Chapter 28: The Cursed Game

The name of the tester who attempted suicide was Takashi Inoue.

He had worked at Grey Hat Software for seven years, was approaching thirty, and still hadn’t found a girlfriend. Every day, Mr. Inoue would arrive punctually at the office at nine and leave at six. He never stayed late and refused to carry fatigue or stress into the next day. Aside from being somewhat overweight, the doctor said he was in good health.

It was precisely because of this that, when he hadn’t arrived at the office by nine-thirty the next morning and hadn’t contacted anyone for leave, his colleagues grew concerned. After ruling out the possibility that he had finally gotten a girlfriend, they tried calling him. No answer. A colleague who lived nearby went straight to his apartment, where they discovered Takashi Inoue, who had attempted suicide.

Fortunately, Takashi Inoue did not die. He had chosen hanging, the most common method of suicide in the country. However, Mr. Inoue misjudged the strength of the cloth and his own weight. The makeshift noose snapped halfway through, and Inoue fell, striking his head and losing consciousness. He also fractured a leg in the process. While it could hardly be called a fortunate event, at least his life was spared.

The police questioned Takashi Inoue, but he had no memory of the suicide attempt. After filing a report, the police left. That afternoon, a few concerned colleagues visited him in the hospital, among them Shin’nosuke Arai.

During their conversation, Inoue mentioned the incident with the BOSS. Of course, this wasn’t to say that Inoue was so dedicated as to worry about work even while hospitalized. Rather, he recounted that he seemed to have had a dream that night. In it, the clown was still chasing him. When he regained his senses, he was already being wheeled into the hospital.

Others joked that perhaps Inoue had developed psychological trauma from too much gaming. But no one expected that the very next day—yesterday—another tester would be found having attempted suicide at home. Again, by hanging. However, this colleague lived with his girlfriend, who managed to save him in time.

Because he had experienced supernatural events before, Shin’nosuke Arai inquired further at the hospital and noticed a pattern: both had attempted hanging, both had dreamed the previous night of the clown from the game chasing them, and both had failed to defeat the seemingly bugged clown boss.

He began to suspect this was the work of something supernatural.

Then, Shin’nosuke Arai suddenly recalled something: he, too, had played the test version that morning and had been defeated by the clown boss...

“At least, Mr. Arai hasn’t attempted suicide,” Qiao Qiao murmured as he perused the report.

Upon learning of the matter, he had instructed Mr. Arai to submit a request to the Exorcist Association, and also had the receptionist arrange for a simple purification by a colleague.

According to the receptionist, they did indeed find a faint trace of resentment clinging to Mr. Arai. It did appear to be a supernatural incident.

Initially, Qiao Qiao believed the situation was serious enough to warrant referring Mr. Arai directly to another exorcist from the Association. However, Mr. Arai declined, perhaps not fully trusting the others. In any case—

On a Saturday morning, Qiao Qiao rode his little scooter to Grey Hat Software, located in Nakano, Tokyo. It was a small four-story office building, its staircase visible from the outside. The first floor bore the Grey Hat Software sign.

It was Saturday, and because of the supernatural events at the company, everyone had been given the day off. Only Shin’nosuke Arai, President Kunio Owada, and a few others awaited Qiao Qiao’s arrival.

Ariko Asano arrived ten minutes later. Perhaps not wishing to draw attention, she hadn’t come in her family’s luxury black sedan, but by taxi instead. Truly, she lived up to her status as an apprentice shrine maiden from Atsuta Shrine—she had money to spare, Qiao Qiao thought to himself.

“Sorry, I was delayed on the road. Please forgive me, Sensei,” Ariko Asano said, bowing deeply to Qiao Qiao as soon as she got out of the car, perhaps knowing she was late. She wore a shirt with red and white stripes, loose trousers, and sneakers. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail with a slip of sandalwood paper, giving her a youthful appearance.

“Sensei?” Shin’nosuke Arai eyed the girl, clearly still a junior high student, then looked at Qiao Qiao, as if understanding something. Who would have thought even a master had such tastes...

“This is Ariko Asano, a shrine maiden from Atsuta Shrine. She’ll be assisting me with the exorcism due to certain circumstances,” Qiao Qiao explained.

At the mention of Atsuta Shrine, President Owada, his temples already flecked with gray, suddenly lit up. “Atsuta Shrine—that’s a major shrine!” Compared to Qiao Qiao, the shrine’s name carried much more weight. Had Arai not been the only employee to have experienced supernatural events and strongly recommended Qiao Qiao, President Owada might have paid for the shrine’s services instead. After all, the company’s future was at stake.

“I’m only Sensei’s assistant. Compared to him, I’m still inexperienced,” Ariko Asano said sensibly, standing half a pace behind Qiao Qiao.

Hearing this, President Owada gave Qiao Qiao another appraising look. Since the shrine maiden herself spoke so, this young man must have some skill. He led them to the meeting room and gave a brief account of matters not included in the dossier.

Grey Hat Software had been established ten years ago, originally as a hardware retailer. But after being exposed to video games, President Owada decided to transform the company into a game developer. Over the past decade, they had released many titles and gradually increased their sales. “Horror Park” was currently Grey Hat’s flagship project, with most of the company’s funds poured into its development.

The game had been slated for release that winter, but now, because of the supernatural events, the launch might be delayed—or, in the worst case, canceled entirely. If the game failed to launch, Grey Hat Software would have no funds to develop its next work, and the whole company could go bankrupt, leaving employees out of work.

Of course, President Owada could have chosen to suppress the incident and release the game on schedule. If rumors of supernatural events and urban legends spread, the game’s sales might even skyrocket. But President Owada was a conscientious man. Upon learning of the issue, he immediately halted production and sealed the master copy, waiting for Qiao Qiao’s arrival.

“Games are supposed to bring people joy. I won’t allow something like this to happen to a game I made,” President Owada concluded after explaining the situation.

“Indeed,” Qiao Qiao replied, understanding his feelings. The president truly loved games, and because of that, he couldn’t allow them to be defiled.

“This is the game in question.” President Owada led them to the testing department’s office, where a dozen or so game discs were stacked. According to the president, these were all the discs that had been burned so far, used for feedback and testing in various departments. Beside them stood an FTP server containing all the company’s data.

Just as Qiao Qiao was about to inspect it, Ariko Asano spoke up. “Sensei, I have an idea,” she said. “I read that there’s something called an EMP. Just a few seconds and it can completely destroy all electronic equipment. If this vengeful spirit is really inhabiting the game, then couldn’t we just blast it and the spirit would be obliterated too? Isn’t that a quick and easy solution?”

Qiao Qiao stared at the shrine maiden, a question mark practically floating over his head. President Owada and Shin’nosuke Arai turned pale.

“Wait, Shrine Maiden Asano, I’m not that ignorant,” Qiao Qiao said, glancing at the server. While he had indeed considered such a method during his research, once he learned how vital the game was to Grey Hat Software, he realized it wouldn’t do. To destroy all that data—how would that make him any different from the vengeful spirit?

Looking at Ariko Asano, who said all this with a straight face, Qiao Qiao suddenly felt that the shrine maiden’s way of thinking was rather dangerous!