I struggled to force a few words out between my teeth, which took all my remaining strength.
"This place is..."
Just as I heard Yives utter a few words, a familiar darkness surged again, and in an instant, I was plunged into unconsciousness.
...
I don't know how much time passed before my consciousness gradually returned, and my body no longer felt as exhausted as before.
I opened my eyes to find a black coat on me, and it was Yives's coat.
I turned my head and saw Yives lying beside me, sleeping soundly.
Without waking him, I got up from the sofa and began to survey my surroundings.
The place we were in seemed to be the living room of a house. The entire living room wasn't large, and a warm, beige light filled the space.
In a corner, there was a staircase leading to the second floor. I turned to look out the window and found it was pitch black outside, rendering me unable to see anything.
I rubbed my slightly throbbing head, finally recalling that it seemed the man in the trench coat had teleported us here.
Where exactly was this place?
"Mmm, you're awake, Lu!"
Perhaps the sound of me getting up had woken Yives. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned.
"After you woke up, have you explored the surrounding rooms?"
I pointed to the staircase leading to the second floor.
"No, after I woke up, I found you were still unconscious, so I stayed by your side and didn't go anywhere."
As Yives said this, he seemed to remember something. He got up and walked over to an old refrigerator. He then opened it and took out a can of cola.
"It's great that the strange person teleported us to this place! There's a whole refrigerator full of cola and plenty of food here!"
I took the cola Yives threw to me and found it was the classic red Coca-Cola.
I examined it in my hand, finding nothing suspicious. However, suddenly arriving in an unfamiliar place, even though I hadn't tasted cola in a long time, I still shook my head and placed it on the table.
Compared to my wariness, Yives seemed rather fearless.
This guy directly opened a can of cola and gulped it down. I also noticed several opened bags of potato chips on the table, which, without a doubt, Yives had eaten.
Are you here for a picnic?!
An unnamable anger flared up inside me. Just as I was about to scold Yives for his suicidal behavior, I suddenly heard a faint sound from above.
Huh?
I quickly stopped the words from reaching my lips, pricked up my ears, and listened carefully to the sound above.
The sound was like something rubbing against the floor. Just as I was trying to discern it, the faint sound instantly disappeared.
What was upstairs?
I silently looked at Yives and gestured with my hand towards the second floor.
Yives blinked, then his expression shifted to one of sudden realization. He took out a bag of opened potato chips from the refrigerator and offered it to me.
Are you an idiot?!
I looked at Yives speechlessly. If I had a choice, I would rather explore for an exit by myself.
I didn't bother arguing with Yives and instead mouthed the words "something upstairs" to him.
Seeing Yives's delayed comprehension, a flash of lightning struck my mind, and a bold guess emerged.
The Yives of now was completely different from the Yives I met in the dark space at the beginning. The turning point was when we entered this city shrouded in darkness.
What in this city was influencing Yives?!
As soon as this thought arose, it quickly occupied my mind. Especially when I saw Yives, who had just been alerted by me to something upstairs, casually continue to stuff his mouth with potato chips without any fear, making noise, I became even more certain of this idea.
Question: I am currently surviving in a very dangerous place, but my teammate has turned into an idiot. What should I do?
"Bang!"
I rubbed my temples. Suddenly, the sound of a door closing came from upstairs, followed by the sound of footsteps on the stairs.
"Thump..."
"Thump..."
Heavy footsteps slowly descended, pressing down on my heart.
What was coming down?!
At this moment, I couldn't even concern myself with Yives's state anymore. I quietly crept to the blind spot at the foot of the stairs, gripping my hunting knife, and stared intently up the staircase.
I thought that if someone could see the situation in the house from a third-person perspective at this moment, they would find it utterly absurd.
A man, holding a hunting knife and hidden in the shadows, stared intently at the stairs, while his companion lay on the sofa, unconcerned, stuffing his mouth with potato chips.
"Thump..."
Just as I felt that the thing upstairs was about to come down, the footsteps suddenly disappeared...