The True First Floor

"Heh, it's truly heaven-defying for this guy to be possessed by a ghost, but a dead Yamauchi Haruki feels even more useful than a living one."

Bai Yuze dragged the corpse of Yamauchi Haruki, head and all, down the stairs. Just as he reached the first floor, that long-limbed monster appeared once again.

It let out a roar at Bai Yuze and rushed toward his direction in a hurry.

Bai Yuze didn't panic in the slightest; he casually tossed Yamauchi Haruki's head away.

Upon seeing the head, the monster turned its attention away and chased after it instead.

Taking this opportunity, Bai Yuze ducked into room 104.

"Sigh, time to rest for a bit. Yukino and Tuanzi have likely entered the basement. Once the time is right, I'll go ask the front desk if there's a way to enter the basement."

The only thing Bai Yuze could use to confirm the time was that clock, but it had been left behind in room 102. With monsters outside, he couldn't leave just yet; he would have to rely on his intuition or wait for the moment the monster left to return to room 102.

What Bai Yuze didn't know was that the male corpse in room 102 had regained the ability to move. It touched its own neck, first wearing a look of confusion, and then its entire body merged into the floorboards and vanished...

"Xiaoxue, I think I see the way out you mentioned!"

"Mm, I see it too, Yuigahama-san."

Both of them silently focused on the exit in their minds, and just as they had guessed, the moment they confirmed their goal, a glowing point appeared within their field of vision.

"Then let's get moving right now!"

Yuigahama Yui was somewhat excited, but she had only taken two steps before Yukino grabbed her hand.

"Don't be hasty. Let's search this room carefully for any clues first. After all, Bai-kun hasn't been to this place; if we're going to leave, we should bring back something of value."

"Oh, right! As expected of Xiaoxue!"

Yuigahama Yui had a sudden realization. Her attention had been entirely focused on the exit, causing her to overlook the fact that they were in an unknown place that might contain unknown clues.

"No time to lose. You brought your phone, right? Turn on the flashlight."

"Okay."

Yuigahama Yui turned on her phone's flashlight. The battery was now at thirty percent, enough to last for a while.

"Found it!"

Yukino pulled a slip of paper out from the bed. Due to the dampness, the paper was quite wrinkled.

[Hello, do you still remember me? I am Yang Peng. It's been a long time. I don't know if I should feel happy or sad for you finding this note here.]

[As you can see, the environment here is damp. The floors and walls are covered in moss, and the ceiling in the hallway leaks from time to time. That's right, just as you thought: this is the real first floor.]

[The rules were modified by it... No, to be precise, my own subjective consciousness is what doomed me. After all, the rules described the situation on the first floor, but they didn't say that the place where I woke up was the first floor.]

[If this is your first time coming to this place, then I am glad; you still have a chance to make up for this mistake.]

[You need to constantly suggest to yourself that you must find the exit. After a while, you will be able to vaguely see the location of the exit, but please don't be happy too soon—the environment here is even more treacherous than the one above.]

[1. You had best move forward in the dark. You can see where the exit is anyway, so even if you accidentally trip, do not speak. Turn off all lighting facilities so you won't attract their attention.]

[2. If you accidentally bump into them, please ignore them. Do not pay them any mind; more trouble is worse than less. Keep your attitude clear.]

[3. Once you set off, do not look back. This is your only chance.]

[4. The scalpel in the male corpse on the second floor is a seal. Please do not pull it out without authorization; it will chase you to the ends of the earth.] Red text (A lesson learned in blood)

[5. Stay quiet. Do not shout or scream.]

[6. The ceiling leaks. Do not make direct contact with that water. Those droplets falling on... will... please... then...] <Text that looks like it was written with all one's might> (Utilize all items)

[7. Those who come out of the basement will not be welcomed by the residents, including the front desk.]

"Tch, this is troublesome. If it's really as Yang Peng said, then we are currently on the first floor, while Bai-kun is on the second."

"So when they said the second-floor residents have a bad temper, were they talking about us? Though, killing ghosts on sight is indeed a bit short-tempered..."

Yuigahama Yui finally cleared her thoughts. No wonder the hints always mentioned poor soundproofing and the bad temper of the second-floor residents; it turned out they were referring to the group of them.

"Fortunately, this is our first time here, so we still have a chance to escape." Yukino patted her chest. "But we must pay attention to the leaking ceiling. These words were scribbled out, so it seems best not to make direct contact with the water."

"Then what do we do? We have to move in the dark, but we can't let the water drip on us—this is just making things difficult!"

Yuigahama Yui lay on the bed in a state of resignation, but after lying there for a moment, she suddenly sat up.

"Hey! I have a plan!"

"Is this reliable?"

Yukino looked at the bedsheet in Yuigahama Yui's hands and asked with some concern.

"This is the best water-avoidance measure we have. Conditions are limited, so let's rehearse, Xiaoxue!"

Following that, Yuigahama Yui wrapped herself in the bedsheet and ran toward Yukino, opening her arms to wrap Yukino inside as well.

"Ugh, Yuigahama-san, it's a bit cramped."

"Can't be helped, Xiaoxue, just make do with it. Now we need to train our coordination."

The distance between the two was extremely close, basically body-to-body. In this situation, if one person tripped, the other would inevitably fall as well.

After rehearsing a few times, the muffled voice of Yuigahama Yui sounded from within the bedsheet.

"How is it? Xiaoxue, are you ready?"

"Come on, we only have this one chance."

Yukino took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, ensuring she could remain in her best state.

"Mm! Let's go!"

Yuigahama Yui pushed open the door to the room, then she wrapped her arms around Yukino and headed out.

Although both of them could see the location of the exit whether their eyes were open or closed, they couldn't help but feel miserable due to the sheer number of obstacles in front of them.

On top of that, their shoes stepping into small puddles added a double torment to both their bodies and minds.

The two remained silent; this silence was now a testament to their mutual understanding and trust.

Just then, both of them simultaneously heard the sounds of children.

The voices were laughing, and the vibrations in the floor indicated that something was truly wandering around the two girls!

They could hear each other's heartbeats and breathing; Yukino lightly tapped the back of Yuigahama Yui's hand with her finger, signaling to continue moving forward.

At this moment... a loud, intense splashing sound rang out...