"Instead of just standing there spacing out, you might as well search this mental patient containment room for clues that might help us pass the instance."
Hearing Asagiri's words and seeing him walk towards the window, seemingly observing something, Yūki Asuna, although still cautious, couldn't help but ask:
"Mr. Houseki, how do you know this is a room for containing mental patients?"
"Isn't that obvious just by looking?"
Asagiri took two steps back and pointed towards the window. Following the direction of his finger, Yūki Asuna saw that the window of this room was only about thirty centimeters long and wide, and it was fitted with thick steel bars for protection.
"The hint said this is a sanatorium, but just looking at this window, it's clear that this room is practically a cell. Also, look here..."
Saying this, Asagiri walked to the bed, reached out to touch the iron guardrails on both sides, and after rubbing them carefully, he said in a calm tone:
"This is not a safety railing installed in normal hospital rooms to prevent patients from falling out of bed while sleeping; this is the type that cannot be lowered. Furthermore, there are obvious signs of wear near the headboard and footboard. These are marks left by someone who was restrained to the railings by their hands and feet while lying on this bed and struggled relentlessly."
"The edge of this bedsheet also has residual traces of dried blood, which, just as I said, is proof that someone struggled constantly, causing their wrists and ankles to be chafed raw."
"Judging from all these clues, this is either a mental patient containment room—and for patients who are highly aggressive, unable to be unrestrained even while sleeping—or it's the scene of a sadist's crime. However, a sadist wouldn't specifically place a hospital bed for their captive to lie on, and the APP hint also mentioned that this is an unnamed sanatorium, so the former possibility is higher."
Hearing Asagiri's analysis, Yūki Asuna was somewhat surprised.
She was not surprised by his exceptional mind or keen insight; after all, any normal person carefully observing this room could find the same traces he mentioned and draw the same conclusions. That was not a big deal.
What truly puzzled Yūki Asuna was...
Isn't this mysterious person, who calls himself "Houseki Yōmei," entering the mindset of the game a little too quickly?
Suddenly appearing in a completely unfamiliar place, the normal reaction for anyone should be to at least be momentarily stunned, then take out their phone to try and contact the outside world or the police, right?
Yet, this person just took a look at his phone, seemingly confirming something, and then immediately started observing the surroundings?
Is this person... mentally stable?
"Um... your clothes seem to be padded with something inside?"
Hearing Yūki Asuna's careful inquiry, Asagiri, standing there, waved his hand and replied in a naturally calm tone:
"It's nothing, really. I just padded magazines and books underneath my clothes, and rolled some up to tape onto my arms and legs. Since we're entering an instance, this basic level of protection is, of course, necessary."
Yūki Asuna was speechless.
From the moment the APP appeared on the phone until entering the instance, there were only ten minutes of preparation time, right?
Assuming this "Houseki Yōmei" was in the same situation as her, that would mean he managed to fashion protection out of magazines and books, grabbed a drill and a chainsaw, and then entered the instance—all within ten minutes?
That speed of action... isn't that a little too fast? He didn't hesitate at all, didn't even consider the possibility of a virus or a Trojan horse program on the phone?
Yūki Asuna's confusion was perfectly reasonable, but Asagiri's situation was different.
Utsunomiya Asagiri, currently sixteen years old and the same age as Yūki Asuna, was supposed to officially start high school today according to the real-world timeline. He was a Transmigrator.
For him, since even transmigrating to a completely different world could happen, the sudden appearance of the main god's space and his selection as a Player was not that unbelievable.
"Instead of continuing to be curious about me, why don't you combine the information I just found and think about how to escape?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, Yūki Asuna finally snapped back to attention. Although she still didn't quite understand the current situation, she tried her best to calm down and began to think seriously.
First, she was certain that this mysterious person sharing the room with her was definitely not named "Houseki Yōmei." The reason was simple: if he would tell her his real name so easily, what was the point of wearing a mask and sunglasses to hide his face?
Moreover, just now, when she chose not to reveal her name, he even said,
"Quite vigilant, that's good."
It was clearly a test.
However...
In this situation, regardless of whether this "Houseki Yōmei" was mentally stable or what kind of person he was, the most rational choice was clearly to cooperate with him. She absolutely could not make him an enemy, as Yūki Asuna did not think she could defeat a man over six feet tall wielding a drill and a chainsaw with just a fruit knife.
With this thought, Yūki Asuna recalled the red text she saw before entering the instance and murmured:
"Escaping within sixty minutes, or one hour... that's the 'Player's' objective, but it didn't mention the penalty for failure. Is there no penalty? Or is escaping within one hour the only way to survive, making a separate penalty unnecessary?"
Yūki Asuna paused here, first looking at the window with the steel bars, then at the chainsaw on the floor next to Asagiri, but finally shook her head.
"No, it won't work. Never mind whether the chainsaw can cut those thick steel bars; even if it could, the window is too small for us to climb out. The only way to escape is to open the door and leave this room... But what exactly is a 'Careworker'..."
Just as Yūki Asuna was halfway through her thought, her peripheral vision inadvertently swept towards the door of the hospital room.
That glance made the blood in her entire body feel like it had frozen. The sudden terror made her feel as though her body had become paralyzed.
On the tightly closed door of the room, there was a transparent observation window, just like in a normal hospital room.
And right now, behind that glass observation window, a blood-stained, hideous face was pressed tightly against it.
Those bloodshot pupils were staring fixedly at her.