Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

This is such a delicious meal! She has never managed to achieve an ending higher than the normal ending in the actual game.

It's either a sad ending or an obscure ending, making it seem like she's collecting defeat CGs.

While games with only one ending are her forte, the rewards certainly can't compare to those of a full-length game with multiple endings.

However, Muramasa Taki deserves most of the credit for their team getting this far.

Uesugi was extremely envious, truly worthy of a player who had achieved a perfect ending.

She believed she deserved one-third of the credit for clearing the game, while the newcomer was completely uninvolved and barely managed to pass the "burden" level.

He has no brains when it comes to ideas, no brains when it comes to skills, and when zombies come, they'll take pity on him and throw away half of his brain.

It's unclear what merits led him to be chosen as a player.

Anyway, from now on, Takii will be Uesugi's right-hand man! I really hope future games will also feature this kind of powerful backing.

Please don't put her in a pair; it would be troublesome if she were assigned to Hayato.

Just like Hayato's codename is Hayabusa, but on the first day of the team, he revealed that his real name is Hayato.

If she hadn't stopped him in time and explained the rules between players, he would have given out his phone number and arranged to meet them offline.

Well, in Japanese names, the only name that can probably be used with the code name "Hayato" is probably "Hayato".

Whether it's a surname or a single character, the character "隼" (falcon) is extremely rare.

There are quite a few people who use the name Hayato, otherwise it would be obvious from the name itself.

However, based on their interactions this month, Hayato's personality is extremely distinct. If they met in person and exchanged a few words, she would definitely recognize this idiot.

In the team lobby, they had just cleared the level, and Hayato logged off to check his rewards.

Uesugi and Muramasa, being older men, were not so hungry for rewards and were able to hold back for the time being, focusing instead on studying the ending they had just achieved.

"I feel like we can completely give up on the perfect ending this time." Uesugi glanced helplessly at the virtual screen.

Inside was a prompt box she was seeing for the first time.

[118 hours and 18 minutes until the end of the "Promise of the Underworld" game]

She didn't expect that the game would automatically shut down after a certain amount of time if she didn't complete it perfectly.

It's been exactly one month.

This is currently the game with the longest open period; other games take players about half a month to complete perfectly.

This game is indeed of high difficulty.

Five days means only fifteen opportunities to play, which seems like a lot, but that's assuming there are no battles.

Once you're in battle, you can't survive with dozens of lives.

More importantly, they had no ideas.

The fact that this ending could be considered a restoration of history is already thanks to Muramasa Takii having official sources of information. If a perfect ending were desired, Ashiya Dōman would have to be completely sealed away.

Despite this, Uesugi was still in a good mood.

Not only did she achieve an excellent ending and rank first, but she also gained basic growth and the ability of "skillful force" while listening to the argument next door, as was her usual routine.

Although this ability is nothing compared to other players, it's good for her to have more abilities to protect herself.

After all, Tokyo is too dangerous, so she occasionally has to go out to replenish her supplies.

"Is it possible that we need to completely deplete Ashiya Doman's health before activating the Nine Star Seal?" Takii suggested a bold idea.

That's too audacious; Uesugi simply didn't have the courage to put it into practice.

They had already tried many times to reduce Ashiya's health to half, and with fifteen lives, it was impossible to reduce it any further.

Takii was well aware of this, so she only mentioned the idea without saying she would carry it out.

“I asked Zhihe Island, and they all cleared the normal endings first. They're probably working on our current ending now, and they probably think that's the perfect ending.” Uesugi sighed.

Because she was worried about being punished, she couldn't tell them any information.

Therefore, they will most likely lose money, having to pay the life cost of at least one Small Longevity Pill, while the reward may not be much more.

At most, you'll get a few more points when settling accounts, but that's not enough to buy even one Xiaoshou Dan.

"Well, now that all the new players have completed their first clear, should we hold a player meeting?" Taki suggested. "The situation at Mt. Fuji is not looking good right now."

Among the players now, Uesugi is the character they know the most.

Therefore, asking her for advice is the best option for general communication between players.

“This…” Uesugi hesitated for a moment, “Although Ta bought my strategy guide, he probably learned about the Player Mutual Aid Association from Satoshi and guessed that I might invite him later, so he made it clear in advance that he would not join it, but he would not deliberately be an enemy.”

Unsurprisingly, there will always be lone wolf players.

Two out of nine are selected, which is a very small percentage.

"According to Shima, Yui is a strange person. Sometimes she will be silent and disappear as if she has vanished, but other times she can give a lot of good advice."

"I sent her a private message to promote my travel guide, but she didn't reply. She seemed uninterested."

"Island said that she doesn't participate much in discussions about the game's plot, only understanding the necessary background information."

Okay, now it's three out of nine.

Moreover, this one seems to be even more reclusive.

If you know that games have an impact on reality but don't take it seriously, aren't you worried that one day the related disasters will spread to your own side?

Moreover, this player should also be in Tokyo. I won't say anything about what will happen later, but surely they can feel the black smoke from Mount Fuji, the news, and the increasingly tense atmosphere.

Indeed, as the island said, it felt strange.

In the end, the one most willing to join the Players Association was actually Hayato, whom they didn't want to join!

Tokyo at this time.

Classic Adachi area.

Hayato Miyamoto, his face flushed and panting heavily, stared excitedly at the information on the virtual screen, unable to calm down for a long time.

[Final Reward: Ability - Blazing Chariot (All roads lead to all roads, unimpeded passage)]

[Potential: B+, Growth Requirements: Speed, Passion, Anger, Growth Abilities: Speed ​​and Passion, Unyielding Will, Hell Pass]

[Basic Ability: Ghost Fire Engine]

After suppressing it for so long, I couldn't help but bite the blanket and then pound the tatami mat.

Dong dong ji.

The old tatami silently endured everything.

The downstairs neighbors had some complaints, but they only grumbled a bit and didn't go upstairs to argue.

"With this ability, I'll definitely be able to deliver food much faster! And I can take on a lot more orders!"

Hayato calmed down a little and muttered to himself.

Yes, the first thing Hayato thought of after gaining his ability was delivering takeout.

This is his part-time job; he delivers goods in Shinjuku and Shibuya on his days off and in the evenings.

Although unmanned delivery has been around for quite some time, it has yet to become widespread.

That's why he has a place to make a living doing part-time jobs.

His main job is a car mechanic.

He naturally has his own reasons for working so hard to make money.

As for robbery or something like that, he wouldn't stoop to it, but not out of a sense of morality.

I just felt that it was embarrassing.

After checking the time, he sent a private message to Uesugi to ask if he wanted to continue today. After receiving the message that he wouldn't be going sightseeing for the time being, he got up, grabbed his keys, and went out to do his part-time job with excitement.

That stingy boss! Team building is always on holidays or after get off work, all about drinking and partying until you're drunk. I'll make sure you're completely wasted on alcohol someday, maybe even add a ridiculous, abstract villain like "General Gate" to my novel.

Chapter 241: The Final Solution

"As expected, we still can't rely entirely on the players."

"Fortunately, as a gaming legend, I'm still as sharp as ever."

Hokkaido, Sapporo.

Gasma Plaza Hotel.

While soaking in the hot spring, Higashiyama Shin closed his eyes and watched the game's countdown timer in the system.

Five days is the time allotted for players to play, based on their current progress and the fact that they have three playtimes per day.

Even if you use up all the Holy Spring Water from the entry reward, the chance of achieving the perfect ending is very slim, practically nonexistent.

Although they figured out some of the correct approaches, namely, when Daoman Xiaoche went into seclusion, he devoted his time to Buddhist teachings and formations, abandoning Yin-Yang techniques.

But that's far from enough. Even if you clearly tell them what to do, it's still difficult because their biggest problem is that they're wrong from the very beginning.

That's right, players actually made a mistake with those three time portals.

This conclusion was drawn by Shin Higashiyama based on all the clues from the players and his own experience of playing the game.

Most of them didn't realize that the three time portals and the main game's timeline were actually inherited from each other.

In other words, what you do at different times in different years will have an impact on the future.

It's just that because of the mandatory task requirements and the same ending, it seems fixed, and you can hardly feel this impact.

However, in reality, these three time gates do not necessarily have to be exactly the same as history. At least the combat-related aspects are controllable, and this is the path to the perfect ending!

The first thing to do is to plant the seeds of doubt about the plan to rebuild the underworld in the hearts of the three characters: Doman Akemi, Doman Tadakatsu, and Doman Shigemitsu.

Each of the three of them has their own important milestones in their timelines.

Doman Hikō's final mission was to persuade Nichiren to join the demon sword and become the new Jizō.

Here, you can guide the conversation to achieve the goal of getting Nichiren to agree while also influencing Doman Himei with Nichiren's philosophy of saving all beings.

Daoman Tadashi could start by showing how his father and uncles sacrificed themselves for the family's goals, thus guiding him to develop self-doubt.

Domitsu Shigemitsu is even simpler. He experienced an internal rebellion, and even during normal travels, his heart is wavering. What Higashiyama Shin needs to do is to tip the scales in his heart to one side.

In addition, the three of them must complete their demon-slaying mission with the minimum required amount.

Players of Souls are quite qualified to speak on this point.

Unless I absolutely have to fight, I'll just parkour. I'll eat my hat if I even glance at you.

And at the end of the game, you should keep the suspicion level high.

Yes, skepticism can also be utilized, not only as a limitation but also as a tool.

The reason he is so certain is because he has already been doing it and has seen initial results.

Then guide the three heads of the Dōman family to think in the direction of Ashiya Dōman, making them suspect that they are merely tools for Ashiya Dōman to pursue his own selfish desires.

Next, it was Doman Akatsuki's turn to use his secret technique, Talk-no-jutsu!

The game's combat isn't just about fighting; you can also engage in verbal sparring, and it offers greater freedom without arousing suspicion.

Theoretically, one can say one sentence per round. As long as one can hold on, one can go from the oath of brotherhood among the three heroes in the Peach Garden to Jia Yucun's conclusion of Dream of the Red Chamber.

Whether the enemy can understand it or not is another matter.

A tribute to the perpetual motion machine of turn-based comedy.

Because this function is basically useless under normal circumstances, and monsters won't be affected by your nonsense, it's basically just for show.

Even if players try, they won't be able to persuade the other player because they didn't do a good job beforehand.

Higashiyama Shin has already mastered the game to this point and is confident that he can persuade all three guys to switch sides today.

"elder brother?"

"Get to the point." Higashiyama Shin snapped out of his daze without opening his eyes.

Higashiyama, traveling alone, came over, looking worried: "You think something really might have happened in Tokyo?"

Shinichi Higashiyama knew he was worried about his girlfriend.