Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

The two continued eating their dinner in silence.

After finishing his meal, Nobita returned to his room, took out his homework, sat down at his desk, and began writing, just like any other student.

A dozen minutes later, he seemed to be overcome by drowsiness, and his head slowly slumped onto the desk as he fell asleep.

Player Lobby.

Nobita's knight figure materialized and appeared.

"Good evening." Uesugi, who had arranged to meet him via private message, was already there and greeted him. "How is it? Have you noticed anything unusual?"

Nobita shook his head: "No, I made a point of checking if anyone was following me, but I didn't find anything."

Upon hearing this, Uesugi did not feel relieved; instead, he appeared somewhat serious, though this was not obvious due to the mask he was wearing.

"First of all, you boarded that monster train, so you would definitely have been caught on the platform surveillance cameras. With the current AI computing power, the investigation will not take long. With the addition of manual screening, even at the slowest efficiency, it will not take more than two days. Moreover, for such a big matter, the efficiency will not be slow."

"It's the 23rd now. I think you've most likely been listed as a suspicious target and should be being tracked around the clock, but you haven't been found at all."

"Either they are too well hidden for you to discover, or they are almost certain that you are the knight and are worried about your unknown power, so they did not arrange for anyone to follow you, but instead used surveillance."

Uesugi doesn't want Nobita to be caught by the authorities, so he's trying his best to help with the analysis.

This is also why Nobita didn't show any unusual behavior at home.

He suspects that his home is riddled with hidden cameras and eavesdropping devices.

In fact, he had already heard this analysis from Asano once.

Since Asano exposed their identities, they have been communicating in the video game club as usual after school for the past two days, using veiled language and often writing.

Asano also secretly gave him some makeup items and methods, an old foreign-made SIM-less mobile phone, and a lot of money.

It feels like Asano once genuinely considered using this method to commit crimes and live on the run, and now he's projecting that past expectation onto Nobita.

"Try sneaking out at night and see if you feel like you're being watched. Your daily movements have probably already been confirmed by the authorities, so they won't react much to your predictable actions."

"But suddenly going out would disrupt their plans and trigger contingency plans."

"If you can detect that you're being followed, that's fine. But if you haven't found anything, I suspect that the people investigating you saw through this as a test and didn't fall for it. This means they've done enough research on you and might be preparing to come and talk to you."

Uesugi was really just talking theory.

However, what she said did make some sense, so Nobita decided to give it a try.

At least, before leaving, let's go and see the secret base one more time.

Inside the room, Nobita groggily got up from the table, stared blankly for a while, then walked out of the room and sneaked out onto the street.

He deliberately chose side streets and dark places to walk until he reached the vicinity of the secret base. He glanced into the convenience store and saw a strange man playing on his phone standing at the cashier.

I hope that girl won't be implicated because of me.

He spent half an hour at the secret base, going through all the collected junk before leaving and heading home.

He didn't feel any prying eyes on his way there and back; they were just ordinary passersby.

He lacked Uesugi Neko's alertness and Iwasaki's perception; he could only sense unfriendly stares, a kind of intuition that allowed a hero to distinguish friend from foe.

There's nothing there right now.

Uesugi is right. His actions that day were obvious, and he should have been called in for questioning at the last minute, but nothing has happened.

Extract the "Guidance" item and use it.

"When and where should I leave? Now, at midnight, or tomorrow? At school, at home, on my way home, or at a secret base?"

Text appears on the card.

[On my way home after school tomorrow]

Chapter 128: Players Meet

Snapped!

Unable to contain himself, Kurosaki Chimei threw the empty oolong tea canister away, which landed in a corner of the room.

"Doesn't the investigation team have the right to conduct its own investigation? And we discovered the whole story of the Centipede Train in just one day. Shouldn't we have more say? Why are we being restricted by the investigation headquarters when we want to investigate a college student? Are they trying to steal the credit?"

"If peaches can be picked freely, then what was the point of setting it up this way in the first place?"

Ping Shenglong silently finished his coffee, glanced at the afternoon sunlight filtering through the curtains, took out a Kang Sheng pill and swallowed it, and his drowsiness and fatigue gradually disappeared.

"Rules are made in the name of ideals, but that doesn't mean the people who implement them are pure. Besides, this is a department that was set up in just one day, so it's not surprising that it has many loopholes."

“We did such a good job that our actions attracted even more attention.”

Kurosaki, biting the pen cap, stared at Taira no Ryu's seemingly indifferent expression, his tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxing.

"You deliberately?"

Ping Shenglong did not answer directly: "I know about the head of the investigation department. He is capable, but his reputation is not good. He is rather stubborn and greedy for credit."

"I think his idea is to take advantage of the time and opportunity when Nobi Tomoyoshi is in the open and we are in the dark, to try to catch a big fish."

"Otherwise, you can check the database; Nobita's information has disappeared from it."

Kurosaki still felt a pain in his chest. If this matter was to be left to their Fifth Investigation Team, he planned to take immediate action and invite Nobi, otherwise things might change if he delayed.

This isn't about facing some evil force. The most unsolvable aspect of extraordinary beings lies in the unknown, so don't try to think that you can control them and that's the best option.

"Isn't he afraid of messing things up?" Kurosaki gritted his teeth, even breaking the pen cap in his teeth.

“I’ve complained to the director multiple times. If Nobi runs away, he won’t be able to hold this position.” Taira no Ryu swiped his tablet, as if looking at something. “To quell the anger, the Minister of Defense might directly take over this position. His greatest strengths are delegating authority, listening to advice, and protecting his subordinates. Only then can the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department be officially operational.”

"You went through all this trouble just to take him down? The losses are too great! This kind of opportunity doesn't just come around every day."

Kurosaki still really wanted to ask Nobi Tomoyoshi how he became a knight. He feared his insomnia wouldn't end until this question was answered.

Ping Shenglong believes it's worthwhile: "A superior can influence many things. It's better to get rid of him as soon as possible than to wait until he's firmly in power and then cause trouble, isn't it?"

Kurosaki sat down dejectedly, glanced at Taimori Ryu's tablet, and was immediately drawn to it: "Hey! Don't swipe away, is this a ritual symbol?"

The high-resolution, uncensored photo shows a pile of horrific corpses, bizarre patterns, and holy eyes. The pupils, composed of densely packed eyeballs, undoubtedly reveal that this is a strange ritual pattern.

"Since it's called the Extraordinary Situation Countermeasures Department, it's not limited to the Hibiya Line incident, but also includes other cases involving the occult that the police have difficulty solving."

Kurosaki, his expression grave, zoomed in carefully to examine the document: "How many people have died?"

"In total, this ritual pattern appeared eight times, involving thirty-one people, one gang, and seven families from three families."

"Tsk tsk." Kurosaki clicked his tongue. "This can't be related to the incident on the Hibiya Line, can it?"

"The timing is very close, and the method of the crime is equally incomprehensible. What are you writing?" Heisei Ryu saw Kurosaki engrossed in writing.

"The Charcoal Teacher's incident started on April 4.4th, the Hibiya Line incident on April 4.28th, and the Ritual Case began on April 4.26th. As expected, the mysteries are starting to resurface." Kurosaki's expression was grave as he looked at the timeline he had compiled in his notebook. "Another great calamity for humanity is about to befall us."

"Again?" Ping Shenglong repeated the word.

"It's nothing. Luckily, both supernatural beings and monsters appeared together, otherwise it would have been a huge problem," Kurosaki sighed.

Ping Shenglong has a different view on supernatural beings: "For humans, supernatural beings are just as troublesome as monsters, and may even be more uncontrollable."

Kurosaki remained silent, continuing to bury himself in analyzing the oral accounts he had received from Otsuka Natsuki a few days earlier, as well as the corroborating evidence he had gathered from the train wreckage based on those accounts.

A moment later, the phone rang.

"Good morning, Director. I understand and will prepare the report and submit it."

Heisei Ryu nudged Kurosaki on the shoulder and stood up: "Nobi Tomoyoshi suddenly got off the subway on his way back to school and disappeared in the restroom of a store."

Kurosaki opened his mouth, but what could he say? He rubbed his face and put the notebook back into his tattered bag.

"Internal strife is truly an incurable flaw in human nature."

Arakawa Natural Park.

Nobita hid in a lush corner of the park, planning to use his cards to disguise himself as an office worker after nightfall, then take a taxi to the vicinity of Saitama Stadium, where there was a lot of farmland, so he could lie in wait for 12 hours without any problem.

Then, heading northeast, they hid along the way, making good use of their one hour of "invincible time," and slowly made their way to Yamagata Prefecture.

The Mogami River basin is located there.

Once he leaves the Tokyo metropolitan area, it becomes very difficult for the authorities to find him.

To be on the safe side, Nobi used the "Guidance" card again.

"Please tell me, when should I leave here for Saitama?"

The card provides the answer.

7:17:05

so late?

And why are there both whole and odd amounts?

Nobi originally planned to go around 6 o'clock. He had been here during his two-day vacation, and if the police checked all the places he had been to at the same time, it would be troublesome, and he might waste a chance to transform.

But the card's description says it will make a choice he won't regret.

Since that's the case, then let's believe it.

Nobita patiently waited.

He didn't bring his original phone; the only electronic device he had was an old foreign phone that Asano had given him, which had offline maps downloaded on it and had an extremely long battery life.

He dared not enter the game to play "Escape from the Other Shore," and could only watch the sparse figures in the park through the trees, gradually waiting for the sun to completely set.

"It's almost time."

He jumped down from the treetop and groped his way toward the exit in the dark. Just before he appeared in front of the streetlight, he transformed into an ordinary office worker wearing a suit.

"So... um?"

A short, sharp scream came from the building across the street.

The call was not very clear; if one did not have a keen ear, one would probably just think it was a wild cat howling.

Nobita glanced at the time.

It was within those few seconds when the card gave the hint.

"."

Nobi didn't hesitate and rushed straight towards the building opposite, while also checking the map to confirm that it was a shrine.

He leaped over the fence, used his last card, Swift Step, and jumped onto the roof of the main building like a ninja.

He had just steadied himself and was about to lean in to listen to what was happening inside when he felt a strong killing intent, and his health bar mode instantly activated.

He quickly dodged to the side.

boom!

A large hole was punched through the roof, and bricks and wood flew everywhere. Nobita vaguely felt as if an invisible hand was rushing towards him.

"The Sword of the Warrior!"

He summoned his sword and slashed at the approximate location of the invisible hand.

"Ok?"

Inside the shrine, Iwasaki Kosuke, dressed in the black robes of a Ringwraith and reaping lives, frowned as he realized that his mage's hand had been broken.

Although this did not harm him, it would take time for the broken mage's hand to reform.

Currently, he can control up to three mage hands at the same time. If they are scattered in a short period of time, he will be unable to create any effective means of attack.

More importantly, being able to break through the mage's hand means that the opponent...

bang——

The roof shattered in large sections, and an office worker in a suit fell from the sky, landing steadily on the ground.

Iwasaki recognized the sword in the other person's hand at a glance.

With a gentle lift of his hand, he slapped aside the remaining survivors who were trapped in the illusion and whose tongues had been cut off, sending them crashing into the wall and whimpering in pain.

"die!"

Nobita's eyes widened at the sight, and he drew his sword to attack.

Iwasaki stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding, until the sword struck down. Only then did his entire human form dissipate into black mist, passing by Nobita's sides and reforming where he landed.

A code name flashed through Nobita's mind in an instant.