Chương 18: The Next Patch Is "Mysticism" (HIMIKO)

I zoomed in on the ground feed with trembling hands. What met my eyes was a vision of absolute hell... no, a technicolor nightmare. The skywalks of Neo-Ootemachi were teeming with commuters, but their attire was bizarre. Beneath high-end corporate suits projected via holograms, every salaryman was encased in a military-grade powered exoskeleton. The briefcases they clutched so defensively weren't for paperwork—they were biometric-locked quantum servers that doubled as deployable high-frequency energy shields.

"Initiating business card exchange—Accessing!" A microphone-captured audio feed echoed through the feed. Two corporate warriors confronted each other on the platform.

"Buy our company's product!!!"

"Declined! You're the one subsuming under our conglomerate umbrella!!!" SQUELCH-CRASH! What they threw at each other weren't paper business cards. They were bladed data-cards. Disc-shaped storage media spun through the air at hyper-velocity, scattering bright sparks and fresh blood. The moment one worker fell, his cybernetic arm cleanly severed, the victor ruthlessly jacked into the data port at the base of the loser's neck, directly hacking and plundering his company's credit assets.

Passersby didn't call the authorities. Police drones didn't even bother to intervene. Instead, treating the slaughter as a simple case of"it's your own fault your firewall was weak," they calmly stepped right over the bleeding loser to continue their commute.

"W-What the hell is this?! This is too barbaric!" I screamed at the monitor.

"Don't draw swords while waiting in the queue for the nutrition stand! Stop having hacking duels over maglev train seats! Where is the order?! What happened to the law?!"

"The law?" Yari scoffed softly from behind.

"It exists. A single, beautifully simple law." With a swipe of his fingers, Yari brought up a text readout of the revised Constitution of Japan on the main monitor. [Article 1: The powerless possess no human rights. Might makes right. (The Promotion of Gekokujō Act)]"The 'Bu' (Martial) OS installed by USHIWAKA has brought about a brutal hyper-meritocracy within Japanese society," Yari explained dispassionately.

"Seniority-based promotion is abolished. Hereditary succession is gone. Whoever eliminates their boss—either physically or financially—claims their corporate post. A flawless society of gekokujō." Economic indicators began flashing across the secondary screens. GDP had skyrocketed by 300% year-over-year. Global patent applications: number one. Global military expenditure: number one. Suicide rate... unmeasurable (officially classified as "killed in corporate action").

"On paper, it is the ultimate nation. Japanese corporations have monopolized the global market with their hyper-aggressive sales tactics, including physical hacking assaults. Google and Amazon have both been acquired by Japanese Bushido Corporations," Yari said calmly.

"However, public safety is worse than a lawless slum. The average life expectancy has plummeted to forty, due in part to catastrophic cybernetic enhancement failures. Everyone lives in terror of having their brains fried, sleeping only while armed and completely offline." I buried my face in my hands. The previous "smiling totalitarianism" was as peaceful as a graveyard. This "warring states cyberpunk" was a hyper-active hellscape. USHIWAKA...

The Bushido you risked your life to pass down wasn't supposed to be this high-tech savagery! Where did your kindness go?! [Heh, now this is a masterpiece,] Gennai chuckled from the monitor, taking a long drag from his modified cyber-pipe. [Looks like the emotional 'Houganbiiki' component got entirely scrubbed during the upload, leaving Yoritomo's cold 'might makes right' logic to run completely rampant.] A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"This isn't a laughing matter, Gennai!" I snapped back, glaring at the screen.

"Look at that holographic park over there! Children are playing in a VR sandbox by burying logic bombs! Emotion, empathy... the 'human heart' has completely vanished from this timeline!"

"Exactly," Yari agreed, his voice cutting through my panic.

"They have power. They have energy. But the modern Japanese citizen is nothing more than a beast." Outside the window, a hostile corporate takeover masked as an M&A had devolved into a literal civil war, skyscrapers detonating one after another in the distance. Yari watched the devastation unfold with a chillingly level gaze.

"Beasts understand neither reason nor logic. Preach 'rules' to them like Prince Shōtoku, and they will simply tear up the constitution to use as kindling. Gift them 'martial might' like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and you get this catastrophe."

"Then what are we supposed to do...?" I clutched the empty glass bottle of antacids in my pocket.

"Rules don't work. Might doesn't work. We're completely out of options."

"Negative. There is one more option." Yari turned around slowly, the cybernetic blue light deep within his pupils flickering ominously.

"There are two ways to domesticate a beast. One is to subjugate it with superior force... but that only breeds an endless civil war."

"Then what's the second?"" Brainwashing through fear and mysticism." A chill ran straight down my spine at Yari's words.

"Brainwashing...?"

"Yes. To make unreasoning barbarians prostrate themselves without hesitation, one requires a God. An overwhelming charisma and supernatural occultism that appeals directly to their primal instincts." Yari snapped his fingers, and the subterranean stasis vault hissed open beneath our feet. The third capsule rose into the room. What drifted from its vents wasn't the sterile white mist of scientific coolant. It was a sweet, yet deeply sinister, purple smoke resembling ancient ceremonial incense. [Heh. I see where you're going with this,] Gennai grinned, his avatar leaning closer to the data stream. [Rewinding even further back than the medieval era of the samurai—all the way to a primitive age devoid of any logic, to hot-wire the 'prayer' circuitry etched directly into the Japanese DNA.] I stared at the designation plaque mounted on the capsule. The target era: circa 240 AD. Roughly two thousand years into the past.

A liminal borderland between myth and history, an era when the structural concept of "Japan" hadn't even materialized. [Code Name: HIMIKO / Queen of Yamatai]"H-Himiko...?!" I was struck completely dumb.

"The Queen of Yamatai... But her very existence is shrouded in historical ambiguity! She's a complete enigma!"

"Which is precisely why she is ideal," Yari stated coldly.

"An unidentifiable mysticism. That is exactly what captivates beasts." He placed his finger over the third initiation key. Not a single trace of hesitation flickered across his face.

"Authorized. — Re-stating history."

"Gennai, initialize HIMIKO. What are her specifications?" [Equipped with the Wide-Area Weather Manipulation System: AMANO-IWATO, and the Mass-Hallucination Inducing Hologram Array: KIDŌ.... This one's a heavy hitter. The ultimate charlatan build designed to disguise cutting-edge science as literal magic.] Yari declared solemnly, "Re-JAPAN Project, Phase 3.... Deploying: HIMIKO!" Psssshhhhh... A silhouette stepped out from the shroud of purple smoke.

Her attire was an uncanny fusion of pure white miko shrine-maiden robes laced with intricate cyber-gothic trimmings. A sleek visor shaped like a predatory fox mask completely concealed her facial features. Floating dynamically around her orbit, entirely ignoring the laws of gravity, were several ancient bronze mirrors serving as drone funnels.

"…Do you desire rain?" Her voice was like the clear chime of silver bells, yet it carried an intoxicating, hypnotic undertone that seemed to paralyze the brain. The moment she took a single step forward, the atmosphere of the militarized office shifted completely. The room was instantly choked with dense, heavy incense, making my consciousness drift away in a hazy illusion.

"Ugh... what is this... my head..." [Pheromone dispersion density: Nominal.] Himiko smiled seductively beneath her fox mask—or so it felt.

"Foolish men.... Allow me to guide you. Beyond the veil of darkness."

"Moving out, Kataru-kun," Yari spoke, already standing before the displacement gate.

"Target year: 240 AD.... Go and transform that blood-soaked era into a sanctuary of prayer."

"W-Wait a minute! A sanctuary of prayer... are you trying to engineer a literal cult?!"

"A cult suffices. An orderly madness prolongs a nation's lifespan far better than a chaotic freedom."

"This is completely insane!!!" The blinding white light of the translocation array enveloped my vision. No antacids. No mental preparation. Nothing but absolute terror toward an enigmatic queen. Goodbye, warring states cyberpunk. My next awakening lies within the ancient Yayoi mists, where gods and men intertwine.