Jiang Ming stood in a standoff with the creature in the stairwell.
But now, the mockery in the creature’s eyes had vanished, replaced by pure rage. It swung its tentacles, smashing the so-called “key” in its grasp to pieces. Among the falling fragments, the faint outline of a character “Du” could be seen. Jiang Ming had actually swapped the key at some point without the creature noticing!
Leaning against the wall, Jiang Ming adjusted his backpack and pulled the real key from his pocket. His eyes were filled with mockery, mirroring the creature’s earlier expression. He opened his mouth to taunt:
“How was it? Did my Durex feel good? Hahaha!”
“You’re truly the most brainless monster I’ve ever seen. Utter trash…”
“……”
Facing the monster, Jiang Ming showed not a trace of fear. Instead, he continuously mocked it. His voice echoed in the empty corridor, each word dripping with provocation.
Hearing Jiang Ming’s taunts, the creature suppressed its anger, looking at him with renewed interest. It loved stubborn prey like this, especially when they had nowhere left to run.
Although Jiang Ming still had the key now, the door was blocked by the creature itself. There was absolutely no way he could get past it. The stairwell was so small; he couldn’t escape anywhere else. For prey with no escape, its favorite thing was to torment them slowly, until both their bodies and spirits were pushed to the absolute limit! Flesh and blood accompanied by a soul in agony—that was the ultimate delicacy!
It slowly advanced, various tortures flashing through its mind. It would make Jiang Ming pay for his words.
The monster’s massive body moved, causing the mist in the stairwell to churn, its tentacles writhing in the air.
But then, it noticed something strange. Faced with certain death, Jiang Ming showed no fear at all. He just stood there stiffly, mouth full of mocking words. He didn’t seem afraid…
No!
Jiang Ming *was* afraid!
The monster could see a deeply hidden thread of fear in the depths of Jiang Ming’s eyes. That fear was the most fundamental fear of death; it couldn’t be faked.
So why was he putting on this fearless act now?
And behind him… it seemed like he was hiding something…
But… what over there was worth hiding?
What was it?
One of his hands held the key. What about the other hand?
What was his other hand, hidden behind his back, doing?
More and more questions arose in the monster’s mind, bringing it a sliver of unease. The red light in its eyes intensified slightly. It finally saw…
It saw Jiang Ming’s hand behind his back making subtle, rhythmic movements. And within his stream of taunts, there seemed to be another sound mixed in!
It sounded like… “Thump… thump… thump…”
Right! Over there… there *was* something!
Suddenly, the monster understood everything. Jiang Ming wasn’t mocking it at all! He was just distracting it, buying time! Using his taunting voice to cover up the original sound!
It had realized!
With a furious roar, it lunged forward!
Its speed was terrifying. A huge shadow instantly filled the stairwell, tearing through the mist. The gust of wind it created slammed hard against Jiang Ming’s face!
In an instant, it was only a step away from Jiang Ming. Just a little more, and its tentacle would pierce right through him!
But unfortunately, sometimes, “a little” is an eternity.
With a creaking sound, Jiang Ming took a step back, revealing what he had been trying to hide all along—a door. Apartment 1203. Another neighbor’s home.
Now, the door was open.
Jiang Ming withdrew his hidden hand, stepped into the neighbor’s apartment, and left behind one final taunt:
“This was my escape route all along, you fool!”
The door slammed shut heavily. The tentacles could only strike powerlessly against the door, producing a deafening noise. The door panel warped violently, but it was useless.
…
Inside the apartment, Jiang Ming’s eyes were filled with the relief of a narrow escape. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a painfully familiar middle-aged face.
The familiar brown checkered short-sleeve and gray trousers. The familiar pair of slippers. And that familiar line:
“If it isn’t Xiao Ming! What brings you to Uncle Li’s place?”
Even someone as resilient as Jiang Ming almost couldn’t hold back a curse. *What the hell is this?*
Weren’t the first forty-eight hours supposed to be relatively safe? *This* is called safe?
But Jiang Ming managed to hold it in. He glanced at the confused-looking Uncle Li, a guess forming in his mind. He tucked his injured left hand into his pocket and uttered that familiar line:
“I just felt like seeing you today, Uncle Li, so I came to visit.”
Sure enough, Uncle Li’s next words were:
“Hahaha, you rascal. You’re definitely craving my braised pork again. Come on in.”
Jiang Ming hesitated for a moment, then followed him inside.
As they walked, Uncle Li said, “Your mom, really. Going out on business and leaving you home alone.”
“You’re just a student, always studying at school. You probably don’t even know how to cook properly. Why don’t you stay at your uncle’s place for a few days? I’m bored here by myself anyway.”
Jiang Ming gave his usual reply: “No need to trouble yourself, Uncle Li. My mom taught me how to cook before she left. There’s plenty of food at home too.”
“Oh, by the way, Xiao Ming, why are your clothes so dirty?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was cleaning the house today and haven’t had time to change.”
“Is that so…”
“……”
As they conversed, they soon reached the living room. The violent noises at the door continued. Jiang Ming glanced at the door panel, now deeply dented inward, then at the calm Uncle Li. He couldn’t help but ask:
“Uncle Li, don’t you hear any strange noises?”
“Strange noises? Oh, it’s probably the neighbor’s dog. It’s fine.”
Uncle Li tilted his head, listening carefully, then offered his answer.
Hearing this response, Jiang Ming frowned deeply. The neighbor’s dog?
There were only three households on this floor. The other Uncle Li’s apartment didn’t have a dog. But wasn’t the dog in his own apartment?
Then whose dog was outside the door?
Thinking of this, Jiang Ming pressed further:
“Which neighbor’s dog is it? How many dogs do they have?”
Uncle Li said matter-of-factly, “What do you mean which neighbor’s dog? The neighbor’s dog is the neighbor’s dog! And they only have one dog.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ming’s frown deepened. Only one dog? Neither of the two Uncle Li’s apartments had a dog. Only his own apartment did.
But if the monster he just encountered was the original dog… then what was that Labrador in his apartment?
Could it be that the Labrador wasn’t his family’s dog? Or perhaps… it wasn’t a dog at all!
A chill ran down Jiang Ming’s spine. Several terrifying guesses instantly flashed through his mind. But then he remembered the Labrador’s behavior this morning, and his tense heart relaxed a little.
Just then, Uncle Li suddenly spoke, asking a strange question: “Xiao Ming, does your family have a dog?”
Hearing this, Jiang Ming looked at Uncle Li with confusion. Uncle Li didn’t know if his family had a dog?
That was impossible.
After all, he had just confidently stated that the neighbor had one, and only one, dog.
And Jiang Ming had already observed that neither of the two Uncle Li’s apartments had a dog. So this “neighbor” undoubtedly referred to him.
If Uncle Li knew his family had a dog, why would he bother asking such a redundant question?
But soon, Jiang Ming figured it out. This Uncle Li was probably like the other one—human-like, but not human. He knew the neighbor had a dog. He knew the dog belonged to Jiang Ming’s family. But he couldn’t connect the two.
Or perhaps, he knew Jiang Ming’s family had a dog, but needed Jiang Ming to verbally confirm it. Only then would the fact “Jiang Ming’s family has a dog” become established for him.
And according to the Rules, letting Uncle Li know he had a dog probably wasn’t a good thing.
With this guess in mind, which Jiang Ming felt was about eighty to ninety percent accurate, he opened his mouth to reply:
“Haha, Uncle Li, since when does my family have a dog?”
Uncle Li froze for a second, then nodded. “Oh, right, right. Look at me, forgetting again.”
Observing Uncle Li’s reaction, Jiang Ming felt even more certain of his guess. Then, Jiang Ming felt like something was missing. He recalled the previous procedure.
He immediately remembered he had skipped the step of presenting a visiting gift. But the fruit was gone, and he couldn’t very well give Uncle Li the wrench or the clock.
So Jiang Ming put his hand in his pocket, spent a bit of Sanity, and performed a draw.
With a “ding,” the draw was complete. He took the item out of his pocket. A familiar object appeared in Jiang Ming’s hand.
Seeing this thing, Jiang Ming almost lost his composure. But he struggled to keep his expression steady and nonchalantly handed the item to Uncle Li:
“Oh, right, Uncle Li. This is for you… a condom.”
The silent Uncle Li was no longer silent. Instead, his face darkened. His mouth opened slightly, then closed. He stammered for a good while before finally squeezing out a few words:
“Xiao Ming… you… are truly thoughtful.”
But Uncle Li still didn’t reach out to take the condom. Jiang Ming steeled himself and stuffed it into Uncle Li’s hand.
Uncle Li struggled internally for a moment, then finally accepted it. What followed was a long, awkward silence as the two sat on the sofa.
In the end, it was Uncle Li who broke the silence. “Xiao Ming, you sit here. I’ll go make you some braised pork.”
After saying this, Uncle Li took the item and practically fled.
…
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Ming finally let out a long sigh of relief. If Uncle Li hadn’t accepted the gift, he didn’t know if it would have counted as breaking a Rule. Thankfully, he was shameless enough.
He glanced at Uncle Li, now busy in the kitchen, then pulled his left hand out of his pocket. The cuff of his white long-sleeve shirt was already soaked with blood.
Jiang Ming wanted to tear off the sleeve to use as a bandage. Due to blood loss and pain, his face was already somewhat pale. He didn’t have much strength left. He could only retract his left hand further into the sleeve.
After doing this, Jiang Ming finally had time to look at the room’s layout. It was indeed identical to 1201.
And there were two identical Uncle Lis. Jiang Ming began pondering the relationship between them. Who would believe two identical people had no connection at all?
When he opened the door and saw that face earlier, he was almost scared out of his wits. He thought Uncle Li had come to eat his heart already. Trapped between a wolf in front and a tiger behind, the shock was too much, leading to his earlier lapse.
But after thinking for a long time, besides being certain the two Uncle Lis were related, Jiang Ming couldn’t be sure of anything else. He couldn’t even be sure if they were the same person, or if they were just toying with him now.
And even if it really was the heart-eating Uncle Li, he didn’t dare run now. Because the monster outside was far more terrifying than Uncle Li. If he hadn’t schemed with everything he had earlier, he might not have survived.
From the moment the tentacle wrapped around him, Jiang Ming knew he probably couldn’t return home today.
So he deliberately swapped the key, used the impact force to reach the neighbor’s door, and secretly knocked.
Simultaneously, he used taunts and the key to deliberately attract the monster’s attention, making it focus entirely on him and not think about what was behind.
For Jiang Ming to devise and perfectly execute so many maneuvers in such a short time was already pushing his limits.
But even so, he had almost died at the monster’s hands. That alone showed how terrifying that creature was!
As Jiang Ming pondered, the loud banging on the door continued. Jiang Ming clicked his tongue. He probably wouldn’t be able to go back for a while.
Just then, a peculiar aroma wafted from the kitchen.
When Jiang Ming smelled it, his mouth watered uncontrollably. His stomach growled loudly, stirring his appetite fiercely.
As time passed, the fragrance grew richer. Jiang Ming even felt an impulse to rush over and eat the meat immediately. But he restrained his desire.
He opened his backpack and glanced at the clock’s time: 12:41 PM. It was already noon. He remembered the Rules said to eat properly and not starve himself.
But going back now was impossible. That monster was still madly pounding on the door outside.
If he didn’t go back, to avoid violating the Rules, he could only eat at the neighbor’s. But the Rules also said not to casually eat a neighbor’s food.
And the previous Uncle Li was a monster. He couldn’t be sure if this Uncle Li was a monster too. He couldn’t be sure if his food posed any danger…
Just as Jiang Ming was caught in this dilemma, Uncle Li walked over carrying a large bowl of braised pork. It looked glossy and bright, seemingly fatty but not greasy, quite appetizing.
“Here, Xiao Ming, time to eat!”
Jiang Ming looked at the meat on the table. He needed to make a choice.