Chapter 507: "Village Of Shadows" |
"Come in?"
Hearing the knock, Takasugi Isao slightly raised an eyebrow and called out in response.
Click.
The office door opened, revealing a woman in a skirt suit holding a tablet standing at the doorway.
It was Seiichi Nakamura's secretary:
"Group Leader Takasugi, the president is calling you to a meeting."
"Oh?"
Me?
Takasugi Isao was momentarily stunned, a bit surprised, but then immediately nodded:
With that, Seiichi Nakamura's secretary gave a slight bow and left first.
Nishikawa also stood up along with Takasugi Isao:
"What's going on? Why the sudden 'summons' for you? Is everything okay?"
Now, Seiichi Nakamura held the reins of power.
Although theoretically, given the status of Nishikawa and Takasugi Studio, they couldn't possibly threaten Nakamura's position,
Nishikawa knew that Nakamura was a man with an extremely strong desire and need for control over authority.
What such a person might do to ensure their position remained secure, no one could say for sure.
Who knew if Seiichi Nakamura had suddenly thought of something, planning to completely cripple them, this pair of "former Big Three studio" brothers in distress.
"There probably won't be any issues,"
Knowing Nishikawa's concern, Takasugi waved his hand:
"The game festival is just one quarter away from starting. At this time, Nakamura won't allow internal instability,"
"I'm guessing calling me over is most likely to have our group assist with a new game release,"
"After all, the [Safety Valve Technology] was primarily developed by our group, and it's also the main selling point of this KMN-4,"
"Probably 'bestowing his mercy' upon us, giving us some work to do."
As the two of them walked out together, Takasugi also grinned and quietly joked.
That's right.
All along, the industry-leading flagship [Safety Valve Input/Output Technology] within the Amaterasu Engine had been the responsibility of Takasugi Studio.
And this was also one of the reasons why Takasugi, as one of the "ancient Big Three," having outlasted Yamamoto and outlasted Koizumi, still firmly held his position within the Peak Studios industry.
After all, they were the main development group for the core technology of the proprietary engine.
Plus, Takasugi Studio had always focused on racing-type games, almost never positioning itself as a major blockbuster competitor to Golden Wind.
So for all these years, Takasugi Studio's position had been very stable.
Now, with the Tokyo Game Expo opening soon, as the host, Komera absolutely would not be absent.
Thinking this way, Nakamura calling him to this meeting was almost certainly because they needed the assistance of Takasugi Studio...
Thinking this!
Takasugi Isao also arrived at the conference room door.
With a click, he opened the large door.
Sure enough.
Inside, apart from President Seiichi Nakamura and the executive directors, everyone seated were various division directors and executives from Nakamurai Studio.
"President Nakamura."
Takasugi Isao didn't say much, just gave a slight nod of greeting to Seiichi Nakamura.
And Seiichi Nakamura didn't get straight to the point either, instead clapping his hands:
"Alright, everyone is here now, let's start the meeting. Kazuko..."
After a brief opening, Seiichi Nakamura gestured to the secretary beside him: "Before we begin the discussion, let's all watch a trailer first."
With that.
Secretary Kazuko stepped forward, turned on the laser projector, and under the confused gazes of all the attendees, played the prepared trailer—
In a brief moment of silent stillness.
On the pitch-black screen, the sound of pages turning was heard.
Immediately after, a gentle, soft female voice slowly began—
[Long, long ago]
[A little girl and her mother went to pick berries for their hardworking father]
[But the forest was cold and silent, the bushes empty...]
As the gentle female voice spoke.
The pitch black on the screen gradually transformed into turning pages!
Layers of pages stacked up, with exquisite, beautiful cut-out paper art presenting a dark, quiet, vine-entangled, gloomy forest!
This was actually a pop-up storybook!
Swish—!
And as the pages turned again!
Dark-themed cartoon animation, matching the woman's voice, leaped onto the screen!
In the dead, silent, gloomy dense forest.
A slender figure appeared, looking like the mother.
And from the thick fog behind her, a bouncing little girl also emerged, running to her mother's side.
The storytelling woman's voice now became ethereal, as if lost in the cold, mist-shrouded forest—
[The mischievous girl was determined to find berries, so she broke free from her mother's hand and ran deeper into the jungle...]
The little girl pointed toward the thorny thicket further ahead, then pulled her hand free and, bouncing along, quickly ran down the path formed by vines.
The mother hurriedly called after her from behind.
This jungle was too dangerous.
But.
The little girl was so fast, her gray-white silhouette bouncing along, soon disappearing from her mother's sight.
[She ran through the woods, through the vines, her mother's voice growing fainter, she ran deep into the jungle]
[The girl felt a strange gaze upon her...]
Swish—
As the little girl leaped lightly, her small figure jumped from the end of the vines onto a cliff ledge.
There, on the cliff ledge, something huge, hanging like a fruit from a dried branch, caught her attention.
And the next moment.
This enormous pale 'fruit' suddenly cracked open.
Huge wings spread out, two pointed ears unfurled from its head!
This was actually a giant bat hanging upside down!
The little girl was startled, stepping back.
However, the bat began to speak!
"Hey, my dear..."
The Bat Lord spoke, biting its own wing.
A stream of golden-yellow blood flowed from its wing, the enticing color like golden pine resin, like the most wonderful nectar in the world.
The little girl couldn't help but swallow.
The bat warmly beckoned the little girl:
"Come, child, quench your thirst..."
As it spoke, the bat's blood dripped into the girl's palm.
The little girl, unsuspecting, raised her hand and drank the Bat Lord's gift.
[The girl drank the bat's blood and continued forward...]
Swish—
The pages turned again.
Now, mist began to spread through the dense forest, and rumbling thunder sounded from the sky.
The little girl wandered aimlessly, bringing her to a graveyard.
Here, lightning flashed and thunder roared, the damp, cold air in the cemetery making her instinctively hunch her shoulders.
[The little girl, thinly dressed, shivered from the cold, but just then—]
A tall grave mound suddenly stood upright.
A skinny, ghostly figure wearing a terrifying mask, with four withered arms, shrouded in heavy mist, appeared before the little girl.
Golden threads stretched horizontally from the ghost's hands.
Immediately after, the ghost reached into its chest.
In the blink of an eye, a beautiful golden dress, woven like divine bird feathers, appeared before the little girl.
"Come child, put this on to warm up..." The ghost's voice was dreamlike, clear and lonely.
As the golden dress was put on, the little girl grew warmer.
Golden light reflected off the little girl's smiling face.
She twirled lightly, giving a curtsy to the ghost.
Whoosh—
The ghost turned into black mist again, instantly dissipating before the little girl.
Heavy, rolling black mist swallowed the scene.
And within this ink-black, heavy mist, a small golden fish suddenly appeared.
One, two, three...
A school of golden fish swam through the dark undercurrents, as if bringing one into an undersea world.
Following the fish, weaving through the deep-sea canyon, past the surging currents around the reefs.
A massive body appeared ahead.
It was a huge, fat fish like an anglerfish.
Countless golden eyes grew on its face, magical yet eerie.
And the next moment.
Splash—!
The Deep Sea Fish King suddenly thrust its head above the water's surface.
Before its enormous body, the little girl in the golden dress drifted on a small boat upon the pitch-black ocean.
[The girl drifted on a small boat upon the ominous dark waters, wanting to find her way home, but by now she was famished. Fortunately though...]
The huge Deep Sea Fish King spoke in a kindly, gruff voice, taking a golden scale from its body:
"Come, child, have something to eat..."
The little girl happily took the scale and ate it, a smile returning to her face.
The Deep Sea Fish King dove back into the sea, swimming into the distance.
The pages continued to turn.
The forest hollow formed by paper cutouts grew deeper and darker.
[The little girl finally reached the dark heart of the forest. The appearance of a steel warhorse caught the little girl's eye...]
Then, the sound of clanking and rumbling was heard.
The heart of the forest was actually a fantastical world woven from chains and gears.
A steel warhorse leaped high, prancing around the little girl.
On its forehead, a golden gear shone brilliantly.
[The girl approached the warhorse, but the warhorse remained silent]
[The little girl thought the golden gear was also a gift for her, and took it. But the next moment—]
A shrill whinny!
The warhorse was angered by the little girl's rude action!
Fury spewed from its nostrils and mouth, its eyes suddenly emitting a terrifying red glow!
Immediately after, a rumbling sound arose throughout the forest!
The furious warhorse actually summoned the three leaders who had previously helped the little girl!
The four monsters of the gloomy forest surrounded the little girl!
Woooo—!!!
Instantly!
A sinister wind arose, a gale howled!
The four monsters closed in on the little girl.
The little girl was terrified by the sight before her, trembling as she stepped backward!
Amidst lightning and thunder, a surging gray-black storm engulfed the four kings!
Within the thick, gloomy mist, the four kings transformed into a tall, eerie witch!
Dark and solemn, sinister and terrifying!
The little girl trembled, falling to sit beside the viewers!
Sharp stones cut her feet, golden blood flowing out.
Dust soiled her beautiful golden dress.
In her hand, the half-eaten fish scale fell to the ground, buried in dust.
The golden gear she held also rolled from her embrace, clattering away into the distance!
No one could clearly see the witch's face.
The menacing witch was hidden within the rolling black mist, only a huge, dark, skinny shadow visible.
And now, the crisscrossing vines on its body seemed to come alive, writhing and waving.
Two skinny, branch-like hands reached out to grab the little girl.
And just as this spine-chilling, eerie atmosphere reached its peak!
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!!!
The pages suddenly flipped, and with a final thump, the book closed.
A line of shimmering, twisted golden font then appeared on the book cover—
《Village Of Shadows》