Chapter 10 Who Am I 9

But what was the use of him knowing? The fact that she could obtain this item in the first place meant the woman had some skill; getting it from her would certainly take some effort.

Indeed, even knowing Lin Xiangjun had a few tricks up her sleeve, Zhuo Xing still hadn't given up on snatching the item from her.

She was just a woman, and she didn't look very old either, with no muscle on her body at all. So what if she had some means? He had two grown men on his side; if they took her by surprise, it wouldn't be impossible to take her down with a bit of effort.

"We'll find a time to discuss this in detail," Zhuo Xing said. "No rush today. Let's head home first to look for clues. Maybe there are items at home too; our chances of winning will be higher then."

"Steady does it. We'll aim to snatch it in one go. Don't engage in long-term conflict in the instance; it might attract the attention of something eerie."

"Understood, Brother Xing."

...

Meanwhile, Lin Xiangjun had no idea she'd been targeted because of the broken flashlight in her hand that cost fifty yuan a day in electricity.

She was still thinking that it would be best if the remaining three people could find the rules; otherwise, another two might be lost tonight.

If too many people died because of this one rule, there would be no one left to verify the correctness of the remaining rules.

Thinking this, she stepped out of the stairwell and came face-to-face with a white wall covered in small advertisements.

"Professional AC installation and repair. Repairing refrigerators, ACs, washing machines, water heaters. Buying old appliances. Phone: 357###"

"Professional pipe unclogging for this community. Phone: 357&$#"

"Gas supply phone: 357&%¥"

"Apple delivery! Large, crisp, and sweet! Order phone: 357&&&"

"Trash collection. Buying books, cardboard boxes, old furniture, old appliances. Collection phone: 357%*&#%"

"..."

The small advertisements were stuck to the wall in a messy, overlapping jumble, some even painted on with black and red oil paint. It seemed no one had managed them from the start; the layers of ads looked dirty and old.

Two fire extinguishers sat below the advertisements, also covered in a thick layer of dust. It was unclear if they still worked.

The layout of this building was very orderly, with four households per floor. 401 and 402 were on the left, while 403 and 404 were opposite them. Lin Xiangjun turned her head left and right, seeing their matching dark red security doors.

The four doors were identical; only the room numbers pasted above the peepholes allowed her to tell them apart.

To the left of the stairwell—wedged between the stairwell and '401'—was a very small storage room. The door style was very old-fashioned, lacking even a keyhole and using a latch instead. Currently, the latch was open.

Lin Xiangjun tried to push it, but found it wouldn't budge.

Perhaps the system progress isn't high enough, and the area behind the door hasn't been unlocked yet? she speculated.

She did a circuit of the fourth floor but found no clues.

To know more, she would have to wait until she returned to her own home.

Unit 404 didn't seem any different from the other homes. Lin Xiangjun slowly approached and tried to push the door.

As expected, it wouldn't open.

She didn't rashly choose to knock. Instead, she patted herself down and, sure enough, found a silver key tucked into the right side of her rear—specifically, in the layer between her pants and underwear.

...Could they please not put everything in her crotch just because she doesn't have pockets?

She was a living person; it wasn't appropriate to be reaching into her pants all the time, right?!

It was fine since she was the only one living on this floor, but what if there was another person? Were they supposed to watch her perform such a shameless action with their own eyes? This instance was intentionally trying to gross people out!

She cursed a couple of times, but being under someone else's roof meant she had to bow her head. No matter how reluctant she was, Lin Xiangjun had to use this key to open the door.

Unlike the dilapidated door, the key was very new, thin, and flexible, like a piece of paper. It was no wonder she hadn't noticed anything unusual when it was kept so close to her skin.

But... could a key like a piece of paper really open a door?

She hesitantly inserted the key into the lock and turned it. The flexible key suddenly became hard once inside, feeling similar to an iron key at home, and it made an old clicking sound as it turned.

...

Where did this instance get the inspiration to design such a key?

Was it from the stream of consciousness of a smut writer?

Lin Xiangjun felt she couldn't look at this key directly anymore. After muttering 'forgive me' a few times in her heart, she pulled the key out after opening the door and threw it into her pouch.

The dark red door gave a creak and was slowly pushed open.

Lin Xiangjun stood cautiously outside the door, her muscles tensed and her sharp knife already gripped in her hand, prepared for a monster that might suddenly lunge at her from behind the door.

Nothing.

404 was very quiet.

The sound of her sneakers stepping on the tiles was the only movement in the room.

It was a two-bedroom apartment with a bathroom and a small living room. The house was about eighty square meters. The doors to the two bedrooms were tightly shut, while the doors to the kitchen and bathroom were open.

Lin Xiangjun went to the bathroom first.

Toiletries were laid out in the bathroom, appearing to be for three people. The two adult tooth mugs were white, with a red apple-shaped cup sandwiched in between, decorated with a small silicone leaf.

Towels hung on a stainless steel bar in very common styles: one dark blue checkered, one pink striped, and the middle towel was a size smaller, light green with a small red apple sticker.

It looked like the standard setup for a family of three.

Five survivors were scattered across five floors, which meant the other two residents of this room were standard local eerie entities.

Where would they sleep? Under Lin Xiangjun's bed?

Amused by her own dark humor, Lin Xiangjun turned from the bathroom door and headed toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was a bit messy. It was slightly larger than the living room but held a considerable amount of stuff. There were greasy, unwashed pots and bowls in the sink, and the range hood had a thick layer of grease on it.

Lin Xiangjun just turned and looked around, keeping her range of movement strictly within the living room; she wouldn't step an inch further onto any tile outside of it.

She wouldn't act rashly before obtaining the rules.

What if there was a rule in the bathroom that said you couldn't leave without using the toilet? If triggering the rule summoned that half-dead eerie entity from earlier, it would be fine, but if a new one came for a direct confrontation, Lin Xiangjun's small frame would inevitably get hurt, even with the help of her items.

It wasn't worth it.

So she just watched those things that looked like scenes from a horror movie from a distance, resolutely refusing to move closer for observation.

Especially that very suspicious refrigerator, its surface covered in a layer of unknown grime that looked like blood.

According to experience from novels and movies, refrigerators were practically holy sites for hiding corpses; whether in pieces or whole, the lower freezer could accommodate them perfectly.

She'd have to be tired of living to open it directly.

Lin Xiangjun took one last look at the refrigerator and turned away without lingering, deciding to search the living room for clues.

She felt the clues were most likely in the living room. After all, as soon as you entered the door, you stepped into the living room; it was impossible for entry here to be forbidden.

If this was a puzzle game that needed to be advanced step by step, then the living room was the first sector the player entered and would inevitably carry the clues to unlock subsequent levels.

The living room wasn't large.

There was a fabric sofa with some unknown stains, a glass coffee table so dirty it had become frosted, a TV, and a TV cabinet. By the window was a floor-standing air conditioner and a dark-colored carpet.

Lin Xiangjun didn't rush to turn on the light; instead, she pulled out her phone and took a look.

5:32 PM.

The time in the novice instance was consistent with the outside world.

Judging by the perceived temperature and the clothes the downstairs residents were wearing, it should be the transition between spring and summer or summer and autumn. It was clearly abnormal for it to get dark so early.

Is it a clue? Or a trap?

Having just been tricked in the stairwell, Lin Xiangjun was exceptionally cautious. She simply didn't turn on the lights at all, pulling out her flashlight and exploring the living room on her tiptoes.