Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

[Official Player]

The numbers on her palm must have appeared after she completed the first ending.

0120 is the player's ID.

Formal players have a level, but they don't have an experience bar and don't know the subsequent leveling path.

But it seems that only she can see these words, because they are not displayed in the photos or in the mirror.

It's possible that players can see it together.

Since such an incredible thing has happened, the idea that the game I'm playing is based on real history doesn't seem so unbelievable after all.

"And there's a way to find out if it's related to reality, meow."

"By entering the man's wedding anniversary, residential area, and the date he went missing into the police system, we should be able to find him, meow."

"Besides, you can see what the protagonist's face looks like through the car window in the game, meow."

"that is."

She was unable to use the police system.

There are no legendary hacking skills involved.

You've got nothing to show for it.

Another approach is to investigate in person, but with the current AI models and surveillance, it would be far too easy to be detected without the ability to disguise or mutate.

Did you really think the police wouldn't be able to find you just because you're wearing a tight-fitting suit?! Especially since her breasts have given her away so much, the tight-fitting suit can't even hide them.

Even if she likes a little excitement, it shouldn't be this intense, meow.

The game is exciting enough; if reality were also a mess, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"It's decided, meow!"

Uesugi looked serious.

"Before anyone achieves the perfect ending, every player plays the game at least once a day, so I'll play it once a day, meow, anyway, things can't get any worse!"

"But this time my goal is to determine whether the game is 'based on history' or allows players to play as 'real history'."

If it is indeed the latter, then how many mysterious entities are lurking beneath this peaceful society?

After figuring things out, Uesugi felt a little relieved.

"I'm sleepy again, but this feeling is so comfortable, I'll stay awake, goodnight."

Chapter 83: Returning Empty-handed

[We are approaching the final stop, Yunoyama Onsen. Passengers disembarking, please take care to avoid leaving anything behind. Passengers heading to the onsen town can transfer to the free shuttle bus at the bus roundabout in front of the station. Thank you for riding with Kintetsu Railways. We look forward to serving you again.]

When the tram arrived at the station, tourists who had come to soak in the hot springs got off the tram chatting and laughing. Most of them were in twos and threes, or as a family.

However, since it wasn't the weekend, there weren't many people.

Kurosaki Chimei, dressed entirely in black and carrying a rather shabby shoulder bag, was the last to step off the train, taking in the pleasant natural scenery around him.

This is the Yunoyama Onsen area in Komono-cho, which is quite well-known in the Nagoya metropolitan area.

The name Komono-cho immediately conjures up images of a desolate, remote place, and indeed it is.

But this is already the most populous town in Mie Prefecture, with a full 40,000 people.

He came here as a result of his investigation.

On the night before he arrived in Tsushi, Taira no Ryu found Ueda Yoshi's adoption file. There wasn't much useful information in it, you could even say there was only one thing: Komaru Village.

Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the village had been incorporated into Komono Town several decades ago due to administrative division reforms.

The original location of the village was partially abandoned due to a mudslide triggered by an earthquake, leaving only a few households.

Unfortunately, after visiting those households, Kurosaki didn't get any useful information. No one knew Ueda Yoshi, and they didn't even think that the village had the surname Ueda.

He went to the village cemetery but found nothing, because the cemetery was new; the old ones had long been buried by mudslides.

He couldn't very well dig up the mound that had already become a new hill.

And recently, no suspicious people have visited, except for him.

Fortunately, because the adoption contract had the village chief's signature at the time, Kurosaki knew the village chief's name.

Although the few remaining families had never heard of the name, they knew the surname.

"I heard from the Nishiyama family when I was a child that they had some conflicts in the village and moved to Yunoyama to open a hot spring shop. They only came back once after the mudslide, and haven't been back since. They don't even care about the graves anymore."

That's what the person said.

Kurosaki finally found a new clue, quickly wrote it down, told Taira no Ryu a few words, and then rushed to the Yunoyama Onsen area.

In fact, even before he found the Ueda family's grave, he knew there was probably no hope.

Because what disappeared in Muto's secret room was Ueda's remains.

If he himself revived for some reason and took his remains back for burial, that would be quite reasonable.

If it was someone else he asked, then there might be some connection between them, and it would still be reasonable for them to help him bury his remains back in his hometown.

Otherwise, why would they take the remains away? They were bones that had been decaying for decades; they wouldn't even taste good in soup.

If it had been buried in the ground, it would have returned to the earth long ago.

If this can be utilized, then wouldn't Muto's remains be even more valuable? After all, he was the one who arranged the ceremony, and he must have been someone of importance during his lifetime, at least not an ordinary person.

It might even have an extraordinary flavor when used for making soup.

The current concern is that, for some reason, Ueda's remains cannot be brought back for burial, and he will have to be laid to rest wherever he can find a place.

Then his trail has completely gone cold.

"I think this is the Nishiyama Onsenya,"

Kurosaki took out his phone to check his appearance, and only after confirming that he didn't look like a criminal suspect in a movie did he go inside.

“Welcome~”

After half an hour.

Kurosaki walked out with a pained expression.

"They charge me for asking questions! They're even greedier than me!"

Can I get reimbursed without an invoice?

The information he learned from Xishan was exactly as he had expected; there was nothing useful at all. The only useful thing was the village register left behind by the village chief of Xishan back then.

This is not a public record, but a record kept by the village chief of Xishan Village on his own.

The Ueda family is mentioned, but Ueda Yoshi's name is not mentioned. This is not surprising, as the adoption documents state that Ueda Yoshi's real name is Ueda Taro.

There are also records that their family is from Kansai. That's a worthless clue!

If there was still hope in Mie Prefecture, then the entire Kansai region is truly like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, it has already deviated from the center of gravity.

"Damn it, it's really difficult to see a supernatural being with my own eyes, but I believe—I will never give up!"

"Strange tales and demons must truly exist in this world! Humanity is completely unaware of this—I must awaken the world and prevent them from taking advantage of our vulnerability! Otherwise, humanity will be in grave danger!"

After regaining his composure and reporting the news back to Taira no Ryu, he immediately embarked on his journey back to Tokyo.

Tokyo.

When Kurosaki Chimei saw Heiseiryuu again, the first thing he noticed was his smoky-eyed look, which made him slightly stunned.

"Have you been awake for days?" Kurosaki asked curiously.

"After you went to Mie Prefecture."

Kurosaki quickly calculated that it had already been three or four days!

Heisei Ryu took a sip of the espresso on the table and calmly looked at Kurosaki: "It's not surprising that we didn't get anything. When we're investigating cases, we've also tried to trace a lead very deeply only to find that it's completely cut off in the end."

"Hiss, you still have the mind to comfort me? I feel like you're about to die." Kurosaki clicked his tongue twice, glancing at Heisei Ryu's coffee cup, which was already covered in coffee stains.

Ping Shenglong didn't react sluggishly; he threw a strip of pills that looked like gummy candies out of the drawer.

"Coffee alone won't be enough to keep you going."

Kurosaki Chimi picked it up, glanced at it, and then put it back.

"Kang Sheng NeuroVita-9, huh? I don't think you can take too much of this stuff."

"It's sufficient within the appropriate range, and the effect is very strong." Ping Shenglong took back the strip of medicine.

This is an "energy supplement" developed a few years ago that can keep people mentally sharp for a long time. Currently, it is only supplied to government agencies and large companies, and it is very difficult for ordinary people to obtain.

"I've experienced failure countless times; it's commonplace for me. Don't worry that I'll do anything rash."

Kurosaki sat down, a hint of disappointment on his face, but not much.

"As for you, the leads here have run dry. Unless the entire country is mobilized, the remaining possibilities cannot be successfully verified. Besides, your superiors can't wait much longer, can they?"

“When it comes to the supernatural, it’s hard to convince those people without a complete chain of evidence. Over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that this country definitely doesn’t have a special department dedicated to dealing with ghost stories, the supernatural, and the extraordinary.”

"Even if there is one—it would definitely be a marginal department that is completely ignored and has no influence or power."

Hei Shenglong listened to Kurosaki Chimei's confident words and nodded slightly without comment.

This was also his guess, so we can say we share the same opinion.

The two remained silent for a moment.

"Did the information you checked tell you that I am actually a gambler?"

"what?"

This time, Kurosaki Chimi couldn't keep up with Heisei Ryu's train of thought.

What does he mean by this?

Chapter 84: Reporting to a Higher Level

Minister Iwaki moved the expensive crystal ashtray on the table.

Then he tapped his index finger lightly on the table a few times, put down Ping Shenglong's report, took a deep breath, and stared at his capable subordinate with an as calm expression as possible.

The slight temper that had been building up finally subsided when she saw his dark circles under his eyes, and she sighed again.

He took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one for himself, and then threw it, along with the lighter, in front of Ping Shenglong, before moving the ashtray to the middle.

Iwaki took a deep drag, slowly exhaled the smoke, shook off the ash, and looked at Pyeongseong Ryu, who had just lit a cigarette, in a gentle tone.

“Shenglong, I know you’ve been busy these past few days and haven’t had much rest.”

"Here's what I'll do. I'll give you two more days. Give me a report that's 'convincing' the day before America's foreign visit. Even if it's the middle of the night, I'll hold a press conference to announce that the case has been solved and can be closed. Everyone's happy, another ending that satisfies everyone."

Ping Shenglong understood the meaning behind Minister Iwaki's words; otherwise, he would have had no reason to rise to his current position.

"Minister, after so many days of working overtime to investigate, all the evidence at the scene indicates that no outsiders entered the old teaching building during that time period. So now we only have two conclusions."

"First, this is the work of the supernatural."

"Second, all of them experienced memory problems simultaneously."

“I have written all the evidence and logical chains in the report, and I personally lean more towards the first point. As for the other possibilities, they are completely unsupported by any trace, evidence, or logic.”

Iwaki silently finished his cigarette, his brow furrowed.

As the head of the Criminal Investigation Department, he was naturally aware of the direction of the First Investigation Division's investigation these past few days.

There's nothing wrong with this; he would have done the same, though perhaps not as thoroughly as Pyeongsung Ryu.

He had looked at the logical chain and the evidence, and it was barely plausible.

but.

"No one will accept either of these explanations."

Iwaki felt he had hinted at things clearly enough, so he might as well make them even clearer.

“I heard that a few days ago, a victim’s parent accused one of the teachers at Komagome Academy of having a motive for the crime, and that you had arranged for someone to monitor him. We’ll handle this as a special case. Just tell me what kind of information you need; you should know how to do it.”