Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

So, a perfect ending isn't about achieving the goal, but about pushing things to the limit?

Indeed, choosing to leave directly would certainly not be as difficult as breaking into the Zhuhai train.

Summoning the courage to abandon the hope of escape and choose to gamble on a possibility with little certainty is still in the hope of saving someone they don't know years later—or more likely, not even saving them, but merely delaying the outbreak.

傻。

Very silly.

Iwasaki understands, but if he were in that situation, he wouldn't choose to do that.

It's a futile attempt at self-gratification, and no one will ever know about it.

He thought it was foolish.

His gaze lingered between the two options, and after a moment's hesitation, he chose option two.

From the descriptions of these two options, he sensed that the ability rewards must be quite rare.

Once you receive a skill reward, it will likely be much more difficult to acquire another skill in the future.

Therefore, it is necessary to improve one's ability level.

[Final Reward: Ability - Soul Warlock (To bewitch hearts and manipulate souls, but what is the price?)]

[Potential: A+, Growth Requirements: Knowledge, Sacrifice, Ruthlessness, Growth Abilities: Formless (Already Acquired), Soul Manipulation, Soul Immortality]

[You performed exceptionally well in the game "Subway," ranking first and receiving the reward "Reshaping Pill." Keep up the good work!]

The reward has been issued and can be withdrawn to real-world funds at any time. Once withdrawn, it cannot be taken back.

After processing all this information, Iwasaki, who had slept for over twelve hours, opened his eyes in reality.

Now that the perfect ending has been achieved and the predicted rewards have been obtained, the game's plot is like knowledge gained after the college entrance examination—useless to him.

He has never been interested in the game's plot; all the clues he encounters are merely for figuring out how to complete the game.

It took him a while to figure out his ability.

In short, he's somewhat like a magician, or more accurately, a dark magician who specializes in one area.

They specialize in unorthodox and evil arts such as soul manipulation, rituals, and sacrifices.

Currently, he doesn't have many abilities, but his meditation technique for quickly restoring mana doesn't need much explanation.

Other core abilities include Soul Search (destructively reading memories), Sacrifice (sacrificing a corrupted soul to the "unknowable" to gain knowledge and power), and Invisibility (transforming the real into the unreal, becoming a cloud of black mist, immune to physical damage).

There are also two common but versatile spells: Illusion and Mage Hand.

The mage in my mind needs to improve his strength through arduous meditation, but this soul warlock directly sacrifices himself to quickly increase his strength, which is indeed a heretical path.

But what does it matter if it's unorthodox, as long as it's effective?

Iwasaki roughly estimated the location of the ward's surveillance camera, and then tried to move the large bonsai banyan tree placed in the corner with his magic hands.

The potted plant swayed slightly, and then, following Iwasaki's subtle change in expression, slowly rose upwards.

It's very easy. This strength should be enough to lift a strong adult, which is in the category of a strongman.

But he just couldn't lift himself up.

"If this is the ability gained by exchanging more than ten years of lifespan, it's far too easy." In Iwasaki's opinion, it would be worth exchanging these more than ten years of lifespan for a Reshaping Pill.

But now, there is an even bigger surprise.

Not only did they obtain the Rejuvenation Pill, but they were also granted this ability that completely transcends that of mortals.

Is this God's compensation for what he has suffered over the years?

However, he also knew very well that there was no merciful God, and only he himself could be in charge of his own life.

And that "unknown" being, whose existence is unknown, invited him to become a player for reasons unknown.

Judging from the power bestowed upon him, he doesn't seem like a true god.

But regardless of the circumstances, since one's abilities come from the other party's kindness, one must never disobey them.

He needs players, so Kosuke Iwasaki strives to perfectly complete every game and become a perfect player.

"Misaki."

Iwasaki took a deep breath and looked at the player lobby that was always hanging in the corner of his field of vision.

The number 2 is displayed above, which, combined with the game ranking, suggests that there are approximately two other players.

Were they waiting for them?

Iwasaki had a guess, and glanced at the clock that was faintly visible in the nightlight.

It's exactly five o'clock.

It would be good to see them.

Perhaps it can provide me with some useful information.

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and blinked into the hall.

"I haven't tried the trading function yet."

In the player lobby, the two who were chatting stopped talking when they saw the blurry black mist around player [Hao] surge. They waited quietly for the other to join them.

Soon, the black mist condensed into a human shape, with only a pair of eyes and no other facial features, quietly scanning the two people.

What kind of ability is this?

Uesugi felt that she was the one who suffered the most!

She learned from Nobita that her appearance in the player lobby had cat elements, making her an image whose abilities were easy to guess.

[Zhi], dressed in Goblin Slayer armor, is at least more powerful than her Unpredictable Plate Warrior transformation.

That's not all, but I didn't expect there to be an expert here. [Hao]'s appearance is not much different from the black mist that was originally placed in the player's position!

Could it be that it will turn into a cloud of black mist? That sounds good, but it seems like it doesn't live up to the reward of a perfect ending, so it should be more complicated.

Nobi didn't think that much about it, but he felt that this player seemed to have an evil aura about him, or rather, he seemed like a villain.

"We shouldn't make assumptions about others so casually. It's probably just because of that black fog that I have this feeling."

Nobita dislikes judging people by their appearance, so he quickly dismissed his suspicions.

After the three of them exchanged silent glances, it was Uesugi who took the initiative to speak.

"We're planning to discuss some consensus among the players. Are you available now?"

After memorizing their images, Iwasaki nodded: "Okay."

A somewhat aloof person, but still quite communicative.

Uesugi had made a judgment: this kind of person probably preferred a more direct approach, so he skipped the small talk and began discussing what kind of player rules should be set.

After nearly half an hour of discussion, the initial version of the player lobby rules was freshly released.

It is divided into three main principles.

[Identity Protection Principle] [Cooperative Transaction Principle] [Conflict Prevention Principle]

Identity protection means that players should not track each other's real-world identities and should not try to obtain each other's personal information.

In cooperative transactions, the transactions between the parties should be voluntary and should not be forced.

Before a game is perfectly completed, solutions to the game should not be discussed to avoid being deprived of the ending rewards;

After achieving a perfect ending in the game, players can voluntarily exchange information about suspicious situations encountered in the game or valuable clues not limited to the game itself.

Conflict prevention means prohibiting questioning the other party's capabilities;

In real life, if you encounter a player and a conflict of interest arises, you should avoid conflict as soon as possible, confirm whether the other party is a player, and if so, choose a time to meet in the player lobby. If necessary, you can ask other players to mediate.

The above principles apply to every player who is willing to abide by the rules, including new players who join later.

In the third round of recommendations, please read and vote on Tuesday!

Chapter 91: Abundant Harvest

"As for the methods to confirm players' identities, I wonder if you have ever paid attention to the palm of your hand."

Uesugi spread his hands, but naturally, nothing could be seen in the player lobby.

"After becoming a registered player, a number and the words 'Regular Player' will appear on your palm. The number shouldn't be a secret; mine is 0120. If everyone's numbers are combined, we might be able to learn some useful information about this game."

Nobi nodded in agreement: "Mine is 0130."

Iwasaki hadn't taken the Reshaping Pill yet and hadn't seen his number, but that didn't stop him from guessing his number based on the two people's information: "0110".

"Then it seems quite obvious. 01 represents that this is the first game, and 10, 20, 30 represent the order in which the players are selected?" This result is roughly what Uesugi expected.

"So, Hao Sang was the first to receive an invitation, and Yue Sang was the second. But isn't the numbering a bit strange? Why isn't it in the order of 01, but 10 instead?"

Nobita voiced his doubts.

“It’s either a simple setting issue, with ‘Unknown’ preferring symmetrical four-digit numbers, or it represents the number of games played,” Iwasaki suddenly said. “The numbering isn’t necessarily fixed.”

Uesugi instantly understood: "You mean, the 0 at the end of the number represents the number of games we've completed? But we've already completed 'Subway.' Do we have to wait until the game closes and the points are tallied?"

Iwasaki hummed in agreement.

After such a long discussion, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as it had been at the beginning. Uesugi seized the opportunity and began to sort out the game's plot, hoping to discuss her conjectures with the two of them.

"I have no interest in the storyline of a game that I've already perfectly completed. Yue, Zhi, would you be interested in exchanging your ranking rewards for it?"

Iwasaki did not join the discussion, but instead stated his own needs directly.

Uesugi gently shook his head: "My reward is a health-enhancing pill, which I plan to use myself."

Iwasaki turned his gaze toward Nobita.

"I'm sorry, ten years of lifespan is also very important to me, but Hao Sang, you can keep an eye on the points exchange that will open in two days. Perhaps there will be similar items there."

Nobita isn't good at saying no, but since it concerns his lifespan, and given his growth over this period, he no longer feels guilty about refusing other people's requests.

Iwasaki didn't show any dissatisfaction, but simply nodded as before: "I understand, I was just asking. If you need a substitute red paper doll, you can contact me to exchange. I just checked the private messaging system, where you can send messages to players, and you should be able to sense it in real life as well."

After saying that, he logged off without waiting for the two of them to say anything more.

The humanoid black mist dissipated back into a ball, and the nickname faded away.

"He shouldn't be angry, right?" Nobita asked, a little worried.

“Zhi-sang, you need to know that in the player lobby, we are all equal. At least until there are new players, we have no information gap to exploit.”

Uesugi doesn't expect herself to be a good person, but she believes it's essential to maintain a healthy gaming community.

Otherwise, the chaotic and disorganized gaming communities on the internet in the real world serve as a cautionary tale.

If you throw a stone down, you can knock out five trolls, three trolls, two trolls, and ten followers who will be stunned.

Nobi realized he had given himself away and, worried about revealing more of his information, didn't say anything more about Iwasaki.

"Are you interested in talking about the plot of 'Subway'? I feel that this game is not that simple. Or rather, it's not a pure game." Uesugi's idea needed to be confirmed, and Nobi, who was also a player, was practically the only candidate at the moment.

Today is the 16th, and she has reached Kisaragi Station and discovered the traces left by those who came before and the train timetable.

If her guess is correct, then there are only two days left.

The thought of what might happen made her breath quicken.

Hearing Uesugi's serious tone, Nobita estimated the time and realized it wasn't that soon before school started.

"Please say."

Harvest!

That night, Shin Higashiyama and Shin Iwasaki almost simultaneously achieved a perfect ending.

Although he actually owns all the progress the players make, he's never been one to enjoy getting carried to victory.

Well, even he himself doesn't quite believe that.

But since they've already reached the end, achieving the perfect ending is a kind of obsession for players.

Ever since Kosuke Iwasaki deleted his progress and started over, he felt that the man had suddenly changed, becoming somewhat unfamiliar, and filled with rationality and coldness.

They overcame all obstacles and made it to the end in perfect condition.

Just then, Shinya Higashiyama had already sorted out his thoughts, so the two of them finished the ending around the same time.