kscans

Chapter 167 - Interlude: Whose Finger is on the Trigger?

No Point of View

Somewhere in Tokyo.

In a verdant plot of land outside the 23 wards, a place not yet paved over with concrete, an unnatural structure existed, hidden away in a forest near the mountains.

It was a 'secret base' with no signs or nameplates, protected by layer upon layer of thick walls and high fences. The childish name, however, belied the fact that it was built with ambitions even more ruthless than the cruelest of children.

The interior was patrolled by golems and soldiers in civilian attire, among whom white-coated figures hurried about.

"Hey, what about that research data?!"

"Already sent to the home country! The original data is gone!"

"What's the status on material delivery? The catalyst we ordered?"

"We received a report from the adventurer we hired. They acquired it last night. It's being passed through several contractors, so it won't arrive until the day after tomorrow at the earliest."

"Here are the ley line measurement reports! We obtained them from a local shaman-type Awakened Person!"

"Good. Then we'll compare this with our existing data to predict future trends. I will personally go to the server room—"

The conversations, a mix of the occult and science, were conducted in English.

The researchers, a diverse group of various races and nationalities, all shared the same employer. While this was partly to accommodate their client, the convenience of using 'the world's most common language' was undeniable in situations like this.

Furthermore, it was convenient for them that the Awakened Persons serving as guards here—'with a few exceptions'—wouldn't understand the content of their conversations even if they overheard them.

Few Japanese people could perfectly comprehend the rapid-fire speech born of urgency or documents filled with technical jargon when it was all in English. In fact, even a native speaker would find many parts incomprehensible without a certain level of knowledge.

Roughly one in thirty people was an Awakened Person. And they only appeared in Japan. While a small number by global standards, it was still a population large enough to form a nation.

Thus, there was a certain number of them who lacked education, had weak ties to society, and yet belonged to a community—the kind of community that forced the Dungeon Agency to reject their applications for the adventurer exam the moment they saw their paperwork.

Such Awakened Persons were actively recruited and assigned to exterior security. Moreover, the walls had been reinforced using a torrent of drop items, each of which could buy several luxury cars on the open market.

Not a single mouse could get in, and if a dragon were to fly by, they could both hide and repel it. This laboratory possessed that much power.

An old man, hunched over, walked briskly down a hallway in this facility, followed by several researchers and bodyguards. Even the other busy researchers immediately pressed themselves against the walls to let him pass. The only ones who didn't were the silent golems.

"Tch."

The old man clicked his tongue as he nearly bumped into the back of a mannequin-like golem slowly carrying documents.

"What a bothersome wooden doll. If it at least looked like a young woman, it might have some charm."

"My apologies, sir. We'll move it at once."

The guards lifted the golem from both sides and moved it aside. After a small snort, the old man resumed walking.

When they entered an elevator, the old man's female secretary pressed the buttons from the first to the fifth floor in a strange sequence. The elevator then began to descend. The panel only showed buttons down to the second basement floor, but the steel box continued its descent even further.

"Are the materials needed to create the gate in order?"

"Yes. They are scheduled to be ready the day after the day after tomorrow."

"Too slow. Why do you think we chose this country as our testing ground? It's because it's easy to procure equipment and we're unlikely to face interference."

"My apologies, Doctor. The electronic components were gathered quickly as planned, but the catalyst needed for the additional experiments is taking time…"

"I'm tired of your excuses. Honestly, this is all because that ape Akasaka did something unnecessary. Putting drop items up for public sale… What are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CIA doing?"

"If we were to try and eliminate him, our movements would certainly be detected by other countries. Please, try to understand."

"Honestly. For this country to be such a spy paradise that it ends up with agents from every country but Japan glaring at each other…"

"I hear that's one of his self-preservation tactics."

"Nonsense. He's a man who walks on luck alone. He'll stumble soon enough. Of course, before that, this country—"

An electronic tone interrupted the old man. The elevator doors opened, and as they stepped into the hallway, they were met by a heavy, imposing door. A purple magic circle was drawn on its surface, flanked by an electronic lock and a rugged keyhole.

Faced with this door, protected by a combination of the occult, electronics, and analog security, the old man sighed in annoyance and approached the electronic lock on the right. His secretary went to the left, performed a fingerprint scan, entered a password, and inserted a key from her pocket. After a shared glance, they turned their keys simultaneously.

Following a beep, the secretary took a wooden tally-like object from her breast pocket. When she held it up to the magic circle, the steel door slowly slid open to the sides. A large, black-haired man welcomed the group, led by the doctor, with open arms.

"Welcome, Doctor. Sorry 'bout that, not sending anyone to greet you."

"Don't be ridiculous. As if I would let you out of this room without my permission."

The man just shrugged at the old man's glare. He was relaxed enough to be whistling, his tie loosened.

He had a well-built frame, standing nearly two meters tall, with a sharp gaze. Even under his disheveled suit, his toned physique was obvious. He was clearly not an ordinary man. Before the Day of Awakening, a sword scar had adorned his face, making his features even more menacing.

narrowing his blue eyes, the large man lecherously eyed the secretary standing beside the old man.

"Hah! In that case, I'd like some more gifts. Being cooped up in a place like this, I feel like I'm gonna go on a rampage from pent-up frustration."

"You're allowed to blow off steam at the designated establishment on the designated day. Don't be greedy."

Due to the old man's hunched posture, the height difference between them seemed nearly double. Yet, the old man showed no fear, not because he considered for a moment that the man would harm him. It wasn't trust or faith, but a confidence bordering on arrogance.

"You should be honored. The President has taken a liking to you. Not to your abilities or personality, but to your similar background. If not for that, I would never allow a ruffian like you in my laboratory."

The old man's words made the man scratch the back of his head, looking bored.

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard that so many times I'm sick of it. Mother was a police officer, died in childbirth. Barely ever met my father. How in the hell did that man manage to become president with a background like that?"

"Your parents were a common soldier and a cop in some rural Japanese town. The President's parents were a director at a major pharmaceutical company and an elite police officer with a promising future. It's only natural they'd be different."

"Hahaha. And then there's the difference in our adoptive parents, right?"

The man laughed flippantly before turning on his heel.

"Well, then. Now that we're done with the pleasantries, shall we get down to business?"

"Indeed. I must reclaim the time wasted on an ignorant and uneducated man like yourself."

Without looking back at the old man who had spat out those words, the man walked on.

And what they saw when they were led into the inner room was...

"Quite a sight. I don't even wanna think about the electricity bill."

Row upon row of iron towers. Not ten, not a hundred. In the vast underground space, the towers were erected at regular intervals. Atop each one, a long, silvery, oval-shaped object was mounted, gleaming dully in the light of the ceiling fixtures.

Looking down on these rows of iron towers, one would see that they were arranged to form a massive 'magic circle.'

A sinister smile spread across the old man's face at the occult-like scene.

"We've poured a budget into this that's incomparable to the first experiment. Furthermore, this time we'll be using a catalyst from 'the other side.' The planned second experiment was canceled, but I will undoubtedly succeed. I will bring this achievement back to America."

---This old man was by no means a renowned scholar.

After failing the entrance exams for a famous university multiple times, he finally passed, only to spend his student years struggling not to fail his classes. He was born into a wealthy family in a provincial town, not a prestigious one. He could get most anything he wanted, but he was always plagued by a sense of inferiority. That hadn't changed even after becoming an adult.

After graduating, he lorded over his colleagues at a job his parents had arranged for him, all while envying his peers who went on to brilliant careers.

But then, in the course of his hobbyist research, he had accidentally discovered 'a certain document' sleeping deep within a US military warehouse. And he had succeeded in deciphering it.

Finally, my time to be recognized has come.

With that conviction, he became unstoppable. No matter how gruesome a scene it would create. No matter how much blood would be shed.

His ambition—the ambition of Doctor Tesla—burned brighter.

"I will be the one to first set foot on the frontier…!"

An American naval base in a rural region. A single blueprint, gathering dust in a warehouse, forgotten and never digitized. When he took it into his hands, this story was set in motion.

*

Washington, D.C., America.

Three women stepped off a bus in the capital of the world's greatest superpower.

Saejima, a former Public Security agent and current employee of the Dungeon Agency, checked her watch.

"Alright, as planned, we'll take a taxi to the hotel and then head to meet our local 'guide.'"

"Yes, Saejima-san!"

Akasaka Yuune, her boss's daughter and still a high school student, replied energetically. Saejima's gaze wandered for a moment, as if at a loss.

But that gaze ultimately landed on...

"At last, we have arrived. In the city of chaos…!"

...a far more troublesome adult, posing dramatically.

Saejima shot a deadpan, exasperated look at Sakuraba, who was dressed in a sleeveless leather jacket and sunglasses. Initially, she had planned to wear a ridiculously flashy bandana and a multitude of silver bracelets. The other two had to desperately convince her that it would attract too much attention.

But that hadn't put a stop to her eccentricities.

"Now then. Let us see what America's card shops have to offer…! Follow me!"

"We're not going."

"What?! Are you sane, my soul sisters! Have you forgotten our purpose for coming here?!"

"... 'Sightseeing.'"

"Then why?!"

"Because it's not on the 'schedule.'"

"Sightseeing is for those who enjoy it most… Remember that well."

"We are not going."

"Kuh…! You stubborn fool…!"

Sakuraba removed her sunglasses, her face contorted in frustration.

Saejima's stomach began to ache from an anxiety that had crossed her mind at least thirty times since boarding the plane: Is it really okay to have someone like this as our 'bodyguard'?

Nominally, they were here for tourism, but of course, that wasn't the truth. They had crossed the ocean to carry out an extremely dangerous and important mission.

"Aargh! Then I shall take you by force!"

"Hey—"

"Wha—?!"

Sakuraba grabbed both Saejima and Yuune's arms and began to march forward. Just as Saejima opened her mouth to protest...

"Don't look back. We're being watched."

Saejima swallowed the words she was about to spit out at Sakuraba's calm voice. The 'B-Rank Candidate' adventurer continued.

"It's no surprise you didn't notice. They're likely projecting only their eyeballs in astral form. It's a method that even Yuune can't use to read their thoughts."

Yuune's eyes widened at Sakuraba's words.

"S-Someone like that… Does this mean they've already noticed us…!"

"I can't say for sure yet. But don't show any signs of distress. It's the same in dungeons—the ones who waver are the first to die."

"True. That makes sense."

After flashing a wry smile at Yuune, who had returned to her natural state in an instant, Sakuraba turned a bold grin on Saejima.

"So, what's the plan? Unfortunately, I'm not very experienced in person-to-person combat. I'd like you to take command, if you can."

"…………"

Saejima Takeko was not an Awakened Person. She couldn't sense the flow of mana, nor did she possess any skills.

But…

"Understood. We're changing the plan."

She had crammed her head with more knowledge about the abilities of Awakened Persons than anyone. Sakuraba's smile deepened in amusement at her words, and Yuune nodded firmly.

The three of them did not stop walking.

In both Japan and America, events were secretly unfolding. A bullet that could drastically alter the course of history was about to be fired.

What consequences it would bring for the human race of this world, no one yet knew.