"Eh..."
Chika curiously looked around and whispered, "It feels like nothing happened."
"That's because I haven't set the rules yet..."
Natsuki opened his eyes, extended his right hand, and said, "Rule set: any creature rushing towards me at a speed exceeding one meter per second will trip and fall."
"You can set it like that?" Marin raised her right hand, excitedly saying, "Let me try."
Marin said, stepping back a few steps, spreading her arms, and happily shouting, "Natsuki, I'm coming!"
And then...
Thump.
Just two steps taken, Marin felt an inexplicable force acting on her, her legs involuntarily weakened, and then she fell to the ground with a 'thump'.
"It, it hurts so much..."
Marin's eyes welled up with tears, having fallen in a graceful pose.
"I'll try too."
Chika was full of curiosity, ready to experience it herself.
And then...
Thump!
Another clumsy person who tripped and fell appeared on the ground.
"My, my butt is going to split..."
Chika and Marin sat together, good sisters sharing the hardship.
Hayasaka pursed her lips and whispered, "If it's just like this, it doesn't feel much different from before."
"Of course, it's not just that." Natsuki stretched his limbs and smiled, "Now, I no longer need to obey the rules I set myself."
"Eh?" Tsubame's bright eyes lit up, "That sounds really good."
Kaguya clasped her hands across her chest and calmly said, "What about the price President has to pay?"
Natsuki pondered, "Activating the Theater now consumes my mental energy, simply put, my mana bar."
After a pause, Natsuki continued, "And then there's the range of the stage..."
Natsuki slightly closed his eyes, extended his right hand, and grasped at the air, saying, "I can feel that everything within a radius of several thousand meters belongs to my stage."
Kaguya was slightly startled and said, "Does President mean..."
"Exactly." Natsuki opened his eyes, "Wherever I am, whether it's a dungeon or the real world, it's all my stage."
Previously, stage performances required carefully constructing a false scene, but as Natsuki completely controlled the power of rules, now the world was his stage.
In other words.
Natsuki could now give the power of rules a new name...
"Domain Expansion!"
Centered around himself, everything within a thousand-meter radius belonged to Natsuki's stage.
Chika had already gotten up and carefully approached Natsuki, making sure not to move too fast and trip again. Hearing him, she tilted her head and said, "Although it sounds powerful... it doesn't seem very useful?"
Natsuki looked at Chika and said, "I mentioned before that I can now use the employees' powers, right?"
Chika didn't react for a moment, "Uh, and then?"
Natsuki asked, "What is Sadako's ability?"
"I know!" Sayu raised her right hand, "It's 'Fear makes me stronger'."
Natsuki looked at the dark Sanatorium in front of him and whispered, "Correct answer, but it's not just that. Sadako can also pinpoint the location of her fear targets and instantly appear behind them."
Kaguya quickly understood and curiously asked, "Can President do that?"
"Whether I can or not, I'll know if I try."
Natsuki looked at the Sanatorium. In his sight, several places in the pitch-black Sanatorium were emitting a strong aura of fear.
"...It's you."
Natsuki chose the place with the most concentrated fear aura and took a step.
The next second.
His entire being suddenly vanished into the night.
"Eh, eh, eh?!" Marin's beautiful eyes widened, and she gasped, "Natsuki really disappeared!"
At the same time.
In a patient room at the Sanatorium.
A the passerby player was trembling all over, tears filling her eyes, tightly covering her mouth to keep herself from crying out.
Across from her, a woman covered in blood and gore was washing a piece of human skin in her hands. As she washed, her gaze scanned the passerby player, and her voice hoarsely said, "Your skin looks quite nice..."
The player knelt on the ground, her face filled with despair and terror.
In the Sanatorium, once you made a move inconsistent with the staff, you would be attacked by the patients inside. She had just come to deliver medicine, and according to regulations, she had to personally see the patient take the medicine. Who knew that upon entering the room, she found no one, only hearing the sound of washing.
Having no choice, she had to brace herself and nervously search for the patient. When she pushed open the bathroom door, she saw the patient inside, covered in blood and gore, washing human skin in her hands.
Intense fear surged over her, causing her to involuntarily gasp, thus exposing her identity.
The player wanted to escape, but the door was directly blocked. She wanted to fight back, but she was no match at all. Her body was enveloped by an unknown coldness, becoming increasingly stiff, and she could only watch helplessly as despair descended.
"Hmm?"
The female ghost washing the human skin suddenly paused her steps, tilted her head, and said, "Who are you?"
The player covered her mouth, thinking the female ghost was asking for her name. However, the next second, a gentle and pleasant voice suddenly sounded behind her:
"Excuse me for the interruption, I am just an innocent passerby."
"Eh?"
The player's body trembled violently. She frantically turned her head and was shocked to find that behind her, where it had been empty, a strange young man had appeared. He was as gentle and handsome as doll-like, though quite young, appearing to be a high school student.
Who was this person?
Why did he appear behind her?
Was he also a patient in the hospital?
"You're not wearing a doctor's uniform, you're not hospital staff!" The female ghost suddenly stood up, her voice sharp, and lunged towards Natsuki, excitedly saying, "I'm going to peel your skin!"
And then...
Thump.
The rule power activated. The female ghost had just taken a step when she fell to her knees on the ground with a thump.
The female ghost naturally didn't know what happened. She propped herself up with her hands on the ground and lunged at Natsuki again.
Thump!
The tripping rule triggered again.
Bang, bang, bang!
After falling several times in a row, even the evil spirit realized something was wrong and lay motionless on the ground.
"What... what's going on?"
The passerby player's eyes were wide with confusion.
Though it was a sealed ward, a strange young man had appeared out of nowhere behind her.
And the evil spirit patient who suddenly kept falling flat on the ground...
The player vaguely suspected that there must be some unknown connection between the two.
Natsuki lowered his head, observing the woman kneeling beside him. She appeared to be in her thirties, likely already a mother. He asked, "Are you a player?"
Hearing the word 'player', the female player immediately looked up, her eyes shining with intense hope for survival, like a drowning person grasping at a last straw. She excitedly said, "I... I am a player!"
The evil spirits in the dungeon wouldn't know a player's identity. The fact that the young man in front of her could instantly say the word 'player' clearly meant he was also a player.
After confirming this, the female player, who had been in despair, brightened up, exclaiming, "I'm a player who joined the Strange Tales Management Bureau. May I ask who you are?"
When players join the Strange Tales Management Bureau, they must undergo training, such as the rule that players who meet in a dungeon should help each other.
Of course, whether they actually help each other depends on the individual; it cannot be forced.
Natsuki shook his head and said, "I haven't joined the Strange Tales Management Bureau. I came here to find someone..."
Upon hearing this, the female player's heart sank halfway.
Even players who have joined the Strange Tales Management Bureau might stab their teammates in the back and harm them to create an escape opportunity when danger strikes, let alone a rogue player who hasn't joined the Strange Tales Management Bureau. But even so, she wasn't willing to give up any hope of survival.
"Perhaps I know the person you're looking for," the female player said nervously, rushing her words.
Natsuki said casually, "I'm looking for a girl with short pink hair, about 1.5 meters tall, wearing a nurse's uniform... Does that ring a bell?"
"That..."
The female player's face showed hesitation.
To be honest, she didn't recall anyone like that. The sanatorium was vast and full of dangers, and she dared not wander around to avoid accidents.
So... should she lie?
If she lied, would it be seen through immediately?
The female player bit her lip, and just as she was about to lie, she heard Natsuki say unhurriedly, "It seems you don't know."
The female player's breath hitched, and she quickly pleaded, "I can help you find them!"
Natsuki shook his head and said, "No need to trouble yourself. I can find them myself."
As long as it was a player in such a perilous place, they would more or less feel fear. Natsuki could clearly sense the fear within the sanatorium, and one of those fears must belong to Juju.
Not only that, Juju had three Dark Shadow skills and a dungeon exemption card. Even if she encountered irresistible danger, she could completely escape the dungeon, so Natsuki was not in a hurry.
However, when this statement reached the female player's ears, she thought Natsuki was going to abandon her, and finally, she broke down, "Please don't leave me behind! Just save me, and I'll do anything!"
Lady, your words are too dangerous! If it were someone else, they might ask you to be filled with cream!
Although Natsuki was not a perfect gentleman, he wouldn't take advantage of someone's misfortune. He immediately said, "Miss, please rest assured, I won't leave you behind."
Natsuki naturally wouldn't stand by and watch someone die if he could easily help.
"Thank... thank you..."
The female player thanked him gratefully, her eyes teary, fixed tightly on Natsuki, afraid that he was only saying it and would abandon her the moment he turned around. Her peripheral vision caught sight of the crazy patient slowly standing up, and she quickly warned, "It's getting up!"
Natsuki glanced at the skinless evil spirit slowly rising and said calmly, "Don't panic."
Because it hadn't violated any rules, the skinless evil spirit stood steadily in place without falling flat again. Its crimson eyes stared intently at Natsuki, wanting to kill him but clearly somewhat hesitant.
Natsuki ignored it. After pondering for a few seconds, he placed his right hand on the female player's shoulder and instructed, "Close your eyes."
This was his first domain expansion, and many things were still unclear.
For example...
"I... I understand." The female player nodded quickly and tightly closed her eyes. Although she didn't know what Natsuki wanted to do, he was her last straw, and she would obey him no matter what.
The next second.
Natsuki's figure suddenly vanished.
The female player only felt a slight chill on her body, followed by the sudden disappearance of the reassuring grip on her shoulder.
"What happened?"
The female player opened her eyes in a panic, only to find her clothes were gone, and Natsuki had also vanished without a trace beside her.
"Where... where did he go?"
"Did he just steal my clothes?"
"..."
At the same time.
At the entrance of the sanatorium.
Natsuki's figure appeared out of thin air, startling the passerby bespectacled girl.
"It's the President!"
"Natsuki is back!"
Chika and Marin, among others, exclaimed happily.
Kaguya asked, confused, "President, why do you have a piece of clothing in your hand?"
"It's a long story..."
Natsuki looked down at the nurse's uniform in his hand, instantly understanding.
He had been holding the female player's shoulder, yet only a piece of clothing came with him. There were two possibilities.
One was that when teleporting, he could only take inanimate objects with him, not living ones.
The second possibility was that when teleporting, the carried object had to be something his hand was in contact with. He had only touched the female player's shoulder, not her skin, so only a piece of clothing came with him.
It was still unclear which possibility it was.
However... he would know by testing it.
"No time to explain," Natsuki tossed the nurse's uniform in his hand, and his figure vanished again. "I have to go back."
Teleporting with living people could potentially have unknown dangers. Natsuki certainly wouldn't experiment with Kaguya and the others. The female player was a good choice.
"Natsuki-kun disappeared again?"
The two the passerby players' eyes widened. Although they had witnessed it firsthand, they were still filled with disbelief.
They had worked so hard to master one or two common-level skills, struggling to survive in the dungeon, yet someone else had already mastered the ability of instant movement...
At this moment, the two the passerby players' feelings were extremely complex.
It was as if they were primitives.
And Natsuki was a Sanguan Star People performing a dimensionality reduction attack on them.
"He can teleport continuously..." Hayasaka pursed her lips. "It seems the President has mastered an incredibly powerful ability."
Chika said beside her, "Time Stop is also an incredibly powerful ability, isn't it?"
"Eh?" Yasui happened to overhear and couldn't help but say, "Time... Stop?"
"It's Time Stop," Chika didn't hide it, as the Time Stop ability had already been filed with the Strange Tales Management Bureau and didn't need to be kept secret. She lifted her chin and said, "The President also has a Golden Skill-level Time Stop ability that can Time Stop for three seconds."
"..."
The two the passerby players felt utterly numb.
A battle between interstellar civilaizations and primitives was interesting, but if you were the primitive, it wasn't fun at all.
At the same time.
In the sanatorium's ward.
The female player was sitting on the ground, full of despair. The despair after hope was shattered was even more painful. Through tear-filled eyes, Natsuki's figure suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Then...
Bang!
The skinless evil spirit, which was about to pounce, once again violated the rules and fell to the ground with a thud.
Looking at the fair-skinned, barely clothed player lady, Natsuki cleared his throat twice, expressing his apology: "Sorry, I just mastered this ability and am not very skilled yet."
The female player quickly wiped away her tears and hurriedly said, "N-no problem."
Natsuki extended his right hand and said, "Give me your hand, let's try again."
"..."
The female player didn't know what 'try again' meant, but she would never give up on her chance for salvation. With three parts apprehension, three parts anticipation, and three parts complexity, she quickly extended her right hand.
Natsuki gently held it and then said, "Close your eyes."
The female player closed her eyes as instructed, but this time she tightly held Natsuki's right hand.
The next moment.
Natsuki and the female player's figures vanished into thin air.
"They're out, they're out!"
"The President brought someone with him!"
"He can even teleport with people?"
"..."
The cold wind blowing on her body involuntarily gave the female player the goosebumps, but the unfamiliar girl's voice in her ears suddenly filled her with hope.
There was only one skinless evil spirit in the ward. Such a pleasant voice couldn't possibly come from an evil spirit, could it?
But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
The female player did not dare to open her eyes, fearing that what lay before her was still a gloomy, bloody, and despair-inducing hospital room.
"Madam, you can open your eyes now."
It wasn't until Natsuki's voice rang out that the female player hesitantly opened her eyes, and what greeted her was a group of bright young girls in various outfits.
"Don't be afraid, you're safe now," Chika said gently, "We are all players."
Tsubame then handed over the previous nurse uniform and whispered:
"It's very cold outside, put on your clothes first."
The female player cautiously observed her surroundings, confirming that everything before her was not an illusion and that she had indeed escaped from that gloomy and despairing hospital room, then immediately covered her face with her hands, crying tears of joy.
"Tsk~"
Hayasaka folded her arms across her chest and sighed softly:
"The President can actually bring people along when he teleports; it's incredible, truly incredible."
Kaguya, on the other hand, asked curiously:
"What's the cost for the President to teleport with people?"
"Hmm..." Amamiya Natsuki focused for a moment, then said, "Please call me Zhao Zilong of Changshan."
Kaguya-sama instinctively followed up:
"The one who charged in and out seven times?"
Amamiya Natsuki smiled:
"Correct."
But the very next second, perhaps struck by a sudden thought, Kaguya's lovely face flushed a deep red before she could stop it; she turned her head away and said:
"Even so, the President still needs to be careful... finding Juju as soon as possible is the main thing."
Natsuki said:
"There are three more sources of fear in the sanatorium, which should be three players... wait for my news."
Taking a step, Natsuki once again disappeared into thin air.
With the Domain Expansion and Sadako's fear tracking, Natsuki successfully achieved an alternative version of instant movement. It must be said, the feeling was quite good.
Bang!
Natsuki appeared out of thin air in the sanatorium, and then only felt his vision go dark, his head directly hitting the door panel, and his mood immediately soured.
"Who's there?"
Outside the darkness, a vigilant, low male voice immediately sounded.
"This is..."
Natsuki looked around and quickly confirmed that he was in a wardrobe.
Because he was using Sadako's ability, some special situations were inevitable, such as always appearing in the shadows behind others, and always appearing in hiding places like wardrobes.
Reaching out and pushing open the wardrobe door, Natsuki looked out and saw a male doctor in a white coat standing in the corner, looking over with a vigilant expression, presumably another player.
"Hello," Natsuki greeted, then said, "Besides you, is there anyone else in the consultation room?"
The middle-aged male doctor's gaze became even more vigilant. He carefully chose his words and whispered:
"I'm the only one here. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Such a polite, seemingly normal evil spirit patient is definitely a super dangerous existence. One must be extremely careful!
"Excuse me, goodbye."
Confirming that Juju was not here, Natsuki naturally had no more to say. He reached out and closed the wardrobe door, then teleported away again. As a result, the middle-aged male player stood vigilantly for several minutes, wanting to open the wardrobe to confirm if Natsuki was still there, but also worried about triggering a fatal rule, making him extremely conflicted.
At the same time.
Natsuki was quite lucky. The third time he teleported following the fear, he finally saw the pink-haired girl in a white nurse uniform, petite like a junior high girl.
It was Juju.
"Who's there?"
This was a gloomy corridor, with various eerie and strange graffiti drawn on the walls. Juju seemed to have just come out of a hospital room. Hearing the movement behind her, she immediately pulled away vigilantly.
Natsuki raised his right hand and said:
"Juju, it's me."
"Stupid Natsuki?"
After seeing Natsuki's face clearly, Juju's eyes immediately lit up, and she instinctively took half a step forward, but then immediately stopped, vigilantly saying:
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."
Stupid Natsuki, who suddenly appeared out of thin air behind her, might not be real, but an evil spirit disguised as him. If she agreed, she might be attacked.
"Not bad," Natsuki smiled, "Your vigilance is very strong, keep it up."
Juju vigilantly said:
"Which hospital room's patient are you? What are you doing out?"
Natsuki said:
"I can prove my identity with one sentence..."
"..."
Juju still kept her small face tense, full of vigilance and not speaking.
Then Natsuki slowly said:
"Juju-sama's hair isn't the only thing that's pink..."
Hearing this, Juju's eyes widened in surprise, her small face first showing a hint of pleasant surprise, then quickly turning into embarrassment and anger:
"Stupid Natsuki, it really is you!"
Having confirmed Natsuki's identity, Juju was naturally overjoyed. She jogged, wanting to go to Natsuki's side, but accidentally triggered a rule and fell flat on her face with a thud.
"Hmm?"
Natsuki looked at Juju, who had fallen in a graceful pose, and once again confirmed something: Juju-sama's hair was indeed not the only thing that was pink. He raised an eyebrow and said:
"Juju, where are your panties???"