Chapter 137
People need festivals, they need revelry
Chapter 137 People need festivals, they need revelry
Tokyo is ablaze with an extraordinary carnival atmosphere today, on the eve of Halloween.
Pumpkin lanterns had already been hung all over the streets and shops, and colorful neon lights and all sorts of demons, witches and monsters were walking around. For people, this was the first Halloween in a period when monsters were commonplace, and people needed to have a blast.
There is a need to release the deep-seated fear of the unknown within.
Meanwhile, at the Far East base, people were also decorating the TPC headquarters, creating a festive atmosphere.
Of course, all of this was done under the command of Staff Officer Caul. He enjoyed the fun atmosphere and even changed into a Halloween costume himself.
In the command room.
At this moment, Ye Rui was wearing a black vampire cloak and holding a pumpkin candy jar, trying to scare the well that had just walked in.
"Trick or treat! Well digger, watch out for your lab report." Ye Rui chuckled, revealing his fake fangs.
Horii rubbed his dark circles, reached into Norizuki's pumpkin jar, took out a handful of candy, and put it in his mouth.
"Alright, Ye Rui, let's not talk about those awful things on such a wonderful day. I've already had a headache these past few weeks from being dragged around by Staff Officer Kaul to work on the giant stone statues... I've even lost a lot of hair. And this morning, Staff Officer Kaul even had the leisure to paint Flying Swallow One like a pumpkin..."
"That fits the Halloween spirit perfectly, doesn't it? I really don't understand, Digui..." Kaul said sarcastically as he walked down the corridor.
Everyone turned around and saw that Caul, who usually wore the TPC black uniform, had changed into Dracula's appearance today. In the Halloween atmosphere, he looked more like a blood-sucking nobleman than anyone else.
Daigo and Shinjo followed behind, acting as his sidekicks; one was dressed as Frankenstein's monster, and the other as a mummy.
"Staff officer!" The well digger, who had just been talking about Caul, was startled and immediately stood up straight and saluted.
Kaur waved his hand and casually took out his favorite White Rabbit milk candy from Ye Rui's pumpkin jar, savoring its milky aroma.
"Advisor, why are you promoting Halloween like this? Is it because you had it in the ancient times?" Lina curiously leaned closer. In her opinion, this advisor, who came from the ancient times or even the universe, should look down on human festivals.
"Of course, Halloween didn't exist in ancient times. People just enjoyed celebrating festivals, so they celebrated them in a lively and fun way to relax their bodies and minds, just like children, letting loose and being themselves."
"Although there was no such thing in the ancient times, there are actually similar festivals in the universe, and there are even quite a few similar aliens who like to celebrate Halloween. For example, there is the extradimensional being, Kiranbo, who only appears on various festivals and steals children's dreams."
"Girambo? What kind of alien is that?" Daigo pressed.
Kaul put his hands in his pockets: "They love to disguise themselves as gentle old men on holiday nights to lure innocent children, because only children's dreams are the sweetest fruits in the entire universe."
"What about the adults' dreams?" Shinjo interjected, somewhat puzzled.
Kaul glanced at New City: "Adult dreams? The Kiranb people once said that adult dreams are full of compromise, greed, hypocrisy, and cruelty. They taste like mud and will only ruin their stomachs. So they only eat children's dreams."
After hearing this, all the adults felt hopeless about their lives.
"It's like a ghost story... So what happened to those children whose dreams were absorbed?" Horii hugged his arms and shivered.
"You'll become puppets, lose your own will, and eventually be thrown into the graveyard of dreams. However, if your dreams have any value, they are also priceless." Kaul looked at the members of the Victory Team.
"However, be careful on patrol today. Kiranbo's methods are very strange. He might take away your dreams without you even realizing it. Also, don't eat candy indiscriminately."
"Understood, Advisor!"
"Based on past investigations, many children go missing during Halloween. This time, you need to investigate and find them. Daigo, Shinjo, Horii, Rena, Munakata," Megumi concluded. "Let's go. Keep order at the scene and prevent stampedes."
"Understood, Captain!"
Halloween celebrations have begun in downtown Tokyo.
Countless children, dressed in all sorts of strange costumes, chased and played in the streets, their laughter echoing. Da Gulina and her companion walked through the crowd like a couple heading to an amusement park for a date.
"Wow, Daigo, look, that child is wearing a Golza mask!" Lina pointed to a chubby little boy in the distance. "It seems that the shared hopes of both the monsters and humans, as outlined by Advisor Kaul, have begun to materialize."
"They're not even afraid of Golza." Daigo smiled as he watched the little boy run past.
While Lina and Daigo were shopping, they suddenly discovered that a witch was handing out candy.
It was a candy cart that had been set up, with those eerie pumpkin lanterns on it, and on the stall, there was an old witch-like woman dressed in black long clothes with her face covered in grime.
She handed out lollipops to the children with her hoarse voice.
"Here, good child...eat this candy...tonight, you will dream of the most beautiful place in the world..." The old lady smiled and handed the candy to a little girl.
The children, holding their candy, happily headed home.
Daigo frowned, wanting to investigate alone first, and called out to Rena, "Rena, you investigate here first, I'll go take a look over there."
Before Lina could answer, Daigo squeezed into the crowd and chased after the witch who was dragging the candy cart away.
"Daigo! Daigo! Where are you going?" Rena shouted from behind, but before she could see him clearly, Daigo had already disappeared into the crowd. However, she now had a candy in her hand.
Daigo followed closely behind the old witch.
The old lady pushed her cart, walking at a steady pace. But strangely, whenever Daigo was about to catch up with her, the distance between them seemed to be stretched apart by some invisible space, always maintaining a distance of more than ten meters.
The old lady turned a corner and walked into a dark, narrow dead-end alley without even streetlights.
Without any hesitation, Daigo reached for the Spark Lens on his chest with his right hand and followed him inside.
As soon as you step into the alley, the noise from the street disappears completely in an instant.