Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 637 Key
Going to the top floor is quite illogical.

For a normal person, going up there would definitely involve taking stairs or elevators, or some kind of secret passage leading upwards.

But this place never follows the rules, especially the way to the top floor.
It's going downhill.

Looking at the large pit below, Wang Xiaoer asked uncertainly.

"Brother Zhou, are you sure that guy isn't lying to you?"

Zhou You was looking down at the same time.

The pit was quite peculiar. Although it was a crack in the floor, there was no view underneath. Only swirling shadows lingered within it, which at first glance looked like a gaping maw ready to devour someone.

Hearing Wang Xiaoer's question, he shook his head and denied it.

"There are indeed people who can withstand the punishment of the public authorities, and some can even stubbornly continue to mislead others, but those are all people with strong wills. People like this who sell themselves to weirdos to survive are definitely not included in this category."

After saying that, he looked at the seemingly bottomless pit and still stepped out.

His body suddenly fell, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared without a trace.

Wang Xiaoer pinched his nose, hesitated for a long time, and then jumped down.

The next moment, the world was spinning.

The feeling was indescribably disgusting. He felt like he had become a piece of excrement in a sewage pipe, or something else entirely. In short, after an extremely unpleasant journey, he had finally fallen to the ground from a pipe.

Fortunately, he was in pretty good physical condition, and with a lot of effort, he finally managed to get up from the stained ground.

Once they were standing still, the first thing they saw was Zhou You, who stood calmly and steadily in front of them with a serious expression.

"Brother Zhou, are you alright?"

"What do you mean? Oh, you mean this? I've been through similar things a few times, I'm pretty much used to it by now."

After saying that, Wang Xiaoer also saw what Zhou You was staring at.

—That was a door.

It was an ordinary, old wooden door, without even a lock. Yet Zhou You stared at it for a long time, seemingly hesitating about something, unwilling to move.

The audible screams gradually faded away—this was not a good thing, proving that the invading bandits had been gradually wiped out.

The traces of their interrogation of the fat man couldn't be hidden—even though Zhou You had made some efforts to conceal it before leaving, there were still so many eyewitnesses around, plus the tall, thin figure was the manager of the place.
Time is of the essence; every second counts, and the danger increases with every moment of delay.

"Brother Zhou, you..."

After hesitating for a long time, Wang Xiaoer finally couldn't help but urge him on.

Zhou You finally let out a sigh of relief and pushed open the wooden door.

A wave of filthy dust and a foul stench hit them, and Wang Xiaoer immediately covered his mouth and nose, but Zhou You simply stepped in steadily.

Inside was an office, not very large, but it was clear that a lot of care had been taken in its arrangement – ​​the plants and other items were neatly arranged, the walls were covered with wallpaper, and there were many small decorations or landscape paintings hanging on them.

There was even a cage in the corner, suggesting that the owner of this place must have kept some pets.

only.

Everything here appears extremely dilapidated under the ravages of time and corrosion.

The moment I stepped inside, a feeling of excitement surged through my mind.

—The tall, thin figure had already sensed something was wrong. Although he didn't realize it immediately, he would eventually discover Zhou You and his companion's intrusion if the time dragged on!

Even so, Zhou You remained calm and patient.

He suppressed all his emotions, putting himself into a state similar to that of wielding a sword, and then looked around.

The contents of the room could be seen at a glance, but apart from a desk, there was nothing special—let alone the safe mentioned in the clue.

At that moment, Wang Xiaoer's heart also began to pound violently.

Even an ordinary person like him could sense that danger was gradually approaching.

"Brother Zhou."

He called out again, but Zhou You had already pressed down on his shoulder.

"Waiter, I have a question for you."

"You, you say."

"Given your personality, where would you usually hide something?"

Hearing those calm and natural words, for some reason, Wang Xiaoer's tension dissipated slightly.

He thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"The more inconspicuous the place, the better, but it can't be too inconspicuous either. After all, important things need to be checked from time to time, and if the place is too difficult to reach, problems are more likely to arise."

"Constant review?"

Wang Xiaoer nodded.

"Of course, unless it's the kind of thing you might not even look at once for years after burying it, you should check on the rest regularly, not only to prevent theft, but also for your own peace of mind."

"I see, that makes sense."

Zhou You nodded, but instead of rushing to search, he lay down on the ground and carefully examined something.

Just like when I first came in, most of the wooden floors in this room were rotten. But thinking about the height of that tall, thin figure, and recalling the way that person had chased me, I realized...
Zhou You quickly discovered some slightly deeper pits, and followed them all the way to the secondary painting.

The painting depicts a stormy sea with a fishing boat bobbing on its surface—a perfectly normal landscape painting at first glance. However, upon closer inspection, one can discern what appears to be a colossal creature lurking in the depths, while simultaneously, the tiny figures on the fishing boat all turn their heads to look in this direction.

Zhou You simply spat in response, then forcefully tore the painting off.

It can be in the later part.
It's just a brick wall.

guessed wrong?
Not necessarily.

Zhou You shook his head, took a deep breath, then stepped into a horse stance and slammed his fist heavily onto the brick!
Instantly, cracks appeared on the bricks, and deep red blood spurted from his hands!

—This is not against an enemy, therefore the brass's sturdiness effect is not effective.

But it doesn’t matter.

Ignoring the piercing pain, Zhou You took a deep breath and threw another punch!
This time, the brick wall finally shattered, revealing what was behind it.

—It was a dilapidated safe. And now there's both good and bad news.

The bad news is that although the safe is dilapidated, it is locked very tightly, and he has no password or clues, so it is impossible for him to open it using normal methods in a short time.

The good news is.

This safe uses a mechanical lock—the really old kind.

Zhou You casually tossed the backpack behind him to Wang Xiaoer, plucked a few strands of his hair, reinforced them with talismans, and then inserted them into the lock of the safe.

Then, he lay down on the lock and listened carefully to the changes inside.

However, a few minutes later, he received a set of numbers.

After putting the safe back in its place, Zhou You turned on the combination lock—and in just a few seconds, the heavy iron door opened with a click.

Wang Xiaoer watched from the side with an expression of pure admiration.

"Brother Zhou, your lock-picking skills are almost on par with those notorious thieves. If I had your skills, I could live a life of ease for the rest of my days."

"It's nothing difficult. If you want to learn, I can teach you when I have time."

Zhou You casually replied and opened the cabinet door.

There were only a few stacks of papers and two other things lying inside.

One of them was a deep red gemstone that was also crystal clear. Judging by its appearance alone, it would be a priceless item even in reality. But more importantly, it was covered with a hazy blood-red glow, which at first glance resembled the faint glow of the blood moon.

And the other one.
It was an item wrapped in paper.

Compared to gemstones, this looks rather ordinary.

However, for some reason, Zhou You felt a strong aversion to this thing.

It was as if they were irreconcilable natural enemies, and his instincts urged him to destroy the thing quickly to prevent it from causing a greater disaster.

But Zhou You ultimately suppressed his excitement and slightly opened the paper package a crack.

The next moment, he witnessed an unbelievable sight—

It wasn't matter, nor even a form that could be described in words. In a daze, Zhou You seemed to see the endless stars, the cold and silent universe, ribbons of light spanning the celestial bodies, and countless indescribable things swaying, drifting, and forever singing ineffable melodies—

Zhou You slammed the material shut and began to breathe heavily.

Honestly, he had seen countless terrifying things before, and he felt that his mentality had been tempered to an unparalleled level, so he could calmly face any strange or bizarre object.

But this one is different.

This is not simply terror, nor even the malice and corruption of a demon. To be more precise, it is the unknown of the vast universe and the despair born from that unknown.

It's not weird, but weirder than anything else.

It wasn't scary, but it was scarier than anything else.

How did this small-time boss in a mere city manage to get his hands on something like this?
Zhou You scratched his head in confusion, but soon, a system notification came.

"Congratulations, player. You have found two story items."

Item 1: Blood Tears

"This gem was formed from a fragment of the blood moon's essence. It accidentally fell to the ground and was picked up by a scavenger. Seeking refuge, he entered the apartment building and then offered the item to the manager. This item provides no benefit to the player, but it is priceless to the inhabitants of the scenario."

"If you trade this item, you can even get a red/special black cursed item when the time is right."

Item 2: 'Unknown'

"."

"."

However, after uttering those two words, the system seemed to freeze and stop, until two or three minutes later, when the male voice suddenly disappeared.

Instead, a familiar female voice was heard.

"Hint: Player has obtained a key to the Heavenly Demon Cage. This item is indifferent to cause and effect and the script, and will definitely appear in front of the player at the right time. Similarly, this item can cross countless worlds and directly affect the Black Book and reality. Please treat it with care and be sure to keep it in your possession."

"If special conditions are met, players will unlock the final script of the Black Book, at which point everything will come to a complete end, the cycle will be broken, and the future will be faced directly."

After saying that, the woman's voice suddenly disappeared.

Immediately, the male voice rang out again—but for some reason, what it said was completely different from what the girl said.

"The player has obtained a story item: Unknown. This item was refined by the apartment building manager using hundreds of lives. It contains a huge amount of energy, but the quality has been reduced due to the crude refining process. However, it is still very valuable to the original inhabitants of the story."

"If you trade this item, you can exchange it for an item of at least silver rank when the time is right."

"."

Zhou You was silent for a few seconds, then stuffed both items into his pocket—neither of which could be stored in the Diancang Ring—and then picked up the stack of papers and looked through them.

This is quite simple; it's just a routine record of the apartment building.

The first half consists of trivial matters, such as which faucet is broken, which place is leaking, the tenants' living conditions, rent payments, and outstanding fees.

However, it's still clear that this manager is a very kind person. Not only is the rent low, but even if tenants have any difficulties, he can allow them to delay paying rent for several months, or even reduce it altogether.

However, the content suddenly changes in the second half.

"Zhao Qi from apartment 306 is sick again. It's not easy for a young girl to come to the city alone and work hard, and to make matters worse, she has such a scumbag boyfriend. She's already two months behind on the rent, but I'm too embarrassed to mention it to her. Oh well, I guess I'll just leave it at that. I asked Aunt Wang to send her some medicine, hoping she'll get better soon."

"The weather has been getting increasingly strange lately. It's already December, winter, but the temperature hasn't dropped at all. Experts say it's some kind of tropical shift or something. Sigh, I don't know any better. Anyway, not having to pay for heating is good news."

"Am I just imagining things? The nights seem to be getting longer and the days shorter; it often gets dark before 3 a.m. The government says it's a normal phenomenon and tells everyone not to panic."

"The moon in the sky is getting bigger and bigger. Even though Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, the moon is still clearly visible. The rumors are getting more and more outrageous, and people around me have started to hoard supplies. Should I buy some too?"

"Many tenants have cancelled their leases, and the house is becoming increasingly empty. But thinking about it, it makes sense. In this time of panic, everyone is probably trying to get home first, and then think about other things. It's a pity that my parents died a long time ago, and now I don't even have anyone to talk to."

"Zhao Qi's illness is getting worse and worse. We wanted her to see a doctor, but she absolutely refused. She said she wanted to wait for her boyfriend to come. If all else fails, we'll secretly call 120 for her."

"Today, the resident of apartment 313 suddenly went berserk for some unknown reason, smashing everything in the house. Eventually, the police had to take him away. However, before he left, he kept shouting one sentence."

What kind of nonsense is this, "The end of the world is coming, and the withered tide will come with the blood moon"?

(End of this chapter)