novelraw Chapter 98 : The Whole World as the Enemy
Chapter 98 : The Whole World as the Enemy
Chapter 98: The Whole World as the Enemy
Half an hour later, the Prime Minister’s Residence.
Asahara Shoko sat in the genuine leather chair that had originally belonged to the prime minister, casually toying with that diamond-studded scepter in his hand.
Before him stood rows upon rows of bowing government officials, military generals, and senior executives of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Their minds had long since been controlled by Asahara Shoko’s mental suggestion; their souls had already degenerated into slaves of the god.
“Transmit my divine oracle.”
Asahara Shoko’s voice was cold and majestic, echoing through the empty conference hall.
“Conduct a citywide manhunt for the ‘demons’!”
“Anyone who possesses transcendent power yet does not believe in the Church of Myriad Spirits is an incarnation of a demon!”
“Anyone who dares to resist the gods or question the truth is a heretic!”
“Mobilize all forces! The police, the military, and even every devout believer!”
“I want to turn this city into an airtight net!”
“I want those rats hiding in the gutters to have nowhere to run!”
“Yes, Master Cult Leader!”
Everyone shouted in unison, fervent light flickering in their eyes.
……
As the divine oracle was issued, the entire state apparatus of the Neon Nation began operating at a frenzied pace.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s surveillance center.
Several thousand police officers stared wide-eyed, bloodshot eyes fixed on the dense array of surveillance feeds on the screens.
“Facial recognition system at full power!”
“Gait analysis system online!”
Any suspicious individual, any abnormal energy fluctuation, would be marked and tracked at the very first moment.
The Self-Defense Force barracks.
Armored vehicles roared as they rolled out of the base, fully armed soldiers taking control of every intersection and every street in the city.
And online, in communities, a terrifying “witch-hunt movement” was unfolding.
“Rewards for reporting!”
“Bounty of one hundred million for discovering heretics!”
“Those who harbor demons share the demon’s guilt!”
On huge electronic screens, wanted notices scrolled continuously.
Those fanatical believers had turned into omnipresent eyes and ears.
They stared at their neighbors, stared at their colleagues, and even stared at their own family members.
Any slightly unusual action could invite a devastating strike.
……
Ginza, the bustling commercial district.
The once lively streets were now filled with a chilling atmosphere of deathly tension.
On the massive electronic screens, Asahara Shoko’s face and that killing-intent-filled divine oracle were broadcast around the clock.
“Report heretics! Purify the world!”
“God is watching you!”
From the loudspeakers, hymns and wanted notices alternated, deafening to the ears.
“That woman! She makes no sound when she walks!”
Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced through the murmurs of the crowd.
A middle-aged woman pointed at a young girl ahead who was wearing sneakers.
Fervent and twisted light flashed in her eyes.
“She’s a demon! I saw it! Her heels aren’t touching the ground!”
The girl froze, her face instantly turning deathly pale.
“No… I didn’t… I just practiced ballet…”
Before she could finish speaking.
The surrounding crowd, like sharks that had smelled blood, instantly swarmed over.
Countless pairs of eyes filled with malice and prying intent locked onto her.
“Grab her!”
“Strip her! Check if she has the demon’s mark!”
“For the true god!”
Several burly men roughly pinned the girl to the ground, tearing at her clothes.
The girl let out desperate cries, but amid the frenzied tide of people, the sound was insignificant.
Very soon, the girl’s corpse lay in a pool of blood, her eyes wide open in death.
The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.
“Well killed!”
“Purify the heretics!”
Scenes like this played out in every corner of the city.
Reported for running too fast.
Reported for having too much strength.
Even because someone’s gaze was too fierce, or because they were too beautiful, could become reasons for being reported.
This was exactly the effect Asahara Shoko wanted.
Better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let a single one slip through.
The entire city turned into a gigantic pressure cooker.
Fear and fanaticism fermented within it, infinitely amplifying the evil in human nature.
……
Shinjuku, inside a concealed safe house.
Chen Mo stood behind a gap in the curtains.
He watched the squad of “Holy Church troops” below who were conducting door-to-door searches, his expression dark.
“They’ve gone mad… all of them have gone mad.”
He lowered the curtain and turned to look at Tsuchimikado Rin, who was sitting on the sofa.
“We can’t stay here anymore.”
Chen Mo said in a deep voice.
“Have the people of your country all gone insane?!.”
“Yesterday, there was an otaku in the neighboring building who got reported by his neighbors for ‘privately harboring evil god idols’ just because he bought too many figurines.”
“He was dragged out and burned alive on the spot.”
Tsuchimikado Rin’s expression remained cold.
“This filthy country has always been this mad.”
“Now the entire Metropolitan Police Department has become thugs of the Church of Myriad Spirits.”
“Even the Self-Defense Force has begun openly participating in the Church of Myriad Spirits’ masses.”
“Asahara Shoko has already completed the unification of politics and religion.”
“He is now the god of this country.”
“Right now, the entire Neon Metropolis is full of his eyes and ears.”
“We’ll be exposed very soon.”
“We need to think of a way.”
Chen Mo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anxiety in his heart.
They had to find a breakthrough point.
“What about that 【Gambler】】?”
Chen Mo suddenly asked.
“I don’t know.”
Tsuchimikado Rin frowned.
“After the last battle, he disappeared.”
“Along with that 【Onmyoji】, there’s been no trace of him either.”
“These two guys are like they evaporated from the face of the earth.”
A glint flickered in Chen Mo’s eyes.
“They must be plotting something.”
“We have to find a way to contact them.”
……
Tsukiji Seafood Market.
This was the largest aquatic products trading center in the Neon Nation, and deep within the market, inside that enormous freezer.
Tsukiji Market, frozen warehouse zone.
Although it was already late at night, the place was still brightly lit.
As the largest seafood distribution hub in all of Neon, thousands of tons of fish passed through here every day.
At this moment, deep inside a certain remotely located cold storage room.
“Crunch… crunch…”
A hair-raising chewing sound echoed through the silent freezer.
The sound did not resemble a human eating; instead, it was more like some massive beast gnawing on bones.
A man with a bloated, mountain-like body was sitting amid a pile of tuna corpses.
His name was Ikuchi Ichiro.
True to his name, he looked like a pig walking upright.
Weighing over three hundred jin, he looked like a mound of flesh.
At this moment, he was clutching a bluefin tuna weighing fifty kilograms, gnawing on it like corn on the cob.
Scales and bones together, even the rock-hard frozen ice shards, were all swallowed by his black-hole-like gaping mouth.
【Player: Ikuchi Ichiro】
【Identity: Glutton】
【Faction: Radiance】
【Hunger is your original sin; devouring is your salvation】
“Delicious… delicious…”
Ikuchi Ichiro mumbled indistinctly while eating.
Since awakening a few days ago, he had been hiding here.
The hunger after awakening burned like fire, scorching his internal organs and driving him mad.
But as long as he could consume food, his strength would grow.
The seafood here was endless—it was simply his paradise.
Thus, as he continued to ingest food without pause, his body was also constantly evolving and mutating.