Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Leon frowned. The number of spider lilies currently being planted has been carefully evaluated to keep the public's enthusiasm for the spider lily below a certain threshold.

If this is exceeded, it could trigger a chain reaction and localized chaos.

"I understand. Please thank the divine flower for me, and thank you for conveying this message. We will consider it carefully."

Chapter 207: On the Eve of the New Game

Outside the window, the plum rains drizzle, and Tokyo remains shrouded in gray today.

Inside the Higashiyama family home, the air was warm and inviting, filled with an enticing aroma. Higashiyama Shinsuke was placing the last, fragrant hamburger patty onto a plate.

On the living room sofa, Chiba Shion sat upright with a serious expression, as if facing a formidable enemy.

She gripped the controller tightly with both hands, staring intently at the game screen on the television, her brows slightly furrowed, as if struggling to understand the plot.

It's clear that she's not very comfortable with the storyline of the game she's playing.

"I'm back--!"

The electronic lock clicked, the door opened, and a spirited shout came from the entrance hall.

Higashiyama Du, having just finished his three-day school trip, burst in, tossing his luggage carelessly on the floor. He sniffed the air and exclaimed, "It really is hamburger patty! I could smell it from outside the door. Long live the bro!"

With a clear goal in mind, he darted to the table and, taking advantage of Higashiyama Shin's turn to get the cutlery, swiftly grabbed a small, piping hot piece of hamburger patty and stuffed it into his mouth. He hissed from the heat, but looked completely satisfied.

"It tastes like something you can't get anywhere else."

Shinichi Higashiyama frowned at the hamburger patty that had been broken off a small piece, and simply handed it to Tokugawa Doku: "Wash your hands before you eat, take it to the table."

"Good~"

As he washed his hands, he mumbled his extraordinary adventure: "Brother! Let me tell you, this school trip was absolutely amazing!"

Higashiyama Shin gave a perfunctory reply: "How is it magical?"

"Over at Mount Aso in Kumamoto, I... uh, strayed a little from the group to explore," he said, his eyes darting around, pinching out a tiny bit with his fingertips, "and then, guess what? I encountered a bear! Not an ordinary bear, you know, the kind that, how do I put it, had incredibly intelligent eyes, like it could understand human speech!"

Higashiyama Shin walked to the dining table with him, carrying the cutlery. He placed the plates on the table expressionlessly and glanced at him.

Dongshan's eyes shone brightly as he gestured excitedly, trying to increase credibility: "It's true! We even hid together in the woods from the patrolmen. I shared the snacks you made with it, and it... well, it seemed to like them quite a bit! We even high-fived each other; we really clicked!"

He grew more and more excited as he spoke, his voice rising a few decibels. Finally, he paused, a mixture of shyness and anticipation in his eyes, and looked at Higashiyama Shin. "So...hey bro, do you think...we could...keep a bear at home? To guard the house? It'd be really—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

boom!

A muffled thud was followed by Higashiyama Doku's exaggerated scream. He was thrown out the door by Higashiyama Shin, like a kitten being grabbed by the scruff of its neck.

Chiba's attention was also drawn to it, and the game screen paused.

"Have that bear come and talk to me about the rent in person."

Higashiyama Shin's voice came through the door, calm and undisturbed.

"Brother—!!" Higashiyama Doku's wailing and pounding on the door immediately rang out from outside. "I was wrong, I was just joking! I just brought back a Kumamon plush toy. Please, let me in! The hamburger patties are getting cold—!"

Chiba, who was inside the house, put down the controller and got up to help Shin Higashiyama tidy up the kitchen, as if the noise outside the door was just background noise.

Higashiyama Shinze calmly set out the tableware, ignoring the screams outside the door.

He didn't go and open the door until dinner was set out and the knocking turned into a rhythmic thumping.

Higashiyama Independence slid in like an eel, not a single tear on his face. He had somehow managed to put a half-human-sized Kumamon plushie in his arms, and a smirk played on his lips: "Okay, bro, I made that up, but there really is a bear that I feel a special connection with, and that's it! It's a souvenir I brought back!"

Looking at Higashiyama Doku's joking expression, Higashiyama Shin knew what was going on.

What Dongshan Du just said is the truth.

The auspicious omen obtained before setting off must be related to that bear.

However, Shin Higashiyama did not reveal anything and accepted the Kumamon plush toy with its wise eyes.

Where would be a good place to put this thing? He certainly doesn't want to put it in the room.

"Chiba-nee, this is for you, a Kumamon-patterned donut lollipop, it's part of a set of emojis, and it's also for Aunt Chiba."

At dinner time, Dongshan wolfed down his food and talked at length about other interesting things that happened during the study tour.

The two people sitting opposite him weren't listening very attentively; they were instead engaged in a battle of wits, frantically piling vegetables onto each other's plates.

After the meal, Higashiyama Dugu Lingling cleared away the dishes, Chiba sat down on the sofa to continue her game journey, and Higashiyama Shin sat down next to her.

Chiba himself rarely, if ever, plays games.

This was her third day of officially playing the game; it was Shin Higashiyama who encouraged her to give it a try.

"Stuck?" He watched as the character on the screen wandered aimlessly through the town.

Chiba shook his head, his expression still serious: "I've heard that to be a qualified player, you have to loot every single place in a game."

It's clear she did a lot of research, but there's no need to be so serious.

A good game is one that allows players to enjoy themselves while following the main storyline. He suddenly thought of some games that made him feel warm but couldn't be called bad.

Okay, not happy.

Dongshan Shen glanced at the screen and saw a chicken peeking out nearby. He casually remarked, "Try killing all the chickens in the city; it might trigger a hidden quest."

Upon hearing this, Chiba barely hesitated before maneuvering his character toward the nearest leisurely strolling speckled pheasant and swiftly brought it down with a swift chop.

Oops!

The rooster uttered a death cry, and then it collapsed.

The next second, the once peaceful town was like boiling oil thrown into a jellyfish.

All the townspeople who were passing by, strolling around, or even those several streets away, instantly turned their eyes to fierce light, grabbed the hoes, rolling pins, and stools at their sides, and charged towards Chiba's character with overwhelming force and intense anger!

"!"

Chiba's pupils contracted sharply, and her body tensed instantly. She clearly hadn't expected the consequences to be so severe, but her reaction was quick enough that she immediately turned and ran!

However, the number of angry townspeople was simply too great.

They surged in from all directions, forming an encirclement. Chiba's character dodged left and right through the narrow streets, struggling to evade various close-range attacks.

Her actions were calm and her reactions were good, but unfortunately, one fist can't fight a thousand hands, and a tiger can't withstand a pack of wolves.

After taking down more than a dozen enraged townspeople, her character was eventually cornered in a dead end by a town guard wielding a sword.

The screen went dark.

you are dead.

Chiba stared at the blood-red death notification on the screen, his lips pressed into a thin line, his brows furrowed, as if he were reviewing a real, brutal battle.

From his observation, Higashiyama Shinshin had a general assessment of Chiba's gaming skills.

Aside from its good handling, everything else is hard to evaluate.

Overall, it's still a bit far from passing. It belongs to the typical type that "has both the skills and the awareness to execute."

With this level of talent, it would be very difficult to qualify as a player in the game.

Given Chiba's current straightforward approach to gaming, if he were to enter those extraordinary games, he'd probably be so defeated at first sight that he'd question his very existence.

However, we shouldn't dismiss her entirely. With her talent, she might still have a chance if she finds the right game genre.

As for Higashiyama Doku, Higashiyama Shin's gaze swept over his younger brother who was washing dishes.

This kid had actually already obtained player status, but Shinichi Higashiyama didn't choose him.

He'll consider it again once he's certain that none of the so-called demons in this world pose a threat to him, and that he can withstand a nuclear bomb.

Chiba didn't stay long; she said goodbye and went home around eight o'clock.

Then, after scratching his head and watching enviously for two hours, Higashiyama Du quickly took over, switched to the game, and started working on the weekly tasks and passes that he hadn't been able to complete due to his school trip.

"I have class tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll go to bed early!"

That one reminder was enough; Higashiyama Shin returned to his room.

The door closed gently, shutting out the sounds of the game in the living room. Dongshan Shen walked to the chair and sat down, his mind calm. The next moment, his spirit appeared inside the Soul-Gathering Umbrella.

Ueda Yoshi and the little snake, who were playing among the beautiful spider lilies by the river, froze when they saw Higashiyama Shin suddenly appear.

The little snake on the other side reacted quickly. The petals on its neck trembled violently, and with a whoosh, its slender body disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye, as if merging into a sea of ​​blood-red flowers, leaving only a few slightly swaying petals.

Thanks to the large number of "high-quality souls" that Iwasaki sacrificed at the Tokyo Summoning Society, this underworld space has expanded considerably.

The Sanzu River's water level rose significantly, and the current seemed to become even more rapid.

In the river, large, fat fish, constantly suffering from the agonizing pain of being burned, are clearly visible. They writhe in vain, silently illustrating the endless torment they endure.

"As expected, the most capable player is Kosuke Iwasaki."

Standing on the shore, Shinichi Higashiyama glanced at the increasingly prosperous underworld, preparing to find some excuse to reward Iwasaki, the Jinchūriki of the Soul-Gathering Umbrella.

They are highly proactive and efficient, truly a model of win-win cooperation.

However, his main purpose in coming here this time was to find the Little Snake from the Other Shore.

But the little guy seems to be a bit "temperamental" lately. It's probably scared by his frequent demands to spit out the spider lilies, to the point that it's almost reflexively nauseous and hides from him whenever it sees him.

The problem is, this entire underworld is his territory. Where can he hide?

Higashiyama Shin's gaze fell on Ueda Yoshi, who was still frozen in place, trying his best to appear nonchalant. He was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

“Ueda.” Shinichi Higashiyama waved to him.

Ueda Hiroshi's spirit visibly trembled and quickly floated over, its body edges becoming blurred, appearing extremely uneasy.

"Where's your friend?" Higashiyama Shin asked casually, as if it were just a casual question.

He naturally knew where the little snake on the other side was; he was just wondering if Ueda had been influenced by its presence.

"Brother, brother! I, uh, that..."

Ueda Hiroshi stammered a few times, and his spirit body immediately deflated and deformed like a punctured balloon, eventually turning into a slightly trembling, translucent slime-like object that lay limply on the ground.

After struggling for a few seconds, the slime managed to condense a tiny, trembling tentacle tip, which pointed in a certain direction.

"Over there."

After pointing, Ueda completely collapsed and didn't move. He had actually betrayed his comrade again!

Hmm. Why did I say "again"?

Without moving a single step, Higashiyama Shinichi casually made a grasping motion towards the river section from a distance.

“Haw—!”

A short, terrified scream rang out.

On the other side, the small snake, like a loach caught on an invisible fishing line, was pulled out of the water without any resistance, tracing an arc before landing perfectly in Higashiyama Shin's outstretched palm.

The little guy landed in my palm, his body stiff, and only after a few seconds did he seem to thaw and switch into enthusiastic puppy mode.

The slender body quickly wrapped around Higashiyama Shin's wrist, spiraling towards his arm, a cool and slippery touch spreading through him.

It raised its little head, flicking its tongue rapidly, and stretched out the petals on its neck as if to say, "Master, you've finally come to see me! I've missed you so much!"

Higashiyama Shin extended the index finger of his other hand and gently tapped its small head.

The little snake on the other side immediately understood, nodding its head vigorously like it was pounding garlic, its eyes shining with enthusiasm.

It quickly slid from Higashiyama Shin's hand to the ground, its body slightly swollen, and then, in a very cooperative and exaggerated manner, opened its mouth wide.

vomit!

The bright red spider lily was spat out by it.

Once the flower was separated from the snake, the petals on the snake's neck instantly seemed to have been drained of moisture, visibly withering and drooping. The entire snake appeared listless and dispirited.

Higashiyama Shin casually put away the Higanbana flower. Since Higanbana was so resistant to coming and going, he might as well keep the flower for the time being.

Anyway, this Yin Spider Lily has already grown to a considerable extent, so there's no need to keep it in the Soul-Gathering Umbrella space or inside its body for constant Yin energy nourishment.

Looking at the hollowed-out snake on the ground, Higashiyama Shin casually grabbed at the air and pulled an exceptionally plump fish out of the water.

He casually flicked his wrist.

The fish, writhing on its own and exuding a chilling aura, traced an arc in the air.