Under the Veil of Night

Even though Tommy was hesitant, he still followed the others to the next floor. By now, he had learned to ignore the pain in his thigh. It still hurt, but it only made him walk slower. He didn't want to rely on Jason too much to move around anymore.

On the 20th floor, they didn't see any monsters, but only a large swimming pool in the middle of the room. In addition, the next floor above was a mezzanine, with a balcony that overlooked the pool below

"The pool is incredibly red," Tommy gulped when he saw the sight in front of him.

The pool that opened up in front of them was bright red in color. It looked scary rather than inviting.

"I can't swim either," Kanae's face was ugly.

"You want to swim across?"

"No, but even if it's clean, I can't swim."

Jason smiled wryly. "Why don't you think of a way to get across?"

"Can't you think on my behalf?" Kanae grinned.

"It's the responsibility of the captain to think for the team, so I believe that you have to do it, Captain," Jason threw the task back to Kanae.

"Are we playing ball right now?"

"You can just ask Tommy to think of a way."

"Do you really mean that?"

Jason glanced at the nearby Tommy before shaking his head. He would be the world's biggest idiot if he truly asked Tommy to think of a way to get across the pool. That young man would surely come up with some weird and impossible ideas.

Tommy arched his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that? I know how to get across the pool!"

"Name it!"

"Swim!"

Kanae: "…" didn't we agree not to swim in the very first place?

Looking around the area, she noticed that there was a lot of furniture lying around. Many of them were broken, but she still could recognize their shapes. There were tables, chairs, lamps, shoes, a hose, bookshelves, clothes hangers, and much more.

Wait, she could possibly use them! She eyed the gun in her hand. After shooting that man, she still held onto the gun close in case she needed to use it.

"Captain, why are you smirking?" Tommy noticed that Kanae didn't join his and Jason's debate.

Kanae looked towards the two of them. "I think I know a way to get across the pool safely."

"Is swimming not safe?"

Pointing towards the red pool, Kanae asked, "What do you think of the pool?"

The other two turned their heads to observe the pool again. The pool was relatively clean. Aside from the fact that the color made it look rather scary, there was nothing strange about the pool at all. Some water splashed at the edges, but there was nothing in the water.

Tommy didn't seem to see anything wrong with it, but Jason noticed what Kanae wanted to convey.

Jason frowned. "It's too clean."

"What do you mean by too clean? Isn't it good that the pool is clean?" Tommy asked confusedly.

"Normally, it's indeed good for the pool to be clean, but right here and right now, it's rather strange. There have already been numerous fights here, which should have sent broken bits and pieces flying into the pool. They should be floating on the surface of the water, but there's nothing there right now."

Kanae nodded her head. She picked up a splintered piece of wood. "In this condition, no one will think of swimming because it's too red. However, there should be some people who tried it earlier."

The piece of wood in her hand spun in the air towards the pool, landing on top of the water. The moment it touched the surface, bubbles appeared underneath it. Slowly but surely, the wood started to disintegrate.

Tommy's face immediately paled with fear when he saw that. Was that truly a pool for swimming? Who in their right mind will swim in that acid water?

"Everyone who tried to swim has died," Jason murmured. "That's the reason the water became so red."

"I thought it was because there was a fight," Tommy gulped, trying to calm himself down. It was hard to accept that he already nearly walked through death's door twice today.

"If there was a fight, there should be dead bodies, right?" At this time, Kanae had picked up the long hose and several clothes hangers. She used her sword to change and twist the shapes of the hangers until they became a sturdy hook.

Jason's eyes widened when he saw what Kanae had made. He looked towards the railing on the next floor as realization dawned on him. He now knew what she wanted to do.

"Captain, do you need help?"

"Help me bring the hose up, it's rather long."

The two of them brought the hose and the hook that Kanae made to the next floor. This floor was different from a normal mezzanine in that its balcony only hung over the two opposite sides of the pool. It was not possible to travel directly to the other side on this floor.

Tying the hose to the hook, she attached the hook to the gun. Aiming towards the other side of the room, she pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The hook reached the end of the room perfectly, crashing towards the wall on the other side while bringing along the hose that it was tied to. Pulling on the hose, she made sure that the hook grasped the railing tightly before tying the other end to the railing on this side.

"Can you walk on the rope?" Kanae asked the two of them.

Jason shook his head. "Do you think I'm an acrobat that trained to walk on a tightrope? I can pull myself to the other side, but I'm not sure about Tom."

"I can't go over," Tommy's face scrunched so badly because he knew that he didn't have the strength to do such a demanding task.

Kanae looked around. This side of the mezzanine was stacked with empty boxes. She pointed at them. "You hide there, Tom. We'll go to the other side and return back quickly."

Tommy's face turned even more sour. "Can't you just send me back to the first floor, so I can hide there?"

"Do you want to go through all the battles again?"

Considering their struggle to reach this place, Tommy could only sigh in resignation. He looked towards the other side of the room before turning his gaze back to the other two.

"Stay safe. I'll be waiting here for you."

"We'll do our best."

Jason patted Tommy's shoulder as Kanae moved towards the hose. She jumped off the railing, gripping the hose tightly before hanging herself there with her back facing the other side. She swung her feet up towards the hose, crossing them above and around the hose. Slowly, using her feet as safety insurance, her hands pulled her body along the hose.

Tommy's eyes sparkled. "I really wonder what she can't do right now?"

Jason smiled wryly. "Just ask her to cook, she will surely send you to the hospital because of food poisoning."

"I'll never ask her to cook then…"