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"What are you laughing at?"
Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Hehehe... Of course, it's..." Yote looked up, his smile distorted, "I want to see your expressions of despair. Without Shadow Chika by your side, you probably can't detect the invasion of Shadows, can you?"
Before he finished speaking.
The next second.
A man in a shrine uniform appeared out of nowhere on the ground. Without a doubt, he was a Shadow lurking in the shrine.
The moment this Shadow appeared, he stabbed the dagger in his hand like a viper towards Amamiya Natsuki's back.
Since entering the room, Amamiya Natsuki had never relaxed his guard. His reaction was extremely fast, kicking out a leg and instantly sending the Shadow flying.
Who knew the Shadow was just a feint? His target wasn't Amamiya Natsuki at all. He rolled on the ground, directly arriving beside Yote, twisting the dagger in his hand and plunging it straight into Yote's heart.
"Hmm?"
Amamiya Natsuki instantly understood that this Yote wanted to reset time again, unwilling to fall into their hands.
Looking at the pathological, triumphant smile on Yote's face, Amamiya Natsuki's mind raced, and he instantly made a decision.
"Time Stop!"
Time in the shrine suddenly paused.
The dagger was only one centimeter away from Yote's heart.
Amamiya Natsuki didn't hesitate at all, stepping forward decisively and striking the Shadow's main body on the ground, while also taking out a magic rope to bind Yote.
Three seconds passed in an instant.
Time resumed its flow.
The Shadow man's body trembled violently, the dagger fell to the ground, and he quickly distorted, turning into a black trace and disappearing.
"That was close." Fujiwara Chika sighed in relief, clutching her chest, "He almost succeeded."
In this cycle, with no Shadow Chika by her side, she couldn't detect the Shadow's sneak attack. The battle just now was incredibly swift, happening in a flash, and the girls didn't even have time to react effectively before they saw Yote bound by the magic rope.
"Is this the power of Time Stop?" Yote looked down at the ropes on his body, the sneer still on his face, "Even Hiruko no Kami can't use this power endlessly. You should be the same, right?"
"Then... let's try again."
The next second.
The dagger that had fallen to the ground suddenly distorted and deformed, turning into a Shadow woman. She swiftly pulled out a handgun from under the table, aimed at Hayasaka, who was closest, and fired a shot.
Bang!
The smell of gunpowder instantly filled the entire room.
Amamiya Natsuki's pupils contracted. Time Stop had been used up, and he couldn't pause time again. Moreover, Hayasaka didn't even have Dark Shadow attached to her...
"Accio!"
Amamiya Natsuki decisively reached out and grabbed the Shadow, using his skill to make the opponent's gun barrel shift, and at the same time, instinctively lunged, shielding Hayasaka.
"President?!"
A cry of alarm suddenly rang out.
"S-Senpai, are you okay?"
Hayasaka Ai snapped back to reality, looking at Amamiya Natsuki, who was holding her, and quickly asked while feeling around Amamiya Natsuki's body. Her hand soon felt a wet, slippery sensation, and her heart trembled slightly as she saw her hands were already stained with blood.
Seeing the crimson liquid on her hands, the Spy Maid's eyes instantly welled up with a misty blur.
At the same time.
The shadowy woman regained her footing and tried to shoot again, but Yukinoshita Yukino's face was frosty as she charged forward, kicking out mid-air to first disarm her, then aiming a kick at the shadow's head.
As a karate master, the Second Miss's combat power was quite good.
The pistol flew out.
The shadowy woman also didn't linger, rolling over to Yote's side.
"So you weren't as formidable as I imagined; you bleed when injured too," Yote said with a regretful shake of his head, sighing, "It's a pity I sent all my shadows out to find you, otherwise the game could have ended here."
"I'll kill you!"
Seeing Amamiya Natsuki shot, the Eldest Miss's eyes turned red, and she instantly went berserk.
"Haven't you killed me three times already?" Yote's voice was low, "Well then, see you next loop, if you even have a next loop."
As soon as he finished speaking.
The woman beside Yote decisively brandished a dagger, stabbing it into Yote's heart, killing him, then her body vanished into the shadows, making a swift escape.
"President, are you okay?" Fujiwara Chika's tears streamed down her face as she tightly pressed her hands against Amamiya Natsuki's back wound, "Don't scare me."
Amamiya Natsuki's eyes were tightly shut, his face pale, and he was silent.
Seeing Amamiya Natsuki on the ground, the Eldest Miss tightly clenched her fists and bit her lip, saying:
"Why didn't time reset?"
Yukinoshita Yukino also bit her lip, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and whispered:
"The time reset isn't passively triggered; it should be a power actively activated by Hiruko no Kami. The one who just died was only a clone of Yote. Hiruko no Kami… should have been persuaded."
The truth was clear.
Amamiya Natsuki had just been shot and his life was uncertain. Among the players on the Island, Amamiya Natsuki posed the greatest threat. If Amamiya Natsuki were to die, there would be no need to restart the next loop. In short, no matter what, the initiative was in their opponent's hands.
"Oh, right, the next loop." Fujiwara Chika, her eyes teary, said in a trembling voice, "As long as we enter the next loop, the President will be able to live again."
Shinomiya Kaguya took a deep breath, turned, and walked out, saying:
"As long as we kill the other Yote, Hiruko no Kami will definitely reset time."
Hayasaka Ai got up as well, clenching her fists and saying:
"The other Yote should be in the underground cave."
"Don't…"
Yukinoshita Yukino parted her pink lips, wanting to say 'don't be impulsive', but the words wouldn't come out. She knew very well that it was impossible to stop Kaguya and the others' actions.
Only by entering the next loop could Amamiya Natsuki be revived.
Even she wouldn't stand idly by.
At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out:
"Kaguya, don't be impulsive."
The Eldest Miss's body trembled, and she quickly turned around, both surprised and delighted.
Following that was Fujiwara Chika's joyful cry: "Eh, eh, eh, the President is alive!"
"I wasn't dead to begin with," Amamiya Natsuki opened his eyes and sat up from the ground, his face still pale, "I was just pretending."
"It's good that you're okay."
Yukinoshita Yukino involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.
"President…"
The Eldest Miss parted her pink lips, finally unable to control her emotions, and with tears quickly welling up in her eyes, she hugged Amamiya Natsuki.
"I'm fine."
Amamiya Natsuki gently patted Kaguya's back and then stroked Chika's little head.
"Senpai was pretending?"
Hayasaka Ai widened her eyes, looking down at her hands stained red.
Both the color and the smell were clearly blood…
"Thump!"
After calming down, Fujiwara Chika angrily clenched her fists and began hitting Amamiya Natsuki's chest: "To trick us with something like that, President is too much!"
Amamiya Natsuki took a shallow breath, sweat beading on his forehead, and said:
"Ow, ow, ow."
"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika was startled, "Wasn't President pretending?"
Amamiya Natsuki's face was pale as he clutched his chest and said:
"Pretending is pretending, getting shot is getting shot, and dying is dying; don't conflate them."
Unless hit in a vital spot, ordinary people wouldn't immediately die from a gunshot. Amamiya Natsuki's physical abilities already surpassed human limits, and he hadn't been hit in a vital spot just now, so of course he wouldn't die. However, the pain was real.
Hayasaka Ai bit her lower lip, walked to Amamiya Natsuki's side, and lifted his shirt, revealing a bloody mess on his back, confirming he had indeed been shot.
"This, this serious…" Fujiwara Chika's eyes welled up again, "With such a severe injury, President didn't even make a sound."
"Because it didn't hurt when I first got shot," Amamiya Natsuki took shallow breaths, "At first, I just felt a burning sensation, then numbness. The intense pain is only appearing now."
"President, don't talk so much," Shinomiya Kaguya wiped the corner of her eye, bit her lower lip, and said, "Let's go to the Hospital."
"Don't go to the Hospital," Amamiya Natsuki shook his head to stop them, "Yote currently doesn't know if I'm alive or dead. Going to the Hospital would expose me. With healing skills, it doesn't matter if we don't go to the Hospital."
After a pause, Amamiya Natsuki urged:
"Let's leave here first to avoid being surrounded."
"..."
Seeing that Amamiya Natsuki, though pale and sweating, didn't appear very weak, the girls finally relaxed slightly. They bandaged Amamiya Natsuki's wound to stop the bleeding, then quickly left the shrine.
The journey was silent.
After descending the mountain, they didn't rendezvous with Marin and the others. Instead, they found a secluded spot nearby, preparing to treat Amamiya Natsuki's wound first.
"President, take off your shirt," Shinomiya Kaguya instructed.
"Mm."
Amamiya Natsuki responded, enduring the pain, and took off his blood-stained shirt.
After removing the hemostatic gauze, the wound was no longer bleeding, but it was still a bloody mess.
"I'll do it," Hayasaka Ai stepped forward without hesitation, "I've studied basic nursing knowledge; I should be able to treat the wound."
As an all-purpose maid, Hayasaka Ai knew a little bit of everything.
Fujiwara Chika rolled up her sleeves, her eyes slightly red, and said:
"Just tell me what to do, Hanamori-chan."
"The main goal is to remove the bullet from Senpai's body," Hayasaka Ai said softly, "If there's a foreign object inside, the pain will be unbearable."
"I can see the bullet's base," Shinomiya Kaguya half-crouched, observing carefully, "It must have been stopped by the President's muscles."
For ordinary people, blocking a bullet with their flesh is nonsense; it would create a hole. But players generally enhance their physical abilities, especially Amamiya Natsuki, whose physical abilities have completely surpassed human limits. The bullet didn't penetrate his body but was embedded in his muscles.
"It's better if we can see the bullet; we just need to use tools to clamp it out," Hayasaka Ai's eyes lit up slightly, "The problem is… the process will be very painful, and we don't have anesthetic or skills that can nullify pain. The President will just have to endure it."
Amamiya Natsuki: "..."
Undergoing surgery without anesthetic would make an ordinary person grind their teeth to dust.
"How painful would that be?" Fujiwara Chika asked worriedly, "He might even pass out from the pain."
Amamiya Natsuki retorted:
"I only worry about not passing out."
Yukinoshita Yukino pursed her lips and suggested:
"We can ask everyone. Just because we don't have it doesn't mean others don't either."
"I forgot all about it. I'll ask."
Fujiwara Chika quickly took out her phone and sought help from everyone.
A moment later.
The phone's vibrations never stopped.
Kitagawa Marin: "Natsuki is injured? And it's a gunshot wound? Where are you? I'll be right there!"
Senpai: "Is Natsuki-kun's injury serious?"
Sayu: "How did Master get injured?"
Juju: "How is Natsuki now?"
Haruno: "Natsuki-kun is injured? Yukino, are you okay?"
"..."
Fujiwara Chika carefully explained what had just happened, then said:
"Everyone, don't worry, President is not in life-threatening danger and is in good spirits. It's just that without anesthetic, removing the bullet will be very painful. Does anyone have any pain relief items in their backpacks? Anything will do."
Kitagawa Marin: "I don't have anything for pain relief. Does anyone else?"
Senpai: "I don't either."
At this moment, Sayu sent a message: "When I was in Hokkaido, I once opened a berserker pill from a Blind Box. After taking it, sanity is halved, but it can grant pain immunity. Would that work?"
Hayasaka Ai's eyes lit up: "It can be used."
Sayu quickly said: "I'll send it to you right away."
Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her lips and typed a reply: "You don't need to come; we'll go back and get it."
The distance between them was quite far, and it would be too dangerous for Sayu to come alone.
Amamiya Natsuki got up and said:
"Let's go back…"
But just as he stood up, a slight dizzy spell came over him.
"President, don't move around," Shinomiya Kaguya frowned and stopped him, "The wound is bleeding again. You just stay here, and we'll go get the medicine."
"That's right," Fujiwara Chika nodded, "Leave it to us."
Amamiya Natsuki endured the pain and said:
"It's so far away, and the transformation skill won't last long enough. How will you get there?"
Yukinoshita Yukino crossed her left arm over her chest and said softly:
"We can use the Leg Attachment. This way, we can save one transformation skill."
Shinomiya Kaguya followed up by saying:
"When we set off, we'll first agree on a meeting point with Sayu and the others, having them come to the forest edge. This way, only three people need to relay transformations to safely go back and forth."
Fujiwara Chika suggested:
"President needs someone to stay and take care of him now. Hanamori-chan, you stay and look after the President; we'll go get the pill."
Hayasaka Ai nodded seriously and said:
"Leave the President to me."
"..."
Without giving Amamiya Natsuki a chance to object, the girls quickly formulated a plan, had Amamiya Natsuki help them Copy and Paste the Mystique skill, and then swiftly left.
The room quickly fell silent, leaving only Amamiya Natsuki and Hayasaka Ai.
"President, does it hurt a lot?" Hayasaka Ai extended her right hand and said softly, "Use the Copy and Paste ability to paste the pain to me."
Amamiya Natsuki said in a nonchalant tone:
"No need, it doesn't hurt that much."
Hayasaka Ai had suggested Copy and Paste the pain just now, but Amamiya Natsuki had refused then and certainly wouldn't agree now; the pain of a gunshot wound was far more terrifying than a girl's period.
"Hmph, men." Hayasaka Ai snorted softly, wiping the sweat from Amamiya Natsuki's forehead. "Only his mouth is stubborn."
Amamiya Natsuki retorted, not to be outdone:
"Where am I stubborn? It's not like you haven't seen it."
"Ptooey~" Hayasaka Ai crossed her arms over her chest, then suddenly lowered her voice and whispered, "Shinomiya Kaguya and the others won't be back for at least half an hour. If President has any special requests, you can tell me, and I'll try my best to satisfy you."
That's enough of you! Saying such things to someone who just got shot and whose wound will bleed with the slightest movement, don't you feel any conscience?!
Amamiya Natsuki closed his eyes and said:
"I do have something I really want to do right now…"
"Huh?" Hayasaka Ai pursed her pink lips. "Tell me, President."
The Spy Maid secretly made up her mind. If Amamiya Natsuki really made a sesshou request, she… would immediately refuse him sternly. The wound had just stopped bleeding, and a slightly larger movement would make it bleed again, wouldn't it?!
Others might at most "beep—" to death, but if President bled to death, it would be too terrible no matter how you looked at it!
Amamiya Natsuki exhaled and said:
"I want to take a shower."
"Huh?" Hayasaka Ai was startled. "That's President's wish?"
"That's right, that's my number one wish right now." Amamiya Natsuki complained, "I'm all sweaty, and it feels incredibly uncomfortable."
Looking at the cold sweat on Amamiya Natsuki's forehead, Hayasaka Ai's gaze softened, and she said softly:
"A shower is out of the question. President will definitely bleed if he moves around now. I'll go get a basin of water and wipe President's body."
Amamiya Natsuki said helplessly:
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Hayasaka Ai pushed the door open and left, not afraid of being seen: "Then I'll go get the water."
The place where the two were currently hiding was inside a native's home. When they entered the house earlier, they confirmed that the native was not home. If the true owner returned midway… then they would just have to let the other party witness what it meant to usurp someone's home.
A moment later.
Hayasaka Ai returned with a basin of warm water, moistened a towel in it, and then wiped Amamiya Natsuki's body.
His chest, his back, his arms… This was the first time he truly experienced Hayasaka's maid service, but unfortunately, the pain in his back distracted most of his attention, preventing him from enjoying the pleasure of maid service.
His upper body was quickly wiped, and Amamiya Natsuki exhaled lightly:
"That's enough… What are you doing?"
Hayasaka Ai did not stop, saying nonchalantly:
"Senpai is a patient now. As a maid, of course, I have to wipe President's entire body."
Amamiya Natsuki said speechlessly:
"Maids don't do such things, do they?"
Hayasaka Ai said without changing her expression:
"I misspoke. I'm a nurse now."
"Nurses can force others?"
"Tch, you say no with your mouth, but your body is still cooperating honestly."
"…"
A moment later.
The Spy Maid's gaze shifted, and a delicate blush, like rouge accidentally spilled into water and spreading, bloomed on her pretty face. Her voice was disdainful:
"He's already been shot, yet he's still so energetic. Senpai really is a pervert."
Amamiya Natsuki said expressionlessly:
"You found me out. That's right, I am… Wait!"
The coldness from the Maid's hand suddenly transmitted, making Amamiya Natsuki take a light breath, truly experiencing what it meant to be in pain and happy. He whispered:
"You don't have to…"
"Shut up!"
The Spy Maid's pretty face was flushed, and she bit her lip, saying: "Just shut up, little President!"
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