Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Nobi gripped the camera tightly and reluctantly stepped off the train, his shoes making a sticky, wet sound as they touched the ground.

The platform has only three lights, emitting a dim, yellowish glow.

Perhaps due to the surrounding blood-red color, everything appeared to be filtered through a blood-red lens.

He could also faintly hear what sounded like chopping coming from a place where the light didn't reach.

"What are you trying to photograph with that camera?"

A voice came faintly.

Nobita turned his head and saw an officer in the darkness, wearing an old military uniform stained with blood and with rotting flesh. He was carrying a samurai sword in his left hand and the terrified head of a child in his right, and he slowly walked towards him with a sinister tone.

"Give me the camera!"

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Chapter 75: Sugamo Prison

"Waaaaah!! Hehehe!"

Nobita sat bolt upright in bed, panting heavily, his body completely soaked in sweat.

Just now in the game, he witnessed his abdomen being ripped open, flesh and blood bursting forth, and his organs being torn out and devoured by the crazed old soldier.

The other party was like a demon that could communicate, but its eyes were filled only with frenzied killing intent.

This death not only brought him intense pain, but also caused him severe psychological trauma.

Even now, just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.

Dengdengdeng-

Footsteps approached quickly through the doorway.

Tuk-tuk-tuk.

"Zhiliang? What happened?"

Outside the door came the father's urgent knocking, sounding slightly anxious.

Nobita's screams were a bit too shrill; they could easily be placed directly into a horror movie without any embellishment.

"No, it was just... just a nightmare."

Nobita clutched his chest, feeling his heart pounding wildly, and forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit, explaining towards the door.

"If you feel unwell, let me know, and the funeral tomorrow can be postponed to the next day."

"No, no need to postpone it, I'm fine." Nobita quickly refused, he didn't want to delay the funeral because of his own problems.

He never met his grandfather, but he could feel his grandfather's guilt towards his brother from the suicide note. Their souls must also hope to be reunited as soon as possible.

Even if I'm not forgiven, at least I can see him again.

Nobita's father was silent for a few seconds: "Then you should get some rest. I'll wake you up tomorrow morning."

"it is good."

Dengdengdeng.

Father has left.

Nobita took a few deep breaths before getting up from the bed that had been made on the tatami mat.

I opened the window, leaned against the wall, and kept gently patting my chest.

Breathing in the slightly cool evening air, he calmed the nauseating and terrifying experience, forcing himself to drive those bloody and cruel images out of his mind.

He was not only disemboweled, but his limbs and head were also chopped off one by one amidst the rotten laughter of the old soldiers.

Why were there former soldiers and such horrific and cruel scenes at Sugamo Station?

Is it because this site involves a little-mentioned period of history?

Once the throbbing in his temples subsided slightly, he took out his phone to inquire about the newly installed AI.

Search data in Japan has a retention period, typically lasting only a few weeks to a few months, and real-name authentication is not mandatory.

However, this anonymity is actually quite fragile. If the police are serious, they can request the company to provide information such as IP address and device ID.

The only two difficulties lie in finding the "keywords" and screening the searchers.

Therefore, to avoid potential future tracing, he chose an AI system with servers located overseas.

This way, even if it needs to be traced back later, it can at least delay things for a while.

They might not even cooperate with the Japanese government.

Of course, Nobita realized this very early on, so his related searches were always conducted in a roundabout way.

When researching the history of Tsukiji Station, he would search for the historical changes of the Japanese subway and surrounding stations, and conduct extensive other related data searches as a cover. He would also watch similar videos on video platforms to present himself as a enthusiast of the history of trains.

There are quite a few people like this in Japan.

This was also the search method originally used by Shin Higashiyama.

Uesugi Hitomi, on the other hand, uses a locally deployed AI system, where search data is stored locally, which is related to her previous work and computer science background.

Don't underestimate livestreamers in costumes!

Iwasaki Kosuke had no choice; he couldn't control the equipment with his mind, so he could only ask Goto, the caregiver, for help with the search, and he couldn't ask in such a roundabout way.

He had considered whether these problems would be exposed in the future, but tempted by the promise of Rebuilding Pills, he was willing to take the risk.

I'm willing to risk being exposed to the authorities just to get first place.

"Sugamo Prison?"

The AI ​​extracted one key piece of information, and Nobita expanded his search. Soon, a large amount of data, including photos, appeared before him.

Nobi pursed his lips and finished reading the documents, and roughly understood the identities of those people wearing old military uniforms.

These people are often referred to as "war perpetrators" or "military commanders" in domestic textbooks and public settings, and some even refer to them as "heroic spirits."

However, foreign AIs were not so polite, directly calling them war criminals.

Sugamo Prison is recorded in history as the place where these war criminals were imprisoned, though not for a good reason.

Later, perhaps to downplay this experience, the prison was demolished during a period of rapid economic development. The area near the original site became part of Higashi-Ikebukuro Park, and a "memorial monument" was built there, leaving behind many urban legends.

Recalling the other person's brutal appearance and the pain he had endured, he quietly clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it.

Even her lips had a faint sweet, fishy taste; she had bitten them open.

Looking at the offerings and bouquets on the monument, he had an urge to smash it to pieces, but he quickly suppressed it with reason.

There's another chance to visit today, but the scene of being tortured and killed is still vivid in my mind, and it's even more painful than the previous deaths.

Having died countless times, he was suddenly filled with fear again, as if he had returned to the state he was in when he first entered the game.

"It is precisely because of evil that I must continue playing!"

After hypnotizing himself with the idea that "heroes never die in the dungeon," Noguchi gritted his teeth, returned to his bed, and entered the game again.

Soon, Nobita returned to reality, biting the sheet tightly and making muffled groans. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, tears welling up in his eyes from the intense pain.

After a while, his tense body slowly relaxed and went limp.

The ending remained unchanged.

Two attempts were not enough to overcome this difficulty.

But after the adventure, he at least had a general idea.

The challenge of this level lies in avoiding the former soldiers while figuring out the direction from which the sound is coming from, using the camera to collect "evidence" there, taking photos to delay the other party, and catching the train in time.

The conditions that need to be met are actually similar to those before, but the difficulty level has increased dramatically.

There's a similar feeling of disorientation to when you first arrive at Hibiya Station, like you do when you first enter a new area.

However, this also indicates that we are about to reach the end of the level and "elite monsters" will start to appear.

After Sugamo Station are Otsuka Station, Ikebukuro Station, Mejiro Station, Shinjuku Station, and Yoyogi Station.

Then it completed a full cycle and returned to Shinagawa Station.

If we can't even get past this point, how will we deal with the potential boss challenge at the end?

Nobita tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He could only get up, sit in front of a chair, and, by the faint moonlight, organize his thoughts and plans.

Chapter 76: Ninth Generation Muramasa

"Chira. Chira? Wake up, we're at Honmyoji Temple."

"Huh? Oh!"

The next day.

At the entrance of Honmyoji Temple, Nobita wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, woke up in the back seat of the taxi, and quickly took a bouquet of white chrysanthemums and other offerings as he got out of the car.

Today is February 4.

The Tomohiki Day (one of the Six Luminaries, unrelated to the Seven Luminaries)

This is the auspicious day and time for Nobi Tomoaki's burial, as mentioned by Master Richeng.

For this matter, Nobi's father asked Nobi Tomohiro for a day off and rushed over early in the morning.

Because after noon, the auspiciousness turns into misfortune, and it is not suitable to bury the dead.

"Namo Myoho Renge Kyo. This humble monk, Fazhuang, apologizes to the two benefactors on my behalf because my senior brother Richeng is temporarily unable to attend due to some important matters. I will preside over the upcoming Lotus Sutra funeral."

With an apologetic expression, Fazhuang clasped his hands together to express his remorse to the two.

“Brother Richeng also said that, to express his apology, he would create an additional ‘Lotus Sutra’ for Mr. Nobi Tomoaki and Mr. Nobi Tomoshin, so that with the power of the sutra title, they could be reborn in the Pure Land.”

Pursuing good deeds is a method similar to salvation, but with a wider range of applications.

This involves dedicating merit to the deceased through methods such as chanting scriptures and making offerings to the deity, thereby helping them escape the suffering of reincarnation.

Nobi's father was a little disappointed, but he knew that such things couldn't be forced.

The two were welcomed into Benmyoji Temple by the Dharma Banner and began the bone-removing ceremony.

Nobi Tomoro hadn't paid much attention at first, but once he entered, he felt the atmosphere was unusually heavy, completely lacking the mysterious, tranquil, and peaceful feeling he had when he came a few days ago. Instead, it was solemn and dignified.

Outside a building, some jars were placed in strange positions, and some monks sat among them, constantly striking wooden fish and chanting sutras.

"Please come this way, benefactor."

The banner silently blocked Nobi's probing gaze and pointed to the location of the cemetery.

"Oh, okay, thank you."

Nobi Tomoyoshi followed the other person's directions. Since the other person intended to keep it a secret, he couldn't keep staring at him.

In the very building he had just been gazing at, the abbot of Honmyoji Temple, Nichigen, and the steward monk, Nichijo, were sitting facing each other, discussing something.

“The lineage of Dharma in the world has long been severed. It is extremely rare for our Nichiren Sect to have preserved these remnants of the Dharma to this day.”

"But in this degenerate age, why are the powers of these demons and evil spirits reviving? Is it only the Demon Blade that is like this, or are all the demons and evil spirits that were sealed in the past like this? And where can we find someone who has learned the Dharma to seal them away again?"

Ri Cheng looked worried and restless, completely losing his former calm and collected demeanor.

Ever since returning from Mie Prefecture, he has been in a state of anxiety, unable to eat or sleep.

To outsiders, Honmyoji Temple's records of the past seem like a supernatural tale, completely unbelievable.

But as a senior monk of Honmyoji Temple, he naturally had no doubt about it.

Although his master, Master Riyan, never revealed any magical techniques.

"Richeng, you're too attached to appearances."

Riyan, dressed in a yellow monk's robe, interrupted Richeng's worries, saying, "Actually, this may not be a bad thing."

Ri Cheng silently recited a scripture to calm his anxiety, then asked with some doubt, "Is that what Master is saying?"

“Perhaps, the times are about to undergo another earth-shattering change.” Riyan’s tone was neither sad nor happy, like that of an outsider.