August 24, 2023 by Wyrd
The murderer slowly opened the door, fully prepared to act at any moment in case something unexpected happened.
After the man had disposed of the photo that would expose them, he leaned against the door.
However, there was no one outside the door.
It was as if the doorbell sound from a moment ago had been an illusion.
But auditory hallucinations couldn’t possibly be heard by two people simultaneously.
The murderer narrowed his eyes and carefully surveyed the empty corridor. He even walked out of the room and looked down the hallway.
After confirming that there was truly no one around, the murderer returned to the room and gently closed the door.
***
The person who had just rung the doorbell was Li Shuyang. He had found the teenager’s home based on the registration form from the kindergarten.
He pulled out a knife and then rang the doorbell.
However, he heard the sound of two people approaching the door. Li Shuyang immediately retreated quickly, stepping back to the edge of the hallway railing.
Then, without hesitation, Li Shuyang braced himself against the hallway railing, and with a swift, decisive leap, he jumped down, using his hands to grip the edge of the railing and landing on the corridor of the third floor.
He then hid in the innermost part of the corridor to prevent anyone from upstairs looking down at the third floor.
The two individuals in the room were not weak in strength; one could even say they were quite powerful.
Powerful enough that he couldn’t possibly defeat one of the two in a short amount of time.
Moreover, the cards used to detect supernatural entities were reminding him that there were more than just humans present inside the apartment.
Monsters and ghosts existed in this instance.
And this Room 406 was very likely the gathering place of the bosses in this instance. Was it because of Su Qing?
Li Shuyang thought about the previous instance, where both the big bosses and the small bosses had pursued Su Qing relentlessly.
The result had become apparent.
The current time was around 11:30 in the evening, and the strength of the supernatural entities would greatly increase during the nighttime, especially after midnight.
At this delicate moment, charging directly into a boss gathering area would clearly be extremely dangerous.
It’s almost no different from seeking death.
The previous Li Shuyang didn’t care about his life or death, and he might have chosen to charge in directly.
But now he cared a little.
He hadn’t taken away the special NPC of the game system, so how could he be willing to die at random?
Monsters would always have times when they leave to kill. He could find opportunities by waiting here.
After hearing the door closing upstairs, Li Shuyang hid the knife behind him, expressionless, and pressed the doorbell of Room 306 on the third floor three times.
Room 306 was just below Room 406, so he should be able to hear some movement upstairs.
As a result, Li Shuyang pressed for a long time without any response, and even if he increased the volume and knocked forcefully, there was still no response.
As if there were no residents inside.
After all, even if they were sleeping, they should have been awakened by the doorbell sound.
After knocking for a long time without any response, Li Shuyang became a bit impatient and directly used special means to forcefully open the door.
A strong smell of blood rushed out.
There were four bodies lying in the living room: the husband, the wife, and two children, one older, around seven or eight years old, and the smaller one, about three or four years old, seemingly the age of a kindergarten student.
Li Shuyang tilted his head and walked into the room, then closed the door behind him with his backhand, cutting off all sight and the smell of blood.
Li Shuyang examined the bodies and preliminarily judged that the time of death was around six or seven in the evening, and the cause of death was the knife wound on the chest.
The faces of the two adults still held the terror and fear of death.
But besides the knife wound on the chest, their clothes and hair weren’t disheveled much, as if they died without any struggle.
The two people were probably stabbed to death at the same time in an instant, and strangely, the blood on the bodies had disappeared, and all four bodies looked somewhat shrunken and pale as paper, as if something had sucked them dry.
Li Shuyang directly cut open one of the bodies with a knife, and the flesh of the body was pale and almost devoid of any traces of blood.
Clearly, it’s evident that the target of ghosts or killers was undoubtedly human blood.
Perhaps it’s for the sake of becoming stronger, maybe just purely for sustenance, or perhaps for some other purposes.
After all, human blood served many functions.
Li Shuyang glanced around, investigating the room and focusing on things related to the three or four-year-old child.
The nearest kindergarten to the Xishan Residential Area was Xishan Kindergarten, where the child evidently should have been attending.
Whether it’s Su Qing or this family, they all seemed to be connected to Xishan Kindergarten, which made things quite delicate.
Li Shuyang searched around and found a children’s picture book on the couch.
Initially, Li Shuyang didn’t think a picture book would be that important, but after casually flipping it open, he suddenly paused.
Because on the pages of the picture book were scribbled words, ‘Xiao Xi’, accompanied by several simple stick figure drawings.
It was a story illustrated with stick figures, presumably because the owner of the picture book couldn’t write or draw very well. They simply drew a circle and the character “大“ (meaning “big”) to represent the stick figures.
There were many stick figures, but only one had ‘Xiao Xi’ written above it, and ‘Xiao Xi’ was holding a long, distorted object.
The lines were crooked, and the shapes were not very clear, making it look somewhat eerie.
It should be... a knife.
Initially, Li Shuyang thought that ‘Xiao Xi’ was holding the knife to attack other stick figures, but as he turned the pages, he realized something was amiss.
It seemed like the other stick figures were... attacking ‘Xiao Xi’?
And ‘Xiao Xi’ holding the knife was merely holding it in self-defense.
There were too many stick figures, gradually surrounding ‘Xiao Xi’.
The story ended there, and it’s difficult to determine what happened afterward. It’s unclear whether ‘Xiao Xi’ fought back and killed the group of stick figures or if they overwhelmed and killed him.
Considering the context of the mission, this ‘Xiao Xi’ was evidently already deceased. The question was whether he was killed during this instance or later on.
However, regardless of the timing of his death, this kind of role-playing game clearly wasn’t suitable for children.
Xishan Kindergarten was definitely problematic.
Li Shuyang casually threw the picture book onto the couch, then glanced at the kitchen. Afterward, he dragged four bodies into the kitchen refrigerator.
The refrigerator was meant for cold storage, and it’s not particularly large. Squeezing four bodies inside was a bit of a stretch.
Li Shuyang pressed down expressionlessly before finally fitting all four bodies in.
Li Shuyang didn’t notify the players, nor did he inform anyone else. Instead, he settled down as if he was the owner of the house.
As if nothing had happened inside the house at all.
***
Ruan Qing slept straight through until the next morning, awakened by the sound of the alarm clock.
Actually, Ruan Qing had heard knocking sounds last night, but after not hearing any other movements, he had ignored them and took the time to rest.
Upon the alarm clock ringing, Ruan Qing opened his eyes.
He touched the corners of his eyes; his eyes seemed much better than yesterday?
Ruan Qing could vaguely see blurry patches of color, but the whole world still seemed shrouded in mist, making it unclear. However, regaining his vision should be a matter of time.
This was good news.
Ruan Qing fumbled to get dressed and got out of bed.
It was now 7:30 in the morning, and Yang Tianhao would be heading to work at 8:00. The original owner used to get up every day to send Yang Tianhao off.
Then, they would take Yang Muqing to Xishan Kindergarten.
But in recent days, when Yang Tianhao went to work, he conveniently dropped the child off at Xishan Kindergarten.
The adjacent bedroom wasn’t far away, and the two individuals in the room, one holding a knife, had naturally heard the sound of the alarm clock.
The murderer was somewhat puzzled. Why did his wife set the alarm clock so early?
The male neighbor, however, knew why. He directly gestured and, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear, said, “It’s time for you to get up for work.”
The murderer also caught on. He gave a cold laugh and mockingly replied in a hushed tone, “Why should it be me?”
The neighbor calmly withdrew his knife. “Aren’t you Yang Tianhao? Of course, it should be you.”
“Do I look like a fool to you?” The murderer also withdrew the knife, but the murderous intent in his eyes remained unchanged. Trying to steal his wife while he’s away? Dream on!
The two of them were in a stalemate, neither willing to back down.
However, the sound of someone washing up in the restroom had already begun. If there was no activity on their side, his wife would surely become suspicious.
In the end, the two of them decided to leave together; neither would be left behind.
Leaving the house didn’t mean they were actually leaving. They quickly pretended to finish washing up and stood by the doorway.
Not long ago, neither of them wanted to pretend to be Yang Tianhao, but now things were different. After all, both had to leave, and it would be even more heartening to bid farewell to their wife.
If it weren’t for seeing Ruan Qing approaching, the two of them would have almost taken out their knives again to stab each other.
The neighbor, acting impulsively, wanted to embrace Ruan Qing directly without seeking permission. Seeing this, the murderer sneered and thrust the knife, forcing the neighbor to dodge.
In the end, neither of them managed to bid Ruan Qing farewell with a kiss or an embrace.
They hadn’t failed to notice the fleeting expressions of disappointment and grievance on their wife’s delicate face, but they had no choice. Their conviction to kill each other had only grown stronger.
Leaving the house, they didn’t forget to take the child with them. After all, they still had to send the child to Xishan Kindergarten.
Neither of them wanted to do it, but they had no choice. If they didn’t send the child, the teachers at Xishan Kindergarten would call the parents to verify the situation.
It would be troublesome if they called their wife’s phone.
The child still hadn’t woken up for some reason, which saved them a lot of trouble. They simply dropped the child off at Xishan Kindergarten.
After sending off the child, the two of them returned to the fourth floor once again.
But both of them had already gone to “work”, so they naturally couldn’t go back to Room 406.
The neighbor glanced at the murderer, pulled out the key to his own apartment, and walked in with an air of pride.
The murderer sneered and took advantage of the man not having closed the door yet. He kicked the door open and quickly entered.
August 24, 2023 by Wyrd
The murderer slowly opened the door, fully prepared to act at any moment in case something unexpected happened.
After the man had disposed of the photo that would expose them, he leaned against the door.
However, there was no one outside the door.
It was as if the doorbell sound from a moment ago had been an illusion.
But auditory hallucinations couldn’t possibly be heard by two people simultaneously.
The murderer narrowed his eyes and carefully surveyed the empty corridor. He even walked out of the room and looked down the hallway.
After confirming that there was truly no one around, the murderer returned to the room and gently closed the door.
***
The person who had just rung the doorbell was Li Shuyang. He had found the teenager’s home based on the registration form from the kindergarten.
He pulled out a knife and then rang the doorbell.
However, he heard the sound of two people approaching the door. Li Shuyang immediately retreated quickly, stepping back to the edge of the hallway railing.
Then, without hesitation, Li Shuyang braced himself against the hallway railing, and with a swift, decisive leap, he jumped down, using his hands to grip the edge of the railing and landing on the corridor of the third floor.
He then hid in the innermost part of the corridor to prevent anyone from upstairs looking down at the third floor.
The two individuals in the room were not weak in strength; one could even say they were quite powerful.
Powerful enough that he couldn’t possibly defeat one of the two in a short amount of time.
Moreover, the cards used to detect supernatural entities were reminding him that there were more than just humans present inside the apartment.
Monsters and ghosts existed in this instance.
And this Room 406 was very likely the gathering place of the bosses in this instance. Was it because of Su Qing?
Li Shuyang thought about the previous instance, where both the big bosses and the small bosses had pursued Su Qing relentlessly.
The result had become apparent.
The current time was around 11:30 in the evening, and the strength of the supernatural entities would greatly increase during the nighttime, especially after midnight.
At this delicate moment, charging directly into a boss gathering area would clearly be extremely dangerous.
It’s almost no different from seeking death.
The previous Li Shuyang didn’t care about his life or death, and he might have chosen to charge in directly.
But now he cared a little.
He hadn’t taken away the special NPC of the game system, so how could he be willing to die at random?
Monsters would always have times when they leave to kill. He could find opportunities by waiting here.
After hearing the door closing upstairs, Li Shuyang hid the knife behind him, expressionless, and pressed the doorbell of Room 306 on the third floor three times.
Room 306 was just below Room 406, so he should be able to hear some movement upstairs.
As a result, Li Shuyang pressed for a long time without any response, and even if he increased the volume and knocked forcefully, there was still no response.
As if there were no residents inside.
After all, even if they were sleeping, they should have been awakened by the doorbell sound.
After knocking for a long time without any response, Li Shuyang became a bit impatient and directly used special means to forcefully open the door.
A strong smell of blood rushed out.
There were four bodies lying in the living room: the husband, the wife, and two children, one older, around seven or eight years old, and the smaller one, about three or four years old, seemingly the age of a kindergarten student.
Li Shuyang tilted his head and walked into the room, then closed the door behind him with his backhand, cutting off all sight and the smell of blood.
Li Shuyang examined the bodies and preliminarily judged that the time of death was around six or seven in the evening, and the cause of death was the knife wound on the chest.
The faces of the two adults still held the terror and fear of death.
But besides the knife wound on the chest, their clothes and hair weren’t disheveled much, as if they died without any struggle.
The two people were probably stabbed to death at the same time in an instant, and strangely, the blood on the bodies had disappeared, and all four bodies looked somewhat shrunken and pale as paper, as if something had sucked them dry.
Li Shuyang directly cut open one of the bodies with a knife, and the flesh of the body was pale and almost devoid of any traces of blood.
Clearly, it’s evident that the target of ghosts or killers was undoubtedly human blood.
Perhaps it’s for the sake of becoming stronger, maybe just purely for sustenance, or perhaps for some other purposes.
After all, human blood served many functions.
Li Shuyang glanced around, investigating the room and focusing on things related to the three or four-year-old child.
The nearest kindergarten to the Xishan Residential Area was Xishan Kindergarten, where the child evidently should have been attending.
Whether it’s Su Qing or this family, they all seemed to be connected to Xishan Kindergarten, which made things quite delicate.
Li Shuyang searched around and found a children’s picture book on the couch.
Initially, Li Shuyang didn’t think a picture book would be that important, but after casually flipping it open, he suddenly paused.
Because on the pages of the picture book were scribbled words, ‘Xiao Xi’, accompanied by several simple stick figure drawings.
It was a story illustrated with stick figures, presumably because the owner of the picture book couldn’t write or draw very well. They simply drew a circle and the character “大“ (meaning “big”) to represent the stick figures.
There were many stick figures, but only one had ‘Xiao Xi’ written above it, and ‘Xiao Xi’ was holding a long, distorted object.
The lines were crooked, and the shapes were not very clear, making it look somewhat eerie.
It should be... a knife.
Initially, Li Shuyang thought that ‘Xiao Xi’ was holding the knife to attack other stick figures, but as he turned the pages, he realized something was amiss.
It seemed like the other stick figures were... attacking ‘Xiao Xi’?
And ‘Xiao Xi’ holding the knife was merely holding it in self-defense.
There were too many stick figures, gradually surrounding ‘Xiao Xi’.
The story ended there, and it’s difficult to determine what happened afterward. It’s unclear whether ‘Xiao Xi’ fought back and killed the group of stick figures or if they overwhelmed and killed him.
Considering the context of the mission, this ‘Xiao Xi’ was evidently already deceased. The question was whether he was killed during this instance or later on.
However, regardless of the timing of his death, this kind of role-playing game clearly wasn’t suitable for children.
Xishan Kindergarten was definitely problematic.
Li Shuyang casually threw the picture book onto the couch, then glanced at the kitchen. Afterward, he dragged four bodies into the kitchen refrigerator.
The refrigerator was meant for cold storage, and it’s not particularly large. Squeezing four bodies inside was a bit of a stretch.
Li Shuyang pressed down expressionlessly before finally fitting all four bodies in.
Li Shuyang didn’t notify the players, nor did he inform anyone else. Instead, he settled down as if he was the owner of the house.
As if nothing had happened inside the house at all.
***
Ruan Qing slept straight through until the next morning, awakened by the sound of the alarm clock.
Actually, Ruan Qing had heard knocking sounds last night, but after not hearing any other movements, he had ignored them and took the time to rest.
Upon the alarm clock ringing, Ruan Qing opened his eyes.
He touched the corners of his eyes; his eyes seemed much better than yesterday?
Ruan Qing could vaguely see blurry patches of color, but the whole world still seemed shrouded in mist, making it unclear. However, regaining his vision should be a matter of time.
This was good news.
Ruan Qing fumbled to get dressed and got out of bed.
It was now 7:30 in the morning, and Yang Tianhao would be heading to work at 8:00. The original owner used to get up every day to send Yang Tianhao off.
Then, they would take Yang Muqing to Xishan Kindergarten.
But in recent days, when Yang Tianhao went to work, he conveniently dropped the child off at Xishan Kindergarten.
The adjacent bedroom wasn’t far away, and the two individuals in the room, one holding a knife, had naturally heard the sound of the alarm clock.
The murderer was somewhat puzzled. Why did his wife set the alarm clock so early?
The male neighbor, however, knew why. He directly gestured and, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear, said, “It’s time for you to get up for work.”
The murderer also caught on. He gave a cold laugh and mockingly replied in a hushed tone, “Why should it be me?”
The neighbor calmly withdrew his knife. “Aren’t you Yang Tianhao? Of course, it should be you.”
“Do I look like a fool to you?” The murderer also withdrew the knife, but the murderous intent in his eyes remained unchanged. Trying to steal his wife while he’s away? Dream on!
The two of them were in a stalemate, neither willing to back down.
However, the sound of someone washing up in the restroom had already begun. If there was no activity on their side, his wife would surely become suspicious.
In the end, the two of them decided to leave together; neither would be left behind.
Leaving the house didn’t mean they were actually leaving. They quickly pretended to finish washing up and stood by the doorway.
Not long ago, neither of them wanted to pretend to be Yang Tianhao, but now things were different. After all, both had to leave, and it would be even more heartening to bid farewell to their wife.
If it weren’t for seeing Ruan Qing approaching, the two of them would have almost taken out their knives again to stab each other.
The neighbor, acting impulsively, wanted to embrace Ruan Qing directly without seeking permission. Seeing this, the murderer sneered and thrust the knife, forcing the neighbor to dodge.
In the end, neither of them managed to bid Ruan Qing farewell with a kiss or an embrace.
They hadn’t failed to notice the fleeting expressions of disappointment and grievance on their wife’s delicate face, but they had no choice. Their conviction to kill each other had only grown stronger.
Leaving the house, they didn’t forget to take the child with them. After all, they still had to send the child to Xishan Kindergarten.
Neither of them wanted to do it, but they had no choice. If they didn’t send the child, the teachers at Xishan Kindergarten would call the parents to verify the situation.
It would be troublesome if they called their wife’s phone.
The child still hadn’t woken up for some reason, which saved them a lot of trouble. They simply dropped the child off at Xishan Kindergarten.
After sending off the child, the two of them returned to the fourth floor once again.
But both of them had already gone to “work”, so they naturally couldn’t go back to Room 406.
The neighbor glanced at the murderer, pulled out the key to his own apartment, and walked in with an air of pride.
The murderer sneered and took advantage of the man not having closed the door yet. He kicked the door open and quickly entered.
