Journey Through Dimensional Worlds

Chapter 16 Yuzuriha Inori

Yuzuriha Inori looked at him without moving.

Her eyes were fixed on the unfamiliar man before her, devoid of any emotion. Her intuition told her that this man was dangerous, extremely dangerous.

He Quan looked at her.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Then, He Quan reached out and pinched her cheek.

His fingers touched her slightly cool skin, the pads of his fingers sinking into her soft cheeks.

Yuzuriha Inori's face was small, and it was almost completely covered by one of his hands.

Her skin was thin and smooth, with an unreal delicacy, like the finest silk. Due to blood loss, her body temperature was lower than normal, and it felt porcelain-like cool to the touch.

He Quan tilted his head, gently rubbed his thumb against her cheekbone, and then commented, "You have a nice face, I like it very much."

Yuzuriha Inori blinked, not understanding why the other person would suddenly say these things.

He Quan released his grip, leaving a faint red mark on her cheek. It was where his fingers had pinched her, standing out against her porcelain-white skin like a cherry blossom petal fallen on snow.

Then, she felt it.

clothes.

That gorgeous, layered goldfish costume, that orange-red performance outfit that stretched from the chest to the hem, suddenly changed. Not in appearance, but in the feel against the skin.

The fabric, which was originally cold and soaked by the lake water, suddenly became warm.

It was warm and soft, as if something alive had grown out of the fabric fibers and gently clung to her skin.

The fabric clung to her body, the warm touch slowly spreading from the center of her collarbone to both sides.

Yuzuriha Inori's breathing faltered.

Then there are the shoulders. The goldfish dress has a very fitted shoulder design, with the fabric tightly wrapping around her slender shoulder line.

The warm touch slid from my shoulder to my upper arm, from the inside to the outside, and from the outside to the inside.

Slowly, carefully, as if tracing the outline of her arm. The touch on the bandage on her left arm became exceptionally gentle, bypassing the wound and avoiding the painful area, simply rubbing lightly against her intact skin.

Yuzuriha Inori parted her lips slightly and asked in a low voice, "What...did you do?"

This feeling was so unfamiliar; she had never experienced it before. It felt as if her body was being gently enveloped by an invisible tongue.

He Quan didn't answer her, but looked at her with a smile.

Yuzuriha Inori's knees bent slightly, and her body began to go limp. A tingling sensation she had never experienced before seeped from the surface of her skin into her depths, like warm water flowing over a dried-up riverbed.

Beneath the skirt, over-the-knee boots encased her calves.

The boots had changed too; the originally cold boot lining had become warm, clinging to her calves and gently conforming to the curves of her muscles.

Yuzuriha Inori squatted down.

Layers of goldfish skirts spread out on the dusty ground, the orange-red gauze covered with gray dust.

She lowered her head, her light pink twin ponytails cascading down, the ends brushing the ground. Her hands rested on her knees, her fingers slightly curled.

"Ugh...stop...stop it..."

His breathing was erratic, his chest heaving, and a thin layer of sweat covered his collarbone, which gleamed faintly in the sunlight.

Her cheeks flushed, a light pink tinge spreading from her cheekbones to her ears, standing out against her porcelain-white skin.

She didn't know why she was like this.

She had never experienced this feeling before. In the GHQ research institute or the funeral home base, no one had ever told her that her body would react this way.

She didn't know why her heart was beating so fast, why her breathing was so erratic, or why her skin had become so sensitive...

The clothes seemed to come alive, clinging to her skin, gently, tenderly, inch by inch, caressing her body.

Yuzuriha Inori squatted on the ground, like a goldfish flower blown away by the wind.

Gorgeous yet fragile, beautiful yet lost. Her eyes lifted from between her disheveled pink hair, looking up at He Quan.

There was no fear, no anger, only a pure, almost naive confusion.

He Quan reached out and grabbed her wrist.

He pulled Yuzuriha Inori up from the ground. Her legs were still a little weak, and she swayed slightly as she stood up, her shoulder bumping into He Quan's arm.

"Walk."

He Quan was adamant, pulling her along and turning to walk towards the other side of the hall.

Yuzuriha Inori tried to break free, but the other person's hand was like an iron clamp, not moving an inch, and the warm touch inside her clothes had not disappeared.

Her cheeks were still flushed, her ears were still burning, and her heart was still pounding...

In order to avoid attracting attention, He Quan casually changed Yuzuriha Inori's clothes into a common school uniform.

......

Roppongi lockdown zone, funeral home base.

This is a secret outpost converted from an abandoned underground facility.

The dome soars high, the walls are covered with mottled cement and rusted pipes, and dim yellow light shines down from above, dyeing the entire space an ambiguous dark yellow.

In the center was a huge conference table, on which was a detailed map of the Roppongi area, with GHQ patrol routes and troop deployments marked in red and blue markers.

A row of monitors was arranged against the wall, displaying various data: surveillance footage of the restricted area, GHQ communication frequencies, and real-time news reports.

Weapon crates and ammunition were piled up in the corner, and a humanoid mech, EndRave, rested quietly on the repair rack, its scratches and bullet holes telling the story of the battles it had been through.

"Feinaru has completely lost contact."

A clear female voice broke the silence in the base.

Dong sat in front of the monitor, her fingers flying across the keyboard. She was petite, with long, uneven hair that looked like it had been haphazardly cut with scissors.

She is the funeral home's intelligence expert, manipulator, and the organization's top hacker.

An arrogant girl who doesn't even use honorifics when speaking to Jiang Shenya, she has a sharp tongue, a lively personality, and never holds back when she speaks.

But at this moment, her tone lacked its usual playfulness, replaced by a suppressed anxiety.

"Location signal interruption for over twenty minutes. Tried all backup channels, all unresponsive."

Dong's fingers tapped another keystroke: "The final location is on the edge of the lockdown zone, in an abandoned cluster of commercial buildings."

"Can it be restarted remotely?"

The one speaking is the Quartz.

He stood on the other side of the conference table, his hands resting on the edge, staring down at the area marked on the map. He was the funeral home's strategist.

Her long white hair was neatly tied back, and she wore thin-rimmed glasses, her eyes behind the lenses calm and sharp.

Wearing a funeral home uniform, he exuded the calmness and precision characteristic of an intellectual.

Responsible for coordinating the daily operations of the funeral home; clear-headed and practical.

"no."

Tsugumi shook her head and explained, "It's not that the signal is blocked, it's that Finaru itself has been destroyed. All systems are offline, and even the backup power isn't responding."

Quartz pushed up his glasses and remained silent. He looked up at the figure standing at the end of the map.

Yamashita.

The young leader of the funeral home, seventeen years old. His long, golden hair cascaded over his shoulders, gleaming brilliantly in the dim light, and his features were deep and sharp.

He was wearing a dark funeral home uniform with a long robe over it, the hem of which reached his knees.

With an upright posture and a calm demeanor, like a meticulously polished knife, he stood with his hands in his coat pockets, looking down at the location marked on the map by the thrush.

"Who was the last person Qi contacted?" Gai's voice wasn't loud, but the entire base fell silent.

"uncertain."

Dong's fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up a series of surveillance footage: "GHQ patrols were active in that area, but when Finaru sent its last location signal, no GHQ identification signal was detected nearby."

"Not GHQ?"

"It can't be completely ruled out. But if it's GHQ, there's no reason for them to only destroy Finaru and not take Inori away."

The thrush frowned even more deeply.

"They had plenty of time to cordon off the entire area before she sent out a distress signal."

Quartz hesitated for a few seconds, then turned to Gai: "Gai, what do you think?"

Gai Tsutsugami did not answer immediately; his gaze fell on the map, his pupils reflecting the red and blue markings.

He paused for a few seconds, then spoke.

"Qi will not be easily captured."

His voice was calm: "But if the other side can destroy Finaru in an instant, before she even has time to send out a distress signal, then that's something that a regular GHQ patrol team can't do."

"A new weapon?" Quarticet asked.

"Or it could be someone new."

There was a moment of silence in the base; neither Thrush nor Quartz spoke.

A burly man leaning against the EndRave maintenance rack looked up.

Da Yun, a scout at the funeral home, is a burly man with broad shoulders like a wall.

Wearing the funeral parlor's black combat uniform, he didn't speak, but clenched his fists, his thick knuckles making a slight cracking sound.

The boy standing next to him spoke up: "If Qi gets caught, we'll go and get her back."

Argo Tsukishima, a sniper for Funeral Parlor, is skilled in close combat.

"The problem now is that we don't know who captured her, or where she was taken," Quadrant's voice remained calm. "Without intelligence, the operation has no direction."

"Then let's gather intelligence first." Argo twirled his dagger between his fingers. "It's better than sitting here waiting."

"Argo, calm down." Quadrant glanced at him. "Impulsiveness won't solve anything."

"Quarternet is right."

Gai Tsutsugami spoke up, turning his gaze away from the map and looking at the core members in front of him.

Her gaze swept over everyone present. Dong's fingers hovered above the keyboard, Quartermaster pushed up his glasses, Argo's dagger rested between his fingers, and Dayun looked up at him.

Gai Tsutsugami said, "Tsugumi, continue monitoring all of GHQ's communication bands. The possibility of Inori being captured is not zero. If there is any news about her from GHQ, I need to know immediately."

"clear."

"Quarterboard, contact our informants outside the cordon. If it's not GHQ, it could be some other organization. I need to know who else has entered or left that area today."

"Leave it to me."

"Dayun, Argo, get ready. We may move out at any time once we have a clear objective."

Dayun nodded and silently walked towards the weapon case. Argo sheathed his dagger at his waist.

The base bustled with activity again. The sound of Tsurugi's keyboard clicking filled the air once more. Quartermaster picked up his communicator and began contacting his spies on the perimeter. Dayun opened the weapons case to inspect the firearms.

Argo leaned against the repair rack, his gaze fixed on the marked location on the map.

Gai Tsutsugami stood in the center of the base, his long golden hair gleaming in the dim light.

His hands were in the pockets of his red coat, his gaze calm, but something was slowly burning deep within his pupils.

Yuzuriha Inori, you won't get into trouble easily.

......

Roppongi Blockade Zone, GHQ Temporary Command Center.

This is a makeshift operations room expanded from a mobile command vehicle. The walls are covered with monitors, and the screens display real-time surveillance footage of the blockade zone, troop deployment maps, and the communication status of each squad.

Officers in GHQ uniforms sat at their consoles, their fingers tapping on keyboards, while real-time reports from each squad came through their headsets.

A cold, mechanical tension permeated the air.

The door to the command room was pushed open.

A boy walked in.

He looked very young, no more than sixteen or seventeen, with a slender build, and wore a well-tailored GHQ officer's uniform. He had short, light blond hair, and his features were delicate, even somewhat effeminate.

Daryl Young. Son of GHQ Major General, with the rank of Second Lieutenant.

The officer in the command center looked up, saw the newcomer, and immediately broke into a smile. He stood up from his chair, walked over with eager steps, and extended his right hand to Daliro.

"Lieutenant Daryl! Welcome, welcome!"

Daliru stopped in his tracks.

He looked down at the hand extended in front of him.

"Don't joke around."

Daryl said with disgust, "You want me to touch your fat body?"

The officer's smile froze on his face. His hand hung in mid-air, unsure whether to extend it or retract it.

There was a moment of silence in the command room. All the officers lowered their heads, their eyes fixed on the screens in front of them, pretending they hadn't heard anything.

Daryl withdrew his gaze and walked past his superior as if nothing had happened.

He walked to the control panel, tilted his head, and glanced at the empty surveillance footage on the screen, then scanned the "no findings" reports sent back by the three search teams.

Listen carefully.

Daliro didn't turn around. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the command room could hear him clearly: "I will act according to my own ideas from now on."

"If you dare to get in my way..." He paused, turned around, and prepared to leave, "then don't blame me for telling Dad."

After saying that, he put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the door.

The door to the command room closed behind him.

The officer stood there, his facial muscles twitching a few times, his lips trembling.

"You wretched brat!!"

He turned around abruptly, veins bulging on his forehead, and roared at the officers in front of the control panel.

"Expand the search area! Every area outside the cordon! Arrest everyone, children and women alike! Interrogate them one by one! Until someone confesses!"

His voice echoed in the command room, filled with anger at being humiliated and malice that had nowhere to go.

"I refuse to believe it! An injured woman can just vanish into thin air!"

The officers responded in unison, and the communications channel crackled with the short, mechanical confirmations of each squad's orders.

The roar of engines could be heard outside the window, and more armored personnel carriers began to move towards the civilian area.

The sound of tires rolling over the road was dull and heavy, like the rumble of thunder before a storm.

(End of this chapter)