Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

PS: Arasaka's Last Days, please stay tuned.

It was not until then that Lucy's eyes widened, and it was not until then that she realized that what she had just experienced was not accidental.

But...how did the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' do it?

Lucy fell into deep doubt.

Moreover, according to what they said, does that mean I just need to wait silently?

Having personally experienced how bizarre the abilities of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were, Lucy's confidence in them has indeed increased significantly.

But then there was a huge feeling of emptiness.

Just like when 'Silver Hand' asked her that year.

Although she sincerely wanted to escape from Arasaka Laboratory, she didn't know what to do after escaping;

Now she also has the same deep desire to destroy Arasaka, but what happens next?

Lucy, standing by the door, fell into deep confusion...

Compared to Lucy who was in confusion, Lan Ke and Shirou Emiya were already starting to get a little irritable.

The original progress was quite good.

First, he got some information from Lucy, and then in the "Impression Space", he not only helped the other party eliminate the twisted desires, but also obtained a piece of equipment that seemed very powerful.

After sending a "pre-warning letter", Lan Ke and the others decided to try to "navigate" the hall.

The original plan was to go in and take a look and then go back to rest.

After all, it takes time to conquer a strategy hall. The last halls of 'Lianren' and 'Z' were quite special.

The former is relatively small, so you can just fight the boss directly. Strictly speaking, except that the boss is slightly stronger, it is not much more difficult than the strategy of "Impression Space";

The latter is because there is a local leading the way, which is equivalent to turning on a "full map cheat". Otherwise, the strategy time would be at least 3 to 5 times longer.

This time the target was very unfamiliar to them, and they hadn't found any clues, so they didn't plan to rush.

But no one expected that it would get stuck at the first step.

Simply put, they had determined the 'target' and locked onto the 'location', but they had no idea what Saburo Arasaka actually thought of his territory, 'Arasaka Tower'.

Lan Ke tried various general terms such as "future city", "kingdom", "castle", "God's kingdom", etc., but all failed.

Not only that, Lan Ke and the others also discovered that the equipment dropped from 'Lucy (Shadow)' was unusable!!

Although Lan Ke liked the folding knife (mantis knife) that popped out very much, this time what popped out was the "nanowire" of his other hand, but then he found out that this thing could only be installed on the "prosthetic limb".

He can't just cut off his own hand for a new piece of equipment and then get a prosthesis, right?

The equipment is good, but you can only look at it and can't use it at all;

The new map opening is stuck at the last step.

One can imagine how annoyed Lan Ke and Shirou Emiya were, and naturally they had no time to care about Lucy.

"Damn it, there's no way I can guess what that old bastard is thinking..."

'Ze Yuezhi' first knew about the case the other party was involved in, and also knew that the other party's twisted desire was 'lust', so he could naturally lean in this direction. Afterwards, the desires of 'Lianren' and 'Z' were directly linked to what they did in the material world, which was also easy to guess.

But there is no clue at all about 'Seto Saburo'.

First of all, although he can be regarded as a legend in the Japanese business world, he rarely participates in activities due to his age, and attends meetings through electronic devices;

Secondly, there is no chance to contact him at all. The only people who can contact him are the doctors and nurses who have served him for almost their entire lives, or his extremely loyal subordinates or descendants.

Also because of his age, there is no record of the other party on the Internet, so it is difficult to judge his mentality and thoughts based on his words.

Lan Ke and the others were really just guessing. "The only information we know right now is that the old man has put almost all of his energy into Arasaka Medical, whose flagship products are various specialized prosthetic limbs. Add to that the 'human experiments' we learned about from 'Miss Lucy,' and could it be that he's planning to create 'cyborgs'?"

"Who knows? But what does it mean to him? Modern technology is simply not enough to support him in completing this kind of surgery, right?"

Although he didn't know much about 'prosthetic limbs', Shirou Emiya was quite knowledgeable about robots and science fiction thanks to an 'old friend' introduced by his adoptive father. So he knew very well that no matter how well he was maintained, it would be impossible for a centenarian to complete such a major operation.

However, Lan Ke keenly noticed the key point in the other party's words.

"This surgery is impossible with modern technology, so what if we rely on the power of the 'holy relic'?"

Following Lan Ke's question, Emiya Shirou's expression suddenly became serious.

After all, he had already witnessed the strangeness and power of the "holy relic".

"That's certainly possible. If he relies on the power of the 'holy relic', he might actually be able to complete this surgery. Perhaps he intends to replace part of his body... or even most of it, with a so-called 'prosthetic limb'."

"This makes clear why Arasaka is trying to capture Miss Lucy. The information being so closely guarded even in the cognitive world is most likely the Relic. Arasaka will naturally fight tooth and nail to seize the Relic that will allow them to complete the surgery. After all... their ambitions and lives are at stake!"

As Lan Ke finished speaking, Emiya Shirou's expression became serious.

Compared to Ze Yuezhi, whose head is full of hormones, and Renren, who only dares to cheat money and sex secretly, 'Arasaka Saburo' may be the most troublesome target.

After all, once the other party's plan succeeds, one can imagine how crazy the world will become.

Rich people prolong their lives by constantly replacing 'prosthetic limbs' or other 'mechanical organs'. Wealth will continue to accumulate in the hands of these people or the visually impaired. The originally neon-solidified social environment will become even more solidified... No, it's not just neon but the entire world!

In contrast, the Roswaal clan, who also aspire to conquer the world but find it impossible to do so due to objective reasons, are like the O-Han who are constantly pursuing one person and his descendants.

Large corporations, future worlds, mechanical bodies...

Shirou Emiya suddenly remembered some science fiction novels he had read because of a robot enthusiast, and later he read "Akira".

A noun then emerged from his mouth.

"Cyberpunk?"

Almost as soon as Emiya Shirou instinctively uttered this word, a pleasant notification sound came from the 'Alternate Dimension Navigation' in Lan Ke's hand...

Chapter 27: The Trembling Gem of Doom

"Location locked, navigation started"

The notification sound of the mobile phone made Lan Ke suddenly show an ecstatic expression. After all, he had tried for a long time but couldn't find anything.

But then a big question mark popped up in his head.

After all, as someone who had aspired to become a doctor since junior high school and had worked hard all the way thereafter, he had never heard of this term, which should have been a very niche term.

At the same time, his expression was also very ugly, and this thing didn't sound like a 'place name' at all, but rather an 'adjective'! !

I don't understand, but since Emiya Shirou suddenly mentioned it, he must know something.

"Rider, what is 'cyberpunk'?"

Because there is no network connection between the 'cognitive world' and the 'material world', in order to use 'extra-dimensional navigation', Lan Ke and the others had to return to the 'material world'. At this time, the two of them were sitting on the roof of a tall building.

But even so, according to the agreement, Lan Ke still called the other party by code name.

In response to this, Emiya Shirou nodded very naturally.

"'Cyberpunk'... Leader, can you understand it as a 'worldview'?"

"That's right! A dystopian world that originally existed only in science fiction."

As he spoke, Emiya Shirou sighed.

"It generally refers to a future worldview characterized by extremely advanced technology, a vast gap between the rich and the poor, and complete control by chaebols and conglomerates, with the government losing control or becoming a complete puppet."

"Perhaps to highlight the darkness of this world, cyberpunk generally features a lot of colorful neon lights and lower-class residents who are completely inconsistent with the developed world."

"So, this type of work not only likes to depict the wealthy who enjoy advanced technology that's indistinguishable from 'magic,' but also likes to depict the lower-class residents who can barely fill their stomachs and are influenced by 'pacifier pleasure' like the walking dead..."

At this point, Emiya Shirou shook his head.

"I haven't read many books, but the one that left the deepest impression on me is called 'Night City.' The biggest feeling it gave me was despair."

"Because in a world like this, even the 'protagonist' will never be able to turn things around unless he completely changes the world. And in a world like this, if he wants to change it..."

Shirou Emiya didn't say much, but it was enough to show that he was not optimistic about this.

After all, when the whole world is like a high-speed train crashing into a wall at top speed, it is basically impossible to slow it down.

Shirou Emiya's explanation may not be comprehensive enough. After all, he has not done much research on 'cyberpunk'. He just read a brief summary of the book. But even so, Lan Ke seemed to be able to feel the 'despair' of the world that Shirou Emiya described.

But isn't Lan Ke's becoming the 'Phantom Thief of Hearts' intended to heal this increasingly distorted world?

"If that's the case, shouldn't we stop that crazy old man? He actually envisions his company's future headquarters as a cyberpunk world. Is he worthy of being called a 'palace'?"

Lan Ke does not reject "specialness". After all, he himself possesses "special abilities" and he doesn't even mind using them to earn some rewards or benefits for himself.

But none of these rewards or benefits have ever come at the cost of harming others.

As for hurting those whose hearts were stolen?

Are those guys still considered "human"?

When Emiya Shirou heard Lan Ke's words, he nodded seriously.

Yes, maybe this world is not perfect, but at least it is not hopeless. But in the world of 'cyberpunk', can a child like his sister grow up normally?

It's unlikely, so he will never allow such a world to be born!

"Yeah, let's teach that crazy idiot a lesson!"

As Emiya Shirou spoke, he bumped fists with Lan Ke, and Lan Ke then activated the "Alternative Dimension Navigation" and entered the cognitive world.

The existence of the 'Impression Space' has given Lan Ke and his team tremendous convenience. They can fully utilize the feature that 'the entrances to the impression spaces in different regions can reach the same location' to accomplish actions similar to traveling through space. In this sense, the 'Impression Space' can also be said to be a 'wormhole' for Lan Ke and his team.

However, the "Impression Space" is not perfect. First of all, its biggest drawback is that although it is possible to enter the "Impression Space" through the entrances of "Impression Spaces" in other places, it is impossible to directly open an unactivated "entrance" from the inside.

In other words, if Lan Ke and his friends want to reach a certain place, they must have been there in the "material world" before they can mark it in the "cognitive world".

However, the good thing is that although the 'impression space' cannot open the 'entrance' to a place that has not been reached, the 'cognitive world' and the 'material world' are two sides of the same coin, and they can be transferred directly within the 'cognitive world'.

Although the efficiency is lower, the advantage is that there are no boundaries here and you can reach any place in the world.

However, Lan Ke and his friends soon encountered an unexpected trouble.

"Has Nishitama City not been built yet?"

'Tama City' is next to Tokyo, while 'Nishitama City' does not exist in Lan Ke's previous life. This is the new 'city' built by Neon in this world through land reclamation, and it is also one of the locations where the original movie takes place.

But what Lan Ke never dreamed of was that there was no road leading to this place from the outside world?

What was reflected in the impression space was that the bridge connecting the two places was directly cut off.

At this time, Lan Ke and his friends had two choices.

First, from the outside world, enter 'Nishitama City' through the 'Nishitama City Bridge', and then enter the 'cognitive world';

The second, of course, is to have a flying car in the "cognitive world".

But before Lan Ke could make a decision, the "Soul Chariot" began to emit bursts of "roaring sounds". Although Emiya Shirou, who was sitting on it, did not say a word, Lan Ke seemed to be able to feel that the other party was inviting him.

I don't know whether it is because he has liberated his "personality mask" or simply because he is under a lot of pressure in life and needs to vent in this way. In short, Lan Ke has discovered that Shirou Emiya's personality becomes more "free" after putting on the "Phantom Thief Uniform".

But this is also good news, just like the police will never be able to connect Lan Ke, the "ordinary male high school student" who stood still in front of the capsule toy machine, with the "Phantom Thief of Hearts" who spends money every day.

The police will also not associate an "ordinary male high school student" with excellent grades, a gentle personality, and a part-time job with a biker gang who punches his target on his first appearance, drives a "real will-o'-the-wisp", and pulls out a gun at every turn.

But Lan Ke didn't want to play acrobatics with the other party.

Seeing that Lan Ke rejected his silent invitation, Shirou Emiya was obviously a little disappointed.

But he extended the invitation again.

"Why don't we go by sea?"

"By sea? There are no ships here..."

Faced with Lan Ke's hesitation, Emiya Shirou calmly patted the back seat of the 'Soul Chariot'.

"According to Ghost Rider, Soul Chariot isn't just a motorcycle, but the embodiment of the concept of 'vehicle.' It's just because I like Kamen Rider that Soul Chariot appears in the form of a motorcycle, but that doesn't affect its functionality."

"So you can ride on water?"

"Yes, it consumes more energy afterwards, but this thing can also travel on water."

What Shirou Emiya called "consumption" refers to mental consumption. After all, the "Soul Chariot" is different from ordinary motorcycles, and its fuel is not oil at all. However, the mental consumption during normal driving is not much different from normal recovery.

However, whether it is using skills or some special situations, such as climbing directly onto the wall or driving on water, it will consume energy.

Just like Lan Ke will fall into coma if he uses too many skills, the same is true for Shirou Emiya if he consumes too much.

However, from their current position, they could see the shore of 'Nishitama City' in the distance, so they thought it shouldn't be a big problem.

But before getting on the car, Lan Ke couldn't help but ask the question that he cared about very much.