Truth is everywhere within range

"It's difficult to handle."

Qiao Qiao fell into thinking.

He has already looked at these servers and CDs with his spiritual vision.

There are indeed ghosts.

A trace of yin energy is entangled in the server and the CD.

Qiao Qiao even tried it.

The disc burned using the server's data also has a negative energy.

but.

Qiao Qiao did not discover the existence of the resentful spirit.

"How about it, Master."

President Owada came up and asked.

If there is anyone in this company who cares most about the survival of the game, it must be him who has invested all his wealth in it.

"These servers and discs have been eroded, but I can't find the body of the wraith."

Qiao Qiao immediately explained.

Purifying these yin energy is very simple.

Even if the server cannot get wet, props such as spiritual water cannot be used.

It can also be done simply by using spiritual power to purify.

But this is just a temporary solution.

The reason for the appearance of Yin Qi is the resentful spirit. Qiao Qiao purifies the Yin Qi but does not destroy the body, which will only allow the resentful spirit to continue to grow and develop.

Ariko Asano stood aside and watched Qiao Qiao's movements carefully.

She is in the process of introspection.

Because of using EMP ideas, he was criticized by Qiao Qiao.

At first, Asano Ariko didn’t understand.

According to the teacher's thinking, shouldn't it be this simple and direct?

But later, I saw President Owada’s concern for his own games, and saw the efforts of Shinnosuke Arai and other employees in helping Qiao Qiao investigate the situation.

Ariko Asano understood.

She ignored the essence of exorcism again.

Removing spirits is not just to eliminate the resentful spirits.

More importantly, it is to relieve ordinary people who are tortured by resentful spirits.

If EMP is really used.

So whether it is President Owada, Mr. Shinnosuke Arai, or other gray hat software employees.

No one will be happy.

Someone who can only destroy evil spirits cannot be called a spiritual exterminator.

It is for this that the teacher criticizes himself.

Thinking of this, Asano Ariko felt extremely guilty.

I am obviously a spiritual exterminator who has been commissioned several times, so why would I make such a mistake?

She learned from it painfully.

Decided to remain silent and observe and learn.

I saw Qiao Qiao after confirming that there was indeed Yin Qi in the server and the CD, but could not find the body of the resentful spirit.

Turned on the monitor and game console.

"?"

Ariko Asano watched Qiao Qiao ask Mr. Arai to connect the controller, and the familiar word PS quickly appeared on the monitor screen.

Is this behavior used to trick evil spirits into appearing?

No, no, no, no matter how you look at it, it looks like you are preparing to play games, right?

The teacher entered the game directly.

He's really playing the game.

After confirming this, Asano Ariko felt a little incredible.

I wanted to ask, but I was afraid that I would not understand the teacher's intention and make a joke like before.

So Ariko Asano could only watch with wide eyes.

Qiao Qiao was using a development machine, and the game was also a temporarily packaged beta game.

Takashi Inoue who committed suicide had played this version before such a tragedy happened.

Qiao Qiao believed that since there was no way to find the resentful spirit directly, he would reproduce what Mr. Takashi Inoue had experienced at that time.

There's always something to gain.

So he asked Mr. Arai to set up a game environment for himself, and logged in the character that Inoue Takashi had used at that time.

Since Inoue Takashi did not defeat the clown BOSS at that time, the game character ended up staying in front of the BOSS.

Qiao Qiao spent a few minutes familiarizing himself with the operation before entering the BOSS battle.

Just went in.

Ariko Asano, who was watching on the sidelines, couldn't help but exclaimed.

"ah!"

In the confused eyes of President Owada and Mr. Arai, Ariko Asano pointed at the screen.

"This BOSS is the resentful spirit."

she said.

The moment Ariko Asano saw the monster.

Buzz——

Vision automatically turns on.

The Yin Qi on the server and CD is thick and accumulated, and from time to time it stretches out its tentacles towards the people sitting in the office.

That clown in the monitor.

It is no longer the scary appearance of the classic clown from the beginning.

Its body was leaking a yellow fluid like abscess, its arms were withered and skinny, and its face was painted with bright clown makeup.

He grinned, and the rows of gray teeth reached to the base of his ears.

The resentful spirit is on the screen at this moment.

"Teacher, little"

Ariko Asano subconsciously wanted to remind Qiao Qiao.

But it's all over.

YOU.DIED.

Red text appears on the screen.

Qiao Qiao's character has been executed by the clown BOSS.

It was only thirty seconds before and after.

The clown stepped on Qiao Qiao's character and let out an arrogant laugh.

A trace of black energy stretched out from the screen, following a certain connection, like a slippery tentacle, trying to wrap around Qiao Qiao.

Zhi——

But the black energy only touched Qiao Qiao's body.

It evaporates instantly and dissipates invisible.

"It's so difficult."

Qiao Qiao put down the controller.

He is not good at playing games to begin with.

When I was on Earth, I was busy studying and had no time to play.

Now in Tokyo, I am busy studying and have no time to play.

In addition, his own talent is not high.

In layman's terms, it's a handicap.

Qiao Qiao envies those who are good at playing games, such as his friend Kazuya Sakamoto.

According to Kazuya Sakamoto, he once hollowed out the claw machine in the largest arcade center in Ikebukuro in one afternoon, causing countless girls to scream.

He was also banned from entering that arcade center from now on.

became a legend.

Qiao Qiao thinks Sakamoto Kazuya is very powerful.

Capture the lingering breath of resentful spirits in the air.

Qiao Qiao understood.

"It seems that the resentful spirit is inhabiting this BOSS and is spreading through memes."

unexpected result.

Qiao Qiao thought.

In the past six months, during his research on resentful spirits, he had indeed discovered some unusual situations that no one had ever recorded.

For example, this resentful spirit in front of me.

The medium it hosts is not a server or a CD-ROM.

But the image of the clown BOSS.

In a nutshell, it’s this meme.

"Meme?"

President Owada didn't quite understand the word, so he repeated it.

"Memes are like the hot topics we spread on Twitter every day, some brainwashing advertising clips, the lyrics of a certain song, they are things and concepts that play a similar genetic role in communication."

Qiao Qiao didn't explain it in detail. Anyway, everyone can understand it by searching Google. He just gave a few examples.

"Precisely because it hosts the meme of the Clown BOSS, it can affect wherever this image appears. On the other hand, even if the server is destroyed and the game data is deleted, as long as this image remains , then it will be resurrected again.”

There is no doubt that this is a new kind of weirdness.

By killing players in the game, the resentment is passed on, and the impression is repeatedly reinforced through nightmares.

finally.

Take another person's life.

This isn’t Qiaoqiao’s first encounter with the weirdness of memes.

A few months ago, he had stumbled upon a half-formed memetic weirdo.

Fortunately, at that time, the resentful spirit was still weak, and Qiao Qiao eliminated it in time.

But it also took Qiao Qiao a lot of effort.

That's when it started.

Qiao Qiao understood.

No matter how much spiritual power you have.

In the face of this new type of weirdness.

It's no use either.

Listening to Qiao Qiao's introduction.

President Owada and Shinnosuke Arai were stunned for a moment.

And this kind of weirdness?

Never heard of it?

It’s easy to imagine what kind of items could be used to spread resentment, but does it rely on images?

Too abstract.

But Ariko Asano heard what Qiao Qiao said.

Suddenly startled.

In fact, she doesn't really understand topics like memes either.

But Qiao Qiao's description made Asano Ariko think of something.

That was the existence that was suppressed by major families, temples, and shrines twenty-five years ago.

If Ariko Asano didn't concentrate on her practice when she was a child, her father would scare her with that existence.

And according to his father, anyone who mentions that name will be cursed.

Therefore, in the descriptions of that incident and that era by major official organizations.

That name has been suppressed.

As a child, Ariko Asano still didn't understand why just a name could make people so scared.

But now, I heard Qiao Qiao’s explanation.

Ariko Asano understood.

That name was cursed with a meme.