Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week-Chapter 439 - 437 Restless People_1
The thick walls of the large villa meant that the second-floor lights were almost never on. Downstairs, only the living room and hallway were lit, with the rest of the place engulfed in darkness. Morimoto Chiyoda was wealthy but not the type to be wasteful. If a room was unoccupied, she wouldn’t leave the light on.
As was her routine, she practiced her combat moves several times to keep her muscles limber and ensure her skills didn’t deteriorate. After finishing, a thin layer of sweat coated her body. She casually picked up a towel from the table to wipe her forehead, then used a toothpick to spear a piece of diced pitaya and popped it into her mouth. Morimoto Chiyoda particularly enjoyed eating fruit during the summer. In winter, however, the cold made such icy treats unappealing to her.
After chewing twice, her phone made a DING sound. She stuck the toothpick back into the pitaya, picked up her phone, and unlocked it, finding a message from the forum.
Did Emily have some new intelligence? 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Morimoto Chiyoda opened the post and then checked the secret codes they had agreed upon. Reading through it, her expression became remarkably complex, and even the sweet pitaya in her mouth no longer seemed tasty.
The message mentioned the Dread Emperor, the destruction of the world’s laws, and fourteen secret phrases. After Dio ascends to Paradise, he will secretly control everything from the shadows.
Truly, with wolves in front and tigers behind, no matter who enters the scene, the world is destined for no good outcome, Morimoto Chiyoda thought. She exited the forum and swiftly sent the information to Jack through the CIA’s app. This situation had already exceeded what she could handle, so all she could do was report it up the chain. Humanity will do whatever it can.
She dismissed this fatalistic thought, then suddenly wondered, Is there any point to my self-restraint? If the world is truly approaching its end, wouldn’t it be better to just indulge myself, enjoying carefree days with Aozawa, partying night after night? Morimoto Chiyoda envisioned those scenes but pushed the impulses back down.
The more critical the times, the more important it is to ensure that both Aozawa and I are healthy. If we’re run down when the apocalypse comes, we won’t even be able to run.
Humans might struggle to deal with the Angel Envoy, but they could still muster the strength to resist the Monsters.
Another thought suddenly sparked in Morimoto Chiyoda’s mind. Maybe I could suggest to the higher-ups that schools should teach less from books. Since it’s all happy education anyway, it might be better to add a few more PE classes or military training to enhance their physical health, so they can run faster when faced with danger in the future. Knowledge is important, but not everyone can excel academically. Why not let those who are average in studies become physically stronger to face the end-of-world crisis?
Morimoto Chiyoda then considered that the likelihood of such a policy being adopted was not high. The public was already receiving too much sensitive information, and introducing such a policy would only accelerate the panic brewing in people’s minds. Even a good policy, if introduced at the wrong time, can lead to disastrous results. The urgent need was to stabilize public morale and strengthen military training, not try to change the daily lives of civilians.
"Why should I bother with those matters? The country isn’t under my control anyway," Morimoto Chiyoda muttered, shaking her head. It was best to temporarily maintain public stability. However, the Metropolitan Police Department was under her jurisdiction. In her capacity as Police Director, she could step up training to prevent slackness. As for Aozawa, he was constantly training and had already reached his current limits. All Morimoto Chiyoda needed to do was ease up a little, to ensure the boy wouldn’t have weak legs when the crucial moment came.
...
In Shinjuku, at the Central Building, on the thirty-first floor.
Jack put down his pen and swiveled his chair around. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, neon lights interspersed with tall buildings made the night seem gloomy. He frowned, as if beasts lurked in the darkness, eyeing the brightly lit CIA offices, waiting for a chance to strike. Even he could understand that forcibly claiming the meteorite was a highly risky affair. Why can’t those above grasp this?
Indeed, a brigade of the U.S. Army was formidable. But while open attacks were easy to dodge, hidden threats were hard to guard against, especially now, when Tokyo was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The combined strength of those figures might not be able to defeat the U.S. Army openly, but in the shadows, it was a different story. Ambushes and assassinations were inherently difficult to defend against. Just thinking about it, Jack felt an enormous pressure surging within him.
He knew that those at the top would never admit to a mistake. If anything went awry, it would be blamed on those carrying out the orders below. Why hadn’t the CIA sub-bureau anticipated the enemy’s plans in advance, or been able to prevent them? If things evolved to that point, Jack could only silently take the blame. "Sigh," he let out a long breath.
Turning back, Jack looked at the documents in his hands. The sudden death of the Director of Intelligence had left him struggling to find a suitable replacement. He couldn’t take on that role on top of his other duties; he already had too much on his plate, well beyond his capabilities. In the end, he had to promote someone from within the intelligence division to take over.
"Heh," Jack sighed again, fully understanding the meaning behind the saying, "It’s lonely at the top." Not everyone had the capacity to stand in high places. Sitting in the position of a sub-bureau director, there was so much to manage, and trustworthy people were few and far between. If an analogy had to be made, it was like walking through a fog, unsure whether each step would land on a pit or solid ground—truly like treading on thin ice.
"Might as well resign," Jack grumbled, yet he was reluctant to let the power he had obtained slip away so easily. He picked up a document detailing a death case in Bunkyo District; the suspect was most likely Number Nine. It included photos from the scene, as well as the victim’s appearance and identity information. Jack looked at the crushed skull and the naked body. From the traces left at the scene, he deduced that some sort of sexual act had occurred. Do clone humans also have those kinds of thoughts towards the opposite sex? As this thought flashed through his mind, he sank into contemplation. Should I order a follow-up on the case?
Suddenly, his computer’s email inbox made a sound. He quickly opened it and discovered an email from Morimoto Chiyoda.
Jack’s expression immediately turned solemn. If Morimoto Chiyoda, who’s off-duty, is sending a message, it must be related to Emily! That means there’s new intelligence on Dio!
He used the CIA’s code-breaking software to decipher the email and obtained the complete intelligence.
"FARK, I might as well resign!"
Jack felt utterly weary. The world is on the brink of doomsday; why am I still working so hard here? Find a place with beautiful scenery, invite a few lovely ladies, and just enjoy life comfortably. Isn’t that nice?
He thought about it but didn’t seriously plan to resign. Instead, he used such thoughts to relax, then opened a drawer and took out whiskey and a glass.
GLUG. He downed a glass in one go, and finding it not enough, poured another.
After drinking three glasses in a row, he finally suppressed the fear in his heart, picked up the desk phone, and dialed John’s number.
BEEP. The call connected immediately. John was always ready to answer calls from the CIA sub-bureau to ensure he wouldn’t miss any information about Dio or the Different World.
"Jack, do you have any new intelligence?"
"Director John, according to intelligence from our informant, we now know the fourteen secret phrases for Dio’s ascension to Paradise. The meteorite incident is the very step Dio is using to reach Paradise."
The news Jack revealed brought a hint of joy to John’s face. He set down his breakfast burger and asked excitedly, "What are the fourteen secret phrases?"
"The Spiral Staircase, Unicorn Beetle..." Jack recited the fourteen secret phrases. "The Secret Emperor—our informant speculates that it might refer to Dio, after ascending to Paradise, hiding in the world’s shadows, manipulating the life and death of all things."
This statement sent a chill down John’s spine, but he wasn’t entirely surprised. Without such power, Dio probably wouldn’t be so keen on ascending to Paradise.
"Now Dio has fulfilled two conditions: the fourteen secret phrases and the specific location—where the meteorite currently is. According to him, the remaining four will be met soon."
John swallowed hard and said, "Good work. I will report this to the President immediately."
"Director, aside from this, our informant provided another important piece of intelligence. The gigantic Monster that appeared off the coast of England is known as the Dread Emperor. It was once an Angel Envoy, but it transformed into a Demon Realm after devouring too many Monsters. Not long ago, it shattered the laws of our world in Antarctica. As Dio claims, once the laws are broken, it means the collapse of the world; we could face doomsday at any moment."
Over the phone, the sound of liquor flowing into a glass could be heard, but John did not scold him. Rather, at such a moment, he too wanted to have a drink to calm his nerves.
John took a deep breath. He considered that with current human technology, satellites should be able to capture images related to Antarctica, but Air Force One hadn’t passed any to the CIA. Are they suppressing it? This thought flickered through John’s mind, and he said softly, "I understand, Jack. Hang in there."
"Don’t worry, Director, I can still hold on." Jack put on a bitter smile and gulped down the whiskey in his glass.
"All right. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now. Contact me anytime if there’s a situation."
John hung up and dialed the number for Air Force One.
...
Nett hadn’t gone to sleep; he was looking at a series of photos handed to him by the Secretary of State. Those were satellite shots concerning the situation in Antarctica. The gigantic Monster that had appeared in England was spotted once more in Antarctica, embracing a colored light pillar, which it then shattered.
"What’s going on?"
"I’m not sure." The Secretary of State also couldn’t understand. What significance could there be for that gigantic Monster to perform such an act in Antarctica?
RING RING. The phone rang. Nett picked it up and answered, "Hello?"
"Mr. President, I have an urgent situation to report to you."
After listening to John’s report, Nett hung up the phone. His aged face became expressionless, cold as iron, and he spoke in a low voice, "The CIA has obtained related intelligence.
"It’s the Monster named Dread Emperor that is destroying the laws of the world.
"According to Dio, once the laws are destroyed, the world will inevitably head toward collapse."
The Secretary of State’s expression was not one of surprise; rather, he sighed, "So the day has finally come."
"The exact time of collapse is unknown, but we need to sit down and talk," Nett continued. "Contact our old friend from the East for me. It’s necessary for us to meet."
The Secretary of State understood that "us" meant not just two people, but three. There are only three major powers in the world.
