Chapter 26: Chapter Twenty-Six: Is This Really Japan?

The Sakura Flower Corporation was not established in some barren area, but on one of the bustling streets of Arakawa Ward.

Normally, at midnight, the street is still lively.

But now.

The street is empty, shop doors tightly shut, streetlights unlit.

A dead silence, dim and gray.

Completely unlike the usual bustle—only loneliness and desolation remain.

“What’s going on?”

“Where is everyone? Why are all the shops closed?”

“Impossible—I just looked out the fourth-floor window and the street was packed. How did it turn like this in an instant?”

Mizuno Yuichi and his group gazed around, the street unnervingly silent.

The eerie scene made them shiver, their skin crawling.

Yet what terrified them most was not the strangeness of the street…

Sensing the light, it was dim and yellow.

Mizuno Yuichi and the others instinctively looked up at the sky.

Inside the building, the window showed a night sky.

Yet the moment they stepped outside, night had become sunset dusk.

And this sunset glow was strange—though soft, it carried an unnatural chill, a coldness like ice.

Look closely at the setting sun.

It was dull, its afterglow tinged with pallor, sorrow, and decay.

The horizon was stained a sickly yellow by the setting sun’s light.

Even the white clouds appeared dull and yellow.

The entire sky’s gloom pressed heavily upon them, making them feel suffocated.

Staring at the great sun, their hearts trembled with dread.

It felt as if the sun were nearing its end, as if all creation were about to collapse.

Suddenly—

The group realized why the street felt so unnatural.

It wasn’t because the street was empty, nor because shops were closed and lights off—it was because of that sun in the sky.

The sunset light it emitted didn’t just dye the heavens yellow; it had done the same to this city’s streets.

The buildings, the shops, the houses… all structures.

All were coated in a faint, yellowish hue.

The glass of the buildings reflected the dim yellow sky, amplifying the sorrow and heaviness through its glare.

Beneath the dusk.

Everything cast shadows.

The massive shadow of the building, the thick shadow of the shop, the long shadow of the streetlamp, the uneven shadows of Mizuno Yuichi and the others—countless shadows stretched far into the distance, vanishing into the darkness beyond the light.

Looking at the shadows, they resembled countless distinct black demons.

Emerging from endless darkness, descending upon the mortal world.

The eerie street, the unnatural dusk—even Sakura Wenzhi’s group, hardened by blood and violence, felt their skin crawl.

“Go check the surroundings. See if there’s really no one. If you find anyone, bring them to me.”

To find out why the street was empty, Sakura Wenzhi ordered his men in a low voice.

“Yes!”

Mizuno Yuichi and the other officers each took a few subordinates and scattered.

Never mind how night had turned to dusk—just the fact that the street was deserted was terrifying, and it couldn’t possibly be without reason.

Sakura Wenzhi, worthy as the head of a Japanese yakuza group, possessed immense presence; he forced himself to steady his nerves and tried to uncover the truth.

After a while—

“Boss, I searched everywhere. Not a single person.”

“Same here. Not even a fly.”

“Same here. Not a soul, not even a rat.”

Mizuno Yuichi swallowed hard.

He had just searched a narrow alley.

He knew that alley well—it was usually piled high with garbage, reeking, crawling with rats and cockroaches.

But when he searched it just now, the garbage was still there—but not a single rat or cockroach. He had his subordinate Nakata sift through every pile—no cockroaches, no rats.

Not even a single rat dropping to be found.

As the officers and Mizuno Yuichi reported their findings—

Everyone’s scalp prickled, their spines turned cold.

A chilling sensation shot from their soles straight to the crown of their heads, threatening to burst out.

For a moment, everyone was as yellow as the dusk.

Shadows clouded their hearts.

What the hell is going on!!

A bustling, lively street—completely empty. The sky, unnaturally yellow.

“Call someone. Find out if there’s some kind of evacuation or curfew happening here.”

Sakura Wenzhi’s face was grim.

Clearly, even as a group leader, his mood was far from good.

People fear many things.

But especially when facing the unknown—nothing terrifies more.

Because you can’t predict what will happen next second, can’t prepare in time.

Hearing this—

Everyone frantically pulled out their phones to make calls.

“Yes! Yes! I know someone at the Metropolitan Police Department—I’ll call right now!”

President Yamazaki also quickly pulled out his phone.

Just as he was about to dial—

His peripheral vision caught something.

“Uh… my phone has no signal. Does anyone have a spare…?”

Before he finished speaking, a chorus of shocked exclamations rose.

“My phone has no signal either.”

“Mine too.”

“Mine as well!”

After checking everyone’s phones—

Their expressions changed drastically, eyes wide with horror, nearly trembling with fear.

Without exception!

Everyone’s phones had no signal!

Not a single one.

“How could this happen?” President Yamazaki lost his earlier composure, beads of sweat breaking out.

At this moment—

Not just Yamazaki, but everyone else was trembling with fear.

In the past, if everyone’s phones had no signal, Yamazaki and the others might have been puzzled—but never truly afraid.

But now—

It was different!

Night had turned to dusk. The street was utterly empty.

All these strange circumstances made the lack of signal seem abnormal, profoundly eerie…

It felt as if all these oddities were connected.

“Ahh!!”

Suddenly, Nakata, one of Mizuno Yuichi’s subordinates, screamed.

The already terrified group jolted in fright.

The next second—

They glared at him furiously.

“What the fuck are you screaming for?!”

Mizuno Yuichi roared, slapping Nakata across the face.

He was trying to relieve his own suppressed dread through rage.

“You bastard—”

Mizuno Yuichi was about to curse again, but as he raised his hand, he saw Nakata wasn’t even looking at him—he was staring fixedly at one spot, his face pale with terror, his finger trembling as it pointed toward it.

“T-there...”

Nakata’s voice trembled; he ignored his swollen face, stammering over and over, “there, there.”

Everyone noticed his odd behavior.

Without thinking, they followed the direction of Nakata’s finger.

It was the distant sky.

The next moment.

Pupils contracted sharply, spirit quaked violently.

Even Sakura Wenzhi, who had cultivated the calm bearing of a sect leader, screamed hysterically along with everyone else, venting their terror and shock...

“Impossible!”

“Am I dreaming?!”

“Is this a ghost?!”

“Where the hell are we?!”

Everyone trembled in terror, unable to believe what they saw.

How could this possibly appear?!

Is this really Japan?!