Chapter 13: Being a Bad Guy Seems More Comforting
If his life were a novel, Kaito swore he would track down the author and slap them across the face a few times.
Damn it. First, some ghostly thing in the hallway instantly killed three nameless characters without even showing its face. Then came the sanity-draining, life-threatening assault of the door-knocking trio. And now, just when he thought he was temporarily safe by exploiting the scenario's rules, he gets treated to a corpse staring contest? Couldn't they go easier on his heart?
What if he died of fright? What would the readers do then? Switch to a new protagonist? Let him tell you, changing protagonists is a major turn-off—absolutely unacceptable! That's the hard-earned wisdom of a struggling writer, you know!
The internal rant flashed through his mind at lightning speed.
Yet, Kaito's face remained utterly expressionless, not a single ripple of emotion.
He knew the man behind the female corpse was already dead—that he, too, was a corpse. Or at least, this thing shared some characteristics of a corpse: no breathing, injuries that would be fatal to a human.
But he also knew this damn thing was staring at him.
The man's single remaining intact eye was wide open, fixed unblinkingly on Kaito's face.
Kaito shifted slightly.
Behind the female corpse, the male corpse's head silently turned, maintaining its gaze.
The thing's hiding spot was almost entirely swallowed by darkness.
If Kaito hadn't realized something was off and scrutinized the area, he would never have noticed the presence behind the female corpse. But even now that he had, he dared not expose it. After experiencing the previous two assaults by supernatural forces in this apartment, Kaito understood deeply that the things lurking here were beyond what ordinary people could handle. Right now, the corpse was lying still, but if it decided to get up later, it might just wipe out the entire group.
"Let's go. There's nothing worth seeing here—just a corpse. Let's check Room 210. There might be some clues there."
Lowering the bedsheet to cover the corpse beneath the bed, Kaito stood up. As he spoke, he turned to Kaguya and silently mouthed three letters:
[SOS]
Understanding the situation, Kaguya glanced at the seemingly unremarkable double bed before looking down at the blond woman whose cheeks were reddened from being forcefully silenced. After a moment's thought, she spoke coldly:
"I'll let you go now. As long as you don't foolishly scream or interfere with what we're doing, I have no interest in dealing with you."
As she spoke, Kaguya slightly loosened her grip on the woman's mouth.
"Wh-what do you want? My family has no money, I'm really poor… please don't kidnap me…"
The intimidation skills of the Ice Princess Kaguya were clearly maxed out. The woman, now released, was already crying in fear but didn't dare wail loudly, only whimpering weakly in pleading tones, as if on the verge of kneeling.
"Who'd bother kidnapping you? Open your eyes and look properly—we're trapped here just like you. Let me make this clear: the only reason we're not leaving you to your fate isn't out of charity. If you can't prove your usefulness, that corpse earlier will be your future."
Meanwhile, Maki stuffed some documents she'd found in the bookshelf—whose value as clues she wasn't sure of—into her backpack before opening the living room door, ready to head out first.
"Wh-what exactly are you trying to do? We've done nothing to you…"
Sun Dajun, who had been cowering by the wall, stood up now, shielding the sniffling blond woman as he finally spoke up in barely contained anger.
What a pain.
Kaito genuinely felt annoyed.
It suddenly dawned on him that the reason Old Guo had chosen to manipulate just one person and leave was precisely to avoid dealing with this mess.
First-timers trapped in the Sacrifice Game's surreal horror, unaware of its true dangers, still relying on everyday logic and unable to grasp the terror of a single misstep leading to instant annihilation.
Kaito wasn't some philanthropist. Honestly, he'd rather leave these people to their fate, just like last time.
But the problem was—in this apartment, the dead didn't rest. They became incomprehensible monsters, pursuing the living and creating massive obstacles for their survival.
Helping was troublesome, abandoning them was worse. Less than an hour into this seven-day game, Kaito was already experiencing the sheer malice of this dungeon from every angle.
"Mr. Grimm, do you have a knife?"
Then, he heard Kaguya's icy voice.
"I do."
In the next moment, Grimm drew a 15-centimeter dagger from his waist—clearly sharpened, its edge glinting ominously even in the dim room.
"Escort him out at knifepoint. If he makes a sound, cut out his tongue."
Issuing the cold command without even glancing at Sun Dajun, Kaguya simply motioned for Kaito to follow before striding away.
Kaito quickly followed behind Kaguya, then paused to give the cowering blond woman a gentle smile before asking:
"Are you going to come out on your own, or shall I come in and get you?"
He thought his tone sounded perfectly normal.
Yet the woman immediately stumbled out, tears streaming down her face as she covered her mouth, as if she'd been threatened by a serial killer.
As for Sun Dajun, though he initially wanted to resist with some backbone, when the menacing Grimm drove a knife into the wall right beside his head—barely a centimeter from his ear—he nearly pissed himself in terror. With a face full of despair, he obediently followed her out.
"That's more like it."
Standing in the hallway, Kaguya coldly observed the trembling Sun Dajun and the blonde woman, her haughty demeanor resembling that of a queen.
"Whether you accept it or not, if you fail to obey from now on, I will punish you."
"In dire circumstances, the brilliance of human nature is never a necessity for survival. On the contrary, enough savagery is what ensures safety. If you can't behave properly right now, then I can only say you're left with the most basic utility—scum even worse than dogs. If you show even the slightest bit of sense, depending on the situation, I might consider granting you some small privileges."
"Mr. Grimm, for now, I'll trouble you to discipline these two disobedient mutts. Make sure they don't get in the way."
Having issued the command so casually, Kaguya then turned away, no longer sparing them a glance.
"My name is Sun Dajun. I'm not a dog."
The man growled in anger, feeling deeply insulted.
"I-I'm Maeda Miwa..."
Though timid, the woman also felt uncomfortable after being spoken to like that by Kaguya. Seeing Sun Dajun protest, she hesitantly followed suit.
Then, when Grimm—grinning viciously—stood before them with a knife and sneered, "What the hell do I care what your names are?" the two, being nothing more than ordinary people with mediocre resolve, ultimately chose to shut their mouths.
The whole ordeal took about a minute or two before the two of them were finally subdued—barely.
What a pain.
Kaito shook his head slightly, genuinely irritated by the troublesome situation.
They had to make these two witness something real—only then could they grasp the gravity of their predicament. Otherwise, even if they were suppressed by force now, these idiots would inevitably do something stupid, like the cannon fodder in horror movies. And since their group needed to focus on unraveling the rules of this place, they couldn't afford to keep constant watch over these two. Even with Grimm acting as an enforcer, one person couldn't perfectly monitor two without slipping up.
Then there was this damned place's mechanics—there was a chance these two, once dead, might turn into some unstoppable monstrosity that would immediately hunt them down. If that forced them to use the grandfather clock for another time reversal, it would be beyond infuriating.
Still, at least they could serve one useful purpose: as backup candidates for winding the clock.
Kaito, who had personally adjusted a clock before, could still feel the gaze of those Head Clocks even now. After coming into contact with them, these ordinary wall clocks seemed to have established some eerie connection with him. This anomaly was alarming, so he believed that if they encountered a situation where they had to rely on the power of a clock again, Kaguya and Maki—key members for exploration and analysis—must absolutely not be the ones to do it. Initially, he thought letting Grimm adjust the clock would suffice, but now it seemed more appropriate to have Sun Dajun or this Maeda Miwa handle it. He was sure that after adjusting the clock, they would finally understand the gravity of their situation.
Though it might seem a bit cruel—no, not cruel at all. He had already saved their lives by taking on the eerie consequences of adjusting the clock himself. Making them repay a little interest wasn't such a bad thing.
Kaito was somewhat surprised to find how easily his mindset had shifted.
Engaging in this act of playing the villain alongside Kaguya, even genuinely considering some less-than-harmonious methods, didn't provoke any moral discomfort in him.
Maybe it's because they're not cute girls. After all, I'm someone who judges by appearances.
With that thought, Kaito picked up a wooden stick from the hallway and propped it against the already closed door of Room 205.
He exchanged glances with Kaguya and Maki, then pointed toward Room 208. After a brief moment of consideration, Kaguya and Maki signaled for Grimm to bring the other two along—quietly.
The plan to go to Room 210 was, of course, a lie. After Lao Guo's stern warning about avoiding Room 210, Kaito wasn't foolish enough to test its validity with his life.
Instead, hiding in Room 208—which they had explored earlier and deemed relatively safe (at least Refrigerator Bro hadn't shown any intention of interacting with them during the previous round)—and monitoring the hallway for any movement from Under-bed Bro was a necessary next step.
Hmm, Kaito had already decided to follow the horror game player tradition of nicknaming monsters—like Chainsaw Bro, Scissor Bro, or Fat Bro—and give these corpses similar monikers. This way, he could at least somewhat ease the psychological pressure.
Grimm, now strutting around like a loyal lackey, convinced he had found powerful allies, led the dejected Sun Dajun and Maeda Miwa into the living room. Following Kaito's orders, the two were placed in the kitchen and instructed to move the refrigerator, positioning its door flush against the wall before sitting down with their backs against it. Grimm stood guard at the kitchen door, keeping an eye on them.
"Keep watch over those two. If anything inside the fridge tries to come out, evacuate them to the living room."
When Kaito said this to Grimm, he noticed the man's face instantly pale. It was clear all his courage came solely from Kaito's group. To compensate, Kaito had to adopt a more authoritative tone before Grimm nervously led the two into the kitchen.
Kaguya, with the keenest hearing, remained in the hallway as usual. She had decided to verify the results of this attempt and would not hesitate to retreat into the living room if things went wrong. She absolutely wouldn't repeat the mistake of calling Kaito and Maki over like last time, which had nearly led to all three of them being wiped out.
"Sigh… I hope we get a good result this time."
Maki, standing guard at the doorway between the living room and the hallway, let out a tired whisper.
She wasn't fond of playing the villain and had never intended to do anything to those poor souls who, like her, were trapped here. Unlike Kaguya, who was molded by the ruthless education of a financial conglomerate, or Kaito, whose moral compass wasn't particularly strong to begin with, Maki Shijo had always been a kind-hearted girl. She was simply smart enough to know that, given the unexplainable circumstances and the hostility and fear directed at them, maintaining enough pressure was necessary to ensure temporary stability—hence her participation in putting on a cold front.
And ultimately, the man named Grimm was only willing to listen to the three of them because he believed they were all [experienced players].
If that pretense were exposed, that bloodthirsty man would never be as cooperative as he was now.
This so-called game was far too troublesome and difficult… Why did it have to torment people who had been living their lives peacefully?
The girl's sigh received no response.
Meanwhile, in the hallway, Kaguya, frowning as she focused on the noises outside the door, had already heard the sound she both wanted and dreaded to hear.
Click—
The small wooden stick placed in front of Room 205 had fallen over.