Darkness was coming.
The corridor quickly dimmed to gloom.
Amamiya Natsuki let out a light breath and stepped into Ward 405.
Mascot pendant Rikka hurried to catch up behind him, and the door slammed shut.
The ward was just as dark and dreary as the others.
Only, instead of a TV, there was a low card table and a dried bat specimen hanging on the wall.
Fujiwara Chika knelt beside the table. Opposite her stood her "roommate."
A bad girl with twin ponytails, exaggerated smoky makeup, a hot body, and a perverted grin. A bloodstained baseball bat rested beside her.
"Harley Quinn?"
Rikka's eyes widened in disbelief.
"No way—that's DC's villain. She wouldn't play a sticky game with Fujiwara Chika."
"Nope. That's just a Harley Quinn cosplayer," Natsuki thought, eyeing the belly. "No six-pack—definitely a cosplay."
The ghost didn't look angry, just tilted her head and smiled creepily. Her long tongue licked her lips.
"Look what I found—two more little cuties. Let's play games together."
Natsuki's mind flashed a bizarre thought.
Must be nice to learn how to tie a cherry knot, he thought. He banished the distracting thought and looked at Fujiwara Chika with a subtle tone.
"So... you're playing a yuri-yuri game?"
The idiot was barely dressed—just a white bra and a pink pair of panties with a giant panda on them. Everything else—school uniform, shoes, stockings, skirt, bracelet—was gone.
Natsuki's eyes flicked downward.
She looked slightly plump but had an unexpectedly slim waist.
"I didn't get close to her!" Fujiwara's eyes brimmed with tears. "I lost all my clothes!"
"Um... what does 'yuri-yuri' mean?" Rikka whispered, curious.
"That's a taboo topic for children," Natsuki said solemnly. "Don't ask."
"…"
Fujiwara recounted her ordeal with grievance.
She appeared alone in her ward at first. Before she could leave, the ghost dressed as Harley Quinn blocked her path and forced her into a ghost card game.
The rules were simple and self-explanatory.
But the loser had to pay a price—an item, clothes, skin, flesh, teeth, eyes… This was a ghost game, not entertainment.
What else could Fujiwara do? After losing repeatedly, she was down to only two pieces of underwear.
Natsuki looked at the well-dressed "Harley Quinn" and deadpanned, "You never won a game?"
"She must've cheated!" Fujiwara was even more aggrieved. "When I played Joker cards with my friends at school, I never lost that many times in a row!"
"Oh, little cutie, don't talk nonsense without evidence—or I'll pull out your tongue." Harley Quinn picked up the bloodied baseball bat with a dangerous smile. "Cheating is forbidden at the poker table. Even I don't break that rule."
So, cheating was okay as long as it wasn't at the poker table?
A "cheating detected" prompt popped up before Natsuki's eyes. He smiled and said:
"Add me in."
"Um?"
"Such an interesting game—I want to play too."
The ghost looked at him in surprise, a pleasant smile curling her lips.
"Fine, but our game's not over yet… now it's my turn."
Fujiwara nervously raised her two remaining cards.
One was the Five of Hearts, the other the Joker.
The final moment.
"Which one is it?"
The ghost's smile grew wider, her fingers hovered between the two cards.
"Definitely this one…"
Her finger settled on the Joker.
The moment Fujiwara let down her guard, the ghost struck—instantly taking her most precious possession.
"I lost again."
Fujiwara cried like a wounded animal and sank to her knees.
"My dear, looks like you have bad luck today." The ghost smiled wickedly. "Pants or bra—choose within one minute. If you exceed the time, I'll take one at random."
Fujiwara bit her lip in anguish.
With only two pairs of underwear left, either choice was terrible.
But rules were rules.
If she had to choose…
"You won't be getting married like that!" Fujiwara covered her chest and looked at Natsuki desperately. "Natsuki-san, should we try that trick?"
"You can try."
Fujiwara's eyes widened. She pointed at the ghost.
"Outlaw Zhang San, I'm calling you—do you dare to answer?"
"Who's Zhang San?" The ghost was startled. Suddenly, her body stiffened, her mouth moving involuntarily.
"Y-Yes... that's right. I am the lawless criminal Zhang San."
Natsuki stepped forward, pressing the ghost's shoulders.
Suddenly, an epiphany hit him.
Skills are effective!
You can capture the other party with 100% certainty and put them in any pose you want. If "Outlaw Zhang San" is your name, even God can't save you!
"Outlaw Zhang San, you're under arrest."
The ghost struggled but found she couldn't move.
She only looked lost.
"Who the hell is Zhang San? I'm not—I, I, I am the lawless criminal Zhang San."
"Actually, I'm a time-space cop," Natsuki said seriously. "My real goal is to capture Zhang San. He's a multiverse-level villain with a terrifying criminal mind, master of countless evil methods, and a perpetrator of innumerable heinous crimes... I've traveled countless worlds chasing you. Outlaw Zhang San, your doomsday has come."
"Wow, that's amazing!"
Rikka's eyes were wide with admiration.
"You humans lie so much. Many of my friends were deceived by you. I won't fall for your lies."
"Almost out of time," the ghost sneered.
"Um?"
Natsuki glanced at Fujiwara.
The innocent girl stared blankly.
Then suddenly, her already wide eyes grew huge.
She stretched her hands behind her back.
"Hey, my hands are moving on their own..." Fujiwara panicked.
"Natsuki-san, close your eyes quickly—don't look!"