First, Kick Bear Grylls Out

The cowering figure that had been standing outside the door was wrapped in tattered cloth, his body filthy and ugly. If he was truly human, he was an extremely pitiful sight.

I waved my hand to disperse the buzzing, annoying flies and warily sized up this man who might be the homeless person.

He was huddled by the rusty guardrail but didn’t dare to lean against it. He held his head in his hands, a yet-unhealed wound on his temple. His dirt-stained fingers scratched at his messy hair as he stared wide-eyed, fearfully muttering something over and over.

The rooftop was quiet, with no sound other than the wind and the buzzing of flies. I focused my full attention and barely managed to catch the man’s slurred ramblings. He seemed to be repeating, “It’s all over, it’s all over, it’s all over, it’s all over, it’s all over…”

…Isn’t that what was on the note just now?

I recalled the last note we saw in room 1-404, on which was written the desperate phrase, [It’s all over].

Confusion filled my mind. I stared at the cowering, panicked figure and tried reciting the contents of the note we found on the third floor. “Don’t do this anymore… Don’t do this anymore…”

Hearing me recite the contents of the note, the cowering figure’s ramblings instantly stopped, as if it were a magical incantation. He immediately looked at me with his bulging eyes and said with a trembling voice, “You… you saw the notes I wrote. Are you, are you here to save me???”

His voice grew louder, and by the end, he was practically tearing his throat, shouting with excitement.

The notes you wrote? Here to save you??

I frowned, completely bewildered.

Weren’t the notes written by the girl who had her hair shaved and her nails pulled out? How did they become yours??

I sized up this guy’s appearance again. He was clearly a man. His hair was messy but still there. His fingernails were caked with black dirt. He had a set of yellow teeth, and his eyes were still in their sockets. The parts in the trash can definitely weren’t taken from him.

So… why would this guy, who was more likely the perpetrator, write such notes and ask us for help?

I waved my hand at Saber, signaling her to be patient. I ignored the reactions of the comments in the stream and asked the cowering man from a distance, “Since you wrote the notes and put them in the trash can, then you should also know where the hair and fingernails in the trash can came from, right?”

My words seemed to have some kind of magic, making the cowering man freeze on the spot.

His features scrunched together, his expression filled with fear and panic. He shook his head convulsively. “I was forced, forced! I didn’t want to do these things either, wuwuwu… That first day, it was just raining, so I came to this abandoned building to take shelter. But then I was entangled by that thing!

It got into my head, constantly tearing at my mind. It could even control my body, making it impossible for me to leave this place unless I completely obeyed it! I had no choice but to listen to it. It forced me to capture a long-haired girl and bring her here. Whenever I resisted, my head would feel like it was splitting open. I could only do as it demanded and capture the girl.

At first, it was fine. It just made me shave the girl’s head. But then it got more and more cruel. I really didn’t want to do it anymore. Once, when the girl was fighting back, she hit my forehead with a fire extinguisher and knocked me out. When I woke up, I thought the girl had taken the opportunity to escape, but what I saw was the girl being tortured, and the one doing it was me! That terrifying thing, it had actually taken direct control of my body!

After it controlled my body to do those horrible things, it made my head hurt like hell again. I finally understood that I had no way of defying it. I could only obey its commands…”

The few of us listened to his pained and trembling account in silence. It seemed there was a deeper story to the events that had taken place in this abandoned dormitory building.

This homeless man, after entering the abandoned dormitory, had been entangled by some supernatural, perhaps ghostly, entity. He was forced to capture the long-haired girl and torture her. If this man wasn’t lying, his actions were not of his own free will, but were coerced.

I once again thought of the visions we had seen in the rooms. If the events that took place in the bright sunlight were really connected to what the cowering homeless man was saying, then I think I had pieced together the whole picture of the incident.

I glanced at the stream. The number of viewers was already over two thousand, which was no small feat for this time after midnight. The comments were as passionate as ever:

[WTF, is this for real? A direct confrontation with the final boss?!] 

[Didn’t you hear what the homeless man said? He was forced too, the final boss is someone else!] 

[It’s another ghost, right?] 

[Seriously, this homeless man looks terrifying. I’m going to have nightmares.] 

[Just watching the stream makes my heart pound. I really don’t know how the streamers on site can be so calm…] 

[Gotta pee… gotta pee…] 

[To the girl above, I’ll drink it!] 

[Me too! First, kick that Bear Grylls out!] 

[I’m really starting to believe the streamers have run into a special situation. These little boys and girls are too awesome, they actually investigated all the way. Aren’t they scared?] 

[Say no more, Kiriko is mine!] 

[Kiriko is so cute! Though I don’t know if they’re a boy or a girl… I’m fine with a boy too!] 

[I’ve already called the police.] 

[I’ve called the police too!] 

[To the person who sent that last comment, you misunderstood. I really called the police. Not because of your jokes, but because it’s basically clear now that the streamers have really encountered a malicious incident. I’ve already told the police.] 

[Are the streamers going to be arrested on live TV?] 

[The streamers didn’t do it, why would they be arrested…] 

[This is seriously the most exciting livestream I’ve ever seen… Not only are the streamers so good-looking, but their courage is also as if they’ve drunk fake alcohol.] 

[Aren’t you guys curious? Assuming the homeless man isn’t lying, is there really some kind of supernatural force controlling him? Or is it just his own split personality or some kind of mental illness?] 

[If what the homeless man said is just due to mental illness, then what about the visions we saw?] 

[Could there really be something supernatural?] 

[Since someone has already called the police, let’s see what the police have to say.] 

[Streamers, be careful!] 

[I feel like these streamers, whether they’re boys or girls, aren’t scared at all. They even look like they want to beat up the final boss.] 

[Too strong!]