Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

"I think no one can deny now that the whole world, or rather this land beneath our feet, once had a time that was extraordinary and real."

“I agree with Minister Yuan’s ‘probing,’ but I also believe that this is a concentrated outburst of historical issues.”

"The area around Mount Fuji, especially the Aokigahara Forest and the Fuji Five Lakes region, has been a gathering place for various legends and unsolved mysteries since ancient times."

"The mutated wild boars of Kofu and the giant bears of Koguchi likely originated from Mount Fuji, ignited by some kind of 'fuse' that we do not yet know about."

"This may just be the prelude to a much larger disaster."

Muramasa Taki glanced at Heisei Ryu out of the corner of his eye.

If this guy were the minister, the existence of the game, which was already suspected, would probably be uncovered very quickly.

Ping Shenglong pointed to the outline of Mount Fuji on the map, his finger tracing over several key areas.

"The most urgent task is to close off the area around Mount Fuji. I suggest targeting the hiking trails, especially areas where large-scale disappearances or mysterious events have been recorded in history, such as the Aokigahara Forest and the vicinity of the crater. At the same time, tourist facilities and some residential areas around the Fuji Five Lakes should be evacuated and closed."

In his drawing, everyone saw three concentric zones extending outwards from Mount Fuji.

"We need to establish sufficiently large lockdown zones, buffer zones, and observation zones to ensure a rapid response when a disaster strikes. That's my opinion."

The two men held distinct views and had different emphases, leaving the room silent for a moment.

Genjiro wasn't angry; instead, she was pondering the feasibility of Taira no Ryu's suggestion. It was definitely a huge undertaking, and she was also considering the worst-case scenario.

In the silence, most people's eyes were drawn to Leon, who was in the main seat.

Leon put down his coffee: "Both of your analyses have their own basis, and I dare not say whether they are right or wrong. But whether it is a test or a lingering outburst, they both point to the same core issue."

"That is, there is a huge threat in the Mount Fuji area that could escape our control at any time, and it has already shown its fangs."

"We cannot take chances, otherwise we will all be sinners if disaster strikes."

He made his decision in a calm and deliberate tone.

"Let's call Team Leader Ping's plan the closed-door plan for now. It has the highest priority. All departments will fully cooperate to assess its feasibility. I need to know all the files on events around Mount Fuji that have been marked as anomalous or unsolved over the past five hundred years, no, over the past thousand years, regardless of size."

"Yes!"

The department heads quickly agreed, knowing that they would soon be entering another period of heavy overtime work.

Leon's gaze shifted to the side, to Hirosue Eri, who seemed somewhat distracted.

“Taking advantage of today’s meeting,” Leon raised his voice slightly, “I would like to formally introduce a new member to everyone, Ms. Hirosue Eri.”

He gestured to Hirosue, "Before this, Ms. Hirosue worked at the Yokota Experimental Base. You can simply understand it as Ms. Hirosue possessing some kind of special ability. During the crisis in Kofu City, it was her timely intervention that saved the lives of many citizens."

All eyes immediately focused on Hirosue Eri, each with its own meaning.

Hirosue Eri seemed a little uncomfortable with the sudden attention, but she still nodded as calmly as possible in response.

She wasn't very good at communicating with people, not out of fear, but rather an inexplicable, instinctive resistance.

But she's not socially awkward to the point of being so. At most, she's seen by others as an arrogant young lady who sometimes says things that are a bit hurtful.

Some people actually enjoy being stared at by her disgusted gaze.

“Ms. Hirosue, now you can explain the anomaly you felt after dealing with the mutated wild boar. In particular, the direction from which it originated.”

Hirosue Eri frowned, her fingers twirling her hair under the table as she organized her thoughts: "It's a very strong sense of unease. Like something breathing deep underground, heavy, with malice? Or perhaps... chaos? It's stirring up the atmosphere around us."

She seemed to be searching for a more accurate word, rather than directly saying it was the lament of the forest.

"After the wild boar herd retreated, the feeling didn't disappear; instead, it became even clearer. The aura was like a needle, piercing and bursting the captured wild boar."

“And the source of the needle keeps pointing…” She looked up at the satellite map on the screen, which showed a huge, silent aerial view of Mount Fuji. “…Mount Fuji, its surroundings, or underground. I don’t know anything more precise.”

After she finished speaking, the conference room fell silent as everyone looked at each other.

This mysterious feeling, if it were applied to some people, would definitely attract skepticism.

However, with Leon's endorsement, Hirosue Eri was suspected of possessing extraordinary abilities, so no one dared to easily refute her; their expressions simply became more serious.

No wonder Leon decisively chose Heimori Ryu's suggestion; it turns out he also had Hirosue Eri's feelings to back him up.

Muramasa Taki picked up his coffee, using the steam to conceal his scrutinizing gaze.

The special ability is that the name Hirosue Eri should not belong to the player.

So what is the source of her power? Is it related to the strange spider lily that Iwasaki gave her before?

She had originally planned to have the players' association members create some smokescreens to mislead the officials. Now it seems that's unnecessary, since the officials themselves have the real stuff.

She is now certain that Hirosue Eri's abilities are inextricably linked to the vine giant from the Kyoto incident.

Leon had been keeping her hidden all along, but now he's suddenly pushing her to the forefront. Does he think she's gained enough practical experience to be a valuable asset in the fight?

Or are they showing me, or rather, the possibilities behind me, their bargaining chips?

“Ms. Muramasa,” Leon’s voice interrupted Takii’s thoughts, “What are your thoughts on Ms. Hirosue’s perception and these two beast attacks?”

Muramasa Taki put down her coffee, her face regaining its usual calm: "I don't sense the strange aura that Ms. Hirosue mentioned, but I fully agree with the closed-door plan."

"I suggest that while maintaining the lockdown, we should immediately organize a capable investigation team, equipped with the most advanced scanning equipment, to conduct a preliminary investigation into the source area that Ms. Hirosue sensed. Time is of the essence."

The progress of "The Promise of the Underworld" has not yet indicated the location of the disaster, but Mount Fuji is quite possible, and the appearance of those beasts is also quite coincidental.

Leon nodded. Since the only two superhumans had agreed, Mount Fuji was doomed to be sealed off.

"Okay, so the preliminary work for the closed-door plan mainly consists of three aspects."

"I will temporarily set up my work location in the sealed-off area. Ms. Hirosue Eri will serve as an advisor to help assemble an elite investigation team with the goal of assessing the nature and threat level of the source of the anomaly in the Mount Fuji area."

"Himeko Minamoto is in charge of thoroughly investigating the specific source of the wild boar herd's mutation and finding its connection to Mount Fuji. That place is not exactly close to Mount Fuji. I need to know why they became like that, whether it was a local mutation or a migration."

“Ping Shenglong is in charge of the giant bear incident. There are quite a few people who came into contact with the giant bear and survived. I need a detailed report, as well as the same report on the possible connection with Mount Fuji.”

"Gentlemen," Leon stood up, his eyes blazing, "the many extraordinary calamities of the past have never given us adequate preparation. Now is a rare opportunity. We have little time to hesitate; even a second's delay could lead to disaster. Act immediately, maintain top-level communication, and report progress in real time."

The order was given, and the heavy atmosphere eased slightly, but a heavy burden immediately followed.

The gears of the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department began to operate at maximum capacity, forcing the gears of the official departments to turn as well.

early morning.

Hotels in scenic areas near Mount Fuji were greeted early by waves of police officers and Self-Defense Force personnel who began persuading tourists to leave, citing the possibility of an extraordinary disaster.

They were trying to persuade people, but they were all carrying real guns, so the citizens wouldn't impulsively gamble that the guns weren't loaded.

Moreover, as long as you open your phone, you can see the news about the wild beast attack on the city last night. The vast majority of people obediently accepted the arrangements and were placed in a unified location to wait for being sent away in batches.

Only some local shop owners protested, but it was to no avail; at most, they had one more day to pack up than other tourists.

"My precious holiday is ruined just like that, sigh."

At a resettlement site at the foot of the mountain, Oshima's father sighed and complained.

"This is actually a good thing for us; at least the authorities aren't ignoring us. I just saw the news; what happened yesterday was terrifying. Should we consider moving?"

Oshima's mother pressed her hand to the snake bone amulet on her chest, her face filled with worry.

"Unless you leave this country, where is there any safe place? However, the government has recently released a lot of subsidies."

The two were talking about the future, while not far away, Oshima Umeta looked around, listening to the discussions coming from all around him.

Most of the discussions focused on what happened yesterday and what major events are about to occur at Mount Fuji.

It seems the situation is far more serious than he thought, otherwise the authorities wouldn't have taken such measures. Closing Mount Fuji is no small undertaking, indicating that there is considerable confidence within the organization that a major disaster is about to occur at Mount Fuji.

He recalled the game's progress; the official game had now been unlocked, and he was controlling the protagonist, Doman Akatsuki.

Ever since his failure to stop the Edo fire, he seemed to have lost all motivation and become completely indifferent.

It means Buddha in the literal sense.

With the passing of his grandfather and the early death of his father, he resolutely abandoned his wife and children, left his family, and entered a Buddhist monastery, no longer passing on the Dao Man Yin Yang technique.

It was precisely because of the rebellion within his family in the previous generation that his family was severely weakened, leaving him as the only one who could inherit the Yin-Yang arts, while the rest had all perished.

Therefore, the Doman family is now defunct in name only.

When I got to this part of the Big Island, I felt really bad.

On the one hand, he breathed a sigh of relief, at least this ancestor was no longer reaping lives everywhere in order to rebuild the underworld. On the other hand, his abandonment of his wife and children made Oshima extremely disgusted.

Moreover, based on what we already know, the Demon Blade has already collected enough souls, so he shouldn't need to kill anyone anymore. It can be said that his predecessors have done all the most immoral things, but when it was his turn, he stopped because he couldn't cross the moral threshold.

It's very difficult to evaluate.

Unless there is some information he doesn't know, such as the reconstruction of the Underworld not being as grand as it seems on the surface, and only causing greater suffering and destruction in the future.

But based on what he's played so far, it's impossible to tell where the disaster will strike.

Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji.

As he read, Oshima suddenly paused.

He saw a sign near the entrance.

The words "Mount Fuji" are on top, and the hiragana pronunciation is below.

".Immortal Mountain."

Mount Fuji was formerly known as Mount Immortal, which has the same pronunciation and carries a special meaning.

The game never mentions where the final ceremony should be performed once everything is ready.

At first, he guessed it was Yomotsu Hirasaka, as the dividing line between the land of the dead and the mortal world in Japanese legend, and also the road to the dead. There was hardly a more suitable place than that.

However, from a symbolic perspective, Mount Fuji, as a sacred mountain and also known as the immortal mountain, is also very suitable as the location for the final ceremony.

"Hopefully, the disaster won't happen until we've finished the game."

He prayed.

Chapter 222: Half of Ksitigarbha

The rain stopped.

In the dense forest, Genji, wearing a raincoat, squatted on the muddy animal trail, shining a powerful flashlight on the ground and examining it intently.

The area was shrouded in mist, resulting in low visibility.

The members of the extraordinary assault team spread out behind her, rifles raised, muzzles parting the drooping branches as they carefully examined every shadow.

"Minister, the fog is too thick. The drones haven't found anything; they can only assist with surveillance. The wild boar tracks have mostly disappeared here, so we're expanding the search area."

Akari, Himeko's assistant, put down her tablet and reported.

Although this area doesn't experience the same magnetic field interference as the northern foothills of Mount Fuji, the vast forests and dense woodlands, combined with the post-rain fog, resulted in extremely poor visibility for the drone.

Genji was not surprised by this; machines are ultimately support, and relying on oneself is worse than relying on anyone else.

"Has the hunter who invited you responded?"

“Yes, they are on their way. Most of them who are still able to move are willing to join us.” Mingli nodded. “They have a strong hatred for those wild boars.”

"That makes sense. Let's pack up and prepare to set up a temporary base up ahead."

Genji stood up and prepared to go to a small clearing in the woods about 100 meters ahead, which the drone had identified.

Sudden.

"Wait! A large number of mobile heat sources have been detected approaching rapidly along the western treeline!"

Mingli pressed down on the earphone, his expression immediately tensing up.

Almost at the same second, deep in the dense forest to the west, it was as if a pot had exploded. Countless bushes and leaves shook wildly, water droplets splashed, accompanied by chirping sounds and heavy hoofbeats.

Rumble!

From the drone's perspective, dozens, even hundreds, of wild boars suddenly burst out from all parts of the treeline without warning, carrying a frenzied, fearless momentum, and charged straight toward the team's location.

However, since they are already at their limit when they get close enough to charge, there are still several hundred meters left, enough for the squad to react.

"Execute the contingency plan for encountering the enemy!"

Genjiro raised her gun in alert.

The assault team removed their armored backpacks from their backs, pressed a button, and the backpacks immediately shot out, scattering a large number of semi-circular bowls around them, which landed upside down on the ground.

Da da da! Bang bang bang!

Gunfire erupted instantly. The firepower of the Extraordinary Assault Team was not weak. Although it could not be compared with the Talos Team, whose members were all Iron Man-like, it would not be an exaggeration to call them human machine guns.

The wild boars charging at the front seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, their bodies torn open by a hail of bullets, and they tumbled and fell to the ground.