It was clear that Green, with his obvious lockpicking skills, easily opened the door to Room 205.
Takashina Kai and the others, who already knew where the first point of concern was, didn't hesitate and stepped inside. Kaguya walked at the front, followed by Maki and Kai. At that moment, Kai thought for a second and signaled Green to drag Sun Dajun along and bring him inside.
The door to Room 205 appeared to be intact, making it a viable temporary refuge. Old Guo was mysterious and likely had some self-defense ability, but if Sun Dajun died out there and turned into some kind of monster that came knocking, it could be another case like before. Kai had no interest in experiencing another full-body disintegration.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
"Shut up and get over here if you don't want to suffer."
Sun Dajun made a feeble attempt to resist, but standing before Green's 190cm muscular frame, he could only grumble before begrudgingly following him into Room 205.
"You coming with us?" Kai asked Old Guo, who was hesitating near the door. The Black guy beside him scratched his head, then followed Old Guo, clearly trusting him more than this high schooler-led team.
"I'm going to check the left stairwell. You guys seem capable, so be careful. The difficulty of this round is abnormally high. Try to collect as many records left by the survivors as possible. Also, be careful of the corpses. Don't go into Room 210. That's some advice—I hope you all make it out."
Unlike last time, Old Guo clearly knew Kai had doubts about his identity, so he didn't bother pretending.
His words fell in a tone that was hard to tell if genuine or fake, then he gestured to the Black guy to follow. The two walked straight toward the left stairwell, deliberately avoiding the right one—where some unknown thing had previously descended.
This man was definitely a veteran player, and unlike Green, who was clearly trying to coast through, Old Guo was clearly experienced. He might even have one of those "obsession items" Green mentioned.
Come to think of it, when Old Guo paused in front of Room 210 before, maybe that was when he used that item to detect a threat. An item with such a name probably has supernatural abilities—maybe with a strong enough one, you could crush urban legends like squashing a chick.
But that was just Kai daydreaming.
And considering how Old Guo had tried gathering survivors at first and now immediately ditched them after finding a new companion, Kai didn't think he was the type to cooperate well with others. Splitting up like this might actually be the better choice.
As for that Black guy who picked Old Guo as a companion… Kai instinctively felt the guy might be in for a rough time. But with so little information about Old Guo, he couldn't forcibly stop him based on mere guesses.
Click.
Though it meant cutting off their retreat, the threats in the hallway were just too terrifying. Even if they had to deal with whatever might be inside 205, Kai still had to shut the door. And this time, no one could be left in the hallway—everyone had to stay in the living room or kitchen.
During the last knocking event, just hearing the sound was enough for those things to build a dialogue based on what he imagined. But behind the living room wall, you could barely hear anything. Could it be this apartment's bizarre layout was deliberately built to defend against the knocking phenomenon?
The right side of the entrance was the toilet, and the left was the hallway.
Same as the layout in Rooms 204 and 208. At the end was a right-angled turn that led to a hanging clock… which was now gone. Probably taken by Kaguya or Maki. Anyway, turning there led to the living room—although "living room" might not be the best term since this space also functioned as a bedroom.
"Ahhhh—"
A scream suddenly rang out—actually, it barely started before being swiftly and mercilessly muffled.
Kai walked through the dim hallway into the equally dark living room. The two windows were almost completely blocked off, making the room very dim. He scanned the layout. There was no coffee table or round table—just a small desk against the wall near the door, and a bookshelf.
The kitchen door had been nailed shut with boards of various sizes, and from behind it came a foul stench—like something rotting behind the door.
Scraps of torn paper littered the floor. At first, Kai thought they might hold clues, but picking up two revealed only random scribbles. Disappointed, he tossed them aside.
Sun Dajun was trembling in a corner, intimidated by Green's towering muscles. Green stood cautiously nearby, flashing a forced grin when he saw Kai enter. Frankly, seeing a grown man make that face disgusted Kai, but as long as he behaved, Kai let it slide.
Maki had found a small, worn backpack somewhere. She had packed both the clock from 208 and the one from 205 inside. Standing by the door, she finally let out a breath of relief when she saw Kai arrive. She had clearly been watching Green and Sun Dajun in case something unexpected happened.
As for Kaguya…
She was currently gripping the yellow-haired woman's mouth with one hand, like an emotionless iron claw, dragging her off the bed. No matter how the woman struggled, Kaguya didn't flinch at all.
"Quiet. I won't say it a second time."
Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was icy and firm, instantly making the struggling woman tremble with fear. Tears streamed down her face as she raised both hands, surrendering.
Why did it suddenly feel like they had joined the villain faction?
As that thought crossed Takashina Kai's mind, he crouched down beside the bed and lifted the dirty sheet that was hanging all the way to the floor.
A stiff female corpse came into view.
"What the hell..."
Sun Dajun nearly screamed, but Kaguya immediately turned and coldly commanded, "Quiet." With Green's chilling stare also bearing down on him, Sun Dajun had no choice but to stay quiet, crouching miserably on the ground.
Green, trying hard to play the loyal lackey, still trembled a little at the sight of the corpse. But he quickly noticed that Kaguya remained utterly indifferent to the sight beneath the bed, and so did Kai, who lifted the sheet and examined the body closely without flinching. Even Shijo Maki, standing a bit further away, didn't show a hint of reaction. Despite all appearing to be under twenty years old, these three were the calmest in the room.
They had to be seasoned players who'd already survived at least one horror game.
As long as he stuck close to them and did everything he could to be useful, maybe—just maybe—he could survive.
Yes, if it meant staying alive in this damned game, Green wouldn't even mind licking a toilet bowl. These three didn't seem that unreasonable anyway. As long as he didn't get in their way and could help out a bit, surely he'd make it.
While Green was busy feeling proud of himself, Kai focused completely on the corpse before him.
That woman's earlier breakdown had probably been triggered by this body.
Unlike the frozen corpse in 208, this woman looked like she had died recently. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly blackened, and her face somewhat swollen. She wore a loose grey nightgown that covered her neck. Her fingertips, sticking out of the sleeves, were similarly discolored. There was a yellowish stain on her pajama bottoms, accompanied by a fading stench.
Kai had a rough idea of how she died, though he still needed to check some details—whether there were strangulation marks, skin damage, or cuts.
[Be careful of the corpse]
He recalled Old Guo's warning before they parted.
Did this woman die in this room?
What killed her? And more importantly—where was the thing that killed her?
Kai scanned the room layout. The dim lighting made things a bit hard to see, but it was still enough to confirm that there wasn't much space for anything to hide—unless whatever it was didn't have a physical body.
He looked at the bed again. It was a double bed.
Then, he slowly lowered his gaze back to the body lying beneath it.
And to the face behind it—unmoving, staring straight at him. A man's face. He wore glasses, and half of his face looked like it had been smashed and randomly reassembled like mangled Lego. It was covered in dark, dried blood.