A tear mole. Chi Ling instantly made the connection to the resident of Unit 312.
It looks like I will have to go take a look at Buildings 1 and 2 tomorrow.
For some reason, the moment he thought of the resident in Unit 312, an ominous premonition stirred in his heart, and that premonition suddenly materialized.
[System Prompt: Current remaining players: 13/20.]
How come there are only 13 people left?
Chi Ling’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. With one hand covering his right eye, he tapped into the chat group with the other.
[301 Wang Xiumei: Just now, I used an item and heard the female resident of 312 knocking on the door of 301. The player in 301 has most likely already died. Anyone who went to 312 today might be in danger.]
Wang Xiumei from 301 could be considered to have given all the players a wake-up call.
Quite a few people in the group started tagging Liu Jun from 302, but no one replied.
It seemed his fate was indeed ominous and uncertain.
Chi Ling grew even more alert. He hadn’t visited 312 today, yet his heart remained uneasy.
He checked the time on his phone; it was a little past seven, but the sky outside looked as though deep night had already fallen.
Cursing inwardly, he opened the front door and purchased a perspective card to stick onto the door.
This was the second night. Since they hadn’t encountered danger last night, tonight might not be so forgiving.
As if validating his thoughts, the system prompt rang out.
[System Prompt: Current remaining players: 12/20.] [System Prompt: Current remaining players: 11/20.]
Barely a few minutes had passed since Wang Xiumei sent her message before two more people died.
Tapping his fingers lightly against the coffee table, Chi Ling re-sorted and re-arranged the clues in his mind.
It was known that Community 75 had seven residential buildings, with buildings four through seven currently having no news, while buildings one and two only had one player each.
In Building 3, Units 301 and 302 were single-occupancy, and Units 303 to 306 were double-occupancy. Factoring in Chi Ling and Ji Qing, that only made 14 people. Yet the group clearly had 20 members—so who were the remaining 6 people?
Chi Ling closed his eyes to recall. Aside from himself, he had indeed only ever seen 13 people.
A cold numbness gripped his heart. He opened his phone and clicked into the group member list.
Beneath the uniform formatting, he spotted several members: [310 Lin Ru], [310 Ding Tao], [311 Zheng Li], [311 Wang Guowei], [312 Li Xingyun], and [315 Lin Jing].
Chi Ling’s vision went dark for a split second, and he nearly threw his phone away.
Damn it, Chi Ling muttered under his breath, letting out a single syllable. How did Ji Qing set up this group chat anyway?! What kind of people were these?
It turned out that those players who failed to secure a job didn’t even survive the first night. Not only did the system fail to broadcast their deaths, but the other players’ subconscious minds had also assumed those people were still alive.
Well, look at that. He had originally felt this group chat didn’t look like something put together by players—wasn’t this list of nicknames a textbook residential community group chat?
And now it had truly turned into a community group chat.
Chi Ling hurriedly exited the group chat and set up a new one. This time, there were only 11 people left in the group.
He failed to notice that after he left the old group, a new message popped up inside it. The people who had been fiercely debating in the group just moments ago instantly fell silent. After that message, no new messages appeared in the group, while the member count steadily ticked down one by one until only 9 remained.
[312 Li Xingyun: Just finished visiting the neighbors in 302 and 305; they were both very hospitable. Next up is visiting 313! Hope you guys welcome me.]
Ji Qing’s face turned ashen white, his phone slipping from his hand and hitting the floor with a crisp clatter.
“Brother, that person in 312 said she is coming to visit us. Are we dead for sure?!”
Chi Ling picked up the phone, tossed it back to Ji Qing, his fingertips turning somewhat pale.
Did I violate the rules?
Chi Ling retraced his actions in his memory, finding nothing amiss. That meant someone was pulling malicious tricks.
[System Prompt: Player Chi Ling’s minor injury buff is triggered.]
Chi Ling was still deep in thought when a wave of bloody metallic taste suddenly surged up. Calmly retrieving a handkerchief from his spatial inventory, he began to cough softly. Bright red bloodstains bloomed across the pristine white handkerchief like plum blossoms in the snow.
“Brother, are you alright?!” Ji Qing’s expression changed drastically.
Chi Ling stopped him from stepping forward with a look, leaving Ji Qing to slump back down helplessly.
Chi Ling closed his eyes, his complexion a startlingly pale white. He recalled who had mentioned visiting 312 in the group chat: 302 and 305. A total of three players had already been eliminated.
Aside from those three, no one else had ever mentioned visiting 312.
Opening his eyes, his gaze was filled with frigid intent.
“I am fine.”
His voice seemed to carry a strange, hypnotic power. Despite the cold phrasing and lack of comforting tone, Ji Qing instantly steadied himself. His gaze unconsciously drifted toward the handkerchief on the sofa, filled with worry.
“Brother, what should we do next?”
Chi Ling motioned for him to lean closer, whispering a few instructions. Ji Qing nodded, determination written all over his face.
“This minor injury buff is seriously annoying, triggering a random penalty every single day.” “His current situation is super dangerous.” “What did they just say? Did anyone hear?” “Didn’t hear anything. I am going to check out another livestream room.” “Tried that, you can’t hear anything in the other rooms either.” “Damn, those two in 306 are so shady! If I run into them in an instance, I am definitely not letting them off.” “Despicable!” “I wonder if Chi Ling has a way to break out of this.” (Player No. 221 tipped 1,000 points)
[Livestream Journey, current viewer count: 19,628, likes: 15,811, favorites: 10,021, tips: 3,189.]
Chi Ling had no spare attention for the livestream panel. He purchased several items from the shop, his mind rapidly re-verifying whether there were any loopholes in his plan.
“Hah!”
Out of sheer reflex, he reached up to touch his ear studs, half-fancied hearing someone gently whispering in his ear telling him not to be afraid.
I am not afraid.
The sound of high heels striking the floor echoed down the hallway—step by step, growing closer and closer.
That footfall, accompanied by a strange humming tune, drifted through the corridor, making Chi Ling break out in a cold sweat upon hearing it.
The perspective talisman allowed him to ignore the physical obstruction of the door and peer directly at the scene outside.
A woman in a white blouse and blue miniskirt stood outside the door, humming a tune as she knocked.
She was indeed strikingly beautiful, possessing the kind of face that instantly elicited a protective urge at first glance, while a tiny tear mole beneath her eye added a touch of enchanting allure.
After knocking a few times and receiving no response from inside, Zhang Xingyun’s smile grew wider, and blood tears began to seep from her eyes.
“Is anyone home? I am a resident of 312, wanting to drop by for a visit. I mentioned it in the group chat just now.”
“Did you guys not come to my place today too? Why are you not opening the door?” “Why are you not opening the door?”
Observing from inside the door, Chi Ling noticed the subtle signs of the woman losing control and raised his voice to speak: “Please wait a moment. I will open the door as soon as I finish what I am doing.”
“Alrighty then!” Zhang Xingyun replied in a sweet voice, though the smile on her face grew increasingly bizarre.
She pressed her clenched fists against her chin, looking immensely expectant. Her innocent and carefree expression sent a shiver of dread down Chi Ling’s spine.
After a few minutes, she spoke up again: “Are you done yet? Why are you not opening the door?”
“Coming right away.”
Chi Ling could see Zhang Xingyun fighting to suppress her movements. It seemed she, too, was bound by certain rules.
Yet blocking her for a moment could not block her for a lifetime.
Zhang Xingyun was clearly growing increasingly impatient. Her blood-red painted nails rapidly grew longer as she paced back and forth outside the doorway, chanting, “Why are you not opening the door? Why still are you not opening the door?”
Her voice grew sharp and piercing, and the aura exuding from her turned increasingly chilling. With a terrifying expression, she glared hatefully at the door, sending a jolt through Chi Ling’s heart.
It seemed he could not keep stalling. After all, the Resident Rules explicitly stated that they must welcome visits from neighbors. If Chi Ling delayed any further, she would probably force her way inside.
Chi Ling signaled Ji Qing to stand to the side of the door. Closing his eyes and hardening his resolve, he reached out and grabbed the doorknob.
“Xiao Zhang, why are you still out here so late?”
An elderly, raspy voice rang out, causing Chi Ling to halt his movements.
Zhang Xingyun instantly reverted to normal, looking every bit like a lively and adorable girl-next-door.
“Granny Chen, you are back!” Zhang Xingyun said in a bubbly tone, giggling sweetly.
Chi Ling broke out in goosebumps.
“Is the resident of 313 home? I am the resident of 314, and I am back to bring my little Gray back home.” The gaunt, withered old woman stood in front of the door, her expression surprisingly gentle as she cradled her beloved cat.
Chi Ling gave a hand signal. Ji Qing hurried back into the bedroom, grabbed the cat along with its cushion, carried them out, and handed them to Chi Ling.
Wearing a practiced smile, Chi Ling cradled the cat with one hand while smoothly opening the door with the other.
“Welcome home. Your cat fell asleep, so you can take it back now.”
Chi Ling extended the cat forward along with its cushion. Right at that moment, the little cat woke up, fixing its amber eyes on Chi Ling with a lingering attachment. It gently licked Chi Ling’s hand with its tongue, looking thoroughly reluctant to part.
The sky outside seemed to brighten for a split second, and countless overlapping afterimages flickered across Chi Ling’s vision, forcing him to take a step back and lean against the wall.
The old woman gathered it into her arms, gently stroking it as she thanked Chi Ling with a mild gaze: “Thank you. It looks like you took good care of it—it likes you.”
As if agreeing with the old woman’s words, the little cat let out a soft, baby-like meow, looking between the old woman and Chi Ling before drifting back to sleep.
Upon seeing Chi Ling step out and catching sight of his face, Li Xingyun’s expression turned very strange—partly bewildered and partly puzzled as she asked, “You are the resident of 313?”
Chi Ling gave a subtle nod. Standing nearby holding her cat, the old woman eyed Li Xingyun with a scrutinizing gaze, intending to wait until she left before departing herself.
“Can you let the other resident come out so I can meet them?” Li Xingyun’s voice carried a hint of urgency.
“Ji Qing,” Chi Ling called out, and Ji Qing responded immediately.
“Coming!” Despite his lingering fear, Ji Qing poked his head out at top speed.
Li Xingyun’s gaze lingered on Ji Qing’s hair for a moment, and her expression darkened.
Frightening up a smile, she said, “Consider my visit completed for today, see you another day.”
She gave a shallow curtsy with her hands lightly holding her skirt, bid farewell to the old woman as well, and tripped away down the hallway.
Chi Ling let out a long breath of relief.
You had better not come back.
“Then I will be heading back too.” Cradling the cat, the old woman walked over to the opposite door, Unit 314.
Chi Ling stepped back inside as well. Locking the front door securely behind him, he threw himself onto the sofa and picked up the novel he had bought the previous night.
His gaze was indifferent, appearing to read the book while actually staring into the void.
He guessed someone would reap what they sowed.
[System Prompt: Current remaining players: 9/20.]
Finally…
Chi Ling put down the novel, narrowing his eyes in quiet satisfaction as he rested his head against the sofa cushion.
Hoping for a good night’s sleep tonight.