"Understood... You came in, and within an hour, you were all wiped out, and you didn't get any clues." Natsuki complained, "I'm tired, let's just destroy it."
"It's not entirely without clues," Yukino couldn't help but glare over. "Do you remember Yamada?"
Natsuki thought for a moment and said:
"The man with long hair, dark circles under his eyes, a full beard, and looked very decadent?"
"Yes, that's him." Yukino crossed her right arm over her chest and nodded gently. "Yamada's ability is spiritual perception. Simply put, he occasionally has a big sixth sense burst, gaining clues and information in a way similar to 'seeing the future.'"
Natsuki became interested: "Go on."
Yukino continued:
"Shortly after we entered the hotel, Yamada's spiritual perception flared up once, and he drew the content of his sixth sense... Well, you could also call it graffiti."
Natsuki asked curiously:
"What was in the drawing?"
"The graffiti wasn't very clear; we could only roughly identify it as a room in the hotel." Yukino pursed her lips. "Inside the room was something resembling a heart... If nothing goes wrong, that room must be related to the anomaly's main body."
Natsuki asked:
"Do you know the room number?"
"No," Yukino shook her head. "Spiritual perception is a passive ability; it only triggers passively. When it acted up, Yamada fell into a state of frenzy, drawing incessantly on paper with his head down. When he finished drawing and came to, he didn't even know what he had drawn."
"Sounds a bit like hysteria..." Natsuki looked at Yukino. "Did you just say 'acted up'?"
Natsuki originally thought the spiritual perception skill was quite useful, but now he thought about it and decided against it.
It's a passive skill, and there's no telling when it will trigger.
When it acts up, it's like a mental patient... I always feel like it will fail at a crucial moment.
Yukino slightly turned her pretty face away, "I didn't."
Natsuki smiled, and whispered, "Yukinoshita, who is always absolutely correct, is actually telling lies now."
Yukino: "..."
Staring at Natsuki in annoyance, Yukino bit her lip, "So, what do we do next?"
"Yukino's information is quite useful." Natsuki quickly reined in his smile, his gaze firm, "Since we know the anomaly is in a certain room in the hotel, the next goal is to find it and then eliminate it."
This is a high-end chain hotel with hundreds of rooms, and with 'nightmare service' in every room, finding the anomaly itself can be said to be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
But where there's a will, there's a way.
If he doesn't take action, he will never be able to eliminate the anomaly.
"Haruno must be getting impatient." Natsuki turned and said, "Let's go."
"Wait a moment…"
Yukino suddenly called out softly.
Natsuki stopped and looked at Yukino, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" Yukino pursed her lips, a hesitant expression on her pretty face, and slightly averted her gaze, "Your hand… how is it?"
"It's just a minor injury." Natsuki said casually, "Don't worry."
Yukino's pretty face slightly tightened, and she said:
"Stretch out your hand and let me see."
"..."
Natsuki silently extended his right hand, and a wound immediately became visible.
Seeing the bloody wound on Natsuki's palm, Yukino couldn't help but furrow her delicate brows, "You call this a minor injury?"
"Under the rules of criminal law, it is indeed considered a minor injury." Natsuki said gently, "Cutting off a pinky finger, intracranial hemorrhage, having two teeth knocked out, and so on, are all minor injuries."
Simply put, the legal definition of injury levels is not the same as the average person's perception. For example, in a certain BBQ restaurant assault case, it seemed very serious, but at the legal level, it was indeed only a minor injury, not favoritism.
Yukino helplessly covered her forehead and whispered:
"I'll help you bandage the wound."
"No need for bandaging." Natsuki lowered his voice, "If Yukino is willing to kiss me, it would actually be more beneficial for the recovery of the injury."
Yukino's pretty face tightened, her beautiful eyes glared over, and she couldn't help but retort:
"Is it true that the only things in you boys' heads are those lewd thoughts?"
Natsuki was not angry at all: "Yukino is indeed intelligent, hitting the nail on the head."
"..."
Yukino sighed helplessly, no longer bothering with him, but instead took out clean water to rinse the wound on Natsuki's palm, then bandaged it with a bandage.
As for getting angry… she really couldn't get angry.
It wasn't the first time she had seen Natsuki's shamelessness; she had long since gotten used to it.
Bandaging completed.
Natsuki and Yukino returned to their seats and sat down.
"Yukino, are you done talking?"
Haruno looked up, her expression already back to normal, as if nothing had happened before. In terms of psychological resilience, this Haruno was second to none.
"We're done…" Yukino nodded lightly, looked at the unknowing the passerby player, and whispered, "I've remembered all my memories."
In addition to exchanging information, Natsuki and Yukino also discussed how to clear the nightmare: either leave the passerby player behind or eliminate her fear.
It seems now that although the 'consciousness space' setting was nonsense, it unexpectedly worked out. As long as they deepen the influence, they should be able to trick the passerby player.
Haruno followed up:
"I've remembered too."
Natsuki said:
"This is the first time Yukino and Haruno have recovered their true memories. After leaving the consciousness space, they might not come back."
"Eh eh eh?!" The passerby player immediately panicked, nervously saying, "Th-then what about me?"
They were clearly four people playing the Ouija board game together. If everyone left and only she remained… No!
She absolutely did not want that kind of future!
"Don't worry, we won't abandon you." Yukino extended her right hand and gently held the passerby player's hand, transmitting warmth and heat, "We will help you recover your memories together."
"Th-thank you…"
At the same time.
Above the hallway.
"Five minutes have passed, and the President still hasn't sent me a signal." Chika said softly, "Could it be that he encountered some unexpected danger?"
"Probably not." Hayasaka said, standing beside her with her arms crossed, "Senpai has been clear-headed from beginning to end, completely at ease in the nightmare. There's no danger at all. Not sending you a signal probably means he's made a discovery."
Tsubame asked curiously:
"There aren't many rooms left on this floor. Could it be that they found the players who came in yesterday?"
Juju nodded:
"It feels very likely."
"At most ten minutes, we'll know when the President comes out." Kaguya pursed her lips, responsible for vigilance, "Everyone, don't relax your guard."
With Natsuki not outside, the young mistress naturally took on the role of captain.
"Got it~" Chika retorted, "When the President is here, Kaguya is completely different from now, like two different people."
Kaguya looked over upon hearing this: "…Especially you, don't look around."
"..."
Time quietly slipped away in anxious waiting, and several more minutes passed in a blink of an eye.
Click.
The tightly closed door gently opened a crack.
Natsuki was the first to step out.
"He's out! He's out!" Chika's eyes lit up, "The President is out!"
Behind Natsuki were the two sisters of the Yukinoshita family, plus a the passerby player who was rescued along the way—
Humans actually have a strong tendency to conform. When Natsuki, Yukino, and Haruno all said it was a consciousness space in unison, the passerby player quickly believed it deeply. The last bit of fear she had was entirely due to the Miss Ouija spirit being too scary.
So Natsuki took out a comb and styled the Miss Ouija spirit with a middle part.
Haruno, on the other hand, took out a set of ordinary clothes and dressed up and put makeup on the Miss Ouija spirit, inviting the passerby player to join in during the process.
Yukino, meanwhile, took out a black blindfold and covered the Miss Ouija spirit's eyes.
It must be said that Japan's makeup skills are incredibly impressive. After careful styling, the Miss Ouija spirit transformed directly from a terrifying vengeful spirit into a JK girl in a sailor uniform, with a curvaceous figure and a cute, round chin. As long as you didn't look at her eyes, she was completely a beautiful girl to be admired.
The passerby player participated throughout the process, doing the makeup and dressing for the Miss Ouija spirit herself, completely dispelling her fear, and thus successfully cleared the nightmare.
"Ah! Yukino-chan!"
"Lucky! We finally found Yukino-chan!"
"Haruno, are you all okay?"
"..."
Seeing Yukino and Haruno come out together, the girls immediately cheered.
Successfully finding Yukino, rather than receiving bad news, was undoubtedly a morale-boosting good news.
"Papa, hug!"
The cheap daughter looked up, eagerly spreading her short arms.
Natsuki reached out and scooped up his cheap daughter.
"Pa-Papa?"
Yukino's beautiful eyes widened slightly, looking over in shock.
She had only been in the hotel for one day, so what was with such a big daughter?
"Mama!" The cheap daughter turned her head and shouted, "Papa has a long black hair on his shoulder!"
Yukino: "..."
Natsuki: "..."
You really are a black-hearted little cotton-padded jacket, shouting everything out!
"Cough cough, Yukino, you misunderstood…"
Tsubame's pretty face flushed, and she quickly began to explain to Yukino.
After the excitement, Natsuki recounted his experiences in the room to the girls. The Ouija board game was not the main point; the crucial information was what he learned from Yukino.
Kaguya paused slightly, quickly understanding the importance of this information, and her eyes lit up as she said:
"Did someone from the advance party players who came in before know the location of the anomaly through their sixth sense?"
"That's right." Natsuki nodded, took out a drawing and handed it over, "This is the drawing Yukino just restored."
Yukino is a standard honor student; besides being unremarkable, she has dabbled in both painting and tea ceremony, and her artistic skills are good. Relying on her memory, she successfully reproduced the psychic's graffiti.
The girls all gathered around, curiously looking at the paper.
"It looks like a normal hotel room."
"What's that heart-like thing? Is it the anomaly's true form?"
"Successfully obtained important information!"
"Um… without the room number, how do we find this room?"
"..."
Obtaining important information was naturally joyful, but finding the room where the **Strange Tale** was located was not easy.
Every room had 'nightmare' service; once entered, one would fall into a nightmare. The entire hotel had hundreds of rooms, and using the most foolish method of searching room by room would definitely require a huge amount of effort and time.
"Actually, it's not as difficult as you imagine." Natsuki smiled, his tone confident, "We're not on the set of a detective show; we don't need reasoning, nor do we need absolute evidence. We can completely rely on our own judgment, like luck."
"Eh?" Chika's eyes lit up, and she quickly understood Natsuki's meaning, "Coin toss!"
"That's right, we can use the coin of destiny." Tsubame also reacted, saying with anticipation, "We can take a shortcut and proceed according to the guidance of luck."
What is the most powerful thing in the world?
It's not so-called strength.
It's luck.
If one possesses top-tier luck, naturally blessed by Lucky Goddess's Favor, they can turn danger into safety wherever they go. They wouldn't even need to worry about the hotel anomaly; perhaps a meteor would fall from the sky and directly obliterate the anomaly.
Of course, the luck boosted by the coin of destiny isn't that exaggerated, it's just getting five gold items in every ten draws, but it's enough for finding a path.
Manually create a six-sided die, write 'up, down, left, right' on four sides, and ignore the remaining two blank sides. Then, activate Lucky Goddess's Favor and just roll the die.
What?
You say cheating?
Just kidding, this is the luck everyone has painstakingly accumulated!
"No time to lose, should we toss the coin now?"
Chika raised her right hand, her voice clear.
Having obtained important information from Yukino and coincidentally found a way to skip class, she was naturally eager to eliminate the anomaly.
"Don't rush." Kaguya gently shook her head and said calmly, "It's been a while since we went downstairs. Let's go down and see if the hotel's rules have changed."
Chika said, "It's only been a little over ten minutes, surely nothing will change…"
Natsuki clapped a hand over secretary Chika's mouth: "Stop talking, please stop talking."
"Mmm…"
Chika puffed out her cheeks, and bit Natsuki's palm, "Downstairs, let's go downstairs now!"
"…"
Everyone went downstairs together, returning to the hotel front desk.
The hotel lobby was still empty and silent, and outside the door, it was pitch black, making it impossible to discern the passage of time.
"President, look quickly." Chika extended her right hand, pointing towards the notice board at the front desk, "The hotel rules haven't changed, have they? How could I be a jinx every time… Eh, eh, eh?!"
Under everyone's gaze, the text on the notice board suddenly faded, slowly disappearing, followed by new text appearing.
[Dear guests, welcome to Aomori Hotel]
[This hotel adopts an advanced contactless service method, striving to create the quietest accommodation environment for guests]
[Please note that guests staying at this hotel must abide by hotel rules in public areas. Hotel rules change daily]
[Today's rules have been updated: Do Not Blink]
"…"
After reading the newly updated rules on the notice board, everyone silently turned to look at Chika.
"I'm not, I didn't." Chika covered her mouth with both hands, her pink eyes darting left and right, mumbling softly, "It must be that the time was up, so the hotel rules changed… How could it be my fault? How can there be such a thing as a jinx in the world!"
"Stop talking, please don't say anything more." Natsuki complained, "It's already hard mode now; I don't want to challenge hell mode."
"President is so mean." Chika's voice was aggrieved, and she turned to look at Kaguya, seeking help, "Kaguya, I'm not a jinx, am I?"
"It should just be a coincidence." Kaguya coughed twice, and slightly averted her gaze, saying, "However, it's better to be safe than sorry… Chika, for now, it's best not to say similar things anymore."
Chika: "…As expected, you still don't trust me!"
"Cough, cough, Chika don't take it too seriously." Tsubame coughed twice, changing the subject, "What does the 'Do Not Blink' rule mean? Does anyone know?"
"I don't know." Yukino gently shook her head, "I haven't encountered it."
The passerby player had also recognized the reality by now. Overall, she was still grateful to Natsuki and the two others for saving her from the nightmare, and she said softly:
"I haven't encountered it either… Eh, eh, eh? What's that?"
Everyone quickly turned their heads to look, and saw a sculpture had silently appeared in the corner at some unknown time, its back facing everyone, appearing to be an angel.
Tsubame hesitated:
"That sculpture… it wasn't there before, was it?"
"It certainly wasn't." Kaguya's delicate brows furrowed slightly, "It must have appeared suddenly… Is it related to the updated rules?"
Under everyone's gaze, the sculpture stood quietly in the corner, motionless, as if it were just the most ordinary hotel ornament.
However, everyone only looked away for a split second, and when they looked back, the sculpture had silently changed. Before, it was only facing away from everyone, but now, it had turned to face them. What was eerie was that its hands were still tightly covering its face.
"Eh, eh, eh?" Chika exclaimed softly, "That sculpture actually turned around!"
Natsuki looked again, frowning slightly, and felt an ominous premonition welling up in his heart.
A moment later.
Under his gaze, a text prompt slowly appeared before him:
[You have observed carefully and discovered the true identity of the sculpture in the corner…]
[This is a Weeping Angel replica, possessing some abilities of a Weeping Angel]
[Every time you blink, or look away, the opponent will rapidly approach]
[You are very sure that once caught by the Weeping Angel, something very unpleasant will happen…]
"Senpai, do you know what it is?"
Hayasaka asked softly.
Natsuki's expression was solemn, not daring to avert his gaze, and he said in a deep voice:
"It's a monster similar to a Weeping Angel…"
"How is that possible?" Hayasaka's expression changed upon hearing this, and she immediately showed a vigilant look, saying in disbelief, "How can there be such a monster in the hotel!"
Clearly, this Hayasaka knew what a Weeping Angel was.
However, not everyone knew, and in fact, more girls didn't know what a Weeping Angel was.
"Eh?" Tsubame was very curious, "What is a Weeping Angel?"
Kaguya frowned slightly: "Is it a very terrifying monster?"
Haruno said softly:
"I seem to have heard of it somewhere… I can't remember."
"I know what that is." Juju's expression was solemn. As an otaku, she naturally had a wide range of interests, "That's a monster from Doctor Who. It's said to feed on time. When you stare at it, it won't move, but even if you just blink, it will take the opportunity to get closer. In short, it's quite terrifying."
After listening to Juju's explanation, the girls finally understood why the updated rule was called 'Do Not Blink'.
Because once you blink, something very terrifying will happen, especially when you are alone. If you blink a few times, you'll be directly done for.
Chika hesitated:
"With so many of us staring at it together, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Of course not." Natsuki said in a deep voice, "Don't forget, our goal is to eliminate the **Strange Tale**. We can't waste all our time staring at it."
Yukino frowned and said:
"What about splitting up?"
Hayasaka gently shook her head and said:
"We still don't know if there's only one Weeping Angel in the hotel… But in the American TV series, Weeping Angels are gregarious creatures."
"…"
The others bit their lips and remained silent.
If there was only one Weeping Angel, it would be fine, but if there was a group of Weeping Angels… Crisis! Big crisis!