Carefully, Kaguya stepped into the corridor before her.
Maki followed behind Kaguya, just as cautiously observing their surroundings, and closed the door they'd come through to prevent anything from following them in.
Both girls knew full well that once they entered this place, they might not make it back out alive.
Therefore, they had to gather as much information as possible and find valuable clues before the situation deteriorated completely.
"This looks a lot like the second-floor hallway."
Maki said to Kaguya in a low voice.
"Don't talk for now. There might be something here that's triggered by sound. Use hand signals."
Kaguya made a few hand gestures to remind Maki, only proceeding after she saw Maki nod.
Gao Hai silently observed the surroundings through the doll's perspective. He had already called Sun Dajun, Green, and Mameier back into the room. Uncertain if a problem would arise, he needed the three of them present to ensure Miwa Maeda could turn the clock and rewind time at a critical moment.
He was also prepared to sever the connection with the doll at any moment and stop observing the interior of Room 304.
For now, at least, he didn't feel anything amiss. Perhaps it was because he was currently observing through the perspective of an Obsession Item. The item's inherent properties were, to some extent, blocking the transmission of the curse. But as for how long this effect would last, Gao Hai had no idea. He could only hope it would hold on for as long as possible.
Kaguya, leading the way, had now reached the end of the corridor.
After turning the corner, an unbelievably enormous room appeared before them.
It was like they had arrived in a kingdom of giants.
An impossibly high table, leather boots as large as trucks, and grains of rice the size of basketballs scattered on the floor.
A single glance was not enough to see to the end of the room.
No.
That wasn't right. This room was an enlarged room!
This incredible, bizarre sight left Kaguya stunned. But then, Maki grabbed her by the collar from behind and yanked her back into the hallway.
A pair of gigantic feet in slippers landed on the floor, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Then, a gloomy woman's voice reached their ears.
[There are rats in the house again...]
Amidst a dull rumble, the enormous foot slowly moved away, revealing the face of an old woman. She wore a filthy apron and ugly, hag-like clothes, her face was covered in acne, her hair was a mess, and her jagged teeth were missing a few.
This woman was holding a giant bowl, muttering something as she slowly walked around the room.
[Are you done yet? Where's the alcohol?]
An irritable man's voice sounded from the other side of the table.
Kaguya and Maki heard the muffled thud of a ceramic bowl being slammed on the table, followed by a liquor bottle rolling off, shattering with a crash and scattering fragments everywhere.
[If you want alcohol, just ask for it. Why are you smashing things?]
The woman's voice became displeased in the next moment.
[Enough of your crap! Get me the damn alcohol!]
The man's voice immediately grew even more irascible, like that of a raging beast.
[Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol. All you know how to do all day is drink.]
The woman's footsteps moved slowly. She bent down, opened a cardboard box by the wall, took out a bottle of golden beer, and tossed it to the man.
It looked like a very ordinary interaction within a dysfunctional family.
If it weren't for their absurdly large size, Kaguya and Maki would have probably found the scene quite boring. But as it was, they had to remain on high alert and figure out how to handle the situation.
"This must be the 'Reenactment' from Sanchez's diary that Hai-kun mentioned. In this room, the family from 304 will endlessly repeat a past segment like a replaying movie. We can't let them find us. Even though those two are just repeating the past like a script, the situation will definitely change immediately if they spot us."
Using a combination of hand signs and eye contact, Maki quickly conveyed her thoughts to Kaguya.
"I know. The problem now is, where do we need to go? Since this is Room 304, what we're looking for must be somewhere in this room."
Kaguya, equally calm, coordinated with Maki, also communicating with gestures and glances. The speed of their exchange quickly increased.
Before long, their exchange, from Gao Hai's perspective, looked like two ninjas practicing rapid hand seals.
The narrow corridor exit now looked like a mouse hole at the edge of this giant house.
To the right of this opening was a huge dining table against the wall, with three large chairs and one small stool. The man was sitting on the chair farthest from the mouse hole, seemingly drinking and watching the TV in the room, although from Kaguya and Maki's viewpoint, the TV was just a blurry screen of static, not playing anything at all.
A bit further past the low stool was a box in the corner containing alcohol. Every so often, amidst the man's curses, the woman who was mopping the living room would take a bottle of beer from the box and give it to him. She would then mop the area between the main door and the old TV. After mopping for a while, she would enter the half-open doorway directly opposite their opening—theoretically the kitchen—rinse the mop inside, and then come back out.
A bit further past the low stool was a box in the corner containing alcohol. Every so often, amidst the man's curses, the woman who was mopping the living room would take a bottle of beer from the box and give it to him. She would then mop the area between the main door and the old TV. After mopping for a while, she would enter the half-open doorway directly opposite their opening—theoretically the kitchen—rinse the mop inside, and then come back out.
Although they looked very much like real people, they were essentially just hollow shells repeating the past. Thus, after observing from their spot for a while, Maki and Kaguya confirmed their movement patterns and figured out the routine.
"Let's try the bedroom first. Neither of them goes toward the bedroom, so it might be a safe place to stop and search for a bit. From there, it would also be easier to get into the kitchen. Let's walk along the left wall; there are things there to hide us. If we time it right, we should be able to avoid their line of sight."
Saying this, Kaguya quickly moved, taking advantage of the moment the woman turned around to hide in the gap behind the water cooler.
Maki didn't hesitate, moving right after her and hiding in the same gap behind the water cooler with Kaguya.
[Stop blocking the TV! Dammit, do you have to mop right when I'm watching TV?]
[Yes, yes, I won't block the TV. Keep it down, don't wake the child.]
The woman's voice was almost numb. Muttering, she moved aside and continued mopping near the main door.
Meanwhile, Maki and Kaguya had already moved forward again, hiding behind the low stool and using its legs to conceal their position.
This feeling... it's like a first-person version of the Little Nightmares series.
Gao Hai, observing all this through the doll's eyes, broke into a cold sweat while mentally commenting on the situation.
For some reason, Room 304 had turned into this exaggerated house of giants. Two behemoths mechanically repeated their conversations from when they were alive, while the two petite girls moved cautiously within, avoiding the gazes of these long-dead things.
A gaze...
Gao Hai felt a gaze.
A distinct gaze, transmitted from the doll, coming from a certain direction.
So the doll on Maki's shoulder slowly turned its head to look back, back towards the mouse-hole-like opening the two girls had come from.
And then, he saw a blurry figure standing at the entrance of that mouse hole, silently meeting his gaze from a great distance.
Drip—
A drop of scalding water landed on Gao Hai's face, making him flinch in pain.
Sitting on the sofa in the living room of the second-floor apartment, he looked up and saw the figure standing upside down on the ceiling, its head twisted at a nearly broken angle, staring right back at him.
The core curse of Room 304 was watching him once again.
Meanwhile, through the doll's view, Kaguya took a deep breath and then darted out from behind the low stool, rushing towards the bedroom door.
And on the other side, the woman's muttering voice slowly rose again.
[There are rats in the house again...]
________________________________________
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