Chapter 74 A Man Remains Young Until He Dies

Chapter 77 A man is a teenager until he dies

The lights are on, and the sky is gradually getting darker, revealing a hint of haze after the rain.

"...The weather seems to be getting colder and colder."

He blew a breath of hot air into his palm, looked up through the branches of the roadside trees and looked at the darkening sky, then stamped his feet and muttered something in his mouth.

As the season gradually entered winter, the weather began to get colder day by day. Except for those office workers who still had to work overtime in the company, there were almost no pedestrians in this more remote road section at night.

As for Takahashi Yashichiro himself, he was not an office worker, but a light novel writer who had a dream but was poor.

At this time, in addition to getting the 13th rejection notice returned from the publisher, he also wanted to take advantage of this time when no one would disturb him to walk outside and find inspiration.

In Japan, the light novel industry is not easy to get into. There are a lot of talented people. If you want to get into this industry, you must have a good and impressive work.

Takahashi Yashichiro does have the ability. When he first debuted, he won a good award in a well-known light novel competition... but it was just good.

In the following years, he never had a work that could be shown off. Because he was too picky, he even failed until now.

The city of Tokyo has high living pressure and living costs. If he continues this vicious cycle, he has no doubt that he will starve to death in this big city...

"... Do I have to compromise?"

Putting his hands in his pockets and walking aimlessly forward, Takahashi Yashichiro sighed.

It's not that he can't write light novels that can make money. As long as he deliberately caters to the market, he can write a bunch of homogeneous things... but that's not the work he wants.

What he hoped for was not only that his work could be successfully animated, but also that he wanted to create a classic character that everyone would remember.

But obviously, if he followed the mainstream writing style of the market, he would fall into an endless homogenization vicious circle... huh?

Suddenly, Takahashi Yashichiro stopped and looked up in a daze.

About a few dozen steps ahead, there was a horizontally staggered alley entrance. He had been here several times before, so he was familiar with the nearby terrain.

The light at the entrance of the alley seemed to have a problem at the joint, and it looked flickering, but what attracted him was not the faulty street light, but an arm stretched out from the ground at the entrance of the alley.

The arm stretched out about halfway, and it was all white, looking a bit like a woman's hand, and it was limp on the ground and motionless.

Combined with the flickering lights above his head and the quiet environment nearby, plus his unsuitable protagonist, the situation in front of him looked like a murder scene.

"The woman's hand...drunk or dumping a corpse?"

His face changed slightly, and while staring closely at the arm sticking out of the alley, Takahashi Yashichiro quietly took out his cell phone from his pocket.

In such cold weather, he felt cold even though he was wearing several layers of clothes outside, but the woman at the alley fell to the ground in such a posture, which was obviously abnormal.

What was even more abnormal was...that hand seemed to be the right hand.

The lower part of the arm was pressed against the wall, and the palm was soft and facing him. In such a strange posture, was the woman in the alley facing the wall and pressed against the wall?

Thinking of this, Takahashi Yashichiro suddenly felt a little cold for no reason.

After cautiously retreating a safe distance and quietly calling the police to inform them of the situation here, Takahashi Yashichiro's eyes were still fixed on the arm.

——During this period of time, the arm did not move even once.

As an ordinary person, the safest way at present is for him to wait here for the police to arrive honestly, but as a light novel writer with dreams, Takahashi Yashichiro suddenly had a strong desire to go forward and investigate.

A man is a teenager until his death. After more than 20 years of ordinary life, he rarely encounters a special event. How can he retreat?

Isn't it written like this in those light novels?

The ordinary male protagonist in daily life accidentally broke into something, and then accidentally met a beautiful girl. At the same time, because of this wonderful encounter, he entered a wider world...

... A proper kingly plot unfolds! ?

The secrets of the world are revealed in front of him, and a magnificent epic is waiting for him to write. At this time, he has no reason to retreat.

While cheering himself up in his heart, Takahashi Yashichiro walked forward very carefully. The broken light above his head flickered, stretching the shadow behind him very long.

Finally, after taking dozens of steps, he arrived in front of the alley, and then he bravely leaned his head to look inside the alley.

...Instantly, his blood froze.

The arm sticking out of the alley was indeed only half an arm. The lower part of the arm was cut off by something, and the half arm was just lying softly at the alley.

If that was all, he would have thought it was just a murder and dismemberment case, but the hideous figure with scales all over his body in the depths of the alley, with his back to him, seemed to remind him that he had stepped from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

...The dark side of the world? The monster hidden in the shadow of the ordinary?

Covering his mouth tightly with one hand, Takahashi Yashichiro pinched his thigh hard with his own hand.

——Pain can sometimes help people dispel fear.

Reality is not a light novel, Takahashi Yashichiro knows this very well.

At this time, the more panicked, the worse it is. If he doesn't want to die here as tragically as that woman, he must find a way to save himself.

...Expecting a beautiful girl to come and save him at this time?

What a joke! !

However, just as Takahashi Yashichiro was moving back little by little, his face suddenly turned extremely pale.

Although he had tried his best not to make any sound, just as he was about to exit the alley, the monster in the alley stopped eating at some point.

... I was discovered! !

As this terrifying thought flashed through his mind, Takahashi Yashichiro no longer hesitated and turned around and ran without hesitation.

But perhaps because he was too panicked, he tripped over a certain bump before he ran far. Although he didn't get hurt, he was already full of despair at the moment.

When he got up in panic and turned his head, he found that the monster had appeared in front of the alley like a ghost. Judging from the speed of the monster, even if he didn't fall, he probably wouldn't be able to escape.

It seemed that he enjoyed the pleasure of hunting. In Takahashi Yashichiro's desperate expression, the monster lowered its head and grinned at him with a bloody mouth.

"!!!"