Chapter 680

Date Nagamune lay on his back on the inn's large bed, tear tracks still on his face, his phone, wallet, room key, many clothes, and several crumpled tissue papers scattered haphazardly around him; this man who had endured the trial of living hell fell into a deep sleep in the exhausted darkness.

Yonezawa, not fun at all!

I won't come next time!

Never again!

Meanwhile, at the other end, the lights were on in Suo Hinata's room at the end of the hallway.

The night in Yamagata Prefecture was bone-chillingly cold.

The upscale inn's tatami room was filled with the scent of expensive incense, yet it could not conceal a faint trace, belonging to young skin, of sweat and desire.

Suo Hinata wore a sleeping robe, the sensation of Moriya Akane's hair strands still lingering on his fingertips; he stretched, letting out a soft breath.

I don't feel as good as Oowada Nana...... figure.

Being the son of a National Diet member is truly awesome.

This sense of control, like fine wine, made the man who ekes out a living at the Yoshimoto Grand Theater slightly intoxicated, but deeper down, a vast emptiness and thirst gnawed at him.

After checking the room interior and confirming no one was spying, he then took out from the deep inner pocket of his suit an exceptionally non-standard-issue, encrypted communicator with a cold, iron-like outer shell.

Pressing a specific sequence, the screen lit up with an eerie green light, reflecting his face—sober, showing only sharpness and ruthlessness.

The call connected; the other end had only a piece of deliberately distorted, non-human electronic noise, from which no gender or age could be discerned.

"Failed." Suo Hinata got straight to the point, his voice pressed low, yet carrying a barely perceptible irritation: "The envoy of 'Impure Teeth' from 'that side'...... failed to move the person who needed moving; on the rear mountain of Uesugi Shinai, the spiritual pressure field of Uesugi Kenshin's bone ash produced an unexpected......'deviation,' he himself seemed to have vanished for a moment...... the situation remains unclear as of now. On the contrary, that foolish patrol officer was thoroughly......'kissed'."

The noise fluctuated slightly, transmitting broken, metallic friction-like sounds: 【...... Regret. "The primer of the blood sacrifice' failed to be splashed on the correct altar. Mortal flesh and agony, which could have become the sweetest aperitif, slightly moistening the 'door crack' leading to High Plain of Heaven.】"Plans have changed, but the direction remains the same." Suo Hinata lit a cigarette, the smoke twisting like a snake in the eerie green light: "Uesugi Muneyuki...... he really is a 'singularity'. Date Nagamune, whose cherry was popped by a wild boar, he didn't even wrinkle his collar. That guy has a smell...... not the formalin of corpses, but something older, more off. It makes people disgusted, yet they can't help but want to look...... see what expression he'll make when faced with a true 'riddle' beyond his comprehension."

Zhou Xiao's tone mixed icy jealousy with a near-cruel anticipation.

He also wanted to play with Sakura, but was told this was not allowed.

Why not allowed?!

But this really is not allowed; this is what Mita Koushi, president of YKC48, said while shaking his head and speaking coldly: "Even if your father comes over, I'll still say this, or...... do you want me to call him now?"

He gave up, as bothering his father over this wasn't worth it.

Suo Masao's image in Suo Hinata's mind is now very complex, mixed with gratitude, hatred, admiration, and contempt; he once despised such people most, but he is now becoming such a person, relying on his father's connections to have close, zero-distance, even negative-distance contact with the female idols he once loved most, but now he instead regrets it one by one—he now discovers that the idols he loved are actually no different from ordinary women, even saying...... idols who have mixed in the entertainment industry are more realistic, cold, and cruel.

Idols have been played with, but the idols' dreams have also awakened.

If he had known earlier it would turn out this way, he would rather not have entered operations, but now that he has entered operations, he also doesn't want to quit.

【I felt your loneliness, good; fear and curiosity are both steps toward my lord's domain.】The voice from the communicator seemed to carry a hint of approval: 【Small tricks ineffective, no need to try again. Follow the next step, "the whole big".】

Suo Hinata took a deep drag of his cigarette, smoke slowly exhaling from his nostrils, his eyes flickering in the dim light with ambition and fervor.

"Yes, I understand. As Zuijin said...... Akimoto Yasushi that old fox...... he thought the 'idol god nation' he built was just a metaphor? He collected tears, shouts, near-fanatical 'push U' faith, and that annual 'general election' piled up with money and desire...... he is unconsciously conducting a grandiose and clumsy 'new god forging ritual'."

"What he wants to become is not an entertainment godfather, but the 'god' who dominates the collective emotions and desires of the new era." Suo Hinata's voice carried a hint of heaviness, even more so a sense of superiority from knowing secrets: "Unfortunately, his ritual always lacks something, not only filled with the stench of mortals. Moreover, he chose the wrong opponent, and also chose the wrong timing."

He paused, his fingertips tapping the edge of the tatami mat.

"I will not let him complete that ritual." The 'general election' will be his altar, also his grave. I will ensure that in that grand revelry where countless girls' dreams and fans' wealth are sacrificed, what grows is not his divinity, but...... deeper 'fear' and utter 'hunger'. The vacuum of collapsed faith needs new gods to fill it."

【You desire to take over Akimoto Yasushi's business? Even if it's already polluted, twisted?】

"Polluted? Twisted?" Suo Hinata pulled out a smile devoid of warmth: "That is exactly the sweetest part for me. Dependence born of fear, sacrifice born of hunger—these are the surest steps to godhood. I don't need them to love me; I can only have them 'need' me, fear losing everything I give them. Akimoto Yasushi wants to become the god of idols? While I...... will become the master of their fate, the sole visible 'light' in their despair, thus drawing more essential power. This does not conflict with my lord's path, right?"

"Idol God! I recall from ancient times to now, the god of knowledge has also changed many positions, right?"

……Interesting overreach. But my lord appreciates ambitious pawns. Remember, other matters my lord does not concern himself with, but Uesugi Kenshin's new god bone ash must be obtained; then, the pallid gaze of High Plain of Heaven may perhaps truly look favorably upon this place.

"As for the bone ash, I will arrange it. Uesugi Shinai is not a monolithic iron block; as long as there is sufficient 'price,' someone will always be willing to open that dust-sealed box." Suo Hinata stubbed out his cigarette, eyes sharp: "As for Uesugi Muneyuki...... let him continue as his medical examiner, solving his 'corpse riddles'. When the reality order he cherishes is utterly torn apart by irrationality and chaos before him, will his scientific 'scalpel' still have any use? I...... am very much looking forward to that moment."

The communicator's noise emitted a pleasant tremor: 【Excellent...... fear is growing, hunger spreading, the stage is set for you. Go weave your conspiracy, Suo Hinata. May your ambition ultimately become...... a delightful side dish on my lord's table.】

The communicator cut off, the eerie green light extinguished. The tatami room returned to dimness, only the bitter moonlight outside the window coldly illuminating Suo Hinata's clearly defined facial contours.

He savored the conversation just now, then recalled Uesugi Muneyuki's dazed yet unharmed appearance during the day, as well as the rumors of Date Nagamune's miserable state.

A smile mixed with cold calculation, unexplained wariness, and morbid anticipation slowly curled at the corner of his mouth.

"The game has begun, Uesugi Medical Examiner. This time...... it's not a simple murder case your corpses can tell you. Let me see, facing the true descent of 'inhuman principle', will your heart that seeks order and truth...... shine, or...... utterly collapse?" "The sacrificial slaughter from the world's flank, you should not have seen it before."

However, thinking of this, Suo Hinata's expression became much more cautious.

Tomorrow, the Head of the Kanto Shinai Alliance, National Actress Shirakawa Mai, will come here; this person surely knows some things, and she feels stronger than Uesugi Muneyuki.

We must arrange everything before she arrives and before we clarify the situation!