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Thud.
Amamiya Natsuki steadily caught the jumping shy girl. With Time Stop ability, let alone a Leap of Faith from the second floor, he could catch someone jumping from the top floor with 100% certainty.
Of course, for a height like the second floor, he didn't even need to activate Time Stop.
"Phew…"
Komi quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Trust was trust, but jumping directly from such a high place was still a bit scary.
Amamiya Natsuki's gaze shifted downwards, landing on the shy girl's pink and moist lips. He whispered:
"I'm very curious."
"Eh?"
The shy girl looked up in confusion.
Amamiya Natsuki whispered:
"What brand of lip balm did Shoko use today?"
Komi blinked her eyes. She didn't dare to speak in front of many people, but alone, she could barely open her mouth, stammering softly: "I didn't use lip balm…"
"I don't believe it." Amamiya Natsuki said seriously, "Unless you let me check it personally."
The shy girl's eyes widened, and she quickly understood Amamiya Natsuki's ill intentions. She immediately panicked: "N-no!"
Everyone was upstairs. If she was taken advantage of now, she would surely faint!
"What?" Amamiya Natsuki tilted his head, making a listening gesture, "You said yes?"
Komi said aggrievedly: "I clearly said no."
"Why not?"
"W-will everyone see?"
"Understood. As long as no one sees, it's fine, right?"
"…"
"Natsuki-kun." Fujiwara Chika called from upstairs, "Hurry up and come up."
"Coming… Wait, there's something."
Amamiya Natsuki answered, then carried the shy girl a couple of steps towards the corner of the wall. Their figures quickly disappeared behind the cover of the open-air balcony.
"Now no one can see us." Amamiya Natsuki whispered, "Is it okay now?"
"N-no!" Komi kept shaking her head, her pretty face flushed. She wanted to escape, "I-I'm going upstairs."
"Don't leave." Amamiya Natsuki sighed, "I risked my life to painstakingly catch you downstairs. Even if there's no merit, there's hard work, and you don't even have a thank you."
It's just the second floor. Even if you don't catch her, she wouldn't be in life-threatening danger if she jumped down herself!
Komi slightly puffed out her pink cheeks and whispered: "Thank you…"
"When thanking, you should show sincerity." Amamiya Natsuki's expression became serious. He pointed to his cheek, "Talking about money is too vulgar. Give me a kiss."
"N-no!"
The shy girl quickly shook her head.
Everyone was on the balcony directly above, and she was doing that kind of thing below the balcony. The sense of immorality was too strong; she couldn't accept it!
"You don't have to kiss me now, but when we get back, you'll have to kiss me twice." Amamiya Natsuki whispered, "Kiss now or kiss later, how do you choose?"
Komi hesitated for two seconds, then made her choice aggrievedly: "…L-later."
"…"
The two returned upstairs together.
"You taken advantage of Shoko again?"
Seeing Komi's face flushed, her head lowered, not daring to look at anyone, Juju put her hands on her hips and glared fiercely at Amamiya Natsuki.
"I didn't, don't talk nonsense." Amamiya Natsuki refused to admit it, taking out a five-yen coin. "Shoko just found a coin at the base of the wall and picked it up."
"Hmm…" Kitagawa Marin rested her right hand on her chin. "Didn't it say that completing the challenge would improve one's fortune?"
Sayu softly said, "Even if it's only five yen, it still counts as fortune."
"This fortune is too small," Koyasu Tsubame couldn't help but complain, "No one would pick it up if it fell on the ground normally."
Komi held up her notebook: "Th-that… should I return the money I found to the owner?"
"No need," Amamiya Natsuki handed the coin over, "Keep it as proof of your good fortune."
"…"
At the same time.
Shinomiya Kaguya clasped her hands across her chest and whispered:
"I've already asked Miss Kousaka. There are usually one to two challenge tasks a day. So far, she has experienced five challenge tasks. A certain existence whose friend disappeared has already received seven challenge requests… It's a bit slow."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded slightly, "It is a bit slow."
Only being able to receive one to two challenge tasks per day, and not knowing how long it would take to see the final Boss, it seemed that they would have to wait at least five days, or even over a week, given the current situation.
As everyone knows, for missing people, the sooner they are found, the greater the hope of survival. If too much time passes before they are discovered… the outcome goes without saying.
Such a long challenge time was indeed unacceptable.
"I just tried sending messages to that strange entity, but no matter what I sent, it didn't reply," Yukinoshita Yukino said softly, pausing before continuing, "It should only reply to messages related to challenges."
Amamiya Natsuki mused:
"But it replied to Miss Kousaka's message… Perhaps we can send it a message, saying we hope it will arrange challenges as soon as possible, and it might agree."
"We can try," Yukinoshita Yukino nodded slightly, decisively took out her phone, and sent a message to the mysterious person.
A moment later.
"I've received the challenge content," Yukinoshita Yukino's delicate brows raised slightly.
Fujiwara Chika leaned over curiously and asked, "Eh, Yukino-chan, what's your challenge content?"
Yukinoshita Yukino held up her phone: "Complete the ice bucket challenge within twenty minutes."
"Is that the challenge that was popular a long time ago?" Hayasaka Ai asked curiously, "I remember it was to call on the world to donate to patients with ALS."
"This challenge isn't difficult," Tsubame-senpai said from the side, "Just take off your clothes, and put them back on after completing the challenge. You don't even have to get your clothes wet."
Amamiya Natsuki, upon hearing this, couldn't help but look at Nekonoshita.
Although Nekonoshita was ordinary and flat-chested, her good looks still made her interesting.
"Stare—"
The the Young Lady clasped her hands across her chest, tilting her head to look over: "The challenge didn't specify a location, Yukinoshita can completely complete the challenge in the bathroom. The President's expectations can only be dashed."
"I have no expectations whatsoever," Amamiya Natsuki turned and walked towards the window, "You all chat, I'll go look at the scenery by the window."
Yukinoshita Yukino turned her head and looked at the Glasses Girl: "Miss Kousaka, may I borrow your bathroom?"
"Of course," the Glasses Girl nodded, "You can use it."
"Thank you."
"…"
Amamiya Natsuki stood by the window looking at the scenery, while the other girls went to help. Before long, props like ice buckets and towels were all prepared.
"I'm going in."
Yukinoshita Yukino carried the ice bucket into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
A moment later.
Nekonoshita walked out with wet hair.
The ice bucket challenge was successfully completed.
This kind of thing can be easily completed by ordinary people, and it doesn't violate ethics or morals, so it can be said to be quite simple.
"It looks quite interesting," Kitagawa Marin propped her chin, "I'll send a message and try it too."
"Me too," Fujiwara Chika said expectantly, "Of course I can't miss out on interesting things."
Only the Glasses Girl was dumbfounded on the side.
Everyone else avoids it, fearing challenges, yet you actually take the initiative to approach them?
Are you all idiots!
It seems only when they encounter truly terrifying challenges will these people regret it.
Amamiya Natsuki also took out his phone and sent a message to the mysterious entity.
"The challenge is very interesting, I can't wait, when will you arrange it for me?"
Buzz buzz.
The phone vibrated gently.
A message quickly popped up.
"As you wish."
Immediately following, a challenge content appeared.
Amamiya Natsuki looked closely, and the challenge content was actually to make him do one hundred push-ups within ten minutes. The reward was also an increase in fortune, and the penalty for failure was choking while eating.
According to the Glasses Girl, the rewards for challenges varied, but most were trivial and dispensable, meaningless compared to the penalties for failing the challenges.
With Amamiya Natsuki's current physical fitness, doing one hundred push-ups with one hand was not a problem.
Everyone successively completed the first round of challenges.
Fujiwara Chika said easily: "It all feels very easy."
"No, it's actually a trap," Shinomiya Kaguya clasped her right hand across her chest, her voice solemn, "According to the President, only those who complete it with one life can finally face the opponent. If they don't know this information, others who receive the challenge content will only treat it as a prank and simply ignore it. The result is that they lose the qualification to escape the game from the very beginning."
Everyone thought about it and quickly realized.
"Kaguya-chan makes sense," Kitagawa Marin put her hands on her hips and said angrily, "To set a trap from the beginning, that strange entity is too much!"
"Um, I suddenly thought of a question," Sayu raised her right hand, "This strange entity might not have just appeared recently, but because of Yukino-chan's sister, we encountered it… In other words, perhaps many people's existence has already been erased, but we just don't know?"
Thinking of this possibility, the atmosphere immediately became heavy.
To erase a person's existence out of thin air, where parents, friends, and everyone else would not remember them, in some respects, was even more terrifying than the Nameless woman they had encountered before.
"The possibility isn't great," Amamiya Natsuki said, "If the strange entities were to erupt on a large scale, the chances of players encountering them would greatly increase. But the fact is, so far, only we have encountered strange entity invasions. It's clear that the invasion situation has only just appeared, so the number of mysteriously disappeared people shouldn't be very high."
Juju blinked: "…Will similar strange entity invasions become more and more frequent in the future?"
"…"
The air fell silent again.
From the current situation, it is highly probable that more and more strange entities will invade the real world. Players still have some means of self-preservation, but as for ordinary people… they can only pray for their own good fortune.
Buzz buzz.
The phone vibrated again.
Amamiya Natsuki took out his phone, his brows raising slightly: "The second challenge is here."
"Eh, what kind of challenge is it?" Fujiwara Chika leaned in curiously, and her eyes quickly widened, "What? It actually wants you to crush instant noodles at a Convenience Store within twenty minutes, and at least five bags."
"The challenges get more and more outrageous as they go on," Kousaka said faintly, "They even challenge morality and law… It's too late for you to regret it now."
"It's just crushing instant noodles, I have no regrets at all."
Amamiya Natsuki put away his phone, ready to go out.
"I heard that many people under pressure secretly crush instant noodles in supermarkets to relieve stress," Sayu quickly stepped to follow, a pet should always stick close to its owner, "But it's okay, after Natsuki crushes the instant noodles, I'll just buy them all."
Secretly crushing instant noodles can only be said to have moral flaws; even if discovered, it's not a criminal act. Amamiya Natsuki truly had no psychological burden.
"I'll stay," Yukinoshita Yukino said.
The purpose of staying was simple: it was for the Glasses Girl, Kousaka.
No matter what, the other party was Hina's good friend. If she received a challenge task, everyone might be able to help. This was something they had just discussed.
Amamiya Natsuki waved his hand and left with Sayu and Marin.
It was just crushing instant noodles, so there was no need for several people.
Arriving at the supermarket.
Amamiya Natsuki found the shelf with cup noodles and crunched a few bags of instant noodles.
"Heh-ho~"
Sayu hugged a few bags of instant noodles, tilted her pretty face up and said, "Natsuki, how's the challenge going?"
"It's not finished yet," Amamiya Natsuki shook his head, "I guess I'll have to leave the supermarket for it to count."
"Then Natsuki, you go out first," Kitagawa Marin waved, "The weather is hot, Sayu-chan and I will buy some popsicles."
"Mm."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded slightly, turned and walked out of the supermarket. His phone quickly received a notification that the challenge of crushing instant noodles had been successfully completed.
Not long after, Sayu came out carrying a bag of instant noodles, and Marin came out carrying popsicles and fruit, the two girls walking together.
"When I was checking out just now, the cashier noticed the instant noodles were crushed," Sayu recounted what had just happened, "She kept bowing and apologizing, saying she wanted to give me new instant noodles. I felt a bit bad about it."
Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand and pressed his chest: "My conscience seems to be aching faintly."
"You wouldn't have a guilty conscience," Kitagawa Marin handed over a popsicle, "It's hot, eat a popsicle before we go back."
Amamiya Natsuki took the popsicle and sat down on a bench by the roadside.
"Sayu-chan took the blame for you," Kitagawa Marin sat down, took a bite of her popsicle, "She said she accidentally crushed the instant noodles just now, so she had to buy them all back, and she even bowed to the store clerk to apologize."
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Sayu.
"Eh heh~"
Sayu quietly closed one eye, tilting her pretty face up proudly.
As a pet, she naturally had the awareness to take the blame for her owner, and she enjoyed it.
"Eat your popsicle quickly," Amamiya Natsuki said, "Let's go back after you finish eating."
"Okay."
Sayu tore open the popsicle wrapper, raised her right hand, her slender fingers tucking the strands of hair behind her ear, then extended her pink tongue to eat the popsicle.
Amamiya Natsuki's eye twitched slightly: "You eat properly."
Does she not know what King Crimson is? If I dared to describe a single word, the world would surely restart again.
"Oh…"
Sayu sat properly and honestly ate her popsicle.
In a blink of an eye, it was noon.
During this period, everyone successively completed the second round of challenge tasks. The difficulty was not high, but they began to violate everyday moral standards.
After lunch, everyone sent messages to the strange entity again, and the third round of challenge tasks began to arrive.
This time, Komi was the first to withdraw.
The challenge content was for her to act as a delinquent girl and rob elementary school student of their pocket money. The specified condition was elementary school student, so Juju did not meet the requirement.
Although she could hire elementary school student to cooperate with the act, trying to get a socially anxious girl with communication difficulties to say 'lend me some money' was simply too difficult.
"Give up the challenge," Amamiya Natsuki said, "It's a good opportunity to see how the penalty for failing the challenge occurs."
"Mm-hmm."
Komi breathed a sigh of relief, quickly nodding her head like a pecking chick.
Asking her to extort elementary school student, she couldn't do it, absolutely couldn't do it. It would be more likely for her to be extorted.
"Shoko's penalty just now was a fall injury," Juju guessed, "Will it be like tossing a coin, happening as bad luck?"
Fujiwara Chika raised her hand and said, "If Shoko-chan stays in bed all the time, won't she get injured from falling?"
"Definitely not," Koyasu Tsubame pursed her pink lips, "Even if you can eat in bed, you still have to go to the bathroom, right?"
"That's true."
"…"
The girls were discussing animatedly when they heard a dull thud.
Amamiya Natsuki turned to look and saw the shy girl, who had just been standing beside him, sprawled on the ground in a pose like a wild goose landing on flat sand...
"Ugh—"
Komi quickly sat up, her hands frantically reaching behind her, her pretty face flushed as she covered her skirt.
Hey, hey, don't cover it!
You never take off your tights all day, so you won't expose yourself at all!
"Shoko-chan?" Kitagawa Marin helped Shoko up. "You didn't even move, how did you suddenly fall down?"
"…"
Komi didn't speak, but looked eagerly at Amamiya Natsuki.
Amamiya Natsuki understood, picked up the notebook beside him, and handed it over.
The shy girl took the notebook and quickly wrote.
"I felt a strange force suddenly push me from behind, which is why I fell down…"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly: "It actually attacked directly, much weaker than being plagued by bad luck."
Hayasaka Ai analyzed:
"So, the previous chandelier falling, being choked by food, etc., wasn't because that strange entity controlled luck, but because it directly attacked… It feels somewhat underwhelming."
Buzz, buzz.
The phone vibrated again.
Yukinoshita Yukino looked down at her phone, her delicate brows quickly furrowing.
"Yukino-chan, you received another challenge?" Fujiwara Chika asked curiously, "What is it about?"
"…"
Nekonoshita pursed her pink lips and said nothing.
Fujiwara Chika curiously leaned over to look and couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Eh, eh, eh, it's actually asking you to forcefully kiss a boy?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Amamiya Natsuki.
Speaking of boys, Amamiya Natsuki was the only one in the apartment; others were obviously out of the question.
Yukinoshita Yukino hesitated for a moment, then a determined expression quickly appeared on her face, clearly having made up her mind, and she took a deep breath, saying:
"I must complete this challenge no matter what."
"Why?"
"The mission reward is that I can ask it one question."
Everyone instantly understood why Yukinoshita Yukino was determined to complete this challenge no matter what.
No matter what, she had to know Haruno's current situation.
The Glasses Girl, Kosaka, bit her lip beside them and whispered:
"We've also encountered this challenge reward before. We asked it when it would let us go, and it did give an answer."
"…"
Yukinoshita Yukino was silent for a few seconds, then turned and walked towards the entrance.
"Yukino-chan, what are you going to do?" Fujiwara Chika asked quickly.
Nekonoshita calmly said: "To complete the challenge… There isn't only one boy in the world."
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