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"Um, this player actually wanted to ease the tense atmosphere, right?"
The Braided-hair Glasses Girl, who had been silent, said softly.
"As expected of the class president," Amamiya Natsuki said with approval in his tone, "Truly omniscient."
The Glasses Girl's expression was calm: "I was only a class president in elementary school, and my surname isn't Hanekawa either."
"Tsk, how uninteresting."
... "I'm sorry to disappoint you!"
The Braided-hair girl felt a dull ache in her chest, exhaled deeply, and pushed up the Glasses Girl on her nose: "Well, everyone, let's first share our respective task contents, shall we?"
"If the tasks are the same, we can act together."
Amamiya Natsuki gave a thumbs up: "I agree with the class president."
"I said I'm not the class president!"
The Braided-hair girl helplessly pressed her forehead, displaying her character panel to prove her player identity.
The others followed suit.
No doubt.
All five were players; even if non-player entities could disguise themselves as humans, they couldn't have a game panel.
Then came their respective main quests.
Amamiya Natsuki looked at the quest log.
[Quest: Cat and Mouse game]
[Objective: Escape the abandoned factory within 120 minutes]
[Note: The cats are already hungry and thirsty]
[Basic Reward: 40 game coins]
"It seems everyone's task is the same," the Braided-hair girl pushed up the Glasses Girl on her nose, "Then, let's briefly introduce ourselves, shall we?"
"I'll start first," the Braided-hair girl said calmly, "You can call me Sanshoku; I've cleared three games so far."
The pink-haired girl held her bamboo sword, her expression firm. Besides being cute, she was also quite cool, with the demeanor of a leader girl: "Shikimori, I've cleared two games."
"Yamazaki," the Hedgehog-head Boy continued, "I've also cleared two games."
Newbies who first join the game usually foolishly reveal their real names. By now, many players only reveal their surnames to each other, or even just make up a nickname on the spot.
Finally, it was Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya's turn.
"I am the Admiral," Amamiya Natsuki said without changing his expression, then proceeded to introduce the Sheltered Ojou-sama, "She is Hood-nya; we are both newbies who just joined the game and have just completed the novice trial."
Shinomiya Kaguya maintained a cool and composed demeanor, leaving all negotiations to Amamiya Natsuki.
"Hey, that kind of fooling-around name is too much," the Hedgehog-head Boy complained, "How could a newbie player have such a game name?"
Amamiya Natsuki pretended not to hear: "Anyway, for the upcoming game, please take good care of us, Class President."
Viola tricolor: "..."
"Let's get to the point," Shikimori's brows slightly furrowed, "The basic clearance reward is 40 game coins; with such a high reward, the game difficulty must also be very high."
"That's right," the Braided-hair girl nodded, "game rewards are usually proportional to the difficulty. Everyone must be careful and vigilant, constantly observing their surroundings. Once you discover anything unusual, don't hesitate; speak out immediately."
"The so-called cat and mouse game is actually a survival game, right?" The Hedgehog-head Boy frowned, "There should be vengeful spirits or monsters in this abandoned factory. Maybe they'll appear soon and chase us."
"Let's first check the room in front of us to see if there are any clues..."
As the Braided-hair girl spoke, she took out a flashlight from her game backpack.
Light shone.
Piercing the darkness.
The flashlight swept across the room, revealing it to be a large abandoned warehouse. Most things had already been moved out, leaving only some casually discarded waste paper boxes in the corner.
The pink-haired girl gripped her bamboo sword, scanning her surroundings:
"It looks like there's nothing..."
The next second.
A mass of darkness suddenly emerged. Shikimori seemed to be suddenly pounced on by something, and her bamboo sword fell directly to the ground.
Screams and exclamations followed, and everything suddenly became chaotic.
"What is it?"
"Evil spirit?"
"Monster?"
"No, I can't see it at all!"
"..."
Shikimori grunted, biting her lower lip, trying to grab her bamboo sword. It was as if something was biting her leg, dragging her whole body into the darkness.
Such a bizarre scene made the Glasses Girl and the Hedgehog-head Boy, who were closest to her, afraid to step forward to help.
Just then, a figure suddenly lunged out.
Amamiya Natsuki narrowed his eyes, rolled, and hugged the pink-haired girl, preventing her from being completely dragged into the darkness, while shouting:
"Flashlight!"
Shinomiya Kaguya reacted instantly, rushing forward, snatching the flashlight from the Glasses Girl's hand, and quickly turning it off.
Snap.
The light went out.
Amamiya Natsuki felt the dragging force on the pink-haired girl suddenly disappear.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Shikimori lay on Amamiya Natsuki's chest, still shaken, breathing softly.
No matter how heroic a girl might be, facing death, it's impossible to remain calm and composed.
"Thank you..."
Shikimori thanked him subconsciously.
"Get up first," Amamiya Natsuki reached out and pulled her up, "Did you see clearly what attacked you?"
"I don't know," Shikimori shook her head, took a deep breath to calm herself, "The opponent was very strong and pounced on me in an instant, giving me no time to resist... I tried to kick, but I didn't hit anything... even though something was grabbing my foot."
Amamiya Natsuki looked down. On Shikimori's right foot, her black stockings had been torn open by some unknown entity, revealing her fair and smooth skin underneath, with faint blood marks from scratches, clearly proving she wasn't lying.
"What exactly was that?" The Hedgehog-head Boy's voice was tense. "There's clearly nothing in the air."
"It's a Shadow," Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her right arm over her chest, her tone slightly grave, "What attacked her just now was a Shadow. If I'm not mistaken... the outline of the Shadow looked like a cat."
"A cat in Shadow form?"
Everyone was shocked.
Cats are naturally predators, and to be an unattackable, unharmable Shadow Cat was clearly death difficulty.
No wonder the instance was called Cat and Mouse game; it was literally cats, and the players were the escaping mice.
"Don't panic," Amamiya Natsuki's tone was steady, "The moment the flashlight was turned off, the attacking force disappeared, so the true medium is actually light."
"I'm sorry," Glasses Girl said to Shikimori, her face full of apology. "I didn't know turning on the flashlight would attract monsters."
"No one knew about this," Shikimori said, shaking her head, not at all angry or upset. Instead, she gently comforted her. "Sanshoku doesn't need to blame herself."
"Exactly," Amamiya Natsuki said from the side. "Class President, be careful next time."
"...I told you I'm not the Class President."
"..."
After a short rest,
Shikimori said, "It's almost time for us to go out."
Although being trapped in the darkness wouldn't lead to attacks, the game would never be cleared, so they had to act.
"I can barely see things," Shinomiya Kaguya said in a clear, cold voice. "The exit is to the front right. Everyone, follow me."
The group quickly arrived at the door.
Amamiya Natsuki gripped the doorknob and gently turned it. "The door opened. It seems there's no secret room puzzle set up..."
The next second,
Everyone was stunned.
Although it was an abandoned factory that had been deserted for a long time, the hallway had changed its eerie, dim style. The lights were bright and dazzling, well-lit and spacious, completely inconsistent with the gloomy and dark art style common in horror games.
But at this moment, no one felt a trace of joy. Instead, they all looked at the wall opposite.
On the wall, there was a huge, ink-like shadow, with a body outline as large as a fierce tiger. It was stretching on the wall, and in their eyes, they could clearly imagine a cat licking its paws.
As if sensing their gaze, the shadow on the wall suddenly disappeared.
Bang!
Amamiya Natsuki reacted quickly. The moment he saw the Shadow Cat on the wall, he slammed the door shut.
Several players collectively took half a step back, covering their chests, only feeling their hearts pounding non-stop.
"So big."
"It really is a shadow, a moving shadow."
Hedgehog-head Boy clutched his hair, his voice despairing. "Is that monster on the wall a cat or a tiger?"
"The entire Corridor is lit up. We can't get out at all, can we?"
If the Shadow Cat could only kill people in well-lit areas, then a brightly lit Corridor would be like a laser death passage that no one could pass through.
Shikimori frowned, tightly gripping the bamboo sword in her hand. "...Let's search the room again carefully. Maybe we can find a way out."
"What about the ventilation duct?"
Glasses Girl suggested.
"We can try it," Shikimori nodded. "...There's no need to turn on the flashlight."
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki and Kaguya went together, while the other three players split up. Before long, they found a ventilation duct in the corner.
"We found the ventilation duct..." Glasses Girl looked up. "The problem is, how do we get up there?"
Shikimori mused:
"How about stepping on those cardboard boxes?"
"No," Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head. "I've checked those cardboard boxes. They can't support a person's weight at all."
Amamiya Natsuki slowly said:
"So, it really is only the last method left?"
"Eh, what method?"
Everyone looked over.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Hedgehog-head Boy. "Kurosaki-kun, you form the base."
"It's Yamazaki, not Kurosaki! Get it straight!" Hedgehog-head Boy couldn't help but retort. "And what do you mean by 'form the base'?"
"I don't understand at all!"
Glasses Girl said thoughtfully:
"Is it like a human pyramid from the gymnastics team?"
Amamiya Natsuki looked over admiringly. "As expected of the Class President, you know everything."
Glasses Girl: "...I just happened to have seen it."
"A human pyramid can indeed reach it," Hedgehog-head looked up and muttered. "But why do I have to form the base?"
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