"Wait for me!" Bai Yuze quickly chased after them. "Where are you two going? You're going the wrong way!"
"Aren't we going to the third floor?"
"We are going to the third floor, but before that, we need a key person."
"Who?" x2
Looking at Yamauchi Haruki still sound asleep, Bai Yuze's temper slowly rose, but remembering that Yamauchi Haruki's greatest help was often not helping at all, he sighed helplessly.
"Get up!"
It was the familiar way of waking him up. Yamauchi Haruki let out a cry, and just as he was about to get angry, a gleaming kitchen knife was placed against his neck.
"B-Brother... Is this a robbery...?"
"I retired from that long ago... Pfft! Less talk, you just need to understand one thing: your life is in my hands now. If you want to live, you'd better obey!"
Bai Yuze misspoke for a moment but quickly corrected himself.
"Your clothes... are you also from Advanced Nurturing High School? Why are you kidnapping me! I advise you to let me go..."
Bai Yuze used the kitchen knife to make a mark on the wall next to Yamauchi's neck.
"Can you calm down now?"
Yamauchi-kun shrank his neck, not daring to speak, only nodding in response.
Bai Yuze briefly explained about the residential house and its rules.
"Does he understand it?"
Tuanzi curiously asked Yukino beside her, and Yukino calmly replied.
"Probably not. You can tell from his confused and idiotic gaze."
Bai Yuze kept taking deep breaths, trying to stay calm. Otherwise, he was really afraid he might cleave Yamauchi Haruki to death with one strike. Who knew if people who died here would turn into new oddities?
Bai Yuze didn't want to add to his troubles, but the problem was that Yamauchi Haruki himself was a trouble.
The problem Bai Yuze was facing now was either to accept Yamauchi Haruki as a trouble or to see if Yamauchi Haruki, this trouble, would turn into an even bigger trouble.
"I know it's hard for you to believe, but if you look at your left hand, you'll believe it."
"Left hand?"
Yamauchi Haruki extended his left hand, then rubbed his eyes, even using his right hand.
"1... 2... 3... 4..."
"Where's five?!"
"Where's my thumb?!"
Yamauchi Haruki's face was panicked. He woke up and his thumb was gone, and there was someone threatening him with a knife. Although the two girls behind that person were very pretty, who would pay attention to such things!
Yamauchi Haruki only felt like the sky was falling.
"Wuwuwu, I'll never browse adult websites before sleeping again. Please, let this dream end quickly!"
Yamauchi Haruki screamed and cried, tears pouring down like a floodgate.
But Yamauchi Haruki's words affected the three of them. Tuanzi and Yukino subconsciously stepped back a few paces. Tuanzi had a look of disgust on her face, while Yukino's expression remained indifferent, only shifting her gaze to another person.
Bai Yuze was recalling the original plot of Classroom of the Elite. If he remembered correctly, the internet there was a campus network, which meant that when Yamauchi logged onto websites, the school could see it...
"Alright, stop crying. If you want to live, be quiet. This injury can be healed once we get out."
"Xiao Ze, what happened to his thumb?"
Tuanzi looked at Bai Yuze curiously. They all appeared here for no reason, and although the three of them had more or less some injuries, they didn't affect anything, but Yamauchi Haruki was directly missing a thumb.
"How should I put it? Everyone who comes to this instance has their own identity. You and Little Yukino are victims, and I am a suicide. As for him... his identity is 'food'. Food is meant to be eaten. If he had slept a little longer, his entire arm would probably be gone."
"Food! How scary!"
Before Tuanzi could say anything more, she was pushed away by Yamauchi Haruki. Fortunately, Yukino was there to steady her, which prevented Tuanzi from getting hurt.
"Please, save me! You're so amazing, you must have a way, right?!"
One had to admire Yamauchi Haruki's insight and his ability to provoke hatred. He could always accurately identify the most powerful person, and on top of that, he could perfectly provoke them with his brilliant actions.
Asking for help but almost smashing someone's mascot – anyone would exclaim, "Well, I'll be!"
Bai Yuze had seen through Yamauchi Haruki's true nature. If there was even the slightest disturbance, Yamauchi would definitely be the first one to run.
"Of course I'll help you. After all, we're classmates."
Bai Yuze replied to Yamauchi with a smile.
"Mm! Right! We're classmates..."
Yamauchi heard the answer he wanted, but he didn't dare to look Bai Yuze in the eyes. He felt as if he was about to be used as a tool until every last drop of his value was squeezed out.
"Alright, since you're obedient, I'll tell you how to stop the problem of missing body parts."
With that, Bai Yuze pulled out a can of meat, which left Yamauchi Haruki stunned.
"Canned food? I'm not hungry."
"This isn't for you to eat. This is your left arm."
"Huh?"
Yamauchi Haruki froze for a moment, then somewhat confusedly took the can from Bai Yuze's hand.
"Wait! Wait! Xiao Ze, why is this meat can his left arm?"
"Do you remember his identity? The reason the meat is fresh is because it's taken from him. Since his identity is 'food' and not a resident, he can eat canned meat.
Canned meat is refreshed every day, but if it's not eaten, it will reset, and a part of Yamauchi's body will disappear to serve as the next day's canned meat. If you observe carefully, you'll notice that the expiration dates on the canned meat are always the freshest."
"So Yamauchi-kun has to eat canned meat to suppress this situation... Does this count as eating his own flesh?"
"Logically speaking, it can be understood that way."
Bai Yuze was quite helpless; it was Yamauchi Haruki's bizarre identity that caused all this.
"Huh? I have to eat... myself? Can I not eat it...?"
"Of course you can, but the price is that another piece of flesh will be missing from your body tomorrow. If tomorrow's can is an organ, you'll probably be dead on the spot, which would also save trouble."
"No, no, no! I'll eat! I'll eat!"
Yamauchi Haruki quickly pulled the tab on the can, not bothering to think, and immediately grabbed it with his hands, shoveling it into his mouth.
Anyone who has eaten canned food knows that before heating, the contents are jelly-like, in lumps, especially canned meat, which is a large lump of sticky fat.
Watching Yamauchi-kun's almost frantic eating, Bai Yuze couldn't help but turn away, while Tuanzi and Yukino were already leaning against the corner, trying their best to ignore the sound of Yamauchi eating.
"Eat slowly, don't choke. There's no water here."
As if on cue, Yamauchi Haruki's body stiffened, and he began to cough violently. His right hand was already covered in grease, but he couldn't care less, desperately trying to clear his throat.