I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 252 Factory Core Acquired, Epic Map Launched! [Component 028]

In the depths of the sea, treacherous undercurrents surge.

In Arakawa Village.

Uesugi Tetsuya was still groggy when he first opened his eyes.

Since he achieved something in his mental state, he has rarely been confused after entering the mortal world.

This is the first time in recent days.

He twitched his nose slightly, but what Uesugi Tetsu smelled was not the familiar mixture of moldy thatch and sulfur.

Instead, it was a foul stench mixed with a strong smell of engine oil and a whole host of other indescribable industrial odors.

"vomit……"

Even Uesugi Tetsu couldn't help but feel nauseous for a moment.

After a few seconds, as Uesugi Tetsu's vision gradually cleared, he finally understood why the smell was so strong and pungent.

—Because he appeared directly in an open sewage ditch!

Uesugi Tetsu looked down and saw that greasy, bluish-black sewage was gushing between his calves.

It flows from the rumbling sound, flowing into the silent, eternal earth.

Looking up again, you can see that the sky above has been turned into a colorful spectacle by the smoke.

Despite the subtle discomfort, Uesugi Tetsuya did not immediately pull himself out of the sewage tunnel, which was dug deeper than his own height.

The first thing he did was bend down to find the shrine that had vanished.

Yes, a shrine.

Since I was able to revive in this sewage ditch, it means that the shrine must be nearby.

Uesugi Tetsuya then dipped his hands into the sewage, which contained heavy metals at levels that were many times higher than the standard, and began to stir it around.

After some groping, I found something with sharp edges and corners.

Uesugi Tetsuya pulled it out with a little effort and found that it was indeed the shrine that had sunk to the bottom of the sewage channel.

However, under the constant exposure to sewage, the originally simple shrine has turned completely blue-black, and a strong, fermented smell of sewage emanates from both inside and out.

He had barely taken a second to examine it closely when the smell made Uesugi Tetsuya's eyes sting.

"This shrine is truly unusable..."

Holding his breath, Uesugi Tetsu used his inner energy to cleanse the surface of the shrine—as for the interior, which had already absorbed the flavor, there was nothing he could do.

After a simple "cleaning", Uesugi Tetsu used his qi to dig a pit in the soil and rocks next to the sewage channel, perfectly embedding the shrine in it, and then covering it with a layer of fine soil.

"In that case, we shouldn't have to worry about the shrine being washed away by sewage."

After doing all this, Uesugi Tetsuya first used the triple qi circulation to isolate himself from all connections with the outside world, and then used the Thousand Faces and Jade Heart Technique to suppress all outward aura.

Only then could he quietly peek out from the top of the two-meter-high sewage channel.

The expected crisscrossing industrial production lines did not appear, nor did the towering robots I saw on my last visit.

What appeared before Uesugi Tetsu was only an extremely desolate land, where not even a single weed could grow.

However, if you look down from a height of 100 meters, you can see countless sewage channels, some wide and some narrow, stretching into the endless distance.

The entire village of Arakawa has been leveled and turned into a sewage discharge channel.

Sewage pollutes the earth.

This is why not a single blade of grass grows here.

"However," Uesugi Tetsuya said, his gaze settling on the still intact townhouse after looking around, "thankfully the shrine wasn't washed away by the sewage to dozens or hundreds of kilometers away."

Uesugi Tetsuya, finding nothing in his field of vision or perception, stepped out and used his internal energy circulation to shake off all the dirty water from his body.

He instinctively wanted to inhale some spiritual energy from the mortal world, but soon his face turned ashen and he began to cough.

This damned factory has polluted the surrounding spiritual energy, turning it into a highly toxic gas.

Uesugi Tetsu looked out at the towering, dark steel forest two or three thousand meters away. His Eye of Deciphering narrowed, and he saw the densely packed machine workers moving through it.

At such a great distance, these logistics units, which were almost entirely incapable of combat, naturally could not detect his spying.

[Logistics Sequence Type I (Half-Star)], [Logistics Sequence Type II (Half-Star)], [Logistics Sequence Type III (Half-Star)]

Most machine workers bear these three labels.

As for the original, crazy, exploited workers, they have all disappeared without a trace, and no one knows where they have been driven away.

Perhaps because the cost of working and raising them was too high, they were humanely destroyed by factory owner Z.

After thinking it over, Uesugi Tetsu first went to the machiya where the blacksmith used to live.

The townhouse and the surrounding fifty meters remained unchanged, but when Uesugi Tetsu floated into it, he found no trace of anyone having been there.

The shelves that once held many fine weapons, and the wooden table where the blacksmith slept all day, were now covered with a thick layer of dust.

If you walk further into the inner room, you can see the field where the zashiki once planted a patch of spirit grass.

However, due to the sewage, these fields, which were originally rich in spiritual energy, have long since deteriorated, and even the vital grass seedlings within them have withered and died.

When Zashiki left Arakawa Village, in addition to harvesting a batch of spirit grass, he also planted a bunch of seeds.

The vitality of the Essence Grass is quite strong; it can grow even without anyone taking care of it.

It's just that the growth won't be as impressive as with careful tending.

But now, all that remains is a patch of dried mud and debris that reeks of oil.

Uesugi Tetsu took out the essence grass that Zashiki had given him that day. Thanks to the storage backpack, it was still fresh from that moment.

He lowered his eyes and sighed softly.
"pity."

Uesugi Tetsu shook his head and didn't linger any longer.

He floated out of the townhouse, landed on the ground, and walked silently toward the factory.

Within a kilometer of the [Logistics Sequence Factory], you can find some [Detection Sequence] model robot dogs or robots slowly wandering around.

These detection sequences are sporadic and extremely small, with the largest being only twenty or thirty centimeters long and the smallest robotic insect being only one centimeter in size.

If ordinary demonic tales were to approach, they would have already detected them and sounded the alarm.

However, amidst the disguise of Thousand Faces + Spirit Condensation Technique + Jade Heart Mantra + Triple Qi Cycle, these detection sequences ignored Uesugi Tetsuya, who was approaching the factory at a steady pace.

As they approached within 500 meters, the number of detection units increased significantly, and there were also organized combat units that Uesugi Tetsu had encountered many times before, patrolling the area.

This security force is far more stringent than those wandering workers who would fight amongst themselves.

But it's still useless for Uesugi Tetsuya now.

These robots, which are at most one-star level, are so weak that even if Uesugi Tetsu stood right in front of them, they would not be detected.

—This is understandable, given the situation of these ordinary exploration and combat sequences.

—Uesugi Tetsu, whose strength is now so great that he is hard to beat even among three-and-a-half-star players, has come to this remote corner of Arakawa Village. It's like a master mistakenly entering a beginner's village.

So he continued onward.

The logistics factory is within 200 meters.

The densely packed one- and two-star battle formations moved in an interlaced pattern, ensuring that multiple eyes were watching every corner.

It was practically a post every two steps and a sentry every three steps.

But perhaps because this was just a logistics factory in a remote area, I didn't see a single Uesugi Tetsuya with a combat rank of three stars or higher.

This scene made Uesugi Tetsuya very eager to see it.

Even a rough estimate from him suggests that there are at least five hundred of these combat sequences.

If we unleash a Five Thunderbolts spell and wipe them all out...

Uesugi Tetsu rubbed his hands together, his heart pounding with excitement, but after a brief hesitation, he gave up on the idea.

—His purpose in coming here is to get to the "core of the factory," but he hasn't even entered the factory gates yet.

Who knows if a single Five Thunderbolts attack might shut the factory down, secretly send away the core, or even blast out a factory owner Z. Besides, the Soul Ash dropped by these "XX Sequences" is pitifully small.

Forget it.

Having convinced himself, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had shrunk himself using the Thousand Faces technique, quietly slipped through the gaps between the battle formations.

We entered the logistics factory, which has been operating day and night since its construction, with a constant rumbling sound.

Bang, bang, bang...

呲呲呲!
Boom! Boom!
Countless chaotic yet perfectly rhythmic loud noises emanated simultaneously from all parts of the factory.

Uesugi Tetsu could see that one after another, the logistics units stood at their respective "workstations," repeating the same actions at the same speed and with the same force.

The assembly line runs nonstop.

A piece, a pool, or a mass of material is transported to the logistics personnel in various ways, and handled by their different "hands".

They are processed again within the same time frame and sent to the next process.

The entire factory operates with the precision and efficiency of a well-compiled program.

"Even if you put another ten thousand workers to the point of madness, they still couldn't achieve this level of efficiency..."

As Uesugi Tetsu walked along the gaps in the road, which were only a few dozen centimeters wide, he clicked his tongue in amazement.

The density of logistics and production lines within the factory was so immense that there wasn't even a place for combat units to land.

No wonder the external defenses are so tight.

As the production line gradually became more and more "primitive," Uesugi Tetsu walked toward the core of the logistics factory.

Meanwhile, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had been looking around, also noticed a strange phenomenon.

He remembered Sheng Hai saying that the logistics factory was a specialized modular factory specifically designed to produce war resources to ensure the supply of troops at the front lines.

In other words, this place is specifically for producing war-related materials or weapons.

But Uesugi Tetsu estimated that he had walked quite a distance, and 80% of the production lines he saw were the same type, with only one other line producing various supplies.

Most production lines are producing a small item called "Component 028".

Moreover, the failure rate seemed to be very high. All the parts he saw, 028, were thrown into the junkyard by the robots and then sent to the furnace to turn to ashes.

As he pondered, Uesugi Tetsu's gaze swept over the three square parts, about the size of a palm, again.

【Component 028 (Completeness 97.99%)】

【Component 028 (Completeness 97.33%)】

【Component 028 (Completeness 98.45%)】

Then, these nearly 100% intact parts were seen being recycled and remanufactured.

He suspects that these robots will only keep a part if it is 100% intact.

How difficult it is to create a part that is exactly the same as the mold.
"What exactly is this thing?"

Uesugi Tetsu narrowed his eyes, suspecting that the factory owner was up to some trick again.

Dedicating most of a factory's capacity to producing a single palm-sized component must yield returns far exceeding expectations.

Otherwise, these factory owners who value efficiency above all else would never be willing to give it up.

Unfortunately, the factory is full of mindless robots that simply follow their programs, and it is impossible to use the Soul Imprint to control them and make them produce clues.

Uesugi Tetsu could only steal the most intact part he had ever seen from the storage slot.

【Component 028 (Completeness 99.75%)】

Deep within the sweltering, hellish factory, Uesugi Tetsu's steps grew increasingly slow and cautious.

The surrounding air temperature had clearly exceeded 100 degrees Celsius, and to his surprise, a two-and-a-half-star combat sequence patrol team appeared within his field of vision.

This is a good thing, indicating that he is not far from the true core of the factory.

At the end of the assembly line, Uesugi Tetsuya followed a narrow pipe to a high place and patiently observed the patrol team's movement patterns.

A full hour later, Uesugi Tetsuya discovered the pattern.

Every fifteen minutes, a battle sequence with the same number will pass before his eyes once.

Based on the movement speed of these battle sequences and the map manifested in Uesugi Tetsu's mind, if it's just circling around, it should only take less than ten minutes.

"So, these patrols went deeper into the area when they were halfway there."

He made his decision and, without hesitation, jumped down and followed behind a fighting formation.

The further you walk, the higher the temperature in the air becomes.

After Uesugi Tetsu and the patrol team passed through the mechanisms and descended into the underground beneath the factory, the surrounding temperature had already soared to several hundred degrees.

Even with the obstruction of the triple circulation of internal energy, he could still feel a slight warmth on his skin.

Click click click click.

The combat formation continued its relentless march, crossing the highest temperature zone and ascending along its predetermined route before continuing its patrol.

But Uesugi Tetsuya didn't leave.

He raised his head and stared at the giant sphere of light that was controlled by an invisible force field and suspended in mid-air, making even his interpretive eyes feel a burning pain.

Because he had reached his destination.

【Factory Core】

A bright, pale gold label stood crookedly on the sphere of light, part of it even embedded within it.

Uesugi Tetsu fell into deep thought.

How do you take this thing, which is at least eight or nine meters in diameter and has a surface temperature estimated to be several thousand degrees, away?

Using a storage backpack to collect it directly is unlikely to work, because the core of this factory is clearly fixed in mid-air.

After staring at it for a long time, Uesugi Tetsuya, whose eyes were glistening with tears, suddenly narrowed his eyes and discovered that there was something inside the sphere of light.

seem……

The Eye of Deciphering, operating at full power, pierced through a light brighter than a hundred flashbangs exploding simultaneously, and peered into its interior.

—At the very center of the sphere of light, there was a bright blue sphere the size of a basketball!
The label "Factory Core" was originally floating above this azure sphere.

No wonder the label got stuck in the sphere of light... It turns out that the extremely hot sphere of light was just the "light" emitted by the core of the factory.

With such a small ball, it's easy to put it away.

However, if he were to cross the range of the light sphere, he would probably lose his life there.

Uesugi Tetsu smiled.

What's a mere life?
He lost one life, but he has another one today!
Two more tomorrow!

There's nothing else to it, Uesugi Tetsuya is just incredibly lucky!

With this thought in mind, Uesugi Tetsu acted instantly before the next patrol team had fully descended.

The pent-up energy, spiritual power, and lightning magic erupted simultaneously in that instant!

Yaegaki ordered Uesugi Tetsuya's figure to vanish from the spot in an instant.

Endless purple-black lightning erupted from Uesugi Tetsuya's body, clashing with the light sphere representing extreme heat.

Amidst the excruciating pain of his flesh being torn apart and melted, Uesugi Tetsu's fingers finally touched the small, azure sphere located right in the center, its surface unexpectedly cool.

At the same time, a bright red alarm sounded throughout the entire logistics factory!

Deafening!
The majesty belonging to the gods and spirits immediately traversed millions of miles, enveloping the entire factory.

Wow.

However, Uesugi Tetsuya was completely melted away by the extreme heat, disappearing along with the small ball.

His last thought was,
—The key to the epic map is in hand!
(End of this chapter)