Taotie's Nest: Now, Pay the Disturbance Fee

Xu Xi sighed.

Since there's no shortcut, we can only honestly find a way to clear this Dungeon.

He listened intently through the heavy wooden door for a while, but heard no sound outside, so he gently pushed the door open a crack.

Light leaked out from the cracks, illuminating a small area near the doorway.

... The Gao Zhuang two meters tall, carrying an axe, had indeed left.

Seeing this, he felt relieved.

That would be a real problem if the other side really stayed here.

It was dark outside, and there seemed to be no lights installed in the hallway.

Xu Xi didn't hesitate much and went straight out the door.

The door across the hall was tightly shut, marked 402. He deliberately turned around to glance at the door number behind him—401.

4th floor?

Could that burly man live in apartment 402 across the street?

After all, the other person fits the description of an eccentric neighbor very well.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at the door of room 402.

Looking to the side, Xu Xi saw two narrow staircases extending upwards and downwards, and decided to go down and take a look.

But... it's just too dark.

The darkness was as thick as ink, and the light inside the door was almost the only source of light, yet it couldn't illuminate the staircase hidden deep below.

With his view obstructed, he was afraid he might accidentally step into a hole.

It would be one thing if he fell to his death, but the worst thing would be if he fell and was crippled, affecting his mobility, and then he had to stab himself to end his own life.

Wouldn't that mean suffering twice as much?

After thinking for a moment, he looked down and turned on the flashlight mode on his phone.

A beam of bright light instantly illuminated the steps beneath our feet.

Although the distance was limited, at least they had a lighting tool.

Whether this beam of light will attract that burly man or something else remains to be seen.

Xu Xi held her phone and carefully made her way down to the next floor.

3rd floor, 2nd floor, 1st floor...

During this time, the hallway was unusually quiet, not at all like the diary entry that mentioned poor soundproofing.

However, the doors of every household on every floor were tightly closed.

He quickly arrived at the entrance of the building.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an iron gate, securely locked with a chain as thick as an arm.

At the same time, the pattering rain broke the silence in the stairwell.

Through the openwork lattice, he could see that it was drizzling under the gloomy sky outside.

A car was parked at the entrance, while the distance was shrouded in mist and could not be seen clearly.

To be honest, he didn't even know what time it was.

Xu Xi fiddled with the lock on the chain and suddenly missed the Tall, Thin Man she had met in the fourth Dungeon.

He remembered that the other person seemed to be very good at picking locks.

If the other side were in this Dungeon, they probably wouldn't even need to look for a key; they could just open the door and clear it, right?

Tsk, why didn't he think to ask for advice back then?

Xu Xi sighed again, suppressing her regret, and began to think about where to find the Landlord to get the keys.

The owner of the diary must have met the Landlord, but judging from the description, the Landlord seems to have some problems.

So... how exactly is he supposed to find the Landlord?

Standing by the iron gate, gazing at the rain outside, Xu Xi felt a strange sense of helplessness that was strangely familiar.

Is this the embarrassment of not being able to keep up with the rankings?

He was in an emo mood for a moment, but quickly calmed himself down.

It's normal to not be able to keep up; he got this far entirely thanks to external help.

In that case, it's alright.

He stood there for a while, then opened his phone's camera and took a picture of the keyhole.

As long as he doesn't take any new shots, this photo will remain indefinitely.

After making this move, Xu Xi turned around and looked up at the stairs.

At times like this, he even desperately hoped that the burly man would reappear, perhaps so he could get some information out of him before he died.

Surprisingly, the flashlight beam failed to lure the other party out during the descent.

... Wait.

If, as he guessed, the other person really does live in 402, then can he just go and knock on the door?

It's not impossible.

But since we're going to knock anyway, let's just knock on every single resident's door.

Let's get started.

So Xu Xi held up her phone and started knocking on doors one by one.

"Bang bang--"

"Are you there? Can I borrow some soy sauce?"

However, no one responded until he knocked on the fourth floor.

In front of 402.

"Bang bang--"

"Neighbor, are you there? Can I borrow some soy sauce?"

No one responded.

Xu Xi lowered her hand, looking rather puzzled.

Did he guess wrong?

Let's keep knocking upwards; we can't expect to knock on this whole building and not find a single person.

I'll also take a look at how many floors this building has.

He turned around, preparing to head towards the 5th floor, only to bump into a face full of wrinkles.

That face was almost touching the tip of his nose, his deeply lined skin dry and cracked.

Holy crap!!

Xu Xi stumbled back a step, her back slamming against the hard wall, her heart pounding wildly.

Only after the distance increased did he get a clear look at the other person's face.

She was an elderly woman who looked very old.

The old woman withdrew her raised hand, lowered her tiptoes, hunched her back, and stared coldly at him with her cloudy eyes.

Where did they come from?!

"Resident 401, what are you doing here?"

A rough, hoarse voice slowly rose, pulling Xu Xi back to reality.

He blurted out instinctively, "Borrow some soy sauce."

Upon hearing this, the old woman's expression seemed to soften somewhat.

She said calmly, "You're making too much noise; you're disturbing the neighbors."

Having recovered her senses, Xu Xi had a bold realization about the old woman's identity.

He tentatively called out, "Landlord?"

The old woman ignored him, but didn't deny it either.

That's it, he's run into the Landlord.

Xu Xi felt something was unreal; was it really that easy?

After a moment's thought, he immediately said, "I'm sorry, but the door to the building downstairs is always locked. I can't even go out to buy some soy sauce, so I have to ask my neighbors for help."

While exchanging pleasantries, he made a new discovery.

The iron gate was locked from the inside, and the noise he made by knocking on each door quickly drew the Landlord out.

In other words, the other person also lives in this building.

The fact that the other person didn't appear until he knocked on the 4th floor suggests that they likely lived on the 5th floor or higher.

Because it will take time to come down.

After all, the elderly person is old and has difficulty walking, so it's understandable.

I just don't know what's wrong with this Landlord?

However, the next second, he heard the other person say:

"This building is an entry-only building; didn't you know that before you moved in?"

Only in, no out?

Xu Xi was somewhat taken aback.

How did the owner of that diary get to see the doctor?

"What if I want to buy soy sauce...?"

The old woman interrupted him, "If you want anything, just come to me. As long as you have money, you can buy anything."

"Now, pay the disturbance fee."