Corpse Oil Candle

"You died."

"Your death had a sliver of value."

"A corner of the hidden story has been unveiled to you. Although you didn't unearth any Erosion Points, you did advance the plot, so you have gained a white temporary talent: Broken Existence."

"When you lose a limb, your movement speed will increase by a certain amount. This effect does not stack."

--When Zhou You woke up in that unknown space once again, his expression was rather ugly.

Although he had just experienced the feeling of being a test subject under a hydraulic press a few seconds ago, he had died too quickly to feel much pain. Thus, rather than the horror of death, he felt more of a sense of annoyance at being "cheated."

"No way, is this seriously the beginner difficulty? We're only in the four-story area, and you're throwing three untelegraphed instant-death traps at me??? Even Dark Souls isn't this ridiculous, and Nioh is more merciful than you. Buddy, is it really necessary to do this--" Zhou You raised his head, ready to complain, but the moment he saw the floating page, he frowned for some reason. As if remembering something, he abruptly cut his words short.

"--Wait, no, that's not right. Perhaps I should look at it this way: maybe it's precisely because it's the beginner difficulty that it uses these instant-death methods? After all, I have infinite respawn coins. It might be trying to get me familiar with something through this..."

But before he could think any further, that cold female voice suddenly rang in his ears again.

"Since the player is still in the beginner phase, you may use 10 Soul Stones to replay the ten seconds before and after your death. Would you like to replay?"

"You really picked the perfect time to interrupt, didn't you... Forget it. It's useless to dwell on it now. I should focus on this Ghost Building and figure out how to get out."

Zhou You didn't say anything more and chose to replay.

"10 Soul Stones deducted. The player's current Soul Stone balance is: 10."

Just like before, the footage unfolded before his eyes.

Only this time, it wasn't a top-down view, but a pure frontal perspective.

In the footage, he had just taken a step, intending to head toward the fifth floor, and there was nothing unusual in the surroundings.

However, the moment he stepped onto the first stair.

From the wall behind him, which had been empty just a moment ago, a pair of hands silently reached out.

The hands were pale and slender. At first glance, they seemed fine aside from being impossibly long, but upon closer inspection, one could see that all the joints and bones were bent at unnatural angles, as if many arms had been smashed to pieces and stitched back together. It was a sight that could only be described as bone-chillingly grotesque.

Then, in the next instant, the hands seemed to sense something and suddenly shot forward with incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, the distance of several meters was covered.

Before Zhou You could even react, the hands grabbed him tightly, and the wall between the couplets began to writhe. The gray plaster cracked, and from within the concrete, a pale human face split in two suddenly emerged—the thing wore a grotesque smile, its body parting like a door swinging open, welcoming Zhou You inside with manic glee—

Finally, it slammed shut.

Blood splattered instantly, and the footage plunged into darkness.

"...You have discovered a key Erosion Point."

"You have received a reward of 30 Soul Stones. The player's current Soul Stone balance is: 40."

Watching the footage of himself being eaten alive, Zhou You's expression remained unchanged. After replaying the death scene a few times and thinking carefully for a while, he suddenly performed a bizarre action.

--He walked slowly to the other side of the room, stretched his limbs to warm up, bent down, braced his hands against the floor, and then...

He bolted forward.

He reached the other side of the room in a flash--

To be fair, although he was suffering from a terminal illness, it only affected his brain; his physical fitness was actually quite good. In terms of sprinting speed alone, he had already surpassed many people.

However, looking at this decent result, Zhou You seemed extremely dissatisfied and shook his head slightly.

"It's no use. Based on the speed of those hands in the footage, there's no way I can outrun that thing, let alone reach the fifth floor before it catches me."

"--So, that brings up the question."

"If I can't even run past it with this body, how on earth did that insane tenant get up there?"

Zhou You tapped the wall lightly, reviewing all the clues.

"First, one thing is certain: he did reach the fifth floor, saw something there, and only then went completely insane."

"Second, his physical condition wasn't good either. The diary clearly stated that he could barely walk, so he couldn't have outrun those hands with sheer speed."

"Therefore, he must have used some method—likely an item he crafted—to bypass the monster's tracking. Based on the situation, this method is most likely in that room."

After a simple deduction, Zhou You looked at the book page still floating in mid-air. He closed his eyes to think, and when he opened them again, he chose to enter once more without hesitation.

It was the same routine: meeting the landlady—greetings—renting the room.

When he arrived in the room again, the scene was still chaotic. Zhou You had only taken a cursory look the first time, but this time he searched diligently, checking every corner with extreme care.

But after half an hour, he still hadn't found any clues.

The trash and paper balls on the floor provided no extra information, the tattered bedding held no hidden notes, and the desk was equally bare, save for the unchanging candlelight burning quietly, illuminating the small space around it...

Wait, the candle?

As if suddenly remembering something, Zhou You walked to the desk and examined the candlestick once more.

The white candle was still burning, and it looked perfectly normal. But after staring at it for a while, Zhou You noticed something unusual.

--Although he didn't have a timer on hand, at least half an hour had passed since he entered the room. The problem was that the candle hadn't shrunk in the slightest; it was the exact same length as when he had first walked in.

So...

Zhou You reached out his hand and lightly touched the candle.

"Player talent: Keen Observation activated. Item appraisal successful."

The next second, several lines of text appeared in his pupils.

"Corpse Oil Candle."

"Consumable."

"Quality: White."

"Effect: Ignites an illusory flame. While it lacks the properties of a normal flame, when certain things approach you, this candle will do its best to mask the scent of a 'human.' Each candle lasts for 7 minutes."

<Hair for the wick, yin oil for the base, two jin of flesh and blood, one candle. Cheap and reliable, no deception for young or old.>

"You have obtained the temporary crafting recipe for this item. Due to the novice dungeon discount, you have received a free crafting device. You only need to provide the materials to craft this item."

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the words "only need to provide the materials" happened to be illuminated by the candlelight, and in the blink of an eye, they shifted from their translucent state to a vibrant crimson.

--Yes, a crimson as red as blood.