Chapter 55: The Crimson Apartment, Part 15

There were not many people left in the apartment, where the temperature was noticeably and abnormally cold.

The NPC tenants had originally planned to go out and look for a police station, but they could not find one anywhere, remaining completely cut off from the outside world.

They were firmly trapped inside the apartment and its surrounding area, able only to wander the desolate streets.

The location of this apartment felt as though it existed in another world.

The NPCs had originally wanted to run away, but at the memory of the landlord's words, they shivered all over and dismissed the thought.

They did not dare to gamble their lives on whether or not they would die at night.

Yet there were always a few fools who refused to believe the landlord and insisted on escaping, acting as though they had no intention of returning by nightfall.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Seeing the few people breaking away from the group, someone asked in surprise: "The landlord said we can't run away, and we have to return to the apartment by night."

"Are you all spineless?"

The few people who had huddled together to break away raised their heads and questioned, their eye sockets red, "Why can't we run?"

They gritted their teeth, their faces trembling, feeling utterly sick to their stomachs at the mere memory of the terrifying scene from that morning: "What else can we do if we don't run? Wait in the apartment to die?"

To be honest, these few people were quite scared right now, but they felt that staying in the apartment was the most terrifying thing of all.

After all... what happened in Room 312 was a living example.

No one wanted to have their insides hollowed out and bleed to death.

Several NPCs shivered.

"The landlord can even control tentacles... just like a monster. Over there, we are like fish waiting to be slaughtered..."

Sweat dripped down an NPC's face. "How can such a thing even exist..."

"I clearly just rented a room, only to encounter this kind of terrifying ordeal."

"I mean, is, is this really not a dream?" they said, trembling all over. "...Even the police emergency number won't go through..."

"So, we..." The teeth of the few NPCs chattered. "Must—we must escape."

They... absolutely could not stay in that terrifying place.

"..." Hearing this, the others could not help falling silent, completely unable to refute them.

The players gathered on the side, originally watching with expressionless faces.

Seeing that some NPCs were foolish enough to actually prepare to run away and uttering such stupid remarks, they were almost moved to laughter.

"Tch... Is it really okay for instance NPCs to be this stupid?"

Living in a distinctly problematic apartment, yet still daring to disobey the rules.

Meanwhile, the few people who had fled tried their best to endure their anxiety, comforting themselves: The landlord is clearly not a normal person... Staying in that terrifying apartment is death anyway, there might just be a way to survive outside.

These people did not see that, despite it being broad daylight, unseen pitch-black shadows were following closely behind them.

Like a man-eating monster lying in wait, ready to devour them whole in the very next second.

—

The remaining people who had not fled returned to the apartment.

The players were naturally among them.

They had originally gone out to explore the instance, but not only did they fail to discover any clues, they had also watched a farce performed by a few fools.

The contempt in their hearts showed plainly on their faces, radiating a sense of lofty superiority down to their very bones.

The players treated the instance as an immersive horror game; even if they feared the instance boss, ordinary NPCs... what respect did they deserve?

There was zero need to view them as genuine human beings.

"Tch."

The young man wearing silver headphones noticed the players' thoughts, glanced at them a few times, curved his lips, and smiled with an ambiguous meaning.

These people... were completely different from her.

How arrogant.

The players pondered how to explore this apartment in the time they had left. The instance information only mentioned knocking on doors, so what was the trigger for the knock, and how did the monster... select its prey?

The players followed behind the NPCs, maintaining a moderate distance.

They observed their surroundings, knowing that danger could strike at any moment in a B-class instance.

Even clumsy NPCs could be replaced by monsters and turn to slaughter them.

Just as the NPCs stepped into the apartment, Zhou Zhou stumbled and ran to the entrance.

After that demon vanished, the pale white corridor seemed to have reached its end.

Her eyes were as red as a rabbit's. She ran blindly with her head down, paying no attention to the person ahead, and crashed straight into them. Before the other person could say anything, she let out a cry of pain first.

"Wuwu... so hard."

That person's chest was as hard as a branding iron, and her snow-white forehead was already red.

"...What is wrong with you?"

Zhou Zhou heard the other person pause, and after a long moment, a flat voice sounded: "...so flustered, you aren't even looking where you're going."

"I, I'm fine... Sorry for bumping into you."

Realizing belatedly that she had collided with someone, Zhou Zhou apologized profusely, freezing slightly the moment her gaze brushed against the other person.

"Ah?"

It turned out to be that strange young man from earlier.

Still wearing headphones, dressed in black from head to finish, with a mysterious and cold expression.

"It's fine."

The headphone-wearing man's voice was also cold and detached. "You still haven't told me what's wrong, or why you came running over in such a panic."

His gaze gently lingered on her, from her damp eyelashes to her lips as ruddy as the morning dew at dawn, and her tear-stained, moisture-slicked face.

When she came stumbling over... Right, what kind of expression had she worn back then?

It tempted one to throw caution to the wind, just like what had happened once before, with someone—or a demon—dragging her by the legs while kissing her.

He thought to himself with a detached coldness, [At the time, even her lower parts were swollen, and she was thoroughly pleasured in bed... crying out in a whimpering mess.]

Why was she so pitiful, almost being driven to death in the end?

And in such a ridiculous and filthy way.

It had taken him a tremendous amount of effort to see her again.

She had even stared at him with such an unfamiliar gaze earlier.

Did she think this was their first meeting? Idiot.

To him, however, it was a reunion.

"When you bumped into me just now, I saw it, you know."

Su Muyan looked at her for a long while. He could not... absolutely could not let her die.

"You looked like you were about to cry... aggrieved like a kitten shedding tears."

His voice was muffled, hoarse, and cold. Zhou Zhou's ears grew hot; with such an exaggeration, did she really look like a weeping kitten?

"Really?"

She pressed her lips together and tightly gripped her long sleeves. "...I was just remembering this morning's events and felt a bit scared."

She didn't know who this person really was or why he was speaking to her in a way she couldn't understand, but someone like this was truly suspicious.

Therefore, she could not possibly mention what had just happened.

What if he was a disguised monster?

"You're lying."

Su Muyan didn't want to hear her talk. He gently grasped her shoulders and lifted her up as if she were a little chick.

Zhou Zhou's eyes widened.

Was he... going to hit her?

"W-What are you doing...?" She struggled in fear, seeming to accidentally kick something, and the man let out a low grunt, his tone turning somewhat heavy. "Stop moving."

"What on earth happened?"

The young girl was somewhat bewildered. Paying no heed to her struggles, Su Muyan pulled her directly into his embrace, holding her in the manner of someone cradling a tiny kitten.

"If you don't tell me, I'll hold you for the entire day and not let you go anywhere."

Zhou Zhou's body stiffened, disbelief in her voice: "So mean... Why are you like this?"

Why did he have to force her to speak?

"I was a bad guy to begin with." The young man tapped the girl's head with his finger, his expression still indifferent—utterly devoid of any resemblance to a bad guy. "...Are you going to talk or not?"

Zhou Zhou had no way to resist. Though she didn't know how he knew she was lying, if he really kept her in his arms all day and she couldn't go anywhere, how was she supposed to find her room card?

She aggrievedly raised her face. "I'll talk, okay? Why are you glaring at me?"

Su Muyan was momentarily taken aback.

Was he glaring at her?

How come he wasn't aware of it?

"It's really nothing... It's just that I lost my room card." Zhou Zhou's eyelashes trembled like the uneasy wings of a butterfly. "It seems I left it at the shop where I went to buy a charger."

"I was just running because I was too scared."

Su Muyan appeared to believe her. "You lost your room card?"

Zhou Zhou nodded.

The man lowered his head to gaze at the girl in his arms and volunteered himself: "Then I'll go out with you to look for it."

Just as they reached the entrance, the young player who heard these words instantly blew his top.

"Who the hell do you think you're going with—?!"

Fang Yu's expression was quite unsightly. He had only stepped out for a moment, and the girl was about to be snatched away by a bastard; how could he possibly be happy?

"Do you even have money?" He looked at Su Muyan, his handsome face revealing a gloomy, malignant hostility.

"You look dirt poor... yet you dare to hug her and want to accompany her. How utterly outrageous... Are you trying to pose as a rich second-generation heir to scam people, or do you want to sleep with her?"

Fang Yu's tone was hoarse and icy.

"...Don't you know she would never look down on a penniless loser like you?"

Zhou Zhou was somewhat stunned. Seriously, what on earth was this guy getting so angry about?

And saying... such vulgar things.

He had acted like a perverted weirdo earlier who wanted to use money to toy with NPCs; who on earth was the outrageous one here?

Though the headphone-wearing man was pretty outrageous too, come to think of it.

"Shut up." Su Muyan put the girl down, his voice equally icy. "Only a hybrid like you would think that way."

—

The players standing behind Fang Yu were already dumbfounded.

What... on earth was going on here?

A player and an NPC had actually started fighting.

And it was all to fight over a disposable cannon-fodder NPC.

The players glanced at the girl. She seemed somewhat dazed by this turn of events, her eyes filled with bewilderment.

Her snow-white face and rose-red lips were half-parted in an arc that made people want to pry them open.

A thought popped into their minds... She is so gorgeous.

No living creature could fail to be moved, right? Even a terrifying monster would surely adore her, for the young girl was as alluring as an abyss leading to ruin...

Wait... A monster?

The players suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

The girl, who should have been mere cannon fodder, had not died on the first day. The monster might have spared her, or perhaps the girl herself was concealing her true strength.

Regardless, she might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

Fang Yu's strength was formidable, and he had originally expected to effortlessly crush his opponent.

Yet, in the end, he unexpectedly fought to a draw with Su Muyan.

"Ha." He wore a somewhat cold and menacing smile. "...I underestimated you."

Fighting a player of the instance to a draw meant this NPC was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

So what if he wasn't?

Fang Yu didn't care about any of that. Even if he died, he would not let anyone else snatch the girl away.

His plans were well laid out, but Zhou Zhou was practically anxious to the point of tears.

She had originally wanted to sneak away, but they were blocking the doorway, and the two of them were locked in such a fierce fight that she couldn't get out at all.

The young girl tensed her face, her voice soft and plaintive, "First... stop fighting..."

"If this goes on, it'll be dark..."

If it got dark, she would definitely be torn apart by the monsters; at the mere thought of that scene, Zhou Zhou was terrified beyond measure.

"Wuwu..." She drooped her damp eyelashes, looking terribly wronged as she said, "Regardless of whatever fuss you want to make later, can you just step aside for a moment? I, I need to go out..."

"...Zhouzhou?" Hearing her words, both Fang Yu and Su Muyan abruptly halted their attacks.

The young girl's pale, pitiful face looked thoroughly frightened.

Both of them felt a twinge of discomfort in their chests.

"Did we scare you?"

Zhou Zhou nodded. Did that even need to be asked?

"I really have to go out..." She clenched her slightly damp palms. "Would you guys please move aside?"

Knowing she was terrified, Su Muyan paused, and unexpectedly stepped aside to clear the path, though his expression remained dark and murky.

His voice was low and hoarse:

"It's not safe to go out alone."

"Things haven't been peaceful these past few days, it's still too dangerous by yourself..." Fang Yu's face darkened, evidently sharing the same thought.

The two men looked at the young girl, unable to stop themselves from blurting out:

"...I'm going with you."

Two young male voices overlapped.

"Eh...?" Zhou Zhou blinked in a daze. "S-So in sync."

"What are you talking about?" The two immediately shot looks of extreme disgust at each other, wearing gloomy expressions that looked ready to kill. "Who wants to be in sync with a guy like this?"

"Exactly... It's utterly disgusting."

Fang Yu held not a shred of goodwill toward this man who had bullied the girl.

"Tell me," Su Muyan said in a cold voice, his large hand grabbing her wrist. "Who do you choose?"

"What the hell..." Zhou Zhou felt as though her head were about to explode, muttering in a muffled voice, "Let's all just go together, then."