Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Chapter 43: Retreating Like the Tide (Illustrations may be disturbing)

Even if Dongshan alone cries out in despair, and even if my fate is in my own hands, the dishes that need to be washed still need to be washed.

Chiba went home after finishing her meal and didn't stay at Higashiyama's house for long.

Although Higashiyama Doku felt that he wouldn't be surprised if Chiba slept here one day.

I even kind of wish!

In that case, he would have the courage to ask his brother to let him bring his girlfriend home. His brother, who always sets a good example, can't be hypocritical!

Although we haven't reached that point yet, how can a man stand still?

The more I thought about it, the more enthusiastically I washed the dishes.

I'm going to watch it seven times!!

I've scrolled to the point where I can use my reflection as a mirror!

This scene put Higashiyama Shin's mind at ease, as he had been considering whether to buy a dishwasher.

It seems unnecessary; even a dishwasher isn't as good as Dongshan Du.

"Remember to preview the material."

"Yes~"

When Higashiyama Shin returned to his room, the computer was still playing Tom and Jerry, but today Ueda Yoshi wasn't sitting in a chair watching it with a happy smile.

Instead, the spirit was perched on the window, staring blankly at the psychedelic neon night view outside.

When he saw Higashiyama Shin enter, Ueda turned around and hesitated somewhat.

"Brother, do you think Xiaowan Village will still be as poor as before?"

"No." Higashiyama Shin was certain of this.

Even if you're poor, you shouldn't be unable to afford rice, right? Higashiyama Shin suddenly felt a little less confident, but he was pretty sure that even if you're poor, you shouldn't be unable to afford bread.

Ueda breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this confident answer.

“I’ve heard my parents mention that they weren’t originally from Xiaowan Village. They fled there when they were in trouble and received a lot of help from the villagers.”

"After my parents passed away, the people of Xiaowan Village helped me with their funeral arrangements. At that time, my family was broke, and they gave me a bite to eat. But their lives were already very difficult. If I ate one more bite, they would have to eat one less bite. So when Mr. Muto came looking for an adopted son, I was the first to volunteer."

"When I left, the people of Xiaowan Village pooled their money to buy me food and clothes. The village chief also told me to write back regularly and to find out if Mutou was a bad person, to try to escape back."

"It's a pity I found out a little too late. I wonder if the village chief is worried since he hasn't received my letter. I don't want him to worry. Anyway, no one in Xiaowan Village probably remembers me now."

Higashiyama Shin paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you remember where your parents are buried?"

“I don’t remember. My memory isn’t very complete. I can recall the things I remember very clearly, but I can’t remember the things I don’t remember at all. For example, I have no memory of what happened in the locked room.” Ueda Yasushi said somewhat dejectedly.

"Your surname is proof; if the grave still exists, it should be able to be found."

Even Shinichi Higashiyama couldn't be sure; it was now 2040, eighty-five years after 1955.

Nearly a century is enough time for human society to undergo tremendous changes.

In other words, he did check and knew that there was a Komaru Village in Mie Prefecture, but it was later merged into Komono Town. It can be considered to still exist, at least there are records of its existence.

As the birth rate has become increasingly severe, many villages and towns have long since become defunct, some of which are just place names and rows of lonely, ghostly "graves" called residences.

After speaking his mind, Ueda seemed much more relaxed, his smile returned, he scratched his head, and went back to watching Tom and Jerry in his chair.

I glanced at the time; it was 7:30.

So, he'll continue playing the game.

Based on the trial and error of the three players last night, and the clues he found, things are gradually becoming clear.

Subway, start!

The familiar white light obscured my vision.

buzz-

In the familiar train carriage, Higashiyama Shin opened his eyes, glanced at the bouquet and briefcase beside him, but didn't take them with him. Instead, he got off the train directly on the right side.

Soon, he arrived at the fork in the road leading to the stone tablet.

Yesterday, Iwasaki Kosuke collected three bunches of white chrysanthemums at these forks in the road, which helped him run to the stone tablet and see the words on it. Of course, he also died a terrible death.

Higashiyama carefully followed the path that Iwasaki had already paved and collected the three bunches of flowers.

Then I turned on my phone's flashlight and peered out to what appeared to be the edge of a dead end, the very edge of the surveillance camera's range.

A narrow new road appeared before us, and ahead, a new surveillance camera had been installed, and not far away, there was a bunch of flowers that looked particularly fresh.

The first three bunches were all white chrysanthemums, but this bunch in front of me is white forget-me-nots.

He quickened his pace, took the forget-me-nots, and then returned the way he came, heading towards the stone tablet.

Soon, he reached the end of the surveillance range, and ahead of him was the stone tablet.

Taking a deep breath, Higashiyama Shin started running on the slippery ground! The echoing sound of his leather shoes reverberated all around.

A foul wind blew in his face, making it hard to breathe, and the white chrysanthemums in his arms withered and died one after another at an alarming rate.

The clattering sound, like a Geiger counter, seemed to vibrate directly in his eardrums. The surroundings felt like a viscous sea of ​​blood, causing him to slow down and struggle to move. Pairs of white eyes, seemingly opened from nowhere, stared at him, filled with hatred and pain.

One bunch, two bunches... until the third bunch of flowers had completely withered, Shinya Higashiyama finally ran to the stone tablet.

The Monument to the Atomic Bomb Tuna

Behind the stone tablet, a giant, deformed tuna, composed of countless mangled fish, floated quietly.

Fish eyes sprouted from the rotting flesh on its body, lifelessly staring at Shinichi Higashiyama.

It is the source of all the fishy smell. Those beings that cause instant death to the characters are merely a part of its resentment, and it is the collection of all the tuna's resentment.

Shinichi Higashiyama did not look up; the mental power of the character he was controlling could not withstand such intense erosion.

Beside him, the white chrysanthemums had turned into clumps of wriggling ash, which, within the ash, seemed to transform into tiny fish, splashing on the waterlogged ground.

Higashiyama Shin felt a suffocating gaze, and the stench was intensifying, as if it would engulf him at any moment.

With his last ounce of strength, he held the only intact bunch of white forget-me-nots and gently placed it in front of the stone tablet.

Higashiyama Shin held his breath, feeling as if time had frozen in that instant.

The stench remained, but the malice seemed to be diminishing; the heavy, mountain-like hatred was gradually dissipating, and the gurgling sounds slowly subsided.

Only then did he dare to slowly raise his head and look straight ahead. The tuna, still terrifying as if pieced together from countless pieces of rotten flesh, was quietly staring at him.

"It hurts so much, help me!"

Countless eyes streamed down long tears of blood, dripping onto the stone tablet and slowly covering it.

Higashiyama Shin opened his mouth, but this body was too weak. The oppressive aura made his throat feel like it was being choked by something, and he couldn't say a word.

The deformed tuna seemed to have no intention of waiting for his reply. It only glanced at the bunch of forget-me-nots one last time, tears of blood streaming down its face, before slowly turning around and disappearing into the darkness.

All the gloom and terror receded like the tide.

Chapter 44: A Deadly Run

"Ho ho."

Exhausted, Higashiyama Shin sat down on the ground, breathing in the air, which was no longer so strongly fishy-smelling. He felt the slippery ground as the tuna retreated deeper into the depths, and the platform gradually dried out.

The words on the stone tablet were covered in blood, but on the base, the blood had gathered into a fish eye that seemed to be still rotating, gleaming with an eerie light.

After resting for a while, Dongshan Shen got up and gently picked up the fish eye.

The fish's eye was about the size of a bottle cap, probably a gift left to him by the tuna. Eyes usually contain guiding clues, but it's not yet certain whether they serve that purpose.

Denden.

The surrounding lights came on, dispelling the long darkness.

Deeper inside the stone tablet, there is a wall, and leaning against the wall is an old, red fire equipment box.

"Is this the boss reward?"

Higashiyama Shin put away the fish eye and quickly walked to the fire equipment box to examine it. The thing looked like an antique from the Showa era.

The cabinet wasn't locked, but it was covered in rust. He had to pull hard to open it.

Expired fire extinguishers, old-fashioned gas masks, water hoses, fire axes

Higashiyama carefully weighed the slightly heavy axe in his hand; it was in remarkably good condition.

Was this fire axe meant for him to use against the fanatics at the station on the left?

Nowadays, apart from a few isolated locations such as warehouses and factories, most fire axes are now equipped with more efficient electric demolition tools or hydraulic shears.

However, considering that this fire equipment box looks like an object from the Showa era, it seems normal.

Wearing a mask and carrying a fire axe, he approached the stone monument, bowed deeply, and then turned to leave.

"Finally, we succeeded."

In another place, Kosuke Iwasaki died again before he finally found the bunch of forget-me-nots.

On a whim, he placed the bouquet of forget-me-nots in front of the stone tablet and, like Shin Higashiyama, received a fish eye and firefighting equipment.

The difference is that the bouquet of flowers that the character originally carried was also consumed here.

He didn't waste any more time and returned to the fork in the road, where he found the fire equipment box that hadn't been opened because it wasn't within the surveillance range.

The box is not sturdy; the top is made of glass, the kind that can be broken with a little force.

Inside the box was a gas mask, a water hose, and a dry powder fire extinguisher.

After considering it for a moment, Iwasaki decided to use the gas mask and fire axe he got from behind the stone tablet, since he couldn't carry any more equipment.

"Those dark figures seem to have disappeared along with them." Iwasaki looked around, but couldn't find any trace of the dark figures out of the corner of his eye. He wondered what their relationship was with that strange fish.

Donning a gas mask and gripping his fire axe, he returned to the train and headed to the platform on the left.

Tsk.

The train doors closed, and Iwasaki glanced at them briefly before looking around cautiously for surveillance cameras and any suspicious objects on the ground, before slowly making his way forward.

He knew that the scene here must be related to the sarin gas attack, so he kept wearing a gas mask. The fact that the game has weapons also indicated that there would be combat elements.

"Salvation of souls! Humanity—kh-kh!"

A fanatical follower wearing a cult leader's mask rushed out from the shadows, but Iwasaki was already on high alert. He simply tucked the monster around the corner; people had been doing that for years!

Let me tell you, this road cannot be traveled from this side!

Before the fanatic could finish speaking, Iwasaki chopped him in the head with an axe, the blade sinking halfway into his skull. He then lay on the ground twitching.

Iwasaki suddenly pulled it out and then swung it behind him.

Sure enough, another fanatic appeared out of nowhere, and this time half of his face was smashed by the back of his axe, with red and white splattering everywhere, and a few drops even landing on his mask.

Iwasaki felt no discomfort whatsoever; in fact, he felt excited.

Silence fell again. Iwasaki searched the two men and found a simple hand-drawn map with several bloody words repeatedly written on it.

【Hibiya! Hibiya! Hibiya]

Hibiya Station?

Iwasaki had recovered enough, so he took the map and continued towards the seemingly endless platform ahead.

According to the map, there will be a staircase leading uphill not far away. Go up the stairs and turn right to find a train.

Following the usual game formula, it won't be that easy for you to get on the train. You'll either need to continue solving puzzles or engage in a thrilling battle.

After walking for a few minutes, the surroundings became quiet, and the debris on the ground gradually decreased, returning the area to its clean state.

We've reached the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, there is an arrow that looks like it was drawn with a red crayon, pointing diagonally upwards along the stairs.

Was this a hint left by someone? Or is it misleading?

But based on the information on the fanatic, it is indeed the right way to go, and there is no other good direction to go.

Although the surroundings didn't look like they were filled with poisonous gas, he still didn't dare take off his mask. After panting for a while, he continued to carry the fire axe upstairs.