A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 2375 - 1595: Phantom Dream (Starting Today, the Cat Eats Hongshus)
The twenty-one Alliance Blades gathered in the Easternmost Land are weapons that can bestow various powers upon their wielders. The strongest individual acknowledged by all the blades will gain the power to bring the entire country under their control.
The story of the protagonist in "Tokyo Blade" begins when he acquires one of the Alliance Blades. After that, he desires to use the blade to conquer the world, defeating other blade holders who stand in his way one by one. Some perish in battle, but most join the protagonist’s ranks after being defeated.
Well, it’s a very traditional youth passion storyline layout.
However, White Ghost is the complete opposite of the protagonist.
She possesses immense ambition and strength, yet she has not earned the blade’s recognition. Even her indecisive elder sister has acquired a blade, but she lost the chance to dominate the world.
Still, White Ghost does not become disheartened because of this.
"Even without an Alliance Blade, I can defeat others and rule this country!"
Thus, holding onto this belief, White Ghost begins her journey.
"To be honest, I find it more interesting if White Ghost wins."
Looking at the script in his hand, Duanmu Huai couldn’t help but express his thoughts, while Arima Kaname sat beside him, curiously watching him.
"Really?"
"That’s right, ultimately, isn’t the protagonist still a defender of the existing system? He seeks to dominate the world only because acquiring the Alliance Blade inspired this idea. Conversely, without the blade, wouldn’t the protagonist just be an ordinary person content with mediocrity? It’s just that accidentally gaining potent power led him down this path; at the core, he still accepts the blade system."
Duanmu Huai patted the script while pursing his lips.
"So I feel that White Ghost aligns more with my idea—even without qualification, so what? Conquering the world is inherently achieved through battle. The notion that without an Alliance Blade one lacks qualification is sheer nonsense."
In Duanmu Huai’s view, White Ghost’s thought process resonated more with his own ways of thinking: why should kings and nobles be born into their roles? Of course, the Japanese likely don’t ponder such thoughts. Presumably, the author gave White Ghost such a background just to subconsciously add drama to her character. After all, in the final moments of the comic, White Ghost, unlike others who surrendered, was killed rather than joining the protagonist’s team. Perhaps it’s because the author felt a character as strong as her, without a blade, would be an eyesore amidst the protagonist’s ranks, so they decided to let her exit the stage.
"But overturning the old order is originally a perilous and unrewarding endeavor, so White Ghost’s end was quite anticipated."
"By the way, if you were White Ghost, what would you do?"
"Me?"
Facing Arima Kaname’s curious question, Duanmu Huai pondered for a moment.
"Simple, I would eliminate all the blade holders and smash every single blade to pieces."
"Huh? Why?"
"It’s simple, because it’s said that having a blade is the qualification for ruling the world, right? Conversely, the blade defines the qualification, so by shattering these blades into pieces, there wouldn’t be this boring notion of qualifications, and everyone could rely on their abilities to determine victory or defeat."
"How should I say it, it’s really your style... "
"So from my perspective, depicting White Ghost using schemes seems unnecessary; given her strength, she has a high chance of defeating those blade holders head-on. But, discussing reality: from a story standpoint, a character stronger than those with blades without having one would ultimately shake the story’s fundamental setting. So from an author’s viewpoint, having White Ghost weaken others through trickery and then confronting them is a compromise. This way, it’s more digestible for the audience to accept that White Ghost could defeat those blade holders."
Speaking while twisting the wooden stick in his hand—during practice, he’s obviously not using that heavy, deadly tool; this stick mainly serves as a prop during performance to ensure Duanmu Huai and other actors maintain a safe distance lest he accidentally sends them flying—which would be a performance mishap, not an intentional effect.
It might even become a "Stage Murder Incident."
"By the way, Chi Yin didn’t come today either."
Arima Kaname held up the script, gazing at the rehearsal room.
"It’s rare for someone so passionate about theater to miss practice."
"I remember she mentioned feeling under the weather? It should be only for these couple of days, right?"
For girls, this seems quite challenging; Duanmu Huai recalled everyone at the Tribunal indicating that their greatest benefit as followers was not worrying about such issues.
Of course, he can’t relate, especially given his body—frankly, it seems like even secondary sexual characteristics haven’t developed yet.
"I remember her timing wasn’t in these days."
"You even know this?"
Frankly, hearing Arima Kaname’s words, Duanmu Huai was surprised; remembering his own is normal, but recalling others’ schedules so clearly?
"Why, is it not allowed?"
Perhaps sensing Duanmu Huai’s surprise, Arima Kaname glared at him.
"Previously, she nearly couldn’t perform due to this, disrupting the interview schedule. If I hadn’t stepped in, who knows what mess it might have caused? So I remember it clearly... it shouldn’t be these days."
"I see... "
"By the way, aren’t you bothered by this? You seem quite energetic lately."
"Ah, that... well, actually I feel quite good, maybe because of having good dreams."
"Good dreams?"
"Ahahaha... "
Facing Arima Kaname’s inquiry, Duanmu Huai chuckled. In truth, he had been dreaming every night these past few days. In those dreams, he was intimately involved with a certain woman. Although due to them being dreams, Duanmu Huai has a vague memory of the woman’s identity—except recalling she had a nice figure and long hair.
The sensation felt quite real, and waking up every morning left him refreshed.
How to say, having such dreams beats nightmares where men overpowered him, the latter truly being nightmares for Duanmu Huai. The former, naturally a delightful dream. And since it’s a dream, nothing counts, right? There’s nothing more satisfying.
No practice tomorrow, might as well check on Hei Chuan Chi Yin.
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit bedroom, Hei Chuan Chi Yin was curled up, silently staring at the ceiling.
"Am I... awake? Or still in a dream...?"
Murmuring to herself, Hei Chuan Chi Yin picked up her phone to check the time, then sighed.
"It’s already evening, practice should be over by now, sigh... Why is it like this...?"
Hei Chuan Chi Yin clutched the blanket tightly, covering herself completely, her face full of dejection.
Ever since mysterious marks appeared on her arm out of nowhere, every night Hei Chuan Chi Yin would have strange dreams. The content of the dreams varied, the scenes uncertain, sometimes in a classroom, sometimes in a strange hotel room.
But one thing was certain, and that was... someone would appear in them and toy with her.
Although upon waking, Hei Chuan Chi Yin basically couldn’t remember the details of the dreams, she could only vaguely recall some unclear situations, she still remembered the things she did in the dream with that person.
What on earth is going on?
Why is this happening?
Hei Chuan Chi Yin was utterly baffled by this, she’d even considered the possibility of some sort of curse and had gone to the shrine to seek a charm. But it was of no use, the only fortunate thing was that during the day when she slept, she didn’t dream, it only happened after falling asleep at night.
Logically, if that were the case, then as long as she didn’t sleep at night it would be fine.
But the problem was, it wasn’t under Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s control. She had tried drinking energy drinks or black coffee, but it was useless, once the clock struck a certain hour deep into the night, Hei Chuan Chi Yin would uncontrollably fall asleep. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t resist the sleepiness.
What on earth should she do?
Hei Chuan Chi Yin had no clue whatsoever about this.
"———————!"
It’s happening again!
Suddenly, a wave of overwhelming drowsiness hit her, startling Hei Chuan Chi Yin.
She had only just slept for a day, just woken up not long ago!
No, she must pull herself together... she must...
However, her heavy eyelids disregarded Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s thoughts, slowly descending.
The next moment, before Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s eyes, there was nothing but darkness.
"Clang clang... clang clang... clang clang..."
A rhythmic clattering sound reached her ears. Hei Chuan Chi Yin opened her eyes to see the scenery rushing outside the window. Turning her head, she saw she was now wearing a school uniform, standing in a fully crowded train. Judging by the sunset outside, this should be after school.
"—————!"
A snug sensation pressed against her back, causing Hei Chuan Chi Yin to tense up. She could feel someone reaching out a hand, pressing against her waist, slowly moving down.
It was that person...
Hei Chuan Chi Yin knew who it was, that mysterious, pitch-black figure, standing right behind her now. She was already familiar with his movements, including his fingers, which always smoothly slid towards Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s most vulnerable spot, effortlessly breaking her defenses.
"No..."
Hei Chuan Chi Yin clutched the handrail tightly, protesting in a low voice. The sounds of passengers could be heard around her, though she knew it was a dream, the thought of doing such things in a crowded space brought her great shame. At the same time, it was slightly—exciting.
"Not... here..."
Hei Chuan Chi Yin protested quietly, then heard indistinct murmurs by her ear.
"What does it matter, here is just the same, isn’t it?"
"But, it might be seen by others..."
Knowing it’s a dream, yet thinking of herself as a well-known performer doing such things in a packed train, and the tension of potentially being discovered, Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s whole body tightened, a previously unknown anticipation bubbling up within her. Her senses grew increasingly acute, she could feel the breath by her ear, and the stares from those around her.
Unlike standing on stage, but at this moment, Hei Chuan Chi Yin felt feverish all over.
"Surely, you were born to be liked to be seen, weren’t you?"
"That’s not true!"
"So it’s my fault then?"
"Creeeak—————!"
Suddenly, the train swerved sharply, catching Hei Chuan Chi Yin off guard, forcing her against the window. It was then she noticed her uniform buttons were undone one by one, even her shirt lifted up.
"Wait, wait, like this it will be seen!"
"This isn’t much different than being on stage, is it? Don’t you want others to see you like this?"
"No, I don’t want that!"
Hei Chuan Chi Yin shook her head vigorously, her black hair swaying wildly in tandem.
"Then you’ll have to hold it in, if you make a sound, you know what might happen, right?"
"Eh?"
Hearing the voice by her ear, Hei Chuan Chi Yin froze momentarily. But the next instant, her eyes widened in shock. The powerful impact from behind pressed Hei Chuan Chi Yin tightly against the window, flattening the round glass slightly. Her lips against the window’s edge, drool trailing slowly down the glass...
For Hei Chuan Chi Yin, she was acutely aware... this dream was merely at its beginning.
