Darkness descended.
The corridor rapidly grew eerie.
Natsuki let out a soft breath and stepped into Room 405.
The mascot accessory Rikka hurried to follow. The door slammed shut behind them with a bang.
It was an equally eerie, dim hospital room.
The difference was that this room had no television—only a low card table. A dried bat specimen hung on the wall.
Chika was kneeling beside the card table. Across from her sat her "roommate."
A delinquent girl with twin tails, exaggerated smoky eye makeup, a hot body, and a perverted smile. Beside her sat a blood-stained baseball bat.
"Harley Quinn?"
Rikka's eyes went wide.
Definitely wrong. That was a DC Universe supervillain. She wouldn't be playing touchy-feely games with Chika.
The spirit before them was probably one of Harley Quinn's cosplay enthusiasts. You could tell by looking at her stomach—she didn't even have visible abs. How could she be the real Harley Quinn?
The spirit lady wasn't angry. She just tilted her head and looked over, a terrifying broken smile on her face. She stuck out her tongue and lightly licked her lips:
"Well, well, look what I found. Two more cuties. Come play a game with us."
Her tongue is so long.
A thought unconsciously surfaced in Natsuki's mind.
Learning to tie cherry stems must feel pretty good, huh?
Literally tying cherry stems. Please don't let your imagination run wild.
Natsuki drove away the stray thoughts. His gaze fell on Chika, his tone peculiar:
"So, you two are playing a yuri stripping game?"
This airhead was down to just two pieces of underwear. One was a white chest wrap, and the other was pink panties with a panda on them. Apart from those, her uniform, shoes, stockings, skirt, bracelet, and everything else had all disappeared.
Natsuki's gaze drifted slightly downward.
Who would have thought—she gave off the impression of being a slightly chubby girl, but her waist was unexpectedly slim.
"We're not doing yuri!" Chika cried out, tears brimming in her eyes. "I lost all my clothes!"
"Um... what does 'yuri' mean?"
Rikka asked quietly. The girl's curiosity was quite robust.
"This is a forbidden realm that children shouldn't know about." Natsuki said solemnly. "Don't ask too many questions."
"..."
Chika explained what had happened, looking aggrieved the whole time.
After entering the game, she had appeared alone in this hospital room. Before she could even leave, the spirit dressed like Harley Quinn had blocked her and forced her to play Old Maid.
The rules were simple. No need for elaboration.
But the loser had to give up an item. It could be clothing, or it could be skin, flesh, teeth, eyes... After all, this was an evil spirit game, not entertainment.
What could Chika do?
Losing the game meant she could only take off clothes. And now she was down to just two pieces of underwear.
Natsuki looked at the fully-clothed Harley Quinn and said flatly:
"You haven't won a single round?"
"She's definitely cheating." Hearing this, Chika grew even more aggrieved. "When I play Old Maid with friends at school, I've never lost this many times in a row!"
"Ara ara, little cutie, you can't make accusations without evidence, or I'll rip out your tongue." Harley Quinn picked up the blood-stained baseball bat. Her smile was quite dangerous. "At the card table, cheating is forbidden. Even I cannot violate this rule."
So as long as you don't cheat at the card table, it's fine?
Hints about the cheating had already appeared before Natsuki's eyes. He smiled. "Count me in."
"Hm?"
"Such a fun game. I want to play too."
"What an interesting human." Harley Quinn looked over in surprise, a pleased smile on her face. "Fine. But before that, my game with this little cutie isn't over yet... It's my turn now."
Chika nervously held up the cards in her hand.
Only two remained—the five of hearts and the Joker.
In other words, this was the final moment.
"Which one could it be?"
Harley Quinn's smile grew increasingly excited. Her finger moved back and forth between the two cards.
"It should be this one..."
The spirit lady's finger landed on the Joker. Taking advantage of the instant Chika let her guard down, she suddenly struck, instantly snatching away the girl's most precious thing.
"I-I lost again."
Chika let out a beast-like whimper and collapsed to her knees in despair.
"Littlecu~tie, looks like your luck is really bad today." The spirit lady smiled. "Panties or top—you have one minute to make a choice. If you run out of time, I'll randomly take something from you."
Chika bit her lower lip, looking aggrieved.
She only had two pieces of underwear left. Taking off either one would be super terrible.
But the game rules required her to strip.
If she absolutely had to choose one...
"I won't be able to get married if that happens!" Chika covered her chest with both hands and looked up at Natsuki. A do-or-die expression appeared on her face. "Natsuki, let's use that move!"
"We can try." Natsuki nodded.
Chika's eyes went wide. She pointed at the spirit lady: "Outlaw Zhang San—if I call your name, do you dare answer?!"
"Who's Zhang San?" The spirit lady was taken aback. She suddenly found her body beyond her control. Her mouth began moving on its own. "...Th-that's right, I am Outlaw Zhang San."
Natsuki walked over to the spirit lady and firmly pressed down on her shoulder. A flash of understanding arose in his heart.
The skill worked!
He could capture the target with 100% success, and he could pose them however he wanted. As long as you were called Outlaw Zhang San, he could arrest even a god!
"Outlaw Zhang San, you're under arrest." Natsuki's tone was serious.
The spirit lady tried to resist but found her body completely unable to move. She could only look bewildered. "Who even is Zhang San? I'm not—I-I-I am Outlaw Zhang San."
"Actually, I'm a Time-Space Police officer. My true purpose in coming here was to arrest Zhang San." Natsuki spouted nonsense with a straight face. "Zhang San is a multiverse-level arch-criminal who possesses the most terrifying criminal mind, is proficient in countless criminal methods, and has committed countless heinous crimes... I've traveled through countless worlds, constantly following your trail. Outlaw Zhang San, your day of reckoning has come."
"S-so cool!"
Rikka's eyes went wide, her face full of worship.
"You humans are full of lies. Many of my companions have been tricked by you before. I won't believe your nonsense." The spirit lady sneered. "One minute is almost up."
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Natsuki paused. He looked up at Chika.
The airheaded girl was also staring back blankly.
The next second.
Chika's already large eyes suddenly went round. Her hands reached behind her back.
"Eh eh eh, my hands are moving on their own..." Chika's voice was panicked. "Natsuki, hurry and close your eyes! Don't look at me!"