The silence in front of the door lasted for more than half an hour.
Kaguya Shinomiya leaned against the door for a long time before finally standing up straight, no longer pressing her ear to it to listen to the sounds outside.
"Those footsteps have gone downstairs."
She said this in a low voice, then started walking, signaling for Gao Hai and Maki Shijo to follow her deeper into the hallway.
The layout of Room 208 was no different from 204, with the same strange hallway structure that only turned at the very end, and at a sharp right angle.
There was also a wall clock by the door leading to the living room. Gao Hai recalled the time on the clock he'd seen in 204, added the time that had since passed, and concluded that the time on this clock should be the same as the one in 204.
Is the clock in every room absolutely accurate?
Gao Hai suddenly recalled this rule.
Assuming the rule is absolutely correct, if I change the time on this wall clock, will it still be "accurate"?
Though some ideas came to mind, Gao Hai didn't act on them. The priority right now wasn't to test the rules. Besides, a strange situation that contradicted the rules had just occurred. It was clearly still daytime, yet the resident handbook stated that it was only unsafe outside the rooms after 9 PM. Despite that, something incredibly bizarre had just happened.
Perhaps the handbook wasn't wrong. Maybe it was safe outside, and what had just happened was merely a non-lethal anomaly.
Or perhaps they had misjudged the time, and it was already night. The light coming through the windows could be deceptive, and one couldn't judge the time by the faint glow filtering through the boarded-up windows.
Or perhaps the handbook was wrong. This so-called resident handbook might be useless as a guide, and the rules summarized within could no longer protect the survivors here.
After considering everything, Gao Hai felt the third possibility was highly likely.
After all, according to the handbook's author, it was fundamentally a "resident handbook," with the emphasis on "living" rather than "surviving." Gao Hai believed that the person who could summarize such rules couldn't possibly be an illiterate who misused words. Plus, given that they had the means to leave a copy in every room, it was highly probable that, at some point, the survivors in this abandoned apartment building had formed a small community, living together and supporting each other. This handbook was likely compiled during that period.
But when it was Gao Hai's group's turn to be dragged in by that damn "Sacrificial Game," the rooms here were all dilapidated, showing no recent signs of life. Even the handbooks were covered in a layer of dust, just not as thick as on the broken furniture.
Therefore, the handbook they held might be outdated, no longer accurate or effective.
This conjecture greatly intensified the unease in Gao Hai's heart.
No, I can't jump to such a rash conclusion.
The bizarre incident just now hadn't breached the room; at least, they hadn't seen any anomalies inside. So, the rule about rooms being relatively safe should be correct. However, Gao Hai and Kaguya Shinomiya were no longer in their original room. Considering this, Gao Hai felt he still needed to be careful.
Creeak—
While he was thinking, Maki Shijo, who was walking in front, had already opened the living room door and gone inside. Gao Hai followed, with Kaguya Shinomiya bringing up the rear.
The living room of 208 was not much different from 204's, except it had a square coffee table instead of a small round one, along with a slightly dilapidated sofa and three or four small stools. The kitchen door hadn't been removed and stood there properly, though it was open.
Gao Hai didn't see any printed paper in this room. Could the previous group of survivors have missed this place?
"Don't worry about the safety of this room. This is the room I woke up in. I've already searched it beforehand."
Saying this, Maki Shijo leaned against the wall, speaking slowly to Gao Hai and Kaguya Shinomiya as she casually placed her copy of the rules on a cabinet to the side of the living room.
Unlike the underdog girl Gao Hai remembered from the original work, at this moment, Maki Shijo exuded an aura somewhat similar to Kaguya's, both carrying a degree of coldness and pressure. But compared to Kaguya Shinomiya, Maki Shijo's gaze was at most unsettling, rather than making one feel like they were being stabbed by a knife.
Ah, speaking of which, Maki Shijo was essentially the underdog version of Kaguya or the sunshine version of Kaguya in the original work. Although she was easily looked down upon due to her strong underdog element, she was indeed the young lady of a top-tier financial conglomerate. Her knowledge, perspective, and skills were all at the pinnacle among her peers. It could be said that, aside from the tsundere underdog element, she was a Kaguya Shinomiya-lily. She was a teammate Gao Hai needed to take seriously, with immense value to win over—perhaps even more so than Kaguya Shinomiya. After all, due to her strict upbringing, Kaguya Shinomiya's personality was twisted, and one had to be careful even when allied with her. Maki Shijo, on the other hand, was a pure little angel; as long as he didn't do anything unforgivably stupid, she would never backstab him.
"Mr. Gao Hai, what is it that you know?"
Kaguya Shinomiya clearly trusted Maki Shijo a great deal. Seeing her declare the room safe, she turned directly to Gao Hai and began her questioning.
"In the hallway, you were initially just observing the surroundings."
"At that time, you had already noticed the man who called himself Lao Guo. Your gaze rested on him many times. This attention wasn't just because he seemed to hold some prestige among the group, but for some reason of your own."
"Then, after seeing him make the unusual move of entering his room and locking the door, you immediately decided to hide in a room, almost as if you were using his actions as a guide. It was the same when you were reading the handbook earlier; you didn't seem to doubt the truth of its contents, as if you already knew, had already seen something similar, and understood it instantly upon reading. I want you to explain these things clearly. If you can be frank, then I think we can form a temporary alliance. I believe that with your observational skills, you should understand how much of a help having me and Maki-san with you would be."
Without waiting for Gao Hai to answer, giving him no more time to think, Kaguya Shinomiya spoke a long string of words, her tone cold but her pace remarkably fast.
While Gao Hai had been observing others, it was clear Kaguya Shinomiya had not been idle.
She had focused her attention on Gao Hai, identified numerous anomalies, and was now laying them all out.
Gao Hai could sense that the two girls in the room were extremely vigilant. Kaguya Shinomiya's own knees were slightly bent, and Gao Hai had no doubt that he would receive a fierce blow if he showed any sign of being suspicious. On the other side, Maki Shijo had taken a subtle step back, her left hand now behind her back. Gao Hai could faintly see that she was gripping what looked like a dinner knife or a fork. It looked somewhat rusty; a stab from it would probably apply a tetanus enchantment.
Whether they would be allies or enemies depended on his attitude from here on out.
Gao Hai raised his hands, ensuring both Kaguya Shinomiya and Maki Shijo could see them, paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, and prepared to speak.
Actually, I'm a transmigrator. In my previous world, I frequented many rules-based horror story forums. I also love reading unlimited flow works, which is why I was suspicious that someone might be a hidden veteran player and paid attention to his actions.
He considered saying this directly, or perhaps concealing his identity as a transmigrator slightly and just explaining the concepts of rules-based horror stories and the unlimited flow genre.
But...
"Never let anyone know where you come from."
He couldn't remember where he had seen that sentence.
It just suddenly came back to him at this moment, accompanied by a strange, bone-chilling premonition.
I can't say that.
It wasn't just that he couldn't reveal his transmigrator status.
He couldn't mention rules-based horror stories or the unlimited flow genre either, because this was the world he had transmigrated into, and both of those concepts were from his previous world. He had confirmed this by searching many keywords online, finding that many things he was familiar with in his past life didn't exist in this world. Although his search at the time wasn't comprehensive enough to know if rules-based horror stories and unlimited flow were included, if they were, he would be exposed.
Wait, exposed to whom?
The thought created a flicker of confusion in Gao Hai's mind.
But he quickly dismissed such a trivial matter. Having already figured out what to say, Gao Hai gently tugged at his collar and then opened his mouth:
"My name is Gao Hai, nineteen years old."
"I live in a detached house on XX Street. I'm a dropout, living alone. Every day I play games until 11 PM before washing up and going to... ahem, no, that's not it. Because I play games, I'm a very imaginative person. So, I once thought about combining the notices and rules posted in places like hotels and supermarkets with horror stories to write a book. I thought it might become popular and make me famous overnight."
"It's just that I encountered this situation before I could realize that idea. That's why, when I saw that resident handbook, I felt a kind of interesting familiarity. As for that man named Lao Guo, his demeanor and actions were already suspicious. And I've had a theory since I got here. Because that voice told me this was the 'first game' I was participating in, it means this kind of thing has happened many times before, and there must be veterans who have experienced it more than once and accumulated a lot of experience. And that Lao Guo, I suspect he's one of them."
"So, I decided to observe his actions. If he behaved abnormally, it was highly likely something bad was happening. And for the sake of my own safety in such a situation, I thought it best to follow his lead."
Although he nearly veered into the classic speech of a certain hand-fetishist psycho partway through, Gao Hai ultimately provided his explanation. It might not be enough to earn their complete trust, but it was at least sufficient to explain his behavior.
Incidentally, his story about planning to write rules-based horror stories wasn't a complete fabrication. For one, Gao Hai had indeed had such thoughts in his past life. For another, the notes left behind by the Gao Hai of this world who had disappeared contained similar content. Therefore, Gao Hai wasn't lying; from any angle, what he said was true.
"...Is that so?"
Kaguya Shinomiya nodded slightly but gave no reaction to Gao Hai's answer, making it impossible to tell if she accepted it or not.
"Let's not beat around the bush. Auntie, you should be able to see that this man is a sharp one. Moreover, he obviously knows who we are. The way he looks at us is clearly different from how he looks at others. You're Gao Hai, right? You know my name, don't you?"
On the other side, Maki Shijo spoke up slowly.
She took a step closer to Gao Hai, twirling the fork in her hand. The first half of her sentence was directed at Kaguya, but the latter half was a direct question to Gao Hai.
"I do. Miss Maki Shijo, one of you is the young lady of the Shinomiya family, and the other is the young lady of the Shijo family. In my first year after dropping out, I traveled all over Japan. I went into Shuchiin once during an event and saw both of your names on a ranking board."
Gao Hai answered calmly.
Traveling all over Japan and visiting Shuchiin when it was open to outsiders were all things recorded in that diary. As for seeing their names on a ranking board, that part was fabricated by Gao Hai, but such a minor fabrication was inconsequential.
"So you're well aware of my auntie's identity and mine, you've actually been to our school, and now, we've all appeared in this godforsaken place together. Has it occurred to you that what you just said actually casts another layer of suspicion on yourself?"
Maki Shijo stared into Gao Hai's eyes, carefully observing his expression as she spoke.
"Indeed, but it is the truth. It would be a mistake for me to deny it. As for the matter of my suspicion, I believe we all here understand that while this incident may look like a kidnapping, the forces at work are clearly beyond the measure of common sense. Whether it's that bizarre voice or the feeling of having control of our bodies taken away, I don't think I need to repeatedly emphasize these things."
Facing the short but imposing girl before him, Gao Hai simply continued to speak calmly, his expression and demeanor unwavering.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Maki Shijo crossed her arms, her gaze fixed tightly on Gao Hai.
Kaguya Shinomiya, standing to the side, made no move, but her eyes were also observing Gao Hai, silently judging him.
"...Alright. Auntie, I think we can trust this person for now. But speaking of which, are you really nineteen? You seem calmer than some people in their late twenties?"
In the end, it was Maki Shijo who sighed, then waved her hand and spoke, her tone becoming much more casual.
Gao Hai knew he had earned the basic trust of this talented girl, probably reaching about 10% on the affection meter. In contrast, Kaguya Shinomiya on the other side remained silent, clearly still wary of him.
"Maybe it's because I have a rich life experience, or maybe I've actually been looking forward to this kind of adventure story, ahaha..."
Gao Hai rubbed his head and let out a somewhat hollow laugh, saying something completely contrary to his true feelings.
"But in any case, for now, I think we need to cooperate properly, at least to figure out our current situation. Although I'm quite confident in my own abilities, and I have my auntie here with me... well, you, your name is Gao Hai, right? You're quite sharp. I think you can tell that both I and my auntie (referring to Kaguya) possess superhuman physical abilities and senses. So, as long as you're not harboring any ulterior motives, we can work together. How about it?"
Maki Shijo, on the other hand, had already made her decision. She gave Gao Hai a slightly proud smile and extended her hand to him.
Did she just decide for Kaguya as well?
Gao Hai could see that Kaguya Shinomiya was slightly displeased with Maki's decision. She hadn't completely let her guard down yet, so she couldn't propose a collaboration as decisively as Maki. However, despite this, Kaguya didn't voice any objections, choosing instead to acquiesce.
"Although I probably can't compare to you two at the moment, I'll do my best to be useful."
In any case, he had established a basic level of trust with these two.
In this mysterious, bizarre, and dilapidated apartment, a transmigrator and two beautiful girls thus temporarily joined forces, forming a team of investigators to begin a real-life rules-based horror tabletop role-playing game.
Overcome with emotion at this moment, Gao Hai couldn't help but think to himself:
Huh, why do I suddenly feel like having these two cute and capable JKs as teammates is kind of otaku-pandering, eh?
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