Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 193, Section 191: The Tragedy of Kyoto

The body of the Takatsuki man was pressed to the ground, causing large areas of buildings to collapse and forming a small, trembling mountain range on the earth.

The vine giant's body sprouted countless winding branches, gradually losing its shape and sticking to him, leaving only a giant tree trunk, which at first glance looked like a forest.

The scattered vines, like thick green pythons, tightly bound Giant Hill, causing its struggles to gradually subside.

Under the pressure from multiple sides, Takatsukasa Tetsu's face aged rapidly, his flesh and blood disintegrated, and his skeleton began to emerge from the ends of his limbs.

"At least...me."

He uttered a few indistinct words in a hoarse voice before falling silent, chunks of flesh falling from his face as he writhed and contracted.

Within a few breaths, the head had dried up and turned into a skeleton.

The skeletalization of the limbs spread towards the heart.

Thump—splash!
The Heart of Ninja, which had shrunk to half its original size, suddenly contracted violently, then exploded with a bang, and a normal-sized heart spewed out from the blood mist, instantly rising into the sky.

"It's trying to escape!"

Although they said that, none of them had the ability to fly at the moment. Renault's levitation was only slightly better than a chicken's, and it was not enough to support that kind of height and speed.

Just when they thought all their efforts were in vain and that Ren had escaped,

The clouds in the sky were silently parted, and a giant white hand made of mist reached out slowly, but in fact, quite slowly, toward the heart of forbearance.

The heart of forbearance seemed to be fixed in place, throbbing rapidly, but it did not continue to escape, allowing the giant white hand to take it into its palm.

The giant hand grasped the Heart of Patience, then flipped it over to face the earth, making a motion like lightly sprinkling salt in a dish, as if crushing the heart.

Beneath this, specks of light fell like snowflakes, covering half of Kyoto.

After doing all this, the giant hand slowly retracted into the clouds and disappeared.

People were left speechless and dumbfounded, staring at everything with their mouths agape.

However, soon, the condition of some patients in the hospital who could not escape suddenly began to improve rapidly. Although there were no medical miracles such as paralyzed patients suddenly sitting up or jumping around in their wheelchairs, they did achieve rapid recovery of the vitality of their aging organs, making them look ten years younger.

"That's...a human hand?"

Nobi murmured, feeling his stamina, which had been greatly depleted, being replenished.

Geralt withdrew his gaze, sealed the blood-filled vials, and took out several empty vials. He used a special method to collect the falling light dust, a satisfied look appearing in his eyes.

"When that heart escaped, it no longer had any demonic energy. Although I don't know why, the demon was indeed destroyed."

After collecting several bottles of light dust, he took a deep breath, and a white light split open behind him.

Geralt handed a box to Nobita and walked toward the light: "The quest is over. I'm very satisfied with the reward. We can play cards together sometime."

".Thanks."

Is this considered payment? He was just about to give Geralt the only blood bead in his body that was of value to the extraordinary.

Nobita opened the wooden box, inside was a deck of Gwent cards.

Muramasa Taki looked at her curiously for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions: "Thank you for your help during this time. If you need anything, whether it's me or the official channels, we will provide it."

"It wasn't just me who helped, Mori too." Nobi looked around, but Renault was nowhere to be seen.

Taki shook his head: "After Shinobu escaped, he left."

"Okay, I don't really need anything. You can tell them: if the judiciary can be enforced more fairly and effectively, then society doesn't really need me, the knight." Nobi used a save point, his body turning into wisps of light. "I know it's a bit idealistic, but now that I have superpowers, there's still hope for my ideals to come true."

Muramasa Taki watched Nobi disappear before her eyes, offering no comment on his words. If she had to express any thoughts, she would say she envied him for having his own pursuits.

Compared to before, she has always been unclear about her future.

When he was chosen by the demon sword to be the ninth Muramasa, he thought it would be better if he died.

The reason they were later chosen as players was simply to settle scores left by their ancestors.

Even after awakening his abilities, he never considered breaking free from official control and becoming a free and extraordinary being like Nobita.

Saying it's about being content with one's lot is a bit inappropriate, but not having any particular ideals is also not a bad thing.

Suppressing his surging thoughts, he swung his grappling hook to wrap around a rib, and leaped onto the giant skeleton entwined with vein-like vines.

Beside her, vines spiraled and intertwined, forming a unique large tree, while two US military helicopters hovered overhead.

"Ms. Muramasa, can you hear me now?" The call from the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department immediately rang out as the earpiece, which had been deliberately turned off, was turned on.

"Yes, I can hear it." Muramasa tried to catch the falling light dust with his hand. It disappeared as soon as it touched his body, but he could feel his spirit and fatigue being restored.

"Phew, I'm so glad you're alright." The operator let out an exaggerated, Japanese-style sigh of relief. "We've prepared a helicopter for you. Would you like to rest now?"

Taki stood atop eight-meter-high skeletons, surrounded by devastation.

Houses burning, cars scattered everywhere, still-warm corpses, and survivors huddled in corners, their hearts cold.

She usually doesn't want to appear overly compassionate.

"Get the drone ready for filming, I'm going to rescue people from under the rubble."

"Uh, I understand. We will get you involved in the help system and provide you with directions."

In the command center, after confirming that Muramasa Taki had left from the footage transmitted back by the drone, McCullough immediately arranged for a helicopter to cut the vine.

Miley is still inside.

As the vines at the top were gradually cut away, the unconscious Dr. Millais finally appeared completely before them.

He held the potted plant tightly, and the sacred flower in his arms seemed to have shrunk considerably.

"Target successfully recovered, preparing for return flight."

In the sky, two helicopters flew towards the nearest base.

For some, the matter in Kyoto has been resolved, but for many others, it is only the beginning.

It also shattered the illusions of many people.

Extraordinary abilities don't only appear in Tokyo.

Although, in reality, supernatural disasters have also occurred in Yamagata Prefecture.

It was a small place with limited influence and didn't cause any serious consequences.

With such chaos in Kyoto, many people are genuinely feeling that the world is changing, and that the supernatural is about to spread throughout Japan. In the future, there will be no place in the country that can be considered safe.

However, indirectly, it has given the Department of Extraordinary Situations the opportunity to expand its power. The authorities have begun to discuss the feasibility of setting up branches in counties across the country and expanding the Extraordinary Assault Force.

Bunkyo District.

Shinichi Higashiyama suddenly appeared in the empty room, holding in his hand the beating heart of ninja.

This tiny thing nearly paralyzed the entire city of Kyoto, almost making it the third city to face a verification war.

In stark contrast to his previous unbridled brutality, his heart of forbearance now appeared remarkably docile.

Because the evil energy it was tainted by, or more precisely, by the Sessho-seki (killing stone), had already been fully released.

Yes, they vented their frustrations on the citizens of Kyoto.

According to normal procedure, this Heart of Patience should have returned to nature just now, like any other ordinary Heart of Patience.

But by sheer coincidence, it flew right in front of Higashiyama Shin, who was watching the battle.

His collector instincts kicked in again, and by the time he came to his senses, he already had it in his hand.

Why are my hands so uncooperative?
But since I've already taken it, I might as well take it back and study it.

Before that, he needed to return the life force that he had just borrowed from Ren Zhixin.

The general formula is: Amount to be repaid = Total amount borrowed - Amount lost.

It feels somewhat similar to the skill of a certain general in a highly-rated card game. After some calculation, I found I actually have a considerable surplus.

In other words, the spirit of forbearance still has the power to fight back, but the evil energy has been exhausted, which is equivalent to the bug being fixed, and the underlying code has started running.

So before leaving, Shinichi Higashiyama returned all of this vitality, including the surplus.

These life forces are ultimately borrowed, and there might be hidden dangers involved. He doesn't have any urgent need for life forces.

Because of the surplus, the returned life force will overflow and automatically replenish other life forms in the area that need life force.

In essence, Dongshan Shen acted as a visible force in the life expectancy market, completing a wave of life expectancy redistribution.

It is true that the King of Hell altered the Book of Life and Death.

After weighing his options and speculating on its purpose, Higashiyama Shin's gaze shifted to the Soul-Gathering Umbrella.

Perhaps the nameless monk in the Yellow Springs Pavilion will know.

Even when the spirit leaves the body, the Heart of Patience can still be held in the hand.

Upon entering the underworld of the Soul-Gathering Umbrella, the Little Serpent of the Other Shore and Ueda Yoshi immediately came to greet them.

"Brother! Is there anything you need us to do?"

Ueda hadn't worked for a long time, spending his days aimlessly playing around with Higan. Now, seeing Higashiyama Shin makes him feel guilty, like a lazy employee seeing their boss. He tries to boost his spirits and show his worth.

"Hiss!" The petals on the other side's neck were a little wilted, and its eyes were fixed on the heart in Higashiyama Shin's hand. It wasn't greedy, but just curiously examining it.

"This is none of your business. Go play. Take this back." Dongshan took out the Yin Helian flower and put it back into Helian's mouth.

With a gurgle, Bi'an suddenly regained a lot of energy, and the spider lily on her neck immediately perked up.

For Shinichi Higashiyama, the cost of raising them had already been recouped long ago.

Raising Shangtian requires almost no cost, so he's already made a profit just by providing details for the "Soul Swap" game.

Although the cost of the Other Shore Snake is relatively high, it can provide the ability to burrow underground and the Yin-Yang Other Shore Flower, so it is worth raising even if it only has one of these abilities.

The rest is surplus value, so he never loses money and doesn't feel bad like a capitalist when he sees his employees slacking off.

Hearing what Higashiyama Shin said, Ueda didn't dare to really let loose and play around, and followed behind with Higan Kosei furtively.

When Higashiyama passed by the Killing Stone, the stone suddenly trembled and emitted a signal of extreme longing.

Unmoved, Dongshan continued towards Huangquan Pavilion.

The commotion didn't attract Higashiyama, but instead drew Higan and Ueda, who began circling the large rock covered in tic-tac-toe patterns.

The Killing Stone immediately returned to its usual silence.

"Other Shore, do you think this stone is alive? And it seems to be able to see what's happening outside?"

"Sigh~"

"Then they saw us playing tic-tac-toe up there too?" Ueda said, a little embarrassed.

"Hiss."

A petal from the other shore's neck stretched out like a hand and patted the Killing Stone without any politeness, completely unconcerned.

"It'll still be angry, won't it? Should we clean the stone?" Ueda suggested.

Bi'an scratched his head, then circled the Killing Stone twice, rubbing his back against the drawn patterns. Instead of rubbing them off, the original marks spread out.

"Uh, it seems like it can't be wiped off."

Ueda used Higanbana's tail when he played with it, but he didn't expect the marks it left would be so hard to erase.

"May I pick some spider lilies?"

"hiss!"

"Just one, I'll try. Ah! It's too red! It looks even worse!"

"Hissing and squeezing."

"The river water should be fine, although it's reddish too. Waaah! It's smoking! It's smoking!"

After all that fuss, the Killing Stone, which originally only had a lot of graffiti up close but could still be seen as a stone from a distance, is now covered in red, black and white patches, looking like a mutated cow lying on the ground.

The Killing Stone trembled almost imperceptibly, then stopped in an instant, as calm as ever, as if dead.

"Hiss." The other side offered two comforting words.

"Okay, that's all we can do for now. We'll talk about the rest once it's actually out."

Ueda was crestfallen; he had messed up.

If this stone truly has a spirit, I hope it will be a kind companion.

After they left, the Killing Stone made a soft gurgling sound.

Crack! A crack appeared at the bottom of the stone.

A flash of red light appeared and then vanished in an instant.

Huangquan Pavilion.

The nameless monk was already standing at the door waiting for Higashiyama Shin.

“The Nameless One has met the Unknowable Lord.”

He clasped his hands together and bowed in respect.

"This thing cannot remain in the human world; it will dissipate as soon as it is released. The only thing I can think of is using it to repair the Yellow Springs Pavilion, right?"

After Dongshan Shen obtained the Heart of Ninja, its beating frequency kept decreasing. After it was placed inside the Soul-Gathering Umbrella, it only beat once every ten seconds or so.

After examining the Heart of Forbearance for a while, Wuming said, "This thing is born of nature, and its instincts also return to nature. Its life force begins in the Yellow Springs, flourishes in the human world, and ends in the Nine Heavens, traversing the Three Realms. If you give it to this humble monk, it can be used as the springhead of the 'Spring of Life' in the Yellow Springs Pavilion; if you give it to the Killing Stone, it can accelerate its gestation."

Accelerated gestation my ass! There's a fox inside the Killing Stone, and Shinji Higashiyama sensed it long ago.

However, that creature was quite cautious and deeply versed in the art of survival. After taking shape, it probably felt that it was still too weak, so it stayed inside the stone and did not come out, constantly accumulating strength.

Just like the nameless person in front of you, you can't say he is Nichiren.

Therefore, the fox in the Sesshoseki cannot be said to be Tamamo-no-Mae.

It can only be described as one of the countless possibilities in a parallel world.

However, judging from its current cowardly appearance, the little guy is unlikely to be of pure heart.

"What use is this 'living spring' you're talking about?" Higashiyama Shin's collecting obsession was genuine; he didn't find the 'Heart of Shinobi' particularly appealing.

Consequently, there was little expectation for the "Life Spring" created using this as its core.

"For adults, it's not very useful. But for cultivators, drinking the spring water can restore their spirit and strength, and heal common injuries. If used on ordinary people, it can even prolong their lives and eliminate most illnesses."

Wuming is indeed the instruction manual that came with the Yellow Springs Pavilion, and he is very knowledgeable about the relevant contents.

Higashiyama Shin nodded slightly; the description sounded like a free red and blue potion.

In other words, after using this item, players will likely be able to break the limit of playing three times a day and complete the game much faster?

nice one!
It is indeed more valuable to lay a solid foundation.

The fox wasn't in a hurry; it would wait. Since the hatchlings were already born, it could simply break the stone when needed.

With the "Fountain of Life," won't we have new entry rewards for the game in the future?!
Each person receives two bottles, and the player, upon receiving the reward, must remember the kindness shown to them and be motivated to complete the level quickly.

It's similar to working on a project while drinking coffee with cattle and horses.

Even so, many companies still require employees to pay for their own coffee.

(End of this chapter)