Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 61, Section 60: The Yamanote Loop

Hibiya Station is under construction but looks dilapidated.

Kosuke Iwasaki held his breath and counted the footsteps of the patrolling demons.

Seven steps, pause, turn around, then seven more steps.

With each step taken, the skeletal soldiers, their feet draped in tattered cloth, scraped against the concrete platform with a screeching sound.

Seizing an opportunity, he nimbly turned around an obstacle and finally successfully reached his destination.

Iwasaki was almost pressed against the back of the small pavilion at the edge of the platform. His fingertips scraped against a layer of rust on the outer wall of the pavilion, and the metallic smell hit his nostrils.

He was completely unaware, slowing his breathing and listening quietly to the sounds coming from inside.

"This is the 8th Independent Underground Communications Engineer Company, Lieutenant Onodera. The entrance to the second transverse tunnel has been successfully breached. There are 9 survivors, located near the second supply depot at the Hibiya underground intersection. Requesting support from headquarters, requesting assistance from the Yoyogi Training Ground."

"here it is"

They were basically all mechanically repeating the same sentence.

So these are soldiers from the Yoyogi training ground during wartime?

However, it makes sense, as these skeletons, though dressed in rags, can still be vaguely identified as wearing old military uniforms.

Iwasaki stood up slightly higher and could see the officers inside giving repeated reports.

His attire was more complete than that of the other ghost soldiers, even tidy. His body was not completely skeletal, but remained somewhere between decay and desiccated corpse.

He was holding a tattered battlefield telephone, the telephone line long since broken, and beside him was a cylindrical metal "handle" about half a meter long.

Clearly, what he needs to do now is distract the officer and steal the handle.

Looking at the ghost soldiers patrolling around him, he knew he didn't have many options.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to imitate the tone of that era.

"The 8th Independent Squadron, this is the Yoyogi Supreme Command." He lowered his voice, trying to create an impression of being vaguely disoriented.

He wasn't sure if he could fool the officer, but it was worth a try.

The officer suddenly fell silent. After a few seconds, he abruptly stood up, his tone slightly fluctuating, and gripped the microphone tightly with his withered skin.

"This is the 8th Independent Underground Communications Engineer Company, Lieutenant Onodera. Requesting support from headquarters!"

"Lieutenant Onodera is hereby ordered to take all personnel to the west side of the Second Food Depot immediately, where they will rendezvous with our task force and execute the Class A demolition plan!"

Suddenly, the officer inside the pavilion made a clicking sound as if his bones were grinding together. He picked up his hat, put down the phone, and rushed out of the pavilion.

"Assemble!"

At a command, the demon soldiers quickly assembled and, led by Lieutenant Onodera, hurried toward one of the tunnel's directions.

Iwasaki's heart pounded in his throat. He tried his best to control every muscle in his body, quickly walked into the pavilion, and picked up the heavy handle with trembling hands.

It felt icy cold, and had a spiral pattern on the outside; this cast iron product was much heavier than I had imagined.

Only at this moment did he dare to breathe deeply.

But he couldn't be careless yet; he still needed to open the round iron gate to complete this stage of the task.

Holding onto the handrail, Iwasaki stepped out of the pavilion and was about to jump off the platform when he heard what sounded like the returning footsteps of the demon soldiers coming from inside the tunnel.

You realized you'd been scammed so quickly?!
Is there something wrong with what he said, or is that how the game is designed?
Iwasaki crouched down beside the platform, looking at the round iron gate so close at hand. After mentally estimating the time, he sighed and was about to give up and look for another opportunity.

Just then, a loud, crisp sound came from deep within the tunnel—crack!
The sound echoed through the tunnel and platform, instantly attracting the attention of the ghost soldiers, who ran towards the end of the tunnel once again.

"Is this the help that girl in the white dress was talking about? Phew, it really is a big help." Iwasaki didn't dare to delay, so he quickly walked to the iron gate, found the position, inserted the handle into the groove, and then twisted it counterclockwise.

The rusty iron gate made a creaking noise. Iwasaki gritted his teeth, his face flushed, and kept straining as he looked at the dark tunnel where the demon soldiers were, praying that the gate would open as soon as possible.

Click click click!

The demons finally reacted, and Iwasaki could even faintly hear their roars and howls.

The officer, brandishing his katana, shouted and led a group of demon soldiers toward Iwasaki.

"That's a ghost realm that absolutely must not be opened!"

The officer's hoarse voice sounded indistinct.

But at this point, Iwasaki didn't care about anything else, *thud*.

The iron gate opened, and a putrid smell rushed out through the crack.

But the ghost soldiers were also very close.

Iwasaki quickly squeezed through the gap in the iron gate and ran straight ahead.

He didn't have time to figure out if the door could be locked from the inside, but since there was a handle switch on the outside, it was probably not possible, so there was no need to waste time here. He might as well take the opportunity to run a little further.

All around was pitch black. The only thing he could see was a subway platform that looked extremely out of place, lit by dim yellow lights. An old-looking train had its doors open, seemingly waiting for him, its passenger.

Iwasaki glanced back; the pursuers were hot on his heels, and there were no other options around him. He could only accelerate suddenly and plunge into the car.

"Huff—Ugh!"

His heart was pounding, and his head was spinning and he felt nauseous from lack of oxygen. He held onto the chair and kept dry heaving.

The train doors closed quickly after he entered, and Iwasaki could see out of the corner of his eye that the demon soldiers had stopped at the platform and were quietly staring at him.

He could seem to see deep fear and a hint of pity in the officer's thin, black-rimmed eyes.

They didn't even have the courage to approach the train.

"We're here waiting for you to come back."

The officer mouthed the words.

Iwasaki understood; they were probably still a long way from clearing the gate.

The truth was exactly what he thought.

"The Yamanote Line train bound for Shinagawa from Yoyogi Station is about to depart. Please move behind the yellow line before departure. Touching the train is extremely dangerous, please be careful."

"This is the Yamanote Line?"

Iwasaki gave a wry smile. It was like escaping one tiger's den only to fall into another.

Compared to the Hibiya Line, the Yamanote Line has left behind just as many urban legends in Tokyo, almost enough to fill a book.

The Yamanote Line is a loop line that encircles the core area of ​​Tokyo. It is divided into an inner loop and an outer loop, which run in counterclockwise and clockwise directions, respectively.

But the Yamanote Line is not a subway.

This is a surface railway!

Although there are underground sections of this line, they only account for a small portion; the majority of the line runs on the surface.

Yoyogi Station is not located in the underground section.

(End of this chapter)