Tokyo: I can enlighten all obsessions

"Kamiki-kun! Please! I'm begging you! Join our Shinjuku branch! We need you! I need you!"

The piercing wails echoed through the narrow, cramped underground space, causing the rusty water pipe overhead to tremble and drip a drop of murky sewage.

This is an abandoned air-raid shelter hidden directly beneath the park's public restroom.

This is also known as the "Special Disaster Countermeasures Office Shinjuku Branch".

Under the fluorescent lights that occasionally emitted a crackling sound, the middle-aged man named Tenkai had long since lost all dignity as a "section chief".

He lay sprawled on the rough cement floor, his hand, calloused from years of repairing water pipes, now gripping Kamiki Tetsu's left thigh like a welded iron clamp.

No matter how hard Kamiki Tetsu shook him, the bald man was like an old piece of chewing gum stuck to the sole of a shoe, dragging his suit across the dusty ground.

"Let go! Don't touch me with your poverty-stricken hands! Get away, you poor wretch!"

The veins on Shenmu Che's forehead throbbed, and his voice boomed in the small basement.

While trying to pull his leg out of the greasy old man's arms, he also had to deal with another "human-shaped accessory" hanging on him.

To his right, Kujou Hisana, who had recently been speaking righteously about restoring the family's glory, was now clinging to his right arm like a koala.

Her crimson hakama, a symbol of holiness and purity, was now rubbing against the cement floor, absorbing years of accumulated dust.

But she didn't care at all.

"Take me away...take me away, Kamiki-kun!"

Kujo Hime raised her small face, still stained with dried nosebleeds, and looked at Kamiki Toru with teary eyes, letting out a cry from the depths of her soul:

"I want to work in a branch office with lots of money! I want to work in the port area! I want to work in a place with floor-to-ceiling windows, leather sofas, and even heated toilet seats!"

"I want free coffee, the kind you don't need to pay for! I don't want to drink this instant coffee made with tap water anymore, waaaaah..."

"If you want to go, let go of me and go by yourself! Why are you dragging me along!"

Kamiki Tetsu felt his blood pressure soaring along with the stifling air in the basement.

He struggled to drag these two "burdens" that weighed nearly 100 kilograms together, taking a step toward the heavy iron door leading to the ground.

From the moment he stepped through that rusty iron gate, Toru Kamiki's intuition was frantically sounding the alarm.

There are none of those holographic projections or sophisticated instruments from science fiction movies here. All you have are moldy wallpapers, mountains of paper documents, and the sour smell in the air, a mixture of public toilet disinfectant and stale tobacco.

The only reason that kept him standing here despite feeling nauseous was the phrase "confirmed case subsidy."

He had assumed it would be a straightforward transaction of "money exchange and signature."

Once he signs his name, the huge sum of money will be like a timely rain to nourish his depleted wallet.

However, reality, like the teacup handed to him by the bald section chief named Tenkai, was full of embarrassing cracks.

"Um... about the confirmed case subsidy..."

Feeling the cold gaze of Kamiki Tetsu as if looking at a dead man, Section Chief Amami finally broke down.

He clung tightly to Shinmoku Tetsu's leg, pressing his sweat-drenched forehead against the other's trouser leg, and cried out:

"While the terms do include this payment, that's contingent on the branch achieving a normal rating!"

"The reality is... because we've ranked last in the calamity eradication rate KPI for three consecutive quarters, those demons at headquarters have not only frozen all special subsidies, but have even cut the basic budget for maintaining daily operations by seventy percent!"

The bald man roared out the despairing truth with all his might, spittle flying everywhere:

"This place is practically a ruin on the verge of bankruptcy! For the past six months, not a single sane person has wanted to come here!"

Seemingly afraid that Kamiki Tetsu wouldn't believe him, he pointed to the shrine maiden next to him who was clinging to Kamiki Tetsu's arm and crying, and added:

"Even that idiot Kujo was someone I painstakingly tricked into getting in last month using the lie about revitalizing the family! And even her only trial tonight, that vengeful spirit, was just stolen by you!!"

"So, in other words..."

Kamiki Tetsu stared expressionlessly at the bald man at his feet, then glanced at the shrine maiden who looked stunned after the truth was exposed.

"This place is not only a garbage dump with a septic tank right above your head, where even printing paper has to be used on both sides, but it is also a criminal den that specializes in abducting naive girls and defrauding minors."

He took a deep breath of the polluted air, his eyes chillingly cold.

"Listen carefully, only Fukuzawa Yukichi can control this body of mine."

He lowered his head, looking at the two hands gripping him tightly, his tone devoid of any warmth:

"As for the self-indulgent drama of sticking with a company that's about to go bankrupt... please go find those hot-blooded idiots whose heads are full of flowers."

Kamiki Tetsu completely ignored his pleas.

He strode forward expressionlessly, the harsh scraping sound of the floor accompanying his resolute movement toward the door.

Seeing that his last hope was about to slip away, Tenkai gripped the cracks in the floorboards and let out a heart-wrenching roar:

"It's no use! Even if you go to the Hong Kong branch now, you still won't get that money!"

"Given the headquarters' cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, the ethical review for high-risk mentally challenged individuals alone will take three months! Add to that the financial audit and background check... and it won't be at least six months before you actually receive the money!!"

The footsteps stopped abruptly.

A deathly silence enveloped the basement once more.

"Six months..."

Kamiki Tetsu slowly turned his head.

For a poor student who has to calculate his food expenses down to the single digits for the next week, six months is not just a unit of time; it is a long prison sentence that could starve him to death three times over.

He's already within the kill zone.

Looking down at the man at his feet, the cold indifference in Kamiki Tetsu's eyes softened slightly.

"...Go on."

Seeing the fish bite, Tenkai seemed to have grasped at a last straw, speaking so fast he almost bit his tongue:

"As long as you stay here, I can grant you special execution privileges! In a peripheral branch forgotten by headquarters like ours, rules are worthless!"

"No need for those damn ethics reviews! No need to wait in line! As long as next quarter's performance targets are met and the budget is adjusted, I can sign off on it right here and now!"

Seemingly feeling that the stakes weren't high enough, the bald man took a deep breath and unleashed his ultimate weapon against the impoverished high school students:

"And another thing!! The tuition and rent for private high school must be suffocating you already, right?!"

"Stay! I'll reimburse your tuition through the company account! We can disguise it as special equipment maintenance fees or high-risk work allowances! In this kind of falsification... no, in this field, I'm a professional!"

Tenkai suddenly pointed a finger at Kujo Hisana, who looked completely bewildered beside him:

"As for rent, there's no need to worry! You can just move into the Kujo family's shrine!"

"Huh? Huh?!" Kujo Hisana's eyes widened suddenly, and she let out a scream.

Ignoring the reactions of the person involved, Tenkai stared intently at Kamiki Tetsu and roared at the top of his lungs:

"Her family's shrine is right in the city center, with plenty of empty rooms! As teammates in the same squad, sharing a room and being on standby 24/7 to deal with a sudden spiritual disaster is a perfectly logical and cost-effective solution!!"

"Free accommodation in the city center?"

Kamiki Tetsu's fingers, which were stroking his chin, paused slightly.

The calculator in my brain started working at high speed again.

In Shinjuku, where land is extremely valuable, renting a studio apartment with a private bathroom will cost at least 70,000 yen per month.

In addition to not having to pay for utilities like water, electricity, and gas, and the so-called "tuition fee reimbursement from the public account"...

If the bald old man wasn't lying, then although there was no direct cash inflow, the value of the hidden benefits was already quite considerable.

Compared to going to the Hong Kong branch where everything requires queuing and approval, this "gray area operation" seems to be a better solution to his urgent problem.

"That sounds... kind of reasonable."

Kamiki Tetsu muttered to himself, his previously resolute steps toward departure coming to a complete halt.

Seeing that the fish had taken the bait, Section Chief Tianhai's eyes gleamed.

As if presenting a treasure, he suddenly pointed to the heavy iron door at the end of the corridor, sealed with a "No Entry" sign, and threw out the last straw that broke the camel's back:

"Furthermore! As long as you stay here! All the magical artifacts sealed in the branch warehouse will be available to you!"

"A cursed artifact?" Kamiki Toru raised an eyebrow.

"That's right! Those are dangerous items that investigators have risked their lives to recover over the years! In other branches, a new recruit has to write a five-thousand-word application just to use even a single talisman!"

Tenkai, panting heavily, stared intently at the utility knife in Kamiki Tetsu's hand, his tone as fanatical as a gambler's:

"But you are different! You are an extremely rare materialistic spiritual being! You are the kind of special individual who can materialize their obsessions!"

"For us right now, you are the only hope for the Shinjuku branch to come back to life!"

He gritted his teeth, as if making a decision against his ancestors, and said in a low voice:

"That's why I'm giving you special privileges! You can use whatever you want in that warehouse! I'll turn a blind eye!"

"As long as you don't hang them on the coal stove to resell for money... in this basement, you're the rule!"

No review required, no oversight, and data can be accessed at will.

As these words came to mind, Toru Kamiki's gaze subtly swept over the [Tax-Inclusive Execution Blade] in his hand, which was emitting a ghostly glow.

Since this knife can evolve by consuming that "five yen", it means that as long as it finds a "relic of resentment" with similar properties, it can grow indefinitely.

If this happened at headquarters, such embezzlement of public resources would definitely be taken to court.

But here?

In this branch that even mice wouldn't bother to visit, wouldn't those unwanted magical artifacts be a sumptuous "buffet" for him?

Kamiki Tetsu's lips curled up uncontrollably.

If we could squeeze every last drop of stock out here and upgrade this utility knife to an unparalleled level...

When that time comes, I'll switch jobs to a more lucrative department with top-tier gear.

How high will the "confirmed case rating" be then?

That ten million subsidy, I'm afraid it will be increased fivefold to fifty million.

This is clearly a once-in-a-lifetime "paid leveling-up" opportunity!

"I'm in!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the icy aura that kept people at a distance vanished without a trace.

Kamiki Tetsu bent down, like a long-lost friend, and firmly grasped Tenkai's sweaty hands, pulling the still-dazed bald section chief to his feet.

He even thoughtfully brushed the years of dust off the other man's suit knees, his eyes clear, his voice booming so loud it echoed through the basement:

"Section Chief, please rise! As the highest-ranking leader of the division, such a loss of composure in this cold and harsh reality could shake morale."

"Huh? Huh??"

Tenkai hadn't recovered from this rollercoaster-like reversal yet, staring blankly at the boy in front of him whose expression had suddenly changed.

Kamiki Tetsu didn't give him any time to think.

He gripped Tianhai's hand tightly, shook it up and down forcefully twice, his face filled with righteous indignation.

"Actually, my rude behavior just now was just a test of the organization."

"Poverty? Deficit? Living under a public toilet? No! Section Chief Tenkai, this is not destitution, but a trial given to us by fate!"

Shenmu Tetsu suddenly straightened his back, his whole body seemingly radiating a saintly glow:

"To revive the glory of the Shinjuku branch and pull it back from the brink of bankruptcy... I, Toru Kamiki, have a duty to do so!"

Standing to the side, Kujo Hisa's mouth was agape in an "O" shape, and her eyes, still wet with tears, were wide open.

Looking at the boy in front of her, who had been shouting "Get out of here, you poor bastard!" not long ago, she was almost moved to tears by the sight of him uttering such touching lines.

in case……

If she hadn't seen Kamiki Tetsu grab Section Chief Tenkai's arm the very next second after making his boastful statement.

"Now that we've decided to restore our glory, we can't waste a single second!"

Kamiki Tetsu gave the poor, balding middle-aged man no chance to catch his breath, spouting high-sounding words as he forcefully dragged him toward the heavy iron door at the end of the corridor, sealed with a "No Entry" sign.

"Section Chief! In this era where KPIs are everything, in order to quickly boost that damned spirit disaster clearance rate and recoup next month's budget, I need to immediately select suitable magical tools for a hunt!"

"Huh? Huh? Wait a minute! Kamiki-kun? Um... even filling out a job application form would be helpful..."

Tenkai's legs kicked helplessly on the concrete floor, making a final struggle, while he waved a crumpled form in his hand:

"These are the rules! If you don't follow the HR procedures, the General Affairs Department will yell at you! They really will!"

But at this moment, all that was on Kamiki Tetsu's mind was the warehouse full of free materials waiting to be "enlightened".

"Let's deal with those cumbersome formalities that only slow things down after we've achieved results!"

He abruptly stopped in front of the iron gate, shoved the bewildered section chief in front of the iris scanner, and revealed a devilishly friendly smile:

"Come on, section chief, please open the door."