Which Organization Doesn't Have a Trump Card?
Izumo, the God Gathering, the meeting of Hundred Tales.
Inside the once peaceful shrine, several monitors were now set up, broadcasting live Live Broadcast Room. The words of the Yan Kingdom streamers, who traveled all over the Eastern Kingdom, which were usually highly entertaining, now sounded incredibly jarring.
"This can't go on." The Great Tengu, his words slightly slurred, slammed his fist on the table, his expression furious.
We have to find a way to stop these guys!
"Stop? What can stop us? The Combat Power is too much. Or do you want me to use Mount Ooe now? Or directly send Takama-ga-hara down (Note ①)? Or launch the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons before the Midsummer Night Festival?" The horned youth said with an unfriendly expression. Although Hundred Tales theoretically had the strength to defeat the Yan Kingdom's broadcaster, it was not a power that could be used without limit.
Even if it really has to be used, it should be used during the Midsummer Night Festival.
Hearing the horned youth's words, the Woman with Nine Tails nodded, clearly not wanting to use her trump card again. The Great Tengu wanted to say something, but with the Tengu Council almost completely wiped out, his voice was weaker than ever before, and in the end he could only shut his mouth and stop talking.
A brief silence fell over the God Gathering, but no one suggested ending it.
Because while they knew that directly using their ultimate trump card was unwise, they also understood that continuing down this path would be a slow death.
After hesitating for a while, Hundred-Eyed Demon suddenly said:
"How about using that?"
"Which one?" The horned youth paused slightly, then raised his eyebrows and turned to look at the masked woman in the main seat. The other "Great Yokai" also looked at her.
The masked woman pondered for a moment, then frowned and said:
"Using that could have a significant impact."
"We had no choice, did we? The Infinite City's monopoly is now practically nonexistent. At the current rate of human development, how many more years can we hold out?" The horned youth shifted his posture, a mocking smile appearing on his face.
"The breeding methods were still too lenient. If they had listened to me back then and directly blocked all high-tech products and closed the country off from the world, how could things have turned out like this?"
"If things were as you say, we would have been trapped on this island long ago! Without the vast resources of the Hundred Tales, how could we possibly protect the foundation of Infinite City?" The nine-tailed woman rolled her eyes dramatically, fiddling with a tuft of white hair at the tip of her tail, her gaze slightly unfocused.
"But what you said makes sense. Let's move it then, let humans experience fear."
The masked woman nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping over the Weird Tale from those who had little say, before finally standing up and saying, "Since that's the case, then it's decided. Get the lower-level managers moving; they've been nurtured for so long, it's time they put in some use!"
"Hey everyone, it's me Brother Jie Aotu Man. The place we've come to today is no ordinary place!"
A young man dressed in classic training clothes walked down the street with a follow-up drone. When the people from the East saw him, they immediately looked at him with awe and longing.
Having been in Dongguo for half a month, "Brother Jie Aotu Man" had already gotten used to this kind of gaze. He followed the navigation while watching the barrage of comments on the screen and interacting with the viewers in the Live Broadcast Room.
[It's just Shinjuku, what's the big deal?]
[Take us to Shibuya if you dare!]
[What's the point of Shibuya? Go to Ginza!]
[Um, I want to go to Akihabara...]
Watching the barrage of comments, Brother Jie Aotu Man, adopted a profound and inscrutable expression, and said with great seriousness:
"It's normal that you don't know. Today we're going to what's known as the most chaotic area in Tokyo Metropolis, a place nicknamed 'Inner Shinjuku'."
[Inner Shinjuku, that sounds so cringeworthy!]
[Don't people from the East like this kind of thing?]
I've heard that there's also a separate area called Sato-Shimo-Kitazawa in Shimokitazawa...
[Grass!]
Seeing the Live Broadcast Room's popularity begin to rise, Brother Jie Aotu Man's smile became even more genuine. Looking at the dilapidated walls and shops on both sides of the road, he slowly introduced:
"Forty years ago, this was the most prosperous area in all of Tokyo... no, I should say the entire eastern country. There was even a saying that selling this place could buy half of New York."
"Many viewers have probably heard of the saying 'the lost generation' and 'the golden generation' of East Nation, and also know about the East Nation's economic bubble that was once said to be able to buy up Colombia."
"This unfinished community was built at that time. It can be said with certainty that more than 70% of the world's high-tech communities today have their roots in this place."
"However, once the economic bubble burst, the original developers went to Mount Fuji and the Aokigahara Forest to hang themselves on the southeastern branch."
"As for unfinished buildings, everyone knows what I mean. Basically, no one wants to take them on. And the basic renovations here are too thorough. The cost of digging up and rebuilding is astronomical. Given the current situation in Dongguo, even national projects are unlikely to be restarted. So they are forgotten and end up becoming areas where all sorts of homeless people, criminals, illegal immigrants, Fang Cult, and other shady characters congregate."
At this point, Brother Jie Aotu Man suddenly stopped and pointed to two Blondie men squatting at the intersection ahead, who didn't look like good guys at all:
"See that? People like him who dye their Blondie and carry a chain, thinking they can be 'Yakuza,' can only squat at the door."
"Hey kid, what did you say..." Perhaps because they heard the Japanese word "Yakuza," the two Blondie men immediately looked over. However, the one who started the trouble was pulled back by his companion before he could finish his sentence. He pointed to the drone behind Brother Jie Aotu Man and muttered a few words. The man immediately changed his tune and demonstrated to the audience what the Eastern Country Artisan Spirit was all about.
The Live Broadcast Room was noisy, but Brother Jie Aotu Man were quite pleased with the Program Effect, nodding and saying:
"Alright, the host will take everyone in for a look now. I wonder if those guys living deep inside Inner Shinjuku will be so sensible... Oh, right! Boss of the super moderators, please keep an eye on things too. If we encounter anything inappropriate, just black out the screen. Just don't ban me!"
I still prefer the streamer's rebellious side!
[Why is the screen black? If there's nothing wrong with it, why are you here?]
[I'm a newbie, what does "inappropriate" mean?]
The audience started to cheer as usual, but Brother Jie Aotu Man didn't respond. He just walked inside. But just then, a loud noise came from not far away. Then, a building of about seven stories collapsed. Screams could be faintly heard mixed in with the roar.
But the next moment, no one thought about whether there was anyone in the building, because a huge black shadow slowly stood up from the smoke and dust.
It quickly surpassed the original height of the building, its ferocious head and bloodshot eyes scanning its surroundings.
[There's a monster!]
[Does the Eastern Kingdom even have such outrageous things? Where did it come from?]
[Where's Aotu Man? Oh, it's the streamer! Quick, let's fight the monster!]
"Damn! He calls me Brother Jie normally, but when monsters appear, he calls me Aotu Man? Do you think mortals can handle that?!"
Note 1: The mythology of the Eastern Kingdom is practically a hodgepodge. For example, Amaterasu even incorporated a part of Dainichi Nyorai, giving rise to Dakini Ten, which in turn gave rise to Inari, the fox god (the fox's fondness for tofu skin in Japanese Manga comes from this Inari; foxes are associated with harvests because they catch mice... so cats are quite unfortunate in Asia, arriving late in Yan Kingdom and missing out on the twelve zodiac animals, arriving late in the Eastern Kingdom and missing out on becoming divine messengers). This connects them with Amaterasu's divine messengers/servants, which is why Tamamo-no-Mae in Futa Dog has an Amaterasu- related Noble Phantasm, and why Tamamo-no-Mae can use Takama-ga-hara in this book is also due to this—of course, in the world of this book, Hundred Tales definitely actively controls public opinion and legends to strengthen the relationship between Amaterasu and foxes.