A sudden repentance! Is it a transformation? Or an excuse for oneself?

"Do you think I would provoke the guys upstairs?"

"Not think, I'm certain!"

"Alright then, go ahead and ask."

A few chuckles emanated from the receptionist's throat, though they sounded quite hair-raising.

"Tell me, do you think you will give me the key?"

"Just that?"

"Yes! Just that! I will only say 'will' or 'will not', and you only have three chances."

"So, will you give me the key?"

"No, you only have two chances left now."

The receptionist was full of confidence, already preparing to return to the room to grab a knife.

Bai Yuze frowned slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he asked again.

"If my next question is 'will you give me the key?', then will your answer be the same as the answer to this next question?"

"...How cunning... take it, kid."

The receptionist didn't pick out a specific key, instead throwing the entire key ring to Bai Yuze.

"Thanks."

The receptionist ignored Bai Yuze, simply returning to the room and silently closing the door.

While the receptionist was heading back inside, Bai Yuze opened the cabinet in room 107. This time, he didn't craft any Molotov cocktails, but instead tucked the bag of white sugar into his pocket.

After finishing this, Bai Yuze returned to room 104 to notify the two women.

Subsequently, the three of them embarked on their journey to the second floor. As for Yamauchi Haruki in room 106... Bai Yuze had his own arrangements.

The stairs and corridors of the second floor were not as neat and clean as the first; instead, they were covered in stains, making shoes stick and drag with every step.

"Ew! This is so gross. By the way, Xiao Ze, why did we have to come here!"

Tuanzi suppressed her inner discomfort, trying her best to calm herself down.

"There is something we need here; otherwise, there will be trouble later."

If it weren't for an essential item, Bai Yuze wouldn't have come here even if it killed him.

As for why he brought Yukino and Tuanzi along, it was because when the floor above is activated, the items on the floor below enter a frenzied state, making it unsafe for the two women to stay behind.

"How much longer do we have to walk?"

Yukino asked the question she was desperate to know the answer to. Although she could suppress her physical discomfort, she couldn't fend off the psychological distress. Feeling the sticky sensation under her feet, the black lines of irritation on Yukino's face had not faded for a single moment.

"See 202? That's our resting place."

It must be said that the strangeness of this Minzhai was truly bizarre to the core. The layout of the first floor was arranged from left to right and bottom to top, but the second floor was the exact opposite.

After successfully crossing the stairwell, Bai Yuze let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't told the two women not to count the steps while climbing, because sometimes the more you try not to pay attention, the more you focus on it.

Fortunately, neither woman had the habit of counting steps, which made the process of climbing the stairs disgusting, but safe.

But the moment the three of them stepped into the second-floor corridor, an oily, rough voice shouted out.

"Those outside! Keep it down! If you ruin my good fortune, I'll chop you all up!"

The three exchanged glances. Bai Yuze waved his hand, signaling them to follow him. However, they had barely taken a few steps when the iron door of 207 burst open. A pot-bellied, middle-aged man emerged holding a kitchen knife. What was most eye-catching, however, was his head; there was a deep gash around his neck, and his head hung loosely, as if it were about to fall off.

"Are you all really looking to die? I was just about to win! It's all your fault for scaring away my winning hand. I'm going to make you pay with your lives!"

As he spoke, the fat monster lugged his head along, charging at the three of them with the kitchen knife. Just as Tuanzi and Yukino were panicking, Bai Yuze gripped their hands and gave them a knowing smile. Though the two women were confused, they chose to trust him.

Just then, the iron door of 205 was kicked open. A tall, burly man walked out of the room, though a closer look would reveal that his eye sockets were completely hollow.

"Zhu Daqiang, are you looking to die? Why are you screaming blindly in broad daylight? Did you gamble away your father again, or was it your mother this time?"

"Damn it, Yuan Xing! You're talking pretty tough for someone whose eyes just grew back."

"Zhu Daqiang, I'll f*** your mother."

"I'll send you to see that bastard of yours right now!"

The situation escalated so suddenly that the two entities began fighting right in front of the three of them.

Quick as a flash, Bai Yuze pulled the two women and sprinted to the door of 202. He quickly found the key for room 202 on the ring, inserted it, turned it, and opened the door—all in one fluid motion.

With the sound of the iron door closing, it meant the three of them finally had time to rest.

"Was that thing just now a human?"

Tuanzi asked, still visibly shaken. The fat, oily uncle lugging his own head and the tall man with nothing but pitch-black eye sockets—these two monsters would likely become elite enemies in Tuanzi's nightmares.

Tuanzi suddenly felt that the male corpse in room 102 was much more pleasant; although it moved from time to time, at least it didn't drain her sanity as much.

"They aren't human anymore, they just retain the memories from when they were alive."

"It looks like those two monsters have a grudge. Did they have a falling out before they died?"

"That's right. That fat man had a happy family while he was alive, but because he became addicted to gambling and drugs, he lost his house, his car, and his wife remarried. His child, who was left in his care, ended up being forgotten at home and starved to death."

"As for that Yuan Xing, he was a hoodlum. Unable to find a wife, he married his own mentally disabled sister. When she gave birth, she died from complications. Because of the incestuous relationship, the child was born mentally disabled. He worked as a debt collector, but after offending someone he shouldn't have, he was retaliated against and had his eyes gouged out, while his child was stuffed into a bag and drowned in the river."

"He and Zhu Daqiang couldn't stand each other. He despised Zhu Daqiang in his heart for being the type of person who personally destroyed a good life, while Zhu Daqiang hated those two-faced debt collectors the most. Did you notice his right hand holding the kitchen knife? His little finger was chopped off by a debt collector."

"Wow! You know so much, Xiao Ze!"

Tuanzi's eyes sparkled, her emotional engagement reaching its peak.

"They had a habit of keeping diaries. Although they called these diaries 'Confessions', in reality, they just wanted to give themselves some psychological comfort—to soothe themselves and make themselves mistakenly believe they still had a heart capable of sincere repentance. In truth, real repentance doesn't require any 'Confessions'. If you think of something, you should correct it immediately; that is far more useful than writing some damn 'Confessions'."

Bai Yuze spread his hands. After all, people will always find countless reasons to absolve themselves, sometimes even feeling smug about it, thinking they are so clever.

But in reality?

Bai Yuze: No comment.