The rematch between Special Response HQ Unit 1 and Team art was scheduled for three days after the original finals, which was also the day the individual qualifiers ended.
Special Response HQ Unit 1 defeated Team art from Tokyo University with a score of 2:1. In the post-match interview, Shadow Girl said: Friendship first, competition second. Long live Sino-Japanese friendship.
This piece of news could be considered one of the few “good” news stories in Japan recently.
Yuki Asahi, who defeated Serys, also became a hot news topic for a time, even surpassing the previous viral sensation, Saori Saiyonji.
Of course, the fact that Yuki Asahi was Jiang Jian Yue’s boyfriend also began to be disclosed in various small media outlets and tabloid newspapers.
Jiang Jian Yue didn’t know what Kaori Onishi was thinking, but… sorry, there can only be one winner, and that’s me.
The Japanese “win-win-win” atmosphere didn’t last long, as more effects from the political turmoil began to appear in daily life.
Increasingly more protests on the streets, political flyers plastered all over, prices, unemployment, the impending war… When the Japanese looked back, they found only “win-win-win” could soothe their anxious hearts.
Therefore, even for the individual competition qualifiers, the domestic viewership ratings were significantly higher than in other regions.
Enjoy the entertainment, for today might be the last day.
DRG’s show of weakness seemed to be quite effective. The Curtain Cluster began to gradually influence the political arena, relying on the Special Response HQ as a puppet they controlled.
—Thus, numerous bills restricting DRG were passed, aiming to dismantle DRG Japan’s already sparse industrial holdings.
There are no permanent allies. The opposition Center-Left Alliance, which had temporarily united against the cult incident, now stood by and watched DRG being targeted.
Of course, they also had no time to worry about DRG’s minor issues.
They were split over the ruling party’s constitutional amendment proposal, especially the part about writing the Self-Defense Force into the constitution and changing it to a National Defense Army.
The Center-Left Alliance was definitely opposed to lifting the ban on the right of collective self-defense.
However, the Constitutional Democratic Party, which had previously used “opposition to the new security laws” as its banner, suddenly shifted to the right, being ambiguous in public, causing the Center-Left Alliance to exist in name only.
Political turmoil affected the economy. Domestic industries, worried about rising costs of cooperating with DRG and pessimistic predictions about future policies, began trying to distance themselves from DRG.
Of course, the main reason was that they all believed Africa was going to war.
Cooperation projects stalled, relevant personnel were laid off.
Japanese people who earned foreign currency in Africa through Japan-Africa cooperation found themselves stranded—it wasn’t that they didn’t want to return to Japan, but what could they do if they went back?
The whole world was on a hot stove, the oil temperature about to reach a violent boil, with no place able to remain unscathed.
The last wave of tourists brought by GSAC was the life-saving herb supporting Abenomics.
But after that, where was Japan’s path forward?
Confusion breeds fear, fear leads to unrest.
Although Hanyu Yukiki didn’t understand these things, he had a terrible headache over the skyrocketing crime rate.
As personnel transferred to the capital by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department because of GSAC, he was also temporarily pulled in to maintain public order due to manpower shortages.
‘I handled violence group cases in Osaka. Now, compared to these murderous criminals in Tokyo, the violence groups seem downright handsome.’
‘Brothers, Like a Dragon was right, I’m telling you, if there really is a Kazuma Kiryu…’
“Make way! Don’t crowd here!” Hanyu Yukiki pushed aside the onlookers—drunks and soliciting lackeys—his brow furrowed.
“This is too brutal…” The young patrol officer behind him looked at the injured person on the ground and gasped sharply.
The man lying on the ground was unrecognizable. His entire face was swollen like a steamed bun, his nose bridge collapsed, his mouth full of blood, only breathing out, not in.
Next to the injured man, a burly man in a floral shirt was sitting on a bar stool.
He held a cigarette in one hand, a still-dripping whiskey bottle in the other, his expression calm.
Momose Tadayoshi.
Hanyu Yukiki recognized that face.
It was said he had connections with that DRG missy.
“Momose, you again.”
Hanyu Yukiki stepped forward, his hand resting on the holster at his waist, his tone icy. “This is the third time this week, right? Do you think this is a fighting arena?”
“Well, if it isn’t the cop from Osaka.”
Momose Tadayoshi blew out a smoke ring and pointed at the mess on the floor. “This punk didn’t know his place, getting handsy in my territory. I was just teaching him the rules of Kabukicho.”
“Rules?”
Hanyu Yukiki sneered. “The law is the rule. Beating someone into serious injury isn’t a lesson.”
His gaze passed over Momose Tadayoshi, landing on a figure in the corner.
It was a high school girl with dark green hair, wearing a uniform.
Even in the dim light, the slightly exaggerated makeup on her face was visible.
The girl was curled up on a sofa, clutching her skirt tightly. Though her eyes held a trace of shock, there was more of a forced stubbornness and rebellion.
“Who is this girl?” Hanyu Yukiki asked.
“A passerby.”
Momose Tadayoshi said casually, but his eyes flickered noticeably. “This guy tried to drug her. I caught him. Officer, this counts as righteous intervention, doesn’t it?”
Hanyu Yukiki walked up to the girl, looking her up and down.
“Underage?”
The girl glared at him, sticking her neck out. “None of your business! I’m sixteen!”
“According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Ordinance on the Healthy Development of Youths…” Hanyu Yukiki said expressionlessly. “Minors under eighteen, without valid reason, are not permitted to stay in late-night business establishments between 11 PM and 4 AM. It’s 1:30 AM now.”
He took handcuffs from his pocket, turning towards Momose Tadayoshi. “And you! Regardless of the reason, beating someone like this is suspected of violating assault laws. Come with me to the station.”
“Hey, hey, Officer Hanyu.”
The young patrol officer nearby quickly grabbed Hanyu Yukiki’s sleeve, lowering his voice. “That’s Momose! I heard he’s backed by DRG, by that Jiang Jian Yue… If we take him in, won’t the higher-ups…”
“What about DRG? What about Jiang Jian Yue?”
Hanyu Yukiki shook off the officer’s hand, his voice loud enough for the whole bar to hear.
“Even if Jiang Jian Yue herself drove without a license, I’d still write her a ticket! As long as you’re on Japanese soil, you follow Japanese law!”
He got angry just thinking about that incident.
This country had become like this precisely because too many people didn’t obey the law.
Momose Tadayoshi looked at Hanyu Yukiki’s righteous face and suddenly laughed.
He flicked away the cigarette butt and actively extended his hands. “Alright, Osaka cop, I’ll go with you.”
“But…”
Momose Tadayoshi glanced at the girl in the corner, his tone becoming somewhat serious. “That kid’s the victim. Don’t be too hard on her.”
Hanyu Yukiki ignored his goodwill, pointing at the girl and saying to the patrol officer, “Take her too. Notify her guardian to come pick her up.”
“Tch, busybody.” The girl muttered quietly, reluctantly standing up.
As they walked out of the bar, the light illuminated the girl’s face.
Sato Aoi.
The police car drove through Shinjuku’s late-night streets.
In the back seat, Momose Tadayoshi and Sato Aoi sat side by side.
“Hey, kid.”
Momose Tadayoshi tilted his head, looking at Sato Aoi who had been staring blankly out the window. “You’re Cuiyue’s… younger sister, right? I’ve seen that supervisor’s photo.”
Sato Aoi stiffened, turning her head, her eyes wary. “You know her?”
“Of course.”
Momose Tadayoshi grinned—as a local power in Shinjuku, plus his connection to DRG, it wasn’t strange for him to know about DRG’s movements.
Out of curiosity, he had also looked into the Sato family that took in Cuiyue.
“She’s not my sister… just… my dad took her in.”
Sato Aoi lowered her head, looking at her black-painted fingernails, her voice somewhat downcast.
“After my mom and I came back, she hardly ever came home. Dad too, always going on about how amazing Cuiyue is, completely ignoring me…”
“So you go to places like that to feel seen?” Hanyu Yukiki, who was driving, interjected coldly.
Through the rearview mirror, he saw Sato Aoi bristle like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“None of your business! Stupid cop!”
“I don’t care how much grievance you have in your heart…” Hanyu Yukiki kept his eyes on the road ahead, his tone flat yet stern. “That kind of place is not where you should be.”
“What do you know! You adults—”
BOOM—
Before Sato Aoi could finish, a tremendous explosion erupted ahead.
The police car jolted violently. Hanyu Yukiki slammed on the brakes, tires screeching on the wet road.
“What happened?!” the patrol officer in the passenger seat shouted in panic.
At the intersection ahead, flames shot into the sky.
An out-of-control truck had crashed into a roadside shop. In the middle of the street, a man wreathed in electricity was wildly destroying everything around him.
“HAHAHAHA! DIE! ALL OF YOU! IF I CAN’T LIVE, NEITHER CAN YOU!”
Another Heart-Worm Awakened who had snapped under life pressure.
The frequency of such incidents happening in Tokyo had been increasing lately.
“Damn it!”
Hanyu Yukiki immediately grabbed the radio. “Superpower user riot at the Shinjuku San-chome intersection, requesting backup! Repeat, requesting ba—”
SCREECH—
Several black armored vehicles, like ghosts, rushed out from a side street. They completely ignored the traffic police evacuating people, barreling recklessly to a stop at the intersection.
Doors opened, and a group of fully armed soldiers in black tactical gear jumped out.
They wore no police insignia, only a conspicuous emblem on their chests: SAT-EX.
“Target sighted. Permission for free fire.”
A cold command echoed through a loudspeaker.
No negotiation. No warning.
Dense gunfire instantly tore through the night sky.
The frenzied superpower user didn’t even have time to react before being covered by a dense web of fire. His screams were instantly drowned out by gunfire.
“Wait! There are still civilians there!”
Hanyu Yukiki saw a few terrified pedestrians frozen by the roadside and shouted.
But SAT-EX had no intention of ceasing fire. Their eyes were only on the target.
Stray bullets flew across the street, sparks flying everywhere.
“Get down! Everyone get down!” Hanyu Yukiki unbuckled his seatbelt, turning to shout at the back seat.
Just then, a ricocheting stray bullet, with a sharp whistling sound, pierced through the police car’s rear window.
BANG!
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