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In Tsujitani's impression, Chiyo's singing voice is the best in the entire Tomoeda Elementary School, without a doubt. There is no need to judge from a professional perspective, just listening to that child singing can make people feel beautiful. This is more of a talent than an ability. Her singing seems to be born with poetry and painting.
Unexpectedly, just before the competition, Tomoyo fell ill.
Teacher Tsujitani didn't think anyone could replace Tomoyo. This wasn't unfair, it was just because the child's singing voice was like a gift from heaven, and in terms of music art, it could be said to be a treasure from heaven. But she also wouldn't force a student to compete while sick.
Neither personal honor nor the school's honor is worth exchanging for the health of a child. If Tomoyo really recommends someone else, Mr. Tsujitani is willing to accept it.
"Today is Wednesday, and there are three days until Saturday's competition. Have you learned the repertoire for the competition?"
"Well, if it was just the lyrics and melody, I could already sing it."
But it’s just the lyrics and the melody. Maybe the two together make a complete song, but the competition is not that simple.
This is not a small test in music class. Being able to sing is only the first step. Being able to sing every note accurately requires more effort, which is just the foundation. Then it is to be able to attract people and move people. The latter two require not only hard work but also talent. People who can't do it will never be able to do it no matter how hard they try.
"Would you mind coming with me to the music room for a tryout?"
Since the student has tried his best, as a teacher you should give him a chance.
"Ok."
The temperature in September dropped slightly compared to July and August. At least the extremely hot weather above 38 or 39 degrees Celsius is gone, but the daytime temperature is still around 35 degrees Celsius, which is not a comfortable temperature range.
The flowers and plants outside the house were all a little wilted in the sun. When the sky was covered with ice and snow, I missed the sun for a whole winter, and now I wish I could lock it in the clouds.
In the school courtyard, a tired little bird hid in the shade of a tree. A song came from somewhere. The sound was so faint that the little bird suddenly perked up, as if listening carefully. It flapped its wings and flew into the sky, circled in the courtyard, and landed on the windowsill in front of the music classroom.
[The radiance spreads across the night sky, the distant silver moon——]
The sound of the piano accompanied the clear voice. It was hard to describe it at the moment, but the voice did have a certain unique texture that made people want to close their eyes and listen carefully.
Teacher Tsujitani did close her eyes. For her, playing this song did not require sheet music, as the melody was already in her mind.
[I saw it in my dream last night, it was the color of wild roses. Tomorrow you can come and sing, and ride on the wings of dreams together.]
The melody of this song is relatively slow, and there is enough time to express the quiet night to the audience word by word. But this requires emotion. The painter uses the brush in his hand to outline everything, and the singer also needs to use his voice to convey the emotions he wants to convey.
When the piano finished playing the last part, Tsujitani Akiko was a little surprised. She didn't expect that there was a second voice like this in the class she taught at Tomoeda Elementary School, but she hadn't noticed it before.
"My breathing was a bit messy when I started the second section, and there were several places in the middle where the transitions between the ranges were not handled well."
"sorry."
"No, I'm not criticizing. No one can sing perfectly the first time, it all takes practice."
Reiya's voice is of course different from Tomoyo's. Tomoyo's voice is always clear and has a lingering sound. Reiya is one year younger, so her voice is softer and not as clear, but she also has her own characteristics. They are both born with good voices.
In terms of sound quality, both have their own advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to comment on which is better.
But as Mr. Tsujitani said, no one can be perfect in one try, and practice is needed. And Tomoyo practiced for three whole months, but Reiya never practiced once, and the day after tomorrow is the competition.
"If you're willing, I have no objection to representing the school in the competition in three days."
Although in just three days, Mr. Tsujitani didn't think Ling could improve much, but after all, this was just a city-level competition. Even if she couldn't get a place, it was a pity, but there was nothing she could do.
Since Tomoyo is unable to participate in the competition, the worst that can happen is that she forfeits. Since Tomoyo recommended Lingya and the girl is indeed talented, it would be a good opportunity for the child to participate and gain experience.
"Teacher," Ling also had a bad guess after hearing what Mr. Tsujitani said, "You are talking about representing the school, what about the other students?"
"Other students?"
“Isn’t this a chorus?”
Lingya and Mr. Tsujitani looked at each other, both pairs of eyes showing confusion, and then they realized that the other party seemed to have misunderstood.
Night, Oshima Manor
Ling also called Chiyo, but this time she didn't use the landline, but used the mobile phone Chiyo gave her yesterday in the bedroom. The phone was connected quickly. I think the phone on the other end should have been in Chiyo's hand.
The sound quality is good, the speech is clear, and there is no noise caused by poor signal in old-fashioned phones.
After saying hello, Ling also asked about Chiyo's condition and learned that the fever had been suppressed, but Chiyo's voice was still hoarse. Then, "raising an army to question the culprit" -
"Solo? Didn't I tell you before? It's a solo."
Thinking carefully, Tomoyo didn't say it was a choir competition before, the so-called choir was just Ling's wishful thinking, and because Tomoyo participated in the "choir club", she subconsciously thought so. However, now that I think about it, a choir competition will not be abandoned just because someone is absent.
"So, there's no one else, and I can't just sing along with the crowd. I'm the only one who needs to go on stage?"
Ling admitted that she was a little nervous. It was her first time to stand alone on the center of the stage in front of everyone at a formal event.
"We won't be alone. Mr. Tsujitani will also be on stage as the piano accompaniment."
"Ah, you know that's not what I meant."
If they were not on the phone right now, but Chiyo was standing in front of her, Ling would definitely pinch her face with her hands and make it look ridiculous as revenge. She prepared herself mentally and resisted the urge to teleport to Chiyo's house with Gaia's light and put the pinching into action.
This is a great misfortune for netizens - there are really people who can do this thing of "beating people along the Internet line". But fortunately, she still remembers that Chiyo is still a patient.
"Reiya has a beautiful voice. Sakura and I both heard it that day. But it would be a shame if only we heard it. So, I want more people to be able to hear it. If Reiya doesn't like it, it's okay if she gives up."
In other situations, this statement might be considered provocation, but Ling also knew that this was Chiyo's true thought. Going to the competition or not was ultimately her decision, and no one would make the decision for her. Not Chiyo, and not the teacher.
So, is she going to compete?
The teacher said that she was not familiar with the song because of lack of practice.
But Ling also felt that she seemed to be missing something else. Just as Zhishi said, she couldn't find the feeling she had when she sang in the ruins that day. Singing songs with a certain mood and a certain belief.
At this moment, there was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Miss, there's a call for you downstairs."
"Ok."
After saying everything she needed to say to Chise, Ling said good night to her, hung up the phone, got out of bed and put on her slippers.
The landline at home is in the reception room on the first floor. It's quite far from the room, which makes Ling think more about the benefits of mobile phones. But the person who usually calls her is Chiyo. Chiyo was talking to her just now, so who is calling her now?
Walking down the marble spiral staircase, the castle was very quiet, with only the sound of the central air conditioner. Although there were butlers and many maids in the castle, it still felt a little lacking in popularity.
But Ling has gotten used to it.
"Hello, this is Oshima Reiya."
It was a bit surprising that the person on the other end of the phone was the TAC team, and it was not Beidou or Minami Yuko, but the captain of TAC, Ryu Goro, whom she was not very familiar with.
"I'm Ryugoro from the TAC team, Reiya, do you remember me?"
"Of course, Captain Long."
"Excuse me for interrupting you. I got the call from Beidou. Actually, I have a request."
Time goes back to two days ago, Monday morning
Honshu Island, Shimane Prefecture
This place is all mountainous, and somewhere in a secret valley is the TAC team's military factory. In addition to the headquarters' research room, most of the TAC team's weapons and equipment are developed and manufactured here. It can be said to be the main artery of the TAC Far East branch.
Because it is surrounded by mountains, most of the roads here are around the mountains. After the pass out of the mountains, there is an open plain at the junction of Izumo and Yunnan. The plain itself has no place name, but because it is rich in fireflies, it is called the Firefly Plain by the locals.
It was six in the morning. Because it was midsummer, the sun rose early, and the sun had already risen long before six o'clock.
Except for Noriko who stayed at the base, Captain Long brought Beidou, Nan, Yamanaka, Konno and Yoshimura to this mountain road. Beidou yawned. Yesterday was Sunday. In order to deal with the black bag monk, he and Nan Xizi sent Lingya back to the base late at night. After reporting and washing up, it was already late at night. He slept for four or five hours and was notified of an emergency assembly.
Nan Xizi, on the other hand, seemed to be in good spirits.
"This is the fifth accident this month, and what is inexplicable is that the victims of the accident were turned into dry bones when they were found, as if they had been eaten by something." Yamanaka said as he looked at the accident report handed over by the traffic police.
"Originally, it was suspected that the Will-O-Ghost tribe committed a malicious crime. The traffic police speculated that it was caused by a Will-O-Ghost teenager racing late at night, and in order to cover up the evidence, the body was abandoned in the wild and eaten by wild beasts. But now it seems that this is not the case."
Recently, there have been a number of late-night races in Akina, Akagi, and Iroha in Gunma Prefecture, causing headaches for the local transportation department. Shimane Prefecture also has many mountain roads, which have attracted many illegal racers in previous years.
Another car accident occurred early this morning, resulting in the death of people. The relevant situation finally attracted the attention of senior management. It was no longer treated as an ordinary traffic accident, but was handed over to the TAC team.
"Since the first body was found half a month ago, five accidents have resulted in seven deaths, with no survivors. Now the bones have been identified, and the results show that they were not eaten by large animals, but more like carnivorous insects."
There is no need to wonder why the identification results only came out after half a month. This country is extremely short of forensic doctors, and non-homicide traffic accidents are usually put at the back of the list. The fact that the report was issued within half a month is already a very strange accident and the result of hard communication by the senior management of the transportation department.
"Insects? Could they be fireflies?" Konno said, but he was obviously joking.
This is the Firefly Plain, and the first thing that comes to mind is of course fireflies. Although firefly larvae are carnivores, they love to prey on snails and slugs, and their appetite is still large, but after they cocoon and hatch into real fireflies, they turn to herbivores.
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Their mouthparts and body structure are no longer able to chew and digest meat, so it is impossible for them to appear in groups and devour humans.
Yamanaka didn't laugh, but nodded unexpectedly.
"Perhaps this is possible. You see, there are many firefly corpses near where the bones were found."
Yamanaka picked up a dead firefly from the ground and looked at it carefully.
"Look, these fireflies are all squashed together. They were killed by external forces. It is possible that the fireflies attacked humans and some of them were killed, but more fireflies swarmed in..."
Thinking about the scene described by Shan Zhong, everyone present was a little creepy, and Nan Xizi unconsciously grabbed Beidou's hand. The fireflies all over the mountains should have been a fairy-tale scene, but it turned into a terrible nightmare.
Is this really possible?
"Everyone, go around the area and see if anyone living nearby witnessed it in the early morning."
"understand!"
Although I knew that it was unlikely that I would get any results from this visit, this place was originally a desolate mountain with no human habitation. Even in the daytime, there were no people around. In the middle of the night, I thought there would be no one passing by.
But the members of the TAC team still dispersed as ordered. After all, at the moment, there seemed to be no clues except looking for a needle in a haystack.
At this time, Nan Xizi saw out of the corner of her eye that there seemed to be a girl on the hillside not far away.
Chapter 85: Firefly Plains
"The one who was found to be problematic in the end was a girl named Ryoko, right?"
"Yes." Captain Long nodded on the other end of the phone. "The girl's home is not far from the crime scene, so she was checked out immediately. She has a hidden disease in her legs and sits in a wheelchair. I heard that she has been ill for five years. Five years ago, she witnessed her mother's death in a car accident, and then she suddenly couldn't walk. The doctor said that her injuries were not serious at the time, and no one could find out what was wrong with her in the past five years, but she just couldn't walk. She usually sits in a wheelchair and sketches on the nearby hillside during the day. Because her father works mostly night shifts, he is often alone at home at night. But in the early hours of yesterday morning, Team Member Nan, who was waiting, saw the child at the scene of several car accidents."
"At two o'clock in the morning, the child showed up in that wasteland where accidents frequently happen. He was not in a wheelchair, but walking on his legs, and wearing a scary mask."
It was like a scene from a horror movie, with a white dress and a mask of an evil ghost. At first, Nan Xizi thought it was a ghost, but after firing a warning shot, the "ghost" immediately ran away. Nan Xizi followed her all the way and found that she had escaped back to Ryoko's home.
Nan Xizi, who was chasing the ghost and entering the house slowly, saw Ryoko sitting in a wheelchair in the yard late at night, playing with a pet box - there was a big firefly in it.
In the early morning, a girl in a wheelchair sitting alone outside
No matter how you look at it, it's a bit weird. Not to mention that Ryoko is wearing a white kimono, and there are traces of running on the grass on the hem of the clothes.
"Team member Nan fought with the 'ghost' from before, but she easily escaped. But when we went to look for the child afterwards, she said that she had been in the yard the whole time and had not seen anything unusual."
If this happened in the past, the TAC team would have thought that someone was playing tricks. But after actually encountering the possessed helmet crab, the bull god, and the black cloth bag monk, they were no longer sure.