Chapter 81
"Read your books carefully and finish those books you've been wanting to read. What about you, Miss Rabbit?"
"I guess I'll have to outwit and outmaneuver a pig-headed idiot."
A burst of laughter erupted in the elevator, only to abruptly cease a few seconds later with the electronic announcement, "We've arrived at the second floor."
It seems that players with normal mental states can distinguish when to be tense and when to be relaxed.
The heavy atmosphere dissipated as the elevator doors opened, Yuki, holding a sword in one hand, stood at the forefront, taking a steady step forward.
Heading home on the journey.
Chapter Thirty-Two: The Terrifying Corridor (4K)
Five players, the last two floors—this is the end of the dungeon, and the beginning of the return journey.
Everyone, including Yuki, had mixed feelings, because both the end and the beginning were possible, and the final boss would definitely be powerful. No one was confident that they could get through it safely.
Then let's try our best and crush this game with our wisdom and courage.
Yuki's heart beat faster; at least he felt relatively relaxed taking this step, much easier than under the Bloodthirsty Red Moon.
Enemies are in front of you, comrades are behind you, and there's no need to exploit anyone; all you need to think about is how to survive and return home.
Curly-haired guy, you deserve to die!
Yuki stepped out of the elevator, his gaze sweeping back and forth. The layout here was different again, like an outpatient hall, except that there wasn't a single patient or medical staff in sight.
The door to the consultation room was open, and an unfinished medical record lay on the desk. The lights were bright, and the thick fog was not visible.
"Those panes of glass," Hiyori suddenly reminded him. Yuki glanced around again and indeed found that the outer side of the corridor was lined with large panes of glass.
It's impossible to send any more small fry; otherwise, I could throw them out the window and use spatial barriers to take them out—it would save time and effort.
It would be wishful thinking to think there was no danger. The group exchanged glances in the lobby.
"It seems it's learned its lesson; it won't attack unless it goes deep into the building."
"And then we still have to go."
"Let's finalize the battle plan first." Yuki paused briefly, then said slowly, "Our top priority is escaping the hospital; there's no need to fight that hospital director to the death."
No one objected; even if Tyrant wanted to kill his opponent to vent his anger, it had to be based on survival.
"But that's difficult; the nature of the copy has changed." Shiina Hiyori weakly raised her hand, and seeing Yuki nod, she explained, "A good story must have its own internal logic, and the same goes for this copy, just like the three elements you asked me about at the beginning."
Who is doing it? How is it being done? Why is it being done?
The answers to the first two questions have been revealed, and now only the reasons remain. Originally, it would have been meaningless to investigate the motives of the characters in the story, but as Hiyori said, the nature of the situation has changed.
Dean Fukawa personally took action to actively hunt players, which does not match any of the clues.
"You mean... it's not just the difficulty and strength that's inflated, but also the goals or ambitions?" Hayasaka Ai asked hesitantly.
"Yes, this dean created a tragic cycle, seemingly wanting to gain Transcendental Grade power, whether it's immortality or something else. Then it acquired the players' memories and abilities, especially Mr. Curly, who knows a lot. Could this lead to cognitive errors?"
The girl's tone was gentle, yet it weighed heavily on their hearts; Yuki had already been suspicious for a while.
Whether it's a thief or Jack, they can control the demon's body, amplify negative emotions, and become very difficult to deal with.
Philosophically speaking, is this the player or the demon?
Also, isn't it possible that Dean Fukawa, who has the head of more than one player inside him, will go insane?
A few seconds later, Yuki raised his hand to stop the conversation. Whether obtaining the player's memories would lead to consequences like The Truman Show, or whether it would mistakenly believe that it was also a player, it would have no impact on the outcome.
"Let's prepare for the worst; he won't let us leave."
"Then let's hurry up and take it down." The Tyrant slammed his fist into his hand, determined to let strength decide everything.
After exchanging a few more words, the group left the lobby in battle formation.
Yuki was in front, followed by Hayasaka Ai, with the weaker Shiina Hiyori and Mai Sakurajima in the middle, and the Tyrant bringing up the rear.
The team moved slowly, inspecting each open consultation room, their eyes darting around, constantly observing their surroundings.
There was nothing unusual. Moonlight streamed in through the window, draping the empty corridor in a silvery veil. It was late at night, and the streetlights in the garden outside could be seen shimmering.
The smell of disinfectant filled his nostrils as Yuki cleared the way, pondering several questions.
How do I know when I've left the hospital? Do I have to walk through the garden and climb over the wall?
Where did the boy with uneven eyes go? Why hasn't he shown up yet?
If someone has a curly-haired head installed, does that mean they're still considered a player? And Soil-Offering Contract still valid?
Dozens of hypotheses arose in my mind, and various conjectures went in different directions like lines.
No one spoke; the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Nothing happened along the way. There was no demon in sight, no sudden attack, and apart from a few flickering lights that made everyone tense, nothing else was amiss.
That's actually the most nerve-wracking thing, like waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Could that rubbing shadow be a demon? Tsk, it's just a flowerpot outside the window. This disinfectant smells so strong, is it some kind of hallucinogenic toxin? I need to pinch my arm.
After being suspicious for more than ten minutes, Yuki suddenly raised his hand.
Clatter.
The footsteps stopped in unison, some drawing guns, others knives, all wary of their surroundings. Mai Sakurajima turned her head this way and that, but could see nothing.
"What exactly happened?"
Look ahead.
Several people turned their gazes forward, then their eyes twitched slightly.
The corridor was long and stretched forward. The wall lamps looked like yellow grains of rice in the distance, with a visibility of about ten meters. Further away, mist swirled, and one could only see them by moving forward.
There were no terrifying demons, but the stairwell at the end of the corridor was nowhere to be seen.
Yuki immediately activated the Demon Eye, only to see a cold, pitch-black expanse, just like the 'Nine-Turned Intestine' he had seen in the monitoring room.
Wow, this is a different way of playing.
"Hiyori, how many meters are left?"
The girl had just looked at the evacuation plan and, after a quick estimate based on the scale, replied, "About 110 meters."
It's not far, so why can't I see the gate?
The players exchanged bewildered glances, genuinely surprised by this move.
"The Empty City Stratagem?"
"He can't be that stupid, can he? He should have been warned long ago and knew we couldn't afford to waste time."
"That's psychological warfare."
"That's possible, but don't forget that the lower the floor, the more he can do; he shouldn't be underestimated."
Everyone has experienced this before. If the fourth and fifth floors can be blocked by dolls, the third floor can block the gap between reality and the supernatural. Who knows what else the second floor can do?
What to do?
Yuki glanced at the digital clock, gritted his teeth, and realized that the game had calculated that players couldn't stop moving forward, and perhaps even guessed that weakening demons was some kind of Chaos Item.
"Charge forward, don't waste a single second."
No one objected to the rash suggestion; every player knew that in the Reincarnation Game, hesitation was the worst choice.
This opponent is clever, and they have home-field advantage and intelligence advantage, but now there's no time to slowly devise a countermeasure.
"Wait a moment."
The group had just taken two steps with all their might when Yuki, somewhat bewildered.
"Reckless as you may be, cowardly as you may be, Hayasaka, produce the Soil-Offering Contract." Yuki lowered his head, his face filled with a sinister smile.
"Let's take a gamble on it first."
Yuki the last to step into the black mist. Before entering, even though they were on the same floor, the Walkie-talkie signal was completely lost.
It was as if a black cloth had been drawn in front of him; he couldn't see Mai Sakurajima, who should have been half a meter away. He could only hear the sound of rapid footsteps and feel the soft touch in his hands.
Every step taken is into the unknown.
This situation is terrifying; it would be better to face a powerful demon directly. In addition, the texture underfoot is also problematic; it's soft and yielding, like stepping on the floor.
"Everyone be careful, something's strange in this corridor!" The Tyrant's voice rang out, sounding very tense.
Even the most skilled players would feel uneasy in the face of this dark environment. Mai Sakurajima widened her eyes and gripped Yuki so tightly that it hurt.
The fear in her heart magnified like a tsunami. If it weren't for Hayasaka Ai blocking her way, she would have ignored everything, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and sprinted across the hundred-meter-long corridor.
"Calm down, calm down, you're pinching me too hard. Are you that afraid of ghosts?" A man's voice came through, sounding strange, like he was speaking into a megaphone, yet reassuring.
"Aren't you afraid? By the way, what kind of hellish place is this?" The senior student had lost interest in arguing; she turned her head back and forth, but couldn't see anything.
As soon as she finished speaking, her beautiful eyes widened even more, because she couldn't hear Yuki's reply.
"Say something! You're usually so witty, aren't you?"
There was no answer, making her heart pound wildly. Mai Sakurajima strained as if using a hand grip strengthener, then raised her voice:
"Hey, you can act like a pig all you want now, I won't get angry. But if you dare to scare me on purpose, I'll definitely settle the score with you."
Mai Sakurajima's voice trembled slightly. Suddenly, she realized that not only could she not hear Yuki's reply, but she could also hear the footsteps and breathing around her. Then came the sensation of her handshake.
I felt like I'd been abandoned in a desert, and I couldn't help but want to scream.
Before she could even open her mouth and utter the loudest sound she had ever made, she stopped in her tracks.
A cold, slippery sensation permeated the hiking pants, clearly reaching the calves, and a chill ran from the calves all the way to the tips of the hair.
In the dark corridor, an invisible demon gripped her leg, turning the already soft floor into a swamp, dragging her towards a bottomless Abyss Grade.
In an instant, she flailed her arms wildly like a drowning person, but even though she should have been holding Yuki's hand, she couldn't feel anything.
Am I really going to die on the second floor like this?
The moment this thought emerged, it spread uncontrollably. My hands instinctively swung wildly, but the more I swung, the more pronounced the pulling sensation became.
My head felt like it was submerged in water; no matter how hard I tried, air couldn't get into my nostrils. My consciousness spread with the suffocation, my body sank, but my soul floated up lightly.
Death arrives.
The struggling hands began to fall, and a sense of relief and relaxation welled up within them. Just as the endless darkness was about to engulf their souls, the drowning sensation suddenly vanished.
Swish--
As she opened her mouth to breathe, her hearing returned, followed by the sensation of a sharp blade grazing her calf. Mai Sakurajima felt as if someone had grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her out of the mud.
Without a second thought, she instinctively turned around, clutching the straw tightly, like a moth drawn to a flame, and turned her face toward the pounding heartbeat.
That heartbeat, like the only light in the darkness, after a near-death experience, makes you want to burrow into the other person's chest.
"Alright, senior, if you want to be an octopus, we'll have plenty of time to exchange positions after we return."
As the warm breath brushed against her ears, the man's slightly teasing voice rang out, and the sense of shame returned, causing Mai Sakurajima's face to turn as red as boiling water.
But unlike before, she clung to him tightly and refused to let go, and was soon enveloped by the gray mist Demon Possession.
"Alright, then hold on tighter, lift your legs up, and squeeze my waist tightly." Yuki was a little disappointed that he couldn't see his senior's shy yet helpless octopus posture, and he wasn't in the mood to take advantage of the situation.
He didn't intentionally scare Mai Sakurajima just now; she was performing performance art in the middle of the corridor. Yuki himself was attacked by the corridor, but the difference was—
"My Demon Eye can see different scenery."
It was pitch black to the naked eye, but it presented a different kind of scenery in the red eyes with strange patterns.
The corridor was still the same corridor, with no mud pits or signs of sinking. In his eyes, the Tyrant, Hayasaka Ai Shiina Hiyori were all shiny black, looking like three stick figures performing performance art.
The first two were wildly swinging their limbs, pulling the triggers and firing shots. Shiina Hiyori was doing a little better, crouching on the ground with her head in her hands, waiting to die.
It seemed like he was going crazy, but Yuki looked up and saw a deeper arm reaching out from the floor through the black mist.
Also black, it was blurry, like a newborn baby pulling out its twisted body and crawling towards its own head.
It wanted to play a prank, covering my eyes, plugging my ears, and then spreading all over my body like slime, eventually forming an outer garment that deprived the player of their five senses and the ability to breathe.
Swish--
Yuki cleaved the baby in two with a single stroke, letting it fall to the ground alongside several other similar black-glowing corpses. Then, holding his senior in one arm, he held the sword forward with the other and deftly flicked his wrist.
The blade sliced through the 'sheath' perfectly, tearing only the girl's dress and leaving a faint line of blood.