In truth, after completing the Shirakawa Apartments instance and witnessing the destruction of that world, Gao Hai did wonder if the novice instance he had cleared was perhaps a little different from everyone else's.
But the difference he imagined at the time was merely that this novice mission was absurdly difficult and his teammates were outrageously unreliable, forcing him to restart twice before finally succeeding.
But now, hearing what this old man had to say, Gao Hai realized that the difference might not be limited to the instance itself.
"I see. Uh, we don't... uh, we'd like to look around a bit more first. If we decide to sell our entry ticket, we'll come back and find you."
Though a storm of thoughts raged within him, Gao Hai remained calm, laughing as he spoke to the old man before him.
At first, he had considered making up an excuse like "we didn't bring the entry ticket with us," but halfway through, he worried that an item that sounded so extraordinary might not be a physical object one needed to carry, so he quickly changed his phrasing.
"Hmm? What, you want to shop around for a better price? Heh, suit yourselves. Just don't regret it later."
The old man didn't know what was going through Gao Hai's mind, but it was clear that the refusal had displeased him somewhat. He shot Gao Hai a sideways glance before turning to leave, sitting down at a stall along the corridor.
Seems I've annoyed him. But the problem is, I really don't have any Obsession Item to offer. If that gets out, it feels like it would be even worse.
"Hai-kun, what do we do now?"
Maki had also grown a little tense, realizing that their situation might be vastly different from that of normal newcomers.
It's best not to reveal the details of our first instance.
Gao Hai thought to himself.
He could never be certain whether killing Lao Guo and the female spy would lead to retaliation, especially after discovering Miwa Maeda's bizarre and brutal death. Originally, he just thought it was best not to reveal that he possessed the Obsession Items of those two players. But now, it seemed it would be better not to reveal which mission he had even participated in.
But if that was the case, how were they supposed to get the game information they needed?
"Let's find that girl we saw earlier."
Gao Hai said after some thought.
"Huh? We're going to find her?"
Not expecting Gao Hai to mention the guitar girl, Maki paused for a moment and couldn't help but give him a second look.
"Yeah... At the very least, she doesn't seem like a bad person. In this situation, our only choice is to pick someone we might be able to talk to."
Gao Hai said with a hint of resignation, praying internally that his perception of Bocchi-chan wasn't too far off and that he wouldn't be met with some super-modded, demonic, evil-woman version of her.
And so, the two of them proceeded down the corridor, observing their surroundings while searching for the girl they had met on the surface.
Gao Hai carefully examined the stalls and found that the main goods were concentrated in two types. The first were items that didn't look like Obsession Items but seemed to have some strange function, like dust in a glass bottle, which was somewhat similar to what Lao Guo had used, and some purple papers with blood-red writing on them that gave off an unsettling feeling. The second type were stalls selling, or rather, trading Obsession Items. This was very simple: I take out my Obsession Item, you take out yours, and we see if we can come to an agreement and trade.
It seemed that these players' transactions were still mostly based on the simplest form of barter. Considering the player community seems to have been established two years ago, it appears the players are still operating on a small scale, and their development isn't going smoothly.
"Did you hear? All the instance entry tickets for Shirakawa Apartments have been voided."
The conversation of some players reached Gao Hai's ears at that moment, making him take notice.
"I think I heard something about that. Wasn't that instance undergoing 'Fixation' recently? I wonder which player got the Core Obsession Item ahead of time. I just hope that guy is a normal person. I really don't want to see another terrifying incident where a Core Obsession Item goes out of control in the real world."
"Who knows. We can't predict the actions of powerhouses like that. I did hear that the people from the 'Woman-Face Gang' seem to have failed. Those guys are apparently looking everywhere for anyone who participated in the Shirakawa Apartments instance. A few days ago, they even killed a newcomer who survived the instance."
"Ha, you mean that bunch of crazy women who use 'Substitute Flesh'? Tsk, just hearing about it is disgusting. I hope they don't come here and cause trouble in the market."
"Good point. But who do you think it was that took the Core Obsession Item from that instance?"
Gao Hai and Maki walked past the two who were talking, their pace unwavering, appearing completely uninterested as they left.
And after they had walked away, the two who had just been talking stopped. They glanced at the departing Gao Hai and Maki, muttered to each other "Doesn't seem like them," and paid them no more attention.
They deliberately brought up information I'd be interested in to test if we were the players who cleared the Shirakawa Apartments mission? What the hell is this situation?!
Gao Hai's expression didn't change, his ability to perceive malice having already told him those two were up to something, but he was already complaining internally.
I'm not sure if the information they deliberately leaked is true or false, but the 'Woman-Face Gang'? And the name of that Obsession Item, 'Substitute Flesh'? Come to think of it, I never did find the Obsession Item that woman used to replace Miwa Maeda. So it's a type of flesh? Don't tell me you have to insert it into your own body to use it?! Should I be thankful that I locked that woman in Room 205, using the corpse mechanic to contain her? Otherwise, if her Obsession Item had run wild and something had gotten out, there's no telling if that mission could have been cleared smoothly.
Continuing on their way, Gao Hai and Maki passed by these players selling their wares and, after some time, found the pink-haired girl, who was also in this abandoned underground shopping plaza.
She didn't look like she was in a good state.
She had entered a shop. Unlike the stalls, this one looked well-maintained, occupying a small, empty storefront. After stammering with the owner inside for a long time, she came out clutching a small jar with a sigh. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but as she thought, tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Hello, we meet again, miss."
Then, Gao Hai suddenly appeared before her with Maki, greeting her in a very serious manner.
"..."
The girl couldn't respond right away.
The moment Gao Hai and Maki suddenly appeared, she was practically scared stiff on the spot, her whole body seemingly flattening into a 2D image for an instant before returning to normal. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she barely managed to say "Hello," though her voice was so quiet that even Gao Hai's S-rank enhanced hearing could barely pick it up.
"I need your help."
Gao Hai continued to speak with a grave expression.
"Eh?"
A look of shock appeared on the girl's face, and she subconsciously took a step back.
"My girlfriend and I have run into some trouble. After thinking it over, among all the players I've met, you seem very capable, and you're a good person. You can definitely help us. I hope you can help us with some questions. Could we please have your assistance?"
Gao Hai bowed deeply, making an incredibly earnest request to the pink-haired girl.
Maki's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, but she still didn't hesitate to bow along with Gao Hai, not contradicting him at a time like this, but obediently following his lead.
"Eh, eh?!"
The girl took another step back. Gao Hai felt like her face was about to turn blue.
She opened her mouth.
From the shape of her mouth at that moment, it seemed she wanted to refuse.
She struggled to open her mouth, her lips trembling a few times. By all appearances, she wanted to say no; by all appearances, she did not want to help Gao Hai and Maki.
Then, the girl spoke.
"O... Okay..."
She lowered her head as if deflating. No, it was as if her entire being was about to melt into a puddle on the floor like a slime, as she answered with a defeated sigh.
"...Are you sure you're not bullying her?"
Maki turned her head and asked Gao Hai in a whisper, having noticed tears gathering in the corners of the girl's eyes, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
"Well, at least the request for help is serious. Anyway, miss, my name is Gao Hai, and this is my girlfriend, Shijo. Not the Red Dragon... ahem, sorry, reflexively got my games mixed up. Anyway, could we trouble you to find a quieter place? We really have something very important to ask, and we're a bit worried about being overheard."
Gao Hai once again pressed his hands together, pleading earnestly.
The girl, now wearing an expression of someone who has given up on life, just nodded lightly, said "Okay," and began to lead them away.
It didn't take the three of them very long to reach the so-called secret location.
It was a small room at the end of the abandoned underground plaza, with a small cat pattern sticker on the door. Hitori Gotoh, who went by the nickname Bocchi-chan, first opened the door and peeked inside. After confirming that someone wasn't there, she seemed to become even more dejected before leading Gao Hai and Maki inside.
"Here... um... the power of an Obsession Item is affecting this place, so sound can't get out..."
Hitori Gotoh, who had entered the room first, turned and spoke to Gao Hai and Maki in a faint voice.
On the way there, the girl had told them her name. Incidentally, it took her a full 30 seconds to say her own name.
"Well then, Miss Gotoh, based on my intuitive trust in you, I believe you can help us understand a lot of things, which is why I'm seeking your help. I'm sorry to trouble you, but since neither Maki nor I have an instance entry ticket to trade, we don't know how to interact with the other players."
Gao Hai noticed the room looked like a classroom. Many desks and chairs were piled in a corner. As he spoke, he took down two stools, dusted one off and handed it to Maki, and casually wiped the other before sitting down himself. As for Hitori Gotoh, she was already sitting in the only separate seat in the classroom. This setup, with all the desks and chairs piled in the back and only one set left in the middle, gave Gao Hai the feeling that someone came back here to rest from time to time. But that wasn't the main point right now, so he didn't pay it too much mind.
"No... instance entry ticket? Huh, huh? You... you're the group from Shirakawa Apartments?"
Listening to Gao Hai, Hitori Gotoh had just been keeping her head down, but she quickly realized something and shot her head up to look at them.
Even though she seems so socially anxious she can barely communicate normally, she can still react quickly when it comes to horror story-related issues? In that case, she's at least somewhat of a veteran. I hope I made the right choice.
"That's right. Both Maki and I are players who cleared Shirakawa Apartments."
Gao Hai nodded slightly, not denying it.
"You're telling me directly... Am, am I really that trustworthy?"
The girl, not expecting such a direct opening, seemed to have received a huge shock. She took several deep breaths to calm down, then pointed at herself, seemingly unable to comprehend Gao Hai's choice.
"Let's call it a first impression. Also, Miss Gotoh, do you know about something called a 'Blessing'?"
Confirming through his own Blessing that she continued to hold goodwill towards them, Gao Hai decided to be even more direct, speaking straight to the girl before him.
"Blessing... You... Newbies? Wait, a Blessing? You fulfilled an obsession? As newbies? And got a Blessing??? Wait, wait... and you dealt with the 'Woman-Face Gang'?!"
The spectacular transformation of the girl's expression in that moment was something Gao Hai found difficult to describe with words.
Shock? Terror? Sadness? Despair? Pain? The will to live completely gone? All sorts of emotions appeared on the girl's face, like a pie chart, only to be instantly crumpled up, as if Hitori Gotoh herself was about to melt on the spot, turning into a pixelated mess on the floor.
And as expected, she started crying again.
"You... are not newbies."
Wiping away the tears from her cheeks, Hitori Gotoh spoke with a trembling voice.
"Huh? We're not? But we really did just clear our first mission."
Gao Hai didn't understand what Hitori Gotoh meant. He paused for a moment before speaking with some confusion.
"You... are veterans..."
With that last sentence, Hitori Gotoh disappeared. Ah, no, she didn't disappear. She had just retreated into a cardboard box on the side of the room, answering Gao Hai in a muffled voice from within, as if she had become a shut-in after taking a blow.
By the way, when did that box get there?
"Are you really sure there's no problem with choosing this person?"
Becoming more and more bewildered by Bocchi-chan's stream-of-consciousness performance, Maki couldn't help but turn her head and once again express her doubt to Gao Hai.
"She's probably reliable. At least she's consistently shown us goodwill, right? Hey, hey, Miss Gotoh, could you come out for a second? It's really hard for us to talk like this."
Equally embarrassed, Gao Hai forced a smile and tried to summon Hitori Gotoh to continue their conversation.
Anyway, a few minutes later, the three of them finally returned to their original state, sitting together in the middle of the classroom, facing each other and resuming their initial conversation.
"So, that's the situation. We're in a difficult spot right now, and we don't know how to get something like a newcomer's handbook. Our knowledge of the Sacrificial Game is basically zero so far; we can only speculate based on the few words from that voice. Can you help us in this regard, Miss Gotoh? We can use the Obsession Items from those two veteran players as payment."
After explaining their predicament and confirming that Hitori Gotoh, who now knew all this, still bore them no ill will, still held goodwill, and was willing to help them, a relieved Gao Hai earnestly stated his request.
And in stark contrast to her earlier attitude, Hitori Gotoh now became incredibly serious and solemn. She gave Gao Hai and Maki a very formal nod, then stood up.
Is she going to get that newcomer's handbook for them?
Seeing her valiant and spirited expression, Gao Hai couldn't help but wonder what the girl was about to do.
Next, Gao Hai saw Hitori Gotoh pick up her guitar.
Gao Hai: ?
Maki: ?
Hitori Gotoh: !!!
Twang—
Slender fingers struck down hard.
A clear musical note rang out at that moment.
And Hitori Gotoh, her expression intensely focused, her voice forced into a recitation, also rang out with great momentum in Gao Hai's and Maki's ears.
Twang-twang-twang—twang-twang-twang-twang—
"Sacrificial Game has three tiers of dread, Twilight, Dim Night, and then the Red Moon~"
"Twilight's easy, tickets sell fast; Dim Night's a pain, Red Moon is death! Die in an instance, you're dead for good; escape with your life, get one ticket~"
"Dim Night has one false clue; Red Moon, half are untrue. Two A-ranks, you must advance; stay behind, you'll be a target's chance~"
"Core Obsession defines the game's heart; fulfill its wish, tear the game apart! If it runs wild, it's the end for all; back into the instance, you will fall~"
"Ashes won't bring the dead back to life; purple charms borrow life, attracting strife. Players are split, it's a terrible mess; murder and arson happen every day, no less~"
The girl, full of spirit, just strummed her guitar and blurted out a whole bunch of words in one go.
Honestly, in that moment, Gao Hai was more than a little awestruck by this amazing veteran, Bocchi.
As for Maki, who stood beside him with her mouth wide open, she was probably in a state of extreme shock as well, right?
By the way, did she just recite the rules summarized by players in this manner? Because her social anxiety is so bad she can't just go ask someone for a player handbook, she instead forced herself to sing out this information using the music she's good at?
Although she sings pretty well, it feels completely nonsensical...
Not knowing how to react, Gao Hai could only force himself not to show a strange expression, and then tried his best to memorize what she sang, attempting to summarize the useful information from it.
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