No emotion befitting a human could be felt from that gaze.
The intense coldness they felt upon approaching him further confirmed his identity.
An anomalous being, already dead, yet recreated by the power of the horror story, maintained in a state between life and death.
Fear was breeding uncontrollably, threatening to break through the cool facade the two had put on.
Even though Maki and Kaguya knew they had to remain calm when facing these things, their bodies still recoiled instinctively from being near such inhuman abominations, their fear surging irrepressibly from the threat of imminent death.
However, having been tempered by the ordeal of the Shirakawa Apartments, both Maki and Kaguya could now easily maintain their composure, showing no weaknesses whatsoever.
"Today's analysis work is concluded. You may rest for now. Report to the research area tomorrow to assist with the work there."
With that, Professor Forneng slowly turned and walked directly into his office.
In the instant the door opened and closed, Maki, being closer, stealthily glanced into the office and saw cabinets filled with all sorts of files.
Based on the information they already had, Professor Forneng had been the undisputed boss of the research institute when he was alive. Perhaps some very useful intelligence could be found in that room.
However, how to sneak in was likely a problem worth considering.
As she thought this, Maki suddenly realized something. She looked down and saw that the doll that had been hanging from her waist, hidden under her coat, was gone. It was obvious that in that brief moment, Gao Hai had unhesitatingly maneuvered the doll to slip into Professor Forneng's office.
You're pretty good at seizing opportunities, you are.
Maki pouted, then turned and slowly left the second floor with Kaguya.
Although she really wanted to go to the monitoring room to see what he was doing now, she and Kaguya couldn't go back to the monitoring area in the command prep room without an active assignment, so they could only temporarily abandon the idea.
However, the next time she could enter the monitoring area, she would definitely rewind the footage to see what that guy was up to.
That bow-wearing fatty... Ugh, for the two of them to shamelessly bathe together, and she even peeked at Hai-kun several times, and now they both have to stay together in a narrow cell for twelve hours...
Maki's steps came to a sudden halt. She spun around subconsciously, wanting to stomp her foot in frustration, but she didn't dare, fearing it might attract something.
It was frustrating, infuriating, vexing.
Why did that idiot have to run into a situation like this? He was a pervert to begin with, and then he gets stuck with someone like that, that...
Lowering her head, she looked down at her own pitifully flat chest, and Maki couldn't help but clench her fists again.
He was just saying he liked her not long ago, he even pounced on her, wanting to do this and that to her, but the moment he ran into that fatty he was full of vigor. So this is the true nature of men. That pervert Hai-kun!
As her anger flared, Maki couldn't help but recall Gao Hai's ancient parasite that she saw on the monitor, and her face flushed crimson.
That size... it's really not normal, is it.
If I hadn't kicked him that day, and just let things happen naturally...
No, no, why am I thinking about this stuff? The priority right now should be how to resolve the current situation. The intelligence she and Kaguya had gathered was still very fragmented, while Hai-kun had clearly come from somewhere else. He should have more information. They had to find a way to exchange intel.
But even if they wanted to, now wasn't the time. They'd have to wait until the next time the exploration personnel were dispatched.
So before then, they needed to find a way to gather more information, to at least increase their understanding of this research base.
Finally calming down, Maki sighed in relief, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.
Although a storm of thoughts raged within her, the actual process of composing herself took only a few seconds. And while Maki was getting her emotions in check, Kaguya maintained a placid expression the entire time, her mind involuntarily replaying... yes, replaying the scene from the shower room.
So boys can have such an exaggerated form... I feel like I've gained some incredible knowledge.
Hmph, to be emotionally disturbed by something like this, I'm not calm enough. I mustn't dwell on it, I mustn't dwell on it. I need to focus on the mission at hand, on conquering the current instance.
Though her expression was unchanged, Kaguya, unable to delete the image of the super-large ancient parasite from her mind, was actually on the verge of losing her composure.
"Do you have any thoughts on our next move?"
Kaguya, appearing as if nothing was wrong, turned to Maki and asked.
"During our off-duty time, our movement is restricted to the dormitory area on the second floor and the recreation area on the third floor. We can't go back to the first-floor research area, and we must be back in the dorms by bedtime. I suggest we go to the third-floor recreation area to investigate and see if we can find any clues there."
Maki replied slowly, her expression placid as she looked at Kaguya.
The two turned and headed for the third floor together.
And behind them, at some unknown point, the office door that should have been closed had quietly cracked open. Fo Er Neng's slightly aged face, with its receding hairline and stubble, appeared behind the door, emotionlessly watching the two depart.
Under the office desk, a blood-red cloth doll lay silently, hidden and perfectly still.
As for Gao Hai's own situation while the two girls were off scouting for information... well, his situation was perhaps a bit difficult to describe.
At some point, his side-sleeping position had changed to lying on his back.
Gao Hai stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to loop 'Young man, become a myth!' in his head. But for some reason, the loop kept morphing into 'Come on, let's have fun, we've got plenty of time anyway,' and even into songs about 'lovers' trysts.'
The reason for this was simple: a very cute, pink-haired girl was lying on top of him.
"Mmmph..."
Perhaps because she was having a nightmare, she had wrapped herself around him, holding him tightly.
Gao Hai didn't move a muscle.
The fresh scent of shampoo from the girl's hair, the warmth of her body, the smooth touch of her skin, and of course, that unspeakable softness—all of it stimulated Gao Hai's nerves, making it impossible for him to fall asleep.
Was this considered a pleasure, or a form of torture?
This question plunged Gao Hai into deep thought.
The lyrics in his head had already looped to the opening of 'Ifuudoudou,' the kind of sound that would cause social death if played in public.
Even so, Gao Hai did nothing, managing to restrain the various thoughts in his mind and maintain his calm.
The reason for this was simple: there was a corpse lying on the floor next to him.
A fragmented corpse in a yellow-and-white striped uniform, looking as if it had been completely flattened and mangled by a steamroller.
It had appeared suddenly at his side just before his thoughts could run completely wild, suppressing all his stray impulses.
He smelled the scent of blood coming from the crack under the room's door.
Scrape—scrape—
The sound of something being dragged across the floor began.
Faintly, in the distance, he heard the despairing screams and wails of someone.
Gunshots roared.
Then they quickly fell silent.
Scrape—scrape—
The dragging sound started again, seeming a little closer this time. Gao Hai could vaguely make out that it was probably the sound of some metal object being dragged on the ground.
What is out there?
The ambient temperature seemed to be gradually dropping.
Chika, sleeping on top of him, was still breathing evenly, seemingly completely unaware of the approaching danger.
Scrape—scrape—
The sound of something being dragged was getting closer and closer.
Gao Hai extended his left hand. Cracks appeared on the battered watch, and a black umbrella materialized from within. He was about to open it.
Scrape—scrape—
The piercing scraping sound was drawing nearer.
But Gao Hai paused his action of opening the umbrella.
He noticed a small red shoe and a pale little foot wearing it sticking out from inside the umbrella.
This Obsession Item, which could conceal its user, was on the verge of losing control.
How could this be? It was about to lose control right after I took it out? Shouldn't it only start losing control gradually after I start using it?
Not understanding what was happening, Gao Hai quickly put the Obsession Item away, intending to try another one to deal with the current situation.
Then he saw a black shadow suddenly rise up from beside the bed. He felt something rising next to him, staring at him motionlessly.
"..."
All movement ceased in that instant.
Gao Hai closed his eyes, lying perfectly still on the bed as if he were truly asleep.
Chika, dreaming of who knows what, hugged him even tighter, making it hard for Gao Hai to breathe and even causing him some pain.
But he remained silent, lying on the bed with his eyes closed, continuing to feign sleep.
Until the gaze beside him vanished.
Until the chill that had filled the small room gradually dissipated.
Feeling a sense of relief, Gao Hai suddenly realized something was wrong.
Why didn't my Blessing activate?
Whether it was the corpse that suddenly appeared or the thing that was staring at me just now, I only sensed their existence after I saw them with my own eyes. But my Blessing had no reaction. It didn't sense goodwill or malice, didn't distinguish between human or non-human. Nothing. I couldn't feel anything.
Not even... Chika, asleep in his arms, hugging him with increasing force, as if trying to crush his chest—he couldn't sense her either.
Gao Hai opened his eyes, slowly lifted his head, and looked down at his chest.
He met a gaze.
A pale, blood-red, shattered gaze.
And from that gaze, an incredibly intense loathing and resentment was transmitted.
[I... want... all of you...]
In the next moment, Gao Hai's eyes snapped open, and he sat up from the floor of a clean hallway.
Was I just in someone's dream?
He slowly got to his feet.
And now, have I truly woken up from that dream?
Gao Hai turned his head and looked to one side of the hallway.
Two somewhat blurry figures appeared in the hallway, walking and seemingly talking about something.
________________________________________
Get rewarded for helping with our community goals!
🎯 Reward for all: +1 bonus chapter at 50 Powerstones.
🚀 Tier Reward: Help us reach 20 members for +5 chapters on all stories!
👻 Join the crew by searching Ms. Medusa on (P). You know the spot! 😉