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Chapter 5, Fourth Floor
Zhou You's pen suddenly stopped.

Even though he was copying it now, he could still feel the despair and desolation contained in those words.

No, this person was clearly trying to escape, how could this be?
The thought of doubt had barely surfaced when, in the next second, a strange and bizarre sensation suddenly seeped into his head. Zhou You felt his brain being peeled away bit by bit, as if something was devouring his brain. In the blink of an eye, even his consciousness began to gradually fade away—

"You have discovered an erosion point."

"You have received a reward of 10 Soul Stones."

"Current Soul Stone count: 20 points."

"You have been corrupted, your sanity has been impaired, and your current sanity is 89/100."

reason?

What is that?
After finally recovering, a huge question mark resurfaced in his mind. However, just as Zhou You was feeling confused, the usually cold and mechanical female voice actually provided an answer.

"In some scenarios, players will have a 'sanity value' attribute. When players come into contact with certain strange and terrifying things, or when they encounter erosion points, they will lose sanity value. When the sanity value reaches 0, no matter how many times the player can revive, the scenario will be forcibly failed."

Okay, looks like this is another type of restriction.

Zhou You shook his head, trying to shake off the lingering sensations—but in that instant, the scenery before him suddenly changed.

The trash scattered everywhere disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the room became clean and tidy. Bright sunlight streamed in through the window, and a gentle breeze blew by, making the wind chimes tinkle. The whole house exuded a warm feeling from the inside out, making one want to live here forever.
"Wait, what am I thinking?"

He suddenly woke up.

What met my eyes was still that moldy, desolate and dilapidated house.

Is it an illusion?
Zhou You closed his eyes, savoring the scene for a long time, but in the end he could only shake his head.

He neither confirmed nor denied it. He simply picked up his pen again and continued writing the incomplete diary entry on the paper.

August 10th, cloudy.

I had a feeling that the door to the outside must be on the fifth floor. After all, the landlady kept emphasizing that we must not go to the fifth floor under any circumstances, so there must be a way to escape there.

May 11, sunny

However, to get to the fifth floor, you have to pass through the fourth floor, but the fourth floor...
On July 9, the weather was sunny.

I think I've found a way to get to the fifth floor, but making this thing requires... no, no, how could I possibly—

May 11, weather unknown.

After all that effort and sacrifice, I finally reached the fifth floor, but it wasn't what I expected, not at all what I thought. This building is where I should be returning to. I—

The ink stopped abruptly.

The diary entry ended there, but Zhou You didn't put down his pen. After a short pause, he continued writing.

First, based on the previous tenants' screams and this diary, the fifth floor is the key point. Even if there is no exit there, it may very well be the key to breaking the deadlock.

Second, the fourth floor is another node; to pass through it, you must create something.

Third, this former resident had been suffering from some kind of mental corruption. The dates and narratives in his diary were somewhat chaotic. He may have been lucid for a period of time after he tried to leave the building. Although the narrative was still disorganized, the dates were correct. Unfortunately, due to certain factors, he quickly lost his mind again, which ultimately led to his failed escape.

But a few seconds later, Zhou You hesitated for a moment and then added several large question marks at the end of the third paragraph.

But what exactly did this former resident see? What happened on the fifth floor? Why did he ultimately feel that this building was his final resting place? Could it be that he was experiencing the same hallucinations as me?

After pondering for a while, Zhou You finally put down his pen.

Unfortunately, there is still too little information available, and if he wants to get the answer, he can only...
"So, the only option is for me to go and see for myself?"

Zhou You glanced towards the door.

Compared to the second and third floors, the stairs leading to the fourth floor were much darker. Although there was some dim lighting in the stairwell, it was so dark that the dim light did not bring a sense of security, but instead made people feel a chill that went deep into their bones.

Even without being told, Zhou You deeply understood that if he went any further, he would inevitably fall into even greater danger. But...
He suddenly pursed his lips.

What's that saying again? If you bring the arcade game home, you can beat even the hardest game.

—Anyway, we have unlimited coins now, so who's afraid of who?
After glancing around the small room again to make sure he hadn't missed anything, Zhou You took a deep breath and headed for the stairs.

The dimly lit stairwell was like the gaping maw of a monster, indiscriminately devouring everything. The higher he climbed the stairs, the stronger this illusion became.

—Going upwards leads straight to hell.—
We arrived at the fourth floor quickly.

Zhou You had mentally prepared himself for things like encountering even more terrifying monsters or more terrified guests. But once he arrived at the destination, he realized that all his preparations were completely unnecessary.

The reason is also very simple.

There wasn't a single door on the entire fourth floor, nor was there a single living creature.

The huge floor was completely empty, without any of the unit doors and windows typical of residential buildings. All that could be seen were cracked and moldy whitewashed walls.

Wait, actually I shouldn't say that, there are still things there.

Right in front of Zhou You, facing the stairs, on that bare wall, hung a couplet.

The design is old and the text on it is so illegible that it is almost unreadable. Yet, the color is a bright red, which contrasts sharply with the dark surroundings.

There was no door, but there were couplets on the door.

No one lived there, but there was joy.

There were no monsters in sight, yet this bizarre and grotesque scene was more chilling than any monster itself.

Upon seeing this, Zhou You hesitated for a moment, but ultimately cautiously walked up to the fourth floor.

Nothing happened.

"That's strange. The diary clearly mentions the fourth floor, but why is there nothing here?"

Slightly relieved, Zhou You first moved a few steps to the most conspicuous place on the floor—where the couplet was located—and then gently knocked on it.

"Boom, boom, boom."

It wasn't intentionally made to be hollow; it's completely solid, as if it had been filled in from the very beginning of its construction, making it impossible for any hidden rooms to exist.

Unconvinced, Zhou You looked around again, but the result was still the same. The only unusual thing was that, compared to downstairs, the walls on this floor were so cold that it was almost eerie, as if he were touching not reinforced concrete, but a whole block of ice.

Or to put it more dramatically, it's as if...
A whole wall of cold corpses specially piled up?
Zhou You shook his head vigorously to shake the strange associations out of his mind, then looked around and found nothing else worth seeing, so he could only turn his gaze upwards.

The motion-activated lights leading to the fifth floor seemed to have completely malfunctioned, only flashing occasionally to illuminate a dusty and trashy floor.

So, does that mean we have no choice but to keep going upwards?

Zhou You glanced back at the abrupt and strange couplet, and finding nothing wrong with it, he could only lift his leg and walk uphill.

—However, in the very next second.

He felt something cold grip his neck, and in an instant, he was involuntarily pulled backward.

Next, a slippery, squeezing sensation, like internal organs, came from all directions. Zhou You felt as if all his bones were being forcefully crushed, and finally—

"boom!"

Like a tomato that had been carelessly crushed, it exploded completely, accompanied by splattered blood and chunks of flesh.

"you are dead."

(End of this chapter)