So, what exactly is this situation?
Gao Hai glanced at the girl walking quietly beside him.
Her brownish-purple eyes were as brilliant as gemstones; gazing into them felt like having one's consciousness pulled in.
Fair skin and a slender, graceful figure. Though her forward armor was a bit lacking, her overall physique was definitely what one would call excellent.
And then there was her charming, angelic personality—she often said the opposite of what she meant, but she treated people with genuine sincerity and truly cared for others.
This was the Maki Shijo who had captivated Gao Hai, the one he had become infatuated with.
At this very moment, she was right beside him, walking forward with him.
"Hey... are you just going to walk along silently without saying anything?"
At that, those eyes looked over at him, eyebrows raised slightly, and her voice took on an unhappy tone.
"When a girl is walking with you, it's really bad manners to just clam up and not say a word, you know."
"Where are we going? What are we doing? Don't you have some kind of plan or even a temporary arrangement?"
"You can't possibly be thinking of making me decide something like that, are you?"
As she spoke, Maki crossed her arms and shot Gao Hai a displeased look.
On the bustling street, pedestrians came and went.
The sunlight spilled down, reflecting off the glass of the skyscrapers with a slight glare.
At the edge of the sky, contrails from a passing flight were slowly dissipating.
Gao Hai met Maki's gaze with a smile, stroking his chin and putting on a mock-thoughtful expression.
"First, we should consider two scenarios. One is that it's a well-ordered player market, in which case we should be fine just bringing the Obsession Items. The other is that this player market isn't well-ordered and might even be very dangerous for new players like us. In that case, we must be prepared. For this point, I think we can use Lao Guo and that female spy as a benchmark. Their strength should be above average among the player community."
"Yes, mainly Lao Guo. That man looked down on us newcomers with contempt and arrogance. He had a lot of Obsession Items, plus firearms and explosives. I think he probably has some reputation within player circles. So, unless absolutely necessary, we should avoid showing his Obsession Items. And, well, that includes the woman's. Considering it from that angle, for the sake of concealment and safety, the only Obsession Item we can reasonably use is the Rescue Team badge."
"As for the gun, I checked yesterday. Lao Guo's gun is a standard issue model, without any private modifications, so we can bring it without worry. Although players can use all sorts of strange abilities through Obsession Items, there should still be very few who are immune to gunfire. However, just one gun probably isn't enough. Maki, do you know any way to get more guns?"
After some serious thought, Gao Hai turned to the girl beside him to analyze and inquire. The two gradually moved toward less crowded streets to avoid being overheard.
"Guns... I know an auntie who has good connections with the Self-Defense Force. She should be able to get some, and she could even arrange a training ground for us to practice. But this kind of weapon is mainly for dealing with other players; they're completely useless against horror stories."
Seeing Gao Hai get serious, Maki also nodded seriously in response.
But when she looked up again, she saw Gao Hai holding out an ice cream to her.
"Let's eat while we talk."
Gao Hai said with a smile.
"Oh, thanks..."
Although she felt the urge to act tsundere for a moment as usual, faced with the ice cream already right in front of her, Maki's lips moved, and she ended up thanking him in a small voice, taking the ice cream and eating it in tiny bites.
Next, the two of them entered a shopping mall.
At Gao Hai's insistence, they purchased some mountaineering equipment and outdoor survival gear, like knee pads, helmets, safety ropes, and a simple tent.
Although their first game took place inside an apartment, their final escape forced them to navigate through a field of rubble. At the time, both Gao Hai and Maki had gotten scraped and bruised in many places and had fallen several times. Therefore, gear that could provide protection on complex terrain was naturally very important.
However, in the end, they bought so much that even Gao Hai, whose physical fitness had reached a superhuman level, couldn't possibly carry it all. Unable to watch any longer, Maki asked for his home address and had someone pack everything up and deliver it directly to his house.
"You're like an idiot. I even have to help you with something so simple. Are you really going to be okay?"
Maki poked Gao Hai in the side, her tone teasing.
"That's why I need your help. With you around, even if I run into trouble I can't solve, I can ask for your help, right?"
Gao Hai turned back and said with a smile. At that exact moment, the pedestrian light ahead turned green.
So Gao Hai reached out his hand and, very naturally, took hold of Maki's small hand, which was still poking his side and hadn't been pulled back yet.
"Hey—"
A shy-sounding gasp came from beside him.
There was no struggle.
With her hand held by Gao Hai, the girl kept her head down and obediently followed him across the crosswalk to the street on the other side.
However, just as they finished crossing, Gao Hai's grip loosened for a moment, and Maki immediately snatched her hand back. She lowered her head even further, her ears turning completely red, and mumbled "huhu" to herself for a long while. In the end, she didn't say anything and just kept walking forward.
"Pfft—"
Unable to hold it in any longer, Gao Hai finally burst out laughing.
"Wh-What's so funny? Launching a sneak attack like that... you're a real jerk! Couldn't you have at least given me some warning?"
Hearing Gao Hai's laughter, Maki looked up, grinding her teeth and revealing her very sharp canines.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that your reaction was so cute I couldn't help myself. Well then, since you need some preparation, my dear Lady Maki, may I have the honor of holding your hand as we walk?"
Gao Hai barely managed to suppress his laughter, giving a completely non-standard bow as he extended his hand toward Maki.
"Hmph, no way. After pulling a stunt like that, I won't accept even if you try to sweet-talk me now."
Naturally, the girl, who was still fuming, refused without hesitation and turned to leave.
And yet, after walking a few steps and seeing Gao Hai fall behind again, she turned back, annoyed, and shouted things like, "Hurry up and follow me, what are you dawdling for?" She stopped and waited until Gao Hai was beside her before she started walking again, matching his pace.
"Is there somewhere you want to go?"
Gao Hai asked when he noticed Maki was clearly heading in a specific direction with a purpose.
"To buy a phone. I left mine back in that apartment. I used my backup phone to call you yesterday. That backup can only make calls, so a smartphone is better for daily use."
Maki said matter-of-factly, pulling Gao Hai straight into a phone store, picking out a phone that cost nearly 200,000 Japanese yen, and walking right back out.
After leaving the store, the two continued to wander forward.
They walked side-by-side like two friends, but for friends, the distance between them seemed a bit too close.
But if not friends, then as a couple, they couldn't even manage to hold hands without hesitation. That didn't seem right for a couple either.
"Here, for you. My treat."
Maki handed Gao Hai a steaming cup of milk tea, a hint of pride on her face.
"Thank you very much, Lady Maki."
Gao Hai took the milk tea and drank it all in one go, which made the girl frown and mutter, "Are you really that thirsty?" before leading him onward again.
They crossed a footbridge, where Maki stopped and had Gao Hai pose with her for a photo with their backs to the sky.
Then they passed an arcade, went inside for a round of games, and came out walking shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Your home is around here, isn't it?"
After wandering for a while, Maki looked around, noticed a residential area nearby, observed the street name more closely, and then suddenly turned to ask Gao Hai.
"Oh, so you've already investigated me?"
Gao Hai raised an eyebrow and stopped, realizing the hidden meaning in her words as he asked the question.
"I didn't. I don't have some omnipotent, all-powerful maid. But Auntie did, and she shared the information with me. Well, from our time together in the apartment, you should know she's very suspicious and doesn't trust others easily. I know this is really rude, but I hope you can understand. If you want, I can talk to her and have her apologize to you?"
Knowing that revealing this was somewhat awkward, Maki wore an apologetic expression. It was clear the matter troubled her.
"That's not necessary. I already knew I'd be investigated after getting out. I'm just curious about what you found."
Gao Hai didn't mind at all. Given his performance in Shirakawa Apartments and their status as companions, it was a certainty that Kaguya Shinomiya would investigate him. After all, in the original work, she was the type of person who would investigate every friend she made, intentionally leak various private details to them, and then have someone test them to see if they'd spill the secret, just to judge if they were trustworthy. And to be honest, he was genuinely curious about what Kaguya could find out. The 'Gao Hai' of this world was a stranger to him as well.
If she found anything out of place, perhaps he could better assess his own situation. But that was assuming Maki was willing to tell him the whole story.
"Basically nothing. Your parents died early, and you've been a shut-in at home since graduating high school. Beyond that, there's practically no information. No record of you traveling anywhere, no social media accounts or posts. It's too soon to ask your former classmates, but I doubt we'd learn anything from them anyway. How should I put it... you're like a ghost. Until the Sacrificial Game began, you had absolutely no presence. The only thing that proves you exist is that you'd periodically buy games on sale and popular new releases. Right now, Auntie has no choice but to tentatively trust you, but I suspect her guard against you might get even stronger from here on out. After all, you're just really abnormal."
Maki's candor at that moment, it had to be said, was a bit surprising to Gao Hai.
"Since you know I'm so suspicious, why are you still willing to trust me, to tell me these things? And to go on a date with me?"
He was so surprised that he couldn't help but ask, wanting to get an answer from the girl.
"Intuition, I guess."
Maki blinked, thought for a moment, and then gave a crisp and clear answer.
"I can't really explain it either. But we supported each other and made it through Shirakawa Apartments together."
"I just feel that no matter what, you can't be a bad person. You're someone I can trust, a comrade I can fight alongside. I'm willing to believe that. I'll also do my best to convince Auntie to truly trust you and let down her guard. I hope you won't hold it against her too much. For someone who grew up in a twisted environment like the Shinomiya family, it's very difficult to change."
"And also, I'm not on a date with you! Don't just talk like we're a couple! Stop pushing your luck all the time!"
The sincere voice of the girl earnestly explaining herself and the indignant voice of her realizing the trap in Gao Hai's last sentence intertwined at that moment.
Gao Hai couldn't help but laugh once more.
He laughed at Maki's adorable reaction and at the sincere heart she had shown him, a laugh of genuine happiness.
Being trapped in the rules-based horror stories game was truly painful and difficult. But with a girl like this by his side, willing to believe in him, Gao Hai felt that maybe it wasn't so hard after all.
Drip—
Just as he was thinking this, a single raindrop landed on the tip of his nose.
"Hm?"
Gao Hai looked up to see the sky had turned gloomy, and the rain was quickly becoming a downpour.
Whoosh—
A brief, torrential downpour soaked the two of them on the street, unable to find shelter in time.
Whoosh—
In the curtain of rain, pedestrians scrambled for cover, cursing the sudden turn in the weather.
Two figures ran swiftly through the rain, quickly disappearing around a corner, leaving the commercial district and entering a residential area.
Creak—
The main door slowly opened.
Drip—drip—
Soaked clothes were taken off and hung on a chair.
"Want to take a shower? The bathroom is over here, but there's no bathtub."
"Oh... o-okay. I don't need a tub for a quick rinse."
After a brief exchange, Gao Hai, having dried himself off, blown his hair dry, and changed into clean clothes, sat down on the living room sofa. Listening to the whooshing sound of water from the bathroom, his gaze began to wander.
Strange. What's with this ominous atmosphere? What's going on?
________________________________________
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