The Ordeal

Bai Yuze saw that Yamauchi Haruki had been struggling for ages without managing to do it, so he walked behind him and gave him a hard slap on the back.

Hurk!

Yamauchi Haruki vomited everything up. Since he was holding the can, he instinctively threw up into it.

Afterward, Yamauchi Haruki felt much better, but then he suddenly froze.

He stared at the can in his hands, unable to believe what had happened, then slowly raised his head to look at Bai Yuze. A final glimmer of hope showed in his eyes.

Bai Yuze understood what Yamauchi Haruki meant. He sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

"If you really can't do it, then don't eat it. I can't bear to watch anymore. It's just a finger. If he wants it, let him have it!"

Yamauchi Haruki's last glimmer of hope vanished. Since he had thrown up, he not only had to eat the vomit again, but also swallow the grease mixed in with it.

Yamauchi Haruki wished he could slap himself. Why hadn't he thrown up on the floor? Why had he eaten so fast? It wasn't as though anyone was competing with him!

Yamauchi moved his lips, wanting to say something.

Seeing this, Bai Yuze asked,

"What do you want to say?"

"...The can... tastes a little... sour..."

"...Let's go. Give Yamauchi some privacy. We're disturbing his meal..."

"I can't take it anymore! Hurk!"

Tuanzi covered her mouth and ran out. Her reaction set off a domino effect: Yukino covered her mouth and ran out after her, and when Bai Yuze thought he caught a whiff of the sour human-flesh smell Yamauchi had described, he hurried out too.

Yamauchi Haruki had it worst. The other three had all felt like throwing up, and that triggered a chain reaction in Yamauchi Haruki, who had just vomited.

Hurk!

Yamauchi Haruki: ...

Yamauchi Haruki's wish had come true: he had thrown up on the floor. Now he had to eat not only what was left in the can, but also the dusty, excrement-like mess on the ground...

The world where Yamauchi was the only one who suffered the most had been realized...

Room 102.

"That was so disgusting. Did Yamauchi do something to offend the heavens?"

It took Tuanzi a long time to recover from her nausea. Yukino wore a cold expression, while Bai Yuze remained silent.

The three of them were like bombs on the verge of exploding. For now, they had somehow reached a stable equilibrium. One careless touch to the fuse, and all three would go off at once!

Hurk!

The soundproofing was so poor that the three of them could still hear Yamauchi Haruki vomiting in Room 106 from Room 102.

"Ugh... Hurk!"

"Urgh... Hurk!"

"Ah... burp!"

Tuanzi: ???

Yukino: ???

The two girls stared at Bai Yuze in disbelief. Seriously, man, we were vomiting, and you were over there letting out a satisfied burp? Wasn't that a little inappropriate?

"Sorry. I burp when I'm nervous, and what's making me nervous is that I really can smell the 'sour' odor Yamauchi Haruki mentioned."

Bai Yuze analyzed the situation with a straight face, but neither girl answered. They didn't even react.

Bai Yuze looked at their faces and saw that both were clenching their teeth, their expressions taut.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought up what everyone was trying not to think about."

After a while, the two girls finally recovered.

"Are you seriously not afraid of something like that?"

Yukino looked at Bai Yuze speechlessly.

"Huh? I'm fine."

Bai Yuze scratched his head. Yamauchi Haruki's stunt wouldn't even have made the rankings back in the early days of QQ video. Bai Yuze would never forget the blurry image quality, the sudden jump scares, and the "beheading in the literal sense" video quality.

"What use is he? Did you bring us here just to watch this 'great show'?"

Yukino looked at Bai Yuze with disdain. Instead of answering her, Bai Yuze asked her,

"What's your assessment of Yamauchi Haruki?"

"Ha. He thinks way too highly of himself. He's got lust but no guts, and he might be the kind of creature that thinks with his lower half. He can't get anything done and only makes things worse. Other than serving as cannon fodder to step on the land mines, I can't think of any use for him."

The moment Yukino saw Yamauchi Haruki, she had already formed an impression of him.

Yamauchi Haruki's distraught words, the dark circles under his eyes, and his drowsiness all pointed to someone with bad habits.

Even when his own life was in danger, he hadn't forgotten to sneak glances at her and Yuigahama Yui. That showed he was extremely unstable and might well let his lower half control his brain.

People like that usually thought far too highly of themselves, believing they were incredibly impressive when, in reality, they were only good at bragging.

"If he weren't from my school, I'd think you two knew each other. That was a good analysis, and you even guessed my plan."

Bai Yuze didn't hold back his praise. It seemed that in extreme circumstances, people's ability to adapt could help them grow.

"You're planning to use him as a shield? I don't think that's a good idea."

Yukino rejected Bai Yuze's plan outright. Bai Yuze couldn't help feeling surprised. Was Yukino actually someone who respected all life, despite how much she seemed to dislike Yamauchi Haruki?

"You're not thinking I'm some great person who respects other people's lives, are you? Don't flatter me.

"I don't think it's a good idea because Yamauchi Haruki is emotionally unstable. If the supernatural thing recruits him to come after us, we'll be in danger. And if he holds a grudge and sabotages us, that'll be bad for us too."

"Now I feel like waking him up was completely pointless. Someone like him should've just kept sleeping until he never woke up again."

"Haha, what choice did I have? I couldn't let you two test the rules, could I? For me, testing them is one thing. I wouldn't hesitate to die if I had to. But if either of you got hurt, it'd weigh on me."

"Ugh! Stay away from me. Don't think you can make me develop feelings for you with such tacky words. You're just making me cringe! Right, Mr. Majiao?"

"Exactly! Xiaoze, you're so bad, flirting in broad daylight."

"Ha. If I were a lecher, you'd be the first one I'd devour."

After scaring Tuanzi, Bai Yuze was in a great mood, but then he suddenly thought of a serious problem.

That was... messing with an idiot... was illegal!

"Xiaoze, what's with that look? You're acting weird!"

Tuanzi noticed Bai Yuze looking at her strangely. The stare made her uncomfortable, but it wasn't full of lechery or desire.

It was more like a mixture of pity and a meaningful look that said, "So that's how it is!"

"Nothing. Just remember one thing: with all those traits stacked on you, you're practically invincible!"