Newcomers?!

Bai Yuze sucked in a sharp breath, doing his best to stay calm.

Fortunately, although the corpse was staring at him through the crack in the door, it was currently safe time, so Bai Yuze could enter Room 102 without worry.

Bai Yuze pushed open the wooden door to Room 102. The corpse was knocked backward by the force, and Bai Yuze instinctively grabbed its arm to keep it from losing its balance.

"Strange. Shouldn't a corpse be cold? How come this guy's hand is so warm?"

Feeling the warmth against his palm, Bai Yuze couldn't help wondering about it, but there was no time to think about anything else.

First, he laid the corpse on the bed in the room, then pulled the Scalpel out of the wooden door.

Blood still stained the Scalpel, and its tip gleamed coldly. It looked incredibly sharp.

"Sorry."

Bai Yuze walked over to the corpse and used the Scalpel to cut a piece of fabric from its clothes. Then he carefully wiped the blade with it.

Once the blood had been wiped away, a character appeared on the handle.

[Liu]

"Doctor Liu?"

Bai Yuze looked at the corpse lying on the bed, his mind racing.

(Is this corpse a doctor? Or did a doctor surnamed Liu kill this person?)

Creak—

The wooden door behind Bai Yuze was pushed open again. Yuigahama quietly peeked her little head around it, and after confirming there was no danger, she delivered that classic line.

"Yahallo! Zeyu!"

"What the heck is 'Yahallo'? And don't call me Zeyu."

Bai Yuze was at a loss. Suddenly, the Tuanzi in front of him seemed like a stranger. Had the Tuanzi in the original story really been this airheaded?

"Ehehe, what does it matter, Zeyu?"

"Honestly, Tuanzi, you're impossible!"

Following the principle of "if you can't beat them, join them," Bai Yuze had let slip the nickname he'd used for Yuigahama in his previous life.

"Huh? Tuanzi? Why are you calling me that?"

Yuigahama stared blankly for a moment, then seemed to realize something and quickly covered her chest with her arms.

"Zeyu, you're such a pervert! Baka! Dummy!"

"Have you got the wrong idea? Your hair's shaped like a dumpling, so I started calling you Tuanzi."

Bai Yuze couldn't help rubbing his forehead. Did he really look like some shameless creep? Though, Tuanzi was indeed very soft to the touch...

Yukino entered the room as well.

"Is there any important clue?"

"Just this Scalpel. Though there is a character, 'Liu,' on it."

"Looks like we'll have to go out and look for clues. It's safe time right now, correct?"

Yukino held a clock in her other hand. It showed exactly twelve noon.

"Right. It's daytime both outside and inside, and daytime is completely safe. So now is the best time to look for clues."

There was no time to waste. The three of them immediately divided up the tasks. Yukino and Tuanzi would search Room 103, while Bai Yuze would search Room 106. As for Rooms 107, 108, and 105, they decided to check them together after they had finished searching the other two rooms.

"Take this knife with you."

Bai Yuze handed the Scalpel to Yukino, but she shook her head and didn't accept it.

"You should keep it. The room you're searching is closer to Room 105. Don't forget, you deceived it. From what it said, it's clearly afraid of this knife, so at least you'll have a way to defend yourself if something happens."

"Xiaoxue sure does care about Zeyu."

Tuanzi looked at Yukino playfully, but Yukino merely replied with a cold expression.

"Right now, our best chance of getting out is to help each other. If any one of us is missing, the other two will be worse off."

"Oh! Xiaoxue really sees the big picture!"

Their banter soon ended. Once they had settled on a plan, the two girls and Bai Yuze each headed for their assigned rooms.

Bai Yuze stopped in front of Room 106, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.

"What!"

Bai Yuze froze. He hadn't expected to run into a student from his own school in this creepy place, though this one was a bit of a problem...

Looking at Yamauchi Haruki, who was lying on the bed, Bai Yuze fell into thought.

Good news: He'd found a fellow student!

Bad news: It was Old Man Yamauchi!

Bai Yuze, who knew the original story well, had a vivid impression of Yamauchi Haruki, affectionately dubbed "the first to get locked in the black room" by the readers.

"Tch, is this guy going to stab me in the back? Should I just take him out now?"

A dangerous thought surfaced in Bai Yuze's mind, but he quickly pushed it down.

Ignoring Yamauchi Haruki, who was sleeping on the bed, Bai Yuze began searching the room for other clues.

But even after searching the entire room, he couldn't find any hints.

"Could it be..."

Bai Yuze approached Yamauchi Haruki and reached into his pocket.

Sure enough, he pulled a note out of the man's pocket.

"That's strange. Why would the note be in his pocket?"

Puzzled, Bai Yuze read what was written on it.

[This is my second week in this residence. I've gotten used to all the strange things that happen here, but I can't believe newcomers have come to this residence!]

[Monday: I tried to help them, but they were always very hostile toward me. I know people have a hard time trusting strangers in an unfamiliar and dangerous place.]

[Tuesday: I don't like doing things that take a lot of effort and earn me nothing. So after they turned down my suggestions several times, I gave up on them. Sure enough, they died.]

[Wednesday: I can feel it becoming a little strange. Is it because I abandoned those newcomers? Good heavens! This is asking way too much of me!]

[Thursday: I often dream of a scorched wasteland. It seems like something there is calling to me. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to the answer.]

[Friday: My memory is getting worse and worse. Will I forget how to write and read one day and become a baby who knows nothing about the world?]

[Saturday: I don't think I can abandon those newcomers. I've decided to use some means to protect them, even if it costs me my life.]

[Sunday: It actually spoke to me! It said... I'm still me, and I've never changed... Did we know each other before?]

The note looked as if someone had torn it, and the other side contained the remaining rules.

[8. The residence provides food for all residents every morning, but please make sure the food is normal.]

[9. Animals are prohibited in the residence. If you find anyone keeping an animal, immediately inform the front desk. The front desk is in Room 108.]

[10. Respect goes both ways. When speaking with the front desk, do not make eye contact.]

[11. The front desk sometimes acts strangely. Don't worry, it's just sick.]

[12. Please do not count the steps when climbing the stairs.]＜The handwriting is neater here.＞(One step too many is heaven; one step too few is the void.)