"Food"

"Ahaha, now is not the time for arguing. Let's share our clues first."

Yuigahama hurriedly tried to smooth things over. Although Yamauchi Haruki's gaze made her uncomfortable, Tuanzi, wanting to keep the team stable, generously chose to ignore it.

"Did you two find anything?"

Bai Yuze asked Yukino, who in response handed him a can.

The can looked quite aged, and the production date and expiration date printed on it confirmed that it was long past its prime.

"Expired canned food?"

"There are more cans nearing their expiration date placed around the room. Is this the room the note was talking about?"

"It should be, but the rules I found warned us to be careful about distinguishing whether the food is normal."

"Does that mean we can't eat expired food? Or are we only allowed to eat expired food?"

Yukino offered her hypothesis, but Bai Yuze didn't respond, turning instead to ask Tuanzi.

"Tuanzi, what day of the week is it now?"

"Huh? Let me see... it's Tuesday!"

"As I thought..."

Bai Yuze's expression grew heavy. He had suspected from the start why Yamauchi Haruki would appear in this instance, and now everything made sense.

"You two, come with me. I have something to tell you."

Bai Yuze walked out of 106 and beckoned to the two girls.

Though puzzled, the two girls followed Bai Yuze's lead.

Yamauchi Haruki wanted to follow as well, but Bai Yuze spoke up.

"Yamauchi-san, you don't need to come. You still need to familiarize yourself with the rules here, otherwise, you'll be in danger."

After saying this, Bai Yuze handed the note to Yamauchi Haruki, who took it and sat on the edge of the bed to start reading.

After all, he had to stay alive to carry out his plans; he didn't want his grand ambition to crumble before it had even begun.

Having shaken off Yamauchi Haruki's interference, Bai Yuze brought the two girls back to 102. Once he confirmed Yamauchi Haruki hadn't followed, he let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing Bai Yuze's strange behavior, Yukino couldn't help but ask.

"Is something wrong? You seem very nervous."

"Yeah, Xiao Ze, this is the first time I've seen you so flustered."

Tuanzi opened her eyes wide, her head filled with big questions.

"I'm just afraid that if he knew the content of our conversation, he might do something crazy."

Yamauchi Haruki's combat ability wasn't much to speak of, but the fear was that he might fight desperately without regard for his own life. Even if Bai Yuze could protect himself, the situation for Yukino and Tuanzi would become dire.

In the current situation, no matter who got hurt, things would become even more troublesome, which is why he specifically called the two girls aside to talk.

"Tuanzi, stand by the door for a moment to prevent him from coming over. I'll try to keep my voice low enough so only you two can hear."

"Remember, don't be surprised, because here, there's nothing to be surprised about! Nod if you understand."

Seeing both girls nod, Bai Yuze began to explain.

By the time Bai Yuze stopped, both girls' expressions were heavy.

"Are you saying... that horny ape came into this instance as 'food'?"

"Exactly. Supplies are refreshed every day, but human flesh also counts as a supply... especially living humans. That perfectly confirms the freshness of the food and corresponds to the expiration status of the canned goods."

"Ugh!"

Tuanzi felt nauseous and couldn't help but retch. She couldn't accept, nor could she fathom, the idea of treating people as food!

"Shouldn't he have arrived in this instance as a newcomer? Just like the three of us."

Yukino raised a question, but it was quickly refuted by Bai Yuze.

"Newcomers arrive at the start of a new week, but today is Tuesday. It's impossible for a newcomer to appear."

"Then what will his fate be?"

Tuanzi couldn't help but ask, and Bai Yuze shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps he'll survive, or perhaps he'll be recycled... Wait! Where did you find these cans? Is there one in every room?"

Bai Yuze suddenly thought of something terrifying and asked urgently.

"Eto, we found these cans in 103 and 104. We specifically checked 101 and 102, and we even went to 107 and 105. Of course, we only cracked the doors of 105 and 107 slightly, but we didn't find any cans in those rooms."

Hearing Tuanzi's answer, Bai Yuze's face turned pale.

"What's wrong? Is there some danger in these cans?"

Yukino looked confused. Could some cans really pose a threat to their lives?

"These cans aren't dangerous. The danger is the 'person' behind them!"

"Person? What do you mean?"

Yukino's confusion only deepened; what could canned food possibly have to do with people?

"Think about it: what do the rooms that had canned food and the rooms that didn't have in common?"

"What do the places without canned food have... are you saying 'people'? To be precise, 'people' who need to eat?!"

Yukino quickly grasped what Bai Yuze was trying to express. If the rooms without canned food lacked 'people' who needed to eat, then where did the 'people' who needed to eat in rooms 103 and 106 go?

"What? What are you two talking about? Doesn't 102 also lack food cans?"

Tuanzi looked puzzled. If the food in 106 was Yamauchi Haruki, and he wasn't considered a person who needed to eat, then Tuanzi could understand. But 102 was her room, and she hadn't seen a trace of food there!

"No, Tuanzi, your food has actually been there the whole time... it's just that Minzhai determined you hadn't eaten it yet, so it didn't issue you any new ones..."

After saying this, Bai Yuze pointed toward the male corpse lying on the dilapidated bed. Perhaps calling it the feast of 102 would be more accurate.

At this moment, no matter how slow Tuanzi might be, she realized what Bai Yuze was implying. She covered her throat and began to dry heave repeatedly. She was incredibly grateful that her stomach was empty, otherwise, she would have been in for a miserable time.

"So, our current situation means we not only have to hide secrets from the ape-like creatures but also stay vigilant against the true owners of 103 and 106?"

"Exactly. Before we understand the other party, we cannot rashly assume they are friendly creatures. It's not even certain if they are human."

"Then how should we deal with this corpse? Don't tell me we have to eat it?"

As soon as Yukino finished her sentence, both of them turned to look at Tuanzi in unison.

"Ah? Why are you looking at me? I absolutely refuse to do something like cannibalism!"

"Uh, this is just a corpse. Strictly speaking, it's no longer a person."

Bai Yuze analyzed with a straight face.

"That's not the point of discussing whether the corpse is human or not! Don't put on such a serious, analytical expression in a situation like this, hey!"

Tuanzi's face turned bright red. Bai Yuze's behavior was undoubtedly schadenfreude and a twisted prank, though the reality was not quite what Tuanzi suspected.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore. This corpse is useful. Even if you wanted to eat it, I wouldn't let you!"

"Hmph! Who would want to eat it! Even if you begged me to, I wouldn't!"

Tuanzi turned her head away in anger, her cheeks puffed out, looking exactly like an angry pufferfish.

"You said it still has a use?"

Compared to Tuanzi's anger, Yukino was focused on the utility Bai Yuze had mentioned.

"That's right. The creature that knocked on the door last night was very afraid of this corpse, or perhaps it was afraid of this scalpel. Therefore, as long as this corpse and the scalpel are here, we won't be in danger for the time being."

Bai Yuze could only guarantee that they were in a safe state for the short term. After all, no one could predict what would happen in the future. Right now, they were like people carrying a small lantern, groping their way forward step by step. As for when they would reach the end...

Man proposes, God disposes.