The transaction was concluded.
Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya re-boarded the ghost bus, officially converting it to private use, and simultaneously inquired the Ghost Driver for information about other 'levels.'
Unfortunately, no useful information was obtained.
The evil spirits in the space behind the ddoor had some intelligence, but not much.
Amamiya Natsuki estimated that the Ghost Driver was not as smart as a Border Collie; he basically only operated in his own territory and knew very little about other areas.
Seeing that no useful information could be obtained, Amamiya Natsuki said no more and waited quietly with Shinomiya Kaguya.
A moment later.
The ghost bus slowly decelerated and stopped.
The Ghost Driver's voice was hoarse as he said, "…We're here."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look outside.
In the sky not far away hung a blood moon, and beneath the blood moon was a dilapidated, abandoned villa.
The ghost bus stopped at the boundary of the rain curtain; one step forward, and the downpour abruptly ceased, forming a remarkably clear dividing line on the ground, making the meaning of a 'level' exceptionally clear.
"I wonder if Chika is inside…" Amamiya Natsuki exhaled softly, stood up, and said, "Let's go take a look."
Currently, they had no way to contact Chika, so they could only use the most cumbersome method of searching level by level.
Fortunately, Chika should not be in immediate danger; the two contacted each other with the red string on their fingers every minute to ensure each other's safety.
As they were about to get off the bus, the Ghost Driver suddenly extended a withered arm, blocking Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya: "The rice ball… you didn't give it to me…"
"You reminded me, I almost forgot." Amamiya Natsuki slapped his forehead, took out a rice ball, and handed it over. "One must keep their word; of course, your payment won't be missing."
The Ghost Driver's eyes flickered: "Two… rice balls…"
Hey, I didn't realize you, an evil spirit, could count.
Amamiya Natsuki said seriously, "I'll give you one rice ball now.
You stay here and don't move.
When we come out of the villa, I'll give you the remaining rice ball, and then I'll give you an extra one.
You'll make a big profit."
That's right.
Amamiya Natsuki not only intended to use the bus for private purposes but also planned to lock it up.
The Ghost Driver's head was a bit slow to process: "It seems… I made a profit?"
"It's settled then."
Amamiya Natsuki handed over the rice ball and walked off the ghost bus with Shinomiya Kaguya.
Taking one step, they crossed the rain boundary, and the two officially entered the 'level' area of the abandoned villa.
"Sakura said that the first place she appeared after entering the door was an abandoned villa." Shinomiya Kaguya lightly pursed her rosy lips, surveying the abandoned villa before them. "Could it be this very place?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said, "It's highly likely.
The door, this kaidan, doesn't care about sustainable development; everything is for squeezing out despair.
Each level should be reused, as no human can clear it and leave alive."
"According to Sakura, the task in the abandoned villa is to survive for six hours until dawn." Shinomiya Kaguya said softly, "During this time, evil spirits will relentlessly pursue the players… Let's hurry; hopefully, we can still make it in time to save people."
Those caught by the anomalous door could be said to be the unluckiest of the unlucky.
Although Shinomiya Kaguya didn't want to save the world like Chika, if she could save others within her capabilities, she naturally wouldn't stand by and do nothing—no one is truly alone; those unlucky people are all someone's children or parents, and every life is incredibly precious.
When successful, help the world; when not, focus on oneself.
What's more, the Door of Despair needed the power of hope to be destroyed.
Amamiya Natsuki quickened his pace and ran towards the abandoned villa with Shinomiya Kaguya.
At the same time.
Inside the abandoned villa.
"The blood characters have appeared; it seems all participants have arrived." A middle-aged man in a trench coat said gravely, his expression serious, "You newcomers, remember the content of the blood characters.
This is the key to your survival."
Around the middle-aged man, there were four or five people, both men and women, all with anxious and frightened expressions, clearly new recruits.
Hearing him, they could only nod like pecking chicks.
A girl timidly raised her hand and asked, "Excuse me… Do we only need to stay for six hours to go home?"
"Only need?" The trench-coated middle-aged man suddenly turned his head, his eyes bloodshot, his expression hiding a hint of madness.
"Do you think six hours is easy? That you can get through it effortlessly?"
The girl was startled and quickly bowed in apology: "S-sorry!"
"I already said it, there are definitely evil spirits or monsters in this abandoned villa." The middle-aged man's expression was distorted, his voice filled with despair. "We need to survive six hours under its or their slaughter, not for you to come on vacation!"
"Wait until you survive to the end, then you can think about going home."
"…"
No one dared to speak.
These rookie newcomers had yet to experience the horror of the evil spirit, but they could clearly see the despair on the middle-aged man's face. This was a 'veteran player', yet he was so despairing… Everyone's heart was cast under a shadow.
The middle-aged man took a deep breath, his voice hoarse: "That's all I have to say. Whether you live or not depends entirely on yourselves… Don't look at me, even I have no certainty of surviving. This world is just that despairing."
"However, generally speaking, evil spirits won't appear and kill immediately. You can use this time to search for clues, which might increase your chances of survival…"
Before he finished speaking.
Bang.
A soft sound suddenly came from the villa door.
All the unlucky individuals turned their heads, nervously looking towards the door.
"Just now… someone knocked?"
"Could it be an auditory hallucination?"
"It's not an auditory hallucination, we all heard it."
"Perhaps something accidentally bumped into the door?"
"…"
Bang bang bang.
The distinct knocking sound rang out again, shattering the inner fantasies of these unlucky individuals.
All the rookie newcomers looked at the middle-aged man in a panic.
The middle-aged man's expression was exceptionally grim. His gaze was fixed on the door. He hadn't expected the blood characters to have just appeared before the evil spirit immediately came knocking. He couldn't help but lower his voice and say:
"Stay calm, don't panic for now. The evil spirit knocking now is probably to create psychological pressure; it won't actually rush in…"
Before he finished speaking, the door suddenly creaked and was slowly pushed open from the outside by some creature.
Rookie newcomers: "…"
Middle-aged man: "…"
Looking out through the large door, a blood-red moon hung high in the night sky, and two blurry figures whose faces could not be seen stood at the doorway.
"Run in different directions!"
The middle-aged man didn't hesitate at all, turning and running.
"The, the evil spirit is here!"
The middle-aged man's act of fleeing immediately roused the others. Seeing that even the 'veteran player' had run, the rookies followed suit, turning and running. There was nothing they could do; humans are actually a very conformist species, especially in dangerous environments, where it is difficult to have their own opinions.
"Wait a moment…"
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand, wanting to call out to these people, but unfortunately, as soon as he opened his mouth, these unlucky individuals had already run out of sight.
"It seems we scared them?"
Amamiya Natsuki withdrew his hand helplessly and looked at Kaguya beside him.
"The President can remove 'it seems'." Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest. "We definitely scared those people."
Amamiya Natsuki sighed and said:
"I knew I shouldn't have knocked on the door. It would have been better to sneak in quietly and then appear before them."
"That kind of behavior is even scarier, alright!" Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but retort, then said, "There seemed to be a total of six people just now, and they all ran into the depths of the villa. We need to find them quickly before they encounter the evil spirit… President, let's split up."
Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement, saying:
"Then let's split up. Be careful and call for support if there's any danger."
The evil spirits and ghosts behind the Door of Despair are actually quite weak. If they were all at the level of the ghost bus passengers, Shinomiya Kaguya could easily deal with them.
Shinomiya Kaguya looked up and said:
"To be safe, let's use the love amulet for communication."
"Cough…" Amamiya Natsuki immediately coughed lightly, took out a piece of black modeling clay, infused his thoughts into it, transformed the clay into his own likeness, and then, using his thoughts, controlled the doll to jump onto Kaguya's shoulder. "The clone is safer. It can help you observe from 360 degrees without blind spots, so you don't have to worry about sneak attacks from behind."
He didn't dare to use the love amulet.
He absolutely didn't dare to use it.
After activating the love amulet, both parties could hear each other's inner thoughts, and these thoughts would even appear as images. Humans, however, couldn't control their own thoughts. If by chance, an indescribable scene of Marin and Hayasaka accidentally appeared in his mind, it was hard to imagine what would happen!
A hint of doubt flashed in Shinomiya Kaguya's eyes. She pursed her lips slightly and murmured in her heart:
"The President… seems to be hiding a secret from me?"
The thought flashed by, and Shinomiya Kaguya quickly suppressed the doubt. The main task was important now. She let out a light breath and said:
"Then that's settled. Let's move."
"Okay… Using the stairs as a dividing line, you take the left side, and I'll search the right side."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and separated from Kaguya, each going to find the unlucky individuals who were running around.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Amamiya Natsuki tilted his head back and drank a bottle of Witch Potion, activating his night vision, then entered the hallway on the second floor and began searching for people.
This abandoned villa was dilapidated from years of disrepair, and the floor was covered in dust.
Amamiya Natsuki looked down and could clearly see the messy footprints on the ground.
(Although the footprints are messy, looking at their size and outline, they should belong to two people. In other words, two unlucky individuals are hiding on the second floor…)
Amamiya Natsuki walked along the dusty footprints in the hallway and, after a short while, stopped in front of a door.
(The footprints here turned into a single pair… A messy mark appeared on the ground, did someone fall?)
(Excluding the possibility of someone carrying the fallen person, the one who fell and got separated most likely hid in a nearby room.)
Amamiya Natsuki's gaze shifted, sweeping over the doors on both sides of the hallway, and quickly landed on the door on the right side of the hallway.
This villa had been in disrepair for years, and dust covered everything, including the two doorknobs.
But at this moment, the doorknob on the left was covered in dust, while the doorknob on the right was much cleaner… It was clear where the separated unlucky person was hiding.
Thump thump thump.
Amamiya Natsuki walked to the door on the right and raised his hand to knock.
"…"
Behind the door, there was dead silence, no response whatsoever.
Even so, Amamiya Natsuki still didn't forget to politely say:
"I'm coming in."
The villa had been in disrepair for years, and the lock had lost its effectiveness. Amamiya Natsuki distorted it easily, opening the door, and then stepped into the room.
The room was also dilapidated, with broken items scattered everywhere, and a dusty full-length mirror stood behind the door.
Amamiya Natsuki stood at the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the old wardrobe and bed. After a slight pause, he spoke:
"Don't be scared, I'm human, not an evil spirit."
He wasn't sure about the condition of the unlucky person hiding in the room. If they had a heart condition, suddenly approaching them might scare them badly.
At the same time.
Inside the dark, stuffy wardrobe, a young girl in pajamas clutched her mouth tightly with both hands, her eyes brimming with tears, not daring to make a sound, not even daring to breathe.
Liar!
Definitely a liar!
The middle-aged uncle said that the blood characters would only appear after everyone had arrived. The voice of the person speaking outside was not anyone else's voice at all… It must be an evil spirit!
"I know you're in the room. Come out first." Amamiya Natsuki raised his voice, "Don't be afraid, I'm really not a bad person."
"…"
Still lying.
The middle-aged uncle said that not a single word from an evil spirit could be believed. If she went out, she would be killed immediately, right!
Alright, it seems ordinary persuasion is useless, unless he provides strong proof of being human.
Amamiya Natsuki pondered for a moment, then said:
"Then I'll tell you a headline… Just the day before yesterday, the most expensive ice cream in history, valued at 16.3 billion, was born."
"Eh?"
The girl hiding in the wardrobe froze, then slowly widened her eyes.
The most expensive ice cream in history… This was news from two days ago. Why would an evil spirit know about it?
Could the person outside really not be an evil spirit?
Amamiya Natsuki continued:
"Japan's female boxing suffered a major defeat. It is well-known that currently, at least half of the indecent assault cases are false, the truth being cost-free blackmail and extortion by women. The male victims either pay to settle or lose their jobs and have their lives ruined. And the law stipulates that fighting is only punishable by one to fifteen days of detention. Therefore, recently there has been a large amount of news on Twitter about men and women engaging in real-life brawls on public transportation."
"Indecent assault?"
"No, we're just fighting."
Girl in the wardrobe: "…"
Amamiya Natsuki exhaled and said:
"You're in the wardrobe, right? I don't want to just go over and open the door to scare you, but time is limited, and I still need to find others. If you don't come out soon, I'll have to use force."
"I, I'm coming out…"
A weak voice came from the wardrobe.
The girl in the wardrobe felt her mind a mess. After struggling, she finally chose to believe Amamiya Natsuki.
Not only did he know about the news on Twitter, but he could also analyze the reasons and truth behind it. The person speaking outside was most likely not an evil spirit.
Secondly… he had already clearly stated that she was hiding in the wardrobe. Hiding any longer would only be self-deception and meaningless.
At the same time.
In the full-length mirror behind Amamiya Natsuki.
An evil spirit with blood-red eyes and malice all over its body slowly had a question mark appear above its head.
Did I… run into a colleague?
"Hoo…"
The girl in the wardrobe took a deep breath, one hand covering her chest, the other cautiously pushing open the wardrobe door.
A blood moon outside the window cast faint moonlight into the room.
After seeing Amamiya Natsuki clearly, the pajama-clad girl's eyes suddenly widened, and her face showed fright.
"Be, be, be…"
Amamiya Natsuki seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. The moment the pajama-clad girl spoke, he grabbed out of thin air, suddenly pulling out a blood-stained fire axe, then distorted his waist to exert force. The axe left a trail of afterimage as it swung towards his back.
Splat—
The sound of the axe cutting into flesh immediately rang out.
Following that was an extremely shrill, terrifying scream that could pierce one's eardrums.
Looking at the terrifying evil spirit covered in blood, Amamiya Natsuki pulled out the axe, intending to finish it off directly. Who knew that this evil spirit suddenly transformed into a streak of darkness and drilled into the mirror.
"What a pity."
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly, then put away the axe, and at the same time, conveyed the information that the opponent could ambush through the mirror to Kaguya via the clone.
The information was conveyed.
Amamiya Natsuki focused his consciousness and looked at the trembling girl in the wardrobe: "That evil spirit won't appear for now. You can come out."
The girl's eyes were teary, and she dared not speak, only shaking her head continuously.
To her, the stranger who had cleaved the evil spirit with an axe was actually as terrifying as the evil spirit itself.
Amamiya Natsuki's gaze fell on the girl's small face, and he suddenly said:
"Hmm… Hanamaru?"
That's right.
The junior high school girl hiding in the closet was indeed Moeha's classmate from the neighboring class. Amamiya Natsuki had seen her clearly in the coffee shop's surveillance footage before.
It seems Miss Sakura was right; the Door of Despair's curse can spread to the curious. Moeha came in, so it's quite normal for this little junior high student to enter after the door.
"Eh?" The trembling girl in the closet froze, her eyes widening in surprise. "W-why do you know my name?"
"…"
Amamiya Natsuki didn't speak; he just took half a step back and pulled a small desk lamp from his game backpack.
A soft light immediately dispelled the darkness in the room.
With the light source, the pajama-clad girl finally saw Amamiya Natsuki's face and her small mouth rounded in disbelief: "Eh eh eh? Senpai?!"
As the Student Council president, Amamiya Natsuki had some renown at school, and many people recognized him.
"It's me," Amamiya Natsuki explained softly, "Moeha and Chika are missing. They called me and said they entered this door, so I came in to find them. As for your identity, I saw you and Moeha when I was checking the coffee shop's surveillance footage, so I recognized you."
The junior high school girl immediately tensed up, asking worriedly:
"Did Moeha-chan also come in? How is she now?"
"I haven't found her yet," Amamiya Natsuki said. "But I found you first."
"S-sorry…"
The junior high school girl apologized shamefacedly.
Amamiya Natsuki waved his hand and said:
"Anyway, come out first."
"Hmm…" The junior high school girl quietly agreed, hesitated for a few seconds, then blushed and softly requested, "Th-that, Senpai, could you pull me? My legs are weak…"
Her legs are already weak? Your courage is too small!
Amamiya Natsuki walked over helplessly and reached out to pull the junior high school girl out.
He didn't find Moeha, but he found Moeha's good friend, which should be considered a pleasant surprise.
This junior high school girl was wearing cartoon pajamas. Since it was her first time entering the space behind the door, she naturally had no preparations. As she bent over and crawled out of the closet, Amamiya Natsuki inevitably saw things he shouldn't have.
Indeed, birds of a feather flock together; she's about the same developmental level as Moeha. You junior high school students have too much nutrition!