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"Eh... a subway station?"
"Strange, shouldn't it be the Otherworld?"
"Did Hana-chan open the wrong door?"
"..."
Before entering, the girls held their breath, even preparing for a surprise attack upon opening the door.
Who knew that after passing through the door, what appeared before their eyes was actually a subway passage.
White walls covered in tiles, a wide passage, bright lights overhead, various advertising posters and warning signs on the walls... It was almost identical to a real subway station.
Kitahara Makoto took out his phone and opened the compass: "Is there a possibility that this is a subway station located in the Otherworld?"
"Eh?" Kita turned to look over, "How so?"
"My phone has no signal, and the compass is spinning wildly." Kitahara Makoto said in a deep voice, "And don't you think this subway station is too quiet?"
Hearing Kitahara Makoto say this, the girls all reacted.
"You're right, it's really too quiet." Ijichi Nijika nodded in agreement, "There are so many people in Tokyo, even the last train shouldn't be this quiet."
Yamada Ryo was expressionless: "We still know too little about the Otherworld. Perhaps we'll encounter even more terrifying scenes than a subway passage in the future."
"It's not scary here, is it?" Kita Ikuyo looked around curiously, "The light is so bright, it makes you feel safe. It's much better than the desolate grassland from before."
Kitahara Makoto looked at Kita upon hearing this and said faintly:
"Kita-san, did you forget something?"
Kita looked over in confusion: "What?"
Kitahara Makoto said:
"A subway station located in the Otherworld will definitely have all sorts of strange things waiting for us. It's too early to feel safe."
Kita Ikuyo: "...Kitahara-kun, don't scare me!"
"..."
After calming down, Ijichi Nijika quickly suggested:
"Let's ask the answer book later. Should we explore the subway station by following the signs overhead first?"
Bocchi-chan: "Mhm, mhm."
Kita Ikuyo: "I support Nijika-senpai."
Yamada Ryo: "Kitahara-kun, as the top laner, the leading role is yours."
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
The girls were ready to go, following behind Kitahara Makoto, walking cautiously forward.
Tap, tap, tap.
The empty subway passage was devoid of people; only the footsteps of Kitahara Makoto and the girls echoed.
"I used to always think subway stations were so crowded and wished there were fewer people." Kita Ikuyo huddled close to Bocchi-chan, whispering her complaint, "I didn't expect a subway passage with no one in it to be quite scary. Bocchi-chan, what do you think?"
"Ah..."
Gotō Hitori parted her pink lips, involuntarily recalling her past experience riding the subway.
At that time, she was traveling far to visit relatives and had to transfer subways in between. It happened to be during the morning rush hour, and the subway station was overflowing with people, so many that subway inspectors even had to push people in from behind.
(Scary! Super scary!)
(The people at that time were like pitiful sardines, squeezed into the subway car called hell...)
(Indeed, a subway station with no one in it makes one feel more at ease...)
At this moment, Kitahara Makoto's voice suddenly rang out:
"There's someone ahead."
"Eh?"
The girls' spirits lifted, and they all quickly turned the corner.
"Oh, there really is someone?"
Ijichi Nijika's eyes widened in surprise.
Kita said curiously:
"There are other people in the Otherworld?"
"It's normal." Yamada Ryo crossed her arms, her tone calm, "Nijika's cousin is in the Otherworld and was able to leave notes, so she's clearly not entering and exiting for the first time."
A middle-aged man walked from the front of the subway passage. He was wearing a suit, carrying a briefcase, and walking with his head down. His hairstyle had already become a receding hairline, and his scalp gleamed with oil under the pale lights.
"He looks a bit off..."
Kita Ikuyo muttered softly.
As if hearing the girls' discussion, the middle-aged office worker suddenly stopped, then slowly raised his head.
The next second.
Several girls instantly felt their scalps tingle. Nijika, who was quite timid, even involuntarily gasped.
"H-He has no face?!"
That's right.
When the middle-aged man raised his head, his face was indeed a blank expanse, with no facial features whatsoever.
Accompanied by a low roar that was not human, the middle-aged office worker suddenly started running, like a bizarre Titan from Attack on Titan, his body swaying and twisting as he lunged towards the group.
At the crucial moment, Kitahara Makoto stepped forward directly, pulled out the katana he had obtained in the desolate village last time, and slashed directly.
Pfft—
There was no scene of blood splattering.
The middle-aged office worker's body was like a candle, easily split open. His upper body fell to the ground with a thud, followed by a large amount of white substance secreting from the wound, like foam or candle wax. In just a few breaths, it quickly grew into a brand new individual, even perfectly replicating the clothes on his body and the briefcase in his hand.
"Light-speed replication?"
"It might even be infinite replication?"
Kitahara Makoto's mind raced, but he didn't continue forward to verify if the strange office worker could replicate infinitely. Instead, he quickly made the most correct choice.
"Run back!"
The girls, upon receiving the command, naturally turned and ran without a word.
Kitahara Makoto stayed at the back, holding the katana to cover their retreat.
After running for a while and confirming that the footsteps behind him had disappeared, Kitahara Makoto spoke:
"You can stop now."
Ijichi Nijika was slightly out of breath, and said nervously:
"There's only one passage, that monster will catch up, right?"
Yamada Ryo corrected: "It's two monster uncles."
Ijichi Nijika couldn't help but retort:
"This isn't the time to be precise!"
"In fact, the footsteps have completely disappeared." Kitahara Makoto walked to the corner of the passage, took out his phone, and looked out using the reflection of the phone screen. "Sure enough, they've really disappeared."
Hearing this, the girls finally relaxed.
"That middle-aged uncle definitely isn't human." Kita Ikuyo held her chest and breathed, while complaining, "It's bad enough he has no face, but he can even create avatars. How creepy."
"Um..." Bocchi-chan suddenly spoke, stammering softly, "We've been running for a while, but we've been in the subway passage the whole time. We haven't seen an exit at all..."
After Bocchi-chan's reminder, the girls quickly realized:
"Japan doesn't have such a large subway station."
"Why haven't we seen an exit?"
"Could it be a ghost wall..."
"I know what to do." Kita Ikuyo's eyes quickly brightened, and she raised her right hand. "I heard that if you encounter a ghost wall, you can break it with virgin boy's urine."
...
The girls all looked at Kitahara Makoto upon hearing this.
"No." Kitahara Makoto's mouth twitched slightly. "That kind of folk remedy isn't reliable at all, is it?"
"Just try it." Kita put her hands on her hips. "What if it works?"
Kitahara Makoto was expressionless, and reached for his waistband:
"Then I'll take them off..."
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