At that moment, the bracelet which looked like an ornament on Wu Ting’s wrist suddenly moved.
A silver-white head poked out of the circular bracelet. It looked small, and was about the size of a pinkie. Upon closer look, it turned out to be a slender little snake, though its breed couldn’t be made out.
The little snake raised its head and did its best to stretch out towards Xiao Lan. It drew circles in the air, as if it was very interested in Xiao Lan.
Wu Ting stroked the little snake’s head with her other hand. “It seems that Xiao Qing likes you a lot.”
Xiao Lan looked at the snake that was silver-white all over. “Why didn’t you call it Xiao Bai?”
Wu Ting was helpless. “Because it only responds to the name Xiao Qing.”
Truly a snake with a very big personality.
Wu Ting stroked Xiao Qing’s head, her lips curved in a bewitching smile. “For Xiao Qing to like you means that your skills are pretty good. Perhaps there will be an opportunity for us to cooperate in the future.
Xiao Lan: “What are you implying?”
Wu Ting, however, only gave a mysterious smile and didn’t reply at all. She waved at them, then sauntered off gracefully.
If it was He Rui who had run over to do something like this, Xiao Lan might have simply kicked him and told him to speak properly.
Conversely, Wu Ting acting mysterious was very reasonable, given her appearance; it could be seen that a person’s ability to tolerate things was like the existence of a coiled spring.
Perhaps this was Wu Ting’s reason for dressing up exquisitely like that?
.
At night.
Xiao Lan treated Luo like an ice pillow again and rested against him to sleep. The cramped, stifling hot environment didn’t affect his sleep quality at all.
At some point, however, it got progressively noisier outside the door.
“Shasha…”
At the very beginning, it was only faint footsteps; they sounded very careful, as if a neighbour had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.
“Da —”
This was followed by the crisp and rhythmic sound of high heels clacking on the floor. These footsteps sounded hurried, like a woman hurrying to go to some meeting.
After that, there were more and more footsteps. The weight and pacing were all different, as if they belonged to many people of different ages, heights, and gender; it made one vaguely wonder if they were standing in a crowded place like a subway station.
When Xiao Lan opened his eyes, he almost thought he had been tossed out onto the streets because he couldn’t pay his rent.
The next second, he saw the shabby bed frame above his head, and that black figure sitting beside him and looking at him. Only then did he recall that he no longer needed to pay rent, and that this was an instance.
He didn’t speak, and merely gave Luo, who had been on night watch, a questioning gaze.
Luo made a “ssh” gesture, then pointed at the gap under the door.
Xiao Lan looked in the direction he was pointing.
Although the landlord was very stingy and had modified the electric circuits in all the rooms, the lights in the living room were still on. Who knew which fellow had forgotten to turn off the lights, but the dim, yellow light was visible from under the door.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Although it sounded like there were a lot of people outside, there was no sign of the light from under the door being disturbed at all.
Pa kjr jr lo atf ilnlcu gbbw kjr mbwqifafis fwqas.
Ktlr wfjca atja cb wjaafg ktja kjr bearlvf atf vbbg, la kbeivc’a yf tewjc.
Wljb Ojc kjr meggfcais mbcafwqijalcu.
Ca atja wbwfca, atf atlcur bearlvf rffwfv ab tjnf cbalmfv atja atf qfgrbc lcrlvf tjv kbxfc eq, jcv atf qgfnlberis mtjbalm rbecv bo obbarafqr mtjcufv jr atfs tfjvfv abkjgvr Wljb Ojc’r vbbg.
“Pata —”
“Shasha —”
“Da —”
All sorts of footsteps drew closer and closer to Xiao Lan’s door.
Then, they stopped very close to the door, and everything outside instantly quieted down.
It was as if a group of people were currently pressed up against the door, their gazes fixed on it but not making a sound.
Xiao Lan looked at the gap under the door; still nothing at all.
At that moment, the sudden silence seemed to be luring him into hurrying up and opening the door to see what on earth was going on.
However, curiosity killed the cat.
Xiao Lan didn’t plan to open the door at all. In any case, it seemed that those unknown things outside weren’t able to enter at all.
If there was anything, it would be fine to look tomorrow morning.
Wasn’t it just being stared at by an unknown existence as he slept? Didn’t he already live like that every day? He was already used to it, and wasn’t scared at all.
To say nothing of the fact that there was still a door between him and those fellows.
Xiao Lan lay back in bed, and with practised ease, scooted into a cool position against Luo’s back. Luo let him do as he pleased, with an ‘I’m just an emotionless bolster’ air about him.
The unknown entities outside: …
Fuck, damned gays!
.
On the morning of the third day, the rain that had been brewing for two days finally fell.
The dense raindrops were practically woven into a thick curtain, to the point that the wind couldn’t penetrate it. It firmly blanketed the entire apartment and caused those who were trapped inside to feel suffocated.
After getting up and going outside, Xiao Lan found many footprints outside his door. They were all layered on top of each other and piled together, squeezed into that narrow space between the door frame. It was hard to imagine what they had done to pile on top of each other like that.
The players were all present at breakfast, while there was still no sign of the pregnant woman who hadn’t appeared last night. The lovers were still dilly-dallying in their room, and the evil cult believer was also still in his room, praying.
Seizing the chance when the NPCs had yet to appear, Duan Xueyin said softly, “Say, do you think that pregnant woman is also…”
She didn’t explicitly say it, but all the players understood what she meant. They were already at the intermediate level, and had already asked around about that mother and daughter pair.
Wu Ting frowned slightly. “It’s possible. Perhaps each time someone dies, the danger we face increases.”
Then, Meng Ze hesitantly spoke up. “Did you guys hear any strange sounds last night?”
Xiao Lan answered, “Such as?”
Meng Ze pointed at the room next to his. “Last night, I heard a lot of people knocking on the wall, but when I got up and looked outside, there was no one next door at all ah. It was quite scary…”
Wu Ting’s expression was strange. “You went out?”
Meng Ze was a little puzzled. “Yes ah…”
He Rui hurriedly interjected, “It’s fine as long as you’re okay, but you should be more vigilant next time.”
Meng Ze nodded dumbly.
Xiao Lan also felt it was a little strange. This Meng Ze didn’t seem cautious at all, like a novice player. How had he advanced to the intermediate level?
He then looked at He Rui. It was clearly a three-person team, but the two of them were obviously more familiar with each other than with Duan Xueyin. Could it be that Meng Ze actually knew He Rui before this? It might even be possible that He Rui had brought him in.
What was He Rui’s purpose for doing this?
Li Haokuan in his black singlet also quietly asked the players at that moment, “You guys also encountered that mother and daughter pair, right? I’m talking about after they died.”
The players all nodded. Li Haokuan then continued, “I don’t know why, but yesterday, I had just avoided that little girl in the corridor, when she came back not even a few minutes later. She also looked quite angry; who knows what she experienced. She was so fierce that I nearly became a corpse.”
Insider Xiao Lan: “…”
Apologies ah brother, it might have been me who angered her.
At that moment, the remaining tenants started to trickle out.
Seeing that the pregnant woman didn’t appear at the table, they seemed very indifferent. That pair of lovers took away the pregnant woman’s breakfast portion, but when they saw that Xiao Lan and Luo were both here, they didn’t dare feed one another.
“Heeheehee…” The evil cult believer laughed for no reason. He pointed maliciously at the pregnant woman’s room. “She must have been punished by god. I’ve never seen a man with her; she must definitely have been unfaithful.”
He stroked the image of god as his neurotic gaze swept over the players. “All of you are guilty. God will definitely come to punish you… heeheehee…”
Disinclined to hear him rattle on, Xiao Lan reached out and gently rapped the table.
The evil cult believer’s expression instantly changed.
He hastily put his beloved god’s image in his pocket and still patted it to confirm that it was completely fine before he hurriedly reached out to grab his breakfast and then fled to his room to eat. Throughout the entire process, he didn’t even dare give Xiao Lan a single glance, and was as obedient as a grandson.
Once again, Xiao Lan gained the admiring gazes of the players.
It’s a ruthless man, brothers.
After breakfast, Xiao Lan strolled around the fourth floor to help with digestion.
He finally understood that this instance may not be like the past, where he needed to find clues to leave.
In the wake of the tenants’ deaths, the risks the players faced increased, and would reach the peak on the fourth day. Perhaps the path to survival would only appear then, and there was no way to find it before that.
Moreover, regardless of wherever they were or what they did, the threat of death would come knocking on their doors.
Now, they could only stroll around to familiarise themselves with the layout.
When he passed by the laundry room, Xiao Lan heard a strange noise. It was the sound of an overtaxed washing machine after being overloaded and forcibly started up, as if it would break in the next second.
At the same time, Xiao Lan smelled that same scent of laundry detergent which had appeared when he saw the water stains at his room door.
Xiao Lan entered the laundry room.
He saw that part of Duan Xueyin’s body was being pulled into the washing machine. One hand was in the washing machine while the other was braced on it outside as she tried to struggle free with an alarmed face.
And stretching out from inside the washing machine was a hand that looked bloated from being immersed in water. That hand had grabbed her shoulder.
There were also a few sleeves that were dripping wet which wound around her hair and arm like monstrous tentacles. One sleeve even covered her mouth and nose; not only did it prevent her from crying out for help, even breathing became difficult. Duan Xueyin’s face was starting to visibly turn red and purple.
Soap suds from the washing machine soaked the floor and started to slide across it, making Duan Xueyin unsteady on her feet.
When she saw Xiao Lan’s figure appear at the doorway, her eyes instantly filled with the will to live.
“Ngh —”
She did all she could to ask Xiao Lan for help.
Xiao Lan took out 【This is a dagger coated in highly toxic poison】 from his storage space. The sharp dagger slashed at the sleeves covering Duan Xueyin’s eyes, nose and arms. Instantly, the sleeves that had been hard to tear away due to how slippery they were, were cut in two, and the strength that had been pulling at her instantly eased up.
Duan Xueyin took this chance to gasp for breath.
This young lady wasn’t careless either. Seizing the moment when the strength of the thing inside the washing machine had weakened, a talisman instantly appeared in her only hand that could move. She quietly mouthed an incantation, then stuck the talisman to the arm that had grabbed hold of her shoulder.
That bloated arm instantly looked like it had been burnt by an iron, and there was a burnt smell. It seemed like there was some miserable screech inside the washing machine, and the arm and clothes all abruptly retreated.
In an instant, the laundry room returned to its original state.
It was as if nothing had happened at all, apart from the water stains on the floor and a drenched Duan Xueyin. Fortunately, her clothes didn’t become see-through after getting soaked.
Duan Xueyin panted as she sat on the floor, uncaring if it was dirty or not. “Thanks… If you weren’t here, I might have met a disaster this time.”
Xiao Lan said casually, “It’s nothing, I just happened to be passing by. Care to explain why you were attacked?”
Duan Xueyin pointed at the washing machine where the mishap occurred. “I discovered the pregnant woman’s corpse inside. At that time, she had been carelessly stuffed inside like clothes. I was just about to go and call for you guys, when something attacked me from behind.”
Following Duan Xueyin’s movement, Xiao Lan went over to look into the washing machine which Duan Xueyin said had a corpse in it, but discovered that there was nothing in it now.
Seeing Xiao Lan’s expression, Duan Xueyin could make a rough guess as well. “It’s gone?”
Xiao Lan nodded. He said to Duan Xueyin, “Let’s go ba. It’s not safe since something just happened here; we should leave first before we talk.”
With that, he took Luo with him, and the two of them left the laundry room one after another.
Duan Xueyin, sitting on the floor: “…”
Logically speaking, shouldn’t you come help me up?
Xiao Lan’s voice sounded outside the door. “Duan Xueyin, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m coming!”
Duan Xueyin swiftly got up and instantly understood. What normal logic is there when you get tangled up with damned gays…
Sorry DXY, the ‘two dammed gays’ you refer to really mean no harm…don’t get too angry ok?
Thanks for the chapter~
We really should have a “Damned Gays” Counter
If I remember correctly they’ve already been called “damned gays” for about 5 times? 2 this chapter. 1 somewhere around in this arc. 1 when they were strolling in the real world and probably another one somewhere?
Damned Gays Counter: 5
A double update! This made my morning, tysm baobaomei! 🙌
Everyone already labeled as gays, we can say that they kinda predicted the future?
Thank you for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️
Labeled them as gays*
Damned gays.
Hey those “damned gays” are the people who feed us so no complaining sweetie.
I keep going back to the warning that Xiao Lan received. What is He Rui playing at?
Thanks for the double update! <3
Thanks for the update
Almost killed by tentacle clothes, nice~ xD
Thx for the ch (≧▽≦)/
‘Damned gays’ 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
dear lovely translator, can you inform us who drew your profile pic? i didn’t say much the previous chapters but the artwork is awesome~ kowtows please bless us with thou’s holy information
ahahah, actually, I drew that myself. I was previously using a fanart from another artist, but I felt bad cuz I couldn’t credit them, so obv my solution was to draw it myself lololol
damned gays
Hahhahahahahahah
They really like using the words ‘damned gays’ but honestly it’s like the writer is silently cheering them on the road to love. Since the pauper and the shadow god are absolutely clueless to love right now 😂😂
I love how everyone’s second opinions ia always “two damned gays” 😂
I love how EVERYONE just casually regarding XL and Luo as gays. 😂
It’s called “double standards” darling… They meant no harm. They just have standards in who they should treat~
i find myself always waiting for the phrase “Damn Gays” lol
Fuck, damned gays!
I dislike the fact that they have to say damned before saying gay c’mon man
Don’t know what kind of people the author has come across, but this makes me feel like they really need better friends/acquaintances. They either know a lot of homomisic people, or a lot of women who do expect special treatment from men. Both these types of people aren’t the kind one would want to know.
It’s really uncomfortable to read and describe them as ‘damned gays’ i mean when can we get a label? Lol anwwww, my proposal def is doneees hahaha
why do they keep cruseing them out? T^T they aren’t even gay yet