The discovery that the passage was located within the city greatly boosted everyone's confidence. With a swarm of bees scouting ahead, the escort vehicles proceeded along the main road toward the city center.

The urban scenery along the way was very much in the style of the Japan Islands: street-side shops bearing Japanese signs, neon lights shining brightly, cherry trees planted along the riverside streets, steeply inclined roads in residential areas, and narrow, low alleys.

The city was deserted, silent except for the sound of the wind.

Fortunately, no news was good news. The group didn't dare loiter in the city, so Wanli Fengdao drove the vehicle slowly to their destination.

This was a residential area hidden on the edge of the bustling city. Most buildings were two or three-story structures made of brick, tile, and wood—ordinary family villas that showed their age.

Each small house had a brick fence around its yard. Black and white signs, bearing the names of the respective households, were embedded along the edge of the fences.

It was somewhat like Nobita's house from the anime *Doraemon*, only more secluded, silent, and dilapidated.

The vehicle carrying the four players meandered around the outskirts of the residential area for several circuits, finally narrowing the target down to three connected buildings. Since the alley where these three residential buildings were located was too narrow for vehicles, the players simply parked at the end of the small alley and walked into it.

"We're here." Xing Hechou gripped his pocket watch, looked up at a three-story residential building painted yellow and roofed with red tiles, and took a deep breath. "The passage to the next level should be inside this house."

Standing next to him, Wanli Fengdao subconsciously licked his lips. The Japanese-style villa before them could almost be described as 'Broken and forlorn.' Most of the flowers in the pots along the fence were dead. Peeling walls were covered with a tangle of old wires leading to different rooms, and a heavily dust-coated external air conditioning unit hung outside a second-floor room. It looked quite ordinary, yet it gave him an extremely strong sense of foreboding.

"The Fushen Family..." Liu Wu Dai looked at the sign on the edge of the fence and said softly, "Does the family living in this house have the surname Fushen?"

Wanli Fengdao asked, "What about it? Is there a problem with this surname?"

Liu Wu Dai shook his head. "In ancient times, commoners in the Japan Islands generally had given names but no surnames. It wasn't until the Meiji Restoration that the Meiji government issued an edict allowing all people in the Japan Islands, including commoners, to have surnames. However, the populace was unenthusiastic, fearing that surnames could lead to taxation issues. This prompted the Meiji government to later issue another order mandating that the public adopt surnames. At that time, general cultural literacy in the Japan Islands was low, so the names chosen were often taken directly from their surroundings, resulting in a wide and peculiar variety. For example, residents at the foot of a mountain might be named Yamashita, those by rice paddies Tanabe, and fishermen Ebina. More cultured individuals might choose names like Monbu, or use daily customs, festivals, trade names, events, or Auspicious Beasts as surnames. The surname Fushen is one associated with Shrines and Shinto."

"Shinto?" Wanli Fengdao raised an eyebrow. Before becoming a player, his knowledge of Shinto culture in the Japan Islands was limited to things like pretty shrine maidens in extravagant attire. After becoming a player, however, he had crammed a lot of obscure knowledge and understood that Shinto was a traditional religion in the Japan Islands, a form of animistic polytheism.

The Deities referred to here are not actually high and mighty gods in the typical sense. The Japanese word for 'god' can refer to traditional gods and Buddhas, but also to human spirits, the spirits of plants and trees, and even the terrifying monsters and malevolent spirits of folklore.

Shinto regards various creatures and plants in nature as deities and considers the Japan Islands the dwelling place of divine spirits. It holds the belief that all things possess a spirit and that gods are everywhere, hence the saying of 'eight million deities.'

"I remember there's an Ancient Shrine on the east side of the city, right?" Wanli Fengdao frowned. "Should we go there to investigate first? Or should we visit the police station in this city and look up information related to Fushen?"

"Hmm..." Xing Hechou took out the city map he had picked up from a roadside convenience store earlier. (The map showed the city's name as 'Wakayama City,' under Wakayama County, a place that did not exist in the real world. In the Japan Islands, counties were larger than cities.) He spread it out in front of him, then took out a trilingual guide brochure titled "Wakayama City Travel Guide" and consulted it. "The Shrine on the east side of the city is the Yiji Shrine. According to the guide, it enshrines the local protective deity, Tennyo Yiji. The lake behind the Shrine is said to be the primordial place, and local legend says that 'coming to the lake before dying grants one the chance to be reborn and redo a life of regrets.' In the past few years, there have been incidents of tourists falling into the lake and nearly drowning, so it's temporarily closed to the public."

Liu Wu Dai inquired, "What about the name of the Shrine's caretaker?"

"It doesn't say." Xing Hechou shook his head. "But to actually write about tourists nearly drowning in the lake in a travel brochure... The thought processes of the people of the Japan Islands are indeed peculiar."

"After all, legends of reincarnation combined with real-world events make for a good marketing gimmick," Wanli Fengdao shrugged, stating indifferently. "In the real world, the Japan Islands have recently produced a lot of 'Different World' reincarnation-themed anime; it's almost become a cliché. It just shows that art reflects social reality: young people exploited by a high-pressure society, unable to find solace in this life, can only pin their hopes on being reborn in a Different World to become superior."

Li Ang squinted and teased, "Sounds like you have strong feelings about this, brother."

"I just can't stand the 'waste moe' trend," Wanli Fengdao shook his head. "So, should we go to the Shrine first to collect some information?"

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