"What? Everyone in the apartment complex has been parasitized by impostors?!"
Reiko and Matsusaka didn't share the ability to see the health bars hovering over the residents' heads, but they clearly heard Kita's whispered remark.
Reiko, the bespectacled girl, let out an involuntary gasp of alarm.
The very next second...
It was as if the entire world had been forcibly paused; all movement abruptly ceased. The elderly man walking his dog, the elementary school student with a backpack, the housewife carrying shopping bags—everyone fell silent in unison, then turned their heads in perfect synchronization to stare blankly at Kitahara and the others.
An indescribably eerie atmosphere washed over them, causing the three girls' hearts to skip a beat.
"Oh no, we've been spotted..."
This bizarre and terrifying scene startled not only the three girls but even the Bureau driver; only Kitahara remained completely composed.
Snap.
Kitahara snapped his fingers.
"Domain Expansion."
A silent domain quietly expanded, swiftly enveloping the three girls and the nearby sedan, rendering them invisible to the outside world.
Having lost their target, the impostors on the street looked bewildered for a moment before quickly returning to normal and resuming their respective roles.
"Phew..."
Kita clutched her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was a close call."
Kitahara nodded slightly. "It certainly is troublesome."
The sheer number of impostors was overwhelming; Kitahara didn't have enough accumulated "True Damage" to eliminate them all single-handedly. "I'm sorry..."
Reiko covered her mouth and apologized timidly:
"I... I accidentally cried out just now..."
"It's perfectly normal to cry out when you're startled," Kitahara said, unbothered. "However, we need to alter the plan slightly."
According to the original plan, once they got out of the car, Kitahara would immediately activate his Domain, follow Reiko home, launch a surprise attack, kill the parasite-type Imposter with a single punch, and rescue the bespectacled girl's mother.
But the number of Imposters was simply too high, and they shared a strange, innate connection; if one died nearby, the others would sense the anomaly and cause chaos. A more cautious approach was required.
"Kitahara-kun, what do we do now?"
Kita looked up and asked in a low voice.
"Let's get back in the car first," Kitahara said in a low, serious tone. "We'll call the Bureau and summon reinforcements."
Reality wasn't a video game—there were no rewards for defeating Imposters—so Kitahara naturally had no interest in grinding monsters solo.
As for calling Hana over to exterminate the pests, that was a viable option. However, after Kita had alerted everyone about the unusual Imposter activity on campus, the girls had all "fast-traveled" back and were currently gathered at Kitahara's house. The task of the beast-eared girls guarding the home base was far more critical; if an anomaly managed to "raid their base" while they were away, the regret would be unbearable.
"Get in, get in."
The three girls raised no objections and quickly returned to the vehicle.
"Drive forward."
Kitahara's expression was stern.
The driver was an agent from the Bureau who had just witnessed the terrifying scene of the apartment complex teeming with Imposters; naturally, he didn't dare hesitate. He quickly stepped on the gas and drove away.
"Ugh, I feel so dizzy..."
They hadn't driven far when Kita let out a soft groan and raised a small hand to press against the center of her forehead. "Turn off the ability." Kitahara turned his head and gave the instruction in a low voice. "The 'Health Bar' ability drains mental and physical energy; an ordinary person can't keep it up for long."
Kita bit her lower lip and looked over with concern:
"But I want to help. It must be really tough for you to handle this all alone, Kitahara-kun, right?"
"Um..." Reiko raised her right hand and spoke softly, "I can help too."
"Count me in," added Matsusaka, her expression serious. "If there's any way we can assist, just say the word, Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara: "..."
Before Kitahara could even speak, Kita leaned in close, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered into their ears:
"To share Kitahara-kun's ability, we have to kiss him."
"Huh?"
Upon hearing Kita's whispered revelation, the two girls' faces flushed bright red, and they fell silent in a fluster.
Pretending not to have heard, Kitahara maintained a composed expression and said:
"Turn off the ability quickly. You don't want to pass out right here, do you, Kita?"
Kita: "..."
After the car had driven a short distance, Kitahara had the driver pull over at a deserted spot on the roadside. He then deactivated the Silence Field, took out his phone, and called his dedicated liaison to report the situation and request backup.
The Bureau acted with remarkable speed after receiving the uploaded dashcam footage; unlike in anime or movies where authorities only show up at the very end to clean up the mess, operational vehicles began arriving one after another within just twenty minutes. Engineering trucks and police cars also appeared, swiftly cordoning off the area and blocking all entry and exit points.
"Kitahara-kun, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Mizuho Kojima, the person in charge of this operation."
A woman in her thirties with short hair and a highly capable air walked briskly up to Kitahara and greeted him.
"Hello."
Kitahara extended his right hand and shook hers politely.
"The entire area has been sealed off, and we're moving to the apprehension phase. May I ask what method you use to identify the 'Impostors'? Is it something that can be rolled out for general use?"
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the woman quickly got down to business, asking for the information she was most interested in. Once the existence of the "Impostor" anomaly was confirmed, the Bureau immediately launched an investigation. The results were chilling: Impostors do not always remain expressionless. After fully absorbing the memories of their human hosts, they can mimic a full range of emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Distinguishing them is incredibly difficult; to date, the Bureau has found no reliable method to identify them.
Kitahara shook his head. "Identifying Impostors is a unique ability of mine; it's not something that can be replicated or taught to others."
The true prerequisite for sharing the ability is a specific level of affinity—both parties must genuinely like each other—so it was indeed impossible to roll it out on a larger scale.
"I see." A flicker of disappointment crossed the woman's mind, though her face remained composed. She continued, "Based on the intelligence you provided, Impostors try their best to mimic normal humans until their cover is blown. We've devised a plan targeting this behavior: we'll announce a hazardous material leak to gather all local residents at a stadium about a kilometer away. We'll need you, Kitahara-kun, to identify any Impostors hiding among the crowd."
Kitahara naturally agreed without hesitation:
"I'll certainly cooperate."
"I'm sorry for the trouble, Kitahara-kun." She didn't expect him to work for free and bowed respectfully. "The Bureau will pay your compensation immediately after the incident is resolved."
Kitahara gave a slight nod, accepting the offer. "Contact me once the arrangements are set. I need to visit Reiko-san's home first."
Upon hearing this, Mizuho Kojima glanced at the bespectacled woman. Clearly aware of what Kitahara intended to do, she looked hesitant and whispered:
"Kitahara-kun, didn't you say earlier that Impostors have a special way of communicating with each other—that if there's an [Impostor] nearby..."
"...If a [Imposter] dies, will the other [Imposters] sense it?"
"Exactly. That's why you have to be careful: either don't act at all, or wipe them all out in one go. Otherwise, you risk triggering a rampage among the [Imposters]." Kitahara's expression remained calm. "I understand what you mean, Ms. Kojima, but rest assured—I have a special method that won't interfere with your plan."
"...Understood."
Having reached this point in the conversation, Kojima Mizuho recognized Kitahara's resolve and naturally refrained from saying anything further that might be annoying.
"If there's any way I can help, Kitahara-kun, please don't hesitate to ask."
Kitahara said softly:
"Just driving us back will be enough."
"No problem." Kojima Mizuho agreed immediately, then lowered her voice. "Kitahara-kun, have any [Imposters] infiltrated the Bureau?"
Kitahara shook his head slightly. "No, none."
When the support team arrived, Kitahara had immediately activated his [HP Warrior] ability. Most of the people before him were ordinary humans; the few with special abilities had varying HP levels—none of which matched the high HP of a [Imposter]—so he could be virtually certain they were human.
"That's a relief." Kojima Mizuho breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "It seems the [Imposter] anomaly hasn't been around long enough to spread on a massive scale yet... Kitahara-kun, please get in the car."
"..."
A short while later.
A sedan pulled up quietly outside the apartment building.
Kitahara opened the door and stepped out; Kita, Reiko, and Matsusaka—the three girls—followed close behind.
Without realizing it, evening had fallen; the sun was dipping toward the horizon, and a cool, refreshing breeze was blowing. Residents were coming and going in front of the apartment building; the scene looked entirely peaceful.
Yet, Kitahara and the girls knew full well that this peaceful appearance was a facade—almost all the residents passing by were [Imposters].
Snap.
Kitahara snapped his fingers lightly, expanding his domain:
"Reiko-san, lead the way."
"Everyone, follow me."
Reiko hurriedly nodded and was about to quicken her pace into the apartment building.
"Don't rush, Reiko-chan," Kita quickly cautioned. "If we move too fast, we might step out of Kitahara-kun's protective zone; it would be trouble if the Impostor spotted us."
"I'm sorry..."
Reiko took a deep breath to steady herself, then stepped two paces ahead of Kitahara to lead the way, bringing them to the elevator.
"I recall you saying your apartment is on the eighth floor, right, Reiko?" Matsusaka gently reminded her. "It's probably best we avoid the elevator; taking the stairs is safer."
"Exactly." Kita nodded in agreement. "In horror movies, elevators always seem to trigger all sorts of terrifying scenarios."
"Oh, I forgot about that..."
Reiko slapped her forehead:
"Let's take the stairs!"
"..."
The group entered the emergency stairwell and began to climb. They were only halfway up when Reiko—the girl with glasses—was already panting heavily; clearly, she never exercised, and her physical stamina was worse than that of an elementary school student.
"Do you want to take a break, Reiko-chan?"
Kita asked with concern.
"Haa... haa..."
Clutching the handrail, Reiko continued to climb while catching her breath:
"I-it's okay, I'll just go a bit slower."
Her mother was at home waiting to be rescued—how could she possibly stop to rest now?
Suddenly, Kitahara spoke up: "Someone is coming down."
"Huh?"
The three girls were startled and hurriedly looked up.
Clack, clack, clack.
The monotonous sound of high heels echoed through the silent stairwell, carrying an inexplicably eerie tone.
Moments later, a housewife sporting a "dangerous hairstyle" walked down from the upper floors.
"That's her!" Reiko's eyes widened, and her fists clenched instinctively. "That's the Impostor housewife who suddenly knocked on our door last night and attacked my mom and me!"
"Will we get spotted?"
Matsusaka felt a twinge of nervousness, focusing on the more immediate, practical concern.
The stairwell was narrow; if they ran into each other head-on, they were bound to be discovered, right? "That 'Imposter' lady... something isn't right."
Kitahara narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the expressionless Imposter lady walk down the stairs. He noticed a small parenthetical note next to the HP bar hovering above her head—a detail he had never encountered before.
"Kitahara-kun, should we step out of the stairwell for now and wait for that Imposter to leave?"
Kita whispered her suggestion.
Kitahara hesitated briefly before nodding in agreement; he took Kita's small hand and led the three girls away from the stairwell for the time being.
Their top priority was saving lives; the longer a host remained parasitized by an Imposter, the greater the danger—as evidenced by the unconscious upperclassman back at the school. It was best to avoid unnecessary complications for now.
Once the sound of those clacking footsteps had faded into the distance, the group returned to the stairwell and continued climbing.
"We're finally home."
Reiko, the bespectacled girl, stopped in front of an apartment door. Though she was panting heavily and clearly exhausted, her expression was one of excitement; she quickly fished her keys out of her bag and unlocked the door with a sharp click.
"Mom's still home!"
Reiko exclaimed happily:
"She's sitting on the sofa, watching TV!"
"..."
Kitahara raised an eyebrow and looked over. A woman in pajamas was sitting on the sofa watching television, a bag of snacks in her hand. She looked no different from an ordinary person, save for her completely expressionless face—she looked just like an exquisite doll.
"Kitahara-kun, please... I'm counting on you."
Reiko clasped her hands over her chest, her eyes pleading.
"Leave it to me."
Kitahara gave a slight nod and stepped up to Reiko's mother.
As the Domain deactivated, the expressionless woman's head snapped around, finally noticing Kitahara and the others. However, before she could make a move, Kitahara extended his right hand and pressed his index finger against the center of her forehead.
The Imposter lady's body shuddered violently, and she let out a terrified scream. A massive forty points of "True Damage" struck her, instantly filling her with the dread of death; without a second thought, she scrambled to retreat deep into the recesses of Reiko's mother's body. "Mmm..."
The woman let out a soft groan as she clutched her forehead; a hint of vitality finally returned to her previously expressionless face, quickly followed by a surge of bewilderment, fear, and worry.
"Thank goodness," Kita breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Reiko-chan's mom isn't in danger."
"Reiko, are you alright?"
The woman's gaze fell upon her daughter, and she hurriedly asked with concern.
But Reiko—the girl in glasses—was even more frantic:
"Mom, there's no time to explain! Hurry up and take off all your clothes!"
"Huh?"