Anime, but the Phantom Thieves of Heart

Obviously, after witnessing supernatural products such as the "cognitive world" and "demons", Lucy began to doubt the true identity of the "chip" she possessed.

After Lan Ke gave it to his assistant for examination, he concluded that "this is one of the fragments of the holy relic."

Lucy said that she tried to use the 'chip' to seize Arasaka's administrator privileges yesterday. Although she failed in the end and only forced open the 'security door', she seemed to feel some strange 'déjà vu' from the 'enemy' before she passed out.

Based on the information known to Arasaka, the only explanation is that the other party also possesses something similar.

And the logic seems to make sense.

All the high-tech equipment produced by 'Arasaka' are related to the 'chip'. 'Johnny Silverhand' is likely a test product of a related project many years ago, but unexpectedly he broke free from his restraints and even escaped with the 'chip'. He only handed it to Lucy before he sacrificed himself to protect her.

'Stealing hearts' and 'recovering holy relics' are Lan Ke and his team's next goals!

Lan Ke also spent a lot of effort to fulfill Lucy's first wish.

Fortunately, although he didn't know much about music originally, his body, after being "strengthened", learned things much faster. In addition, although it might not be easy to play the "bass" well, it was not too difficult to just play the sound.

In addition, among the "personalities" that Lan Ke possessed, there was a special existence similar to "Feitian" who had some understanding of music. Under their guidance, Lan Ke could barely play the piano.

"The bass won't be noticed if you don't play it anyway (wrong), but what about you, Shirou?"

"No big deal. The school's 'Light Music Club' was short on people for an event, and I went to help out before, so I'm a bit of a handicap. I briefly recovered my touch last night, so it's not a big deal."

Shirou Emiya, known as the 'Polygonal Warrior', indeed possesses a strange skill that looks powerful but is actually useless, just as Lan Ke imagined.

Lan Ke and his men were already prepared, ready for the 'action' in the evening.

And the same is true for others.

After Lucy entered the "Impression Space", she began to level up. The police began to deploy defenses around the "Arasaka Building", and even many onlookers stopped there.

A small number of them are fans of the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts", but there are also some who are just passing by with nothing to do. After hearing about the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" from other people, they decided to stay and join in the fun.

As night fell, Lan Ke, Shirou Emiya and Lucy came to the top of a building near the 'Arasaka Building' that was not guarded by the police.

Looking at the bustling crowd below, Lucy unconsciously became a little nervous.

After all, this time it concerns 'Johnny Silverhand'.

However, the conversation sounds coming from behind her gradually calmed her nervous mood.

At least this time she wasn't alone.

She must fulfill Silver Hand's dream and completely destroy Arasaka tonight...

Chapter 63 The concert opens!!

There were many police officers standing outside the lobby on the first floor of the Arasaka Building.

However, these police officers were not from the 'Heart Phantom Thieves Countermeasures Headquarters', but ordinary police officers transferred from nearby police stations.

After all, their job is not to catch "Phantom Thieves", but to prevent accidents caused by excessive crowds.

That's right!

As time passed, the crowd downstairs of Arasaka Building grew larger and larger.

This is not because the reputation of the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" is really so great that they have gathered so many "fans" without a specific time. After all, they have only been debuted for less than a month and their popularity has been suppressed.

This is purely the result of efforts from multiple aspects.

First, the police prepared to secretly arrest the people on the list obtained in the "Ze Yuezhi Incident".

There were about twenty people arrested in the first round. These people were directly abandoned and had high status. If they were not handled properly, they might cause a stir. They were arrested in unison.

As for the other people who are also on the arrest list, since the impact caused by being exposed by the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" is limited, they will be left alone for now and arrested later.

In order to cooperate with others, the police simply relaxed the "news control".

At this time, the people behind those unlucky people who were caught or abandoned also began to make an effort.

First, they took the initiative to come forward and cut ties, and those unlucky guys finally chose to step down and apologize for the sake of themselves and their families, even if they were reluctant. This way, public opinion was focused on these unlucky guys without hurting other people behind them.

Secondly, in order to reduce the impact, or guide public opinion, they began to carry out large-scale propaganda against the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts', trying to divert people's attention in this way.

During this period, the police caught the criminals with lightning speed and won the praise of the people; the political party behind them successfully overcame a round of crisis, and was even praised by the people for "killing relatives for the sake of justice" because they cut off the relationship cleanly; the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" also expanded its influence invisibly, and the popularity that had been suppressed due to regulations suddenly erupted.

Then the only ones who will get hurt are those bastards who are unforgivable and deserve to be put to death.

It’s a pity that Lan Ke and others, who are involved, are unaware of the turmoil behind all this.

Seeing that the number of 'audience' below was almost saturated, Lan Ke nodded to Shirou Emiya and Lucy behind him.

The two of them nodded and Lucy directly activated the various playback devices that had been controlled in advance.

"Hello? Is the reception working?"

As Lan Ke put on the mask, his low and hoarse voice came from all directions. Almost everyone was stunned for a moment, and then bursts of cheers came from the crowd below.

The people gathered here are basically idle spectators, or fans who support the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" in stealing the hearts of "sinners".

The former did not mind the trouble, while the latter simply supported their idols. Cheers rose one after another. Even though Lan Ke was on the top floor of a building next to the "Arasaka Building" and could not hear any sound from below, he could not help but smile at the crowd.

It seems that they are quite powerful~

After making sure the radio was working properly, Lucy also activated the other large screen.

It turns out that as this is one of the busiest areas in Tokyo, they have no shortage of options even though the one they were using previously has been physically controlled by the police. After all, the police can't just shut them all down, right?

As Lan Ke, wearing a white coat and a bird-beak mask, appeared on the monitor, the expressions of Nakamori Ginzo, Higashikata Josuke and Utsumi Toshio, who were on guard in the "Arasaka Building", were not very happy.

After all, the police officers they deployed were all inside the 'Arasaka Building' and had no way to deal with the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' in the distance.

Ginzo Nakamori almost immediately planned to ask his subordinates to go to the building next door to arrest the person.

Fortunately, although Ginzo Nakamori was too excited, Josuke Higashikata was quite calm. He spoke out to stop Ginzo Nakamori.

"If we catch them now, they'll have plenty of time to evacuate. It's better to wait here. After all, Arasaka is their ultimate target."

Ginzo Nakamori, whose mind gradually calmed down, looked at the big screen outside the window with a tense face, but he was not angry with Josuke Higashikata. Instead, he directly called for reinforcements.

Although he didn't know the specific plan of the 'White Horse Warning Director', he had already tacitly allowed others to use the traffic of the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' to suppress other negative emotions. The White Horse Warning Director also knew that Nakamori Ginzo and others would be under greater pressure.

So we have prepared for them in advance.

If it is not needed, that would be the best, but if needed, support is always available.

Officers from a nearby police station maintained order, while the reinforcements rushed to another building.

But this also means that at least in the short term, they have no other choice but to urge the "technical department" to seize control of the display.

After all, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts can control too many electronic devices. They can't possibly pull the power supply to all the monitors, right?

They don't have such high authority yet.

While the police were mobilizing their forces, Kudo Shinichi, who had also arrived at the scene, also locked onto the location of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts based on the clues on the "display". He immediately rushed towards the destination, even faster than the police who were still investigating.

It was at this time that Lan Ke, as the "host", began to plan his next step.

"Welcome everyone to our first concert of 'Katana Band (tentative title)'!!"

"Here, I solemnly introduce to you our band's drummer - Rider!!"

As Lan Ke pointed behind him, Emiya Shirou, who was already ready, raised the drumstick and knocked it twice on his head as a greeting to everyone.

Then Lan Ke raised his thumb and pointed at himself.

"And then there's me, the band's bassist—Doctor!"

Compared to Emiya Shirou, Lan Ke was undoubtedly more eager to perform. He clipped the microphone on his shoulder and started playing.

Although it was just an ordinary chord, Lan Ke's performance was quite good. After all, with his current memory and physical fitness, as well as the guidance of Fei Tian, ​​the "Zhong Mo" who was good at singing and dancing, Lan Ke's performance was naturally very good.

Those fans and onlookers naturally cheered again because of Lan Ke's performance, but some people who knew something about music seemed a little surprised.

Even those who were just casual spectators who stayed here for a while were told by other fans some things about the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'. However, no one expected that in addition to stealing things, the 'Phantom Thieves' were also good at music, and their performance was no less impressive than that of some idol singers.

As the performance ended, Lan Ke held the bass high in one hand, hung it back, and then pointed behind him.

Many people who had already made some guesses were suddenly cheered up.

Because at this time, a "member of the Phantom Thieves" who had never been seen before had appeared in everyone's sight following Lan Ke's finger.

The silver-grey leather tights clearly show off her curvy figure, while the neon strips that flash with strange light like blood vessels all over the tights make it look a little hazy.

However, in addition to this, the other party also sent a small jacket that was also full of technology. However, rather than keeping warm, the various small devices on it seemed to be used specifically for storing tools.

As for the head, the tights extend from the neck to cover the face below the nose, and above it is a pair of long infrared glasses that are full of technology.

In addition, on the other person's right hand holding the guitar is a special glove full of technology and futuristic sense. In addition to the glove, there is also a strange device on the left hand whose function cannot be seen.

There is no doubt that this new thief is 'Lucy'!

It was as if a real idol group announced a new member, and many fans cheered.

I just don't know if the cheers were because of the 'appearance of a new member of the Phantom Thieves', or simply because of Lucy's impressive figure, which couldn't be concealed even by her tight leather jacket that covered almost all of her skin.

Looking at the cheering crowd, Lan Ke smiled and introduced Lucy to everyone.

"This is our 'Katana Band (tentative name)' lead singer and guitarist - V!!!"

As Lan Ke finished speaking, the camera's perspective was completely locked on Lucy.

Lucy felt a little nervous, not knowing whether it was because Lan Ke made such a big fuss on her first appearance, or because she was simply not used to the feeling of standing in front of people.

But seeing Lan Ke and Shirou Emiya giving her a thumbs up, Lucy, who had been alone for a while, gradually regained her composure.

"I'm 'V', the 'promoter' of tonight's show!"

"Tonight, we, 'Katana Band (tentative name)', will do our best to give you a performance that will satisfy you all!"

Lucy, who was holding the microphone, said something that made many people look strange. After all, it sounded like... they were really attending a concert.

And Lucy wasted no time, after all, their time was limited.

After receiving Lucy's signal, Shirou Emiya and Lan Ke started playing the drums or bass in front of them almost at the same time. As for Lucy, she did not start singing directly, but also played the guitar.

The rhythmic prelude made many people sway to the rhythm.

Only Nakamori Ginzo and the others on the other side of the building looked confused.

What the hell?

Is it really a concert?

What are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts doing tonight?

Ginzo Nakamori, who was not very interested in music, felt as if he had been fooled, and hurriedly called other police officers to urge them to come.

However, the reporter from TV Tokyo arrived before the police support.

"Hello everyone! This is an urgent news broadcast from TV Tokyo. A group calling themselves the 'Samurai Sword Band (tentative name)'..."

Accompanied by the sound of violent airflow, a news helicopter with the "TV Tokyo" logo appeared at the scene...

Chapter 64: Treasonous Thoughts.

Above his head was the live broadcast helicopter of Tokyo TV. Lan Ke just glanced at it and didn't pay much attention to it. After all, there was no bright spot in the field of vision of his "third eye", which meant that it was just an ordinary civilian helicopter.

As for Lucy, she became oblivious to everything else from the moment she picked up the guitar.

She stroked the guitar in her hand as if she was stroking her lover.

Even though she just bought this guitar after arriving in Neon.

What she was actually caressing was not the guitar itself, but the memories behind it.

When they were hiding from each other with Johnny Silverhand, he would occasionally teach Lucy some guitar techniques.

She will never forget the young but weathered-looking man who sat by the fire and said to her confidently, "Don't look at me like this, I was very strong back then," and then taught her guitar.

For Lucy, who had just escaped from the 'Arasaka Research Institute' at that time, she didn't quite understand this instrument at first, and even found it a little unbelievable. After all, the other party always said "burn Arasaka to ashes", but why did they still want to make music?

That’s what the man said at the time—

"Music is my lover and companion. It was she who accompanied me through the most reckless years of my life. Even now, when I am bruised and battered, it is she who remains by my side as always. It is she who supports me as I continue on this path with no future..."

Later, she also followed the other party to learn for a period of time until the other party sacrificed himself to protect herself.

It was not until then that she began to truly love music.

It's a pity that she had no time to continue studying during the days when she was being chased by Arasaka.

But when she picked up the guitar again, she found that nothing seemed to have changed, just like before.