Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 44: A Desperate Sprint (Please continue reading!)

"Ho ho."

Exhausted, Higashiyama Shin sat down on the ground, breathing in the air, which was no longer so strongly fishy-smelling. He felt the slippery ground as the tuna retreated deeper into the depths, and the platform gradually dried out.

The words on the stone tablet were covered in blood, but on the base, the blood had gathered into a fish eye that seemed to be still rotating, gleaming with an eerie light.

After resting for a while, Dongshan Shen got up and gently picked up the fish eye.

The fish's eye was about the size of a bottle cap, probably a gift left to him by the tuna. Eyes usually contain guiding clues, but it's not yet certain whether they serve that purpose.

Denden.

The surrounding lights came on, dispelling the long darkness.

Deeper inside the stone tablet, there is a wall, and leaning against the wall is an old, red fire equipment box.

"Is this the boss reward?"

Higashiyama Shin put away the fish eye and quickly walked to the fire equipment box to examine it. The thing looked like an antique from the Showa era.

The cabinet wasn't locked, but it was covered in rust. He had to pull hard to open it.

Expired fire extinguishers, old-fashioned gas masks, water hoses, fire axes
Higashiyama carefully weighed the slightly heavy axe in his hand; it was in remarkably good condition.

Was this fire axe meant for him to use against the fanatics at the station on the left?

Nowadays, apart from a few isolated locations such as warehouses and factories, most fire axes are now equipped with more efficient electric demolition tools or hydraulic shears.

However, considering that this fire equipment box looks like an object from the Showa era, it seems normal.

Wearing a mask and carrying a fire axe, he approached the stone monument, bowed deeply, and then turned to leave.

"Finally, we succeeded."

In another place, Kosuke Iwasaki died again before he finally found the bunch of forget-me-nots.

On a whim, he placed the bouquet of forget-me-nots in front of the stone tablet and, like Shin Higashiyama, received a fish eye and firefighting equipment.

The difference is that the bouquet of flowers that the character originally carried was also consumed here.

He didn't waste any more time and returned to the fork in the road, where he found the fire equipment box that hadn't been opened because it wasn't within the surveillance range.

The box is not sturdy; the top is made of glass, the kind that can be broken with a little force.

Inside the box was a gas mask, a water hose, and a dry powder fire extinguisher.

After considering it for a moment, Iwasaki decided to use the gas mask and fire axe he got from behind the stone tablet, since he couldn't carry any more equipment.

"Those dark figures seem to have disappeared along with them." Iwasaki looked around, but couldn't find any trace of the dark figures out of the corner of his eye. He wondered what their relationship was with that strange fish.

Donning a gas mask and gripping his fire axe, he returned to the train and headed to the platform on the left.

Tsk.

The train doors closed, and Iwasaki glanced at them briefly before looking around cautiously for surveillance cameras and any suspicious objects on the ground, before slowly making his way forward.

He knew that the scene here must be related to the sarin gas attack, so he kept wearing a gas mask. The fact that the game has weapons also indicated that there would be combat elements.

"Salvation of souls! Humanity—kh-kh!"

A fanatical follower wearing a cult leader's mask rushed out from the shadows, but Iwasaki was already on high alert. He simply tucked the monster around the corner; people had been doing that for years!

Let me tell you, this road cannot be traveled from this side!
Before the fanatic could finish speaking, Iwasaki chopped him in the head with an axe, the blade sinking halfway into his skull. He then lay on the ground twitching.

Iwasaki suddenly pulled it out and then swung it behind him.

Sure enough, another fanatic appeared out of nowhere, and this time half of his face was smashed by the back of his axe, with red and white splattering everywhere, and a few drops even landing on his mask.

Iwasaki felt no discomfort whatsoever; in fact, he felt excited.

Silence fell again. Iwasaki searched the two men and found a simple hand-drawn map with several bloody words repeatedly written on it.

【Hibiya! Hibiya! Hibiya]

"Hibiya Station?" Iwasaki had recovered enough, took the map, and continued towards the seemingly endless platform ahead.

According to the map, there will be a staircase leading uphill not far away. Go up the stairs and turn right to find a train.

Following the usual game formula, it won't be that easy for you to get on the train. You'll either need to continue solving puzzles or engage in a thrilling battle.

After walking for a few minutes, the surroundings became quiet, and the debris on the ground gradually decreased, returning the area to its clean state.

We've reached the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, there is an arrow that looks like it was drawn with a red crayon, pointing diagonally upwards along the stairs.

Was this a hint left by someone? Or is it misleading?

But based on the information on the fanatic, it is indeed the right way to go, and there is no other good direction to go.

Although the surroundings didn't look like they were filled with poisonous gas, he still didn't dare take off his mask. After panting for a while, he continued to carry the fire axe upstairs.

"Why do these platforms seem even older?"

Stepping off the stairs, Iwasaki could confirm that the platform in front of him looked even older than the Heisei-era platform downstairs, perhaps in the style of the Showa era.

Not far away, a train was parked with its doors open.

He instinctively turned around to look, but his body immediately tensed up in place.

The spot where he had just come up was now filled with a large, densely packed group of fanatics, all wearing the same cult leader mask and dressed in pure white clothes, silently looking up and staring intently at him.

Iwasaki's scalp tingled instantly.

"Salvation of souls! Renewal of the human race! Salvation of souls!! Renewal of the human race!!"

They suddenly shouted in unison, their voices seeming to cause an earthquake, and then they rushed up the stairs where Iwasaki was.

"****!"

Iwasaki immediately threw away the fire axe. Did they think they could handle a crowd this big with just a fire axe? Did they think he was Kentucky Superman?!

The only way to survive is to run!

Fire axes are just a burden!
Iwasaki quickly threw the fire axe down the stairs and ran away as fast as he could, taking off his mask as he ran.

[The train is about to depart, bound for Nakameguro. Passengers waiting, please move behind the white line.]

As they got closer, Iwasaki could see that the train seemed to be newer than the one at the platform, and he could also hear announcements coming from it.

He quickened his pace, stomping heavily on the ground, his eyes fixed on the train door.

[The doors are about to close. Please do not attempt to board. The next stop is Hibiya Station.]

"Salvation of souls! Race replacement!"

"The end times are coming! Those who disobey will die!"

The sound behind him grew closer and closer, the thick, hissing roar almost licking the back of his neck, raising goosebumps. Even the train doors in front of him were about to close!

"Ahhhhh!!"

Iwasaki unleashed the body's potential, and without braking, he leaped up and squeezed sideways through the almost closed train door, which was only twenty centimeters wide, crashing into the opposite door inside the train with a thud.

The pain from the impact made Iwasaki groan involuntarily.

Bang bang bang! !

Before they could even feel the excruciating pain in their bodies, the fanatics rushed onto the train one after another. Their masked faces and hands pressed against the windows, like fearless zombies, frantically pounding on the doors, windows, and the train body.

He even saw someone take the fire axe he had discarded and smash it hard against the car window.

Bang!
The car window is cracked.

(End of this chapter)