"Is it gone?"
The footsteps outside the door had completely vanished. Kei Shirogane asked cautiously.
Fumiya Jin didn't answer her, maintaining his ready stance for another ten seconds.
Once he confirmed the footsteps hadn't returned, he sheathed his tachi, turned back, and grabbed her hand. "Let's go. This might be our chance."
"A chance?" Kei Shirogane watched his lips to make sure he was the one speaking, then asked, "It's not still crouching out there, is it...?"
"Probably not. Based on its behavior just now, it seems especially sensitive to sound. A scream came from downstairs a moment ago, so it was likely drawn away by that. This might be our chance to get downstairs."
"Then that scream just now was..."
"Probably other players," Fumiya Jin said. "A single Samsara Game can have many players participating at once."
"Then should we..."
"No need," Fumiya Jin shook his head, looking into Kei Shirogane's eyes. "I know you're a kind little angel, Kei-chan, but in a game like this, the phrase 'hell is other people' is no joke. If we can help without risk, we can lend a hand, but otherwise, we prioritize the safety of our own. Understand?"
"Mmm..." Kei Shirogane paused for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."
"Alright, let's get ready to move out," Fumiya Jin said.
He went to the door and pressed his still-functional right ear against the adjacent wall, listening carefully. He confirmed there was no movement...
Then he raised his hand, gripped the doorknob, and turned it.
"Crank—clank—"
Even as warped as it was, the lock surprisingly still worked. It was just a little stuck when he tried to push the door open...
But with a slight push...
"Click—"
The door successfully opened.
A powerful, foul stench of blood and decay assaulted them, making both of them wrinkle their noses.
The two stepped outside and looked...
Kei Shirogane was stunned.
The hallway was littered with corpses, a river of blood flowing across the floor.
As far as she could see, there were at least a dozen dead, their bodies mangled beyond recognition.
Most of them were missing parts. Some were headless, some were missing a leg, and some had no torso at all—just a few limbs and a spill of intestines and organs scattered on the ground...
"Retch—"
She couldn't hold it back and bent over, dry-heaving.
But her stomach was empty, so nothing came up.
Fumiya Jin, however, was relatively calm.
He first checked both ends of the hallway to confirm the monster was no longer on this floor.
Then he scanned the area, briefly examining the corpses. He noticed that rigor mortis had already set in... they must have been dead for over two hours.
He turned back, went over to the girl, and gently patted her back. "Don't think too much about it," he said softly. "Just pretend it's all tomato juice, watermelon juice, and a bunch of puppets and mannequins."
Kei Shirogane looked up, and upon hearing his words, couldn't help but shoot him a glare. She replied in a small voice, "How am I supposed to do that?!"
"The games we participate in usually don't have this many players. Besides, these bodies have been here for over two hours, long before the game even started. Which means... these are probably NPCs that were already part of this instance." Fumiya Jin explained quietly, "You've played games before, right? You know what NPCs are? Do you care how many slices of bread you've eaten? Do you care how many pedestrians you've run over in a racing game? These mannequins are the same. So don't let it weigh on you psychologically. Of course, I know the sight and smell are a huge shock, but you have to try your best to endure it. We need to hurry."
As he spoke, Fumiya Jin took Kei Shirogane's hand.
Kei Shirogane was silent for a few seconds. Although she still felt awful, she nodded. "Okay..."
"Ah!—What is that... What the hell! Stay away!"
"Don't bring it over here, you motherfucker!"
"Aaaah!"
Suddenly, another clamor of voices erupted from downstairs.
It seemed the monster had found the person who screamed earlier.
Kei Shirogane's face paled.
Fumiya Jin couldn't afford to linger either, and pulled the girl toward one end of the hallway.
Soon, they reached the stairwell area.
There was a floor number indicator in the stairwell area; this was the 7th floor.
There were eight elevators in total, with four elevator doors on each side. To the side was a staircase, which also served as a fire escape route.
Fumiya Jin glanced around, ignoring the elevators completely, and headed straight for the stairs—taking an elevator in a game like this was undoubtedly a suicidal move.
Stepping into the stairwell, they found it was quite dark, with no lights on.
Only a small ventilation window, set very high up, was open. The magenta moonlight barely filtered in, faintly illuminating the silhouette of the stairs.
Fumiya Jin warned, "Watch your step," then led the girl down the stairs.
Clack... clack...
It felt as if the only sounds in the stairwell were their footsteps and their breathing.
They descended two flights of stairs smoothly...
...which should have brought them down one floor, to the sixth.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from further down the stairs.
One figure was supporting another... two young men, in a frantic rush, charged up towards them.
Fumiya Jin and Kei Shirogane were slightly startled.
Fumiya Jin pushed Kei Shirogane behind him, let go of her hand, and drew his tachi, preparing to engage the enemy.
The two men were also greatly surprised to see Fumiya Jin and Kei Shirogane.
When they saw the ornate tachi in Fumiya Jin's hand, they froze.
"So cool!"
"So cool!"
The two men blurted out in unison.
Then, a wave of astonishment hit them.
"Huh... Not someone we know, and not a monster? Are you... Are you guys players too?" The man in the blue uniform, who was supporting another man in yellow, asked, staring in bewilderment at Fumiya Jin and the tachi in his hand.
Fumiya Jin sized them up.
They were both young men, probably in their early twenties.
The one providing support was wearing a blue Uber Eats uniform. Although stained with some blood, he didn't seem to be injured.
("The original was 'Ele. me' (饿了么). Ele. me is the name of a very popular Chinese online food ordering and delivery platform (similar to Uber Eats or DoorDash). I changed it to Uber Eats for something more familiar.")
The one being supported wore a yellow DoorDash uniform. His left leg was gone from the knee down, bleeding profusely. His expression was one of immense pain.
("Meituan (美团) is another popular delivery service in China. I changed it to DoorDash for something more familiar. But if you prefer I use the original, just let me know in the comments.")
Most importantly, both of them had countdown timers above their heads... though they only had about ten minutes left.
"Yeah." Fumiya Jin nodded and asked in a hushed voice, "Did you run into the monster?"
"We did!" the Uber Eats rider said, agitated. "There were five of us players in total. The moment it roared, we were all paralyzed. We almost got wiped out! Luckily, the two of us used an item..."
"You're being too loud," Fumiya Jin reminded him.
"Uh..." the Uber Eats rider paused. "Never mind, forget it. Just run upstairs! Don't go down! After it's done chewing on those guys, it's gonna come after us..."
"Thump-thump-thump-thump..."
Heavy footsteps echoed from downstairs, as if the entire staircase was about to collapse from the vibrations.
The faces of the two riders changed drastically.
They instinctively turned and glanced downstairs.
In the gloom, a massive, car-sized silhouette had already reached the landing of the floor below...
And among its many heads, one was now raised high...
The familiar sight sent a shiver through the two riders, their hearts pounding in their chests.
"It's over, it's about to roar!"
_____
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