Looking Forward to Danger

Usui Haruka stood up, glanced around nervously, and left. Kobayashi Futa also rose, wanting to follow Usui Haruka. Usui Haruka suddenly stopped, looked at Qi Xi, and whispered, "Thank you," before leaving with Kobayashi Futa. While Kobayashi was hardly a fighter and possessed little courage, in this strange hotel, having a companion offered some psychological comfort.

Earlier, Usui Haruka had spoken at length with Qi Xi about the hotel. She hadn't fully resolved Qi Xi's confusion—only left some inconsequential clues and stories. Yet within these, an important detail emerged: the ownership of the Black Cloud Tower Hotel had changed hands.

The original owner had lost a fortune gambling, so much that he was forced to sell the hotel to pay off his debts. The sale brought in enough money to clear what he owed, and, being somewhat shrewd, he realized he couldn't live off the proceeds forever. He opened a bar three hundred meters from the hotel. But business was poor; though he had some business sense, his gambling addiction led him to raise drink prices and lower staff wages to fund his habit, making the already weak business even worse.

From this information, two clues arose: first, the current owner of Black Cloud Tower; second, its former owner.

The present proprietor seemed to be the president of a talent agency, under whom several new stars had earned her considerable wealth. Naturally, such lucrative assets wouldn’t be pushed into seedy work. After accumulating money, she began investing in other industries. When she learned Black Cloud Tower was up for sale, she offered a high price and outbid all competitors. Usui Haruka was a relative of this agency president.

After taking over Black Cloud Tower, the business flourished. Yet, inexplicably, guests had vanished in both the previous and current years—disappearing as if they had never existed. The new owner, sweating with anxiety, feared the police would intervene, but these vanished guests seemed never to have existed in the first place. Their payments remained, none of it was ghost money.

What was happening here?

Qi Xi wondered if the new owner was merely pretending, or if the matter was deeply entwined with the previous owner, the gambler. Seeing the hotel’s thriving business, perhaps he grew resentful and took action… No, this hypothesis was flawed. If he were jealous, then after the disappearances someone would have pursued the matter, instead of allowing the hotel to operate as usual.

“What on earth is going on?” The mysteries only grew larger, like a circle drawn on white paper—the bigger it grows, the more unknown territory it touches.

Watermelon came down to the lobby, searching for Qi Xi. Qi Xi found Watermelon and explained everything.

“From now on, we must watch our surroundings closely,” Qi Xi whispered. “If we discover other travelers among us, then we’ll know. Of course, if there are no travelers in this world, that’s a blessing. But we must never let our guard down. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” Watermelon nodded.

From this point onward, events unfolded just as they had in the Future Diary. Even when Qi Xi warned Usui Haruka she might be caught, she still couldn’t escape her fate. Instead, things only escalated.

Why couldn’t she escape? Because a girl—a close friend of Usui Haruka—called out, “Haruka, open the door! It’s Bi! You can open it now, the teacher is organizing our escape, and when I noticed you were missing, I came to find you.” Usui Haruka was overjoyed at this news, but she failed to realize it was an outright lie—a complete fabrication.

She was then bound, and several boys attempted to assault her. Luckily, they didn’t succeed, but the ordeal drove her to the brink of collapse. Usui Haruka glared with venom at Bi, the girl, her eyes filled with murderous hatred, as if she meant to devour her whole.

Kobayashi Futa did nothing to stop the boys. He was always wise after the fact, never brave, and could only helplessly watch his childhood friend being taken, shouting, “Stop it! You bastards!”—but no more.

Qi Xi did not intervene, for there was nothing worth stopping. This foolish girl had ignored his warnings, and now she was getting what she deserved.

Events continued exactly as described in the diary. Soon, the teacher instructed everyone to return to their rooms and sleep, swearing that by morning everything would return to normal. Though uneasy, the group instinctively trusted the teacher and Miyakoji’s assurances.

Qi Xi returned to his room. He did not lie down, nor did the other four. Time slipped by, fear kept their nerves taut, but as they gradually relaxed, sleepiness crept in. Suddenly, they heard a sound—someone got up.

Who was it? Through the faint light, they looked—

Why was it him?

Kojima Muramasa sat up from his futon, watching Qi Xi, who was already dressed and preparing to leave. “Baize? What are you doing?”

“I’m going to look for three people,” Qi Xi replied calmly, saying no more.

“Three people? Who?” Kojima Muramasa asked.

“Ma Mu Hui, Jinshan Ling, Ma Youxi,” Qi Xi answered.

Kojima Muramasa was still confused. “What happened to them?”

“They’ve disappeared,” Qi Xi said without turning, his tone indifferent. Yet his words roused the others in the room.

Still, the revelation chilled Kojima Muramasa to the bone.

“Disappeared?” he stammered, disbelief tinging his words.

“Yes. My sister asked me to find them. Earlier, with the teacher present, I couldn’t act. So now, I’m heading out.”

“At this hour… you’re going outside to look? Don’t, Baize, it’s dangerous out there,” Kojima Muramasa said anxiously. Suddenly, he felt the person before him—Baize Kinda—had become a stranger.

Danger? If only someone could push me to the brink of danger! I eagerly look forward to it…

Not only could I find more clues, but I might even awaken some of the abilities gained in the previous world, that apocalyptic wasteland…

Qi Xi sneered inwardly. He said nothing, shook his head, opened the door, and prepared to go out.