Disaster Report Diaries (Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3) Part Six

This is my exploration of the Disaster Report series where I will chronicle my playthrough like a text-based Let’s Play. Now let’s continue Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3: Kowareyuku Machi to Kanojo no Uta...

Rina Makimura and Saki Honjou had finally reached the shelter, only to discover that it was sinking along with the rest of the West District…

For some reason, we were far behind the other survivors who had evacuated the Nishi Daisan Junior High shelter as we entered Central Memorial Park West. It was 04:09 pm and had begun raining; luckily there was an Umbrella on the ground, so I picked it up and equipped it. I also obtained Disaster Manual 78: Umbrellas, which said to use one to avoid your body temperature dropping or as an emergency walking stick.

After grabbing a Cornet Wig from the roof of a taxi, we entered the park, going to a gazebo to the south where I found a Raincoat outfit and a bench (which we rested at). Following the path (and avoiding fallen trees) I picked up a Black Tee outfit, then spotted another gazebo which had a Raincoat hat and a Capital News [3] (which just had a report about a band on tour).

As we entered the West Coast Canal area, we saw that the bridge connecting to the east coast was out! We could see another bridge further up the canal with people crossing, and I was presented with two Disaster Manuals. 41: Bridge Dangers warned about damage to bridges and 51: Flooding of Rivers said that levees would be extra dangerous after an earthquake.

Tremors hit, breaking apart the Central Tower island and splitting me and Saki up. I had to jump and climb to safety (and failed a couple of times), even avoiding falling masonry as I went. The tower itself began to fall apart, so I took the time to read Disaster Manual 41: About Dangerous Buildings which reiterated Disaster Manual 12 and avoiding taking shelter in buildings with cracks.

Now, the island was known as Collapsed Central Tower, which Saki pointed out was in our favour as we could simply run across the fallen building to the east bank! Of course, she was better positioned and could do so with minimal climbing, but I was still several metres below her and had to frantically climb an ever-shifting landscape as more of the tower fell, causing the rest to sink below me.

We reached the East Coast Canal section at 04:55 pm — what a hectic 40 minutes it had been! I picked up a Nurse Cap, then spotted a bench, so we had a quick rest. Nearby, on the floor, were a Capital News [4] (which talked about the Maitsu Canal and Central Memorial Park), an ECO Compass, and some Lace Gloves.

As we approached the stairs up to a bridge, we heard a gunshot! We looked over to the end of the broken bridge and spotted Detective Hikawa holding a gun, and standing over the geologist Ishizawa who was in the water and clinging onto the road. A tremor struck and Hikawa stumbled, then fell into the water!

Since it didn’t look like it was going to stop raining any time soon, I put on the Raincoat outfit and hood, then hurried up the stairs and down along the road. Okay, I actually grabbed the Hii-San Compass and Grey Tee outfit first…

With Ishizawa on his feet, we recognised each other, but another tremor struck, demolishing another part of the bridge and causing our portion of road to begin sinking! I obtained Disaster Manual 45: Escaping from Rivers, which advised to never jump into a river and to climb trees to escape from rising water. Since there were no trees on the bridge, and the new gap was too far to jump, our only option was to push a nearby truck! It fell into the river, with its back end sticking straight up, so we used it to jump to the safety of the other side.

Ishizawa commented that Hikawa was gone, so I asked if they knew each other, which surprised him that we knew the guy too. Apparently, he pointed a gun at Ishizawa as soon as he saw him, but we saw what happened next.

Out of nowhere, Ayami Hazuki came running up, calling Ishizawa “uncle”. She asked if we had seen Hikawa, but I kept quiet as I didn’t want to tell her. Ishizawa reported that Hikawa had been swept away, and Ayami fell to her knees crying about her “brother”... I received Disaster Manual 44: Rescue of Drowning People which said to improvise a life ring rather than swim in strong currents, then we left the area.

It had stopped raining by the time we reached Central Memorial Park Near Lily Bridge, and it had grown quite dark, so we found a Rest Area and set up camp. I say camp… it was a metal bin full of burning sticks. I asked how Ishizawa and the despondent Ayami knew each other, and the geologist told us that he was acquaintances with the president of Hazuki Construction, Ayami’s father. He then confirmed that Daigo Hazuki was also Hikawa’s father, making the detective Ayami’s brother. To further complicate this dynamic, Hikawa was engaged to Ishizawa’s daughter, a secretary at Hazuki Construction. He said that she was dead, then muttered “embezzlement… suicide…!”. Given what I already knew about the company, I suspected that she was the secretary who took her own life allegedly after embezzling.

Ishizawa reiterated that he was commissioned to investigate the island’s foundations by Morita and Hazuki, where he discovered that a major earthquake could destroy the island. Ayami came out of her stupor, and I asked if she was alright, then for some reason felt compelled to confirm all of Ishizawa’s information. The only thing that she said that we didn’t already know was that Hikawa had a different mother to Ayami.

With everyone up to date on the Hazuki family, Ishizawa suggested we rest for the night. The East District would hold up for a while, but the food stockpiles were in the West District, which, if it hadn’t completely sunk already, was inaccessible. As we found places to lie down, I received Disaster Manuals 46: Precautions for Camping, 47: Shelter Food Shortages, and 48: Long-Term Shelter Living. 46 suggested only camping outdoors if you could find a roof or walls and to use newspaper under your clothes to prevent your body temperature dropping. 47 warned that food stockpiles could usually last for about three days and were only to be used by local residents. Finally, 48 warned of “economy class syndrome” from lack of exercise and water, though it didn’t explain that meant deep vein thrombosis caused by long flights, or that the medical world is actually split on the theory.

Ayami, Ishizawa, and I were asleep on benches and against a wall, while Saki sat at the fire. She began singing, accompanied by an acoustic guitar I assumed was being played by a ghost. The sound woke me, and I watched her as she stood and went to the riverside to look at the decimation across the way. As she finished, I walked over to join her.

She apologised for waking me, but I told her that the song was great. She went on to explain that she enjoyed the attention when she sang at the shelter and that when the earthquake hit, she had just quit being a nurse to pursue her dream of becoming a professional singer. She had wanted to do it as a duo with her boyfriend, but he dropped out at the last minute and she became a nurse. However, she had recently learned that he only dropped out to take over his father’s business, and had wanted Saki to continue singing and not quit to follow him.

Suddenly, she asked if I thought that she could become a singer. I considered asking her to be a manzai comedy duo with me instead, but I told her that she could definitely do it, which made her happy. She told me that she regretted quitting suddenly, and not even saying goodbye to the hospital director, but then told me that we should get back to sleep. However, before going, she asked if she could call me Rina-chan, so I agreed and told her I’d say Saki-san from now on. With that, we returned to the camp…