Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Author: Qiu Shui Xiao Xiao

Summary:

Summary:

[Slow pace, speeds up after the end of "Subway"]

[“Unknown” has launched a game, players please join in]

Players thought it was just a rewarding game based on the past, until...

Trapped on the edge of the human world and the netherworld, a train carrying countless grievances suddenly appeared on the Hibiya Line during the morning rush hour;

The long-forgotten demon sword has found a new host and is on the verge of losing control.

The sealing formation buried deep in Mount Fuji is crumbling, magma is spewing out, and the evil demons are opening their eyes.

The silently obliterated past tears open the dimension of reality and returns to the world they covet.

The only ones who can fight against the lost world are the players.

As for Toyama Shin...he is the initiator who simply wants to use players to speed up his game completion.

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【The Mastermind】【Fake Aura Revival】【Games Affect Reality】

Chapter 1: Soul Swap

The candlelight was dim.

The candle wick occasionally sparked, causing the hunched figure on the earthen wall to sway, and faint, indistinct murmurs echoed in the almost completely enclosed chamber.

"The sun, moon, and five planets are collectively known as the Seven Luminaries. Their essence shines above the heavens, while their spirit descends to earth. Therefore, they govern good and evil and preside over fortune and misfortune."

A pair of dry, wrinkled hands, like those of a seventy or eighty-year-old, busied themselves on the table, their bony knuckles sweeping across the yellowed pages of a book.

Beneath his withered, leaf-like skin, bulging veins resembled earthworms. His movements were delicate and cautious; after repeatedly confirming the information in ancient texts, he finally lit the neatly arranged red candles on the table.

His voice was hoarse, but his enunciation was clear, as if he were chanting some kind of incantation.

"Soak jade in blood, lock life and connect soul, draw stars on the ground, and heaven will grant your wish."

The dagger repeatedly slashed at the scarred wrist, and the dry, slow-flowing, dark blood dripped down, gradually submerging the jade ornament in the bowl.

He put down the blood-stained dagger, picked up a roll of bandage and wrapped it around the wound on his wrist. Then he handed two talismans with Su Yao's birth date written on them to the candle next to him, lit them with flames, burned them to ashes, sprinkled them into a bowl, stirred them evenly with his fingers, and the aroma of smoke mingled with the scent of rust.

"The time is approaching, begin the ceremony."

Holding a bowl of blood-red jade, he turned around, revealing a haggard middle-aged man's face in the candlelight, which looked far older than his aged hands.

He was dressed in neat and clean national clothes, with an expensive foreign brand watch on his wrist, and his hair was meticulously styled, yet he could not hide the heavy, aged air emanating from him.

This place is a sealed basement about two zhang long and wide, and at a glance, you can't find the exit at all.

In the very center of the secret chamber, there was a raised rectangular stone bed, on which lay an eleven or twelve-year-old boy with his eyes closed and his breathing even, wearing a red robe that didn't quite fit.

The middle-aged man continued muttering to himself, kneeling on the ground, picking out one magatama from the bowl one by one, arranging them around the stone platform in a shape like a flower spike, and then placing the lit red candles on the magatama in order.

His hands were extremely steady. He first soaked the jade ornament in wax to serve as a base, and then glued the candle onto it.

"This child has willingly exchanged his soul with me. Today is the eleventh, an auspicious day. It is now past midnight, a lucky time. The ceremony shall proceed!"

The man let out a long sigh, straightened up, and greedily glanced at the boy who was still asleep. His thin, wrinkled hand stroked the child's delicate face, and the tender skin unique to children made him unable to suppress an excited and perverse smile.

His precisely calibrated mechanical wristwatch indicated that the time had come. He took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the iron seat facing the stone platform.

The iron seat was sturdy, with some rust on it. The legs were buried deep in the ground, seemingly connected to something unknown. Even when a man sat on it, the chair did not budge.

Click.

The man locked his hands and feet to the iron seat, then stared intently at the boy, his words growing more and more rapid, his hoarse voice revealing a yearning for life.

The silent dripping of red candle wax covered the blood-stained jade pendant, gradually emitting an eerie dark red glow in the stillness.

The man's smile grew even brighter.

After tonight, he will be reborn!

No longer do I have to endure the terminal illness that plagues this decaying body!

His painstaking efforts, searching far and wide, finally yielded the perfect container.

From that moment on, the sky's the limit, birds can roam freely; those damned emperors and nobles, those damned American soldiers—nothing could stop him.

Click.

A faint cracking sound came from the silence, so jarring that it shattered his dream of soaring through the sky.

The man's smile froze on his face, and his eyes slowly and incredulously shifted to the source of the sound.

That was one of the candles.

next second.

Crack! Crack! Crack! — A series of shattering sounds rang out, each one seemingly striking the man's heart.

The dark red jade ornament that served as the candle base suddenly exploded inexplicably, shattering into powder.

The shockwave broke the surrounding candles into pieces, and the strong wind extinguished most of them instantly, leaving only a few fallen red candles still burning stubbornly.

He was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that he froze for several seconds, his lips trembling wildly with fear, his hands and feet clattering as he tried to break free from the iron cage he had built for himself.

"No, no!! There can't be a problem with the ritual! There can't be a problem! I clearly went through it—"

Before he could finish speaking, the little boy who had been lying peacefully on the stone platform opened his eyes, leaving him in a daze of disbelief.

The boy calmly sat up, staring straight at him with eyes that didn't belong to his age, a strange smile on his face, and a playful tone.

"Uncle Muto, the key to the Soul-Swapping Technique lies in two points."

"First, neither side is resistant and neither side regards the other as an enemy."

"Secondly."

The little boy jumped off the stone table, extinguished the faint flame of a candle with his bare feet, walked to the table where the man had just been, tiptoed, and picked up a dagger and a tattered thread-bound book.

She turned around and gave the man a sinister smile:

"The constellations of both sides must not clash."

The middle-aged man stared incredulously at the little boy who had always been well-behaved in front of him, now appearing so unfamiliar.

His fists clenched silently, his teeth gritted, and he stared intently at the boy. After a few seconds, he slowly relaxed his fists, not bothering to ask why, as it was pointless anyway.

Instead, he coughed heavily a few times, his face flushed, revealing a look of impending death and exhaustion.

"Ueda, Ueda, Uncle knows he was wrong. Please, please let Uncle go. I know you're a very, very good child. Right, haven't you always been curious about Uncle's identity? I'll tell you the truth. Uncle is the last lineage master of the Sukuyodo Shingon sect, and I also know some Yin-Yang arts. Uncle promises you, as long as you let Uncle go, Uncle will teach you everything."

As the man spoke, the little boy approached him step by step, his eyes seeming to struggle as he spoke.

Seeing that it seemed to be working, the man's voice became even gentler, and he spared no effort to use his remaining life force to imbue his voice with some special bewitching power.

"Good child, please help uncle get the keys. It's too uncomfortable sitting here. Let's go home, let's go home and relax—"

The little boy stood in front of him, his eyes no longer showing the struggle he had before, but instead filled with mockery, and indifferently plunged the dagger straight into the man's thigh.

puff.

"Ahhhhh!!"

Muto let out a violent scream, desperately struggling to break free of the iron seat's confinement.

"That damned little beast! That ungrateful wretch!!"

"If it weren't for me, you bastard would have starved to death in the countryside long ago! And been devoured by wild dogs!"

"This is what you owe me! The life you've had these past few months is something you'll never have in your entire life! Did you think you got this for free?! It's your hard-earned money!"

"Kill me! If you've got the guts, just kill me!"

"Besides, your constellation can't possibly clash with mine, otherwise I would have just exploded and died! Liar! Bastard! Bastard!"

In excruciating pain, the man, perhaps knowing he had no chance of winning, decided to give up and unleash a torrent of angry curses to vent his emotions.

“That’s right. I didn’t say your failure was due to the clash of the stars.” The little boy laughed as he gripped the dagger handle tightly with both hands and pressed it down a few inches.

The man's screams intensified, his body trembled, and his toes curled up.

“However, although the constellations don’t clash, they don’t align either, and I’m quite resistant to it, so… Uncle, you’ve arranged the ritual incorrectly.” The boy gave a shy smile. “Because I lied from the beginning.”

The man was panting heavily, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the child he had spent months with, who had always been so filial, as if they were not the same person.

Before his soul was swapped, it was as if he had already possessed someone else's body!

Otherwise, how could this child, who doesn't even know many Chinese characters, have seen through my plan and understood the "Soul Nourishing Classic"?

"Do you know how many times I played this game to achieve this perfect ending?"

"You—click!"

The man didn't understand what he meant and seemed to want to ask something, but the little boy didn't give him a chance to speak. He pulled out the dagger from his leg and carefully slit the man's throat.

"Coo, coo"

The boy casually tossed down the dagger, took a few steps back, sat on the stone platform, and quietly watched the middle-aged man die.

As blood gushed from his throat, the man's pupils reflected the candlelight, filled with resentment and fear of death. He made a few gurgling sounds, unable to utter a single word, spitting out only blood and foam. The life in his eyes quickly faded, and finally, his pupils dilated, his head tilted completely to the side, and he fell silent.

You have successfully completed the beginner game "Soul Swap".

[Ending Rating: Perfect Ending] (Note: A perfect ending does not necessarily represent the actual ending)

[Game trophy progress: 100%]

Congratulations to player "Gaming Guru" for winning the Platinum Trophy!

The Platinum reward "Spirit-Infused Fiery Eye" has been issued.

[Points settled: 100. The game's point limit has been reached. Automatic settlement.]

[Achieve Lifetime Achievement: Rookie Perfectionist, Reward: "Possessed Paper Dolls *5"]

[Soul Swap: The Shadow Diagram Extends Life, the Divination Plate Burns to Summer Ashes, Bones Covered in Frost]

A series of messages popped up in the boy's vision. He looked thoughtful, and slowly, his vision faded into darkness.

Chapter 2: Game Rewards

In Tokyo, neon lights converge along the streets, flowing like a river in the night.

Bunkyo District.

Tower apartments near Komagome Station.

In a dark apartment on the 28th floor, the long silence was broken by the sound of a fingerprint lock unlocking.

pat.

squeak.

A faint, clearly controlled sound of a door being pushed open slowly began to emerge.

Holding a soccer ball, Higashiyama Du cautiously peeked out from behind the door, glanced at the unlit living room, and breathed a sigh of relief, feeling guilty.

Then he quietly closed the door again and fumbled for the light switch from memory.

Hey.

"Ugh!"

As soon as the light was turned on, Higashiyama Doku screamed in fright and leaned against the door, almost unable to catch his breath.

Because after he turned on the light, he suddenly saw his older brother, Higashiyama Shin, sitting on the sofa, deep in thought like a statue.

"Hehe. Hoo. Bro, you're still awake?"

Higashiyama patted his chest and gasped for breath, clearly quite frightened.

"Hmm, I was thinking about something. Why are you back so late?"

Higashiyama Shin glanced at the soccer ball in his brother's hand, a barely perceptible red glint flashing in his eyes.