Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

第97章 集体行动，四条战线！（2月1日，2/5）

October 15th, 1:6 AM.

Deep in the forest on the outskirts of Tokyo.

The moonlight was fragmented by the dense canopy of trees, casting scattered, pale spots of light on the ground.

Kurokawa stood alone in a clearing in the woods.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; there wasn't even the sound of insects.

Only the faint, sobbing sound of the night wind rustling through the branches could be heard.

He raised his wrist.

The screen of his tactical watch glowed with a faint blue light in the darkness, illuminating the lower half of his face.

The screen is divided into three small windows, which are transmitting thumbnails of different scenes in real time.

Just then, a hissing sound.

The first thing that came through the headset was Chika's energetic, yet deliberately low voice: "President, President! Hatchling report! I've arrived at the target area and spotted the target—an F-rank vengeful spirit, the Spyingman!"

"Initiating containment operations! Over! Over!"

She recently took extra classes at school and learned some English words.

Whether in missions or in daily life, one or two of them always seem to pop up...

Listen carefully.

In the background noise, you can hear the faint sound of wind and the distant, indistinct sounds of traffic.

Her area is a back alley in the bustling city center.

Kurokawa pressed his earpiece: "Watch your movements."

"Understood!"

Before he could finish speaking...

The second channel then switched in.

Kaoru's voice was clear and steady, carrying her characteristic calmness: "President, the doll has arrived at the target location in Shibuya Ward. Confirmed encounter with the F-rank vengeful spirit [Lost Salaryman]."

"Requesting commencement of containment."

Chinatsu's codename is "Hatchling," while Kaoru's codename, due to her personal talent, is simply "Doll."

Kurokawa glanced at his watch.

"Permission granted," he said succinctly.

"Yes."

Almost at the same time as Xun answered.

On Kurokawa's watch, the two icons representing Kaoru's combat suit status simultaneously turned from gray to green.

She officially activated her combat suit.

Simultaneously.

Two E-class dolls, including his personal doll "Demon-Subduing Vajra," were also activated in the Shibuya night.

Two E-class combat dolls are almost guaranteed to defeat an F-class vengeful spirit.

ten seconds.

The channel has been switched again.

This time it was Kanzaki Jin's calm voice, with the distinctive hustle and bustle of Kabukicho faintly audible in the background: "President, the Kanzaki squad has arrived in Kabukicho 1-chome."

"Target confirmed—Class E vengeful spirit [Woman of Jealousy]."

"Requesting commencement of containment operations."

Kurokawa's eyes narrowed slightly.

Class E.

It was still in the densely populated Kabukicho district.

"Permission granted," he ordered. "Prioritize your own safety and report any need for support immediately."

"clear."

Kanzaki's response was crisp and efficient.

But the next second, a shout rang out: "President!"

Utsuho's voice suddenly squeezed into the channel, full of enthusiasm.

According to Kanzaki, this former policewoman was a very nice person, but she was a little self-absorbed.

"If we successfully complete this mission, could you also equip me with a [Godless] plugin?"

"Please! My ultimate move, [Megumin's Burst Fist], is just missing one plugin!"

Kurokawa could picture her now standing before the vengeful spirit, pleading loudly.

He paused for a moment, then replied, "Let's finish the task first, and I'll seriously consider it afterwards."

"Then I'll leave it to you, President!"

Utsue's cheers almost shattered her headset.

Immediately following, a helpless sigh came from the other end of the channel, followed by a series of loud bangs!

A sudden burst of gunfire erupted!

The roar of magical shotguns, the muffled thud of energy impacts, and the sharp, twisted screams of female vengeful spirits.

Over there, the battle has begun.

Kurokawa disconnected the call.

The forest returned to its deathly stillness.

He raised his head.

Ahead, the branches that looked like ghostly figures under the moonlight began to writhe unnaturally.

As if possessing life, tentacles slowly extended toward his location.

A pungent smell of rotting vegetation filled the air.

E-level vengeful spirit.

He came alone.

Kurokawa took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill his lungs.

"Then I'll start too!"

The moment the words fell.

The air around him suddenly distorted.

A rainbow of light burst forth from the cracks in the combat suit, violently tearing apart the darkness within a radius of several meters.

Liberation rate—100%!

He drew his twin swords.

The blade reflected the moonlight.

Kurokawa stared at the increasingly close and denser twisted branches and shadows ahead.

He lowered his body and leaned forward.

Footsteps boomed.

His figure shot out like an arrow.

The forest night was utterly shattered by four battles that ignited simultaneously.

3 points in the early hours.

The factory's basement level.

The lights in the equipment room were turned down to the lowest setting, leaving only a few safety indicator lights glowing a pale green.

In the center, the newly assembled dimensional transmission device stands quietly.

It is about two meters tall, with a matte black alloy shell and fine energy conduits embedded in its surface.

At this moment, a stream of pale blue light was flowing inside the duct.

A deep, resonant sound echoed in the enclosed space.

The ring-shaped structure at the top of the device began to rotate, faster and faster.

In the central empty space, the air began to twist and fold, refracting irregular, iridescent halos of light.

Kurokawa stood three steps away, watching quietly.

This was the first time he had ever started this thing.

In its previous life, this system was the lifeblood of the company's expansion.

Now, it has arrived ahead of schedule.

laugh-

A soft sound, like tearing silk.

In the center of the distorted light spot, a silver-gray metal box materialized out of thin air.

The box was printed with the Night Watchers' emblem and had a seal that read "Thousand Stone Guard Protection" on the edge.

Transportation completed.

Kurokawa stepped forward and picked up the box.

He walked to the worktable, unlocked it, and lifted the cover.

The interior is filled with black cushioning material, and a standard Class E containment cage is embedded in the center.

The cage is transparent, allowing a view inside.

A dark pink, misty substance that was constantly changing shape was hitting the inner wall.

Rank E [Jealous Woman]

The situation is stable; containment has been confirmed successful.

Kurokawa closed the box.

He turned around and took out three fully charged magic batteries from a box that had been prepared next to him.

He then took out three bundles of cash from the safe: two bundles of 60 yuan and one bundle of 80 yuan.

This is the reward for Kanzaki's squad's mission.

He placed the batteries and cash into the designated area of ​​the transfer platform.

Enter the coordinates on the control panel and confirm.

hum.

The blue light surged once more.

Three seconds later, the supplies disappeared.

"As for the plugin that Utsuho Megumi wanted—"

Kurokawa muttered to himself.

He recalled the girl's excited shouts on the channel.

It's not that I don't want to give it.

It's not possible to give it to you right now.

The plug-in system is the company's core strength and should not be distributed arbitrarily based on individual requests.

Today it was given to Utsuho, tomorrow Hachiro will want it too, and the day after tomorrow what about the other team members?

If the rules are broken, the team will be difficult to manage.

"Let's do it next time."

He shut down the transmission device.

Picking up the box, Kurokawa then casually grabbed the remaining three boxes from the table and walked out of the equipment room.

The corridor was long, and the lights were a cool white.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty space, clear yet somewhat lonely.

He walked to the gate of the shelter area.

The heavy alloy door had a cool, matte gray sheen.

He raised his hand and pressed it on the fingerprint lock.

"Beep—Identity confirmed."

"Welcome back, President."

The mechanical female voice was calm and expressionless.

The door slid open to both sides.

The scene inside was completely different from what it had been two weeks ago.

He came to the platform, stopped, and looked down.

Before me lay a vast vertical space.

It's more like a well than a "district".

The cylindrical space, with a diameter of over fifty meters, has a surface layer 15 meters thick when viewed from above.

It is also equipped with a very powerful shielding device, so even the strongest magical girl would have difficulty sensing the presence of the underground vengeful spirits.

It goes down so deep you can't see the bottom.

The walls are no longer flat, but are made up of countless metal containment units of varying sizes stacked together.

Each unit is of a different size, but its surface is embedded with an observation window and status indicator lights.

[Patrol Salaryman], [Flesh Man], [Maiko Doll], [Invisible Man], [Stalker Maniac]

This includes [High-Speed ​​Granny], [Great Path], and [Accumulated Desire], all of which are contained here.

The containment cages for [Great Path] and [Accumulated Desire] are as tall as 20 meters.

Although the two vengeful spirits were enormous, it was virtually impossible for them to break through containment.

The cool white light band spiraled downwards along the well wall, like a sleeping giant python of light.

The air was filled with a faint smell of ozone, and a kind of deeper, indescribable "presence".

That is the energy field that naturally emanates after a large number of vengeful spirits are gathered and contained.

Faint, yet omnipresent.

Kurokawa took a deep breath.

Two hundred million yen.

In return, they gained 20,000 square meters of vertical containment space.

value.

He went to the center of the platform, where there was a control panel.

He input the command, and a huge multi-jointed robotic arm slowly descended from the ceiling.

Kurokawa turned around and opened four metal shipping boxes at his feet.

The robotic arm precisely extends downwards, and the gripper opens.

The first one.

The cage containing the voyeur was removed.

A blurry gray shadow was curled up inside the cage, its outline constantly twisting as it tried to form a human shape, but it always collapsed just as it was about to take shape.

It has no facial features, only a few constantly shifting, empty "focuses".

Kurokawa watched quietly.

A concrete representation of the urban shadows.

The second one.

[Lost social animals].

Inside the cage was a transparent human figure that kept repeating walking motions.

Dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase, he was like an ant trapped in glass, never reaching the end.

Its face was blank, except for a dark red "heart" beating wildly in its chest cavity.

anxiety.

The third one.

Rank E: Resentment Type - [Jealous Woman].

A dark pink, misty substance churned within the cage, sometimes coalescing into a female silhouette, and sometimes exploding into countless sharp, pointed tentacles.

Deep within the fog, occasionally a few bloodshot eyes would appear, blink for a moment, and then immediately disappear.

Intense emotional pollution.

The fourth one.

The E-rank vengeful spirit in the forest—the Twisted Monster Tree.

Inside the cage was a withered, twisted tree trunk, its surface covered with wood grain that resembled a struggling human face.

A few withered leaves hung among the branches, but their veins were dark red, like congealed blood.

It trembled slightly, like a whisper of rotten wood rubbing together.

Natural decay.

The robotic arm gripped the containment cage and moved it smoothly toward the well wall.

The walls on both sides are densely packed with containment units arranged like a honeycomb.

The robotic arm's sensors scan for available ports.

When the robotic arm places the containment cage into the interface, the containment cage, originally the size of a Rubik's Cube, instantly expands into a containment facility the size of the vengeful spirit's own body.

Kurokawa watched as each vengeful spirit was embedded, unfolded, and fixed.

It's like displaying precious specimens.

It's like taking inventory of the ammunition depot's reserves.

There are twelve now.

He counted silently in his mind.

From Class F to Class E.

From urban legend to a collection of grievances.

They were once threats, disasters, and "abnormalities" that ordinary people could not understand.

Now, they are assets.

It is energy.

It is a ladder for the company to climb up the ladder.

Kurokawa took out the containment manual, containing an F-rank vengeful spirit unlocks a 1% control rate, and containing an E-rank vengeful spirit unlocks a 2-3% control rate.

Overnight, the regional control rate increased from 14% to 22%.

New information about the regional map has also been unlocked.

[Control rate in the Kanto region exceeds 20%]

[New information obtained regarding the threat level of vengeful spirits below Rank C]

Of the five missions that were refreshed a few days ago, only one Nightmare-level containment mission remains.

She can no longer be contained within the old school building (Nightmare: Class D Vengeful Spirit [Extremely Dangerous])

Kurokawa frowned when he saw the task in the manual.

This task has been ongoing since the very first time he began refreshing containment missions.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be a D-level [Extremely Dangerous] level of danger.

Kurokawa muttered to himself, "It's been two months already. Hasn't this vengeful spirit been dealt with yet? Wasn't it said it couldn't be contained?"