Chapter 63. Sigh

"Hey." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey." "Hey."
Voices of different pitches and timbres overlapped and echoed along the street, repeating endlessly.

Qiao Qiao raised his pistol.

He spoke in a low voice.

"In the folklore of Aomori Prefecture, there is a certain kind of apparition."

"This specter is nothing special—it most enjoys startling people walking at night, suddenly calling out 'Boo!' from behind them. That’s why it’s known as the 'Boo.'"

"It’s almost mischievous, more a prank than a haunting."

"But unexpectedly, here in Tokyo, this specter has evolved."

Through the windows of nearby houses, Qiao Qiao could see a shadowy mass behind him, closing in.

He didn’t look back. Instead, he fired a shot directly behind him.

Bang—

The explosive bullet burst forth, striking the shadow.

Yet in the instant of impact, the shadow dispersed like mist; the bullet had done no fatal harm.

How cunning.

"Qiao!"

Behind him, Natsume Shige’s voice rang out.

Qiao Qiao remained unmoved, reloading his pistol with practiced ease.

"There are few of these apparitions, and even fewer studies on them. In essence, they are specters of 'sound.'"

Thanks to his prior experiences,

When Qiao Qiao read about supernatural entities, he gave priority to rare and unusual spirits.

Like this 'Boo.'

According to current theory, it is the remnant of someone who was ignored in life.

After death, to attract attention,

It becomes a vengeful spirit that makes noises to frighten the living.

The cry of 'Boo' is its very essence.

In legend, it is 'Boo.'

By analogy,

Cries like 'Hey,' 'Oi,' or 'Tsk' must also exist.

And on this street in Chiyoda Ward, it was probably 'Hey.'

Yet, compared to traditional apparitions,

'Hey' had evolved.

Much like the clown in Mr. Arai Shinnosuke’s company that spread by means of memes.

The 'Hey' in Chiyoda Ward

Had taken the opposite path.

It was a reverse-meme apparition.

Meme apparitions spread through the dissemination of information.

Reverse-meme apparitions spread through the erasure of information.

Qiao Qiao surmised,

If, while walking down this alley, he heard the call and turned his head,

He would fall under the apparition’s influence.

Just as Natsume Shige had.

If even a trainee shrine maiden from Ueno Tōshōgū couldn’t resist this reverse-meme, Qiao Qiao was not confident he could either.

Once affected, the most significant change

Was the utter inability to convey the message, "This alley is dangerous."

That message would be erased in the process of transmission, transformed into something else.

For example, "There’s a lucky lane in Chiyoda Ward," and similar remarks.

Saitō Rinko, Kinoshita Yuu, Natsume Shige, even Saitō Ayumu—

All had fallen completely under the influence of the reverse-meme.

This effect was not limited to their voices; it altered their words, actions, and even the way they appeared to others.

Any attempt to reveal the truth about the alley

Would be perceived by others as praise for it—urging or encouraging people to visit.

Even ordinary conversation would, without their awareness, become an enthusiastic recommendation to enter the alley.

Simply put,

Those influenced by 'Hey' became its slaves,

Luring more people in for it.

They were accomplices, unwittingly serving the predator.

As for what 'Hey' did to them,

Qiao Qiao suspected it drained their spiritual energy, their vitality.

This cycle would gradually exhaust the victims and continually spread the influence.

Eventually, it might even become a famous tourist spot in Tokyo.

Or transform itself into another kind of entity.

A clever plan, indeed.

However,

'Hey' underestimated humanity.

Especially the people of this nation, who so excelled in the art of ambiguous speech.

If "The moon is beautiful tonight" can mean "I love you,"

Why must the warning about this alley be explicit?

For instance,

Saitō Ayumu passed by this alley every day at ten.

Saitō Rinko and Kinoshita Yuu both mentioned the same thing to Qiao Qiao two days in a row.

Or consider Natsume Shige’s smile.

Anything that seemed strange to those around them—especially behaviors that would arouse the suspicion of an exorcist—

Was enough to convey the message.

All between the lines.

So,

Before coming to the alley today,

Qiao Qiao had fully prepared.

He took a simple switch from his pocket.

He put on a pair of headphones.

And started playing "Ride of the Valkyries."

"Even if it has developed the ability to manipulate reverse memes, it’s still just an apparition."

Qiao Qiao pressed the switch.

Behind him, an explosion suddenly erupted.

Bang—

The deafening blast drowned out all the cries of 'Hey.'

The shockwave billowed Qiao Qiao’s clothes.

Qiao Qiao still did not turn to look at the explosion.

Earlier, when he’d knelt to tie his shoe, he had discreetly set something on the ground.

It was an explosive charge with a fuse.

It didn’t carry much spiritual energy, nor was it meant for exorcism.

Its purpose was to create 'sound.'

The immense noise forced the 'Hey,' whose very being was sound, to take form.

It appeared behind Qiao Qiao.

That was only natural.

After all, a key part of its haunting was making people turn around.

And so, this became a point of vulnerability.

Buffeted by the blast, the shadow of 'Hey' vibrated violently, unable to return to its misty state.

At this moment, Qiao Qiao leveled his gun at 'Hey.'

"Hey, could you die for me?"

Qiao Qiao pulled the trigger.

This time, the explosive bullet did not miss.

Crystals of spiritual water and shrapnel mercilessly pierced the black mist.

Amid the gradually warping cries of 'Hey,'

The darkness finally vanished.

Only then did the dust raised by the explosion begin to settle.

Qiao Qiao did not look back.

"We—we’re saved..." "Thank goodness..."

Behind him came the weak, faint voices of Saitō Rinko and Kinoshita Yuu.

"Qiao, I’m so glad you understood me—uh?"

Natsume Shige approached from behind, only to find the dark muzzle of the gun pointed at her.

"Wait, Qiao, the spirit is gone. It’s over."

"No, just to be safe, please keep at least ten meters away from me, Miss Natsume."

Qiao Qiao said without turning.

Then, using his phone’s reflection to confirm all three had retreated,

Qiao Qiao took out a spray bottle of spiritual water from his bag.

Step by step, he retreated to the alley’s entrance,

Spraying the entire lane like a water cart, dousing it thoroughly with spiritual water.

"Wait, please don’t move."

When he finished, Qiao Qiao stopped them again.

He repeated the process,

Lighting a stick of soul-calming incense.

He walked the entire lane, letting the smoke drift over every inch.

When that was done,

He still felt unsatisfied.

"Miss Natsume, do you have any ofuda or kagura bells with you? Could you help purify this street one more time?"

At Qiao Qiao’s words,

Natsume Shige, who had only just been marveling at his exceptional exorcism skills,

"???"

Could not help the question marks popping up above her head.