After relieving himself in the bathroom, Jiang Ming felt refreshed. Just as he was about to return to his bedroom, he heard the sound of running water.
What was going on? Was the toilet still flushing?
Puzzled, he listened carefully and realized the sound wasn’t coming from the bathroom, but from somewhere else—the kitchen.
Jiang Ming instantly went on high alert. He knew that besides himself and the dog, there should be no one else in the house.
But in this Weird world, things that made noise might not be human.
Slowing his steps, Jiang Ming cautiously moved to the kitchen door.
The sound of running water inside grew clearer, mixed with the clinking of dishes and utensils. The more he listened, the more familiar it sounded. Was someone… washing dishes?
Jiang Ming was baffled. Could it be that there was a “person” in the kitchen helping him wash dishes?
It sounded so absurdly ridiculous that Jiang Ming decided to investigate.
But before taking action, he first secured an escape route. He glanced back at the bedroom, confirming he could dash back there at a moment’s notice.
Then, he took two steps back, stretched out his right hand, and prepared to open the kitchen door.
But Jiang Ming didn’t get the chance to open it, because the entity inside opened the door first.
*Click—*
The kitchen door swung open. Jiang Ming looked inside and saw a… a thing?
Or a “person”?
But it clearly fell outside the human category. Its build was similar to that of an adult woman.
It had a vaguely humanoid silhouette, but every inch of its skin was as white as jade, even emitting a soft, glowing luminescence.
Most striking was its head. Several glowing white tentacles gently swayed, as if exploring the surrounding world.
Its wrists and eye were also peculiar.
Normally, humans only have two hands, but this creature had four palms growing from its wrists. They were arranged neatly, facing away from each other, like a meticulously designed piece of art.
Even more bizarre, the creature’s face bore only one enormous eye, occupying two-thirds of its face, giving it an expression that seemed both curious and mysterious.
It looked at Jiang Ming with its single eye, full of curiosity. But Jiang Ming, looking at this thing, felt the uncanny valley effect kick in and couldn’t help but take a step back.
At this moment, Jiang Ming started to feel a bit panicked inside.
The next instant, a strong, powerful hand landed on his shoulder.
Jiang Ming’s heart jumped. He turned his head slightly to look. It was a hand glowing with a faint luminescence.
Well, two hands. Because another hand grew from the same wrist, the two palms facing away from each other.
With such a distinctive feature, there was no need to guess. It definitely belonged to the same group as the thing in the kitchen.
So, almost instantly, without any hesitation, Jiang Ming focused his mind.
*Boom—*
A huge vending machine came crashing down behind him. The pure white hand vanished. Feeling the pressure on his shoulder disappear, Jiang Ming leaped backward, ready to sprint for the bedroom.
But the monster originally in the kitchen, seeing its companion injured, let out a sharp, strange shriek.
It launched itself in a flying pounce towards Jiang Ming. Its speed was terrifyingly fast, so fast Jiang Ming barely had time to activate his Talent. It was almost instantly upon him, right above his head.
“Using my Talent from this position would crush me too!”
Jiang Ming thought bitterly, but there was no time for further deliberation. The monster was about to land on his face. Jiang Ming could only throw a punch forward with all his might.
*Thud—*
Something unexpected happened. Jiang Ming’s fist felt like it had struck something with the texture of soft fur.
And after taking that punch, the monster flew backward as if it were a punctured balloon, its body rapidly deflating and flattening out.
Jiang Ming was shocked, confused, bewildered.
Because this monster seemed, perhaps, a bit too weak!
He turned to look at the taller monster under the vending machine. It too had become a flattened, deflated husk.
Jiang Ming thought for a moment but ultimately decided not to approach to examine the two flattened bodies. Instead, he quickly headed for the bedroom.
Back in the bedroom, with the door locked, Jiang Ming took out the Rules note and quickly scanned it. His gaze settled on one particular rule, Rule 1, Item 1:
*There is and only can be you in the house. If you see anyone else appear, do not respond. Immediately return to the bedroom and lock the bedroom door.*
So, did those two monsters just now count as “people”?
Jiang Ming didn’t know. He couldn’t be sure what the definition of “person” was in this world. He wasn’t even sure if he himself counted as a person here.
After a while, Jiang Ming pulled his thoughts back, checked the time, and resumed his great undertaking of researching the password.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
………
Looking at the several strings of numbers he had just crossed out on the paper, Jiang Ming couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
He had studied all the numbers on the dog-eared pages, tried every possible combination, but it was still useless.
Irritated, he tossed the book onto the table and glanced up. It was already 11:40. About an hour had passed. Things outside should have settled down by now.
Jiang Ming rubbed his stomach, got up, and opened the bedroom door a crack. Good, no abnormalities.
He then pricked up his ears to listen. Good, no strange sounds either.
Carefully opening the bedroom door, he looked towards the kitchen. Sure enough, apart from a vending machine, the two flattened monster bodies were gone.
Jiang Ming walked up to the vending machine, focused his mind, and then looked into its dispensing slot. An item lay quietly inside:
Item: Vodka
Quality: Common
Description: A masterpiece from a professional distiller of a certain Slavic nation. Made from grains, potatoes, molasses, and other edible crops as raw materials.
Produced through fermentation, distillation into edible alcohol, and then refined through special processes into a distilled spirit. Extremely high proof, suitable for winter consumption.
Note: In Slavic languages, ‘vodka’ means ‘a little water.’ But it’s not just for drinking, right?
Seeing this, Jiang Ming felt a pang of regret. Earlier, in the hallway fighting the tentacle monster, he had summoned five vending machines. Before he could even enjoy the thrill of the “draw,” they were destroyed.
That was equivalent to a pure loss of five Sanity Points. A huge waste!
Shaking his head, he stored the vodka, picked up the bag of dog food from a nearby table, and went to feed the Labrador its lunch.
Opening the door to the storage room, the Labrador didn’t greet him with its usual enthusiastic welcome. Instead, it lay on the floor, staring fixedly at Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming frowned but still crouched down to fill the dog’s bowl. The Labrador glanced at Jiang Ming, then silently lowered its head to eat.
At that moment, Jiang Ming noticed something yellow on the floor where the dog had been lying. Picking it up, he saw it was dog fur. It was starting to shed.
Jiang Ming didn’t know if this phenomenon was good or bad, but one thing was certain: as time passed, some things were beginning to change. This hadn’t happened in the previous two days.
Gathering the scattered dog fur, he stood up to leave. As he was about to exit, Jiang Ming felt something was off.
He looked back. The yellow Labrador had stopped eating. Its two dog eyes were fixed dead on him. Jiang Ming’s heart lurched, and he quickly shut the door.
Outside the room, Jiang Ming stared at the storage room door with alarm and uncertainty, as if he could see the Labrador through it.
What frightened him wasn’t that the dog was staring at him, but because…
For that brief moment, its gaze had seemed human.