G3-X: Fatal Flaw

Clatter… Hikawa Makoto’s expression grew even more serious. He picked up his chopsticks again. Clatter… Hikawa Makoto took a deep breath, shook his head, and flexed his fingers, which were stiff from tension. He picked up his chopsticks for the third time. Clatter… Hikawa Makoto’s face visibly reddened. Not again! Clunk… Hikawa Makoto’s face stiffened, his eyes blankly staring at the chopsticks, which still had some tofu residue on them. Then, Ashihara Ryo, right in front of Hikawa Makoto, gently extended his chopsticks and steadily picked up a piece of tofu for his own bowl. Ozawa Sumiko and Ashihara Ryo both turned to look at Hikawa Makoto. Hikawa Makoto, under their scrutinizing gazes, suddenly erupted. “Because of this… this kind of thing… I can’t accept it.” Hikawa Makoto stood up, threw down his chopsticks, and angrily left. Behind him, Ozawa Sumiko apologized to Ashihara Ryo on his behalf and quickly followed. On the way back to the police station, Ozawa Sumiko saw Hikawa Makoto’s grim expression and knew it was no time to persuade him, but she had already made up her mind. Back at the police station, Hikawa Makoto went straight to the training ground without a word. Ozawa Sumiko, meanwhile, wrote a report regarding the change of the G3-X suit wearer to Ashihara Ryo and submitted it to the police station’s high command. However, this proposal was not smoothly approved. After investigating Ashihara Ryo’s relevant background, the proposal was directly rejected. The main reason was Ashihara Ryo’s currently unknown identity. Furthermore, in the Miura Tomoko murder case, Ashihara Ryo had also been arrested for obstructing public duty. In fact, in that case, Ashihara Ryo had been proven innocent. The primary concern was still his unknown identity. The high command of the police station was extremely wary of someone with an unclear background serving as the G3-X wearer. On another front, it was also related to the high command’s existing inclinations. In the previous city-wide melee, the V-1 suit was casually defeated by an unknown lifeform, while the G3-X suit, despite Hikawa Makoto being injured, firmly held its ground against the unknown lifeform. Coupled with the comparison of their respective combat data, the G3-X suit was undoubtedly stronger. Although the V-1 suit was still in the experimental stage, its nature was similar to the previous G3 suit. But now, with a large number of unknown lifeforms appearing, the police station’s high command could no longer wait for the V-1 suit to slowly upgrade. Therefore, many people leaned towards retaining the G3-X suit, which had already formed mature combat capabilities. As for the issue of the two suits facing unknown lifeforms of different power levels, without concrete samples for comparison, the argument that the V-1 suit faced stronger unknown lifeforms than the G3-X suit could not stand. Therefore, at the meeting the next day, the police station’s high command announced the retention of the G3-X suit. At this time, Kitajo Tooru had just returned to duty from the hospital. He suddenly heard this thunderbolt out of the blue, and his mood was a mix of emotions. However, he immediately learned that Hikawa Makoto could not serve as the G3-X wearer and had been personally recommended by Ozawa Sumiko to be replaced. The replacement, however, was not one of the police officers, but an ordinary citizen named Ashihara Ryo, which made him even more indignant. Fortunately, the police station’s high command rejected this proposal, and with Hikawa Makoto resigning, Kitajo Tooru became the most suitable candidate in the eyes of several people at the moment. Ozawa Sumiko naturally strongly opposed it, but faced with the high command’s firm order for Kitajo Tooru to serve as the G3-X wearer, she could only reluctantly swallow her anger and accept. Of course, she also stated that if Kitajo Tooru did not perform well, she would absolutely not let him continue as the G3-X wearer. What Ozawa Sumiko didn’t know was that after Kitajo Tooru was knocked unconscious and hospitalized last time, Takamura Hiroshi had actively offered to the police station’s high command to abandon the research and development of the V-1 system. He had conducted in-depth research on the G3-X system’s performance. Although very unwilling, he had to admit that his talent was inferior to Ozawa Sumiko’s. But at the same time, through a series of phenomena such as Hikawa Makoto’s injuries, he quickly discovered the fatal flaw of the G3-X system and intended to give his annoying student a little surprise. In the training ground, Kitajo Tooru, wearing the G3-X suit, excitedly demonstrated his shooting skills. The police station’s high command was very satisfied, but Ozawa Sumiko’s face was frosty. The suit wearer was tentatively set as Kitajo Tooru. Of course, his position was not yet secure; nominally, he was competing with Hikawa Makoto for the role. However, Kitajo Tooru was very confident, and Hikawa Makoto could understand Kitajo Tooru replacing him. What he couldn’t accept was that his qualification as the G3-X wearer was snatched by Ashihara Ryo. There was a subtle emotion here that even Hikawa Makoto himself couldn’t quite articulate. If Hikawa Makoto could consult a psychology professional, such as Tsukikage Gayan, he would know that it was jealousy. No one is perfect. The so-called purity is merely a clearer understanding of one’s inner self compared to ordinary people, not that one will not have dark psychological aspects. With his temporary wish fulfilled, Kitajo Tooru invited Ozawa Sumiko and Omuro Takahiro to a French restaurant for dinner. Ozawa Sumiko flatly refused, and Omuro Takahiro, seeing this, naturally dared not say another word. Kitajo Tooru smiled and cooperatively left, intending to enjoy the delicious meal by himself. But not long after leaving, Kitajo Tooru’s expression suddenly changed. He abruptly clutched his right shoulder. His shoulder throbbed with pain, and Kitajo Tooru’s expression darkened. Just a small injury… Kitajo Tooru went to the hospital. The doctor told him that not only his right shoulder but also other muscle groups on his body had certain minor injuries. Applying ointment and resting well for a day would heal them completely. “Thank you.” Kitajo Tooru left the hospital and went home to apply the ointment. He hid his injuries from Ozawa Sumiko. After a night’s sleep, Kitajo Tooru felt much more comfortable all over. He went to the G3 Unit office, and before he could even greet Ozawa Sumiko, an unknown lifeform appeared. The G3 Unit received an order to deploy. Kitajo Tooru quickly donned the G3-X suit with Omuro Takahiro’s help, mounted his motorcycle, and drove the G3 equipment vehicle straight to the attack scene. The enemy was an unknown lifeform resembling a green Gill Lord, entirely green. The Green Gill Lord had just finished its killing, throwing its human target far away, piercing through all obstacles along the way, and finally slamming them to the ground, killing them instantly. Kitajo Tooru arrived a step late. He pulled out his GM-01 Scorpion, aimed it at the Green Gill Lord, and quickly pulled the trigger. The immense power of the bullets struck the Green Gill Lord’s body, continuously pushing it back. However, at this moment, a blue Gill Lord dropped from above Kitajo Tooru, tackling him with one hand. Kitajo Tooru was startled. He instinctively wanted to roll to create distance, but the G3-X suit’s built-in AI controlled the suit to deliver a fierce punch to the Blue Gill Lord’s face, sending it flying. Although the crisis was averted, Kitajo Tooru’s struggle against the AI injured himself, causing dull aches all over his body. With pain interfering, Kitajo Tooru’s subsequent fighting became even less coordinated with the G3-X suit’s AI, and his body injuries became increasingly severe. Ozawa Sumiko heard Kitajo Tooru’s painful groans through her earpiece and immediately realized something was wrong, telling him to retreat quickly. But at this moment, Kitajo Tooru’s consciousness was hazy, and he couldn’t clearly hear Ozawa Sumiko’s instructions. The threat of the two Gill Lords in front of him forced him to firm his fighting will, and for a time, he actually stabilized the situation. At this moment, Shouichi Tsugami, who had transformed into Agito, arrived at the scene. He leaped forward, tackling the Green Gill Lord, and sat on its body, unleashing a barrage of punches.