Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Uesugi, however, held him tightly in his arms, his heart pounding, refusing to let go.

Intense hatred overwhelmed everything. The 27 years of memories that Ban-tama had experienced after losing her family, which had not been shown before the game, flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

After her parents died, her uncle was unwilling to train her as a combat ninja. He found an opportunity and she ran away from home, where she trained alone, fought with wild dogs for food, and took on odd jobs.

But every time she wakes up in the middle of the night, the image of the burning ninja village and her father being cut open evokes her most primal fears.

This forced her to be repeatedly defeated by fear, even in her dreams, making it impossible for her to achieve her goal.

Even today!

Objective: Take up arms and kill the "Zhengqing" (a Qing dynasty official).

【Finish!】

The inscriptions on the chains emitted a golden light, tightening inch by inch. The demonic blade's trembling grew weaker and weaker, finally ceasing its struggle as if unwilling to give up.

At the same time, the building emitted creaking and groaning noises as it struggled to keep up with the strain.

With a rumble, the main structure of the castle tower began to collapse, burning floorboards and pillars falling piece by piece.

Just as Uesugi was about to leave with the demon sword, he found himself unable to move.

They could only watch helplessly as the castle tower collapsed along with them. After a fall, the entire roof collapsed, plunging their vision into a deathly darkness.

I don't know how much time passed before I slowly heard the sound of burning wood.

Uesugi "took her hands off the keyboard," and she was unable to continue controlling the character; instead, the character started moving on its own.

When she regained her sight, she was already on the ruins.

The fire in Edo Castle was still burning, but it was only at an ordinary temperature, an ordinary sea of ​​fire.

Without the demon sword, the fire won't keep burning after everything that can be burned has been consumed.

With the demon sword still in his arms, Ban Deng's vision blurred, he swayed and staggered as he walked towards Fa Cheng's direction.

My eyelids went dark for a moment, then my vision returned. I was in a completely different environment. I continued walking with the lamp on my back.

After a few moments of darkness, she arrived at the pond of the temple where Facheng was located.

Upon seeing her, the survivors reacted as if they had encountered a demon, their faces filled with terror as they retreated, making way for Fa Cheng.

"Namo Lotus Sutra. Your merits are immeasurable, benefactor. On behalf of all sentient beings, this humble monk bows in gratitude." Fa Cheng clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, and asked with compassion in his eyes, "Does the benefactor have anything to say?"

"."

"This humble monk understands. I will bury you with the Fire-Severing Pill. Please rest in peace. This humble monk will perform a ritual for you here."

After hearing what Hosei said, Uesugi's gaze gradually shifted from the first person to the third person.

From this perspective, it becomes clear that Ban Deng's body is completely charred, with only a faint heartbeat remaining; even breathing has ceased.

It was only through forbearance that I was able to carry the demon sword and get here.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a corpse.

The charred torso, illuminated by the lamp, dissipated like specks of ashes, from skin to skeleton, and finally to a heart that was almost no longer beating.

The heart flew into the sky, flickered, and returned to nature, seemingly weakening the fire in Edo Castle.

Fa Cheng caught the ashes and the demon sword in his robe and chanted scriptures.

Player "Moon" has completed "Heart of Ninja". The game will close and scores will be tallied in two days.

You have successfully completed "Heart of Patience" and obtained the optional rewards "Heart of Burning" and "Heart of Ice".

Please make a selection

Chapter 198: Potential Enhancement

A heart that burns, a heart that is frozen.

This clearly splits the mind of light and shadow into two.

Moreover, judging from the name, the effect is not as broad, and the overall ability is probably more than one level lower.

However, this reward is by no means bad; it depends on what you compare it to. Compared to the snake bone reward from the previous "Escape from the Other Shore" event, it's considerably better. However, this is probably due to the larger amount of game content.

If you were to trade it, it would be worth at least 200 points, and might even be better than some abilities.

"Both fire and ice types can be used in combat, but high-temperature burning abilities are clearly more destructive in the early stages, while low-temperature abilities are more concealed."

Uesugi made a decision quickly.

"I choose—ice!"

[Player confirms selection of "Heart of Ice"]

[Scanning...]

[Player "Moon" has been detected to possess a D-level potential ability - Cat Ear Switch]

The compatibility between the two is 80%. Should we spend 50 points to fuse them? If the fusion is successful, the expected potential will be increased to C-.

You want points?! And a whopping 50 of them!

Uesugi became extremely cautious: "What are the benefits of merging? What if we don't merge?"

After fusion, players can use the Ice Heart in cat form. The original cat ear switch abilities may produce strange reactions with the Ice Heart.

[Without fusion, it will be difficult to use Ice Heart in cat form; potential remains unchanged.]

understood.

Glaceon, right? If she had chosen Burning Heart just now, she would be Flareon now.

“But I haven’t unlocked my cat form ability yet,” Uesugi sighed.

The game system did not respond.

This is a player issue; the progression requirements have been clearly stated, and if players cannot meet them, it has nothing to do with the player's problem.

"Can you make it cheaper?" Uesugi pleaded pitifully, trying to squeeze out a few points.

Please make a selection

The system is ruthless; it only urges us on.

“I choose, fusion!” She clutched her chest, speaking with such difficulty.

No one knows how many opportunities there are to enhance one's potential, but from a long-term perspective, these 50 points are definitely worthwhile.

Although, C-'s potential is likely still at the bottom among players.

[Requirements confirmed. Integration complete]

The cat ear switch has been upgraded to "Cat Ear Switch - Ice".

Don't worry about the name; on the bright side, at least it didn't turn into something like Ice Cat or Cat Ice Switch.

"To unlock the cat form, I first need to unlock skill. I've mastered agility, elegance is something I can manage, but fearlessness is a different story."

In reality, Uesugi was sighing while hugging a chicken-shaped body pillow, which was a piece of merchandise related to her own costume.

She got up, filled a wine glass halfway with room temperature cola, threw in three ice cubes, and then pressed her index finger against the rim of the glass, drawing circles on it.

The visible cold air sinks down, quickly chilling the cola in the glass.

This is the most basic application scenario of Ice Heart: the quick-freeze function.

Uesugi thought this might be the most practical one.

She took a sip of the cola and could feel the coolness, but it wasn't cold to her at all.

She took another sip, stunned, and upon closer inspection, her pupils dilated in shock.

Oh no, it's only slightly cool, not cold at all in my mouth, and even the slight tingling sensation from the carbon dioxide is greatly reduced!

The wine glass fell to the ground and shattered, spilling the remaining cola everywhere, bubbling and frothing, but Uesugi paid no attention.

She has lost the pleasure of drinking iced cola!

The blissful feeling of chugging ice-cold cola on a hot summer day, enjoying the interplay of carbonation and icy coolness, has been taken away and is gone forever, leaving only memories.

"No!"

Uesugi sat on the ground in a classic pose, supporting his body with his hands. His aura was somber, and the low temperature enveloped his entire body. Light snow began to fall indoors.

Shin Higashiyama, who had intended to see what players who had cleared the game were doing, posted: "Old man's phone on the subway.jpg"

Coca-Cola definitely had something mixed in; I'll stick with Pepsi from now on.

That's what he thought, but since all he had at home was Delicious, he still poured himself a glass.

I took a sip, and it felt no different from usual.

But this is natural.

The exclusive reward he receives after completing "The Heart of Patience" is the newly awakened Heart of Light and Shadow.

As for the Ice Heart, which is essentially a budget version of the Heart of Ember, it doesn't really have much of an impact on him; it can only be considered a lower-tier alternative, something that's acceptable but not essential.

No, it's not even dispensable; it has no reason to exist at all.

What the Heart of Ice can do, the Heart of Light and Shadow can do as well, and even better.

It also avoids the side effect of temperature imbalance that prevents the icy sensation from being felt.

"Keep it for now. It might have other uses later. If it's really useless, you can just throw it in the store." Higashiyama Shin didn't pay much attention to this little thing.

He is summarizing the patterns he has observed in these games.

"Under competitive pressure, even if players cannot communicate with each other about how to pass the game, for small games, players can generally keep the completion time within half a month."

"Games purchased with points are essentially a supplement to the monthly game content, and after Subway, no new games have been introduced that require points."

"The only remaining point-based game that can be purchased now is the special, non-rewarding 'Peach Blossom Village.' Judging from the name, it doesn't seem like an ordinary game. Rather than a game, it's more like a 'base.'"

"Won't this conflict with the positioning of the player lobby?"

Currently, players' activities in the lobby are quite limited; they can't even stand up. Apart from facilitating face-to-face communication and buying items with their laptops, it seems there's no other function.

But that's from the player's perspective.

Shin Higashiyama's perspective is that of God.

He could see that the player lobby was not just a simple round table; there were other spaces, but they were shrouded in mist and not yet open.

Actually, it wasn't completely shrouded in mist. At least he could see that behind an ordinary door was a large space with many doll-like objects arranged in it, like a training ground.

I checked my points balance; it's over a thousand.

"Peach Blossom Village" requires 2,000 points, and you need to complete at least one month of gameplay to accumulate that amount.

It'll be soon; today is the third day after the Kyoto Giant incident.

5 month 31 day.

There are five days left until the new game is released.

"Hmm? Has it started?"

Higashiyama Shinsuke snapped out of his reverie, and standing beside him was the shadowy spider lily that had transformed into a mirror.

He consistently used this method to issue instructions to the Lycoris radiata, which was officially revered as a "divine flower."

Tonight, another group of men and women who have traveled from America will be selected and will soon face the screening by the divine flower.

This experiment can be considered one of his research topics.

I just want to see if, in this era of declining spiritual energy, cultivators can still be born without games.

Even if it can only withstand a portion of its capacity.

He originally thought highly of that girl named Milai, believing she had considerable talent.

Unfortunately, he only manipulated the Yang Spider Lily for a moment before it completely collapsed because it couldn't withstand the power of non-intentional assimilation.

In that case, he could only find another talented test subject.

Letting the authorities take the initiative is undoubtedly the most worry-free and efficient approach.

Yokota underground base.

A large number of investigators gathered here, observing the scene in the open space below through the one-way glass.