Bai Yuze focused his attention on the iron chain. He held it, examining it closely.
This chain was much thicker than the dog leash, and probably sturdier.
"When do we act?"
Yukino couldn't understand Bai Yuze's actions, sometimes deep in thought, sometimes stopping and starting. In her opinion, the best solution right now was to look for other exits, and while doing so, think about how to deal with the Front Desk.
Poor Yukino, still kept in the dark.
"When are you going to make that dog stop?"
The strange object outside the door was a bit anxious. Its brothers and sisters were still being chased and bitten by that dog, and it was playing games with two humans! Although it was indeed interesting... now was clearly not the time for this, right?!
"Don't worry, we'll act when midnight arrives. As for that dog, can you lure it over? This place is so big, I can't find it."
The strange object nodded, then left. After Yukino closed the door, she came to Bai Yuze's side and looked at him.
"Are you... hiding something from me?"
"Huh? What thing?"
Bai Yuze chose to play dumb. He had used extremely cryptic methods when talking with the Front Desk about this matter, so the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
He also feared Yang Peng would go all out against them. It's not the clever ones you fear, but the ones who have nothing to lose.
"Your brow hasn't unfurrowed since just now." Yukino subconsciously reached out and touched Bai Yuze's face. "Is confronting the Front Desk putting pressure on you?"
Bai Yuze didn't respond, and Yukino took his silence as agreement.
"You don't need to feel so much pressure. No matter what happens, I will support you and stand behind you."
A gentle light shone in Yukino's eyes, like sunlight piercing through dark clouds and falling upon a gloomy person.
Listening to these familiar words, Bai Yuze couldn't help but be stunned. No matter how many times he looped, the girl who supported him, who had eyes only for him, would always be behind him. When he was scared, when he was lost, he would turn around... and she would be there.
It is well known that when two people maintain eye contact for more than fifteen seconds, a certain feeling will begin to grow in their hearts.
The distance between them was constantly closing, little by little... little by little...
Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!
"Help! Humans, quickly make it stop!"
Dog barks mixed with cries of distress interrupted their actions. Bai Yuze smiled bitterly, knowing the moment was lost. Just as he was about to go and open the door...
He felt someone grab his shoulder. He subconsciously turned back, and then... his eyes trembled!
After a long while, they separated. Yukino turned her body to the side, no longer looking at him, but the blush still on her face explained what had just happened.
Bai Yuze smiled. He wiped the blood oozing from his lips. Since a certain someone was exchanging saliva for the first time and wasn't very skilled, plus the contact happened too quickly, Bai Yuze's lips had been bitten by a certain someone...
But Bai Yuze didn't mind. Instead, he opened the door with a smile on his face.
Creak—
The door opened, and Bai Yuze saw the strange object running towards him, snot and tears streaming, with the dog close behind it.
Bai Yuze quickly barked an order, making the dog stop its actions. Only then was the strange object saved.
Seeing Bai Yuze's smiling expression, the strange object thought he was laughing at it, and protested angrily.
"Human, are you doing this on purpose? I yelled for ages before you opened the door. What were you two doing?"
"It hasn't reached that point yet..." Bai Yuze was startled, then quickly corrected himself. "Sorry about that, we were discussing something very important just now, so we were delayed. Sumimasen!"
Bai Yuze breathed a sigh of relief. He had misunderstood the strange object's meaning. After all, it was just a child, how could it understand so much?
While Bai Yuze was talking with the strange object, Yukino felt dizzy. Her original intention was to just make a light contact and then separate, but she used too much force and accidentally bit Bai Yuze's lip. After she came into contact with Bai Yuze's blood, her consciousness became somewhat hazy, and then scattered memory fragments began to surface in her mind little by little.
Therefore, the reason it took so long was actually because she had come into contact with Bai Yuze's blood...
She recalled all the past events of previous loops, and then thought about what she had said to Yui Yuigahama in this loop. She smiled and offered a small confession in her heart... Of course... only for a moment.
Tuanzi: There's a bull! Everyone, there's a bull!
"But I remember you have the ability to create illusions, don't you? Why didn't you use it on it?"
Bai Yuze was a bit curious. He clearly remembered that the strange object could influence others' perceptions. Logically, a strange object with a physical form shouldn't be afraid of a dog!
"Do you think I don't want to? I can't use it. When that dog barks, my whole body goes weak. I had to summon all my strength just to run, how could I have time to cast an illusion on it?"
"Then you're very good at running!"
It is well known that if you squat for too long, your legs will go numb. If someone is being chased and bitten by a dog while their legs are numb, then that person's speed will be comparable to a rabbit, but their running posture will be like a zombie, with each leg running independently, and every step being a wobbly one, which is even more despairing.
Bai Yuze waved to the dog, and the dog came over and rubbed against his hand.
"Good job. Eat that corpse, but don't swallow that knife. I still need it. Remember to bring the knife back to me."
The male corpse was a Silent One. Although mostly useless, it was still an indispensable presence in the script. Unfortunately, its arms were severed by the Town-Suppression Strange Object, causing it to lose most of its combat power.
And although the dog was a human domesticated into a dog, its current identity was a strange object. Therefore, the male corpse eaten by the strange object would still revive and regenerate. Bai Yuze's action of having the dog eat the male corpse could both feed the dog and obtain a brand new male corpse, killing two birds with one stone.
"So the reason you want to act at midnight is because the male corpse will revive in 102 the next day, and you're afraid it will come down to trouble us again, right?"
After Yukino recovered all her memories, she pointed out why Bai Yuze wanted to act at midnight.
"That's right, but you actually guessed it. As expected of Yukinoshita Yukino."
While complimenting her, Bai Yuze also felt a little confused. Why did Yukino's aura feel different? It was as if a novice had instantly become a max-level expert!
"Yukino couldn't have recovered her memories, could she? It shouldn't be possible. I'm the only one who can loop here. Yukino is clearly just a newcomer at this point... Don't scare yourself."
Bai Yuze then recalled the scene in his dream where he was attacked by Yukino with a cleaver... At that time, he felt that the strange objects were not as terrifying as Yukino stabbing him...
May this never happen... It shouldn't... right?