Bathing

An Ying and Mi Chuchu spotted Lin Nieran early on, but seeing that he was with his mother, they didn't disturb him and proceeded to the North Gate as planned.

The group has indeed found the mastermind, but no one has a clue how to exit the Instance.

Each Instance has more than one solution, and they couldn't place all their hopes on Lin Yi. So the Calamity Crossing Squad contacted many other teams, including Tang Pin's team, to inquire at the four gates of the community to see if they could physically leave.

In yesterday's Lin Yi's Day Instance, most teams followed their Dad and exited through the North Gate. However, some teams tried to exit through the South Gate, East Gate, and West Gate, but all failed.

The most likely possibility right now is the North Gate, but they can't completely give up hope on the other gates.

The North Gate is the most eerie and bustling place, with eerie beings coming and going, laughing and talking as they walk out. But to most humans, the area outside the North Gate is nothing but a void of white; if they were to follow these eerie beings out, they have no idea where they would end up.

"Uncle Gatekeeper, I need to ask you something," Mi Chuchu said loudly, banging on the door of the gatehouse.

A moment of silence fell over the guardhouse, then an old, eerie figure in a guard's uniform poked his head out. "What is it?"

"Xiao Ran, what are you looking at?"

Lin Nieran snapped out of his reverie. His Weird Mother had finished chatting and was calling him to go home together. He looked away from them and asked her, "Mom, do you think we have a key to the gate of our apartment complex?"

Why are you asking this? These are all smart locks now, why would you need a key?

"What if the power goes out? Surely we have a key to the main gate?"

"Maybe so, but that's the gatekeeper's job, we don't need to worry about it. Come on, I'll cook you something delicious for lunch today."

Upon arriving home, Lin Nieran helped his mother pick and wash vegetables, while clear water flowed smoothly from the tap.

"Shuashua--"

Clear water slowly gathered in the Bathtub, but after a short while, Sheng Qingqiao noticed a pool of scarlet red in the transparent water.

The crimson appearance seemed to have triggered some kind of switch, and thick blood rushed out from the faucet's spout, polluting the water.

He knew it! It wasn't as simple as just covering the mirror to take a peaceful shower in the Bathroom!

He started urinating as soon as he came in, but only started bleeding now. What Rules did he break?

Sheng Qingqiao's eyes subtly scanned the small bathroom once more.

The toilet lid was open, and the water inside was crystal clear, appearing to be fine.

The mirror was completely covered by the clothes, so there was no problem.

Four bathroom lights were on, their brightness dispelling all darkness, but under the yellow light, there seemed to be some shadow swaying back and forth, tied to that swing.

Sheng Qingqiao, of course, didn't bother to investigate what was swinging on the swing; he simply pretended not to see it.

There was a pair of feet standing in the doorway through the crack outside the Bathroom door. Sheng Qingqiao was certain that only he and the child in his arms were left at home, so it was hard to guess whose feet were outside.

After looking around, Sheng Qingqiao suddenly realized that there were actually quite a few problems... At least he didn't know whose handiwork was behind the bloodstains, given the eerie sights hanging overhead and outside the door.

The baby lying on the ground beside him watched his every move quietly. Seeing that he didn't run away immediately, the baby's lips twitched down unhappily.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Sheng Qingqiao simply closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the flowing water until the water was almost full before opening his eyes.

The moment she opened her eyes, a pool of blood came into view, and a strong stench of blood assaulted her senses. Sheng Qingqiao frowned at the sudden smell, but still resolutely picked up the baby on the ground and put it into the pool.

The baby immediately started crying loudly and struggled, refusing to go into the water.

"Sweetie, didn't you want to take a bath? The water's color is a bit strange, but it's really nothing to worry about," Sheng Qingqiao muttered as she pressed the baby into the water.

The baby whimsically cried out, "Wah-gurgle..."

Sheng Qingqiao belatedly scooped up the nearly drowning baby, smiling sheepishly, "Sorry, my hand slipped."

The Weird Baby:...

Thinking he could finish quickly, Sheng Qingqiao hastily wet the baby, ignoring the cold, Long Hair hanging down from his head as he reached for the bath gel. When he turned back to retrieve the sinking baby, he first grabbed a hand from the bloody water.

A hand with a deep knife scar on its wrist, blood constantly gushing from the wound.

Sheng Qingqiao gasped. In an instant, that hand grabbed his wrist with terrifying force, pulling Sheng Qingqiao into the bathtub.

Fresh blood dripped onto his cheek. Qin Rang touched his face and saw his hand covered in red.

He immediately turned off the Bathroom, closed his eyes and waited a while. When he opened his eyes again, the bloody water on his hand had turned into clear water.

It was indeed a hallucination.

Qin Rang saw the feet at the door again, went forward and opened the door. The moment the door opened, the pair of peeping feet disappeared, but as soon as the door closed, the feet reappeared.

The overhead light creaked and swayed, as if someone were hanging from the ceiling. The shadow cast on the wall flickered and swayed, and the constantly moving shadow silently approached Qin Rang.

As their shadows collided, Qin Rang's shadow was suddenly gripped by a strange object around the neck. Qin Rang felt a tightness around his neck, as if something was tightly wrapped around him, making it hard for him to breathe. But when he tried to touch his neck, he found nothing.

"Well--"

"Cough cough!" Sheng Qingqiao thrashed out of the bloody water, coughing so hard it was heart-wrenching. She reached into her robes and pulled out a Broadsword, which she then plunged into the strange creature's body in the water from top to bottom.

The blade, wreathed in wisps of flame, licked at the eerie body in the blood. Sheng Qingqiao scooped up the Weird Baby and pinned the creature to the bottom of the Bathtub with her other hand. The blood boiled and surged, the water flowing down the blade and onto Sheng Qingqiao's body.

What exactly did he break the Rules of?!

Sheng Qingqiao was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. The strange creature under his blade was resisting with increasing force, and its energy was no less than that of his own Weird Object. It was actually a B-Rank strange creature.

Suddenly, he remembered the strange wound on his hand.

The person who died from wrist-slitting appeared in the Bathtub again...

Sheng Qingqiao hurriedly groped under the strange body, and after a lot of effort, she finally found the water outlet and pulled out the plug.

The water in the pool flowed out rapidly, and the strange creature inside struggled violently.

Sheng Qingqiao was scratched several times, and the strange creature hurriedly climbed out of the water. Sheng Qingqiao then pulled out her Broadsword and slapped the strange creature hard on the head, sending it flying back into the bath.

The strange creature crawled out again, Sheng Qingqiao slapped it down once more, but the strange creature firmly grasped the blade. However, the flames on the blade then dissipated the energy from the heat on the strange creature's fingers, and the strange creature quickly let go.

The water in the pool was decreasing, and the strange creature was visibly becoming more and more agitated. Sheng Qingqiao kept her distance from it, waiting for the water to completely disappear and resolve the strange creature, when she saw a folded piece of paper on the strange creature's tattered clothes.

That familiar color and pattern—it's Rule Slip!

Seeing that there was only a little water left, Sheng Qingqiao didn't hesitate. With one hand, she pinned the strange creature back into the Bathtub, while rushing over to grab its clothes.

A strange, pale hand gripped his neck, its pale fingertips piercing his throat.