"They're out, they're out!"
"The President and Chika are both fine."
"Finally, we can rest assured."
"…"
Seeing Natsuki and Chika come out, the girls in the corridor all breathed a sigh of relief.
Bang.
As Natsuki and Chika walked out of the room, the door closed quickly with a 'bang' without any wind.
"President, what happened inside?" Kaguya also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and asked softly, "And is Chika fine?"
"It's nothing, nothing." Chika quickly shook her head, "I'm just a bit weak in the legs, I'll be fine after resting for a while."
"Eh?" Juju looked over in confusion, "Weak in the legs?"
"Cough cough…" Chika guiltily looked away, "Something very scary happened inside, I was so scared my legs went weak."
If you were scared your legs went weak, your face should be pale, right?
Why is your face flushed!
Natsuki exhaled and said:
"The room was indeed very dangerous, I almost couldn't get out…"
"President, have some water." Kaguya took out a bottle of drink, handed it over, and said softly, "Rest for a bit first."
"Mm." Natsuki took the drink and said nonchalantly, "I am a bit thirsty."
Upon hearing this, Chika couldn't help but glare at him, and the blush that had just faded from her pretty face reappeared.
The one who's thirsty is clearly me, right!
After taking two sips of the energy drink, Natsuki began to talk about the nightmare he encountered in the room.
"Eh eh, after activating the nightmare, your memory will be blocked?"
"It's too scary to experience a nightmare as an ordinary person."
"Could it be that no one can leave the hotel? Ordinary people who fall into a nightmare definitely won't wake up."
"…"
After listening to Natsuki's description, the girls all understood the seriousness of the situation.
If the Door of Despair last time was harvesting human despair, this anomalous hotel is harvesting terror and fear.
"It's really super scary." Chika immediately nodded and complained bitterly, "The President and I woke up in bed, and I asked the President to give the child…"
"Hmm?" Kaguya's brows furrowed slightly, and she tilted her head to look at secretary Chika, smiling, "Child?"
"A slip of the tongue, just a slip of the tongue." Chika quickly raised her hand to cover her lips, "Of course there's no child, it's just a false memory implanted by the nightmare. Anyway, after the President left the room, he saw someone exactly like me walk in, with a cold expression and sinister eyes… I was completely terrified at the time."
"I frantically hid under the covers, and finally waited for the President to come back, but the guy under the bed told the President that she was the real me and I was a fake."
"Later, the President found three more fakes in the box, in the wardrobe, and behind the bay window. The President even said something about us being quintuplets."
"Quintuplets?" Juju crossed her arms over her chest, "Speaking of which, our school has them."
Hayasaka Ai asked curiously:
"How did Senpai and Chika Senpai escape the nightmare?"
"Cough cough cough…" Upon hearing this question, Chika immediately started coughing, her pretty face flushed, and she stammered, "Anyway, it was just a very scary experience that finally allowed us to escape."
Deceiving everyone by saying we were quintuplets, and saying that Mom and Dad agreed to marry us all off together, making all five of us take off our pajamas, and even having people do back rubs and human pyramids…
Lewd!
The President is too lewd!
The real secretary Chika had only seen the pig run, but never eaten the pork. The quintuplets rice bowl was truly beyond her tolerance. Her sense of shame reached its limit, and her fear was completely forgotten, which finally allowed her to clear the nightmare.
It's just that such a shameful thing could never be spoken of.
"Actually, I thought of a way to make Chika no longer afraid, and without the support of fear energy, the nightmare would naturally disappear." Natsuki coughed lightly, vaguely glossing over it, and then asked, "How long were we in there?"
Hayasaka Ai raised her right hand, looked at the wristwatch on her hand, and said:
"From the moment the door suddenly closed until it opened, it was about ten minutes."
Natsuki nodded and continued:
"There should be nightmares in every room. It's unclear if the types are the same, and it's unclear how long it takes to break free from a nightmare. We need more information."
Nightmares are very dangerous.
If one sinks into it, they might never wake up again.
But there's no choice, they must enter.
Not to mention the previous guests of the hotel, Yukinoshita might also be in a room, trapped in a nightmare, unable to extricate herself. He would never give her up no matter what.
"I'm pretty much rested." Natsuki finished the last sip of the energy drink, then said, "I'm ready to enter the next room. This time I'll go in alone, you can stay outside."
"President, don't be impulsive." Kaguya frowned and said, "Let's discuss the action plan more carefully. It's too dangerous for one person."
Juju raised her hand and suggested:
"What about that Super Long Delayed Reaction skill? Fear is also an emotion, it should be able to be delayed, right?"
Upon hearing Super Long Delayed Reaction, a blush involuntarily appeared on Hayasaka Ai's pretty face, and she guiltily looked away.
"This is a new skill I've recently mastered." Natsuki looked at Hayasaka, and said seriously, "I'll let you experience it sometime."
"…Get lost!"
Hayasaka Ai secretly gritted her teeth, glaring at him in embarrassment.
She was just worried about his poor condition, and now he can still think of such lewd things. She really shouldn't have worried about him!
"Okay." Hayasaka Ai inwardly kicked him, but to maintain her cute junior persona, she could only smile and say, "I haven't seen it yet."
Kaguya nodded lightly:
"Perhaps it can be useful, but I remember that before the hotel was occupied by the ~Strange Tale~, many guests checked in. It's unclear what their situation is, and they might also be immersed in nightmares… Perhaps as soon as they enter, they will fall into a nightmare, and after their memories are blocked, they definitely won't use their skills."
Tsubame said softly:
"How about knocking out the person who is emitting fear?"
Natsuki nodded and said:
"We can try."
"And the combination skill that the President and I have newly mastered." Chika's eyes lit up, and she raised her hand, "Pickpocket!"
This secretary Chika said in a clear voice:
"The President can maintain his consciousness, and another person can go in with the President. At that time, they can become a Leg Attachment to the President, and then use the Pickpocket skill to directly 'grab' the President out of the room. This way, we can quickly check the situation in each room."
Haruno said softly:
"If it really works, then it's super practical."
"…"
They discussed it briefly, and then… didn't come up with a unanimously approved plan.
Ultimately, they had only explored one room, and a single case could not lead to a general rule. More experiments were needed.
"I'll explore the second room first and summarize some patterns." Natsuki looked at secretary Chika and said, "Chika, stay outside for now and recover your spirits."
"Okay."
Chika didn't force herself and agreed.
The quintuplets game in the nightmare just now had indeed caused her a great mental shock, and she needed to calm down.
Tsubame stepped forward and said seriously:
"I'll go in with Natsuki-kun."
Sheep Transformation Technique cannot be used on oneself, so in order for the person in the corridor to perform the 'Pickpocket' combination skill, two people must enter the room together and turn the other person into a sheep.
After being transformed into a sheep, the other party then transforms into a Leg Attachment, hitchhiking, and is pulled out of the room together.
Kaguya needs to manage the overall situation outside.
Shoko baby.
Juju elementary school student.
Although Haruno is older, she's a newbie.
Hanamori-chan is a little sister…
At this moment, Tsubame stepped forward without hesitation. Tsubame always liked to help others and take care of the weak. It was like this in school, and it is still like this now.
"Then Tsubame-senpai and I will go together." Natsuki nodded, pasting skills as he spoke, "Let's test the time pattern for clearing the nightmare again. If Tsubame and I don't come out after ten minutes, then use the Pickpocket skill to pull us out… Also, be careful in the corridor. There might be other hidden dangers in the corridor."
Kaguya nodded slightly:
"Don't worry, President, leave it to me."
...
A moment later.
Skill pasting complete.
Natsuki and Tsubame walked into the second room together.
Bang.
The door closed by itself, without wind, after Natsuki and Tsubame entered the room.
"Natsuki-kun…"
Tsubame was startled and subconsciously gripped Natsuki's right hand.
"Don't be nervous." Natsuki comforted her softly, "At most, we'll stay for ten minutes, then Shinomiya and the others will pull us out."
Tsubame nodded gently, and just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Natsuki say faintly:
"However, the time outside the corridor and the time inside the nightmare are not the same. Ten minutes outside the corridor might mean ten days inside the nightmare."
Tsubame: "…"
Too much!
This is too much!
To be trapped in a nightmare for ten days, it's just too terrifying to even think about!
Tsubame couldn't help but puff out her cheeks. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Her consciousness seemed to fall into darkness, sinking continuously.
"Is it here?"
Natsuki also felt the dizziness coming on. He took a deep breath, feeling that the experience at this moment was exceptionally strange.
On one hand, his consciousness was rapidly plummeting, while on the other hand, the consciousness in his black mud clone was exceptionally clear. The strange feeling was truly difficult to describe with words.
After an unknown amount of time, Natsuki felt his vision brighten slightly, and he appeared in a courtyard. Strange, false memories also appeared in his mind.
"Entered the nightmare?"
Natsuki touched the black mud clone on his shoulder, a guess forming in his mind.
Black mud is the final state that shadow creatures transform into. There is actually no information left inside, and it can be described as 'ruleless, informationless.' In other words, hiding one's consciousness within black mud can grant immunity to the influence of rules.
Of course, this immunity is limited to consciousness. The body remains as it is. One could try to turn the black mud into armor, covering the entire body like Yote, but it would probably be as thin as a sheet of paper and would break with a poke.
"So, what's the situation with the horror nightmare in this room?"
Natsuki looked down at the ordinary suit he was wearing, his right hand still holding a black briefcase, and began to search through the memories in his mind.
He was currently a middle-aged office worker.
Both parents deceased.
He had a younger sister and a house… He did have a house, but no younger sister.
However, he did have a wife.
His personality in the nightmare was gloomy, his life boring, doing repetitive mechanical work at a company day after day.
Besides that, he also seemed to have a child.
These memories were actually quite false, as there were no details whatsoever. When Natsuki tried to learn about childhood anecdotes, the specific content of his work, and so on, the memories would become blurry.
When a person is in a dream, they subconsciously ignore illogical parts, and blurry areas are inconsequential. However, Natsuki was in a conscious state right now, and he could clearly feel the falsity of the memories.
"Tsk ~"
Natsuki finished searching through the false memories in his mind, looked around, and still didn't see Tsubame. "First, I need to find Tsubame."
His current location was a courtyard. Behind him was the courtyard fence, and outside the gate were streets and other buildings, but they were shrouded in fog, blurry and indistinct, making it hard to see clearly.
Natsuki tried to push the fence, and sure enough, he couldn't open it.
"So, the nightmare scene is limited to this house?"
Natsuki looked up at the house in front of him.
This was a common Japanese detached house, but it looked quite dilapidated and had fallen into disrepair. Many withered yellow weeds grew in the courtyard.
The sky was gloomy, making it impossible to tell if it was morning or afternoon. The entire world seemed to be left with only gray and white, and the surroundings were exceptionally silent. The sound of wind, the sound of pedestrians, the roar of vehicles… none of it could be heard. There was only an unsettling eeriness and silence.
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably already have sweaty palms and dry lips even before entering the house.
Unfortunately, Natsuki was not an ordinary unfortunate person, but a confident game player.
So…
Natsuki adjusted the tie on his chest, a smile appearing on his face, and walked towards the house:
…Your master is back!
Creak, creak.
The dilapidated floor creaked under Natsuki's feet, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
'Meow~'
An eerie cat's meow floated over.
Natsuki turned his head to look. A completely black cat silently appeared at the end of the corridor, its green eyes glowing, squatting on the ground, gently licking its front paws.
"Tsk, black cats are common horror elements in horror movies."
Natsuki retracted his gaze, completely unafraid.
His confidence stemmed from his strength.
Let alone a black cat, Natsuki wouldn't be afraid even of a tiger.
In "Psychic Power 100%" state, Natsuki could beat a tiger to death with his bare hands.
"Creak~"
Natsuki reached out and pushed open the door. A faint smell of mold wafted into his nose. The light inside the house was dim, and it was utterly silent.
"I'm home."
Natsuki called out.
Unfortunately, no one in the house responded.
And as expected, although there were light switches on the wall, they were just for show.
Natsuki didn't care, as if he had truly returned home. He casually put down his briefcase, then took off his shoes and walked into the living room.
"First, let's find out where Tsubame is…"
Natsuki loosened his tie, took off his suit, and began to search the house.
"Bathroom… No."
"Kitchen… No."
"Storage room… Still no."
Natsuki walked out of the storage room, just about to go to the second floor to search, when he suddenly saw a white shadow crawl past behind the sofa.
"Hmm?"
Natsuki paused his steps and walked towards the sofa.
Thump, thump, thump.
A low crawling sound came from behind the sofa. It seemed to be circling the sofa, not knowing if it was playing hide-and-seek with Natsuki or trying to avoid him.
Natsuki quickened his steps, and with quick eyes and hands, he grabbed a small figure from behind the sofa.
A little girl.
She looked about seven or eight years old, wearing a elementary school student uniform and a bob haircut. The key was her snow-white complexion, without a trace of colour, as pale as white paper, but her eyes were black, as dark as ink, without any whites.
Her appearance was unfamiliar, clearly not Tsubame, but she also looked subtly familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
Dangling in mid-air by Natsuki like a cat, the elementary school student squirmed uncomfortably, her eyes filled with fear, and she whispered:
"Da-Daddy…"
Natsuki: "…"
He remembered.
According to the falsely implanted memories, he was not only married but also had a child. This little radish head in front of him was his child.
What a scam!
Who would want such a vengeful spirit daughter!
If his memories had been blocked and he was completely immersed in the nightmare, coming home after a hard day's work and seeing a vengeful daughter with pitch-black eyes and a pale face playing hide-and-seek with him, he wouldn't even be able to stand steady!
Natsuki placed the little radish head on the sofa and asked nonchalantly:
"Did we have any guests today?"
The little radish head seemed very afraid of him, sitting obediently on the sofa, curled up, and whispered in response:
"N-No…"
Natsuki said calmly:
"Is someone missing from the house?"
"Mommy is still upstairs…" The little radish head whispered, "She hasn't come downstairs all day…"
Natsuki said:
"Take me to find Mommy."
The elementary school student nodded obediently, jumped off the sofa, and said weakly: "Daddy… follow me."
Natsuki stepped to follow.
The wooden staircase leading to the second floor creaked under Natsuki's feet due to disrepair, sounding quite eerie.
The little radish head used both hands and feet to quickly climb to the second floor, then peeked her little head around the corner on the second floor, her ink-black eyes looking at Natsuki, and giggled:
"Daddy, come up quickly."
"Tsk~"
Natsuki lightly clicked his tongue. If he ever had a daughter in the future, he would definitely make her walk properly on the stairs. Crawling was too dangerous; she could easily fall down.
Arriving on the second floor.
Led by the little radish head, Natsuki quickly arrived in front of a door, which appeared to be a bedroom.
"Is Mommy in there?" Natsuki asked, looking down.
"Mm-hmm."
The little radish head nodded quickly.
Natsuki reached out and pushed open the door, stepping into the bedroom.
The light was even dimmer. Although there was still light outside, the room was completely dark.
The room was not large. Natsuki's gaze swept across it, and he didn't see anyone present, so he looked down at the little radish head and asked:
"Why is no one here?"
The little radish head fearfully shrank her neck and said anxiously:
"Daddy, don't be angry, Mommy is really in the room…"
Thump.
A muffled sound suddenly came from the wardrobe.
"Mommy must be hiding!"
The elementary school student's eyes lit up, and she quickly ran to the wardrobe. She pulled the doors open with both hands.
Indeed, there was someone hiding inside the wardrobe, wearing a white dress. She seemed to be crouched behind the wardrobe, and as the wardrobe door opened, she tumbled out with a thud, landing on all fours on the ground, her pink hair falling to cover her face, making her appearance unclear.
The elementary school student cheered, "Mommy was hiding in the wardrobe after all!"
The 'wife' lying on the ground, her pink hair trembling slightly, seemed to want to hide back inside the wardrobe.
Slap.
Natsuki pressed down on the 'wife's' shoulder, then half-crouched and reached out to brush aside her hair.
An exceptionally familiar, delicate face came into view.
If not Tsubame, then who could it be?
In the dim light, Tsubame's face was pale, devoid of her usual pleasant expressions and sweet smiles, only tension, unease, and fear remained.
When a guest is pulled into a nightmare, their memories are blocked, and a false identity is implanted. At this moment, Tsubame was clearly the mistress of the house.
But the identity of the mistress did not bring Tsubame much sense of security.
Natsuki estimated that in Tsubame's eyes at this moment, she was actually an ordinary person, and he and his daughter were the terrifying vengeful spirits.
However…
A dilapidated courtyard.
A strange black cat.
A child with a pale face and eyes like ink.
A wife in a white dress with disheveled hair.
Natsuki only felt an extreme sense of familiarity and couldn't help but quip:
"Your implanted identity is actually Kayako, isn't it?"