The Metropolitan Police Department's central command center.
Just as everyone sank into despair and chaos, the largest central screen, which covered an entire wall, suddenly flickered.
All the chaotic data streams and alarm notifications on the screen vanished in an instant.
In their place came a wash of static.
Then the static cleared, and a solemn-faced man in military uniform appeared on the screen.
"Is that him?"
"His Majesty the Emperor?"
An older official stared at that familiar yet unfamiliar face on the screen and cried out involuntarily.
It was their former emperor.
The footage was black and white, steeped in the feel of a bygone era.
Holding an imperial rescript, he began reading in a heavy, subdued voice.
"...Considering the general trends of the world and the present state of the Empire, we intend to take extraordinary measures to resolve the situation..."
This was...
The "Jewel Voice Broadcast"!
It was the recording in which the emperor had announced their unconditional surrender to the nation, and to the entire world!
It was the brand of national humiliation etched into the bones of every person in Eastern Japan!
"Quick! Turn it off! Shut it off!"
The head of the command center roared hysterically.
Yet no matter what the technicians did, the footage continued playing on the screen, utterly unyielding.
The emperor's voice, filled with humiliation and bitterness, echoed through every corner of the command center like a succession of resounding slaps across the face of every person in Eastern Japan!
And this was only the beginning.
At that moment, every screen Han Duoduo had hacked throughout Eastern Japan's capital came alive.
Whether they were the enormous advertising screens on Ginza Shopping Street, some as large as buildings.
Or the hundreds upon thousands of television screens on sale in Akihabara Electronics City.