Come Visit My Home

"Alright, we need to hurry and keep up. It'll be trouble if we fall behind."

Yukino offered a faint smile, even giving Tuanzi a wink.

Tuanzi was stunned to see such a cheerful Yukino.

Has even Xiaoxue grown to this extent? I... really am pathetic.

A small spark ignited within Tuanzi's heart; though small, it already showed signs of illuminating her entire soul.

Perhaps with a little more fuel, this spark would turn into a raging inferno, consuming every obstacle in its path.

Tuanzi patted her cheeks, gathered her courage, and followed the other two.

The trio reached the stairwell, and Bai Yuze fell into deep thought as he examined the viscous liquid coating the steps.

"Did you find something?"

Yukino brushed her hair back and leaned over to inspect the stairs.

"Yes, the slime on these steps has become even thicker. If we stepped on it, our shoes would probably get stuck."

Bai Yuze reached out and touched the slime; its consistency was no less sticky than throat-clogging maltose.

"So how are we supposed to get past? And how did that thing even manage to move through this?"

Yukino was shocked by the human instinct for survival; running on stairs with this level of viscosity was simply superhuman!

"How about I carry you two across?"

Bai Yuze didn't really care about his own shoes—he could just run barefoot—but Yukino and Tuanzi's feet wouldn't be able to handle direct contact with the floor.

Yukino took a few steps back, instantly switching to a look of disgust.

"Oh? Is Hentai-kun intentionally luring us here? Is this just to take advantage of us? It looks like you might have even woken that thing up on purpose, just to lay your hands on two weak women. Hentai-kun really is an irredeemable piece of trash, isn't he~"

"Go away, go away! Where do you come up with such weird names? If you don't want to, forget it. I was worried about my back hurting anyway!"

"You!"

Yukino flushed with anger, but before she could lash out, Tuanzi hurriedly smoothed things over.

"Ahaha, why don't I carry Xiaoxue instead? You just lead the way, Xiaoze."

Tuanzi came up with a compromise. After all, the stairs were too sticky, and if something happened suddenly, the best-case scenario while carrying someone would be not ending up crippled.

Therefore, Bai Yuze leading the way with the Zhenxie Guiqi was the optimal solution. Since Yukino lacked the stamina, she naturally couldn't be the one to carry Tuanzi.

Of course... there was no fear of anyone feeling inferior, absolutely none.

After discussing for a while, the three finally agreed to Tuanzi's proposal.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Yuigahama-san."

Yukino apologized to Yuigahama Yui while on her back. There was no helping it; her stamina was too poor. Asking her to carry Yuigahama Yui through the sticky stairwell was nothing but a pipe dream.

"It's fine, it's fine! Xiaoxue is so light, I'm not tired at all."

Tuanzi chuckled as she comforted Yukino, though she secretly agreed with Bai Yuze's earlier point.

Yukino... is really a bit bony...!

"You two don't need to walk so fast. These stairs have changed; who knows what kind of small fry might pop up."

Bai Yuze took the lead, clutching his kitchen knife like a general facing an army of thousands, occasionally looking back to reassure his soldiers.

Sure enough, just as Bai Yuze finished speaking, tentacles suddenly emerged from the steps, gradually closing in on the three.

"An attack!"

Bai Yuze swung his knife, the blade humming as it sliced through the tentacles, cutting down a whole patch in one go.

Yukino, riding on Tuanzi's back, also brandished her scalpel. Although she could precisely kill every tentacle, the sheer number was overwhelming, and she struggled to keep up.

Fortunately, Bai Yuze noticed their crisis and did his best to clear the path for them, moving upward step by step.

Tuanzi also tried her best to keep her balance and stay upright.

"Almost there! One step... two steps... three steps..."

Due to her nervousness, Tuanzi subconsciously counted down the steps in her heart, and this was Bai Yuze's oversight.

He had only considered that people are more likely to do what they are told not to, but he hadn't realized that when people are tense, suppressed, and in danger, they will unconsciously count down to the end of their suffering...

Suddenly, a pair of massive tentacles lunged at the three, startling Tuanzi and Yukino. Bai Yuze, however, acted as if he didn't see the giant tentacles at all.

Tuanzi, overwhelmed by fear, lost her footing. It wasn't until the tentacles passed through Bai Yuze's body that she realized it wasn't real—it was an illusion...

The two women felt their bodies plummeting, as if there were no end.

"Tuanzi! Yukino!"

Bai Yuze shouted in panic as he watched the two women pass straight through the stairwell.

But no matter how he called out, there was no response from the two, both of them falling into the abyss...

"Damn it! I'll fight you all to the death!"

Bai Yuze roared, swinging his kitchen knife with immense force. Even after severing the tentacles attacking him, the momentum of the blade carried it downward.

Clang!

The kitchen knife struck the staircase, and that maltose-like liquid vanished in an instant.

"So that's how it is... I should have realized it sooner! The slime in this stairwell counts as a type of anomaly; I really should have thought of that!"

Bai Yuze scratched his hair in frustration, though no amount of regret could change the situation now.

Therefore, he had no choice but to continue moving forward...

Yukino gradually regained consciousness, hearing the sound of rhythmic dripping.

"Where am I? That's right! What about Yuigahama-san!"

After snapping back to reality, she hurriedly searched for the figure of Yuigahama Yui, only to realize upon turning her head that Yuigahama Yui was lying right beside her.

Seeing that Yuigahama Yui had not gone missing, Yukino let out a sigh of relief; she called out Yuigahama Yui's name and reached out to nudge her body.

"She passed out?"

Seeing no signs of Yuigahama Yui waking up, Yukino hurriedly pressed her thumb into the philtrum of Yuigahama Yui.

"Mmm...? Yeah... I know... I'll get up in a bit... Mom... let me sleep a little longer~"

Yuigahama Yui's voice was sluggish and lazy.

No... calling her Tuanzi now would be even more fitting.

Upon hearing Tuanzi's sleepy mutterings, the stone in Yukino's heart finally fell to the ground.

She couldn't help but smile as she called out.

"Yuigahama-san, it's time to wake up. Now isn't the time for sleeping; Hentai-kun will be worried if he can't find us."

"Hmm?"

Tuanzi sat up and rubbed her eyes, staring blankly for a moment after seeing Yukino.

"Eh? Xiaoxue, are you visiting my house?"

Watching Tuanzi's dazed expression, Yukino smiled.

"If we can make it out of here, I will definitely pay you a formal and grand visit in person."