Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 153, Section 151: Transparent Thinking
The collapsed building partially destroyed the drones and robotic dogs that were on guard around the area, and the scene was filled with smoke and dust.

"Activate lidar detection! Be aware of the surrounding area!"

“I saw—”

"Enemy attack! Open fire at will!"

"He's too fast! The aim assist can't keep up!!"

Screams echoed from within the smoke, and a figure, like a demon in the smoke, reaped lives in fleeting moments.

Before their vision could even clear, half of the extraordinary assault team assembled by the Japanese government at great expense and resources had become victims of the blade, leaving the team's commander heartbroken and unable to breathe.

"Withdraw from the smoke!"

Swish!
Another well-equipped head flew up, the dark figure paused slightly, and caught up with the assault team that was trying to retreat out of the smoke.

The knife—swung down!
Clang!
Fireworks flew everywhere.

The demonic blade struck a shield half the height of a person, leaving a deep scratch, but it was indeed stopped. Only then was his figure finally fully exposed to the people.

This was a completely charred "corpse" from which no skin tissue could be seen, retaining only the shape of a human, gripping a demon sword, with blood-red patterns spreading across its arms, emitting a dark red glow.

Chu Chu Chu!
A storm of bullets swept in, and the Talos squad and armed robot dogs arrived, quickly opening fire in return, the sounds of gunfire ringing out continuously.

The team member who had just been supporting the shield suddenly went limp, and the armor on his arm showed obvious damage.

[Level 10 pain signal detected]

[Doping has been administered]

The team members breathed a sigh of relief, took out their guns with their other hands, and joined the attack.

The charred figure struggled to stay upright, its body constantly bursting with black fragments, yet despite consuming so many peanuts, its limbs remained intact without any breakage or large wounds.

Amidst this rain of iron, the demon sword's blade rapidly emitted a red glow, and the charred figure lifted it high before slamming it into the ground.

In an instant, a vortex of burning wind and flames swirled outwards from the center of the blade.

pause!

The Talos squad's shields quickly faced the flames, standing upright on the ground like a city wall.

The squad members hid behind it, watching the temperature gauge spike alarmingly, almost reaching the armor's 1,500 protection limit, before slowly dropping back down, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

After the temperature dropped back to a safe level, the team members quickly re-entered a state of alert. The mechanical dog drones that had been facing the enemy were now destroyed, and the charred figures were nowhere to be seen, leaving only ruins and scorched earth, and a ground littered with remains and corpses.

"The lidar is not responding. Preliminary assessment indicates that the enemy has moved away from the engagement point. One teammate has a broken arm, but the rest are unharmed."

"You handled it very well. Don't let your guard down. Medical personnel have been dispatched."

After the conversation ended, the captain of the Talos squad picked up the shield that had blocked the demon sword's attack and gently snapped it.

Click.

The shield split in two at the break.

This thing can withstand armor-piercing projectiles in the laboratory.

For some reason, their body armor did not fully utilize this material, so if they were actually cut down, they probably wouldn't fare much better than those who were beheaded.

This was largely thanks to the fact that these people were relatively close, giving them more time to react, and that time was bought with lives.

"Fortune has smiled upon me."

Looking at the dejected members of the extraordinary assault team, Captain Talos felt more deeply than ever before what it meant to be on the brink of life and death.

He couldn't guarantee he could force that person to back down again when they met next.

After all, that thing probably took more than ten kilograms of bullets with its own, so it's not hard to believe that it could withstand a missile.

"The existence of such a danger, which could appear anywhere at any time, is undoubtedly extremely terrifying. I suggest that Tokyo immediately enter a state of alert, all operations cease, residents must stay at home, all stockpiled drones be deployed, and a city-wide radar array be established."

"Are you crazy?"

"Is the economy more important or human lives?"

"People are important, but the economy is just as important. Do you know how much trouble this will cause in the long run?"

"This is a typical capitalist mindset."

"Anyone can put on a grand and righteous front."

Amid the commotion, Leon left the meeting room, walked to the side, and made a phone call.

"Have you seen the video of the Demon Sword Monk? I need your latest investigation progress. Can the Ninth Generation he has on hand be of any use?"

Ping Shenglong was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone: "I just have some progress to make."

"Go ahead," Leon said, glancing at the time; it was seven o'clock in the evening.

"The ninth generation Muramasa has sensed the existence of the demon sword again." Taira no Ryu said, referring to Muramasa Taki's new discovery that had just occurred.

"Where?" Leon's spirits lifted; this was indeed good news.

If someone on the team can sense the trajectory of the demon sword, they can do many things, such as avoid losses and set traps.

“I sensed its presence, but not its location.” Leon hesitated, then took a deep breath: “What’s the difference? Explain it more clearly.”

Heisei Ryu organized the content of his conversation with Taki.

"It might be related to Riyan's ritual. She could sense that the demon sword was now able to act on its own and didn't need anyone to wield it. However, after the previous battle, its power was greatly depleted, and it wouldn't be exposed to the public eye until it had accumulated enough power."

"Now, the demon sword, which has the ability to act independently, does not want to continue the contract with Muramasa. However, due to the contract, it cannot kill Muramasa directly. Therefore, it will use its own ability to turn some people into sword slaves and make them kill Muramasa."

“As long as Muramasa dies, it can terminate the contract on its own and do whatever it wants.”

Leon's expression was strange. Was the contract really that flawed? "What does it want to do?"

"It only kills, a deep-seated obsession with killing. It thinks that letting humans control it to kill is too slow, so it's better to do it itself. But we don't know where the demon sword's obsession with killing comes from, or why it was completely awakened at Honmonji Temple."

"Why does she know so much?" Ping Shenglong's words were so certain, as if the demon sword had asked him to relay them.

During his time as minister, he had seen mostly speculation, which often used words like "probably," "maybe," or "possibly." However, in what Ping Shenglong just said, he only used one of those words.

“This is another reason why the demon sword wanted to kill her; their thoughts are in sync.” Taira no Ryu put down the documents and looked at Muramasa Taki, who was sitting quietly inside the one-way glass window, seemingly lost in thought.

Leon understood; his thinking became clear.

Without a doubt, this ninth Muramasa was indeed their key protected target, and also the best weapon against the demon sword.

This could already be considered half of the extraordinary level.
It's unclear when their Extraordinary Countermeasures Department will be able to truly possess its own extraordinary existence.

But thinking about it, it's ridiculous. If he became a superhero, he wouldn't be able to have the same kind of good character as Superman.

Doing whatever one wants and being above others is what one desires. Perhaps one is willing to maintain basic order, but being controlled by others is unacceptable.

Because he knew that even if there was such a kind-hearted person who was willing to cooperate with all official actions, humanity would be wary of such a person and would set up multiple defenses, and sooner or later a kind person would be driven to rebel.

“I will have Talos’ team pick her up and take her to a safe location. You can arrange for one of you to accompany her. From now on, she is only allowed to tell us what’s in our lives. We are forbidden from telling her anything else.”

"clear."

He hung up the phone and returned to his seat.

Since the Demon Blade wants to kill her, then let's send her to the most secure US military underground base, where layers of defenses will be set up so that even bacteria will have to be verified first.

Can it turn people into sword slaves? Then I'll just replace all the people with robots. He doesn't believe this demonic sword can be programmed on the spot!

Fifth Investigation Team Office.

Upon hearing Leon's plan, Kurosaki immediately had something to say.

"Tightly protect him? What's the point?" Kurosaki was speechless. "If I were a cursed sword, and you didn't give me a chance to kill Muramasa Taki, I would just kill people randomly, without even knowing where I was. What could we possibly do then?"

"It would be better to give it a seemingly feasible opportunity, set a trap, and lure it out. That way, it might actually work."

"This investigation chief isn't very good. If this method works, then I can do it too. From now on, please call me Chief Kurosaki."

Ping Shenglong didn't have much of an opinion: "Leon's idea is probably to first test the Demon Blade's determination and ability with this approach, and then make adjustments as needed. I think it's fine."

"Hiss. I thought I was despicable enough by using that girl to risk her life as bait, and I was thinking how you guys had changed your ways and become so conscientious. I didn't expect you really didn't care about the lives of the citizens of Tokyo! You treat them like bargaining chips, throwing them away as soon as you want." Kurosaki clicked his tongue.

“You’re right. Everyone is a bargaining chip. Right now, Muramasa is a more important chip, as he’s the key to eliminating the demon sword. So he has to be used at a crucial moment. The authorities are willing to sacrifice some less important chips as a test.”

Ping Shenglong remained unmoved as he flipped through the question-and-answer records of Muramasa Hijiki and the others.

After hearing what Taira no Ryu said, Kurosaki felt a surge of anger that he couldn't vent. He couldn't even concentrate on reading the documents, so he went over to Taira no Ryu, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, and started smoking them heavily.

This was the first time the head of Ping Sheng had ever seen him smoke.

"Scumbag! Scumbag!!"

He spat as he smoked.

"Now I'm a scumbag too!"

He could rationally accept this approach, but he was emotionally agitated.

It also made him waver in his initial decision to join the official government.

But what other good methods are there besides this? They don't have any extraordinary cards to play.
"Do you think the knight knows anything about the demon sword's situation?"

Kurosaki asked hesitantly.

"He may not be in Tokyo."

"Could we release some information about the demon sword so that the knights know that this thing could wreak havoc in Tokyo at any time?"

"This will cause panic, but it's likely to be a good thing. I'll ask for instructions."

Looking at Kurosaki's serious eyes, Heisei Ryu put aside the first part of his words and nodded in agreement.

　Thank you to "Book Friend 160722090437253" for the 700-coin reward.

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　　Actually, the pagoda built at the Nichiren Crematorium is quite small; this is just an artistic embellishment.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)