"C1, report status."
"We have entered the entrance area of the Red Nut Gray Hole. The situation here is no different from yesterday."
After the C1 team leader, originally played by Kaguya Shinomiya, changed her identity and disappeared, the exploration member played by the anomaly became the new C1, the leader of this exploration team.
There was no C2, only Gao Hai and Chika Fujiwara as two C3s. Incidentally, Gao Hai found it quite a shame that there was no C4 designation.
From the voice in the Command Room heard through the communicator, Gao Hai knew their current team was being judged as having only two members. This was an abnormal situation that did not conform to the rules, but under the Command Room's orders and the threat of machine guns, Gao Hai had no choice but to step into the cavern.
He wondered if Kaguya had tried to do anything on her end.
Exchanging information and figuring out each other's situations in this instance was truly a pain.
If only there were an item that allowed him to communicate with Maki and Kaguya and know their status no matter how far apart they were.
This unrealistic wish flashed through Gao Hai's mind before being quickly dismissed.
Now was not the time to be thinking about such things.
How to deal with what he was currently facing—that was the top priority.
The sound of laughter echoed from all around.
Tourists walked past, talking and laughing.
A pair of parents led a small boy past Gao Hai; the child was licking an ice cream cone.
A couple was taking a photo in front of an oddly shaped rock formation.
An elderly man and a young man chatted idly as they walked, discussing the features of the cavern. From their conversation, it seemed they were comparing it to another cave they had visited before.
Everything seemed normal.
Except for the fact that this so-called normality should not be appearing at this time.
The exploration member played by the anomaly had already started walking forward in silence, heading toward the Stone Forest Path.
Gao Hai moved forward without a word, simultaneously noting Chika Fujiwara's reaction beside him. He saw that although the girl was very nervous, she was still cautiously proceeding with the exploration.
From her expression, it didn't look like she was seeing the surrounding tourists.
After working together for a day, Gao Hai had a decent understanding of Chika's personality. She wasn't particularly brave, and her reactions to various terrifying things were jumpy; at best, she could barely keep a straight face and force herself into silence.
A Chika like that would definitely have an emotional reaction upon seeing the tourists around them.
But she showed no reaction at all. Her behavior was clearly the same as when she had explored the disarrayed cavern with Gao Hai earlier. In other words, in her eyes, what she was seeing now was likely an empty, dark cavern, completely different from what he was seeing.
And in the end, what exactly were these things he was seeing?
In his line of sight, every person looked perfectly normal.
But his own sensory Blessing couldn't detect anything, as if these people were merely phantoms, not truly existing in this place.
Gao Hai could no longer spare the energy to pay too much attention to Maki's side. He had to proceed with extreme caution, avoiding the tourists as he moved to prevent any physical contact. Although Gao Hai guessed these people might be some sort of phantom from the past, it was best to avoid contact if possible. If touching them triggered some kind of anomaly, he had no confidence he could resolve the problem.
Moreover, he was starting to feel that gaze again.
A bizarre, bone-chilling gaze from an unknown source.
There still seemed to be some kind of barrier between that gaze and the current Gao Hai, but... the barrier here was very thin. Compared to before, Gao Hai could now feel the presence of that gaze with unprecedented, piercing clarity.
It was as if... it was right there?
He instinctively raised his head, looking in the direction of the gaze.
Gao Hai saw several tourists talking and laughing.
Something seemed to have vanished in the blink of an eye.
Gao Hai fell silent, turned his head, and looked toward the path ahead, toward the brightly lit area where C1 was continuing forward, and toward a tourist walking to meet C1.
Thump—
Their shoulders collided at that moment. Both C1 and the tourist staggered simultaneously.
Physical contact occurred?!
These tourists can be touched? They have physical bodies?
Realizing this, Gao Hai immediately became vigilant, but the tourist just shot C1 a sidelong glance, muttered a curse under his breath, and walked away.
And C1, who periodically reported the situation to the Command Room, remained silent this time, not saying a word, as if the collision just now had never happened, and continued walking forward.
That gaze intensified again.
Gao Hai felt as if the entity was right next to him, as if it had just passed by him.
But this time he didn't look, simply continuing forward in silence.
"This place really is great."
A tourist passing by Gao Hai discussed excitedly.
"Yeah, this grotto is really big, and the path is easy to walk on. Not like the other grotto attractions we've been to, where the ground is all uneven and a pain to walk on."
The tourist's companion nodded and added.
"You think so? I feel like this place has too many artificial traces. Natural caves are more interesting to look at."
"Interesting? What, you think you're an explorer? If you want to see a natural cave, go get an explorer's license and head over to the Great Slide. I heard two teams went in today. The Explorer's Alliance seems to have designated it as a training spot for newbies."
"Ahaha, I'll pass. I just want to see the sights. Trekking through mountains and wading through rivers isn't my strong suit."
"See? That's why I've never understood those cave explorers. I mean, if they were scientific researchers, that's one thing. But just for the thrill of it, crawling into caves you can only get through on your stomach? Aren't they afraid of getting stuck? Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable."
As the two tourists spoke, they walked up next to Gao Hai, almost moving parallel to him.
A child holding a toy robot ran past, laughing. In his peripheral vision, Gao Hai saw that the toy robot in the child's hand was Bumblebee.
The peering gaze intensified in an instant, this time coming from the front. Unable to look away in time, Gao Hai saw a flash of a white figure pass in front of a heavyset tourist walking ahead.
White... like some kind of light gauze... a skirt?
Subconsciously making a judgment about what he had seen, Gao Hai then stopped sensing the gaze, as if its attention had temporarily shifted, no longer focusing on his own existence.
At this point, the three of them had passed through the Stone Forest Path and arrived at the Plains.
"C1 reporting. We have reached the Plains. We have found the 'Guard Post.' The 'Guard Post' is closed, with no lights. A hole has been found in the wall sealing off the Great Slide. Awaiting instructions."
The lead exploration member spoke to the Command Room in a dull voice.
Chika Fujiwara looked toward the location of the security guard post and frowned slightly.
Gao Hai, who had also stopped, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
He did not see a Guard Post.
At this very moment, in Gao Hai's own line of sight, there was no such thing as a Guard Post. Under the bright lights, the spot where the post should have stood was completely empty.
Not only that, but he also didn't see the wall sealing off the Great Slide. He only saw a tall railing blocking the area, with a designated opening where a person, seemingly a staff member in a light blue striped uniform, stood leaning against the railing with a bored expression.
Which era of the Red Nut Gray Hole am I seeing right now?
As he was thinking this, a new instruction came from the Command Room.
"Exploration team, all members are to enter the Great Slide area. Explore at least to the 'Great Cliff' area."
This instruction...
Entering the Great Slide was definitely not a wise move.
Having gathered so many clues and so much information along the way, Gao Hai knew very well that the Great Slide was not a place one could enter and exit casually. Given the bizarre situation in his current line of sight, there was no telling what strange things would happen once he stepped into it.
It was about time to make a move.
Gao Hai decided to find a way to create an accident to destroy the communication device he was carrying, thereby freeing himself from his constraints.
That intense gaze returned once more.
This time, Gao Hai felt the gaze was right behind him.
A faint smell of blood entered his nostrils.
Meanwhile, C1 up ahead had already taken a step toward the Great Slide.
Gao Hai took a step as well, then staggered and fell to the ground. He landed on his side, and his loosely worn earpiece fell off, getting crushed under the force of his arm.
C1 stopped in its tracks, turning to look at Gao Hai, its deathly pale eyes showing no trace of emotion.
Chika, unaware of what had happened, also stopped. Though she didn't know why Gao Hai had suddenly fallen, she immediately came forward and helped him up.
"My apologies, my earpiece is damaged,"
Gao Hai said to C1 with an apologetic look.
"..."
C1 did not speak. It seemed unable to comprehend the current situation and could not make a decision.
But the moment Gao Hai spoke, he noticed that all the tourists sightseeing in the cave had stopped moving. Then, in the blink of an eye, all the tourists vanished, leaving only clothes scattered on the ground.
What's going on? Does the sound of my voice trigger something in these things?
Realizing that his actions might lead to some unforeseen circumstances, Gao Hai grew nervous.
It was also at this moment that he noticed in the field of view of the doll he controlled, Maki had pulled an old, somewhat damaged notebook from Professor Forneng's desk.
The name written on the cover of the notebook was "Auston."
And upon opening the first page of the notebook, the title written at the very beginning was "A Preliminary Investigation of the Red Nut Gray Hole and Research on the Primitive Beliefs of the Ancient Kichazhuara Indian Tribe."
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