Empathy

Youth Apartment - 11th Floor

A middle-aged man dragged his heavy, tired body through the stairwell.

He would occasionally rub his eyes or scratch his head vigorously.

It felt like something strange was about to grow inside him, and some parts of his skin even had strange black spots.

He sniffed the air, a scent he'd just caught in the elevator. There was no mistake, the person he was looking for was on this floor.

Following the scent, he arrived at the door of what appeared to be a newly renovated apartment.

The door was locked, and the side window was also closed with the curtains drawn.

Such a proactive measure to block out light is clearly inconsistent with the residents' safety manual, so this must be the place.

After confirming that he had found the right place, the man took out lock-picking tools from his pocket.

His previously expressionless face gradually revealed excitement, and his body also became aroused.

Just as he inserted the lock pick into the lock,

Click!

The door opened from the inside first.

At the same time, a strong and powerful arm suddenly reached out and grabbed the middle-aged man by the neck, the force so great that it pulled him in.

Boom!

The door closed and was locked again.

In the dimly lit room,

The middle-aged man was being choked and pressed against the wall, but he showed no discomfort. Instead, he revealed a strange smile, excited that he had found the right person.

Luo Di frowned slightly; he had already sensed something unusual about the man in front of him.

The area where my fingers were gripping felt strangely hard; it was the most vulnerable part of my neck, yet it felt very hard and difficult to crush.

However, this sensation was all too familiar to Luo Di, and he even smelled a scent of his own kind on the man.

"Zombies?"

My gaze shifted upwards to the man's mouth; inside were only teeth yellowed from excessive smoking, no fangs present.

"Is the Mind Corner only recently formed? Probably not even two months. It's just beginning to express the Phobia-concretization."

Luo Di's mind raced, and he could almost conclude that the man in front of him was not the cause of the young man's disappearance.

Considering the other person's behavior of following him to the apartment, their age, and the initial shift in "Phobia-concretization" that occurred during the emotionally charged moment.

For various reasons, it is almost possible to accurately deduce the other party's identity.

But in any case,

The other party is already deeply bound to the corner, beyond redemption.

The changes in the middle-aged man continued; very obvious Zombie Skin had formed on his neck, and the effect of the restraint was gradually weakening, allowing him to breathe again.

Whew~

As soon as he regained his breath, he immediately clasped his hands together and grabbed the young man's arm, his blackened fingernails digging into the skin.

The middle-aged man also started talking like a madman:

"You're such a strange person! Everyone was kindly reminding you along the way that you shouldn't stay in Chinatown."

But you wouldn't listen, and instead you stayed here.

"Could you have kidnapped my son? It must be yours. I've never seen you before, yet you were able to move into this Youth Apartment. My son used to live here!"

but,

No matter how much the other party screams

No matter how hard he pulled on Luo Di's arm,

No matter how hard the fingernails dug into the flesh, even when blood was already seeping out,

The arm that was choking him remained motionless, showing no sign of letting go, as if the pain had no effect on the young man.

When the middle-aged man looked at the young man again, the young man's eyes were bloodshot, staring at him intently as if filled with unspeakable hatred.

Even the man himself didn't understand why the young man hated him so much.

Just as the middle-aged man was wondering how to break free,

The hand gripping his neck loosened on its own and even moved away.

Upon regaining his freedom, the man immediately lunged at the young man before him, intending to use his newly grown fangs to suck the blood out of him.

On the way to fly,

Whoosh!

Something flashed past my eyes, and my neck, which was already stiff, felt a chill.

The middle-aged man tried to grab the young man in front of him, but found that his head and body had lost connection.

My vision gradually dropped until I finally fell to the ground.

Snap!

Perhaps it was the power from the Mind Corner that allowed him to survive for a while even after his head was cut off, his mouth still clenching and clenching, the sound of his teeth clashing echoing in the studio apartment.

Who knows,

The young man in front of them actually lay down completely, even on the ground, making eye contact with the middle-aged man's head.

The beheading just now had satisfied the young man.

The hatred in her eyes returned to normal, and now she was simply staring intently at the man's head in front of her.

Their gazes seemed to convey a certain sense of empathy.

Luo Di's voice also became slightly more amiable, yet it still concealed a chilling killing intent:

"Don't worry, I will avenge your son... That's why I came here."

Perhaps he sensed a similar grief of loss in Luo Di's eyes, or perhaps the influence of being in a corner before his death was relatively lessened.

The middle-aged man chose to believe these words.

The angry expression calmed down.

"That kid just found a good internship and used his first paycheck to buy me an expensive leather jacket. He's also made plans with me to go to Jupiter City to visit his mom during the holidays and have a meal together."

But the kid just vanished. I searched every corner but couldn't find him, and the notices I posted went unanswered.

I was wrong.

My initial decision to immigrate here was a mistake.

"It's Dad who's sorry..."

Tears streamed down his face as he passed away peacefully.

Luo Di also reached out and closed the other person's eyelids.

They then retrieved tweezers, a knife, and other tools from inside the house, and, while minimizing damage to the skull, removed and sealed the Pituitary Gland.

He made a direct call to the trainee investigator who was in contact with him— Marco Rubio.

"I've encountered Pseudo-Human here. It's estimated to be no more than three months old. It's the father of the missing person in the case, and I've already killed him. I'll put the body in a bag, and you should come and collect it as soon as possible."

"Mr. Di is really amazing, you've made progress so quickly~ Although it's not directly related to the case, it's still a way to eliminate a potential threat."

"Don't you know that in Chinese, the surname comes first?"

"Mr. Luo sounds awkward at all; Mr. Di sounds much better. I'll arrange for someone to come and retrieve the body tonight. By the way, you didn't take this pituitary gland, did you?"

"I took it."

"Hiss~ Okay, I'll write a report and submit it. Even though it's just the pituitary gland of an early Pseudo-Human, please don't circulate it on the market. Just keep it for your own use."

If you are found selling them, you will be sentenced under the Corner Law.

"Um."

The call ended.

Luo Di found a large plastic bag in the closet and put the body inside.

As for the large amount of blood left on the ground, Luo Di didn't pick up the mop, but instead threw the Zombie Blade onto it.

Although it was only the blood of an early-stage Pseudo-Human, the Zombie Blade was still happy to absorb it because it was of the same type, and the Yin Energy contained in the blood had a nourishing effect on the knife itself.

The blood was quickly absorbed, leaving only a ring of bloodstains that could be easily cleaned by dragging it around.

After spraying some air freshener in the room, Luo Di returned to the sofa as if nothing had happened.

but,

He didn't rush to continue watching the video.

Instead, he took out the "class monitor" he had just hidden and put it back on the sofa.

Take out the "pituitary gland" from the transparent plastic bag and slowly approach the head to see if it will react, even if it's just a tiny bit.

Even when it was completely pressed against the head, not a single hair moved.

Luo Di didn't press the matter. He put away the pituitary gland and continued watching the video footage, trying to find similarities and suspicious details among the four missing persons.

There was no disappointment in his eyes.

It was just as calm as usual.