Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Therefore, at night, apart from approved club activities, only a few teachers and security guards remain on duty at the school.

Near the main entrance of the old teaching building, five new delinquents had managed to survive until now by climbing over the wall and hiding inside the school beforehand, and they gathered on time.

Inoue, along with Hosokawa and Sato, scrutinized the five newcomers before them, causing them to instinctively straighten their backs, not wanting to leave a bad impression.

"To become a true delinquent, the most indispensable thing is a bold and resilient heart; otherwise, you're just all show and no substance!" Inoue walked around in front of the group with his hands behind his back, then stood in front of them and spouted nonsense with great arrogance.

These people are exactly drawn to a certain aura; once you have enough aura, they'll believe whatever you say makes sense.

Tell me, are you afraid of ghosts?

"Not afraid!"

The shouts made Inoue's brow twitch, and Sato looked around nervously, afraid of attracting the attention of the security guards.

However, at this time there were still one or two clubs active on campus, which could cover up their activities to some extent.

"Very good! Very energetic!"

Inoue, of course, couldn't show any fear of the guards, so he could only forcefully encourage them.

"Hosokawa, distribute the map. Your goal is to find the three mysterious items marked on the map within half an hour and bring them out intact. You cannot team up or help each other." Inoue added in a strange tone, "It doesn't matter what they are."

The group exchanged glances instinctively, all revealing expressions of defiance.

In the pitch-black darkness where it was impossible to distinguish one person from another at a distance, no one noticed that on a locust tree right next to them, a person with a stiff expression and pale skin was squatting, his eyes glowing red as he watched their every move.

"Minor misfortune, major misfortune, major misfortune, minor misfortune. Heh, what a rich kid driving a hawk—more bad than good."

"Dongshan Shen" glanced at the general fortunes of the group. Only one person, whose hands and feet were trembling, did not show any signs of misfortune. The others, at the very least, were facing minor misfortunes.

It is clear that they will all suffer misfortune.

"Fortunately, this paper doll body can directly access the original body's abilities."

The figure currently perched on the treetop is not the real Shin Higashiyama, but rather a paper doll he left behind.

At eight o'clock, he would activate the Possession Paper Doll, infusing a wisp of his own essence into the paper doll whose eyes he had dotted with his blood, transforming it into a life-sized doll. However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, its appearance was modified.

After possession, the abilities of the Spirit-Nourishing Fiery Eye and the Luminous Master remain, and it can even access items in the reward warehouse.

However, the paper figure's magic power is limited; once exhausted, it will spontaneously combust and turn to ashes.

"We'll go up first and wait for you on the top floor. Remember, you only have forty-five minutes."

After Inoue assigned the tasks, the three of them went up to the teaching building first.

Then the five people below looked at each other, took out their phones or flashlights, and started to study the map.

Soon, four people went up one after another.

Only one student remained. He took a few deep breaths, hesitated and circled at the door, looking at the eerie teaching building. Countless scenes from horror movies flashed through his mind, making him unable to take the first step. His whole body was trembling.

The delinquent who was in the same class as Higashiyama Shin was the first to go in. He seemed very confident and not afraid of ghosts at all.

But the other two delinquents who hung out with him didn't come to tonight's selection meeting.

"Ok?"

Dongshan Shen's expression suddenly turned serious. It seemed that the broken formation had been activated.

When was it started?

When I visited it before, it was severely damaged, with only some basic yin-gathering functions remaining, and it was almost never operational. Now, it has quietly started operating again without me even realizing it.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Before he could think about it, less than a few minutes later, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly came from inside the teaching building.

The shout startled the newcomer at the door, soaking his pants instantly. He then scrambled away, yelling and screaming.

Such a loud noise would surely attract the attention of the security guards, so there shouldn't be any deaths. Unless, there really is something unclean present.

Higashiyama Shin jumped down from the treetop, looked up, and in a daze, everything before his eyes underwent a strange change.

The reinforced concrete teaching building was rapidly corroded and weathered at a visible rate. Patches of plaster fell off, revealing not brick walls, but old wooden walls. In the end, in Higashiyama Shin's eyes, it became a wooden teaching building that was no more than three stories high.

What was originally darkness has transformed into a hazy afternoon, like a filter of memories.

"Although I don't know much about formations, but..." Yunling Fire Eye opened, and the wooden teaching building in front of me was blown away like white mist by a strong wind. The afternoon filter shattered, and everything quickly returned to normal.

He wanted to see if it was a person, a ghost, or a monster behind this.

Inside the teaching building.

As soon as Sato followed Inoue in, he felt that something was wrong. The atmosphere was extremely oppressive, as if he couldn't breathe. A musty smell emanated from all around, and the entire building seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, making it even more dilapidated.

Gululu.

The sound, like something rolling across the floor, caught Sato's attention, and he glanced several times in the direction the sound came from.

In those few glances, in just a second or two, by the time he turned around, Inoue and the others were already several meters away from him.

"Hey! Boss! Boss, wait for me!"

Sato dared not stay alone and ran off, but it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as Inoue and the others walked into a classroom and closed the door behind them.

"I haven't gone in yet, boss!"

He quickly quickened his pace to catch up, then yanked the door open.

Immediately, a blinding white light flashed before his eyes, causing him to instinctively shield his eyes with his arm.

He was pulling on the door, not a flashbang!

After a few seconds, his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and he squinted as he slowly lowered his hand.

But the scene that appeared in the next moment plunged him into a dazed state of mental blankness.

这 是

classroom?

Sato stared in disbelief at what he saw; the once-abandoned classroom was now filled with people.

Students in old-fashioned school uniforms sat upright on worn-out desks and chairs. Outside the window, the sky was bright and clear. On the podium, a teacher dressed in a national dress and with a sallow complexion was giving a lecture.

He held a piece of chalk in his hand and wore an old-fashioned watch on his wrist.

Where did Inoue, Hosokawa, and the others go?

They just walked through this door right in front of me.

"Sato-kun, what are you doing standing at the door in a daze?"

The teacher coughed a few times and looked at him with an unfriendly gaze.

Then, all the students in the classroom turned their heads toward him in unison, staring at him with stiff, frozen smiles.

Sato felt a chill run down his spine. This classic horror movie scene made him turn around and try to open the door, but he found that no matter how hard he tried, the door, which looked like it could be broken with just a light kick, wouldn't budge.

Snapped.

At that moment, a charred hand landed on Sato's shoulder, bringing with it an indescribable, strange smell.

All of Sato's movements stopped instantly, and he could only show a look of terror on his face, not daring to turn around.

"What I hate most is disobedient children."

A faint voice, carrying the smell of burnt meat, came from behind.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Chapter 11: No Way Out

Inside the abandoned classroom, Jing Xia unconsciously gripped the flashlight in his hand. The pale light swept across the empty classroom, the cobweb-covered picture frames, and the floating dust.

Everything was as they had seen during the day; nothing seemed amiss. He frowned, listened intently for a few seconds, then turned to Hosokawa and asked.

Did you hear anything just now?

"No," Hosokawa shook his head blankly, but quickly noticed something else amiss. "Eh? Where's Sato?"

It was only then that Inoue realized that Sato had disappeared.

That's strange, when did he leave?

Hosokawa was about to call out a few times when Inoue stopped him.

“If you shout, you'll just make a fool of yourself in front of the new recruits. I suspect that Sato has bad intentions and is planning to dress up as a ghost to scare the new recruits,” Inoue rationally analyzed.

Hosokawa thought that was also possible. They had indeed discussed this idea, but it hadn't come to fruition, mainly because of insufficient funds. Buying those props was already expensive, and dressing up as a ghost would be another expense.

They're here to select bad actors, not to actually renovate a haunted house for business.

But in such a gloomy environment, if you really want to scare people, you don't necessarily have to dress up. Hiding around a corner and suddenly jumping out should be just as effective.

So Sato probably felt that those scary props weren't enough and decided to do it himself.

"That can't be right either, isn't Sato the one who's most afraid?" Hosokawa thought for a moment and had another question, but before he could finish speaking, he was cut off by a sudden chill.

The two froze on the spot—a wisp of damp, cold air was slowly creeping up their necks, carrying a musty smell, like rotten paper.

[Walk Fast]

Hosokawa's pupils contracted sharply, and the flashlight fell to the ground with a thud, rolling a considerable distance. The beam of light slanted across a pane of glass placed in the corner, clearly reflecting the silhouette of a third, blurry figure behind them.

Inoue whirled around, his heels tracing a semicircle on the dusty ground, only to see his own violently swaying shadow cast on the mottled wall.

All that could be heard was the sound of their heavy breathing.

The two remained completely silent, exchanging a glance with expressions of surprise and uncertainty.

"I don't remember this floor being set up with anything, right?" Inoue slowly walked to the flashlight that had just fallen, picked it up, stared at the broken piece of glass, and said in a dry voice.

"No, definitely not." Hosokawa answered with a tense expression, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, pulling at the veins on the side of his neck, his voice even carrying a hint of a sob.

The two fell silent again.

You will die. He's annoying right now.

Again, fragmented words and phrases, vaguely seeping out from who-knows-where.

Inoue suddenly turned and stared intently at Hosokawa. Hosokawa finally awakened his belated emotional intelligence, and for once, his EQ exploded. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Boss, I... I suddenly have a stomachache. Can you come down with me to poop?"

Inoue breathed a sigh of relief and casually wiped away the sweat that was about to slide down his neck and collar: "I really can't do anything with you, you poop and pee so much. Let's go, if we run into any newbies, let them know that we're meeting downstairs instead."

The two hurriedly prepared to leave.

They had only taken two steps toward the door when they realized that it was closed at some point.

"Did you close the door just now?" Inoue asked, his voice trembling.

"No way, it might be the wind?" Hosokawa stretched out his trembling hand, forced himself to open the door, and then, as if he had been frozen in place, stood behind the door.

"Why aren't we leaving?" Inoue urged from behind.

"B-Boss," Hosokawa was about to cry, "How the hell is the toilet behind this door?!"

What the hell?

Inoue doubted that he had heard correctly.

They entered the classroom through the aisle, so how could it possibly lead to the restroom?! Do you think you've opened a magic door?!

But that's the reality. When Inoue pushed Hosokawa aside to look, there was no doubt that behind the door was the toilet, the old-fashioned Japanese-style urinal.

You can even smell a faint odor of urine.

I don't know if it came from the toilet or from their crotches.

It was as if someone had actually overheard Hosokawa's excuse about needing to use the restroom and conjured up a restroom out of thin air for them.

Inoue pushed Hosokawa aside, slammed the door shut, closed his eyes, and muttered to himself, "It's all an illusion, it's all an illusion." He took another deep breath and quietly opened the door again.

This time, what appeared before them was finally a gloomy and dimly lit corridor.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Even the cold environment couldn't stop them from sweating profusely, but they didn't bother to wipe it off and quickly went outside.

Da da da.

They had only run a short distance when the loud sound of wooden planks made them stop involuntarily.

"Was this sound heard when we arrived?"

They exchanged a strained glance, then their gazes slowly moved downwards.