103

"The rooftop?"

In a certain room on the sixth floor of the orphanage, all the Players, except for Temperance Gentleheart, reacted with surprise at Bai Zhi's announcement.

"Hmm? That's right." Bai Zhi nodded. "The only place that the survivors we're supposed to rescue could be is the rooftop."

He took another bite of the box of takeout food in his hands.

"Didn't you guys notice? Instead of a door to the roof, there's a steep stairway that goes straight up into the ceiling—an obvious clue, I should think."

"How do you know they're not elsewhere?" said Iron Blood with a frown. "There must be plenty of places we haven't searched in this building."

"...It's the sun, isn't it?"

Traveler took off his glasses and buffed them with his sleeve, sighing.

"When the sky is dark, the building is so overrun by monsters that even we Players, with our superhuman abilities, have to be careful to hide, so there's no way normal people could survive inside the building."

"But something like that could happen, right?" Daoloth could not help chiming in from the bed. "Maybe they figured out where and how to stay hidden, or there could be a room on one of the floors that works as a sanctuary... Like, like the orphanage director's room, or—"

Bai Zhi interrupted her with a click of his tongue. "Well, that room is on this floor, and likely was a man-eating room for the most part... Whaddayaknow, this is the director's room! There's no use looking for 'sanctuaries' or whatever. If we waste time on that pipe dream and one of us winds up dead, we'll be on step closer to another reload, then—"

Suddenly, Bai Zhi stood up and looked out the window with a grave expression, then inhaled sharply.

At the sight of Bai Zhi's sudden movements, the other Players tensed up and immediately hurried to find cover.

"What's the matter? Is a supernatural entity coming for us?" asked Traveler in a fierce whisper, from his hiding place behind a half-eaten couch.

"Oh, nah, I've been sitting too long, legs fell asleep. I needed to stretch them."

The party was struck speechless.

"Hmm? Whatcha guys looking at me like that for?" Bai Zhi acted completely oblivious as he returned to his seat. "When you sit down too long, your legs go numb, hasn't it happened to you before?

"...You know, it's a wonder that you survived this long without someone beating you to a pulp," Temperance Gentleheart said flatly.

"Aren't you guys the weird ones here for jumping at shadows?"

Bai Zhi made a wry smile, then took out a few packs of food from his Inventory

"So, you guys sure you don't want any of this delivery food? I still have six packs—well, five now."

Snatching up one of the packs on the table, Temperance Gentleheart said, "A smart Player might worry if they should take it, but a sharp one sees for herself—" Eagerly opening it up, she found that it contained the exact same contents as what Bai Zhi had been eating. Glancing at Bai Zhi's own unfinished pack of food, then at the other five packs on the table, she said, "Hang on. What in the world possessed you to buy seven identical packs of food?"

"It's one of those things..." Bai Zhi began. "All I can say is, if you know, you know. If you don't, it's not my job to explain every little detail. Best keep such knowledge to yourself, you know, or ponder it in private. Don't bother asking, it's no good to either of us—just turn a blind eye. This stuff goes deep, you know. Way too involved. You'll never find the details of this case, since it's been mostly scrubbed off the internet, after all. So you see, if you know, you know."

Bai Zhi's rambling answer was met by stares of incredulity and irritation.

"Basically, it comes down to this—freeloaders spark joy in me."

Traveler looked thoughtful for a moment. He was also someone who frequently scoured the net for news of supernatural entities, and he easily spotted the connection with a certain deliveryman.

"...You encountered the new urban legend, the Crazy Delivery Dude, I suppose?"

He, too, claimed a pack of food, then said with a smile, "To be honest, I'd love to snag a buy-one-get-six deal myself. I even considered blackmail, but it didn't work out."

"Huh, for someone so noble of brow and clear of eye, who stands with chest puffed and back straight, turns out, you have quite the cheap streak in you!"

Bai Zhi looked askance at Traveler, who said nothing in return.

Daoloth and Viridescent also stepped up to claim a pack each. With all the fighting and terrifying incidents they had had to endure ever since the morning, the Players found themselves drained, both physically and mentally, so the food was a welcome treat.

Even though they had each prepared their own supplies, since Bai Zhi was offering them a free meal, nobody seemed inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth. That is, except for Iron Blood, who sat right where he was and took out a piece of hardtack and a bottle of plain water, then proceeded to consume them.

Nobody batted an eye at this, since it was just like him to keep to himself.

"Are you perfectly sure the survivors are on the rooftop?" Viridescent asked while rotating her arm. After spending the past several hours recovering, her mobility was mostly back to normal. That was the advantage of a high Constitution—the person's natural healing abilities were enhanced, and they were able to automatically restore themselves back to health over time.

"Hmm? Nah, I was never perfectly sure," Bai Zhi answered casually as he took another bite of food—this time, it was an apple. "But If something has better than even odds, it's worth betting on. Everyone's a born gambler, after all."

She had hoped to hear something reassuring, but upon hearing Bai Zhi's completely indifferent answer, Viridescent's expression turned grim. "...What if you bet wrong?"

"Heh, no worries. I have here a loaded gun you can use to give yourself a merciful death. One-shot, no-miss kill! The quick, convenient, and painless solution for everyone."

Bai Zhi waved in apparent reassurance.

"Oh, painless, is it? Hmph, you talk that big talk all you like... care to explain how I ended up eaten, bones and all, last reload?" grumbled Temperance Gentleheart as she stabbing at her container of food with her chopsticks. "Left me with nothing but my god-damned shoes..."

Viridescent, Traveler and Daoloth looked at her in stunned silence, while Iron Blood silently chewed on his rations.

"The rooftop?"

In a certain room on the sixth floor of the orphanage, all the Players, except for Temperance Gentleheart, reacted with surprise at Bai Zhi's announcement.

"Hmm? That's right." Bai Zhi nodded. "The only place that the survivors we're supposed to rescue could be is the rooftop."

He took another bite of the box of takeout food in his hands.

"Didn't you guys notice? Instead of a door to the roof, there's a steep stairway that goes straight up into the ceiling—an obvious clue, I should think."

"How do you know they're not elsewhere?" said Iron Blood with a frown. "There must be plenty of places we haven't searched in this building."

"...It's the sun, isn't it?"

Traveler took off his glasses and buffed them with his sleeve, sighing.

"When the sky is dark, the building is so overrun by monsters that even we Players, with our superhuman abilities, have to be careful to hide, so there's no way normal people could survive inside the building."

"But something like that could happen, right?" Daoloth could not help chiming in from the bed. "Maybe they figured out where and how to stay hidden, or there could be a room on one of the floors that works as a sanctuary... Like, like the orphanage director's room, or—"

Bai Zhi interrupted her with a click of his tongue. "Well, that room is on this floor, and likely was a man-eating room for the most part... Whaddayaknow, this is the director's room! There's no use looking for 'sanctuaries' or whatever. If we waste time on that pipe dream and one of us winds up dead, we'll be on step closer to another reload, then—"

Suddenly, Bai Zhi stood up and looked out the window with a grave expression, then inhaled sharply.

At the sight of Bai Zhi's sudden movements, the other Players tensed up and immediately hurried to find cover.

"What's the matter? Is a supernatural entity coming for us?" asked Traveler in a fierce whisper, from his hiding place behind a half-eaten couch.

"Oh, nah, I've been sitting too long, legs fell asleep. I needed to stretch them."

The party was struck speechless.

"Hmm? Whatcha guys looking at me like that for?" Bai Zhi acted completely oblivious as he returned to his seat. "When you sit down too long, your legs go numb, hasn't it happened to you before?

"...You know, it's a wonder that you survived this long without someone beating you to a pulp," Temperance Gentleheart said flatly.

"Aren't you guys the weird ones here for jumping at shadows?"

Bai Zhi made a wry smile, then took out a few packs of food from his Inventory

"So, you guys sure you don't want any of this delivery food? I still have six packs—well, five now."

Snatching up one of the packs on the table, Temperance Gentleheart said, "A smart Player might worry if they should take it, but a sharp one sees for herself—" Eagerly opening it up, she found that it contained the exact same contents as what Bai Zhi had been eating. Glancing at Bai Zhi's own unfinished pack of food, then at the other five packs on the table, she said, "Hang on. What in the world possessed you to buy seven identical packs of food?"

"It's one of those things..." Bai Zhi began. "All I can say is, if you know, you know. If you don't, it's not my job to explain every little detail. Best keep such knowledge to yourself, you know, or ponder it in private. Don't bother asking, it's no good to either of us—just turn a blind eye. This stuff goes deep, you know. Way too involved. You'll never find the details of this case, since it's been mostly scrubbed off the internet, after all. So you see, if you know, you know."

Bai Zhi's rambling answer was met by stares of incredulity and irritation.

"Basically, it comes down to this—freeloaders spark joy in me."

Traveler looked thoughtful for a moment. He was also someone who frequently scoured the net for news of supernatural entities, and he easily spotted the connection with a certain deliveryman.

"...You encountered the new urban legend, the Crazy Delivery Dude, I suppose?"

He, too, claimed a pack of food, then said with a smile, "To be honest, I'd love to snag a buy-one-get-six deal myself. I even considered blackmail, but it didn't work out."

"Huh, for someone so noble of brow and clear of eye, who stands with chest puffed and back straight, turns out, you have quite the cheap streak in you!"

Bai Zhi looked askance at Traveler, who said nothing in return.

Daoloth and Viridescent also stepped up to claim a pack each. With all the fighting and terrifying incidents they had had to endure ever since the morning, the Players found themselves drained, both physically and mentally, so the food was a welcome treat.

Even though they had each prepared their own supplies, since Bai Zhi was offering them a free meal, nobody seemed inclined to look a gift horse in the mouth. That is, except for Iron Blood, who sat right where he was and took out a piece of hardtack and a bottle of plain water, then proceeded to consume them.

Nobody batted an eye at this, since it was just like him to keep to himself.

"Are you perfectly sure the survivors are on the rooftop?" Viridescent asked while rotating her arm. After spending the past several hours recovering, her mobility was mostly back to normal. That was the advantage of a high Constitution—the person's natural healing abilities were enhanced, and they were able to automatically restore themselves back to health over time.

"Hmm? Nah, I was never perfectly sure," Bai Zhi answered casually as he took another bite of food—this time, it was an apple. "But If something has better than even odds, it's worth betting on. Everyone's a born gambler, after all."

She had hoped to hear something reassuring, but upon hearing Bai Zhi's completely indifferent answer, Viridescent's expression turned grim. "...What if you bet wrong?"

"Heh, no worries. I have here a loaded gun you can use to give yourself a merciful death. One-shot, no-miss kill! The quick, convenient, and painless solution for everyone."

Bai Zhi waved in apparent reassurance.

"Oh, painless, is it? Hmph, you talk that big talk all you like... care to explain how I ended up eaten, bones and all, last reload?" grumbled Temperance Gentleheart as she stabbing at her container of food with her chopsticks. "Left me with nothing but my god-damned shoes..."

Viridescent, Traveler and Daoloth looked at her in stunned silence, while Iron Blood silently chewed on his rations.