Come Visit My House

"Alright, we need to catch up quickly. We'll be in trouble if we fall behind."

Yukino smiled faintly and even winked at Tuanzi.

Tuanzi stared at the cheerful Yukino in surprise.

"Even Xiaoxue has grown this much? I... really am ridiculous."

A tiny flame sparked in Tuanzi's heart. It wasn't big, but it already showed signs of lighting up her whole heart.

Perhaps if she added some more fuel, that little flame would become a raging inferno and consume every obstacle in its path.

Tuanzi patted her cheeks and worked up her courage before hurrying after the other two.

The three of them had reached the stairwell. Bai Yuze looked at the viscous liquid on the steps and fell into thought.

"Did you find anything?"

Yukino brushed back her hair and bent down to inspect the stairs.

"I did. There's more slime on the steps now. If we step in it, our shoes might get stuck."

Bai Yuze reached out and touched the slime. It was as thick as the malt syrup that stuck in your throat.

"Then how are we supposed to get across? And how did that thing get through?"

Yukino was amazed by how badly people wanted to survive. Running on stairs this sticky was practically superhuman!

"How about I carry you both across?"

Bai Yuze didn't care much about his shoes. He could always run barefoot. But Yukino and Tuanzi couldn't stand having their feet directly on the floor.

Yukino took a few steps back, her expression instantly turning disdainful.

"Oh? Did Hentai-kun lure us here on purpose so he could take advantage of us? Maybe you even woke that thing up on purpose, hoping to prey on two helpless girls. Hentai-kun really is the absolute worst~"

"Give it a rest! Why do you keep coming up with weird names for me? If you don't want me to carry you, fine. I'm not exactly eager to have you on my back!"

"You!"

Yukino was starting to get worked up, but before she could blow up, Tuanzi hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Ahaha, why don't I carry Xiaoxue? Xiaozé, you can just lead the way."

Tuanzi had come up with a compromise. The stairs were too sticky, and if something suddenly happened up ahead, carrying someone while moving forward could easily end with them seriously injured.

So the best option was for Bai Yuze to lead the way with the Zhenxie Guiqi in hand while Tuanzi carried Yukino. Yukino wasn't very strong, so she couldn't be the one carrying Tuanzi.

Of course... it wasn't because she was worried someone might feel self-conscious. Absolutely not.

After discussing it for a while, the three of them finally agreed to Tuanzi's suggestion.

"Sorry for the trouble, Yuigahama."

Yukino apologized to Yuigahama Yui from her back. There was no helping it—she was so weak that carrying Yuigahama Yui across the sticky stairs was simply out of the question.

"It's fine, it's fine. Xiaoxue's so light, it's no trouble at all."

Tuanzi cheerfully reassured Yukino, though she did agree with Bai Yuze.

Yukino... was a little bony...!

"You two don't need to hurry. These stairs have changed, so who knows what kind of minions might show up."

Bai Yuze led the way, holding the kitchen knife as if he were a general facing an army of thousands. Every so often, he even glanced back to reassure his troops.

Sure enough, just after Bai Yuze finished speaking, tentacles suddenly appeared on the steps and began creeping toward the three of them.

"We're under attack!"

Bai Yuze struck with a swift swing. The kitchen knife rang out as it sliced through the tentacles, cutting down a whole swath at once.

Yukino also swung her Scalpel from Tuanzi's back. She could kill each tentacle with precision, but there were simply too many of them, and she was struggling to keep up.

Fortunately, Bai Yuze noticed their predicament. He did his best to clear the tentacles coming at them as he advanced step by step.

Tuanzi did her best to keep her balance and not topple over.

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

Tuanzi was so nervous that she unconsciously counted down the steps in her mind. This was also where Bai Yuze had slipped up.

He'd only thought that the more people heard they shouldn't do something, the more likely they were to do it. He hadn't considered that when people were tense and in danger, they might unconsciously count down the moments until their ordeal was over...

Suddenly, a pair of enormous tentacles lunged at the three of them, startling Tuanzi and Yukino. Bai Yuze acted as if he hadn't even seen the massive tentacles.

Tuanzi was so startled that she lost her balance. Only when the tentacle passed through Bai Yuze's body did she realize it wasn't real—it was an illusion...

The two girls felt their bodies plummet, as if they were falling into an endless abyss.

"Tuanzi! Yukino!"

Bai Yuze saw the two girls fall straight through the stairwell and shouted in alarm.

But no matter how much he yelled, neither of them answered. They continued falling into the abyss...

"Fuck! I'll fight you bastards!"

Bai Yuze roared and swung the kitchen knife with all his might. Even after it cut through the tentacles rushing at him, the knife's momentum carried it toward the steps below.

Clang!

The knife struck a step, and the liquid as sticky as malt syrup vanished in an instant.

"So that's how it is... I should've realized! The slime in this stairwell counts as an apparition too. I should've known!"

Bai Yuze irritably raked a hand through his hair. There was no use regretting it now.

So he could only keep moving forward...

Yukino gradually woke up. She heard the sound of water dripping.

"Where am I? Right! Where's Yuigahama?"

Once she came to her senses, she hurriedly looked for Yuigahama Yui. When she turned her head, she saw Yuigahama Yui lying beside her.

Seeing that Yuigahama Yui hadn't disappeared, Yukino breathed a sigh of relief. She called Yuigahama Yui's name and reached out to shake her.

"Did she pass out?"

When Yuigahama Yui showed no signs of waking, Yukino quickly pressed her thumb against the philtrum beneath Yuigahama Yui's nose.

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

Tuanzi's voice was drowsy.

No... it was more fitting to call her Tuanzi now.

Hearing Tuanzi's sleepy mumbling, Yukino felt the weight lift from her heart.

She couldn't help smiling as she called out to her.

"Yuigahama, it's time to get up. This isn't the time to sleep. Hentai-kun will be worried if he can't find us."

"Mm?"

Tuanzi sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she saw Yukino, she stared blankly for a moment.

"Huh? Xiaoxue, did you come over to my house?"

Looking at Tuanzi's dazed expression, Yukino smiled.

"If we manage to get out of here, I'll be sure to pay you a proper, formal visit."