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OPI Chapter 100: Whispers of Betrayal
🕑 Added 2024-01-19 06:29:06 +0000 UTCAt the same time as Laskey and Marta they observed the people with the aura similar to the Kabane.
A beautiful girl wearing a pink Japanese-style dress and a black ponytail led a samurai towards Amatori Biba.
"You must be Lord Biba, right? I am Ayame, leader of the Yomogawa family."
Laskey narrowed his eyes and stared at the newly appeared girl. His interest was piqued because she called herself the leader of the Yomogawa family.
“Is a girl the head of the family?”
Seeing this group of people following Amatori Biba towards the black train, Laskey concluded that this group of four people exuding Kabane's aura were a key target.
…
The black train that Laskey and Marta infiltrated for several days is called 'Kokujou' and was the only 'Hayajiro' among all the trains in the country that was painted black.
Inside the train.
"It is very disconcerting that the Shogun's son is personally leading us." Ayame, who was still behind Amatori Biba, said embarrassedly.
Next to her were the woman with short blonde hair, the blue-clad samurai, and the young man with gray-green hair, while the girl in the red dress seemed to have disappeared.
"The relationship has been severed long ago. We are no longer father and son." Amatori Biba explained calmly as he led the way.
"How can it be like this? By the way, there is something strange we want to tell you." Ayame said timidly.
"Um?" Amatori Biba seemed to be very concerned about the word 'strange'. He stopped his steps, turned and said softly: "Please tell me."
After a brief exchange of glances between Ayame and the young man with gray-green hair, the latter spoke softly: "Well, it turns out that when we passed by Yashiro Station, we heard an almost mythical rumor."
"It is said that a 'Fused Colony' attacked their station a few days ago. In the midst of desperation, a 'Sand God' appeared who could transform into yellow sand and control sand storms."
"He defeated the 'Fused Colony', then used a sandstorm to drive out all the Kabane, and before leaving, he also took the Governor."
The gray-green haired boy continued: "We have investigated, and there are obvious signs of a fight in that place, especially the slopes on both sides of the tracks that were cut as if split by a sharp blade instantly."
"This matches what many soldiers at Yashiro Station say."
"Yes, as Ikoma said, although it may sound fantastic, the place is imbued with authenticity. There are too many people who claim to have seen the 'God of the Sand' to disbelieve." Ayame nodded. "Even a roast chicken shop that was visited by the 'Sand God' was full at that time. Where he sat, they raised a large umbrella to protect him from the rain and wind, as if it was a sacred place."
"Incredible." Amatori Biba lowered his head and began to think deeply. Something strange happened on his side as well, that is, one of his subordinates informed him that some rice balls and bamboo tubes filled with water were inexplicably disappearing.
It wouldn't be surprising if this kind of thing happened to an ordinary Hayajiro. After all, there are always people who secretly want to get more, but his Karikatashuu was a force that is under military control and the quantity of rice balls and bamboo tubes will be strictly monitored.
Because of this incident, many soldiers were questioned along the way, but in the end the culprit could not be found.
The most important thing is that he is very confident in his sixth sense. These days, he always feels like he is being watched from time to time.
On the other hand.
Laskey and Marta temporarily separated. The first hid in the shadows and used a Den-Den Mushi to communicate with the Base, while the second went to observe the station's surroundings to see if there was anything worth mentioning.
“A person who exudes the aura of Kabane?”
Addison, on the other side of the Den-Den Mushi, heard Laskey's report and immediately remembered a plan reported by the Biochemistry Institute not long ago.
“Wait a minute, I’ll ask Dr. Fritz to come over right away. I believe he will be very interested in what you have to say.”
After saying that, he did not hang up the Den-Den Mushi, but directly called Dr. Fritz with another Den-Den Mushi on the table and then explained the situation to him quickly and simply.
Sure enough, in less than five minutes, Professor Fritz opened the door to his office and ran inside, snatching the Den-Den Mushi from Addison. "Have you really seen people with the Kabane aura? Were they conscious?"
"Yes, and not just one, but four. Two men and two women. And they..." Laskey again described the physical characteristics of Amatori Biba and the woman with short golden hair.
“Hahahahahaha!” After hearing this, Professor Fritz laughed wildly with surprise and shouted: "I knew it! I knew my idea was right!"
“I just didn’t expect that people in this world have mastered the technology to mass-produce Kabane warriors. Although it is a little regrettable, it also saves us a lot of time and energy.”
“I’m telling you, although I don’t know you, you must keep an eye on those four people and make sure you can bring back at least one of them!”
Laskey cautiously observed his surroundings as he whispered to the Den-Den Mushi, "Understood."
"By the way, since four Kabane warriors appeared there at once, it means there must be someone who has mastered the relevant technology. Check carefully to see if there is anyone who looks like a scholar or researcher."
“There is indeed one.” Laskey recalled: "There was a middle-aged man with gray-green hair, combed back. He was wearing a clean white coat, a punk-style gas mask, and night vision goggles around his neck."
"When the Kokujou stopped on the way, I saw this man several times with Amatori Biba. His temperament was very similar to that of the scientists at the base."
"Aha, he's the one! Keep an eye on him. His value is above those four Kabane warriors. And of course, since you are two people, bring as many people as you can!"
Dr. Fritz clapped his hands enthusiastically as Addison intervened and said: "Laskey, since you have an important value target here, I will order the other CP9 teams to gather at the address where you are."
“We have obtained a map of this country. Based on the directions you just provided and the information about Amatori Biba, they are most likely going to Kongoukaku, where the capital of the shogunate is located.”
"So your next stop is clear, Iwato Station, the last station before Kongoukaku. I'll have the other teams rush there ahead of time."
Laskey nodded indifferently. "Understood".
"Wait, stop for a moment!" Just as the two parties were about to hang up the call, Dr. Fritz stopped them and said quickly: "Has Director Addison mentioned before that you felt a presence filled with negative emotions?"
"Yes."
“That is a mental wave that causes strong fear and killing intent to appear in my heart just by touching it with my Haki.” Laskey said in a deep voice, he was also very worried about this matter.
“That’s right, there must be a ‘core’ of ‘Fused Colony’ in the train. To feed it, Biba captured hundreds of Kabane alive and locked them up!”
“What are ‘Fused Colony’ and ‘core’?” Laskey was confused, but with Dr. Fritz’s explanation, he quickly understood their concepts.
“It seems that there are too many things of great value in the Karikatashuu. It is simply a treasure. Your decision to follow them is a very correct choice." Addison laughed.
"I will immediately report these things to Starfish, and we will see how they want to handle them, especially Amatori Biba and that family leader girl you mentioned. Like you, I also see political value in her."
"The priority for you and Marta for now is to keep an eye on Amatori Biba and the Kabane researcher. When they arrive at Iwato Station and join the rest of the teams, wait for the next orders."
Outside the station wall, on the edge of the farmland area. Three men dressed as farmers were leaning on a horse tied to a wooden plow, looking tremblingly at the sword-wielding warriors who had forced them there.
"You guys, what are you going to do?!"
"No, no, please, I beg you, no, ahh..."
The warriors showed no intention of communicating and, amidst the desperate screams, they brandished their swords, felling the farmers and the horse alike.
In addition to them, there were two groups of people not far away who were doing the same thing. Then, they left the bloody bodies on the ground and quickly ran back inside the walls.
All this was observed by Marta, who was hiding in a corner of the walls. She frowned as her gaze moved between the bodies and the numerous Kabane outside the walls.
“Something’s going to happen!”
The next moment, Mata turned around and jumped into the city. Then she turned into an afterimage and ran towards the agreed place with Laskey at high speed. When she got there, she quickly told the latter what she had seen and her thoughts.
"Hmph, it seems that despicable individuals are not in short supply in any world, although I am not a saint either." Lasky looked indifferently in the direction of the governor's house.
He had already heard about Amatori Biba's life experience from Director Addison, so he could easily guess that he must be a conservative person who was targeting the Karikatashuu.
“Then what are we going to do?” Marta asked.
Lasky said expressionlessly: "The base just gave us specific instructions. We must keep an eye on Amatori Biba and the white-coated researcher."
"If we can, we should also pay attention to other Kabane soldiers, Yomogawa Ayame, and the core of the 'Fused Colony' at the front of the train."
"It's too much, we are only two people." Marta looked at him distressedly.
“The most important goals are the first two, and we will do our best for the rest. And as long as we persist until the next stop, we will have enough manpower.”
"Especially with the researcher, he clearly has no self-defense ability. Make sure he doesn't get killed by either the people or the Kabane."
[Woo, woo, woo, woo!]
Just as Laskey finished speaking, a sharp whistle sounded in the city, which caused panic and tension among many people, because this meant that Kabane was attacking the city.
"Come on!"
Laskey stopped dawdling and took Marta to the black train where Amatori Biba was, but when they came to the city gate, they found that the train had already left the city.
It was evident that the Karikatashuu were going to leave the city to face the Kabane again.
"This is annoying."
As a last resort, the two of them could only choose an uninhabited section of the city to climb over, and then while paying attention to concealment, they slowly approached the black train.
At the same time, large numbers of Kabane have crossed the city moat and are struggling to scale the walls, facing bullets raining down from above.
“Ah, how come there are so many.”
An armed soldier looked at the countless Kabane below with a cold sweat on his body. They still don't know why these Kabane suddenly came over.
“Can we really hold on to this position?”
In a high-rise building somewhere in the city, a group of people gathered together to watch the tense situation outside.
"Provoking the Kabane and exposing the population to danger, this tactic is really..." One of them looked hesitantly at the Governor who was from the Shogun's family.
"Please don't worry. The Kabane will be managed by the Karikatashuu, who call themselves liberators. They will surely intervene, and then we will take the opportunity..."
...
The black train that had left the city quickly slowed down and stopped. Then, the side armor of the train was lifted, revealing the mortar artillery equipment that had been prepared inside.
“Incendiary bombs, launch!”
The next moment, the sound of bombing could be heard. The shells whistled through the crowds of Kabane, exploding in flames and shockwaves again and again.
These flames could continue to burn on the dry ground, continuously burning the nearby Kabane. They are truly worthy of the name of incendiary bombs.
Immediately afterwards, the scene that Laskey and Marta had seen before appeared again. Steam-powered motorcycles, carrying armed drivers, emerged from the train cars, firing ceaselessly at the Kabane, while foot soldiers followed at their side, killing the approaching Kabane.
This amazing sight really opened the eyes of the soldiers and samurai on the Station walls. It was the first time they had seen an army go out to confront the Kabane.
