The sight of those gruesome drag marks sent a chill across Hayama's scalp.
Alongside his fear, he felt even more anger. Hirano was taking his money, yet now he had teamed up with Katori-chan to scare him. Had he fallen for her charms? Hayama would fire him as soon as they got back!
And what was going on with this script? By now, things had gone completely off plan.
Hayama grew wary. Had this turned into a prank show? Were Katori-chan and the production team hiding somewhere, secretly filming his reactions?
If so, he had to project the fearless bearing of a hero and use this opportunity to gain some fans.
"There's still a chance! If we follow these drag marks, we can rescue Hirano!" Hayama Takuya declared, his face radiating righteous determination.
As he followed the trail, he offered his livestream viewers an analysis in a grave voice:
"Hirano is an overweight adult man, weighing over a hundred kilograms. Whatever dragged him away inside this abandoned building couldn't have been an ordinary beast. But there aren't any animal tracks beside the drag marks, either. Could some nameless thing really be lurking here?"
Although he had no idea how Katori-chan's team had pulled it off, that hardly stopped Hayama from improvising.
He deliberately dawdled, taking his time examining the area around the drag marks.
He followed them to the middle of the corridor, where they suddenly vanished.
The corridor was covered in dust. Anyone passing through would leave footprints, with nowhere to hide their trail. Yet the drag marks really did disappear midway down the passage. There were no doors nearby that could be opened, only windows with all their glass missing. The night breeze blew through them, carrying waves of cold air.
"Huh? Why does Hirano's trail end here? There's nowhere around here to hide anyone. How could a full-grown man just mysteriously vanish? This is terrifying! So scary!"
Hayama Takuya cried out in feigned shock.
He felt his acting had reached its peak. Even if his singing career went nowhere, he could always make a living in theater.
He was now thoroughly impressed with Katori's props team. If they could pull off a setup like this, it was no wonder he had been scared half to death earlier.
Just then, a crow perched on the window, watching him with its head tilted.
"Maybe a crow carried him off? Hahaha, just kidding. There's no way Hirano could squeeze through such a small window."
Hayama made what he thought was a funny joke, while the phone in his trouser pocket began vibrating wildly. He took it out and opened the livestream, only to find comments flooding the screen.
"Brace yourself-!"
"Brace yourself-!"
"Don't look up-!"
"Don't look up-!"
Puzzled, Hayama raised his head and shone his flashlight at the ceiling.
Drip, drip. Thick, warm liquid fell onto his face, a sensation he had felt before.
The ceiling was densely covered in ring after ring of bloody handprints. A man's corpse hung upside down from it, blood dripping from the fingertips of his dangling arms.
Somewhere on the abandoned mall's second floor, a girl in a shrine maiden's outfit walked down a dark, deserted corridor.
"I'm so scared. Earlier, Hayama-kun saw something—I don't know what—and suddenly screamed. We were so frightened that we ran upstairs, and everyone got separated. Now Katori-chan's all alone here. I'm so scared... sob, sob..."
Despite her words, Katori-chan was not actually very frightened. People who made a living streaming paranormal investigations generally did not believe much in ghosts or gods. If they truly believed in such things, they would never be able to do this job.
"'Cutest Katori-chan,' 'Miko Is My Wife Today'... good evening."
"Thank you, Chocolate Strawberry 099, for the tip."
While greeting the newly arriving viewers, Katori-chan thought back to the plan for the first floor.
According to the script, Takagi, who had been stationed in the toy store beforehand, was supposed to deliberately make some noise when she and Hayama arrived. That would give them an excuse to split up and explore the second floor separately.
Who knew what Takagi was doing? Nothing had happened. Just as Katori-chan was worrying about what to do next, Hayama had screamed and led the retreat, allowing the act to continue.
She had not expected a scummy pretty boy like Hayama Takuya, who did nothing but sleep with his fans, to possess such quick wits. Had she underestimated him?
I can't let him outshine me.
With that thought, Katori-chan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and gave the camera a sweet smile.
"But with all of you here, Katori-chan isn't scared anymore. As long as I have your company and support, I'll overcome any challenge, even something like what happened at Earth God Elementary School."
Katori-chan turned the camera outward. She had now reached the clothing section on the mall's second floor.
Naturally, there were no clothes for sale anymore, but many stripped mannequins lay scattered across the floor, with detached arms and other limbs strewn everywhere.
As she shone her flashlight inside, eerie silhouettes loomed. The mannequins looked like ghosts lurking in the shadows. Anyone a little fainthearted would not dare approach.
"I heard the fire started in the clothing section back then. To uncover this abandoned mall's secrets, I'm going to gather my courage and go inside, even though I'm all alone. I hope you'll all cheer me on."
After coaxing another wave of comments and tips from her viewers, Katori-chan cautiously stepped through the entrance to the clothing section.
Katori-chan aimed the camera at a male mannequin by the entrance whose limbs were all intact. Its facial features were visible, but its eyes had fallen out. In the pitch-black room, only the dim yellow beam of her flashlight lit its face, making its hollow eye sockets look rather frightening and unnerving.
"A lot of people feel scared when they see mannequins or dolls. That's actually perfectly normal. People fear dolls because they look human without being human. That's why, in ancient times, people set dolls afloat in rivers or the sea, symbolizing the illness and misfortune dwelling within them drifting away as well. This was also the precursor to Hinamatsuri, or Girls' Day."
Katori-chan explained this to her livestream viewers.
This was another of her selling points. Before coming, she had memorized quite a lot of material from the script.
"Dolls have a long history in Japan. The Book of Wei: Account of the Wa records: 'At that time, Queen Himiko fashioned figures from clay, making dolls with which to practice sorcery. The dolls could sit, stand, and walk. The people of Wa were greatly awed and all submitted to her.'"
"Since ancient times, people have believed that dolls possess strange, inexplicable powers and are among the best vessels for souls. If those who burned to death back then never passed on, could their souls be dwelling inside these mannequins...?" Katori-chan spoke in a hushed, mysterious voice as she slowly turned the livestream camera toward the other mannequins.
Outside the frame, where her viewers could not see, the corners of Katori-chan's mouth gradually curled upward.