Not a detective

Page 61

Asakawa Riku sent a message to Chizuko-senpai:

I'm in position and ready.

She received a reply within two seconds, so it seems she had been staring at her phone the whole time.

Chizuko didn't type anything, but instead replied with a cute cartoon sheep emoji: "OK!" Anyone who didn't know her true nature would definitely be fooled.

Asakawa Riku smiled, swiped up to return to the main page, and began staring at the countdown—

Four minutes left.

A silent...waiting.

All there is to do here is wait. Asakawa Riku really wanted to conjure up a novel to read, or play on his phone, but four minutes was really awkward.

It's not short, it can feel incredibly long when there's nothing to do, but it's definitely not long either, it's annoying to be abruptly interrupted halfway through doing something.

He then realized that he was a little anxious.

...Is it a feeling of unease and urgency about one's future? Because one cannot imagine what one will see, the unknown brings fear.

Looking at the three mirrors, his eyes had gradually adjusted to the darkness and he could see his own face clearly. The calm, handsome young man was staring at himself.

Three minutes had passed, so nothing changed; it was just an ordinary mirror.

Asakawa Riku adjusted his breathing and slowly entered a meditative state.

He didn't close his eyes or meditate properly. With enough training, one can enter a meditative state even during high-speed movement or intense fighting.

The important thing is the "mind"—a still mind is more important than a still body.

This was the targeted training Asakawa Riku began after that summer; to put it bluntly, he had learned his lesson and couldn't afford to fail twice in the same place.

Once he enters a "meditation" state, he can maintain inner peace, clearly discern his own consciousness, and not be disturbed by distracting thoughts or emotions. He can always maintain a state of maximum output efficiency, just like the experimental technique of "shielding the five senses." Both are special training exercises to avoid being suddenly attacked by illusions and dreams.

Riku Asakawa is someone who makes mistakes, but he is also someone who actively corrects them and is willing to make changes. He learns from his failures to strengthen himself.

He wouldn't allow himself to return to that situation where he was at the mercy of others, nor did he want to relive the painful experience of losing friends one by one in his dreams.

He was now confident that he could remain conscious under the power of the "Baku," even if the old monster was powerful. As long as Asakawa Riku could capture a moment of clarity—

He has the power to turn the tide of battle.

Asakawa Riku is now in a meditative state in front of the mirror. You can see from the mirror that his eyes have changed significantly. They are like a still lake, clean and clear, reflecting subtle ripples. This state makes his emotions very indifferent, even cold. But in preparation for battle, it is actually a good thing.

He had to be wary of enemies, monsters, or even ghost stories that might appear at any moment. If what he had heard earlier was true, the mirror was very likely an illusion.

...In the process, three minutes passed silently.

The image in the mirror finally changed.

Aoandon's Autumn: Chapter Twenty-Four - Two Futures

0:0:0.

On the east side of the school building, at the corner of the stairs between the fifth floor and the rooftop, lies Asakawa Riku.

The mirror he was facing underwent a bizarre and distorted transformation, right before his eyes—

It started right on time, almost like a TV program, but Asakawa Riku, afraid of ruining the atmosphere, didn't voice his complaint.

The stairwell and his reflection in the mirror melted and mingled together, like a latte art coffee being stirred with a spoon, sinking into a terrible vortex.

If you find it difficult to understand, let's take an example that everyone knows, like the card art for the spell card [Fusion].

This is not an illusion or hallucination.

Asakawa Riku immediately made a judgment, because his meditative state had no effect whatsoever, and the mirror in front of him had indeed changed.

Ghost stories are really great.

The fact that Asakawa Riku could observe the things created by Aoandon, even when he had zero inspiration, filled him with genuine excitement.

The image in the mirror did not disappoint him; it quickly recovered from the chaotic vortex and displayed a normal picture.

The mirror in the very center still reflects Asakawa Riku.

"Hmm?" He even uttered a sound of doubt, or rather, "the ordinary version of Asakawa Riku," exactly the same as the one he had just seen in the mirror.

Its movements mimic its own; it raises its hand when it raises its hand, and its facial expressions are also reproduced—it's just a mirror reflection...

Asakawa Riku thought it was over, but the mirrors on both sides were not so normal.

The mirror on the left, although still featuring Riku Asakawa, looks somewhat strange.

It looks more "real"... This is a vague description, but he couldn't find a better way to describe it for a while. It's like going from a 720p video to a 4K level all of a sudden. It was originally a gray mirror, and the dim light made it even harder to see clearly, but the Asakawa Riku on the left seemed to be from a different dimension, frighteningly clear.

It's as if a person is standing inside a picture frame, so lifelike and vivid that it's almost unbelievable, as if they might jump out at any moment.

This was definitely not the "ordinary version of Asakawa Riku." He could sense the obvious difference. The man in the mirror was wearing glasses and looked significantly older, probably a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. His beard was neatly trimmed, and he was still quite handsome, though not much more mature. In addition, the glasses gave him an inexplicable air of refinement, like a teacher.

The "real Asakawa Riku" in the mirror was smiling happily, radiating a genuinely genuine happiness, like a middle-aged man with a fulfilling life.

But standing there, he couldn't manage a smile at all.

He had no expression, but his reflection in the mirror was smiling.

This isn't a mirror...it's more like a video player...

Asakawa Riku didn't have time to think too much; he quickly looked to the other side, the side mirror on the right:

The image quality suddenly dropped, reverting to a hazy 720p. It wasn't so noticeable when I upgraded, but now it looks like there are jagged edges and jagged corners.

But the image quality wasn't the most important thing; what truly stunned Asakawa Riku was the content reflected in the mirror. Even while maintaining a "meditative" state, he found it difficult to withstand such an impact.

In the mirror, he was lying on a white sheet, and it was impossible to tell whether it was a hospital bed or a coffin.

Why Lenovo in these two places?

Because he was seriously injured—

The head, torso, left hand, right hand, left foot, and right foot were cut in proportion, just like the Sealed Exodia, divided into several parts evenly.

It was a very cruel scene, but perhaps because there was no blood, it didn't feel horrifying at all; instead, it felt quite "beautiful."

The boy lying on the white sheet had his eyes closed, like an elegant Greek sculpture, untouched by dust, with sharp features, quietly waiting for something.

There are obvious gaps between the limbs and the body, indicating that it has been cut open; you can even see the cross-sections of the bones and muscles...

The separation of the head and torso was even more pronounced, with the neck being severed, exposing half of the esophagus and trachea.

He was cut open, dismembered, and mutilated.

Was he asleep? Or was he dead? No one could survive in this situation, not even Riku Asakawa.

Why? Why would two completely opposite futures emerge?

On the left is a happy and content middle-aged man, on the right is a boy who has been cruelly dismembered, and in the middle is a figure whose expression perfectly reflects confusion and unease.

Then the mirror shattered.

With a crisp "crack" sound, the crack that appeared from the middle seemed to confirm the disintegrated future, shattering Asakawa Riku.

"hateful……!"

He couldn't help but shout and went forward to hold up the mirror, trying to salvage the situation, but it was all in vain.

The mirror shattered into small pieces of glass, which scattered and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.

All that remained were the three picture frames and the faintly glowing debris on the ground.

A glance at the phone revealed "00:01." Cinderella's magic time had ended, the mirror's rules had lost their effect, and it had completed its final mission.

Asakawa Riku didn't break it. It seemed to have seen something it shouldn't have seen, and at that point, it couldn't bear the weight anymore and completely collapsed.

Even the power of Aoandon cannot be reproduced?

Isn't that a set of supernatural tales from the Heian period?

According to Chizuko's introduction, although it is not as powerful as those great demons, it is mainly inferior in combat strength. However, in terms of its unpredictability, no one can surpass it.

However, this mirror shattered completely after seeing Asakawa Riku's future, to the point that it was beyond repair.

Asakawa Riku stood there blankly for a long time, deeply shocked.

The images in the two mirrors were imprinted on his eyes, impossible to escape.

Both sides presented him with a puzzle that was difficult to solve.

从0时0分0秒到0时1分0秒，只过去了短短的一分钟而已，而在那一分钟里看到的东西，好像经过了大半天这么久。

When I came to my senses, my back was soaked with cold sweat.

"I have to write this down." With that thought, Asakawa Riku didn't hesitate and sat down without caring about whether the stairs were dirty or not.

He took out his phone, opened Notepad, and sketched out the two mirrors he had just seen from memory.

This is very important information. If there is any error, it will be troublesome. We must draw it while the memory is still clear in order to ensure the most accurate reproduction possible.

He regretted it a little. He should have carried a notebook and pen with him like Chizuko-senpai. Drawing on the screen with his finger was really difficult. After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to draw two comical stick figures, but the basic shape was correct and they had the spirit that he could understand.

On the left is myself wearing glasses and smiling happily; on the right is myself, seemingly dead, dismembered and broken.

"So... what does it mean exactly?"

Aoandon's Autumn: Chapter Twenty-Five - The Shadow of the Future

Asakawa Riku began his deduction.

Let's look at the contents of these two mirrors separately. The first one is on the left, showing yourself wearing glasses and smiling happily.

Perhaps this side looks much more innocent compared to the shocking images on the right, but Asakawa Riku felt that the eeriness of this side was no less than that of the other side.

First and foremost is that sense of "realism".

No matter how many times you say it, it's still vague. Asakawa Riku clearly understands the feeling at that moment, but he can't quite describe it.

Simply put, it's like the stick figure on his phone suddenly seeing Asakawa Riku as a real person, and the feeling is completely different from what he experienced.

It's like one is a two-dimensional space and the other is a three-dimensional space.

With this association, a flash of inspiration struck Asakawa Riku, and he opened his mouth slightly, as if he understood something.

"No way..." he blurted out a bold guess.

That is—the reflection in the mirror on the left is his original self from the previous world.

That is, the Chinese man named "Lu Chuanqian," his past life before he transmigrated...

There are two pieces of evidence: first, he was nearsighted before he time-traveled and wore glasses; second, his height.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary high school student. He hadn't trained and wasn't tall or strong; he was only about 1.7 meters tall.

He even wore glasses and was somewhat thin; to put it bluntly, he was just an average test-taker, which perfectly matched the refined and easy-going image in the mirror, showing no signs of aggression.

However, their faces looked very similar in both lives, almost like twins, which is why he didn't recognize himself when he saw himself in the mirror. Both had a clean-cut, gentle, and handsome appearance, but their temperaments were noticeably different. In his previous life, he always hid behind his thick glasses and didn't like to interact with people, so he wasn't as popular.

The middle-aged man in the mirror might be himself in a past life.

Regarding the height issue, I initially thought it was due to the reflection in the side mirrors, making me appear slightly shorter. Now I realize that's not right; I'm noticeably shorter.

But why is he middle-aged...? Didn't he already travel to this place because of the accident when he was eighteen?

How could there possibly be any chance of growing up smoothly?

Could that be the future he was meant to have? If he hadn't had that accident, he would have had a happy and fulfilling life in that world?

"It's really cruel to show me this now that things have come to this..."

Asakawa Riku sighed, his expression inevitably somewhat somber.

He didn't let himself wallow in sadness. After all, he had been here for sixteen years and had thought about everything he needed to think about. He might as well live the rest of his life well.

Now he understood why he felt that "realism." Since it was his previous self before he transmigrated, it was normal to feel like he was in a different dimension; they were essentially two parallel worlds. He suddenly understood why the mirror shattered. The power of the Blue Lantern had actually seen through this truth, which was frankly quite exaggerated, but that was all.

Regardless, seeing this kind of world line unexpectedly... still evokes a strange sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, mixed feelings).

With the mirror puzzle on the left solved, the one on the right is even more perplexing.

This is not a lame joke.

Why was he dismembered?

Asakawa Riku still felt horrified when he recalled that scene. He was hard to frighten, but seeing himself being disintegrated, and being told it was the "future," was terrifying.