Rikka Takanashi breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly followed behind Natsuki. "I'm glad you're okay. But why were you able to do that just now?"
Natsuki bluntly replied, "Don't ask me, use your 'invincible Evil King's True Eyes' to see the truth."
"The Evil King's True Eyes are still sealed, I can't see the truth," Rikka admitted.
They walked back down the corridor. Time was running out, the lights quickly dimming as darkness was about to fall.
Natsuki approached Ward 405, raising his hand to knock on the door. Knocking before entering a room - basic etiquette.
After a few seconds, Natsuki gently turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. His eyes immediately landed on Fujiwara Chika, who was down to just her underwear.
"Excuse me, goodbye," Natsuki quickly said, backing out.
...…
The corridor was growing gloomy with the approaching darkness.
Natsuki let out a light breath and entered Ward 405. Rikka hurried to catch up, the door slamming shut behind her.
It was the same dark, dreary ward, but without a TV - only a low card table and a dried bat specimen on the wall.
Fujiwara Chika was kneeling by the table. Across from her was her 'roommate' - a bad girl with twin ponytails, heavy smoky makeup, a curvaceous figure, and a perverted smile, with a bloodstained baseball bat beside her.
"Harley Quinn?" Rikka exclaimed, eyes wide.
That couldn't be right - Harley Quinn was a DC supervillain, she wouldn't be playing games with Fujiwara Chika. This was likely just a Harley Quinn cosplayer, judging by her lack of a six-pack abs.
The vengeful-looking woman didn't seem angry. She just tilted her head and regarded them with a frightening smile, licking her lips with the tip of her tongue.
"Look what I found. Two more cuties. Let's play games together."
What a long tongue. An idea subconsciously formed in Natsuki's mind.
"It's kinda cool to know how to tie a cherry knot, right?"
"Literally tie a knot in the cherry, don't get too excited."
Natsuki shook off his wandering thoughts, his eyes landing on Chika, and he couldn't help but ask in a slightly amused tone, "So… you're playing the Pretty Girl Sticker game?"
Chika stood there, wearing only her underwear—a white bra and a cute pink pair with a giant panda on it. Her school uniform, shoes, stockings, skirt, bracelet… all gone.
Natsuki's gaze drifted downward for a moment.
She seemed like a girl with a bit of extra softness, but her waist was surprisingly slim.
"I didn't even get close to winning!" Chika's eyes filled with tears as she blurted out, "I lost all my clothes!"
"Uh… what does 'stick on' mean?"
Rikka asked quietly, her curiosity piqued.
"This is… not something kids should know about," Natsuki replied seriously, "You don't need to ask."
"…?"
Chika recounted her experience with a sense of defeat.
After entering the game, she found herself alone in a ward. Before she could leave, a ghost dressed like Harley Quinn appeared and forced her into a ghost card game.
The rules were simple and clear.
But the loser had to give up something—clothes, skin, flesh, teeth, eyes… It was a ghost game, not for fun.
What could Chika do?
She lost the game and had no choice but to strip, leaving her with just her bra and underwear.
Natsuki glanced at Harley Quinn, who was fully dressed, and sighed, "You didn't win a single game?"
"She must have cheated," Chika said, her voice even more aggrieved. "I never lose this badly when I play cards with my friends at school!"
"Oh, darling, don't accuse without proof, or you might lose your tongue," Harley Quinn warned with a dangerous smile, swinging a blood-stained baseball bat. "Cheating is strictly forbidden at the poker table. Even I can't break that rule."
So, cheating is fine as long as it's not at the poker table?
Natsuki noticed a prompt to cheat appear in front of him and grinned. "Let me join in."
"Hm?"
"This game looks interesting—I want to give it a shot."
"Such an intriguing human," Harley Quinn remarked, surprised but delighted. "Alright, but first, the game between me and this cutie isn't over yet… It's my turn now."
Chika nervously held up the cards in her hand.
Only two were left: the Five of Hearts and the Joker.
This was the final moment.
"Which one will it be?"
Harley Quinn's smile grew more intense as her fingers danced between the two cards.
"It's gotta be this one…"
Miss Ghost's finger hovered over the little devil card. As soon as Chika let her guard down, Miss Ghost made a swift move, instantly taking away the girl's most precious thing.
"I lost again."
Chika let out a small, pitiful cry and dropped to her knees in frustration.
"My dear, it seems luck isn't on your side today," Miss Ghost teased with a smile. "Now, pants or top? You've got one minute to decide. If you take too long, I'll choose for you."
Chika bit her lower lip, feeling utterly defeated.
She was down to just her underwear—no matter what she chose, it would be humiliating.
But she couldn't break the game's rules.
If she had to choose…
"I'll never be able to get married like this!" Chika covered her chest with her hands, her eyes pleading as she looked at Natsuki. "Natsuki, should we use that trick?"
"You can try it," Natsuki nodded.
Chika's eyes widened as she pointed at Miss Ghost. "Outlaw Zhang San, I'm calling you—do you dare to respond?"
"Who is Zhang San?" Miss Ghost looked confused. Suddenly, she found herself unable to control her body, her mouth moving on its own. "…Yes, that's right. I am the lawless criminal, Zhang San."
Natsuki walked up to Miss Ghost, placing his hands on her shoulders. Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind.
The trick worked!
A 100% success rate in capturing the other party, and the ability to control them entirely as long as they call themselves 'Outlaw Zhang San.'
"Outlaw Zhang San, you're under arrest," Natsuki said in a serious tone.
Miss Ghost tried to resist but found her body wouldn't move. She could only look around helplessly. "Who on earth is Zhang San? I'm not… I—I—I am the lawless criminal, Zhang San."
"Actually, I'm a time-space policeman. My real mission here is to capture you," Natsuki continued with a straight face. "Zhang San is a multiverse-level criminal, possessing the most dangerous criminal mind, skilled in countless illegal methods, and responsible for countless heinous crimes… I've traveled through countless worlds, always chasing your footsteps, Outlaw Zhang San. Your end is near."
"Wow, that's incredible!"
Rikka's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"You humans are full of lies. Many of my friends have been fooled by you. I won't fall for it," Miss Ghost sneered. "Your minute is almost up."
"Huh?"
Natsuki froze for a moment and looked over at Chika.
The innocent girl stared back, equally confused.
Then, in an instant, Chika's already wide eyes grew even larger as she reached behind her.
"Wait, my hands are moving on their own…" Chika gasped in panic. "Natsuki, close your eyes—don't look at me!"
"I'll never get married now…"
Chika knelt in the corner, covering her chest with both hands, and a faint steam seemed to rise from her head.
If a boy sees your naked body, you can't get married anymore.
"I have my eyes closed."
"What's the point if you're just closing one eye?!"
"…"
This was their first attempt at working together, and it went pretty well, but it also revealed some issues.
First, Chika mentioned that the forced name change only works for one person. If you try to call a second person Zhang San, the first person's name reverts to normal.
Then there was the issue with Natsuki.
He could capture the spirit, but he couldn't destroy it.
For instance, the vengeful Harley Quinn in front of him was clearly not convinced and kept shouting that she'd get back at him later.
In simple terms, he could control the spirit's body, but not its soul.
Although Natsuki wasn't too concerned with the soul and found it thrilling to see the vengeful spirit speaking one way but acting another, it was still risky.
The ideal solution would be to eliminate the spirit entirely, but they didn't have that capability.
Thinking of this, Natsuki wondered about Kaguya and whether her weapon would work.
"Where's Kaguya?" Chika asked as she got dressed. "Why didn't she come with you?"
Natsuki shook his head. "Kaguya isn't with me. We're all in separate rooms. She should be next door."
"Then we have to find her right away," Chika urged. "You know, Kaguya may act fearless, but she won't even watch a horror movie alone."
"We can't leave just yet. The corridor's dangerous when it's dark."
After briefly explaining what had just happened, Natsuki's gaze returned to the ghostly Harley Quinn.
There was still some time before the darkness lifted, so with nothing better to do, he thought he might as well take advantage of the situation…
"Human, what are you planning?" Miss Ghost's voice was wary.
"Let's play a game," Natsuki said, releasing her shoulder and pointing at Chika. "Chika is my apprentice, trained by me."
"Huh?"
Chika looked over, surprised.
...
[Current Power Stones: 163]
For every 15 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded on the same day.
[Target: 178]
...