Chapter 25: Signs of Abnormality Begin to Appear
Only two members in the exploration team?!
Kaguya's eyes widened.
From the observation room, she could clearly see three people in the field—Takakai, Fujiwara Chika, and a third individual impersonated by a strange entity. Three figures were standing right there before her eyes, so why was the system only detecting two?
Could it be that the strange entity wasn't recognized by the system?
No, that wasn't possible.
During yesterday's first expedition, Kaguya had acted alongside two other Explorers. At that time, the team consisted of three people going in and three people coming out. According to Maki, both the command room and the observation room had consistently confirmed this headcount without any discrepancies.
So why was today different?
A thought flashed through Kaguya's mind—during the first mission, Takakai's identity had already been different from the other players from the start. He had appeared as a "corpse" in Room 204. While that role didn't grant him any direct benefits, this anomaly had been present from the very beginning.
Was it because of his watch?
This mission had suddenly been locked in place inexplicably, and now another irregularity was surfacing… Kaguya couldn't help but consider the possibility.
Given that both Takakai and Fujiwara shared the code "C3," could it be that the system was recognizing them as the same person, thus reducing the count to two?
But compared to the first round of the game, perhaps… Takakai was playing a different role beyond his apparent identity? A special role that even he himself hadn't realized?
If that were the case… wait a minute.
Yesterday, when Maki dragged her out of the staff lounge, the entity impersonating an Explorer had still appeared as usual, but the other player Explorer had vanished.
At the time, because Maki had only found one Researcher uniform, she hadn't been able to bring the other player out.
And today, as the mission continued, that person had completely disappeared—not as if they had been killed, but rather as if they had never left the staff lounge, as if they had evaporated from existence.
Why hadn't Maki noticed this?
She had been playing the role of a soldier responsible for escorting people out, so she should have been the first to notice something unusual.
Or was it precisely because she was playing that role that she failed to notice?
Realizing that this research facility, which had seemed relatively safe as long as one played their role correctly, was actually beginning to reveal its hidden horrors, Kaguya's heart clenched slightly.
She desperately wanted to do something, but the strange entity staring at her was radiating an extremely dangerous aura. If she made the wrong move now, she might end up disappearing just like the players who had died yesterday—vanishing mysteriously, dying without even knowing where or how.
Even so, she couldn't just sit still.
"An exploration team must have three members to be valid. Right now, there are only two—doesn't this violate the rules?"
Kaguya carefully voiced her concern while resisting the chilling gaze of the researcher sitting in front of the observation window.
The fifth rule in the "Explorer Rulebook" clearly stated: "A standard exploration team must have three members. If the number drops below three, the exploration must be halted immediately."
And now, the observation staff had personally confirmed there were only two members—this was a direct rule violation.
[Please inform the command room to begin the operation.]
But the researcher, whose face had been shattered beyond recognition, simply repeated the same phrase. His emotionless voice echoed through the room, making the temperature drop even further.
All the researchers in the room simultaneously turned their heads toward her, motionless, their eyes locked onto her.
Even those who had their backs turned twisted their necks at an unnatural 180-degree angle just to face her.
Every single gaze—fixated on her in that moment.
There was no way to communicate.
Because these were observation room researchers, not command room staff, was she unable to invoke the rulebook's authority to object?
Now that she thought about it, yesterday Maki had played the role of a Researcher but had been stationed in the command room. Today, however, Kaguya had been assigned to the observation room instead.
This was another change in the mission.
There had to be a reason for this shift—was there something hidden she hadn't yet realized?
Kaguya's thoughts raced.
But at the same time, she didn't hesitate. Without changing her expression, she stepped toward the door, opened it, and entered the command room, standing directly before the commanding officer.
"The observation room has confirmed that the operation can begin. However, the exploration team currently consists of only two members, which does not comply with the rules. May I ask if the operation can proceed?"
She carefully chose her words, addressing the commander with a pale, ghostly face.
[Begin the operation.]
The next development was not what Kaguya had hoped for, but it was entirely within her expectations.
After all, the rules explicitly stated that "the orders from the command room override the rules."
Kaguya's expression grew heavier.
But right now, she had no way to leave until the mission was over.
Moreover, with those strange entities surrounding her, she couldn't change clothes to switch to a different role. If she changed outfits, she would immediately be exposed for not playing her designated part, which would put her in fatal danger.
Not to mention, she hadn't brought any spare clothes to the command room... Another sign of her inadequate preparation. She hadn't expected something like this to happen on just the second day—far too careless.
Knowing that there was nothing she could do at the moment, Kaguya could only stay in place and observe Takakai and the others' actions.
...
While Kaguya was feeling anxious, outside, Takakai had received the order and was starting to put on his gear, preparing for the mission.
Of course, he had noticed that something was off—something had definitely happened.
But as an Explorer, he had no way to break the deadlock. After all, right now, there were multiple machine guns aimed directly at him.
Takakai was certain that if he made any unusual moves, those weapons would turn him into a beehive on the spot.
'Getting killed by the supernatural power of horror story rules would at least make some sense. But getting shot to death by machine guns—what the hell?! What kind of dungeon is this? How can eldritch horrors coexist with modern firearms like this?!'
He really wanted to scream, "What kind of setting is this?!" but all he could do was quietly finish putting on his gear. Then, under the command room's order, he stepped into the pitch-black cave before him.
At the same time, in another location…
Maki, who was playing the role of a soldier, had stealthily made her way to the second floor, carefully observing her surroundings.
When she had escorted Takakai and the others out, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
But for some reason, that eerie feeling had vanished immediately afterward.
As a result, she hadn't been able to communicate her unease to anyone else.
Maki's reason for coming here was actually quite simple—she was working with Takakai, who had secretly smuggled Obsession, in the form of a doll, into Professor Fornell's office.
A few minutes earlier, Professor Fornell had left his office and headed into the research area on the first floor.
So, the doll, controlled by Takakai, wobbled out from under the desk, peeked around, and then quickly scurried toward the office door.
It jumped up, trying to grab the doorknob—but missed.
It sat in deep thought for a moment, then climbed onto a nearby bookshelf, then leaped through the air, latching onto the doorknob.
Too light. Too weak. It couldn't turn the handle, and as a result, it fell straight to the ground.
At that very moment, as Takakai was walking down the stairs, he suddenly staggered.
He nearly lost his balance, as if a strong recoil had struck him from out of nowhere—but thanks to his superior physique, he barely managed to stay on his feet.
The doll climbed the bookshelf again. This time, it went all the way to the top before launching itself down.
Click—
Thanks to the stronger impact, the door finally swung open.
But this time, when the doll crashed to the floor, small wounds also appeared on Takakai's hands and legs—almost as if he himself had just fallen from a great height.
The feedback from Obsession's link was seriously uncomfortable…
Through the doll's vision, Takakai saw Maki sneaking into the office.
The moment she spotted the doll, she shot it a sharp glare—clearly still upset about something.
But at the same time, Takakai had reached the entrance of Nutty Putty Cave.
He officially stepped into the cavern—
And then, he saw…
A group of tourists walking around inside, curiously staring at him.