NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

After saying that, someone added another sentence.

"I need your help this time to ensure security at the exit and check for any suspicious individuals."

Upon hearing this, both Mihara, who was all smiles, and Yuni, who was pouting, turned serious at almost the same time.

Is someone secretly following the commander?

Well, hopefully the other party is just stalking and doesn't have any other intentions.

……

……

Ark Royal Plaza, fourth floor, south side.

The "Sequence Seventeen" haunted house, touted as the largest and scariest in the entire Ark, is located here. It is precisely because it is touted as the largest that this haunted house has become Phoenix's first choice for location.

According to comments on the Arknights Crowdsourcing App, Sequence 17 Haunted House has at least six emergency exits, and players can choose to leave from the entrance or the exit.

So, when someone enters a haunted house alone, it means that the stalker will face a choice between two options.

Without GPS navigation, the safest way for a stalker to ensure they don't lose their target is to enter the haunted house in the same batch as them.

In this way, the selection pool is naturally narrowed down to the other seven people excluding oneself.

Of course, the possibility that multiple people were tracking them at the same time cannot be ruled out.

Even if that were the case, Phoenix could still use this haunted house visit to determine whether the other party was stalking him alone or in a group.

Whether the other party makes a profit or not is unclear, but he is not losing money either way.

"Sir, this is your ECG sensor. Please attach it to your arm."

At the entrance of the haunted house, a waiter handed Phoenix a strap-on sensor and joked familiarly:

"You came to our haunted house alone, you must be doing some kind of bet challenge, right?"

"Well, it's a test of courage among friends." Someone once again used their maxed-out True Sight lying skills, "If I can get your family's pass stamp, someone will cover my food expenses for this month."

"Then I wish you good luck." The waiter couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "If you encounter any unacceptable scenes along the way, you just need to shout some vague words for help, and our staff will take you out immediately."

"Got it, thank you."

The unscrupulous man, who had thoroughly inspected the haunted house before even entering, replied modestly yet humorously:

"When that time comes, you'll have to call a few more staff members over to give me courage."

Chapter Sixty-One: Could it be that I really am mentally ill?

Humans are truly wondrous creatures.

People who are afraid of horror movies are not necessarily afraid of things in real life.

Just because someone enjoys watching horror movies doesn't mean they're brave and courageous in real life.

If it weren't for his ability to create a map of consciousness, this man, who hadn't really been involved in horror art in either his past or present life, might not have dared to go alone to a haunted house that required signing an agreement.

pat!

Phoenix held the old-fashioned doorknob and gently pressed it down.

A gust of cold wind immediately crept out through the crack in the door, sticking to his arm and causing his skin pores to involuntarily tingle and contract.

Tsk,

Looks like the designer of this haunted house is quite something...

After thinking it over, he immediately pushed open the door and entered, placing himself directly into the dark, short corridor at a temperature of sixteen or seventeen degrees Celsius.

Having done their homework beforehand, Phoenix, with their overwhelming advantage, knew exactly what was behind the door before even opening it.

—It was still a wooden door, only wide enough for one person.

The entire short corridor uses a double-door design similar to a disinfection corridor. The purpose is probably to let customers get used to the darkness in advance.

Phoenix wasn't really interested in understanding the psychological tricks involved.

Right now, all he could think about was luring out the dog that was following him, so he just kept walking forward.

Who knows,

Then there was a loud bang!

Just as he took two steps forward, the door behind him suddenly slammed shut with a loud bang, startling him so much that he turned around instantly.

[Anik, give me five CCTV feeds within two meters, covering the front, back, left, right, and overhead areas. Hurry! Quickly!!!]

An unnamed rage surged within him like a startled wild horse, and for a few seconds, Phoenix felt an intense urge to punch the door open.

You really can't blame him for showing his fear.

In fact, the moment the deliberately amplified sound of the door closing rang out, Phoenix's first thought was that Lecher Machinery had secretly fired a shot behind him.

Trouble...

Why does that sudden burst of anger feel like the adjustment disorder Pepper mentioned?

Is it possible...

Am I really mentally ill?

……

boom! ! !

The sound of the door slamming shut, comparable to a gunshot, made D turn around instantly. Under his trench coat, the battle axe hidden in the wide sleeve had already slipped into his palm.

Door……

It was just the sound of a door closing...

Upon seeing this, the tall woman dressed in a techwear style flicked her fingers, and with superhuman strength, she immediately flicked the battle axe back into her sleeve.

But her heart did not return to normal like the axe in her hand.

Oops……

If the subsequent content of this haunted house includes noises similar to gunshots, I'm afraid I won't be able to complete the observation and judgment of target number 505.

Niki, the judge codenamed D, was well aware that she herself suffered from a degree of adjustment disorder.

Sounds similar to gunshots or explosions in daily life can trigger her vigilance and anger.

This is the side effect of Niki removing her NIMPH near-death privileges, allowing her to kill people on her own.

NIMPH will no longer have the desired calming effect on her; on the contrary, it may sometimes amplify her negative emotions.

How to do?

Should we call for reinforcements?

But who can guarantee that target number 505 won't leave the haunted house before reinforcements arrive?

D, unwilling to give up the mission easily, finally chose to continue forward after several internal struggles to open the second wooden door and reunite with the other seven people, including the target.

……

……

One, two, three, four, five, six...

seven.

Pushing open the second door, when Phoenix's gaze fell upon the last player who arrived late, a woman almost as tall as himself, he was pretty sure that this woman was Niki, the one who had been following him.

The reason is simple.

Not to mention the rarity of both their height and appearance.

Judging from her serious and cold expression alone, she didn't look like someone who came to the Royal Square for fun at all; it was as if the words "I have a problem" were written all over her face.

[I mean, you can't even find such an obviously suspicious person, is this your voice assistant?]

Upon first meeting D, Phoenix didn't choose to react; instead, he mocked the artificial stupidity in his mind.

To everyone's surprise, the AI, after hearing his words, started throwing a tantrum with a sense of self-righteousness.

I'm checking the area outside the haunted house for you. There are only seven people inside. Can't you check it yourself?

Snapped!

Seeing that the AI ​​dared to talk back, someone didn't even think twice before giving it a good beating.

He then ignored the other person's angry and stomping appearance, and took a step to leave the crowd first, forcing the stalker to follow him.

"Hello, um...aren't you coming with us?"

Seeing Phoenix's lone wolf-like demeanor, as if she intended to solo the game, one of the other seven, a lively-looking short-haired girl, couldn't help but speak up:

"If we all work together, we might have a higher chance of getting the clearance stamp."

"Sorry, my friend and I agreed to stay in the haunted house alone. Although there are no rules against recording videos here, we can still record audio."