Manager, give me a membership card too!

The middle-aged man carefully placed the tricycle on the grass in front of him, opened his arms to the approaching Scorpio, who was now so close that he had to crane his neck to get a full view of her, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Come on, haven't you always wanted this? It's right here, come and get it now!"

The colossal creature, towering into the clouds, hesitated. Its hundreds of ferocious, terrifying crimson eyes stared at the small tricycle in front of the middle-aged man. Its usually wild and chaotic gaze had become somewhat timid, like a child who had been playing too late and was afraid to go home. It both longed for it and feared it, yearning for it yet不敢近近 (daring not to approach).

"That look in your eyes, did it remind you of anything? Even in this state, do you still retain the emotions and memories you had as a human being?"

Watching the Scorpio even begin to retreat, my chaplain's expression grew even more complicated. He glanced at the EP bombs in the box, which were already more than half empty, silently pulled out a sharp dagger, and stabbed it fiercely into the rock beside him.

The sharp holmium steel knife easily pierced through the boulder, leaving a dark crack after the man pulled out his dagger.

"You can see it, you understand it, you should know what this means, right? Scorpio!"

He closed the box again and held it high, raising his short knife high towards the giant beast before him, gesturing until all hundreds of its eyes were fixed on him with ferocious glare. Only then did the man reveal a crazed smile, turn the hilt of the knife, and plunge it fiercely into the tricycle in front of him!

My patriarch's sword is fast, my patriarch's sword is steady, but even faster than that is Scorpio's huge tentacles that slice through the air.

In less than a second, the enormous, dazzling tentacles seized the completely defenseless middle-aged man and brought him before Scorpio. What awaited him was a hideous maw that had opened at some unknown time, a bottomless abyss like a meat grinder.

The enormous tentacles slowly released their grip. The middle-aged man, whose entire body was fractured, whose internal organs were shattered, and whose exoskeleton armor was sparking with dazzling light, showed no pain on his face. Instead, he wore a relaxed smile.

My charioteer's knife is very steady, and so is his hand. So much so that even now, he hasn't let go of the leather case handle.

Hearing the incessant beeping in his ears and watching the grotesque maw approaching beneath him, the middle-aged man slowly closed his eyes.

"I'm home, Mom."

Boom!

'Boom boom boom boom boom boom!!!'

A terrifying roar echoed through the sky, and pale blue light flowed from between the serrated teeth of Scorpio, the dazzling light even making people mistake it for a second sun appearing in the sky.

The attack from within caused Scorpio a severe blow. Even though the violent explosion didn't inflict serious injuries, the super holmium steel inside the EP bomb still made it experience extreme pain, as if it had drunk a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid.

The eyes that had once held a degree of rationality were now completely engulfed in rage. Countless enormous and ferocious tentacles lashed out uncontrollably, wreaking havoc on everything around them and creating a scene that resembled a natural disaster.

However, amidst this natural disaster, there is still a pristine place that Scorpio would not harm, even in their rage.

A small, dilapidated toy tricycle for children, and a sharp dagger nailed to a spot not far from the tricycle, trembling slightly with the ground.

The terrifying natural disaster lasted for over ten minutes, until it completely turned the already dilapidated city ruins into a scene of utter devastation. Only then did Scorpio regain some of his senses. Hundreds of crimson eyes stared intently in the direction of Tokyo, their gazes filled with rage and madness.

This little girl, who had been suffering greatly, got angry.

Raising its head high, the colossal beast that seemed to reach into the clouds let out a loud roar. Upon hearing this roar, the Gastrea within a radius of tens or even hundreds of miles stopped what they were doing and marched in unison toward the Tokyo area.

Although Taurus isn't a specialist in Gastrea armies, nor does it possess pheromones to precisely manipulate Gastrea's actions, as one of the eleven top-tier Stage 5 Gastrea in the world, Scorpio can still simply indicate an attack direction.

Scorpio retracted its scattered tentacles, issued the F2·A command, and began to walk slowly towards the Tokyo district, twisting its body like a standing squid.

It's time to settle some scores.

The roar of the EP bomb awakened not only Scorpio's hatred for humanity, but also another pair of eyes slowly opening in a dense forest more than ten kilometers away.

"My head... hurts so much... I feel so cold... have I lost too much blood?"

With great effort, Rentaro Satomi opened his blurry eyes and moved his head with difficulty. Looking at the three corpses beside him, rendered lifeless by the effects of the super holmium steel, a bitter smile appeared on the boy's face.

Although he had defeated one Stage 4 and two Stage 3 fighters, he was now completely out of ammunition. The 'ammunition' in his mechanized prosthetic limbs was depleted, and his entire body was covered in wounds, like a rag doll. The blood that had flowed out had already formed a small pool on the ground, and he might die here at any moment due to excessive blood loss.

"Not yet, not yet... My captain risked his life to buy me time, how can I die here, how can I die here!"

With difficulty, Rentaro Satomi raised his arm and rummaged through his clothes, as if searching for something that could change his situation. Suddenly, his expression brightened, as if he had found what he was looking for.

That was a drug, still in the research and development stage, specially distributed by the Tokyo District Prime Minister to improve the team's endurance; it was an experimental drug for AGVs.

As one of the world's four most intelligent sages, Sumire Muroto developed a medicine that can instantly enhance a person's regenerative abilities, allowing them to repair their body like a Gastrea. However, as a consequence, there is a 20% chance of becoming a Gastrea.

But for Rentaro Satomi now, a 20% chance is no longer a problem; he has no other options left but this one.

"Didn't expect that even I would end up using this thing?"

Recalling how his companions had turned into Gastrea instead of being able to use the AGV experimental drug along the way, Rentaro Satomi's smile became tinged with bitterness.

"As long as I can return to Tokyo, I don't care anymore. Even if... is... is?!"

The boy's soft muttering stopped abruptly. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared intently at his palm. There, on the surface, lay the container holding the AGV experimental drug…

Broken!

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I said I'd update 8000 words, and I did! 8660 words, which is equivalent to four updates. Synopsis of my 8000-word original novel, "You're a Priest, You XX!" (from py time): "Once, a billion dollars fell from the sky and was placed before me, but I didn't cherish it; only when I lost it did I realize that all I had left was a little girl." On the day the blood moon was about to be full—a not-so-devout priest, a not-so-pure nun, and a not-so-simple child, the adventure of this family of three (just kidding) began in a daze.

Chapter 127 The Nation Is About to Perish (5000)

Chapter 127 The Nation is About to Perish (5200+ words)

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"Your Excellency! According to satellite data, Scorpio will reach the outskirts of Tokyo in two hours! Please make a decision as soon as possible!"

"Your Excellency! The hole in the Pacific Ocean is expanding exponentially, and the sea level has already risen by several meters! By this afternoon at the latest, low-lying areas in Tokyo will be submerged. Please order the evacuation of residents in the affected areas as soon as possible to minimize property damage!"

"Your Excellency! Minister Matsui, who is in charge of the monument's repair, has disappeared! He fled alone to escape punishment, without even taking his wife and daughter with him! Without Minister Matsui's coordination, the monument's repair has come to a standstill!"

"Your Majesty Prime Minister!"

"Your Majesty Prime Minister!"

"Your Majesty Prime Minister!!"

"Enough!!!"

The tall, thin man was surrounded by seemingly endless official business and emergencies, like dirty flies buzzing incessantly around his ears in the middle of summer.

The annoying noise makes you want to grab that fly, rip out its guts, and strangle it. With a jerk, the world is quiet again.

Unfortunately, he was surrounded by high-ranking officials and ministers from the Tokyo area, not some insignificant fly. He couldn't possibly expose the idiots around him and make them quiet down, giving him a few minutes of peace and quiet.

The tall, thin man's angry growl silenced the room for less than ten seconds before a continuous barrage of alarms blared from the surrounding equipment. Those crimson warning signs seemed to herald a hopeless future for Tokyo.

The tall, thin man sighed deeply and rubbed his temples with a hint of helplessness. Looking at his colleagues who seemed hesitant to speak, he waved his hand gently.

"Remove Minister Matsui from all his posts, arrest his wife and daughters for treason, and confiscate all his property. Appoint Sima Heavy Industries to be in charge of the repair of the No. 32 megalith, and tell them that as long as they can complete the magnetic field barrier of the Tokyo area within two days, not only will the Matsui family's holmium (fluorine) ore business be given to them, but the Tokyo area will also give them an additional 15% mining quota."

"All business and 15% of the quota?! Your Excellency, that's outrageous!"

A bloated official next to him seemed to want to say something, but his words were cut off by the murderous look in the eyes of the tall, thin man.

"What? Too much? Fine, this matter is entrusted to you, Minister Sakamoto. If you do it well, the reward remains the same; if you do it poorly, your whole family will be shot! No, that's not right. If you don't do it well, Scorpio will invade, and you won't even have the chance to be shot. You'll just become a pile of excrement in the bellies of those monsters!"

With the situation so critical, the tall, thin man was no longer willing to play along as before. He decisively sprayed the vampires from the Tokyo district with his breath, which even made his previously depressed mood feel much better.

Looking at the group of important figures in front of him, who seemed to be keeping their noses down and looking into their own eyes, the tall, thin man suppressed his disgust and tapped the table in front of him with his fingers.

"I already have a solution for the Scorpio issue. After several days of deciphering, Ms. Sumire Muroto's expert team has finally succeeded in unlocking the control code of the 'Sky Ladder.' Now, this most powerful weapon on Earth has returned to human hands. Although it is not the most suitable working environment in space, the super holmium steel cannonball, accelerated to five percent of the speed of light, will definitely be able to destroy the upcoming Phase Five Yellow Path."

"It's a Heavenly Ladder? That's great! Tokyo is saved!"

"With the Heavenly Ladder, even the Zodiac should be able to be defeated!"

"As expected of the Prime Minister, he is wise and resourceful, strategizing and anticipating the enemy's moves from afar!"

The high-ranking officials, each with their own distinct expressions, frantically flattered the tall, thin man, but the man's face remained expressionless, because deep down he was not as confident as he appeared.

'Sky Ladder'

The pinnacle of human technology in 2020 was the ability to accelerate projectiles to over 80% of the speed of light (as described in the original work) using an electromagnetic projection system—a terrifying weapon capable of annihilating a nation in a single blow. However, before this devastating weapon could be fully completed and deployed, the Gastrea Wars began.

The relentless defeats forced humanity to abandon this terrifying weapon, capable of altering the course of the war, leaving it untouched on the outskirts of the Tokyo megalithic barrier (original story). Only occasionally, when remembered, would a large force be dispatched to repair and maintain it.

The decision to use the Heavenly Ladder against the tall, thin Scorpio man was quite complicated, as this giant cannon was originally designed for space warfare, and all its equipment was set up to deal with the special environment on the moon.

The Sky Ladder isn't unusable on Earth, but firing it has a 95% or higher chance of overload. Not only will it be completely reduced to scrap metal, but its power will also be reduced to only 5% of the speed of light.

In other words, the Heavenly Ladder, which could have been used for sustained warfare and even to eliminate all zodiacal (national forces), could very well become a single, devastating attack. Once destroyed, it is absolutely impossible for humanity to repair with its current resources.

Firing the cannons would cause destruction, but not firing would mean the destruction of Tokyo. In the end, the tall, thin man could only give up his goal of dominating Japan and even the world with a pained expression, choosing to prioritize survival.

Having resolved the issues of the zodiac and the monolith, the tall, thin man straightened his back slightly and looked at the virtual projection in front of him. There, several video windows were displaying a panoramic view of an unusual hole in the sky above the Pacific Ocean, and the seemingly endless flow of water within it.

"Odin, the Allfather... Such power, could he really be..."

Gazing at the seemingly endless torrent, the tall, thin man fell into deep thought.

Legend has it that the gods in heaven, out of despair at the desires and filth of humankind on earth, cursed the mortal world with the devastating Noah's Flood. This flood lasted for 150 days, submerging all living beings and the land, and cleansing and annihilating the source of all evil.

Coincidentally, similar records exist in the myths of various civilizations around the world. Many of these civilizations never interacted with each other, living alone in their own territories, yet they strangely share the same mythological fragments, leading many to believe that some of these events actually occurred.

Recalling the report he'd received about the 'Odin Cult' that had quietly emerged in the Tokyo area, the tall, thin man silently rubbed the one-eyed pendant he'd bought at great expense in his pants pocket, and his agitated mood miraculously calmed down.

Similarly, in the legend, the gods did not exterminate humanity. Instead, they informed a prophet named Noah in advance, instructing him to build the sacred ark, which protected his family and helped them safely survive the great flood that destroyed the world. Noah eventually became the common ancestor of all subsequent humankind.

The tall, thin man stroked the pendant in his pocket again, a sliver of hope rising in his heart. Although he had been utterly wicked and insatiably greedy in the past, he now diligently protected the safety of nearly ten million people in the Tokyo ward, even paying a heavy price for it. His achievements in saving so many lives should qualify him to board that Ark of Miracles, shouldn't they?

Recalling the old priest who sacrificed his left eye, the tall, thin man smiled. He had joined Odin's cult with only a tentative attitude, but now it seemed his decision had been incredibly wise.

"We don't need to worry about the Great Hollow; let other major powers handle that. Our focus in the Tokyo area should be on fighting the Anti-Venom. If we can't stop those monsters' attacks, we'll turn into ugly monsters before those seas drown us."

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Leaning back slightly on the bench behind him, the tall, thin man's gaze towards the screen in front of him unconsciously carried a hint of fanaticism.

Ancestors of the new human race? Such a title is very suitable for a distinguished person like me.

.................

A comfortable sea breeze gently caresses this bustling city near the sea. The streets, which used to be teeming with people, are now mostly deserted. Even those who are there are hurried residents carrying large bags and small packages, rushing towards their homes.

It has been almost 24 hours since the collapse of the No. 32 megalith, and since yesterday, the sound of gunfire in the surrounding area has not stopped for more than five minutes at a time. Although news reports indicate that only a few scattered Gastrea have invaded Tokyo's area and were quickly eliminated by the Self-Defense Forces who were already prepared.

However, Tokyo residents still frantically stockpiled large amounts of food and water, and even began digging shelters in their own yards, completely disregarding the long time required to build a shelter.

However, not everyone is hiding at home anxiously waiting for news. In all the busy streets of Tokyo, one can now often see shadowy figures dressed in black robes.

'Odin Cult'

An underground religious organization, whose origins remain unknown, has emerged. Its members fanatically worship Odin, a powerful being who once resided in Tokyo, and the Chosen Ones under Odin's command. Initially, they remained hidden underground, proselytizing in extremely secretive ways. However, when the sea parted and colossal trees rose from its center, blotting out the sky, all the followers of the Odin Cult went mad.

They firmly believed that Odin was the only savior of mankind, and that all the chosen ones were his angels. Only through devout worship and faith in him could they be saved and gain the opportunity to travel to the sacred tree, Yggdrasil. For this reason, many even voluntarily gouged out one of their own eyes to show their closeness to and worship of the god.

In a bustling area of ​​Tokyo, a middle-aged man in an elegant tuxedo walks with a smile down his face on a street that feels both strange and familiar. His gentle and refined eyes survey his surroundings with interest, as if savoring a long-lost feeling.

"Sir, may I have a moment of your time?"

Suddenly, an old and deep voice quietly rang out as he passed through an alley, and the middle-aged man with blue-gray hair politely stopped and looked in the direction of the voice.

In the dimly lit, secluded alley stood a withered, hunched old man with a sorrowful expression. He was draped in a gray cloak with suspicious patterns. Most striking was the old man's empty left eye; judging from the fresh wound there, he had been injured only a few days prior.

"Oh? What do you want to tell me, sir?"

The man's words made the old man raise his sorrowful face and glance at him indifferently. His dim, single eye showed neither sadness nor joy, as if it was this middle-aged man who had just spoken to him.

"I would like to introduce you to our Heavenly Father and Savior, the great god Odin."

The withered and frail old man's usually calm voice finally showed some fluctuation, and when he uttered the name 'Odin,' an uncontrollable fanaticism appeared on his face. The middle-aged man who heard the name also changed expression.

"The great god Odin?" After carefully examining the mysterious attire of the old man before him, the middle-aged man's expression became warmer, and he asked with some curiosity, "Interesting, I'm very interested. Can you tell me about it, sir?"

Seeing the middle-aged man's curiosity seemingly piqued, the gaunt old man slightly raised his head and spoke in a melodious, rhythmic tone:

"The essence of this world is disorder and chaos: the pursuit of knowledge, violence, greed, and lust. All sorts of base emotions exist in our hearts, making our bodies impure and our souls gradually decay. Humanity uses hypocritical etiquette and morality as masks to conceal the evil and darkness within, and we are destined to meet our own end."

The old man tremblingly extended a withered hand, his skin as rough as tree bark covering his gray fingers, pointing towards the direction of the thirty-second megalith.

"Do you see it! Ignorant mortals! The barrier of the megalith has collapsed, and the messengers of the gods are about to purify this filthy city. What follows will be a great flood that will cleanse everything! You cannot escape! For the continuation of our race, lowly humans must beg for the protection of the great Allfather Odin in order to continue to survive."

"Join us! Join our 'Odin Cult'! Only then can you survive the wrath of the gods and gain eternal life in the new era!"

Looking at the agitated old man before him, the middle-aged man also showed a hint of panic on his face, and asked for help, somewhat at a loss: "Really? Is it really that serious? Didn't the government say that the situation was under control? Old man, what should I do to join the 'Odin Cult' you mentioned and receive salvation from the gods?"

Hearing the middle-aged man's pleading voice, the withered old man's face broke into a compassionate smile, and he spoke in a kind and gentle voice:

"Rest assured, lost sheep, the great god Odin will not abandon any child. As long as you are willing to prove your piety, you can receive the blessing of the gods and have a place of your own in the new world."

The middle-aged man lowered his head slightly, as if to show his respect.

"Revered Prophet, how can I prove my piety?"

"It's very simple. Just hand over half of your wealth as a sacrifice to the gods, and you will receive the protection of the great god Odin."

"Really? Just handing over half of my property is enough to gain the favor of the gods? That's wonderful!" The middle-aged man's voice seemed excited, but gradually, his tone became somewhat low.

"But Prophet, I have done some wrong things in the past, very serious wrong things. Even so, can I be forgiven by the gods?"

The gaunt old man raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsurprised by the middle-aged man's words, and asked calmly, "What have you been doing?"