Using the MC system to pretend spiritual revival

Chapter 205 So... I'm dead.
"Buzz—~"

As the engines roared, the sky grew dark, and the fully loaded vehicles gradually disappeared into the distance on the quiet streets.

……

After cleaning the fourth-floor area, the group of ten rested for a while and chatted to get to know each other better.

Everyone spoke freely about work-related matters, sharing various stories they had heard or circulated online.

Since no one had prior knowledge of the supernatural realm, the professionalism of these statements was questionable.

During the discussion, everyone naturally also talked about the contents mentioned in the archives.

Perhaps the Sakura government had done such a good job of keeping it a secret that no one knew about it, so the discussion had to be dropped.

And whether out of concern or not, Amon found himself always paying attention to the petite girl, Tomie Kawakami, who had a rather low profile in the discussions.

This girl, with her tragic past, rarely spoke. Perhaps due to her upbringing, she appeared somewhat dull and listless, always seeming absent-minded.

Several times when the topic was brought up and the discussion became heated, she would only occasionally chime in with a few words, appearing quite aloof.

However, the others didn't think much of it, assuming that she was shy or simply didn't like to talk.

After observing for a while and seeing nothing unusual, Yamen also slightly shifted his attention.

It was now 6 p.m.

Some people who lived far away or had other things to do left one after another.

They arrived in two police cars provided by the police department. Now there are six people left, including Amen himself, four men and two women.

If you squeeze in, one car is barely enough.

"Captain, what should we do now?"

As Yamon stared blankly at the distant vehicles and Kawakami Tomie sitting inside, gradually disappearing into the distance, he was lost in thought.

Gangtae, who was standing nearby, suddenly leaned over and asked a question.

Amen then came to his senses, shook his head in confusion, and regrouped before taking out the thick stack of documents from his bag again.

Looking at the top one, he said seriously.

"Since everyone is free, let's go visit this person involved."

"The decision to establish our base of operations in this neighborhood was also based on this consideration."

"The origin of the first discovered anomaly in Tokyo is definitely worth investigating..."

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the dark street to the residential buildings across the street where lights were on, his eyes gleaming.

The others noticed his movement and followed his gaze to the other side of the street.

Gang-tae, who was admitted through a special sports program, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and instantly recalled the most recent information recorded in the file from the meeting.

"Captain, you mean that middle-aged office worker? Wasn't he attacked by a monster? Even if he's alright, I feel like he should be locked up temporarily for security reasons..."

His muttered words of doubt were clearly heard by the people around him.

Before Yamen could answer, a teammate with glasses and an inconspicuous presence adjusted his glasses, reflecting the bright white light of the street lamp, and explained in a flat tone.

"No, you're wrong."

"It would be strange if he were locked up."

"First, he was the only person involved in this incident, so there was no risk of leakage at all."

"Secondly, today's meeting also shows that the attitude of the entire Sakura Kingdom towards extraordinary events has changed, and will naturally shift from secrecy to gradual openness."

As he spoke, a slight smile played on his lips, radiating confidence.

"After all, if what the director said is true, it won't be long before the changes around the world can't be kept secret, and it's inevitable that information will be gradually released."

"Uh... I see..."

After being stunned by this seemingly educational narration, Gangtai came to his senses and could only awkwardly scratch his head, saying something dryly.

However, Yamen, standing to the side, cast an admiring glance at the bespectacled youth.

Regardless of one's mindset, having this kind of observational ability is a good thing.

He then nodded in agreement and added his own words.

"That's right. The police department has already issued a notice about these matters."

As he spoke, he gestured for the group to turn his phone screen towards them.

"After the Metropolitan Police Department's office software is updated, log in to the backend, enter your employee number in the newly opened Shin-in-ko (Shin-in-ko) Division, and you can create and enter the forum belonging to our division."

"There are some announcements and information on it, as well as channels for calling and requesting resources, but some functions are still grayed out and will probably be available in a few more days."

The other five people each took out their phones and fiddled with them for a while before seeing the announcement from the Shenyin Department.

The announcements were few, only two in number, and generally outlined the hierarchy of authority and secrecy.

Amen waited patiently to the side, and only spoke again when he saw that the others had seen enough.

"And that's not all; this person has probably just returned from the hospital at this time, which is why I'm only now preparing to go and look for them..."

"...Sigh, he's really unfortunate..."

As he spoke, a hint of sympathy and regret appeared on his face.

After some maneuvering on my phone, I opened a small, unremarkable section of today's news.

He then handed it to several of his companions.

"You can see for yourselves..."

……

……

Meanwhile, inside the residence where the group was discussing things...

"Tap-tap-tap-"

Footsteps echoed in the dimly lit stairwell.

Climb up the stairs.

The garbage on the first floor was covered in dust.

The advertisement on the corner of the second floor has turned white.

The old man on the third floor has been gone for many years.

"Tap - step -"

The footsteps stopped.

The old security door on the fourth floor was slowly pulled open with a creaking sound.

Sato carried bulging shopping bags, his back hunched and his head slightly lowered.

Ignoring the various odds and ends scattered on the living room floor, he turned around and went to the sofa.

Just like every tired night after coming home, I habitually want to collapse and clear my mind until I can muster the energy again.

But today, he paused.

On the living room floor, a tattered family photo lay quietly.

Bathed in the moonlight streaming through the living room window, the shattered glass reflected a sharp, chilling light.

Beneath the shattered glass, Sato, in his early twenties, and his smiling wife and daughter looked so happy.

His smile seemed to fill the world with light and warmth...

"Thorn-"

A sound of flesh being cut came, and the stinging pain in his fingertips woke him up.

Sato's lips trembled, his face covered in stubble and dark circles.

Without realizing it, he had crouched down and reached out to touch the picture frame that had fallen to the ground, only to have the shattered glass pierce his flesh.

He stood there, stunned, blood dripping from the wound on his fingertip, which was suspended in mid-air.

In no time, the entire photograph was stained with a mess.

However, after he had fully regained his senses, he silently got up and went to the kitchen to wash his wound.

"Wow..."

The tap was turned on, and the cold tap water licked the wound, bringing a slight stinging pain, but Sato seemed completely oblivious.

He just stood there, stunned, waiting for the water to wash the wound clean before silently turning off the tap.

He turned around naturally and carefully placed the large shopping bag in his hand on the slightly cramped counter.

Take out the items one by one.

Scallions, ginger, spices, eel, tofu, shrimp balls, cabbage, radish...

…And finally, a small box of restless little crabs.

"Da da da--"

With the sound of the gas stove valve being turned, a flame suddenly burst into flame on the stovetop at the bottom of the pot.

It also illuminated the room, which had quickly darkened, a little more.

Sato raised his hand and stroked the rows of neatly hung kitchen utensils of various colors on the shelf.

He was trying to experience, through this method, the feeling of his wife skillfully using each piece of tableware when she was busy in this small space.

But all that came through my fingertips was a chill.

He remained silent, then picked up the cutting board and knife.

"Boom boom boom——"

I was already a little clumsy as I cut the fresh vegetables I had just bought from the supermarket.

Carefully combing through the veins of each lettuce leaf, the texture of the tofu...

His movements were somewhat clumsy and slow, but he was very careful with every step.

The various seasonings and vegetables that had been chopped and prepared were put into the pot, and finally, a box of small crabs was also thrown in.

"Clang-"

Put the lid on the pot.

The sound of the stove flames echoed clearly in the dimly lit room.

Sato stared blankly at the water in the pot as it gradually heated up and foam began to rise.

The crabs that had been struggling violently just moments before began to stiffen and change color as the water temperature gradually rose.

A crab that crawled to the edge may have sensed the changes in its body.

Driven by biological instinct, it uses its still-movable pincers to slowly feed the half-cooked food beside it into its mouth, bit by bit.

It's so stupid that it seems to think that eating something and taking a nap will make it better.

It seems that if you just endure it and get through it, everything will be fine, and you can continue to eke out a living in the cramped breeding tank.

They repeat the same actions day after day.

Perhaps by the time it realizes the water temperature is rising and tries to escape, it will be too late.

But more likely, even on its deathbed, it will still feel that it didn't try hard enough.

"...So stupid...They're just animals after all...They can't even see the pot they're cooking in..."

This was the first time Sato had spoken since returning home; his voice was hoarse and dry.

It seemed like he was commenting on the crabs in the pot, but his tone was somewhat ethereal, and it was unclear what he was saying.

It got dark again, and only the firelight under the stove illuminated his blurry, numb expression.

Having narrowly escaped death, he received a call from the hospital after leaving the Metropolitan Police Department.

The apartment building in my residential complex had quality problems. A gas valve downstairs was leaking, and three households in the low-rise building were unknowingly poisoned and fell into a coma. The Sato family was among them.

When he arrived at the hospital exhausted and fearful after a night of waiting, he received two notices of brain death due to delayed medical attention and ineffective resuscitation.

He was in a daze at the time, not knowing how he left the hospital or why he stopped in a boutique store that he rarely visited.

Numbly, I bought a whole bunch of dishes that I usually couldn't afford but that my wife and daughter loved to eat, and walked all the way home.

He didn't know why he was doing this; his mind was in turmoil, but one thing he was clear about was that he didn't know why.

Sato needs to make a choice.

Under the car, in the woods, on the rooftop, and in the lake...

There was no hesitation or fear, only a deep, long-standing emptiness.

Pain, exhaustion, and bitterness eventually coalesced into a numb despair.

"Snapped--"

The stove was turned off, and the flames died down.

The soup is ready; lift the lid, and steam rises gently.

The tempting red crab shells, accompanied by vibrant green vegetables and smooth, white tofu, are simmered in a rich broth, creating a delicious dish...

...Good soup.

Then, amidst the clanging of the spoon against the pot, Sato shoveled the entire pot of tempting soup into his mouth, one spoonful after another, completely disregarding the scalding temperature.

"Cough—! Cough—!"

Sato, who had devoured the entire pot of ingredients in one go, had a flushed face and a tight throat, which triggered a violent cough.

Finally, he leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the ground.

A violent tinnitus quickly filled my mind, my vision blurred, and I felt everything starting to drift away.

After the last glimmer of light disappeared from his sight, Sato could no longer sense the existence of anything outside.

I felt like I was constantly falling, endlessly.

I don’t know how long it took.

Just as he was getting used to this sense of emptiness, he suddenly felt a vibration coming from within himself.

It felt as if a heavy object had fallen to the ground, finally hitting the bottom.

"Ding-ding-ding-"

Before anything else, a rhythmic tapping sound suddenly rang in my ears, crisp, piercing, and monotonous.

At this moment, the previously empty darkness gradually began to show a dark red light.

The sense of touch, which I had almost forgotten, began to return from all parts of my body.

A spasm followed, and the impact of her body hitting the ground brought pain, but her body quickly adapted.

Sato's long-closed eyelids trembled as they opened, and the blinding light from the outside world immediately brought tears to her eyes.

He tried several times before he finally managed to get up and stare blankly at everything around him.

red.

Everywhere you look is a depressing shade of red.

The sky was red, the ground was red, and even the dust suspended in the air seemed to have a faint blood-red hue.

Driven by biological instinct, he felt uneasy and oppressed, and curled up, shrinking his body even tighter.

My mind was in complete chaos, and it took me a long time to even remember my own name.

Because of his confusion, he felt that the world he saw was not like this. The sense of unfamiliarity and oppression made his chaotic thoughts even more disordered.

Only when his eyes, which had been trembling wildly from his heavy breathing, finally stopped did he regain his senses.

I noticed the constant tapping sound echoing in my ears, with each tap seemingly spaced exactly out, repeating itself.

After an unknown amount of time in this strange and unfamiliar environment, Sato, who had finally begun to adapt, slowly got up and started to search for the strange sound.

He quickly spotted the source of the sound.

In the area where he awoke, not far from the red ground, on the mountainside, stood an old man, his body wrapped in tattered rags, his hair gray and withered, and his body emaciated.

He raised his pickaxe high and struck the rock face repeatedly.

Their movements were mechanical and rigid, like a machine, digging tirelessly.

"This……"

Sato hesitated. The two were not far apart, but the old man's back looked eerie against the backdrop of the environment.

He also noticed that the figure had unusually heavy metal shackles around its neck and legs, features that did not seem like a good omen.

He looked around for a moment, and it seemed that he was in a craggy cliff with sheer drops on both sides, and he could not see the bottom at a glance.

There was no road in front or behind, only strange figures lying on the rock face in the distance, digging incessantly.

Having no other choice, he could only nervously and anxiously walk towards the old man.

"Hello, may I ask..."

Before Sato could get any closer and ask another question, the figure suddenly stopped, the iron pickaxe raised high reflecting a dark red light.

Then, it remained frozen in place, like a statue.

This made Sato involuntarily shut his mouth, nervously swallow, and take a half step back.

He waited for an unknown amount of time, until he felt his body was starting to feel numb.

The stiff, motionless old man slowly turned around amidst the clanking of iron chains.

An old face with loose, gray skin and deep wrinkles turned around.

Among them, those numb eyes stared intently at him after he turned around.

He stared at him for a long time, his gaze lingering slightly on Sato's neck and legs.

Then, a hoarse sound, like rocks rubbing together, drifted over.

"...You don't belong here...Leave...Leave..."

As he spoke, the old man turned around again, raised the manuscript, and began to type in a monotonous and tedious manner.

Sato was taken aback upon hearing this, and a strange feeling crept into his mind.

He couldn't understand a word the other person was saying.

But as soon as the words were spoken, the words that came out seemed to burrow directly into the brain like insects.

It pieced together a comprehensible meaning in a bizarre and incomprehensible form.

A wave of fear washed over him.

But looking at the surrounding environment where there was no way to go, he felt helpless and had no idea where to go.

The person in front of him was the only one he could communicate with, so he could only take another step forward and continue to press for answers:

"Then do you know which way I should go?"

After a long silence, the old man did not turn around again, but then came another incoherent sentence.

"...exhaustion...death...endless...endless..."

"What...uh!..."

Before he could ask any more questions, he suddenly felt a tightness around his neck, and the scene before his eyes changed instantly.

The dark red sky and earth instantly turned into a cold, bluish-purple.

Illusory particles floated in the air.

Suddenly, a tall, unusual figure appeared in front of them.

A rusty iron chain extended from the other person's hand and was tightly fastened around his neck.

Sato instinctively reached out and grabbed the iron chain wrapped around his neck, trying to untie it.

But after a while, I found that I didn't feel any suffocation.

At that moment, the tall figure that had suddenly appeared at the other end of the chain spoke slowly.

"What are you doing running around like that! If you're going to die, just come to the gates of hell. What are you doing running off to?!"

The moment that eerie, shrill voice rang out, even though the language was still incomprehensible, its meaning was branded onto the brain like a hot iron.

This caused Sato's eyes to tremble violently, and a flood of fragmented memories suddenly surged from the depths of his mind.

"So that's it..."

"So... I was dead..."

"This... is the afterlife..."

The overwhelming exhaustion and pressure, coupled with the despair of losing his wife and daughter, once again overwhelmed his consciousness.

Sato slowly slid his hands off the chains gripping his neck and shoulders, then looked up blankly, surveying his surroundings.

Beneath your feet and beside you lies a wide and magnificent road paved with dark, cold stone bricks.

In the lamps on both sides, cold, ghostly orchid flames burned.

One after another, figures with bluish-purple faces and lifeless eyes walked past him with their heads down.

Following the crowd, not far away, an exceptionally tall ancient city gate stood.

A huge plaque, seemingly the size of a building, hangs high above the city.

"gate of hell……"

The complex text was reflected in my pupils, but the meaning seemed to rush directly into my mind like needles.

Then he finally understood where he had arrived.

The underworld, the ten courts of Yama, the eighteen levels of hell...

"Alright! Have you seen enough?! Get over here right now!!"

"You have entered hell on your own! Your soul should have entered the underworld at dawn, but you have deliberately delayed until three-quarters past dusk the next day!"

"For multiple offenses, come with me to see the judge. He will sentence you to be cut in half at the waist like a millstone!"

The shrill, sinister voice shouted out before Sato could even discern anything.

I felt a tightness in my neck and shoulders, all my words were stuck in my throat, and I was dragged to the ground by the huge figure.

They pulled all the way into the massive city gate...

……

And at the same time.

real world.

Inside a residential building in a community with sparse lights, a group of five people were climbing the dark stairs.

Only faint sounds of conversation could be heard.

"I don't know if Sato is lucky or unlucky."

"If it weren't for that monster, he and his family would probably have died of carbon monoxide poisoning."

"Sigh, I was attacked by a monster, which scared me so much that I had mental problems. Then I found out that my whole family was dead. The rescue cost all my savings. I don't know if this is bad luck or good luck."

"That's really tragic. If we have the chance, we can help them..."

"Hey, I remember our Hidden Affairs Department's forum framework has an external recruitment section, maybe that could be useful..."

"Huh? Why is the door open? Where did everyone go?"

(End of this chapter)