I’m Really Unnerved In Tokyo

"If I had passed the banking industry license exam back then, I might have successfully joined the Osaka Nishi Branch of the Central Bank of Tokyo as the head of the financing department..."

Uncle Watanabe lay on the spacious seat feeling lost, looking up at the starry sky above his head, and began to mutter to himself.

"After that, I should have solved the 500 million yen loan scam jointly set up by the branch president and a large steel company, defeated various enemies inside and outside the bank, and become a person who implements 'I can't be like a machine. An excellent bank section manager with beliefs such as "treating people around you", "treating evil people with an eye for an eye, double repayment"...』

"Wake up, the two surnames Watanabe and Banzawa are far apart."

"The long-distance transportation industry is also very good. There are not so strict seniority rules, and the steering wheel is in your own hands, so you don't need to listen to other people's orders. As long as the things are delivered safely on time..."

Perhaps feeling the regrets in Uncle Watanabe's youthful memories, Araki Sousuke quickly reassured him.

"Don't worry, Uncle Watanabe, although I am exempted from passing the examination and may not be able to continue to accept your guidance in the future, I will definitely take the job tonight seriously and successfully end my 'long-distance transportation career'! "

Life is like the endless Tomei Expressway in front of you, where you don’t know where to go. You can’t turn back, and you can’t re-select the fork in the road. One thought, it may be a completely different future.

"I just like you kid, you only focus on the things in front of you, and your short-sightedness is admirable!"

"Since it's too late to go to the Thai bath, I'll invite you to eat ramen to celebrate. There is a restaurant in the service area that has been open for more than three generations, and all long-distance bus drivers on this line know..."

"Thank you, Uncle Watanabe!"

Sweeping away the previous decadence, Araki Sousuke reached out and pressed the switch of the radio.

"It's rare to have some good news recently, let's listen to some joyful music to set it off..."

However, Uncle Watanabe's strong and burning palm had already tightly squeezed his wrist.

"Huh? Uncle Watanabe, don't you..."

Araki Sousuke turned his head in surprise...

"Boy, although you may quit this business in the future, I still have to remind you of some things."

What greeted him was Uncle Watanabe's unprecedented serious eyes.

"On the Tomei Expressway, it is best not to listen to the radio at night. In addition, you must not speed, you must not litter, you must not occupy the emergency lane for no reason, you must fasten your seat belt, and you must not defecate anywhere. Among long-distance passenger transport drivers, they will silently follow the taboo."

"Huh? The above is not so much a taboo, but rather a prohibition in the traffic rules?! However, it is unreasonable not to be able to listen to the radio. Wouldn't it be boring on the road..."

The series of rules that Uncle Watanabe said made Araki Sousuke recall the content of the "Traffic Rules Lecture" in the driving exemption test.

"Being bored is more important than losing your life."

In the spacious cab where there were only two people, Uncle Watanabe seemed to be afraid of being overheard by some unknown existence, covered his mouth and said in a low voice: "I'm not alarmist, the Tomei Expressway at night is an evil place. very..."

"Hey, how do you say that?"

Seeing Uncle Watanabe who was about to write "Come here, I'm going to tell an urban legend" on his face, Araki Sousuke immediately put on a look of listening.

This uncle deliberately refused to turn on the radio. Could it be that he wanted to listen to him tell ghost stories by himself?

"The long-time drivers on this road know each other more or less, and occasionally have dinner together in the service area, so I heard it from others. After all, there have been a lot of car accidents on this line in recent years, which is a bit strange." The rumors came out..."

Sure enough, Uncle Watanabe changed his normal routine and whispered in a low voice about the urban legend about the Tomei Expressway, which was passed on by drivers through the service area.

The Tomei Expressway connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe can be said to be one of the "main arteries" running through Kanto and Kansai in Japan. Due to the large traffic volume, the probability of accidents is naturally high.

"I don't know the details. People from other companies said that before the accident, some drivers called the company to report, saying that there was a strange voice on the radio talking to themselves, or they claimed to have met a driver on the road. Speedy old woman... Later, it is said that several transportation companies jointly invited 'professionals' to perform some kind of worship ceremony for the dirty things on this road."

"Pfft, the voice on the radio? The mother-in-law who runs fast? Such an old-fashioned element, who made up this boring urban legend, hahahahaha."

Hearing this kind of old "urban legend" that is not exciting at all, Araki Sousuke, who is a spirit remover, looked disdainful and laughed wildly.

"You boy, when running on the highway, it's normal for the radio to occasionally jump and make noise, but you haven't heard of 'grandmother who runs fast'? That's a legend that has been spread all over Japan since my student days. ..."

"It is said that people who do not obey the rules on the highway will meet a fast-moving mother-in-law following the car. Once they meet, they must pretend not to see it, hold the steering wheel and drive carefully. If they look around, they will encounter terrible things. matter……"

"Moreover, the names of these mothers-in-law are called differently in different places. The area near the high-speed circle in Tokyo is called Sprint mother-in-law, Hokkaido is called Baili mother-in-law, Nagoya is called high-speed mother-in-law, Osaka is called turbine mother-in-law, and Mt. Rokko is called Jet TURBO. Grandma, and there is a small place called Granny Sonic..."

At the beginning, Araki Sousuke listened with relish, until he heard a lot of weird names, he finally couldn't help complaining: "Ahem, cough, cough... what is this, it sounds like it's from all over the world. Drag racers, compared with each other according to the routine of upgrading modified cars, fabricated names!"

"I have also upgraded from turbo, jet, TURBO all the way to the speed of sound. Is the configuration of my mother-in-law higher than others is also a kind of talk?" 』

"Hey, that's right. After all, it's common for the radio to go to the station, and the old woman of the nearby farmer to walk along the side of the highway. Maybe it was made into an urban legend to let everyone concentrate on driving and obey the traffic rules. After all , sometimes 'superstitions' are easier to remember than 'rules' and to be followed carefully..."

Maybe I also think these legends are funny, Uncle Watanabe patted Araki Sousuke on the shoulder hard, and laughed too.

"Perhaps, everyone put their prayers for a safe journey on these 'taboos' and 'legends', thinking that as long as they abide by it together, people on this road will surely return home safely."