Open-Book Test!

"Hahaha! Interesting!"

Bai Yuze clapped his hands and laughed, finally understanding Yukino's little train of thought.

"What? You should believe me by now, right? If you still don't, you can go and see for yourself whether what I said is true or false."

"You... you didn't take advantage of us being unconscious to lift our clothes, did you..."

Yukino remained stubborn, wanting to deny Bai Yuze's claim, but she didn't even believe her own words. Her clothes were neat, and besides, wouldn't having her body seen be far more terrifying than arriving in this bizarre world?

"Oh? I'm not that bored. You were the ones who showed me; our relationship is quite intimate, after all!"

Seeing Yukino's tsundere and stubborn appearance, Bai Yuze felt the urge to tease her.

"Intimate? How intimate?"

"Ahem, your panties are..."

"Stop! Don't say another word! I believe you!"

Bai Yuze's words were the final straw for Yukino. She should have realized it sooner; since he knew their situation so well, their relationship was self-evident.

To think she would meet the guy who had already seen her body here—it was truly a misfortune within a stroke of luck... as if!!!

Watching Yukino on the verge of a breakdown, Bai Yuze knew he had played it too hard, but there was no other way.

Yukino was reluctant to believe him, which made the escape plan difficult to execute. Therefore, he had to guide her step by step, letting her mistakenly believe they had that kind of relationship to earn her trust.

As for the color of her panties... Bai Yuze had no idea; he was just pretending.

After all, since he knew everything about their situation, the loop must be real!

Tuanzi also blushed upon hearing Bai Yuze's words. She hadn't expected her past-loop self to be so open, giving herself away right here... though Tuanzi was quite satisfied with Bai Yuze's looks.

Tuanzi trusted her own judgment. Since she had chosen Bai Yuze before, she would just go with the flow.

It was just that sharing one man with Yukino... was still hard to accept... no one wanted to share the things they loved.

"Bai Yu-kun!"

"Hm?"

"Please take care of me from now on!"

Seeing Tuanzi's solemn expression, Bai Yuze quickly explained.

"You guys have it all wrong, we haven't reached that stage yet!"

"Really?"

Yukino's eyes ignited with hope.

"Yeah! Really! I just looked at your panties, that's all!"

"...Go to hell!!!"

For the sake of team consolidation, Bai Yuze chose to tell a small lie to cover a big one, but one lie requires countless others to fill the gaps, and eventually, they become reality!

"Then what are your plans now?"

Since she had chosen to believe Bai Yuze, escaping this house was the only thing that mattered.

"This house has four floors in total. I haven't found the way out in previous loops, so I suspect the exit is in the basement. However, I haven't figured out how to get in yet."

"Then are we still going to the second and third floors?"

"Yes! We need the items there. Oh, right, we haven't taken the clock in the hallway yet."

Bai Yuze slapped his forehead and hurried out, remembering everything that had happened in the last loop clearly.

He walked up to the clock and, without a word, turned the time to nine o'clock.

Afterward, he ran back to 102 to announce.

"It's currently nighttime outside. We need to return to our respective rooms to rest. We can only come out when it's morning outside."

"Ah? You mean I have to stay in a room with this corpse? I don't want that!"

Tuanzi looked reluctant, to which Bai Yuze comforted her.

"There's no other way, the first night is always like this. But I promise you, you only have to spend one night with it! Remember! No matter what happens, do not panic."

"...Alright then..."

Although Tuanzi was extremely unwilling, she made a concession for the sake of the team's safety, though the young girl's concession also contained a little hidden agenda.

"Okay, goodnight. Remember to watch the time; just come find us at seven in the morning."

Bai Yuze shoved the scalpel back into the male corpse's neck, said goodnight to Tuanzi, and returned to 104 with Yukino.

Almost the moment they entered the room, all the lights in the hallway went out.

"Too many loops, has something changed?"

Bai Yuze muttered to himself. He gestured for Yukino to be quiet, then sat on the floor against the wall and closed his eyes to rest.

Yukino also crouched in a corner. With nothing to do, she could only stare at the clock beside Bai Yuze, watching the second hand move.

Before long, a knocking sound echoed at the door, and at the same time, the crying voice of "Tuanzi" rang out from outside.

Because Bai Yuze had explained the situation beforehand, Yukino in the room did not show any surprise, nor did she react with panic or confusion.

Yukino kept her eyes tightly shut, attempting to distract herself so she wouldn't focus so much on the commotion outside the door.

Meanwhile, Bai Yuze was calculating in his mind whether his current behavior counted as "reading a walkthrough in advance" or "taking an open-book test."

Time passed quickly, and just as before, the wooden door of room 104 was kicked open with a bang, and Tuanzi tearfully wailed to Yukino about what she had seen.

"You two stay here; I'm going to find the receptionist."

Seeing Tuanzi's tearful state, Bai Yuze felt helpless. After all, this required a process of acceptance; theory is ultimately just theory, and no matter how well it is explained, it will eventually crumble in the face of reality.

Bai Yuze patted Tuanzi on the head to comfort her, then walked out of the room without looking back.

Walking up to room 108, Bai Yuze knocked on the door, and after hearing some movement from inside, he took two steps back.

Before long, the wooden door of 108 opened. The receptionist was still wearing that strange outfit, and their voice remained low and muffled.

"Something you need?"

"The room is a bit dirty, and I'd like to find some tools to clean it."

"The cleaning tools are in 107. Let me find the key for you."

After rummaging through the key rack, the receptionist picked out a key and handed it toward Bai Yuze, but Bai Yuze did not take it.

"Receptionist, I'm a rather lazy person. I suddenly don't feel like cleaning the room anymore. Could you change my room?"

"Changing rooms now? Why didn't you say so when you arrived?"

The receptionist's voice was dull, making it impossible to discern any emotion, but Bai Yuze knew that if they didn't refuse, there was room for negotiation.

"Who could have guessed the hygiene in the first-floor rooms would be so poor? Plus, there are people pulling pranks in the middle of the night, keeping me from sleeping."

"Hmm... people really should get more rest. I can give you a key to the second floor, but the original residents up there have bad tempers. I need to test whether your brain is functioning normally."

"What kind of test?"

Bai Yuze was a bit puzzled. How had the receptionist turned into a riddle-monger? Although, given the way this guy dressed, he already looked like a riddle...

"I will ask you one question. If you answer correctly, I will give you the key to the second floor."

"And what if I answer incorrectly?"

"Simple. Leave an arm behind as an apology. That way, when you inevitably get into a conflict with the guys upstairs, I can use it to save you!"