Disaster Report Diaries (Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3) Part Three

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 narrowly escaped a fire tornado and paused to catch their breath in an alleyway…

Saki commented on how it was curiously dark for that time of day, given the fact it was about 04:00 pm when the fire whirl struck, and sunset in March in Tokyo was historically over an hour away. I said that it was getting scary, so Saki decided that we should take refuge somewhere for the night. For that, I received Disaster Manual 12: Evacuation of Buildings, which explained to keep clear of any building whose pillars had X-shaped or deep diagonal cracks, but to definitely take refuge if required. Disaster Manual 13: Traveling at Night went on to suggest only being outside in groups, otherwise staying somewhere safe at night.

We sheltered in the Hongou Office Building and listened to the radio. The news reiterated that Central Island had suffered the brunt of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake at 07:10 am. Parts of the West District were submerged or experiencing soil liquefaction, so survivors should evacuate to Nishi Daisan Junior High School. Saki said that the earthquake was bigger than she thought, so I told her to cheer up as we were both uninjured.

Sitting on opposite couches, I decided to sit on her’s too. Saki was still shaken up by the purple-suited man who shot Morita, so I wondered who he was and she wondered why the head of the Morita Group conglomerate would have left her trapped beneath a car in a collapsed tunnel. Luckily, she decided to change the subject to why I had come to the island, so I told her that I was supposed to start university soon.

I then asked where she was going when the tunnel collapsed, as she was on the side heading away from Central Island. Saki was a nurse until recently, but quit and was on her way to do something that she really wanted to do. I assumed it had to do with her singing earlier, but I decided against asking her more as she seemed reluctant to go into details. Instead, I wondered if she had a boyfriend, so she confirmed that she was single after a messy break-up some time ago.

After inviting Saki to sit closer to me, I hummed the tune she was singing, which she seemed to enjoy before telling me that I was out of tune. We laid down on separate sofas, and Saki said that she was glad we were together. Before falling asleep, I received Disaster Manual 14: Use of Radios, Disaster Manual 15: Obtaining Information, and Disaster Manual 16: Evacuation to Shelters. Manual 14 just said to carry around a portable radio to receive important broadcasts, and Manual 15 suggested watching the TV and listening to the radio. Manual 16 went into detail about registering with a shelter if you are not taking residence inside of it, so that you can receive your ration of relief supplies.

We woke up and were on Sakuramachi Street by 09:15 am. Saki was positive that we could reach the shelter fairly promptly, though I cautioned her against feeling complacent. This caused me to develop a [Calm] personality, although I didn’t know what that meant, it did give me Disaster Manual 80: Effects on the Personality, which said a disaster can affect someone’s mental wellbeing. As we continued down the road, I also received Disaster Manual 17: Day-After-Quake Actions, which warned to stay away from broken buildings and loose objects and to help those trapped or injured while ensuring you tend to any injuries that you may have sustained.

The road had cracked in half lengthways along it, so we cautiously walked along the narrow path but broke into a run when a tremor caused a building to slide down towards us! I was knocked to the ground when it stopped, then led the way to a vehicle which we could push backwards to use as a step up to the next section of road. There were some Black Long Boots next to the car, so I grabbed those before heading up.

At the top, we had a rest on a bench, then went down a couple of raised parts. I found some Work Gloves and equipped them, then further along, I found a Central News, which just contained a puff piece about Café de Centria’s “Reverse Strawberry Tart”.

There was what I took to be a broken billboard sticking up out of the road, so I pushed it over and carefully crossed it (though the camera quickly spinning halfway across for no reason did cause me to fall off it once). When Saki joined me, I grabbed a Pink Suit and a Jump Compass from up the road, then went back down where I found a Monotone outfit. I was really getting a closet full!

At an intersection, I picked up a Chef Hat before climbing up the broken road sections. Just as we spotted them in a window, a short tremor hit; when I looked again, they were gone. I calmly said that we should help, so we went into the hotel and I received Disaster Manual 18: Call for Help. It suggested saving your energy by tapping on something instead of calling out, or using a rescue whistle, and keeping mobiles on standby in case rescue teams were looking for weak signals. I also got Disaster Manual 19: Rescue Activities which dealt with simple first aid.

It was 10:02 am when we entered the Hotel High Urban, which had almost completely collapsed inside. I picked up and equipped a Tight Skirt outfit, then found a Hotel Flyer which talked about how well-positioned the hotel was. I also found a Flashlight (Empty) and a Jack before I called out and found the person from the window, up on the crumbled third story. I received Disaster Manual 20: Rescuing from High Places, which basically said that she shouldn’t attempt to jump down from two floors above me (the rubble from the floors above meant that I was almost up to the first-storey windows).

I found a space to crawl through which gave me access to the stairwell; unfortunately, that wasn’t directly connected to the trapped person’s bit of floor. I went up several flights and had a rest on a bench, then edged along against a wall to the bit of floor directly above them. I found a Heart Compass, a Smoke Mask, and some Leather Sneakers, all of which I picked up, though I left an Orange on the floor as I was running low on backpack space.

Jumping across to another stairwell, I went down one level and grabbed a Folk Song Compass before edging along the wall to another chunk of floor, which allowed me to climb up some furniture to another bit section, jump to a third piece, before dropping down and reaching my objective: a ladder. Okay, I may have technically fallen and hurt myself on the last bit.

I grabbed a Hairband from the floor, but when I equipped it, I realised it was from a maid outfit, so I removed it. I did replace my Gauze Mask with the Smoke Mask, and my Tall Brown Boots with the Leather Sneakers, though.

I decided to push the ladder onto the floor below me, but I called out to warn Saki first. Opening the room door, I grabbed a Western Helm from just outside, went to rest on the bench again, and dropped down safely to the ground floor. Saki and I moved the ladder over, then I offered to climb up to unstick the trapped person, but Saki told me to wait while she did it. However, she soon called for me to go up anyway… I had to use the Jack to free the schoolgirl’s legs, and we all returned to the ground floor. I was also given Disaster Manual 21: Use of Ladders, which said to use ladders for climbing, as bridges, or to dry clothes.

The teenager was named Ayami Hazuki, so I said that it was nice to meet her. Saki asked her to join us on our trip to the shelter, but first, Saki had to treat Ayami’s leg, and I received Disaster Manual 22: The Need for Disinfection, which suggested using whiskey rather than sake or shochu in an emergency. And with that, we left the hotel…