The beam of searchlights tore through the darkness above the nameless street.
Ryuzaki Shin walked out of the dark crowd step by step, under the glaring lights.
His face was covered in blood, and his left leg dragged at an odd angle across the debris-strewn ground, leaving a dark red trail with each step.
His white shirt was tattered into strips, mixed with dried blood and fresh wounds.
He is the bleeding wound of the nameless street.
As the young man walked out, Sakata Nobutetsu, dressed in a crisp military uniform, frowned deeply.
The military formation behind him was impenetrable, the barrels of automatic rifles reflecting a cold metallic luster under the lights, densely packed.
"Halt!" Sakata Nobutetsu's voice was devoid of warmth, carrying throughout the entire street through the loudspeaker. "Who are you? I order you to stand back immediately! You have ten seconds to consider, or I have the right to kill you on the spot for obstructing military affairs and inciting riots!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
"Snap! Crash!"
A series of metallic scraping and spring-like popping sounds exploded in the deathly silent night sky, as dense as a sudden downpour.
That was a symphony of thousands of automatic rifles simultaneously releasing their safety and loading bullets.
Ryuzaki Makoto stopped in his tracks, facing the thousands of dark gun barrels.
He raised his head, his eyes, half-hidden by blood, sweeping across the steel jungle ahead. There was no fear in his gaze, only a calm.
"Who am I?" he asked in a hoarse voice. "I'm just an ordinary citizen, nothing more."
He paused, his gaze passing over Sakata Nobutetsu and landing on the soldiers with their guns raised.
"All of this started because of me. If someone really has to be held responsible, then I'll give my life here and let these poor people go."
After saying this, Ryuzaki Makoto slowly closed his eyes, tilted his neck back, and exposed his most vulnerable spot to all the gun barrels, as if waiting for a belated judgment.
In the shadows of the street corner, Suzuki Nana, holding a camera, bit her lip hard.
The camera shook violently, firmly locking onto that slender figure.
A man is using his flesh and blood to fight against the violent machinery of the entire country.
His face was deathly pale, and his resolute demeanor made her heart clench.
In the group, Junichi Watanabe sensed something was wrong. He quickly walked to Nobutetsu Sakata's side, lowered his voice, and said with a hint of urgency and ruthlessness, "General! This kind of person is best at inciting public opinion. If we wait any longer, things will get complicated! We should kill him immediately as a warning to others!"
Sakata Shintetsu's gaze never left Ryuzaki Makoto, but he coldly squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.
Are you teaching me how to do things?
This sentence was like a bucket of ice water poured over Junichi Watanabe's head, chilling him to the bone.
He swallowed the words "for the sake of the bigger picture" back down his throat, not daring to utter another word.
Sakata Nobutetsu took a deep breath of the cold, blood-stained air, unzipped his military boots, and walked step by step to the front of the army.
He stared directly at Ryuzaki Makoto's young face, his cold, hard gaze softening for some reason.
"Child, we are not bloodthirsty butchers, nor do we want to be enemies of the people. Since you have realized your mistake, then take the people behind you and go back. We can pretend that nothing happened."
This is a step, a step bestowed by a general.
Upon hearing these words, Ryuzaki Makoto slowly opened his eyes.
"mistake..."
He chewed on those two words, his face growing increasingly desolate, and his lips twitched involuntarily, letting out a few dry laughs.
"General, look at the men behind me."
He didn't turn around, but his voice seemed to come from the deepest part of the nameless street.
"They stepped forward when the country needed them, without hesitation for a second. In an era of roaring machines and billowing smoke, they poured their youth and sweat into the molten steel of national development."
"Those hands covered in calluses and scars, and those work clothes that are always stained with grease, are their most glorious medals."
"Back then, they didn't care whether their flesh and blood would be burned by the high temperature of the furnace, nor did they care whether their lungs would be filled with dust in the workshop."
At this point, Ryuzaki Makoto's voice suddenly rose several decibels, filled with a tearful accusation.
"But look at things now?"
"There is no trace of love or hope for life left in their eyes!"
"They can't walk on the street like normal people, they can't openly state their names, and even basking in the sun is a luxury!"
"And their children can't even step into the school gates. They can only huddle in this sunless street, coming out early to scavenge for food like rats in the gutter!"
After saying this, Ryuzaki Makoto fell silent.
The night breeze carried sighs from who-knows-where, stirring up dust and blood from the ground.
The chill made this late autumn night even more desolate.
Behind him, in the streets and alleys, the young children already had tears in their eyes, their small bodies trembling with fear and sorrow, tightly hugging their parents' legs.
Many children simply stare blankly at the twinkling stars in the night sky, believing that their parents are winking at them.
Sakata Shintetsu's Adam's apple bobbed twice, as if he wanted to say something, but it felt as if something was stuck in his throat, preventing him from uttering a single word.
Faced with those numb, sorrowful, and desperate faces, the soldiers holding guns involuntarily lowered their gun barrels by half an inch.
Ryuzaki Makoto slowly raised his hand and pointed to the silent crowd behind him.
"General, comrades."
"They were called the evil spirits of Nameless Street by outsiders, and some even called them the ghosts of Nameless Street."
"They really do look grotesque and don't live like human beings."
Ryuzaki Makoto abruptly changed the subject, his voice becoming firm and powerful.
"But weren't they heroes who shed blood for this country?!"
"Aren't their children the future of Japan?!"
"Isn't their current situation a direct result of this country's dereliction of duty and betrayal?!"
These three thunderous questions made Sakata Shintsu's cheeks inexplicably flush.
He was essentially a pure soldier, not a shameless politician.
These are questions he cannot answer, nor can he answer, nor should he be able to answer.
How many of the soldiers present were born with a silver spoon in their mouths?
Apart from a few rich kids who came to the military to gain prestige, most people wore the uniform for a living and for the military pay.
When Sakata Shintetsu saw his most trusted advisor, the man who was always hard-hearted, his eyes seemed to be filled with tears.
Ryuzaki Shin took two more steps forward, the muzzle of the gun almost touching his chest.
"There is an ancient poem from a great country in the East."
"We are all born of the same root, why are we so eager to harm each other?"
"Don't they know whether what happened today was right or wrong?!"
"but!!"
"They want to live! Even if it means being utterly despicable! Even if it means living a life worse than that of pigs and dogs! Even if it means being like zombies every day!"
Ryuzaki Makoto was screaming with all his might, uttering a sound that sounded like a soul-searching interrogation.
"They just wanted to live! What did they do wrong?!"
This shout echoed throughout the nameless street, and in the deathly silence of the night, no other sounds could be heard.
Just as everyone was still immersed in the huge impact of the shout, Ryuzaki Makoto's voice rang out again, but this time, the voice was filled with endless sorrow and exhaustion.
"Officers, sirs, on behalf of the souls of the dead on Nameless Street... I kneel before you, please leave..."
After saying this, Ryuzaki Makoto closed his eyes again, and two lines of clear tears rolled down his cheeks.
His knees buckled, and his entire body weight vanished instantly, causing him to crash straight down onto the cold ground...