Yama Reborn

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-One: The Future

"It's not too far in the future. In that world, intelligent AI will have destroyed everything. Then the remnants of humanity will come together and form a Resistance Organization... The Resistance Organization will have an incredibly outstanding leader, and that leader is your son..." Chen Nuo spoke rapidly, his tone heavy with sorrow.

Xicheng Xun's gaze began to go blank. "Wait! Hold on..."

Chen Nuo didn't heed her, continuing swiftly, "...In order to eliminate the Resistance Organization, the intelligent AI created a time machine and sent an assassin back to the present, the year 2001. The goal is to kill the mother of the future human leader—you. If you die, the future leader of the human resistance will never exist."

"Hey!!!!!" the girl cried out in anger.

Chen Yanluo still ignored her, going on, "...To protect you, the Resistance Organization sent me back as well, also using a time machine, to the present, the year 2001..."

As Chen Nuo narrated, the girl's expression completely collapsed, a stern look fixed on him.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Xicheng Xun bit out bitterly, "Hey! Do you think I've never seen 'The Terminator'?"

"So?" Chen Nuo ignored the girl's rolling eyes, spreading his hands. "Don't like it? If you don't, should I make up another one?"

"Don't you dare go too far!!!!!" Xicheng Xun broke down emotionally.

"I've told you, I won't tell you anything about myself. And yet you keep asking?"

"Ah!! Go to hell, jerk!" Anger surged in Xicheng Xun, and suddenly she flung the small coffee table toward Chen Nuo's face.

Chen Nuo caught the edge of the coffee table with one hand, swiftly placing it back on the ground. Meanwhile, the slender girl had already leaped into the air, aiming a kick at Chen Nuo's face.

Chen Nuo caught Xicheng Xun's ankle with one hand and with a light flick, tossed the girl onto the sofa.

Xicheng Xun tried to spring to her feet but suddenly saw a fist coming straight at her face...

"Ah!..."

The girl let out a pained grunt, squatting down with both hands covering her nose.

Chen Nuo withdrew his fist, squinting at the slender girl.

"You, you actually hit a girl!"

"What else?" Chen Nuo curled his lip. "You started it. Am I supposed to just stand here and let you hit me without fighting back?

"If you decide to strike first, you should be prepared to take a hit yourself.

"Or what? Just because you're a woman, you get to throw punches, and men aren't allowed to retaliate?"

"..." Tears streamed down Xicheng Xun's face...

It wasn't because she couldn't handle the pain or was truly weak and aggrieved. Rather, a punch to the nose causes a stinging, swollen sensation that stimulates the tear ducts, making tears flow uncontrollably.

Xicheng Xun ran into the bathroom with her head down, shutting the door behind her.

The clock on the wall pointed to exactly seven o'clock in the evening.

Chen Nuo glanced at the clock, silently letting out a sigh of relief.

The timeline and events of his past life, now, at this moment, had already been changed by him.

In his previous life, around seven o'clock in the evening of July 12, 2001, an event occurred that impacted Xicheng Xun's fate for the rest of her life.

To find her mother, Rin Nishikawa, Xicheng Xun had attacked Zaochuan, a minor leader of the Truth Society, three nights before. She had kidnapped him to a small alleyway, but things went awry.

Zaochuan actually had no idea where Xicheng Xun's mother was.

The interrogation was fruitless. Due to her youth and inexperience, Xicheng Xun made a mistake when trying to kill Zaochuan to silence him. Zaochuan was gravely injured but survived. A few hours later, his subordinates found and rescued him.

As a result, her actions over the past month—repeatedly attacking the Truth Society by kidnapping and killing several of its leaders—were fully exposed to the organization.

Then, the clues and targets quickly centered on Xicheng Xun—after all, the name Rin Nishikawa, mentioned during her interrogations, became the key lead.

The Truth Society quickly traced the name "Rin Nishikawa" and found Xicheng Xun.

Then, on the evening of July 11th, a group from the Truth Society attacked Xicheng Xun's residence.

That night, a bloody battle ensued in Xicheng Xun's home.

The Truth Society members suffered six deaths and seven injuries; they had to resort to firearms to finally subdue and capture Xicheng Xun.

Xicheng Xun was then taken prisoner and brought to a Truth Society stronghold, where she endured a nightmarish two days and nights.

Later, during a large-scale police raid on the Truth Society's stronghold, Xicheng Xun, along with many others persecuted by the organization, was rescued by the police.

Chen Nuo didn't ask Xicheng Xun in detail about the nightmare she experienced during those two days of captivity.

It was only later, when he glanced over the police files, that he learned Xicheng Xun had twenty-seven serious injuries all over her body when she was rescued, three of which were life-threatening.

She lay in the ICU for a full month before finally clawing her way back from death's door.

Once, a police officer inadvertently mentioned during a media interview, "When we found that little girl, she was like a rag doll that had been torn apart and then patched back together with glue.

"I've never seen such a cruel scene..."

And it was then, gravely injured and lying in a pool of her own blood, that Xicheng Xun's identity and all her secrets were exposed.

A mere sixteen-year-old girl, either in search of her mother or seeking revenge, had become a "hunter" who hunted down Truth Society leaders from the shadows—an inherently legendary tale.

Especially since this story resonated deeply with the morbid curiosity of the RB public, it was as if a legendary tale from a manga had been brought into the real world.

In the end, during a fierce battle, this formidable girl managed to kill six Truth Society assassins...

This incident quickly caught the media's attention.

But what happened afterward was extremely ironic...

For years, issues surrounding the Truth Society had thrown RB into chaos, with incessant calls for its prohibition and condemnation. Now, a sixteen-year-old girl from an ordinary background, possessing extraordinary martial prowess, had become a tragic, superhero-like figure, hunting these evildoers in the darkness...

The potential impact of this story on public opinion was obvious!

However, media coverage of this incident lasted only one day. Even before public opinion could fully form and spread, the story vanished without a trace. All major media outlets unanimously stopped mentioning it.

In that era, the internet was still in its infancy, so the incident ultimately failed to have a widespread impact.

The reason was simple: the RB government was actually in disarray over how to deal with the Truth Society, with various political forces at odds with each other...

As for the fate of a mere sixteen-year-old girl, they chose to temporarily silence her.

The subsequent developments became particularly ironic.

After Xicheng Xun was rescued by the police and regained consciousness in the hospital, she was quickly detained after her treatment.

She was charged with murder. This was not only for the six Truth Society members she had killed and the seven she had seriously injured the night they broke into her home. Incidents where Xicheng Xun had previously stalked, ambushed, and hunted down other Truth Society leaders—resulting in four deaths and one injury—were also brought to light.

Regarding these matters, the young Xicheng Xun readily confessed and did not deny them.

Consequently, Xicheng Xun was prosecuted for murder.

The sixteen-year-old girl was detained, with no one inquiring after her, nor was there anyone to plead for justice on her behalf or to speak up for her.

Let me digress for a moment here.

The RB government is often in a very peculiar state and frequently makes decisions that outsiders find incomprehensible. Sometimes, the rigidity and dogmatism can be baffling even to countries outside of RB.

Take, for example, the measures against the Truth Society.

Historically, this cult organization, the Truth Society, had existed in RB for many years, committing numerous misdeeds.

Not until 1995 did they orchestrate the infamous Tokyo subway sarin attack: a group of deranged Truth Society members dispersed sarin gas on the Tokyo subway, resulting in a terrorist attack that killed 12 people and injured thousands.

Two days after the gas attack, RB police raided the Truth Society's main base, discovering much equipment for making poison gas.

Two months after the attack, the Sect Hierarch of the Truth Society was arrested.

In the meantime, the Truth Society engaged in all sorts of deranged retaliations, such as giving television interviews declaring terroristic statements.

And, they sent masked gunmen to attack the police officers responsible for handling the Truth Society case!

It was rampant to the extreme.

If such an event had occurred in the great nation of Huaxia, with such a major mess and terrorist attack, a just and mighty blow would surely have been dealt, smashing that damned cult to pieces.

However, in RB, the series of actions that followed were utterly astounding to the world.

Two months after the gas attack, when the Sect Hierarch of the Truth Sect was captured, the Tokyo District Court filed charges... and then...

Quickly, on appeal, the high court... dismissed them...

Dismissed! Them!

Can you believe it?

Even more astounding events were still to come! A whole year passed after the gas attack!

Remember, a year later!

In 1996, the RB National Bar Association issued a resolution expressly stating...

Opposition to designating the Truth Society as an illegal organization!

Opposition...

Can you believe it?

Then, the RB Public Security Examination Committee proposed listing the Truth Society as an illegal organization.

This suggestion was dragged out until January 1997, when RB's judicial department made a resolution.

The resolution concluded... there was "no evidence" to prove that the Truth Society, as an organization, posed a threat to society...

Therefore, the Truth Society was allowed to continue existing legally!

By this time, almost two years had passed since the Tokyo subway gas attack!

Can you believe it?

A cult whose base had been raided by police, where a substantial amount of equipment and materials for making poison gas was confiscated, and many of whose high-ranking members had been arrested, was declared... legal, two years after the incident!

What's more bizarre, it wasn't until 2018, more than two decades after his arrest, that the Sect Hierarch of the Truth Society was finally sentenced and executed.

And the most bizarre aspect was that, from start to finish, the RB government never declared the Truth Society an illegal organization, not even after the Sect Hierarch had been executed!

It wasn't until the year 2000 that the Truth Society introduced a new generation of leaders. Then, considering their public image had completely tanked, they declared bankruptcy themselves...

Note, it was not a ban imposed by the RB government.

It was... their own declaration of bankruptcy...

After bankruptcy, they changed their official name, becoming a new organization, and continued to exist...

And the only request the RB government had for them in 2019 was to pay compensation to the families of the dead and injured from the subway gas attack.

How much compensation? One billion yen—a sum equivalent to millions of U.S. dollars.

So how much money did this organization have?

The exact figure is not known, but as of 1995, their assets exceeded one hundred billion yen!

This godlike maneuver, I must say, truly astounded the entire world!

As you can imagine, even twenty years later, the Truth Society, having changed its skin, still existed robustly in RB.

In 2001, what could a sixteen-year-old girl do?

In the end, she was convicted of murder, but due to her youth, she was given a life sentence.

Xicheng Xun remained silent!

She didn't even want to live anymore!

In her few years in prison, the girl saw many news stories from the outside...

The Truth Society continued to be declared a legal organization...

Some leaders of the Truth Society were declared innocent...

The trial of the Sect Hierarch of the Truth Society was indefinitely delayed...

And the sixteen-year-old Xicheng Xun found herself trapped in prison for life.

Then one day, she saw a piece of news.

A Tokyo police officer, Ryumoto Hiroyoshi, was shot dead while chasing an at-large fugitive from the Truth Society.

Then, she saw a picture in the news: the familiar face of Uncle Ryumoto.

It was on that day that the girl's heart turned completely black!

A month later, Xicheng Xun escaped from prison.