Even now, as the three people in the room barely reached a preliminary agreement to cooperate, the hallway outside remained completely silent.
That uncle named Sun Dajun, that young Black man, that blonde woman who was so scared she could barely walk—their voices had vanished from the hallway. After Kaguya closed the door, not a single sound had been heard from them again.
No one knew what the situation was in the hallway beyond the door.
However, for the time being, the people inside the room didn't need to worry about such things.
"In short, these 'rules-based horror stories,' when you get down to it, are survival methods summarized from various aspects, all under the premise of avoiding the direct description of some terrifying thing. However, I suspect the handbook we have is already outdated, or at least insufficient to deal with the current situation."
Sitting around the coffee table in the room, Gao Hai looked at the two identical A4 printed sheets from Rooms 204 and 208 placed on the table, and began his analysis slowly.
"Let's not even talk about the rule mentioning that daytime is safe, since we haven't confirmed the situation in the hallway yet. But one point is already very telling: the rules confirm that the people inexplicably brought into Shirakawa Apartments are all over 20 years old. Yet, the three of us here are all under 20. This point alone already contradicts the rules. Therefore, I suspect that the anomaly in this apartment has undergone an extremely drastic change, to the extent that the rules used by the survivors who originally lived here are no longer accurate and can't help us avoid all the dangers."
"After all, from the moment we arrived until now, although we haven't been to many places, we haven't found any recent signs of life, whether in the rooms or the hallway, right? The people who had the ability to leave these rules couldn't have just left a list and done nothing else. If they were still here, we should have been able to find all sorts of clues. But that's not the case at all. So, I think we should find a way to verify the rules on this list, to determine which ones are invalid and which can still be effective in protecting us."
"Of course, this is just my personal opinion. What do you two think?"
Saying this, Gao Hai sat obediently on the stool, his expression as innocent as a well-behaved student in an elementary school classroom.
However, despite his seemingly humble attitude, there was a trace of arrogance in the depths of Gao Hai's heart.
I'm a transmigrator, after all, and one who has struggled and toughened up in society. My knowledge and way of thinking must be much stronger than these anime high school girls who don't even know what rules-based horror stories are.
In that case, I'll rely on my wisdom and the assistance of these two to overcome the current predicament!
"If you're talking about signs of life from the people in the past, I've already found them. But Gao Hai is right about one thing—those people have definitely been gone for a long time."
Standing on one side of the room, Maki Shijo listened seriously to Gao Hai before nodding gently and chiming in. She then walked over to the bed, crouched down, and pulled out a small box from underneath it.
"Ngh..."
The box was clearly quite heavy. Maki Shijo struggled slightly as she lifted it, but she still frowned and slowly carried it over to the table, placing it down before unzipping the small, suitcase-like container.
In the next moment, Gao Hai and Kaguya Shinomiya saw a variety of items messily arranged inside the box.
Compressed biscuits, instant noodles in bags, mineral water, toilet paper, alcohol, iodophor, fever medicine...
All sorts of things were mixed in, clearly prepared intentionally to provide supplies for the person living in the room.
"The production dates are all from around two years ago, with the most recent being two years and three months. The items are either already expired or not far from it. The text on these items is all in Huaxia script; it seems we've been brought to some small town in Huaxia. Also, there's this in the box."
As Maki Shijo spoke, she opened a side pocket of the box and pulled out a sheet of white paper.
Just like the rule sheets they had found in the room earlier, this paper also had words written on it.
[To the Survivor]
[No matter who you are, when you wake up in this room, you are one of us]
[As people who are similarly cursed and unable to escape this terrifying apartment, we can only survive better by cooperating with each other]
[This box contains some food and water, as well as rubbing alcohol, gauze, some simple medicines, and tools. These items are replaced annually, so don't worry about them being unusable. Feel free to take what you need]
[But if it is nighttime, please try not to make any noise when using these items. If you have read the rule sheet we left in the room, I believe you will understand what I mean. If you haven't read it yet, please go and read it now. This is not a place where you can relax and live out your days. Everyone here is exposed to danger at all times, so if you want to live, you must know the rules]
[The items in the supply box are listed as follows:]
[1. Chocolate bars x3; 2. Canned compressed biscuits x1 box; 3. Vitamin supplements x1 box; 4. Bagged instant noodles x3; 5. Bottled mineral water x5 (600ml each); 6. Lighter x1; 7. Toilet paper x1 pack (180 sheets); 8. Rubbing alcohol x1 bottle; 9. Disinfectant iodophor x1 bottle; 10. Medical bandage x1 roll; 11. General medicine x1 box; 12. Sanitary napkins x1 box; 13. Transparent tape x1 roll; 14. Earplugs x1 pair; 15. Self-made sound-dampening mask x1 (If you have a snoring problem, you must wear this at night and not take it off no matter how uncomfortable it is)]
[--Xusheng]
Unlike the rule sheet, which was densely packed with over two thousand words, the content on this note was much simpler and more direct.
Just by seeing these things, Gao Hai felt an indescribable sensation.
From the survival handbooks in every room, to the specially built cabinets in the hallway for taking refuge, and now these discovered supplies placed in the rooms for survivors—one could imagine that the group of survivors who once lived here must have been doing their utmost to unite, trying every possible way to increase everyone's chances of survival.
But now, they had vanished, leaving only these traces of their existence behind.
What on earth happened during that time?
From the text on this note alone, it was clear that the past survivors had the capability to place these emergency supplies in every room. This meant that the people who lived here back then had already investigated the rules of this place quite thoroughly, to the point where they could live relatively normal lives and even had significant capacity to help others.
So, what exactly happened that made all traces of these survivors disappear?
"If the part about 'replaced annually' wasn't just written randomly, then the organized group of survivors that once existed here has been disbanded for at least a year."
Kaguya Shinomiya, who had maintained a cold expression from the start, spoke slowly, her gaze fixed on the scattered items in the small box, her thoughts unreadable.
"That's right. I asked the others in the hallway earlier, and they didn't seem to have noticed if there was a box like this in their rooms. I suspect every room should have a supply box like this. If we really have to stay here for a while, then collecting these supply boxes is essential. Even if the food is close to expiring, at least it can fill our stomachs. Facing this eerie apartment on an empty stomach is not a good idea. Right, Great-grandaunt?"
Saying this, Maki Shijo sat down on the sofa on one side of the room, gently swinging her legs.
"The items in this supply box are enough for us to manage for about a day. We could conserve them, but that would lower our physical stamina, making it difficult for us to react in time when facing danger. In other words, even if we adopt a conservative strategy, we can only hold out in this room for one day at most. We'll have to make a move and leave this room by tomorrow at the latest."
Kaguya Shinomiya frowned. She did not like Maki Shijo calling her 'Great-grandaunt.' Although their seniority was indeed so, being called by a grandmotherly title by a girl of the same age made Kaguya extremely annoyed—so annoyed that she wanted to start an argument with her right here and now.
No, I can't do that.
As a member of the Shinomiya family, arguing and bickering in private is one thing, but with an outsider present, it's better to maintain proper etiquette.
Feeling slightly irritated, Kaguya Shinomiya let out a soft breath, keeping her expression calm as she continued her analysis:
"Although we must take action, the information we currently have is far too limited, so acting rashly is not a good idea. Just as Mr. Gao Hai said, the rule sheet we have is likely outdated. Even if some of its content does have reference value, other rules that seem to be for our protection may have now turned into deadly traps."
"So now, it is imperative that we review this rule sheet in our hands."
Reaching out with a fair finger, she gently pressed down on one of the rule sheets on the table. Kaguya Shinomiya's tone grew increasingly serious.
"Then let's start with the very first rule: 8:00 AM to 5:50 PM. This point is clearly problematic at present. Although there's light shining through the window, which makes it look like daytime, an anomaly that defies common sense has appeared in the hallway. Either the light from the window is itself a misdirection, and we are actually in the middle of the night, or this rule itself is no longer effective, and the apartment is also dangerous during the day."
Maki Shijo immediately spoke up, clearly having been thinking about this already.
"I can confirm that it is daytime right now, there's no mistake. So it can only be that this rule is no longer accurate and cannot protect us."
Kaguya Shinomiya gave her answer instantly, her tone full of conviction.
"Your biological clock?"
Maki Shijo was slightly taken aback by this answer, then immediately understood what Kaguya meant.
"Correct. The Shinomiya family's schedule is extremely strict. If it's past 11 PM, my body will instinctively feel sleepy. The time shown on the wall clock earlier was around 1 o'clock. If that were 1 AM, it would be impossible for me not to react."
Kaguya Shinomiya nodded slightly, a hint of pride unconsciously creeping into her words.
"What a pitifully strict upbringing, Great-grandaunt. But have you considered the time difference? If we were brought to a different time zone, your biological clock might not correspond accurately to the time. To be more extreme, what if we're in another world?"
Maki Shijo huffed, retorting bluntly with her hands on her hips.
"I have considered that as well. However, the features of this place we are in now—the building, the furniture, the writing—all invariably exude a distinct Huaxia style. Unless the creator of this place was bored enough to build a to-scale replica in a place like America, the time difference can't be that significant. You should know that all of Huaxia uses the Shangjing time zone, which has a very small time difference with Japan. As for being in another world, that's a possibility we don't need to consider for now. Thinking in that direction would mean we'd be trapped in this room forever. With that mindset, any action would be wrong, and our goal is to leave, not to get bogged down in pointless speculation."
Kaguya Shinomiya refuted her at high speed. On the other side, Maki Shijo adopted a thoughtful expression, then nodded slightly, acknowledging the validity of her argument.
"I think..."
Gao Hai, who had been unable to find an opportunity to interject while watching the two girls' rapid-fire conversation, raised his hand at this moment, wanting to say something.
"Alright, next is the second rule. It seems some abnormal change happens in this apartment after 9 PM..."
But Kaguya Shinomiya had already moved swiftly on to the next topic. Even though Maki had paused, intending to hear what Gao Hai had to say, she was involuntarily swept along by Kaguya's pace and could only continue discussing the next issue.
"A 'perfectly accurate clock'... that phrase wasn't written lightly. It must have some deeper meaning. We'll have to try changing the clock's time later to see what happens."
"According to this rule, after 9 PM, we must stay in our rooms, preferably the one we woke up in, and maintain absolute silence, ignoring any children knocking... This 'child' might be a metaphor, referring to some kind of threat in this apartment. Do they have some way to monitor the entire building, which is why we can't discuss or explain anything even if we know something?"
"I checked the electricity in the room when I woke up. It's broken, and has been for a long time. So the part of the third rule about not turning on lights is meaningless. This might be another piece of evidence that the former survivors have disappeared. When they were still active, the apartment's electricity was likely maintained and intact. No, I can't just think about our own room. The lights in the hallway are working. What if those lights also fall under the category of 'must be extinguished after 9 PM'?"
"We need to check if anything was left on top of the tall cabinets later. The rules are very clear: the source of the threat is similar in size to a young child, not tall, so the cabinets can be used for evasion. But since 'they' have now disappeared, it's hard to say if this method of avoidance is still effective. However, there should be some traces left on those cabinets that might help our further investigation."
"The fact that the location '304' is specifically mentioned in this way suggests a major problem. Conversely, the creator of these rules claims he lives in 309, which means the 3rd floor itself is safe, and only room 304 is problematic? In any case, investigating the 3rd floor is absolutely necessary. Oh, right, when we were outside earlier, I asked the others for their room numbers. They were all on the same floor, residents of the 2nd floor. For now, it seems no one claiming to be from 304 has appeared."
"According to the rules, entering and leaving this apartment isn't actually restricted, as long as it's through the main entrance. But our mission is to escape Shirakawa Apartments within 7 days. If it were really that easy, I don't think we would have been given such a mission. Perhaps the situation on the 1st floor is extremely dangerous. If we're going to investigate, we must be as careful as possible."
"If nothing else, the fact that there's still no movement in the hallway is troublesome in itself. Even if you, Great-grandaunt, heard footsteps and we left, is it really safe out there? Just the question of whether we should open the door to explore in a bit is a huge problem."
...
Gao Hai sat motionless.
Silent amidst the two young ladies' swift exchange.
He had tried to speak several times, but ultimately never found an opportunity to interject.
Every time he wanted to say something, either Kaguya or Maki would say what he was about to say, and then quickly extend the topic, moving on to the next thing in a flash. The pace was so fast that Gao Hai couldn't keep up at all, unable to find any room for his own contributions. Before long, he could only sit there dumbly and listen to their analysis, completely giving up on the idea of participating in the conversation.
There really are vast differences between people.
At this moment, Gao Hai felt that the small team of three before him was like two pro-level players grouped with one useless tagalong. And yes, of course, he was the useless one.
"Anyway, the main point now is whether or not to open the door and investigate the situation outside. You think we should make a probe, Great-grandaunt, but my opinion is to observe a little longer, at least wait and see if the other two who also hid in their rooms make a move. We shouldn't be the ones to stick our necks out. By the way, Gao Hai, what do you think? Do you have any ideas?"
As the discussion neared its end and turned to their immediate actions, Maki Shijo suddenly looked over at the quiet Gao Hai and began to ask for his opinion.
"I'll be in charge of cheering '666'."
With a deadpan expression, Gao Hai raised his right hand and answered with great seriousness.
"Huh?"
Not understanding the phrase, Maki frowned. Although she could understand Chinese, comprehending various internet slang terms was clearly asking too much of her.
"I mean, please carry me, you pros. I'm a newbie. *whimper whimper*."
Gao Hai continued, his expression still blank.
"What's with this weird, forced cuteness? I was seriously asking for your opinion!"
Still completely clueless as to what Gao Hai was saying, Maki stomped her foot in anger, her somewhat sharp canine teeth showing.
________________________________________
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