Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 360, Section 107: Young Firewood

"Are you sure? I'll take leave the day after tomorrow, and come back after I've finished dealing with things. It shouldn't be more than five days."

Dongshan Shen took out a short flute and handed it to the calico fox.

"This is the ferry whistle for maneuvering the boat on the Sanzu River. With it, you can travel to and from the underworld. I've also put some talismans on the boat; that should be enough for any emergencies."

The three-colored fox's eyes lit up the moment it saw the bone flute. It was so excited that its fur trembled slightly, and it practically pounced on Dongshan Shen's leg, rubbing its head against him and whimpering.

The general meaning is that I am grateful for Dongshan's thoughtful consideration, which is simply top-notch treatment.

In its eyes, the bone flute had become an absolute weapon.

Slay the dazed snake above, slay the dazed snake below, and slay the dazed snake in the middle.

A few days ago, it promised to help Ludu resolve the issue of being able to legitimately feed her grandmother spaghetti. These past few days, it has managed to come up with some ideas and has already arranged a time with Ludu, so it came to Higashiyama Shin to formally ask for leave.

Higashiyama Shinmoto had already promised, so of course he wouldn't refuse to release the fox.

This so-called top-tier treatment was just something he took for granted.

As for the land in Peach Blossom Village, Ueda Yoshi can help with that; otherwise, it's not good for him to be hanging out with the little snake from the other side every day.

Young people shouldn't be ignorant of farming and lazy. Farming is such a good opportunity for them to get some exercise.

First, let Ueda make an appearance in front of the players, and then later he can become a mysterious merchant, bringing all sorts of random things to harvest a wave of points.

Players have gotten quite a bit fatter lately.

"Your state in the human world will be very unstable. You cannot disembark, otherwise you risk being forced to materialize. The ship will automatically attract some recently deceased but not yet deceased souls to board and attach themselves to it. You can keep them for now, and they can do some small things for you."

Dongshan Shen casually mentioned some precautions, which moved Sanhua to tears.

Sure enough, my master still cares about me.

Heh heh! You little snake, I have the Emperor's favor, what makes you think you can fight me!

Sanhua secretly glanced at the little snake from the other shore who was washing itself in the Sanzu River with a smug look in her eyes.

Not far away, a small snake on the other side of the river, which was flattened into a snake-like shape and floating in the water, suddenly shivered and felt that the river water seemed to have gotten colder.

It spit out a string of bubbles in frustration and continued to work hard, swallowing and spitting out river water.

Ever since it was forced to ingest the negative energy mixed with intense resentment and fear from the London incident, although it quickly expelled those junk foods, it always felt that it was tainted with an indelible filth and disgusting smell from the inside out.

Now, whenever it has free time, it soaks in the Sanzu River, trying to use the river water, which can cleanse the sins of the soul, to wash away the filth that makes it extremely uncomfortable.

This river, which is filled with endless pain and torment for most evil spirits, is not much different for the other side from soaking in ordinary mountain spring water, except that it is a little cool.

After giving his instructions, Higashiyama Shin didn't say anything more. With a thought, he called Ueda over.

The three-colored fox carefully held the ferry flute in its mouth, knelt respectfully and kowtowed to Higashiyama Shin, and then skipped off with light and cheerful steps to the lakeside to familiarize itself with the operation of the Sanzu River Boat in advance, making full preparations for its journey to the human world the day after tomorrow.

It even deliberately took a detour and circled around the little snake on the other side of the river several times, but when it couldn't get any attention, it finally left whimpering.

Ueda quickly arrived. For some reason, he no longer liked maintaining his human form and preferred to use his slime ball form instead. He bounced over to him and asked cautiously, "Brother, were you looking for me?"

Higashiyama Shin entrusted him with the task of farming for the next few days.

He had taken Ueda to Taoyuan Village before, and the latter liked it very much. However, without Higashiyama Shin's guidance and permission, he was unable to stay there.

Sure enough, Ueda was very excited after hearing this and started practicing hoeing on a patch of land in Shin-Yomi.

[You have completed the points game "Lone Boat on the Ice Sea" and obtained the sequel "Lone Boat on the Ice Sea II". You can force the next monthly refresh game to be this game.]

After Ludu cleared the checkpoint, a notification popped up on Higashiyama Shin's page as well.

How could a 2 possibly come out?

Higashiyama Shin was a little surprised to see the notification, but he quickly dismissed it.

With only a few days left until the next monthly game refresh, he has already used a game type specification card to forcibly designate the next game as an RTS game, wanting to have some fun in his favorite genre.

Let's put the sequel to this story of a lone boat on an icy sea next month.

He came to the spring next to the Yellow Springs Pavilion and collected the holy spring water that had accumulated over this period of time.

Not long after, another notification came.

[First time unlocking all endings in the points game, achievement reward: Twelve Chanting Monks]

Is this the complete ending of the points game?
It seems everyone's progress is about the same, otherwise there would be no need to continue playing after others have completed the game and obtained the unique reward.

Unless you're already close to completing the game.

What is the significance of the twelve monks reciting scriptures?
Higashiyama Shin looked up at the dilapidated Yellow Springs Pavilion right in front of him, and listened to the chanting coming from inside. He immediately understood.

The Yellow Springs Pavilion can rely on special talents like Wuming to chant scriptures and transform yin energy into spiritual energy.

The chanting monks must serve this purpose. Now that there are twelve more, even if their quality is not as good as Wuming's, each of them should have at least half of Wuming's power.

Wouldn't that increase efficiency several times over?

This reward is pretty good.

During this period, thanks to Wuming's continuous efforts to purify the Yin energy, Dongshan Shen managed to reach the Five Stars Shining on the Moon level on a full moon night, breaking through to the initial stage, even though he had hardly cultivated at all—actual cultivation was not very useful, as spiritual energy in reality was extremely rare, and pure cultivation could not improve his overall level, at most increasing his proficiency.

The biggest change for the Master of the Stars at this stage is the alteration of fortune; if used properly, it can completely change the fate of a nation.

However, he didn't need it at all.

For him, this kind of improvement is nowhere near as significant as the reward boost from a god-level new player who achieves an excellent or higher ending on their first playthrough.

If you really want to change the fate of a country, it's very simple: just show your power or cause a disaster, and it will have an immediate effect, at least in the stock market.

The stock market guru on Capitol Hill is just an apprentice to him.

"The game that can be purchased with points only involves the Seven Sacred Relics in its storyline. It seems that to truly reveal the Sacred Relics involved in the storyline, we'll have to play the official game."

Shinichi Higashiyama had already investigated that ice floe thoroughly; it only contained the knight's plate armor and the cross-shaped two-handed sword, with no trace of the golden trident.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the Trident has found a new host.

To find out exactly who this new host is, you'll have to play "Iceship II".

The plate armor, influenced by the strong lingering spiritual energy of the trident and William, underwent some wondrous effects, thus becoming a supernatural object.

This can be understood as the knight's obsession.

It may not be a good thing, but as long as you don't deliberately do something reckless, it's unlikely to turn into a bad thing.

It's extremely rare that the history revealed by the game didn't trigger a disaster in reality, but it's also hard to say whether it was a harbinger of the future.

The real disasters are brewing in the sequels, waiting to erupt in a massive explosion. Leaving aside these yet-to-be-concluded events, Higashiyama Shin prepares to summon the twelve chanting monks.

But then they discovered that these twelve chanting monks were actually living, breathing people.

The new Yellow Springs cannot accept physical beings at present.

Back to reality, Higashiyama Shin summoned all the chanting monks. Looking at the row of monks with peaceful expressions, he suddenly found himself in a bit of trouble.

“Amitabha. My lord, there is no need to worry about this. Since the Pure Land of the Yellow Springs needs us to recite scriptures and guide people, we will gladly go there. This physical body is merely a raft for crossing the world, so what harm is there in giving it up? As for the rest, I will trouble you, my lord, who is beyond my knowledge.”

After saying that, he raised his right palm without hesitation, channeled some kind of internal force, and slammed it heavily onto the top of his head!
"Amitabha!"

The other eleven monks showed no fear and chanted a Buddhist mantra in unison, following suit.

Bang bang bang bang
After a series of soft thuds, the twelve monks collapsed to the ground, their breaths fading away instantly.

Their faces showed no sign of pain, but rather a profound sense of peace and tranquility, as if they had attained enlightenment.

"."

Is this absurd or not? What can I say?

Higashiyama Shin silently guided these twelve exquisite and fresh souls to the new Yellow Springs, entrusting them to Wuming to arrange their future work. Presumably, the chanting in the Yellow Springs Pavilion will soon become several times more powerful.

As for the twelve bodies left behind, Higashiyama Shin handled them swiftly and efficiently.

He took it directly to the depths of the Amazon rainforest, found a secluded spot, and buried it deep inside, letting it return to nature.

Having just finished dealing with all of this and teleported back to his room, he was met with a loud knocking on the door, accompanied by his younger brother, Higashiyama Doku's, distinctive, slightly boisterous voice:

"Brother, brother! Are you in there?"

"That's strange, why do I suddenly feel so cold? I'm shivering from the cold!"

As he spoke, you could hear him hissing and gasping for air and rubbing his hands together in the cold.

Yes, kid, you're right, a dozen people in your family just died.

Higashiyama Shin opened the door expressionlessly, only to find Higashiyama wearing only a thin long-sleeved shirt, arms crossed, stomping his feet incessantly.

"A cold front is coming, wear a couple more layers."

Without making a sound, Higashiyama Shin raised his right index finger and seemingly casually made a light stroke in the air. An invisible wave swept through, and the faint, chilly atmosphere in the room began to dissipate at a steady pace, and the temperature returned to normal in no time.

"Brother! I see there's still a lot of food in the fridge! It's so cold, let's have some sukiyaki for a late-night snack!" Higashiyama Du clearly came prepared and seized the opportunity to suggest.

Higashiyama Shin nodded casually.

"Great! I'll go call Chiba-neechan right now!" As if afraid he might change his mind, Higashiyama Dokujo cheered and skipped towards the door. She quickly opened it, ran to the other end of the hallway, and began pounding on Chiba's door, "Chiba-neechan! Open the door! My brother said he'd treat you to sukiyaki!"

Three seconds later, Chiba Shion, holding a stun gun, opened the door.

After the black rain, a large influx of people into Tokyo plunged the hard-won security situation back into chaos, with many places being broken into.

Chiba upgraded all her equipment. Originally, she only carried portable gear with her, but now she's using combat gear that she had prepared in advance.

Moreover, their approach was even more extreme; they carried it with them at all times, even at home.

Chiba said "wait a minute," then went home, rummaged through the refrigerator, found some ingredients, and took them to Higashiyama's house.

"Tokyo has been very chaotic lately, and prices are fluctuating wildly."

Chiba came to Higashiyama Shin's side and helped wash the vegetables.

The implication is that in the future, even money may not be enough to buy food, so it's advisable to eat sparingly.

"The chaos will last for a while, but don't underestimate the power of processed food and the ideas of other countries entering Japan." Shin Higashiyama opened a can. "I've prepared a lot of canned food."

Chiba pondered for a moment: "America doesn't want to bear the full burden of Japan's reconstruction, so it's willing to let some allied countries get involved, allowing Japan to exchange benefits for aid, is that right?"

Dongshan nodded.

This was no secret to him.

America is already feeling the strain, and with the upcoming disasters occurring in Europe, European countries will definitely need to contribute. Britain has already been brought in, and France will probably consider it as well.

In that case, it wouldn't be bad to divide it up among Japan.

"From a colony of one country to a colony of several countries," Chiba said calmly.

"Japan can't hold on any longer, and it has no resources to resist. Even the extraordinary talents who have emerged from its own borders are few and far between, and few are willing to lend a helping hand in this regard," Shinichi Higashiyama said with a sigh.

Many of these players who came from Japan are even more anti-Japanese and extreme than him; it's truly unbelievable.

Even players on the side of justice, such as Taki and Nobita, are unwilling to participate in the politics of both sides and act as bargaining chips, which would only increase internal friction.

Those who engage in such activities have dirty minds. The Player Mutual Aid Association has reached a consensus that their greatest contribution to the world is to save civilians and avert real-world disasters.

Japan should seriously reflect on whether this is its own problem and whether it has made any efforts to improve its official image over the years.

In reality, if he were to draw a right-wing player, Shin Higashiyama would definitely deal with them after they cleared the game.

"Didn't Uncle say he was coming back?"

"Given the current situation, he can't come back."

Did he say he wanted to take you to immigrate?

"Your aunt wants to take you to immigrate?"

The two chatted naturally, while Higashiyama helped prepare the ingredients, as usual, and he couldn't join in the conversation.

Suddenly, his phone received a text message.

He hadn't paid any attention at first, just glanced at it, but then he seemed to see something incredible and quickly looked at it again.

"Holy crap—!"

"School starts at this time?! Are you kidding me?!"

It emitted a sharp, explosive sound, covered its face with its hands, and looked like it was shouting.

Shinichi Higashiyama and Chiba also received the text message, but neither of them reacted.

"It's not the start of school, but a short-term military training exercise." Higashiyama Shin quickly finished reading.

The Self-Defense Forces can't hold on any longer.

The country needs a new batch of fuel.

(End of this chapter)