"Don't worry. No problem."
After chatting for a bit, the call ended. Ye Feng put his phone away.
The sky had already darkened.
Tonight, the moon had appeared early, as if stained with a faint trace of blood.
After getting off the train, Ye Feng followed the Nakano sisters all the way. He walked openly right behind them—
and somehow, not a single one of them noticed.
Ye Feng honestly didn't know what to say.
…Wait.
He suddenly noticed a police officer walking a bicycle.
In a small country like Japan, it was common to see officers patrolling on white bicycles. This was partly because tax usage was very transparent, and government budgets—especially the traffic department—were tight.
Another reason was that Japan was densely populated, especially in cities. Bicycles made it easier to get around and avoided traffic jams.
There were also environmental policies and the country's strict hierarchy system.
All of this was simply part of Japan's national conditions.
The officer across the street, pushing his bicycle, seemed to have grown suspicious and started watching Ye Feng.
But this wasn't Ye Feng's first time dealing with something like this.
He remained perfectly calm, expression relaxed. Combined with his sunny looks and Sobu High uniform, the officer soon withdrew his gaze and slowly left.
If you showed panic or acted suspicious at times like this, congratulations—there was a very high chance you'd be stopped for a "friendly chat."
So sometimes, you just had to fake confidence.
Even if you were nervous inside, you had to act composed on the outside.
Stay calm in major situations.
Just like how some Sobu High girls occasionally went commando for certain reasons…
They'd all act perfectly normal, and nobody would suspect a thing.
But if you acted timid and kept nervously holding down your skirt…
Anyone who wasn't careless would start doubting you, right?
Meanwhile, those five girls still hadn't noticed they'd been followed the whole way—right up to their apartment building.
The Nakano sisters lived in a high-end apartment complex with access control. Outsiders couldn't enter.
Ye Feng watched them go inside, paused for a moment, then chose not to follow.
Instead, he turned and headed to the nearby park.
Top floor of a luxury apartment…
Yeah. Definitely not something an ordinary family could afford.
Especially with a foodie like Itsuki.
"So far, only the Nakano sisters seem to be affected…"
Ye Feng pondered quietly. Along the way, he'd scanned the surroundings, but found no other abnormalities.
At present, the Sky Rift only existed above Chiba City.
The Sky Rift functioned like a teleportation array—it could absorb and transmit things, and monsters could only appear through it.
Because of this, aside from Chiba, monsters rarely appeared elsewhere.
If they ever started appearing in other regions, it would mean he'd lost control of the threshold completely…
That it had fully collapsed.
Ye Feng still understood very little about the Threshold.
It was a lifeless, desolate world—almost identical to reality. Like a mirror world… or perhaps a parallel world.
Every city there had become ruins.
Yes.
Ye Feng had explored the Threshold before. He'd traveled across all of Japan, and every single city had been reduced to rubble.
No exceptions.
Most areas had already sunk beneath the sea.
From Ye Feng's observations, the Threshold had undergone a brutal nuclear cleansing.
The world had been nuked flat.
That land knew only night—no daytime.
Gigantic, grotesque skeletons stood beneath a blood-red moon. Endless wasteland. Ruins everywhere.
Words couldn't describe it.
It was far too horrifying.
How desperate would people have to be to choose nuclear annihilation?
And even then, no one survived.
Total failure.
All that remained was loneliness, desolation, and deathly silence.
To this day, there wasn't a single living creature there.
Not even marine life.
Ye Feng suspected the Threshold had once been a normal world, but something had happened—something that destroyed everything.
All life had perished.
Perhaps…
The Threshold was this world's future.
So even without Mafuyu's sacrifice, he wouldn't just sit around waiting for doom.
A dead, ruined world was terrifying beyond words.
No one could stay calm after seeing that.
Back then, combined with the appearance of the Void Demon…
Ye Feng had reached the lowest point of his life.
It had been unbearable.
Even now, he didn't know how he'd survived—or how he'd defeated the Void Demon.
He'd been covered in wounds, licking them alone, crushed by despair from the Threshold…
Enough to break anyone.
Who would've guessed he'd once been quiet and introverted?
That was why he understood Miku so well.
People say personalities don't change easily—but some experiences truly reshape a person.
Ye Feng sat on a park bench, observing the Sky Rift.
"No changes for now… but sudden anomalies can't be ruled out."
He frowned slightly. If nothing happened soon, he'd have to take the initiative and pay a visit—first confirming whether the sisters' apartment itself had any issues.
Time passed quickly.
The sun sank, night approached, and the moon grew clearer in the sky, faint bloodlight surfacing once more.
"I won't wait anymore."
Ye Feng stood up and headed toward the Nakano sisters' apartment.
"Eh? Ye Feng-kun?"
Just as he left the park, a bright, cheerful voice rang out.
The next moment—
A girl wearing a rabbit-ear ribbon ran over.
"Hiyah!"
She leapt forward and landed squarely in front of Ye Feng.
Her skirt fluttered, revealing a flash of dazzling white absolute territory. She lifted her chin, brimming with energy.
"Good evening, Ye Feng-kun~"
"Good evening, Yotsuba."
Ye Feng greeted her.
The girl with the silly green bunny-ear headband was Yotsuba.
Extremely lively.
Her smile was especially radiant.
Yotsuba grinned mischievously.
"Ye Feng-kun, you really were secretly observing us, weren't you?"
"…."
Why are you suddenly so sharp?!
Ye Feng straightened up.
"Yotsuba, please help me with something. I'm begging you!"
"Eh?"
Yotsuba widened her eyes. After a brief stare, she blinked, then patted her chest confidently.
"If it's Ye Feng-kun, then no problem! Just leave it to me!"
She agreed just like that?!
Shouldn't you at least ask what it is first?!
A boy you just met suddenly asks for help in a deserted park…
What if he asked you to help satisfy some beep— needs in the bushes?!
Yotsuba tilted her head.
"Did you get lost, Ye Feng-kun?"
"…No."
Ye Feng was speechless. Who jumps straight to getting lost?
Lowering his voice deliberately, he said darkly,
"Yotsuba, you agreed so quickly. Aren't you afraid I might make some inappropriate requests?"
"E-Eh?!"
Yotsuba jumped back several steps, covering her chest with both hands, staring warily.
"Just so you know—t-those kinds of things are NOT allowed!"
Ye Feng stepped closer, speaking quietly.
"What kinds of things, Yotsuba? I'm curious."
"Th-Those… those…" Yotsuba's face reddened as she stammered. "Anyway! Those things are not allowed!"
Ye Feng gave her a meaningful look.
"Yotsuba, you sure know a lot."
Yotsuba covered her face with both hands.
"Sorry—I don't know anything!"