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After making his decision, Amamiya Natsuki wasted no time and walked directly to the underground first floor.
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed in the silent, eerie corridor.
An inexplicable chill quietly crept in, and the further he walked, the more eerie it felt.
Amamiya Natsuki had never been to the underground first floor before and was wondering what would be down there. Only after going down did he realize... this place was actually an underground parking lot.
And it wasn't just one level.
In addition to the underground parking lot, the hallway continued to extend downwards, indicating that there was still space below.
Amamiya Natsuki stood at the turn of the hallway, deep in thought.
There were quite a few cars scattered around the parking lot, many of them covered in dust, clearly having not been driven for a long time.
The entire underground parking lot was exceptionally eerie, with no pedestrians or sounds of vehicles moving.
"Should I check these cars?"
"Except for gender, which won't be wrong, everyone's identity is completely random. Maybe someone is playing the role of an unlucky person trapped in a car, unable to call for help."
After two seconds of deliberation, Amamiya Natsuki quickly made a decision.
"Check them first."
After all... he was already here.
Amamiya Natsuki walked to the nearest car and tapped on the car window.
There was no movement inside the car.
"Very good, next one."
The checking method was super simple: if there was no response, then move directly to the next one.
He checked more than a dozen cars in a row, all of which were empty.
Just when Amamiya Natsuki thought there would be no harvest, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow gently swaying in a car in the corner.
"Hmm?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised his eyebrows slightly and walked over.
This car was a Honda, with no dust on it, looking quite clean. The car window had privacy film, making it impossible to see inside.
Thump, thump, thump.
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand and tapped on the car window glass.
...
There was no response from inside, only silence.
"Don't hide..."
Amamiya Natsuki took out his spare flashlight, turned it on, and shone it into the car. Under the light, a little girl appeared inside, with a bob cut. From her body type, she was clearly a little girl, probably only seven or eight years old. She was curled up in the back seat, looking out warily.
Looking at the girl inside, Amamiya Natsuki smiled and said softly:
"I've found you."
...
The little girl in the car trembled slightly, not making any sound. Her gaze became even more wary, and a hint of panic appeared on her small face.
"Little one, are you trapped in the car?"
Amamiya Natsuki smiled and said, "Don't worry, Uncle will get you out now."
He reached out and pulled the car door, but it was locked tight and didn't budge.
"No need for help." The little girl became even more nervous, timidly shrinking back. A faint voice came from the car, "...Mom and Dad will be back soon."
"Something's strange."
Amamiya Natsuki felt something was off.
If she were a patient's family member, seeing a doctor come over, she should be happy and ask for help to get out, instead of wanting him to leave.
Could she be a player?
That possibility couldn't be ruled out.
"What do you see on my head?"
Amamiya Natsuki pointed to his head.
"...Mushroom?"
The little girl in the car looked confused.
Confirmed.
She was neither Marin nor Chika, otherwise, as soon as they saw the Mushroom, they would immediately pitifully ask him to open the door quickly.
"I need to find a way to confirm if the other party is a player."
Amamiya Natsuki pondered.
If she really was an unlucky player trapped in the car, he couldn't just leave her to die.
If he hadn't found her, it would be one thing, but finding her and not helping would make him feel a little guilty.
He stared at the little girl in the car for several seconds, but no prompt appeared.
This thing didn't give every single detail, it just appeared occasionally and couldn't be completely relied upon.
"I've thought of a way."
Amamiya Natsuki looked down at the little girl in the car, a smile on his face: "I'll ask you a question, and after you answer, I'll leave."
After a pause, Amamiya Natsuki asked the question that could determine the player's identity:
"The youngest prime minister newly appointed in the UK, what ethnicity is he?"
"Eh?"
Hearing this question, the little girl in the car immediately widened her eyes, quickly sat up from her curled position, leaned closer to the window, and with three parts excitement and two parts apprehension on her small face, nervously replied:
"He's of Indian descent... a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, his name is Sunak."
"Correct answer." Amamiya Natsuki smiled, "Now, do you want me to save you?"
"...Please!"
Under the little girl's surprised gaze, Amamiya Natsuki took out a hammer from his game backpack and violently broke the car window in a simple and crude way.
"You can come out now."
Amamiya Natsuki calmly put away the hammer.
The little girl had a strange expression, opened her mouth, and thanked him in a low voice. Then she climbed out of the car. Despite her small size, she was quite agile.
It was clear that this elementary school student was very wary. After coming out, although she expressed gratitude, she did not approach Amamiya Natsuki, but instead quietly took half a step back.
After all... no matter how you looked at it, Amamiya Natsuki was not a legitimate doctor.
"Thank you for earlier." The little girl hesitated slightly, then took out a rice ball. "Please accept this."
Amamiya Natsuki didn't refuse; the other party clearly intended to repay the favor from just now and didn't want to owe anyone.
Rather, among ordinary players, mutual wariness and caution are the norm.
You know a person's face, but not their heart.
Although the game is not a battle type and doesn't require players to kill each other, situations where players push others out to take a hit and then escape when danger arises are bound to happen frequently.
After taking the rice ball, a game appraisal quickly appeared before Amamiya Natsuki's eyes.
[Item: Poor Quality momotaro rice ball (Player-Made)]
[Category: Food]
[Storage Time: Ten days]
[Can be eaten by oneself; consuming this rice ball will restore a certain amount of stamina. Feeding it to other creatures will temporarily increase their favorability by a certain amount.]
[Note: As is well known, beautiful girls don't sweat. Please don't mind if there's hand sweat on the rice ball.]
"Hey, hey, this note instantly makes me lose my appetite!"
Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but complain.
However, this thing being a player-made item means it can be mass-produced. This little girl is clearly not a newbie; she must be an experienced player.
Amamiya Natsuki thought for a moment and sincerely invited:
"It's unsafe to act alone. How about we team up?"
"No need."
The little girl shook her head warily, refusing. "I couldn't use my game backpack in the car just now, so I couldn't get out... My mission isn't finished yet, so I'm leaving first."
Amamiya Natsuki didn't continue to invite her, merely watching her leave.
A forced melon isn't sweet; while it quenches thirst, it's not necessary.
Putting away the rice ball, Amamiya Natsuki continued to check the remaining vehicles. After confirming that all other vehicles were empty, he went directly to the second basement level.
Upon descending, Amamiya Natsuki felt the coldness in the air grow denser, and the ground had turned into concrete.
The figure of a nurse flashed in the corner.
Amamiya Natsuki stepped over and finally understood where this chill came from.
"Tsk... The Hospital's morgue is beneath the inpatient building."
Amamiya Natsuki approached and found it quite lively, with not only Nurses but also an elderly security guard on duty.
The coldness in the air grew heavier.
Amamiya Natsuki casually walked around and then prepared to leave.
This wasn't a heavily guarded intensive care unit, so personal freedom wouldn't be restricted. Getting out was actually very simple.
But after only two steps, Amamiya Natsuki suddenly felt his right pinky finger tremble rapidly.
"Hmm?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow, stopped, and turned to look around. Soon, he saw a strange woman in a white coat peeking from behind the morgue door, staring at him with wide, excited eyes.
"This really is... an unexpected surprise."
Amamiya Natsuki didn't hesitate and walked directly over.
He hadn't found his senpai, but instead, he found the Cancer of the Earth that had been out of contact.
Click.
Amamiya Natsuki pushed the door and found that it wasn't locked at all.
The baby-faced female doctor looked surprised and said in a low voice:
"Is that Natsuki-kun? It must be, right?"
Amamiya Natsuki denied: "Sorry, you've got the wrong person."
"I couldn't be wrong."
The baby-faced female doctor put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin. "Your pinky finger clearly moved just now. I saw it very clearly."
Fujiwara Chika was very confident in her judgment.
Mushrooms can grow on anyone, but there's only one red string, so there's absolutely no mistake.
"Where are Kaguya-chan and the others?" The secretary was exceptionally happy, and even though Amamiya Natsuki still looked like a rogue doctor, she wasn't afraid. "We'll go find everyone soon. Natsuki-kun must be having a hard time alone without me around, right?"
Sorry.
Not hard at all.
"..."
He had originally come to find his lost senpai, but unexpectedly, he found his lost senpai, which could be considered an unexpected joy.
When they met, Amamiya Natsuki naturally explained the situation.
"Eh, everyone has already found the meeting point, and it's just Marin-chan and me left?"
"So fast."
"You're too fast this time."
"You're too slow."
Amamiya Natsuki complained. "The door wasn't locked, so why were you staying in the morgue?"
Fujiwara Chika said pitifully: "You clearly said before that after entering the game, if there's no danger, I shouldn't move around and wait for you to come find me."
Amamiya Natsuki: "..."
Thinking about it, he really did say that.
The Seize and Eliminate Evil combo skill goes without saying; upon entering the game, the first objective is often to find Chika.
Staying put and waiting for him to find her was indeed the best option.
Unfortunately, the current game is a role-playing one, the Hospital is very large, and there are many floors and rooms, so he couldn't find her immediately.
"I'm late..." Amamiya Natsuki silently changed the subject. "What are your character identity and mission content?"
Bringing up serious matters, Fujiwara Chika quickly cheered up, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her chin:
"My current identity is an intern mortician!"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow: "A mortician?"
"That's right, the kind of mortician you see in movies."
Fujiwara Chika smiled brightly, bringing warmth even to a place like the morgue. "Isn't that amazing?"
"Alright, very amazing."
Amamiya Natsuki complained. "But why would you, a mortician, come to a Hospital?"
"Actually, I'm an intern mortician."
Fujiwara Chika coughed twice and said, "The character I'm playing is a newly debuted mortician, and I'm mainly here at the Hospital to practice."
"As for the character mission..."
At this point, Fujiwara Chika's face fell, revealing a pitiful expression. "It requires me to complete all the procedures of an embalming as a mortician."
"Isn't that very simple?" Amamiya Natsuki pointed to the freezer in the distance. "Have you completed your mission?"
"Not completed."
Fujiwara Chika shook her head. "It feels very scary... I don't dare to open it alone."
You've been alone in the morgue for so long, and I haven't seen you scared at all!
Amamiya Natsuki said:
"Then let's go open it now and see if you can complete the mission."
However, Amamiya Natsuki had a premonition that things wouldn't be that simple.
People are already in the morgue, and practice material is readily available. As long as one is bold enough, the character mission can be easily completed, but the game clearly wouldn't let players clear it so easily.
"What if someone suddenly sits up and scares us after we open it?"
Fujiwara Chika followed closely behind Amamiya Natsuki, whispering.
"Don't jinx it."
Amamiya Natsuki complained. "It wouldn't have happened, but with you saying that, it might just come true."
"It's not like it only happens if I say it."
Fujiwara Chika quietly retorted. "It's always this kind of plot in movies."
The two talked as they arrived in front of the freezer.
Amamiya Natsuki exhaled lightly, reached out, and pulled open the nearest freezer, quickly letting out a soft gasp.
"What's wrong?"
Fujiwara Chika asked nervously.
"Too light."
Amamiya Natsuki pulled the freezer open with a slight effort and looked inside. "There's nothing."
Fujiwara Chika curiously poked out half of her small face and looked inside. Indeed, it was empty, with nothing inside.
"Let's open another one and try."
Amamiya Natsuki turned and walked to another freezer, pulled it open, and it was still as light as air.
"Eh, still nothing."
Fujiwara Chika stood on tiptoe and looked inside, suddenly thinking of a possibility. "Could they all be empty?"
"We'll know if we open them all and check."
Amamiya Natsuki reached out and opened the third freezer, and sure enough, it was empty inside, with nothing.
Seeing this, Fujiwara Chika quickly grew bolder and helped check.
"Nothing."
"It's empty inside."
"How can this be? There's actually nothing in any of them."
The check was soon completed, and all the freezers were empty.
"I probably understand..." Amamiya Natsuki pressed his forehead. "Even without a head, one can still seek medical attention. There are no truly deceased people in the game."
"The hardest part for you to complete the embalming should be how to catch a native, by trickery or deceit, to make them cooperate with you to complete all the embalming rituals."
"Stare—"
Fujiwara Chika widened her eyes and leaned forward to look.
Amamiya Natsuki's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but say:
"Why are you looking at me?"
"I just carefully looked at the character mission. It only asks me to complete all the procedures of a mortician. There are no requirements for the identity of the practice subject, so..."
Fujiwara Chika pointed to a cart not far away. "Natsuki-kun, lie down and don't move. You're the one!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter