I'm doing abstract animation

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped into the village, there were no more footsteps behind her.

"Huhuhu..."

When she stopped, she felt like her lungs were about to explode, and she was panting heavily, supporting herself on her legs with her hands.

She swore she had never run that fast in her life.

"Little girl, are you alright?"

Just then, a gentle voice sounded in front of her.

She instinctively looked ahead and saw a middle-aged man dressed as a farmer.

He had neat short hair, a round face that looked very kind, a hoe on his shoulder, and his trousers rolled up to his calves, his legs below the knees wet, looking like he had just come back from working in the fields.

This appearance instantly put Miura Yumiko at ease. She breathed a sigh of relief and pointed with a still trembling finger to the exit of the forest: "There, there's something following me..."

The middle-aged man glanced at the forest exit, then turned back to her with a smile and said, "I didn't see anything. Maybe it's a wild roe deer or something!"

Yumiko Miura turned her head, panting, and sure enough, there was nothing there.

But she wasn't naive enough to think she was mistaken; she could see those eyes clearly.

They must have hidden in the forest...

Slowly calming her breathing, she finally had a chance to take in the unremarkable little village.

This place must be extremely poor.

That was her first thought when she saw the village.

The ground was uneven and the surrounding houses were even the kind with mud plastered on the surface. Some of the roofs were made of old-fashioned mud tiles, while others were simply covered with straw. This made her feel as if she had been transported back to decades ago.

"Little girl, judging from your clothes, you must be from a big city, right?"

The kind uncle's voice had a slight accent, but it wasn't very strong. Although it sounded a little strange to Miura Yumiko, she could still understand it.

"I...I came from Tokyo for tourism, and I accidentally got lost in the forest."

Yumiko Miura made up an excuse.

The kind uncle stopped, but didn't seem surprised. Instead, he nodded and said, "That's true. You city folks always come here for tourism. Last time, an entire school came!"

The entire school?

It's a school trip, right...?

Miura Yumiko seemed thoughtful. This uncle didn't seem like a knowledgeable person; he probably thought that the students in one grade represented the entire school...

"Uncle, where is this?"

Logically, places chosen for school trips should be somewhat famous, but she couldn't think of any famous place in Japan that would be so backward. Even the poorest prefecture, Yamagata, didn't use mud to plaster walls...

"Weren't you here on a trip?" The kind uncle scratched his head in confusion. "How come you don't know where you are?"

Yumiko Miura looked a little embarrassed: "I'm lost, and my phone has no signal..."

She never expected that this uncle, who didn't seem very bright...

However, he immediately noticed the flaw in her words; indeed, appearances can be deceiving…

"I see... This is Podi Village. Go south out of that forest and you'll reach Yamagata Prefecture."

Fortunately, the uncle didn't seem to care about it and even answered her questions.

Yamagata Prefecture...

A look of understanding flashed in Yumiko Miura's eyes. So it was a village under the jurisdiction of Yamagata Prefecture. That made sense...

Yamagata Prefecture is the poorest prefecture in all of Japan; the entire prefecture...

With agriculture and manufacturing as its main industries, it seems normal for this small village in Yamagata Prefecture to be so poor.

At this moment, the villagers seemed to be attracted by the conversation between the two. They ran out of their houses in twos and threes and stood by the roadside to look at the two of them. Their eyes were curious but also seemed to be filled with a hint of...fear.

Miura Yumiko is a bit strange. She has a fiery temper and sharp words, and many people at school are afraid of her. Therefore, she is extremely sensitive to this kind of emotion.

The problem is that nobody here knows her, so why would she be afraid?

Is it because of xenophobia?

Seriously? What era are we living in...?

As she was secretly grumbling to herself, the kind uncle spoke up.

"Young lady, you look tired. Why don't you come to my house to rest? My meal should be ready soon."

It would have been better if I hadn't mentioned it, because just thinking about Miura Yumiko made my throat feel incredibly thirsty and my stomach start to rumble.

As soon as she got out of school, she rushed home to change her clothes. After changing, she rushed to the alternate dimension. During that time, she didn't eat or drink anything. Coupled with the chaotic running around just now, she was exhausted and hungry.

She hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

In reality, she would never go to a strange man's house, no matter how kind he was. But since the system here is similar to a game, she became bolder.

And who knows, maybe this uncle is some important figure.

Moreover, she looked around at the crowd of people who were silently watching her. Among them were the old and the young, but without exception, none of them dared to approach her.

It seemed she had nowhere else to go but with this older man.

She followed the kind uncle, chatting all the way to his doorstep.

I learned from our conversation on the road that the kind uncle's surname was Sagawa, that he had grown up in the village, and that the farthest place he had ever been was the county seat of Yamagata Prefecture.

The village is called Podi Village because there was a mountain to the southwest that was connected to the forest, and their village was located at the bottom of the mountain slope, hence the name Podi Village.

Uncle Sagawa's house is located in the northeast of the village. The style of the house is similar to that of other houses in the village. The only difference is that his house is surrounded by a high fence, which encloses the entire house in a circle.

Sitting in the yard, Miura Yumiko looked around at the fence and for some reason felt a little depressed.

Logically, the purpose of a fence is to protect the yard and prevent small wild animals from entering and damaging the plants, but these fences are really too high; she estimated them to be at least two meters high.

What is this two-meter-high fence used to keep out?

"Miura, come and eat."

Sagawa's voice interrupted her thoughts. She glanced through the gate at the mountain behind the Sagawa family's house and then went back inside.

To Miura Yumiko's surprise, the house looked simple on the outside, but was surprisingly clean inside, showing that the owner was quite tidy.

"Uncle Sagawa, what's the name of that mountain over there?"

During the meal, Miura Yumiko and Sagawa chatted casually.

"That mountain doesn't have a name, but I usually call it Maple Leaf Mountain."

Sagawa answered while eating.

Is there something on that mountain?

"Starting out of nowhere," Miura Yumiko suddenly asked.

Sagawa's hand trembled slightly as he looked at her with some surprise: "Why do you ask that?"

Volume 1: Chapter 18 A Death Without a Clear Reason

"Uncle Sagawa, what is the fence in your yard used to keep out?"

Yumiko Miura frowned as she ate her rice. She really didn't want to eat the dishes on the table. One dish of dark, unrecognizable vegetables was just boiled in water, and the other dish of meat looked unappetizing.

Instead of answering Sagawa's question, she asked him a question in return.

"That's not for defense or anything. I've always had a lack of security, which is why I made the fence so high."

Sagawa explained with a smile.

"A sense of security..."

This explanation seemed somewhat reasonable, but Miura Yumiko still felt that something was off.

"Has Uncle Sagawa always been alone?"

Sagawa looked to be at least in his forties, and the furnishings in the house didn't suggest that two people lived there.

"Sigh..." Sagawa sighed, put down his chopsticks, and got up to pour Miura Yumiko a glass of water: "There's nothing I can do, my family is poor, no one wants me. Have some water, I've been watching you eat rice the whole time, it must be very dry."

Yumiko Miura took the water and drank it all in one gulp. She was indeed very thirsty, having been thirsty before, not to mention having eaten half a bowl of rice.

"Where are your family members?"

She continued asking questions, hoping to glean some clues.

"He died a long time ago. He had an accident while searching for food when I was very young."

Sagawa poured her another glass of water and placed it on the table.

"I see..." Yumiko Miura sighed, "It seems that living here is not easy..."

This guy is really pitiful. He lost both his parents when he was young and lived in such a poor place. It's a miracle that he's grown up...

"Actually, it's alright, the main problem is that food is hard to find here."

Sagawa picked up his rice bowl and continued eating.

"Is it hard to get food?"

Yumiko Miura looked at the white rice in the bowl, a little puzzled.

"Yes, it takes a lot of effort to eat meat, and sometimes we can't even find any ingredients for half a year."

"Uh... is it really that exaggerated?"

Yumiko Miura shook her head; she felt a little dizzy.

"Yes, Miura, yes! You see, if you hadn't come this time, I would have had to wait several months to eat meat!"

Sagawa put down his chopsticks and smiled as he quietly watched her.

"..."

Yumiko Miura was speechless at this point. She felt dizzy and her vision blurred. She collapsed onto the table.

"Damn it, that old man is getting more and more outrageous; he's already blocking the passageway..."

That was the last thing she heard.

Dark and cold...

"what!"

With a scream, Miura Yumiko jumped up from under the tree trunk, her eyes wide open.

"This, here is..."

She felt a splitting headache and it took her a long time to recover. She covered her head and looked around.

"I'm back in the forest, which means... I'm dead?"

Yumiko Miura's eyes twitched violently; at that moment, she truly understood what it meant to be treacherous.

He died inexplicably and without explanation...

He thought to himself that this was just a game, and there weren't really such bad people in real life... right?

"I need to think about it carefully."

She pressed her hands to her temples, her mind replaying everything that had just happened.

"First of all, that gatekeeper Sagawa is definitely not a good person."

"Secondly, is what that bitch said true or not?"

"Third, that beast is definitely related to the obsession with the other dimension."

"Fourth, the meat that bastard was talking about... is probably human flesh."

Thinking about this, Miura Yumiko's face turned pale. Even though she kept telling herself that this was just a game, the thought of the boiled pork on the table made her feel nauseous, and she was even more grateful that she still had some appreciation for food...

"And I was wondering why those villagers were afraid of me; turns out they were afraid of him!!"

The thought of this made her want to curse. Couldn't you guys just go up and remind them? Why the hell are you all just standing by and watching?!