Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 342, page 89: Monster Hunter
Because Gotemba City is close to the remains of Mount Fuji and has a stone Jizo statue in the city center, the Self-Defense Forces built a military camp there after the eruption disaster.

With the protection of the army and the guardian spirit of the stone god, order was quickly restored in the small city, and many people chose to return.

However, today, this hard-won recovery has almost been devastated again.

The power system was hit hardest; substations billowed black smoke in the dark rain, and power lines crackled and flickered with electric arcs in the rain, occasionally igniting a patch of flame.

However, it didn't ignite; the black rain, like a thick phlegm, smeared the city.

In just over ten minutes, the entire outer area of ​​Gotemba City was plunged into complete darkness, and the few emergency lights struggled for a few moments before going out completely.

Communication signals were completely cut off, and the outskirts of the city seemed to have become an abandoned island in the darkness.

"To the military camp! Hurry to the military camp!"

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva! Only Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva can save us!"

In the city center, people with their families, using whatever they could find to shield themselves from the purified ordinary rainwater, trudged through the mud and ruins, heading towards the military camp.

They were unsure whether their location was safe; they were simply driven by instinct to get closer to what they believed would protect them.

However, Gotemba City is a special case. It has a large number of pollution cleanup workers recruited from all over the country, and their work sites are often located on the outskirts of the city, near Mount Fuji.

When the disaster struck, many workers were preparing to work in areas outside the protected area of ​​the Jizo statue.

When the dark clouds that blotted out the sky and the towering black pillars appeared, the workers immediately realized that annihilation was imminent.

They immediately abandoned their heavy equipment and fled desperately toward the city.

Some managed to snag a construction vehicle, but others had to walk.

But it was already too late.

The black rain descended faster than anyone could have imagined. Even more terrifying, it seemed that some monstrous being lurked within the rain curtain, ready to devour its prey.

After being soaked by this black rain, cars are prone to various problems and break down one after another.

Without protection, a person would become extremely heavy and cumbersome.

On the road, a small team of a dozen or so sanitation workers in protective suits were panting and desperately fleeing along the highway leading to the city.

They were originally strangers, survivors who were forced to come together on their escape route.

The protective suits are primarily designed to block radiation, and now they can also be used to block direct contact with the black rain, but at the same time they are greatly consuming their physical strength and restricting their movements.

The surroundings were suffocatingly dark. The beam of light from the powerful flashlight in my hand could only illuminate an area of ​​a few meters in front of me, as if the light was being swallowed up by the thick darkness.

Even more chilling was the occasional piercing screams and desperate wails of dying humans echoing from the impenetrable darkness, along with the terrifying cracking sounds that seemed to be flesh and bones being forcibly torn apart.

These sounds jolted everyone's nerves, making their necks feel cold, as if their heads might fall at any moment.

"Look ahead! Look ahead! There's light!!" The worker leading the group suddenly pointed into the distance, his voice trembling with excitement and lack of oxygen.

Following the sound, everyone looked and, sure enough, at the end of the endless darkness, a soft, hazy halo could be faintly seen, and within the halo, the city center still seemed to be lit.

The halo in the darkness was like a lighthouse guiding the way.

"It's the direction of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!" A middle-aged worker was so excited he almost cried. A rough-looking Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva amulet was hanging on his chest inside his protective suit. "The Bodhisattva hasn't abandoned us; the Bodhisattva is protecting us!"

"Hold on, everyone! We'll be safe once we get into the light! There are Self-Defense Forces there!" another worker shouted encouragingly, but his eyes, hidden behind his protective mask, flickered a few times as he quietly adjusted his steps, moving himself to the relatively safe middle position of the group.

The glimmer of hope gave them a shot of adrenaline, allowing the team to temporarily suppress their fear and squeeze out the last of their strength to stumble and run faster toward the light shield.

However, as the saying goes, "looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," and that seemingly not-so-distant light shield appeared so far away in the darkness and mud.

The difference in physical strength began to show, the line gradually stretched out, and some people started to fall behind.

"Wait... wait for us! Please!" The last worker slipped and fell into the black puddle. He desperately stretched out his hand and pleaded with a sob in his voice.

Some people paused reluctantly, turned around, but seeing the group getting further and further away ahead, they gritted their teeth and continued running forward.

In this environment, stopping would most likely mean death.

"what--!"

A short, sharp scream came from the back of the line.

Everyone turned around in horror. At the edge of the darkness, they saw the worker who had fallen being suddenly dragged by some force, his whole body flying backwards along the ground and disappearing into the darkness.

Only the sounds of chewing and bones cracking could be faintly heard, before being drowned out by the sound of rain.

"Run! Run!!" Fear whipped them, and the workers unleashed astonishing potential, sprinting forward frantically.

At that moment, the lead worker, who was running at the very front, suddenly stopped without warning. To everyone's horror, with a tearing sound, the worker was ripped vertically in two.

Internal organs and blood spurted out, staining the surrounding black rainwater red.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

Finally, someone completely broke down, letting out a howl that sounded inhuman, running around like a headless fly, and disappearing into the darkness by the roadside in the blink of an eye. The ending was predictable.

But the remaining people, though trembling with fear, were forced to unleash their final ferocity. They knew that turning back meant death, running around meant death, and the only way to survive was to rush into that curtain of light.

"Charge! We're almost there! Don't give up!" someone shouted. The remaining four or five people, their eyes red, rushed headlong toward the light screen that was within reach.

Closer, even closer!

The outline of the light screen was already clearly visible, and one could even vaguely see a figure standing at the edge of the screen.
But at the same time, a sense of oppression followed closely behind, rapidly closing in.

The predator in the dark has lost patience to toy with its prey.

"Wait, wait for us, boohoo!"

A harsh voice came from the darkness behind him, like a child learning to speak.

This monster is clearly mimicking human speech! No, perhaps they were humans before.

"Ahhhhh!!"

The last few roared and crashed headfirst into the soft light barrier.

It was like passing through a warm film of water; the reassuring light instantly dispelled the darkness and chill around me.

Several people staggered and fell to the ground inside the light screen, panting heavily, their bodies limp and almost exhausted.

However, not everyone is so lucky.

One of the last workers, only a dozen steps away from the light screen, was exhausted. His legs gave way in the mud, and he fell heavily to the ground.

He raised his head in despair, looking at the path to survival that was so close, but his legs felt like they didn't belong to him anymore, completely unresponsive.

Just then, a dark figure suddenly pounced out from the dark rain curtain.

With the help of the faint light emitted by the light screen, people finally saw the monster's appearance clearly.

It was about two meters tall, covered in long, jet-black fur that looked like tar. Its eyes were not clearly visible, only a gaping maw stretched to its ears. A long, forked tongue covered in mucus lashed out like a whip.

Its back was covered with dense, black bulges of varying sizes that writhed like tumors, but these bulges did not seem to affect its movement.

The monster's long tongue shot out and coiled around the neck of the fallen worker.

boom!
A gunshot rang out, and the bullet struck the base of the monster's long tongue, instantly spurting out black, foul-smelling blood.

The monster cried out in pain, let out a sharp cry, and retracted its tongue.

Before the worker could react, a strong hand grabbed his arm and roughly dragged him toward the light screen.

The monsters, of course, wouldn't let them go. With another hiss, they summoned their companions, and soon, several monsters appeared and disappeared in the black rain.

They differ slightly in shape, but all have black bumps on their bodies.

Bang bang bang!
Gunshots rang out again rhythmically, quite calmly.

Each shot was not aimed at the monster's traditional vital points, but rather at the bulges on the backs of different monsters.

The moment the bullet hits the bulge, it's like puncturing a balloon filled with foul blood. With a "pop," the black liquid explodes, and the monster that was hit lets out a painful roar, its movements noticeably pausing.

Taking advantage of this brief gap, the figure who fired the gun gradually dragged the fallen worker into the safe zone of the light barrier, then casually tossed him aside as if unloading a piece of cargo.

The still-shaken worker finally saw his savior's back. He was also wearing a stained protective suit, but his movements were clean and efficient, and he held a semi-automatic hunting rifle in his hand. He stood at the edge of the light screen, calmly observing the lingering monsters outside.

After trying a few times and finding that they could not break through the light barrier, most of the monsters turned away in frustration and disappeared into the darkness to find other prey.

Only the monster with the injured tongue seemed particularly angry and resentful, baring its teeth and letting out a threatening growl at the people inside the light screen.

Without uttering a word, the gunman deftly replaced the magazine on his rifle, then stepped out of the light barrier and bravely faced the monster!

"He's gone mad?!"

Some people couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Seeing its prey dare to come out on its own, the monster roared and pounced on all fours like a cheetah.

The gunman remained unusually calm, his rifle steady as bursts of fire rang out in quick succession.

Every shot hit a bulge on the monster's back.

Black pus and blood kept bursting out, and the monster's movements became visibly slow and unsteady, and its roar turned into a painful wail.

When the last bulge was shattered by the bullet, the monster's claws were almost touching the gunman, but in the end it just grazed the edge and fell, its whole body convulsing violently, before it crashed to the ground with a weak hoarse sound.

The gunman stepped forward steadily, pressing the muzzle of his gun against the wound in the monster's throat.

boom!
The last bullet was fired. The monster's body stiffened abruptly, then, like a punctured black water bag, it disintegrated completely with a splash, turning into a pool of foul-smelling, viscous black liquid that slowly merged into the black water on the ground.

The gunman slowly lowered his rifle, turned around, and silently walked back into the light screen.

He slowly unfastened the buckles of his protective suit, removed the upper body protection, revealing the face of an old man covered with scars of varying depths, letting the ordinary rain wash over him.

Rainwater dampened his hair, but his eyes remained calm, showing no sign of emotion.

He glanced at the workers on the ground, still shaken and looking at him with awe and gratitude, without saying a word.

He simply took a piece of cloth out of his pocket and carefully wiped the black rain off the rifle.

After a long while, he murmured in a hoarse voice, as if talking to himself:
"Bichon Frise, easy to deal with."

He turned back, gazing into the deep darkness, his hand gripping the gun twitching again.

He smelled a familiar scent on those monsters, somewhat similar to the mutated black bears that had appeared around Mount Fuji.

His name is Onozaki Katsuto.

Three months ago, before the Mount Fuji disaster, Yamanashi Prefecture organized hunters to deal with the bear problem, but they encountered a mutated wild animal incident, resulting in heavy casualties among the hunters.

Onozaki defeats and frightens away a mutated black bear in the fight, but at the cost of his hunting dog, apprentice, and old friend.

Since then, he has become taciturn.

After he recovered from his injuries, the Japanese government began to plan to increase the number of hunting permits and establish a hunter classification system, allowing for the use of more firearms and ammunition that were not previously permitted, depending on the level. However, hunters were required to assist official operations in critical moments.

This was also the initial plan by the authorities to mobilize the power of the people, which later proved to be quite feasible in the Florida incident.

The large groups of hunters led by Ami certainly saved the authorities a lot of manpower and resources.

These hunters were also given a rather resounding name—Monster Hunters.

However, Japan does not dare to loosen gun control like the United States, so it uses this compromise method.

While ensuring the situation remains under control, weapons should be distributed to experienced hunters so that they can protect other civilians or provide support to local police officers in emergency situations.

It's important to know that many police stations nowadays have more elderly officers than young officers.

It's impossible to station a super-speed assault force or self-defense force in every city.

Onozaki's experience and record in fighting monsters, coupled with his seasoned expertise, led to his being directly rated as a master. The authorities granted him access to many high-powered firearms and increased his hunting quota. There are also regular training sessions specifically designed to target monsters.

He was originally invited by the American tycoon to lead a hunting team in Florida, but he declined.

His soul was trapped on Mount Fuji and did not want to leave.

So he stayed in Japan during this time, hunting wild animals while keeping an eye on the movements around Mount Fuji.

He himself is from Gotemba City, so it's not surprising that he's here.

Just as he was preparing to venture back into the darkness to hunt, his communicator rang.

"Lord Onozaki, the situation is urgent. According to the new Hunter Law, you have been conscripted."

".good."

Onozaki's reply was concise.

He wouldn't mind following orders as long as he could hunt these monsters.

"I want to know, where did the main force of these monsters go?" Onozaki knew that the source of the disaster was definitely Mount Fuji.

However, Gotemba City is right next to Mount Fuji, yet monsters seem to be sparse there.

If mutated beasts could form hordes, there's no reason why these monsters, which are not much stronger than mutated beasts, would be fewer in number. Obviously, they must have another destination.

The voice on the other end of the communicator paused, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally, as if deciding it wasn't a secret, slowly spoke:
"Kansai".

“There is no protection from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva there.”

　Chapters 213-215, The Old Hunter Who Fought the Bear

　　
　
(End of this chapter)