The Misaligned Time
The inertia of thought is a rather terrifying thing.
In this enclosed Apartment Building, what can be used to directly determine whether it's morning or evening?
No.
The Unique thing that can be used as a basis for judgment is the lighting rules for this Apartment as stated in the [Apartment Resident Notice]... The lights are turned off after 11 p. m. every night.
Although there's a clock in each room, it only shows the current time. How do you know if it's 8:50 AM or 8:50 PM?
When Shi Bai Zhi was initially investigating the room, the computer showed the time as 7:40. Since he had been teleported in that morning, people wouldn't naturally question the time due to habitual thinking.
But it's always better to be safe than sorry.
Although the Players entered this mission in the morning, who says it's morning here now?
What if the time displayed on the computer is actually in 12-hour format? What if it's not actually morning, but rather evening?
The inertia of thought is a rather dangerous thing.
The [Apartment Resident Notice] states that after 9 PM, all Resident should stay in their rooms and lock their doors. Although it doesn't specify the consequences of staying outside one's room under those circumstances, it's unlikely to be a pleasant experience.
Because the refrigerator was packed full of fresh ingredients, and because of the ingrained thought patterns in everyone, Bai Zhi still overlooked several crucial factors.
... For example, brand new bedding, and a room with an almost identical layout.
This is Role-playing Mode where the Player replace the original residents of this Apartment. They have brand new bedding and rooms with almost identical layouts, meaning these residents are likely moving into this Apartment... or rather, this floor, for the first time.
After all, everyone has different lifestyles. The fact that rooms have the exact same layout, decorations, and structure is enough to illustrate this point.
If it weren't for the Player entering the room, the people they were playing would have slept soundly until dawn, which would explain the refrigerator being packed full of food.
Bai Zhi felt that he had made a big mistake this time.
If it weren't for his own ingrained thought patterns, he should have tried the Fitness Room when he was at the Entertainment Venue, which would have helped him determine whether it was morning or night.
After all, it is stated in the [Apartment Resident Notice] that the Fitness Room is only open from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
As the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry. In this mysterious Apartment, facing unknown and enigmatic Anomaly, the Players cannot afford to be careless.
Bai Zhi reacted quickly. Although he couldn't be completely certain of his speculation, avoiding the greatest risk was the most important thing.
The most insidious part of the rules is that Resident must return to their rooms after 9 p. m., but the lights are turned off at 11 p. m.
If Bai Zhi's prediction is correct, and if they really follow PrayerUnderDreams's advice and go to the Entertainment Area, they will inevitably encounter all sorts of strange and unusual things during those two hours.
If they still haven't realized the crucial factor and haven't returned to their rooms before Lights out, they could very well suffer casualties on the first day when everything goes dark... Perhaps this is the normal procedure for this mission?
They had previously tested it in the stairwell; the light from flashlights couldn't penetrate the darkness at all. The Unique that could barely provide illumination in a dark environment were Equipment or Skill with built-in lighting Special Effect.
In the pitch-black Apartment after the lights are out, how are they supposed to fight off those strange creatures lurking somewhere?
Take Bai Zhi for example. Of all the things he Previous Self carries, the Unique that can barely illuminate the darkness is the Evil-Breaking Talisman that burns automatically, and even that is passively triggered.
If he had the [Plant Card ▪ Streetlight Flower], he might have been able to provide light in the dark, but he didn't, which is quite a sad fact.
Shadow Guard can thrive in the dark, but he can't, since he's extremely Mana Depletion.
The current time is 8:55 (https://www. hetshu. com. com). There are five minutes left until 9:00. Five minutes seems like enough time for everyone to get into their rooms, but in reality, it's not that simple.
Leaving aside the dozen-meter-long dark corridor leading to each room, finding the keyhole correctly and trying out the Key to your room from among six Key in the pitch-black environment where flashlights and ordinary lighting cannot provide any illumination is no easy task.
Previously, Heavenless Heretic had spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out the Key to his room. After all, for Player of their Level, who would specifically collect items that could glow?
Of course, if you're a Mage who can conjure fireballs and use the Light spell, that works too.
Room [501] is occupied by Heavenless Heretic, Room [502] by PrayerUnderDreams, Room [503] by Bai Zhi, Room [504] by Night Owl, and Room [505] by Zither-Drum Harmony.
"So, can you open the door? If not, take this with you."
Without a word, Bai Zhi handed the Night Owl several Evil-Breaking Talisman.
"If these Talisman Paper catch fire, you'll be safe for now. Remember to use that time to find the Key, open the door, enter the room, and then lock the door."
"... I'm fine."
Looking at the few Evil-Breaking Talisman in her hand, Night Owl paused for a moment before raising her head to look at him seriously.
"Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who'll just hold you back."
"Now you're making such definitive statements, so who was it that was holding onto me the whole time before?"
Rolling her eyes, Bai Zhi gave the other person a push in an annoyed tone.
"What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and get into your room sooner rather than later. If the lights aren't out by 11 o'clock, remember to wait until after 11:30 before coming out again."
"But I don't think it's necessary to stay this long, just to check the network..."
"Really? Then let me give you some advice."
Bai Zhi glanced at her.
"I suspect the internet is a trap; you'd better not get involved."