Spoiler-containing Warning Tags
Please refer to No.1 on ToC page.
Last night at 19:00—
The room was silent; not a single sound disturbed the stillness.
Upon returning home from work, Xu Wenluo kicked off his leather shoes, loosened his tie, and ran his fingers through his well-groomed hair.
A soft, rustling sound came through from behind the storage room’s door. Hearing it, he grabbed a shoe and threw it over, making a “thud” sound that instantly quelled the noise.
He continued to the kitchen without a second glance, ignited the stove, and cooked a packet of instant noodles. In the process, some greasy soup accidentally dripped onto his white shirt. Cursing, he stood up, unbuttoned the shirt, and replaced it with a dirty short-sleeved shirt he pulled out from a corner.
Today, he received yet another tongue-lashing from his boss. As Xu Wenluo savoured a mouthful of noodles, his mind involuntarily wandered to the vivid image of his boss’ almost bursting belly pushing against the shirt and his mouth that continuously spewed out droplets of saliva. The mental picture made him nauseous. He quickly chomped down on two noodle bites and washed them down with a sip of broth at the bowl’s edge.
He didn’t turn on the living room light; the only source of illumination was the weakly flickering, dim light of the not-so-bright incandescent lamp in the kitchen, leaving the apartment enveloped in darkness.
On the table was a pile of bottles and cans—mostly empty instant noodle cups and cola cans that weren’t disposed of after each meal.
Midway through his meal, there was another sound emanated from the storage room. Xu Wenluo paused, setting aside his chopsticks, and approached the door with unsteady steps. The moonlight spilt in through the window and stretched his silhouette, casting the shadow of his slightly bulging belly onto the floor.
The door handle turned, and the door creaked open slowly, revealing an empty room furnished with some discarded furniture scattered about.
A hauntingly green light flashed in the shadows, unveiling two cats slinking behind the furniture. In a nearby corner, there was also a thin and weak dog crouching. They all wore muzzles, giving them the appearance of a different species altogether—like ducks and mixed breeds that were beyond recognition—anything but their true selves. The ends of the muzzle straps were even embedded in the dog’s nape, causing the fur to grow over and into the soft, decaying flesh.
Seeing Xu Wenluo crouched down, the cats retreated warily while the dog foolishly walked over. A skinny, pure white kitten also walked out of the darkness, stumbling forward while letting out a clear and delicate “meow” sound. It was starving.
Xu Wenluo gently pet along the dog’s back, smoothing its dry and brittle fur while humming an inexplicable tune. There were fresh scratch marks on the dog’s body, probably inflicted by the cats. He reached out and prodded at the wound, causing the dog to quickly turn its head and bump its flat muzzle into Xu Wenluo’s hand in the process.
“Trying to f*cking bite me again?” Xu Wenluo forcefully swung the dog’s head. As if it wasn’t enough to fully vent his frustration, he stood up and kicked it twice again. The dog, cowering in fear, wrapped itself into a tight ball, its tail tucked firmly between its legs; too paralysed by fear to even entertain the notion of escape.
Perhaps he stood up too quickly, Xu Wenluo felt dizzy and nauseous. Unable to stand properly, he leaned against the door frame and slowly sank to the floor again.
Xu Wenluo considered himself kind to them. If he was in a good mood, he wouldn’t do anything to them. It was just that they were a bit noisy, making piercing cries when their tails were stepped on, as if wanting to harm him.
He had picked them up and brought them home when they were very young, granting these little brutes a new life. Yet, they didn’t obey his words.
This was unacceptable.
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.
Enduring pent-up frustration at work was one thing, but at home, everything had to be under his command.
Suddenly, a heavy fog descended upon his consciousness. With brutal force, he gripped the dog’s skin. The dog weakly struggled against his grasp, emitting a whimper from its throat.
“Shh.” He tilted his head and gestured for silence with a finger to his lips, shaking his head in an attempt to stand up. Yet, barely a few steps forward, the entryway door began to distort and twist in his perception.
“Click” —the door seemed to be slightly cracked open.
And then, he collapsed entirely.
…
Xu Wenluo kept pets, but never bothered to give them names.
Why bother troubling himself to name those fragile, tiny beings with a lifespan of just over a decade?
They were merely outlets for his venting—a tool that, after being tortured to death, would then be sealed into plastic bags and discarded into the rubbish bin. No one would take notice, and even if they did, they wouldn’t carry out a serious investigation anyway.
Such an easy yet not illegal method.
Up until this point, he remained ignorant of the count of cat and dog corpses he had disposed of; perhaps there might be two whole stacks of them if they were to be piled up together.
As the night deepened, a sharp and slender claw gently pried open the door frame. Its dark eyes slowly crept in and stealthily surveyed the apartment’s interior. However, with a sudden “pfft” sound, it swiftly dissipated into the air, leaving no trace behind.
After an unknown period, Xu Wenluo gradually woke up. He began to feel an unbearably itchy sensation mixed with some pain. His entire face was numb, his body devoid of strength; even curling up was difficult. With some struggling, he managed to touch his own arm—hairy and soft… What is this?
As his vision gradually cleared, he saw a kitten nearby, feasting on the remnants of his half-eaten bowl of instant noodles. That little brute!
Two pairs of hauntingly green eyes appeared in his field of vision. Two large cats approached him slowly; they weren’t wearing muzzles, nor was the dog. The kitten was still continuing its feast on the meat on the floor, leaving a faint trail of blood on the white ceramic tiles.
Xu Wenluo was covered in hair from head to toe. The strands surged out of the hair follicles as though vying with each other, tearing skin and flesh apart to the extreme, revealing the vivid red muscles underneath. The cats brandished their sharp claws, carving lines after lines on his hairy thighs and arms. Yet, Xu Wenluo seemed to feel nothing, or perhaps he was already numb from the pain.
“Meow.” The cat tilted its head, extending its claws into the thick coat of hair, hooking out pieces of fatty skin.
A claw suddenly covered Xu Wenluo’s face; it was that stupid dog.
Something was being torn apart and shredded under the dog’s digging.
What was it digging at?
It was his face.
“Meowwww—!!!”
The sharp, piercing cat cries resounded through the entire building.
Xu Wenluo kept screaming, emitting cries for help from his mouth, desperately hoping someone would notice him! Except, he hadn’t realized what was wrong; his voice, his shouts—everything resembled cat cries.
The dog’s muzzle was gone, and even the festering wound on its nape had disappeared. Looking at Xu Wenluo, who kept screaming incessantly, it seemed as if it hadn’t quite caught on to the situation, yet it approached, extending its long tongue to lick that tattered face of his.
It was like marinating meat.
Sprinkling salt on the bloody chunks.
“Meoww—”
He cried, and the cats and dog crouched beside him also began to cry. Soon, more and more cats and dogs joined in.
Such was a noisy carnival.
Until the end, no one appeared to rescue Xu Wenluo. He died in his own home, lying on the cold floor. His hairy body appeared terrifying yet laughable.
A breeze entered; the slightly open door made a faint “creak” sound and then got opened farther more.
Both the cats and the dog collectively lifted their heads, moving towards the pitch-black corridor.
“Ding-ling.”
It was the sound of a bell.
And then, the door closed again.
*
“But it seems like nightfall is approaching soon.” After Fang Chen finished speaking, as if in response, the pitch-black dark clouds quickly enveloped the surroundings.
Xie Ying buried her face in her hands, while Fan Yingying immediately burst into tears.
Gao Cheng stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket, feeling quite agitated. “Just what the hell is going on!”
Well, who would know.
The room fell silent again.
“Fang Chen, what did you guys see inside the apartment?” Gao Cheng asked boldly. He had already overcome the period of fear but couldn’t help asking when he thought of Fang Chen’s expression upon seeing the situation inside.
Fang Chen thought of the piled-up pet corpses in the storage room—emitting a rotten and fishy stench, along with the scent of despair filling the air within.
Feeling a slight press on his head, Fang Chen regained his senses. Nie Shi, with a natural expression, lowered his hand and turned to answer for Fang Chen, “Pet corpses.”
Gao Cheng briefly glanced at Fang Chen before turning his gaze to Nie Shi, nodding in a daze as he muttered under his breath, “I’m going crazy…”
“Something’s going on here,” Fang Chen turned to look at the sky. “We’ll talk more about that later; now…” He looked at Nie Shi. “Those things will come out again when it gets dark, right?”
Nie Shi nodded.
“As long as we stay inside, they won’t come in?”
“Not necessarily.”
The two girls were visibly confused, and only Gao Cheng, who had acquired some prior information about the situation beforehand from the couple, nervously looked at the two as they continued their conversation.
Fang Chen asked, “Where’s your dagger?”
“Already gave it to you,” Nie Shi replied, “It’s yours.”
Fang Chen: “……”, that meant he didn’t bring it, and it was still at Nie Shi’s place.
Among them, the only one with any combat capability was Nie Shi, and even he was this unreliable.
“Let’s make a trip upstairs together, yeah? To fetch those weapons…”
“Alright.”
“Should I come with you guys too?” Gao Cheng asked.
“Then I’ll follow too.” Even though she didn’t understand their conversation, Fan Yingying still timidly raised her hand. “Don’t leave me alone…”
“No, Nie Shi and I will go; we’ll be right back.”
“Fang Chen, you…” Fan Yingying was about to say something but was instantly silenced by a glance from Nie Shi. It seemed she still wanted to persuade Fang Chen but dared not continue.
As Nie Shi swung the door open, Fang Chen instinctively shrank back, sensing that terrifying monsters would emerge from the empty corridor if he wasn’t being cautious enough.
At the present moment, three people had already died in this building.
“Are you afraid?” Nie Shi suddenly spoke.
Fang Chen didn’t respond. Saying he wasn’t afraid would definitely be a lie. If possible, he also wanted to stay in the apartment until dawn, but now there were five of them. Without some preparation, they might really face a complete annihilation.
“Nope.” Fang Chen stubbornly said.
“Walk in front of me.” Nie Shi turned his body sideways and let Fang Chen go first.
With Nie Shi out of sight, Fang Chen felt a sudden drop in his heart. Yet, unwilling to show vulnerability and fear, he could only grit his teeth, press his lips together, and bravely continue moving upward.
Suddenly, Fang Chen felt something was holding onto his shirt hem, prompting him to turn around. From behind, Nie Shi tugged at the edge of his clothes and reassured, “Go on; I’ll watch over you.”
Nie Shi continued tugging at the hem of Fang Chen’s clothes along the way until they reached the fourth floor and stood at the entrance of his own apartment. Standing taller than Fang Chen, he earnestly bowed his head and held onto the hem with genuine focus. It wasn’t until Fang Chen turned and spoke, signalling their arrival, that Nie Shi released his grip and opened the door.
Sticky character boyfriend
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
What a horrible person, he deserves to die for abusing the poor animals 🙁