Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 167, page 165: Official Propaganda

Kurogiri opened its eyes and stared intently at Muramasa Taki.

Muramasa Taki didn't dodge the question and brought up the verbal agreement between them: "What kind of weapon do you need?"

“A set of six double-sided flying needles.” Iwasaki seemed unconcerned about being overheard by the other two. “If the materials I give you have special properties, can they be added to the weapon?”

Takii's expression remained unchanged, but she felt strange inside.

The only place where I might reveal my abilities is during battle, with that homemade demon-slaying weapon. But can the opponent really see so much from such a weapon?

Her Demon Cutter clearly doesn't have any special attributes.

"I can't do it." Takii wanted to refuse, but the other party's abilities, combined with a weapon with special attributes, would greatly increase the trouble.

She had never forged a weapon with special attributes before, so she felt that the difficulty would be greatly increased.

It will probably take at least ten days.

“I’ll add an extra Small Longevity Pill,” Iwasaki said, raising the price directly. “You can restrict the weapon from harming you.”

“I’m sorry, I can only make weapons like the Demon Slayer. You should know that my weapons don’t have any special abilities.” Takii shook her head slightly.

"Okay. I'll send you the dimensions."

Iwasaki didn't press the issue. He could sense that the other party was holding back, but that wasn't surprising; their relationship was currently based on mutual exploitation.

In his mind, there was a chance that Taki would directly deny the previous deal, but now that he was willing to make it, he had at least achieved his initial goal.

He didn't actually have the special materials he wanted to add later; he was just testing the waters, and judging from the results, she was probably really capable of doing it.

Knowing this, Muramasa Taki's value as a partner increased significantly in his mind. Just because he doesn't have special materials now doesn't mean he won't in the future.

No one understands better than Iwasaki, who uses the Mage's Hand every day, what kind of boost a good weapon can bring to one's strength.

He wasn't sure if the telekinetic needle was the most suitable weapon for his ability, but it was a fact that the damage from the Mage's Hand was not concentrated.

It's sufficient for dealing with ordinary people, but it might not even be able to break through the defenses of other extraordinary beings or official special armor.

Even though he could slow down the Demon Sword Monk he was facing tonight and play a crucial role in controlling him, he couldn't do what Nobi did by directly severing his arm and causing damage because he didn't have a suitable weapon. He couldn't just take the Little Longevity Pill like a super-powerful pill.

Iwasaki didn't linger and left the hall immediately; he hadn't even finished the game yet. He'd been waiting all day because of the demon sword, and hadn't had a chance to play.

Takii lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

"Have you ever considered whether someone as profit-driven as Hao would really kill for the sake of killing?"

"Could it be that he personally benefits from killing?"

Nobi wasn't surprised by Taki's words; he had discussed it with Uesugi before, so he gestured in the air.

“We have this suspicion. At the Chunshan Villa, I saw him draw two strange patterns on site. Now that you have cooperation with the authorities, you should be able to find the records directly and check them. You can also confirm whether he left the same patterns before.”

"That's precisely why we're not considering getting him to give up killing," Uesugi said helplessly, spreading his hands. "We can't offer him anything that would make him give up improving his own strength."

"I understand. I'm willing to join the mutual aid team you mentioned," Taki replied after some consideration. "And I have a suggestion. The official team has already guessed the existence of the game and the players, and this information can no longer be hidden as the number of players increases. But could we provide another misleading direction?"

Uesugi understood what Takii meant: "So you're fabricating another source of the extraordinary, huh?"

"That's right, that's what I mean."

"It doesn't seem like it will be easy to handle, but it won't do us any harm and could influence the official's judgment. We can give it a try, but my abilities aren't suited for showing up in real life. I can only provide informational support." Uesugi was a little hesitant.

She had a bad feeling that no matter how many new players came, she would always be at the bottom in terms of strength.

Damn it, meow.

Is she destined to remain at the bottom of society for the rest of her life?

No way, she had to save money, she refused to believe that the game store would never have any good items!

With a long period of farming, you will achieve great success!
Takii is just a preliminary idea, and there is no concrete implementation plan yet.

Moreover, with only three of them, two of whom are already officially recorded as extraordinary beings, it is indeed not suitable for them to do this kind of thing.

Nobita hesitated for a moment, but still did not reveal his ability to transform into different forms.

“If you need weapons made, you can come to me.” Taki looked at Nobi. “Thank you for your help tonight. I can make a weapon for you free of charge.”

Nobi went voluntarily, but Taki didn't want to owe anyone a favor, and Iwasaki's approach would make her feel more at ease.

Since I've already agreed to make a weapon for Iwasaki, I might as well make one for Nobita as well, just in case he has any ideas. Nobita doesn't really need other weapons; the main problem is that if they can't be summoned at any time like the Hero's Sword, it'll be inconvenient for him to hide, especially since he's currently a wanderer.

"I don't need it right now, I'll think about it later. By the way, could you take a look and see if this has any special uses?"

He remembered the blood bead he had taken from the Great Serpent of the Other Shore. He had studied it for a long time without any results, so he decided to ask Takii to see if she could know anything.

When she lent the blood bead to Taki, she immediately felt a strange sensation similar to that of a protective jade or the hilt of a magical sword.

But it's not as good as the previous two.

"It has approximately a vampiric effect."

After carefully sensing it, Takii was able to vaguely perceive its main function.

Nobita's eyes lit up: "Is it the kind of blood-sucking that restores life force?"

"No, it's just simple bloodsucking, absorbing blood." Taki's words shattered Nobi's dream of a protracted battle.

No matter what game it is, life steal is definitely a god-tier skill for clearing stages, but unfortunately, real blood doesn't represent health points.

"That's it."

Nobita could only sigh, recall the item, and see if there would be any opportunities to trade with others in the future.

However, if you encounter someone who genuinely needs the ability to suck blood, trading this ability to them seems inappropriate and could easily make you an accomplice.

It would be great if the mall could recycle it.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take a rest now. Tomorrow will be quite busy." Taki knew that being in the player lobby was like taking a break, but this feeling was very strange. Right now, she just wanted to get a good night's sleep.

Soon, only Uesugi remained in the player lobby.

"Why doesn't anyone like to sit and rest here? There's no difference at all."

Uesugi was puzzled, and Neko sighed as she continued to organize the two endings she had collected from Taki.

The next day.

The Extraordinary Measures Department held a press conference regarding the incident that occurred yesterday at Umi no Mori Park.

This is another great victory, as we solemnly declare.

To this end, they made numerous efforts, set up countless traps, and made countless sacrifices for the safety of the people.

Incidentally, at the request of Muramasa Takii, I also performed a rectification of the names of Nichigen and Nichiren sect.

It clarifies the claim that the demon sword was a conspiracy by the Nichiren Sect, and emphasizes the efforts the Nichiren Sect made to suppress the demon sword.

Meanwhile, in order to counter the growing trend of knight worship, the ninth generation Muramasa, who silently endures the pain of suppressing the demon sword, the extraordinary person who does not hesitate to get involved to rid the people of evil, and the peerless swordswoman who possesses both super strength and ultimate elegance, the beautiful girl Muramasa Takii makes a grand appearance!
Originally, the government secretly supported the trend of knight worship. Firstly, it represented the mainstream social values ​​and prevented the emergence of a trend of worshipping the demon mist; secondly, it could morally bind the knights and make them care about the lives of the citizens.

But now that a cooperative relationship has emerged between the extraordinary and the knights, the official team needs to give Taki a boost.

They did not demand complete suppression of the knights, nor did they wish for it; they only hoped to create a scene of equal footing.

But this one promotion had an incredible impact. Ever since Muramasa Taki's image and some battle scenes were revealed at the press conference, her popularity skyrocketed, instantly surpassing the Knights by a huge margin. She occupied eight of the top ten trending topics, and her beautiful battle photos went viral.

This caught the official team, who were originally prepared to push it to the top of the trending searches, somewhat off guard.

Now things are really messed up! What was originally planned as carrying Takii has now been changed to carrying the knight.

Moreover, even when they exerted their full strength, they could only manage a 30/70 split against Muramasa Takii.

“Perhaps it’s because Muramasa Taki’s image perfectly matches the Japanese people’s mindset of ‘Sailor Moon’,” Leon explained at the meeting. “Ms. Muramasa looks very gentle, even wearing a sailor uniform, but she is extremely decisive when fighting. This strong contrast makes it easy for ordinary people to become interested in her.”

"Of course, more importantly, she's beautiful."

"Sigh, what a shut-in." The Minister of Defense rubbed his temples, which were throbbing with tension.

This reasoning is reasonable, and that's what he thought too, but it felt strange to hear Leon say it out loud.

That's so superficial. Aren't knights' armor cool?

It's impossible to suppress Muramasa Takii's popularity now; it's too obvious. Unless a superhuman wearing a mecha appears in the future, it's unlikely to be able to compete with Muramasa Takii.

　These past few days have been unpredictable, with rain and sunshine alternating, heat and coolness. My rhinitis has almost killed me; it's like a running faucet.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)