I Am Yang Peng

[Long after I made contact with it, I discovered that it possesses its own consciousness, though it is limited to the level of a child; therefore, one only needs to treat it in the way one would treat a child.]

[A child's nature is simple; they remember both likes and dislikes for a long time, but it is very easy for their feelings toward someone to shift—for example... with a piece of candy.] (The text was deliberately scribbled over with a colored marker.)

[The words of the front desk are absolutely correct, provided that the answer you obtain was acquired at the cost of some price.]

[Please be sure to find a way to escape within three weeks. If that proves impossible, remember... that will be of help to your next...]

[There are only seven rooms on the second and third floors; only the first floor has eight. The extra room is for the front desk to reside in, which means you can only stay on each floor for one week.]

[The residence does not provide fresh meat. Please resist the desires within your heart and do not take that forbidden step.]

[The above is the content I wish to convey. Keep these in mind; they will allow you to live a little longer. There are some things I cannot state explicitly; whether you can understand them depends entirely on you.]

Bai Yuze looked at the new prompt and reached into his pocket to pull out the small note from before.

(Is this what "Do not swallow a lifetime of sweetness in one gulp" means?)

At this moment, Bai Yuze also noticed that the milk candy in his pocket was gone, and he felt extremely fortunate that he hadn't eaten it.

Speaking of "eating," Bai Yuze realized he hadn't eaten anything for two days, which led to a question: everyone had their own role to play—Yamauchi Haruki was "food," Yukinoshita Yukino and Tuanzi were "victims"—so what was his role?

He pulled up the sleeve of his left arm; those three shocking knife marks still remained on his wrist.

(Could I be a victim as well? Is that why I don't feel hunger? But shouldn't I be the same as that corpse?)

Thinking of this, Bai Yuze looked at the male corpse in the room. Because Bai Yuze was injured, the two women had moved him onto the bed and shifted the corpse down.

[Death is a release, but anger will continue on.]

Bai Yuze suddenly thought of this prompt, and combined with the three knife marks on his wrist, he had a bold idea.

Perhaps he had long been participating in this "game," but for some reason, he had forgotten. Yang Peng said, "Find an escape route within three weeks; if you can't, then..." At first, Bai Yuze hadn't understood, but now he did: Yang Peng was telling him to leave behind marks, notes, and something else that could store his experiences...

But Yang Peng had mentioned that leaving behind diary entries or hints would be altered by it, and Yang Peng himself had only escaped after going through many loops. This was evident from Yang Peng saying, "I feel like I know it," and the loops were slowly grinding away the players' memories; Yang Peng had also mentioned more than once in the prompts that "my memory is getting worse and worse."

(But what is the memory I left behind?)

Bai Yuze fell silent. He knew himself; since he knew that leaving blatant hints would result in them being altered, he would never take such a risk.

Suddenly, he thought of a method, and that was—a life review!

"So... death represents breaking free from this loop, but the 'anger' will carry my 'memories' forward!"

Bai Yuze had figured it out! But Tuanzi was baffled by his strange behavior; she waved a hand in front of Bai Yuze and asked.

"Xiao Ze, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No! I feel great! Tuanzi, can you give me a knife?"

"A knife? What do you need a knife for?"

Although Tuanzi was puzzled, she still handed the scalpel to Bai Yuze.

After taking the scalpel, Bai Yuze gave Tuanzi a faint smile and then spoke.

"Thank you, Tuanzi. If I have the chance to get out, I will definitely pursue you—and of course, Yukino too!"

Tuanzi was shocked. She hadn't expected Bai Yuze to spout such wild words, claiming he wanted to pursue little Yukino and her. This couldn't help but make her worry that Bai Yuze's brain had been damaged from a hit.

But what shocked her even more was yet to come: after saying this, Bai Yuze didn't hesitate for a second. He gripped the scalpel and slashed hard at his own wrist.

Blood splattered instantly. This scene didn't just stun her; even Yukino, who had been about to switch into her sharp-tongued mode, was shocked.

If you want to start a harem, just think about it slowly! What's the point of cutting your wrists? You're going to commit suicide just because I didn't agree? You're insane, kid!

This was the shared thought of the two women.

But from Bai Yuze's perspective, the moment he cut his wrist, the whole world began to turn black, the room gradually crumbled, and he felt himself falling.

Then, he saw "himself"—or more accurately, the "past self."

In the scene, Bai Yuze was the same as when he first arrived. In the first week of the first loop, he explored the entire first floor. In the second week, a newcomer arrived: Yuigahama Yui. After Bai Yuze calmed her down, he invited her to go to the second floor together, but both were killed by the "monster" on the second floor.

In the second loop, he arrived with Yuigahama Yui. He still had no memory, but through his subconscious, the buffs from Gui Dan, and Yang Peng's hints, he cleared the second floor. In the second week of the second loop, Yukinoshita Yukino arrived, and the three headed to the third floor, but "it" suddenly split into two, blocking the stairwell and trapping the three of them to death.

In the third loop, Yamauchi Haruki was added, and this time they were almost killed by him. Therefore, on the way to the third floor, the three of them made Yamauchi Haruki scout the path. At the cost of sacrificing Yamauchi Haruki, they cleared the third floor, but the loop still didn't end. They didn't find the fourth floor, nor did they find a way out, and at the same time, Yang Peng's hints were completely corrupted by the anomaly.

All players: game over.

The fourth loop was the one just now.

The scene ended, and memories flooded in like a tide. Although Bai Yuze felt mentally exhausted, his body felt completely light. He wanted to laugh, but he didn't know what to laugh at.

Regarding the fourth floor that hadn't been found in the first three loops, he had a guess: who said the fourth floor had to be above the third? The basement mentioned in the rules might be the fourth floor, and the way out was in the basement.

But what made Bai Yuze somewhat depressed was how he could preserve these memories, and how he could reach the basement.

At this moment, Bai Yuze discovered he could move normally; he could walk to any place. He realized his loop hadn't ended yet, and Bai Yuze decided he had to do something to help his "future self."

And so... he snuck into the front desk's room, took some paper and a marker from there, and recorded the rules and hidden dangers he had seen. He placed them in different locations. After finishing this, Bai Yuze suddenly thought of something, so he added a few more lines to the note.

[Hello, dear player, I am Yang Peng.]