Chapter 19: Two Good-Looking Psychos?
Yotsuya Miko and Kaguya couldn't help but notice the stares coming from all directions.
Yotsuya Miko's lips twitched into an awkward, forced smile.
Kaguya, on the other hand, was not nearly so polite. She glared back at the crowd, her voice sharp. "What are you all staring at? You want to start something? Have you never seen a beautiful woman before?"
Haruto chimed in with a glare of his own, cracking his knuckles with a series of sharp pops. "Exactly! And have you never seen a handsome guy before?!"
Faced with the completely unhinged antics of her two companions, Yotsuya Miko felt a wave of mortification wash over her. She stood frozen under the collective gaze of the other players, suddenly unsure of where to even put her hands and feet.
'This isn't right...'she thought frantically.'At a time like this, shouldn't we be keeping a low profile? Why are we actively trying to become the center of attention?'
Were Brother Haruto and Sister Kaguya… always this bold?
The image of the calm, reliable Haruto from the previous instance clashed violently with the person before her now. It was as if they were two completely different people.
When she saw them pull two baseball bats out of thin air, looking ready to take on the entire crowd for three hundred rounds, Yotsuya Miko finally snapped into action. She quickly lunged forward to hold them back, and only after a great deal of pleading did she manage to restrain the two "masters."
The expressions on the faces of the surrounding players grew even more complicated, now tinged with a healthy dose of horror. They all instinctively took a few steps back.
Under normal circumstances, the outstanding looks of Haruto and Kaguya would certainly be eye-catching. But this was a terrifying Death Game where they could lose their lives at any moment. Who had the time to care about handsome men and beautiful women? Survival was the only thing that mattered.
At first, they had assumed the trio were just newcomers who didn't understand the grim reality of the game, mistaking it for some kind of prank. But after listening for a while, they realized that wasn't the case at all.
That boy and the girl in the princess-like dress, in particular, were bizarre. Not only did they lack any sense of tension, chatting about things no one else could understand, but they would also, absurdly, grab baseball bats and start swinging them at their own teammate mid-conversation.
What was even stranger was that after getting whacked, the one who was hit would stand up as if nothing had happened, treating the whole affair as perfectly normal.
To any sane observer, the only conclusion was that these two were absolute psychos.
It was precisely this "abnormality" that made the other players afraid to interject, fearing they might draw the lunatics' fire upon themselves. Getting injured in a horror instance was essentially a death sentence, and no one could guarantee that these two psychos wouldn't suddenly decide to give them a whack, too.
So when Haruto and the others finally "calmed down," everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
A man in black sportswear, who seemed to be a leader of sorts, walked toward Haruto and extended his hand with a smile.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm King Chen. I was a soldier back in the real world."
"Hello, hello! A professional soldier, that's incredible! Protecting the country is a truly noble profession!" Haruto shook his hand, his demeanor overwhelmingly friendly.
King Chen clearly hadn't expected Haruto to be so personable, a far cry from the "psycho" he had appeared to be just moments ago. He relaxed slightly and continued, "Looking at you three, you must still be students, right? I have a kid about your age back home. If you don't mind, you can stick with our group and we'll move together."
"Sure thing, sure thing! We'll follow right behind you and cling to your legs!" Haruto patted his chest in assurance.
Since someone was volunteering to take the lead, he certainly wasn't going to refuse. Even with Kaguya tagging along, he knew that if things really got spooky, that girl would definitely run faster than anyone else.
Seeing that Haruto didn't seem difficult to get along with and showed no signs of another sudden "episode," another small team of four cautiously approached.
A young man wearing glasses took the initiative to speak. "Hello, I'm Liu Wensong. I'm a web novelist specializing in supernatural themes... I never expected to actually encounter the real thing." He gave a bitter smile and shrugged, his expression one of helplessness. He didn't look very old, at most a few years older than Haruto's group, with a frail build and dark circles under his eyes.
"Ohhh! Liu Wensong! It's you! I've heard so much about you, so much!" Haruto's expression was a mask of exaggerated awe.
"You... you know me?" Liu Wensong's eyes lit up with a flicker of pleasant surprise.
"Nope," Haruto replied, shaking his head with a perfectly matter-of-fact look. "It's just a polite greeting. Don't you understand basic social etiquette?"
Liu Wensong froze on the spot.
Except for Kaguya and Yotsuya Miko, who were long accustomed to this, everyone else's expression turned subtle. They had thought they were witnessing an author meeting a loyal fan, but it turned out to be just another one of this guy's episodes.
Haruto patted the stunned novelist's shoulder and pointed to Kaguya and Yotsuya Miko beside him. "Don't worry, we're all quite interested in supernatural novels. If you're still alive at the end of this, we'll definitely check out your work and send you some gifts."
"...Thanks," Liu Wensong managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Everyone, let's stop the small talk here," King Chen interrupted. "Time is tight. We need to set off as soon as possible to look for clues."
"Let's go, then. We're ready whenever," Haruto shrugged indifferently.
The group said no more and began walking together toward the lonely pension perched on the edge of the cliff.
Along the way, most people still subconsciously kept their distance from Haruto, Kaguya, and Miko. No one could guarantee they wouldn't suddenly have another episode and deliver a bat-assisted concussion.
The group soon stood before the guesthouse. The sign above the door read "Mermaid Inn," but the characters had been corroded and peeled by the sea breeze, leaving only a few blurry red shadows that flickered dimly in the fading light.
Almost everyone present was a veteran player. They weren't about to be scared off by a bit of eerie atmosphere and began walking toward the inn one after another.
Only the two newcomers in Liu Wensong's team, a man and a woman, were pale and hesitant. This was their first time being dragged into the Death Game. Although Liu Wensong had explained the basics, they hadn't witnessed its horrors firsthand yet. Now, they were being asked to step into a house that screamed "danger" from every angle. How could they possibly be willing?
The boy managed to stay somewhat calm and was finally persuaded to go in, but the girl refused to enter no matter what.
"Can't we... can't we just sleep on the beach tonight? This guesthouse clearly has problems!" Her voice trembled as she gripped the hem of her clothes.
"No," Liu Wensong said, shaking his head. "The guesthouse is obviously key to advancing the scenario. We have to go in. Unless we find clues indicating we should stay outside, we can only spend the night in here."
"Then... then part of the group can go in to explore, and the other part can stay outside for support! That way, even if there's danger, we won't all be wiped out..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone frowned. A few words instinctively popped into their minds: Cowardly. Selfish. If they really split up, who would be willing to go inside and take the risks? And who would be happy to let others reap the benefits by waiting safely outside?
Seeing the gazes of the crowd turn cold, the girl realized she had said the wrong thing and hurriedly tried to backtrack. "I didn't mean it like that, I just wanted to minimize casualties..."
"We can't stay outside. If you want to stay, stay by yourself." A tall woman in the crowd coldly dropped the sentence and was the first to push open the door and enter.
Others followed suit, no one paying any more attention to the girl's pleas. Liu Wensong hesitated for a moment but ultimately followed them inside. As the leader of his small team, he turned back to give a final reminder before leaving. "The nights in these instances are very dangerous. Since the game provided a guesthouse, it must have a purpose—most likely to protect us."
Haruto and Kaguya merely glanced at her, showing no intention of softening their hearts, and followed the crowd into the inn. Yotsuya Miko silently trailed behind them.
King Chen was the last to enter. He patiently tried to persuade her a few more times, but seeing her remain stubborn, he had no choice but to turn and leave.
But the girl suddenly grabbed his wrist, her lips trembling as she pleaded, "How about... you stay and accompany me? I'm afraid to be alone... Aren't there portable tents at the counter? It must be safer outside than in there..."
"No." A trace of pity flashed in King Chen's eyes, but he still refused. "We haven't seen any staff yet. No one knows what the consequences will be if we touch things at the counter without permission. Besides, I can't leave the others behind."
Before he finally stepped inside, he offered one last piece of advice. "If you insist on setting up a tent, you'd better do it right at the entrance. That way, if there's danger, you can rush inside immediately."
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