Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 195, Section 193: The Great Fire of Mingli

In the corridor, McCullough listened to Millais's last words in the recording, then led Leon out of the hospital and into a military vehicle parked at the entrance.

Did you hear Dr. Millais's last words clearly?

"Not a single word was missed."

"Alright, I will inform the Grand Commander about the selection of suitable candidates. Dr. Millai's last words should not be revealed for the time being."

McCullough's meaning was clear: America would also organize a group of people to come and see if they could be chosen by the Divine Flower.

If they are selected, then there's no need to worry about the Japanese government. After all, the US military was the first to seize the "God Flower," and the person chosen by the "God Flower" before them, Milei, was also an Amis. It's not Japan's place to interfere.

Sharing some information with them already shows consideration for the feelings of our allies.

However, due to time and location constraints, and fearing that something unusual might happen after taking the divine flower away, they had no choice but to bring the person from Amei.

Organizing them is far less convenient than in Japan. If time does not permit, in order to prevent the Shinhwa from getting out of control, they can only conduct the screening within Japan.

"I know what to do."

This is the significance of Leon's trip to Japan: to strive for extraordinary power for Ame as much as possible.

The two returned to the nearby base, where the divine flower was temporarily placed.

"Minister Leon, you're back just in time! The Divine Flower has just developed a strange condition." As soon as he returned, Dr. Miley's assistant rushed over, covered in sweat, and led him forward.

Inside the enclosed room, the petals of the divine flower were slowly closing, the bright red fading to a bluish-green. It seemed that it would soon return to its bud state.

Leon glanced at the time; it was 10:30.

He didn't know whether the seven days Miley mentioned started from today or after midnight.

But it's just a difference between six days and seven days, which doesn't make much difference to him.

"Take the Divine Flower back to the Yokota underground base. From now on, any transfer of the Divine Flower will require the Grand Commander's permission."

McCullough circled the divine flower, left a single sentence, and departed.

Milai was able to conduct the third experiment alone because they did not yet have a direct understanding of the power contained in the divine flower.

Furthermore, Mila has a high degree of autonomy and has never done anything out of line. Their research results are good, which is why they allowed her to participate.

They had already prepared the divine flower to stop the giants, failed, and then, after testing another round of weapons, finally applied to throw mushrooms.

Even if Muramasa Taki was inside at the time, after the complete loss of contact, they could not and would not wait indefinitely.

Currently, the status of the extraordinary is quite high, but the power system has no intention of accepting them into its ranks. Instead, they are used more as a high-level tool to study the origin of this power and the possibility of replicating it.

Combat is secondary.

However, those with combat power as formidable as the Divine Flower, and who are quite "controllable" and have not been tainted by the risks of power, are naturally another matter entirely.

Watching McCullough leave, Leon patted his assistant, Mila, on the shoulder: "Did you hear that? Pack your things, it's time to go back to Tokyo."

Dr. Namilai

"His current condition makes it inconvenient to move him."

The assistant sighed, nodded in disappointment, and went to assign tasks.

Leon stared at the divine flower before him, but his thoughts were on the knights and warriors who had appeared at the scene earlier that day.

With Muramasa Takii added in, these extraordinary beings seem to have some kind of tacit understanding or real communication, able to appear in the place of extraordinary calamity in advance, as if they know something.

The fact that the Knights had previously notified the police of the disaster on the Hibiya Line and appeared at the scene of the Higanbana disaster also corroborates this.

This is the biggest flaw in the Reiki Revival hypothesis, and also the most convincing evidence for the Extraordinary Games hypothesis.

Perhaps the two are not in conflict, but rather coexist.

Leon stood there, having built a bridge between the two hypotheses, lost in thought.

"Previously, the official attitude of various countries towards the extraordinary was quite cautious, but the light dust that the giant hand swung down could make some elderly people who were not long for life look several years younger. I can imagine how anxious those rich people will be when they find out."

In the player lobby, Uesugi Hitomi was chatting with Muramasa Takii; the others were not there.

"Originally, they weren't sure if the extraordinary could reverse aging or cure their terminal illnesses. Now, this is practically proof that the extraordinary has the ability to do all of these things."

"The powerful and wealthy will most likely put pressure on the authorities on the one hand, and on the other hand, they will try to find known and unknown extraordinary beings to seek cooperation."

"My biggest worry is that a similar incident to the Oshino Heart incident in Kyoto will happen again."

“This time, before we even started our tour, Takatsuki had already begun digging based on the information he had found.”

"Many people will definitely follow suit. If an event occurs that we have never experienced in the game, then there will be a lot of trouble."

It was mostly Uesugi talking, and Taki listening.

"By the way, you need to be careful. From today onwards, there will be no shortage of people looking for you, both openly and secretly, and they will definitely test you more than usual."

"I'll be careful, thank you."

That's about it. Is Uesugi and Taki's relationship still good enough for me to offer further advice?

Takii mentioned a piece of information she knew: "Those light dusts only have the effect of healing and restoring physical and mental strength for most people. Only for the elderly who are about to die, and those who have aged because their lifespan has been absorbed by the giants, can they replenish their lifespan."

"Therefore, the official view is that those specks of light are part of the lifespan that the Heart of Ninja plundered, which were forcibly returned to the human world by the giant hand."

"The extra parts are simply because the original owner is already dead, so we started making up for it from the people with the shortest lifespan."

Uesugi rested his chin on his hand, suddenly realizing, "The way you're saying it makes me feel like a programmer went out and fixed a bug."

Both of them secretly wondered whether the owner of that hand was "unknown," but neither of them spoke up about it.

This incredible power, like the game they were experiencing, gave off an unreal feeling.

As the clock struck twelve, Takii left the hall, and Uesugi returned to reality.

"Hopefully, after completing the game, we won't discover any hidden troubles that haven't yet erupted."

Uesugi, get ready and enter the game.

Although she didn't know how to get into the ninja village at first, after thinking it over and over again, she finally figured it out and successfully entered the village, exchanging the wooden box for the sword Dankamaru.

Then they took to a deserted path, and because they were not good at fighting head-on, they were killed by bandits several times along the way.

Later, they became more skilled. They would first find caravans, spend some money to find out roughly where the thieves' dens were, and then use their own lightness and endurance to quickly pass through those dangerous places.

Then, they encountered a very strange man.

He was dressed in a dark blue short-sleeved kimono to conceal his face, holding a fan, with a sword at his waist and a bow behind him, blocking Uesugi's only way of passing.

"Ninja, the goods you have are very important to me. Please hand them over, and I'm willing to compensate you for breach of contract."

Even if Uesugi had a pig's brain, he would know that such a crucial mission item could not be handed over so easily.

But she still tried to do it.

The result was that the game ended immediately.

She only dares to try this in DLC-type games. If it were a regular game like "Subway" or "Demon Blade," doing so would likely unlock the first-play ending, wasting her reward opportunity, which she would never give.

The reason why she tried to offer that furisode kimono is quite simple.

Because it was the 18th day of the first month of the third year of the Ming Dynasty.

A massive fire broke out in Edo, engulfing the entire city and burning down two-thirds of the city, resulting in over 100,000 deaths and injuries.

The fire was caused by a furis sleeve. It is historically known as the Mingli Fire or the Furis Sleeve Fire.

According to records, the initial fire started at Honmyoji Temple.

The name of this temple sounded strangely familiar. She had reason to suspect that Facheng was inside this temple, and that the fire was not as simple as it was recorded in the records.

The game is currently in the first month of the third year of the Meiji era. As long as she arrives in Edo on time, it will be within a few days of the time when the fire started.

All of this was clearly planned.

It was basically telling her that the furisode she gave her was the culprit behind the fire.

The only thing I don't understand is why such an important task was entrusted to her.

Aren't you afraid something might happen along the way? She's been killed by bandits several times.

"Tell me what happened, and I'll give it to you." Uesugi drew the Fire-Slaying Pill, ready for battle.

It's impossible to give him anything, but we can see if we can get any information out of him.

The man opened his fan, covering half his face, and after a few seconds of silence, gently shook his head.

"you are lying."

Immediately afterwards, he put away his fan, drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and aimed it at Uesugi.

Was it because she drew her sword?
Uesugi didn't have time to think it through. He quickly hid in the nearby woods, took out two darts with one hand, and threw them during the brief moment when they were exchanging cover.

The man dodged the dart with some awkwardness, and the arrow missed its mark.

good chance!
Uesugi rushed out instantly, pointing his sword at the man's heart.

The man's face showed panic. His strength was not as great as it seemed. He was weak and ineffective, and Uesugi, who was not good at fighting, was able to gain the upper hand. He probably hadn't even reached the threshold of an elite monster.

Click.

The fan floated up on its own, blocking her knife.

Before she could react, a sudden gust of wind blew, sending sand and stones flying, making her squint.

The man seized the opportunity to escape, and at that moment, his speed was quite impressive.

".That's it?"

Uesugi had no intention of giving chase, but he grew increasingly suspicious of the other party's identity.

A fan that moves on its own. Wouldn't that be wonderful in summer? — No, that's not the point. This kind of technique is clearly not something that ordinary mortals or warriors can perform.

If that fan is a monster, then what can control it?
"An Onmyoji?"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed; his bow and sword looked somewhat different from the ordinary ones.

If it's an Onmyoji, then they would probably be carrying a Demon-Slaying Bow and a Demon-Exorcising Sword.

Isn't it a bit too weak?
She couldn't even beat a lone female ninja. If she encountered three bandits, she would probably be their doom. With that kind of strength, how dare she block the way in the deep mountains and forests?
Uesugi continued on his way and arrived near a village before dark. Instead of going in, he found a tree and built a makeshift bed.

Two more days have passed.

She encountered the Onmyoji blocking her way again.

"That furisode might be a matter of life and death for many people. You cannot take it to Edo." The arrow landed at Uesugi's feet, and the man's serious words echoed.

“I said I could give it to you if you told me why.”

Having learned from her previous experience, this time she did not draw her sword, but instead tried to be as friendly as possible, even taking out the box in advance.

The man hesitated, then covered half his face with his fan again.

"Sorry, you're lying again."

call out!
With preparation, the man's archery skills were quite good, and he unexpectedly shot an arrow through Uesugi's throat.

That damn fan! It can even detect lies!

Having wasted another life, Uesugi completely gave up on the man who seemed to be an Onmyoji.

So, when they met this time, Uesugi immediately drew his sword and charged at him.

As expected, the man performed poorly in the face of this sudden situation, barely managing to dodge and struggling to stay afloat. He could only escape from the blade and disappear by relying on the power of his fan once again.

It feels like a novice who has just mastered their skills and is now venturing out into the world.

That fan was a "spiritual treasure" given to them by an elder in the clan.

Uesugi patted her forehead. Recently, she had been searching for mystical systems and had accidentally read a few cultivation novels, which almost got to her head.

Then, for anywhere from half a day to two days, she would encounter that man popping up.

But he just couldn't kill him, he was like a stubborn plaster that wouldn't go away, so Uesugi started to think of a plan.

She eventually lured him to the vicinity of a bandit's den, where she escaped using the familiar paths and her agility, leaving the man alone to face a group of bandits.

"If all those bandits attacked at once, I could only run for my life. Even if I couldn't kill him, he would still cause a lot of trouble."

After fleeing for a while, Uesugi stopped to recover and take a look at the map. She was already quite close to Edo. If all went well, she would arrive in Edo on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, which was just two more days' journey.

"Ahhh!!"

The agonizing screams echoed through the woods, startling a flock of birds.

The sound didn't come from that man; it was probably from bandits.

What a bunch of rubbish!
Uesugi guessed that the man might have used some kind of backup plan, such as the fan.

Thinking about it that way, it's actually quite kind of her.

Gathering her thoughts, she continued on her way.

after one day.

As they walked, an arrow suddenly shot at them.

Uesugi cut the arrow with his sword and remained alert to his surroundings.

He still caught up with us.

Tata.

The man walked out of the woods.