Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 345, Section 92: Weather Forecast

"Ho ho."

"Has the rain...the rain stopped?"

A massive, tiger-like monster collapsed in a black puddle, emitting dying gasps.

Its body was covered with deep, bone-revealing claw marks, the edges of which were still frosted with white. Several previously swollen, writhing black growths had been torn open, and thick, black blood mixed with some disgusting pus was constantly oozing out. Clearly, it was at its last gasp.

Standing atop it was a white cat stained with black raindrops, her body arched, claws raised, ready to deliver the final blow to this dying monster.

Only then did she suddenly realize that the water on the ground had stopped splashing up when the black rain fell, so she subconsciously looked up at the sky, which was still incredibly black.

With the cat's keen eyesight, it could be seen that the continuous torrential black rain had unknowingly stopped.

Only a few scattered drops fell through the gaps in the clouds, hitting the ground with a soft patter.

Even the dense, dark clouds in the sky seemed to be breaking apart, first cracking into irregular shapes, like a parched riverbed. Sunlight filtered through the gaps, and the rays became, in a true sense, intersecting lines.

Uesugi felt the monster's body trembling and writhing beneath her feet. She leaped lightly and landed silently a few meters away, cautiously observing the changes in the dying monster.

Now that the black rain has stopped, she wants to see how these monsters will react without the support of this black rain.

The monster made a few cooing sounds, then struggled to raise its head. Its inhuman, beast-like face split into several pieces, which could perhaps be considered an expression.

Under the streaks of light falling from the sky, its body resembled melting ice cream, dissolving rapidly and quickly merging with the black puddles on the ground, disappearing without a trace.

"Could ultraviolet light be the nemesis of these monsters?"

"If it's that simple, then it's easy to solve."

Uesugi pondered. Judging from the scene just now, the monster looked like a vampire, disappearing as soon as it was exposed to sunlight.

But she felt something was wrong, though it was true that the black rain had stopped and the monster had disappeared.

After communicating with Oshima and Taki, it was confirmed that the dark clouds over Japan had dissipated and the remains of Mount Fuji were no longer emitting black smoke.

Uesugi sniffed. Besides the putrid smell that Kuroyu carried, he could also faintly smell a gloomy scent, not the scent of reality, but the scent of emotions.
"At least it's safe for now, which is a good thing, right? This will make it much easier for me to go back to Kumamoto Prefecture."

She rallied, transformed back into human form, and tried to call home.

Black rain greatly disrupts the signal, but after the Ashiya Doman incident, she had already figured out a way to arrange a satellite phone for her home, so that the two satellite phones could talk without a ground base station.

Previously, the signal was blocked by dark clouds, but now that the dark clouds have disappeared, even if all the ground base stations are destroyed, it won't have much to do with her.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that her parents were safe and that no monsters had appeared on Kyushu Island for the time being.

Despite her parents telling her not to risk coming back over the phone, she still had to go back.

Given the current traffic situation, she was worried about letting her parents come to Tokyo like this.

It's easy to imagine that the livability index of a city with a stone statue will soar after this event.

After adjusting his condition, Uesugi continued westward.

She's almost arrived in Nagoya, and it seems the island is there too, but she doesn't have time to meet it in person for the time being. As long as she knows the other person isn't in any danger, that's enough for her.

As you drive through this city that has been stained black, you see various debris and dark red fluff in the puddles.

Mutilated human corpses were everywhere, some even torn beyond recognition.

The bloodstains splattered on the walls could not be completely washed away even by the black rain. People were kneeling and weeping everywhere, their cries echoing throughout the city, making one's heart ache.

Many of the exhausted Self-Defense Force members had lost their will to fight. Many slumped in the rubble, leaning against broken walls, helmets askew, weapons carelessly tossed around them, their eyes vacant and faces expressionless.

No matter how loudly the officers roared, rebuked, or even begged, almost no one responded, as if their souls had been emptied.

Morale has collapsed.

Logically speaking, the Self-Defense Forces have assisted the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department in handling many extraordinary incidents, and have more or less encountered extraordinary beings or received corresponding training.

But never has anything been as terrible as this short eight-hour period of black rain.

"Get up! Get up, all of you! Clean up the battlefield and heal the wounded! We haven't lost, we've won!"

An officer who appeared to be a captain, his face covered in blood, was yelling at several soldiers who were slumped on the ground.

Suddenly, a young soldier who had been keeping his head down stood up abruptly. His arm trembled violently, and the muzzle of his rifle was pointed directly at the captain.

"What...what are you going to do?!" The captain stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

boom!
A crisp gunshot rang out, and a bullet pierced the captain's shoulder, splattering blood.

The captain, clutching his wound, staggered backward, his face filled with shock and anger: "Are you crazy?"

Bang, bang!

Two more shots were fired, one hitting the throat and the other ripping open the captain's skull.

The captain, his eyes wide open, fell straight backward, leaning against the blood-dripping wall, dying with his eyes wide open.

The soldier who fired the shot twitched unnaturally, uttering sounds that were a mix of crying and laughing: "We're all going to die...we're all going to die...heh, hee hee." Slowly, he pressed the still-smoking muzzle of the gun against his chin.

boom.

The fourth shot rang out.

He too fell into a pool of blood, a strange, relieved smile frozen on his mangled face.

Some of the other soldiers around watched indifferently, as if they had long been numb. Others clutched their heads in anguish, letting out suppressed sobs.

Oshima witnessed this scene from his apartment building not far away, and his throat went dry.

His abilities are too limited, and he has exhausted his gratitude points, so he can't do anything now.

Thanks to the timely intervention of the dark cloud... No, did the dark cloud really disappear?
Or perhaps it simply changed its form, residing in people's hearts from the heavens?
The more Oshima thought about it, the more confused he became.

A private message interrupted his continued rambling thoughts.

[Hao: I'm not in Japan. Tokyo should be safe. I suggest you go there.]

Oshima and Iwasaki occasionally keep in touch privately, and the first thing he did after the Black Cloud incident was to ask Iwasaki if he knew anything about it.

But the other party only replied now, and did not give a direct response.

Is it because you genuinely don't understand the situation?
Oshima didn't think too much about it, silently turned around, and went to find his parents, preparing to persuade them to return to Tokyo.

But given the current chaotic situation, can they really get back safely?

Oshima didn't want to reveal his identity. He had too many weaknesses, and once his identity was exposed, it would be tantamount to handing his fate over to the authorities.

Kyoto.

There are many ancient buildings here, which, compared to the broken steel jungle of Nagoya after the disaster, gives people a stronger sense of historical desolation.

The vermilion torii gate was stained black, and the poorly drained path was filled with black water that reached above the calves, making it difficult to walk.

The hours of mental torture caused many people to break down. However, there was some good news: Hirosue Hideki happened to be in a nearby forest when the incident occurred.

So she joined the battle, fighting for a long time in a place where some event was being held and a large number of people had gathered. Occasionally, she could also find time to go and support other places.

Her combat power is much stronger now than before, mainly reflected in her endurance.

No longer in that cautious state of having to check the progress of my erosion every now and then, I can now freely borrow the power of the other shore.

“Miss Hirosue,” a man in his thirties, dressed in a particularly retro style, jogged up to Hirosue Eri, surrounded by a group of people. He spoke with a deliberately slowed and respectful tone, bowing slightly, “Thanks to your timely intervention in this disaster, you turned the tide, repelled the demons, and protected many lives. We are all grateful for your kindness.”

Hirosue felt like he'd seen this guy somewhere before.

"Ahem, Miss Hirosue, your battle just now was truly spectacular and overwhelming! Emperor Tenjin and everyone else would like to invite you to the hotel to rest for a while, so that we can have a chance to properly thank you for your help."

The person standing nearby had good eyesight and quickly identified the man.

Oh, the Emperor.

Hirosue didn't feel anything; the Emperor's presence was far less noticeable than that of the British Royal Family. She simply acted where there were many people around, and if a dog happened to be there, she would rescue it as well.

"Too much trouble. I have other things to do, you can go and appease the others."

Hirosue frowned slightly. She was extremely uncomfortable with being surrounded by people and having to exchange pleasantries; it was so annoying.

For her, the battle was over, the danger was over, and it was time to continue doing what needed to be done.

Faced with these words that sounded like an order, the Emperor's face stiffened for a moment, but he quickly adjusted his muscles, put on a smile again, and even adopted a somewhat agreeable attitude: "You are right! In the face of such a great disaster, comforting the people is indeed the most urgent task. You have important matters to attend to, and we should not delay. The safety of Kyoto and even the whole country still depends on extraordinary people like you to take good care of it."

He was rambling on and on, speaking in a very formal and literary style, and Hirosue almost didn't understand him.

She nodded perfunctorily, stretched out her hand, and vines shot out, entangled a street lamp, and then she sprang away like Spider-Man.

"Ah, extraordinary indeed." People watched Hirosue's departing figure with envy, muttering to themselves in admiration.

No one took Hirosue's "offense" seriously. Nowadays, even an ordinary person can remember most of the abilities and personalities of the extraordinary beings that have appeared, and then classify them into T0, T1, and so on.
"That's just how Miss Hirosue is."

"It's good enough that they can save us; attitude and such don't matter."

"Yes, I heard she treated President Ami the same way."

They were already well aware of Hirosue Eiri's temperament; even the President didn't seem to receive any special treatment, let alone them.

Having shaken off ineffective interactions, Hirosue sped toward a prominent landmark in Kyoto.

Those are the massive skeletons left behind after the Kyoto Titans were defeated, most of which still lie scattered throughout the city.

After being repeatedly looted and studied by various forces, the valuable core parts of the skeleton had long been removed. However, the remaining main skeleton, due to its enormous size and difficulty in handling, still lay silently on the land of Kyoto like a dead mountain, becoming a witness to that disaster.

Hirosue landed on the highest arc of the giant's ribs, knelt on one knee, and carefully examined the grayish-white bones beneath his feet.

Even though the entire city was stained black, the skeleton still retained its original color.

Soon, her gaze settled on a mark.

At the edge of the bone, there were many jagged, obvious bite marks. I rubbed them with my fingers and they still looked fresh.

She stood up and began to move quickly along the massive spinal skeleton, where similar bite marks were found on many parts of the skeleton.

"Is this skeleton... attracting those monsters to eat it?"

"They don't eat things for no reason, which means there are tonics in this skeleton that would be beneficial to the monster?"

She had noticed during the previous battle that there seemed to be a particularly large number of monsters near the skeleton.

Now it seems the reason lies in the skeleton.

Only after confirming that her idea was correct did she dial Leon's satellite phone.

“Okay, I understand. I will pass this important clue on to Muramasa and the others. Thank you, Ms. Hirosue.”

After hanging up the phone, Leon slowly leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the large tactical display screen in front of him.

On the screen is a densely marked electronic map of Japan.

As the dark clouds dispersed, satellite and sporadic restored communications brought a deluge of reports.

Based on this information, technicians are using different colored dots to mark in real time the number, intensity, and damage caused by monsters appearing in various locations.

On the map of Japan before us, radiating outwards from the Kansai region, red dots clearly indicate the transition from dense to sparse monster populations.

During those eight dark hours, no trace of the monster appeared only in places outside the main island, such as Kyushu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido.

Throughout the entire island, and specifically in each city, there have been eyewitness accounts and reports of battles.

This naturally includes cities like Tokyo and Gotemba, which are protected by the Shijizo statue.

After all, the protective range of the Stone Ksitigarbha is limited. Some people in the peripheral areas, or those who are unlucky and did not rush to the city center immediately, will not be so fortunate.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is Kurosaki! Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can receive it."

Leon's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and answered it immediately.

"Enough with the nonsense. You should be relieved that the black rain has stopped, but I and Ping Shenglong feel that if the rain suddenly stopped, it might not be a good thing."

Kurosaki, speaking rapidly from London, said this.

"What...does that mean?" Leon frowned.

In any case, the rain has stopped, at least giving them some breathing room. Even if it rains again later, at least they are somewhat prepared.

How could you say that stopping it is not a good thing? If it continues like this, Japan will be fast-forwarded into the wasteland era in two days, and most people will not be able to survive.

"Okay, this is just my guess, I can't guarantee it's completely correct." Kurosaki began to layer his armor.

Leon's scalp began to tingle.

This guy's guess seems to be right!
"Let's review some high school geography. What happens after it rains?"

"Flowing into rivers and groundwater? Causing pollution?"

"That's one aspect. What's next? I just heard that the first batch of black water collected, without entering the area protected by the Stone God, has inexplicably turned back into clear water, is that right?"

"You mean evaporation?" Leon's expression changed drastically; he already knew what Kurosaki was going to say.

"Yes. Evaporation, and then the water cycle continues. Then, the second heavy rain falls, it stops again, and evaporation resumes."

Kurosaki added in a serious tone.

"In the future, Japanese weather forecasts may need to add a special section for black rain."

　Thank you to "Void Heart" for the 1,500 coins donation.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)