Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"Excuse me, students, could I have a moment of your time?" she asked with a professional smile.

"Sorry, not available."

Shinichi Higashiyama refused outright and quickly left with Chiba.

"Okay, sorry to bother you." The female reporter's face stiffened for a moment, but she didn't linger. She left with some disappointment, then set her sights on another student, regrouped, and jogged over.

After watching her leave, Chiba suddenly spoke.

"That's an NHK reporter."

"Well, it seems the school can't cover this up anymore."

This minor incident had no impact on the two of them, and they entered the subway entrance without incident.

There were plenty of shared umbrellas available now, so he rented one and handed it to Chiba.

"I'll call you when we get back."

"Ah."

The two parted ways on the platform and boarded trains going in opposite directions.

It takes about 20 minutes to get to Tsukiji Station from here. First, take the Namboku Line, then transfer to the Tozai Line, and you can transfer to the Hibiya Line at Kayabacho Station.

Dongshan carefully examined the train's structure, which was basically the same as in the game, except that the real one showed slightly more signs of use.

Considering that the game takes place before 2040, it's perfectly normal that it looks relatively new.

Moreover, the new ones are quite limited, I feel they are between three and ten years old.

In other words, the game will most likely take place between 2030 and 2037.

We've arrived at Tsukiji Station.

"We have arrived at Tsukiji Station. This train is bound for Nakameguro. The exit is on the left. Please watch your step when getting off. Passengers transferring to the Toei Oedo Line, please go up the stairs and proceed to Exit A3."

Tsukiji Station is a 2-track, 2-platform station, meaning the two platforms face each other across the middle, with two tracks for both directions of train travel in the middle. In terms of the direction of travel, only the left side can connect to the platform for disembarking.

Of course, this is not fixed and depends on the scheduling.

In the game, there is only one direction of train, and when the doors on both sides open, they lead directly to the platform.

I got off the bus at Dongshan and wandered around the area.

Most of the structures here correspond to the platforms on the right side of the game, except that the platforms in the game extend infinitely, while here you quickly reach the end.

"."

Ueda Hiroshi suddenly poked his head out from under the umbrella handle, staring blankly at the few homeless people sleeping in the cardboard shacks in the corner not far away.

"What's wrong?" Higashiyama Shin asked, using the telepathic communication that came with the Ghost Eye.

Ueda pointed to the cardboard house: "Brother, why is it that on TV we see people with plenty of food and houses, but here people have to sleep in places like this? Don't they have homes?"

A very naive question.

"There were both poor and rich people in your time, and there will naturally be now as well."

"So, there are poor people in this world too."

Ueda felt somewhat disappointed, perhaps because the fantasy world he had constructed in his mind had shattered at this moment.

Higashiyama Shin didn't offer much comfort; it was only a matter of time before Ueda came into contact with these things.

After observing for a while, he walked out of the subway and came to the market outside the market. The market's stone tablet had long been moved, leaving only a forgotten, dusty iron plaque.

He also ordered a signature dish of squid tempura from [Zhongjia], which is hard to find elsewhere. This was his cover-up, as March and April are the best season for squid.

Then I took a taxi, got off near Dream Island, avoided the surveillance cameras, and wandered around Dream Island Park.

The exhibition hall is part of the park, which also includes a stadium and a botanical garden. However, due to the weather and the fact that it was a weekday, there were very few people, making it seem deserted.

Using the Spirit-Nourishing Fire Eye, he followed a road without surveillance cameras to the vicinity of the exhibition hall, where he called out Ueda Yoshi, who was hiding under the umbrella.

"I understand!" After listening carefully to Higashiyama Shin's description, Ueda nodded vigorously, then shared his vision with Higashiyama and walked directly through the wall into the exhibition hall.

Soon, the interior of the exhibition hall came into view for Shin Higashiyama.

A weathered fishing boat, presumably the real Fifth Fukuryu Maru, occupies the main space. Nearby are exhibits detailing the events surrounding the nuclear test and the atomic bomb tuna monument.

Inside the exhibition hall, there were only a few people who appeared to be taking shelter from the rain. They showed no interest in the fishing boats and were all chatting or scrolling through their phones.

Only in front of that stone tablet was an old man with gray hair, holding a duster, squatting in front of the stone tablet to remove the dust.

Higashiyama Shin's attention was drawn to the two bunches of white chrysanthemums placed below the stone tablet; one bunch looked fresh, while the other had already wilted.

The old man, who was dusting the stone tablet, suddenly stopped and looked towards Ueda as if he had sensed something.

“Brother, it’s probably because this grandfather’s yang energy is insufficient and his lifespan is nearing its end, so he can vaguely sense me. Don’t worry! He definitely can’t see me, and I’ve already hidden myself completely.” Ueda explained to Higashiyama.

"Would it be very taxing to let him see you?" Shin Higashiyama suddenly asked.

"Ah? If it's this grandfather, the consumption won't be much."

"Then, ask him if he put these flowers there?"

"Ok!"

Ueda had never revealed himself to anyone other than Shin Higashiyama before, so he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

The elderly man with gray hair adjusted his reading glasses, made sure there was nothing in that direction, then shook his head, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and continued dusting the stone tablet.

"Grandpa," Ueda cautiously revealed himself and asked.

The old man looked around, then looked down and saw a little boy wearing clothes that he thought were very old-fashioned, looking at him nervously.

He tried his best to put on a gentle and kind smile: "Child, is there something you need?"

"I want to ask, did you put the flowers on this stone tablet, Grandpa?" Ueda looked at him with pure eyes.

The old man naturally wouldn't be wary of such an innocent-looking child as Ueda.

She smiled and explained to him, "Yes, what's wrong? Are you interested in this stone tablet?"

"Yes!" Ueda nodded vigorously.

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in these things at such a young age. Well, at least what happened here won’t be forgotten.” The old man’s smile became even more sincere. “My grandfather was a cryogenics officer on the ship back then, and he told me a lot about what happened back then.”

"So I have a lot of affection for this fishing boat; it supported my grandfather's family back then."

"To get back to the point, this flower is a habit of my grandfather's. Before he went to sea, he would offer a bouquet of forget-me-nots to this stone tablet every week. I don't know if it was to commemorate these poor fish or his colleagues who died from illness because of it."

“My father continued his habit, except he didn’t come every week, but once a month.”

"As for me, I live not far from here and I'm retired, so I come here once a week. Because I like white chrysanthemums, I changed it to white chrysanthemums. I hope the tuna god can forgive me."

"These are all...? Children? Where did you go, child?" The old man looked around and realized that the child from before was gone.

He looked outside; it was still raining. He figured he probably wouldn't run out.

"Excuse me, ma'am, have you seen the child from just now?" the old man asked a woman not far away.

The woman opened her mouth, her expression strange. Her companion quickly shook her arm, and she forced a smile: "Sorry, I didn't see it."

"Strange." The old man asked the two people again, and they both said they hadn't seen any child come in. He could only give up, thinking that the child was just impatient or had something else on his mind, and had run away in the rain halfway through the conversation.

He returned to the stone tablet, picked up the withered white chrysanthemum, and then walked out of the exhibition hall with an umbrella.

subway station.

Shin Higashiyama has already left Dream Island and has a plan for the game in mind, but for now, he still needs to go home first.

Although I left school more than half an hour early, I still got home a little later than usual.

"I'm back." Shin Higashiyama called Chiba.

“I’m coming now,” Chiba replied.

Higashiyama Shin left the door open without closing it and went to take the food out of the refrigerator himself.

Chiba and Higashiyama's houses are on the same floor; they're just across the corridor.

Although tower blocks in Japan are high-end residences, there are more than a dozen households on each floor, making them incredibly crowded with neighbors.

A moment later, Chiba came over. She was wearing light-colored home clothes, her hair was tied up, and she stood next to the busy Higashiyama Shin, waiting for Higashiyama to assign her tasks.

"Wash the tomatoes first."

"it is good."

Chiba took on the task, took out three tomatoes, turned on the tap, and with a serious expression, put on cleaning gloves with friction bumps and carefully washed the tomatoes.

"."

Shin Higashiyama decided to leave the scrambled eggs with tomatoes for last.

"I am back!"

When Higashiyama returned home alone, he wasn't surprised to see Chiba in the kitchen, and went straight to his room to take a shower.

When he came out, the food was already prepared.

"I'm starting!"

Of all the family members, only Dongshan would say this before eating alone.

Both Shinichi Higashiyama and Shion Chiba started eating as soon as they picked up their chopsticks.

Well, actually, Chiba used to do this before meals too, but after eating with Higashiyama Shin for so long, he stopped doing it and started doing it too.

While eating, Dongshan kept glancing at the two of them, and he fidgeted in his chair like someone having a hyperactive episode.

"If you need to fart, go to the toilet."

Higashiyama Shin warned.

"No... uh, bro, did you hear? What happened at our school tonight is probably going to be on NHK NEWS 7! There are some reporters lurking around outside the school interviewing people!"

Dongshan said mysteriously.

This is indeed a significant news segment.

Higashiyama Shin wasn't surprised; he had already heard about it today from Ueda Yoshi's conversation with the head of the First Investigation Division.

Not to mention, they even ran into an NHK reporter near the subway entrance.

"After all, three students died; it can't be hidden."

“I feel the same way, bro. Do you think the school will be forced to suspend classes due to pressure? Such a big thing, parents must be scared. If they put pressure on them—” Dongshan Du became more and more excited as he spoke.

This guy really can't stand being on vacation.

It's only been two days since school started and they're already thinking about stopping classes and having a holiday every day. It's a blessing for the school to have students with such firm goals.

“Parents are more concerned about safety. As long as the authorities can guarantee the safety of the school, they may not exert much pressure, but the reputation will definitely be damaged,” Chiba added.

Dongshan stood there dumbfounded, and after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true.

Higashiyama Shin put a piece of radish into Chiba's bowl: "And the Metropolitan Police Department will do its best to ensure the safety of the students in order to prove its ability. Haven't you noticed? There are a lot more plainclothes officers near our school. They are probably all detectives in disguise."

"."

The back-and-forth between Shinichi Higashiyama and Chiba once again dampened Higashiyama's desire for a vacation.

Higashiyama Shin checked the time: "It's almost seven o'clock. You can turn on the TV and see for yourself if you don't believe me."

Upon hearing this, Dongshan quickly finished the last two bites of rice, wiped his mouth clean, and ran to turn on the TV.

Meanwhile, Shinichi Higashiyama and Chiba were still outwitting each other at the dinner table, putting vegetables on each other's plates.

On the evening of April 4th, around 8 PM, students secretly entered an abandoned teaching building at the college to hold a "test of courage." An unexplained accident occurred during the event, resulting in a tragedy that left three people dead and four injured. According to police investigations, the injured students suffered severe psychological trauma, initially suspected to be related to hallucinogenic drugs. The investigation is currently being conducted from both a criminal and accidental perspective.

[To this end, we interviewed the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division for his comments on this case.]

[Minister of Criminal Investigation: "Ensuring student safety is our top priority. We will increase police presence around the college, thoroughly investigate all relevant individuals, and make every effort to solve the case."]

As of now, Komagome Academy has not suspended classes. The academy's chairman has promised to ensure the safety of all students, ensure that a similar incident will never happen again, strengthen the academy's management, and fully cooperate with the police investigation.

Several political and business figures who graduated from the school expressed their condolences to the victims and offered to provide some donations to the families of the deceased students.

Off-screen, Higashiyama Doku's expression was one of gritted teeth.

"They still won't stop classes! The school is awful!"

Thank you to "水無月蓝染" for the donation.

Thank you to "lijing383" for the donation.