"Let's not talk about those things for now. The most important thing is to understand our surroundings and find a way to contact Bai Jun, so he knows we're still alive."
Yukino stood up and observed her surroundings. The room was a bit dim, but it didn't hinder her observation. The room was similar to the upstairs rooms, but the environment was somewhat damp, with moss growing on the walls, and a faint smell of mold and decay in the air.
"It seems we might have stumbled into the basement Bai Jun mentioned. But why didn't Bai Jun come here?"
Yukino was deep in thought when Tuanzi mumbled softly.
"Could it be… never mind."
"Hmm? Is Yui Yuigahama trying to say something? You can speak freely; it's just you and me here."
"Forget it, Little Yukino. You make the decisions."
Tuanzi quickly waved her hand in refusal, while Yukino put on a serious expression.
"How long do you plan to keep up this pretense, Yui Yuigahama?"
"Ah…? What are you talking about, Little Yukino? And your expression is so strange…"
Tuanzi nervously looked left and right, hoping to find something to change the subject.
"Still pretending? You're so smart, Yui Yuigahama, why do you act foolish?"
If someone inexplicably does some absurd things, that person is very likely a fool, but someone who acts abnormally under specific circumstances is definitely not a fool.
"I… I don't know what you're talking about…"
"Are you willing to become a fool everyone laughs at, just to cater to others?"
"I… I'm afraid of making mistakes…"
Yukino walked up to Tuanzi, her eyes fixed on her. Tuanzi instinctively turned her head away the moment their eyes met.
But Yukino reached out and forced Tuanzi to look her in the eye.
"I need you, Yui Yuigahama."
Yukino's simple words caused a huge stir in Tuanzi's heart. This was the first time Tuanzi had been chosen so firmly by someone else.
"Can… can I really do it?"
"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be sure, but if it's you, I'm willing to trust you. After all, we only have each other now."
"Only… each other…"
Tuanzi… no, Yui Yuigahama kept repeating these words. At this moment, the foolish Tuanzi's disguise had faded, and the confident Master Yui Yuigahama was about to make her appearance!
"Yui Yuigahama cares a lot about Bai Jun, right? If you don't catch up to him soon, someone else will snatch him away."
Seeing that Yui Yuigahama's state was just one step away, Yukino dropped another bombshell.
"Snatch… snatch him away!"
Yui Yuigahama's mind conjured an image of Bai Yuze walking towards the door of happiness with another woman, while she could only hide in a dark corner, peeking at a sliver of light.
"Absolutely not!" Yui Yuigahama said with a look of defiance. "Little Yukino! We need to get out of here quickly. Bai Jun still needs our help. We can't pray for others to help us."
Now appearing is Yui Yuigahama, with all her capabilities in overclocked status!
"Ah… okay…"
Yukino hadn't expected such a strong reaction from Yui Yuigahama, just from a casual remark.
"Then let's start by discussing how we got here."
"Hmm, I remember I was mentally counting the steps, and then I saw a giant tentacle lunging at me. I instinctively recoiled… Wait!"
Yui Yuigahama quickly rummaged through her pocket. Soon, she pulled out a piece of paper.
"What is this?"
"This is the note Xiao Ze showed us. He said he memorized everything. I remember there was a poetic hint on it, here, this part."
"'Don't gulp down a lifetime of sweetness'—does that mean the monster likes to eat candy?"
"Exactly, but the word 'lifetime' is quite grand. I guess this poem is about that candy-loving monster, perhaps it experienced something painful, and so the sweetness of candy is a lifetime of sweetness to it."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
Yukino was very glad that she had helped Yui Yuigahama regain her confidence, and Yui Yuigahama's brilliant performance did not disappoint Yukino's expectations.
"Now look at these two lines: 'Seeking light in darkness is inherently absurd' and 'Darkness has its own way of surviving, light has its own future.' We should be in 'darkness' right now, so our most important task is to find a way to 'survive' and live on."
"Yes, then it seems we can send some messages to Bai Jun."
"Oh? Do you have any new insights, Little Yukino?"
"Well, since the hint tells us that seeking light in darkness is inherently absurd, it means we can't find our way out by 'groping in the dark'."
"Emmmm, oh! I see! Little Yukino, do you mean we should treat 'finding a way out' as a pursuit?"
"Exactly. This also aligns with the poem's hint, 'In this life, one must always have something to pursue.' With a pursuit, you have a clear goal."
Yukino smiled faintly, and Yui Yuigahama also said with full vigor.
"Then let's try it now!"
——————
Meanwhile, Bai Yuze sat on the stairs, carefully recalling the rules and the conflict of the two disappearing.
"Did one of them count the stair levels?"
Suddenly! He remembered the suffix hint of that rule.
(One step more is heaven, one step less is the void)
"So that's it, no wonder they suddenly disappeared."
Normally, counting stairs when climbing isn't a habit everyone has, but some people do.
The rule warned against counting steps, intending to prevent people from taking a step back while climbing.
After all, who would inexplicably step back while climbing stairs? Bai Yuze vaguely remembered hearing Yui Yuigahama's gasp just before the two women disappeared.
Bai Yuze guessed that the rule made Yui Yuigahama hallucinate, mistakenly believing something was attacking her, forcing her to take a step back and fall into the "void."
"If I repeat it, will I also be able to enter the so-called 'void'?"
Bai Yuze stood up and immediately began his experiment, but no matter how hard he tried, he didn't feel even a hint of weightlessness.
"Is the void full?"
Bai Yuze was helpless and could only continue upwards to search for Yamauchi Haruki.
Soon, he found Yamauchi Haruki curled up, covering his eyes, on the second-floor landing.
"Heh, you sure ran fast. I remember telling you that you'd only live if you listened to me, didn't I?"
Facing Bai Yuze's intimidation, Yamauchi Haruki showed no reaction, remaining curled up and covering his eyes.
Bai Yuze stared at Yamauchi Haruki for a moment, then chuckled.
"So that's it. It makes things easier for me. Since you're fine, come back with me."
With that, Bai Yuze was about to turn around. The moment Bai Yuze turned his body, Yamauchi Haruki, who was curled on the ground, moved.
He opened his fangs and bit at Bai Yuze, just as he was about to succeed.
Bai Yuze spun around, and with a swift move, chopped off Yamauchi Haruki's head.
"Heh, I didn't expect that before I could deal with you, you'd be dealt with by the anomaly. If I remember correctly, these two eyeballs seem to belong to Yuan Xing, don't they?"
Bai Yuze hadn't expected Yuan Xing's vitality to be so tenacious; even with only two eyeballs left, he could still survive and possess Yamauchi Haruki.
Bai Yuze used his knife to dig out the two eyeballs. The two eyeballs rolled onto the ground, and just as Bai Yuze was about to swing his knife to chop them.
Yuan Xing's pleading voice came through.
"Hiss. Can we reconcile?"
"Oh? At this moment? You must be joking, aren't you?"
Bai Yuze chuckled, and with a swing of his knife, Yuan Xing's last means of revival were completely destroyed.