Returning Transcendent Opens an Idol Agency

Chapter 93: Hana Homura – [Neighboring Malice] Let’s play more horror! (END)

Hana examined the zombie’s corpse with Julia. As she did, it zoomed in on the blood and gore.

[Eeew]

[Oh god]

[Is… is this okay to show on UTube?]

“Hm?” Hana glanced at the chat and then she smiled. “Thanks for worrying, but we’re fine! I double-checked with Miss Beta and Mister John.”

[MOD: Beta – We have already cleared it with Googol’s content management team]

[MOD: TITOR – Argh, don’t remind me. Those guys are a pain to try and reach. Good thing I’ve got people on the inside.]

[:o]

[…Okay, now I need to know. Is Titor REALLY a time traveler?]

[*Impossible! Those guys don’t care about their creators!*]

[MOD: TITOR – *They do when you show up to chat with the CEO.*]

[MOD: Mama Hana – …John? What have you been doing?]

[MOD: TITOR – *whistles*]

“See? Now, what gifts does this guy have for me?” She looted an ammo clip and a keycard from the zombie and then started walking down the dark corridor. As she did, eerie techno music started to play.

[Recommended BGM] 

[Somebody hold me. I’m not ready for spooks!]

[*M-Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to watch a horror game this early…*]

[:popcorn:]

Hana read the chat and laughed. “You guys are such scaredy cats.” She opened the door to a room on the side of the hallway.

It was empty. An ordinary room with just a bed, a closet, and then a shining note on a desk.

[Phew. Got scared for a moment.]

[ =) ]

[Ooh, wait for it…]

[Wait for what?]

“What’s that?” Hana blinked and then moved over to pick it up. Julia did, and then the screen faded to black, revealing log entries written in white text.

A series of daily entries, apparently from a researcher. Something about experiments and new monsters.

[Aaaah. I’ve got goosebumps…]

[W-Wait. Do you guys hear that?]

[Jumpscare in 3…]

Hana pressed the button, advancing the entries. As she did, she frowned. “What were these people doing?”

[I hear breathing!]

[Oh god.]

[2…]

Hana frowned, reading the entries. “Blisters? Rotting flesh…?”

[Hana look out!]

[Oh no! She can’t see us!]

[1…!]

The words suddenly vanished, snapping back to the gameplay. A zombie pulled Julia back and started to lunge towards her neck.

[BAD END 1 coming up!]

[Hana no!]

[*wsgvsfraga4wer*]

“Rude!” Hana huffed and swiveled her character, dodging the attack. Then, without hesitation, she pulled open the item menu and swapped out her gun for the combat knife before stepping back in and slashing at the zombie.

One. Two. Three… and the zombie fell down. But for good measure, Hana switched back to her pistol and shot the zombie in the head.

[…]

[5k yen – Protection money fees]

[So our little sister has gap moe too. But… why is it so scary?]

[MOD: TITOR – I… didn’t think Hana had this side to her]

[Are you sure she’s an idol, Mister John?]

Hana looted the zombie again, grabbing a key card from the corpse. As she did, she let out a bright smile. “This is fun! I didn’t know killing things could be so satisfying!”

[:O]

[MOD: TITOR – H-Hana?!]

[So… about Project MirAIs being an idol group…?]

[*I-Is Hana a Euclid class threat?*]

Hana glanced at the chat and then flushed. “T-That’s not what I meant! I don’t mean killing things in real life! I mean in the game! Like, I get to beat up the bad guys and get rewards. Right?”

[S-Sasuga, imouto.]

[20k yen – Protection money]

[S-So her not liking bad guys…]

[*H-Haha. Those haters got off lightly, huh?*]

“Oi!” Hana set down her controller and jabbed a finger at the screen. “Don’t make me mad! I’ll cut it off!”

[It?]

[H-Hana?]

[Cut? Off? IT?!]

[5k yen – don’t hurt me…]

[I-It turns out that Hana was yandere all along…]

[MOD: TITOR – HANA! PHRASING!]

Hana blinked. “Phrasing? What-?” Her eyes widened. “I meant the Superchats!” She huffed and picked her controller back up. “Geez. You guys are being too mean today… Ruining my fun…”

[:sweat:]

[*Jokes on you, I’m into CBT!*]

[MOD: Beta – *CBT? What does cognitive behavioral therapy have to do with this?*]

[*Oh no.*]

[*F*]

[MOD: Beta – ……………………]

[Eh? What did the overseas bros say?]

[Sensitive!]

[?]

[*Huh? I think someone’s knocking on my-*]

[*I can’t believe X fvcking died!*]

Hana shook her head and went back to playing the game. “I got a key card, so there should be somewhere new I can go to, right?” She left the room and started wandering around the manor.

Armed with knife in hand, Julia, and through extension, Hana, went on a rampage, killing every zombie in sight as she explored the manor. But after a long time with no leads, she frowned and said, “Am I missing something?”

[You’re still missing the medallions!]

[The key card’s for later.]

[Huh. Somehow, I’m not as scared anymore…]

[*I think the manor should open up now, right?*]

[*Well, Terry’s dead now, so…*]

[Go back to the lobby!]

Hana glanced at the chat and nodded. “So there’s still some items I’m missing?” Her eyes lit up. “Do I have to kill more things to get them?”

[So bloodthirsty…]

[U-Um… no?]

[They should be in some drawers…]

[There’s a new weapon at the lobby!]

“Drawers? Lame- Oh! A new weapon? Let’s go!” Hana immediately spun Julia around and started heading back towards the beginning.

[…]

[It turns out we were the ones being protected all along…]

[My little sister can’t be this dangerous…]

[It turns out my little sister was a yandere who loves new weapons?!]

[www what’s with the LN names in chat?]

A cutscene played out as Hana reached the doors entering the lobby. The camera panned in on the doors before having them creak open. And then a horde of twelve zombies suddenly spun to look at her.

[?!!]

[T-That’s never happened before?!]

[The director!]

[Oh right! The difficulty increases!]

[Run Hana!]

[*Dead run?*]

[*More like dead end.*]

Gunshots echoed. The African-American soldier that came in with Julia. *Run, Julia! I’ll hold them off!*

*Terry!*

*Go! I can’t- Gah! Dammi- Argh. Ah- AAAAAAAAHHHHH*

*TERRY!*

[Rest well, Terry-san. You tried.]

[*Why does the black guy always die first?*]

[*lol*]

[Run Hana!]

Hana frowned.

Terry’s body was surrounded by five zombies, tearing into it. But at the same time, there was a glowing gun next to him.

“…I want that.” She turned to the chat. “Can I get that?”

[Technically…?]

[It’s too dangerous!]

[You still haven’t saved yet!]

[*Is she going for the early Magnum?*]

[*…Do all members of Project MirAIs speedrun or something?*]

Hana nodded. “So it’s possible… Let’s try it!”

The zombies shambled closer, in a formation that shooting one would leave Julia vulnerable to being mobbed by the others.

[Don’t shoot!]

[It’s too risky!]

[You’ll die!]

Hana hummed. “They’ll catch me if I waste time, shooting, so…” She quickly swapped over to her knife.

[Eh?]

[Knife only?]

[*That’s a bad idea!*]

[*Interesting… If she does this right…*]

Hana made Julia charge, breaking off to the left.

Almost immediately, the zombies lunged at her, blocking her escape.

But the moment before they did, Hana slashed at the closest zombie.

The attack animation made the zombie stumble back, creating a tiny gap.

“Thread the needle, pivot… and we’re free!”

[…]

[A-Are all members of Project MirAIs this good?]

[Nah. Alfi-chan is bad at gaming, remember?]

[Alfi Titor Ch. – I wasn’t used to the controls!]

[Suuure you weren’t.]

Hana was too busy to read the chat. While she had managed to get through the first hurdle, there were still the zombies surrounding Terry’s body.

Since Julia drew near, the zombies stood up, turning their attention to her instead of the dead man on the ground.

*Graaagh*

Ominous groans and eerie shambling.

Hana’s eyes narrowed in concentration and then she glanced at the chat. “The bad guys get attracted to sound, right?”

[Yes?]

[Galaxy brain strats?]

[They should, but not very much?]

[*popcorn*]

“In that case…” Hana swapped her weapon again.

*BANG! BANG!*

Two gunshots, aimed at the corner.

[*She missed?*]

[Hana?]

[*Rip run.*]

The zombies became aggravated by the gunshots, speeding up their movements. Suddenly, all twelve were charging at Julia.

But Hana remained calm. Instead of panicking, her eyes were focused, flicking side to side and taking in the encroaching zombies.

And then she moved.

Switching the gun back to a knife, she charged at the first zombie.

This time, it immediately grabbed her, the threat level too high for Hana to stagger it.

A quick-time event began, a prompt telling Hana to mash ‘X’.

[Nooo!]

[You’ve got this Hana!]

[I’m on the edge of my seat!]

[She’s dead.]

[O wa ri da.]

The zombies surrounded Julia. Even if Hana finished the quick-time event and shoved the zombie off, it would be too late.

Or so it seemed.

But…

[WHAT?!]

[YOU CAN DO THAT?!]

[*New speedrun tech?!*]

…Hana didn’t get captured and get a gameover.

After finishing the quick-time event, she spun Julia, causing the character to pirouette and send the zombie staggering back at a rapid speed, bowling over three zombies. Just enough to run past.

[Holy crap!]

[I thought this game was broken? The physics engine was that good?]

[Hacks! I call hacks!]

Hana moved Julia over to the glowing gun and picked it up.

The game paused, zooming in on the gun and giving a brief description.

[A large stainless steel revolver, equipped with weights to reduce recoil. Extremely powerful. Uses .44 Magnum bullets.]

[HOLY CRAP]

[She got it?!]

[*Oh my god. This is going to break the leaderboards!*]

[*New world record for Neighboring Malice coming soon?!*]

Hana closed the message and then spun around, swapping over to the magnum. “Only nine bullets, so I have to make this count…”

The zombies closed in.

Hana moved Julia around the room to line them up and then she fired.

*BANG!*

A loud gunshot ripped through the manor.

And then the group of zombies fell to the ground, heads completely blown off.

“Yay! I did it!” Hana smiled and then turned to the chat. “And you guys thought I would game over! Hmph!”

[10 USD – Vicious]

[5k Yen – Scary]

[50 CAD – Dangerous]

.

.

.

[100 USD – Yandere imouto?!]

“I am not a yandere! And I’m not any of those!” Hana crossed her arms and said, “Mom, you’re here, right? Tell them!”

[MOD – Mama Hana – I don’t know, Sweetie. Alfi seems to be more girly than you are right now.]

“Mooooom!”

[lol]

[XD]

[Alfi Titor Ch. – That’s not true! Hana is much cuter than me!]

[wwww]

[*Kusa*]

[*:grass:*]

[It’s okay! I like yanderes!]

“You guuuuys! Stop being so mean to me! It’s not funny!”

[But it is!]

[5 USD – No.]

[10 CAD – Hana kawaii]

[10 Euro – Demo omosheroy]

[lol overseas bros]

Hana huffed and then shook her head, smiling. After that, she turned her attention back to the game. “What did these guys drop this time… oh? These are the medallions, right?”

[…They drop there?!]

[Wait, what?]

[Is this game… actually really well programmed?!]

[First Titor breaks games, then Alfi has god-tier luck… Hana too?]

[Use them on the stone lion under the balcony!]

Hana glanced at the chat and said, “Oh! Thank you! Finally, one of my Ohana that doesn’t want to bully me.”

[10 USD – Sorry]

[5 CAD – Forgive?]

[10k yen – Will this make you forgive me?]

“Oi! I’m not that type of girl!” Hana frowned and said, “I’ll get more upset at you for wasting money!”

[10 USD – Gomenasorry]

[50 CAD – Sorrymasen]

[100 USD – Sorry not sorry]

.

.

.

[someone needs to clip this]

[Gomenasorry www]

“…I’m ignoring you now.” Hana placed the medallions into the statue of the stone lion with Julia.

The screen rumbled and then an opening emerged in the ground, revealing stairs leading into the darkness.

“Ooh, spooky.” Hana smiled and walked forward with Julia. “Is there finally going to be a good scare?”

The music suddenly kicked up in volume, becoming more eerie.

[More zombies…?]

[Hold me, Hana! I’m scared!]

[I-It’s okay to hide behind my imouto, right?]

“Geez. You guys are such scaredy cats-“

A sudden loud *BANG*. A body falling from the ceiling and hitting the floor.

[33ww3erfwae]

[fafeawuhit]

[*FASDFAWE*]

[AAaaaaah]

Hana laughed. “That was a good one!”

[Unfazed?!]

[S-Sasuga, Imouto.]

[Is Hana… the strongest idol?]

Hana moved Julia to loot the body, picking up a key. Then she moved forward in the dark hallway until she reached a door. She unlocked it with the key she picked up… and then the music changed. Soft piano music with an ethereal flute playing in the background, almost like a whispering ghost.

[Recommended BGM]

It was a cozy study room with a soft lamp illuminating it. A fireplace crackled, and there was a solid wooden desk with various ammo and plants sitting on it, all glowing, revealing their nature as pick-ups. There was also a tape recorder on the table that was glowing too.

“Ooh!” Hana spun Julia around to look at everything and said, “This is a nice change of pace. How relaxing…”

[SAVE!]

[The tape recorder!]

[10k yen – Please save, Hana!]

Hana glanced at the chat and nodded. “Don’t worry, I will, I will…” She moved Julia over to the tape recorder and interacted with it. A save menu popped up, and Hana confirmed the save.

A save slot marked with [Underground Safe Haven – 02:23] took up the first spot in the list.

Staring at that, Hana’s eyes widened. “It’s been almost two and a half hours already?!”

[Yep!]

[And you played it without saving…]

[*lol Hana really be trying to speedrun the game*]

[How did she miss all the other save spots?]

Hana shook her head. “Sorry everyone. I went a bit over today.”

[It’s fine!]

[Nooo! Stay longer!]

[*Don’t leave!*]

Hana crossed her arms and turned her head, looking down on the chat. “Oh? You bully me and now you want me to stay longer? I’m not an easy girl, you know?”

[Kuh-]

[T-This reaction…]

[W-Why do I want her to step on me?]

[E-Eh? I… my heart… but…?!]

[We’re sorry!]

Hana laughed and uncrossed her arms. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t resist… But thank you, everyone. This was a lot of fun!” She reached out and clicked something. After that, the screen changed back to Hana’s room, and the chat moved back to the left side of the screen.

[We had fun too!]

[Over already?!]

[*Shoot! I just got here!*]

[Eh? Why can’t we superchat now?]

Hana smirked. “I knew it! This time you won’t get to bully me as I close the stream!”

[Outsmarted! Nooo!]

[She’s learning!]

[Drats!]

“Anyway… This is it from me today!” Hana sighed. “I wish I could play a bit longer, but I have a big secret project I’m working on for the end of the month and I need to do a lot more practice to make it perfect.”

[It’s okay!]

[The Ohana will support you all the way no matter what!]

[If you need to practice, why not dance or rhythm games?]

“Hm?” Hana read that last message and blinked. “Oh! Maybe?” She nodded and said, “I’ll ask Mister John and Miss Beta about it for next time. For now though… Thank you for coming everyone! Alfi nee-chan will be streaming later tonight, so I’ll see you there if you go watch her stream! You don’t have to, but I’d be happy if you could support her with me!”

[We will!]

[Definitely!]

[*As if you need to ask*]

Hana waved. “Okay! Sayohana! Have a good day, Onii-chan! Onee-chan!”

[!!!]

[GAH! SNEAK ATTACK!]

[WFAWETGE]

[MY HEART!]

[*WAIT! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!*]

[That’s illegal!!!]

Hana giggled, and then the stream cut off.

_________