Fearing that the parasitic organisms inside City Hall might change their appearances and slip back into human society, the top leadership demonstrated astonishing efficiency and moved with incredible speed.
No one dared to obstruct them at a time like this. If even a hint of suspicion arose that someone might be a parasitic organism, it would bring endless trouble. This was unlike conflicts of ethnicity, interests, or geography.
This was a war between species.
By the very next day, dozens of buses carrying large numbers of fully armed special police units arrived on the scene.
Roy was also invited to attend the operational briefing.
After hearing Roy's proposal, Second Lieutenant Yamagishi, the captain of the special police unit, said, "Flamethrowers? They might have some effect, but they only have one heart and one brain."
After saying that, Yamagishi left the operations room, clearly confident in the firearms he had prepared.
Roy shook his head with a faint smile. Good advice couldn't save someone determined to die. The flamethrower idea had come from Migi, the right hand of Izumi Shinichi. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you'll never lose a battle—who understood parasitic organisms better than parasitic organisms themselves?
As long as it was a carbon-based lifeform, none were unafraid of fire. Sudden exposure to extreme heat would startle anyone.
Especially for an existence like Gotou, who was a fusion of five parasitic organisms. If startled, their unified consciousness would collapse, temporarily paralyzing them completely.
"Mr. Hirama, help me prepare a flamethrower," Roy said, turning to Hirama.
"I understand."
Hirama agreed. After all the intelligence Roy had provided, refusing such a small request would have been unreasonable. If Roy had asked for firearms, Hirama wouldn't have dared agree, but compared to guns, the lethality of a flamethrower was still somewhat lower.
One hour later, the operation officially began.
More than a dozen buses drove into the open area in front of City Hall. Fully armed special police officers stormed into the building with shotguns, sealing off the entire area.
"There is an armed criminal inside the building. It is extremely dangerous. We are conducting a search. Everyone must obey orders, or you will bear the consequences!"
Mayor Hirokawa Tsuyoshi was also subdued along with everyone else.
All personnel were escorted out in batches and had their identities checked through a sensor system. The imaging system could remove non-human DNA components; on the display, parasitized individuals would appear with their skulls missing.
Whenever such a person appeared, special forces members would step in, separate them from ordinary civilians, and isolate them.
Ryuu dashed forward in a single step. Her wooden sword pierced straight through the parasite's heart. She withdrew it instantly, then lightly swung again, severing the target's head. Her movements were sharp and decisive.
The parasitic organism didn't even have time to react.
Her figure was like a gust of wind, so fast it was hard to track with the naked eye. The surrounding special forces members stared in stunned disbelief.
Gunshots would alert the parasitic organisms inside the building, so Roy had proposed that they handle the parasites themselves. In truth, he didn't want anyone else stealing experience points.
For that reason, Roy deliberately concealed the fact that parasitic organisms possessed electrocardiographic sensing. Before they were exposed, he wanted to kill as many parasites as possible.
Watching the surveillance footage of Ryuu's overwhelming combat ability, far surpassing that of the parasitic organisms, Yamagishi exclaimed, "Amazing. Movements like that don't seem human."
"They've already been checked by the sensor system. Neither of them is a parasitic organism," Hirama replied.
Yamagishi caught the implication.
Hirama had only said that Roy and Ryuu were not parasites—he hadn't said they were human.
In fact, both of them had received subtle hints from higher-ups: if the suppression of the parasitic organisms went smoothly, Roy and Ryuu could later be "invited" to pay a visit.
In the blink of an eye, Ryuu had already killed seven parasitic organisms. She felt no psychological burden at all when dealing with creatures that preyed on humans. Ordinary parasites were usually killed in a single strike. Even if one was on guard and dodged the first blow, it would be dealt with within three moves at most.
[Parasitic Organisms Eliminated: 12!]
Seeing the notification panel, Roy smiled in satisfaction. If nothing unexpected happened, he would clear the dungeon today.
"What are you doing?! Put him down, now!"
At that moment, a terrified shout echoed from inside the building, instantly putting everyone on alert.
Roy glanced over. As expected—it had begun. They wouldn't just sit there and allow themselves to be suppressed one by one.
Bang!
Inside the building, a burly man went berserk, lifting an elderly man and smashing him violently into a glass wall, shattering the massive pane into pieces.
The special forces members who had received orders immediately opened fire.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots rang out. The overwhelming power of the shotgun blasted the burly man backward. Steel pellets shredded his heart, blood spilling from his chest as he collapsed into a pool of crimson.
After a brief struggle, his vital signs vanished.
A parasitic organism.
While everyone's attention was drawn to the scene, Roy shouted, "Ryuu, kill the old man at your feet!"
Ryuu moved instantly. Her wooden sword stabbed into the elderly man who had been thrown by the burly attacker, piercing straight through his heart.
Whoosh!
The man's head transformed into a blade and shot toward Roy, but Ryuu intercepted it. The parasite exhausted its strength and died, staring fixedly at Roy as it asked, "How did you figure me out?"
"Have you ever seen an ordinary person smash through a glass wall without bleeding?" Roy replied, looking somewhat exasperated. These parasites had brains—but not many.
The original plan had been to eliminate the parasitic organisms one by one outside the building. The sudden incident threw everything into chaos. Inside City Hall, panic spread rapidly.
Hirokawa Tsuyoshi led a large group of parasitic organisms toward the upper floors, attempting a forced breakthrough. Ordinary special forces members hesitated, wary of his status as mayor, and didn't dare stop him immediately.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
At that moment, Yamagishi entered, raised his submachine gun, and fired a burst into the ceiling. The deafening noise sent everyone screaming and dropping to the floor.
In a deep voice, Yamagishi shouted, "Everyone get down! Do not stand up under any circumstances!"
The ordinary staff all lay flat on the ground. Only Hirokawa Tsuyoshi and the group of parasitic organisms behind him remained standing.
Yamagishi stared coldly at Hirokawa Tsuyoshi. "Hirokawa Tsuyoshi, we suspect you of colluding with parasitic organisms. Come with us for investigation!"
"I am the mayor, the representative of the citizens," Hirokawa replied grimly. "Under what law are you arresting me?"
"This is not an arrest," Yamagishi answered. "This is exterminating pests, under direct orders from the Prime Minister!" As he spoke, the gun barrel lifted slightly.
Based on Roy's intelligence, they knew Hirokawa Tsuyoshi himself was not a parasitic organism—but a human.
A human who had chosen the side of the parasites, gaining office as mayor under the banner of environmental protection.
"You're the real pests!"
Hirokawa's face twisted. "Humans are the poison of this planet! If this continues, Earth will be destroyed. It needs an antidote to neutralize the poison. Don't you understand? Parasitic organisms are the best antidote! Littering is a crime worse than murder!"
His words rang with conviction. Everyone knew these arguments, but people with a true sense of the bigger picture were rare. Humanity was unwilling to sacrifice its own interests. Hirokawa was like a scholar arguing with soldiers—no matter how sound his reasoning, it fell on deaf ears.
"Open fire! Everyone around him is a parasitic organism!"
Dozens of shotguns were raised at once, all aimed at Hirokawa Tsuyoshi and the seven or eight parasitic organisms standing behind him.