Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"Child, aren't you getting on the train?" the station attendant asked after clearing his throat twice.

So fast? It seems like they just left on the last trip.

Nobita snapped out of his daze, realizing he had misjudged the time in his nervousness. He quickly forced a smile and nodded to the station attendant, "Sorry, I was distracted."

After saying that, he glanced at the carriage, which was already quite full, though less crowded than during the morning rush hour. He then quickly stepped onto the train, which was about to close its doors.

However, the first few trips were just special cases. Normally, the passenger flow will return to normal in the future.

Since there was still room, most people decided to skip the next trip.

Ding.

The train doors closed.

The station attendant who had just reminded Nobita stood on the platform, quietly watching the train start moving.

"Strange, the screen clearly showed that it was still two minutes away, but I didn't expect it to be faster."

"Don't be surprised. There are delays and early departures, it's normal."

Nobi, who had just caught the train, was about to walk a little further inside when he overheard a conversation among some passengers. Something flashed through his mind, and he suddenly froze.

His expression suddenly turned to horror. He pressed his face against the train door in disbelief, looking at the platform that was slowly receding into the distance, and at the station attendant who had just reminded him to board the train.

He was still standing there, wearing a familiar station attendant uniform.

That person was clearly—

Cuckoo.

The train entered a pitch-black tunnel.

Nobita's heart felt like it was being gripped tightly; that familiar feeling of facing a test in the game had appeared in reality.

Before his unease could spread throughout his body, the LED white lights inside the car suddenly began to flash, causing the passengers to look up and peer curiously.

However, most people don't take it seriously, thinking it's just a problem of aging circuits, and at most complain about these increasingly outdated public facilities.

But then the flickering intensified, as if it had acquired some kind of frequency, making people dizzy and irritable.

The passengers became tense, and some even panicked.

"Who's going to find a flight attendant?!"

"Glasses! Let me pick up my glasses!"

"Mom, is it dark yet?"

Hey.

With a crisp sound, the white light disappeared completely, plunging the surroundings into complete darkness, leaving only a few scattered glows from the phone screen.

The already tense crowd finally stirred, with screams echoing around the carriage. Some people took advantage of the chaos to have ulterior motives, stealthily snatching other people's phones or wallets.

But very quickly, within seconds, the lights came back on.

Before the passengers could even breathe a sigh of relief, they discovered that what lit up was a hazy red light.

In those few short, dark seconds, the surrounding carriages had transformed, becoming unusually old and unfamiliar.

But Nobita didn't feel unfamiliar with the train car, because it was the same one he had taken on his way to Kisaragi Station.

He could even vaguely see the mottled marks left by previous people on the car wall through the gaps in the crowd.

People were clearly unable to comprehend this sudden change, and quickly lost their composure, plunging into chaos. Noise dominated the scene, and although some tried to remain calm, their trembling legs betrayed them.

Nobita took a deep breath of the murky, anxious air, pushed through the crowd, and ran toward the front of the car.

If he guessed correctly

Now, all the people in the car are inside that monster named Zhu Hai!

Chapter 103: Race Against Time

08:30 AM

Tokyo Metro Operations Control Center.

"Director, the system has detected an anomaly, but I'm not sure what the situation is."

The on-site dispatcher urgently summoned the duty supervisor, and, pale-faced, showed the screen to the supervisor, revealing the strange situation.

"Hiss... The system performed a self-check?"

"I've already checked it myself, and it's confirmed to be correct."

Have you tried calling?

"There is no way to connect to the communication. I have confirmed with the originating station that this is not a train they dispatched."

"What the hell is this thing?"

The director swallowed hard; he was also unsure about this strange situation.

The automatic train control system can determine the train's movement on the track through various means, including track and tunnel sensors and internal train sensors.

The system now indicates that a third, questionable train has inexplicably entered between the two trains. The reason for the questionability is the lack of internal sensors, although there are sensors on the track and in the tunnel.

And communication is impossible.

He began to panic, recalling the large-scale police search for explosives along the Hibiya Line the previous night.

Since both the tracks and the tunnels have detected the presence of this train, it is highly likely that it is not a false alarm, but a real train.

What we need to do now is not to investigate where it came from, but to prevent a train collision tragedy!

"Master, it's accelerating! It's already at 70 kilometers per hour—it's about to catch up with the train in front!"

The dispatcher shouted urgently.

"Quickly! I'll report to my superiors. You're in charge of the situation! Make sure the people are safe!"

The director flew away, leaving the dispatcher dumbfounded.

And the other dispatchers who were looking at him.

"Damn it, you idiots, everyone pay attention! The Hibiya Line is switching to manual control mode. Request track priority immediately! This is no joke!"

"Command the train that has intruded behind the train to immediately make an emergency stop at the nearest station, drop off all passengers, and remain on standby!"

"The first bus heading towards Nakameguro, put that bus's data on the main screen!"

The control center immediately went into overdrive.

"Are you crazy? Speeding through Akihabara Station?" The Hibiya Line driver muttered to himself as he listened to the order from the control center and heard the genuine lifting of restrictions.

"Please follow orders strictly! You are now responsible for the lives of all the passengers on your train. This is not a drill!"

A roar came from the control center.

"Absolutely no braking! Switch to visual driving mode immediately and maintain a constant speed of 75, no, 80! Damn it, the car behind you is accelerating again!"

Upon hearing such excited words, the driver immediately realized that something serious had happened and dared not delay, carrying out the order while sweating profusely.

The passengers on the train immediately felt the acceleration, and a few people who were not holding onto the handrails lost their balance. Fortunately, the train was crowded, so no one was likely to fall.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly speed up? Aren't we almost at our stop?"

"well enough."

Natsuki Otsuka held her handbag to her chest as she sat down, gazing with some confusion at the fleeting emergency lights outside the window, a sense of unease rising within her.

[Passengers, this is a driver's cab announcement. Due to an emergency on the tracks, this train has initiated an emergency acceleration procedure. Please immediately do the following: 1. Hold onto the handrail or...]

Upon hearing this announcement, which was clearly not a joke, the previously calm passengers became nervous, but managed to maintain order and grabbed the nearest handrail.

"W-Will everything be alright? Have you ever experienced something like this before?"

A rather robust woman standing next to Otsuka, holding an umbrella, looked pale and asked Otsuka a question as if she were desperately seeking help.

"Everything will be alright. We need to trust the staff; they are professionals."

Otsuka adopted a professional smile befitting an apartment manager, calming down his neighbor.

Hearing Otsuka's words, the woman took a few deep breaths, gripped the umbrella tightly, and nodded gratefully at her.

After comforting the other person, Otsuka looked in another direction with slight confusion, as if someone had been watching her.

But the crowd was too dense, and she couldn't see anything.

"Emergency! All passengers, move immediately away from the yellow warning line! Repeat, this is not a drill—all passengers, move immediately away from the yellow warning line!"

Not only on the trains, but alarms also sounded at stations along the route, and the piercing screams made waiting passengers cover their ears.

Station staff, together with security personnel, quickly dispersed passengers from the platform.

Most people followed orders, but there were a few stubborn individuals who ignored warnings.

"What are you doing! Don't push me! I'm standing right here!"

"Sir, don't force us to drag you away."

"You have no right to that! I refuse to believe I can get hit by a car while standing here—"

bang bang bang!

"Ahhh!"

"Get down quickly!"

The high-speed train made a loud noise, bringing with it a strong gust of wind that swept past the platform, causing the half-person-high platform screen doors to shake violently and even spark.

The man who had just been shouting immediately shut his jaw, which had almost dropped in shock, and hurriedly backed away with a look of terror on his face.

Just when some people thought it was safe, less than a minute later, the rumbling sound of the tracks approached again.

This train, however, was not as "gentle" as the previous one.

The continuous loud bangs terrified the passengers, who screamed in panic. A series of platform screen doors, along with the stone blocks along the platform edge, were swept away, creating a lot of sparks. Many passengers were injured by the debris, and the entire platform was plunged into complete chaos.

"What is that thing?"

A station attendant who survived the ordeal could only vaguely make out that the train was extremely strange, like a Frankenstein's monster pieced together from carriages of completely different styles, and it didn't seem to be a product of this era at all.

"Still accelerating?! It's almost at full speed! Is that a high-speed train coming from behind?! It's impossible for it to pass Tsukiji Station at this speed; that's a 90-degree curve!"

"At this speed, it could derail even in Ningyocho!"

The driver screamed in terror.

"After passing Ningyocho, proceed at full speed and then make an emergency stop at Tsukiji Station. Quickly arrange for everyone to disembark! You only have one minute."

"I understand. Please clear Tsukiji Station! Sato, issue the notification!"

The passenger took a few deep breaths, suppressing the urge to cry, and delivered the announcement in a calm voice as much as possible.

[Attention all passengers! This train is about to make an emergency stop at Tsukiji Station for emergency evacuation. All passengers are requested to exit the train immediately after the doors open! Please confirm in advance: 1. Put down your seat.]

Inside the train, the increasingly high speed of the train and the announcements that were almost choked with sobs brought the already tense situation on the verge of collapse.

People started crying and shouting, and more people rushed towards the door, trying to be the first to get off, which directly caused conflict and friction, and a fight broke out.

An elderly man with limited mobility fell to the ground, and feet trampled on him until he never got up again.

"Mako! Mako, where are you?!"

"Let me out first! I can't die! I just paid off my loan!"

"Waaah, stop hitting me, Daddy, stop hitting me."

Looking at the scene before him, Otsuka couldn't help but recall the perilous adventure he had in the subway years ago.

Back then, she was probably just as prone to losing her mind as these people. It was only thanks to Yaka that she was able to escape alive.

That chance of survival should have been hers.

So, is it time to pay it back?

Cab.

"Sato, open the driver's side door later to share some of the pressure."

"I, I understand."

"Don't be nervous, we have plenty of time, we can escape."