Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

The wild boars behind them, however, seemed oblivious to fear. They grunted and stomped over the corpses of their companions, their footsteps scurrying through the mud and blood, their speed increasing rather than decreasing.

boom!

A loud bang heralded the start of the event.

The wild boars stepped on the IFF mines that had just been fired from their backpacks. Amidst the explosions and the collapse of trees, a large number of wild boars became dead.

As Genjiro fired her gun, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

These wild boars charged without any strategy, completely blindly rushing forward, and all concentrated in one direction. Even their defensive capabilities seemed far inferior to those of the boars in Kofu City.

The battle ended faster than expected.

As the last charging wild boar convulsed and fell amidst a hail of bullets, the forest was littered with wild boar carcasses, and the air was thick with the smoke of battle.

The gunfire ceased, and the squad members, breathing heavily, remained on high alert.

Genji walked to the still intact carcass of a wild boar, squatted down, and used her gloved hands to pry open its eyes.

Normal color.

He drew his dagger and plunged it into the wild boar's body. There was slight resistance, but it was within reason.

The muscle tissue is normal, and the fat thickness is consistent with that of a typical wild boar.

"Minister, thermal imaging confirms the threat has been eliminated," Mingli reported.

Genji stood up, looked around the battlefield, and felt only a sense of unease.

She didn't believe you when you said these wild boars weren't manipulated, but the level of manipulation was vastly different from last night's, and it seemed somewhat perfunctory.

Moreover, these are just ordinary wild boars—or rather, not ordinary. Such a large-scale, reckless, and almost suicidal attack is certainly not driven by instinct.

At that moment, the earpiece beeped, indicating an emergency communication from Kofu City.

"Minister Yuan! Something's happened. Residents in the quarantined area, which was contaminated by wild boar blood mist last night, have suddenly started exhibiting manic symptoms."

“They are attacking the quarantine line. We are deploying people to block them, but they are like madmen, unafraid of tear gas and rubber bullets.”

The voice coming from the other end carried an undisguised panic.

Genjiro frowned, unsure whether their recent encounter with the enemy was related to the sudden riot in Kofu City.

"We must hold the blockade line, allow the Self-Defense Forces to evacuate nearby residents, and absolutely prevent any residents exhibiting abnormal behavior from escaping control. We must also implement biological and chemical protective measures."

"If necessary, live ammunition can be used. This is my order, Genji Himeko."

Her voice remained steady, but her eyes held a deep sense of gravity.

Is this an action with ulterior motives, or simply intended to disrupt their efforts to uncover the truth?

But without a doubt, these wild boars, whether mutated or ordinary, are merely pawns.

The real trader

“Minister, shouldn’t we apply to Minister Leon? Using live ammunition against the citizens could have serious consequences,” Mingli said in a low voice.

"Thanks to the Prime Minister's efforts, the military in Kofu City has been fully handed over to me. This is both my authority and my responsibility, and relinquishing this responsibility also means relinquishing this authority."

“If there is any hope of saving everyone, I will naturally do my best to seize the opportunity.” Genji shook her head. “But I don’t like to gamble on probabilities, especially on a possibility at a high cost. Someone has to consider the needs of more people.”

Fujiyoshida City General Hospital.

The makeshift observation area was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

The wards here house survivors who were brought back from the giant bears.

Many of them were in a daze, with low sobs and delirious mutterings rising and falling among them.

Police officers and personnel in the uniforms of the Extraordinary Measures Department asked questions and took notes in hushed tones.

Ping Shenglong came out of a private ward, walked through the corridor, and headed towards another ward.

Behind him followed Kurosaki Chimei, dressed in Taoist robes and seemingly on high alert.

"This guy seems to have been really provoked, and he's convinced that the vigilantes are the result of his prayers. But it's not necessarily a bad thing."

Kurosaki Chimei put away his notebook and casually made a comment.

He was referring to the praying man during the bear attack. They had just spoken to him but hadn't gotten any useful information, since the vigilante had only said one sentence.

Ping Shenglong was not disappointed; after all, if he were disappointed by this, he would be disappointed every single day.

The two arrived at the door of another private hospital room.

Pushing open the door, on the hospital bed, Onozaki Katsuto was half-reclined, his right leg in a heavy cast and suspended high, his body wrapped in bandages, and his exposed arms and cheeks covered with traces of medicine.

He turned his head and stared intently at the gray sky outside the window, his soul still trapped in that bloody and stormy night.

Hearing the door open, his calloused fingers unconsciously reached for his pocket, probably to touch his gun.

"Mr. Shengdou?"

Hei Shing-ryu pulled up a chair and sat down, his voice gentle. "I'm Hei Shing-ryu, the officer in charge of the bear attack case. This is my colleague, Kurosaki. We'd like to know more about the specifics of last night, especially the details of your contact with those bears. Any detail could be very important."

Shengdou slowly turned his head, his gaze focusing on Heisei Ryu's face.

He skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the point, his voice hoarse: "Those things... aren't black bears, or at least not entirely. They're generally over 160 kilograms, too big, and their strength and defense are also abnormal."

"Their aura was also very special. At that time, the creatures nearby were all intimidated, and even the insects stopped chirping."

“Landmines aren’t entirely effective against them; even ramming them with a car only injured it.” He paused, recalling the terrifying impact. “And they don’t act purely on instinct like wild animals, especially the last one, the one carrying my old friend’s head.”

Sheng Dou's eyes sharpened, filled with a deep-seated hatred: "It confronted me. I could sense it was thinking. It wasn't just simple ferocity; it was looking at my gun, looking at my legs, it was thinking."

"It sensed I was nearing my end and was weighing its options. In the end, it relented, but it wasn't out of fear; it was more like...it felt unnecessary? Or...it received other orders?"

Kurosaki Chimei was recording rapidly with the voice recorder on.

To be honest, he wanted to interrupt because there was too much subjective speculation in Seung-dou's words.

However, it can be considered a supplement to the information, and there was already interview data beforehand, so the objective facts are quite detailed.

Kurosaki's eyes swept over Kakato's entire body, noticing his hands covered in thick calluses and large knuckles, and the muscle lines of his arms and shoulders were even more clearly visible under the bandages.

Based on the previous records, Ping Shenglong asked several more questions about whether there were any signs of communication between the giant bears, their coordination of actions, and their reactions after being injured.

Shengdou's answer basically confirms that these giant bears' actions have a certain uniformity, far exceeding the intelligence or organization of ordinary wild animals.

It undoubtedly bears a striking resemblance to the wild boars of Kofu City.

Heisei Ryu stood up: "Thank you for the information, Mr. Kakuto. It is very important to us. Please get some rest."

Seung-dou nodded slowly and looked out the window: "I will get some rest."

Under the blankets, his left hand, which wasn't seriously injured, was clenched into a fist.

The two left the ward and headed for the elevator. Kurosaki then spoke: "A pure hunter. His experience saved his life, plus he had some luck and was ruthless. He probably had nothing to do with the extraordinary."

Ping Shenglong pressed the elevator button, nodded, and his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He took out his phone; it was Takagi.

"Team leader, we've made a discovery at the resort hotel. There's a black bear trapped in the basement of a villa in Zone C."

"We'll be there soon." Ping Shenglong hung up the phone, and the elevator doors opened just then. The two of them quickly stepped inside.

When Heisei Ryu and Kurosaki arrived at the relatively secluded villa, several veterinarians were coming out, and Takagi was talking to them.

"Team leader." Upon seeing Taira no Ryu, Takagi approached quickly and said, "While clearing the site, we heard unusual noises and scratching sounds coming from the basement of this villa, and then we discovered a collapsed gap."

"We immediately took control of the bear and only after a preliminary assessment confirmed that it was normal did we call a veterinarian to examine it."

"After assessment, this black bear is identified as a common Japanese black bear."

The group arrived at the iron cage set up inside the room.

"This bear," Kurosaki Chimei approached the cage and examined it closely. It was indeed very ordinary, and the difference between it and the carcasses of other giant bears was obvious to the naked eye.

It had a bad temper, baring its teeth and drooling at Kurosaki.

"According to the surveillance footage, this bear was in the form of a giant bear when it came in. Obviously, this form is time-limited. While the other giant bears received the information and evacuated, it was trapped here due to some accident."

"Therefore, these giant bears did not come out of thin air, but were a mutation or berserk transformation of the original black bears."

Following his train of thought, Takagi continued, "Team leader, if that's the case, then perhaps we can consider carrying out a large-scale, preventative clearing of the forests surrounding Mount Fuji."

"Use air power and ground troops in coordination to eliminate all medium and large wild animals in the area that could become carriers, nipping the threat in the bud."

Kurosaki Chimei's lips twitched almost imperceptibly; Takagi's thinking was a bit too extreme.

How big are the forests around Mount Fuji? How many species are there? Doing this is practically sending the entire ecosystem flying.

Are we going to have to use chemical weapons? But there are many residents nearby, and it would inevitably pollute the food chain and water sources, bringing disaster to the country and its people. The authorities would never agree to that.

Ping Shenglong shook his head: "Our mission is to reconstruct the process of the giant bear attack, and the additional mission is to find the source of the mutation. What you're talking about is not within our scope of consideration."

Kurosaki breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the proposal did not align with Heisei Ryu's interests, otherwise he might have considered it, although whether it could be implemented was another matter.

"I'm going outside for a walk." Seeing that they wouldn't finish talking anytime soon, Kurosaki pointed outside, wanting to look for clues himself.

"Don't go too far." Ping Shenglong turned his head and continued to ask for more information about the black bear.

Outside, Kurosaki carefully lifted his robe, worried about getting it dirty from the ground.

But it was absolutely out of the question to ask him to take it off; this place was clearly not a simple place, so it was best to be careful.

Walking to a corner, I saw Nakajima and several police officers gathered together, pointing at something.

Upon smelling the aroma, Kurosaki immediately moved closer: "Did you find something?"

Nakajima pointed to the stone Jizo statue, which was only half-buried on the ground: "We wanted to move this stone Jizo temple, but we found that it seems to have grown on the ground."

Kurosaki crouched down, took out a flashlight, and carefully touched the surface: "Do you know how long this little temple has stood here?"

“The person in charge doesn’t know either. He said it was there when the hotel was developed,” Nakajima replied. “They think it’s nice to have a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue, so they come to worship there on holidays.”

"Which kind of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is this? Mizuko or Ryoen?" Kurosaki couldn't quite tell from the remaining half.

However, the most common type is the one with a red bib, which is the kind of Jizo statue made by Shuizi.

"I don't know. Do you think there's anything wrong with it?" Nakajima rummaged through his pockets and took out a business card. "This is the business card he left behind. You can contact him."

"Okay, thank you." Kurosaki took it and continued to carefully examine and stroke the half of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

At the broken point, he touched half of a character, which was invisible and could only be felt.

【】

Sun, Eye, Replacement, Wisdom?

You can't guess it from just this half.

Kurosaki dialed the number on the business card Nakajima had given him and asked a few questions.

The person on the other side didn't know there were words on the statue, but they did know it was a water spirit Jizo statue because there was red dye on its neck when it was found.

Kurosaki was struggling to come up with a plan and was frowning as he was about to jot down the clue when suddenly his pen stopped.

"What if there's also a broken stone Jizo statue in Kofu City?"

Chapter 223: Broken Chinese Characters

"Let me out!"

"You have no right to imprison us here; this is a crime!"

"Stop them! Push them all back! What are you doing with that stick?! Swing it down, swing it with all your might!"

In the cordoned-off area of ​​Kofu City, tear gas filled the air, mixed with the lingering stench of rust that hadn't dissipated since yesterday, creating an exceptionally pungent atmosphere.

But the citizens seemed oblivious to this, as if they had lost their sense of smell, and hundreds of them rushed forward desperately.

The defensive line composed of biohazard suits and riot shields made a dull thud as it was pushed by the surging crowd. The batons that were awkwardly extended from the gaps in the shields struck the extremely agitated citizens, only to be met with more hysterical roars and scratches.

"Rubber bullets! Load rubber bullets!"

Boom!

Rubber bullets struck the bodies of citizens, causing some to stumble and fall, but many more seemed to lose all feeling of pain, continuing to charge forward despite the bullets, oblivious to the bruises spreading across their skin.

"Weak and powerless! That's how you swing a stick!"

The commander, who had immigrated from the Southern Dynasties, rushed to the precarious gap in the defensive line, wielding a stick in both hands, and swung it around in a blur as someone was about to squeeze through.

The surrounding military and police suddenly realized what was happening and, without any further restraint, beat the civilians until they began to scream in pain.