I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 372 The City of False Humans Fifteen Years Ago: Clues to a New Area! A Ghostly Puppet Tests the Waters, Only to Be Struck by Lightning Upon Leaving.
So it really is that city in Hokkaido...

All the demons and monsters above the spirits of Hokkaido were wiped out by Nanjo Manami, leaving only this "haunted house," which must have something extraordinary about it.

But to my surprise, even Ririko found it a bit tricky.

Uesugi Tetsu glanced at the time of the LINE message; it was from two hours ago.

Ririko was probably waiting for his answer, so he asked directly, while also offering a reminder based on his experience reading a large number of light novels and documents.

[Moon Sand Sauce: Explain in detail, what exactly is wrong?]

[Tsuki-suna-chan: Also, no voiceovers. Something "off" like in ghost stories might be able to travel through sound.]

Within ten seconds, both of his messages showed as "read," and Ririko immediately replied—

[Riki: You're so meticulous, Uesugi-kun.]

[Li: The Special Affairs Department has also warned that ghost stories can spread rapidly through voice, pictures, word of mouth, and even shared knowledge.]

In some special cases, text can also be used, although its reach is relatively minimal.

[Li: Actually, I also took photos of that city with a special camera, and showed them to different death row inmates under the strict rules and regulations of the Special Affairs Department.]

Although it seems unrelated, I didn't send it just to be on the safe side.

Uesugi Tetsu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It's fine to send it to yourself, but if something goes wrong and the pictures of the "ghostly city" spread online, then things could get really messy.

It seems that although Ririko possesses great strength and a strong swordsmanship, it hasn't allowed her to surpass them in intelligence.

[Tsuki-suna-chan: Okay, tell me, what exactly is wrong?]

[Li: This city is too normal!]

[Li: The information you gave me clearly states that the nine investigators and three exploration teams sent there will disappear as soon as they approach the city, and communication will be lost within minutes, leaving no trace. It is much more isolated than a typical haunted house.]

But when I got close, if I hadn't known beforehand, I really wouldn't have noticed this city that seemed so normal to the average person.

The city was orderly; office workers went to work, students went to school, and vendors operated normally—everything seemed normal from every angle.

Uesugi Tetsuya grasped the key point in an instant.

[Moon Sand Sauce: In the eyes of an ordinary person?]

[Li: Yes. But in my opinion, everyone in this seemingly normal city—everyone—is like a puppet, pretending to be normal.]

After waiting a while, Ririko added.

[Li: Rather than calling them puppets, it's more accurate to call them "pseudo-humans." They are all unknown things with self-awareness, disguised as humans.]

[Tsuki-suna-chan: Can you be sure what the true forms of these fake people are?]

[Li: It's a pity, she's no different from an ordinary person.]

[Li: Besides, I even went into that city and talked to the fake people there, and nothing unusual happened. I came out unharmed.]

fake people...

Ririko's statement reminded Uesugi Tetsu of the famous "swamp man hypothesis".

Simply put, someone was struck by lightning and died, but happened to react with the nearby swamp and give birth to a "swamp man".

The Swamp Man's appearance and memories, even all the microscopic particles in the physical sense, are exactly the same as that person's, and even the Swamp Man himself did not realize that he was a Swamp Man.

Can such a swamp man still be considered the real person?
[Tsuki-suna-chan: So how did you figure out they weren't ordinary people?]

Uesugi Tetsu was naturally not worried that Ririko had been affected and corrupted. If that haunted house could achieve that level of corruption, even the Sword Saint guarding the Nine Heavens would be unable to sit still.

[Li: Hehe, the Special Affairs Bureau's top-secret files record that this city disappeared abruptly fifteen years ago, and at the time it didn't cause any sensation, and hardly anyone noticed.]

Moreover, even senior investigators from the Special Affairs Bureau would disappear if they entered, so how could ordinary people live normally?

Believing the people in this vanished city were ordinary people is less valuable than believing I'll become a sword saint next year.

Uesugi Tetsu read through Ririko's speech from top to bottom again.

How could she possibly go over there and investigate step by step in a straightforward manner?
[Tsuki-suna-chan: Just tell me, Ririko, how many fake people have you killed?]

[Li: Ten streets.]

[Tsuki-suna-chan: ?]

[Riki: Uesugi-kun, you understand me. I've been going around in circles without finding any clues or a breakthrough, and I'm certain these guys aren't human, so why not try slashing them a couple of times?]

So early this morning, I went inside alone and tried to randomly chop up a few guys who weren't home at night. Unexpectedly, I was discovered by a lot of fake people, and even the police came looking for me to arrest me.

Then we might as well just kill everyone who sees me.

[Tsuki-suna-chan: Are you trying to do some kind of unorthodox speedrun here?!]

[Li: It's completely blocked. I've killed so many people and not triggered any events, nothing has changed. I suspect even slaughtering the entire city or razing it to the ground wouldn't work...]

and many more.

Uesugi-kun, it's just past midnight, and I got a new message... Guess what?

Midnight?

Uesugi Tetsu narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then tentatively replied.

[Moon Sand: Could it be that the entire city has been refreshed, and the dead have all come back to life?]

[Li: ...]

[Li: Talking to you is so boring. How are you so smart? How could you guess that?]

[Li: Well, that's the truth. Once midnight passes, all the destroyed buildings and dead people in the city are refreshed just like NPCs.]

But this doesn't solve anything.

Going back to the beginning, after I killed many people, I also tried bringing a few investigators, but they didn't disappear like the others.

[Li: I suspect it might be my problem.]

[Li: My swordsmanship is too strong to be distorted even slightly, lest this haunted house repel me.]

[Tsuki-suna-chan: Doesn't that mean there's a mastermind behind it all?]

[Li: Maybe. But it's also possible that this haunted house has "come alive." Nanjo-nee-san said that this is one of the most bizarre ghost stories in Hokkaido in the last hundred years.]

This thing does sound really weird and dangerous.

[Tsuki-suna-chan: So, can't Nanjo-nee just destroy this haunted house herself? If she can't get in, can't she at least destroy it?]

[Li: The Special Affairs Bureau said there are still people alive inside. If there are people alive, then perhaps the entire city is alive.]

With over a million people, it's not convenient to destroy them before the ghost stories truly begin to spread.

Upon seeing this number, even Uesugi Tetsuya fell silent.

He didn't ask why he didn't call Yin Yang Quan Zhu, but instead asked the possible righteous gods to go there... If he could think of it, surely the Special Affairs Bureau could too?
Uesugi Tetsuya wouldn't think of others as that stupid.

So, are there any other unique methods he can think of?

The first person that comes to mind is Runa Kitano; given her constitution, getting close to her will inevitably trigger a ghost story event...

Forget it, I'll just leave it at that.

Uesugi Tetsu sighed. The other person was just a high school student, not even as good as an ordinary investigator.

Let's ask Karudo and Kuro first.

After asking Ririko to wait a while, Uesugi Tetsu went back to the Sengoku period and woke up Utagawa, who was sleeping.

"Sorry for waking you up, but I really need to use Xiao Hei right now."

Ge Liuduo, who had just woken up, rubbed his sleepy eyes and patted his cheeks to wake up.

She shook her head: "Lord Uesugi must have something urgent to attend to, there's no need to worry about me."

Without further conversation, Uesugi Tetsu led Karuta, who was carrying the black book, to the present world, while also preparing for the backlash from the black book.

He also took out his phone and called Kujou Tsubaki, who is now the Yin-Yang Master of Arakawa Ward and has already reached the level of a demon god, causing the nine-tailed fox phantom on the roof of the Arakawa Ward Special Affairs Office to cast a glance at him.

After taking double precautions, Uesugi Tetsuya then had Karuta pick up the pen.

"Let's ask... is Ririko in any danger in this incident?"

Soon, words appeared in blood on the black book: 【No.】

This time, Uesugi Tetsu didn't forget to ask about his little apprentice: "Where's Chisa?"

One of the pages in the black book became even more old and yellowed. It paused almost imperceptibly, and the blood-red words continued to appear.

【No. 】

Uesugi Tetsuya was temporarily relieved and, after a moment of organizing his thoughts, began to speak.
"What is the haunted house that Ririko is currently investigating, which is the city that disappeared fifteen years ago? How do we get inside? And how do we find a way to break through this haunted house?"

Ge Liuduo wrote down the truth without missing a single word.

The moment he uttered those words, Uesugi Tetsuya was already prepared for strange powers or black mud to emerge from the black book.

No.

The black book contained nothing unusual, but also offered no answers.

Uesugi Tetsu frowned and waited a full ten seconds before he saw the questioning blood-red words appear on the black book.

【Huh? Lord Uesugi, what did you just ask me? I don't remember.】

He looked at the words that Karuta had written on the yellowed paper, which were now so faded that they were almost invisible.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't say much, but simply asked Karuta to write it again.

Ten seconds later, the exact same characters appeared on the black book.

【Huh? Lord Uesugi, what did you just ask me? I don't remember.】

Seeing this, Uesugi Tetsu asked with a smile, "Kuro, you really don't remember?"

【! 】

"My lord, I truly didn't hear anything clearly, and I remember nothing! If I'm lying, may that lord obliterate me!"

The black book trembled.

Uesugi Tetsu glanced at Karuta, who shook his head, indicating that the black book was probably not lying.

Was it caused by that haunted house...?

Before Uesugi Tetsuya's idea had even formed in his mind, a scarlet notification appeared above the black book.

[—Take this item to the designated location to unlock a new area.]

He was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.

It turns out that the eerie haunted house in Hokkaido was the "new area" mentioned in the black book!
No wonder the Black Book couldn't detect it—as an item for unlocking areas, Little Black must have some connection to that new area.

That being the case...

Uesugi Tetsuya put the black book into his storage backpack, isolating it from any possible influence, and then explained the situation of the strange city to Karuta in detail.

Then, he asked Karudo, "Could you investigate any related possibilities?"

That's right, Uesugi Tetsu is going to use Karuta's talent for the first time - [Exploring Possibilities].

Without any hesitation, Ge Liuduo nodded, then his eyes turned into pure gold, gradually becoming empty.

Uesugi Tetsu raised his hands, ready to support Karuta at any moment.

As time passed, a great deal of sweat and a look of pain appeared on Karuta's delicate face.

Five minutes passed, and the gold in Karudo's eyes vanished in an instant. She swayed, on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

Uesugi Tetsu hugged her tightly, and then heard Karuta's weak voice in his ear: "Lord Uesugi... I saw it."

That was a ring.

And...and you will be there, becoming a ghost or god.

Karuta bit her lip with her pearly teeth and said apologetically,

"I'm sorry, Lord Uesugi... there's too much fog and debris there, I can't see anything else."

"No need to apologize, you did a great job, Karudo."

Uesugi Tetsu hugged her tightly and used a massive amount of spiritual energy to gently cleanse Karuta's body, gradually improving her complexion.

At the same time, he silently thought to himself—

ring.

And that I can break through to the level of a ghost or god in the new area.

The former should be a very important entry point or a breakthrough point, as for the latter... just for the sake of becoming a demon god, even if it is not a new area, Uesugi Tetsu would go there.

After comforting Karuta and sending her back to the core of the All-Spirit Furnace, Uesugi Tetsu thanked Kujou Tsubaki and then replied to Ririko on Line.

[Moon Sand Sauce: Ring.]

[Li: Ring?]

[Tsuki-sa-chan: Yes, the "ring" is a crucial clue; you might be able to start there.]

[Li: Okay, I'll tell the others later.]

[Moon Sand Sauce: Also, if there's really no other way, you can hold off for now. I'll definitely come over in a few days.]

[Li: You can rest assured about my handling of things.]

After temporarily ending his chat with Ririko, Uesugi Tetsu stared at the black book in his storage backpack for a while, and finally decided to finish everything in the Sengoku period before trying to open a new area.

Anyway, it won't be long.

With that thought in mind, Uesugi Tetsu walked into the night and disappeared completely from the Arakawa Ward.

……

Imagawa Yoshimoto's health deteriorated further.

Even though she didn't tell him and didn't show any particular signs in her daily life, Uesugi Tetsu could sense that her life was rapidly slipping away.

The journey to Luoyang might have to be brought forward...

"Lord Uesugi, I sense a potential danger."

After returning to the Sengoku period, Karuta had been recuperating for several days, so there were no major changes after his talent was passively triggered.

Perhaps the crisis is not that serious.

Uesugi Tetsu thought for a moment and asked her to investigate the matter in detail using the black book.

Soon, detailed lines of blood-written text appeared neatly on the yellowed pages.

"The Demon Guide Association, Bodhidharma, is this a test..."

"Why did you rats come after me instead of eliminating the root of the problem?"

He grinned, already having a brilliant idea in mind.

……

"We must strike first and seize the initiative."

At the impromptu meeting concerning "Great Onmyoji, Demon God, Che," Daruma, emaciated as a withered tree, spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Che, it's not as simple as you all think."

As someone in the shadows was about to speak up with various excuses, Bodhidharma preemptively observed them calmly.

"For this test, the Demon Guide Association will send out a ghost puppet with the flaw of being [resisted by lightning magic]."

Bodhidharma said, "Che is skilled in thunder magic. This test will prove whether he has broken through the shackles of heaven and earth and become a true god."

No one objected to these words.

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

"Agree."

"The friends from the Demon Guide Association have really sent a great gift."

The giant grinned, inwardly chuckling.
"Che...then show us your true strength and let us examine you closely, inside and out!"

(End of this chapter)