Kaguya-sama: Love Is War wants me to turn myself in.

Natsuki Amamiya nodded and sent the message.

"Hasaka, location."

"..."

The message was sent successfully, but there was no response.

"Strange, why isn't Kaguya-chan replying to my messages?" Fujiwara Chika was also sending messages, but she didn't get a response either.

at the same time.

Hayasaka Ai had already pulled up the surveillance video from the mall's basement level and was reviewing it: "I saw it... The surveillance footage shows that Kaguya-san entered the fire escape six minutes ago."

A fire escape route certainly doesn't take five minutes to walk.

Clearly, they encountered some unknown trouble in the passage.

Amamiya Natsuki said in a deep voice:

"So, the person is still inside the passageway, right?"

“That’s right.” Hayasaka Ai clenched her fist silently. “The surveillance footage only shows Kaguya going in, not her coming out.”

Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the dark fire escape and strode out: "You guys stay outside and wait for me."

"What are you saying, Natsuki-san?" Fujiwara Chika quickly caught up. "How can we fight crime if I'm not by your side?"

“Exactly, it’s too dangerous to act alone.” Kitagawa Kaimu put her right hand on her hip and followed. “In those horror movies, the people who act alone are all idiots.”

Hayasaka Ai put away her tablet and silently followed.

The girl with glasses and the silver-haired loli naturally did not choose to stay either.

It's true that fire exits pose unknown dangers, but staying in the lobby is equally dangerous. In this situation, of course you should hold on tight to your legs and not let go!

"Let's go then."

Amamiya Natsuki took the lead and walked into the fire escape, followed closely by several girls.

Compared to the lobby, the fire escape corridor was even darker, with only the emergency notice board emitting a faint light that barely illuminated the corridor.

He thought finding the silly young lady would be quite difficult, but before long, Amamiya Natsuki saw a girl walking up from below.

A black dress, with a large red ribbon tied in a bow at the back of her head—who else could it be but Kaguya?

"Natsuki-kun?"

The silly young lady paused, her voice clearly filled with surprise.

"Let's exchange the code first." Natsuki Amamiya extended her right hand. "Odd changes, even remains the same?"

Kaguya Shinomiya: "...The symbol indicates the quadrant."

"correct answer."

Looks like she really is a silly young lady; finding someone is so easy for her.

"Kaguya-chan!" Fujiwara Chika exclaimed happily, "We're here!"

The villain squad was overjoyed to have all its members together, but they soon realized why Kaguya Shinomiya wasn't going to the lobby on the first floor.

Chapter 167 I heard that boys' urine can ward off evil spirits...

"Why is Kaguya-chan staying in the fire escape instead of going out to meet up?"

Fujiwara Chika asked curiously.

“I can’t get out.” Kaguya Shinomiya’s expression immediately turned serious. “There’s something wrong with this fire escape. I’ve been going uphill, but I can’t find the exit.”

"Then we went down, intending to return to the underground level and find another passage to go up... but the entrance to the underground level was also gone."

"..."

The air suddenly became quiet.

Everyone looked at each other.

A fire escape with no exit sounds more eerie than a midnight monster.

"Is there such a thing?"

Kitagawa Kaimu instinctively hugged her arms, feeling a strange chill in the air, and couldn't help but move closer to Amamiya Natsuki.

Amamiya Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly, turned her head to look behind her, and saw that the fire escape was dark and shadowy, with no exit in sight.

After a moment's hesitation, Natsuki Amamiya quickly replied:

"Let's go upstairs and take a look."

The girls readily agreed and carefully followed behind Amamiya Natsuki, turning to walk upstairs.

After entering the fire escape, the group walked only a few steps before finding the silly young lady. Logically, they should have been able to see the exit by simply turning around.

However, at the corner of the corridor, there was only a pale, gray, bare wall, and the corridor exit had mysteriously disappeared.

"The exit has indeed disappeared."

As Amamiya Natsuki recited the words, she reached out and touched the wall. The touch from her fingertips was cold and hard, clearly not an illusion.

"Natsuki-san, what do we do now?"

Fujiwara Chika asked in a low voice.

"No rush," Natsuki Amamiya said calmly. "Let's go up a bit further and see if we can find an exit on the second or third floor."

"Oh."

The group continued upwards, but a shadow had fallen over each of them.

A few minutes later.

Murphy's Law has proven true once again; things inevitably headed in the worst possible direction.

The shopping mall only has five floors. It would take a few minutes to walk from the first floor to the fifth floor, but all you see are dark corridors and endless walls, with no exit in sight.

"It's pretty much confirmed that we can't get out." Amamiya Natsuki stopped and calmly clapped her hands. "Let's not go downstairs. Everyone, save your energy and analyze the possible scenarios."

"An alternate dimension?" Fujiwara Chika raised her hand, her expression serious. "I saw a foreign movie where a policeman and a thief were trapped in a stairwell for decades and ended up as old people."

Amamiya Natsuki said:

"Unexpected Space?"

“That’s right.” Fujiwara Chika nodded. “It’s this movie.”

"They've been trapped here for decades, they'll go crazy, won't they?" Kitagawa Kaimu put her right hand on her hip and couldn't help but complain, "I don't think I can last even a month."

They definitely won't last.

The movie has an endless supply of food and drinks, but this building is completely empty. There's no water or food here, you wouldn't last a week!

"Could this be a case of being trapped in a maze?"

A random player, the girl with glasses, raised her hand and offered her opinion: "We've been blinded by the ghosts, which is why we can't find our way out."

Fujiwara Chika blinked:

"There are only monsters in the mall, not ghosts, right?"

“There’s a ghost.” Hayasaka Ai secretly pressed her finger to her throat, changing her voice to avoid revealing her identity. “The woman in red with an umbrella that I saw on the surveillance footage earlier, her body was transparent and she could pass through objects… she was obviously a ghost.”

Kaguya Shinomiya's ears twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but look at Ai Hayasaka.

Strange, it feels strangely familiar...

“If it really is a ghost wall, then that’s easy to handle.” Kitagawa Kaimu held up a finger and said in a clear voice, “I’ve heard that virgin urine can specifically break ghost walls.”

Hey, I've heard of boiling eggs in a boy's urine, and it's supposedly an intangible cultural heritage. Breaking the illusion of being trapped in a maze is just a folk rumor!

"Whoosh-"

All the girls turned their heads and looked at Natsuki Amamiya.

"Since you're all so looking forward to it..."

Amamiya Natsuki silently reached for her waist and sighed softly, "It seems I have no choice but to sacrifice my innocence."

"I have no expectations at all!"

Fujiwara Chika covered her face with her hands and couldn't help but shout.

Kitagawa Kaimu also turned her pretty face away: "Why don't you be a little shy at a time like this!"

"Shy? What's that?" Amamiya Natsuki snorted, looked at the pink-haired idiot, and said seriously, "When a person is about to die of thirst, they can drink any liquid in one gulp."

"...That's too much!"

The pink-haired girl puffed up her cheeks like a hamster with its mouth stuffed full of sunflower seeds.

They actually dared to openly slander me!

"Wait a minute," Kaguya Shinomiya couldn't stand it anymore. "Let's think of another way."

The silver-haired little girl stood on tiptoe, raising her small hand high, clearly wanting to say something.

"Apollen, what are you trying to say?"

Fujiwara Chika bent down and leaned close to listen.

"..."

The silver-haired loli raised her hand to her mouth, whispering something in secret.

Seeing Kaguya Shinomiya casting a curious glance at her, Natsuki Amamiya pressed her temples, casually observing her surroundings as she spoke:

"I just picked up a primary school student gamer on the road. His motto is 'A secret can only be told to one person at a time.'"

"No, that's not true." Kitagawa Kaimu retorted, "It's clearly Aharen's voice that's so soft that only one person can hear him clearly."

Amamiya Natsuki gently twitched her little finger. "They actually called me out on this to my face. I'm going to lose my temper."

"Tch." Kitagawa Kaimu crossed her arms and raised her chin. "I'm not afraid at all."

Fujiwara Chika turned her head and reached out her hand: "I can't keep up, I always feel a little unsteady when I bend over... Natsuki-kun, can you hold my hand?"

"Ah."