In the hallway, Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka returned to the door of their room, only to see Miyamoto Satoshi standing outside with a suitcase, seemingly waiting for them.
Nakano Asaka didn’t expect Miyamoto Satoshi to turn on them so quickly and immediately questioned, “What are you doing?”
Miyamoto Satoshi still wore a smile, his tone remained gentle: “Of course, I’m moving out. Both of you have touched the jar; it’s only natural that I don’t want to live with you.”
“You!” Nakano Asaka was speechless from the retort.
Gu Zhan pulled him aside and said, “Let him be.”
Miyamoto Satoshi nodded at Gu Zhan, saying, “Thank you.”
After that, he carried his suitcase and walked past him.
He didn’t leave the building but chose a room far away from them.
Nakano Asaka was indignant: “Why did you let him go!”
Miyamoto Satoshi’s attitude was actually what Gu Zhan had expected.
He could tell from Miyamoto Satoshi’s earlier demeanor toward the two girls.
He replied casually, “What else should I do? Do you want to keep him here?”
“Of—of course not! After he said that, who would want to live with him?!” Nakano Asaka huffed angrily.
Gu Zhan walked inside and casually closed the door: “So?”
“…” With that, Nakano Asaka suddenly felt deflated.
He sat on the nearby bed, irritated: “Why are you even more annoying than Miyamoto Satoshi?”
From the moment he entered, he had noticed that this person didn’t talk much and seemed to have a barrier between him and others, making it hard to have a conversation!
Now, after saying such things… just a few words had shoved his anger back down, leaving him feeling like a mute, unable to express his frustration!
After a brief moment of anger, he felt like a deflated balloon.
Forget it. Instead of getting mad at others, he might as well think about how to handle his own situation.
He had touched the jar too; did that mean he was now in line for death as well?
After sighing for a while on the bed, Nakano Asaka suddenly realized that Gu Zhan had already unpacked and was preparing to sleep.
Outside, it was already getting light, and the sound of the waves continued, just like their uncertain future.
Nakano Asaka couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you worried? You also touched that jar… Hey, you shouldn’t be worried, right? If you were, you wouldn’t have touched it in the first place.”
Gu Zhan spread out his bedding and replied calmly, “I can stay awake, but don’t make any noise.”
Nakano Asaka: “…”
He felt numb. Seeing Gu Zhan so calm, he thought it was useless to worry himself; he might as well sleep.
However, he didn’t expect that even after lying down, Gu Zhan was still standing in place, unmoving.
He maintained the same posture, quietly staring at his bed.
Nakano Asaka sensed something was off and sat up: “What’s wrong?”
Before Gu Zhan could respond, Nakano Asaka noticed the familiar jar standing on Gu Zhan’s bed.
Suddenly, it began to rain outside, and the sound of the rain drowned out Nakano Asaka’s gasp.
Nakano Asaka: !!!
“This jar! Wasn’t it over at Chishima Kei and the others? When did it come here? How could it be in our room?”
What’s going on? Can the jar choose people and then change its mind?!
But Gu Zhan remained calm and said, “Someone must have brought it here.”
“But didn’t we just try it? It can’t be taken away, right?”
Gu Zhan said, “Just because it can’t be taken away doesn’t mean it can’t be given to someone else… Nakano, let’s rest separately.”
“What?” Nakano Asaka couldn’t believe his ears.
In this situation, he was still talking about resting! How much did he want to sleep?
Little did he know that Gu Zhan genuinely wanted to sleep.
Since arriving here, he hadn’t slept well, and now his head was starting to ache.
When he didn’t sleep well, he felt more inclined to give up, and some anger rose toward the jar. What exactly did it want?
But the words he said were calm and rational: “Although the jar appeared in our room, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s following someone. Since it’s on my bed, it should be following me, so let’s rest separately.”
“But… but…” Nakano Ayaka hadn’t thought it through when Gu Zhan pushed him away.
The game livestream suddenly split into two; Gu Zhan’s livestream room was separated out.
Some viewers who had been watching for a long time finally started to speak up.
【Finally separated! I thought the wife would always act together with them!】
【This instance seems a bit too quiet.】
【Poor thing, being too low-key led to being framed. I remember this jar has a way to break it.】
【Yes, after all, it’s just the beginning of the instance.】
Some viewers stumbled in, surprised to find someone familiar.
【Isn’t this the patient from ward 707 of the Changhe Psychiatric Hospital? After he completed that instance, it closed down, and there were hardly any instances I could watch!】
【I heard there was a facility malfunction, not sure.】
In the room, after Gu Zhan sent Nakano Asaka away, he stared at the jar.
The jar had an ancient design, with a small mouth and a large body. The body was decorated with intricate and complicated patterns that seemed to have no logic, appearing purely for aesthetics, but when combined, they resembled the ocean.
Miyamoto Satoshi had been right; this place was by the sea, but the relationship between the people here and the ocean was quite obscure.
Yet they had depicted the waves on the jar.
The jar had no lid. When Gu Zhan picked it up earlier, it felt empty inside.
But since others were present, he didn’t examine it closely.
Now, with no one in the room, it was a good opportunity for him to study the jar.
Gu Zhan lifted the jar, and oddly, the jar that had seemed empty a moment ago now appeared to have something inside. When he shook it, he could hear the sound of liquid flowing.
Gu Zhan promptly turned the jar upside down and poured out its contents.
【As expected of him, that familiar feeling, so reckless!】
【Even through the screen, I can feel the jar's absurdity.】
Even in a world with ghosts, it was hard to defy the laws of physics; the liquid still poured out.
The water was clear, exuding a slight fishy smell, resembling seawater.
After pouring it out, Gu Zhan set the jar on the floor beside him. After a while, he picked it up again and shook it. In that brief moment, the jar had filled up with another layer of seawater.
“Hmm?”
Automatic refill?
Gu Zhan lifted the jar again and poured it out.
He placed the jar back down, as if it had some kind of resistance against him, and after a while, the jar was filled with water again.
So stubborn.
Gu Zhan simply laid the jar on its side.
The moment he set it down, a faint “crack” sound echoed in the air, as if something was angrily shouting at Gu Zhan.
Then, the jar fell to the ground.
Gu Zhan tried to prop it up, but this time, no matter what he did, he couldn’t get it to stand upright.
As soon as he set it down, it would topple over.
With no other choice, he had to obediently set it upright.
Now, it wouldn’t fall over.
Gu Zhan: “…”
This jar either had self-awareness or someone was always watching it.
Not long after he placed it down, the sound of flowing water came from inside the jar, and soon, the seawater filled the entire jar, making it incredibly heavy and impossible to lift.
Alright.
Gu Zhan’s attention finally shifted away from the jar.
But after waiting so long, the jar hadn’t disappeared, so it seemed it had its sights set on him.
How exactly did it kill Morinaga Shizuko?
It definitely wasn’t a silent death; if the killer could strike directly, they wouldn’t need such flashy tricks.
There had to be something else involved.
It was already dawn, but the rain hadn’t stopped, pouring heavily, with no sign of the sun.
Gu Zhan felt extremely fatigued; he wanted to rest.
He lay down on the bed, and before long, he fell asleep.
He seemed to have a dream, dreaming that he was sinking into the sea, swaying back and forth.
In the dream, someone kept asking him if he was alright. Gu Zhan, being the stubborn person he was, kept saying he wasn’t, and the other person kept asking.
As they kept asking, they began to sound a bit frantic.
But Gu Zhan still insisted he wasn’t alright.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when the person suddenly said, “It’s too late.”
Then Gu Zhan woke up.
He got out of bed, vaguely recalling that he had a dream.
But he couldn’t remember what had happened in the dream.
He only remembered “Are you alright?” and that final line, “It’s too late.”
Outside, it was completely bright, and the rainy sky had turned clear.
Gu Zhan guessed that everyone else had probably gotten up. After tidying up a bit, he left the room.
As soon as he stepped outside, he bumped into Miyamoto Satoshi coming out of the adjacent room.
Miyamoto Satoshi probably had just gotten up; he didn’t know what had happened the day before. When he saw Gu Zhan, he looked surprised: “You’re still alive… What about Nakano…?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Nakano Asaka walked out of the nearby room.
He had been looking down, looking heavy-hearted, but upon seeing Gu Zhan, his expression suddenly brightened, and he ran a few steps to Gu Zhan’s side: “You didn’t die! You’re still alive!”
“Oh?” Miyamoto Satoshi showed an interested expression.
Gu Zhan responded mildly. He could tell that in this room, only Nakano Asaka was genuinely clueless.
Miyamoto Satoshi had taken the initiative to leave the two behind yesterday. Even knowing that something had happened last night, he didn’t ask any questions.
The three of them walked toward the living room, one in front and two behind.
In the living room, Chishima Kei and Takagawa Ayaka were already there.
The two girls were huddled together, looking quite anxious.
Upon seeing the three of them come out simultaneously, they stood up at once, their eyes darting between the three, and when they confirmed that everyone was alive, they seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Chitanda Kei said, “You guys… you’re awake.”
Miyamoto Satoshi, unaware of the pot incident, was also surprised to see the two: “Are you guys… alright?”
“N-no… we’re fine,” Chishima Kei said, feeling guilty. Being asked by Miyamoto Satoshi made her even more uneasy as her gaze shifted around, surprised that he was showing such concern for them…
They were fine; could it be that… last night, they didn’t discover the pot? That nothing happened at all?
She looked at the other two, and their expressions seemed normal too.
Miyamoto Satoshi had approached the table and, noticing it was completely empty, wondered why Chishima Kei and Takagawa Ayaka hadn’t prepared any food after waking up. “What’s going on? A whole night has passed, and everything seems strange…”
Then he recalled that the two girls must have spent the night keeping an eye on the pot, feeling scared. Perhaps they had endured the night in the living room, so he asked, “How’s the pot in your room?”
Chishima Kei seemed to have forgotten that the pot should have been in their room. With Miyamoto Satoshi’s reminder, she suddenly remembered and hurriedly covered up, “W-we don’t know what happened. After you left, that pot suddenly disappeared! Yes! It just disappeared! Maybe it was because too many people died in the instance, and it didn’t trigger!”
Miyamoto Satoshi also found it odd that so many people had died on the first day of the instance. The current situation seemed more normal.
He smiled and said, “That’s a relief then. I’m glad to hear it. Sorry I couldn’t help you yesterday; I really had no choice.”
Chishima Kei understood what kind of person he was. They were strangers who had met in this instance. There wasn’t much of a bond, so it was normal for him not to help.
However, after experiencing what happened yesterday, it felt disheartening for him to say such things.
She couldn’t find the right words to respond, only managing a forced smile to gloss over the issue.
From the conversation between Miyamoto Satoshi and Chishima Kei, Gu Zhan was pretty sure that the pot had been moved to their room by someone.
The mastermind behind this should be Chishima Kei, and Takagawa Ayaka was aware too.
However, it seemed like Chishima Kei didn’t even know who she had handed the pot to.
Nakano Asaka still hadn’t figured out how things had turned out this way. Gu Zhan remained silent; even he understood that the victim in this matter was Gu Zhan. Since Gu Zhan didn’t speak, Nakano Asaka felt he had no right to say anything either.
Seeing that no one mentioned the pot, Chishima Kei finally felt a sense of relief.
Maybe her item had completely erased the pot without affecting anyone. That would be fantastic…
In a life-and-death crisis, she had shifted the danger to others, but after the fact, it was hard to avoid feeling guilty.
If possible, she didn’t want to hurt anyone.
However, her “kindness” was also not very resilient in the face of reality.
But now, the outcome was good for her!
She hadn’t harmed anyone, allowing her to pretend that she hadn’t done anything at all!
Chishima Kei smiled and said, “We have to hold a ritual tonight. According to the rules, it should be done by four people. The last ritual was conducted by Akiyama; since Shizuko is… well, it’s just the four of us left, so it’s perfect to do it together.”
The others had no objections and nodded in agreement.
After nodding, no one spoke further.
The atmosphere grew cold again. Chishima Kei glanced around and took the initiative to ask, “Do you guys have any thoughts about this instance? Let’s chat; maybe we can find a breakthrough.”
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, “There’s something I’ve been curious about since we got here… Let’s go check out the beach today.”
Miyamoto Satoshi voiced what Gu Zhan had been wanting to say, so Gu Zhan remained silent.
Ever since coming here, he had been dreaming about the ocean.
He wasn’t sure if he was the only one dreaming about the sea, but the reason nothing happened last night was definitely related to his dreams.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember the contents of the dream.
Nakano Asaka also chimed in, “Yeah, isn’t there a small path leading to the beach outside the village? Let’s go take a look.”
“Alright, let’s go check it out then.” Chishima Kei had no particular thoughts on this; she just feared a lull in conversation where everyone would be silent.
Having transferred the pot, even though no one mentioned it now, she felt a sense of judgment from others when they silently looked at her, as if questioning why she had brought the pot to their room.
Even if no one spoke, Chishima Kei would continuously endure that condemnation.
After finishing their meal, they set off for the beach.
Strangely, while Gu Zhan had heard the sound of wind and rain outside when he was sleeping earlier, stepping out of the house, the ground was remarkably clean and didn’t seem like it had rained at all.
Even Nakano Asaka found it odd. “Didn’t it rain yesterday? Why is the ground dry?”
Chitanda Kei had a strange expression when she heard this. “Did it rain yesterday?”
“Yesterday…” Nakano Asaka was about to say that it rained when they received the pot but suddenly realized that he hadn’t shared that yet, so he swallowed his words and vaguely replied, “N-no, it’s nothing. I think I heard rain before sleeping last night, but maybe I was mistaken.”
The path from the village to the beach was quite long. Miyamoto Satoshi walked ahead alone while Chishima Kei and Takagawa Asaka stayed close behind him.
Gu Zhan walked slowly, staying at the end of the group.
Noticing this, Nakano Asaka deliberately lagged behind a step and came to Gu Zhan's side, whispering, "How did you resolve things yesterday?"
Gu Zhan glanced at him. This person didn’t have any bad intentions but was surprisingly persistent.
If he didn’t answer, Nakano Makoto might keep asking.
Gu Zhan replied, "There was a lot of seawater in the jar. I poured it out and then went to sleep. Nothing happened."
"Ah?" Nakano Asaka was stunned, raising his eyebrows. "Just that? Then Morinaga Shizuko died too unjustly, right?"
Gu Zhan said, "Maybe it’s precisely because she’s already dead that I was able to escape so easily."
Chishima Kei had said something similar earlier.
Nakano Asaka being no stranger to the game, naturally understood the implications.
He sighed, "Eh, Morinaga Shizuko really is unlucky..."
While they were talking, the three people in front suddenly stopped.
Nakano Asaka quickened his pace and asked, "What’s wrong?"
He saw that beneath Miyamoto Satoshi's feet, the path had suddenly forked—one going east and the other west.
The two paths ran along the coastline, leading to different places.
He asked, "Which way should we go?"
To the east were the reefs, and to the west was the beach, both appearing long, but he had no idea what lay at the end.
Chikishima Kei said, "Takagawa and I wanted to check out the reefs. What about you guys?"
Gu Zhan suddenly said, "West."
"What?" Chishima Kei found his assertiveness puzzling.
However, Gu Zhan had a subtle instinct urging him—west… they definitely needed to go west; something important was there.
That’s what his dream self had said.
Chishima Kei feeling guilty did not insist on the east direction and said, "Then let’s head west."
Miyamoto Satoshi didn’t mind; he would go along with whatever they decided.
The five of them walked toward the western path, which curved back toward the direction of Seaside Village. After walking for a while, the beach disappeared, leaving only a mountain by the sea.
The path led down to the foot of the mountain, and when they reached it, they discovered that the path extended into a cave.
The cave was deep and dark, and the sea breeze blew inside, making a strange wailing sound.
The group's footsteps halted at the cave entrance. Chishima Kei stood outside, pinching her nose. "It smells… so strongly of blood in there."
"Blood?" Miyamoto Satoshi said, "Maybe a small animal got trapped inside during high tide."
"Impossible!" Chikishima Kei immediately refuted. "Small animals wouldn’t leave such a strong smell; it must be a large animal… at least… it has to be as big as a human!"
Though her explanation was unclear, everyone understood perfectly.
This was far from "as big as a human"; it clearly indicated a person.
The blood smell likely came from humans.
Chikishima Kei quietly asked, "So… should we go in?"
Comments