death of hope

Chapter 986 "Psionic Storm" (61) Vice City

Akihabara is the most vibrant pedestrian street in the city center, with a theme of punk retro, a fusion of Japanese folk customs and cyber technology.

Stepping into this place, visitors feel as if they have traveled back to the golden age in a time machine; the shops along the street are decorated with retro neon lights in high-saturation red, blue and yellow, while the restaurants prefer warm-toned Japanese-style paper lanterns, creating a mesmerizing interplay of light and shadow.

The auditory experience is also incredibly down-to-earth: an izakaya uncle shouts in a rough voice, pigeons peck at bits of takoyaki on the ground, and a group of office workers in suits sit side by side in front of a ramen stall, all with their briefcases pressed against their bellies to prevent theft.

Strolling through the streets of Akihabara, all you hear is the constant chanting of "Irasshaimase" (Welcome!), and the promotional advertisements playing on a loop are practically brainwashing you.

Hot air balloons descend from the sky, projecting holographic advertisements, along with neon lights and various ambient lights. Newcomers will surely be dazzled by the light pollution, experiencing a kind of psychedelic feeling.

·
Suddenly, the door of a pachinko parlor (a pinball gambling den) on the street was kicked open, and a scraggly middle-aged man rushed out, his face contorted in despair, stamping his feet frantically, and kneeling on the ground, wailing:
"It's all a loss! It's a loss!" (I've lost everything! What should I do!)
More and more onlookers gathered, and a group of tattooed young men and women came out of the shop and started punching and kicking the disheveled old man, cursing as they did so.

"ばか! Cry きたい家に帰ってweeping きたい! Private たちのビジネスに affects を and えるな!" (Asshole! If you want to cry, go home and cry! Don't affect our business!)
Paul looked around at the apathetic people and their indifferent gazes. He frowned.

"Why is everyone condoning their beatings and no one calling the police?"

“Even if you call 911, it won’t do any good.” Nikolai shrugged.
"The cops take the bribes and turn a blind eye. Even if they do arrest a few henchmen, the gang leader will bail them out within a few hours."

"Gangs... So, all these tattooed people are gangsters?"

"Yeah, the Black Dragon Society's henchmen are just a bunch of street thugs who have been recruited by the gang. Pinball shops like this all have a shady background."

·
Just then, a commotion of shouts and curses came from behind. Turning around, they saw two groups of people fighting in front of the hot spring inn. One group was wearing blue and white kimonos and wooden clogs, while the other was wearing a melon-shaped hat and a red vest. Not satisfied with just punches and kicks, they quickly pulled out knives and started drawing blood.

"No way! It's deadly hot!"

"You're being attacked! Get up!"

The citizens fled in panic, but Paul remained calm. They were all guerrilla fighters, forged in the crucible of war, staunch communist warriors. He simply retreated silently, undaunted by the bloodshed on the ground.

"Honestly, the city center is still so chaotic."

"There's no way around it, it's a characteristic of Shin-Sapporo, it's full of gangsters."

"Who are these two groups of people?"

“The ‘Hung Hing Society’ and the ‘Osaka Gang’ are fighting over a piece of land. This hot spring hotel is located on the border between the two forces. After this fight, no matter who wins or loses, the hotel owner will have to pay two protection fees every month, or he can forget about opening for business.”

“I remember a few years ago, the reports you submitted to headquarters were not like this. At least in the Upper East Side, the city center was still safe.”

“It was different a few years ago. Back then, there was a super big gang called ‘Mountain King’ that kept things in check, with thousands of thugs. Other small gangs and groups didn’t dare to cause trouble in the Upper City.”

"And then?" "And then," Nikolai pulled out a Marlboro cigarette, and Ando took out a lighter to light it for him:
"Later, the 'Sanno-kai' and the second largest gang, the 'Kyokushin-gumi,' fought each other to determine which was the male and female. In the end, both sides suffered heavy losses, and the Sanno-kai won a Pyrrhic victory."

·
Paul nodded to signal the other party to continue, and Nikolai exhaled a puff of smoke:
"Later on, the young master of the Mountain King Society got too high on drugs, began massacring his own men, went mad, and jumped off a building..."

"Tadping..."

Paul's face darkened as he recalled some unbearable memories. One of his comrades had become addicted to hallucinogens and turned into a cripple. Therefore, Paul deeply abhorred this harmful substance.

"Now that the biggest gang has been destroyed, there must be fewer hallucinogens in Shin-Sapporo."

"No, quite the opposite,"

Nikolai shook his head and smiled wryly: "Originally, the 'Mountain King Society' was a rather conservative underworld family, prohibiting its members from engaging in the hallucinogen business. Back then, drug addicts on the streets weren't as rampant as they are now."
With the fall of the Mountain King Society, all the small, shady gangs that had been lurking beneath it emerged. Now that they were capable, they started causing trouble, ignoring all old-fashioned rules like code of honor among thieves, focusing solely on making money.
You know what? Those drug dealers even prey on children's pocket money, selling small bags of hallucinogens outside schools, telling kids it's fashionable. Sigh, Shin-Sapporo is truly rotten these days…”

·
After saying this, Nikolai stubbed out his cigarette and sighed sadly. Although he wasn't a local, he had been working at the Shin-Sapporo branch for over ten years and had a deep affection for the city.

Gang crime is rampant, drug addicts are everywhere, the slums in the lower city are struggling to make ends meet, while the young masters and princesses in the upper city are partying every night and squandering their fathers' fortunes...

Nikolai felt uneasy about the visibly decaying and degenerate state of Shin-Sapporo, the city he considered his second home.
"In recent years, the Terra Federation government has gradually lost control of its colonies to giant corporations, and the power of mayors and governors has been virtually stripped away."
Japanese capitalist giants like Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, Sakura, and Panasonic have practically monopolized every aspect of this planet. They even pay the cops' salaries, and police stations have become semi-private—can you believe it?! It would be a miracle if the streets weren't chaotic!

For large corporations, gangs, drug dealers, gambling—the more chaotic the city, the better, as it makes it easier to profit from and exploit the masses.

Donya said indignantly, "Isn't there a Terra Federation navy stationed here? The Federation's generals and Z-guys, don't they care?"

"Heh heh, it's my own hand, there's no reason to slap myself in the face," Nikolai spat at the corner of the wall.

"The old Japanese aristocratic forces, Japanese conglomerates, and Japanese gangs within the Federation are all in cahoots. This city is completely rotten. Girl, guess who's protecting Japanese capital?"

“An… elderly Asian woman,” Tonya blurted out.

"Terra Federal Council, Senator Shino Tsukisaki, nicknamed 'Smiling Tiger' again."

“That’s right!” Nikolai gave a thumbs up.

Paul listened to their conversation, watched the brawling and roaring gangsters, then turned to look at the syringes beside the trash can, the apathetic citizens, the starving beggars, and finally at the holographic luxury goods advertisements projected from the hot air balloon.

Paul Korchagin's gaze was resolute as he muttered to himself:

"A perfectly good city ruined like this... These swarms of bastards... Unforgivable..."

To catch the thief, first catch the king... If the Federation won't take care of it, then we Kang fans will.
This mission is to take that senator's life.