Kaguya-sama Wants Me to Surrender

In the surrounding hospital rooms, unfortunate players emerged one after another. Several of them were injured, and everyone had a grim expression. Some even came out crying.

"It seems everyone has had a tough time," Fujiwara Chika said, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "It would be great if we could help everyone."

"We can't," Shinomiya Kaguya replied, her voice cold and ruthless. "Offering help to strangers without reason will only make them suspect our intentions."

Fujiwara Chika whispered, "Natsuki-classmate and I can use a combination skill to capture Outlaw Zhang San."

"The problem is, we can only deal with one vengeful spirit," Amamiya Natsuki chimed in. "If we help one person, what do we do if another asks for our help?"

"..."

Fujiwara Chika fell silent.

Lending a hand to others when you can is called helping. Exceeding your own capabilities and insisting on saving everyone is foolishness.

The group headed straight for the nurse's station. The best way to uncover the hospital's secrets was to start with the nurses.

After a few steps, two players suddenly got into a conflict in the hallway.

A male player pushed a girl to the ground, snatched something from her, and then left in a hurry.

"Are you okay?"

Fujiwara Chika quickly walked over and helped the fallen girl up, looking quite indignant. "How could he steal someone's things?"

Stealing things is nothing. There are no legal constraints in the game. He could even pick you up and carry you away!

"I'm fine..."

The girl bit her lower lip, her gaze falling on Amamiya Natsuki. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "A, a big shot?!"

"Hm?"

Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow and looked over, feeling a sense of familiarity but unable to recall who she was.

"We met before at Vengeful Spirit Academy, in the examination hall. I was sitting in the corner by the window," the girl said, full of excitement. "I didn't expect to meet some big shots again. We're finally saved."

You're overthinking it. We're just newbie players who joined not too long ago. We're not big shots at all.

"I'm sorry..."

Amamiya Natsuki wanted to refuse. There were no proctoring teachers here to bribe.

"I understand the rules," the girl said quickly, taking out two items and displaying their attributes. "This is all I have!"

[Item: Green Leek] [This item was cultivated through hybridization by Void Technology Company. The leeks are naturally harmless and require no sunlight, soil, air, or water. They can absorb free-floating energy from the void to grow. Cut one stalk, and a new one will quickly sprout, endlessly repeating.] [Note: You can use this to practice 100 ways to cut leeks.]

Amamiya Natsuki twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.

Good. As expected of a blind box, you can get all sorts of random junk. But what's the use of a leek? Are we going to make leek pancakes every day!

Amamiya Natsuki looked at the second item.

[Item: Speech Bowtie] [Usage: Wear the bowtie on your chest, and your public speaking ability will be further enhanced, making you charismatic and inspiring.] [Note: I don't need to explain its purpose, do I?]

"I've only participated in three games and don't have many game coins. These are the only things I got from the blind box," the female player, whom he had met once before, bowed ninety degrees. "Please, you must take them."

Game coins were the most important, but Amamiya Natsuki and Kaguya had already verified that game coins could not be traded or gifted. However, items obtained from blind boxes were different; they could even be robbed directly.

Amamiya Natsuki and the other two were newcomers who had just joined the game. The chance of encountering true high-level big shots was very small. Most newbies had meager possessions, and what you got from a blind box depended entirely on luck.

"Natsuki-classmate."

Fujiwara Chika looked over expectantly.

Shinomiya Kaguya said softly, "Compared to helping others for free, an equivalent exchange with benefits is acceptable."

Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment and agreed, "I'll take the items. Come directly to my room later. The ward is safe now."

The items seemed useless, but at a critical moment, they might have unexpected effects, like the Cat Ear Hairpin from Vengeful Spirit Academy.

"Thank you for your trouble."

The girl said with a surprised look, bowing quickly.

"What did that person steal from you just now?" Amamiya Natsuki asked.

Upon inquiring, he learned that the stolen item was food. Although the game was entered through the soul or consciousness, one could still feel hunger.

"Huh?" Fujiwara Chika clutched her stomach, surprised. "I'm actually a little hungry. I just ate breakfast this morning... Can't we go to the cafeteria?"

"There is no cafeteria," the girl clinging to him shook her head. "The entire hospital is only on the fourth floor; we can't go anywhere else."

Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya naturally had to verify this. When they reached the end of the corridor, they indeed found the stairwell blocked by black mist, making it impossible to enter or exit.

Darkness descended again, and the group obediently returned to the hospital room. After all the commotion, they all felt hungry, and for some reason, the hunger was quite intense.

"It seems there's another problem to solve..." Amamiya Natsuki pressed his temples. "A food crisis."

The problem was the lack of a cafeteria, and they had no idea where to find food.

At this moment, Rikka, who hadn't said much, raised her hand. "Um, the vengeful spirit who was in my room before might be able to create food."

Amamiya Natsuki asked curiously, "What kind of vengeful spirit was your roommate?"

Takanashi Rikka raised her hands and made a bull-horn shape above her head. "A cow."

Chapter 46: Willing to be a Calf

"A cow?"

"After all, it's a vengeful spirit; it's not strange for it to look like anything."

"But how would a cow produce food?"

They sat in the hospital room, discussing and analyzing.

"I know!" Fujiwara Chika raised her hand to answer, "It's probably by squeezing [BEEP]..."

"Stop talking, sit down," Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but say. "You can't drink that kind of thing without sterilization, can you?"

"Why not?" Fujiwara Chika retorted. "You can drink freshly squeezed juice directly. When I was little, I went to a ranch and saw the herders drinking fresh milk."

Juice and milk are completely different things!

Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her chest and continued, "I also read a manga a while ago about four beautiful girls whose plane crashed, and they were stranded on a deserted island..."

A beautiful girl version of Robinson Crusoe?

If another guy showed up, it would become a standard galgame plot.

"One of the girls accidentally fell asleep on a raft and drifted far out to sea. When another girl chased after her, the girl who had drifted away was dehydrated and about to faint. Seawater can't be drunk, so to replenish her companion's fluids, the other girl took off..."

At this point, Fujiwara Chika suddenly stopped, covered her mouth with her hands, and a blush quickly spread across her face.

"Took off what?" Amamiya Natsuki asked expressionlessly. "Please continue."

If you're so capable, why stop?

"I can't say," Fujiwara Chika quickly shook her head. "That's unspeakable forbidden knowledge."

"Wow, so amazing!"

Takanashi Rikka clasped her hands in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling.

Amamiya Natsuki remained unmoved. "Spoiling movies in advance, saying 'whatever' when eating, and stopping mid-sentence are all incredibly rude behaviors."

"Fine, I'll say it," Fujiwara Chika puffed out her cheeks, took a deep breath, and put on a look of desperate resolve. "What she took off was..."

It's proper survival knowledge, after all. It can be serialized in a Jump manga, so it should be okay to say it, right?

"Stop talking," Shinomiya Kaguya pressed her temples, looking helpless. "This topic ends here."

Although she hadn't read the manga, as a genius girl with extensive knowledge, Shinomiya Kaguya had already guessed what it was.

Next, the group discussed and exchanged information on many other issues.

For example, anyone who passed the first game would, without exception, receive the reward of 'being able to see the true nature of the world.'

"I don't want the reward at all. I don't want to see those evil spirits."

"Me neither."

"Me, me, me, and me too."

"..."

The girls quickly reached a consensus. Even Shinomiya Kaguya nodded slightly, and the discussion accidentally turned into a complaint session.

After seeing terrifying evil spirits, their lives were severely affected. They couldn't eat or sleep well, lived in constant fear, and couldn't tell anyone because no one would believe them.

"We've tried everything: piling salt in the corners of the room, using crucifixes, rosaries, amulets, holy water, peach wood swords, and praying at shrines... none of it worked."

The girl speaking was Kujo Asuka, the second newcomer clinging to them. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I used to be on the volleyball team at school. Since being chosen for the game, I've found terrifying evil spirits clinging to my friends every day. Now I'm too scared to even participate in volleyball practice."

"Asuka-chan, you've been through a lot."

Fujiwara's social skills were already maxed out. In a short time, she was already calling the stranger by name. "Keep opening blind boxes. If you're lucky, maybe you'll get a halo ability like 'Evil Spirit Repellent' like Natsuki-classmate, and then you can drive away the evil spirits on your friend."

Kujo Asuka looked even more distressed. "I don't have any game coins, and the blind boxes are full of strange things."

"Speaking of which, I feel like the vengeful spirits in the game are actually easier to get along with than the evil spirits in reality," Amamiya Natsuki mused.

The evil spirits in reality cannot be communicated with; they only harbor malice towards the living. The vengeful spirits in the game are much better. Take Miss Sadako, for example. Although she's terrifying, communication is entirely possible.

After tying up her hair, she even wanted to ask Miss Sadako for a leave of absence...

Shinomiya Kaguya nodded gently and calmly analyzed:

"The game and reality must have some connection, we just don't know what it is yet."

The darkness receded, and light returned.

"Miss Sadako, we're going out," Amamiya Natsuki said, patting the television and bidding farewell. "You stay and guard the house alone."

Miss Sadako, who had been eavesdropping on gossip at the edge of the well, her black hair trembled, and she quickly hid back into the well.

Amamiya Natsuki sighed.

With such a thin skin, how will you get by in the world?

I saw your profile earlier, you used to be an employee of Himura Dairy. Being so timid, you must have been bullied a lot!

The group left the hospital room and went into the corridor.

"This is it."

Takanashi Rikka arrived at her hospital room door and said softly.

"Don't worry," Fujiwara Chika said, clenching her right fist, full of confidence. "Natsuki-classmate and I can use a combined skill, we definitely won't lose."

"Please don't jinx it."

Amamiya Natsuki grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open, quickly understanding why Takanashi Rikka called it a "dairy cow."

The vengeful spirit in the hospital room had a human-like appearance, but with a pair of bull horns on its head, a swinging bull's tail behind it, and a large bell tied to its chest. Its bust... completely lived up to the name "dairy cow."

However, its eyes were blood red, and its teeth were all like shark's serrations. If it went to a dental hospital in Japan, it would probably cost more than selling its panties.