The morning’s shock left everyone’s mood increasingly oppressive.
Time crawled forward through the agony of anxious waiting, slowly dragging toward noon.
At lunchtime, the five of them arrived at the restaurant early.
A maid appeared from nowhere and pushed a serving cart, arranging the food on the table one by one.
Today’s lunch was vegetable soup and roasted bread—simple and filling.
Everyone had something weighing on their minds, keeping their heads down as they mechanically pushed food into their mouths.
Xiao Hui’s death, the letter’s contents, the ghostly face in the mirror…
one thing after another pressed down on their hearts.
Finally, Wrench couldn’t take the silence anymore.
He set down his knife and fork, looked at the others, and asked: “What are we doing this afternoon?”
“We can’t just sit here and wait to die, right?”
This question was something everyone had been thinking about.
They’d basically searched every accessible spot on the first floor.
Aside from that letter and a destroyed photograph, there weren’t any other valuable clues.
So the only places left were…
“The second floor.”
Shido Makoto drank the last spoonful of his soup, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and spoke in a flat tone: “And the third floor, if it exists.
We need to investigate it thoroughly.”
Shirogane Kei opened her mouth immediately after, and she and Shido Makoto exchanged glances—clearly they’d reached the same conclusion.
If they wanted to survive, they couldn’t overlook any place that might hide clues.
Waiting passively would only lead them to collapse in unknown terror like Xiao Hui, ultimately ending in death.
“The second floor?”
Wrench’s head immediately shook like a rattle: “Forget about it!
The first floor was already so creepy—the second floor has to be even more dangerous!”
The Artist nodded in agreement: “Right, I think…
I think we should stay on the first floor instead.
At least we’re already familiar with it…”
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, clearly sensing her own reasoning lacked conviction.
Just then, the Programmer, who had been silent, spoke up.
He unhurriedly wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin, adjusted his glasses, and spoke in an extremely rational tone: “I think we could adopt a compromise solution.”
All eyes focused on him.
“Since Student and Shirogane want to explore, while Wrench and the Artist have reservations, there’s no need to force everyone into unified action, is there?”
He paused, saw no one objecting, and continued: “How about this—this afternoon, let Student and Shirogane explore the second floor, while the three of us stay on the first floor and see if we can find any overlooked details.”
“This way we ensure exploration progress, divide the work efficiently, and maximize our productivity.”
His words were eloquent and reasonable-sounding.
Wrench immediately agreed: “This plan is good!
I’m in!”
Though she felt somewhat guilty toward Student and Shirogane, not having to personally venture to the second floor put her mind at ease considerably.
However, the Programmer’s words made Shirogane Kei’s heart turn cold with silent ridicule.
Divide the work?
Maximize productivity?
No matter how nicely you phrase it, it can’t hide the true intent underneath.
This was simply trying to use her and Student as cannon fodder to scout the second floor!
Though Shirogane Kei was only a middle school student with limited life experience, her mind was sharp.
The Programmer’s schemes were completely transparent to her.
She simply hadn’t expected that in a moment of life and death, this person wouldn’t think about unity, but instead immediately began calculating how to manipulate their companions.
The Programmer’s inner thoughts were exactly as Shirogane Kei suspected.
He was playing his own little game.
In his view, this proposal was perfect from every angle.
On one hand, the dungeon’s task was to survive 72 hours, which normally just required following the rules to complete.
Exploring the second floor was an extra high-risk behavior—he could easily have others do it.
Whatever happened when Shido Makoto’s group went upstairs, it benefited him either way.
If they went up and died, it proved the second floor was extremely dangerous, eliminating a wrong option for him—he could live more peacefully on the first floor.
If they went up and survived, bringing back clues, he could still share that intelligence.
On the other hand, if Student was pressured into compromise and chose not to go to the second floor, his authority within this group would be weakened.
Conversely, as the person who proposed a rational plan, his authority would be strengthened.
In a place like this, controlling discourse meant controlling information and resource distribution.
It was a no-lose bet.
“You want us to scout ahead as cannon fodder for you?” Shirogane Kei bluntly tore away the Programmer’s mask.
The Programmer’s face stiffened momentarily, but he quickly recovered.
He spread his hands with a self-evident expression: “Shirogane, that’s not fair to say.”
“Risk and reward go hand in hand.
You actively chose to explore, so naturally you bear the corresponding risk.
We chose caution, so naturally we might miss crucial clues—that’s a fair trade.”
“Fair?” Shirogane Kei laughed coldly.
“We risk our lives to explore, and you reap the benefits—you call that fair?”
“How is that reaping benefits?
We’ll also search hard on the first floor,” the Programmer said shamelessly.
“You…” Shirogane Kei wanted to argue further, but Shido Makoto raised a hand to stop her.
From start to finish, Shido Makoto had been observing this farce with cold eyes.
He said: “Don’t bother arguing.”
“Regardless of what you think, I’m going to the second floor.”
Finishing his statement, he turned his gaze toward the Artist, then finally let it settle on the Programmer.
“But let me be clear—if I actually find something useful up there, don’t expect me to share it with the people staying on the first floor.”
“This is something we risked our lives for.
These words made the smile vanish from the Programmer’s face.
He hadn’t expected this young man to tear away the pretense so directly, cutting off his path to free intelligence.
Wrench’s expression also turned ugly.
He opened his mouth to say something smooth, but under Shido Makoto’s icy gaze, he couldn’t get a single word out.
The atmosphere became awkwardly tense in an instant.
Their team had already become a hollow shell in this moment.
“I…
I’ll come with you two!”
A timid voice broke the stalemate.
It was the Artist.
She gripped her clothes tightly, her complexion pale but her eyes surprisingly determined.
She looked at Shido Makoto and Shirogane Kei and mustered her courage.
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
The Artist took a deep breath and spoke her mind: “I think…
what Student said is right.
We’re a team—we can’t always expect others to take risks.
Plus…”
She glanced at the Programmer’s gloomy expression and Wrench’s flustered face, biting her lip.
“Plus, I trust you more.”
Inwardly, the Artist had struggled intensely.
She was terrified—absolutely terrified.
But she was even more afraid of being abandoned, more afraid that in this desperate situation, the people beside her would be selfish types like the Programmer and Wrench, ready to betray her at any moment.
By contrast, Student was cold but reliable, someone whose actions matched his words, giving her a mysterious sense of dependability.
Shirogane was young but righteous and brave.
And they were both just children—no matter how dark their thoughts, they couldn’t be truly wicked.
She was an emotional person.
She’d rather take risks with people she trusted, even if she died, than stay on the first floor waiting for death beside two scheming adults with hidden agendas.
“Count me in.”
Shirogane Kei looked at Shido Makoto, her mouth quirking up slightly, then shot the Programmer a fierce glare before unhesitantly striding after Shido Makoto.
The outcome defied the Programmer’s expectations.
The five-person team split into two distinct factions, with him and Wrench now the ones in the minority.
Shido Makoto, Shirogane Kei, and the Artist—three people heading to the second floor.
The Programmer and Wrench—two people staying on the first floor.
After lunch ended, the two groups had no further communication.
Shido Makoto’s trio headed straight toward the staircase leading into the unknown.
The Programmer and Wrench stood in the center of the hall, watching their figures disappear around the corner of the stairs, their expressions varied.