Chapter 73: Surveillance
It was all just a misunderstanding on her part. That was what she told herself.
How could Brother Bai Liu possibly have those kinds of thoughts? He just wanted her to dress up as his friend, that was all.
Wu Wenwen sat on the edge of the bed, repeating the mantra in her head. But when she looked up and met the twin gazes of Haruto and Kaguya—stares that seemed intent on devouring her alive—she couldn't stop her neck from shrinking back into her shoulders.
"Brother Bai Liu, I... I'm ready."
"Don't rush, let me look. I remember putting it here somewhere."
Haruto poked his head into the swirling darkness of a Gap, rummaging around with muffled clattering sounds. A moment later, his eyes lit up, and he triumphantly pulled out what he was looking for.
He laid the items out on the bed: a small black top, a little white skirt, a pair of long rabbit ears on a headband, and even... a fluffy white rabbit tail.
Staring at the "equipment" displayed before her, Wu Wenwen found she no longer had the words to hypnotize herself.
No matter how she looked at it, this was all kinds of wrong.
"B-Brother Bai Liu," she stammered, "didn't you say I was going to dress up as your friend...?"
"Yes, that's right," Haruto said, nodding encouragingly. "Just put these on. It's perfect."
"..."
Seeing the utterly calm and guilt-free expression on Haruto's face, Wu Wenwen felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuelao, who had been sitting quietly on a chair by the wall, felt her cheeks flush. Though she couldn't see, the few lines of dialogue were more than enough for her to piece together a rough, and rather scandalous, picture of what was happening. Her lips parted slightly in surprise.
That kind of outfit?
Kaguya, her expression a complex mixture of curiosity and judgment, picked up the fluffy tail. She carefully examined its base, and upon finding it was just a simple tie-on decoration, she tossed it back onto the bed with a sigh of relief.
"I won't comment on why you're carrying around Reisen's clothes for now," she began, fixing Haruto with a pointed look. "But what's the deal with these ears and this tail? The texture is clearly Reisen's fur. Don't tell me you..."
"Stop! Don't let your imagination run wild," Haruto cut her off, holding up a hand. "I didn't steal, rob, or coerce anyone. I got these from Reisen fair and square."
"No, the question is, why did you want these things from her in the first place?" Kaguya pressed, her expression growing even stranger. "Are you planning to cosplay as Reisen and become her sister?"
"Why would I cosplay?" Haruto scoffed. "It's for Youmu. I was thinking, Youmu and Reisen could totally cosplay as each other. I also got a set of Youmu's clothes, and with a little of Eirin's Half-Spirit potion, it'll be perfect. I'll have them secretly swap places for a day. I guarantee Eirin and Yuyuko won't notice a thing."
As he spoke, Haruto's excitement visibly grew, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of his own brilliant, chaotic scheme.
This time, Kaguya was genuinely stunned by his peculiar brand of genius. She frowned at first, but then, as if a specific image formed in her mind, her brow slowly relaxed.
"And how do you plan to solve the chest problem?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Your Youmu can just stuff a bit, that's easy. But Reisen... you can't just claim her chest disappeared because she lost weight, can you?"
"It's fine. I'll just have Reisen go to Reimu for a couple of chest binders."
"...Are you sure Reimu won't chase you down and smash you with her Yin-Yang Orbs?"
"Probably... not?" Haruto's confidence swelled as he spoke. "Besides, I'm going back with a huge business deal to offer her. She'll be worshipping me as a god of wealth. How could she possibly lay a hand on me?"
Listening to their bizarre conversation, Wu Wenwen remained utterly confused. Still, seeing that the clothes themselves were relatively normal aside from the rabbit ears and tail, the frantic pounding in her chest finally eased slightly.
She timidly picked up the outfit and scurried into the bathroom. A short while later, she slowly walked back out.
"Perfect! That's the look!"
Haruto excitedly pulled out his phone and snapped several photos in quick succession. Kaguya, getting into the spirit of it, helped adjust Wu Wenwen's posture and guided her into a few corresponding poses.
Lin Xuelao, however, remained in her corner, still trapped in her misunderstanding. Since she couldn't see what was actually happening, she was left to fill in the blanks with her imagination. For a moment, she didn't know what to do. Staring felt wrong, but looking away also felt wrong. She couldn't see, but her hearing painted a vivid picture of the sounds and their locations within the room.
Shouldn't this sort of thing be kept from her?
Could it be... she was meant to be part of the play?
...
Meanwhile, Yotsuya Miko, Xie Lin, Zhang Katao, and another male college student had reached the monitoring room on the fourth floor. The other players had been dispersed downstairs to avoid being discovered by the Butler.
The surveillance feed was from an old system, displaying a grainy, black-and-white image. The picture was blurry, but fortunately, the audio was clear.
Xie Lin adjusted the progress bar, rewinding to a point not long ago.
In the footage, Deng Yuan entered the bathroom. For the first few minutes, everything was normal. The only sound was the rush of water from the shower, and there was no movement at the door.
Suddenly, the sounds of activity inside the bathroom stopped.
To be more precise, the sounds of a person moving around vanished. The water continued to run, but its flow became even and steady, as if the person inside was standing completely motionless.
"It's the window," Xie Lin analyzed, stroking his chin. "There's a window on the right side of the bathroom. I'd guess that thing was climbing outside and tapped on the glass or something, and Deng Yuan heard it."
"Then why didn't she run? Is she an idiot? Wasting my item!" Zhang Katao couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"She was washing her hair," Yotsuya Miko said softly, putting herself in the other girl's shoes. "When you're showering, the temperature is high, the steam is thick, and your hair can block your vision. In a moment of fear, she might have mistaken the sound for a knock on the bathroom door, only realizing the truth a moment too late."
"Ultimately, she was just stupid!" Zhang Katao continued to complain. "It's broad daylight, and we were all on the first floor! How dare that thing go straight to the second? And after she realized what was happening, she didn't even bother to put on clothes? If she'd just wrapped a towel around herself properly, she wouldn't have died!"
The others ignored his rant, their eyes fixed on the screen.
Just then, a massive and deformed figure appeared in the frame, and everyone's pupils contracted sharply.
It slowly crawled toward the bathroom door, its impossibly long neck dragging along the floorboards, its head trailing far behind its body.
Its small, delicate hands gripped both sides of the doorframe, supporting its grotesque body as it strained to stand on its tiptoes. With astonishing strength, the long neck lifted the head up, up, up to the small glass window set above the bathroom door.
A distorted, bizarrely smiling face pressed tightly against the glass.
When it saw Deng Yuan inside the bathroom, the creature went berserk. Its delicate hands—a stark contrast to its monstrous form—began frantically slapping against the wooden door.
Pat. Pat. Pat.
A moment later, Deng Yuan burst out, wrapped haphazardly in a bath towel. She had used a substitute death item. Without even taking a moment to secure the towel, she had fled, rolling and scrambling away from the horror.
Of course, it wasn't a true escape. She ultimately couldn't be spared and had died at the hands of the Butler.
The group collectively took a deep breath.
Based on the surveillance footage, they had determined a few key points.
First, the creature could move during the day and was cooperating with the Butler. The players had been deliberately sent to the first floor, leaving Deng Yuan isolated and giving the monster its opportunity.
Second, its neck was extremely strong, capable of wrapping around an enemy like a python. However, judging by the fact that Deng Yuan had managed to bite through it, its defense wasn't particularly high. Anyone with a sharp weapon, like a cleaver, might be able to break free.
Beyond that, its movements were extremely fast.
They couldn't let its slow, deliberate crawl in the hallway fool them. The time it took from slapping the window to climbing the stairs to attack, and then climbing back down, was only a few dozen seconds.
Was this some kind of restriction on its power, or did it know there were cameras and was deliberately feigning weakness?
After a brief moment of thought, the group decided not to dwell on the question.
They quickly checked the surveillance footage from the other locations before swiftly leaving to report their findings to their respective teams.
When Yotsuya Miko returned to the guest room, she saw that Wu Wenwen was still there.
"We've finished watching the surveillance footage," she said calmly. "Your teammates are probably waiting for you."
Wu Wenwen nodded, then subconsciously tugged at the hem of her skirt again. She shyly bid farewell to Haruto and Kaguya.
"...I'll go now."
With that, she blushed and rushed out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time.
Seeing this, Yotsuya Miko paused, her gaze shifting to Lin Xuelao, who was still sitting against the wall.
"Lao Lao," she asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice, "did you guys do something just now?"
"Nothing."
Lin Xuelao remained seated by the wall, looking deeply embarrassed, her face turned toward the corner as if she were contemplating her mistakes in timeout.
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