It was still the same space.
The woman's voice continued to ring out.
"You're dead."
"You died at the hands of the Landlady."
"Your death was utterly meaningless."
"You failed to uncover any Erosion Points or advance the plot in any way, so you won't receive any rewards for this death."
But Zhou You paid no attention to the voice. He stared blankly ahead, seemingly still unable to shake off the terror of dying.
Then, in the next moment,
his mouth suddenly spread into a grin.
And he burst out laughing.
—A meaningless death?
What a joke!
He'd gained so much more from this death than before!
—At the very least, he had a clue about how to clear the game now!
After a while, his laughter faded. Without hesitation, Zhou You chose to enter again.
It was still the same stairwell. This time, Zhou You headed straight for the second floor, but he didn't knock on any doors. Instead, he stood there, gazing up at the corridor on the third floor and waiting in silence.
—One of the things the previous tenant had wailed about was this:
"Follow the rules. Don't disturb the other tenants."
About three or four minutes later, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out.
They sounded very strange. There was no ordinary thud of shoes striking the ground, only brief, hurried taps, like the beat of a rhythm.
...It was as if the one walking wasn't using human feet, but two dried-up sticks.
Soon, a wrinkled face emerged from the pitch-black stairwell.
But before the other party could do anything, Zhou You stepped forward to meet her.
His face showed no panic or fear, only a warm, sunny smile.
"Hello. I'm a new tenant. May I ask if you're the Landlady?"
The old woman, as lifeless as deadwood, made no reply.
She studied Zhou You with her deathly pale eyes for a long time, but still couldn't see him clearly. So she raised a hand and pressed it against her face.
Then she actually gouged out one of her own eyeballs and carefully wiped it on her filthy clothes.
A fat maggot poked out from the eye socket, wriggling as if searching for food, but the "Landlady" promptly pushed it back inside.
Faced with this bizarre and horrifying sight, Zhou You's smile remained just as bright as before.
—The previous tenant had wailed about a second thing:
"Be polite."
After a long while, the "Landlady" seemed to have finally cleaned her eyeball. She shoved it back into place, then opened her pitch-black mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice, like the sound of a saw cutting wood.
"You're the new tenant, right? Got any money?"
Zhou You recalled the introduction at the start of the scenario and hastily felt around his body. Sure enough, he found a whole wad of bills in his jacket pocket.
But before taking them out, he hesitated briefly, then discreetly separated half and handed over the rest.
A hint of a smile finally appeared on the old woman's face. Her withered lips slowly parted—
This time, they didn't stretch wider, and there were no rows of sharp teeth inside.
Yet Zhou You still felt his stomach churn.
There was no flesh inside her mouth, either. It was filled with countless plump, white maggots—packed tightly together in layers—and as they writhed, drops of thick, dark-yellow fluid dripped from them.
A foul stench hit him all at once, but Zhou You clenched his teeth, forcing down everything that had risen to his throat, then swallowed it.
A few seconds later, a smile appeared on his face again.
Bright as sunlight, just like before.
The old woman stared at him for a while, then nodded in satisfaction.
"You've got manners, I'll give you that. Too bad you didn't bring much money. This'll only cover half a month. Remember to renew when it's up. Don't make this old woman chase after you, or else..."
The old woman was still smiling as she said "or else," but for some reason, Zhou You felt a chill creep up his spine.
—It was as if pure malice had seeped into his body, spreading through his nerves in an instant before slowly penetrating his bones, leaving him with nothing but a bizarre, skin-crawling sense of dread.
Zhou You remained frozen for a long while before finally breaking free of the inexplicable feeling. But he immediately noticed something that didn't add up, and couldn't help asking,
"But I've paid for a whole quarter. How can that only cover half a month...?"
His words cut off abruptly.
Zhou You instantly realized what he'd done. He shut his mouth at once, stopping himself from asking any more questions.
Sure enough, right before his eyes, the old woman's mouth had already stretched almost as wide as a basketball. The writhing maggots rapidly stiffened and hardened, eventually turning into deathly pale fangs.
—Zhou You finally understood what had bitten him to death just now.
—Though he'd really rather not have known.
But when he stopped speaking, the old woman's mouth finally stopped widening. Her head was tilted back at nearly a ninety-degree angle, and her eyes, almost bulging from their sockets, stared straight at him with nothing but cold indifference.
After a while, the old woman's mouth finally closed, bit by bit. She looked at Zhou You and tossed out a casual remark.
"I don't care where you saw a different price. If I say it's half a month, then it's half a month."
Zhou You didn't answer. He only lowered his head in silent acceptance.
But just a few seconds later, he suddenly spoke again.
"Then may I ask, Landlady, what will it cost me if I don't renew when the lease expires, or if I try to move out?"
The old woman, who had already started walking, abruptly turned her head—but her body didn't move at all. Only her head turned. She swept Zhou You with a cold gaze from head to toe.
All she saw was a polite, smiling face.
"If you don't renew, I'll have to collect the rent from your body. Anything on you can be sold, you 'people'—your limbs, your heart, your liver, your spleen, your stomach... Don't worry. This old woman knows the job well. I can guarantee you won't die until I've taken every last bit."
The old woman said this in an utterly matter-of-fact tone, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary.
...No wonder the tenant in 204 had nearly lost his mind. Who could endure a slow dissection while still alive?
But even after hearing something so horrifying, Zhou You showed no reaction. He merely nodded.
The old woman continued speaking at an unhurried pace.
"As for moving out... We don't accept tenants moving out here, and we don't allow them to leave, either. You'll have to figure out how to get the money yourself. Oh, right. You can ask people for money, but don't expect anyone to rescue you. No one can get in here except people looking to rent. And if I find out you're trying to reveal anything about this place, well... this old woman will just have to 'collect the rent' from you early."
As she spoke, the old woman had already led Zhou You to the third floor. Her head, which had twisted around a full 180 degrees, finally turned back into place. She rummaged around for a long while, then pulled a ring of rusty keys from the lower-right corner of her coat.
Zhou You glanced over as if by chance. The keys were marked by floor. Including the spares, there were ten each for the second and third floors, exactly matching the number of unit doors. But the Fourth Floor was missing, and the Fifth Floor had only one key.
The old woman scrutinized the keys for several minutes, then gouged out her eyeball once more and wiped it clean before she finally identified the right one.
The key slid into the lock. With a heavy click, the dilapidated door of 304 swung open.
—A wave of rotting stench rushed into his nose and mouth.
At the same time, a mechanical female voice rang in Zhou You's ear.
"Congratulations. You've reached a save point. If you die from now on, you'll start again from here."
"Once a save point has been recorded, it cannot be changed. Please take care not to put yourself in a dead end."
"Would you like to save?"
Before you continue