Five months. Exactly five months had passed since the bloody night they gambled their lives to wipe out Nostra's scouts.
On the surface, the city seemed to have regained its usual noisy and bustling rhythm. The streets were flooded with neon lights, streams of traffic weaving together, and the deafening honks of cars echoing from dawn till late at night. But hidden deep beneath that glamorous facade, the phantom gears of the Regression Game had never stopped turning. All three of them knew this well.
It was a late autumn afternoon. The dry wind, carrying the early chill of winter, swept through the twisting, dark alleys of the old suburban neighborhood.
Kairi stood at the foot of a dilapidated five-story apartment building. The wall paint peeled off in large chunks like scars of time, revealing red bricks dulled by the elements. The elevator system had been dead for a decade, rusted and reeking of mildew. This place was in a suspended planning zone; most residents had already moved out, turning it into a perfect "blind spot" in the heart of the city—a place where government surveillance cameras or the eyes and ears of the underworld could hardly reach.
"Hurry up, Mr. Director. How long are you going to stand there admiring this pile of rubble?"
A grumble echoed from the top of the stairs. Ginji was grimacing, carrying a massive, heavy duffel bag on his shoulder, taking heavy steps up the chipped concrete stairs.
"I'm just assessing the load-bearing structure of this place," Kairi smiled faintly, shoving his hands into his coat pockets as he followed. "If someone attacks with explosives, I'm afraid the whole building will collapse before we can even find an escape route."
"You worry too much." Yume led the way, carrying her familiar black leather suitcase. Her voice was flat and cold, yet carried absolute confidence. "I've set up an early warning network within a three-kilometer radius. If any Time Breaker interferes in this area, their causality will immediately vibrate on the network of The Echo."
All three stopped before a rusty iron door on the highest floor—the rooftop of the apartment building.
Yume inserted a strangely shaped physical key into the lock. The heavy metal door swung open with a dry clack.
"Come in." She stepped in first, reaching out to flip a row of light switches on the wall. "Starting today, this will be our new base."
Warm yellow light immediately flooded the vast space of the duplex penthouse. In stark contrast to the dilapidated, shabby exterior of the apartment building, the inside of the unit had been masterfully renovated. The space was maximized by knocking down partition walls; the wooden floor, though a bit old, was wiped clean, emitting a faint scent of essential oils. Most notably, a system of soundproof tempered glass enclosed the entire facade, offering a panoramic view that looked straight out onto the glowing galaxy of city lights in the distant downtown area.
"Well, well... Not bad at all!" Ginji rolled his eyes around the room, tossed the bag from his shoulder onto the wooden floor with a thud, and whistled in delight. "Yume found a really sweet spot. Spacious and discreet. I noticed earlier that there are up to three underground escape routes leading straight to the roofs of neighboring buildings and the old water reservoir. Truly the work of a professional."
"This place is registered under a shell company specializing in electronic components that declared bankruptcy ten years ago." Yume set her suitcase down and took off her trench coat, draping it over the back of the sofa. "Whether it's Nostra or any other underworld faction trying to track us, it will take them at least a few months to break through this convoluted legal firewall. To better protect each other and adapt flexibly when incidents occur, living under one roof is the most optimal plan right now."
Kairi nodded in agreement. He approached the large wooden table in the center of the living room, pulled a sleek black magnetic card with delicate gold trim from his wallet, and gently placed it on the table.
"This covers the operational costs, renovation, and reinforcement of the security system for this place," Kairi said calmly, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. "Over the past five months, the Links Star project has passed its startup phase and begun to generate its first legitimate profits. I used a few tricks to launder the cash flow. Artificial intelligence and connected network systems are highly valued right now. We don't need to be frugal."
"Hmph, as expected of the young tech conglomerate boss, you really talk like a tycoon!" Ginji burst into hearty laughter. He stepped closer to the table, suddenly hoisted his massive duffel bag, and turned it upside down.
Thud!
A rain of cash—stacks of 10,000 Yen bills still in their original bank straps—spilled all over the wooden table, forming a small, green mountain.
Yume raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise sweeping across her eyes as she looked at the mountain of money, while Kairi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Don't look at me with daggers in your eyes." Ginji scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly, revealing his signature nonchalant charm. "I've had too much free time recovering over these past five months; my hands and feet were itching terribly. Last night I dropped by a few underground casinos in the South district to play some roulette and poker to make up for it. I swear to God, this is all clean gambling money! Anyway, if we're moving in together, we have to chip in. We can't let Kairi the student shoulder all the expenses alone."
The tense, vigilant atmosphere that had constantly weighed on the shoulders of the three survivors since the Regression Game began seemed to ease considerably in that moment. The hands of three people—coming from three completely different backgrounds, possessing three Classes with abilities that twisted the laws of nature—simultaneously touched the mountain of money on the table. An alliance initially forged purely out of the need for survival had now begun to sprout genuine bonds.
Most of that evening was dedicated to dividing up the living space and setting up personal workspaces inside the massive shared home.
Kairi quickly claimed the eastern corner of the living room, where the underground fiber-optic cables ran. Casting aside the image of an ordinary teenager, he immediately got to work assembling electronic components. Within just two hours, a miniature command center took shape. A mini server rack hummed quietly, liquid-cooled and emitting a faint blue light, connected to three borderless monitors. From here, Kairi could simultaneously manage the underground operations of Links Star and run automated sweeps to search for strange signals and abnormal fluctuations across the city's entire internet network.
Yume, on the other hand, chose a workspace facing the large window. She didn't care for modern machinery. Instead, she set up a giant corkboard that took up an entire section of the wall. On it, she began pinning old newspapers, candid photos, bankruptcy filings of corporations, and secret service reports. She used dozens of spools of red thread to connect the pieces of information together. It was her diagram of connections. With each passing day, the hidden fragments of this city would be meticulously strung together through the eyes of The Echo.
And Ginji? Without spending even five minutes thinking, he immediately dragged a green felt-covered wooden table out to the breezy corner of the balcony. He laid out a high-end set of plastic-coated playing cards, shiny casino dice, a few crystal glass tumblers, and hastily erected a hidden liquor cabinet stocked entirely with the most expensive bottles of Whiskey. He boldly declared to the other two that this was his "sacred spiritual relaxation corner," where he would meditate with the Goddess of Luck every night.
By nearly nine in the evening, the communal kitchen finally saw some fire. The fragrant, sweet, and rich aroma of a Sukiyaki hot pot bubbling on the electric stove quickly chased away the coldness of the once-abandoned home.
They sat gathered around the low dining table in the middle of the living room.
"Hey, hey, Ginji! I just dipped that piece of Wagyu beef into the broth; it's not even fully cooked yet!" Yume frowned, using her long chopsticks to lightly tap the back of Ginji's hand as he tried to snatch it.
"Good beef has to be eaten rare! If you wait for it to be well-done, you might as well chew on a shoe sole!" Ginji chuckled, his hand swiftly dodging Yume's chopsticks to grab the succulent meat, dipping it heavily in raw egg yolk before tossing it straight into his mouth and chewing ravenously. "A masterpiece! You'd never find decent food like this in those underground casinos."
Kairi sat opposite them, holding a tiny cup of warmed Sake, quietly watching his two teammates bicker constantly over a piece of tofu or a thin slice of meat.
For the past five months, his mind had constantly been in a state of bracing for impact. The calculations, the schemes to launder cash flows, and the moves made to protect himself and the Links Star project had cost him many sleepless nights. He always carried the feeling of an invisible sword hanging over his head.
But right now, amidst the steaming warmth of the hot pot, the clinking of bowls and chopsticks, and the gentle yellow light casting down from the pendant lamp, Kairi truly felt the beating in his chest. He was alive. Not a soulless combat tool, not a cold puppet in a life-or-death game of the gods. They were all alive, like ordinary flesh-and-blood human beings who knew joy and sorrow, capable of sharing a meal together after months of hell.
"Kairi, eat up, why are you just sitting there spacing out? The broth is almost gone," Yume suddenly spoke up, interrupting his train of thought. She picked up a large piece of beef, carefully dipped it into the bowl of raw egg, and placed it in his cup. Her usually cold eyes were now mixed with a gentle care, hard to notice if one didn't look closely.
"Ah... yeah, thank you, Yume." Kairi snapped out of it with a soft smile, picking up the meat and bringing it to his mouth. The rich sweetness of the dashi soy sauce combined with the creamy richness of the egg seemed to seep into every cell, warming his entire chest.
Right at that moment, a piercing sound tore through the peaceful atmosphere.
The flat-screen TV mounted on the wall in the corner of the living room—which had been murmuring softly on the late-night news channel—suddenly flickered. A bright red ticker scrolled across the screen, accompanied by the urgent alarm bell of the central broadcasting station.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Breaking news just in, ladies and gentlemen! Fifty minutes ago, the renowned financial conglomerate Mikage officially filed for bankruptcy with the Supreme Court, after a series of forged financial reports, money-laundering slush funds, and tens of billions of Yen in debt were exposed to the press! The corporation's stock has plummeted into a freefall, triggering cross-defaults globally..."
The screen displayed utterly chaotic scenes in front of the Mikage Group's headquarters in the commercial district. Crowds of angry investors and shareholders were screaming and pushing against police barricades. Riot police were in the process of sealing off a series of skyscrapers.
Then, the camera pointed directly at the image of the young master Atsushi—the man who once arrogantly called the shots—now with disheveled hair, handcuffed and escorted away amidst hundreds of flashing camera lights. Next was the image of Mr. Takeru—the authoritative patriarch of the family—receiving CPR from paramedics on a stretcher, being hurriedly pushed into an ambulance in critical condition from a stroke.
Bowls and chopsticks on the dining table simultaneously came to a halt.
"The Mikage Group... has collapsed?" Ginji frowned, slamming his wine glass onto the table. "That heavyweight conglomerate, controlling half the economic network of this city, goes bankrupt in just a few short months like this? What the hell is going on?"
Yume didn't say a word. She dropped her chopsticks onto the table, her hands gripping the edges of her shirt tightly. Her dark eyes suddenly gleamed, her pupils dilating unusually.
In a moment that felt like an eternity, the vision of The Echo was activated at its deepest level. Yume's sight pierced through the space of reality, diving deep into the churning flow of time, seeking out the past regression cycles that her memories had deeply engraved. She saw the red threads connecting destinies.
In the previous loops, the Mikage Group was like an ancient tree with roots planted deep in the earth. Even if it encountered storms, they were supposed to survive for at least another two to three years before showing signs of decline. But right now, in Yume's vision, the red thread symbolizing the existence of the Mikage family was snapped by some invisible force—brutally, cleanly, leaving absolutely no chance of resistance.
When her consciousness was yanked back to reality, Yume exhaled a freezing breath. Her complexion became extremely grim. She stood up abruptly, her bare feet hurrying toward the glass wall, eyes glued to the devastating images broadcasting.
"Something is completely off," Yume said in a low voice, each word she uttered shattering the silent atmosphere in the room. "I just cross-referenced the memories of the past loops. In all the scenarios I've witnessed, the Mikage conglomerate was never entirely annihilated in such a swift and ruthless manner."
Kairi narrowed his eyes, sharply grasping the core issue: "Are you saying... Mikage's downfall isn't the result of a natural economic crisis?"
"It's one hundred percent certain there was interference from a Time Breaker." Yume turned back to look at Kairi, her sharp eyes flashing with extreme vigilance. "Someone possessing a terrifying ability to manipulate finances, sway crowds, or pull the strings of the market struck from the shadows. They used no physical violence whatsoever. They used economic leverage, their underground tentacles, to completely decimate a financial empire without getting a single drop of blood on their hands."
Ginji clicked his tongue, throwing his head back to down the remaining Sake in his cup. "Damn it all. For the past five months, we naively thought that after tearing each other apart with Nostra, things would temporarily settle down for a breather. Turns out... we aren't the only ones who know how to gather strength."
Kairi slowly stood up. He put both hands in his pockets, stepping past the steaming dining table, and walked toward the tempered glass wall.
Outside the glass, the city stretched as far as the eye could see. The sparkling neon lights out there were no longer a beautiful, peaceful sight in his eyes. It was a gigantic, dark chessboard, riddled with invisible death traps that were slowly being laid out.
"Exactly," Kairi whispered, his warm voice now carrying a suffocating weight. "These past five months of peace... were actually just the calm before a massive storm. The other Time Breakers... after biding their time licking their wounds, have now begun to step out of the shadows and execute their own brutal moves."
The warm meal was left unfinished. The sounds of laughter and joking faded into the past, giving way to a menacing silence that enveloped the penthouse.
All three of them directed their gazes out into the urban night, deeply realizing a cruel truth: This shared home was not just a place for them to share rare, ordinary moments; it had officially become their final fortress. The place where they had to stand back-to-back, sharpening their fangs and claws, ready to face the bloody urban Holy War waiting to erupt just ahead. The game... was now truly beginning.