The man pulled out the knife without expression. Blood sprayed, and Jiang Mingran collapsed.
He stepped inside, surveyed the apartment, and looked at Shao Lan.
Shao Lan had multiple shattered bones throughout his body. He was completely incapable of resisting.
The man crouched in front of him. In the weak light, Shao Lan could see his gaunt, sunken cheekbones and the wrinkles around the dark circles under his eyes. His face was utterly exhausted and utterly bleak.
"Where is she?" the man asked.
Instead of answering, Shao Lan asked, "Who?"
Before the word had even faded, the man raised the knife and drove it into his shoulder.
He twisted the handle inside the wound. Blood splashed onto his face as he murmured numbly, "Is she dead?"
Shao Lan spat blood and gritted his teeth. "If you go downstairs now, you might be able to save her."
He wanted to send the man away. But the man only paused, as though pondering the question. "Save her?"
He shook his head. "No. It was too late long ago."
He pulled out the knife, raised it high, and stabbed toward Shao Lan's heart.
That blow would kill him. With no strength left to stop it, he could only watch the gleaming blade descend.
In a flash, someone lunged at the man from behind.
Jiang Mingran.
Dying, he'd dragged himself up and used the last of his strength to tackle the man.
The man's head struck the floor. His grip loosened, and the knife flew away.
Flat on his stomach, Shao Lan inched toward it.
Jiang Mingran clamped his hands around the man's throat. Blood poured from his mouth, but he refused to let go.
With all his strength, the man kicked Jiang Mingran away, rolled over, and pinned him down. He punched him hard in the face.
"You..."
The man opened his mouth, but blood flowed out.
He looked down. The point of the knife protruded from his chest.
Shao Lan withdrew it. The man slumped like a rag sack spurting blood.
"Man..."
Shao Lan shoved the man's body aside, revealing Jiang Mingran's blood-smeared face.
He looked at Shao Lan. With every word, another mouthful of blood spilled out. "Man... is there... is there still a way?"
This time, some of them had died and others had been grievously injured just to get rid of the woman.
Then a fake cop had appeared, intent on killing them, too.
What kind of game was this? Was there really any way to survive?
"There is," Shao Lan said. "Believe me. There has to be."
Jiang Mingran nodded. Then his pupils slowly dilated, his eyes losing focus.
He was dead.
That final burst of strength had only been his dying rally.
Shao Lan slumped onto the floor. He, too, had exhausted his strength. His vision blurred, while the sounds around him grew louder. Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
"Reporting an anomaly on the thirteenth floor! Possible crime scene!"
"Blood found in the hallway!"
Struggling to prop himself up, Shao Lan tilted his head to listen.
It wasn't a hallucination. The police really had arrived.
With the last of his strength, he pulled open the security door and collapsed.
...
"Reporting from the scene, apartment 1301! Three dead, one injured!"
"No suspect found!"
Shao Lan's vision had blurred from blood loss. All he could make out were figures in white coats moving in front of him.
"Sir! Stay with us! Can you hear me?"
He was saved. Medical personnel were checking his injuries, preparing to lift him onto a stretcher.
But...
He turned his head. A white outline had been drawn on the floor nearby. Within it lay Jiang Mingran's body.
If the medics took him away now, he could survive. But the loop would end, leaving Jiang Mingran and Uncle Pancake here forever.
Just minutes earlier, Jiang Mingran had promised to kill himself if Shao Lan died, giving them another loop.
But Shao Lan hadn't truly trusted him completely.
People were selfish. With only one loop left, why gamble your life on another when you could survive this one?
Especially when things were this dangerous. This round had brought a fake cop who'd never appeared before. Who knew what the next would bring? Who could guarantee they'd live?
All Shao Lan had to do was lie still. The doctors would take him away. The loop would end.
But...
He picked up the knife from the floor and drove it into his own chest.
"Sir!"
People rushed toward him. With his last strength, he twisted the handle and pulled the knife out.
Blood sprayed. As his consciousness drifted, he closed his eyes.
The tangled clues in his mind gradually converged like a river shimmering with light. He needed only to follow its course to reach the truth. This chapter was copied from NovelPing without permission.
The diary. The married couple. The woman's belly. The fake cop who'd suddenly appeared.
A phone number written down. No call made. Dismembered remains found around the city. The sound of a door opening and closing.
And the rule carved into the floor: [Rule: Owls are birds skilled at disguise. Do not trust owls.]
Wait. So that was it.
That was it...
That was it!
...
Drip. Drip.
Jiang Mingran opened his eyes to the sound of water.
He lay on the cot in the little bedroom, surrounded by familiar things.
The funeral altar. The lone goldfish. The owl clock.
It was 3:58 a.m. They had one last chance.
If they failed to escape this time, death would be final.
He slapped his head hard to clear it.
One last chance. He had to be careful, think every step through, make no mistakes...
"Jiang Mingran! Get a knife from the kitchen!"
A shout suddenly came from outside.
He froze.
Shao Lan's voice.
What was going on? Had Shao Lan started fighting that monster head-on? How could they possibly beat her?
His legs moved faster than his brain. Still completely bewildered, he ran outside.
Knife in hand, he rushed into the living room. But Shao Lan wasn't fighting the monster. He was fighting a man in a worn jacket.
The fake cop from the end of the previous loop!
Shao Lan had an arm locked around the man's neck from behind. The man thrashed like a trapped beast, kicking over the table and scattering clutter across the floor.
Jiang Mingran rushed forward. Something caught his foot. He pitched headfirst, about to land face-first on the floor.
At the last instant, he threw the knife. "Brother Lan!"
With one arm still around the man's neck, Shao Lan caught the knife cleanly in his free hand and held it across the man's throat.
"Don't move." He looked calmly ahead. "Move an inch, and I'll kill him."
Jiang Mingran scrambled up from the scattered clutter. The other bedroom door opened, too. Uncle Pancake stood in the doorway, and both of them stared in shock at the space in front of Shao Lan.
The bathroom door slowly opened. The monstrous woman stood inside.