(Transition chapter — mainly about Kira Yoshikage's changes, and showing what kind of people this group is. It doesn't affect the main plot and can be skipped. Still, I recommend not skipping it; it's very dark and might be triggering for some readers.)
Several vehicles sped along the streets at night. The military base near Morioh was not yet completed. Kishibe Rohan was still in Tokyo, remotely controlling the modifications in the Town.
He would only come to check when there was significant progress.
Thus, the American military drove Kira Yoshikage towards Tokyo, their headlights shining brightly in the dark night, and the roar of their cars was as loud as a street takeover.
Many houses they passed lit up, the owners waking up in a daze, but after seeing the armored vehicles, they all turned off their lights again.
They proceeded unimpeded, no one dared to say a word, and other cars they encountered on the road all tried to get out of their way, yielding the road to them.
Even if they were openly driving against traffic, it was the same.
Inside the car, the American military commander was trying to strike up a conversation with Kira Yoshikage, his attitude somewhat fawning, a rugged white strongman's face forcing out a ingratiating smile.
Kira Yoshikage, however, didn't pay much attention to him, which annoyed him. 'Hmph, just a small Japanese man! He just has some superpowers, yet he's acting like my grandpa in front of me...'
But no matter how much he cursed inwardly, he maintained his fawning smile, and finally struck up a conversation with Kira Yoshikage about the topic of brutal killings.
His words broadened Kira Yoshikage's horizons, making him realize how lacking Kira Yoshikage's past killing methods were.
"Compared to you, it seems I haven't really committed any crimes."
Listening to Kira Yoshikage's heartfelt sigh with a complex expression, the commander couldn't hold back anymore, his mouth twitching, but he still gritted his teeth and maintained his smile.
Fortunately, a problem ahead interrupted their awkward conversation.
'Bang!'
Under the bright headlights, a young man in a high school uniform was directly hit and sent flying, collapsing on the ground, his limbs twitching uncontrollably, scarlet blood staining his clothes, his body twisted unnaturally.
It was clear he wouldn't survive.
Beside him were two companions, one so scared he fell and sat on the ground, the other trembling all over as he pulled out his phone, pressing keys, trying to call an ambulance.
But the car door opened, and several American soldiers got out, standing in front of them, pointing their guns at him, making him afraid to move, his phone slipping from his hand at some point.
Along with the dull thud of the phone hitting the ground, the last car door opened, and the commander and Kira Yoshikage got out.
The commander glanced at the corpse on the ground, then at the car nearby, immediately understanding that someone had driven too carelessly, going directly onto the sidewalk, and these high school students had suffered terribly.
He frowned, clearly in a bad mood. 'Damn it, someone got hit and killed again. I'll have to write a report when I get back, so annoying. Damn Japanese pigs!'
He was somewhat annoyed in his heart, after all, hitting someone and killing them was a minor issue, no need to worry about it, but the car was stained with blood and had collision marks, which needed to be cleaned, and that was a big deal.
But just as he was about to scold and drive away the two high school students, he saw Kira Yoshikage walk over, observing the corpse with interest. 'Is this also the influence of my misfortune? Or were they always this careless? Interesting, quite interesting.'
But in the commander's eyes, this was different. 'Oh, right, he likes to kill people, he likes to hunt! Now there are two ready-made prey, doesn't that make for a topic?'
The commander immediately cleared the dark clouds from his heart, his face full of smiles, and directly handed a pistol to Kira Yoshikage. "Mr. Kira, would you like to play a game?"
"There happen to be two prey here, why not try American hunting? I can help you with the trophies."
"Oh, somewhat interesting."
Kira Yoshikage had a thoughtful expression on his face as he casually took the pistol. "I've heard before that you people like to hunt in places like Vietnam and Korea, so it's the same in Japan, huh."
Hearing this, the commander showed a reserved smile, "Yes, esteemed Mr. Kira Yoshikage, those ordinary Japanese people are merely prey, but you are different. A noble strongman like you is the true master of this country."
Hearing these words, Kira Yoshikage smiled. In his previous life, he had heard that these guys had similar hobbies to Kira Yoshikage, enjoying killing people and then using the victims' body parts to make crafts. It seemed it was true.
Kira Yoshikage weighed the cold, heavy pistol in his hand; a sensation entirely different from when he killed with his bare hands.
He didn't have much contact with such firearms. This modern killing tool carried an industrialized, non-contact coldness that made him feel a hint of novelty.
He slowly raised the gun, not immediately aiming at the two trembling high school students, but first carefully observing the structure of the gun body, as if admiring a work of art.
The commander held his breath beside him, a look of anticipation on his face, like a hunting dog waiting for its master to feed it.
"American hunting..." Kira Yoshikage repeated softly, a barely perceptible curve forming at the corner of his mouth. "It sounds very efficient, but it also... lacks a bit of 'intimacy,' doesn't it?"
The commander was stunned for a moment, not fully understanding what Kira Yoshikage meant by "intimacy," and could only give a dry laugh in agreement, "Y-yes, of course, it's just a method, a... uh... quick method."
At this moment, the high school student who had fallen to the ground finally found a trace of his voice from extreme fear, pleading tearfully, "S-sorry! We didn't see anything! Please... let us go! We won't tell anyone! Really!"
Kira Yoshikage frowned at his already wet pants. The other party scrambled up from the ground with a cry, his eyes filled with pleading and a desperate desire to live.
The other standing high school student, though trembling like a sieve, had a trace of desperate anger in his eyes besides fear. He stared intently at Kira Yoshikage, his lips bitten white.
Kira Yoshikage finally shifted his gaze from the pistol to these two "prey."
His eyes were calm and unmoving, with neither cruel excitement nor a shred of pity, as if he were looking at two insignificant objects.
"Efficiency..." Kira Yoshikage murmured to himself, seemingly making a decision. "Well, it's not bad to occasionally experience a different 'method.' After all, learning is always beneficial."
Before he finished speaking, his arm was already raised, his movements not particularly standard but exceptionally steady, the muzzle pointed at the student who was still pleading.
"No—!" The student sitting on the ground let out a desperate scream, but in his eyes, Kira Yoshikage slowly pulled the trigger.
And in his extreme fear, he didn't even have the courage to run, just sat there waiting for the bullet to arrive.
"Bang!"
The gunshot echoed on the silent street, far more piercing and tearing through the night than the roar of a car engine. Perhaps someone woke up in the houses, but no one dared to make a sound.
The bullet accurately struck the pleader's brow. His cries for mercy ceased abruptly, his body falling backward with a thud, heavily collapsing on the ground, blood gushing from the hole in his forehead, gradually merging with the blood of his friend nearby.
Clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
A hint of surprise flashed in the commander's eyes; he hadn't expected Kira Yoshikage to be so resolute and accurate on his first attempt with a gun. This immediately transformed into deeper flattery. "Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! Mr. Kira, you are a born hunter!"
The remaining student, witnessing his friend shot dead before his eyes, his pupils suddenly constricted, and extreme fear instantly overwhelmed that tiny bit of anger, replaced by complete collapse.
He let out an inhuman scream, turned, and tried to flee, but his legs were weak, and he almost stumbled after only two steps.
"Some courage, but not much, yet more interesting than waiting to die."
Kira Yoshikage didn't immediately shoot. Like a cat playing with a mouse, he savored the prey's struggle and despair before death. He slightly adjusted the muzzle, tracking the scrambling figure, a satisfied curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Moving target... a bit challenging."
The commander and the surrounding American soldiers all wore expressions of watching a show; no one showed any discomfort at the slaughter unfolding before them, as if it were just a common form of entertainment.
"Bang!"
Another gunshot.
This shot hit the fleeing student's thigh. The student fell to the ground, clutching his injured leg and curling up in pain; the intense agony made him unable to even scream.
"Tsk, missed." Kira Yoshikage frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with his mistake.
He walked forward slowly, his leather shoes making soft "tap-tap" sounds on the blood-stained pavement, each sound seeming to land on the student's heart.
He walked up to the student, who was still groaning and trying to crawl away, and looked down at him.
The student looked up, his face full of tears, snot, and distortions from pain, his eyes now holding only pure, animalistic fear, seeing Kira Yoshikage's condescending face.
"P-please..." He managed to stammer out a few words.
Kira Yoshikage said nothing, only raised the gun again, this time almost aiming at the back of the student's head. He glanced at the pistol in his hand, which was still slightly smoking, and then at the trembling life beneath his feet.
"Indeed... it lacks the thrill of fingertips touching skin, feeling life ebb away at that moment..." He seemed to be making a conclusion. "But..."
"Bang!"
The third gunshot brought an end to this brief "hunt." The student's body twitched violently, then became completely still.
Kira Yoshikage shook his hand, seemingly a bit unaccustomed to the recoil of the gun. He handed the pistol back to the admiring commander beside him.
"How do you feel, Mr. Kira?" The commander quickly took the gun, asking eagerly.
"A... novel experience." Kira Yoshikage pulled out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped his fingers, as if he had just touched something dirty, even though he hadn't directly touched the corpse. "Efficient, but it lacks some of the joy of collecting."
His tone carried a hint of regret, as if he missed the process of killing with Killer Queen and preserving his "collectibles."
"Yes, yes, you are right." The commander bowed and nodded. "But don't worry about the collectibles, I'm not good at that!"
He waved his hand, and several soldiers immediately stepped forward, beginning to coldly process the three bodies and bloodstains. Their movements were skilled; they directly dissected the bodies, cut off their ears and fingers, and then entirely removed the heads, preparing to clean the skulls.
"Sir, we will have people handle this immediately. We guarantee to make you an excellent necklace using these prey."
Kira Yoshikage took one last look at the rapidly spreading dark red bloodstain and the twisted bodies, his eyes showing no fluctuation.
To him, this was merely an insignificant "experiment," a pastime to satisfy his curiosity, as all of it would completely disappear in a while.
"Let's go." He turned and walked back to the vehicles, his tone flat. "Don't delay the main business. We can talk about the necklace later."
"Yes! Yes!" The commander quickly followed, opening the car door for him.
The convoy started its engines again, roaring away from the street where the tragedy had just occurred, leaving behind only a few bloodstains that couldn't be completely wiped clean and the silent darkness.
Two other cars remained there, with soldiers silently processing the bodies, preparing to make commemorative necklaces.
The residential houses on both sides remained silent, the eyes behind the windows having long closed in terror; no one dared to speak, no one dared to ask.
In the car, the commander praised Kira Yoshikage's "heroic bearing" even more enthusiastically, while Kira Yoshikage only occasionally gave a perfunctory response.