."
"You are so tough." Arakawa Reiko nodded and said, "I can even travel to Hokkaido and plan to find a sexy black-skinned girl from the Ezo tribe to be my seventy-third girlfriend."
"The last time I saw him, his girlfriend was the 67th."
At this point, Rosetta probably already knew the reason why this woman kept finding her from her mentor, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "Because he didn't have time to spare, he left the matter to his former student.
Did you recommend me to Miss Arakawa?"
"In terms of results, it is like this."
Arakawa Reiko spread her hands, and then talked about the business of coming here:
"Due to the recent impact of the domestic economy, the response to several programs originally planned by our TV station has been extremely sluggish recently, with quite low ratings. For this reason, the producers held an emergency meeting and decided to cancel these programs and re-produce them.
A new program 'in line with the current social situation'."
"In line with the current social situation?" Rosetta asked back, and then said: "Are you saying that the TV station wants to film those urban ghost stories that are unknown to be true or false and cult believers that can be seen everywhere?"
"Mr. Luo, you have forgotten that there are those murderous monsters that grow everywhere like the mold in the corner."
Arakawa Reiko sighed with emotion: "The desire for blood and violence is the instinct of all human beings, and the public can watch whatever they want. Isn't this the bounden duty of our TV station?"
"Since horror novels, murderer biographies, and religious apocalyptic remarks about these elements are so popular nowadays, this new program of our TV station is prepared to investigate those 'controversial' unsolved cases or supernatural events.
Restore an 'answer' that the public needs."
"In this new program, we originally planned to ask Professor Umi to serve as a 'professional' to provide some consultation and analysis on folklore or mysticism. However, Mr. Luo, you also know the current situation.
, he strongly recommended you, Mr. Luo, to us as his replacement."
'Sure enough, it is troublesome.' Rosetta pursed her lips and said: "As a 'professional', my level is still far behind that of the professor. I'm afraid I won't be able to provide much useful consultation and analysis for the program...
"
When he said this, there was an obvious meaning of rejection in his words, but Reiko Arakawa couldn't help laughing when she heard this: "Whether a professional is professional or not is not something that a layman like me can judge casually. I am here this time."
In a private capacity, rather than talking about this, Mr. Luo, why don’t you come and take a look at the meeting gift I brought?"
"What kind of greeting gift?"
Rosetta seemed a little curious.
"Well...Mr. Luo, please wait while I look for you."
Arakawa Reiko lowered her head and rummaged through her briefcase, and after a while she found something. She put a plastic document bag on the table, pushed it in front of Rosetta, pursed her lips at him, and said, "Let's take a look first.
?”
Rosetta took the document bag and opened it, quickly scanning the information on the stack of documents. Her eyes gradually became serious, and she suddenly discovered that this was a photocopy of an unknown document.
The document contains a piece of absurd history that is completely different from the current official history.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, the content in this document is absurd, but...only he should know: If there was no birth of the Iron Curtain device, and the war without the use of weapons continued to this day, this would be another world history.
a way of development.
"Ms. Arakawa, what do you mean?"
Rosetta seemed very confused, hiding the surprise in her eyes very well.
Arakawa Reiko said: "Out of professional habit, I asked about Mr. Luo's preferences before I came here. I heard that Mr. Luo, you have always been extremely interested in the historical documents of various countries before the Iron Curtain, as well as various supernatural things.
I just thought that Mr. Luo, you might like something like historical materials as a meeting gift."
"It's just a little personal hobby. It's rare for Miss Arakawa to find out about it." Rosetta's tone was very calm and she put the photocopy of the document back without a care. He found that Reiko Arakawa didn't seem to know about this document at all.
significance.
"Let's talk about the rewards of this job."
Perhaps because this document aroused interest, Rosetta's original attitude suddenly seemed to have relaxed.
Arakawa Reiko said: "It's easy to say, but business matters must be handled openly. Mr. Luo, you have to go back and talk to the person in charge of this aspect of our TV station yourself."
"Okay." Rosetta agreed to the matter, and then asked the other party for their contact information for follow-up contact arrangements.
After the two talked for a while, he suddenly stood up and said, "By the way, Miss Arakawa, do you want some tea?"
The reporter lady was a little surprised by this question and said: "Mr. Luo, didn't you say before that there is no tea at home?"
Rosetta's tone was calm and showed no embarrassment at all: "You came in without knocking before. You are not a guest. Of course I don't need to prepare tea."
"That does seem to be my fault. I'm sorry."
Arakawa Reiko scratched her head and sighed, but then she seemed to think of something. She raised her head and curiously asked Rosetta who went to the kitchen to make cheap tea: "But, since you didn't know in advance that I would come, then what?
Mr. Luo, please open the door in advance, who is waiting for which guest?"
Rosetta continued to make tea without looking back: "I have two opinions, one true and one false. Which one do you want to hear?"
Arakawa Reiko blinked her eyes and said, "Of course I want to listen."
"Well, one way of saying it is: I just forgot to close the door, and another way of saying it is: I had some kind of subtle premonition that made me foresee someone coming tonight."
Rosetta took a sip of the tea, which was a bit hot. Then she put two cups of tea on the table and said calmly: "There are two statements, one true and one false. As for which one is true and which one is false, it depends on you, Miss Arakawa."
Which one do you like more?"
Seeing this unexpected reply, Arakawa Reiko was stunned for a moment, then reacted and couldn't help but laugh: "Professor Umi said that Mr. Luo, you are an uninteresting weirdo. It seems that he was wrong. I didn't expect you, Mr. Luo."
He even makes jokes."
Rosetta said: "Actually, I'm not joking."
However, Arakawa Reiko smiled even happier. This chapter has been completed!