Chapter 979: Chapter 771: Work
The day before the Five Constants’ emergency meeting, just past midnight, in the first hour of the Order of Nothingness taking effect.
The turmoil within the Tanbo Inner Circle unfolded amidst a torrential rain.
As if they had preemptively formed an alliance, the Iron King Party and the K-word Party simultaneously launched a massive offensive from the north and south, instantly breaking through the Hybrid Alliance’s defenses.
The war had begun.
But the defeat came even earlier, faster... and more unbearable than expected.
Kahara hospital.
Under the pouring rain, the flames gradually extinguished, leaving only thick smoke slowly spreading.
Tobio stood silently under an umbrella, gazing at the collapsed building and the attackers’ corpses lying around — the bodies of the Russian Federation and Yingzhou People silently dragged away by the Hybrids, one after another, tossed into the remnants of the fires, bypassing the funeral parlor procedures.
Buried in peace.
The chaos and attack had just ended, leaving only ruins and the roar of rain behind.
"Another explosion, huh."
Tobio scratched his bald head, and sighed uncontrollably: "I really have a fate with explosions, huh, what number is this?"
No response.
Behind him, his silent subordinates each bore injuries, many of whom had been moved under rain shelters, covered with white cloth.
In the effort to kill one Tobio, the Iron King Party and the Russian Federation had deployed elite forces.
Tobio had anticipated and prepared for this, only not foreseeing it would come so suddenly, so fiercely.
Before the outcome was determined, instead of first fighting to the death, the wolves and tigers unexpectedly joined forces to first take out this lone, surviving fox.
No need to ask why — since it has happened, according to the code among the Extreme Path, there’s only an unending road of no return left to walk.
"Any news from the others?" Tobio turned around and asked.
"No word from the Chiba Family, Ms. Ochiai is unharmed, but the Arakawa Family..." Amada paused briefly and said gloomily, "is gone."
"And Mr. Takemoto?"
Tobio asked about the whereabouts of another armed defender in the alliance.
Amada was silent for a moment: "Probably dead."
"What a tragedy — despite so much preparation, still caught off guard..."
The old man lowered his head, coughing violently, as the bandages on his shoulders and arms were soaked with rainwater, seeping blood.
The long-serving, experienced driver returned, wiping blood from his hands, and said solemnly: "Patriarch, the rescue has arrived. For the safety of the main family, may I suggest you temporarily relocate..."
"For safety, the farther you escape, the safer you’ll be. Dongxia, Shinra, Australia... get on a ship, where can’t you go?"
Tobio shook his head, "We’re going to headquarters."
He continued: "Gotta let those know where they can find my head for bounty... or else, everyone’s come in vain, haven’t they?"
In the silence, no one rebutted, no one refuted.
The driver humbly bowed and opened the car door for him.
And so, they drove into the heart of the mighty flames.
.
.
Under the same night sky, in the turbulent Tanbo Inner Circle, distant roars rolled in waves.
Though power had long gone out, small flickers of light persisted. Habituated to unstable electricity over the years, everyone kept diesel generators ready.
However, the lights were dim.
In the office of Huaizhi Corporation, Takuma paced uneasily in the leader’s office, asking almost every few minutes: "Leader not back yet?"
Yamashita responded: "Told you, can’t get in touch."
"What about Ueno! Ueno must have news!"
"He’s with the leader... are you done? You’ve asked that many times, don’t panic, alright? You’re not going to fight."
Yamashita replied without looking up.
On the coffee table before the sofa, there now lay a heavy sharpening stone. Under its wetness, it emanated a deep grinding sound, as the blade gleamed brightly.
Carefully and solemnly, the tachi was sharpened continuously until the edge could blow off fine hair, illuminating those fierce eyes.
Glowing vividly red.
Takuma, for a moment, couldn’t tell whether the sword was scarier or his gaze more terrifying.
"Don’t be scared; whether the leader is here or not, our job remains unchanged."
Yamashita sheathed the sword, tightened the gun strap beneath his suit, reconsidered, and then drew out the hand-gun and pushed it towards Takuma from the table, instructing him:
"Just do what’s necessary; if the task’s completed, life or death doesn’t really matter."
"Notify if there’s news from the leader anytime."
After fastening the walkie-talkie, he pushed the door and left.
Takuma was stunned for a long moment, then realized he had been pitted by Yamashita, the bastard, and angrily picked up the walkie-talkie, intending to smash it.
But after pausing in his movements, hesitating, he slowly put down the walkie-talkie.
Forget it, isn’t it just waiting for news? Let’s wait, let’s wait.
Takuma sighed heavily, worriedly turning white-haired.
After so many years without wielding a blade to cut down others, he found himself so weak that he couldn’t even stand the sight of himself.
In the unbearable silence, he clasped his hands together, repeatedly chanting Buddhist scriptures, piously praying to the black raven on the shelf, the mythological bird said to convey the gods’ orders.
Praying that everyone would be safe.
.
Using the border cables previously connected, the street outside was barely illuminated, cluttered with boxes and miscellaneous items serving as barricades.
Thanks to preparations from days earlier, the Huaizhi Gang had already stacked up a bunch of illegal structures in their territory, making it easier to defend. Previously, they had repelled several waves of attackers, managing to hold out until dawn at least.
However, at this critical moment, without the leader present, everyone suddenly felt a bit lost.
Yamashita could only strive to maintain a confident demeanor and the authority of his predecessor while patrolling everywhere, trying to reassure people. Unfortunately, after exhausting his words, the effect was minimal.
It seemed like the leader sitting on a chair in the middle of the street worked better than he did.
The occasional caws of the ravens and the sounds of those giant flying birds landing and taking off calmed the nerves of the Extreme Path members quite a bit.
Over the days, the people of the Huaizhi Gang gradually got used to the brazen ravens frequenting their territory.
Someone did ask about the origins of this flock of ravens, given how bizarre they seemed in Current Circumstances.
But mostly, the Extreme Path folks weren’t very cultured, assuming they were just some special species from a border area, without much thought.
Don’t ask, if you ask it’s because the boss is incredible, the Great Bodhisattva sent celestial soldiers to assist, right? Why meddle in all this if you’re not planning anything?
Those alert raptors circling the night sky would screech sharply upon detecting unusual intrusions, occasionally swooping down to attack when the intruders were few.
Even now, the Huaizhi Gang maintained basic stability amid external chaos thanks to their warnings and support.
Yet, now many ravens had gathered and were hovering around in the south...
Yamashita paused, receiving a signal from the radio at the southern intersection.
When he arrived, the people outside the barricade were already impatient.
"Hey, hurry up!"
The speaker outside was the wakato of the Heichuan Group, impatiently urging, "Mr. Akasaki is severely injured and urgently needs treatment, hurry and bring the doctor out!"
Guarding the door, the Extreme Path member hesitated, unsure whether to open the door. Seeing Yamashita arrive, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I’m Yamashita Jiro, what’s going on?"
"Yamashita, it’s me! It’s me, have you forgotten? Nakanojo from the Heichuan Group, we’ve shared drinks before!"
Seeing Yamashita come out, the wakato of the Heichuan Group became agitated, "Quickly lend a hand, Mr. Akasaki is badly hurt! Where’s the doctor? Mr. Akasaki is barely holding on!"
"Akasaki... Akasaki Makoto from Jin River Association?"
Yamashita paused, instinctively tensing, raising his hand to motion for the barricade to be removed, but stopped momentarily, suddenly realizing, "Wait, where is Mr. Akasaki? Why can’t I see him?"
Nakanojo turned and pointed towards the sedan behind him; through the open window, a weak figure struggled to raise a hand, waving weakly at them.
In the lamp light, the face appeared as pale as paper.
"It’s indeed Mr. Akasaki."
An observant subordinate already confirmed his face.
Yamashita glanced through binoculars and finally relaxed, beginning to regret his suspicion, gesturing for his subordinates to start removing the barricade.
Nakanojo rejoiced, stepping forward to chat congenially, excitedly clenching his hidden left hand.
Behind the sedan, in the alleys on both sides, the attackers clutching their blades and guns started breathing deeply, waiting for the signal, their eyes already burning red.
Impatient.
Yet amidst the easing atmosphere, a raven flapped its wings and landed atop the car, curiously looking at the seemingly similar attackers, confused about what was happening.
Cawed twice.
Nakanojo, displeased, waved to chase away the oversized raven, wary of its sharp claws and long beak, daring not to get too close.
The raven extended its neck to glance at him, then dipped it down, peering inside the car at the pale, barely conscious man.
In the shadows within the car, ’Akasaki Makoto’ stared back at it, slowly clenching the tachi in his hand, his gaze growing dangerous.
"Caw——"
The raven suddenly opened its beak and cried sharply, startling everyone.
Then, with fluid motion, its long beak stabbed forward, piercing Akasaki Makoto’s face, and before he could react, withdrew its neck and flapped its wings to rise into the sky.
Its beak clutching a pulled-off silicone mask.
Purely habitual, a display of audacious theft!
With the new toy in tow, it excitedly cawed in the air, but carelessly dropped the freshly stolen item.
Landing at Yamashita’s feet.
In that instant, dead silence descended, freezing everyone in place.
Yamashita looked down at the limp mask at his feet.
Looked up, eyeing Nakanojo engaging warmly in conversation.
Nakanojo met his gaze, face growing pale, instinctively swallowing nervously.
"Uh, the weather’s been dry lately, Akasaki’s been quite flaky, so there was this..."
"I see."
Yamashita nodded, then drew his sword, slashing across the grinning face, roaring furiously:
"——Damn traitor, die!"
