Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 356, Section 103: Reverence for the Sea

Yui didn't meet Viktor in person; she only had a polite video conversation in the conference room, which completed the so-called communication task, but she didn't care about it.

What happened next was none of her business. She seemed to treat herself as a real tourist, either wandering around shopping and browsing the style of the previous era, or staying in the room arranged for her at the Kremlin and continuing to enjoy "The Lone Boat on the Ice Sea".

It is unclear what kind of negotiations took place between the US and Russia, but the following day, NATO announced that the Baltic Sea was under special control.

Most of the sea area is controlled by NATO, and all non-military vessels must strictly follow the pre-set routes. Any deviation may be regarded as a threat and intercepted or even attacked.

America dispatched two carrier strike groups that were still on standby in the UK, which sailed in from the North Sea.

Britain, still licking its wounds and having barely managed to get close to the extraordinary, gritted its teeth and sent out the soon-to-be-retired HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Although many people have died or been injured domestically, the people have already received direct and obvious benefits from the sacred snow and rain. Now, they would certainly refuse to give up the extraordinary opportunity that is so close to their homes.

France will not let this opportunity pass by either. It was already quite unhappy that it failed to participate in the London incident last time, and now it is trying to send its main force to join the joint fleet and work together.

After careful consideration, in order to contain Russia, Aramco agreed to France's accession, even though it meant sharing some of the Extraordinary Information.

To be honest, Germany wasn't as in a hurry as France, even though it had guessed that this might be related to the next supernatural event, but it didn't really want to get involved.

They couldn't see much benefit from the supernatural; all they could see were increasingly severe disasters, which awakened some unpleasant memories in them. They were unwilling to take risks in this area and only sent troops symbolically.

In addition, various NATO member states along the coast have sent warships to assist, but of course, the information they have is quite limited, and they are not qualified to sit together.

Suddenly, Baltic warships gathered, fighter jets roared in the air, and submarines patrolled the waters. The atmosphere was so tense that it seemed as if a major war was about to break out at any moment, and the frequency of espionage activities by various countries increased dramatically.

Ukraine may have felt that an opportunity had come, and has stepped up its lobbying efforts with NATO leaders, hoping to use this crisis to advance its plan to reclaim lost territory.

Unfortunately, only some ambiguous messages were received, but Poland or the Baltic states claimed to be willing to provide unprecedented assistance.

But Ukraine, still reeling from the shadow of the last war, is unlikely to be so easily swayed into reckless actions again. These tiny countries can't offer much aid at best, unless NATO speaks up directly.

As the situation in Europe deteriorates, most players are still focusing their attention on various troubles in the game or in real life.

Based on previous gaming experience, the likelihood of actually receiving a reward is probably lower than the rewards and points earned from completing the game.

It's rare to find a simple game where the skill gap between players is largely eliminated. This is a great opportunity to work hard and beat the game.

Unfortunately, the game's release was ill-timed.

Nobita and Hayato are busy traveling all over Japan, dealing with sporadic black rain incidents that keep breaking out in various parts of the country.

After a few days of respite, the Kyoto Black Cloud began to brew again, causing some trouble for Takii and Iwasaki.

Uesugi, disguised as an ordinary person, is escorting his parents as they struggle through chaotic traffic towards Tokyo.

Ethan wants to get involved in Russia, but arranging things will take some time.

After all this calculation, there aren't many people who can truly focus on playing the game.

Even players like Ludu, who still have to go to school, can accumulate more playtime than them.

Unfortunately, this game is extremely time-dependent. If a player, like Shin Higashiyama, spends a lot of time playing to the late game but dies unexpectedly or loses their save file, it will be very difficult to catch up with the top players.

For example, Park Min-woo, because of his greed, lost his way in the icy sea in winter while chasing a golden fish, and eventually lost his mind, so he had to start all over again.

Lozère, France.

Ludu, who was taking an elective Latin class, sat down and wrote intermittently, seemingly listening attentively, but in reality, he was thinking about things in the game.

Even the language she used to record things in the notebook was her own "divine language."

It's actually a kind of associative pictographic writing; the same word might look different on two different lines, and only she herself can understand it.

"The direction of the relics is the direction to pass the level."

"But we can't just pursue memory relics directly, that would be too risky. Instead, we need a coordinated approach, a larger ship, and good relationships with everyone to unlock more items and options."

"If we become rich, others will be jealous, so we need to develop discreetly and have Yuri cooperate."

Lu Du recalled a time at school when someone proudly showed off their beautiful new schoolbag. The next day, the schoolbag was covered in scribbles. Her grandmother patted her head and said that this was called jealousy, which was undesirable but unavoidable.

There are always some people who don't want others to have what they don't have.

Actually, Lu Du didn't quite understand this at first. Some people don't want others to have things they don't have, so they destroy them. But why do they also hate and bully classmates who have worse things than themselves?
The former is called jealousy, what is the latter called?
It was only after encountering the Ripper incident that she gained a deeper understanding of jealousy.

Therefore, in the game, she pays a lot of attention to how others perceive her, and if things don't look right, she will deliberately make one or two return trips empty-handed.

Sometimes, they would even share information about fish populations that they didn't need with other fishermen.

In real life, Ludu has absolutely no good relationships with her classmates, but in the game, she's a humanoid succubus who even wild dogs have a high affinity with.

This gave her a lot of confidence, but unfortunately, in reality, the selection box doesn't pop up.

She tried to give a plate of spaghetti to someone who wasn't so bad, but the person immediately said they didn't like spaghetti and threw it away.

How annoying.

Since then, she has completely given up on the idea of ​​getting along well with these people.

Perhaps, this is the lonely fate that the chosen ones are destined to have!

Everything was normal today. When school was over, a formation of helicopters flew overhead, making a loud rumbling sound, which made the children point at the helicopters and shout.

Lu Du felt a sense of urgency. After returning home, he told his grandmother and then went to sleep on the table.

In the game, she has progressed to the end of October.

The Baltic Sea has begun to freeze over, especially the Gulf of Bothnia, where the amount of floating ice on the surface has increased, making navigation extremely difficult and dangerous.

That's the direction players need to search for the final relic, and it seems to be the origin of the golden fish. Even though the fishing boat has been upgraded with new equipment and can even break ice, it can't move forward in the icy sea. She must obtain what should be the last two relics before the true winter freezes over.

Yuri was no longer willing to accept diving commissions, but considering the goodwill that the golden fish Mattis brought him had earned him, he pointed Mattis in the right direction.

That means finding Kustas to make a special fishing net that can be used to salvage underwater items. Although the materials required are expensive, Madis has enough money now, and he can also buy the materials directly from Yuri.

What a shrewd businessman! He didn't recommend it earlier or later, but only in the dead of winter when it was impossible to go swimming. He must have made a fortune from Madison.

This should be Yuri's final storyline. He's going to spend the winter in the city and won't be going back to the village to collect golden fish anymore. At this point, no one will dare to risk going out to fish.

"It seems you don't know much about Kustas either. I thought he told you everything."

Yuri was in a good mood as he packed his things, eating dried salmon as he spoke.

【What's the meaning】

【I have to go now】

【.】

"What do you mean?" Madis put down the dried fish in his hand and asked.

Yuri grinned and lowered his voice: "Ahem, don't tell anyone I'm being sold out. To be honest, my diving skills were taught to me by Kustas. He was the best diver in our village back in the day. It's a pity that ever since his son went diving with him and got swept away by the current and never came back up, he has refused to dive again."

Yuri's tone didn't reveal much genuine regret; it sounded more like he was telling a story from a long time ago.

“Speaking of which, if his son hadn’t had that accident, he should be about your age now, right?” Yuri looked at Mattis and suddenly laughed. “Haha, you know what, if you look closely, you both have such tense expressions, you look like the kind of people who like to take things seriously.”

After laughing, Yuri shook his head, his tone becoming slightly more serious: "Kustas often tells me that his biggest regret is that when he was teaching his son to dive, he only focused on teaching him the techniques and didn't teach him how to respect the sea."

He said, "The ocean is a place that can swallow everything."

"But I do know that his son doesn't actually like diving at all. He's just forced into it by his father's stubborn 'what the father can do, the son must also be able to do' attitude. Don't tell Kustas this, or with his personality, he might jump into the sea tomorrow and end up floating somewhere! Haha!"

Madis frowned, his eyes flickered, and in Ludu's eyes, a flashback of the plot appeared.

[From a first-person perspective, a light rain is falling. In a muddy clearing, a knight holds a wooden sword and faces "himself," who is also holding a wooden sword.]

"drink!"

The knight launched an attack, and although it was clear that he was holding back, his momentum was still too terrifying. The son almost couldn't react in time and barely managed to block it with his sword.

But a sharp pain immediately shot through my wrist, and my entire arm went numb from the shock.

"Father, Father, my wrist hurts so much." The son gasped for breath, letting the tip of the sword dangle on the ground.

The knight stood still, his hands on his sword, his voice low and deep: "The sword doesn't listen to excuses. Come again."

Hearing this, the son could only grit his teeth and continue swinging his sword. After two moves, with a muffled thud, the wooden sword slipped from his hand and flew into the mud. He clutched his wrist, panting heavily, seemingly choking back tears.

“Pick it up. If a knight’s sword falls to the ground, it becomes his tombstone,” the knight said coldly.

"I...I can't hold on, it hurts so much." He shook his numb hand, his voice trembling.

"Pick it up!" the knight's voice was cold and stern.

He choked out, "I'm sorry, Father, I...I'm sorry."

The knight stepped forward, his tone as cold as iron:
"Stop your cowardly tears. Listen, we swear an oath to Christ and the Holy Church: to be poor, to be chaste, and to obey. Pain is the second baptism. If you cry out today, the Saracens will laugh tomorrow on the pilgrimage route you guard! With such weakness, you will never be worthy to wear the white robe, nor will you ever become a knight!"

The son lowered his head, tears dripping into the mud. After a moment, he wiped away the tears with the back of his hand, bent down to pick up the wooden sword, and gripped it tightly, his hands trembling slightly uncontrollably.

"Come on, prove it to me." Only then did the knight reveal a slight smile.

The son took a deep breath, raised his wooden sword high above his head, and charged at his father with a shout that was half childish and half angry.

The scene shattered as the sword was swung, returning to reality.

After Yuri finished recounting his past with great enthusiasm, no new dialogue options appeared.

He quickly packed the last batch of goods, patted Mattis on the shoulder, and gave him a businessman's smile, slightly sly: "Alright, Mattis, I have to get into the city before the roads close. Business is tough in winter, so good luck to you... well, see you next spring! I'm waiting for your golden fish!"

After saying that, he jumped onto the wagon loaded with goods and, amidst the sound of bells, swayed and staggered away from the fishing village.

Ludu watched Yuri leave, and following his instructions, took the materials and went to Kustas's hut.

Old Kostas was sitting by the fire pit, the room dimly lit by the light of an oil lamp, mending a fishing net.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw it was Mattis. A gentle smile appeared on his face as usual: "Madis? It's so late, is there something you need?"

With no options available, Matthias stated his purpose directly: he hoped Kustas could help him create a special reinforced fishing net specifically for salvaging items in deep water.

Upon hearing the words "special fishing net," Kustas's smile froze.

He put down the shuttle in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and his eyes seemed to be lost in some distant memory.

The firelight danced on his face, reflecting a look of sadness and worry.

His lips moved a few times, as if he wanted to say something, and words of dissuasion were almost on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, it turned into a heavy sigh.

"Alright, alright." Kustas slowly stood up, took the materials, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I have indeed made this kind of net before."

The old man paused, his eyes brightening slightly. Then, from a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner, he found a palm-sized, dark-colored piece of wood that seemed to have been forcibly broken off from a larger wooden board.

Kustas handed the unremarkable piece of wood to Matthias:
“Madis, take this. Go find Indrek. Tell him I sent you to see him. Have him tell you about ‘that sea.’”

(End of this chapter)