Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"Everyone is here."

In the classroom, Ikeda, the teacher, slowly began to speak from the podium.

His voice was deep and unhurried, yet it conveyed a great sense of power, especially when combined with the visual effects he presented.

Many students looked at the empty seat in Koizumi's room. They clearly remembered that someone had sat there yesterday, and the books they had just received yesterday were still lying quietly in the drawer. How did everyone start talking about it?

Only Koizumi's two henchmen sat in chairs, heads bowed, their faces filled with unease and fear.

Koizumi was the core of their delinquent trio. Every morning, they would meet downstairs at Koizumi's house, which was the closest house to their route, and then go to school together.

Today, when the two arrived at Koizumi's house, they happened to run into Koizumi's parents, who were being brought back in a police car, their faces filled with grief. They learned that Koizumi had been murdered at school the previous night.

Koizumi's mother also asked a strange question:

Is the teacher in charge of your class group Rui Ikeda?

They were deeply impressed by the name and nodded immediately. For some reason, they felt that Koizumi's father's eyes suddenly changed and became terrifying.

However, what they were more worried about was Koizumi's situation. To be precise, it was his spirit.

Everything was fine the day before, but suddenly they were gone today. Even though it had nothing to do with them, they couldn't help but feel fear, afraid that Koizumi's ghost would haunt them.

He complained that they didn't stop him or go with him to the selection meeting of the seven people.

“I know you all have a lot of thoughts, and you saw the police walking around outside. Yes, something regrettable did happen last night in the old teaching building at the school.”

Ikeda Rui emphasized the last few syllables slightly, his sharp gaze taking in everyone's expressions.

Everyone fell silent, terrified. His tone made it sound as if he had killed the man! Should we call the police?

"But the matter is over, and the police will handle everything. The only thing you need to do now is to study hard, not be misled by messy rumors, and not spread unverified rumors outside. Can you do that?"

Ikeda Rui glanced around.

"can!"

"Okay, very good. Next, I'll call out a few names. Those whose names are called, please wait for me at the door. Ichiro Oofumi, Yoshimura, and Nobi Tomoyoshi."

Ikeda Rui put down the labeled list and calmly read out the names of four people: two were Koizumi's henchmen, one was a student who had fought with Koizumi, and the last was Nobi Tomoyoshi.

The two of Koizumi's henchmen didn't seem surprised, because Ikeda had stopped them before they arrived and asked them some questions. They were also the ones who provided information about the other two.

This wasn't meant to be targeted; it was just that in a moment of panic, I didn't dare hide anything and told everyone everything.

Nobi Tomoyoshi saw the other three get up and walk to the door before he slowly stood up, put on his glasses with one lens missing, and walked over to the three of them, feeling flustered at being suddenly called out.

He could feel the subtle gazes around him, seemingly mixed with silent whispers, which made him lower his head even further.

"You all study for a while first. When I get back, we'll start the election for class officers." After giving these instructions, Ikeda Rui left with the others.

With Ikeda Rui gone, everyone relaxed and finally dared to speak more freely.

"Are they related to what happened yesterday?"

"Didn't you notice that delinquent named Koizumi didn't come? Two of the people you called out were Koizumi's inseparable friends yesterday."

"Hey, you remember it so clearly after only one day of school?"

"I've met Koizumi's mother, very much."

Are you going to run for class representative later?

"Huh? I want to be the sports committee member."

"Who has the best grades in our class? I'm voting for him to be the academic representative."

"It must be Higashiyama-kun, but he's always been the class representative chairman."

Ignoring the murmurs, Dongshan was trying out the first technique he had rudimentarily learned from the outer section of the "Soul Nourishing Classic" the night before.

[Borrowing Ghost Eyes]

A common spell that allows communication with spirits, consumes some vital energy, and shares vision.

This technique requires a ghost that can obey commands to perform, but it does not come with the technique of controlling the ghost.

If Higashiyama Shin had learned this spell before, it would probably have been useless because he couldn't find the ghost.

However, Ueda should be happy to help him with this now.

He was somewhat curious about what information the police would ask, what clues they had, and what it would feel like to use this technique.

Soon, he used his ghost eyes to find Ueda, who was cautiously wandering in the corridor, and began to communicate with him.

Okay, okay! I'll try my best!

As if he had received some important mission, Ueda followed Higashiyama Shin's guidance and began to search around.

Using this technique felt to Higashiyama Shin like opening a window on a computer screen, which could be dragged to the perimeter of the field of vision and zoomed in or out.

Ueda quickly found Ikeda and his group, who were standing outside an unused club activity room. Besides them, there were also many other students from other classes, as well as several uniformed police officers maintaining order.

At that moment, Eiichiro Ikeda was comforting his students.

"So, tell the truth, don't lie, say whatever comes to mind. The coach is in there too, you can ask him for help if you have any questions. After this is over, you'll all go back to your classrooms together, understand?"

"understood."

"Okay, those whose names are called, go in."

Ueda went through the wall and into the room first.

It was clear that the setup was temporary, with only two tables and a few chairs. Two policemen were conducting questioning, while the instructor stood to one side, seemingly dozing off.

The questioning process was rather formulaic, mainly focusing on understanding the relationship between the other party and the deceased, what they said during their last meeting, where they were and what they were doing last night, and whether they had received any contact from the deceased.

"Nobi-kun, we'd like to know, what's your relationship with Koizumi-kun like?"

".generally."

Have you had any conflicts before?

"There was a misunderstanding; he broke my glasses yesterday."

"Oh, did you go straight home after school last night?" A police officer glanced at the crack in Nobita's glasses and looked down to take notes.

"Yes." Nobita's eyes flickered slightly.

"Don't be nervous, we're just collecting some necessary information. Next, we need to confirm with your parents."

Nobi Tomoyoshi raised his head in fear, looking at the police officer in front of him. His mouth was slightly open, as if he wanted to say something to stop him, but he was afraid of being treated as a suspect.

The police officer noticed his panic, exchanged a glance, and tried to keep his tone even: "Were your parents not home last night?"

"No, no. He's here." Nobi Tomoyoshi's hand clenched and unclenched, the desire not to be suspected overcoming his fear of his father.

The police officer made a note on the tablet: "Alright, Nobita, you can go back now."

"Thank you."

Nobita lowered his head and walked out of the room.

After looking at their notes for a while, Shinichi Higashiyama roughly understood that the Metropolitan Police Department did not actually consider these students as suspects.

Indeed, as they said, it was only to gather information and see if there were any commonalities.

However, one person received noticeably different treatment.

Chapter 20: Oshima Umeta

A club activity room that was temporarily borrowed.

Heisei Ryu, accompanied by his assistant and Principal Asano who had arrived after hearing the news, stared sternly at the student sitting in the chair, trembling with panic.

"Oshima-kun, what exactly did you see last night? Tell me everything right now, don't try to fob me off with ghost stories. Or were you threatened? Tell me honestly, I assure you, the school will protect you, and the Metropolitan Police Department will protect you too."

Principal Asano looked earnest and anxious.

Why is this poor kid claiming to have seen demons and monsters? Where in the world do such things exist? He's been the principal for so long, how could he not know whether there are real ghost stories in the school?

It's just that these teenagers have a lot of ideas and scare themselves all the time.

You see, the longer the case drags on, the more pressure he'll face from above, and in the end, all that pressure will fall on him. Right now, he doesn't dare to sleep for even a minute.

"That's all I know! I really told you everything, it's all the truth! That sound and the sudden change in the images were terrifying! I was so scared that I ran all the way home before I came to my senses. I have no idea what happened after that!"

This student was the only MVP to leave the old teaching building unscathed last night.

Well, if you really look into it, he only stepped halfway in—and then he was scared away by the sudden shout.

Next, he probably saw a hallucination similar to that of Shin Higashiyama, but because he ran away in time, he was not left behind.

Ping Shenglong looked at his assistant, who had just drawn a vial of blood from the guy and was using a portable device to test the guy's reaction to hallucinogenic drugs.

As blood is injected into the test tube, the cylindrical mechanical device contracts and deforms, and with a high-speed rotating sound, a ten-second countdown appears on the mini LCD screen.

After ten seconds, the device lit up with a green light, and a thermal paper and the expelled blood waste were printed out at the rear.

"Negative."

Upon hearing this answer, Ping Shenglong looked thoughtful.

All the testimonies now point to some unbelievable phenomena, yet no hallucinogenic substances are found in anyone's body.

Not long ago, Shingo Nakajima had already taken brief statements from two recovered injured men at the hospital, and their answers were quite consistent.

The student who was knocked unconscious by a severe blow to the head claimed that he was being chased by a dark figure and fell down the stairs while fleeing in a panic, which caused him to lose consciousness.

The student who fell from the window and broke his leg discovered Inoue's body in the corridor. He was then slowly approached by a charred, black figure with a red smile, before he chose to jump off the building.

Almost all the clues mentioned the same person, a character from an old Komagome Academy ghost story whose name was tentatively given to him by Heisei Ryu as "Charcoal Teacher".

“Oshima Umeta, we will verify what you said with the classmates who were present at the time. Now please think carefully again, did you see anyone other than yourselves, or did you see anything strange besides the terrifying scene you just mentioned?”

Heisei Ryu interrupted Principal Asano's follow-up question and spoke in as calm a tone as possible.

Oshima sat dejectedly in the chair, fidgeting with his hair, looking as if he was deep in thought, but what flashed through his mind was the conversation he had with his mother the night before.

"Mrs. Mei, remember, if you're targeted by the supernatural, no one in this world can save you right now, including me. So stay away from the supernatural as much as possible, reveal as little information as possible related to it, and try not to be alone these days, and..."

"Keep this snake bone close to your body and never let it leave your side."

His mother gave him the snake bone pendant that she cherished dearly.

"I'm sure, that's all I saw, I swear!"

Oshima gritted his teeth and said, but in the end he still didn't tell them about how he felt an unknown entity watching them when he arrived at the old teaching building last night.

Heisei Ryu glanced at Oshima's arm, which was instinctively reaching for his heart, and nodded slightly: "Thank you for your cooperation, Oshima-kun. Principal Asano, please take Oshima-kun back to his classroom."

"Okay, okay, come on, Oshima, I'll take you back first, then you can tell me in detail what happened last night."

Asano left the activity room with Oshima, leaving behind Taira no Ryu and his assistant.

Ping Shenglong glanced at the time, opened his phone, and sent a message.

"Takagi, I'll leave the school matters to you for now. I need to go out and investigate some leads."

"Understood, leave it to me, Chief." Takagi Sara saluted and began scanning and inputting the collected data into the Metropolitan Police Department's internal AI system.

Higashiyama Shin controlled Ueda and watched for a while from behind.

It was an AI system developed specifically for the Metropolitan Police Department. It connected a massive amount of data related to the Metropolitan Police Department, including national household registration information, criminal records, and case files. The AI ​​was called "Tenjin," but the criminal investigation department preferred to call it Sherlock Holmes.

A ruthless crime-solving machine.

So, can electronic AI detect evil spirits? Shin Higashiyama, who has been observing from the sidelines, is pessimistic about this.

While Higashiyama Shin was looking at the "shared vision," Ikeda returned to the class and began the election for class positions.

They didn't wait for the four students who had been called in for questioning to return, perhaps because they assumed the students were unsuitable for any position.

The election process is simply a matter of self-nomination, followed by a speech, and finally a vote. If only one person is running, they are directly elected, which is convenient and hassle-free.

"So, the first position is class representative. Who among you wants to take on this responsibility and hone their interpersonal skills?" Ikeda introduced in a formulaic manner.

The classroom fell silent, and many people turned their gaze to Shin Higashiyama.

He sat upright in his chair, neither nonchalant nor overly serious, and naturally met the gazes directed at him. He gave a polite smile to a few familiar faces and gently shook his head.

Seeing this, two people who wanted to run for office breathed a sigh of relief and raised their hands to run.

Ikeda Rui, standing on the podium, glanced at Higashiyama Shin with a hint of surprise.

The allocation of class members is deliberate. Higashiyama Shin was originally the best leader in the class, but it seems that he has given up the position.