Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard

Hanamaru Hanabi just shook her head behind him without speaking.

Kyujuu Rika thought for a moment and said, "The elevator, perhaps."

"The elevator won't do!" Kitagawa Sakisa said.

"Then the stairs," Uesugi Sakura said calmly.

"The stairs... they might not work either," Kitagawa Sakisa murmured softly.

Uesugi Sakura glanced at Kitagawa Sakisa, noticing her indecisiveness,

"Let's take the elevator."

He walked up and pressed the door open button.

The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing an old, worn space.

Hanamaru Hanabi peeked inside, then quickly averted her gaze, whispering, "It's a bit eerie."

"Don't be afraid, it's all fake."

Uesugi Sakura took the lead, walking in front.

After he went in, the three girls hesitated, standing fearfully in the darkness before following.

Uesugi Sakura's gaze swept across the inside of the elevator, not finding anything unusual, and he pressed the button for the third floor.

The elevator doors slowly closed, making a creaking metal sound.

The lights began to flicker as if they were old and starting up again.

Kitagawa Sakisa stared at the metal panels above, the flickering lights making her anxious, and worriedly said, "What if a ghost head pops out from there?"

Kyujuu Rika reassured her, "Usually, that's just your imagination."

The elevator made a stiff noise before it slowly began to ascend.

The upward arrow began flickering along with the lights.

1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor...

During this time, the faint smell of hospital disinfectant lingered in their noses.

Just as the floor display showed 3, the flickering lights in the elevator suddenly went out.

With a sudden pop, darkness instantly engulfed the four of them.

Hanamaru Hanabi was so frightened she quickly closed her eyes, Kyujuu Rika took a step back, while Kitagawa Sakisa kept urging Uesugi Sakura to turn on the flashlight.

Uesugi Sakura turned on the flashlight, shining it towards the elevator door gap.

Soon, the door opened.

Uesugi Sakura gripped the flashlight tightly, directing its beam through the slowly opening door, and at that moment, even his heart involuntarily tightened.

A dark corridor lay ahead, with a glowing green emergency exit sign.

And just beneath the crooked emergency exit sign,

there was darkness, shrouding a pitch-black human figure.

"Who!?"

In the instant Uesugi Sakura called out, a woman's scream almost pierced their eardrums, and immediately, the elevator lights flickered back on. The anxious atmosphere mixed with the smell of hospital disinfectant instantly tensed their spirits.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Upon hearing the apology, Uesugi Sakura hurriedly moved the flashlight upward.

Only then did he realize that the figures weren't ghosts.

They were four female players.

They were huddled together, eyes shut tight, screaming loudly.

"You... okay...?" Uesugi Sakura shone the flashlight on them, softly probing for their reaction.

"No! Don't come near!!" one of the girls could only see a beam of white light.

...

Female players are easily startled.

After a good while, they realized that Uesugi Sakura's group of four weren't ghosts.

"S-sorry."

"It's fine."

After some discussion among the four girls, they sent one of the braver ones to ask, "Want to exchange cards?"

Uesugi Sakura turned back to glance at his group, then nodded at her, "Sure."

Uesugi Sakura first took out his four poker cards, facing them away from her.

The cards in his hand were:

[Joker, 10, J, 3]

The Joker can substitute for any number.

The girl hesitated over his cards for a moment before finally picking the middle one.

[10]

Luckily, the Joker wasn't drawn.

And he traded for a [5].

"10, huh," the girl seemed quite satisfied with the result.

Hanamaru Hanabi and the others then exchanged one card each with the opposing team.

"Where are you heading next?" Uesugi Sakura asked after putting away the cards.

"To... the basement mortuary..."

The mortuary is certainly not a good place, it represents something entirely different from regular hospital rooms.

Obviously, the four girls didn't look too happy about it.

After all, this haunted house was transformed from a real hospital.

The mortuary below has indeed held bodies before...

The thought of it alone is exceptionally creepy.

"Did you just... come up from there?"

Uesugi Sakura replied, "No, we came up from the first-floor lobby."

The four girls discussed among themselves once again, visibly reluctant to go to the basement mortuary.

In the end, they chose the girl who spoke to Uesugi Sakura earlier to continue leading them.

"There's nothing scary about this elevator, right?" the girl looked at the rusty old elevator.

"All I can say is, nothing went wrong while we were in it, except the lights kept flickering."

The four girls mustered their courage, as if risking their lives, and slowly descended by elevator...

Almost as soon as the elevator doors closed, darkness once again engulfed the four standing in the hallway.

Only the flashlight in Uesugi Sakura's hand provided a glimmer of light.

"Sakura-san... hurry, let's get going... I always feel a chill here..."

"Yeah..." Hanamaru Hanabi, hiding behind Uesugi Sakura, also agreed, "We have to quickly find Doctor Fujiko's mirror."

This floor had many rooms, mostly ward rooms.

Doctor Fujiko's office, according to the clues in the brief, was in one of the rooms on the third floor.

Since none of them were very familiar with the hospital's layout.

They had to check them one by one.

The four stood in front of the first door.

The door was metal, charred black from fire.

It stood quietly shut, yet made them reluctant to push it open.

Who knew what might lurk in the darkness beyond...

As the only man among them, Uesugi Sakura had no choice but to bite the bullet and push it open.

Screech...

In the screeching sound of the door's hinges, the metal door slowly opened.

What they saw was still complete darkness.

"How is it... Sakura-san, is this the place?" Kitagawa Sakisa didn't dare to look inside, only asking from the back.

"Don't rush."

Uesugi Sakura picked up the flashlight and shined it inside.

The arrangement inside was strange and desolate, chairs, medical carts, and medicine bottles were all askew, liquid spilling from jars, tablets scattered everywhere... A curtain was torn with several gashes, resembling claw marks...

This isn't the place.

Uesugi Sakura confirmed.

Closing the door casually is a good habit.

The screeching noise sounded again as the metal door slowly approached the frame, but just as it was about to close, a twisted white shadow suddenly flashed through the gap.

Uesugi Sakura couldn't make out what it was, but knew it wasn't human-shaped.

He quickly shut the door and urged Hanabi and the others to move on, making sure they didn't notice his momentary unease.

"S-so, how was it?"

"It's a ward," Uesugi Sakura could only say.

Continuing forward.

Uesugi Sakura pushed open several more doors, each varying in degrees of decay, but all of them squealed obnoxiously when opened, revealing the ruined interiors.

Notably, Uesugi Sakura spotted several ghostly shadows fleetingly scaring him during his searches.

It's a good thing he was the one opening doors, otherwise, given the atmosphere of this abandoned hospital, he wouldn't be surprised if the girls demanded to leave, frightened.

Continuing forward.

The corridor was long, with some black garbage bags piled on either side, and as Uesugi Sakura's flashlight inadvertently swept over them, Kitagawa Sakisa caught sight of some hair and dried blood stains.

She was so startled she shivered in place, promptly covering her eyes and muttering not to fear.

Uesugi Sakura held the flashlight with one hand, gripping Hanamaru Hanabi's hand with the other, feeling her trembling from fear.

It must be said... the atmosphere here was dreadfully eerie, so real...

"Don't worry," Uesugi Sakura turned around to reassure.

"Yeah..." Hanamaru Hanabi gripped his hand tighter.

At the end of the hallway, there was still an iron door, with a step in front of it.

The ceiling in this area was burned through, revealing iron ventilation ducts.

Seemingly there was some liquid dripping from above the ducts, trickling down, where some particles also lay scattered.

They all reflected a greasy shine under the red light, making the ducts appear uneven.

Ahead, there was just an old iron door passage.

Who knows if there might be some jump scare waiting behind...

"Sakura-san... it's up to you..." Darkness enveloped them, Kitagawa Sakisa glanced at Uesugi Sakura ahead with the flashlight's glow.

No choice...

Uesugi Sakura looked at the heavy iron door ahead, stepped forward to grasp the handle, slowly pressed it down, and after hearing the unlocking sound, pushed the door open with force...