Mom's Anniversary 6

There were two different voices screaming. In other words, at least two people had been attacked.

Although he had already witnessed "Mom" killing someone, this was the first time he had heard screams so piercing.

Cold sweat seeped down Lu Mi's back.

"Don't stop! Keep working!"

It was Ning Zhuangzhuang. She leaned into the doorway, looking unusually tense.

Lu Mi nodded, and Ning Zhuangzhuang quickly withdrew to get back to her own work.

The screaming upstairs had stopped. He suppressed the turmoil of unease in his chest and picked up the mop.

The kitchen wasn't particularly large, and he had nearly finished cleaning it. He hadn't even spared the cobwebs in the nooks and crannies. All that remained was mopping the floor. He would be fine...

He heard "Mom" downstairs in the living room, pacing back and forth as she inspected their work, seemingly unwilling to overlook a single corner.

Lu Mi had never been so on edge, terrified that he would hear Ning Zhuangzhuang scream at any moment.

"Children, have you finished cleaning?"

Lu Mi put the mop away and looked toward the doorway. "Mom" stood there smiling, her long nails already stained scarlet. Apparently, she had no intention of retracting them until she finished her inspection.

There had been no screams just now. Ning Zhuangzhuang and the others were safe.

Lu Mi nodded. "Yes."

"Mom" slowly limped inside, ran a finger over the windowsill, then raised it to check closely for dust.

Lu Mi was grateful that he had wiped those spots over and over, but he couldn't be sure he had covered every last inch.

To be safe, he slowly edged toward the doorway so he could run for his life if necessary. Then he saw Ning Zhuangzhuang pointing at a spot inside the kitchen, urgently gesturing toward it with her lips.

Lu Mi's heart tightened. He hurriedly looked over, only to discover a large fan hanging from the ceiling. Its blades were covered in dust, and he hadn't noticed it at all while cleaning...

But how could he possibly wipe that fan thoroughly in so little time without "Mom" noticing?

Seemingly unable to bear watching him get killed, Ning Zhuangzhuang turned to leave, only to see Lu Mi mouthing something to her.

She nodded, still looking puzzled, but quickly turned to do as he asked.

"Mom" had reached the refrigerator in her inspection. Suddenly, she said, "One child didn't clean properly, so I chopped off both his hands."

Lu Mi was speechless. Had I failed to clean around the refrigerator properly too?

"Another child peeked at something he shouldn't have while cleaning, so I gouged out both his eyes."

"Mom" slowly turned and looked at him, asking gently, "Good boy, tell Mommy. Did you open the refrigerator?"

Lu Mi's expression was firm, betraying nothing. "No."

"Then Mommy will have to check very carefully."

"Mom" smiled again, stepped closer, and raised a hand to stroke his forehead.

"I'm sure you still remember how that bad child who lied was punished?"

Lu Mi was dividing his attention between two tasks, and his temples throbbed. "Yes... I remember. His tongue was used to decorate a vase."

"Mom" lowered her hand and nodded approvingly at him, looking ready to leave.

Lu Mi's heart settled a little, but the woman suddenly stopped. "Oh, there's still one place I haven't checked."

She looked up at the old ceiling fan. "If you don't clean it, that's a particularly filthy spot."

The next moment, Lu Mi watched as "Mom" slowly floated into the air, reached out, and rubbed one of the fan blades a few times-

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ning Zhuangzhuang watched the stream of water drift back down from the ceiling to the sink, resuming its normal course.

With trembling hands, she turned off the faucet and headed for the kitchen.

"Mom" was gone. Only Lu Mi remained, slumped on the floor with a pale face.

"You're still alive, so I guess you passed?" Ning Zhuangzhuang ran over and helped him up. "The floor's cold. Go rest on the couch."

As she passed beneath the ceiling fan, she glanced up.

Every fan blade she could see from her angle was spotless, as good as new.

"You little rascal! You had that trick up your sleeve!" Ning Zhuangzhuang recalled what she had just witnessed in the bathroom, her admiration and envy written all over her face.

She had been thinking Lu Mi was done for this time, but he had mouthed words and gestured at her, telling her to go turn on a faucet.

"There's a player called Cheng Cheng. You should get to know him once you're out. He's pretty capable too."

Lu Mi leaned back on the couch, drinking the water Ning Zhuangzhuang had brought him. He had exhausted too much mental energy and still felt a little weak. He couldn't care less about Cheng Cheng or whatever his name was.

Controlling water to rinse the fan blades wasn't difficult. The hard part was precisely controlling a stream of water so far from the kitchen while under that much pressure.

Fortunately, he had managed to stay alive. He closed his eyes and listened as Ning Zhuangzhuang spoke beside him. "The terrifying thing about this instance is that you're doing the easiest, most ordinary things, but relaxing makes you even more likely to get killed."

"Xu Zhi and I were cleaning the living room just now. I missed several spots. Luckily, he reminded me before the inspection."

Recalling Brother Xu's strange expression, Lu Mi remained noncommittal. "If he hadn't reminded you and something happened, there's no guarantee he wouldn't have been caught up in it too."

The next moment, she slapped his arm hard. Ning Zhuangzhuang sounded displeased. "Xu Zhi's a good person. What are you trying to imply? Besides, if I'd died, there'd have been no one to turn on the faucet for you, and you'd have been done for too."

"Fine, fine, fine," Lu Mi said, brushing the matter aside, but his wariness of Xu Zhi remained. A good reputation didn't necessarily make someone trustworthy.

Would someone that shrewd really not know how difficult it would be to clean the several rooms upstairs where people had died? Yet he had told those people to relax.

Likewise, last night, he had said so casually, "There's only one rule: sleep in your own room," that even Lu Mi had let his guard down. Only after seeing the burly man's corpse that morning had he begun to wonder whether Xu Zhi had deliberately misled the people who trusted him.

As he was thinking this, he heard Xu Zhi talking to someone in the hallway.

"All right, everything's fine now. Go get some rest. That should be the end of today's trouble."

The couch faced away from the hallway. Sensing someone approaching, Lu Mi turned and looked coldly at him.

Wearing his usual smile, Xu Zhi said, "It's pretty impressive for a newcomer to have lasted this long."

Lu Mi didn't answer. He simply watched him.

Xu Zhi sat down beside him with a mysterious look. "I took a look around upstairs just now. Want to hear a few interesting things?"