"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"It's only been ten minutes, and President and Tsubame already have a daughter?!"
"Did you two stay in there for ten years?!"
"…"
Facing the girls' shocked questions, Tsubame's pretty face flushed crimson, and she quickly explained: "Aoi isn't actually our real daughter; she's mine and Natsuki-kun's…", Before she could finish, the elementary schooler looked up with teary eyes and asked in a panicked voice, "Mommy doesn't want me anymore?"
Tsubame quickly comforted her cheap daughter, her heart aching: "Mommy didn't abandon you, don't cry."
Only a few minutes had passed in the hallway, but several days had gone by in the nightmare.
The Senpai was inherently gentle and good at taking care of children. In the nightmare, through various parent-child games, she successfully conquered the vengeful spirit daughter and developed true affection through their daily interactions.
"Let me explain," Natsuki said from the side, "Aoi was actually the first guest to go missing from the hotel."
"Eh?" Juju was startled, then quickly reacted, "Are you talking about the nearly hundred ordinary guests who disappeared before?"
"Exactly." Natsuki nodded, "Aoi is one of the guests who disappeared earlier. Chika knows very well that the nightmare is not reality; how could she suddenly have such a big daughter in the blink of an eye?"
Hearing that she wasn't their real daughter, Kaguya quickly calmed down and couldn't help but puff out her cheeks, saying:
"Since she was a previous guest, why did she call the President 'Daddy'?"
"Because the content of the nightmare is different…"
Natsuki lowered his voice and quietly narrated what had happened in the room.
"Eh eh eh, it's actually a nightmare similar to 'Ju-on'?"
"Senpai turned into Kayako in the nightmare?"
"Aoi was also in the nightmare, and you two happened to play the roles of Daddy and Mommy?"
After hearing the explanation, the girls finally understood what happened in the nightmare and why the elementary schooler called them Daddy and Mommy.
"It's good that she's not a real daughter…"
Chika clutched her chest, letting out a sigh of relief.
Although she didn't really care about Natsuki having a harem, suddenly having an extra daughter was still something she couldn't accept.
In contrast, Kaguya's feelings were even more complex.
I was first, clearly…
Unwilling!
Super unwilling!
If I could do it again, I would definitely ignore everything else and strive to enter the room with the President to experience the parent-child game!
Next, everyone tried to ask the elementary schooler for information, such as the identity of her biological parents, and what had happened in the hotel, etc. Unfortunately, the cheap daughter was very young and had stayed in the nightmare for too long, leading to memory confusion, so she couldn't explain anything clearly.
"Mommy, the hallway is very dangerous…" The elementary schooler only remembered one thing, saying timidly, "When the alarm rings, you can't stay in the hallway…"
"Hmm?" Natsuki looked down, "Who told you that?"
The elementary schooler tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then timidly said:
"Daddy, I forgot."
"…"
Since it was his daughter, of course, he could only forgive her.
"You can't stay in the hallway?" Chika asked doubtfully, "We don't seem to have encountered any danger, right?"
Kaguya said softly:
"Don't forget Marin and Sayu; the hallway is not safe."
Hayasaka Ai folded her arms across her chest and mused:
"The bulletin board at the hotel reception says today's rule is 'Don't look back.' If it's tomorrow, will there be a new rule?"
Juju nodded in agreement:
"That feels very likely."
Haruno said softly:
"So, the rule Aoi-chan mentioned was actually the hotel rule from a few days ago?"
"There's one thing we need to be vigilant about." Natsuki raised his eyebrow slightly, quickly noticing the blind spot, "The hotel is different from reality. We don't know what the standard for 'today' and 'tomorrow' in the hotel is. Perhaps the rules on the bulletin board have already changed."
"That makes sense." Chika quickly said, "Let's go downstairs and take a look."
"…"
Everyone returned to the first floor of the hotel. The lobby was still eerily silent and empty, with no one around.
"Good, today's rule on the bulletin board hasn't changed." Senpai let out a slight sigh of relief.
Kaguya said softly:
"I don't know when the rules will change; it's best to come and check periodically."
Hayasaka Ai suggested: "How about having someone guard here?"
"That's not good." Chika objected, "Splitting up in a place like this always feels very dangerous. In horror movies, people who split up always…"
Before she could finish, Natsuki quickly reached out and covered secretary Chika's mouth.
"That's enough, don't say any more, don't jinx it."
"Awoo~"
Chika puffed out her cheeks and bit him: "There was already a nightmare in the room, it's not my fault for being a jinx."
"…"
Finally, after a show of hands, everyone decided to act together instead of splitting into two groups. However, every ten minutes, they would go downstairs to check if the rules had changed.
"Let's go back upstairs." Natsuki said softly, "Prepare to search the third room."
Tsubame looked over worriedly: "Does Natsuki-kun need a rest?"
Although the nightmare was illusory, everything experienced within it still remained in the mind. Even if the body wasn't tired, the spirit would be exhausted.
"No need to worry, I just drank an energy drink, and I'm feeling quite good." Natsuki said gently, "We don't have that much time to rest now; we must resolve the anomaly as soon as possible."
Everyone talked as they walked back to the second floor, arriving at the door of the third room.
"Shall I go in with the President?"
Chika raised her right hand, volunteering herself.
"No." Natsuki shook his head, "Chika, stay outside. Once you receive my signal, use Pickpocket to pull me out of the room."
Both times, the nightmares were cleared in ten minutes, so it can be assumed that no matter how long passed in the nightmare, only ten minutes passed in the hallway. However, the mental fatigue could not be eliminated.
Therefore, in the upcoming exploration, if Yukinoshita is not found, Natsuki will directly 'force quit'. As for any tourists who might be trapped in the nightmare… they can only pray for themselves.
His energy was limited; it was impossible to save everyone.
If he were to proceed step by step, breaking through the nightmare of each room and rescuing all trapped guests, the time would inevitably exceed Natsuki's reserved bottom line—time reset.
Hiruko no Kami's time reset card can only reset for a maximum of twenty-four hours and must be used by twelve o'clock, which is before Yukinoshita enters the hotel.
So time was tight, and less important people had to be abandoned.
"Who will enter the room with me?"
Natsuki's gaze swept over the girls, finally landing on Hayasaka.
"I'll go in with Senpai."
Hayasaka Ai pursed her lips and silently stepped forward.
Kaguya needed to oversee the overall situation outside and handle emergencies.
Chika was responsible for communicating signals with her red string.
The Senpai could have gone, but now her cheap daughter couldn't be without her, so she had to stay outside and take care of her daughter.
That left Juju, Shoko, and Haruno.
Haruno was still a fresh novice, and Juju and Shoko were difficult to handle alone, so in the end, only Hayasaka could step forward.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Natsuki extended his right hand towards Hayasaka.
This Hayasaka was still playing the role of a junior. As she held Natsuki's hand, she said:
"I wonder what we'll encounter in the room. Senpai, you must wake me up quickly, okay?"
"Don't worry." Natsuki promised, "No matter what we encounter, no one will lay a finger on you, unless they step over my dead body."
"Ptooey ptooey ptooey~" Hayasaka Ai immediately glared at him, "Senpai, don't say such foolish things."
Watching the two interact, Kaguya lightly bit her silver teeth and couldn't help but say:
"You two can go in!"
"…"
Natsuki led Hayasaka into the room. As black mist surged, the familiar sensations of dizziness and falling came again.
Cold.
Darkness.
Shaking…
As a scent of blood filled his nostrils, Natsuki slowly opened his eyes.
What greeted him was a train car, empty and desolate, with only Natsuki inside.
"On a train?"
Natsuki found himself sitting in the middle of the car, near the window. He turned his head to look outside, only to see pitch blackness, so thick it couldn't be dispersed, completely obscuring the view outside.
"Hmm, as expected, it won't open."
Natsuki tried to open the train window, finding it wouldn't budge. It seemed the nightmare scene for the third room was confined to this train.
He withdrew his gaze and began to search the false memories added to his mind.
"He's a high school student who failed his college entrance exams and is now on a solo graduation trip, heading to Kagoshima to clear his head…"
"While the train was moving, he fell asleep on the train. When he woke up, everyone had disappeared, leaving only him… Tsk, a standard horror-mystery opening."
Natsuki lightly clicked his tongue. Naturally, he didn't panic like an ordinary person, getting up and shouting to see if anyone was there. Instead, he calmly stood up and began to check the car, searching for Hayasaka.
"No one, so she must be in another car…"
Natsuki was contemplating whether to go forward or backward when a piercing scream suddenly came from the car behind him. He immediately ran without hesitation.
Running at full speed, passing through several silent, eerie, empty train cars, Natsuki quickly saw two women running towards him.
One of the young women was unfamiliar, appearing to be in her early twenties, with a good appearance and long black hair. She was likely an ordinary guest who had fallen into the nightmare.
The other girl had a pink ponytail, a pale face, and a nervous expression, constantly turning her head to look behind her. Who else could it be but Hayasaka?
Bang!
The black-haired woman tripped and accidentally fell to the ground.
Hayasaka Ai, who was following beside her, showed a flicker of hesitation on her pretty face, then immediately knelt down and, gritting her teeth, helped the woman up.
Natsuki wasn't yet clear what identities the nightmare had assigned to the two, but on a train traveling north and south, they were most likely ordinary passengers, and less likely friends.
The unfamiliar woman, helped up by Hayasaka, scrambled to her feet in a panic, not even saying a word of thanks.
At the same time.
Thump thump thump…
Dull footsteps sounded from the train car behind the two girls.
A tall figure quickly emerged from the dark car, covered in blood, holding a blood-stained dagger in his hand, his face ferocious, his eyes blood-red, his gaze distorted and distorted. In short, he was the standard train killer.
Seeing the killer chasing behind them, the unfamiliar woman's face immediately showed panic. She abruptly shoved Hayasaka to the ground, then quickened her pace, rushing into the front car, and quickly slamming the door shut.
Bang!
The door connecting the two cars was tightly shut by her, and she gripped the doorknob tightly.
"Open the door! Open the door quickly!"
In the next carriage, Hayasaka, who had been pushed to the ground, scrambled to her feet, looking in disbelief at the tightly closed carriage door. She pounded on the door, frantically calling for help.
But it was completely useless.
Even Natsuki, who was still a carriage away, could hear Hayasaka's cries for help, but the strange woman seemed not to hear her at all, still holding tightly to the door handle, not letting Hayasaka open the door.
Seeing this, Natsuki's expression immediately darkened. He quickened his pace, quickly entered the carriage where the strange woman was, and said in a deep voice, "Move aside."
The strange woman looked up, flustered, and said, "We can't open the door, that monster will rush in and kill us all!"
Natsuki said expressionlessly, "You just fell, and she helped you up. How could you lock her out?"
"I didn't ask her to help me, she just went out of her way." The woman leaned against the door, her voice incredibly cold, so cold it made one sick to their stomach. "Besides, that monster only hunts one person at a time. If we keep her out, we'll be safe for now."
"..."
Hearing this, Hayasaka Ai, who was still outside the carriage, frantically pounding on the door and begging the woman to open it, suddenly stopped. Her pearly teeth bit tightly into her lip, almost drawing blood, and her right hand slowly dropped.
Helping her up was just going out of her way...
However, the next second.
Slap!
A loud, clear slap suddenly rang out.
Hayasaka Ai looked up in surprise, towards the other side of the carriage door, and saw Natsuki raise his right hand and slap the strange woman across the face.
The strange woman staggered, and blood quickly seeped from the corner of her mouth. Even so, her hands still gripped the door tightly, not letting go, and she said in disbelief, "You hit me? You actually dared to hit me?!"
Slap!
Natsuki showed no mercy, slapping her again with his backhand, and the loud sound of a slap rang out once more.
I'm hitting you!
Someone kindly helped you up, and not even a thank you, let alone saying something about going out of their way. You're a piece of trash with no moral bottom line. A slap is already very light!
"Why are you hitting me? What does locking her out have to do with you!" After taking two slaps in a row, the woman's eyes were already seeing stars, and she was in a state of frenzy. "Die, die, die, die!"
Looking at the strange woman's disgusting face, Natsuki couldn't help but recall a famous case that happened several years ago. The protagonists of the story were three students. Two of them were in a relationship, and the other girl was the girlfriend's good friend.
For various reasons, the two international students who were dating wanted to break up. The boy disagreed and desperately tried to save the relationship. Eventually, love turned to hatred, and he prepared to kill his girlfriend with a knife. At that time, the girl happened to be at her friend's house. Facing her boyfriend who was attacking with a knife, she immediately locked her friend out, while she herself hid inside the house and tightly locked the door. No matter how her friend begged and pounded, she did not open the door.
From a legal perspective, the act of locking her friend out did not violate the law and did not constitute a criminal act. But from a moral perspective, it was truly the scum of the earth.
At the same time.
The red-eyed monster was already closing in behind Hayasaka, only a few steps away.
Natsuki grabbed the strange woman's shoulder and pushed her away.
"You can't open the door!" The strange woman groaned, feeling as if her shoulder had almost been crushed, yet she still shouted, "It's too late! If you open the door, we'll all be killed! Let her sacrifice herself!"
Natsuki said expressionlessly, "The word 'sacrifice' can only be used to describe oneself. You can choose to sacrifice yourself, but you cannot sacrifice others to protect yourself. That's disgusting."
Bang.
Natsuki pulled the door open.
Hayasaka Ai, behind the door, widened her eyes, looking over in disbelief, her gaze towards Natsuki particularly surprised.
Is this boy an idiot?
He actually disregarded the danger and opened the carriage door to let her in?
"You... why?"
Hayasaka Ai couldn't help but ask.
Natsuki said earnestly, "Of course, because... I fell in love with you at first sight."
"Eh?"
Hayasaka Ai was dumbfounded.
Looking at the bloody monster walking over with heavy thuds, Natsuki said seriously, "From the moment I first saw you, I fell in love with you at first sight. So, anything that wants to harm you must step over my body."
"...Idiot!"
Hayasaka Ai couldn't help but curse in her heart.
Do you think that's cool?
It's super embarrassing, okay!
Besides, there's no such thing as love at first sight in this world, only lust at first sight.
This boy must just be bluffing, and he'll soon reveal his true colors and regret the decision he just made...
Hayasaka Ai thought this in her heart, but for some reason, she vaguely felt that the boy in front of her wasn't boasting, but would truly do as he said.
These small thoughts just flashed through her mind. Seeing the dagger in the bloody monster's hand stab towards them, Hayasaka Ai blurted out, "Watch out!"
Natsuki stepped forward half a step, stood in front of Hayasaka, and blocked the dagger.
"I said..." Natsuki turned his head, looked at Hayasaka, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, his voice intermittent, "I said... unless it steps over my body, I will never let it harm you..."
Hayasaka Ai: "..."
For some reason, she always felt that something was off.
Getting stabbed by a dagger and spitting blood, that's an exaggerated plot in TV shows. People don't actually spit blood in reality, do they?
The bloody monster tried to break free, but Natsuki's hands were like iron clamps, firmly gripping his right hand.
Seeing that he couldn't break free, the train monster let out a low growl, clenched his other fist, and with a whistling sound, directly smashed it towards Natsuki.
And then...
Boom!
This train killer was sent flying directly, rolling seven or eight meters, knocking over several rows of seats before finally stopping.
Natsuki retracted his right leg, turned to look at Hayasaka, and said weakly, "I'm injured, quickly help me."
Hayasaka Ai: "..."