"Taotie's Nest": Borrowing a Rope
Fifth floor.
Xu Xi took a deep breath and inserted the key into the lock of 501.
As expected, the lock opened smoothly this time.
The moment I pushed open the door, a strange smell hit me.
Crowded and greasy.
This was Xu Xi's first impression of the house.
In the center of the house, a giant dining table occupies almost half of the entire space.
The old walls were stained with grease, and were covered with hooks holding all sorts of knives, aprons, and sleeves.
On the stove next to the front door, strange and unusual seasonings were scattered haphazardly, and black garbage bags were piled up in the cramped corner.
Above the stove, a row of dried meat strips hung neatly upside down on a horizontal bar.
It's obvious that these meat strips and the dolls in room 502 most likely came from the same raw materials.
Looking at the dazzling array of kitchen utensils and ingredients on the dining table, Xu Xi thought:
It seems the burly man didn't lie much about his identity; the other party appears to be well-versed in the art of deception, where nine parts truth and one part falsehood are present.
He held his breath, avoiding the strange stains on the floor, and went inside.
After searching through the money, Xu Xi fell silent as she looked at the twenty-four yuan and fifty cents in her hand.
... That works too.
He put away the twenty-four and a half dollars, some in change and some in coins, and picked up a notebook that was casually placed on the edge of the dining table.
[201 households, fat to lean ratio 3:7, marinated for 48 hours]
[The hind leg has many tendons, and if it gets constricted, the fascia needs to be removed. The tenderloin is very tender, but it shrinks too much when dried.]
[...]
[The meat quality was worse than the previous one, and the texture was a bit dry. Next time, I'll use a different seasoning. Overall rating: B]
[Resident 402, fat or thin...]
The notebook's owner evaluated the different "meat qualities" in an almost critical tone, filling several pages with detailed notes.
"..." Xu Xi quickly skimmed over these contents, and finally found a few casual notes in the latter half.
[... there are fewer and fewer new tenants, if this continues...]
[Damn doctor, they have absolutely no cooperative spirit!]
[Without that rope, that woman across the hall is nothing. Should I...?]
[...]
They were all meaningless complaints and grumbles, but Xu Xi's gaze lingered on one particular line.
"The woman across the hall" clearly refers to the woman in room 502 who likes to make dolls.
The burly man described the other man as nothing without the rope, and his words even subtly hinted at a possible ulterior motive.
He flipped through the notebook again, but finding nothing else, he thoughtfully closed it and continued searching for useful clues.
However, apart from the small amount of change and the notebook, the only decent thing in the whole room was the kitchenware.
Xu Xi wasted no more time. He picked up his axe and went to the door of 502 once again.
Raise your hand.
"Bang bang--"
After knocking on the door, he stood quietly and waited for a while.
The door opened quickly.
Just like last time, the ceiling was covered with a dense network of ropes, and the dolls swayed precariously in mid-air.
This time, however, he saw clearly that the ends of the ropes were not tied tightly to the dolls, but rather hung loosely like living things, ready to be tightened at any time.
The woman remained as gentle and kind as ever, showing surprise and confusion upon seeing him.
Is there something you need?
"Lend me a rope."
The woman was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, she suddenly felt dizzy.
Xu Xi acted without the slightest hesitation.
After the body fell, he braced himself for being attacked by the ropes, but the ropes seemed to have gone out of control, twisting wildly in mid-air before drooping limply.
Without the ropes to hold them back, all the dolls fell to the ground.
So smoothly?
He also planned to use the Rollback to test the waters a few more times.
Xu Xi raised an eyebrow slightly and slowly walked inside.
Perhaps his status as a new tenant made the White-Dressed Woman lower her guard; she probably didn't expect a newcomer to be so decisive in attacking her.
If it were a long-term tenant like the burly man, the situation would probably be different.
As for why Xu Xi attacked her so abruptly, it was because the burly man's casual remark gave him a flash of inspiration.
Judging from the burly man's attitude, he was afraid of the rope controlled by the White-Dressed Woman, not the White-Dressed Woman herself, indicating that the White-Dressed Woman relied entirely on the rope.
The fact that the strong man dared to have certain thoughts proves that the White-Dressed Woman and the hemp rope were not inextricably linked.
Sure enough, he killed the White-Dressed Woman very easily.
When the White-Dressed Woman died, the rope seemed to lose its vitality and remained motionless.
However, this wasn't the key factor that truly made him decide to take action.
Xu Xi reached out and touched the rope hanging in the air.
The rope suddenly seemed to come to life, shortening itself to a meter in length and loosely tying itself around Xu Xi's waist.
Unsurprisingly, this hemp rope was also an Item.
Just now, he came up with a simple plan to get the key from the Landlord without having to go up to the Sixth Floor.
Whether the plan is feasible or not is another matter, but this hemp rope Item is indispensable.
Dragging the body into the house and closing the door, Xu Xi returned to room 401.
Ignoring the headless corpse on the ground, he first untied the hemp rope from his waist, coiled it up, and stuffed it into his pocket.
The rope was quite obedient, curling up into a small ball, and felt no different from ordinary hemp rope.
After thinking for a moment, he put the axe back inside the house.
Once everything was done, he closed the door, stood empty-handed, and began to knock loudly.
"Bang bang--"
A loud banging on the door immediately echoed throughout the hallway.
Xu Xi didn't know how long she had been filming until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
A chill ran down his spine.
They've arrived.
Even though he was mentally prepared, his heart still skipped a beat for two seconds when he turned around and saw that wrinkled face.
"Resident 401, what are you doing?"
The old woman's voice was hoarse, and her tone was clearly displeased.
Xu Xi wore a perfectly timed expression of embarrassment. "I forgot my keys inside. I just came out to ask a neighbor for some soy sauce, and the door locked itself as soon as I closed it."
"Landlord, you've come at the right time. You must have a spare key, right?"
He tried hard to keep a straight face, letting the old woman squint and scrutinize him.
"I do have a spare key," the old woman said slowly after a while, "But you're disturbing the peace, you know that?"
"I will definitely pay the disturbance fee, but... the money is all inside the house."
The old woman's expression softened, and she continued, "According to the rules, we still have to charge a locksmith fee, since we have to make a special trip for you."
Xu Xi: "..."
They really do charge for everything!
But he nodded outwardly.
"No problem."
Xu Xi's straightforwardness clearly pleased the old lady.
She said calmly, "You wait here, I'll go get you the spare key."
Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the old woman's figure slowly disappear into the stairwell.
Good, the plan is simple but effective.