After enduring a torturous traffic jam for an hour, Ichiro made it to the local warehouse, close to the busy port. The ocean was clear, and ships of all sizes could be seen. Locals were working at the modern port as seagulls flew overhead.
Ichiro examined various operational components inside the high-tech truck he was driving while stuck in traffic.
All the usual comforts were present, and the seats were luxurious. Normal windshields and four-stage front lamps with the last stage turned up temporarily rendered him and the other drivers in front of a traffic jam blind in the middle of the day. Fortunately, no accidents occurred.
The speedometer was sleek, available in both electronic and mechanical versions. He frowned at the fact that the maximum speed this truck could reach was 350 km/h. Ichiro didn't ponder about it too much, but it was still impressive. He overlooked the fact that the heavy truck could travel at such an incredible speed. He was more interested in the safety features installed in his truck.
The rearview camera, standard equipment in all trucks, was overkill, but there wasn’t anything else that would be better. The sensors behind his head helped detect objects approaching from the rear side, and there was also a sensor above his head to warn him if a vehicle was approaching from his right or left. Cameras were on both sides of the truck.
The big red button was enclosed in a transparent acrylic lid near the speedometer. He didn’t know what it was for, so he left it alone.
Fuel capacity, oil heat, and other indicators were electronic indicators on the screen to the left of the speedometer. The design was crude and unpolished, like a prototype. Which it was. However, Ichiro didn’t know this yet. He had never driven such a high-tech vehicle before. He couldn’t help but feel excited about it.
The integrated GPS system was not only that, but it also had other features! Various apps were installed on it; it was just like a tablet. Connected to the internet, he launched NueTube, logged in, and selected the “for peaceful driving in traffic jams” playlist from his catalog. Then he set the volume to a comfortable level. He was surprised by the sound system in this car because he knew NueTube compressed videos, which harmed sound quality, but it played beautifully!
In his previous truck, Ichiro had to listen to music through headphones connected to his phone. He was a music collector, so he had collections of various genres from many artists, both big and small, from all over the world.
The transmission was unusual. It was automatic but with additional features: PRNDM+-S+-O. Except for the last one, he recognized what they were. Parking, Reverse, Neutral, Drive remained on one direct line. Manual +- shift diverged to the right, Sport +- shift diverged to the left, and the final O was three cranks away in a zigzag motion down there. Overdrive? He tried it out, and the gearbox felt smooth and powerful.
In order to compensate for the lack of a clutch pedal, a button on the steering wheel activated a manual shifting mode. This feature allowed him to change gears in manual mode like a real sports car driver. Why does this function exist? Is it really necessary? He decided not to worry about it anymore. The manual shift mode had no effect on the engine. The gear ratios were already optimized for the engine’s performance, and they wouldn’t change unless manually shifted into them.
***
Soon enough, Ichiro drove up to the fortified gate of the warehouse. There were several security guards who looked at him curiously when he approached. However, they quickly regained their composure once they realized the truck bore their company’s logo. Ichiro lowered the driver’s window as he approached.
“Please provide your necessary identification and state why you’ve come here."
Ichiro nodded, showed his ID and the first piece of paper with his boss’s signature, and informed them of his delivery. The guard examined the paper for a minute before promptly returning the ID to Ichiro. He instructed someone with a mobile radio to prepare the specific item and then opened his mouth with an understanding smile.
“Good luck with the delivery, Yamashita-sama. He’s an ungrateful bastard who almost injured several employees' faces last time. Thankfully, his guardian stopped him at the last moment."
“Is he that dangerous? I don’t want to get hurt, so I hope you can tell me that much.”
The guard shook his head.
“Well, he’s weakened right now. I heard he’s been in some unfortunate accidents lately. Inside that box is likely something that will help him recover.”
“Really? Is there such a thing?“
“Well, inside this warehouse are mountains of treasures, so who knows? I’m just a lowly security guard who was demoted after that incident."
“I see… Thank you, and I’m sorry about your demotion. I’ll maybe buy you a beer if I ever find myself back here again.”
The guard laughed and then went back to work. The door was opened from the inside for Ichiro to enter. Once inside, he drove a few dozen meters to the marked No. 1 depot, which was clearly open for him. He reversed his truck and drove backward until he was inside the warehouse. The warehouse was massive; he could barely see the end of the building from where he was. The ceiling was at least thirty meters above ground. The interior walls were reinforced with metal bars to prevent break-ins.
He then turned off the engine, left the keys inside, and exited the truck.
He didn’t even have to wait a second because someone in a forklift wearing a light-reflecting vest was riding towards him with a medium-sized, full-metal box on a pallet. Ichiro hurriedly opened the truck’s back door, and the forklift placed it inside the truck. The back space was enormous enough to transport several pallets at once, so handling this one was no problem.
Ichiro jumped inside, then removed the metal box from the pallet, which was light for its size, around 10–20 kg, and placed it farther inside, attaching ropes so it wouldn’t shift while he was driving at high speed. While he was doing so, the forklift operator grabbed the pallet and drove away to attend to many other matters.
Ichiro exited the truck’s back space, closed it, and walked to the driver’s seat, where he turned on the engine and checked the time: 11:43. He grinned, knowing he still had an hour on the clock. Driving at a leisurely pace, it would take him around 3 hours to get from Osaka to Tottori. So, without further ado, he drove to the gate, waited for it to open again, and drove off, using the GPS system to navigate to the nearest expressway.
***
The gate security guard stood there, stealthily watching as the armored truck drove away. He gazed at it as if he were analyzing the truck. No, he was analyzing the driver inside. After it disappeared from his sight, his face revealed an expression that no ordinary human being would expect. A grimace impossible for anyone but a demon to pull off. His eyes were wide with shock; so shocked, he couldn't speak a word. His face was distorted, looking like that of an old man who has seen deep horrors.
“So he’s the one who broke through my defense system," muttered Hidetaka Umezaki, his voice now aged. He was the one who improved a company’s supernatural defenses. He is one of the many descendants of Sarutahiko Okami’s power successor. His family inherited it over ten centuries ago; however, the manner in which it was inherited was lost to history a long time ago. They inherited the purification arts from him, and his family branch honed the magical defense arts.
Hidetaka could place the magical circle by uniting both arts, which restricted even the spiritual powers of the kami reincarnations. Yet, one man effortlessly got around it.
And he was the one with whom they had spoken: Ichiro Yamashita. With his spiritual eyes, Hidetaka observed Ichiro's power while speaking with him but didn’t pick up on anything. What in the world is going on?
His spiritual senses could detect even the most concealed powers, but through them, what did he see? Nothing! How can that be? It was like looking at a blank wall. Hidetaka, a magical defense master with over 50 years of experience, found this wound to his pride.
He kept his bafflement and anger at bay and provided Ichiro with more information than he would have otherwise. The “lately” news he shared happened 15 years ago, and the “accident” was the reincarnation after his death. For ordinary people, this was a long time ago, but for immortal souls, it was only a brief time.
Hidetaka sighed, took off his security vest, and tossed it to the nearest security guard. He returned to his office, putting this subject on the back burner for the time being. He needed to repair a magical circle. Hidetaka had waited for Ichiro there to see if he possessed any powers, but he never showed them.
The guard next to him expressed nothing; he was aware of what his boss did and was not objecting. The old guard who would have stood there returned, securing the gate.
***
Because of all the ETC cards lying in the compartment, Ichiro made it onto the expressway successfully. He drove about 100 kilometers on the elevated expressway before switching to another highway, which had no tolls. Ichiro drove carefully and cautiously, which wasn’t in his style, as he was used to driving fast.
Ichiro needed to travel through the mountain roads at high speeds to reach Tottori on time.
Eurobeat music played in his truck while driving along the expressway, and he was enjoying himself tremendously.
***
The scenery rapidly changed from high-rise buildings to forested mountain wilderness. Ichiro was as focused as he had ever been. He increased his speed, but he was cautious as well, so his speed remained within the legal limit. It was a little too late for that now, anyway.
He easily maneuvered left and right, and he didn’t waste any time. The truck’s capabilities were more than sufficient for the job. He had overtaken several automobiles, and they had simply backed down because they saw an armored black truck speeding ahead of them with a terrifying aura. The sun was shining down on him as he rode atop his royal carriage, and he felt like a king. He owned the road, and he had his music. This was his tempo; his tempo was perfect. He felt like he could do anything. Anything at all.
But one car in front of him disrupted that tempo. It was the car of one of the supernatural family members who was traveling on the same highway. The driver was a father, transporting his two children and his wife. They possessed low-level supernatural abilities, except for the father, who had a high level of mental nullification. His ability to block his fear, pain, and negative emotions was powerful. He had fought on the spiritual front lines against the evil kami who had forgotten his own name and lived to tell the tale. He would never back down in the face of a formidable opponent!
And his opponent for the day was the black armored truck that was following behind his minivan. The truck wanted to overtake him, but the father of two stood in its way. The father was driving at full speed with no intention of slowing down or stopping. It was because he felt a powerful aura emanating from that van, just as he had years ago on the battlefield. The mighty father wished to relive the fierce thrill of battle. The father was driven by his desire to fight again. He didn’t want to give up just yet.
He had been blocking the truck from overtaking for nearly ten minutes on the narrow highway as it ascended to the local mountain.
There was no other car in the area. The father of two was alone on the road. Even if someone came by, the father wouldn’t let anyone pass him until the armored truck stopped trying to overtake him. His children were crying in the backseat, and his wife was nagging him on top of that.
The father noticed the truck was still trying to overtake, so he prepared himself. The father knew there was no turning back at this point. If he gave up at this stage, it would mean giving up on everything that had led up to this moment.
A hundred meters in front of him, there was a sharp left turn. So Ichiro pulled into the other lane, undoubtedly intending to overtake the minivan in front of him before the turn.
The driver of the minivan in front of him did the same thing. He turned and sped up, and so did Ichiro.
The father of two was also speeding up, but he was doing it at the same speed he had before, so he couldn’t overtake.
Ichiro was infuriated by his slow speed, but there was nothing he could do. He then remembered a situation from a street racing manga about an old car called the 86, and he was in a similar situation right now. Coincidentally, his favorite song from that manga was playing at this moment.
They drove in status quo until the next turn. Ichiro stayed in the proper lane, and when another sharp turn to the left came, the minivan slowed to make a safe turn. Ichiro immediately switched to the left lane, turned with ease, and pressed the pedal, easily overtaking them, much to the horror of the father of two.
For the average person, it was a display of unnerving levels of professionalism and experience. For Ichiro, it was nothing more than a trivial act of driving skill. As he passed the minivan, the loud music coming from his truck reached the ears of the father.
BACK ON THE ROCKS, BACK ON THE ROCKS, BABY~
The father was shocked, his eyes wide open. His children stopped crying in the backseat while his wife looked out the window, dumbfounded. His mind went blank, and he could not form words.
“How?”
It was the only thing he said. The father instantly realized he had lost and showed a friendly smile. He knew he had lost and was only delaying the inevitable. The man was content. He had lost the battle but won his war. The thrill was back. The father smiled as the truck drove away from him.
After that, it would become one of the stories he would tell his guests when he was drunk.
***
After that, it became boring. Ichiro sped up to 200 km/h when he passed the minivan, but it didn’t give him the thrill of speed he had hoped for. So, 1 hour and 56 minutes later, after driving out of the warehouse, he arrived at Tottori.
He arrived faster than expected because he drove over the speed limit in areas where there were no cameras. He didn’t care for speed limits in places where no people lived; however, he obeyed traffic rules when there were people around. He had no interest in being a lawbreaker.
It was finally time to call the recipient and discuss the exact meeting location.
Fixed a dialogue a little
Removed weak sentences, rewritten the parts
Added more meaningful sentences
The chapter didn't change much, but I like it.
Here's extra for opening the spoiler:
Ichiro's Truck-kun
YOURE GONNA BE THE ONE THAT LOVES ME BABY
Back on the rocks
Back on the rocks
@Rebeliousgamerz babyyyy