Heading West

"You want to take three days off? Are you looking down on working society?"

I was glared at by the intimidating general affairs lady. The pressure was intense, even more than when Leo beat me up with his dual-blade style. This is nothing compared to that.

"But I haven't used my paid leave for years. It's piling up, overflowing actually, right?" 

I had only used paid leave the first year after joining the company. My boss told me it was the encouraged period to use it, but I ended up in a real mess after taking it.

"Just shut up and work, men. It's easy to get fired. Our president hates employees who keep asserting their rights."

The managers and female employees take tons of days off though. With no active projects, I thought it was a good opportunity to use up my paid leave.

Yesterday, I received an invitation to the Guardian Troopers Christmas tournament finals. It's a grand three-day event at the Kansai Casino Special Zone in Osaka. The extravagant package included hotel accommodation tickets and round-trip linear train tickets. There were even three 100,000 chip bonuses for the casino. 

Come to think of it, I don't even need paid leave. The casino chip bonus alone is worth more than my monthly salary. If I exchange them, that's 300,000 yen right there. I should also exchange my accumulated score points to Japanese yen while I'm at it.

"In any case, I'm taking that day off since there's no work anyway."

"I don't care if you get fired, but don't pull out the Labor Standards Act and complain. We have lawyers on our side, you can't win against the company."

Oh right, I heard Tabata-senpai got fired and is suing the company. Apparently he had been collecting evidence, backed by a professional labor issue group. I wonder how that will turn out. 

Well, whatever, it has nothing to do with me. I'm looking forward to the tournament starting the day after tomorrow.

"Kinchi, are you taking the linear train to Kansai Airport?"

"I wanted to go cheer you on but I have some business to take care of, so I'll be supporting you online."

The arcade was buzzing with talk about the tournament finals too. I haven't checked the forums but they seem to be in festival mode everywhere. The amount of money being poured into this game event is unbelievable.

"That company really goes all out, huh? Seems like famous people from all over the world have been invited."

"I guess there will be bets involved?" 

"It's legal in the special zone, you know. If Kinchi bets on himself, he could make a profit."

"Don't say scary things like that." 

I'm just a regular working citizen at heart, I don't have the guts to gamble. Plus, betting on myself would just add unnecessary pressure.

"Oh, could you give me your linear train seat number? I want to go with you."

"Huh? Jimmy, you made it to the finals too?"

"No no, I'm going to cheer on my girlfriend."

Jimmy's girlfriend? If she made it, she must be a pro. I've never heard about her before.

"I just met her online yesterday."

Yesterday...? Well, whatever. Good luck to you both. 

I gave him my reserved linear train seat number. It would have been cheaper to take a domestic flight to Kansai Airport, but the linear train ticket is covered by the organizers this time. 

Jimmy must be well off for his age to afford the linear train. If it were me, I'd just take the shinkansen. A working class guy like me can't justify spending over double on transportation just to save a few hours.

"It's so smooth, barely any shaking."

"Is this your first time on the linear train, Kinchi?"

"If I'm going to Kansai, I'd usually take the shinkansen or flight." 

Well, I've only ridden those a few times myself, but I played it cool with my answer.

While I was childishly enjoying the scenery flashing by, Jimmy was fiddling with his mobile device the whole time. Probably chatting with his girlfriend. Is this what they call the vigor of youth? Does me thinking that just mean I'm an old man now?

By the time I finished savoring the luxurious limited-edition linear train bento box, we had arrived in New Kyoto. The contents were just a standard ekiben-style lunch box, but it was delicious thanks to the hefty price tag. The free food made it even better. 

The bento container was a ceramic collector's item designed after the linear train's front car. My evaluation of the Guardian Troopers operations is skyrocketing - they even took care of the bento box order. Jimmy just had a light set meal sandwich by the way.

"Aren't we transferring at New Kyoto?" 

"Nah, it's a direct train. We'll be at Kansai Airport soon if we just stay on board."

If the coordinates on the casino special zone guide map are correct, the special zone should be located around the reclaimed land area near the Yodogawa river mouth. But when I checked at Kansai Airport, the marker was much further south, close to Wakayama around 40km away. Going all the way to Kansai Airport by linear train only to take a boat back seems like a huge detour.

"Maybe it's part of the production? We take a luxury cruise ship to build excitement on the way to the special zone."

Past the Yodogawa river, I could see a tall wall on the sea side, supposedly a tsunami barrier but it looked more like a great wall isolating the special zone. 

"It's 18m tall with high voltage power lines running above, so not even criminals can get in. Security in the special zone is airtight."

Apparently, the casino operations involve famous mafia families. The godfathers that have flocked from all over the world help maintain law and order inside the money-hungry special zone.

However, orderly behavior is only maintained inside the special zone. The donut-shaped area surrounding the zone has turned into one of the world's most criminalized cities.

As the linear train slowed down, the bizarre scenery of the city came into view. The roads were overflowing with garbage, and there were even barricades piled up, likely from conflicts between mafia groups. Even knowing the mafia doesn't target railways, it was still unsettling. I just prayed we'd pass through this dangerous area as quickly as possible.

I tried to record video of the barricades, but filming seems to be restricted in this district. So that's why news cameramen purposely use old DSLR cameras - I had wondered why old cameras were trading at such high prices on auction sites.

It's said the decline began when mafia members and their families started moving into the areas adjacent to the casino special zone. The deteriorating public safety drove residents to flee one after another. After the Japanese left, a massive influx of illegal immigrants made the situation even worse. The negative spiral accelerated rapidly until OSAKA became an untouchable danger zone unfit for ordinary Japanese citizens.

By the time the tall barriers were built to isolate the special zone, it was already too late. Now even the police can't enter the no-go zone that has spread.

While the casino special zone brings huge economic benefits, the costs of maintaining security have also ballooned. Is the total still negative in the end?

The politicians who created the special zone probably had good intentions, and the voters who supported them just wanted better economic conditions. Nobody is to blame, yet we ended up in quite a mess. Is this a weakness of democracy?

Before I knew it, my idle philosophizing about the state of the nation was interrupted as we arrived at the airport island swiftly, as expected of the linear train.

"The departure gate is this way."

"We need a passport for domestic travel?"

Well, the invitation did say to bring it, so I did. It was such a hassle digging out my passport that I had only used once as a student.

"Legally, the special zone is treated as outside the departure gate area, so foreigners can go straight in without immigration."

I didn't quite follow what Jimmy said, but I got in line regardless. It was crowded, likely because it's before Christmas. Jimmy was still messaging nonstop as usual.

After finally passing through the gate, we moved along the high-speed moving walkway. There were many seemingly wealthy foreigners around, while the Japanese looked quite ordinary. I felt relieved seeing I wasn't the only one in a suit.

We kept proceeding through the airport lobby waiting area. Jimmy was still consumed by messaging - he's going to get himself in trouble at this rate.

"So that's the Sukiyaki? What a silly name, but it does look rather luxurious." 

Through the glass corridor, I could see the magnificent white luxury cruise ship. Apparently it used to sail Mediterranean routes, but now shuttles back and forth between the special zone and airport island after renovations.

"It was foreigners who named it Sukiyaki. On ship spotting forums it's also called the Cooked Meat."

Funebun? I thought he meant the crew at first, but I guess there are ship enthusiast forums. Cooked Meat must be a pun on the Titanic.

"What an ominous name, it sounds like it'll sink easily."

We just walked right onto the ship still on the moving walkway - convenient but lacking in atmosphere. 

I parted ways with Jimmy, who was going to meet his girlfriend, and headed to find my own cabin that they had prepared for this short cruise.

I had imagined a tiny room, but it was more spacious than my apartment, with a bed and bathroom included. Checking the rates, it cost more than my monthly salary - no wonder it caters to wealthy foreigners. For regular passengers though, a one-way ticket was just 1,200 yen, cheaper than I expected.

I doubt I'll have time for a bath before we arrive, but we still have over 2 hours until departure. I could take a nap on the plush bed, or I might as well explore the ship's facilities while I'm here.

You headed out to the deck first, where the wind was quite strong. As expected, it was chilly so there were hardly any people around, except for a camera kid intensely photographing planes.

You confirmed the numerous pods containing lifeboats were properly provisioned for the full passenger capacity, so it wouldn't turn into another Titanic situation. 

Well, the ship isn't actually going to sink, but since this was your first time on such a large vessel, you just wanted to check, just in case.

You returned to the warm interior and checked the guide map. In addition to the duty-free shops, there was also a casino, which seemed to be treated as part of the special zone jurisdiction.

Some eager customers had already started gambling. I wonder what their plan is if they lose big here before even reaching the main event.

It's not uncommon for people to accrue massive gambling debts at casinos, driving them to suicide or crime. Apparently gambling debts can't even be cleared through personal bankruptcy.

You decided you absolutely won't gamble - you're just a working class citizen after all. You planned to simply exchange the 300,000 yen worth of casino chips they gave you.

However, it seemed those complimentary chips couldn't be exchanged directly. You had to first play the slots or something to convert them into redeemable chips. 

While not hoping to profit, it would be good to minimize losses as much as possible. Observing the slot machine players, they seemed to be doing some kind of temichi technique. Beginner players would be at a disadvantage against such tricks.

For roulette, the odds of red or black are 50/50 in theory, but the dealers appeared to be deliberately manipulating the outcomes. Well, the slots and other games are surely also rigged in the casino's favor.

If the house has an edge, then making a series of small bets could yield a profit over time. But it didn't seem that simple. Some players made riskier all-in bets requiring split-second decisions. The dealers had impressive judgment, perhaps assisted by computers. There were miniature cameras everywhere too, which your newly trained machine-learning eyes could detect. Or maybe the roulette tables themselves were advanced computers, with the dealers as mere operators. 

With Betty's support calculating all the wager amounts instantly, you might be able to beat the odds. But mere humans can't outperform computers at such basic computational tasks. 

You decided to just observe inside the ship. While these chips can't be exchanged for cash, they can apparently be used for shopping at the special zone hotels, so you'll aim for a modest profit turnover.

"A welcome reception will be held at the event hall starting 5pm. All Guardian Troopers pilots are cordially invited to attend."

There was no mention of such an event in the guide. It sounds interesting, but where exactly is this event hall located?