Fourth Floor

Zhou You's pen tip came to an abrupt halt.

Even though he was merely transcribing, he could feel the despair and shrill intensity contained within these few words.

No, that wasn't right. If this person had been trying to escape, how could they possibly...

The thought of doubt had only just surfaced. But in the very next second, a strange and bizarre sensation seeped into his skull. Zhou You felt as if his brain matter were being peeled away bit by bit, as if something were devouring his mind. In the blink of an eye, even his consciousness began to dissipate—

"...You have discovered an Erosion Point."

"You have received 10 Soul Stone as a reward."

"Current Soul Stone count is 20."

"You have suffered erosion, Sanity has been damaged. Current Sanity is 89/100."

...Sanity?

What kind of nonsense was that?

After finally catching his breath, a massive question mark surfaced in his mind. Yet, just as Zhou You was feeling bewildered, that cold, mechanical female voice actually provided an explanation.

"In certain scenarios, players will possess a 'Sanity Value' attribute. Players will lose Sanity when encountering certain strange horrors or Erosion Points. When Sanity reaches 0, the scenario will be a forced failure, regardless of how many revivals the player has remaining."

...Fine, it seemed to be another type of restrictive mechanic.

Zhou You shook his head, trying to cast off the lingering sensation—but at that very moment, the scenery before his eyes suddenly shifted.

The trash covering the floor vanished in an instant. The room became clean and tidy, bright sunlight spilled in from the window, and a gentle breeze blew through, setting off the crisp sound of wind chimes. The entire house radiated a sense of warmth from the inside out, making one involuntarily want to live there for a long time...

"Wait, what am I thinking?"

He snapped awake in a daze.

Before his eyes remained that same dilapidated, desolate room covered in mold spots.

...Was it an illusion?

Zhou You closed his eyes and carefully savored that image for a long time, eventually just shaking his head.

He didn't confirm it, but he didn't deny it either. He simply picked up his pen again and continued writing the fragmented diary on the paper.

August 10th, overcast.

I have a premonition that the door leading outside must be on the Fifth Floor. After all, the Landlady keeps emphasizing that I must not go to the Fifth Floor under any circumstances, so there must be a way to escape there.

August 11th, sunny.

But to get to the Fifth Floor, I have to pass through the Fourth Floor, but the Fourth Floor...

September 14th, sunny.

I think I've found a way to get to the Fifth Floor now, but the things needed to make this... no, no, how could I possibly—

May 11th, weather unknown.

After paying so much, sacrificing so much, I finally reached the Fifth Floor, but it wasn't what I thought. It's nothing like I imagined. This building is the place I should return to, I—

The ink trail came to an abrupt stop.

The entire diary ended there, but Zhou You did not put down his pen. After a brief pause, he continued writing below.

1. Judging by the previous tenants, the screams, and this diary, the Fifth Floor is the key point. Even if there isn't an exit there, it is highly likely the key to breaking the deadlock.

2. The Fourth Floor is another node; to pass through it, one must craft a certain item.

3. This previous tenant had been suffering from some kind of mental erosion. The diary dates and narrative were somewhat chaotic. He may have been clear-headed for a period after trying to leave the building; although the narrative remained disorganized, the dates were correct. It's just a pity that due to certain factors, he quickly lost his sanity again, ultimately leading to his failed escape.

But a few seconds later, Zhou You hesitated slightly and added a few large question marks at the end of the third point.

--But what exactly did this previous tenant see? What happened on the Fifth Floor? Why did he eventually feel that this building was his home? Could it be that he experienced the same hallucinations as I did?

After pondering for a while, Zhou You finally put down the pen.

It was a pity that the amount of information was still too small. If he wanted to get answers, he would only be able to...

"So, I just have to go and see for myself, don't I?"

Zhou You glanced toward the door.

Compared to the second and third floors, the stairs leading to the Fourth Floor were even darker. Although there was faint lighting in the stairwell, because it was so dim, these slivers of light didn't bring any sense of security; instead, they made one feel a chill that seeped deep into the marrow.

Even without anyone telling him, Zhou You understood deeply that if he went any higher, he would inevitably fall into even greater danger.

But then again...

He suddenly curled his lip.

How did that saying go? As long as you bring the arcade machine home, you can grind your way to a clear, no matter how hard the game is.

--Anyway, I have infinite coins now, who's afraid of whom?

After scanning the small room one last time to ensure he hadn't missed anything, Zhou You took a deep breath and walked toward the stairs.

The dim stairwell was like the gaping maw of a monster, indiscriminately devouring everything. The further he stepped onto the stairs, the more he had a certain illusion.

--Walking upward leads straight to hell...

The Fourth Floor arrived quickly.

Zhou You had already prepared himself mentally, expecting to see even more terrifying monsters or perhaps more panicked residents. But upon actually arriving at the location, he realized that all the preparations he had made were completely redundant.

The reason for this was quite simple.

The entire Fourth Floor lacked a single door, nor was there even a trace of a living soul.

The vast floor was empty, completely devoid of the unit doors and windows found in any normal residential building. As far as the eye could see, all that remained were cracked, moldy, white-plastered walls.

...Wait, that wasn't entirely accurate; there were things there.

Right before Zhou You, directly facing the staircase, a pair of couplets hung on that bare wall.

The style was antiquated, to the point where the characters were no longer legible, yet the color was a vivid, striking red, forming an extremely abrupt contrast with the dim, gloomy surroundings.

No doors, yet there were door couplets.

No residents, yet there was a festive air.

There were no monsters in sight, yet this abnormal and grotesque scene was even more hair-raising than any monster could have been.

Seeing this, Zhou You hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stepped onto the Fourth Floor with caution.

Nothing happened.

"...That's strange. The diary clearly emphasized the Fourth Floor, so why is there absolutely nothing here?"

Breathing a slight sigh of relief, Zhou You first moved a few steps toward the most conspicuous spot on the floor—the place where the couplets hung—and then gave it a light knock.

"Thud, thud, thud."

It didn't sound hollow; it was completely solid, as if it had been filled in from the moment of construction, leaving no possibility of a hidden room.

Refusing to give up, Zhou You knocked around the area, but unfortunately, the result remained the same. The only anomaly was that, compared to the floors below, the walls on this level were chillingly cold, as if he weren't touching reinforced concrete, but a massive block of ice.

Or, to be more dramatic, as if...

An entire wall made of cold, stacked corpses?

Zhou You shook his head vigorously to cast the bizarre association from his mind, then looked around. Finding nothing else worth seeing, he had no choice but to cast his gaze upward.

The voice-activated light leading to the Fifth Floor seemed to have completely malfunctioned, only flickering occasionally to illuminate a floor covered in dust and trash.

"So, I have no choice but to keep going up?"

Zhou You glanced back at the abrupt and eerie couplets, and after confirming he couldn't find any issues, he had no choice but to lift his leg and head upward.

--However, the very next second.

He felt something icy grip his neck, and in an instant, his entire body was involuntarily dragged backward.

Following that, a slippery, visceral sensation of being squeezed from all directions washed over him. Zhou You felt all his bones being crushed by force, and finally—

"Bang!"

Like a tomato being casually crushed, accompanied by the spray of blood and chunks of flesh, he completely exploded.

"You died."