MiSide: but there are 720 security guards

"Is it over?" Looking at the final door of the corridor, Millie couldn't help but feel a sense of boredom. "I thought we could fight a BOSS! Alain is only really useful as a game character."

"...As a toy, I'm actually even more useful."

"A toy?"

"Being your Purple Mood."

"Don't talk about that! Just because I accidentally took it out a few times, does the crime of purple have to follow me for a lifetime?!"

"Yes."

Bantering with the hat was also a way to ease his troubled mind. He wanted to save this version's Mita, not just walk out of 1.3B. Leaving the corridor without achieving anything was clearly contrary to his purpose in coming here.

Alain remembered very clearly what Prankster Mita had told him: A monster had invaded version 1.3B, causing Little Mita to lose the peace and happiness of other Mitas in the same version. If it weren't for that monster, none of this would have happened.

And what he had to do was simple: while passing through version 1.3B, he would also pull Little Mita out of her suffering. This was what he had always been doing, and also his most familiar "occupational hazard."

Lost in thought, he opened the door at the exit. As always, he checked the environment through the crack in the door. Not knowing what he saw, Alain chuckled twice.

"Hehehe..."

"What's wrong?" Millie, who hadn't seen the new version's perspective, was shielded behind him.

"No... I just think we were too naive." A strong smile played on Alain's lips. Indeed, they were too naive; this was a game world, after all.

Speaking of games, there's a rule: obstacles must be placed in the player's path. A game without obstacles is not a good game. In his view, Mita was his favorite game. So, obstacles had inevitably appeared.

Alain simply flung the door wide open, into the hatted girl's field of vision.

"Th-This is...?" She stared blankly at the scene before her.

What was behind the door was still warm, still with tender pink decorations. Yet it brought her... a bone-chilling coldness from within.

Cold sweat dripped from the girl's forehead, the beads reflecting a slight scene: The corridor, the carpet, the pale white particles, the vases on either side... Everything, just as it was when they arrived. All of this was also where they were headed.

Nothing had changed: it was still that corridor. The corridor of 1.3B.

"Why, are we back here again? And, nothing has changed?" She frantically looked around; everything was as before.

"I don't know." Alain's gaze flicked to the timer-like object beneath the vase on his right. When they entered the long corridor, the number on the timer was "1." And now, it had changed to "2."

He also had a faint guess about this. So, he simply continued to pull Millie's hand and walk forward.

During this time, the two of them observed their surroundings as they walked. Nothing had changed; the corridor was still the corridor, the sunlight was still abundant, and the photo of Little Mita belonging to the version was still so cute. The grandfather clock at the corner swung its pendulum, as if jeering at them with a sinister smile.

Before long, the two of them once again reached the "exit." Alain glanced at Millie; the girl had also retreated from her initial state of panic, her face serious. His hand rested on the doorknob, and then he opened it.

This time, Alain didn't just open a crack in the door, but opened it completely.

"As expected." What they saw was still the long corridor, without any changes. Only the number on the timer to their right had changed to "3."

"This number, it's exactly the number of times we've entered the room. In other words..."

Millie added from the side, "A [Loop], is it?"

"A looping corridor, a bit similar to that long corridor." Alain thought of the version transit point outside Millie's door—the long corridor. He just didn't know if the length of the corridor they were currently in would be infinite.

"Keep the door open for me, I'm going back to take a look." Alain looked towards the room they had come from; that was the 1.3B of the second loop.

"Okay."

Millie leaned against the door, and Alain walked back into the corridor he had come from. During this time, he checked the three clocks again; still no change: the time showed exactly 12 o'clock. Not long after, he returned.

"No good, no bugs, can't find any loopholes."

"It's okay! Isn't this the fun of a puzzle game?" The hatted girl didn't think much of it, still full of enthusiasm.

"Alright then."

Alain looked at the third loop and walked into it. Apart from the timer at the entrance, nothing had changed. It could be said that everything was too abnormally normal. In less than a minute, he reached the exit of the third loop.

He opened the door without hesitation. Behind the door, the first thing he saw was the number on the timer, which had changed to "4."

"Tsk... as expected. This is a looping corridor," Alain said, pondering how to escape the loop.

Millie chimed in from the side, "Could it be, it'll just keep looping forever?"

"Then my hand will stay linked with yours, and I'll never let go."

Millie looked at his side profile, saying resentfully, "You're still in the mood to joke at a time like this? It seems you're not in much of a hurry either. Relax, relax~"

"Didn't you say I can only hold your hand when it's dangerous? The corridor loops endlessly, so our hand-holding is naturally 'endless' too." Alain tightened their grip.

"You still haven't forgotten about that last time? I thought you were just saying it casually." Those were the words Alain had said to her in the square room back then. Millie's heart was complicated, and she hesitated before speaking, "We... can't commit adultery. If my best friend finds out, she'll probably be very angry, right?"

"???" It was the first time he had heard the word "adultery." A little exciting. But unfortunately... Misha's jealousy was only directed at the enemy "Crazy Mita." Towards friends like Lost Mita and Millie, his dear's heart could be said to be as vast as the ocean.

Alain shook his head, casting aside unrelated thoughts, and continued to walk slowly forward. As he, holding Millie's hand, passed the first corner, writing appeared on the wall.

[You should know the characteristics of this corridor by now, right?]

"Yes." Alain nodded.

"By the way, you didn't tell us about this at the beginning, you really gave us a fright!" Millie patted her chest, still shaken. Now that she had accepted the facts, she was instead filled with the thrill of countless adventures.

Before Prankster Mita could reply, Alain spoke up first, "She definitely forgot."

"I see, she forgot." The two nodded in unison, causing the writing to appear in large, neat strokes.

[I just forgot! I'm really sorry... My memory is really bad.]

A few blushes were drawn next to the writing, then it continued, [I can feel that the deeper you go into the loop, the lower my ability to interfere here becomes. This also means the path ahead is gradually becoming more dangerous.]

"Don't worry." Alain gripped the sword in his hand, then looked at his good bro. "Any dangerous things—"

"—Leave it to our future selves!" The hatted girl raised her arm and cheered. She high-fived Alain.

He chuckled, "As expected of my good bro, you're smelling better and better."

"Wow! No talking about this topic!" Millie forcefully squeezed Alain's hand to express her strong dissatisfaction.

[Sweet talk is good, be careful as you continue forward]

"Okay." Alain nodded.

"What's so good about it, how is this sweet talk?!" the hat retorted.

The two responded and walked forward.

When they reached the middle of the corridor—the cabinet area, the small television on the cabinet suddenly made a noise, and waves of "screen snow" rolled across it.

"Wow, that really startled me!"

"But it also indicates that we are getting closer and closer to the truth." Alain looked at the snowy screen of the small television; for some reason, he always felt he could make out the traces of a human face in it. However, he also knew that to get the answer, he had to go deeper into the loop.

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