Passing through the Artery, reaching the Heart, and then returning once more to the Large Space.
Along the way, the corpses lying overhead enthusiastically signaled to Takumi one after another, each of them eager to engage in some close interaction with him. Every time they passed through a narrow area where it was impossible to turn around, voices would sound behind him—sometimes Chika's, sometimes those of the four players, and even the voices of Maki and Kaguya appeared as well. It could be said to be extremely lively, giving Takumi a sense that [there are "people" everywhere], so much so that he did not feel this narrow cave to be gloomy or oppressive at all.
It was just that these things were a little too friendly. If possible, he really wished they could be a bit more restrained—at the very least, that they would stop constantly tugging at his clothes and pants, or touching his face.
Thinking this, Takumi wiped away the blood smeared on his face, patted his head to shake off the maggots that had fallen onto him, stretched his body, and let out a long breath.
Unlike the first playthrough, the things Takumi saw in the [Artery] this time were no longer illusions. They had already begun to be able to touch him, and even leave all kinds of marks on his body.
What could be stated with certainty was that, as he learned more and more, the influence these strange objects exerted on him would inevitably grow stronger and stronger. And yet, if he wanted to clear the instance, he had no choice but to investigate even more information, repeatedly placing himself in danger. This point truly left Takumi feeling quite helpless.
However, compared to those ordinary players who only had a single life and would die for good once killed, he could still be considered rather fortunate. Although this black wristwatch was riddled with suspicious points and increasingly revealed a bizarre and uncanny side, it had to be admitted that without the power of this watch, he would have long since died who knows where.
The distracting thoughts in his mind only stirred up a slight ripple before Takumi proactively suppressed them.
He made a rough estimate. This time, the speed at which he and Fujiwara Chika had reached the Large Space was quite fast. At present, roughly fifteen to seventeen minutes had already passed since the two of them had just set out.
It was not yet the inspection time mentioned in the second-type rules, but it was still better to confirm the situation in advance.
Thinking this way, Takumi checked his own clothes. There was still no phenomenon of them bonding to his skin, but when he tried pulling at his collar, he could already feel some discomfort.
Checking Fujiwara Chika proved to be slightly difficult. When Takumi had just proposed the inspection, the girl thought he was planning to do something frightening. She instinctively hugged her chest with both hands and took a step back, and only after Takumi explained the reason did she walk forward somewhat awkwardly.
Then Takumi discovered that the exploration suit on the girl's body had already developed a certain degree of stickiness. Although it had not yet fused with her skin, the situation was clearly already not very good.
"Change your clothes. Quickly."
Takumi, who had picked up two sets of exploration suits along the way, tossed one of them in front of Chika and said to her seriously.
After taking the clothes, Chika instinctively wanted to find a place with cover to change, but thinking of those terrifying things they had encountered earlier, she finally took a deep breath, mustered her courage, took off the exploration suit she was wearing in front of Takumi, and changed into this set of exploration clothes she had picked up along the way, which was already a little dirty.
It had to be said that her figure was indeed quite good. This child's nutrition—perhaps even if Maki and Kaguya were added together and multiplied by two, they still would not compare.
Takumi let out a sigh of emotion in his mind, then quickly turned his head away and no longer paid attention to Chika's appearance. He stopped paying attention to Chika's fair skin, her shapely physical curves, her cheeks as flushed as apples, the weight beneath her collarbones, her slightly plump thighs, and her smooth calves and feet.
Come to think of it, when a girl takes off her clothes on her own, why does it feel far more suggestive than when one does it oneself? There was a very strange feeling to it.
Especially that shy, almost-tearful little face, and the slightly trembling movements of her hands—there was a very, very striking sensation to it. Mm, particularly when that overly tight-fitting top was removed—it felt like two little monsters springing out with a "pop."
Yes. Takumi absolutely was not paying attention to Fujiwara Chika changing her clothes. This was serious.
{Oba-san has already entered the cave. According to what you said, Takumi-kun, the first exploration will end safely, but the player acting as C3 will be shot dead because of excessive actions. Is that correct?}
At just the right moment, Maki's voice sounded in Takumi's mind.
{Mm, mm, that's right. So next you'll need to pay close attention to that C3. Last cycle, when I entered the cave for exploration, this number already caused problems.}
Takumi answered the girl quickly, though for some reason he felt slightly uneasy deep down.
{I feel like your tone sounds a bit strange. What's going on? What are you doing right now? Have you already returned from the Heart?}
Even though it was only a voice chat, Shijō Maki still noticed the subtle change in Takumi's tone and immediately pressed him with questions.
{Yeah, I've already returned from the Heart. I have to say, that trip was quite thrilling.}
However, right after that, Takumi adjusted his tone back to normal and very calmly began telling Maki about what he had experienced along the way.
{Mm… anyway, be careful. You must pay attention to your safety.}
Although she still felt something was a bit suspicious, Maki ultimately did not dwell too much on the issue of his tone. After giving a few final reminders, she stopped speaking.
And after this interruption from Maki, when Takumi looked toward Fujiwara Chika again, the other party had already changed into the new exploration suit. She took a deep breath and pulled the zipper of the top up toward her neck with effort. In Takumi's view, this scene was one in which the girl's graceful figure was tightly constrained by the clothes, yet still outlined a youthful and striking silhouette.
Takumi could not help thinking of Maki's body, which had not much in the way of curves, as well as the tactile sensation he had felt on that rainy night.
Hmm... the small ones and the large ones, the hand-feel should be quite different...
No—what was he thinking? Now was not the time to be considering things like that.
Drawing his slightly scattered attention back, and after confirming that Fujiwara Chika had already finished changing her clothes, Takumi stepped forward and took the lead, advancing deeper into the area known as the Large Space.
The dim and gloomy cave was filled with dampness, and with each breath he could feel the temperature inside the cave steadily dropping.
Those noisy sounds seemed to have no end. Takumi could constantly hear, from all directions, what sounded like people chatting and talking, yet he could not find where the source of the voices was.
Beside him, the pink-haired girl followed carefully, not daring to make too much noise, moving forward step by step.
This place was somewhat larger than expected.
Takumi moved through the dense stalagmites and stone pillars. He had already walked for a full five or six minutes, yet still had not left this area.
He discovered quite a few traces left behind by Explorers here, such as some damaged safety ropes hanging on the walls, several abandoned tents, as well as some packaging paper and small boxes discarded on the ground, which looked like wrappers from some kind of fast food.
It was also in this place that Takumi and Fujiwara Chika encountered two people they had not seen before—one man and one woman, both wearing exploration suits.
The two of them looked as though they had considerable experience exploring caves, and they had noticed Takumi and Chika's presence quite early on. Of course, through the power of Blessings, Takumi had likewise already detected their existence before seeing them. Both sides kept a certain distance, cautiously sizing each other up, and then the two Explorers were the first to speak.
"Explorer Rex, also a player."
"Explorer Susan, also a player. Have you been to the Heart?"
The man and woman both replied very calmly.
"Explorer Takumi, also a player."
"Explorer Chika, also a player."
Takumi and Fujiwara Chika also introduced themselves. After both sides confirmed each other's identities and verified that communication was normal, both sides finally let out a small sigh of relief.
It seemed that the number of players entering this instance was indeed quite large. From the previous cycle until now, just how many players had they already encountered? However, before being fixed, the difficulty of this instance had been very low, so it was only natural that it would attract players—although now this damned place had already turned into a land of death.
Unlike the previous four players, these two players bore no hostility toward Takumi and Fujiwara Chika. On the contrary, a certain degree of goodwill could even be sensed, so Takumi was willing to exchange a bit of information with them.
"Are you planning to go forward? Be careful. Something isn't quite right along this path ahead. We've gone forward three times, but each time the route felt off. How should I put it… there are some extra things on the road ahead—things that absolutely shouldn't exist in a natural cave like this. We really don't have the confidence to determine what's going on inside. If you're planning to go in, you must be extremely careful."
The player who called herself Susan spoke seriously to the two of them.
"Thank you for the warning."
Takumi nodded. Seeing that the other party was willing to proactively share information, he told them about the rules regarding inspection of exploration suits that he had seen under the second-type rules, and also informed them about the situation with Kawano's group of reckless players, advising them to be extra cautious as well. After that, he and Chika continued onward together along the cave's forward path.
Along the way, they passed through spacious caves that were relatively flat and wide, capable of accommodating many people at once. It had to be said that this was far more comfortable than the cramped environment they had previously experienced in the [Artery].
However, before long, as the two of them passed through the Large Space and arrived at a stone-pillar plaza filled with standing columns, and then continued exploring further ahead of this plaza, Takumi began to understand why the two players earlier had stopped and dared not advance.
"What is going on here…"
Rugged rocky ground was abruptly mixed together with concrete pavement.
Several white lights illuminated the dark cave.
And a sign reading [City Fire Department] was simply hanging there, affixed to a wall that had been built inside the cave—or rather, seemed more like it had fused into the cave itself—right beside a half-closed door.
The path ahead of the stone-pillar plaza actually led to a building?!
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