"Oh, what took you so long?"
To ensure the safety of those beside him, even if the Front Desk in front of them had given them a warning, he still had to be suspicious.
"I originally planned to come the next day, but I sensed that the corpse in Room 102 was regenerating itself.
There could only be two reasons for this situation. One, you guys were bored and chopped him into mincemeat. Two, he was eaten by something. You two couldn't possibly eat that, so it must have been my dog."
The Front Desk whistled at the dog, and Bruce happily ran to his side, jumping up and down. However, this was hard on Xiao Chu Sheng because Bruce hadn't let go of his mouth.
So, with Bruce jumping up and down, Xiao Chu Sheng had to experience a suffocating sensation, like being coiled by a python, every few seconds...
"We're master and pet... If you don't want to keep me, just say so! No need for abuse!"
"This is...?"
The Front Desk only then noticed that his good friend had an iron chain in his mouth, and the other end of the chain was tied to a child. The Front Desk had spent a long time in the private residence, so he could tell at a glance that the other party was a strange entity.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this is Xiao Chu Sheng, Bruce's pet."
"Bruce? Is that the name you gave my dog? It sounds alright... but... what do you mean 'Bruce's pet'?!!!"
The Front Desk was a bit shocked. He had always thought Bai Yuze was a capable young man, but Bai Yuze kept refreshing his understanding!
Having a pet raise a pet! This was the first time he had heard of such a thing!
So what should he call Bruce's pet?
"A reminder, although I am your pet's pet, I don't take orders from you. I have my own rights!"
Xiao Chu Sheng proudly raised his head, looking exactly like those pet cats and dogs that made mistakes but couldn't be beaten. After all, one slap might make it suddenly develop a non-fatal but two or three thousand dollar minor illness!
Front Desk: ...
However, the Front Desk also instantly understood Bai Yuze's objective. He couldn't help but admire Bai Yuze. He knew that it had taken him a lot of effort to get a pet. From a resident to the Front Desk, he finally qualified to have a pet.
And Bai Yuze's move of "having a pet raise a pet" completely turned his own actions into a joke...
"Alright, enough of this. Let's go."
After Bai Yuze finished speaking, he took Yukino's hand. He wanted to personally escort Yukino to the door before he felt at ease. Otherwise, if she were possessed by something, it would be over!
Yukino didn't resist either, letting Bai Yuze hold her hand. She obediently followed behind Bai Yuze, her eyes always fixed on his back.
Front Desk: ...
Bruce: Woof woof woof!
Xiao Chu Sheng: Why do I feel like those two are glowing?
The three of them were unknowingly shown up by the two.
One was trapped here and couldn't find a partner, one was a poor fellow who considered himself a dog and didn't care about such things, and the last one died too early and didn't even know what a partner was.
The Front Desk suddenly regretted entering the basement. He had thought that Bai Yuze's frantic call meant he had encountered a terrifying situation and needed his help. Otherwise, why would he phrase the warning so obscurely!
But now it seemed... more like a situation where his phone was about to die, so he might as well make the call...
The two soon arrived at the single-person passage. At this moment, the single-person passage was once again emitting a faint blue light.
"Remember, no matter which room you wake up in, remember to find Tuanzi immediately. Tuanzi is in Room 104. Remember! Don't knock! Just kick the door open.
Since the Town-Suppression Strange Object upstairs is in our hands, Tuanzi is currently not under its protection. She will definitely be staring at the clock, not sleeping, which will cause her mental problems. So the first thing you do after kicking open the door is to get the clock back!"
It would be embarrassing if, after finally being able to bring all the useful people and strange entities upstairs, everything was lost due to a small mistake.
"Okay, I understand. You should be careful too."
Yukino nodded, then adjusted Bai Yuze's collar.
"Come back safely, Bai Jun! Yui Yuigahama and I will be waiting for you!"
With that, Yukino gave a faint smile, then pushed open the door and walked in.
"Is it finally almost over?"
Thinking back on all the past events, Bai Yuze only felt that everything was quite fantastical.
"Sigh, I once hoped to have thrilling adventures like those novel protagonists, but when it actually happened to me... it's really tiring!"
Bai Yuze chuckled self-deprecatingly, then returned the way he came.
After noticing Bai Yuze's figure, the Front Desk said to the two strange entities beside him.
"Alright, stop playing the staring game. We should go."
After Bai Yuze came to them, the Front Desk handed him something.
"This is... a Necklace?"
Bai Yuze fiddled with the Necklace in his hand. Looking at its color and shape... it was similar to the Necklace Bruce had worn around his neck before...
"It's an old item I dug up. I thought you might find it useful, so I'm giving it to you."
"Really? No charge, right?"
Everything had to be clarified. Bai Yuze didn't forget to ask if there were any traps.
"...No charge... By the way, do you have a stereotype of me, or are you just stingy?"
While Bai Yuze was seeing Yukino off, the Front Desk also asked Xiao Chu Sheng about what had happened here. After hearing that Xiao Chu Sheng had been treated like a beast of burden by Bai Yuze, he immediately couldn't hold back.
Someone like Bai Yuze was lucky not to be hung from a lamppost.
"Hehehe, let's not talk about that. Let's go!"
Bai Yuze called out to Bruce, and Bruce obediently followed behind Bai Yuze.
"Let's set off too."
The Front Desk held the other end of the iron chain. Xiao Chu Sheng didn't resist; he also yearned for the light upstairs.
As soon as he stepped onto the stairs, Bai Yuze felt a chill all over his body.
"These stairs are a bit cold on the feet!"
Although he complained, he still moved forward...
"By the way, how high is this exactly? Why haven't we seen the end yet?"
Bai Yuze stopped. Although he hadn't counted the number of stairs, his intuition told him that they had been climbing for at least five minutes.
"I don't know. This is my first time taking this path too."
The Front Desk also couldn't figure it out. When he escaped from here before, he used the single-person passage, so he didn't understand how the main entrance stairs worked.
"Wait, I have an idea."
Bai Yuze suddenly remembered the suffix of that rule. (One more step is heaven, one less step is the void)
"Since taking one step back can lead to the 'void,' then it should be that!"
"From now on, count the number of stairs silently in your heart. No matter what happens later, do not stop! Even if you lose a layer of skin or a piece of flesh, you must take a step forward!"