The receding footsteps and the sound of the bathroom door closing confirmed that Bai Yuze was now free to observe.
He looked around the room; only Sabre was curled up in a corner.
Bai Yuze walked over and patted Sabre, partly to thank Sabre for its help, and partly to confirm whether Sabre was a ghost.
After seeing the safe result, Bai Yuze breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it wasn't some dangerous creature, he would let it be.
At this moment, Sabre seemed to sense something.
It sniffed around the room with its nose, its body moving with the scent it detected.
Finally, it arrived at the entrance, its eyes fixed on the doorknob, letting out a growl.
"Is someone outside the door?"
Bai Yuze quietly approached the entrance.
Following Sabre's direction, he crouched down, aligning his perspective with Sabre's.
Through the crack in the door, he didn't see anyone standing outside.
But Sabre was already barking, and it was also pawing at Bai Yuze, seemingly not wanting him to get close to the door.
Bai Yuze stroked Sabre's head, and after calming Sabre down, he quietly picked up a slipper from the shoe rack and waved it in front of the peephole.
Bang!
Just as Bai Yuze had waved the slipper a few times, a screwdriver directly pierced through the peephole, impaling the slipper.
"Yui, Mom's home, open the door quickly."
Tuan Ma's voice sounded from outside the door.
Bai Yuze locked the main door, then picked up Sabre and retreated a few steps.
At this moment, Yui Yuigahama walked out of the bathroom, wearing casual clothes and blowing her hair dry with a hairdryer.
"Huh? Is Mom back?"
Just as Bai Yuze was about to shush her, a light screen appeared before them.
Player: Bai Yuze, Yui Yuigahama, Temporary Instance: When Does Mom Come Home?
Unfortunately, you have triggered a temporary instance.
Please try your best to distinguish who the real Yuigahama-ta is.
1. Sabre will help you, but please try to distinguish on your own.
Sometimes you cannot fully trust others, let alone a dog.
2. Please pay attention to the items Yuigahama-ta took with her before leaving and the items she should have when she returns home.
3. Please close all windows in the house.
The real Yuigahama-ta will only enter through the front door.
4. Do not stare at the door for long periods.
5. You only have one chance to open the door, and three chances per person to peek through the peephole.
Note: Due to the low difficulty, the use of strange artifacts is prohibited.
"Temporary instance?"
Although Bai Yuze was surprised, things had already happened, and the best plan now was to face the challenge head-on.
He quickly scanned the rule prompts and immediately focused his gaze on the main door; the peephole had been repaired.
"It looks like the peephole usage count is determined by anything blocking it, which counts as one use."
Based on the number of times he waved the slipper in front of the peephole, Bai Yuze deduced the peephole's usage pattern.
However, if he wasn't allowed to stare at the door for long periods, did that mean even recalling it was forbidden?
Having lost the ability of strange artifacts, Bai Yuze's path to judging whether the other party was a ghost through the door crack was blocked.
At this moment, Yui Yuigahama had also finished reading all the content.
The two exchanged glances.
Although Tuanzi was a bit uneasy, her heart slowly calmed down after seeing Bai Yuze.
The two immediately divided tasks: Tuanzi would close the windows, and Bai Yuze would determine if the person outside the door was the real Yuigahama-ta.
Bai Yuze glanced at Sabre beside him.
After much hesitation, he picked Sabre up and placed it on the sofa, much to Sabre's confusion.
Since the rules explicitly stated to try and distinguish on his own, this indicated that Sabre could easily be influenced by the ghost outside.
This immediately made Bai Yuze think about how Sabre distinguished the guy outside as a stranger.
Sabre didn't have X-ray vision; it distinguished the person's identity by scent.
The first rule meant that Sabre had set an example, and the fourth rule also confirmed that this strange instance required using one's nose to smell.
"What should I smell? Their foot odor?"
Bai Yuze and Tuan Ma were meeting for the first time.
He wasn't a dog with a keen sense of smell, so how could he remember her scent?
"It seems this difficulty requires Sabre to complete…"
At this moment, he immediately ran to the kitchen to find what he was looking for, while Yui Yuigahama had already closed all the windows and was coming down from upstairs.
Looking at Bai Yuze rummaging through the kitchen, Tuanzi asked curiously,
"Xiao Ze, what are you looking for?"
"Food!"
"Ah? Are you hungry?"
"Pretty much, help me find some."
Although Tuanzi didn't understand, out of trust in Bai Yuze, she still helped him find the food.
When Bai Yuze saw the placement of the food, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Tuanzi, whose food is stored with dog food?"
"Oh, you misunderstood.
These are snacks I bought before.
I saw that Sabre really liked them, so I put them with the dog food."
"Really?"
Bai Yuze also took out the dog food.
Behind the dog food were some snacks, but the packaging looked a bit old.
He pointed to these foods and asked,
"What about these? Does Sabre like to eat these too?"
"Uh… Sabre isn't interested in these.
It spat them out as soon as it tasted them, and sometimes it doesn't even sniff them."
Good heavens, even a dog dislikes them.
Bai Yuze took out those snacks and looked closely!
Due to damaged packaging, Bai Yuze could only see the production date: 2018.
"This is outrageous, this is seven-year-old food.
What's the shelf life?"
"Uh… probably ten years…"
"Oh, wow! Still three years left!"
"No, no… it's calculated from this year… still ten years…"
Bai Yuze fell silent, put down the food in his hand, and washed his hands in disgust.
We found a small amount of food in the preservatives; this stuff could be survival rations for the apocalypse!
Such an incredible preservative effect… even if ghosts and zombies expire, this won't!
No time to complain, Bai Yuze brought the dog food to Sabre and served it some.
Sabre twitched its nose.
It jumped off the sofa and slowly approached the food bowl.
It was a bit confused; why was it eating so early today?
It used to be half a bowl, but this time it was a full bowl? And its favorite snacks too…
Oh no! It triggered the hidden ending, "Last Meal!"
Bai Yuze also rubbed his eyes.
He actually saw acting from a dog!
Sabre first looked surprised, then incredulously sniffed the dog food, and finally took a small taste and fainted… If he hadn't seen Sabre mistakenly think it could foam at the mouth (spitting out a little saliva)… Bai Yuze would have really thought the dog food came with sleeping pills!
"Xiao Ze, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Ding dong!
The doorbell rang.
Bai Yuze signaled Tuanzi to be quiet.
He quietly approached the main door, first crouching down to check the door crack.
After seeing a clear shadow blocking it, he stood up and quietly approached the peephole.
Since the rules mentioned three chances to peek through the peephole, he wouldn't receive any physical harm during these three chances.
And indeed, he didn't receive any physical harm…
Through the peephole, Bai Yuze only felt a complete darkness before his eyes.
Just as he was wondering…
Swoosh!
The other party's eyes also opened…