08: 58 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 13th…
"… Dr. Hikari. I apologize for this sudden visit so early on the morning. Yet… I am under pressure…"
"I understand, Commissioner Kifune…"
"Do we have anything?"
"We have. But it's something which has a lot of implications and should be treated with the highest level of secrecy. Were word of this to be leaked, it'd be the California Gold Rush over again…"
"Is that so?"
Yuuichirou was speaking with Commissioner Kifune as they headed into a room of the MoS premises.
"Please follow me!" Yuuichirou requested.
They walked into his office and Yuuichirou offered him the armchair to sit while he stood next to his computer and drank coffee in a plastic cup.
"Ijuuin – kun told me about how that gel can generate Viruses that can constantly "evolve" or changed shape…"
"Indeed. Thank you for the copy of the report. We've been studying it…"
"Have you draw any conclusions?"
"We have. That was the tip of the iceberg. Further analysis and experimentation on our own Viruses showed us alarming results. First, have a look at these photos!"
"By all the…!"
Mettools were growing one arm, two or even four as well as replacing the feet by claws or their met hats vanishing to give way to a crown of needles.
Fanged mouths forming into them and smaller predator-like eyes or even tails and wings.
"This gel… When in contact with a Virus over different amounts of times and dose or if it enters the Virus through cuts or wounds, lodges into the core program and begins messing with its data at random yet always following a series of steps: increase its power. Make it more powerful yet at the cost of its AI programming. Destroy or corrupt it. Turn into a mindless ravaging beast. Consume more and more gel. Evolve. Mutate. Grow stronger. Destroy anything in front of you. Their resistance and HP are altered by brutally high values. One of the hardest to take down ones reached the brutal number of 2948 HP out of 100 HP it originally had, and its power stats increased: their normal attack would only take out 10 HP. Now it took out 444 HP!" Yuuichirou detailed.
"By all the…! What a monstrosity!" Kifune gasped.
"Yet… On other hand… When processed as if it was fuel, then it produces astonishingly high levels of energy. We tried shutting down electricity in some rather unused sectors of the Cyber World and use this as an energy source. The result? Just 23% of it was enough to feed the WHOLE MoS Cyber World with power. And given how we knew what our total electrical needs were… An entire can of about 3 liters of gel could easily power up the WHOLE Akihara City, the Metro Line and even 48% of Densan City!" Yuuichirou told him next.
"Just 3 liters and…! That scale is enormous!"
"Hence why I said that if this got leaked it'd be the California Gold Rush over again! A mad hunt to get their hands on this gel even if it was a few miserable centiliters would start..."
"I see…! Yet… How did it get there?"
"It's gel, it can easily be inserted into cans, bottles, grenades or missiles. The recording from the Police Navis shows grenades coming out of nowhere plus shotgun blasts. But that "nowhere" might be because the enemy had concealed his presence to strike from unexpected directions, though…" Yuuichirou explained.
"I see… Yet… What effects does it have on Navis? Or maybe you haven't had time to try those?"
"We tried after we started looking up reports of missing Navis: 8 of them have vanished from Saiba City along with 3 of the "Hunter's Guild", so I'm afraid this "Death Club" is experimenting on them given how they are high battle potential Net Navis!" Yuuichirou replied.
He typed into the PC and brought up photos of standard Navis having armor over their bodies which looked like a solidified state of the.
Some grew claws, other had mere teeth and no limbs, others grew tails or wings and others morphed into animal-like forms, too.
"Navis behave slightly different. The gel attaches to the core program and becomes the source of energy for them. They can somehow "access" it and expel it as attacks but a random period before they must wait and access it again. They retain some level of intelligence, yet they are always compelled to "spread the power" through an ultra-sound signal which we haven't been able to ID yet. We speculate that this signal might allow for some extent of live remote control!" Yuuichirou explained next.
"So. They can be controlled, nevertheless… That's another dangerous aspect to it! Were this to be leaked, too, someone could try to build a dangerous army of these dangerously hyper-powered Net Navis… Another motive to keep it under the strictest of wraps, too… Yet I don't like the idea of having to tell them the implications… Maybe I can down-tone them saying the gel was nothing more than spray paint. A false alarm set up by the terrorist… It could work!" Kifune muttered.
"I believe that's a wise approach to the matter. I will destroy all records of this, too. Only 8 persons know of the implications of this, including me. We'll have to classify this. Society isn't ready for this. Wars could be fought over this. No. We'll destroy it! The good part it's that it's extremely flammable and burns quickly without leaving any traces like oil or gas. We'll send Navis to cleanse the site of the "Hunter's Guild". We already know no useful data regarding the abduction was left there!"
"Perfect. I will be going!"
Yuuichirou sat on his armchair and began to tap the armrests before starting to work with the computer.
"One record. I'll leave just one. They deserve to be told of the dangers. This is far deadlier this time around. That of two years ago when they stormed Kotobuki Town's Gospel HQ was dangerous, yet… You can't toy with this. It's like a time bomb which can come back on anytime!"
He then stopped and grabbed several documents, which he stored inside of a folder labeled "OLD BUDGET DOCUMENTS" and inside of his safe.
He headed into another lab where Meijin was working with the computer.
His Net Navi, Gate Man, was looking on.
"Meijin!"
"Yes, sir? What is it?"
"Delete all records of the experiments and analysis. This has been labeled top-secret and no public records must remain. Make sure the very last byte of data is gone. No trace must be left and all samples of this "Omicron Factor" are to be destroyed." He commanded.
"Roger!"
"Count on us." Gate Man added.
"I leave this up to you!"
"Understood, sir…"
"Make sure all research samples are disposed of, too…"
"We already did it, sir… The quarantine zone is purged, too…"
"That was a fast job. Keep it up!"
"Delighted, sir…"
"I met up with Zero and we're adding further security layers…"
"Wise idea. Before anyone can try to steal the data from us…"
"I know, sir. We won't make it easy, sir…"
"That's the spirit. Handle it!"
09:11 AM (Japan Time)…
"Puku! I dunno who that black guy was but he gave me a juicy reward for exclusively telling him about a good place in which one could hide and come out without being too noticed… Puku… I'm saving this up for the day I find Brad Shad again, puku… And thanks to this… I'll beat him up, puku! Bubble Man of the WWW is a genius, yessir! Puku!"
"I'd rather say he'll laugh at how you've been fooled by a mere imitation which does nothing!"
"Wha! Puku! The leech punk!"
"Red Sword!"
Red Sword had crept into a small private Cyber World decorated with the "WWW" letters and with a water motif to find Bubble Man there, who was muttering around.
"Yikes! Bubble Man doesn't know anything! Puku!"
"Don't think I'm an imbecile. I heard what you were boasting!"
"T-that was my alter ego, puku! See ya~!"
He tried to run off, but Red Sword seized the tube connecting his backpack to the rear of his head and effortlessly lifted him off the ground while Bubble Man waved his arms and legs in vain.
He turned him around and had him stare at his red, thick shades while forming a grimace.
Bubble Man turned white, and his teeth began to dance.
"Who gave you lowlife that "Dark Chip" imitation?"
"Jupiter Warrior, puku!"
"Describe him!"
"That's… The jerk was about a meter and sixty tall! Had black armor, purple shades! Carries a shotgun on his back, puku…!"
"What else?"
"Black hair comes out behind the helmet 'cause there's an opening there! No dialect, puku… But he looked powerful, puku… He knew who I was!"
"Hmpf. No surprise. You're only let loose because that woman bothers to swap you out with a copy whenever they arrest you!"
"He only wanted to know a place to hide, puku… Haven't seen him ever for the last 2 weeks… I dunno where he came from, puku…" He confessed.
"Hmpf. And where did you lowlife send him to?"
"Puku! Sapporo, puku! There were plenty of places, puku, but I dunno the exact place, puku!" He admitted.
"Sapporo? In Hokkaido? Whatever. We'll find them. Now run for your miserable existence and dream in a useless manner 'cause that Dark Chip is fake!" Red Sword scoffed.
"PUKU~!"
He let go of Bubble Man and stepped out of the place.
Bubble Man sighed in relief.
"Boo!"
"YIKES! DE PUKU!"
"Chut. It's me!"
"It's cha, de puku… Where are ya?"
"My bad! Coming in person is dangerous. So, I'm using this Killer Eye as a speaker and camera. Gather info about those two! Tell me if they drop by here again!"
A voice rang out behind Bubble Man, and he whipped around, terrified, only to find a Killer Eye Virus that floated down from higher above.
"Roger! Puku! Leave it up to Bubble Man! De puku!"
"Good, good, my fella… See ya around. Show 'em ya power!"
09:15 AM (Japan Time)…
"I'm back, Delta!"
"Red. What did you find out?"
"I found Bubble Man! The fool confessed. They're somewhere in Sapporo! And I have a description of Jupiter Warrior, too!"
"Excellent. That's something to use as working basis!"
Red Sword met up with Delta in a Cyber World decorated with lions having red crowns.
"I didn't try to pull out the data directly because I suspected that it might be rigged to delete when you try do to that…" He argued.
"Naturally. If they're so bent in keeping their presence a secret…"
"But it could be another avatar of Ootsuka, too…"
"The possibility is very high… I'm sure the names "Jupiter Warrior" and "Venus Warrior" are taken off Omega's alias of "Mars Warrior"…"
"Sheesh. There's no way to intercept when Bubble Man's swapped?"
"We've tried many times. But when studying the data, we see that the swap doesn't happen. Instead, the trick is that his memories are synched with a cloud storage service… Whenever he's caught, a new body is generated, and the memories synced with the cloud backup…"
"I see. So that's why we can't stop the jerk from running loose!"
"And it's ultimately because "Minami" wants to use him as a distraction!"
"Sheesh. That witch! I wish we got a hold of them, too…"
"They've been awfully quiet… Guess they're bidding their time!"
"As always. If she only bothered to meddle with gangsters…"
"Life would be easier, indeed…"
"Let's not lower the guard. They could strike at any time!"
"Puku~! Time for the Bubble Payback Strategy~!"
Bubble Man's voice rang out, but neither were impressed as the sound of lasers and machineguns rang out in the distance with his yelps.
"This firewall is overpowered! Puku! Not fair!"
"There's no need to play fair against a terrorist!"
"I'll use the Bubble Ambition Chip! Puku!"
"It's but a dud that doesn't do anything…" Akashi sighed.
There was an explosion followed by a giggle.
"Too bad, little bubbly prince! Go get a better suit at the tailor!"
"And that must be a pre-recorded message set in the thing…"
"I'm not done yet! Adrenaline rush! PUKU~!"
"Net Navis don't have adrenaline to begin with…"
There were some sounds of something hitting an obstacle.
"Headbutting the firewall won't solve anything, either…"
"Guts! I'll use a man's guts!"
"You were talking about me? Guts Man has come!"
"Perfect! I'll pay the chagrin into you! Glory to the WWW!"
"Guts Punch!"
"NO WAY~! PUKU-BUKU~!"
"Hmpf. Naturally. Guts Man sent the fool flying to Alaska…"
"Let's resume patrol, de guts! I'll find the scammer, guts!"
"Be careful not to get abducted, too!" Delta called out.
"Roger, guts! I'll be on my toes, guts!"
"OK. Let's move it, too…"
09:39 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Hmpf. You sure love to make a fuss out of nothing…"
"Is that a complaint? And I am guilty of it, then?"
"Hmpf. Whatever. Answer one question…"
"If that's what it takes to please you… Forte…"
Forte was questioning Serenade in a corner of the Under Internet's dark and lowest levels, filled with rubble heaps.
"The fools behind this fuss… Are they worth my time?"
"Unknown. We have not seen them in action yet…"
"Hmpf. Weaklings, then…"
"You sure like to associate anything you dislike to that category…"
"When will you fight me for real?"
"I fought you for real 6 times already. Is your cache data storage flawed?"
"Hmpf. No. You keep playing defensive. That's not a real battle!"
"Because it is my nature. I do not seek violence for satisfaction…"
"And yet you have that fool delete Navis…"
"Hmmm? You mean Dark Man? If they are criminals, then I do not see an issue to it… Only folk like that would roam the Under Internet in such a sneaky and suspicious way…"
Forte seemed about to argue something, but he gasped and quickly scanned the perimeter as if he had felt something.
Serenade calmly closed his eyes and focused his mind.
"I feel the aura of the strong…!" Forte muttered.
"What an odd signature. I cannot fully identity it…"
"It is not a mere Navi… it is something else!"
"A dreadful aura… Almost like it was a Grim Reaper… Maybe it is related to the "Death Club"…?" Serenade muttered.
"Listen, weaklings… I am Death itself…" A cold voice whispered.
"Weakling!? I'll go shut that trap of yours!" Forte growled.
He took a step forward, but Serenade placed his right hand over the right shoulder from behind and applied energy there.
"I didn't give you permission to stop me!"
"You are not going to walk into such an obvious trap…"
"Hmpf. Struggle. Soon you will be but beasts under my control…"
"Hmpf. Charlatan fool… Gloat all you want…" Forte scoffed.
"You will eventually realize how foolish it was to underestimate me…"
"The presence is gone… I will send scouts to check it out…"
"No need for those!"
Forte broke free of the lockdown and ran across the ground before jumping over a heap of rubble and landing behind it.
He found a giant, blue Spark Bee with multiple stingers, skeleton arms ending in claws, and a huge jaw with a long, spiky tongue.
"What an aberration!" Serenade gasped.
"Hmpf. Get out of the way, weakling! Darkness Overload!"
Forte opened his cloak and brought forth his hands to form the energy and shot it at the thing, yet it turned out to be a hologram and the attack only managed to hit another heap of rubble behind it.
"I knew something was odd about it… If that is meant to be a message of what would happen if they left unchecked for…" Serenade trailed off.
"I couldn't care less! I'll defeat them by my own hands!"
Forte laughed in a queer way while Serenade shook his head…