ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 514 Part 1
ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 514: Reality Is Sometimes Stranger Than the Craziest Fiction Part 1
「…………」」
ZWOOSH.
「Dinoskull XXX-XXX-XXXX」
The skeleton of the mighty Tyrannosaurus roars from a card sized device that could have been easily placed on the palm of one’s hand, and the character of Dynoskull is displayed on it with a sketch-like design.
「…………」
SWIPE
「Zodiac Cluster XXX-XXX-XXXX.」
Picking up yet another card-like object, another image is being displayed from it. This time around it is not the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Re, but rather a constellation of stars displayed as if it was projected from the portable planetarium. In the next moment, the lines start to form in between the stars, creating one zodiac sign after another.
「Haah…… It sure is nice, but I also get a feeling that it is needlessly high tech for some stupid reason……」
Augmented Reality-Enhanced digital business cards, huh……? As for the cost of making those things, one of those cards is equal to four people’s meal at a very expensive restaurant. So…… Is it really okay for them to make those things like it was no big deal? But at the same time, Cyber Battalion’s business cards were still made from normal paper, so wouldn’t that mean that they were way behind the times?
But with civilization’s advancement going ever so forward on a daily basis, was there ever someone who was not behind the times?
「…… This is bad. At this rate I am never going to get enough sleep to be well-rested.」
Not to mention that things were already quite hard and complicated after that one thing finally managed to come to an end……
In the end it was impossible for me to weasel my way out of the second match, and as a result what followed was the craziest game of tag across the city with a cast of randomly selected characters you could ever see. Then, after that was finally done and over with, Katsu became the victim of the wildest sexual harassment marathon while answering the questions from the comment section, and then I enthusiastically talked about Riot Blood some more……
…… Hmm, I see, I understand how it is. There are some voices out there who voice concern about Riot Blood and their business practices, but I’d say that those concerns are pretty much like people being needlessly afraid of the darkness…… I mean, have you ever been afraid to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night when you were still a child because it was too dark around the house? Yeah, yeah! That’s it! That’s the feeling! It is something that can only be described as something completely natural. And the fear and anxiety of Riot Blood is exactly the same kind of irrational and baseless……
The legality of Riot Blood and everything that they are putting into their products has been scientifically proven, and in an industry like this one what is needed in order to get ahead of the pack is the courage to go where no one else has ever gotten and doing what was not done ever before. Besides, what was it that you saw in the dark? Rotten zombies with their crooked fingers reaching out towards you? A terrifying murderer with a bloodied knife? But it’s not really about what your eyes have been showing you, no. It’s about the mental image that your brain is projecting onto the real world.
Now then, instead of just pushing blindly through the dark, let us just turn on some lights and allow Riot Blood to pass safely through, shall we? See? There are no monsters out there, now aren’t there? Isn’t that great? And all it took for you to see the truth is a little bit of a caffeine injection. Because caffeine gives you courage.
Obababababa, yes, yes, just like that. Let’s go forward just like that…… Hm? What’s this? Started to receive some strange radio waves? Pay that no heed, it’s probably nothing.
Hmm, but that’s strange. From what I know, human beings should not have built in Wi-Fi routers or Bluetooth modems, and yet…… No way, could it be that those mysterious waves are being sent directly into my brain? No, stop! Don’t think about it! Nothing bad is happening right now! Riot Blood is a clean and legit company and their drinks are as clean as them and have nothing to hide! Yes, that’s right! Now, repeat after me!
「Well then…… I wonder whatever should I do about this?」
I have let the folks back at home know what’s what, but…… I wonder if I should just go home right away?
「YAAAAAAAAY! Nippon is the best! Even if you are under twenty, you can still drink alcohol and no one is going to bat an eye!」
「No, you see, the thing that you happened to drink…… It was not real alcohol, but just club cider…… And there is a huge difference between the two. …… Gehe!?」
「Yay! FEVER!!!」
「…… Huh!? …… Huh!? …… Huh!?」
I have no idea if that sort of behavior is a norm for people like that, but even so, I’m not going to be the one who is going to complain about a thing here. And just like that, while sitting in one spot I could see with the corner of my eye that Katsu was being pestered by Silvia Goldberg (who was acting in a strange way, as if she was intoxicated at the current moment). She was acting awfully clingy towards the poor guy and was even trying to grapple him with the strength of someone who was clearly not an amateur when it comes to martial arts. Of course, her silver mask was gone now and she could act just like herself, since no one else was looking.
Compared to that pain in the ass, what I had to deal with was much more meek and gentle, so yes, I am not going to complain. I’m not the one who’s drawn the short end of the stick.
Just like that, I cast a short glance to my right.
「Nnngh, so I lost, huh……? But isn’t that quite strange……? For both that small child and the targeted enemy to be right next to one another at that exact same moment. …… Wouldn’t you say that a situation like that should be rarer than striking the main prize at the lottery?」
Guchi, guchi, guchi, guchi, guchi, guchi……
Gubi, gubi, gubi, gubi, gubi, gubi……
Not that I am complaining here, but…… Yes, it was definitely surprising.
Here we have Masked Hannya…… or rather, Amelia Sullivan, sulking at the bar counter while sipping on the ever so declining bottle of booze, completely detached from what was going on around her and being lost in her own private world. Man, what a sorry sight that is.
This situation is even more annoying here because she doesn’t hit anyone with her feelings of anger and frustration. And if you compare her to Silvia Goldberg, all she ever does when I try to speak to her is cast me a glare that would surely possess the power to kill someone on the spot. Also, communication with her was pretty much impossible at this point in time, since she was talking a mixture of both Japanese and English, creating one hell of a gibberish.
You can *read* the exaustion after the match, really well done