Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 118, Section 116: The Mysterious Passage
After exiting the player lobby, Iwasaki immediately took a small pill.

The effect was immediate; he could feel a life force that had been lost slowly returning, allowing him to regain the physical condition of a thirty-year-old.

"Investigate the possible mysterious entrance to Hibiya Station, sacrifice the remaining family members, and celebrate the grand birthday on the 25th."

He hadn't felt so fulfilled in a long time.

And it's not for any job; it's simply for myself.

He just didn't know what his life goals would be after he had completed his revenge.

However, not letting oneself destroy one's life for the sake of revenge is also part of the content of revenge.

He transformed into a cloud of black mist, took out a stack of banknotes worth several hundred thousand yen from his suitcase, and brought them back to an address left by Goto in Shibuya Ward, which was an old apartment.

He couldn't even open the old windows without making a noise to bring the banknotes in; the old windows creaked loudly when pulled, a noise that was quite noticeable in the dark.

Fortunately, there was no one in the room at the moment. Goto had told him that her mother was often not at home, but at the "brothers' and sisters' lodging" of the church she followed.

This is a typical studio apartment, with a cramped space crammed full of various items.

The first thing that catches the eye is the huge cross pattern on the wall.

Then there were angel statues that filled almost every counter.

There was also a bunch of materials with phrases like, "Have you ever felt disappointed in life?" and "I was lost until I met..."

This doesn't look like a proper church.

It is probably another small church that has sprung up in the name of Christ.

This kind of thing is very common in both Japan and the Southern Dynasties.

After placing the money on top of the wardrobe that Goto had mentioned, Iwasaki left immediately, heading towards Hibiya.

It's true that the money needs to be laundered before it can be used, but if it's only a few hundred thousand, Goto can still find a way to take it out openly, which can be considered as a way to reassure her first.

After taking a short break, he could already see the brightly lit area in the night sky.

Although it was early morning, there were still many people moving around in the chaotic ruins and openings of Hibiya Station.

Among them were soldiers armed with real guns and experts carrying various instruments to conduct tests.

Unlike the censored images on television, only by seeing it in person can one truly grasp the vast area affected by that turmoil.

Especially from his vantage point overlooking the area, he saw that large areas of the surrounding population had been cleared, and the white light spread out in concentric circles.

The most obvious damage was to the large hole and the gardens of the Imperial Palace, which were smashed to pieces.

"Hmm? Hank, shine the searchlight at one o'clock."

The pilot of an Apache helicopter circling overhead seemed to have spotted something and immediately spoke to his co-pilot.

"Received. I asked to see if there were any big treasures. Unfortunately, there's nothing there. It just looks like a little bit of mist."

"Alright, the replacement squad has arrived. Let's go back to sleep."

The driver didn't dwell on it too much, simply assuming it was a hallucination, and circled away from the place.

Iwasaki, who had blended into the clouds, silently peered out. Because the surrounding area was too bright, the clouds were reflecting light, and his black mist would be very conspicuous if he got close. Therefore, the best way was to approach and infiltrate from the edge of the land.

There will always be shadows on the ground.

"Today's trending topics are all dominated by Tokyo Monsters. Do we really have to deal with this kind of thing?"

"At least you won't be sent into the subway to pick up parts. I heard that forensic doctors come out vomiting; they say it's hell. You might slip not because of the water, but because someone's intestines have spilled out."

"Thank you so much for your comforting words. I feel much better now."

Two police officers sighed as they stood guard near a building that had once been infected with a hematoma, carrying out their strict duty to protect the scene.

Currently, all police officers in Tokyo have been mobilized, and many officers from other prefectures have been transferred overnight, along with the Self-Defense Forces, to participate in various tasks. Following the corner, Iwasaki quickly found his way to the on-site command center based on his observations from above and conversations with these people.

"The initial clearing work has been completed, and surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the Hibiya line."

Today, the entire official team displayed an unusually high level of efficiency, resolving many tasks that would normally take a month to complete in just one afternoon.

"Don't tell me that. I've heard you found something at Hibiya Station. Now, I need your original report."

Commander McCullough interrupted the reporter's rambling, glanced at his watch, and continued.

“I’ve been waiting for you to search through the documents for six hours. Do you expect me to wait until dawn? I need to tell you that the President is also waiting for this report.”

Faced with McCullough's pressure, the Japanese officials present exchanged glances and lowered their heads.

The Minister of Defense coughed twice and looked at the head of Section 11 of the Public Security Bureau.

"Section Chief Kawamura, how's the data finding going?"

Kawamura nodded helplessly: "It's all ready. We can explain now."

Public Security Section 11 is the occult investigation agency directly under the Prime Minister.

Despite these titles, they are not actually under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Public Security and the Superintendent General of Police.

However, the Superintendent General of Police knew more or less about this department; it wasn't particularly mysterious. Otherwise, Takahashi wouldn't have needed to ask the Prime Minister if there were any more secretive departments dealing with unusual situations.

After adjusting the translation headset, McCullough gestured for him to proceed.

Kawamura projected the information onto the screen, took a deep breath, and then recounted all the information they knew.

In the 1960s and 70s, the first to discover the anomalies near Hibiya and start spreading on a small scale were the workers of the Eidan subway. Among them, there was a legend about a man-eating tunnel.

Indeed, at that time, some workers responsible for patrolling would sometimes disappear without explanation.

At that time, the occult was flourishing, and this news quickly attracted the attention of the newly established Public Security Section 11, which sent people to investigate. Although they found nothing, they followed the clues and found that a small team had also disappeared in the underground passage during the war.

After numerous fruitless investigations of the passage, and as the craze for the occult subsided, they decided to close the passage again to avoid causing public panic.

But in 2019, the newly appointed section chief decided on a whim to reopen the investigation, and under the pretext of testing, he hired a small team of workers to investigate.

An unexpected event occurred: the entire squad vanished without a trace.

In an attempt to shirk responsibility, the section chief shifted the blame to his subordinates, which triggered a strong backlash, causing chaos throughout the department and infuriating the Prime Minister to the point of drastically cutting funding.

Only a basic rescue operation was conducted afterward; no one was found, and the passage appeared normal—it was a dead end. No one dared to investigate further, fearing another accident might occur.

"So, where is that passage?"

McCullough asked the most crucial question.

Kawamura glanced at the Minister of Defense, and only after seeing him nod did he project the information to the last page.

That's a map of the Hibiya Line, with enlarged views and clear markings around Hibiya Station.

“We sent people to investigate immediately, but the entrance has already disappeared.”

"Disappeared? Does it mean exactly what it says?"

"Yes, we can no longer find that entrance, including that closed gate, based on the route."

McCullough did not believe Kawamura's explanation; he preferred to believe his own subordinates.

So he waved his hand, obtained the map data, and then instructed his deputy to organize several assault teams to find the passage.

In any case, the appearance of that monster must be inextricably linked to this passage.

Having found the answer he sought, and with the black mist's duration nearly exhausted, Iwasaki temporarily departed, intending to investigate during the latter half of the night.

(End of this chapter)