Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 119, Section 117: Escaping the Cave
An explosion echoed through the subway tunnel.

Amidst the smoke and dust, three fully armed squads turned on their powerful spotlights and used analytical instruments to carefully examine the collapsed rubble.

"No results found at the third detonation point; proceed with the fourth detonation point."

The squad quickly moved to a new location, and soon after, another explosion rang out.

Iwasaki, shrouded in black mist, hid in a dark corner, silently observing their investigation.

However, right in the center of the orbit, a bright white spatial rift, so obvious it seemed as if it was afraid someone wouldn't notice it, was completely ignored by them, as if they couldn't see it at all.

After those people had gone far away, he materialized, took off his gloves, and could clearly feel a faint tingling sensation from the player data in his palm, as if guiding him to reach out and touch that gap.

"Is it only visible to players?"

After thinking for a moment, he sent Nobita a private message.

A reply came shortly afterward; the other party had given up on exploring the Hibiya passage with him, even though he had already told him that he had found the entrance.

"[Intelligence] should be quite eager to improve its strength. Since it is willing to take risks to save people, there is no reason why it would not be willing to take risks to improve its strength."

"Giving up this opportunity can only be explained by the fact that he didn't have a suitable way to get here, or that he lived far away or was easily exposed."

Iwasaki's image of Nobita is slowly taking shape.

She is young, lacks social experience, has a naive personality, and likely lives outside the central urban area.
The person who fits this description is probably a student.

It could be anyone from high school to university.

Having figured this out, Iwasaki lowered Nobita's priority for cooperation, but increased the level of basic trust.

He stepped out from the corner; he had used a rock to slightly obscure the view of the nearby surveillance cameras when those people were blowing up the explosives.

Even though there's no one to share the risk now, with the guidance from the player information on his palm, he feels the danger shouldn't be too great.

Moreover, given his strength, even if he went into the game's space, only Zhu Hai could pose a threat to him, let alone since it was already gone.

He decisively placed his hand on it, and a vast expanse of white light unfolded, quickly filling his entire field of vision.

Iwasaki simply vanished into the spatial rift.

The white light didn't last long. Soon, he felt a chill and dampness, and his vision slowly returned.

What comes into view is a slightly dim environment. In front of you is a cave entrance, and next to it stands a stone tablet inscribed with "Escape Cave".

The three words emitted a faint glow, and upon closer inspection, it could be seen that they were exactly the shape of the "space rift" he had seen outside.

Only now, with these characters inscribed on the stone tablet, can we recognize their calligraphic style.

Iwasaki quickly entered the black mist state and cautiously crawled into the cave entrance.

The inside was pitch black, with only one exit in front emitting a white light.

Emerging from the exit, the surroundings suddenly became familiar. This was Kisaragi Station, but it appeared exceptionally dilapidated, as if it had been swept by a tornado, with even the railway tracks being lifted and the lights flickering.

Large swathes of scattered rubble covered the surrounding area. After carefully observing the remaining outlines, he confirmed that these rubble were the large cylindrical area that had vanished from Hibiya Station, which had been directly sucked into space.

On the dilapidated platform, a few ghost soldiers can still be seen wandering aimlessly.

"What pure evil."

Looking at the eerie black aura above the demon's head, Iwasaki revealed a triumphant smile amidst the black mist.

A few hours later.

Iwasaki swept through the area, collecting all the remaining demon soldiers and cultists he encountered along the way and bringing them to Hibiya Station in the game. He then drew a pattern for a sacrificial ritual, offering these creatures as sacrifices, seeking knowledge in return. As he gazed into the distance, streaks of blood flowed into Iwasaki's body like streams of light, and the obscure knowledge gradually became clear.

[Overdraft: Consumes lifespan, temporarily boosts strength]

He acquired a power that seemed to come at a high cost.

However, as a player, he can exchange for the Lesser Longevity Pill, which can convert lifespan into temporary power. For him, this means having an extra means of bursting out and saving his life.

To put it bluntly, each of these small longevity pills could be used as a superpower.

"It seems that even after the game ends, there are still corresponding benefits to be found in reality."

"The only problem is that the benefits may not apply to all players, and you need to get ahead of other players."

Iwasaki overturned his conclusion that "once the game has a perfect ending, there's no need to continue paying attention to the plot," and now the rewards were enough for him to be willing to take the risk.

As the knowledge was imparted, the once desolate space suddenly began to shake violently as if an earthquake had struck. The lights flickered, and the walls and pillars cracked and collapsed in various places, quickly forming a continuous mass.

Seeing this, Iwasaki dared not linger any longer. He quickly transformed into black mist and headed back the way he had come, with a clear purpose.

The subway scenes behind them, now devoid of resentment, seemed to be swallowed by a black hole, collapsing in large sections and disappearing into darkness, leaving no trace of their existence.

He moved forward at the fastest speed he could manage, and could already faintly see the white light at the stone tablet at the cave entrance. As he got closer, he suddenly stretched out his hand and lunged forward in human form.

In reality, Iwasaki jumped out of the gap in the white light, looking somewhat disheveled. Before he even landed, he transformed back into a cloud of black mist and disappeared into the darkness.

Looking back, the gap in the white light had vanished without a trace.

The rapid drive had left him somewhat exhausted, so after calming down a bit, he quickly left the scene to find a safe place to rest and prepare for his return to the sanatorium.

"How cautious."

Dongshan Shen, who was in the cave early in the morning, observed everything that was happening.

He came here today only to officially activate this space, to see what new features it has, and what methods he can use to attract players and make them understand that if they can defeat the monsters, they can gain something in the real world.

However, before he could even begin guiding the players, he learned in the player lobby that Iwasaki was planning to come over, so he watched from the sidelines as Iwasaki sacrificed those sinful souls to maximize his gains.

It's true that Shinichi Higashiyama could directly absorb these sinful souls with the Soul-Gathering Umbrella, but through Iwasaki's extra sacrifice, not only does he not have to lift a finger, but Iwasaki can also gain new knowledge, which Shinichi Higashiyama can also get for free.

This means that the middleman not only doesn't make a profit, but actually loses money, making it a truly conscientious game.

Standing in front of the stone tablet, Dongshan Shen spread out his hands, on which floated the tattered and incomplete spirit of a little boy.

"Your soul is riddled with holes. I can only send you back to reality, so you can take one last look at the human world."

"Thank you, brother. But if I disappear from the human world, will I be reincarnated? I... I don't want to come back."

The boy asked timidly.

Higashiyama Shinichi didn't know if reincarnation existed in the human world, but he could respect the wishes of this little soul.

"Then get a good night's sleep here. Once you're asleep, you'll be free."

"thanks, thanks."

The boy's soul, which had been holding on, revealed a genuine smile, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Then, Higashiyama Shincho gently blew on this soul, and it instantly dispersed like grains of sand and dust.

(End of this chapter)