"The other shoe has finally dropped. The Heavenly Origin Game has officially begun."
The squad leader of a Self-Defense Forces unit stationed in Karuizawa's luxury villa district smoked with a bitter expression, the cigarette butt between his lips glowing and dimming.
A crimson film of light rippled constantly within his field of vision. The curtain of the barrier had descended, enveloping the villa district where he was stationed.
"Just my luck! There are four Self-Defense Forces outposts in Karuizawa Town, and mine had to be the one caught inside the barrier. Fuck!"
Since the late nineteenth century, Karuizawa had been a summer retreat for Japan's upper class, known as the imperial family's back garden. The emperor emeritus and his wife had met here. Rank-and-file Self-Defense Forces personnel like them would never have a chance to live in such luxurious villas in their entire lives.
Of course, the Government of Japan had not been kind enough to invite them to Karuizawa for a vacation.
Instead, it was using these Self-Defense Forces units as cannon fodder and to claim player slots in the Heavenly Origin Game.
According to Abe no Seimei's announcement, anyone within the barriers had a chance of being selected as a player in the Heavenly Origin Game.
These Self-Defense Forces soldiers had accepted orders to deploy to Karuizawa partly because handsome rewards always drew willing volunteers, and partly because they harbored ambitions of becoming Superhumans.
"Reporting, sir. Signals in our vicinity have been cut off. We can't contact headquarters."
The possibility of signals being forcibly blocked had also been considered in the Self-Defense Forces' operational plans.
A similar situation had occurred inside the Mount Fuji barrier three years earlier, so the Government of Japan had naturally made preparations long beforehand.
"Send a communications runner to scout the edge of