The story we started

[Although it is of the same kind as those unconfirmed life forms that kill people without hesitation, No. 4 is the most unique one among them. Its target is never humans, but its companions who wantonly slaughter people. Not only has it never done any harm to anyone, but there have even been many witnesses who have saved people from those monsters.]

[Although many people on the Internet believe that it was only because No. 4's target was another of its kind at the scene, not humans, that it did not kill those people, and that being rescued was just a coincidence. In fact, No. 4 had no intention of saving anyone.]

[When Akiyama Mio found out that it was not what they said, at least she knew that No. 4 really wanted to save people. ]

【——Run away. 】

[——Kuga! My name is Kuga! ]

[Thinking of the words that the other party said in clear Japanese, and the thumbs up that he gave to the others with his back to her when he left, Akiyama Mio's eyes became a little dazed. ]

[It is not wrong. Number 4 did save himself on that day with his own will.]

【No. 4 is different from his peers. He is a being with a "human heart."】

[If it wasn't for the fact that its appearance was so different from that of a human, Akiyama Mio would really think it was just a human. ]

[Every night during these days, when she was shrouded in nightmares, that figure was like a glimmer of light in the darkness, giving her a sense of security amidst her extreme fear.]

【And this is the reason why Akiyama Mio planned to come to Tokyo. 】

[Although it is simply a foolish dream to want to find a person who is hidden in some corner among the tens of millions of people in Tokyo, doing it and not doing it are two different things. Akiyama Mio still holds a tiny hope in her heart. ]

[If possible, she hopes to meet the unconfirmed life form No. 4 again and say to him the "thank you" that she didn't have time to say at the beginning, thanking him for saving her. ]

【Thank you for saving me and my friends from danger. 】

……

[Not long ago, Metropolitan Police Department, Unconfirmed Lifeform Search Team Headquarters. ]

[“…That’s the details. Unconfirmed Life Form No. 23 has the ability to control various elements similar to No. 4. It is very difficult to deal with. This time it will probably be a tough battle.”]

[“Based on the regularity of crimes committed by unidentified life forms in the past, we need to set up defenses along the entire Tone River and even nearby tributaries, and wait for No. 23 to appear.”]

[“The above is the detailed plan for this operation. Do you have any questions?”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke cut off the enemy information interface displayed on the computer screen, looked around the conference table and said in a deep voice.]

[After hearing this, the police officers sitting at the conference table had different expressions. Since they were called in urgently, many of them did not have time to go home and change into formal clothes. Therefore, everyone was wearing different clothes, from couple outfits, casual clothes, to casual clothes like Kousaka Kyosuke, who was wearing beach pants and a shirt.]

【"No."】

[Officer Sugita, who sat closest to Kousaka Kyousuke, shook his head on behalf of everyone else, his expression very unhappy.]

[Because he was on holiday today, he finally found time to take his family to the amusement park he had agreed to go to with his daughter. But when he was halfway there, a phone call called him back.]

【Thinking of his daughter crying loudly when he came, Officer Sugita felt guilty and heavy-hearted, and it was really hard for him to feel better.】

[But he still came because he is also a policeman. ]

[“Very good, then… prepare to fill out your respective suicide notes first, and then we’ll set out after we’ve completed them.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke nodded calmly, took the stack of envelopes beside him and handed them down.]

[Everyone took the stack of envelopes and handed them over one by one. No one said a word. After opening the envelopes and taking out the white paper inside, their expressions became so heavy that they looked as if they were about to drip.]

[This is the daily routine of the Unidentified Lifeform Search Team. ]

[Since the formation of this team, the throne of the highest mortality rate, which had always been on the top of the Narcotics Control Division, has officially been transferred to them.]

[The evidence is that this conference table in the meeting room can accommodate at least 30 people, but only a little over half of them are currently occupied.]

[…When the search team was first formed, all the seats were full.]

[Even the high-level command center is like this, the losses of the grassroots personnel below can be imagined. Everyone working here is mentally prepared to live one day at a time, and there is a possibility that they will never see the sun tomorrow. ]

[In order to prevent themselves from being killed in a certain operation, everyone would write a suicide note before going out on a mission, writing down what they wanted to say, and the person and detailed address of the person to whom the suicide note was given were written on the envelope. If they were unfortunately killed in the line of duty during an operation, the Metropolitan Police Department would be responsible for delivering the letters to the person written on the envelope.]

[There were so many suicide notes that the Metropolitan Police Department even opened a new department to store them. A dedicated person was responsible for sorting the notes into different categories: Tokyo notes belong to Tokyo, Chiba notes belong to Chiba, and Osaka notes belong to Osaka. This ensured that the notes were delivered to the designated person without any misdelivery.]

[For the members of the Unidentified Lifeform Search Team, the happiest thing after each mission is to rush to the department secretly called the "Last Words Room", find their own letter among a pile of suicide notes, tear it up in front of the staff, and throw it into the trash can.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke is the same. He always writes his suicide note before leaving. The people he sends the envelope to are his mother and sister.]

[But without exception, every suicide note he left was completely blank, without a single word written on it.]

[But this is definitely not because Kousaka Kyousuke is confident that he can survive the battle, it's simply because he doesn't know what to write. 】

[Every time he sat down at his seat and took out his pen, Kousaka Kyosuke looked at the white paper in front of him in silence, letting the ink from the pen in his hand drip onto the paper, leaving black spots on the paper. Finally, he folded the unwritten suicide note and put it into an envelope with his family's name on it and handed it in.]

[It's not that Kyosuke Kosaka didn't have something to say to his family, but he found that he had too much to say, so much that he couldn't write it down at all. 】

[Only a piece of 8-page white paper could not record what he wanted to say. ]

[“I’ll leave it to you, Gogen.”]

[After receiving the last suicide note, Kousaka Kyosuke handed a whole stack of envelopes to Gokou Ruri, who was wearing a police uniform, and the little policewoman silently reached out to take it.]

[After handing in their suicide notes, everyone went to the locker room to change their clothes, so now only Kousaka Kyousuke and Gokou Ruri are alone in this spacious conference room. ]

[The atmosphere between the two of them is now very awkward, and the source of this awkwardness is the previous phone call.]

[“…Then it’s time for me to leave. I’ll leave the coordination of intelligence to you.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke looked at the policewoman who deliberately turned her eyes away and refused to look directly at him. He hesitated for a while before sighing, standing up from his chair and walking towards the door of the meeting room.]

【“Officer Kosaka.”】

[Just as Kousaka Kyosuke walked to the door, a crisp sound came from behind him, causing his hand holding the door handle to stop moving.]

[“…Ms. Ebina, she asked you to go to the research institute immediately. She said that she has new equipment for you to use to deal with unconfirmed life forms.”]

[Holding the stack of suicide notes in front of her chest, Gokou Ruri turned her head and looked at the man's back, speaking with a complicated look.]

[“Got it. I’ll be there right away.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke said without turning his head, opened the door of the conference room and was about to step out, without pausing for a moment.]

[Seeing that he seemed to be unaffected by the news of his mother's hospitalization, Gogen Ruri could no longer hold back the surging emotions in her heart, and spoke in an angry tone.]

【“Officer Kosaka!”】

[This shout not only made Kousaka Kyosuke stop in his tracks, but also made everyone passing by in the corridor turn their attention here.]

[After seeing Kousaka Kyosuke standing at the door with an expressionless face, those curious eyes quickly turned away, and their pace seemed to speed up a lot.]

【Click.】

【“What’s wrong now?”】

[Kousaka Kyousuke closed the door, blocked the view from outside, and turned his back to the policewoman and whispered.]

[“You, really don’t regret it? You really don’t plan to go to the hospital to see your mother?”]

[Gokou Ruri placed the suicide note on the table next to her and spoke to Kousaka Kyousuke, with a tremor in her voice that was difficult to conceal.]

[“…I am a police officer, Gogen.”]

[Kousaka Kyosuke was silent for a while, then spoke in a vague way.]

[Gokou Ruri immediately understood what he meant, lowered her head to the ground, and clenched her white hands into fists.]

[“Then… do you regret your choice?”]

[Although he asked this, Gokou Ruri had already anticipated his answer. ]

[This man named Kousaka Kyosuke is like this. Once he chooses his own path, he will move forward unswervingly and never look back. Not to mention the word regret, which is completely incompatible with him. ]

【See, he will definitely say next:】

[“…I regret it.”]

[Sure enough, he will never feel regret? ]

【"Why?"】

[The answer was totally beyond her expectations. Gokuru Ruri looked up in surprise and asked in disbelief.]

[——What did he just say? He regretted it? Kousaka Kyosuke regretted it???]

[“Since I made this choice, I have regretted it all the time, and my heart has been filled with guilt and pain... I cannot forgive myself for abandoning my seriously ill mother.”]

[Before Gokou Ruri could come to her senses, Kousaka Kyousuke let go of the door handle and continued speaking.]

[His palms also fell to his sides, and he lowered his head to look at the sneakers on his feet, his bangs covering his black eyes.]

【"That--!"】

[An uncontrollable joy and astonishment surged from her heart. Wu Geng Liuli took a step forward, holding the collar in front of her chest with one hand, and spoke in a hurried voice. ]

[“You, you should choose to apply for personal major accident absence! I can help you! You can do it now——”]

【"but--"】

[But before Gokou Ruri could finish her words, Kousaka Kyousuke's next words were like a bucket of cold water that extinguished the joy in her heart. ]

[“…Even if time could go back, no matter how many times I was given the chance to choose, Kousaka Kyousuke would still make the same choice as now.”]

[“Why… aren’t you already regretting this?!? Then why are you still doing this???”]

[The policewoman could no longer suppress her inner anger, and her angry voice echoed in the meeting room with only two people.]

[“Aren’t family members the most important thing in the world? Even though you’ve admitted that you regret it, why do you continue to make such painful choices!?”]

[“Please answer me, Officer Kosaka!”]

[Faced with her questioning, Kousaka Kyosuke remained silent for a long time before continuing to speak.]

[“You are right, Gogen.”]

[“For most people in the world, family is indeed the most important thing, including me.”]

[“But as I’ve always said before…Kousaka Kyousuke is a policeman.”]

[“Behind us are countless families like ours. Their families are the most important things in the world to them.”]

[“And those unconfirmed life forms have taken away countless of these “most important” people in the world, and destroyed the worlds of countless people… I can’t just ignore them because of my own selfishness. If I do that, neither the people who had everything taken away by those monsters nor Kousaka Kyosuke himself will be able to forgive myself.”]

[“I am not someone who does not know myself, Gogen. I know what I represent in the eyes of my fellow soldiers in the search team.”]

[“If I leave at this juncture, how much do you think our death rate against No. 23 will increase?”]

【"this……"】

[This question completely stumped Gokou Ruri. She could only stare blankly at Kousaka Kyousuke's back without being able to say a word.]

[What does Kousaka Kyosuke represent to the Unidentified Lifeform Search Team? Gokou Ruri, who has been watching this man's back, certainly knows.]

【For the people in the search team, "Kousaka Kyosuke" is no longer just a person or a colleague, but a banner, a beacon that guides everyone forward. With the previous strong publicity by the police to restore their reputation, he has become the strongest policeman in Tokyo and the strongest and most powerful shield for the people, without a doubt.】

[His figure, who faced the monster without hesitation, marched forward without fear, and always fought on the front line, inspired countless people. His mere presence at the battle scene boosted their morale and encouraged them to move forward courageously.]

[Everyone firmly believes that one day, Kyosuke Kosaka will be able to lead them and the fourth as a collaborator to completely send these damn monsters to hell and end this war between humans and unconfirmed life forms.]

[Kousaka Kyosuke is no longer just a policeman. ]

[He is a "hero", an unquestionable brave man in the eyes of everyone. Even for some fan groups, Kousaka Kyosuke is like King Arthur who pulled out the sword from the stone and is invincible. The muzzle of his revolver points to the future of victory, and even the devil that stands in his way must be evaded. ]

[So anyone can be missing from the search, but Kousaka Kyousuke cannot be missing. This has become a consensus that everyone has never spoken out.]

[Just because he is the source of everyone's confidence, his bravery and strength support the hearts of the search team, who have long been crushed by the high pressure of death approaching at any time, and gather everyone's strength together, leading everyone to move forward into the future. ]

[“It’s shameless to say this now, but Gogen… I hope you can do me a favor in the end.”]

[No more voices came from behind him, and Kousaka Kyousuke continued to speak without turning back. ]

【“…Please go ahead.”】

[The policewoman's dull voice sounded, he raised his head slightly and looked at the door in front of him, and spoke softly.]

[“Please help me…tell my sister that I can’t go to her and my mother anymore.”]

[“…Why do you want me to tell you? You can obviously make the call yourself—”]

【“Five o’clock.”】

[Gokou Ruri's words were interrupted again, but this time, Kousaka Kyousuke's voice was no longer firm. It was like an old man in his twilight years, full of fatigue and vicissitudes, even weakness.]

[“…Please.”]

【“——”】

[Goko Ruri's rosy lips slightly opened, and she stared blankly at Kousaka Kyousuke, the man she admired.]

[Just now...what did he say? ]

[Please? Such words are not likely to come from someone like Kousaka Kyousuke? Normally, shouldn't he just put the gun into someone's mouth and say "Will you help me or not?" with a cold face? ]