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"Very good, the organization needs young people like you who are eager to take the lead and endure hardships," Amamiya Natsuki said approvingly. "Since you're so proactive, the task of forming the top is yours."
"Huh???"
Hedgehog-head Boy froze for two seconds, then looked up at the dark ventilation duct entrance and quickly reacted. "Are you tricking me?"
"I'm not, don't talk nonsense. You clearly said you wanted to form the top," Amamiya Natsuki said without changing his expression. "You're not going to change your mind now, are you?"
"You really are tricking me," Hedgehog-head Boy couldn't help but say. "What if there's light inside the ventilation duct, and as soon as I open it, a cat pounces on my face?"
When it comes to life and death, things like face really aren't important.
The guys who tried to act tough in front of girls already had three-meter-high grass on their graves.
"I'll do it."
Shikimori took a deep breath and walked to Amamiya Natsuki's side.
"As expected of the King's Maiden who can pull out the sword from the stone." Amamiya Natsuki's tone was full of praise.
"I told you it's just an ordinary bamboo sword," Shikimori raised her hand to her forehead, unable to help but say, "It's not some sword from the stone!"
"Then, please come up," Amamiya Natsuki clasped his hands, resting them on his thighs, his expression serious. "I promise, until my last drop of blood is shed, I will definitely support you."
"That's impossible," Braided-hair girl pushed up her glasses. "An ordinary person will faint directly if they lose more than thirty percent of their blood at once."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look. "As expected of the Class President, you know everything."
Glasses Girl: "..."
Shinomiya Kaguya's delicate brows furrowed slightly, wanting to speak.
"Don't speak."
Amamiya Natsuki winked at Sheltered Ojou-sama.
Exploring the ventilation duct indeed carried a certain risk, so it was natural to let someone else scout ahead first.
"I'm starting."
The girl with long, straight pink hair took out a hair tie, reached her hands behind her head, gathered her hair, and quickly tied it into a refreshing, neat, and very cute bun. Then she stepped onto Amamiya Natsuki's hands.
Amamiya Natsuki used his arms to lift Shikimori.
"Reached it."
Working together, the two of them quickly dismantled the entrance to the ventilation duct.
"It's pitch black inside, no light, so no need to worry about being attacked by shadows," Shikimori's voice was calm as she relayed the information. "...The exit is a bit small. I'll try to see if I can get in."
Amamiya Natsuki looked up at her words. "Then I'll use force?"
The light was dim.
Looking up, he could only see the girl's slightly swaying skirt. Other scenery was naturally out of reach.
"Please... Admiral."
"Strength suddenly surged out again."
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki exerted force with both arms. Thanks to Miko's help during this period, his physical fitness was still slowly increasing, making it easy to lift a girl weighing less than a hundred pounds.
A moment later.
"No, I can't get in. I'll go down first," Shikimori's voice was muffled. "...Admiral, you can just release my feet."
"Understood."
Amamiya Natsuki let go and stepped back two steps.
Bang.
Shikimori leaped lightly, kneeling on one knee, her movements graceful and cool. However, her right hand was covering her chest, her pretty face was slightly flushed, and her gaze towards Amamiya Natsuki was a bit resentful.
"The entrance is too narrow. I just... got stuck," Shikimori took a deep breath. Amamiya Natsuki's strength from behind was too great, and her chest still felt a faint ache. "But I found something inside the ventilation duct."
"What is it?"
Braided-hair girl asked curiously.
"It's a flashlight," Shikimori said softly. "And it's an item that can be carried out of the game."
"Eh?" Braided-hair girl was startled, her tone puzzled. "How could there be a flashlight inside the ventilation duct?"
"I don't know."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Shikimori and asked:
"Can you let me see the flashlight?"
"Here."
Shikimori nodded lightly and handed over the flashlight.
Amamiya Natsuki reached out and took it. The attributes quickly appeared.
[Item: An ordinary flashlight]
[Attribute: Illumination]
[Can it be carried out of the instance: Yes]
[Note: Not a magic item, just a really ordinary flashlight]
However, the prompt that appeared before Amamiya Natsuki was not like this.
"Clearly, this is not an ordinary flashlight."
Amamiya Natsuki mused for two seconds, found the flashlight switch, and with a gentle push of his finger, a bright light instantly tore through the darkness, illuminating the wall.
A black cat shadow quickly appeared on the wall.
"What are you doing?!" Hedgehog-head Boy was startled and quickly said, "Turn off the light, don't attract the shadow monster!"
Shinomiya Kaguya folded her arms across her chest and said calmly:
"Shadow monsters only appear under light. As long as we keep standing in the shadows, they can't attack us."
The group looked intently and found that the cat formed by the shadow was indeed moving around in the light, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Snap.
Amamiya Natsuki turned off the flashlight.
The light extinguished.
After waiting a few seconds, he turned on the flashlight again and shone it on the wall.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap.
The light in the abandoned warehouse kept flickering on and off.
"Hey, hey, is the flashlight really that fun?"
Hedgehog-head Boy complained with narrowed eyes.
"Tsk~" Amamiya Natsuki curled his lips, "If you want to play, just say so. Your envy is already unconcealed."
"Who's envious?!" Hedgehog-head Boy couldn't help but shout, "A lightsaber is one thing, but only kids like playing with flashlights!"
"We should be thinking about what to do next, right?" Hedgehog-head Boy's voice was filled with despair, "The ventilation duct is useless, and the hallway is full of lights. We're completely trapped."
It's normal for the ventilation duct to be useless.
Mythbusters has already done experiments; the ventilation ducts in ordinary hotels or residential buildings are impossible to crawl through. This thing was not designed for people to crawl around in. Its size and material are not suitable for people to crawl through. Children might barely manage, but adults would easily get stuck.
In many movies, there are scenes of protagonists moving through ventilation ducts, but this is not reproducible in reality.
It's like how in movies, a car's fuel tank will directly explode and catch fire when hit by a bullet, but in reality, nothing happens when a fuel tank is hit by a bullet.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Shinomiya Kaguya and the other two, asking:
"Now that we've verified it, what have you found?"
Glasses Girl, the Class President, mused:
"Every time the lights turn on, the Shadow Cat appears with different movements."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest: "The last two times we switched the flashlight on and off, the Shadow Cat didn't appear on the wall, proving that it doesn't necessarily appear just because there's light. Plus, its movements and forms are different each time… There's reason to suspect that the Shadow Cat actually has a certain level of intelligence, or is itself a biological form that we cannot comprehend."
"It's actually a living shadow creature?"
Shikimori tightly gripped the bamboo sword in her hand, trying to find a sense of security.
Unfortunately, it's a shadow, and ordinary physical attacks cannot cause damage. To be precise, you can't even touch a shadow… This is a hellish start.
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