(Kuchiba Hiro sat alone in the driver's seat of the pitch-black Camaro. The engine had long been extinguished, leaving only the sound of his heavy breathing echoing in the cabin.
Outside the window, the city was a blurred halo of light, yet not a single glimmer could penetrate the darkness in his heart. Whether the end of the world was real or fake, he didn't care at all. His father was dead; his world had already reached its absolute end the moment he stood in the mortuary.
One hand tightly gripped the cold pistol, while the other deathly clutched the only photo he had with his father, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.
At this moment, only one crazed thought circled in his mind: should he use this gun to end his own pain and go find his father in another world? Or should he point the muzzle at those invisible, colossally powerful enemies?
The enemy was too vast. It wasn't a specific person, but an abstract entity, a concrete manifestation of a cold system and heartless power.
He felt an unprecedented, suffocating sense of helplessness, as if he were a lone man standing on the shore, trying to block a tsunami with his bare hands.
The last shred of reverence for order in human nature and the most primal desire for revenge in his bestial side fought a fierce battle in his mind. Several times he raised the gun to his temple, only to lower it powerlessly time and again.
It felt as if a thousand-pound boulder was crushing his chest. An extremely stifled, indignant, and unventable sense of mania rampaged through his body, making him feel as though he might vomit blood.
"Ring, ring, ring..."
The phone rang; an unknown number suddenly called his cell.
The ringing sounded particularly piercing in the dead silence of the car. Kuchiba Hiro's eyes were hollow as he glanced at it and slowly picked up, but he didn't speak.
From the receiver came a cold, emotionless male voice, carrying a standard official tone and a formulaic detachment:
"Mr. Kuchiba Hiro, ID number XXXX, current residence Room XXX, XX Luxury Apartments, XX District, Chiba. This is the National Public Security. We are officially notifying you that your recent actions have involved endangering national security. We are now issuing a solemn warning: immediately cease all illegal investigative activities and refrain from leaking or disseminating any illegally obtained false information in any form. Otherwise, we will take necessary measures against you in accordance with the Subversive Activities Prevention Act and other relevant laws."
This call was like a clap of thunder—not bringing fear, but instantly igniting the fuse of a powder keg!
They knew who he was! They were watching him! They didn't even bother to hide it!
The confusion and pain in Kuchiba Hiro's eyes were instantly replaced by a towering killing intent and rage. But when he spoke, his voice was a terrifying, extreme calm, repeating only one question:
"Why did you kill my father?"
The voice on the other end remained unruffled, still following the script: "Please watch your words. We warn you again to stop all provocative and illegal behavior, or face the consequences. The law will never tolerate any actions that endanger social stability."
"Why did you kill my father?" Kuchiba Hiro's voice remained calm, but anyone could hear the volcano about to erupt beneath that tranquil sea.
The tone on the other side grew heavier, carrying an obvious threat: "Kuchiba Hiro! This is the final warning! Stop your actions immediately!"
Kuchiba Hiro fell silent for a moment, the pressure in the air almost condensing into something physical. He spoke again, and the question changed:
"Where are you?"
"Beep—beep—beep—"
The only response was the dial tone after the other party hung up without hesitation.
This contempt, this utter disregard—as if disposing of trash—became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
The greatest contempt is indifference.
Crack!
The phone in his hand was crushed by his raw strength, its casing shattering and the screen instantly going dark.
The last faint expectation of "justice," "fairness," and "greater love" within his humanity was completely extinguished. In its place, the purest, most violent bestiality awakened, like an ancient beast!
Rage!
Boundless rage!
Rage that burns everything to ash!
He no longer needed to hesitate.
The muzzle now had a clear direction.)
In the light screen, Kuchiba Hiro's extreme rage and resolve, along with that bone-chilling warning call from the National Public Security, were like a spark dropped into the oil vat of real-world public opinion, instantly triggering a more violent explosion and a deeper divide.
The heat of the online discussion reached an unprecedented peak, but viewpoints were completely polarized.
"I'm crying... I'm really crying! Why?! What did he do wrong? Is it wrong to investigate his father's cause of death?"
"On what grounds can they just label someone a criminal? They won't even let him investigate his father's death? They even threatened him? What's the difference between this and the mob?!"
"Pity the guy +1, but this really is like throwing an egg against a rock... How can one person possibly fight the entire state machine?"
"He's overestimating himself. Although I sympathize, this is completely like a moth to a flame. The Authorities have ten thousand ways to make him 'reasonably' disappear."
"Sigh, watching this makes me feel so stifled and hopeless..."
However, another voice rose as well, carrying rational analysis and subconscious fear:
"Can we be calm? His current actions are endangering national security! Investigating on his own, carrying a gun, threatening lives—which one of those isn't enough to arrest him?"
"Exactly! Who knows what his father actually did? What if it really involved top-secret information concerning national security? For example... for example... spreading news about the end of the world! Let me state for the record, I absolutely do not believe in that doomsday stuff."
"The enemy is... The Authorities... The nature of this has changed. What's the difference between this and being a terrorist or a rebel? (whispering)"
"Although... but... if sacrificing the 'truth' for a few is necessary for the stability of the many, maybe... it's required? Think about how many would die if doomsday panic actually spread."
"National interests versus individual rights—which one is actually more important?"
This ancient and heavy proposition was thrown nakedly in front of all netizens in an unprecedentedly sharp way, triggering a massive debate that swept across the entire internet.
One side shouted hoarsely:
"If an individual's grievances can be casually crushed in the name of national interest, then who is this 'interest' actually protecting? Today it's him, tomorrow it could be you and me! That is what's truly terrifying!"
"What about procedural justice? What about the law? Calling directly to threaten him—is this their way of maintaining'stability'? What a massive joke!"
"I support Kuchiba Hiro! Why can't he take revenge? The murder of one's father is an irreconcilable enmity! Can The Authorities just be above the law?!"
The other side tried to maintain "rational" order:
"Naive! Extreme! No matter how justified personal emotions are, they cannot override collective security! Without a strong state machine to maintain order, society would have fallen into chaos long ago!"
"You only see his misery. Have you considered how much panic and turmoil it would cause if he actually made those 'doomsday' materials public? Even more people would die!"
"Of course the law must be followed, but special times call for special measures. I think The Authorities' warning was fine; he was the one who crossed the line first."
Still others turned their gaze toward a more "metaphysical" level:
"What's the point of arguing? Don't forget, this is the future'spoiled' by a 'esper'! Kuchiba Hiro is the protagonist!"
"Right! He's the protagonist of the light screen, a man destined to become a god or a demon! You're trying to measure him with the logic of ordinary people?"
"Even if it's not certain if superpowers are real, he's definitely not ordinary! Maybe he really can flip the chessboard!"
The rift on the internet clearly reflected the fear and struggle deep within everyone's hearts.
People sympathized with Kuchiba Hiro's plight and empathized with his rage, yet they feared the unknown consequences of opposing the government; they craved justice and truth, yet felt hesitant and cowardly in the name of the "collective" and the "big picture."
The young man on the light screen chose to burn completely after his extreme pain.
While below the light screen, people were engaged in a fierce debate about stance, morality, and survival philosophy.
The only thing in common was that the oppressive feeling of an impending storm had grown even heavier. Everyone realized that Kuchiba Hiro might do something... earth-shattering.