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The players left the classroom and, led by Hanako, went to find the thirteenth step.
Cleaning the classroom can wait; whether they can infinitely farm kaidan videotapes is the top priority.
A moment later.
The group arrived at the location of the kaidan stairs.
"One, two, three, four, five... thirteen steps."
"That's right."
"It's here."
Amamiya Natsuki stopped and looked at Marin, saying, "I'll go in first. Wait for my message."
The entry point to the alternate dimension was random each time. One might enter right next to the kaidan, so for safety, Amamiya Natsuki would go in first to make contact.
Kitagawa Marin urged, "Natsuki, be careful."
"Mmm."
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki took a step onto the stairs, and his figure suddenly disappeared.
A dead silent campus.
An empty corridor.
The never-changing Twilight Hour.
Alternate dimension, entry successful.
At the same time.
Marin and the others were being led by Ghost Story Hanako to the next location where the thirteenth step appeared.
"Fourth floor east side, the hallway near the restroom."
Amamiya Natsuki held a notebook, on which a line of delicate handwriting quietly appeared.
Walking through the campus, Amamiya Natsuki quickly arrived at the kaidan stairs' location and used the notebook to send a message to the outside world.
"Safe, you can come in."
"..."
A few seconds later.
A Succubus Girl appeared out of thin air on the stairs; it was Kitagawa Marin.
"Natsuki!"
Seeing Amamiya Natsuki standing at the bottom of the stairs, Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up, and she happily ran down the stairs, taking two steps at a time.
"Is this the alternate dimension?" Kitagawa Marin wasn't scared at all. She put her right hand on her hip and looked around curiously. "It feels no different from reality."
"Successfully entered, don't worry."
Amamiya Natsuki closed his notebook and looked up at Marin: "Let's go, let's find the vengeful spirit."
According to everyone's analysis and speculation, there were two conditions for filming a kaidan videotape: first, entering the 'kaidan's' domain, and second, making contact with the kaidan.
In short, the kaidan had to be in the frame.
Afterward, whether one escaped with difficulty or transformed into a NTR to make the kaidan's Dao heart collapse, the filming could be completed. Of course, the final rating would definitely be different.
Therefore, to complete the filming, after entering the alternate dimension, one also needed to interact with the vengeful spirits here.
Amamiya Natsuki led Marin forward. On the fourth floor, there happened to be a vengeful spirit elementary school student who was constantly wiping a table with her hand.
"This is it."
Amamiya Natsuki stopped.
"There's an elementary school student inside." Kitagawa Marin curiously poked out her pretty face and carefully looked into the classroom.
In the dim twilight, an elementary school student in a school uniform stood by the window table, her head bowed, mechanically wiping the table with her hand.
"Proceed as planned." Amamiya Natsuki whispered, "You go in and walk around."
"Okay."
Kitagawa Marin nodded seriously, took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and walked into the classroom.
Hearing someone enter, the elementary school student wiping the table immediately stopped, her head still bowed, not saying a word.
"Little friend, why aren't you home yet?"
Kitagawa Marin walked up to the vengeful spirit elementary school student, enduring her nervousness, and asked softly.
"..."
"Won't your mother worry?"
"..."
"Why are you always wiping the table?"
"..."
No matter what she asked, the elementary school student didn't answer. She just stood there with her head bowed, like a statue, making no response.
"Then I'll be going."
Kitagawa Marin was helpless. She waved her hand, said goodbye, and turned around.
As soon as she walked out of the classroom, she felt a burning pain appear on her palm, and the pain level was still rising.
"It... it hurts so much."
Kitagawa Marin looked up pitifully.
"It's good that it hurts." Amamiya Natsuki handed her a pen. "Follow my instructions and write a few words."
"Oh."
Kitagawa Marin took the pen and left.
She wrote a word on the desk and was quickly surprised to find that the pain in her hand quickly dissipated. The elementary school student who was wiping the table seemed to lower her head even more.
"How strange." Kitagawa Marin was surprised. "Natsuki, why is this happening?"
Amamiya Natsuki pondered:
"Girls hiding in the restroom, soaking wet; boys whose desks are covered with 'go to hell'; girls punished by teachers to write homework, constantly copying homework in the classroom; and students with foreign objects in their shoes who accidentally step on them and cover their feet in pain... these are all phenomena of campus bullying."
"It's true." Kitagawa Marin rested her right hand on her chin and analyzed, "Could it be that this alternate dimension is full of those who bullied others, making them constantly experience the pain they inflicted on others?"
"No."
Kitagawa Marin quickly shook her head. "If that were the case, what just happened couldn't be explained... We didn't bully him, so why did we feel pain?"
"Is there a possibility," Amamiya Natsuki said meaningfully, "that he is not the perpetrator, but a victim of campus bullying?"
"Eh?"
"Only those who are bullied will hide like ostriches." Amamiya Natsuki said calmly, "As long as tomorrow never comes, they don't have to worry about being bullied tomorrow, so this alternate dimension is always twilight."
"People who are bullied have pain in their hearts." Amamiya Natsuki continued, "Just like that famous quote, 'How many floors must a bag of rice carry?'"
"People full of pain will not treat others gently, but rather hope the whole world suffers with them."
Amamiya Natsuki looked at Marin: "So when you went in, you felt a lot of pain in your hand. That vengeful spirit wanted you to feel the same pain."
Kitagawa Marin pursed her pretty lips and said softly:
"Why did the pain stop when I wrote a word?"
"Because your identity changed." Amamiya Natsuki said, "Who are the people bullied in school most afraid of?"
Kitagawa Marin blinked, and her thoughts suddenly cleared:
"They're the bullies!"
"I just wrote something on its desk. It was very scared... Did it see me as the one bullying it?"
Amamiya Natsuki said calmly:
"In psychology, there's a phenomenon called the 'kicking the cat effect.' Humans usually only vent their dissatisfaction and pain on targets weaker than themselves. People who are bullied will not retaliate against those who bullied them, but instead go on to bully weaker beings."
That's why Hayasaka Ai was cursed with pain before.
When she encountered the Vengeful Spirit Loli, she cautiously only wanted to stay away, and naturally, she was treated as weak, thus suffering painful attacks.
In contrast, Amamiya Natsuki directly burst into the restroom, bullying the Female Ghost, and the trembling Vengeful Spirit Loli repeatedly apologized, saying she was sorry.
The world is just that absurd.
"That sounds a bit pitiful," Kitagawa Marin said softly.
"Every pitiful person has something hateful about them," Amamiya Natsuki said again, "Of course, these are only guesses, and whether the truth is like this is unclear... but after a few more verifications, it can pretty much be confirmed."
"Hmm~" Kitagawa Marin pondered for a moment, then quickly looked up with her pretty face and said, "Then I'll verify it."
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