Chapter 161: The Tunnel to the Hollow Earth

Some things cannot be judged solely by evidence, Yagami.

Daitou Kyou sat on an exposed tree root, touching his chin and speaking with an unreadable tone.

From a logical standpoint, out of the five chairs, three failed to secure the meat, yet all eyes are currently focused on just two of them, while completely ignoring the one most desperate for superhuman military might. Isn't that somewhat improper?

...Click!

A brief silence represented the astonishment of sudden realization. Yagami Takayuki did not even offer a polite farewell before the busy tone of a hung-up call came through the receiver.

The young man stared in bewilderment at the phone with its darkened screen, then let out a speechless smile.

...Sigh? This guy!

Daitou Kyou could not even remember when the last time someone hung up on him like this had happened.

Was it before he swept through every martial arts dojo in Fukushima Prefecture?

Was it before he accepted the blood pact agreement with the boss of the Toyama-gumi?

People who are not to be trifled with naturally command respect.

However, Daitou Kyou held no dissatisfaction toward his old friend.

Yagami Takayuki was simply that kind of man.

If an opportunity presented itself to stop another disaster affecting the fates of hundreds of millions of people, this man would seize it without a moment's hesitation.

As for whether the consequence would be shattering into pieces or enduring agonizing torment?

He would never pay any attention to such trivialities.

This was precisely why the two of them could become friends.

Impatient idiot, Daitou Kyou sighed helplessly at his friend's personality.

He really charges blindly ahead without even figuring out the situation within his own organization?

Yet, after the sigh, the young man opened his phone once again and dialed another number.

Given Yagami's stubborn temperament, even Godzilla probably couldn't pull him back from what he was determined to do.

And Daitou Kyou had no reason, nor any desire, to stop him.

So he could only lend a hand.

Yo! Director Ikuta! For the sake of an idiot friend of mine, there is something I need to trouble you with...

~~~~~~

Across the boundless waters of the Bermuda Triangle, an outpost embodying the pinnacle of human engineering was established here.

Monarch Outpost 54, "Castle Bravo."

In the lightless and profound deep sea, tens of millions of tons of steel resisted the crushing underwater pressure through their sheer mass and exquisite architectural design.

Following the emergence of the Titans, tremendous advancements in biomimetics propelled technology forward by leaps and bounds.

Holographic projections, high-strength materials...

Ten years ago, the technology inside the underwater base would have seemed like science fiction to humanity.

Thousands of Monarch personnel worked here day and night to observe Godzilla's activities.

Yagami hastily pushed open the door, still holding a phone that had inadvertently been crushed into debris, and walked quickly toward Professor Serizawa's office.

Discarding the garbage in his hand along the way, Yagami felt a wave of mixed emotions.

Although he was more than a decade older than Daitou Kyou and a qualified talent who had properly passed the bar examination in Japan.

Having roamed the streets for too long, his sensitivity to high-level maneuvering turned out to be far inferior to that of a sixteen-year-old boy.

Since the most probable scenario was already laid out on the table, he would never turn a blind eye to it.

He had to tell Professor Serizawa and make him understand the crux of the problem!

Knock, knock—Professor?

Yagami arrived at Serizawa's office and knocked, suppressing his anxiety.

Come in.

Yagami stepped into the office.

This middle-aged scholar remained exactly the same as when they first met.

Greying hair, framed glasses, furrowing his brow as he flipped through academic materials that seemed endless.

Seeing someone enter, he removed his glasses, held them in his hand, and looked at Yagami.

Without waiting for Serizawa to speak, Yagami blurted out with an eager expression.

Professor Serizawa, I believe that if we want to control the abusive experiments involving Titan genes, our focus shouldn't just be on Europe, there is also...

And Kislev, right?

As if directly seeing through what Yagami was about to say, Serizawa interrupted him before he could finish.

Yagami was first surprised.

He hadn't even finished explaining his train of thought, yet the other party already knew the answer?

Then, looking at the unflinching scholar, he suddenly understood.

He had known all along.

Instantly, a surge of fiery anger roiled within his eyes.

This was not a metaphor.

There was truly a lava-like heat that dyed his eyes red!

His hands unconsciously grew withered and sharp, as if the blood and muscle had been baked dry by the internal heat.

They assumed the posture of avian talons.

You knew all along?!

Yagami's voice was somewhat hoarse, and the temperature throughout the entire room rose abruptly.

I thought that both of us were wholeheartedly dedicated to preventing the abuse and loss of control over Titan genes, and averting disaster.

In the end, after exhausting all our efforts, even daring to offend two seats among the five chairs.

You're telling me—you already fucking knew about their joint research?!

Without unleashing the power within his body, Yagami grew strangely calm after staring fixedly at Serizawa for a moment.

Indeed, how could an international organization managing Titan affairs lack such a sense of smell?

Running back and forth these past few days, he must have looked like a complete clown.

I always thought that at least in terms of moral principles, we were on the same page.

Yagami's voice carried a hint of despondency.

He had joined Monarch because he witnessed the disaster when Godzilla came ashore, and unable to bear it, he wanted to do something.

Professor Serizawa's identity and demeanor had once led Yagami to believe he was different from politicians.

But now...

An international organization can exert pressure on one side, but cannot simultaneously pressure two. How foolish it is to be caught between enemies from front and back.

From beginning to end, even though the heat radiating from Yagami was causing him to sweat, Ishiro Serizawa's expression remained calm and composed.

Just as Yagami turned away with a cold face, unwilling to listen to Serizawa's "politician-like" defense and ready to leave,

The professor spoke up again.

The appointment letter for the assault inspection team leader will be sent to your phone.

What did you say?

Yagami was dumbfounded.

He had just been prepared to quit the organization.

What did giving him the authority for assault inspections mean now?

I originally intended to investigate Europe first and then apply pressure to Kislev. Although the probability of a disaster erupting under that plan would be quite high, it would at least preserve the organization's survival and contribute to exploring the path of coexistence between humanity and Titans in the future.

Serizawa spoke nonchalantly to himself.

Then his tone shifted.

Just now, Director Ikuta of Japan and Senator Patterson of the United States communicated with me together. They said that for the sake of the 'stable development of human society,' they wish to see the establishment of an assault inspection team.

Serizawa pointed the temple of the glasses in his hand toward Yagami.

—Under your leadership.

The meaning was crystal clear.

Whether genuinely to prevent a potential future loss of control in experiments or to obstruct the joint research process between Kislev and Europe,

The two nations, and potentially other hidden forces behind the scenes, would lend their unwavering assistance.

Monarch finally had the confidence to exert pressure on both fronts.

Director Ikuta? Senator Patterson? I don't know these people... Uh!

Before Yagami's perplexed words could finish, inspiration struck him, and the robust figure of a young man surfaced in his mind.

He then let out a bitter laugh.

Daitou, you rascal...

You really didn't even let me finish my sentence before paving the road out for me.

Just a kid who hasn't even been sixteen for a few months...

In Yagami's smile, one could vaguely glimpse the bitterness of an adult facing a youth far superior to himself, coupled with the relief of receiving care from a friend.

Stop this lamentation of an incompetent adult. Now...

Serizawa expressionlessly put his glasses back on.

Get out and go to work!

~~~~~~

Once his train of thought was opened up, Yagami no longer restricted himself to the activity data of outposts.

Although every single outpost across the globe accounted for every Titan's quantity and quality meticulously in those records.

He had not forgotten that aside from "Titan Biological Research," Monarch's core theoretical pillar included another discipline.

Known as the "Hollow Earth Theory."

Simply put, it posited that the Earth possessed a dual-layered concentric sphere structure.

The space between the layers was far richer in energy than the surface.

That was the highway for the Titans, as well as the origin and destination of these magnificent lifeforms.

Right now, amidst the cold winds of the Siberian Plateau.

He was leading Haten Masashi, Joe Brody, and elite action teams from within Monarch, under the guise of an assault inspection team, to inspect a special outpost.

That was a passage discovered by Monarch decades ago.

—A passage leading to the "Hollow Earth"!

At the end of an unnamed canyon, a building exuding the solemn and imposing architectural style characteristic of 1980s Kislev stood firmly against the cliffside.

A snow layer over ten meters thick covered its roof.

Just by looking at it, the solid construction and design left no doubt that it could withstand close-range thermonuclear bombardment.

And this was merely the gate of the outpost.

As the aircraft was about to land, the cabin doors had already been opened, and Yagami, clad in thin clothing, had long been standing at the threshold.

What presented itself before Yagami Takayuki was not the frantic management of an outpost caught off guard by a surprise inspection, as he had imagined.

Instead, it was a team of neatly dressed individuals wearing reserved and confident smiles.

This caused his brow to furrow tightly.

Anyone with common sense would know that even a surprise inspection could not truly leave the inspected party with zero preparation time.

However, that preparation window would typically be extremely short, preventing the inspected from cheating.

According to Yagami's operational procedures, information regarding their arrival should only have been notified once they crossed the Kislev border.

Yet right now, the fully prepared appearance of the opposite side...

They come with ill intent, muttered Yagami.

Behind him, Brody, bundled up warmly, offered a merciless reminder.

Oh, come on, you're the one intruding!

Yagami curled his lip, said nothing more, and led the group off the aircraft.

Welcome, welcome, Mr. Yagami!

A blond-haired, blue-eyed doctor who made no effort to conceal his French accent stepped forward first and shook Yagami's hand.

Behind him stood a robust man with typical Slavic features.

Inside a Monarch base, his Kislev military uniform was worn impeccably.

Hello, I am the... of this inspection team...

I know, I know.

Before Yagami could follow protocol and issue the official notice of visit for the inspection team,

The doctor with the French accent warmly interrupted him, and amidst Yagami's suddenly sinking expression, nonchalantly steered the direction of the conversation.

We know the purpose of your visit, and we are prepared to prove to you—and to the world, without reservation—the harmlessness and stability of our research.

With that, he led the group deeper into the outpost.

Yagami had no idea what the doctor was plotting.

Yet this tactic of laying all cards on the table before he could even make a move left him slightly bewildered.

Nevertheless, in order to suppress the ambitions of Europe and Kislev regarding Titan research, and the potential experimental disasters those ambitions might spawn in the future,

Yagami harbored no thoughts of retreating.

He immediately led his team members inside.

Upon entering the outpost, Yagami found that rather than an "outpost," it resembled a "transit management department."

The main body of the outpost was a gigantic tunnel.

Massive crisscrossing steel bars served as auxiliary support, illuminated by high-power searchlights.

Both width and height spanned hundreds of meters, and the length stretched out into unfathomable depths.

People speaking English, French, and Russian had carved out a strip-shaped base along the tunnel's edge for work and living.

Right now, Yagami's group was walking down the long corridor of the base, looking through floor-to-ceiling windows at the magnificent subterranean tunnel outside.

Regarding the tragedy that occurred in your country, all personnel of this outpost are deeply heartbroken. We completely understand your resulting repulsion and fear toward experiments interacting Titan genes and humanity.

The doctor spoke to Yagami with deep emotion, as if truly sighing for the lives of people thousands of miles away.

The latter half of his sentence expressed empathetic consideration, with an expression so sincere and full of understanding,

that an outsider might have assumed he and Yagami were old friends of many years.

Yet, considering that his expression just a second earlier had been that irritating, reserved yet arrogant smile, Yagami found it utterly sickening.

He couldn't even imagine to what extremes these people could go just to chase the forefront of research in this new round of "arms race."

But! Mr. Yagami. The doctor's expression shifted abruptly, turning passionate and stirring.

Titan genes will undoubtedly be the beacon of humanity's future! No matter what injuries are sustained along the path of chasing that light, humanity as a species must never abandon the light and turn away!

What scientific revolution has ever occurred without causing terrifying harm? In the face of a bright future, these are merely acceptable 'risks.'

His eloquent rhetoric almost gave Yagami an illusion.

This man was not some biology doctor, but rather a politician racking his brains for the future of humanity.

Yet Yagami had not forgotten his responsibility for this visit.

So what you're trying to say is that the unauthorized experiments you are conducting here using Titan genes of unknown origin are just the 'risks' that people living peaceful lives in this world deserve to bear?

Yagami's voice was colder than the Siberian wind outside the base.

Yet his anger burned hotter than the Rodan skin on his chest.

His hands, tucked into his pants pockets, were unconsciously transforming into avian talons out of sheer rage.

The Kislev officer behind the doctor sensed something and subtly stepped in front of Yagami.

Those Slavic eyes were beginning to shift into beast-like pupils.

The atmosphere grew somewhat stagnant for a moment.

Even old Brody pursed his lips, clutching his files and backing away slightly.

The doctor, however, seemed entirely oblivious to the changing atmosphere.

He maintained his reserved smile and brushed the Kislev officer aside.

Even eating and drinking water carry the risk of death, Mr. Yagami. Life is simply the process of constantly weighing 'risks' and making choices accordingly.

Then the 'risks' of your experiments must be pitifully small? Yagami sneered, making no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

At least... The reservation in the doctor's smile vanished like ice under the sun.

Leaving behind only pure arrogance.

It is far safer than the experiments of low-functioning fools like you.

With a snap, the entire base sprang into operation at the doctor's click of his fingers.

Meanwhile, Yagami and his inspection team members stared in dumbfounded silence at the tunnel not far away, where the lights had just been switched on.