Chapter 46
Up until today, information about the Finger Man has been spread in multiple layers of Shares.
Centered around the rumors thread of Finger Man, the information had become entangled.
Thousands of people were uploaded online with facial photos as candidates for Finger Man, and by then, no ordinary person could distinguish what Finger Man's face even looked like.
Many people, half-joking, spread false information, jumped on the bandwagon, and either unconsciously or deliberately caused confusion—some picked up info online and tweeted that they saw Finger Man, others driven by a desire for recognition declared "I'm the Finger Man!", and one even launched an online salon called "Finger Man's Business Mind Course."
This was the result of 'Finger Man' running wild while the original Akagi Hideo was missing. Finger Man had transcended into a complete urban legend.
The chaos was further fueled by some within the foundation who took this information seriously, and by explorers who, envious of a newcomer's meteoric rise, acted out of spite.
As a result, even within the foundation where anomalous substances are a daily occurrence, some people seriously said, "If Finger Man kept acting while Akagi Hideo was gone, then the equation Finger Man = Akagi Hideo doesn't hold."
Yet, most people haven't noticed.
The urban legend 'Finger Man' has already grown into an SCCL-applied anomalous substance, and without the foundation realizing it, has become completely uncontrollable.
Even those who should know Finger Man, who must have met him, can no longer recall his face or name—the abnormal phenomenon of losing the ability to identify him is steadily spreading, and who could even notice?
The more people convince themselves, "The true identity of Finger Man is a mystery!", the harder it becomes to reach him.
——From the perspective of Akagi Hideo
"Gii-san, you can't just attack out of nowhere."
"Gii."
"But what was that, anyway? That person in the costume... They gave off a really strange vibe."
Tentacles, if I remember right, can output up to 100,000 ATK.
That was a pretty strong hit... Did we injure them?
I approach the stairs.
"Blooood field..."
"Tch."
The red dog is climbing up the stairs.
The spot Gii-san punched had torn, and peanuts spilled out from inside.
The ripped fabric regenerated with a crimson glow.
As if time were rewinding, the damage was nullified.
The red dog raised the shovel.
That movement is fast. I won't make it in time to dodge.
Or rather, my legs feel heavy. Is this the enemy's ability?
No choice. I don't know who this is, but I'll have to neutralize them.
"If you slowly lower the shovel, there's still time."
"Blooood!"
So that's your choice, huh.
I blasted their face off with 'Finger Snap Lv5.'
HP 4, ATK 2,000. That should be enough damage to cool their head.