What came into view was a dirt road with mud slowly flowing along it, and a large stretch of steep-roofed gasshō-zukuri houses dripping with rain.
A hazy mist hung in the air, while the low houses on either side looked distinctly like buildings from the early Edo period.
Edo Castle really was built during the Edo period...
Gasshō-zukuri, put simply, were crude wooden houses with roofs covered in huge piles of thatch.
They were called that merely to distinguish ordinary people's homes from the shops known as "machiya" and the "nagaya" where artisans lived.
But one thing was strange.
Why were all the houses built upside down?
Beside the Laughing Brahma, whose head had been separated from its body at some point, a narrow-eyed warrior with a red-stained face casually withdrew his gaze.
Uesugi Tetsu's consciousness plunged into darkness. In his final moments, all he could do was curse inwardly:
"You call this increasing the probability of triggering a hidden event, you fucking—"
A tremendous pressure of water crashed down.
Uesugi Tetsu suddenly opened his eyes in bed and sat up drenched in sweat. Trembling, he rubbed his neck while gasping for breath, dry air rushing frantically into his lungs.
Looking around again, he found himself not in upside-down gasshō-zukuri houses and muddy streets, but in the familiar layout of his room.
There was no red-faced ronin beside him either—only the anime-print body pillow the original owner had bought long ago to hug while sleeping.
Uesugi Tetsu breathed a sigh of relief as his racing heart gradually slowed.
He had only just learned that a person could retain several seconds of consciousness and thought after being beheaded. It turned out Lavoisier, hundreds of years ago, really had not been lying to everyone.
When he summoned the [Enter Everworld] option again, he saw a yellow-lit "(Resurrections: 1/2)" appear behind it, followed by a prompt stating that one resurrection would be restored every twelve hours.
In other words, if he wanted to, he could go back and let that Oni Warrior chop off his head again.
After hesitating for a moment, Uesugi Tetsu still did not click [Enter Everworld].
He was not afraid of death. He simply had no particular fondness for getting beheaded.
Taking out his phone to check the time, Uesugi Tetsu found that only a few minutes had passed in reality.
Even if time flowed at different rates in reality and Everworld, they were still roughly the same... So he might as well sleep now and explore after waking up.
That Oni Warrior who could kill him in one strike surely could not have nothing better to do than stand guard at the spawn point every day.
But before sleeping, there was one more thing he needed to test.
With a thought, Uesugi Tetsu took the Walker Token from his inventory and held it in his hand without any obstruction.
--Items from Everworld could be brought into reality. He just did not know whether items from the real world could be taken into Everworld. Could he pull off a stylish American-draw quick-draw?
Just as he was about to put the token away, the phone on the bed vibrated, and its screen lit up.
A message popped up.
Uesugi Tetsu paused and stared at the token in his hand, unsure whether this was a coincidence.
Still, he decided not to put the token away yet.
[Work to Death]: To be fair, getting dragged out of bed by a phone call at midnight to stand by the roadside and freeze my ass off really isn't a life fit for humans. I want to die. I really want to die.
Looking at the slightly unfamiliar LINE username, Uesugi Tetsu closed his eyes and recalled for a moment before finally remembering who it was.
The original owner had often gone to various supernatural locations to test his courage. Apart from accompanying his two best friends, he was naturally also quite interested in supernatural incidents.
This [Work to Death] was a middle-aged corporate drone he had met on a supernatural forum, a man who had already been working for many years.
The two had a very good relationship. The other man often complained to him about his inhuman boss and insane working hours, while Uesugi Tetsu would ask him questions related to the supernatural.
At one point, the two had even become close enough to meet in person—but the original owner suffered from social anxiety. He only talked big online and did not dare meet online friends offline.
Just flipping through their chat history revealed a long string of obscure knowledge related to the supernatural, ghosts, and gods.
But Uesugi Tetsu did not quite believe any of it.
How could some ordinary corporate-drone netizen know so much? If he did, why would he still be a corporate drone? He might as well become an Onmyoji and get himself a stable government job.
[Work to Death]: Since things have come to this, let's eat first. (Bento.jpg)
Uesugi Tetsu immediately recognized the food in the picture as the cheapest near-expiry fried-chicken bento from 7-Eleven.
Working overtime at the last minute and still eating the classic prepared-food special—he wondered whether the old corporate drone's liver could take it.
After thinking it over, Uesugi Tetsu decided to test how deep this netizen's waters ran.
[Moon Sand-chan]: I have a friend who wants to play Kukuri at midnight. Is it dangerous?
[Work to Death]: If you really want to die, I suggest you play somewhere crowded, kid.
[Moon Sand-chan]: ?
[Work to Death]: Because the more people there are, the slower you die. Hehe, just kidding. You should report it to the police before playing. It'll be safer.
The police?
Uesugi Tetsu's eyes narrowed.
When ordinary people encountered a supernatural incident, how would they think of going to the police? Wouldn't they normally go to a shrine for a protective charm or find a temple master to deal with it?
Unless the other man knew about the Special Affairs Division.
Uesugi Tetsu drew in a sharp breath. This netizen really seemed to know his stuff.
He remembered the red-faced warrior in Everworld who had beheaded him with a single strike. He typed out a string of descriptive words and was just about to send them when he saw the other man's avatar go dark.
[Work to Death]: Oh, shit, the boss is here. Talk next time.
Helpless, Uesugi Tetsu could only send the message anyway.
After waiting two seconds and still seeing "Unread," Uesugi Tetsu put down his phone and toyed with the Walker Token, recalling the effects of the Walker identity:
[Walker: Since ancient times, walkers have measured Everworld's history and land with their own feet. You will do the same. Effect: Increases the probability of triggering hidden events.]
He had opened a door and been killed by an elite monster in one strike, then taken out his phone and discovered that the corporate-drone uncle he had chatted with for over a year actually did know his stuff.
If this was a coincidence, he would never believe it even if he were beaten to death.
As for why he called Work to Death a "corporate-drone uncle"—
A man who smoked every day, drank heavily every few days, kept day and night upside down, and occasionally complained to him that his boss was inhuman was definitely a single, pudgy, otaku corporate drone with over ten years of work experience, right?
Uesugi Tetsu stopped thinking about it and simply closed his eyes to activate sleep mode.
He would have to go to school in only a few hours, and before then, he still needed to explore Edo Castle one more time.
"Online and reality actually use the same LINE account."
In the meeting room, Nanjō Emi expressionlessly set down the two phones in her hands. Looking at the identical friend name, "Moon Sand-chan," she felt an indescribably strange sensation.
Usually, usernames with suffixes like "-chan" or "-hime" were used by girls, weren't they?
She had not expected the seemingly serious Uesugi Tetsu to be that kind of person.
Turning the phone facedown, Nanjō Emi saw a middle-aged man with a sword hanging at his waist walk in through the door and sweep his gaze across those present.
"Everyone's here?"
The man nodded. After pressing down the Onmyo Junior Officials who had tried to stand and bow to him, he spoke briskly. "Enough with the nonsense."
Nanjō Emi remained motionless in her seat and glanced at the other three Onmyo Junior Officials, thinking that these people really had no sense.
Respecting one's seniors in the workplace was a good thing, but they also needed to pay attention to the senior's personality.
Their direct superior, Kondō Yūya, the Grand Official of Onmyō overseeing Arakawa Ward for the Onmyo Bureau, hated these pointless formalities.
"First, the general location of the Friendship Club has been determined. Who will handle it..."
"I'll take full responsibility."
Before any of her colleagues could speak, Nanjō Emi raised her hand.
The moment she finished speaking, she seemed to feel the murderous gazes of her colleagues.
They seemed to be saying: Damn those workaholics!
Kondō Yūya frowned indifferently. "Nanjō, are you planning to use an ordinary person as bait?"
"No." Nanjō Emi pointed at Hasegawa standing behind her. "He will. The reward is promotion to [Tokugyōsei] after this mission."
"Please take care of me."
Hasegawa stepped forward, grinned, and gave everyone in the meeting room a cheerful smile.
The meeting room fell silent for several seconds.
Kondō Yūya said nothing more and merely nodded. "Next is the matter of the First Wave."
Everyone present revealed puzzled expressions.
The plan for dealing with the arrival of the First Wave should have been arranged several months ago.
Kondō Yūya seemed to understand what everyone was thinking. He rapped his knuckles on the table and spoke solemnly. "A few minutes ago, the Astral Path sent an urgent message."
"--Everworld is undergoing abnormal turbulence. The First Wave is about to arrive."
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