Before Fang Chen could utter a word, the door swung open.
The one with the biggest reaction was Zhang Rui. Upon hearing the sound, he let out a bewildering cry and quickly retreated, while Gao Cheng also jumped in surprise. Fang Chen remained stationary, momentarily forgetting to move. Compelled by a moment of curiosity, he even felt the urge to peer inside.
The room was not lit, with only a sliver of illumination from the long hallway, creating an eerie interplay of light and shadow. At the entrance, a figure knelt, their form half-lit and half-obscured—a lone head, crowned with black, short hair, buried in trembling hands. Muffled sobs echoed as their forehead occasionally knocked the floor.
“Shoot, shoot! What are you waiting for?” Zhang Rui, cowering behind in the back, could only see a vague silhouette.
“It seems to be a person.” Gao Cheng hesitated, poking his neck out before retracting. “It’s a person, right?”
“Save me, help…” the person murmured in fragments, as if overwhelmed by fear. Lifting their head slowly, everyone, except Nie Shi, took a step back. Fang Chen even shut his eyes, afraid of seeing something horrifying.
The person revealed a youthful face, perhaps not even twenty. “…I don’t wanna die.”
Just then, Xie Ying opened the door, finding the four individuals all gazing to the left. She turned gradually and asked, “What’s going on here?”
Steam billowed in the bathroom, causing the entire room to grow stiflingly hot once again. No one dared to open the windows, and the air conditioner shouldn’t be used with the ladies having damp hair, too. Wang Huiwen plugged in the hairdryer, but as soon as it emitted a sound, the black-haired youth sitting on the sofa trembled. She had no choice but to turn it off, and exchanged glances with the others.
Xie Ying handed the youth a glass of water, which he took it shakily but didn’t drink. Instead, he held it in his still trembling hand, and asked, “Do you all live here too?”
Seeing everyone shake their heads, his expression soured as he spoke incoherently, “I… it still was fine this morning. I even saw people when I returned from my morning jog… Later, I went to the restaurant for a meal, and there was only me there. But suddenly the sky turned dark, then something climbed in…”
He continued to recall, his hands shaking even more violently, splashing water everywhere. “That thing kept following me. It just kept following me!” Getting more and more agitated as he spoke, he suddenly raised his head, eyes gleaming with an unusual radiance, and his eye widened.
Fang Chen, standing directly opposite him, was startled by his sudden movement and took half a step back. His heart sank for no apparent reason.
“That thing followed you all the way to the sixth floor?” Zhang Rui asked and swallowed hard.
The youth shook his head and mumbled, “No, I turned a corner, and it just fell down. After that, it was gone, as if it just disappeared into thin air.” He wore a puzzled expression on his face, and everyone remained silent. The malevolence probably fell down and killed itself.
Wang Huiwen, hugging and rubbing her shoulders, quietly said to Xie Ying, “Looks to me like this child got quite terrified, yeah?” Then she turned to the youth and asked, “Don’t be afraid; there are so many people here. What’s your name?”
The youth spoke timidly, “Qiao Ran.”
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.
“Were you also the one peeking at us previously?” Fang Chen asked, referring to when he ran back to remind Xie Ying to close the window.
Qiao Ran nodded, casting a brief glance in his direction before succumbing to sob once again. Clutching his own hair tightly, he buried his head within the crook of his arms. “Thank goodness, there are finally people. I’m not alone anymore…” It seemed like he was genuinely scared.
After exchanging names, everyone was also started to feel the grip of hunger. With no time to worry about the frightened little soul, they dove into their meals, savouring it with steamed buns.
Fan Yingying nibbled in small bites, stealing a glance at Fang Chen once more, then shifted her gaze to Nie Shi. She quickly looked away after one cast, tearing off a big piece of steamed bun with her teeth. Fear brimmed within the depths of her gaze.
Qiao Ran also joined their group, eating a few bites and then sitting back on the sofa.
“Aren’t you eating more?” Gao Cheng asked, holding a steamed bun. “Your appetite won’t do; even if you’re scared, you still need to eat your fill.”
Qiao Ran lowered his head, looked at his toes, and shook his head slowly. “No, I’ve already eaten in the morning.”
“Rice?” Fang Chen turned around, remembering the pot of steaming rice.
Qiao Ran propped himself up and blinked. “…Mm.”
Fang Chen only now noticed a small mole at the end of his right eyebrow, seamlessly blending with the brow; it was indiscernible unless one examined closely.
In that split second, his line of sight got obstructed. Fang Chen lifted his head and saw Nie Shi standing in front of him. For some reason, he dared not look towards the sofa again. Not feeling particularly hungry, having taken only two bites, Fang Chen rose and asked, “What should we do next?”
Nie Shi swept a glance across the few people still seated on the floor, eating. “Wait until sunrise.”
At 5:57 PM, a sudden thud echoed from the window. The balcony was locked, and nobody dared to pull open the curtain. Fan Yingying and Qiao Ran were both terrified, sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, visibly shaken. Fang Chen kept glancing back at the two, but just as Fan Yingying was about to say something, he got called away by Nie Shi.
“Fang Chen.”
“Mm?” Fang Chen walked over, and Nie Shi slightly lowered his head, leaning close to Fang Chen’s ear. However, his eyes were sneaking glances at Fan Yingying. “I’m heading to the balcony.”
Fan Yingying clutched the seams of the sofa tightly, her body tensed to the brink, almost unable to draw a breath. Tears fell uncontrollably down her face.
“Are you sure?” Fang Chen asked. Just then, a resounding “thud” echoed through the glass, startling Fang Chen. Blinking his eyes, he asked with a vacant expression, “Will you be okay by yourself?”
“Mm,” Nie Shi replied, and Fang Chen vaguely seemed to see a faint smile on his lips, but when he tried to look closely, it disappeared. Hands fumbled around his waist again, and he stiffened. Nie Shi patted his waist a few times, then very slowly pulled the dagger out of its sheath. “Let me borrow this.”
“Oh, sure,” Fang Chen responded dryly, looking down.
The others sought refuge in the bathroom, fearing that the malevolence might invade the room if Nie Shi mishandled the situation. Xie Ying, however, boldly opened the curtain herself, revealing two malevolences crawling on the glass.
Nie Shi went in, and the two malevolences leaning on the glass turned their attention towards him simultaneously. Instead of immediately lunging at him, they waited for two or three seconds before emitting a guttural cry and reaching out their hands. Since they were clinging to the glass, Nie Shi couldn’t use the gun.
He seized one of them by the arm and flung it onto the floor. They were thin and bony, and with a strong force from Nie Shi, a crisp sound echoed as their bones snapped, breaking with a decisive impact.
The one with broken arms could only rely on its feet to crawl on the floor.
Nie Shi thrust the dagger into the chest of another malevolence, making a squelching sound. The silver blade plunged in and then was drawn out again, coating it in a viscous, thread-like black substance, resembling wriggling black worms. The substance flowed down the edge of the blade and disappeared.
The one crawling on the floor opened its large mouth, revealing sharp yellow teeth, about to sink into Nie Shi’s ankle. Meanwhile, on the other side of the window ledge, another thin and slender claw appeared…
Though the lady’s sharp nails didn’t pierce Fang Chen’s wrist, he furrowed his brows, contemplating shaking them off.
“Something’s off with Nie Shi.” Fan Yingying yanked him, as if grabbing her final lifeline. “Believe me, something’s wrong with him…”
Xie Ying was gripping the balcony glass nervously, securing it, while Qiao Ran was shivering and burying his face in the sofa. The rest of the people were all hiding in the bathroom, leaving only the two of them in the room’s narrow aisle.
Fang Chen felt immense pain from her pull, as if his flesh and skin were being torn apart.
“He’s rotting…” Fan Yingying couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. All the fear she had harboured now erupted. She was terrified; that person was rotting away.
Fang Chen froze, forgetting to break free. “What… are you saying?”
“He’s rotting, Wuu… he’s not human! He’s rotting, Fang Chen, I’m so scared.” Fan Yingying’s hair was dishevelled, her eyes shimmering with teary brightness as they darted back and forth.
Since when did she notice?
That man had always been unfriendly to her… no, he was unfriendly to everyone except Fang Chen. His gaze towards others was cold, like looking at a corpse, but with Fang Chen, it was different.
Fan Yingying had been observing; a cloud of obsession veiled Nie Shi’s gaze whenever it fell upon Fang Chen. Yet, the other party was completely unaware. That level of obsession bordered on madness, as if fiercely guarding this one person, unwilling to tolerate even a distant glance from anyone else!
In the beginning, Fan Yingying was just simply afraid of Nie Shi. Later, when he swung open the car door and grabbed the foot of the malevolence, she was plunged into a whirlpool of panic by the scene about to unfold in front of her eyes.
In the chaos of that instant, Nie Shi and the malevolence blurred together, leaving her unable to distinguish between the two. It was at that pivotal moment that she bore witness to the gradual transformation of the skin and flesh on the man’s neck, shifting from the ordinary into an unsettling shade of purple. Soon after, a constellation of speckled marks emerged on his arms, and then, he began to rot…
Exactly what, or whom, had they been staying together with all this time?!
She saw with her own eyes the gradual rotting of that man, observing him lean in close to Fang Chen’s ear, whispering with ambiguity. His gaze towards her seemed to scream: Back off, keep your distance from Fang Chen. He belongs to me!
Yet, except for her, it seemed as if everyone else wasn’t aware of it, even treating Nie Shi as the central figure and heavily relying on his abilities.
How could it be like that? If that was the case, no matter whom she told, it seemed unlikely that anyone would believe her… No, there would be someone who believed her, Fang Chen would unquestionably believe her! After all, he was incredibly kind, even taking the initiative to greet her back in the residence building. Fang Chen would undoubtedly lend her his trust; she had to tell him!
Fan Yingying continued speaking, “He’s really dangerous, Fang Chen, let’s escape…”
Fang Chen was clearly frightened, unable to grasp the clarity of her words. He hadn’t shared a single word about the rotting man with anyone. If what Fan Yingying said was true… he suddenly dared not turn around. The man’s words from that night kept echoing in his ears—he said he would always follow him.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Fan Yingying pulled him and ran outside. Her nails dug into Fang Chen’s flesh, yet he seemed completely oblivious to the sensation. His body moved involuntarily, dragged along like a thoughtless toy, with no awareness, just following along.
—The door closed behind the two of them.
Nie Shi lifted his foot, and the malevolence with severed arms attempting to gnaw on his ankle missed its target. Its teeth collided forcefully with a smooth surface after being stomped under Nie Shi’s foot. Then, a dagger was thrust into its back.
At the same time, Nie Shi pulled out a gun with one hand and aimed at the one that had just climbed up along the window ledge. He fired a shot, hitting the left shoulder, yet it didn’t fell off. Another shot was made, hitting straight at the chest.
It fell.
The glass door of the balcony swung open, and Nie Shi stepped inside the room. Xie Ying supported the door, turning to glance at the entryway. Simultaneously, the door to the bathroom creaked open, revealing Gao Cheng poking his head out.
On the sofa, Qiao Ran hugged his knees, his eyes peeking out, cowering in fear as he spoke, “Just now, that big sister pulled Fang Chen-ge out…”
Ah.
This is bad.
Except for Nie Shi, everyone present had this thought.
Nie Shi’s gaze descended into a deep, ominous intensity.
So, love triangle, not square, good
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Well his identity is now confirmed. Now to wonder if he really is Nie Shi- or someone who took his identity