The next day, the main page of the Lucid Dream Server reached its peak amount of views. Before, there will only be five hundred or so million page views in a day but right now, it reached a whopping amount of 2 billion page views.
All because of their headline.
'A Level-39 Dreamer, forcibly logged out by A Level-10'
Yuuta had reached another peak in his life.
The hashtags searched on the internet that day were— (1. #ResetInPeace with 2.5 billion overall tags), (2. #Reputation1000 with 1.3 billion overall tags), (3. #SakuraiYuuta with 980 million overall tags). It became a worldwide craze that Yuuta couldn't help but be amazed by how much he gained popularity in a day.
Even his punchline 'Reset In Peace" became a worldwide punchline and millions upon millions of memes were made out of it.
.....
When he woke up the next morning, Yuuta sensed that his younger sister was waiting for an ambush just behind the door to his room. Since he was sleepy, he decided to ignore whatever tricks her sister was up to and just head to the bathroom for a quick bath before breakfast.
"Yui, good mo— "
Before Yuuta could finish his greeting, his sister tackled him so hard that he fell on his butt. And before he could react, his younger sister's legs wrapped around his head and his arms as he was forced to lie on his stomach. Yuuta had no idea how her sister managed to do it but she was successful in her endeavor. Yuuta then realized that his sister had a firm grip on his right arm as she tightened her leg-lock around his neck.
"Reset in Peace!" Yui screamed before she started laughing maniacally.
And then she started rolling around the floor, laughing her heart out as she clutched her stomach. "Hahahha~! How did you come up with that, big bro~?"
Yuuta covered his face in embarrassment as he realized what was going on. 'Those developers leaked my gameplay on YouTube again. Tsk~' He thought as he wore a strained expression on his face. After all, that thing he did to Brooks was something so embarrassing that he didn't want to be reminded of him again.
In a flash, he grabbed his phone and went online. "Search Reset In Peace!" He called out. "Read the Results!"
And that's when his realization hit him. There were more than a billion search results for the catchphrase 'Reset In Peace' and that's not counting the overall tags that flooded Tweeter and FakeBook. It's as if a huge flood came crashing down on Yuuta.
"I wanted to have a low profile... why." He muttered to himself as he went down the stairs, ignoring his younger sister's taunts.
"Yuuta!" Rin called out from downstairs.
"Good morning, dad." Yuuta greeted. The fragrance of eggs and bacon for breakfast wafted around the kitchen, making his stomach grumble like a chasm that could swallow the house whole.
"Reset in Peace!" Rin exclaimed as he seasoned the eggs with salt and pepper. "Buwhahaha!"
Yuuta sighed, shaking his head as he headed to the bathroom.
.....
Everywhere Yuuta went, he heard the catchphrase, making his face blush. For fear that people would flock him, he decided to wear a scarf that could cover his whole face. He dreaded to think that everyone would surround him the moment he stepped foot inside the school. And for some reason, he got the feeling that reporters would be waiting at the school's entrance.
The reason why he didn't go with his dad in his car was that Yuuta didn't want people surrounding the car, making his dad late for work. And because of that, he decided to take his usual route to school on foot. Pulling the black scarf over his face did the trick. He may look like a weird person but at least, no one recognized him.
And then he arrived at Fujikawa High School.
Let's just say, the screams and flashing of cameras were too much that Yuuta felt really annoyed even though he couldn't see anyone or anything.
Reporters flocked him by the dozens. And in response, his classmates surrounded him as if they were his personal bodyguards. As for everyone else, they were all screaming when Yuuta arrived at school. It was like a moment for celebration. Even the principal of the school was displaying himself by the front gate.
"Don't worry, we got your back, Yuuta," Shiki called out. "Now, Special Forces Class-3-1! Let's move out! Protect our cargo!"
With his classmates surrounding him, Yuuta decided to go through with it since he wouldn't lose anything. In the end, the group arrived at Class 3-1 safe and sound...
... well, not yet.
Apparently, a lot of students and teachers were waiting in Class 3-1. It's as if a school gathering was being held in their very own classroom.
"Che~ this is not good," Shiki muttered.
It was too late! As soon as the people saw Yuuta entering the classroom, they surrounded him like a pack of hungry wolves. There was no leeway of escape for Yuuta so he just had to assume the worst.
"How much for the signed scarf?!"
"No, it was me, first! Shiki, how much for a mug?!"
"How much for a customized pin?"
"Hey, stop pushing!"
"Everyone! Have some decency, please!" A teacher exclaimed.
"I want a T-shirt! A T-shirt!"
With a bewildered expression on his face, Yuuta's jaw dropped to the ground as he realized what was happening. He was expecting everyone to ask him questions but, as it turned out... he would be doing more than asking questions.
Without further ado, Shiki led him to one of the chairs which were on the far end of the classroom. Coincidentally, they also used their homeroom teacher's desk as the table where all the merchandise was placed. Yuuta was so shocked that he forgot to complain about the whole situation. "Just this once, Yuuta, just this once. And all the money earned here goes to you, 100%!" Shiki tried to convince him.
There was no way back. Unwillingly, Yuuta sat on the chair and a permanent marker was handed to him. Thus, the fan-sign started— all arranged by the one and only best friend, Onigawara Shiki.
From afar, Osama Shigeo, the new homeroom teacher, quietly observed the crowd. His lips parted into a smile. "I should stop them, but some positivity is long overdue so let's leave them at it." He muttered under his breath.
Ever since the series of murders happened, everyone had a depressing atmosphere emanating from them. And it got even worse when the news of Takanashi's murder was released in public. The school was in a state of uproar and uneasiness at the same time. And of course, the students could feel it.
But now, all thanks to Yuuta, the atmosphere seemed to lighten a little bit. Perhaps, all they needed was something like this happening so they won't forget what joy feels like, even in the midst of the murders around the city.
"Yep, this doesn't hurt every once and a while. I'll let them have their fun." Osama Shigeo said to himself once again as he shrugged and gave the whole morning for Class 3-1 to enjoy.
.....
Meanwhile, in the Hekinan City Police Department.
Hugo was a busy man. There was always new evidence coming in from the On-Site Private Investigators, there were always cases of theft, kidnapping, and your usual fights amongst young people. For the past few weeks, he didn't get a moment of shut-eye, that's why he was on the verge of falling asleep right in front of his desktop.
"They said that there is no rest for the wicked... does that mean I'm a wicked individual?" Hugo asked himself as he drank another cup of caffeine dose. There was still a stack of paperwork waiting for him as soon as he's finished with his current task of labeling all the evidence that was sent to him.
"When will I ever get some— "
Slam!
Just when Hugo wanted to complain about his busy life, the door towards his office slammed open, and in came a young policeman. He was the new member of the team, a twenty-three-year-old newbie hailing from the outskirts of Inuyama.
"Chief! Chief! You need to see this, right now!" The young man exclaimed, out of breath. "This is big news, chief!"
"I get it, I get it." Hugo sighed, standing up. He then followed the young man to the entrance of the police department.
The young man hopped into one of the department-issued police cars. Hugo joined soon after. "All, right, now tell me everything."
"Chief! there's another murder! But this time, the killer left some clues on the scene. Now it's obvious that this case is murder, not death."
"Another murder? For the past three years, there aren't any murders in this city, what are you on about?"
"What I mean is, this is another murder here in the Aichi Prefecture! This may be the first one in our city but other cities had already experienced it as well. That's why I told you that this is big, Chief." The young man was still out of breath, but he was able to deliver the report even when he was panicking a tad bit.
"I... It's begun." Hugo muttered as he finally understood the gravity of the situation.
That's right, the first murder in Hekinan after three long years. And also, the sixteenth murder that wouldn't be solved by the police.