Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"Why do these platforms seem even older?"

Stepping off the stairs, Iwasaki could confirm that the platform in front of him looked even older than the Heisei-era platform downstairs, perhaps in the style of the Showa era.

Not far away, a train was parked with its doors open.

He instinctively turned around to look, but his body immediately tensed up in place.

The spot where he had just come up was now filled with a large, densely packed group of fanatics, all wearing the same cult leader mask and dressed in pure white clothes, silently looking up and staring intently at him.

Iwasaki's scalp tingled instantly.

"Salvation of souls! Renewal of the human race! Salvation of souls!! Renewal of the human race!!"

They suddenly shouted in unison, their voices seeming to cause an earthquake, and then they rushed up the stairs where Iwasaki was.

"****!"

Iwasaki immediately threw away the fire axe. Did they think they could handle a crowd this big with just a fire axe? Did they think he was Kentucky Superman?!

The only way to survive is to run!

Fire axes are just a burden!

Iwasaki quickly threw the fire axe down the stairs and ran away as fast as he could, taking off his mask as he ran.

[The train is about to depart, bound for Nakameguro. Passengers waiting, please move behind the white line.]

As they got closer, Iwasaki could see that the train seemed to be newer than the one at the platform, and he could also hear announcements coming from it.

He quickened his pace, stomping heavily on the ground, his eyes fixed on the train door.

[The doors are about to close. Please do not attempt to board. The next stop is Hibiya Station.]

"Salvation of souls! Race replacement!"

"The end times are coming! Those who disobey will die!"

The sound behind him grew closer and closer, the thick, hissing roar almost licking the back of his neck, raising goosebumps. Even the train doors in front of him were about to close!

"Ahhhhh!!"

Iwasaki unleashed the body's potential, and without braking, he leaped up and squeezed sideways through the almost closed train door, which was only twenty centimeters wide, crashing into the opposite door inside the train with a thud.

The pain from the impact made Iwasaki groan involuntarily.

Bang bang bang! !

Before they could even feel the excruciating pain in their bodies, the fanatics rushed onto the train one after another. Their masked faces and hands pressed against the windows, like fearless zombies, frantically pounding on the doors, windows, and the train body.

He even saw someone take the fire axe he had discarded and smash it hard against the car window.

Bang!

The car window is cracked.

Chapter 45: Resentment of social animals

Thank you for riding this train. This train is bound for Nakameguro, and the next stop is Hibiya. The train is about to depart from Hibiya Station. Please watch your step.

cluck cluck

The train suddenly started with a shudder, and Iwasaki could hear muffled cracking sounds of bones breaking near the doors.

Someone got caught in the gap between the platform and the train.

The train gradually accelerated, but the fanatics outside showed no intention of leaving. They kept trying to pry open the newly formed crack, using their hands and heads to smash it, not caring if it stained them with blood.

Bang, bang, bang.

The fanatics clinging to the roof of the train were thrown off balance by the inertia. One of them, wearing a church pendant, fell onto the tracks. The spinning wheels precisely ran over the cult leader's pendant tied to his cervical spine. Orange-red sparks flew between the metal pendant and his spine, and the spurting blood stained the platform on one side.

As the train entered the tunnel, more fanatics were flung around like rag dolls, their bodies scraped off halfway against the tunnel walls, their limbs exploding into bright red slurry on the concrete surface.

As the train plunged completely into the dark tunnel, the last half-believer clinging to the crack in the window finally succumbed to the force, letting out a short scream before disappearing outside in the blink of an eye.

Iwasaki slumped in the blood-soaked carriage, breathing heavily.

After a while, he slowly leaned back in the chair, propped himself up, and sat down.

"Wow. That's fucking exciting."

He sat in his chair, breathing heavily as if he had survived a near-death experience, feeling the throbbing pain from the impact. A smile slowly spread across his face, and then he suddenly burst into laughter.

Perhaps it's true that we only cherish what we've lost. Compared to spending his days bored in a wheelchair, he'd rather use his life as a series of coin-tossing games, because only in this way can he truly feel that he's still alive.

[Approaching Hibiya Station. Hibiya Station is currently under construction. The train will not stop there. Next station: Kasumigaseki Station.]

The lights around them flickered a few times, and the broadcast sound distorted into a strange tone, but the change quickly returned to normal, as if it were just an illusion.

Iwasaki struggled to his feet, watching the old-fashioned platform rush past him.

There seemed to be some construction marks visible, with barriers erected around the entrance. Aside from that, it was the same as the Tsukiji Station we just visited, except it was even older, and there was no one else around.

The train continued its journey, plunging once again into the dark tunnel.

Iwasaki has almost recovered. Although his right shoulder is still a little sore, he can at least continue to move around.

"What are these on the ground?"

It was only then that he noticed the floor of the carriage was very dirty.

There was a lot of trash on the ground, mainly beverage and snack packaging bags.

It was precisely because the trash blended so perfectly with the old train, and because he had just been too tense, that he hadn't noticed it.

He bent down, picked up several packages, and carefully compared the production dates.

"2019, huh?"

The production dates of these packaging bags are mostly concentrated in 2019, indicating that these foods were most likely left behind by people in 2019.

Is he a misfit, like the character he's controlling?

Iwasaki gathered his thoughts.

No, at least one thing is certain: this batch of food is plentiful and of a concentrated variety, unlike what one person would carry; it's more like food provided to a team.

So, in the game's lore, in 2019, a group of people unexpectedly arrived at this place like him and successfully boarded this train. Judging from the food remnants, the number of these people was probably not small.

"So many people survived the poison gas and the fanatics?"

Iwasaki analyzed the situation and concluded that unless the group itself was equipped with gas protection and the team members were mainly composed of strong adult men, it would be difficult to explain.

Moreover, this group of people appeared without warning. Did he miss some clue? Or are they the key to solving the next puzzle?

[We are approaching Kasumigaseki Station. The exit is on your right. Passengers transferring to the Japanese National Railways Chiyoda Line or the Toei Subway Mita Line, please proceed via the central staircase after exiting the ticket gates. Please be mindful of the step height when disembarking and proceed in order.]

The train has arrived at the station.

Iwasaki looked up at the scene outside the door, his eyes widening slightly involuntarily.

"No, how did I die?"

Uesugi Hitomi sat up slowly from the bed, rubbing her aching head and complaining.

"Ugh—my head hurts so much, even more than my period cramps. It feels like there are two uteruses fighting in my head."

Things were going smoothly at first. Based on yesterday's ideas, she successfully found a new way and discovered that the shadowy figures at Tsukiji Station would actually pick up the briefcase she threw out and place it on the edge of the monitor for her.

So she smashed the fire equipment cabinet outside the monitor with her briefcase!

No matter how far it's thrown, as long as you turn around and pretend you're not looking in that direction, the briefcase will soon be lying on the edge of the monitor.

In this way, she successfully broke through the fire equipment and used the three bunches of white chrysanthemums she collected from the side path as cover to successfully obtain the gas mask and fire extinguisher.

This is the intuition of speedrunners!

So, full of confidence, she used a fire extinguisher to take care of the guy who appeared around the corner, but was ambushed and killed by the guy who appeared from behind.

Fortunately, after being resurrected, she can choose to start over from the point where she steps onto the left platform.

So this time she carefully dealt with the two fanatics, found the map, and successfully went upstairs.

Immediately afterwards, like Iwasaki, she was also chased by a large group of fanatics, but she was not as badly off as Iwasaki. She successfully escaped onto the train without being injured.

But when the train arrived at Kasumigaseki Station and the doors opened, a large group of black-clad figures stood on the platform, each carrying a briefcase and hunched over.

Then, as if they couldn't see that she, a passenger, was getting off, they frantically poured in, until they were so crowded that they completely suffocated her.

She was crushed to death.

"Those guys were perfectly harmless at Tsukiji Station, and even helped me. How come they became so violent at this new station, and now they're right in my sight?"

Uesugi slowly calmed his headache and pondered carefully.

This is just like that two-faced senior colleague she used to work for—smiling and offering you coffee in the morning, then suddenly dumping a huge accusation on you in the afternoon.

"A briefcase?!"

She noticed that those people were all carrying briefcases, and although their figures resembled standing shadows, most of them looked like listless corporate slaves.

"Oh no, could these guys be the vengeful spirits of those legendary overworked office workers?"

"Even in death, you have to commute? Is this the nineteenth level of hell, the hell of commuting?"

Uesugi made a couple of sarcastic remarks, but he had a general idea of ​​how to resolve the situation.

That is—to blend in!

Chapter 46: Strange Humanoid

The train doors slowly opened.

Nobi Tomoyo stared palely at the dark mass of human figures before him, his mouth agape, feeling as if he were about to perish.

But to his surprise, these black-clad office worker figures carrying briefcases seemed strangely polite.

She simply stood quietly at the door, staring at him silently, without making the slightest movement, as if silently adhering to the principle of "first come, first served."

Nobi Tomoyoshi breathed a sigh of relief, his hand unconsciously reaching into his pocket, where the rotten tuna's eyeball had been left for him.

Nobita's puzzle-solving route is similar to that of Shin Higashiyama and Iwasaki, involving collecting flowers and offering forget-me-nots to the stone tablet.

He even got so caught up in the experience that he felt the terrifying tuna's pain, and knelt down to apologize, though he received no extra reward.

However, he was slightly different from Iwasaki; he also brought his initial equipment—a briefcase.

He felt that either the eyeball or the briefcase was having an effect, or perhaps both were.

Not to mention his briefcase, he even carried the bouquet of flowers on his back, thinking he would definitely need them someday—a typical player.

Regardless of whether it's useful now, it might be useful in the future.

If he had a backpack with enough space, he would have taken the fire hose and even rummaged through the pile of items on the platform.

After all, it took him two lives to get here, and this is his last life today, so he has to be careful.

Seeing that the black-clad figure showed no hostility, he gripped his briefcase tightly and mustered his courage to walk towards them on the platform.

The human figures, resembling overworked office workers, each carrying their own briefcases, automatically made way for Nobita.

"Thank you, thank you." Nobita whispered his thanks and slowly walked off the train, but no one paid him any attention.

Then, the black-clad figures avoided his position and frantically rushed into the train.

Nobita, on the other hand, was like an isolated island in the ocean, or an outsider, standing there dumbfounded as he watched the black humanoid figures swarm into the train like sardines being squeezed into a can.

Suddenly, a dark figure stopped.

This shadowy figure was different from most shadowy figures; it was quite muscular and seemed to have a helmet-shaped hat on its head.

He ignored his fellow creatures around him and stared intently at Nobita.

To be precise, I was staring at the flowers on his back.

Nobita noticed the man's odd behavior and pulled out the bouquet with a puzzled look: "Do you...do you want it?"

The shadowy figure didn't answer, it just kept staring.

Nobi thought for a moment, then handed the bouquet to the strange dark figure, hoping it might trigger some plot development.

The shadowy figure gazed at the flower, reached out and gently lifted it up, watching it quietly until the surrounding shadows almost filled the last inch of space on the train.

From the outside, the carriage was filled with pitch black, constantly writhing, and indistinguishable from human figures, as if darkness had taken on a tangible form at that moment.