Night Owl

Lightning periodically split the sky, leaving Between Heaven and Earth a ghastly white. Thunder rumbled without end, while rain poured down wildly as if the heavens themselves had burst open.

A night of Downpour.

"I think it would be better not to go down together like this..."

Raising her hand, the petite Night Owl spoke timidly.

"After all, we don't know anything about the current situation. What if lighting it triggers some instant-death Flag..."

Unlike the other three Players, the female Player named Night Owl clearly possessed an instinctive fear of this dark environment.

"Well~ this Gasoline was meant as a last resort anyway. If things truly become critical, we can just set it alight and go down together. For those Anomalies that might be lurking around, fire should count as magical damage..."

Shrugging, Bai Zhi picked up a High-intensity Flashlight from the table.

"Anyway, let's proceed according to the original plan. This Villa has three floors in total. To ensure safety, the four of us will explore the first floor for now. Things will be much easier with High-intensity Flashlights... What do you think?"

"I have no objections."

Shaking her head, Temperance Gentleheart also picked up a Flashlight from the table.

"There's a Kitchen, two Restrooms, a master bedroom, a guest bedroom, a living room, a Storage Room, and a Stairwell on the first floor. Eight places in total, so each person investigates two. If you find anything unusual, call everyone over immediately. Any problems?"

"H-how about we split into pairs instead?"

Looking at the pitch-black surroundings that seemed ready to devour people whole, Night Owl began to tremble slightly when she recalled those classic horror movies she had watched before.

"Isn't that how it always goes in horror movies? Splitting up is the stupidest possible choice. A-anyway, the first floor isn't that big..."

"I agree with Night Owl."

Perhaps because his leading position had been thoroughly diluted, Beard Guy's expression looked somewhat unpleasant.

"Let's divide the four of us into two groups, one man and one woman in each."

"Sure, I don't care."

As Bai Zhi carried the buckets of Gasoline over to a dry spot by the wall, he answered indifferently.

"I'm going to the Kitchen first. Whoever wants to team up with me can come over."

After saying that, Bai Zhi switched on his Flashlight and headed straight toward the Kitchen.

"W-wait for me!"

Seeing his departing figure, Night Owl hurriedly grabbed a Flashlight from the table and rushed after him.

"Then shall we start with the master bedroom?"

Seeing that the groups had quickly been decided, Temperance Gentleheart turned to Beard Guy beside her without much concern.

Compared to that unexpectedly troublesome Black&White, she preferred teaming up with the steadier Beard Guy... Though seriously, would a normal person really stuff several large buckets of Gasoline into their Inventory?

On the Other Side, Bai Zhi had already stepped into the Kitchen.

Compared with the filthy and chaotic living room from before, the Kitchen seemed to be in much better condition. The Blinds were tightly shut, blocking the storm outside, making this place seem quieter than the world beyond.

The Trash Can had long since been filled to overflowing, with quite a bit of trash spilling out and rolling across the floor. Every piece was covered in a thick layer of flies. When the powerful beam of the Flashlight swept over them, they took off with a roar like a dark cloud.

Just then, a slightly panting figure caught up from behind. At the sight of that soaring black cloud, she immediately let out a startled cry.

"Those are flies."

Bai Zhi's calm voice came from nearby.

"I know. I was just startled all of a sudden... What do we do next?"

Unconsciously grabbing the hem of his clothes, Night Owl found considerable comfort in the calm displayed by the Player whose ID was Black&White.

"Have you played RPG Games before?"

Bai Zhi glanced back at her but did not comment, instead turning his gaze toward the Kitchen in front of them as he spoke.

"Uh... I've played a little..."

"Then think of this as a real RPG Game. We control our game characters as they swagger into other people's homes, rummage through every box and cabinet, take away all the valuable things like Gold Coins and herbs, smash every clay jar to see if something is hidden inside, and then those villagers foolishly call us Brave Heroes..."

As he spoke, Bai Zhi walked over to the Coal Stove and shone his Flashlight into the large pot.

The gas had long been cut off, but the pot was filled with a large amount of red-black unidentified matter. The liquid inside had already congealed, and a layer of white maggots crawled across the surface, making it look exceptionally disgusting.

"Want a taste?"

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi turned around and looked at the Girl who was still clutching his clothes and nervously surveying the darkness around them.

"W-what?"

Night Owl turned her head toward him in alarm.

"I said, do you want to try some? This stuff is high in protein, and you seem pretty tense right now."

Bai Zhi patiently repeated himself.

"Protein..."

Somewhat blankly following his gesture toward the pot, poor Night Owl's face changed dramatically in an instant. Thoroughly disgusted, she hurriedly looked away.

Ever since entering this Kitchen, everything she had seen had challenged the limits of her endurance.

She was suddenly starting to regret teaming up with Black&White.

"So? You're not scared anymore, are you?"

Looking at Night Owl bent over with a hand over her mouth, Bai Zhi curled his lip.

"Fear is a Stress Response that everyone experiences, but too much fear won't let you get far in this Game. You need to try to overcome it and replace it with other emotions."

"...I'm not scared anymore, but now I have a very strong urge to beat you up..."

Her face pale, Night Owl straightened up again and answered weakly.

"Could you please use a different method next time?"

"Bitter medicine cures sickness, harsh advice benefits conduct. If you can't even overcome the most basic fear, then forgive my bluntness, but you won't get far before dying in some mission or being killed by an Anomaly."

Shrugging without concern, Bai Zhi saw that there was basically nothing left to investigate around the Stove and walked straight toward the Refrigerator in the corner of the Kitchen.

The moment he approached the Refrigerator, an extremely dense stench hit him head-on. Casually waving away the smell, Bai Zhi reached for the Refrigerator door.

"Mm... This smell is somewhat like something rotten..."

"W-wait!!"

Before he could finish, Night Owl anxiously stopped him.

"Hm? What now?"

"I-I'll close my eyes first..."

Looking at the Girl beside him, who had somehow gone from clutching his clothes to holding onto his arm and trembling, Bai Zhi was rather speechless.

"Ah... a New Era ostrich has appeared..."

Muttering under his breath, Bai Zhi reached out and opened the Refrigerator door.

The instant the Refrigerator door opened, he found himself staring directly into a human face inside. Thick red liquid surged out from the Refrigerator, slowly sliding down the door and winding across the floor toward his feet.