Chapter 53: Good News for the Middle-Aged Man
"Name?"
"..."
"Gender!"
"..."
"Can you write?"
"..."
"You must understand spoken words, right?"
"..."
Uesugi Kiyoshi snapped his fingers, and the combat team members who received the order immediately pulled the trigger, flames gushing out of the flamethrower.
Long hair, pretending to be dead, quickly rolled up a nearby ready pen, neatly wrote "Understand", and then raised it high.
"That's right!" Uesugi Kiyoshi took a sip of cola and continued, "We are now negotiating. Negotiations involve stating each side's needs, exchanging views, and then making equal exchanges. So, Strange Long Hair, what do you want?"
Long hair wrote quickly and soon gave the response.
"Not to harm me, and to cherish me!"
As a strange being, this wish does seem quite humble...
Uesugi Kiyoshi thought for a moment and asked again, "Can you be more specific? For example, when scratching your scalp, accidentally pulling out a couple of strands, does that count as harm? How do you measure cherishing? Do you have to wash your hair every day, and does the brand of shampoo have to be hair-protecting?"
The answer Long Hair gave was "Heart".
He's a strange idealist.
This request is not too harsh. Uesugi Kiyoshi turned to look at Amano Shizuka, only to see her vigorously shaking her head inside.
"No, I don't want to!"
"It seems Amano's resistance is still very strong... How about you first show your abilities, maybe she will change her mind?" Uesugi Kiyoshi suggested.
Her long hair paused in the air for a moment, as if pondering, then suddenly stiffened.
Thousands of hair strands lined up, like black long knives waving in the air, making a whistling sound.
Each strike is enough to sever a person's head.
Then the dark hair softened again, continuously extending in length, soon covering half of the room, and then suddenly retracting.
The dust generated by the movement of outsiders was swept away, leaving the ground as clean as a mirror, only the hair tinged with a layer of gray.
After showing off her talents, her long hair danced in the air, forming various shapes like rabbits, cats, dogs... very lifelike, all in a cartoon style that girls love.
But Amano Shizuka became even more frightened, she even started to cry.
"So scary!"
She was just an ordinary office worker, maybe a bit prettier, why did she have such strange things growing on her head, and had to live with them for the rest of her life?
Seeing her master like this, her once lively long hair drooped down, making a hissing friction sound, like an abandoned puppy.
"Don't be like this!" Uesugi Kiyoshi comforted, "Even if Amano doesn't accept you, there are still many people in this world who are willing to accept you, even cherish you more–have you ever thought about starting anew with someone else?"
...…
Just as the clock struck five, Anda Tuozhen hurriedly left the office.
His subordinates along the way kept bowing to greet him, but he paid no attention, just nodded casually, his focus entirely on the box in his hand.
As one of the senior members of the Uesugi Society, Anda Tuozhen has the privilege to try out all the products launched by the company first, but in the past, he always politely declined.
The servants of the Headless Sculpture are indeed convenient. With a head, the servants can also clean, do laundry, cook, and even choose manual delivery service for a bit extra money.
It's best to avoid touching strange things if you can.
But today, while the peculiar product was still on the production line, he had already made up his mind.
I, Anda Tuozhen, have made up my mind. It doesn't matter who comes!
Upon returning home, Anda Tuozhen quickly entered his room. Standing in front of the dressing mirror, he slowly removed his wig, revealing his shiny bald head.
By the time he graduated from university, Anda Tuozhen had already started to lose his hair. He tried various treatments, including female hormones, but to no avail.
Hair transplant didn't work either. Whether it was the hair from the back of his head, armpit hair, leg hair, or even hair from other places, all of them perished on top of his head.
Recalling his difficult history of treatments, he opened the box he brought from the company, finding a long black hair inside.
With the roots of her hair close to her scalp, Anda Tuozhen could feel a tingling sensation, as if her hair was burrowing down.
According to the instructions from the research institute, it would take a week for this hair strand to reach the hair follicle completely, but it could be used on the same day.
He took out a photo, holding it up with both hands. It showed a smiling Kimura Takuya, with his messy and thick hair covering half of his face.
"Just like this," Anda Tuozhen said to the mirror.
As if receiving a signal to start, the long hair suddenly moved. It swiftly moved and grew on Anda Tuozhen's scalp, like a high-speed loom. Soon enough, her scalp was completely covered, getting thicker and thicker.
"Dad, did you change your wig?" the son asked as he entered the room.
"No, son, you're mistaken!" Anda Tuozhen touched his newly formed hairstyle, feeling the familiar yet strange texture. Tears filled his eyes, "This is my hair!"
......
Uesugi Kiyoshi had thought carefully about this unusual application.
When it comes to hardness, the strange long hair is even tougher than scissors, or else it wouldn't fight back out of fear of being cut.
The gathered hair can rival sharp blades, but individual strands are just a bit tougher than usual.
Although they can't be used as cutting tools, they also can't threaten the user's life.
So, selling them individually is the best strategy.
One person alone may not succeed, but this saying doesn't apply to the strange hair.
The long hair can grow longer by transplanting a strand on the head, disguising it as a full head of hair.
Also, humans have over a hundred thousand hair strands. If rented out monthly at ten thousand yen each, it would be a billion yen a month!
As for market demand, Uesugi Kiyoshi has no doubt.
Thin hair is a problem troubling middle-aged men worldwide.
Whether rich or poor, Japanese or foreigner, people in middle age mostly face the same worries.
Hair care products, hair transplants, and medication treatments cannot work well.
Even a wealthy member of a foreign royal family, with billions in assets and access to extraordinary resources, can still feel embarrassed showing their scalp to the world.
Now that they have the chance to restore lush vegetation once again, will they not be moved?!
This also satisfies peculiar needs.
After all, who else could cherish hair more than someone who is bald on top?
Next to the window of the Special Event Research Institute (part one)
Hiroshi Sakaguchi is a regular high school student in Fukushima Prefecture.
Due to a job change, Sakaguchi's dad bought a new house in Haramachi City, and he had to move there as well.
That was an old house with only one room on the second floor, and it was rumored to be haunted, so the price was very cheap.
"Bob, hurry up! Come with me to say hello to the neighbors!"
Just moved into a new house, Sakaguchi's mother took Hiroshi Sakaguchi to visit the neighbors.
This is a traditional Japanese custom, so despite his reluctance, Hiroshi Sakaguchi had to obediently follow behind.
Their first target to visit was the neighbor on the right.
Just seeing the house, Hiroshi Sakaguchi felt a strange feeling in his heart.
"Mom, this house is so special!"
"What's special about it?"
"The whole house only has one window." Hiroshi Sakaguchi pointed to the window above and said. I just checked the other side, and only this one has it!
"Boshi, don't pay so much attention to other people's houses."
But Sakaguchi's mother didn't care, she rang the doorbell of the neighbor's house with a "Numake" sign.
After waiting for a long time, no one answered.
"It seems like nobody..." Sakaguchi's mother turned around, "Let's go to the house on the left first!"
This visit went smoothly, after ringing the doorbell, a bespectacled aunt came out from inside.
"Nice to meet you, we just moved next door, we are the Sakaguchi family!" Sakaguchi's mother handed over the gift she had brought with her, "Please take care of us in the future... this is a small token of my appreciation."
"Oh, I'm really sorry."
Watching the other person happily accept the gift, Sakaguchi's mother asked, "By the way, does the Numake family next door all go to work during the day, madam?"
Mentioning this, the neighbor was also quite puzzled.
"I don't know... That family always keeps their door locked, but at night, you can see shadows from the second floor window. I've been living here for almost ten years and have never seen them!"
She thought for a moment, then added, "But people nearby say it's a woman, who seems quite strange and doesn't like to meet others."
"We shouldn't use the word 'strange' lightly now!" Hiroshi Sakaguchi couldn't help but interject.
Thanks to the recent intense publicity, people are gradually starting to realize that among humans, there are also another kind of unusual creatures living.
Some of them can be used by humans, but the vast majority still harbor deep malice towards humans.
These creatures are called 'strange'.
"Yeah, calling them strange might not be entirely accurate."
"Haha..."
The expressions of the two housewives were somewhat awkward, after a few words, they bid farewell to each other.
Sakaguchi's dad and mom live on the first floor, while Hiroshi Sakaguchi lives on the second floor. After dinner, he quickly goes upstairs to clean and take out the trash.
It was at that moment that he noticed the only window next door lined up exactly with the one on his side.
How annoying...
Though he couldn't move the window, he could only mutter a few words to himself.
That night, Hiroshi Sakaguchi, feeling drowsy, faintly heard faint whispers from outside.
"Master, master..."
"Hmm?"
The voice came from outside the window.
Startled, Hiroshi Sakaguchi sat up, listening to the continuous calling from outside.
"Young master, good night..."
"Young master, are you sleeping...?"
"Young master, hello..."
He angrily pushed open the window, accidentally bumping into someone in the neighboring house, then couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
It was such a strange face, filled with wrinkles and hills, interspersed with countless pus-filled bumps, resembling freshly unearthed artifacts, yet also like a character stepping out of a Picasso painting.
Only the heart-shaped earrings hanging on the ears and the necklace around the neck could barely indicate the woman's identity.
Upon seeing Hiroshi Sakaguchi, the woman joyfully opened her mouth, thick drool flowing from between her teeth.
"Young master, come to my house to play next time, I will leave the door open for you!"
Hiroshi Sakaguchi's body was covered in goosebumps, and he quickly closed the window at the fastest speed in his life, though the faint sound of "young master" could still be heard.
"Is it a dream!"
He used this excuse to console himself. How could he see such a face anywhere else except in his dreams!
He didn't dare to check if the door next to him was open or not.
The familiar shouting came again the next evening.
Almost as soon as the sound reached his ears, he woke up from his sleep.
"Master, are you alright?"
"Master, are you sleeping? Can I see you, Master?"
"Master, why didn't you come during the day? I have prepared snacks for you!"
"I will come and find you then, hehe. I will come now."
After hearing the last sentence, Hiroshi Sakaguchi couldn't stay still. He quickly turned around, opened the window, and felt chills down his spine.
The scary woman was holding a clothesline pole and slowly approaching.
When she saw Hiroshi Sakaguchi, she warmly greeted him.
"Young master, grab the clothesline pole, I'll climb over right away!"
Hiroshi Sakaguchi knocked down the clothesline pole, closed the window tightly, and hurried downstairs to wake up his sleeping parents.
"Mom, Dad, I'm never staying on the second floor again, the neighbor next door is really strange!"
"What's wrong, Hiroshi?"
"She tried to climb over from the second-floor window, come and see!"
Hiroshi Sakaguchi led his parents to the second floor, but they only saw a dark window and no trace of the clothesline pole on the ground.
"You're not having another bad dream, are you?" Sakaguchi's dad looked at his son with suspicion.
"It's true!" Hiroshi Sakaguchi, still in shock, shouted loudly, "She looks so scary! She even wanted to crawl over to me! The clothesline must have been taken away by her!"
"Honey, if what Hiroshi said is true, we better call the police, because everyone says there's a strange person living inside."
"How can you believe this too?" Even though his son and wife said so, Sakaguchi's dad still didn't believe.
However, by the next day, he stopped questioning.
As if by some unknown force, the walls of the house opposite softened, stretched, and formed a long corridor.
At the end of the corridor, that window was now only about one meter away from the Sakaguchi family.
Following this trend, tonight, the two windows were about to become one, and the woman named Numake, would be able to enter their home at will.
"Maybe we should move." Sakaguchi's dad had to accept reality, "No wonder the house was so cheap... but that's still a considerable amount!"
Seeing his father looking worried, Hiroshi Sakaguchi suddenly had a bright idea.
"Dad, shall we go to the Special Event Research Institute?"
"Special Event Research Institute?"
"You mean ISE, they are experts at dealing with strange things, right?"
......
"Don't worry, we will arrive at your residence by six o'clock today at the latest, and then we will start dealing with this incident."
In the reception hall of the Fukushima Prefecture Special Event Research Institute branch, the receptionist, after listening to Hiroshi Sakaguchi's story, accepted the task without hesitation.
Leaving the hall, Sakaguchi's dad still felt a little worried.
"Can they really handle it well?"
Hiroshi Sakaguchi looked much more relaxed, with a smile on his face.
"Just listen, Dad, you'll know."
Cheers from the service hall could be heard clearly even at the entrance.
"Achievement is here! Achievement has finally arrived!"
The window next to the Special Event Research Institute (below).
To promptly deal with strange events, the Special Event Research Institute has branches in various regions of Japan, including Fukushima Prefecture.
Compared to other places, Fukushima Prefecture has been exceptionally peaceful like a godsend.
For the local residents, no news is good news, but for the institute members, it is unbearable.
They are not lazy salary thieves. Those willing to join the institute either have a strong interest in strange events, a desire to protect their families and country, or are tempted by the high and frightening salaries and bonuses at the institute.
All this was built on a strange foundation.
So, after accepting Hiroshi Sakaguchi's request, everyone cheered excitedly.
This was their first request!
Department head Kawabata Masaya and deputy Matsuzaki Myouon personally led the team. The research team and the operations team left together and arrived at the destination one hour earlier than agreed.
"Indeed, it's a strange building!" Kawabata Masaya walked around the Numake family's house, nodded in satisfaction, and said. So, I will lead this time, and you will implement it, alright?
"Of course," Matsuzaki Myouon replied.
Whether it was the headquarters' operations team or the departments in each county, there was always one man and one woman in charge.
This was not because of any specific organization's demands, but for the practical needs of the operation.
According to statistics, a large proportion of the anomalies showed clear gender tendencies. Some anomalies only attacked women, while others only targeted men.
The strange happenings this time are clearly very interested in young men, so Kawabata Masaya is not suitable for being in the spotlight.
It is still daytime now, and the Numake family's door is tightly locked. Matsuzaki Myouon called for a skilled lock-opening team member, but the member gave up after a simple attempt.
"Deputy, this is not a lock. There is no bolt, latch, or sliding piece. To be precise, it is just a solid device in the shape of a lock!"
"It seems that the owner doesn't welcome us visiting!" sighed Matsuzaki Myouon.
"How about using C4?"
Kawabata Masaya's suggestion made her sigh with her hand on her forehead, "Then why not use a cloud bomb?"
"Because it's a bit troublesome to apply for it, C4 is more convenient."
"But Minister, have you ever thought that if the house cannot be destroyed by physical means, what kind of changes will the strange things inside undergo? Will they disappear, or break free from confinement?"
Kawabata Masaya shook her head honestly, "I haven't thought about that..."
"So don't move!"
After knocking on the hard boss's desk, Matsuzaki Myouon checked the watch. It was already 4 o'clock in the afternoon, only three hours left till nightfall. If effective measures were not taken soon, the Sakaguchi family would be in danger.
"It seems the Sakaguchi family will have to temporarily move to another place to live."
"Why not move the Numake family to another place?" Kawabata Masaya suddenly had an idea and said to Matsuzaki Myouon, "We can do it, right?"
There were many construction sites in the town of Haramachi. By using administrative means, they quickly borrowed the necessary excavators and cranes.
It might be difficult to destroy the Numake family's house, or maybe impossible, but that didn't mean the land beneath the house was the same.
Using a crane capable of lifting tens of tons, they could easily dig up the house along with its foundation, and then simply relocate it far away from the Sakaguchi family, at least delaying the issue for a while.
However, Kawabata Masaya didn't do this. He asked the construction workers to clear and level the foundation and soil below, then install six pairs of heavy-duty wheels on top.
"Why put wheels on it..." Matsuzaki Myouon mumbled and then suddenly realized, "I see, you want to drag the house away and sink it in Tokyo Bay, right?"
Kawabata Masaya shook his finger.
"NO, NO, NO! Matsuzaki, what you are doing goes against the institute's purpose. Even if the anomalies disappear by sinking into Tokyo Bay, how will we write the cost-benefit analysis report? While we may have resolved the anomalies, we have spent so much resources. Would the president be satisfied with this?"
"So, what are you planning to do?"
"Conduct an experiment!"
Kawabata Masaya directed the construction workers to move the Numake family's house to a position 20 meters away from the Sakaguchi family's house, and he asked Matsuzaki Myouon to spend the night in the attic with Hiroshi Sakaguchi.
How could a teenage boy refuse the plea of a beautiful older sister in her prime of life?
With everything arranged, Kawabata Masaya hid hundreds of meters away, observing the situation with cameras and binoculars.
"Minister! The house is moving!"
At twelve o'clock, the observer woke up Kawabata Masaya.
He quickly looked at the screen. Sure enough, it was not a joke. The strange thing that was only five meters away before took her all night to deal with. Now it's twenty meters away. Instead of moving the window, it's better to move the whole house.
Tens of tons of houses were moving towards the Sakaguchi family, and they were getting faster and faster.
"Quick, add more weight!" Kawabata Masaya hurriedly gave orders.
The small unmanned vehicles hidden nearby, under the remote control of the staff, moved to the back of the Numake family's house and tightly combined with the ring placed on it, instantly adding nearly ten tons of weight.
One after another, until the fifteenth vehicle, the house finally stopped moving.
By now, there was less than two meters away from the window of the Sakaguchi family, the sky was turning white, and the sun was about to rise.
"Master, Master, we will definitely meet tomorrow... See you tomorrow!"
Matsuzaki Myouon came down from the attic and bumped into Kawabata Masaya.
"How is it?" Kawabata Masaya said triumphantly, "Being able to move over two hundred tons of weight, with such powerful force, can it still not show its value?"
Matsuzaki Myouon rolled his eyes in irritation.
"Just over 200 tons, comparable to a heavy truck, only usable at night, and requires non-staff cooperation. What value do you think it can bring?"
"Well, this can still be improved!"
Kawabata Masaya chuckled and fell into contemplation. What would the president do?
"Oh, we can request support!"
The next day, the support sent from headquarters had already arrived on the scene.
The newcomer was dressed in all black, had a stunningly stern appearance, yet a respectful attitude. When getting off the car, they were holding a book titled "First Grade Mandarin".
"Everyone, I am Mori Saisho, a trainee from the Black Clothed Beautiful Youth Group. I won't refuse any task you need me to do!"
Seeing Matsuzaki Myouon looking a bit stunned, Kawabata Masaya stood in front of her, smiling, and said. Actually, it's nothing much. Just asking you to take a nap in the attic.
Mori Saisho nodded without hesitation.
"Okay, is the customer this time a man or a woman?"
"Um..." Kawabata Masaya stumbled over his words, then replied after a while, "This job may be different from your previous ones..."
......
After accepting the task, Mori Saisho, the Black Clothed Beautiful Youth, went to the attic on the second floor of the Sakaguchi family as requested, and started studying diligently.
His foundation was really poor, so he didn't miss any opportunity to improve. However, the recent period of study made him doubt himself.
Am I really not suitable for learning?
Even so, I must persevere, only by doing this can I achieve my ultimate goal, hehe...
Mori Saisho was cheering himself on when he suddenly heard a soft shout from outside.
"Sir, sir, please open the window..."
He followed the order and opened the window.
Seeing the appearance of the other party, even Mori Saisho couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Is the road to becoming an idol really so difficult and full of obstacles?
He forced a professional smile and gave a gentle bow.
"Hello, I'm Mori Saisho, a trainee from the Black Clothed Beautiful Youth Group. Are you my fan?"
"Yes, yes, of course!" Mrs. Numake's saliva flowed down the windowsill.
She went through many hardships to finally reach her destination, but the goal changed.
She was looking forward to enjoying dessert, but what awaited her was a feast! This is truly amazing!
"Mori Saisho, I'm your fan, I love you!"
Hearing such passionate shouts stirred up memories in Mori Saisho, but idols are not allowed to date, so he just smiled and took out a piece of paper.
"This is a handshake ticket from our Black Clothed Beautiful Youth Group. If you can get it, I can let you... do anything!"
Mori Saisho shyly made a heart gesture.
"Do anything... Oh!"
Like taking a super strong heart pill, Ms. Numake stretched out her hands and the house continued to move towards the attic, inch by inch, even though the weight had increased to several thousand tons, it kept moving forward without stopping.
No matter how they moved, the distance between the two houses could not be changed, because the Sakaguchi family's house also had wheels.
After observing for three to five days in a row, Kawabata Masaya finally felt relieved. This brainless drive should be enough!
A professional construction team sent from Tokyo only took a few working days to completely renovate Ms. Numake's home.
Using strong metal, they wrapped the house layer by layer, leaving only windows with blade devices outside. Inside the blades, there were photos of Mori Saisho and an entry ticket, making it look like a huge steel earthworm.
"What's this?"
"This is a shield tunnel boring machine!" explained Kawabata Masaya to Matsuzaki Myouon. "Numake's ability can drive the house, and her house now is this unprecedented shield tunnel boring machine!"
The shield tunnel boring machine is a large mechanical tool used for digging tunnels, worth at least around one billion yen. Powered by Ms. Numake, this machine costs only a few tens of million yen, yet its efficiency exceeds that of ordinary products by tens of times!
Since underground has no sun, it is not restricted by the rules that require night-time operations. It can work day and night without stopping, which is simply perfect.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"A hundredfold return. Can my other colleagues do that? They only report and follow orders! With this, I should be able to get promoted, right? I really hope to go to Tokyo and work with the president!"
Matsuzaki Myouon sighed and didn't interrupt Kawabata Masaya's fantasies.
The more capable one is, the less likely they can go to Tokyo. Doesn't the minister even understand such logic?
But it's good, that way we can continue working together.
Great...
