Ura Baito: Toubou Kinshi - Vol. 4 Ch. 47 - Find Vacant Lots ③

[MangaDex]

 

[BalrogDeMorgoth]

Not sure if I understood the final twist.

 

[Tds-PdV]

Ugh, so many missing points. Just throwing the things ( I think) I got, assuming that Houjun guy mixed truth and inaccuracies together:

1. Something did happen with the old couple, rumors they’re abusing a child might be true, but they’re the one who got done in. Whatever else they did that may cause the situation is unknown.
2. The child depicted may or may not be related (with the story and/or the old couple) but assuming he is, then he’s “playing” a game over that section of the neighborhood as the monster.
3. The people in the neighborhood are implicated for some sort of negligence from what the old couple did.
4. The neighborhood went into a paranormal lockdown while the game is on and the corpses are not found. Once they were found the game could run without the lockdown. Or finding the corpse simply does nothing. In any case, the people there who thought they’re free are now screwed. I think that’s what the final section implied. Though whether they can still hide under a building or a roof is unknown.
5. Houjun may or may not be related to the child, but he was hired to find the corpse and “solve” the situation. Though it seems that he might have made it worse. Like end up removing a restriction from an SCP instead of leaving it as how it was. Or, simply he was a fraud and whatever he did has no effect and simply gave a false sense of security.

This one felt kind of like one of those old shows, was it twilight zone or something. Trying to be creepy for the sake of it. Too many details are missing and we can’t exactly assume some karmic retribution or a natural force either.

 

[Slader]

I think the kicker for this one is that the child playing with his SCP toy is a complete stranger to what's going in the town, the abused child story might just be a red herring, while it did actually happen, it's not the source of the SCP thing (page 18, the rumors were true but "you have to mix truth into the story"). Giving everyone a false flag that the incident was over once the old couple was found, so everyone would go out and the real culprit (the kid shown in page 18, still playing under who's probably his mother's care) can keep on playing. Wether the old dude was fully aware that the corpse finding would do nothing idk

 

[cromat]

ok so in the chinese raws, the translation explains that the gray worker betrayal girl this time is the sister of another gray worker from chapter 10.

apparently they are a sister of 4, so i assume we'll see the other 2 eventually.

onto the main story and the mystery

things we know that are true:

1. there is a monster going around town, and the government and the voodoo doctor was tasked to make the town safe again.

2. voodoo doctor isn't telling the whole truth or the whole story.

3. voodoo doctor does in fact, want to make the town safe again, because she says it was a piece of cake to her disciple, implying that she solved the problem.

4. SOMETHING was buried in a vacant lot.

5. the monster is still there, but now all the people came out of their houses. i now believe that scene is a flashback

things we know that are probably true:

1. the old couple killed/abused a child and smiled like monsters after the death.

2. the vengeful soul of the child is whats causing the gray activities.

3. maa-kun is the current child causing all the killings

4. the neighbours knew something was up with child abuse but didn't do shit.

things we know that are not true:

1. the child was buried in the vacant lot

2. holding a funeral for the child does not sooth the soul of the dead child and end the killings. we know this because that block was still sealed off after a while (dairies) and the monster is still there. i believe the problem is solved but the block is still sealed off because the people are trapped in the houses not because they were scared of the monster but because they got fkn killed by it and now trapped

things that are really fucking weird

the people the monster "kills" aren't dead (yet). and from this panel that shows the two gray workers (killed by monsters) with their hands on windows looking out, it seems the people the monster kills is stuck inside something... like a house. similar to how in the first part, people were stuck in houses looking out

so now we're stuck a burning question:

who exactly are inside the buildings, including mary, who was the girls friend? are they townspeople stuck inside because they are killed by the monsters, or stuck inside because they're afraid of the monster? part 2 implies its the latter, but part 3 implies its the former.

 

[cromat]

i dont know if its a translation error on either side, but the chinese raws say that the child is playing "cops and robbers" and not hide and seek.

one of the rules of cops and robbers is that there are "safe areas" where the cop can't touch you. similar to the shade in this part. once the cop touches you, you're "out" and have to sit out of bounds. kind of like how the killed people are inside the buildings.

here is my interpretation of the story

years ago, the old couple somehow got a child, trapped him in the house, and abused and killed him, while the neighbours did nothing.

the soul of the child is now free, and since he didn't get to play or even go outside while he was alive, he now haunts the town and plays hide and seek, with the town being his territory.

we are lead to believe the monster is the soul of the child, but in reality, the soul of the child now possesses Maa-kun (the bloody mouth kid) who uses voodoo magic. his physical doll then becomes the monster, and his toys are the people running around. he plays cops and robbers/hide and seek using a map, his doll, and the toys he has, and it translates into whats happening inside the town. which is why he could also rip off the roof where the betrayal girl was hiding. if you get caught, you're out of the game and get put inside one of the houses while looking outside, unable to leave. BUT, you are allowed to give information to the current robbers not caught, just like how mary told them where another lot was.

the game he plays is hide and seek/cops and robbers. the monster is "it/the cop" and everyone else needs to avoid the cop or hide. anywhere with shade is a "safe area"

the goal of the game is for the robber to steal all the loot. in this case, the game ends because the loot was found. the loot? the abusive parents' dead bodies.

we are also lead to believe, by the exorcist, that by holding a funeral for the child, the horrors will stop. i do believe that the problem was solved and the game ended, because the robbers have found the dead bodies of the parents.

the scene with the children and parents, i believe, is a flashback. this is because 1. the children stuck inside the houses all this time, would not say "there's something strange over there" they would say HOLY SHIT ITS THE FUCKING MONSTER ITS STILL HERE, and 2, the townspeople seem WAY too casual playing outside with their kids, right after the govt says "its ok monsters gone"

however, we know that the area is still sealed off by the blockade. the reason is probably while the game is over, all the people that died are still dead and trapped inside the houses and its better to just keep it sealed off. OR, just because the game is over doesnt mean the soul of the child is gone. but at least by blockading it after the game ends with the robbers winning, no new people will come in and the games will have to stop.

its implied that if the cop (maa-kun) wins, by catching all the robbers (humans), something bad will happen. so the exorcist's goal was not to sooth the soul of the child or save the townsfolk, it was to make sure maa-kun didnt win the game of cops and robbers.

also betrayal girl is a fucking bitch. basically killed her friend for $2500 because they could have all been safe.

 

[ChocoPies]

Looks like they've earned about $300k by now.

 

[Bellstrom]

I think the kicker for this one is that the child playing with his SCP toy is a complete stranger to what's going in the town, the abused child story might just be a red herring, while it did actually happen, it's not the source of the SCP thing (page 18, the rumors were true but "you have to mix truth into the story"). Giving everyone a false flag that the incident was over once the old couple was found, so everyone would go out and the real culprit (the kid shown in page 18, still playing under who's probably his mother's care) can keep on playing. Wether the old dude was fully aware that the corpse finding would do nothing idk

I think an important part of the ending is buried in the background of page 18. I think Maa-kun might be a member of Houjun's family (or dojo?). Houjun's home has the same wooden slat flooring/walls as the room Maa-kun is playing in, which suggests to me that those locations are the same building.

 

[cromat]

I think an important part of the ending is buried in the background of page 18. I think Maa-kun might be a member of Houjun's family (or dojo?). Houjun's home has the same wooden slat flooring/walls as the room Maa-kun is playing in, which suggests to me that those locations are the same building.

oh shit

so the new town might just be a new town the monsters going to?

i thought it had it figured out but now im just more confused

 

[77BLc9JwJGpLVARkamJx]

Seems like there is no dead kid, just a living one playing with the doll and its either both or one of them has supernatural powers and still out there doing this. Houjun-sensei was bullshiting some stuff to fill in the blanks, to maintain credibility or paid to terrorize the neighbourhood (since Bellstrom noticed the similarity of the flooring of the house, could be a different location still)

 

[farranpoison]

i dont know if its a translation error on either side, but the chinese raws say that the child is playing "cops and robbers" and not hide and seek.

one of the rules of cops and robbers is that there are "safe areas" where the cop can't touch you. similar to the shade in this part. once the cop touches you, you're "out" and have to sit out of bounds. kind of like how the killed people are inside the buildings.

I think the cops and robbers part is correct (especially with the people trapped inside the houses), but what is actually happening is definitely more ambiguous. Perhaps there wasn't any ghost at all and it's actually just a psychic kid or toy that's continuing to cause havoc, but in a different area this time. No idea where the dead old couple comes into it though if that's the case.

 

[cromat]

also can someone double check the raws for when the psychic said "its a piece of cake" cuz the chinese translation is completely something else that i dont understand.

the scans imply he did his job but im reading some other comments and the japanese wiki translation and it hints that hes a scammer?

 

[cromat]

I think the cops and robbers part is correct (especially with the people trapped inside the houses), but what is actually happening is definitely more ambiguous. Perhaps there wasn't any ghost at all and it's actually just a psychic kid or toy that's continuing to cause havoc, but in a different area this time. No idea where the dead old couple comes into it though if that's the case.

yeah that makes complete sense if the psychic is a 100% charlatan scammer. need the raw text to figure out wtf he said to his disciple

 

[cromat]

also in the chinese raws this line is completely different

in chinese the translation she says "you bitch! you're the one who used "looking for your friend" as an excuse to come here and make money. you even said that "friends is nothing compared to money. money is number 1!"

basically implying that even the girl who was killed was in it for the money and not her friend? it doesnt change much but makes her less sympathetic i guess.

 

[farranpoison]

also in the chinese raws this line is completely different

in chinese the translation she says "you bitch! you're the one who used "looking for your friend" as an excuse to come here and make money. you even said that "friends is nothing compared to money. money is number 1!"

basically implying that even the girl who was killed was in it for the money and not her friend? it doesnt change much but makes her less sympathetic i guess.

I think to really know you need the JP raws, translations can always change words and sentences.

 

[Hikineet]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Slader]

yeah that makes complete sense if the psychic is a 100% charlatan scammer. need the raw text to figure out wtf he said to his disciple

The guy changing to some out of character casual clothes for an exorcist and the idea that the monster/"cop" moved to a new town makes me think that maybe the old dude is using the child and his abilities (or his usage of a cursed doll if that were the case) as a source of income where he finds places with excuses to justify their presence and then the eventual absence after someone (grey workers) find the "solution", that would explain the details in page 18, the exorcist being a scammer, the monster still being out and about, and why we still see the same child before and after, plus the fact that this child clearly has a caretaker present, not lining up with the story of the old couple.

Alternatively, the guy got a hold of the cursed doll and child (making them happier), and killed the old couple to maybe strike a deal with the child/spirit (more probably spirit, probably haunting the couple and them fighting back desperately, making it seem like abuse to outsiders) and then having the spirit posses a child the old guy had some involvement with (maybe family, since the current caretaker seems chill and notices an obsession with the toy, maybe the toy is the source and the kid is just playing, or it's a mix of the spirit possessing the child and using this specific toy to do his thing)

 

[cromat]

did scanner decide to not do this anymore??

 

[sotokouya]

i dont know if its a translation error on either side, but the chinese raws say that the child is playing "cops and robbers" and not hide and seek.

one of the rules of cops and robbers is that there are "safe areas" where the cop can't touch you. similar to the shade in this part. once the cop touches you, you're "out" and have to sit out of bounds. kind of like how the killed people are inside the buildings.

here is my interpretation of the story

years ago, the old couple somehow got a child, trapped him in the house, and abused and killed him, while the neighbours did nothing.

the soul of the child is now free, and since he didn't get to play or even go outside while he was alive, he now haunts the town and plays hide and seek, with the town being his territory.

we are lead to believe the monster is the soul of the child, but in reality, the soul of the child now possesses Maa-kun (the bloody mouth kid) who uses voodoo magic. his physical doll then becomes the monster, and his toys are the people running around. he plays cops and robbers/hide and seek using a map, his doll, and the toys he has, and it translates into whats happening inside the town. which is why he could also rip off the roof where the betrayal girl was hiding. if you get caught, you're out of the game and get put inside one of the houses while looking outside, unable to leave. BUT, you are allowed to give information to the current robbers not caught, just like how mary told them where another lot was.

the game he plays is hide and seek/cops and robbers. the monster is "it/the cop" and everyone else needs to avoid the cop or hide. anywhere with shade is a "safe area"

the goal of the game is for the robber to steal all the loot. in this case, the game ends because the loot was found. the loot? the abusive parents' dead bodies.

we are also lead to believe, by the exorcist, that by holding a funeral for the child, the horrors will stop. i do believe that the problem was solved and the game ended, because the robbers have found the dead bodies of the parents.

the scene with the children and parents, i believe, is a flashback. this is because 1. the children stuck inside the houses all this time, would not say "there's something strange over there" they would say HOLY SHIT ITS THE FUCKING MONSTER ITS STILL HERE, and 2, the townspeople seem WAY too casual playing outside with their kids, right after the govt says "its ok monsters gone"

however, we know that the area is still sealed off by the blockade. the reason is probably while the game is over, all the people that died are still dead and trapped inside the houses and its better to just keep it sealed off. OR, just because the game is over doesnt mean the soul of the child is gone. but at least by blockading it after the game ends with the robbers winning, no new people will come in and the games will have to stop.

its implied that if the cop (maa-kun) wins, by catching all the robbers (humans), something bad will happen. so the exorcist's goal was not to sooth the soul of the child or save the townsfolk, it was to make sure maa-kun didnt win the game of cops and robbers.

also betrayal girl is a fucking bitch. basically killed her friend for $2500 because they could have all been safe.

i feel the urge to somewhat make you get in touch with the author so the writing could get more comprehensive lol

 

[beep_repair]

Based on the confusing storyline and discrepancies between translations, this chapter probably needs a complete retranslation from the Japanese raws directly into English by someone super-extra-fluent in both languages. All manga need that, of course, but this one especially so because things are never clearly spelled out for the reader.