Ning Su first noticed the black, curly hair and the slender wrists, then slowly raised his head to see an exceptionally beautiful woman.
She sat down opposite Ning Su, peeled half of an eggshell, and held it to his mouth. "Eat up. You're still young; you need nutrition."
Her enchanting, almond-shaped eyes were filled with earnest expectation as she stared at him without blinking.
Ning Su was taken aback for a moment, then opened his mouth and took a bite.
Suddenly becoming somewhat excited, she peeled the egg and placed it in Ning Su's porridge. Then she handed the other two eggs to two children. "Eat up."
Both children said at the same time, "Thank you."
The woman then pushed the steamed buns toward them and said nervously, "You... you must eat your fill. If it's not enough, tell me. I live in Room 612."
After saying that, she didn't leave but just watched them.
The three of them—one adult and two children—finished their breakfast under her gaze before she reluctantly left.
As soon as she was gone, the players immediately gathered around.
Qin Wu was shocked. "Has she taken a liking to you?!"
"... No, probably not," Ning Su said, glancing at Ling Xiao, who was standing silently nearby.
Qin Wu wasn't entirely convinced. "Buddy, you've got to be careful. Not only did she initiate a conversation with you, but she also bought you steamed buns and eggs. It couldn't just be a random act of kindness!"
Han Liang asked, "What do you feel? Is she terrifying?"
Ning Su: "..."
What could he possibly feel?
Last night, Li Ming died in Room 612. The other players now viewed the woman from Room 612 with an added layer of fear, yet they were also extremely curious. At this moment, they all looked at him, hoping to learn something from his reaction.
Ning Su said, "She was actually quite gentle."
Ning Su felt that the way she looked at him wasn't the kind of gaze they imagined.
Qin Wu exclaimed, "Oh no, he's been bewitched by the Desire Monster!"
Ning Su: "..."
Jia Yahua said, "It's already the fourth day. We can't wait any longer."
Tang Xin said, "How about tonight, Fei Xueying and I go give it a try."
They all assumed the woman in room 612 was a "Desire Monster," her desire being lust, and since two men had died in her bed, female players might be safer going.
Fei Xueying nodded, "Alright."
Qin Wu: "Fine. Then the two of you go scout the way. We'll protect you from the surroundings. Whoever can eliminate her gets the kill."
The cafeteria was open from 6:30 AM to 8:30 AM. They had only spoken a few words before the young girl started shooing people away.
Ning Su cleared the trash from the table and threw it in the bin. The woman's steamed buns given to them weren't finished, so Ning Su asked Uncle Li for a bag to take them back.
The old man glanced at the buns on Ning Su's tray, sighed, and gave him a paper bag.
Last night, someone had told him to drive the woman from room 612 out. He said such matters were consensual and couldn't be blamed on her.
Ning Su felt the old man was quite decent. He clearly knew a lot, so Ning Su said to him, "Uncle Li, these buns were given to me by the sister in room 612. I don't think she's like what they say."
The old man: "At least you have a conscience."
"But you be careful too." After saying this, the old man sighed again, his voice aged and full of vicissitudes.
The middle-aged folks in the tenement building called him Uncle Li, so they followed suit. Actually, he was very old, his hair a patchy gray and white.
Perhaps he had been here since this dilapidated tenement was first built, witnessed its decay, and knew all the stories within.
But he didn't want to say more now. "Go on, I need to close up."
Ning Su had no choice but to leave.
The rooms were too small; none could accommodate nine players. They gathered under the old banyan tree in the courtyard to discuss the night's plan.
Qin Wu: "Why can't we go during the day?"
Tang Xin: "We saw her during the day. She's a normal human."
They had seen her last night too, but that was just her back in dim light.
Tang Xin: "If she really is just a normal person like this, do we still make a move?"
"The system hasn't given any hints about what the punishment might be for killing the wrong person."
The speaker was a male player. Despite the early autumn weather, he wore only a fitness tank top, his muscular arm bearing a red axe tattoo.
That was indeed the case.
It was already the fourth day. If they continued to hesitate, being overly cautious and dawdling, they might not complete the mission in time.
They had to try.
Fei Xueying said, "We understand."
They agreed to head over at ten o'clock. Two female players would take the lead, with the others providing protection around them.
Unfortunately, just as they gathered outside the room, ambiguous and intense sounds spilled out from within. Half the players froze awkwardly, while the other half remained utterly unfazed.
Ning Su and Ling Xiao were hiding in the empty room next door. Ning Su said, puzzled, "Several people have already died in there. How can a man still run in here in the middle of the night? Is... is that really more important than life?"
Not only was there one in Room 612, but there were also two men in the unoccupied Room 611, eavesdropping on the neighboring sounds.
When Ning Su and Ling Xiao entered, they locked eyes with the two men. The men smiled silently, giving them a knowing look, and kindly moved aside to share half the wall with them.
In the darkness, Ling Xiao glanced at him. "No experience, no right to comment."
Ning Su: "..."
A lingxiao vine burrowed into the moldy wall.
Hearing no response, Ling Xiao turned his head and saw Ning Su's slightly dissatisfied expression. "Am I wrong? Do you have the right to comment?"
Ning Su: "..."
"Do you have the right to comment?"
Ling Xiao: "My child is already that old. What do you think?"
Ning Su: "...?"
The lingxiao vine drilled a hole in the wall. Ning Su leaned forward to peek but was pulled back by Ling Xiao.
Just as Ning Su was about to speak, Jia Yahua's low voice drifted in from outside. "This might be a good opportunity. We know two people have already died in her bed. Perhaps this is when she'll reveal her true form."
They had discussed it in their room last night: the desire monster might be lurking inside a person's body, or someone might have transformed into it, revealing or changing into the monster at a certain moment.
If the woman in room 612 is a Desire Monster, and desire is speculated to be sexual lust, then this moment is when it's most likely to manifest.
Upon hearing this, Tang Xin and Fei Xueying hesitated no longer and immediately kicked the door open, rushing inside.
Ling Xiao peered inside through the hole made by the lingxiao vine.
Ning Su: "?"
He reached out his finger and poked his own hole, about to look inside when Ling Xiao grabbed him by the collar and pulled him away.
"Don't look," he said in a low voice.
Ning Su looked up at him. "Why?"
Before Ling Xiao could answer, a scream came from outside. The two turned to see a man, bare-chested and pulling up his pants, running away in a hurry.
At this, Ling Xiao stopped Ning Su no longer, and the two immediately stepped outside, walking to the door of room 612.
Tang Xin and Fei Xueying both looked extremely grim.
Fei Xueying's weapon was a whip, and coiled around that whip was a human head.
The head had thick, dark hair—clearly the head of the woman from room 612.
Having heard the tattooed man's words, she had attacked the woman in 612 directly, regardless of what form she took.
However, the woman sitting on the bed with her back to them, just like the night before, still had her head properly attached to her body.
Just like the night before, she tilted her head slightly, revealing a faint outline of her jawline.
The head on the whip bounced twice on the ground like a ball and transformed into a child's head.
