Chapter 1
We were only 13 when the government halted Transhuman Development Project. It was because the microchip implant in the body caused side effects to the test subjects. As a result, many of them had developed some behavioral side effects. The known side effects were apathy, hallucinations, and cognitive dysfunction. Not only that, some of them died due to the brain death.
The lead researcher, Dr. Nobuhiko Hayama, insisted that the side effects were only temporary. But somehow, the side effects lasted longer than what they’ve expected. And they didn’t expect death would occur to the test subjects. They believed that death was unlikely in this situation. Because of that, Dr. Hayama and the other researchers involved were pleaded guilty. Instead of being convicted, they were put under the surveillance.
There’s no telling if the government decides to abandon the project for good. After all, this project is one of the best ways to solve the aging and declining population. This project will become another breakthrough for the aging population besides the medical advancements.
Well, that seems like a noble idea. But there are still some people who reject the thought of using a microchip implant on their body. Maybe this is about to change if they see the positive outcome from this project. But with the project’s failure, I doubt that people are still okay with this idea.
The parents whose children were the test subject became furious with the government’s action. They believe that the government still wants to continue this dangerous project. Despite their anger, there’s nothing much they can do about this. At least, the government is willing to compensate for the damage incurred.
Of course, the compensation does come with a caveat, though. The government is willing to pay for the damage if the parents keep this incident as a secret. If they’ve decided to come clean, they will receive a death threat instead. No one will think that the government will go that far just to bury the secret. It’s not surprising they’re willing to do it as long as it won’t cause a public outcry.
Luckily, the children who survived are now able to lead a normal life. It all thanks to the therapists who the government hired to reverse the side effect. It’s not easy, but their effort pays off. But then again, the therapists still need to keep an eye on them. There is a possibility for any of the abnormalities to occur at any time. But for the time being, nothing strange happened to them so far.
While it’s true that Dr. Hayama is the lead researcher on this project, he’s more or less a puppet who runs the show. In reality, the key people who drive the research are Satoru Yuuya and Dr. Frederick Choo. Both of them are researchers from UC Berkeley. Dr. Hayama is only there to camouflage their involvement in this project. It was unfortunate that Dr. Frederick Choo died in a car accident later that year.
There’s not much information about Satoru Yuuya. We only know that he used to be a biomedical engineer and neuroscientist in UC Berkeley. He was charged with a murder of his former colleagues while he was still working there. The cause of their death and the motive behind the murder was unknown. But FBI and CIA assumed that he must have used a microchip implant to kill them. Their death remains a mystery even until now.
Even until to this day, they’re still pursuing him in the hope that they will find the truth. They only list him as a suspect, but they have no proof which indicates he committed the murder in the first place. They’re only making an assumption based on his final research. At that time, he was doing research about using a microchip implant as a mind control device. They drop the assumption later because the research itself is incomplete. So, he’s less likely to use such method to kill everyone in the research lab.
A diet member, Saburo Matsuda didn’t know that Satoru Yuuya had a criminal record. At that time, he was the Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare, who was overseeing the top-secret project. He ended up resigning from the position as a way for him to take the responsibility. Even after he takes the responsibility, CIA insists on capturing Satoru Yuuya. It’s because he’s a Japanese national who committed murder in the United States.
But somehow, the government doesn’t give them permission to do anything they please on our soil. Director Kagami insists that it’s PSIA’s responsibility to capture him, not theirs. The CIA representative doesn’t look so pleased with the government policy. But still, there’s nothing much they can do at this point. After all, Satoru Yuuya is nowhere to be found ever since the day the government halted the project.
The government wants to handle this issue in a confidential manner. So, the Cabinet assigns this covert mission to PSIA Special Activities Division. Public Security Bureau will also be working together with us as well. Director Kagami assigns this mission to dad. So now, we’re currently investigating Satoru Yuuya’s current whereabouts.
The investigation was already on the way before both Yuuto and I joined PSIA. We join the investigation once we’re in the first year in the high school. As a part of our covert mission, dad opens a coffee shop in Ichigaya, Shinjuku. He will conduct intelligence activity and data gathering from there.
Besides him, Mr. Sakakibara will also open a bar which is next to our coffee shop to do similar activities. As for Ms. Chiyo, she’ll be staying upstairs above Mr. Sakakibara’s bar. She’ll be processing the information we gather.
Just like their other covert missions, the rest of them are operating under a fake name. Dad’s name will become Akira Kimizuki, and Mr. Sakakibara is now known as Azuma Uehara. Even the kanji name for Azuma is different than the one used in his real name. Ms. Chiyo doesn’t need to have a fake name since she’s not going to make any contact with the outsiders. As for Yuuto and me, we can still use our real name since we’re just a PSIA agent.
As for Hayato, he will help dad with managing the coffee shop. But he will do a specific data gathering and intelligence activities for us. Hayato is more or less work as an undercover. It’s easier for him to do it since he doesn’t have a record in the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare database. Well, it’s not that his record doesn’t exist. Ms. Chiyo is the one who camouflages his record so then no one knows about his existence.
Even though the coffee shop works as a disguise for our mission, both Yuuto and I love helping them there. Maybe it’s because it reminds us of the old days. Back then, we used to help dad on the organic farm while we were still living in Tochigi prefecture. So, helping dad and Hayato in the coffee shop brings us the same feeling. But then again, dad keeps on reminding us that what we do is a part of the mission. Though, he doesn’t mind with us enjoying the task.
Life as operations officer isn’t as glamorous as what we’ve seen in the Hollywood movies. Our life can be as plain as vanilla when there’s nothing much going around. Despite that, we still need to continue with our investigation.
But then again, something strange happened recently involving the former researchers. Despite the heavy surveillance, 4 out of 5 key researchers have died for an unknown reason. Their death remains a mystery. There are no prominent signs that they have committed suicide. There’s also no sign that they’ve been murdered either. So, some people begin to speculate that they died because of the work of supernatural power.
The officers from Public Security Bureau think it must be the work of parents who want to seek revenge. But all parents denied the accusation. They admit that they’re angry with the researchers. But they know that seeking revenge on them won’t even bring their dead children back to life. At the end of the day, they’ve decided to drop the investigation. They don’t have enough clues and evidence to investigate the case further.
Regardless of what people say, the fact remains that these researchers have died mysteriously. Now, the only remaining researcher left is Dr. Hayama. They also suspect that he must be the one who killed his former colleagues, but he denies the accusation. He thinks that the accusation is absurd because he has no reason to kill them in the first place. And he’s not going to gain anything if he does that.
The sur
veillance record has shown that he had never contacted any of them since then. So, he has concrete proof that he’s not the one who killed them. Public Security Bureau drops him as a suspect later on. But we still think that Dr. Hayama must have known what triggered their death in the first place. It’s just that, he won’t be so open to talking about it.
Now, our current mission is to make sure that Dr. Hayama is safe. We know that they also have a microchip implant within their body besides the test subjects. But theirs was only for accessing the research facility back then. So, we suspect that the microchip implant they had is the cause of their death. But he denied about having a microchip implant when the officers asked him about this. Maybe what he says is true, though. It’s because the autopsy report doesn’t state anything that these researchers have a microchip implant.
But then again, we can’t just brush it off. We still think that the microchip implant is the cause of their death. It works as a mind control device that triggers them to commit suicide. Maybe Satoru Yuuya’s research about the mind control device is complete by now. If this is true, then the death of these researchers is just the beginning. It’s possible that the same thing will happen to Dr. Hayama as well.
Despite Dr. Hayama’s denial, we still check on him from time to time. We just want to see if there’s anything strange about his behavior. So far, he hasn’t done anything that we deem strange. According to Ms. Chiyo, he always does the same routine almost every day. So, there’s nothing unusual about his behavior for the time being.
Day by day, nothing happens to Dr. Hayama. He just goes about his life as usual. That is until one day, Ms. Chiyo notices that Dr. Hayama is no longer in his house. According to the rules, he’s not even allowed to leave the place no matter what. It’s because he’s under the surveillance. He can’t make any contact with anyone, not even to his family. In a nutshell, his life isn’t that different from living in a prison. He’s always under the surveillance all the time.
We head to Dr. Hayama’s house in Setagaya ward as soon as we receive a report. Something must have happened to him since he left the house in the middle of the night. “Chiyo, are you sure that Dr. Hayama is not even in his house? Maybe he’s hiding somewhere, looking for a chance to run,” dad says to her. Ms. Chiyo replies after that through our earpiece. “Yes, the surveillance footage indicates that he did leave the house. But he looks terrified when he leaves. I think something must have happened to him there.”
Dad looks anxious when he finds out about this news. We do hope that nothing happens to Dr. Hayama until we arrive there. He’s the only one left who knows about Satoru Yuuya and the microchip implant. If he also dies, then it will be more difficult for us to investigate about Satoru Yuuya. “Can you find out what’s happening there, Chiyo?” Dad asks her.
“I can’t say for sure,” she says to us, “But I do detect a lot of unidentified signals in that area. Based on the signals identified, the signals are like the one emitted from a microchip. I thought that it must be drones or something. But that’s not the case when I check the surveillance footage. From the footage, there are a group of people in that area. And they’re all chasing after Dr. Hayama.”
We find it weird that a group of people is chasing Dr. Hayama right now. Don’t they realize that he’s under the heavy surveillance? “Do you think that these people may have a microchip implant inside their body?” Yuuto says to us, “There are no drones in the area, anyway, other than a group of people who are chasing him. Maybe they do have a microchip implant within them.”
Dad nods at Yuuto’s hypothesis. “Well, I also think the same too. If it’s true, then they must have something to do with Satoru Yuuya. Or maybe, they’re chasing Dr. Hayama for other reasons.” I also share the same opinion as dad. But somehow, I feel that something is not right. I wonder why Satoru Yuuya is not using the same way to kill Dr. Hayama. I have a feeling that he’s only drawing us to witness something. But I’m not sure what it is.
Dad then asks Ms. Chiyo if she has more information about the people who are chasing Dr. Hayama. “I’ve already identified the people who are chasing him,” she replies, “But I find it hard to believe that these people are from Awatori Group. It’s according to the database I’ve retrieved from Public Security Bureau. Their profiles that I retrieve from the surveillance footage match with the database. So, it’s confirmed that they are from Awatori Group.”
Things become even more complicated when Ms. Chiyo tells us that these people are from Awatori Group. Awatori Group is a yakuza group who gets involved in human trafficking activities. And they’re also one of the groups who are in the Public Security Bureau’s watch list. Somehow, we can’t relate why these people are chasing him. But we will only know once we reach there.
As soon as we reach Setagaya Ward, dad begins to brief us about our mission. At the same time, Ms. Chiyo also sends us the list of people who are chasing Dr. Hayama through our smart watch. “We have no idea what sort of enemies we’re going to face here since we don’t have much information about them. But, we still need to save Dr. Hayama from these people. His safety is our utmost priority right now. Get rid of them if you encounter one.”
The rest of us split up after that. Yuuto is the first person to encounter them after we leave. “I’ve spotted one of them. But Dr. Hayama is not here, though. He must be hiding somewhere,” he informs us through his earpiece. I haven’t encountered any of them yet. But for now, my priority is to locate Dr. Hayama and protects him from these people.
“Touka, I’ve just spotted Dr. Hayama in your area. There are already five of them who are chasing after him. I manage to place a tracker on him. So, you can locate him with that tracker,” Ms. Chiyo informs me. She then sends me Dr. Hayama’s current location to my smartwatch, along with the tracker she uses to track him. I begin to head into his direction by just following the tracker.
As I’m heading towards Dr. Hayama’s location, Yuuto contacts me. “I’ve already killed two of them. I also spot Hayato in your area as well. He probably will kill one of them. That should be easy for you to save Dr. Hayama.” I’m so glad to know that Yuuto eliminates two of them on my behalf. Even if I have to fight one of them, it won’t be too much for me to handle.
“Azuma and I have eliminated the remaining Yakuza guys in this area,” dad informs us, “I hate to say this. But their movements aren’t your typical yakuza move. I certainly haven’t seen any yakuza guys who move like a skilled assassin. I’ll be toast if Azuma is not here to back me up.” It doesn’t sound good to me. If they can move like a skilled assassin, then it’s going to be difficult for me to escape with Dr. Hayama. I’m sure that they won’t let me pass just like that.
As I’m getting nearer to Dr. Hayama’s location, I hear a loud scream that comes from the back alley. It doesn’t look like the scream comes from Dr. Hayama itself. Based on the tracker, Dr. Hayama is no longer in the back alley. He seems to be moving away from that area. But it doesn’t seem like he’s moving anywhere further than that.
But still, I’m just curious about what happened in the back alley. I know that I should be heading to where Dr. Hayama is now, but I can’t help it. I just want to know what’s going on. After feeling contemplated, I’ve decided to take a peek at the back alley. Besides, it won’t take that long if I’m just taking a sneak peek.
When I peek into the back alley, that’s when I realize that Hayato is there. He’s only standing still, with blood splashes on his face. I don’t think that the blood on his face is his blood because he doesn’t even have any signs of injury. But what terrifies me the most is the scene itself. These people look like they’re brutally murdered. The blood is still dripping from their bodies, staining the wall. Hayato just looks at them with a cold expression. Is he the one who does this?
“I’m sorry, Touka. The other person just got away and chased Dr. Hayama. I manage to injure him a little bit, but he can still be powerful enough to kill him,” Hayato says to me. “What about Dr. H
ayama? Is he alright?” I ask him. Hayato nods at me. I’m glad that Dr. Hayama is still okay. But then again, we’re far from over. There’s still one person left who is after him.
I exit the back alley after that. Even after leaving that place, the scene of what’s happening at the back alley is still fresh in my mind. I don’t know why it feels so disturbing to me, but maybe because I’ve never seen Hayato kill anyone before. I know that he’s strong, but I never thought that he can be this strong. As expected from someone who can escape from the research facility unscathed.
I’m lucky that Dr. Hayama isn’t going that far from where I am. As I reach Dr. Hayama’s current location, the yakuza guy is about to kill him. “Don’t kill me! I promise that I won’t tell anyone about the microchip implant. I also won’t tell anyone about Satoru Yuuya!” Dr. Hayama is pleading to the guy for not killing him. The yakuza guy just ignores his plea and begins to kill him.
Luckily, I’m fast enough to prevent the yakuza guy from killing Dr. Hayama. Dr. Hayama still looks terrified even after I’ve arrived and save him from the yakuza guy. “Who are you?” He asks me. “I’m from PSIA. That’s all you need to know,” I tell Dr. Hayama. Telling him that I’m from the special activities division will make him scared of me. So, it’s better for me not to tell him anything about it.
Dr. Hayama shrieks at my response. He looks like he’s scared of me more than the yakuza guy itself. Do I look that scary to him? I think what scares him the most is the fact that I’m from PSIA. Maybe he doesn’t expect that PSIA is here to save him. Or maybe he thinks that we’re going to interrogate him once I finish dealing with this yakuza guy.
The yakuza guy laughs at me when he finds out that I’m from PSIA. “I can’t believe it that PSIA is sending a kid like you to kill me. They must be out of their mind.” I don’t respond anything to his remark at all. It’s because I know that he’s here to provoke me. He must be thinking that provoking me will leave a lot of opening for him to launch his attack on me.
“Say whatever you want. Once I kill you and retrieve Dr. Hayama, I’m out of here,” I say to him with confidence. He smirks at me. “That’s fine by me. But I doubt that you can leave this place alive, along with that scaredy-cat old man,” says the yakuza guy. Dr. Hayama looks terrified when he finds out that the guy won’t spare him as well. With this man threatening him, I bet that Dr. Hayama is going to run whenever he has the chance.
Even though I only take a brief look at the profile that Ms. Chiyo sends me, I know that this man is Ryu Mikado. He looks strong, but maybe because he has a large built that makes me think that he’s strong. I’m pretty sure that he’s a lot stronger than before thanks to the microchip implant. “Your name is Ryu Mikado, right? I receive information that you have a microchip implant. Where do you get it? Is Satoru Yuuya the one who gives you that?” I ask him.
It’s better for me to ask him before we begin the fight. Even if we interrogate him, I don’t think that he’s going to reveal who gives him the microchip implant. I have a feeling that the outcome will be the same. The microchip implant may trigger a command that forces him to commit suicide. I’m not even sure myself, but it doesn’t hurt for me to be cautious about it.
He sighs before he answers me. “You have so many questions, kid,” he says to me, “But I’m happy to know that you get my name right. Since you’re going to die anyway, I guess that it doesn’t hurt for me to tell you.” He doesn’t hesitate at all to tell me what he knows. Well, maybe he’s going to tell me blatant lies. So, he’s not scared to reveal everything to me. These are fake information, anyway. It won’t jeopardize him in any way.
“You’re not scared something will happen to you when you reveal everything to me?” I ask him. Yakuza is also known to be tight lip about their dirty little secrets. I’m sure that this guy knows the consequences if he tries to reveal everything. Mr. Mikado only laughs when I ask him that question. “Well, why I should be worried about that? There’s nothing confidential about it.” Maybe he’s right about that, but I still need to be cautious.
I guess that I should just see if our hypothesis is correct or not. But I won’t be able to test the hypothesis if he’s giving me false information. “Well, you’re right about us having a microchip implant in our body. In fact, everyone in the group also has it. We do get the microchip implant through the illegal mean, but not through the guy you mention. We have no idea who he is. We’ve never heard of him,” he says to me.
So, Satoru Yuuya has nothing to do with them? “But, why you’re after Dr. Hayama?” I ask him. “Sorry, I can’t tell you that. Since you already know a lot, both you and that old man have to die,” he says to me. Mr. Mikado starts to run rampage towards me when he begins to attack me. I manage to evade his attack, but it’s just plain luck that I’m fast enough to dodge him. I doubt that I can stand if his attack hits me. His attack is fast despite his large built.
“Does your high strength and durability is because of the microchip implant as well?” I ask him again. He laughs at me, thinking that I ask him such a funny question. “Of course, it is. Do you think that a human is born with this kind of superhuman strength? You have no idea how much I yearn for this sort of power. It’s superficial, but I don’t care about it as long as I can crush anyone like pulp.”
His attack may not hit me directly, but I can estimate how strong he is. His first attack leaves a slight mark on the ground. For a normal person, Mr. Mikado’s strength is already considered strong. But for me, it’s still not strong enough. I’m not being cocky or anything, but I know that he’s not as strong as I thought. Even I can create a similar mark on the ground. “Is this what you call strong? I can do better than that,” I say to him as I begin to attack him back.
During the commotion, Dr. Hayama takes this opportunity to run away. This is his chance since none of us are paying attention to him. Before he can run anywhere further, I draw my gun and shoot at his direction. The bullet doesn’t hit him, but I’m missing the shot on purpose. I just shoot in his direction so then he won’t try to escape from this place and do anything reckless.
“Your reaction is good. The way you move is the same as us. Don’t tell me you also have a microchip implant as well?” I cringe when Mr. Mikado is comparing me to him. “Don’t lump me in the same category as you, scumbag!” Mr. Mikado only laughs when he sees my reaction. “Okay, I’m sorry. You must be a lot superior to us. But still, I like the way you look now. Your eyes are telling me that it’s filled with murderous intent. Come and attack me with what you have.”
Murderous intent, you say? Maybe he’s right. I haven’t killed anyone else other than the pursuer who tried to capture both of us in the past. “Are you sure about that? If I do that, you’ll be the one who’ll never see another day in your life,” I say to him. He laughs at me, as if I’m saying something funny to him. “You think that you can beat me with that matchstick arm of yours? You sure know how to entertain me right now.”
I chuckle when he’s looking down at me. “I may only have matchstick arms. But I do have similar strength like you. And I can do what you can do even without the help of microchip implant.” I then look at Dr. Hayama. “I’m pretty sure that the names Touka Kimizuki and Sayuri Kimizuki must have ring a bell to you.” Dr. Hayama is in disbelief when he hears the name. I bet that he must have never expected to meet me here.
Without wasting my time, I begin my counterattack on Mr. Mikado and attack him nonstop. I just do it in the hope that I can end this fight faster. I don’t have a lot of time to play around with a fool like Mr. Mikado. The fight ends when I draw my gun and shoot him in his chest. He falls down on the ground after the shot. He’s breathing hard, but I know that he’s about to die soon. I just leave him lying on the ground. My task in eliminating him is over.
“What do you want from me? Do you want to avenge your mom’s death?” Dr. Hayama asks me when I come near him. I’m happy to know that he still remembers my mom who was his ex-colleague. But it still pis
ses me off. I only stare at him, making him feel so intimidated. “If my goal is avenging my mom, I would have killed you just now. I’m here because we need to ask you a few things. I’m pretty sure that you know what we want from you,” I say to him.
“So, you’re here because you want to know about the microchip implant we have?” He asks me. I nod at him. He looks hesitate at first, but he finally agreed to tell me after that. “I can’t say for sure if the microchip implant we had in our arm is the cause of their death. But I’m not surprised if it is. We were the foolish one here who thinks that Satoru Yuuya isn’t capable of something like that. He’s on another level than us.”
He then begins to tell me everything he knows about the microchip implant he has and about Satoru Yuuya. “The microchip implant was for us to access the research facility. After seeing my colleagues died one by one, I begin to suspect that the microchip implant we have. It seems like the microchip implant we have is more than just access to the research facility. It’s also an experiment for him to turn this microchip implant into a mind control device. Your mother was right after all. If only we’d listened to her.”
Just like what we expect, the cause of their death has a lot to do with the microchip implant in their arm. But then again, the autopsy report doesn’t mention anything about the microchip implant. Sure, they must have missed it because of the microchip’s small size. But I’m pretty sure that they will be able to notice if there’s a foreign object in their body no matter how small it is. I can tell that Dr. Hayama feels guilty for not taking mom’s warning seriously.
“This is not the only reason why I think this way,” he continues, “I’ve seen this myself in the test subjects. Those test subjects died not because of the complication. Satoru Yuuya was the one who killed them. He only whispered something to them and they began to die one by one. That was the time I realized that he already created a mind control device with a microchip implant.”
Before Dr. Hayama is able to tell me, his hands suddenly move on its own and begins to choke his neck. “Help me!” He screams at me, asking me for help. “I think I must have mentioned something that triggered my body to move on its own,” he says to me.
He tries to fight back, but it seems like the grip is so strong that it’s impossible for him to let go off his neck. I try to help him by pulling his hands away from his neck, but the grip is way too strong for me to handle. Dr. Hayama is gasping for air as I try to release the grip from his neck. But I still fail to stop his hands from choking himself no matter how hard I try.
“Touka, what’s going on over there?” Dad’s voice echoes through my earpiece. “Something he said must have triggered him to commit suicide. I try to stop him, but I can’t stop it no matter how hard I try.” If I can’t stop him from choking himself, then we won’t have any lead in tracking down Satoru Yuuya. Dr. Hayama is the only researchers left that can give us a clue about him.
“I can’t believe that we’re just his pawns in the end.” This is Dr. Hayama’s last word before he dies. I feel terrified when I see how Dr. Hayama died right in front of me. I don’t know what part of our conversation that triggered his death. But I think this is what Satoru Yuuya wants us to witness. He wants to show us that his research is already complete. And the best way to do it is to kill Dr. Hayama right in front of us.