Some time later, the trio entered the entertainment district of the hotel, stepping into the dazzling, noise-filled expanse of the Arcade.
Wyne and Trizha walked in with a spring in their step, surrounded by an imaginary aura of rainbows and sunshine, while Margaret trailed behind, head bowed, enveloped in an aura of palpable sadness and darkness.
"Haahh… I'm glad that the scare room is in maintenance…!" Trizha sighed, stretching her neck. "I'm really not in the mood for some cheap jumpscare, not right after just waking up."
"Yep, they said that a scare-animatronic started moving on its own and gripped a kid's hand weeks ago. Now it's shut down and under investigation," Wyne supplied, casually dropping the horrifying detail.
"Yeah– wait, why does that sound so familiar?" Trizha mused, squinting slightly.
"What do you mean?" Wyne asked, tilting her head.
"I'm not sure… I swear I remember this one dead game about creepy animatronics and pizza places…" Trizha murmured, shaking the thought away. "But whatever. That's nothing important compared to…"
Trizha and Wyne both turned their attention to Margaret at the same time, a bead of comic sweat forming on their brows.
Margaret's head was still lifted down depressingly, her entire posture radiating disappointment and failure.
"...that," Trizha finished dryly.
"Yep, I can see that," Wyne agreed, nodding gravely. "She probably had a lot of hype going into the scare room, only to find out it was in maintenance. We should lend her some sympathy."
"Indeed," Trizha concurred, nodding as well.
Wyne crossed her arms, but Trizha suddenly turned back to Wyne with a surprised yet confused expression.
"Hold on, since when have you understood things more easily?" Trizha asked, genuinely perplexed by Wyne's moment of insight.
Wyne scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "Hah? You think I'm always slow-minded? I thought you already knew that! I may be slow-minded, but that doesn't entirely mean I'm dumb and stupid."
Wyne sighed dramatically, shaking her head in theatrical disappointment. "If I was a fictional character, readers should be aware that I'm still built to be human and capable of basic deduction."
"Okay, okay! You've made your point, congratulations," Trizha conceded with a roll of her eyes. "Let's just go play games and maybe… cheer up Margaret while we're at it."
Trizha moved behind Margaret, grabbing both of her shoulders and pulling her along into the arcade, dragging her like a sack of sad potatoes.
Wyne let out a loud, theatrical gasp of disbelief and jealousy.
"Hoy! I'm the one who holds Margaret!!" Wyne shouted, stomping after the two.
As she followed, Wyne couldn't help but wonder why Trizha hadn't instantly pulled out her phone to make a video, as she usually did at times like this.
Trizha also seemed noticeably less cheerfully manic than normal.
But for some reason, Wyne felt an unexpected pang of happiness on that theory.
Maybe a calmer Trizha meant a calmer life.
…Maybe.
She missed that version of 'her'.
The trio walked deeper into the vibrant, noisy chaos of the arcade, searching for something appealing while other students milled about doing the same.
After a few seconds of searching, they found a brightly lit claw machine filled with excessively cute, fluffy bunny plushies.
Trizha instantly gasped at the sight, her cheeks flushing red at their overwhelming level of cuteness.
"Look at those bunnies! So cute!" she squealed.
"Uh, yeah, as an experienced arcade gamer, I wouldn't recommend gambling on those—" Wyne began, attempting to offer sage advice.
But Wyne was cut off instantly by the sound of Trizha slamming her coins into the slot, her focus already laser-locked on catching one of the fluffy prizes.
Margaret, meanwhile, watched in rapt anticipation, her earlier depressive look vanishing instantly, replaced by fierce concentration.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Trizha urged the claw.
"You can do it…!" Margaret mumbled encouragement.
"Annndddd there she goes…" Wyne sighed in annoyance, knowing the notorious inaccuracy and weak grip of these rigged machines.
Wyne was proven correct.
Each time Trizha tried to capture a bunny, the mechanical grip of the claw loosened significantly the moment it made contact, allowing the prize to drop back into the pile.
"Ugh, damn it! I'm out of coins! Margaret, help out!" Trizha snapped, adrenaline mixed with mounting frustration.
"I got you!" Margaret replied cheerfully, already reaching for her purse.
Trizha and Margaret both giggled, a blend of mischievous delight and creepy obsession, as they continued to gamble their money on the impossible quest for a simple, cute bunny plush.
Wyne stared at them in utter disbelief, her face expressing a clear thought: "They are seriously still going at it?"
Wyne sighed once again and turned her head to her left, trying to find a distraction.
Her eyes immediately landed on a large, colorful poster plastered high on a decorative column. It announced:
「La Luna Sangre Aquarium Tour! Starting tomorrow at 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM!! To participate and witness a flamboyant and fun adventure, buy your tickets at the counter today for only 15 MYR each person! Selling of tickets ends at 6 PM. Get yours now and don't miss out on The Amazing World Of the Ocean!」
Wyne squinted slightly as she read the long block of text, her face lighting up with excitement as she finished.
"Oh wow, an Aquarium tour? That sounds fun. Wait, since when did a hotel have some kind of aquarium?" she exclaimed confusingly.
Wyne turned back to her friends, her face cheerful and ready to share the exciting news.
"Hey guys..." she started.
Suddenly, as Wyne turned, her excitement wore out instantly, replaced by horrified shock.
She witnessed exactly what Trizha was about to do: Margaret was now several feet away from the machine, and Trizha was struggling to lift a nearby heavy metal chair, clearly intending to slam it down onto the claw machine's glass housing to destroy it.
And the reason for this dramatic escalation?
Simple: Trizha hates getting stressed.
Gambling her hard-earned money on a rigged machine had perfectly implanted stress, and upon reaching her absolute peak, she had recklessly decided that property damage was the only solution.
Luckily, Wyne had turned around just in time.
Trizha froze, the heavy chair lifted halfway, staring at Wyne with an expression of caught-in-the-act embarrassment.
Margaret stared at Wyne with the same expression.
"Heheh…" Trizha giggled nervously.
She slowly and deliberately lowered the chair, gently patting the seat as if it were a pet.
She quickly moved to stand beside Margaret, flashing a wide, undeniably guilty smile.
Trizha then instantly pointed her finger at Margaret.
"She's the one who told me to do it," Trizha stated matter-of-factly.
"I-I was just watching…" Margaret defended herself, though her eyes betrayed her. "...although I did feel disappointed that you didn't continue."
"Okay guys, shut up, shut up!" Wyne hissed, waving her hands emphatically.
"Listen! There's an Aquarium tour tomorrow. We need to go pay for it right now, and walla!"
Trizha and Margaret stared at Wyne for a few seconds, still riding the adrenaline from the near-destruction of the machine.
"Sorry, an Aquarium in a hotel?" Trizha asked, completely deadpan and confused.
Wyne pressed her lips together, fighting a sudden surge of pure exasperation.
"For once in a while… I'm the most sane person here," Wyne thought, the irony not lost on her. "Yeah. The three of us are definitely acting out of character."
Wyne sighed deeply, extending her hand out to the two of them.
"Just… hand me 15 MYR each, both of you. I'm gonna go pay us some tickets and save us from a lawsuit."
A few minutes later, Wyne returned from the counter, holding three colorful tickets aloft.
"There," she said, handing them over. "Take one of the tickets."
Trizha and Margaret quickly took their tickets, examining the design before carefully tucking them into their purses.
"Great! Now that you're back, let's go play another game," Trizha declared, completely recovered from her near-rampage.
"...you're not gonna try and slam another chair at it, right?" Wyne asked, her eyes scanning the nearby furniture.
"Oh absolutely not!" Trizha chirped, sounding entirely too innocent.
The trio then went around the arcade to find another machine to play.
Minutes later, they discovered one called "Trio-Adventures."
In front of the brightly lit screen were three separate game consoles, clearly designed for cooperative play.
"Hey guys, let's play this one," Margaret said, pointing.
"Huh, this one fits us, don't you think?" Trizha mused, looking at the three controllers.
"Yeah… wait, how do we play this game?" Wyne asked, looking for instructions.
Trizha pointed to the setup with a mocking glare. "Idiot, there's three game consoles right in front of us. Slowpoke."
"Oh," Wyne said simply, her gaze dropping to the visible controllers. "I didn't see that…"
Trizha smirked, crossing her arms. "Glad to have you back to your original senses, Wyne."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Wyne asked, confused again.
"Exactly," Trizha replied with a cryptic, satisfied smile.
"Hah?" Wyne said, her brain buffering.
Wyne stared at Trizha confusingly, not understanding what she meant—either because of her genuine slow-mindedness or because Trizha's point was intentionally elusive.
She eventually turned back to the arcade machine as the three of them simultaneously reached out and grabbed their respective game consoles.
The moment they grabbed the consoles, the game started immediately, the screen flashing bright colors and music swelling around them.