Stop sleeping!

They had gotten too worked up chatting last night and gone to bed too late, and they still hadn't recovered from the exhaustion of days of intensive training and travel. All three sported heavy, dark circles under their eyes, as though they hadn't slept all night.

Outside the window, it was broad daylight, with the sun already high in the sky. Their phone alarms had gone off several times, but the three sound sleepers had unconsciously silenced them all, sleeping past the meeting time.

The room was quiet. All three lay sprawled out, showing no sign of waking, until a series of clear, steady knocks at the door shattered the silence.

Knock, knock, knock-

Shoko's clear voice came through the door, tinged with helplessness. "Qingxiao? Satoru? Geto? Are you still asleep? It's almost time to meet up."

Qingxiao had been dead asleep, but at the sound of Shoko's voice, his body's instincts reacted faster than his brain. He shot upright in bed, all sleepiness gone.

His mind was still a little foggy, and only two thoughts remained amid the jumble: Late. Shoko caught me sleeping in. His voice hoarse from sleep, he called out offhandedly toward the door, "Coming! We'll be right out! Just give us two minutes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw off the covers and got out of bed, grabbed his clothes, and pulled them on in a few quick motions. He hastily straightened his collar and cuffs, the whole process taking less than half a minute.

Once he was ready, he hurried over to the other two beds and reached out to shake one sleeping boy with each hand.

"Wake up, wake up! Stop sleeping! We've got a problem! We overslept!"

Satoru Gojo was sleeping the deepest. His head bobbed back and forth as Qingxiao shook him, and he blearily narrowed his eyes beneath his mess of white hair. "Mmph... keep it down. Five more minutes. Just five..."

Suguru Geto wasn't much better. His usual calm composure was nowhere to be seen as he slowly lifted his eyelids, his eyes unfocused and blank. He clearly wasn't awake yet.

"You're still sleeping? Shoko's already knocking on the door to hurry us up! Any later and we'll be late!" Frantic, Qingxiao grabbed their arms and forcibly hauled the two desperately sleepy boys out of bed.

Forced awake, the two sat there looking bewildered for quite a while, sporting matching dark circles, before they belatedly realized they were in trouble and scrambled to get dressed and ready.

All three squeezed into the tiny hotel bathroom at once, and chaos ensued.

Toothpaste foam flew everywhere as they fought fiercely for space in front of the mirror. Satoru Gojo forced his way forward, shoving his head right to the front and declaring brazenly, "I'm the fastest, so I go first! I can brush my teeth in three seconds!"

"If you can't get them clean in three seconds, stop hogging the space." Qingxiao raised a hand and gently pushed his head back, rapidly working up a lather with his toothbrush as he spoke at top speed. "Move over. Don't waste time."

Suguru Geto was the calmest. Even in a rush, he maintained a shred of dignity, taking his time filling his cup with water. But the space was simply too small, and the other two kept squeezing in on either side, constantly bumping his shoulders. He sighed helplessly. "Could you two stop shoving? Taking turns won't take long."

"If we take turns, we'll definitely be late!" Satoru Gojo spoke indistinctly around a mouthful of toothpaste foam, his hands moving rapidly. He gave his teeth a couple of haphazard brushes, rinsed his mouth, and swiftly commandeered the faucet to wash his face, his movements sloppy and quick.

The three jostled one another, the sound of running water mingling with their squabbling in the exceedingly lively bathroom.

In just five minutes, all three were ready. Without even having time to fix their hair properly, they raked their fingers through it and hurried out, racing from the room and clattering down the stairs.

In the lobby downstairs, Shoko had long since finished getting ready and was waiting quietly, neat and fresh.

Seeing their matching dark circles, slightly disheveled hair, and panting, bedraggled appearances, she raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in puzzlement, "Just how late did you stay up last night? I nearly ended up late waiting for you."

Qingxiao felt a little embarrassed under her gaze, the tips of his ears warming slightly. He could only scratch his head awkwardly and offer a vague explanation. "We got too carried away chatting last night and overslept."

Satoru Gojo, on the other hand, wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. He strode forward casually, determined to salvage their dignity. "We were just up late discussing tactics! We were planning ahead for today's mission, get it?"

Suguru Geto helplessly pressed a hand to his forehead as he watched Satoru Gojo lie without a trace of guilt.

Fortunately, the assistant supervisor, Satō, was very patient. He had already parked outside to wait and showed no intention of hurrying them. They quickly got into the cars, with Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo getting into the front car of their own accord, leaving the rear car for Qingxiao and Shoko.

The two naturally settled side by side in the back seat, and the car drove smoothly toward their mission destination.

A little over twenty minutes later, the car came to a smooth stop beside an abandoned construction site on the outskirts of the city.

Before them stood an unfinished building that had been abandoned for years. Its walls were mottled and peeling, its steel reinforcement exposed, and weeds grew thick all around it, with not a soul in sight.

Beneath the gloomy sky, the entire building was deathly still, giving off an oppressive air that made it especially unnerving.

Shoko looked up at the dilapidated, sinister building before them and frowned slightly, murmuring, "This place is way too creepy. Just looking at it makes me uncomfortable."

"This place looks straight out of a horror movie." Standing beside her, Qingxiao picked up the conversation naturally, moving half a step forward as he spoke to instinctively position himself in front of her.

Satō stepped forward from beside them, his expression solemn, and began chanting quietly. "Born from darkness, darker still within the dark.

Cleanse every last impurity."

As his words fell, an ink-black barrier spread outward, silently enveloping the entire unfinished building. It cut off cursed energy between the inside and outside, preventing any sounds or signs of battle from escaping and alarming ordinary passersby.

"The barrier is in place. You may freely exorcise the cursed spirits inside without concern." Satō lowered his hand and gestured to the four of them. "You can move out."

P.S. There were quite a few requests for an update today, so here's an extra chapter.