Deep in the Living

Chapter 558 Moving In
The dialogue box between the retinas is made of intertwined black hair.

Occasionally, bloodshot eyeballs will appear between the text and the background.

Roddy also completely relinquished control of his body, leaving the decision to the choice.

"What's going on? Even entering the house requires a choice? Does this mean that all exploration of the Ju-on house is done through this kind of choice, instead of free exploration?"
Has alienation particularly affected this place, transforming it into this form?

What should have been a simple matter has become complicated.

Just as Luo Di was wondering, Katayama's voice came, "Luo Di, how should we choose?"

This time, the two no longer made choices separately; their thoughts were shared, and the information on their retinas was completely identical.

"Shall we make a choice together? Let's go take a look at the nearest front door first."

[Inspect the front door]

Successful selection.

The black hair that formed the border of the conversation began to wriggle and spread out.

Both individuals had a black-and-white vision and their bodies were not under their own control. Instead, they were pulled forward by an invisible force, moving like puppets on strings.

It's like playing a first-person haunted house exploration game.

Upon arriving at the front door, I reached out and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't open. Then, distorted characters reappeared, along with the three previously unselected dialog boxes.

The door is locked. Please select another option.

This time, Roddy chose to go to the backyard, and his body immediately began to move.

The backyard wall was piled with all kinds of household garbage, and two arms were hanging down by a window with a grille, which, judging from their length, should belong to a child.

You arrive in the backyard, and the stench of the garbage dump catches your eye, but you also notice the arm hanging from the window. What you need to do is…
[Check your arm]

[Inspect the garbage dump]

Return to the starting position

"Katayama, what do you think?"

"I...I'm so stupid~This is the first time I've ever encountered something like this. But I remember that this arm corresponds to a child in the movie~It should be one of the components of Ju-on."

"Okay, let's check the arm directly."

You stared at the arm dangling outside the window and slowly walked over.

But there was nothing inside the window except for two severed hands hanging there, with blood vessels extending from the wounds of the severed arms tied to the window grille.

What you need to do next is...≯
[Attempt to remove the arm]

Ignore

[Lightly touch the palm]

This scene was different from what Katayama had described. "Huh? What happened? I clearly remember the little boy hanging his arm here in the movie... Has it changed?"

"Since the alienation has completely affected the essence of the event, it's normal for the plot to change. Let me think..."

Roddy initially wanted to remove the arm, but after careful consideration, he chose to touch it instead.

<You reach out to touch it, and as you get close, the severed arm suddenly moves and grabs you! It doesn't hurt you, but rather transmits a faint message through its arm.>

"save……"

The arm disappears, and at the same time you hear the sound of the door lock opening; the front door seems to have been opened.

You've decided to go inside.
The dialog box disappears, returning to a first-person black-and-white view.

The two officially entered the house, which was shrouded in resentment, by opening the front door.

in front of you,

A zigzag staircase is located opposite the shoe-changing area, leading directly to the second floor.

The entrance hallway on the right is so narrow that only one person can pass at a time. The walls on both sides are covered with faded washi paper, and it leads to the living room area on the first floor.

And the strangest thing is...

Numerous thin threads were suspended from the ceiling.
Dead fish were hung throughout the house in this manner. Compared to the dead fish scattered haphazardly in residential areas, this hanging method was more orderly and also more bizarre.

The corresponding options then appear on the retina.

[Walk up the stairs]

[Entering the Entrance Hall]

Katayama's voice came through: "Luo, according to the description in the movie, the core of Ju-on, which is the lady of the house, is on the second floor. However, the plot has changed, and I don't know the exact situation... Besides, these dead fish weren't in the original movie."

"Hmm~ These fish are hung here according to such rules, which is very much like a ritual, or a seal. It is very likely that it is suppressing the essence of the curse."

Let's assume that the hand at the window earlier was the arm of the child from Ju-on, and that the child was conveying the message of 'help'.

It's very likely that their family is trapped here, just like at the ramen shop before, where the woman, despite being haunted by a curse, was able to dispel it by eating fish.

Based on all the factors, it's highly likely that the essence of the curse was suppressed by the fish.

If you go to the second floor following the original movie's plot, you might not find anything, wasting time and potentially causing problems.

Let's just take a look on the first floor.

[Entering the Entrance Hall]

After making a selection,

From a first-person perspective, walking through the stairwell and into the narrow entrance hall, one can see dead fish hanging at head level, their varying degrees of decay clearly visible. Some of the rotten fish even reveal internal organs resembling those of a human body.

At the end of the entryway, separating it from the living room, is a sliding paper door.
The paper door was covered with fish scales, or rather, "grown" with fish scales, standing upright and looking exceptionally sharp, leaving no place to touch.

Moreover, it is clear that the groove at the bottom of the paper door is also filled with various pieces of fish meat, obviously blocked.

The door to the living room is covered in fish scales and completely blocked. What is your choice...?
[Forced door open]

[Return the household registration booklet and proceed to the second floor.]

"This door basically indicates that there is a problem here. Going to the second floor may be a waste of time, but it may also lead to a way to remove the fish scales."

"Just force it in; my body should be fine."

Katayama stepped forward at this moment:

"Luo, I'll drive."

Teacher Guo once said that I was the hardest monster he had ever seen to kill. I'm not very good at fighting, so I probably won't be able to help later on. Leave these things to me.

"you sure?"

"Ah."

As Katayama stared at the option, his hand began to reach out uncontrollably to open the door.

My fingers just touched the door frame.

Swish!
The fish scales seemed to come alive and actually moved, severing his fingers. He couldn't even touch the door frame, let alone open it.

Strange things happened.

Katayama's severed finger spurted out a swirling blood. When the blood came into contact with the fish scales on the door frame, the surface of the fish scales also showed a swirling outline and began to calcify and proliferate, turning into snail-shell-like structures and losing their original function.

Superpower identification successful!
Your blood has become infected with fish scales, and the seal on the paper door has been broken, allowing you to open it freely. However, because your finger was cut beforehand, your mutation value has also increased.
The paper door opens.

The scene before him made Roddy frown, unsure of where to begin.

The entire living room and even the kitchen area were piled with dead fish, and a yellowish odor from the long-term fermentation of corpses filled the air.

The sliding door connecting the living room and the front yard was also sealed off with fish-scale patterns.
This means that the interior was sealed off before the two opened the door, and the strong smell was almost suffocating Roddy's stomach.

Moreover, due to the long-term accumulation of resentment in this house, the dead fish themselves seemed to have absorbed some of the resentment and undergone a mutation.
Some even grew hair from between their scales, while others grew fingers from their abdomens.

The information reappeared on my retina, but this time it wasn't an option; instead, it was an alternative prompt.

<You are now in free movement mode and can control your body to search this area. Note that this area is affected by fish plague; the longer you remain active, the higher your accumulated mutation value will be.>
The perspective returns to a first-person, black-and-white state.

Roddy can move freely, but he cannot use any abilities. It's like controlling a puppet, only able to perform the actions of an ordinary person.

However, judging from the way Katayama opened the door just now, some passive abilities should still be effective.

With his keen eyesight, Roddy quickly noticed something amiss: there seemed to be a larger, more complex structure among the fish piles in the direction of the restaurant, which didn't appear to be an extension of itself.

He decisively stepped over the dead fish.

During the movement, I could clearly feel these dead fish sticking to my skin, and my physical discomfort kept increasing.

Roddy arrived at the target location without stopping.
Bend down and throw away the pile of dead fish on the ground as quickly as possible.

"This is……"

Congratulations, you've found the "legs".
Roddy dug out a woman's thigh, its surface radiating a strong aura of resentment.

(End of this chapter)