Birds skilled at disguise

The man pulled out his knife without expression. Blood spurted out, and Jiang Mingran collapsed.

The man walked in, surveyed the room, and looked at Shao Lan.

Shao Lan had multiple comminuted fractures throughout his body and was completely incapable of resisting.

The man crouched before him. In the dim light, Shao Lan could make out his gaunt, sunken cheekbones and the wrinkled dark circles beneath his eyes. His face was utterly gloomy and haggard.

The man looked at Shao Lan. "Where is she?"

Instead of answering, Shao Lan asked, "Who?"

Before he had finished speaking, the man raised his knife and drove it hard into Shao Lan's shoulder.

He twisted the handle, turning the blade in the flesh. Blood splashed onto his face as he murmured numbly, "Is she dead?"

Shao Lan spat out a mouthful of blood and said through gritted teeth, "Go downstairs now. You might still be able to save her."

He wanted to lure the man away, but the man merely paused, as though considering something. "Save her?"

He shook his head. "No. It's been too late for a long time."

The man pulled out the knife, raised it high, and thrust it toward Shao Lan's heart.

That blow would kill him without question, and Shao Lan no longer had any strength to stop it. He could only watch the cold gleam descend-

In that split second, a figure lunged at the man from behind.

It was Jiang Mingran.

Dying, he had dragged himself up from the floor and used the last of his strength to tackle the man.

The man's head struck the floor. His grip loosened, and the knife flew out of his hand.

Lying on his stomach, Shao Lan crawled toward the knife inch by inch.

Jiang Mingran clamped his hands around the man's throat. Blood kept spilling from his mouth, but he refused to let go.

The man kicked Jiang Mingran away with all his strength, then turned and pinned him down, punching him hard in the face.

"You..."

The man opened his mouth, but blood poured out instead.

He lowered his head and saw the tip of the knife protruding from his chest.

Shao Lan pulled out the knife. The man collapsed like a torn sack gushing blood.

"Bro..."

Shao Lan pushed the man's body aside, revealing Jiang Mingran's blood-smeared face.

He looked at Shao Lan, blood spilling from his mouth with every word. "Bro... is there... is there still a way?"

This time, with some of them dead and others wounded, they had barely managed to get rid of the woman.

Then a Fake Police Officer had appeared, equally intent on killing them.

What kind of game was this? Was there really any way to survive?

Despair and terror gripped Jiang Mingran's heart. He stared fixedly into Shao Lan's eyes.

"There is," Shao Lan said. "Trust me. There has to be."

Jiang Mingran nodded. Then his pupils slowly dilated, and his eyes lost focus.

He was dead.

That final burst of strength had merely been his last rally before death.

Shao Lan slumped to the floor. He, too, had exhausted all his strength. His vision blurred, while the sounds around him grew louder and more chaotic. Footsteps sounded in the hallway.

"Reporting an abnormal situation on the thirteenth floor! Possible crime scene!"

"Blood found in the hallway!"

Shao Lan struggled to prop himself up and tilted his head to listen.

It wasn't a hallucination. The police really had arrived.

With the last of his strength, he pulled open the security door and collapsed.

"Reporting! The crime scene is apartment 1301. Three dead, one injured!"

"No suspect found!"

Blood loss had blurred Shao Lan's vision. He could only make out figures in white coats moving before him.

"Sir, wake up! Can you hear me?"

He had been saved. The medical staff were assessing his injuries and preparing to lift him onto a stretcher.

But...

Shao Lan turned his head. White lines had been drawn on the floor nearby, surrounding Jiang Mingran's body.

If he let the medical staff take him away like this, Shao Lan would survive, but the loop would end, leaving Jiang Mingran and Pancake Uncle here forever.

Only minutes earlier, Jiang Mingran had promised Shao Lan that if Shao Lan died, he would kill himself to trigger the next loop.

But Shao Lan hadn't entirely believed him.

Human nature was selfish. There was only one loop left. If someone could survive this one, why would they enter the next and gamble with their life?

Besides, the situation was so dangerous. This round had brought a Fake Police Officer who had never appeared before. Who knew what would appear next time? Who could guarantee they would survive?

If he simply lay still, the doctors would take him away, and the loop would end.

But...

Shao Lan picked up the knife from the floor and plunged it into his own chest.

"Sir!"

The people around him rushed over. Shao Lan twisted the handle and used the last of his strength to pull the knife out.

Blood sprayed. As his consciousness drifted away, Shao Lan closed his eyes.

The tangled clues in his mind gradually converged into a glowing river. All he had to do was follow its current to reach the truth at its end.

The diary. The married couple. The woman's belly. The Fake Police Officer who had suddenly appeared.

The recorded calls. No report to the police. The dismembered remains found across the city. The sound of a door opening and closing.

And the rule carved into the floor: "Owls are birds skilled at disguise. Do not trust the owl."

Wait. So that was it.

So that was it...

So that was it!!!

"Drip, drip."

Jiang Mingran opened his eyes to the sound of water.

He lay on the camp bed in the small bedroom, surrounded by familiar sights.

The mourning hall, the single remaining goldfish, the Owl Clock.

It was 3:58 a.m. They had one last chance.

If they still failed to escape this time, true death awaited them.

Jiang Mingran slapped his head hard, trying to stay alert.

This was their last chance. He had to be careful, think through every step. Nothing could go wrong...

"Jiang Mingran! Get a knife from the kitchen!"

A sudden shout came from outside.

Jiang Mingran froze.

It was Shao Lan's voice.

What was going on? Had Shao Lan started fighting that monster outright?! How could they possibly beat it?!

His legs moved faster than his mind. Still bewildered, Jiang Mingran was already racing out.

He grabbed a knife and rushed into the living room, only to find that Shao Lan wasn't fighting the monster, but a man in an old jacket.

The Fake Police Officer who had appeared at the end of the previous loop!

Shao Lan had an arm locked around the man's neck from behind. The man struggled desperately like a trapped beast, kicking over the living room table and scattering its contents across the floor.

Jiang Mingran hurried toward them, but something caught his foot. He pitched forward, about to fall flat on his face.

At the critical moment, he threw the knife. "Lan!"

Keeping one arm around the man's neck, Shao Lan caught the knife in midair with his other hand, gripping the handle firmly and laying the blade across the man's throat.

"Don't move." Shao Lan looked calmly ahead. "Move an inch, and I'll kill him."

Jiang Mingran clambered awkwardly out of the mess on the floor. The door to the other bedroom opened as well. Pancake Uncle held on to the door, and both he and Jiang Mingran stared in shock at what stood opposite Shao Lan.

The bathroom door slowly opened. The monstrous woman stood inside.