The dim glow of the red candle flickered in Takakai's hand as he led the way down the darkened hallway, his senses stretched to their limits. Every few steps, he glanced back, ensuring Yotsuya Miko stayed close behind him.
The group moved in silence.
Yet beneath that silence, a conversation raged.
[The Unseen Dialogue]
[You're sure it's still following us?]
Having experience with psychic communication, Takakai adapted quickly to Bearmi's telepathic link, engaging in rapid exchanges.
[Positive. I'd recognize that stench anywhere. It's locked onto either you or the girl. 'Alice' picks targets it finds 'interesting.' One of you is already marked.]
The possessed student beside them mimicked Bearmi's usual cigarette-dangling nonchalance, though its hollow eyes betrayed nothing.
[Worse than I thought. It's targeting Miko. I've got a Blessing that can shield her from mental corruption, but if Alice possesses her, we're screwed. By the way, what was the hairstyle of the last girl I escorted out of the main building?]
Takakai masked his watch's ability as a Blessing, watching Bearmi's reaction closely.
[Twin tails. So you already figured out its MO? And it can possess the living too... No wonder it's such a pain. That's why you're keeping the kid close—so it doesn't snatch her when we're not looking. Speaking of, what was the max regroup time I gave you before entering the dorm?]
Bearmi's mental tone was sharp, testing him in return.
[15 minutes. You said if you didn't reach the first floor by then, we'd split up.]
Takakai answered without hesitation.
Good.
The mutual verification confirmed neither was being manipulated mid-conversation.
Still, both were paranoid—understandably so, after Alice's mind games.
[To summarize: Alice can possess both living and dead, but normies seem resistant. Miko's got some freaky vision—she once pulled decades-old school rules straight from a hallucination, word-for-word. That's probably why Alice wants her. See too much, snap, then boom—perfect puppet.]
[...So she's a walking time bomb. One you can't ditch. Kid, how the hell did you survive the main building with that handicap? I don't know whether to salute you or pity you.]
[One Alice is manageable. Maybe. Hard to say with the dorm's rules being different. If you're cornered, try swearing to kill it. Alice hates righteous types—might make it back off.]
[Noted. For now, I've fooled the two chasing me. Seems Alices don't share memories across zones. The dorm ones don't know how the main building ones caught me earlier. I'll regroup ASAP. Oh, and—you ever taken that mask off?]
[No. I've got a Relic that counters its assimilation. I'm keeping it on till the last second.]
[Smart. Once removed, the mask's 'authority' over these ghosts voids out. They'll recognize you as 'unmasked' and attack on sight.]
New intel.
Takakai hadn't risked removing the sheep mask anyway—the game's warning ([Do not remove the mask lightly]) was clear. Even rescuing Miko, he'd kept it on.
But something nagged at him...
Why was Miko less afraid of the mask this time?
And why did the students here react so differently—defiant, unlike the cowed ones in the main building?
The Second Floor: A Test of Rules
The second-floor hallway stretched ahead, its filthy tiles slick with moisture.
Ahead, the sound of rushing water grew louder.
The possessed student lagged behind now—Bearmi's control was waning, so she'd repurposed it as a rear guard.
Sploosh—
The flushing noise crescendoed as they passed Room 212.
According to the floor map, the toilet and washroom lay just ahead, their open entrances side by side. The water's source was clearly the left-side toilet.
Problem: Passing too close might put them within 10 meters of the flushing stall—risking a rule violation.
Takakai weighed his options:
Smash through a wall? Risky. Might trigger the "10-meter garbage" rule.
Destroy the floor? Same issue, though the dorm was already a wreck.
But something told him breaking the environment would plunge them into the dorm's hidden distorted layer—like that -1F earlier.
Better to play by the rules.
The Rescue Team's Gamble
A tall figure materialized beside Takakai—one of his Rescue Team Relics.
[This is Search & Rescue. Any survivors inside? Respond!]
The figure boomed into the darkness.
...
A muffled reply seeped from the toilet, drowned out by the flushing.
[This is Search & Rescue. State your gender for protocol compliance.]
Louder this time.
■■…■…问…■还是…
The voice was deeper now—eerily similar to the Rescue Team member's.
Then, with chilling precision, the darkness echoed back:
[This is Search & Rescue. State your gender for protocol compliance.]
Word for word.
Tone for tone.
A perfect mimicry.
Takakai's connection to the Rescue Team member shattered—one moment it stood there; the next, gone, swallowed by the toilet's void.
Sploosh—
The flushing continued, unfazed.
And from behind them, barely audible over the water's roar—
A giggle.