Confrontation

"Fire team, stand by."

The moment Noguchi Yuji finished speaking, Sato Michi leaped and crashed into the one-way glass.

It offered no resistance at all. This bulletproof glass, which had cost who knows how much taxpayer money, shattered like tofu on impact.

"Warning! Sato Tomomi, your actions are now a serious crime. Please return to your seat immediately, or we will take further measures!" The officers in the interrogation room tensed up, those with pistols drawing them quickly, aiming at this seemingly harmless housewife.

Sato Tomomi ignored the warning, instead locking eyes with Noguchi Yuji, the apparent leader. "How did he die?"

"He killed people."

"Impossible!" Sato Tomomi shouted, cutting him off.

"Yeah, we thought so too, but he committed the crime right under our noses. Twenty lives, gone just like that. Do you know how many husbands, wives, and children are among them?!" Noguchi Yuji pushed past the officers shielding him, walked straight up to Sato Tomomi, and met her gaze without fear.

"That's why we need to know how he could kill so many with his bare hands, how he could crush a person's skull with his fists." Noguchi Yuji glanced at the shattered glass. He knew exactly how tough that stuff was—even a submachine gun, unless firing at a single point, might not break it with a whole magazine, let alone shatter it so completely.

So something must have happened to Sato Tomomi, which then infected her husband. Combined with her personal history, there was no doubt: the root of all this was the Company Group she had joined!

Noguchi Yuji felt he was getting closer to the truth.

In the blink of an eye, Sato Tomomi's expression shifted. Noguchi Yuji, who had faced life and death before, narrowed his eyes and rolled back sharply. "Fire!"

Bang, bang, bang—

The gunfire alarmed the entire Metropolitan Police Department.

The pre-positioned fire team quickly took positions outside the interrogation room, but due to obstructed sightlines, they held their fire.

After the smoke cleared, under everyone's disbelieving gaze, Sato Tomomi stood there largely unscathed, her hair and clothes slightly damaged, motionless, revealing a face full of hatred.

"Everyone, get down and retreat! Fire team, cover!" Noguchi Yuji immediately realized this was no opponent for handguns and gave the order decisively.

Rifle fire erupted, but Sato Tomomi didn't stay put. In a few steps, she grabbed an officer as a hostage and charged toward the fire team.

A rifleman, hesitating to fire, only saw a blur before the woman was right in front of him. In an instant, his eyes would never open again.

Noguchi Yuji and a few colleagues fled the scene in the chaos, directly overstepping their authority to declare the Metropolitan Police Department in emergency mobilization. All personnel were to head to the armory for weapons, while the SAT Unit and rescue teams were to arrive immediately for support.

"From the Second Division and Third Division, seal off her range of movement. Authorize the use of all reserve weapons, including limited-space lethal force!"

Odagiri, the Criminal Affairs Director, rushed in hurriedly, not yet asking what was happening, when he saw a woman at the end of the hallway, holding an officer hostage in front of her.

"Authorize all fire teams to open fire," Noguchi Yuji said coldly.

"Stop!" Odagiri quickly blocked him, grabbing Noguchi Yuji's clothes. "Are you fucking insane? The person in front of her is one of ours! Noguchi Yuji, you're relieved of duty! I'm taking command here!"

"She's extremely dangerous! She has supernatural abilities. If we worry about casualties, we'll never kill her!" Noguchi Yuji argued passionately.

Odagiri wouldn't listen and ordered someone to drag him away to cool off.

"Ma'am, please calm down. Release our colleague. I don't know what happened between you before, but can you give me a chance to understand?" His voice gradually faded.

The officer taken hostage trembled, looking down at the hands piercing through his own chest. His mouth twitched a few times, but nothing came out. The next moment, with a tearing sound, he was ripped in two from the chest down.

A rain of blood scattered, staining the white walls red, even splashing onto Odagiri's lips.

He instinctively tasted it—a familiar flavor, like bleeding gums. Not a dream.

"...Fire!" He twitched his mouth and gave the order.

Pistols, rifles, shotguns roared with a thunder that could stop a heart.

Sato Tomomi dodged left and right, but couldn't break through the fire net. Some rounds were already hurting her.

A few grenades were thrown over. With several explosions, thick smoke billowed up.

"Reload! Stay alert!" Odagiri shouted, then found Noguchi Yuji, whom he had just ordered dragged away.

"What the hell was that monster?!" Odagiri's face flushed red as he yelled at him, losing his composure.

Noguchi Yuji shook his head. "It might be related to a Company Group. She's the wife of the morning subway massacre's perpetrator, but she's already shown strength far beyond his."

"You hold here. I'm going to the Second Division. Stay in touch. If necessary, evacuate the whole building." Odagiri barely steadied himself and said with difficulty.

"...Director, I have a plan."

Sato Tomomi had taken cover in an office, checking her wounds.

Bullets had nearly shredded her clothes—no anime or movie scenes of intense fights with intact outfits here.

Now her whole body was bruised, with bloody craters in some spots. The bullets hadn't penetrated, but they had torn away layers of flesh and blood.

It seemed Steel Body couldn't withstand rifles or snipers head-on, though small-caliber pistols were almost no threat.

She grabbed a random coat and put it on. After killing a few people, the rage stirred by the parasite had subsided somewhat.

She wasn't afraid of death—in fact, she almost craved it.

She just hoped to vent all her anger before she died.

"If only..." Sato Tomomi murmured.

"Mrs. Sato!" A voice called from outside.

Sato Tomomi tensed up warily.

"Don't you want to see Mr. Sato one last time?" The voice continued.

Sato Tomomi's body trembled. After a long pause, she finally spoke slowly.

"Fine. Give He Feng back to me, and I'll stop."