Ignoring his colleague's angry shouts, Tosaki Yu, dressed in a white suit jacket, stared intently at the computer screen, constantly clicking the mouse and frantically switching between the displayed images.
His colleague, seeing this, lit a cigarette and leisurely scoffed.
"You're really trying hard to climb up.... But you can't possibly think you can find that guy again just by monitoring, can you?"
"Last time, we just happened to catch that guy brazenly going out for a meal, but the police blindly attacked and were all slaughtered by him."
His colleague exhaled a smoke ring, a hint of lingering fear and apprehension flashing in his eyes.
"Since then, we haven't found any trace of his movements again."
"How could such a terrifying guy be so easily found by you?!"
Idiot.
Completely missed the point!
Time passed quickly, bit by bit.
Tosaki Yu kept clicking through surveillance footage of various streets in Tokyo, refusing to give up, but his heart was actually filled with anxiety.
There was no time to waste.
He had to find him before the game ended, find—the real him!
He had reviewed the videos and information related to Sato that had circulated in America countless times, and finally noticed a subtle discrepancy.
The last public intelligence showed that Owen, the guy who looked exactly like Sato, had completely disappeared from America after 1994, losing all trace.
However, in a local urban legend forum, he saw many people emphatically claiming they had seen this guy in Neon many years ago!
At first, Tosaki Yu thought these people were just trying to gain attention, but for that one glimmer of possibility, he didn't give up.
He secretly used his authority to investigate, going door-to-door to confirm, even resorting to lie-detector tests, and the results sent chills down his spine.
These guys weren't lying!
Perhaps there really was a "Sato" who had been living in Neon all these years!
If this "Sato" was the so-called savior, then why did he remain silent for so many years only to suddenly jump out and save his compatriots?
Why was his first move in America, across the ocean, instead of the closer Neon?
A barrage of questions made him explode with frustration.
Tosaki Yu finally had to change his approach and began investigating various abnormal incidents that had occurred in America in the past month.
This was a huge amount of work, as countless people died from gun violence in America every day, and most incidents were so commonplace they didn't even make the news anymore.
But he finally succeeded yesterday in pinpointing an incident involving a hostage-taking and arson.
The reason was quite flimsy, more intuition than evidence.
Forensic examiners detected traces on the bones that suggested they were torn by the claws of a large animal, but no animal traces were found at the scene, and of the five people in the theater that night, only four and a half skeletons could be pieced together.
The remaining skeleton consisted of only two arms; the rest of the bones seemed to have vanished.
At first, some people did suspect it was a Demi-Human, but since the entire theater was cordoned off by the police that night, with no one entering or exiting until the fire was extinguished, this suspicion was quickly dismissed.
Only one intern police officer kept claiming he saw a ghost, and for that, he was treated as a joke.
But when this so-called joke was forcibly linked by him to those incidents of planes and weapons mysteriously disappearing in America, it seemed to have something in common!
Following this line of thought, identifying the person whose skeleton was incomplete that night, and then using surveillance to search for him, was the only way he left for the world to find him!
Damn it, damn it, where could he be…
Clang—
It was exactly midnight.
All guards and security forces loaded their rifles, staring intently at the empty space in front of the entrance.
However, five whole minutes passed, and no figure appeared there.
Twenty minutes passed, and still no stranger approached.
A colleague extinguished his cigarette, subtly breathing a sigh of relief, glanced at Tosaki Yu, who was still frowning at the monitor, shook his head dismissively, and turned to leave.
"Give up, he played all of us, he won't come."
"Tsk, the Prime Minister and those big shots even held a special meeting, thinking they could make us look good internationally, and now they don't know how to clean up this mess."
Tosaki Yu bit his finger, muttering to himself with absolute certainty.
"He will come, no, he must already be here."
Suddenly, a thunderbolt exploded in his mind.
"Wait…"
Tosaki Yu's pupils contracted sharply, he pushed his chair over and stood up, leaning on the table with cold sweat pouring down, his hands and feet icy cold.
"The Demi-Human's savior… he wouldn't be planning to do something like that, would he?!"
Tosaki Yu gritted his teeth, rushed out of the temporary command post, sprinted to the parking lot, and started his car.
"Damn it, I have to make it!"
And just after he left, the on-site commander, unable to withstand the pressure of a prolonged street blockade, reluctantly announced the team's withdrawal.
Just before getting into the car, a chill surged up his spine, making all his goosebumps stand on end!
The commander sharply turned his head to look at the entrance of the District Prosecutor's Office, but no matter how wide he opened his eyes, he still saw nothing.
Facing his adjutant's concerned gaze, the commander chuckled and shook his head.
"…Heh, it's nothing, I guess the pressure is just getting to me."
The security forces at the scene quickly withdrew one after another.
However, in what everyone thought was an empty space, a dense army of IBM particles had already silently gathered!
Humanoid black shadows, some blurry, some clear, of varying sizes, stood silently in place, all looking up at the sky, their gazes converging on a single point.
Outside, the sun was still shining brightly, but in the world only Demi-Humans could see, only a colossal black shadow, covering the sky and earth, was seen descending.
It was an unimaginably huge IBM, its body almost covering the entire Tokyo!
Like a black dragon, it weaved through the clouds, silently appearing before the many IBM particles.
The ultra-high concentration of IBM particles caused space to tremble, almost instantly turning day into night in the eyes of Demi-Humans, and buildings beneath it seemed as tiny as toy blocks.
All Demi-Humans' IBM particles instinctively froze, the entire world as if still.
The black specters stared blankly up at the dragon's head, which obscured the sky, as if facing an ancient deity.
Under its might, none harbored thoughts of resistance, only instinctive awe, fanaticism, and faith buried deep in their hearts, willingly submitting without need for words.
The giant dragon's head slowly looked down at all the IBM particles on the ground, and invisible information flowed like a torrent into the minds of every Demi-Human.
"Thank you for trusting me and gathering here, my people."
No one would doubt the authenticity of the so-called savior anymore.
No, a guy who could create such terrifying power could even be called the God of Demi-Humans!
All the Demi-Humans behind the scenes subconsciously stood up, bowing their heads respectfully to listen to the divine oracle.
Those who originally had doubts now had a look of fervent conviction in their eyes!
Rhode's deep and cold voice echoed in the minds of all Demi-Humans.
"For my compatriots in distress, I give you two choices."
"First, I will send you to a place where no one knows you, to start a new life."
"Second, I will eliminate your Demi-Human power, allowing you to return to a normal life."
"Make your choice now. Those who choose one stand on the left, those who choose two stand on the right."
Perhaps they hadn't expected the savior to be so straightforward.
Most Demi-Humans just wanted to live normal lives and had no desire to stir up trouble.
Rhode's words subtly relieved them.
After a brief silence, all the IBM particles moved to the right.
Rhode, behind the scenes, revealed a faint, knowing smile.
Humans are, after all, social animals. What good is immortality if there's no one to accompany them, and they have to live in constant fear? It's simply a living hell.
"Very good, now you will individually tell me the desired meeting location, and I will then process your wishes."
"But before that, on the eve of all our compatriots receiving salvation, I have one last gift for everyone."
As Rhode's voice fell, the Demi-Humans in the open space looked up in confusion through the eyes of their IBM particles.
Just then, a silhouette streaked across the sky, a giant IBM with dark black wings soaring high.
As its wings flapped, they carried countless dark IBM particles, bringing a black downpour.
Upon closer inspection, what fell from the sky was not rain, but blood-soaked human heads!
The heads rolled and tumbled from the sky, falling heavily at the feet of the IBM particles everywhere, many still with their eyes wide open in death.
Their faces were all too familiar, those high-ranking officials who constantly pontificated and dominated society on television and in the news—the Prime Minister, ministers, and even various powerful figures!
Every twisted face had left scars in the memories of Demi-Humans, but now they stared with wide, unseeing eyes, as if they had experienced something extremely terrifying before death.
In the deathly silent sea of IBM particles, only Rhode's voice echoed, like a cold judgment.
"Those who have harmed our compatriots, I will not let a single one go."
"Now is the time for judgment!"
As his voice fell, the massive black dragon IBM that covered Tokyo suddenly disintegrated in the air, countless dragon heads transforming into thousands of tiny yet fierce black flying dragons, like dark meteors tearing through the sky!
They broke through the air, tracing the names on the notebook, flying to various parts of the world—whether it be the pinnacle of power or a secret safe house.
At this moment, the blood of every Demi-Human in the black tide boiled, their fanaticism and gratitude towards Rhode reaching their peak.
A-rank wish notifications, like a tsunami, continuously rang in their ears.
At the top of Tokyo Tower, Rhode narrowed his eyes, spread his arms, and showed a joyful smile.
In the Tokyo government building, Tosaki Yu cursed, looking at the high-ranking officials in the room, all with their heads severed, and punched the wall.
"Damn it, am I too late again?!"
He suddenly thought of something, ignored the frightened staff's protests, rushed to the window, and looked around.
"Not here, not here either, wait, that's it!"
Tosaki Yu suddenly caught sight of a cold and beautiful woman in a suit getting into a car, and his heart instantly swelled with joy.
"Found him!"
He turned, gritted his teeth, rushed downstairs, quickly started his car, and sped off in pursuit of the car that had just left.
At this moment, on the other side of the world, in the center of power of a certain country, behind heavily guarded doors, powerful figures were gathered.
In what seemed like a perpetually secure, enclosed conference room, the President and ministers sat together, watching a live broadcast of the special operation in Neon.
The atmosphere was arrogant and dismissive, with someone contemptuously smoking a cigar.
"That so-called savior, he still doesn't have the guts to show himself, does he? Demi-Humans are just trash."
Before he finished speaking, his head suddenly twisted off his neck, rolling to the ground without warning, blood splattering the ceiling like a fountain.
In shock, someone was about to get up to call for help but instantly lost his voice—an invisible force brutally choked his throat, his hands struggled, his eyeballs bulged, his face gradually turned ashen, yet he couldn't make a sound.
A high-ranking official nearby, drenched in sweat, was about to press the alarm, when his chest was suddenly pierced by an invisible force, and he fell to the ground, convulsing.
Inside the conference room, everyone was chased by an invisible grim reaper.
Someone's heart suddenly stopped beating, someone's head was torn off alive, someone was pulled to the ceiling with lightning speed, their neck grotesquely broken…
The entire room instantly became a bloody slaughterhouse.
After an unknown amount of time, the secretaries and assistants outside anxiously knocked on the door for a long time, receiving no response.
"Excuse me, we have urgent matters to report!"
They bravely pushed the door open, only to be met with a scene of corpses strewn everywhere, a bloody mess, everyone seemingly slaughtered by demons from hell!
Piercing screams immediately echoed in the corridor, alarming the entire building.
Similar scenes were simultaneously unfolding across the globe.
High-level safe houses, military bases, secret meeting halls, luxurious estates in various countries…
Anyone whose name was on that notebook, without exception, faced judgment from an invisible grim reaper.
Even though the secret rooms were heavily guarded, with ubiquitous cameras, nothing could be seen, only a helpless and tragic end awaited them.
On this day, the pyramid of power at the top of the world also experienced the fear and helplessness that Demi-Humans had suffered.
The dark Sword of Justice, descending from the Tokyo sky, judged all past sins today.
On the rooftop of a tall building, far from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
Sato continuously scanned the surroundings for suspicious activity through his sniper scope, barely suppressing an excited smile.
"Hehehehe.... I was originally quite angry about who deliberately framed me, but it turns out to be a god!"
Witnessing the shocking spread of the Black Dragon firsthand, a long-lost impulse arose in Sato's heart.
— The impulse to slay a god.
"Making such a big commotion and deliberately framing me, you must be watching all of this from nearby."
Sato set up an ambush five times the maximum range of his controllable IBM, at a location that perfectly overlooked the government agencies.
A flash of intelligence crossed his eyes; he thought he had seen through Rod's intentions.
"You, who claim to be a savior, love to perform so much, you surely wouldn't miss the moment the show begins firsthand."
"Are you leisurely drinking tea? Or are you pretending to be an innocent passerby, while actually enjoying the struggles of those foolish people with a smirk?"
"Actually, you and I are the same kind of person, just treating all of this as a game. So, if I'm not mistaken, you should be there right now!"
Sato suddenly turned his gun towards the government agencies. Through the scope, he indeed saw the panic at the entrance and exit, but he never saw the figure he wanted to see.
"Strange, it shouldn't be. My guess should be correct.... If it were me, I would definitely take advantage of the large-scale police deployment to raid the government agency headquarters."
The confident and cruel smile on his face gradually disappeared. Sato's brows furrowed, his knuckles slightly whitened, and the failed deduction made him somewhat agitated.
"What are you thinking?"
Just as he was racking his brain, a faint voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
A faint voice of a young man suddenly sounded by his ear.
Sato's reaction lasted only half a second. The thrill of being in a life-or-death situation made him instantly reveal a twisted smile, his pupils flickering with a mad light.
"You really came."
A god's methods naturally surpassed the ordinary, so he had long considered this possibility!
Boom!
A deafening roar, an unknown amount of explosives simultaneously detonated beneath the building's foundation.
Steel shrieked, concrete shattered under compression and tension, and the tall building's structure collapsed in an instant!
Sato held a strange smile, clutching his sniper rifle, and looked at Rod, who was falling with him.
"All your actions were already within my predictions, God~"
Next, they would both die and be reborn, and Sato, having created distance, had more means to deal with Rod.
When Sato's consciousness reawakened, he had just struggled free from the broken bricks and stones on him. Before he could even locate Rod, his vision went black, and he fainted.
Rod casually tossed aside the iron rod, scoffing.
"A challenge not to laugh, interesting."
He indifferently carried the unconscious Sato and teleported back to Kamui Space.
In a desolate, isolated, and separate marginal area far from the main usage zone.
He bound Sato inside a pre-prepared container.
In fact, this biggest boss of the Ajin world was indeed the strongest individual soldier in this world.