The number of Exploration Personnel is two?!
Kaguya's eyes widened.
Looking through the glass of the Observation Room, there were clearly three people on the floor: Gao Hai, Chika Fujiwara, and the third exploration member who was, in reality, an anomaly in disguise. Three people were plainly in sight, so why did it say there were only two Exploration Personnel?
Was the role played by the anomaly not being registered?
No, that's impossible.
During the first round of exploration yesterday, Kaguya had acted alongside two other exploration members. A total of three members went in, and three came out. According to Maki, the personnel count from the Command Room and Observation Room had remained at three the entire time, without any change.
But why had it changed to two today?
Kaguya suddenly thought back to the first instance. At that time, Gao Hai's identity was different from all the other players; he started out with the "corpse" identity in Room 204. Although he himself didn't gain much of an advantage from this identity, the abnormality had indeed existed from the very beginning.
Was it because of that watch?
Thinking about how this mission had suddenly and inexplicably become fixed, and considering the current anomaly, Kaguya couldn't help but ponder the question.
Come to think of it, both Gao-kun and Fujiwara-san's designation was C3. The two of them shared the same number; perhaps that was why they were being counted as one person.
But if I consider the first game, perhaps... Gao-kun himself, beyond these surface-level identities, is playing another role? A special identity that perhaps even he is unaware of, one that has yet to be revealed?
If that's the case... wait. Yesterday, Maki got me out of the personnel lounge. The exploration member played by the anomaly still appeared as before, but what happened to the other exploration member played by a player? Although the player who originally held the C3 designation was shot by the soldiers, Kaguya had seen them a few more times after that, realizing that the player had become an anomaly and continued to play the role of an exploration member. But when today's operation started, they were gone. Could it be that they disappeared because Gao-kun and Fujiwara-san had taken their designation number?
And why didn't Maki notice this? She was playing the soldier responsible for escorting people out; she should have been the first to spot this problem.
Could it be that she didn't notice precisely because she was playing a soldier? No, come to think of it, why didn't I notice this sooner either? This isn't a mistake I should be making...
Realizing that this research base, which seemed to guarantee safety as long as one played their role properly, was gradually revealing its terrifying nature, Kaguya's heart skipped a beat.
She desperately wanted to do something, but the anomaly looking at her was already emanating an extremely ominous aura. If she made an inappropriate move at this moment, she feared her fate would be the same as those players from yesterday whom she had only heard—disappearing without a trace, not even knowing where she had died.
But even so, she couldn't do nothing now.
"The exploration team should operate in groups of three. The current number of personnel is less than three. Isn't that somewhat against regulations?"
Having thought of this, Kaguya resisted the unsettling gaze of the researcher sitting before the Observation Room's transparent glass and cautiously voiced her thoughts.
Rule five of the Exploration Personnel manual stated that the standard exploration team size is three people. If there is a reduction in personnel, the current exploration activity must be immediately halted. Now, this observation staff member had personally confirmed that there were only two exploration personnel outside, which was already a violation of the rules.
"Please notify the Command Room to begin the operation."
But the researcher, whose entire face was shattered, simply spoke again. Amid its emotionless voice, the temperature in the entire Observation Room began to drop even further.
Several researchers in the Observation Room all turned their heads to stare at her without moving. A few researchers standing with their backs to her even snapped their own necks, twisting them 180 degrees to look her in the eye.
At this moment, all eyes were fixed on her.
Communication was impossible.
Is it because these are researchers in the Observation Room, not command personnel in the Command Room, that I can't raise objections based on the rules?
Come to think of it, yesterday Maki-san, playing a researcher, stayed in the Command Room, but today I was sent to the Observation Room. That's another change. There must be a reason for this kind of change in mission assignment. Could there be something hidden here that I haven't discovered?
From the moment the abnormality appeared, Kaguya's brain had begun to operate at high speed.
Of course, she showed no hesitation in her actions. With a blank expression, she walked to the nearby door, opened it into the Command Room, and approached the command officer.
"The Observation Room indicates we can begin the operation, but the current number of Exploration Personnel is two, which does not conform to the rules. May I ask if we can begin the operation?"
Kaguya carefully chose her words, asking the deathly pale command officer.
"Begin the operation."
What happened next was something Kaguya did not want to see, yet it was entirely unsurprising.
Is it because the manual mentioned that the Command Room's orders supersede the rules?
Kaguya's expression grew increasingly grave, but for now, she could only stand here. Until the operation was over, she could not leave this place.
Furthermore, due to the presence of these anomalies, she couldn't change her clothes to alter her identity. The moment she started changing, she would be instantly noticed for inaccurate role-playing and would be thrown into a major crisis.
Besides, she hadn't brought any clothes to change her identity into the Command Room... Was her preparation still insufficient? She hadn't anticipated a situation like this happening on the second day. Still not cautious enough.
Knowing there was nothing she could do on her end, Kaguya could only stay where she was, helplessly watching the actions of Gao Hai and the others on the floor.
While Kaguya was worrying, Gao Hai, having heard the order, had already started putting on his equipment, preparing for the official operation.
He certainly knew that the current situation was not right, that something was wrong.
But at this moment, as an exploration member, he had no way to break the deadlock either. After all, several machine guns were aimed right at him. Gao Hai was certain that if he made any wrong move, these weapons would instantly turn him into a sieve.
Dying to the power of a horror story anomaly is one thing, but getting killed by a machine gun? What the hell is with this instance? How did anomalies and modern weaponry get mixed together?
Gao Hai, who desperately wanted to complain out loud, had already finished gearing up and, under the Command Room's order, took a step toward the pitch-black cavern.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Maki, playing the part of a soldier, had already reached the second floor, cautiously observing her surroundings.
While escorting Gao Hai and the others out, Maki had a vague feeling that something was off, but for some reason, that sense of strangeness quickly vanished, and she was unable to convey the problem she had sensed to anyone else.
As for what she was here to do now, it was quite simple. She needed to coordinate with a certain someone who had snuck a doll into Professor Forneng's office.
A few minutes ago, Professor Forneng had already left his office and entered the Research Zone on the first floor.
Therefore, in his office right now, the doll controlled by Gao Hai's consciousness had already crawled out from under the desk, wobbling as it peeked around before quickly running to the main door.
It jumped, reaching for the doorknob, but missed.
After a moment of contemplation, it turned around, climbed a nearby bookcase, and then leaped through the air, landing on the doorknob.
Its weight was too light and its strength too little; it couldn't turn the knob, and the doll ended up falling to the floor.
Gao Hai, who was walking down the stairs, staggered slightly. The feedback from the doll nearly knocked him over; only his superhuman physique allowed him to barely stay steady.
He had the doll climb the bookcase again, this time all the way to the top. It leaped out once more, landing on the doorknob.
Click—
With the added momentum, the door was finally opened.
But after the doll fell to the floor this time, small cuts appeared on Gao Hai's legs and arms, as if he himself had fallen from a great height.
The feedback from this doll Obsession Item was really unpleasant...
Through the doll's eyes, Gao Hai saw Maki tiptoeing into the office. She shot the doll a glare, clearly her anger had not subsided.
At the same time, he had arrived at the entrance of the Red Nut Gray Hole. He officially stepped into the cavern and saw...
He saw one tourist after another, walking through the cave, their curious gazes turning toward him.
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