Rules-based horror stories.
As a special literary genre that was once popular on the Chinese internet, combining elements of reasoning and terrifying ghost stories, Gao Hai had a deep understanding of them.
From the famous Zoo Horror story that became an instant hit to the various works that followed, such as Da Luo Mountain, Second-tier College, and Espedro City—all these articles, based on a format of rules and regulations, transitioned from the normal to the abnormal, sparking people's reasoning and deduction while also sending shivers down their spines. Gao Hai had even been fascinated by them for a time.
However, it was precisely because he knew what they were that he absolutely did not want to actually enter a place associated with rules-based horror.
What have I done to deserve this! This is going to kill me! What did I do wrong?!
With rules-based horror, things like mental corruption and confused thinking are just the beginning. They often involve spatial overlaps and displacements, even parallel worlds, and time rewinds are a casual affair. The masterminds behind them are often incomprehensible and invincible beings like Cthulhu or other supreme entities. He, Gao Hai, was no legendary investigator; he was just a simple, failed novelist. Why did he have to suffer like this?
Would it be better to just kill myself now and get reincarnated?
Gao Hai couldn't help but start seriously contemplating this question.
Then he couldn't help but recall that in some rules-based horror stories, not only do you fail to die when you commit suicide, but you end up suffering even more.
Damn it, couldn't those writers who create these stories be a little gentler? Had they never considered how miserable it would be for some unlucky person who transmigrated into the worlds they described? Couldn't they have a little consideration for a poor protagonist like me who's been screwed over by a bastard author?
"'Rules for Living,' is it?"
While Gao Hai's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, Kaguya, who had finished reading the document a step ahead of him, frowned slightly.
These so-called rules were bizarre in every respect, giving her a very unsettling feeling. Although she had never believed in the supernatural, the strange voice from before and the terrifying experience of losing control of her body had somewhat shaken her worldview. Now, seeing such a peculiar set of living rules, she couldn't help but overthink things.
"If these rules aren't a prank, then... uh, speaking of which, where is the clock in this house?"
Gao Hai thought of the 'perfectly accurate' clock mentioned in the rules and immediately wanted to find a clock in the room to confirm the current time.
And just then, he subconsciously looked down and noticed a black watch on his left wrist.
A watch?
When did I put on a watch?
He couldn't identify the brand. It was a very plain-looking black watch with no decorations.
Before his gaze landed on this watch, Gao Hai hadn't felt its presence at all; there was no sensation of wearing anything on his wrist. It was only when he discovered the watch's existence that he finally felt that he was wearing something on his hand.
Then, as Gao Hai raised his left hand to examine the watch closely, he found that it was already covered in cracks. There was only a single minute hand on the dial, which had twelve markers, but no hour or second hand. At that moment, the minute hand was pointing straight at the twelve o'clock position, showing no sign of moving, and Gao Hai couldn't see any buttons or switches to adjust the hand.
What kind of weird thing is this?
Could this be my protagonist cheat item?
This was Gao Hai's first thought. Or rather, facing the miserable situation that was likely to come, he could only rely on such thoughts to comfort himself a little, to keep from falling into despair.
"Ahhh—～"
A shrill female scream suddenly pierced the air, seemingly from the room next door.
What's going on? Such a clichéd plot point—a strange scream at the beginning of the story to advance the plot. Isn't this trope a bit old-fashioned? What's next, we walk out and find a dead body, and after everyone spouts a bunch of nonsense, a middle-aged man suddenly collapses to the ground, and a grade-schooler hiding behind him starts a monologue performance to identify the real culprit on the spot?
Hey, that actually doesn't sound too bad. It's a hundred times, no, at least ninety times better than participating in some rules-based horror game.
"Should we go check it out? It seems we're not the only two people trapped here."
Gao Hai cleared his throat and spoke to Kaguya Shinomiya across the table.
Then he noticed that the sheet of paper from the table was already in Kaguya Shinomiya's hands. She was turning it over and over, trying to examine it from every possible angle, and finally flipped it to the blank back side for a thorough inspection.
Is she looking for some hidden text?
Seriously, I was only distracted for a second and she silently took the paper. I didn't hear a thing. Are all women from 2D worlds this absurd? Is she a descendant of some Japan branch of the Brotherhood?
"Let's go check on the situation. You should hold onto this rules sheet. My clothes don't have pockets, so I can't carry something like this."
Having likely confirmed that there was no hidden information, Kaguya Shinomiya placed the paper back on the table and spoke to Gao Hai in a calm tone.
Although she said they should go check, Kaguya Shinomiya herself didn't move, clearly waiting for Gao Hai to act first, unwilling to walk ahead of him. Gao Hai didn't comment on this. He simply picked up the sheet, folded it, and put it in his pocket. He then glanced around the room, confirming there were no clocks, before his eyes settled on the only wooden door and the doorway leading to the kitchen on the other side. He walked directly to the door with the hole in it, grabbed the handle, and pulled it open.
Screee—eeak—
An incredibly harsh scraping sound, accompanied by an overly heavy and difficult pulling motion.
The door's hinges were almost completely rusted through, and the inside was essentially jammed solid. It could only be forced open with brute strength.
As the door opened, what appeared before Gao Hai was a small wall clock to the side and a dilapidated wall just over a meter away. Judging by the time on the clock, it was around 8:30. Combined with the light seeping through the cracks in the window, he could roughly confirm it was daytime. Of course, it could also be night, but according to the rules, that wouldn't be a problem until 9 PM, so Gao Hai stepped out of the room.
The door was located at the end of a long, narrow hallway.
At the end of this cramped, dark, and uncomfortable corridor was a right-angle turn leading to another long, narrow hallway.
At the end of this second hallway, Gao Hai saw a half-open bathroom—an old-fashioned squat toilet that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. Fortunately, he didn't see anything truly vile, so that was a relief. The main exit was next to the bathroom door; it was a somewhat rusty and very old-looking iron door.
Gao Hai tried to recall the layout of the apartment: upon entering, the bathroom is on the right, and to the left is a stretch of hallway, then a right-angle turn into another hallway, then a right turn into a small living room that doubles as a bedroom, with the kitchen off to one side...
What kind of insane floor plan is this?
Is the architect of this building out of their mind?
With this thought, Gao Hai reached for the handle and pulled the door open instantly.
"The lock is broken."
Looking down, Gao Hai noticed the door's lock was completely destroyed. The bolt wouldn't extend, meaning the door couldn't be shut properly.
He immediately had a bad feeling.
After opening the iron door, he stepped into the outer hallway.
It felt even more oppressive out here than in the room. The hallway itself was very narrow, stretching out to the left and right. Despite its narrowness, it was lined with numerous tall cabinets. These cabinets were high and offered no handholds for climbing, seemingly nailed and fixed in place, leaving only a small space on top that could barely accommodate an adult lying flat. A pale white light shone down, illuminating the ceiling and walls where the paint was peeling and cracks were everywhere. And lined up along this long, narrow corridor were dark red, rust-covered doors.
The door Gao Hai had just exited was marked with a dark red plaque: [204].
What a perfect filming location for a horror movie.
The sense of foreboding in Gao Hai's heart grew stronger.
There were already several people in the hallway. Gao Hai saw a Black man with a buzz cut; a pot-bellied, middle-aged Asian man in a somewhat bulky suit and glasses; a white man who was clearly over 190 cm tall with a thorn-shaped tattoo on his face; an unassuming, gentle-looking middle-aged Asian man with a backpack; and a young girl who looked to be a high school student, wearing the same uniform as Kaguya Shinomiya.
"A compatriot of yours?"
The first time Gao Hai saw the girl, he found her a bit familiar but couldn't immediately recall who she was, so he turned to ask Kaguya Shinomiya, who had followed him out.
"..."
Without a doubt, Kaguya Shinomiya recognized the girl at first glance, and the girl recognized her too. But despite recognizing each other, neither made any move to communicate, merely exchanging a brief glance to avoid letting the others present know they were acquainted. Although such a pretense was somewhat meaningless when they were wearing the same school uniform, avoiding confirmation of a close relationship might still be useful, so they both did so without hesitation.
Maki, you're here too?
Great-aunt, you're in this place as well?
It seems the power of whoever is behind this is considerable, to target both the Shinomiya and Shijo families at the same time...
That said, it doesn't seem like their goal is ransom or anything like that. Do you have any leads, Great-aunt?
We're the same age, can you please stop using that title? And look at the situation we're in!
Even if you say that, a great-aunt is a great-aunt. Isn't that how our family hierarchy works?
Though no words were spoken, perhaps due to a special ability of people from 2D worlds, Kaguya Shinomiya and the braided girl managed to exchange a series of rather complex thoughts with just their eyes.
At the same time, after his initial confusion, Gao Hai quickly remembered the girl's identity.
This girl, isn't she Maki Shijo?
The most tragic character in the original Kaguya-sama story, who spent her days suffering through a fiery White Album-esque drama—no, wait, her situation was even worse than that. At least in White Album, there were three people genuinely pulling at each other. She was just the pure loser, forced to endure wave after wave of public displays of affection, watching her best friend and the boy she had a crush on spend their sweet days together. They even had a shotgun wedding at seventeen, a truly bizarre turn of events.
To think that this poor girl, who was constantly tormented in the original story, would also be chosen for this rules-based horror game. Honestly, in terms of personality, you could call this kid a little angel in the original work. If everything I'm experiencing right now is really a movie, TV show, game, or novel, I'd seriously suspect the author is a psychopath. Why throw such a cute and pitiful girl into a plotline like this?
Various thoughts flashed through Gao Hai's mind, but he let none of them show on his face.
At that moment, he, along with the others in the hallway, was looking toward Room 205—the room next to his and Kaguya Shinomiya's, the source of the recent scream, a room whose contents were a complete mystery.
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