Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

I glanced at the time; it was already five o'clock.

Bro, have you ever seen Tokyo at 5 a.m.?

Although he had used up some of his mental energy in the game, he was still full of energy and couldn't sleep.

It has been about ten days since he took the Transcendent Pill.

His physical fitness has been improving day by day. From not feeling anything at the beginning to now being able to lift heavy objects, he feels that he is terrifyingly strong, and he is even afraid to go to the apartment gym to work out.

Because he didn't want to go too far, he could only do a little bit each time, which meant that he would be interrupted after warming up a bit, leaving him in a limbo, and he would have to come back and do five hundred push-ups in one go to feel a little better.

He felt that if he wanted to, he could keep doing this, becoming a human pile driver.

Fortunately, the latest reward helped him out.

In the future, when I have excess energy, I'll make things difficult for the passersby in Tokyo, letting the rain keep falling and the wind keep blowing so that God can bear the blame for their misfortunes.

With a thought, a hidden lightning bolt flashed across the clouds somewhere in the sky, followed by a muffled rumble.

"It takes effect immediately and works quite well."

Higashiyama Shin nodded with satisfaction and went into the bathroom.

After washing up, he turned on the cat ear switch, and a pair of black cat ears appeared on his head in the mirror. He nimbly shook them, and the normally quiet early morning suddenly seemed a little noisy.

Elevators running, cars driving, dogs barking, cats meowing—these are the background noises of the city.

Just like the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs in the countryside, and the rustling of the wind through the flowers, grass, and tree canopies.

The feeling of having an extra pair of ears was quite wonderful, further enhancing his already keen hearing.

The only downside is that this hearing growth is uncontrollable. If someone suddenly plays a high-energy DJ in his ear, he'd probably want to rip the DJ's head off and throw it into the nightclub.

It's a pity it grew on his head; if it had grown on Chiba's head...

In her mind, the usually aloof Chiba twitched her cat ears, looked at her with a puzzled expression, and then, with a hint of reluctance, turned her head away, made a perfunctory cat fist with her hands, and let out a soft "meow".

Just imagining the scene made Shin Higashiyama laugh out loud. He shook his head, deactivated the cat ear switch, and walked out of the bathroom.

Just then, Ueda Yasushi floated back through the window and returned to the Soul-Gathering Umbrella, looking slightly tired.

Seeing that Higashiyama Shin had already woken up, he poked his head out and spoke weakly.

"Brother, do you think I'm the only ghost left in this world like this?"

Chapter 81: Born from Within (Part Two)

Ueda spoke with obvious trepidation.

These past few days, under Higashiyama Shin's arrangement, Ueda has been wandering around the activity area late at night, hoping to encounter a ghost.

Unfortunately, after several days, he didn't encounter any ghosts or even the slightest strange occurrence.

The apartment is very harmonious inside and out.

Ueda practiced for a long time to greet his peers with a smile, but he still couldn't get it right.

Dongshan Shen had actually expected this, since his Spirit-Nourishing Fire Eye was almost always active, making it a passive skill, and he couldn't detect anything evil.

From this perspective, the conditions for the birth of a spirit must be very demanding. Ueda Yoshi's existence is entirely due to Muto's array and the incomplete ritual.

Even so, after Muto was accidentally eliminated, Ueda's spiritual power also dissipated rapidly. If Higashiyama Shin hadn't taken out the Soul-Gathering Umbrella in time, he wouldn't have been able to hold on for even five minutes.

That was late at night, in a place where yin energy was concentrated.

Later, it was also bound to the Soul-Gathering Umbrella, so that Ueda's spirit would not continue to dissipate, but could instead solidify, thus allowing him to walk among humans for a longer period of time.

In Ueda's eyes, Higashiyama Shin was similar to the Onmyoji master he had heard about in his childhood.

Therefore, whenever Higashiyama Shin did something he couldn't understand, he would convince himself that it was the style of a wise man.

It was he who helped him deal with Muto and took him in, so Ueda was always eager to show his value. Besides, his parents had taught him that he should repay even the smallest kindness.

At the same time, there was a faint expectation that he was not alone and that there were others like him in the world.

However, the search over the past few days has dealt him a significant blow.

Perhaps he really is the only lonely ghost in this world.

“There must be other spirits in this world, but it’s actually good news that you haven’t discovered them, because other spirits may not be as easy to communicate with as you are.”

Higashiyama Shin didn't show any regret. He was just taking a shot anyway, and now it just confirmed his guess.

Spirits are not everywhere, and this world is not currently suitable for their existence. However, there may be some places where a group of evil spirits gather.

For example, the subway in the game, a place where outstanding people and wise men gather.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it is hell.

That was a completely different space-time, somewhat similar to a secret realm in a fantasy world, or the otherworld in a horror novel.

They intersect with reality, and are most likely Kisaragi Station, located somewhere unknown, and the passageway on the Hibiya Line that has been closed by the authorities.

Even though he hadn't reached the ending, he could still piece together the general story.

During the war, Japan constructed a considerable number of underground bunkers to relocate some of its military industrial facilities.

Construction of the Hibiya Line had not yet begun at that time, but some underground bunkers may have already been built underground.

It was around that time that a small team that had been dispatched broke through a certain space, established a connection between that node and reality, and then disappeared without a trace.

This is the origin of the former officer who called headquarters from Hibiya Station.

The military may have investigated the missing persons site later, but by then the homeland had already been attacked, and they didn't have the energy to deal with such minor matters.

After the war, the Hibiya Line utilized the underground bunkers built at that time for renovation and sealed off the excess passages.

But now that it's been opened, how can it be sealed away using ordinary methods?

Thus, the alternate dimension slowly seeped into reality. Some evil beings living in that alternate dimension fed on the abundant negative emotions of humans, and could even solidify the resentment of the real world into reality in that world.

Starting in 1947, they began to secretly take some people to other dimensions to absorb their fresher fears and flesh and blood.

It's like eating regularly.

The purpose of eating is obvious.

To maintain its existence or to be conceived and born.

Its due date is 8:00 AM on April 18, 2040.

Only God knows what will happen next.

Let's get our minds in order, there's still plenty of time and energy, let's give it another shot!

Re-enter the game.

He refreshed the status directly at the platform location, around the time he had just gotten off the train.

Without stopping, he continued toward the tunnel he had just walked through.

Although the end of the tunnel was not the ending he wanted, the cell phone was something he wanted to get his hands on.

He wanted to try calling the wife.

He quickly retrieved his phone and returned to the station via the same route.

He unlocked the screen, opened his contacts, and dialed his wife's number, which had been given a cheesy nickname.

A pleasant ringing sound rang out.

"Moshi moshi! ***? Phew, you haven't replied to my messages, I was so worried!"

"***? Why aren't you saying anything? Is it inconvenient for you?"

"Please, please don't hurt my husband. Tell me, what do you want—"

beep.

The call was disconnected.

Dongshan tried calling again, but it showed that the service area was not available.

"The reason why the worker left such an excited message was because he got through to his family on the phone. Although he couldn't communicate directly, hearing his loved ones' voices rekindled his hope."

So, did that worker eventually follow in his footsteps and fall into the cycle of reincarnation?

Since we can't go forward, we can only go backward.

"However, the logic is clearly contradictory."

First of all, this is the final stop, and a final stop that is close to the human world and even where you can make a phone call.

That means we're very close to the actual exit.

Then there are two directions here.

First, the route he came from was the direction he left via the Yamanote Line, so going back would obviously not make sense.

Secondly, the route he just took led him back to Tsukiji Station, which means that the passage over there leads to the Hibiya Line.

After standing there with his eyes closed for several seconds, Dongshan slowly opened his eyes.

He made up his mind and turned back.

The clues are hidden in the details.

When he boarded the train, the announcement read, "The next stop is #%#￥% (noise) Kisaragi Station, towards the final destination. The doors are about to close, please be careful."

But when I got off the bus, the announcement said that we had arrived at the final stop.

Yes, this is not Kisaragi Station, this is the terminal station. Kisaragi Station and the terminal station are two different stations!

No wonder there isn't even a platform sign.

The train timetable also shows "Kisaragi Line" instead of Kisaragi Station.

For some reason, the train that brought him skipped Kisaragi Station.

Therefore, Kisaragi Station is the previous station, so you should go back.

The reason there's a signal here is because it's close to Kisaragi Station; it has nothing to do with the terminal station itself.

In Japanese urban legends, Kisaragi Station is the entrance to the spirit world, and according to the origin of this legend, the person who experienced it disappeared after leaving Kisaragi Station.

Having figured out the key points, Dongshan felt much more relaxed and decided to go to the opposite platform to check the situation.

He turned on his flashlight, crossed the railway tracks, and arrived at the pitch-black platform on the other side.

The platform structure here is almost identical to the one opposite, except there's no timetable.

As Dongshan Shin spun his flashlight, a white figure suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

It's that girl in the white dress.

Just like she appeared in the previous two levels, she appeared in this final level.

She had her back to Higashiyama Shin, her long, black hair cascading down, somewhat resembling the classic Sadako look.

The direction of the shoes proves that this is her back.

"In my hazy memory, I've seen many people who, like you, have successfully made it here."

"But none of them were able to escape."

"Do you know why?"

The girl in the white dress spoke softly.

Higashiyama Shin didn't reply. If he knew, he wouldn't be standing here like an idiot.

"Because the ticket to board the train is to sell a person's soul, so that he, like the little boy you saw, will forever wander in this hell."

"I try in vain to recall certain things, but when I actually do, I am filled with fear."

To sell one's soul. But what if you're all alone?

Doesn't it mean that only if two people arrive at this space at the same time, successfully overcome numerous tribulations, and one of them is willing to sacrifice themselves in the end, can they leave?

That's very much in line with the behavior of evil spirits, who enjoy watching humans kill each other for a chance to survive.

Finally, they offer hope, then bestow despair.

From this perspective, the only ones who had a chance to escape were those two workers.

"Isn't there any other way?" Shinichi Higashiyama pressed.