Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"And this card... does it hint at any clues?"

This is our first anniversary together, and we'll celebrate our tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth anniversaries together forever.

Nobi Tomoro looked at the card on the flowers; it contained very little information, only expressing a husband's love for his wife.

"No, perhaps this is telling us that we must have a strong desire to leave this place."

But what can I desire?

Nobi was confused.

Outside the station, outside of reality, there seemed to be nothing he could cherish.

"No, I also need to keep my promise to my friends, to not be bullied or looked down upon."

Nobita clenched his fists, carefully navigating around the debris as he explored.

Chapter 33: Atomic Bomb Tuna

Bad news has come from the gaming industry.

Nobita is dead.

Although he was highly focused and keenly detected the poison gas in advance, it was of no use. At most, it allowed him to run ten meters more before he collapsed helplessly to the ground, his neck constricted, writhing in agony like a maggot, before dying.

After the game ended, Nobita, back in reality, vomited for half an hour, but did not give up and resolutely returned to the game.

He wanted to seize this hard-won opportunity.

He mocked himself as a good-for-nothing with no confidence, yet he also longed to be a celebrated genius and a hero.

In his studies, no matter how hard he tried, he was like a fish stuck in a quagmire, struggling in a dry depression, unable to figure out the direction or purpose of his studies.

But in the game, he could sense the purpose of the game and feel a hope of completing it.

That night was anything but peaceful for the three players.

They all died three times in the game before being overwhelmed by severe nausea and headaches, making it impossible for them to continue playing.

But each gained something.

Iwasaki found a few bunches of flowers at the fork in the road, ran with all his might to the end, and saw clearly what was written on the stone tablet.

The Monument to the Atomic Bomb Tuna

The instant he saw it clearly, he felt an unprecedented fear, a chilling feeling that came from the depths of his soul.

Behind the stone tablet, which was originally pitch black, pairs of eerie eyes silently lit up, and the owner of those eyes slowly emerged in the dim light.

It was a gooey mass of giant tuna made up of numerous mutilated and rotting fish bodies, looking as if it might break apart at any moment. Thick, viscous fluid mixed with fish oil dripped onto the ground, turning into a pool of thick mucus, and an almost suffocatingly foul, fishy stench wafted over.

The clattering sound erupted, like the desperate, painful roar of the tuna. His body stiffened instantly, completely unable to move, until he was swallowed up by darkness.

Instead of venturing deeper, Uesugi Hitsuki pondered the dark humanoid figures. Through her research, she discovered that there was indeed an urban legend of dark humanoid figures on the Hibiya Line platform, but the legend disappeared after surveillance became widespread.

Typically, the higher the pixel count, the fewer unsolved mysteries there are.

You wouldn't believe it, but demons, monsters, and aliens are all afraid of high-definition images!

She also discovered that the positions of these human figures did not seem to be fixed; they simply did not appear within the surveillance range. If you deliberately did not look at them and then looked back out of the corner of your eye after a while, you would find that the positions of the human figures had changed.

It's like a quantum organism.

Once observed precisely, it will disappear, but it can be seen from the side.

She wondered if there was any way to use these seemingly harmless, dark-skinned figures to open the fire cabinet, which was clearly visible and obviously useful.

But Nobi Tomoyoshi unexpectedly discovered that as long as he ran fast enough, the poison gas couldn't catch him!

Uh... and then he was stabbed in the kidney by a guy dressed in pure white clothes and wearing a bearded human face mask around the corner.

While stabbing, he shouted things like "salvation of souls" and "replacement of races," which were incomprehensible to most people.

But it's clear that the threat here isn't just poison gas.

morning.

Today, Shin Higashiyama didn't go to the gym; instead, he slept in a little longer to make up for the damage he suffered last night.

He was asleep while watching the three players' gameplay, which was good.

"Good morning, Dongshan brother."

The Soul-Gathering Umbrella sprouted a pair of eyes resembling those in a Tom and Jerry cartoon, and greeted Higashiyama Shin as he stood up.

"Well, good morning."

He wasn't particularly concerned about having a ghost brother, since he was the one who had brought him back.

One brother is a burden, two brothers are just too much trouble. This one is much less of a worry. He doesn't need to eat or drink, just watching anime is enough to satisfy him. He can even serve as a reconnaissance tool when necessary.

I got up to wash up, then made lunchboxes, and then breakfast.

Tuk-tuk-tuk.

At seven o'clock sharp, Chiba appeared at the door.

"morning."

"Good morning." Chiba familiarly placed her bag in the entryway, took off her loafers, and glanced at the shoe rack, but did not find her own personal indoor shoes.

"Oh, I put your shoes in the shoe cabinet during spring break," Higashiyama Shin suddenly remembered and said without turning his head.

Chiba opened the shoe cabinet and found the pair of ordinary indoor shoes that she had bought at Muji half a year ago when she went to the supermarket with Higashiyama Shin.

After changing my shoes, I sat down at the dining table.

"Don't you dislike wearing over-the-knee socks?" Higashiyama Shin glanced at him seriously as he served the meal.

Today, Chiba wore a pair of black over-the-knee socks.

Chiba nodded: "It's colder today, but I just washed my pantyhose last night, and they were still a little damp when I looked at them this morning."

"No drying function?" Higashiyama Shin was taken aback. Most washing machines nowadays have a drying function, which is usually set to dry the clothes until they are still slightly damp. This makes it convenient for traditionalists who believe that sunlight can kill bacteria better to air dry them, while modern people can choose to set a default double drying cycle so that they can be taken out and worn directly.

Shin Higashiyama is a staunch modernist.

Hilarious! Just because he likes cooking doesn't mean he likes drying clothes.

"The washing machine has a drying function?" Chiba blinked her eyes in confusion.

But they may soon realize they asked a stupid question, lower their head, and unconsciously bring their legs together slightly, placing their hands on their laps.

Higashiyama was not surprised. Although Chiba knew a lot, unlike ordinary girls' high school students, she was actually not so clear about some things that might be common sense.

It's like the kind of rich girl character in anime who doesn't know how to use electronic devices, but Chiba isn't a rich girl, and she's not to the point of not knowing how to use a mobile phone or computer.

"Good morning, brother. Good morning, sister Chiba."

Having just woken up, Higashiyama Doku, still half asleep, came out of his room, greeted Higashiyama Shin and Chiba, and instantly became fully awake.

Sure enough, we're going back to those days of suppression.

Whenever his older brother and Chiba are together, it's as if a magical "suppressive force field" is created, making him afraid to say too much.

It might be related to Chiba Shion's serious and unsmiling nature.

His older brother, Higashiyama Shin, was not a talkative person either.

The two of them created a realm where one plus one is greater than two.

It's like Cupid setting up a sniper rifle and aiming, while the God of Love chases after them with his ghostly fire to feed them.

But the two of them seemed to be in a delicate relationship where I know you like me, you know I like you, and I also know that you know I like you—it's a matter of who can't help but confess first.

Masaka. This is the legendary battle of wits in love among geniuses!

And he was a victim of the battlefield!

When Dongshan Du finished washing up and came out, he had already imagined the entire season's plot.

"Why is there a blue layer in your drink today, bro? Is it blueberry milk?" Dongshan Du asked, looking at the strange blue color.

"Butterfly pea flower latte, let's try a new flavor." I bought the butterfly pea flower when I was shopping at the supermarket with Chiba after school yesterday. He saw it by chance and I just happened to see it.

Dongshan Du quickly took a sip, smacked his lips, and said, "It doesn't taste like anything, it just tastes like coconut milk."

Chiba also took a sip.

"It's quite unique."

Dongshan, still skeptical, took another big gulp, but it still tasted like coconut milk.

His gaze kept shifting between the man and woman, and he pursed his lips.

Ugh~ Love-struck people are terrifying, they're not objective at all.

Chapter 34: The Gentle Spring Rain

Good morning, Higashiyama-kun, Chiba-san, and Higashiyama-chan.

At the apartment entrance, Natsuki Otsuka's sincere and bright smile always sets a good tone for many residents' day.

This is also the key to her success in becoming a housekeeper several years ago and maintaining her position for so long.

Higashiyama was the only one who was very unhappy about having "chan" in his name, as if he were coaxing a child.

Unfortunately, the opinions of immature teenagers are insignificant.

Good morning, Otsuka-neechan.

Higashiyama Shin looked at the front desk, where the cherry blossom branches on the vase had been replaced with new ones.

She seems to really like cherry blossoms. Every year during cherry blossom season, she buys cherry branches to insert and keeps changing them until the cherry blossom season ends.

"The weather forecast says it will rain today, but you all brought umbrellas, so you should be fine. Be careful on the road." Otsuka waved goodbye to the group.

"Thank you."

The three of them returned to normal, going to school together, and the world where only Higashiyama was injured was achieved.

With the cold-faced Chiba Shion around, his desire to speak was greatly suppressed, at least less than when it was just him and his brother.

I don't know how this guy can put up with that kind of personality, or maybe his girlfriend is just adorable.

"Brother, do you think the police will still be at school today?"

"meeting."

"Oh, does that mean the serial killer is still at school?"

"As long as you don't sneak off to school at night, nothing will happen."

"I'm not going to school tonight."

Higashiyama and his companion chatted idly, while Chiba read a book to the side.

We hadn't chatted for long when the subway arrived at the station.

"Brother, it's raining."

At the exit of the station, Higashiyama looked at the sky, which had suddenly changed color, and his mood seemed to sink instantly with the gloomy rain.

"Did you bring an umbrella?" Shin Higashiyama asked Chiba.

"No."

Chiba calmly shook his head and put the bag down without making a sound.

"I brought it." Dongshan Du took out his folding umbrella, which looked like dried pickled vegetables.

Generally speaking, the umbrella used by the Dongshan Shen family should not be used to cover living people, as it can easily reduce their yang energy.

But with Higashiyama Shin suppressing it, there are no problems at all.

"Brother, would you like me to make the umbrella bigger?" Ueda Yasushi asked, poking his head out.

Higashiyama Shinsuke shook his head slightly.

At the exit, the shared umbrellas were snapped up, leaving behind students who hadn't brought umbrellas or were too slow to grab one, sighing in frustration.

However, the rain wasn't heavy, and many boys gritted their teeth and rushed out.

Higashiyama Shin opened his umbrella, just enough to cover the two of them.