Chapter 54: Bloodstained Apartment 14

“...No.”

She didn't have any favorable impression of this anti-fan either.

Zhou Zhou had clearly heard Shen Wen say last night that he was Player Number One.

Therefore, it was really strange for him to ask her if she was tired last night under these circumstances.

“Not tired out, huh...” Shen Yi showed a look of disappointment. “It seems I need to work harder...”

She froze for a split second, her brain seeming to crash, and it took her a while to spit out a sentence:

“...Are you, out of your mind?”

“Ah, it seems I am a bit.” Shen Yi smiled casually. “Would you like to come and examine me?”

There was no reasoning with a lunatic. Zhou Zhou pressed her lips together, gave him no answer, and prepared to head straight back to her room.

“Don’t walk away.”

The mint-green-haired young man tensed his expression. His frivolous attitude vanished, replaced instead by a solemn look:

“I just want to ask you, did anything happen when you went back to your room late last night?”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and she finally raised her head to look at him.

“You... what do you mean by that?”

The face she lifted formed a breathtakingly gorgeous arc. Being so pretty, there was simply no such thing as a bad angle; from wherever you looked, she was stunning.

Shen Yi’s breathing grew a little hot and restless. He lowered his eyes.

“Because there was no live stream today... Not a single one has ever been missed before.”

Shen Yi gazed at her petal-tender face. “Did something happen?”

“Or could it be that you were frightened by what happened this morning?”

Zhou Zhou had no desire to casually disclose her experiences of last night to a person like this, someone who had previously treated her with such malice.

Now that he was asking her, how could it possibly be out of kindness?

“No matter what happens... what does it have to do with you anyway?”

Zhou Zhou’s voice was very soft. She lowered her head once more to gaze at the tips of her shoes, too lazy to look at him. “Aren’t you my anti-fan? You’ve always wanted to see me make a fool of myself...”

This was a posture of rejection.

“Then, I’m sorry.” A strange, inexplicable tightness pricked at Shen Yi’s heart, and his tone was dry. “I’m sorry about before.”

“I, I was just—”

He didn’t know what to say, but no matter what, he had to say something right now, any words would do.

Shen Yi looked at her dark, glossy long hair, which fell smoothly over her shoulders, and his tone couldn't help but shift, carrying a strangely burning intensity.

“I am out of my mind, my brain isn’t working right, I’m sorry.”

He looked like a large, green-haired dog with drooping ears, gazing pitifully at Zhou Zhou. “...Can you forgive me?”

He didn't want to keep being hated—he wasn't her anti-fan anymore.

“There’s no need.”

Instead, Zhou Zhou lowered her head further, not wanting to see him at all, and simply walked away.

“There’s no need to say sorry, because in your eyes, I’m just that kind of person anyway.”

Without saying whether she forgave him or not, Zhou Zhou walked away without a moment's hesitation.

—

Bright as it was outside, the apartment was still bitterly cold.

“So cold...”

How could it be this cold... No wonder they called it a B-grade instance; people might just freeze to death before the instance even ended.

Zhou Zhou’s nose was red, and her mind couldn't help but wander, all sorts of messy thoughts crowding into her head.

She hugged her arms and couldn't help quickening her pace. It was simply too cold, like a subterranean ice cave, terrifying to the extreme.

The pale white corridor also resembled a devourer of men. As soon as Zhou Zhou reached room 115, she reached into her pocket and fumbled around for a moment before her fingers suddenly stopped.

“Where’s the room card?”

The young girl’s face was as white as tissue paper, her eyes widening in terror as she searched her pockets again, refusing to give up.

Nothing... nothing at all, only the icy-cold touch of a phone charger.

The room card... the room card was gone.

The room card that had been resting securely in her pocket had vanished into thin air.

Yet she had never taken it out. The only place she might possibly have lost it was the mobile phone shop where she bought the charger.

Zhou Zhou had heard the landlord say that losing the room card meant death.

She didn't think he was just saying it for effect.

In a horrifying instance like this, someone unintelligent like her wouldn't even survive a single day.

No... she tried her best to stay calm, her eyes stinging with redness. Zhou Zhou wiped them carelessly, telling herself not to fall apart now.

Crying wasn't going to solve the problem.

The only thing she could do right now was...

Zhou Zhou clenched her fists, sniffed back her tears, and turned around without hesitation.

She had to find the room card and return before dark.

There was no time to waste.

At this moment, Zhou Zhou could only hope that the room card had been left behind at the mobile phone shop rather than stolen by some bizarre entity.

After all, in an instance like this, having a monster steal her room card was entirely possible.

If it was a monster... she would probably just be waiting to die.

The apartment corridor was still as long as ever. For some reason, Zhou Zhou felt increasingly exhausted.

The entrance to the apartment lobby was clearly not far ahead, yet she felt as if she were moving in place, unable to get closer by even an inch.

Wh-What is going on...

“Sob...”

She tried her best to control her trembling body. Had she run into a ghost?

Yet of all times, why did she have to run into a ghost right now... Zhou Zhou pressed her lips together in a cold sweat. This must have something to do with her losing the room card.

And... last night she had also been knocked on by a monster. Though she hadn't died, Zhou Zhou didn't believe the monster had simply let her off the hook...

Thinking of the shopkeeper’s words, Zhou Zhou felt her heart skip a beat. She... had been targeted by a demon.

So, was the demon now... here to devour her?

Whether to validate Zhou Zhou’s thoughts or not, the pale, straight corridor gradually twisted and deformed—in a trance, she saw countless pitch-black shadows closing in on her.

A sharp, shrill shriek clamored out—

“So fragrant—”

“...Eat her... swallow her soul...”

“Ah...” something whispered, “...She’s so cute... Let’s eat her together...”

No... don't.

Zhou Zhou’s heart grew colder and colder. Overcome by intense terror, her tears finally fell uncontrollably.

“Sob, let... let me go...”

She wanted to run, but her body felt as if it were being tightly dragged down by some unknown entity, unable even to twitch.

Gray-black, humanoid monsters bared their icy fangs, their sharp teeth hovering near the young girl’s neck as if pondering where best to bite.

Suddenly, those sharp fangs shifted away.

“Sob... don't...”

Zhou Zhou couldn't feel or touch any physical form, only a trace of icy chill around her ankles.

The surroundings were thick with the pungent stench of sulfur, like burning flames.

Cold and domineering.

If a third party were present, they would witness this scene: a beautiful young girl with half-closed, wet, terrified eyes; a terrifying dark shadow spreading massive wings, half-kneeling in worship yet resembling a fierce beast about to tear into its prey’s neck, its expression intoxicated.

As if teasing her and savoring the terrified struggle of its prey before death, the sharp fangs hovering over her neck lingered and refused to descend.

Zhou Zhou was trembling entirely from this immense terror, sweat dampening her snow-white brow.

“You...”

At this moment, the opponent completely dominated her soul.

The monster that refused to act hung over Zhou Zhou like the Sword of Damocles, completely robbing her of hope and plunging her into despair.

“Sob.”

She was so terrified... under such a horrifying atmosphere, she couldn't hold on any longer.

The monster’s teeth brushed against her delicate, pointed chin, scraping her painfully.

Zhou Zhou let out a soft hiss as blood seemed to ooze from her chin.

“It-It hurts so much...”

Why was he so clumsy?

A dense wave of pain radiated from her chin, and the monster’s sharp fangs were still haphazardly brushing against her face, its breath puffing against her soft skin.

A large, icy hand gripped Zhou Zhou’s pale, pretty face.

It felt as though it wanted to peel off the entire layer of skin and eat it.

No, no... her face couldn't be torn off; that would hurt too much.

Even if she was going to be eaten, she didn't want to be eaten in such a painful way.

Having her face peeled off was simply too terrifying.

Zhou Zhou shivered as she hugged the monster, her voice trembling:

“Are, are you incapable of eating people... You can’t even find a place to bite...”

Enduring her fear, Zhou Zhou pressed her snow-white nape against the monster’s mouth, the skin she touched unexpectedly soft.

There was a carotid artery on the neck which would be easy to bite; she would probably die before it hurt too much.

By then she wouldn't feel the pain, and the monster could eat her however it liked.

Resigned to whatever treatment he chose, Zhou Zhou curved her neck slightly like a falling butterfly, tilted her head, and said earnestly:

“Go ahead and eat me.”

—

“What are you doing...”

The monster seemed to freeze, pulling its sharp teeth away from her neck without biting her.

“...I, after all, am a demon.”

She heard his hoarse sigh—it was a remarkably pleasant voice, and she had a vague sense of familiarity as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Knowing he was a demon... Zhou Zhou hugged herself, burying her head in his arm. But whatever, let this demon do as he pleased; wasn't she already targeted by him anyway?

“So what if you’re a demon... Are you going to eat me or not?”

“Huh?” Loid felt as if his ears had gone wrong like those of weak humans, otherwise how could he have heard such outrageous words.

“...Who on earth actively offers themselves up to be eaten by a monster from hell?”

He lowered his head to gaze at the young girl. She had an extraordinarily pretty face, her long lashes wet and adorable.

Loid looked down on humans, but he truly found this girl adorable.

“Why wouldn’t there be? Even if there wasn’t before, well, you’ve run into one now...”

Zhou Zhou hugged the monster’s arm like a pitiful little creature. For some reason, she could touch him now, though she still couldn't clearly see his face.

She didn't know that humans couldn't clearly see demons; they could only perceive them through certain mediums.

“Sob...” Zhou Zhou buried her head deeper.

His arm was so hard; a single punch could make her cry, and his teeth were so sharp that a single bite would probably leave not even a finger behind.

How could she possibly resist him?

“You scared me like this... isn't it because you want to eat me...”

Zhou Zhou was truly terrified, her tears falling unceasingly.

Though it should have meant nothing to a demon, this fleeting warmth felt as though it were scorching the monster’s skin, burning hot.

Loid was speechless.

“I, I can’t even beat you... If I resisted, you’d probably get angry and bite my arms and legs to pieces.”

With wet, red eyes like shattered petals, Zhou Zhou spoke in a trembling voice.

“Since that’s the case...”

She forced herself to keep her expression composed, trying not to be too afraid.

“Then, go ahead and eat me.”

“Ha,” the demon’s voice was hoarse and cold. “I’ve never seen a human like you... acting as impulsive as a little child.”

No different from an immature baby.

“I, I am not...” Zhou Zhou asked aggrievedly. Of course she wasn't; she just didn't want her face torn to shreds, how was that acting impulsively like a child?

“You certainly are.” Zhou Zhou heard the monster let out a chuckle.

It sounded mocking, yet as if he found her absurd. “A human who actively lets herself be eaten...”

“You’re the very first.”

“However, as a reward, I can grant you protection.”

“This apartment...” Loid seemed about to say more when a ripple like water shuddered through the air.

“Tsk.”

His expression instantly turned cold. “Damned flies, always knowing how to interrupt.”

Loid lazily lowered his purple pupils. The apartment was still far too crowded; he should kill a few more to make some space here.

An icy aura scattered as the young girl still gazed fearfully at the black, misty entity he embodied.

Her eyes were wet, both pitiful and adorable, prompting a heartfelt sigh of fondness from the depths of his heart.

“Though I don't want to leave, but...”

The demon lowered his head, gazing at the young girl for a moment.

“I have to leave for now.”

“Little baby, I’ll eat you next time.”

—