Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 331, Section 78: The Dissection Begins

"In this situation, it is simply impossible to use nuclear weapons. According to an emergency assessment, tactical nuclear weapons would be ineffective against a metal structure of this strength. The safest option would be a strategic nuclear weapon with a yield of at least 100 kT, which means that most of London would have to be abandoned!"

"Calculations show that the weather conditions are favorable! The westerly winds are currently quite strong, and a nuclear explosion could carry a large amount of radiation into the North Sea. It's currently heading towards Burgess Park. Assuming we detonate the bomb there, the lethal sphere of death can be kept to a minimum, and the subsequent subsidence can be minimized as much as possible! Otherwise, following the hexagram trajectory, it would be a complete catastrophe if it were placed anywhere else!"

"Heh heh. What did Vice President Collins say?"

He said he respects all our decisions.

"Wait, wait a little longer. Britain cannot lose London, just as Japan cannot abandon Tokyo. And I think you all know their current situation."

"The actual consequences of detonating it at Burgess and at the British Museum are almost the same; both involve dropping nuclear bombs in London and abandoning London."

"Without London, Britain would fall apart."

The Prime Minister's clothes were soaked with cold sweat, his tie nowhere to be found, but he still unbuttoned two more buttons and turned to his deputy:

"Is she here?"

The deputy wiped his sweat, hesitated for a few seconds before nodding, "They're on their way. Britain is her mother country; they shouldn't stand by and watch her die."

Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister seemed a little relieved and murmured to himself.

"Is this the dissection you're going to perform on Britain, Ripper?"

"Damn it. Why did it have to happen during my term?"

On London's south bank, the earth trembled and spread like ripples.

A terrifying metal foot stepped on an old house, completing the demolition in the blink of an eye. When the foot lifted, all that remained was a flat, dented wreckage.

The helicopter has already evacuated. Since even the extraordinary beings couldn't find the monster's weakness, there's no point in expecting them to.

Along the way, fighter jets continued to fly overhead, and it continued to suffer fierce artillery fire. Thermite and thermobaric bombs were fired one after another, exploding large areas of fire on its body or around it.

But its repair speed is far faster than before; no explosion can cause it to lose its balance even slightly, at most causing a slight pause.

It even began to actively absorb metal from cars, streetlights, and reinforced concrete along its path, constantly reinforcing and enlarging its own framework.

Upon arriving at Burgess Park, as expected, it faced the crystalline liver that appeared to be pieced together from countless statues, and stretched out its enormous metal hand.

The previously still statues of the liver began to move; they extended and clung to the enormous arm, fitting perfectly into the giant's open abdomen.

thump.
The sculpture on the liver twists and turns, as if mimicking the peristalsis of the organ.

The water flowing through the heart, the metal pipes inside the giant, and the stone of the statue are interconnected and fused together.

The giant's size seemed to have increased slightly, and the metallic luster of its body was mixed with a bronze-white texture, while the blue light in its eye sockets was also stronger.

Without pausing, it continued to turn and move forward, its target the grotesque tower of flesh and blood that stood atop Stockwell Station.

The gunfire gradually subsided into silence.

Ammunition can be replenished, but the despair of people's hearts is hard to heal.

Not only the UK, but also a huge amount of attention from around the world has been focused on this place, and many of the live streaming channels are currently experiencing outages due to the overwhelming traffic.

The authorities didn't even bother to shut it down. During the time that Ripper was rampaging, London was already dominating the trending topics every day, and many TV stations were broadcasting live 24/7. France, in particular, sent several national teams to broadcast the event.

The BBC itself was also broadcasting live, one segment focused on William V, who was still at Westminster Palace, to inspire people and show that London had not yet fallen.

There was also a live broadcast of the metal giant from a distance. No matter how professional the cameraman or how powerful the equipment, the image on the screen was trembling. Every tremor seemed to represent London's impending fall.

The school where Ludu works is holding a drill today, claiming it is in preparation for an extraordinary disaster that could spread across the strait at any time.

"Hey weirdo, didn't you say you wanted to protect world security? Why don't you go protect London?"

When school ended after the exercise, on the school bus, several people teased and joked with Lu Du, who was alone.

Because of Lu Duqi's strange personality and way of speaking, he is a minor celebrity on campus and the target of ridicule and jeers from many people.

“Ignorant fools, how do you know I wasn’t defending London!” Ludu snorted arrogantly, showing no mercy to the group.

"Tch, you make it sound so real, you little confetti light strip."

No one believed Lu Du's words and scoffed at them.

Ludu stood up very seriously, looking like a little adult, and said to them solemnly, "I am Lucioledouis, a firefly from the forest, not a light bar."

"Radiant light strips, radiant light strips, from a cheap convenience store, flashing and dazzling, hee hee hee—"

As they were talking, the school bus arrived at their house. The children gave Ludu a funny face and got off the bus noisily.

Ludu sat back down in her seat, annoyed. She looked out the window at her classmates who were still making faces at her, closed her eyes, and focused on controlling her clone in London.

"But... how do we deal with this monster? Fists and spaghetti seem completely useless."

Ludu, yearning to save the world, pondered deeply.

The giant had already approached the Tower of Flesh and Blood. As if sensing the same aura, the latter's writhing flesh actively extended countless blood vessels and flesh buds, wrapping around the giant's metal skeleton.

The process appeared extremely bloody and violent. Flesh and blood frantically clung to, covered, and merged with the skeleton, turning the previously exposed skeleton a dark red.

Muscle fibers grow in clusters on the bones, but no skin forms, giving the giant a terrifying, half-mechanical, half-flesh appearance that is mottled and grotesque.

The exposed muscles encasing the cold, hard metal skeleton create a strong visual impact.

After merging with the Tower of Flesh and Blood, the giant's size increased significantly again, exuding an overwhelming sense of power.

The blue light in its eye sockets seemed to carry a hint of ferocity.

The next target is Basil's Park.

The artillery fire was replenished and continued, but it brought little sense of security.

The only saving grace is that because the second round of the ritual has progressed to zero, the giants are unable to absorb anything here.

Upon arriving, the giant merely wandered aimlessly for a moment, as if the program had stalled, before instinctively turning towards the Reformer's Tree in Hyde Park.

Nobody knows what organ should have been here, but they wish there were more of these regrets!

In Hyde Park, standing beside the towering, bizarre Lung Tree, it unfolds its back muscles and machinery. The giant lung, formed from the fusion of pet flesh and blood and still breathing, begins to grow again, its branches extending into the giant's interior. Soon, it disappears from the spot, completely merging with the giant.

The giant seemed to have gained greater endurance, its movements became more steady, and its deep blue eyes shone as sharply as searchlights.

Finally, with steps that shook the earth and an unstoppable force, it arrived at its destination—the British Museum.

The giant brain tissue, which replaced the one in the museum, with its grooves and folds and slight wriggling, is quietly waiting there.

The giant walked to the colossal brain, slowly knelt on one knee, and lowered its ferocious head. It was as if a subject was paying homage to a monarch, or as if a component was returning to its main body.

At this moment, the giant brain came to life. Its surface writhed violently, and the grayish-white brain matter split open along the left and right hemispheres. Countless tentacles floated like jellyfish, gently and irresistibly enveloping the giant.

The final wave of firepower began to pour forth, and people felt the muffled booms as they nervously watched the raging flames.
The giant, still entangled, walked towards the brain, only stopping when it reached the center.

The tentacles grew thicker and thicker, layer upon layer, until they completely enveloped the giant, forming a cocoon of flesh as majestic as a mountain, constantly pulsating, and over a hundred meters in diameter.

The surface of the fleshy cocoon is covered with brain-like grooves, and it rises and falls rhythmically with the heartbeat and breathing inside.

All attacks that struck the fleshy cocoon were like stones sinking into the sea, only causing weak ripples before being absorbed by the tough and elastic tissue.

The British Museum's brain has completely collapsed, or rather, it has been transferred, transforming into a cocoon that completely envelops the giant.

And this cocoon is nurturing the life force of some terrifying being.

The whole of London fell into a complete silence.

The long chimes of Big Ben rang out at just the right moment, but against the backdrop of that giant cocoon of flesh, they sounded like a death knell, striking the hearts of everyone with each chime.

The players gathered on Big Ben, gazing solemnly at the enormous cocoon of flesh.

Anyone with eyes can see that the real battle will come when the fleshy cocoon breaks open.

Jack the Ripper will descend upon the world in a completely new form that they cannot even imagine.

Nobita took a deep breath and broke the silence:

"There are 23 hours left. This is our last chance, and London's last chance."

"Since the game is rated as difficult, it means there must be solutions that we, as players, can overcome." "Difficult doesn't mean impossible."

Ethan took out the crystal and looked at everyone: "If there's a shot, there will be a shot. Since the crystal has the function of nine players sacrificing their lifespan to summon a safe haven, it means we will most likely have to use it. This is one of the few opportunities to increase our margin for error."

Nobi glanced at him a couple of times, not expecting that it was he who had brought it up.

"Now the question is, which nine?" Ethan stepped forward. "I can count myself."

Arthur, standing beside him, also silently stepped forward.

Park Min-woo frowned slightly, and after a few seconds of silence, he also stepped forward.

Strangely, the three people least expected to make sacrifices are now willing to sacrifice themselves.
Nobita roughly figured out Ethan's thoughts.

By voluntarily sacrificing nine years of lifespan, one can most likely gain performance points and also ease tensions with them.

Even knowing his thoughts, people did change their opinion of him slightly.

The frustration of being ripped off at Silver Cup Manor finally came to an end here.

"Me, me, me too!" Lu Du eagerly stepped forward.

Iwasaki took out the crystal and suddenly said, "Doesn't it require any prior preparation to use this ability?"

The players looked at each other in confusion. According to the instructions, wasn't it enough to just find the location and activate the crystal?

“Nine crystals can be pieced together to form a larger crystal.” Yui casually tossed her crystal onto the ground.

The crystal bounced a few times on the ground, making a crisp sound.

"How did you know?" Hayato asked curiously, squatting down as if preparing to study it.

“Just look.” Yui gave a stiff smile. “No need to piece it together. I guess you can just throw them together.”

Hayato, still somewhat skeptical, carefully placed his crystal next to Yui's crystal.

There was no need for others to object, and soon nine crystals were gathered on the ground.

Almost as soon as the last piece of crystal was placed, light appeared within the crystal, slowly connecting within the crystal and then rising up in mid-air to form a large crystal with no gaps between them, as if it had always been one.

Is it worth sacrificing nine years of your lifespan in exchange for a blessed response?

[If so, each person should infuse nine years of their lifespan into the crystal, then stand in one of the nine designated positions and shatter the crystal.]

At this point, the ability of the Merciful Crystal was described in detail.

Ethan reached out towards the crystal, covered it with his palm, and slowly narrowed his eyes.

Half a minute later, he withdrew his hand: "At this rate of lifespan injection, it would take at least ten hours."

"so long?"

"Time is not the issue; the Ripper won't be out anytime soon. The main concern is whether it will affect our subsequent combat effectiveness."

Ultimately, out of concern that using this function would affect their combat strength, the strongest members, Iwasaki, Taki, and Nobita, did not use it.
"No way." Nobi disagreed with Uesugi's allocation plan. He looked at Oshima, who had been silent for a long time, and said, "We didn't let Oshima participate in the battle earlier, letting him do as he pleased, so that he could accumulate the ability to counter the Ripper. Therefore, Oshima cannot risk using the crystal. I'll take his place."

"After all, even if I can't fight, I can still summon helpers."

"Besides, Tian's online presence is too unstable; we can't even see him now. We need another player."

Taki understood Nobi's meaning and glanced at Iwasaki: "Okay, I'll take Nobi's place."

Therefore, the players who do not need to use crystals for defense are Ikeda, Oshima, and Iwasaki.

The remaining nine players will transfer their lifespan to the Mercy Crystal here, so that they can use the crystal's protective function at that time.

Ideally, their fighting strength would be unaffected or only slightly affected, as they could replenish their supplies with holy spring water. However, if the impact is severe, the burden of the battle would fall on Oshima and Iwasaki.

As for Ikeda, he hasn't recovered from the aftereffects of the last battle, and he also recently exhausted his abilities.

The dominant personality currently has the upper hand, which is why he rarely appears in this round of the game.

After the discussion, Iwasaki stood at the edge of Big Ben, the wind causing the black mist along the edge of his black robe to sway behind him. He gazed at the fleshy cocoon, twirling two small longevity pills in his hands, lost in thought.

Night gradually fell.

The final evacuation is still underway, and this time it has a somewhat forced element to it.

But if residents do indicate their decision to stay in London, the authorities will not waste any more time.

As time passed, the movements of the fleshy cocoon seemed to gradually become more intense.

At four in the morning, a blinding, eerie blue light suddenly shone from inside the cocoon, illuminating the translucent membrane as if it were molten glass.

Snap! Sizzle!
With the sound of flesh tearing, a huge hand, covered with dark red muscles but with a clearly visible outline of metal bones underneath, suddenly pierced through the cocoon wall.

The five fingers spread out with agility, and the muscle fibers tighten and relax during the movement, showing a pure sense of power.

This is just the beginning.

Boom boom boom!
More breaches were blasted open from the inside.

The cocoon shattered into pieces, and large chunks of the inactive, grayish-white membrane quickly turned into stone-like substances, crashing to the ground and stirring up clouds of dust.

Amidst the smoke and mist, a giant figure, more orderly than before, slowly straightened up.

He still retains the basic form of muscles encasing a mechanical skeleton, but the details are completely different.

The previously mottled and messy muscle texture has now become clear and neat, like the anatomical atlas hanging in a medical school. Every muscle fiber is so perfect, full of biomechanical beauty.

The dark red muscles and silver-gray metal skeletons intertwined and inlaid, giving people an unusual, almost sacred sense of harmony—a kind of awe-inspiring yet chilling divinity that was produced by the perfect fusion of the wildness of flesh and the rationality of machinery.

His head was already formed, with clear facial features, but it lacked skin.

Where eyes should have been, there were no eyeballs, only two burning, eerie blue lights.

He lowered his head slightly, and his pupil-less gaze swept over everything before him, revealing a hint of complex emotion, which quickly disappeared.

Then, a voice, a blend of metallic resonance and a deep, guttural tone, resounded throughout the heavens and earth, slowly rang out:

I said it.

"You can't stop me."

"Even God can't stop me."

There was no anger in his voice, a stark contrast to the frenzy he had displayed during the ceremony. There was only a calm that came from a long wait to finally achieve one's goal, and a detached indifference.

"Let all of this end as soon as possible."

He was stating a given fact.

The giant slowly raised one hand and placed it in the center of his chest, a perfect blend of muscle and metal. Then, his five fingers plunged into his chest cavity.

There was no gushing blood, only the hum of flowing energy. When he withdrew his hand, he held in his palm a piece of silver-gray metal that had separated from his body and was shimmering with a strange luster.

The metal wriggled and deformed in his palm like a living thing, its edges stretching until it finally transformed into a dagger of his size with an ancient design.

The blade of the dagger faintly shimmered with a ghostly blue light, the same kind that flowed from the giant's eyes.

The giant held the dagger level, its tip steady without the slightest tremor, pointing directly south to Westminster, the heart of British politics.

"I, Jack the Ripper, have returned."

"The final surgery has begun."

"I will dissect Britain. The final illusion."

He paused, his deep blue gaze seemingly piercing through the palace walls, looking directly at the centuries of history and so-called glory it bore, and at the trembling legs of William V.

In his view, all of this was nothing but a foundation of hypocrisy.

He pronounced the verdict:
"A true anatomy"

"from now on."

(End of this chapter)