Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Chapter 48: A brave heart born of courage

Nobita was prepared to be hit by a car, but he ended up being electrocuted!

After a while, the mattress was soaked with his sweat, and he looked as miserable as if he had been pulled out of the water.

He then listlessly turned on his phone and checked.

"Showa era. Third-rail power supply. I see."

Nobita now knows the cause of his death.

Subways in the Showa era generally used a third rail power supply, which is an additional exposed metal rail laid next to the main track, usually located on the side or below the track, with a voltage as high as 600-1500 volts.

If a leakage occurs, it can also cause the ordinary tracks to become electrified.

It can penetrate shoes instantly.

He's already incredibly lucky that he hasn't run into them after walking for so long.

"Wait a minute, there's no need to make this so realistic, is there?" Nobita was feeling down after losing his last life today.

He dared not initiate the fourth attempt; the feedback from dying three times was already unbearable, and dying four times might actually mean certain death.

I reached out and touched the mineral water bottle next to me, but it was empty. I shook it a couple of times and it was out of water.

He sweated quite a lot the first two times, and he had already drunk all the water.

His mouth was parched and he struggled to sit up. He held his dizzy head for a while before he felt himself slowly coming back to life.

"Let's solve the problem of drinking water first."

Nobi peeked out from his secret base, parted the tattered cloth covering him, and his nose inevitably touched the scrap of cloth. The musty smell mixed with the aroma of grilled chicken skewers wafting from the nearby izakaya filled his nostrils, causing Nobi, who had only eaten two salt rice balls for dinner—the unscrupulous vendor had even dug a hole in the center of the rice balls to cut corners (can that still be called a rice ball?!)—to salivate and his throat to churn.

He carefully looked around, listening to the background noise whose source he couldn't discern.

Perhaps it was the electronic sounds from the pachinko parlor, or the howls of drunkards, that mixed together to form the murky pulse of Adachi Ward.

It's 10 p.m. now, and for a place like Adachi Ward, the excitement is just beginning.

Although such liveliness is not usually a positive term.

After making sure no one was around, he finally emerged completely from his secret base and headed across the street to the lit convenience store to buy water.

It would be even better if he could take a shower. The secret base is great in every way, except for the strange smell. With the sweat from the past two days, he felt like he was about to rot. But he couldn't afford to go to those internet cafes with showers, and he didn't want to go home.

"Maybe I should find a public bathhouse tomorrow; they should be cheaper."

As I walked along, lost in thought, the convenience store came into view.

"Oh, little sister, are you working the night shift alone? Do you want your big brother to keep you company?"

Before Nobita even entered the convenience store, he heard a very frivolous voice.

Upon closer inspection, they were two tattooed Yakuza wearing "Arakawa Ryuzakugumi" uniforms.

Their faces were flushed with alcohol as they stood around the cashier. One of them leaned forward, propping himself up on one side, while the other held a box of condoms and smuggled money into his waistband with a lewd grin.

"Little sister, how do you use this? I don't know how. Can you help me? There'll be a tip!"

The girl they surrounded was the same young girl who had handed him a bottle of water that day.

She maintained an awkward smile, helplessly dodging the occasional outstretched hand from him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nobi, her mouth slightly agape, then quickly averted her gaze, carefully avoiding looking at him again.

Nobita's steps froze on the spot, and he even subconsciously took half a step back, his heart starting to pound uncontrollably.

The image of Koizumi and his two friends stepping on his head and making him lick their shoes seemed to reappear before his eyes, making him instinctively fear these audacious thugs who were even more repulsive than delinquents.

Nobita lowered his head in a panic, wanting to leave, but his feet, which had just taken a half step back, seemed rooted to the spot, refusing to move an inch.

He looked through the glass at the girl's tightly clenched lips and helpless eyes, his breathing became heavy and labored, and he could hardly breathe.

Nobita's face was reflected in the glass, revealing a weakness and incompetence that he himself loathed.

He clenched his fists silently, took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, turned around, and disappeared into the dark corner.

The girl at the cashier protected the vault, her pale face bearing a stiff smile as she shook her head repeatedly. After losing sight of Nobi out of the corner of her eye, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Although situations like today are rare, she has encountered similar situations before. She usually doesn't go too far; as long as they get bored, they'll leave on their own.

"Don't be so stingy. Is it because the boss isn't giving you a commission? We brothers will give you one."

One of the Yakuza slammed his wallet on the counter with an air of extravagance and pulled out two "thousand-yuan bills".

"Yeah, say something to us, if it's something nice—ahhh!!" Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud was heard, and a stone thrown from the doorway hit Yakuza squarely on the head, splattering blood and eliciting a rather unpleasant scream.

"Ah! You bastard! Who threw that stone! Ahh, I'm bleeding! I'm bleeding!"

Yakuza covered his head, blood flowing from between his fingers.

The girl stared at all this in astonishment, looking completely bewildered.

"You bastards, Dragon Claw Group! This is to avenge my brothers in the Orochi Gang! I'll beat you every time I see you!" Nobita roared in a gruff voice, then immediately turned and ran.

"You arrogant bastard! Chase after me—I'm going to kill you!!"

Despite his head injury, Yakuza was consumed by rage and, ignoring the pain, chased after them with his friends.

However, the number of streetlights in this area was worrying, there were many dark corners everywhere, not to mention an unfinished construction project. They hadn't even run a few meters before they lost track of Nobita.

"That damned beast! I clearly saw him disappear here!"

"Ah, oh my, I think I saw him wearing a school uniform?"

"Huh? Are you seeing things? How can you see in this darkness? This little brat wouldn't dare mess with us. You'd better hurry and see Dr. Anben; you've lost a lot of blood."

"You damned bastard, I hope you don't catch me!"

"Go quickly, your tongue is all tied."

The two voices gradually faded away. Nobi hid in a corner of the secret base, covering his mouth and nose, not daring to breathe too loudly.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that he finally released his mouth from his hand.

Besides lingering fear, I felt mostly joy.

The joy of resistance.

That stone, as if it had transcended time and space, seemed to have helped him in the past, inspiring him greatly.

"Is this the legendary spirit of rebellion?"

Nobita looked at his hands and felt that he had changed a lot. Things that he used to fear now seemed nothing special.

Fighting back against his father, running away from home, ambushing thugs, playing life-or-death games. Any one of these things, would he have dared to do in the past?

And the feeling of resistance

"Not bad."

Nobita clenched his fist, his Adam's apple bobbing in his thirst.

Chapter 49: Silent Starlight

The thirst in his mouth reminded him that he had originally intended to buy water.

He was already parched and incredibly thirsty from sweating so much, but the two Yakuza had distracted him, and now that he had run a short distance, his thirst had become even more intense.

After the tension subsided, all he wanted to do was drink a lot of ice water.

"They should be far away by now."

With that in mind, he cautiously peeked out from the secret base, made sure the two people were gone, and then sneaked out like a thief.

They walked cautiously, taking three steps ahead for every one they took, heading towards the convenience store, fearing that the two Yakuza might be lying in ambush.

Fortunately, the two people seemed to really be going to see a doctor, as traces of blood from the broken-headed Yakuza could still be faintly seen on the ground.

He was greatly relieved when he reached the vicinity of the convenience store and the two Yakuza did not appear.

"This boss is really careless, assigning a girl who looks not much older than me to the night shift."

Inside the convenience store, the girl stood on tiptoe at the checkout counter, glancing anxiously towards the door every now and then.

Only when he saw Nobi approaching, still muttering to himself, did he breathe a sigh of relief and reveal a heartwarming smile.

The girl had already cleaned up the stones and bloodstains on the ground. She jogged to the door and looked Nobi up and down, as if to check if he was injured.

Nobi was a little embarrassed. He thought he had been discreet enough, but he didn't expect that the other party had been watching all along.

"Uh, I'm fine, really fine, they didn't catch me. Those two didn't come back, right?" Nobita scratched his head, changing the subject.

The girl shook her head, made a gesture, and then turned and walked into the small warehouse.

Nobi opened his mouth; he had always thought the other person didn't like to talk, but he hadn't expected this.

He couldn't understand the meaning of sign language, but at least he could tell that it was sign language.

Soon, the girl came out carrying a plastic bag and handed it to Nobita with a smile.

"Ah, thank you, thank you, but I'll still pay!" Nobita was at a loss, not taking the money, but instead preparing to take out his own.

He glanced at the items and saw that there were quite a few, and he worried that his savings might not be enough.

He doesn't know how long this kind of life will continue, especially now.

The girl shook her head vigorously and shoved the item into Nobita's hands.

Their hands inevitably touched. Nobi pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted, his face turning bright red, and he stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

The girl was startled by his reaction, but then noticed the dirt on the hem of his clothes. She pursed her lips, smiled at him, took out her phone, and typed a message.

Your clothes are dirty. Would you like to take a shower and wash them while you're at it?

"I...I..." Nobita didn't know how to reply. He wondered if things were moving too fast.

Is she inviting me to her house to take a shower?!

But the other person's next words left him unsure whether to feel fortunate or regretful.

She continued writing.

Do you know the nearby Seon public bathhouse?

She turned her pocket inside out and took out a card.

You can use my card to take a shower there; they also offer laundry and drying services, it'll be quick.

Nobita wanted to refuse, but then he seemed to smell the strange, salty odor emanating from himself.

".Thanks!"

He accepted it anyway.

More than half an hour later.

"Ah~ I'm alive!"

Nobita had never taken such a refreshing bath before. After the bath, he felt like he had lost three pounds and was walking on air.

The main problem is that I've been living a really messy life these past two days.

He slept on a tattered mattress, and playing games was like strenuous exercise. He was constantly being squeezed dry like a sponge, his clothes getting soaked with sweat and then drying again and again until salt crystals formed on them.

Although his classmate sitting behind him at school didn't say anything, he could see the disdain and dissatisfaction in the other person's eyes.

He soaked in the bath for a long time, until his fingers were wrinkled, before he finally got out.

By then, my clothes were dry, so I could just change and go back – so convenient! It really makes sense that public bathhouses exist.

This public bathhouse isn't far from the convenience store; it's just across the street, so the prices shouldn't be too high.

He strolled back to the convenience store and saw the girl restocking the shelves.

"Um, thank you for the card, I'll pay you back later!" Nobi wasn't sure how to pay him back later. A meal? Yes, he could find an opportunity to treat him to a meal later.

The girl smiled, took the card, and waved.

"I...I don't even know your name yet. My surname is Nobi, and my name is Nobi Tomoyoshi." Nobi looked around and, seeing that no one was in the shop, he finally dared to ask.

The girl stopped what she was doing and showed Nobita the work card hanging around her neck.

"I understand, Shimazu-san. Shimazu Hoshikage."

Shimazu went to the cashier, intending to give him the food that had just been prepared for him.

In reality, convenience stores generate a lot of food nearing its expiration date, which is usually collected and disposed of. However, the owner allows employees to register the food and take it home themselves.