Demon Apartment - Chapter 17 - A Dilemma

Now, the five residents found themselves paralyzed, unable to move forward or flee. After all, if they ran, who knew if they’d become the proverbial nail that gets hammered down? Everyone hoped someone else would die so they could survive. Ge Qi and Feng Yu took a few steps back, hoping those in front would take the fall for them.

And honestly, if one person did die, it might even bring them some relief. Under the constraints of the Apartment, the Evil Spirit could only claim one resident at a time, followed by a relatively long interval. This interval might just offer a chance for survival.

Dong Xie glanced at Dong Ning standing beside him, pondering their next move. Standing around aimlessly wasn’t a solution.

“Let’s… retreat, everyone move back! Don’t rush, keep an eye on that stairwell door, and back away slowly!” Dong Xie instructed in a hushed voice. At this moment, everyone complied immediately; in the face of life and death, no one dared to question Dong Xie, who stood at the front. After all, people do care about their dignity.

Step by step, their retreat became almost synchronized. Their eyes were locked onto the stairwell, fearing something terrifying might emerge from it.

“Namo Amitabha Buddha…”

“Merciful Bodhisattva…”

Dong Xie heard the murmured prayers from behind, and he couldn’t help but smile bitterly. They were so powerless, lacking even the slightest ability to resist. Their survival thus far was purely due to the Apartment’s imposed limitations. They couldn’t control their own fate; they were mere puppets.

After retreating several steps, they began to feel a bit more at ease. Perhaps… “those things” wouldn’t appear after all?

“Phew… should we still stay in that room?” Ge Qi looked at the others, asking, “Or should we…”

“Should we check out the lower floors?” Dong Xie suggested, “We need to look for clues to the Path to Survival.”

Zhao Long glanced at the stairwell ahead, “But should we really go there now?”

Dong Xie hesitated, pondering for a moment before saying, “Then…”

“Let’s stay here for now…” Zhao Long couldn’t make up his mind, “Let’s observe a bit more?”

Dong Xie exchanged a look with Dong Ning. They couldn’t possibly separate from the group to explore downstairs on their own; that would make them prime targets for the Evil Spirit. To put it bluntly, Dong Xie shared the same mindset of “better them than us,” hoping that if anyone had to die first, it would be those two useless teammates. After all, he only cared about his and Ah Ning’s survival. In fact, there hadn’t been a Blood Letter Task yet where everyone survived (at least according to the existing records). A 50% mortality rate was considered low for such tasks.

Looking at the stairwell, their faces were filled with bitterness. Nowhere seemed safe, but staying on this floor didn’t guarantee safety either.

So… what should they do?

“If avoiding the fourth floor was all it took, it would be too easy to be the Path to Survival,” Zhao Long mused, “But in our current situation, what should we do? We’re too scared to go to the lower floors, and we don’t dare use the elevator. Are we supposed to just stay on the fifth floor and wait out these five hours?”

Zhao Long muttered to himself, but he didn’t believe it either. That would be too absurd! If avoiding the fourth floor was the Path to Survival, it would be too straightforward. Why would the Evil Spirit reveal the survival clue to the residents right away? He had considered, like Dong Ning, whether it was a ruse to keep them from the fourth floor, but that seemed to be ruled out now.

“Forget it…” Zhao Long decided, “Unless absolutely necessary, we won’t go to the fourth floor! That way, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Hearing Zhao Long’s conclusion, Feng Yu and Ge Qi nodded in agreement.

However, both Dong Xie and Dong Ning found Zhao Long’s conclusion hard to accept.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Dong Xie pointed at the stairwell, “Maybe it was just a scare tactic to keep us from exploring floors one to three. There have been precedents for this in past blood letter records!”

“Hmm… you might be right,” Feng Yu unexpectedly agreed with Dong Xie, “I think that’s quite possible.”

Dong Xie was surprised. Why was Feng Yu agreeing with him?

“Zhao Long,” Feng Yu turned to Zhao Long, “As Dong Xie said, maybe that’s exactly what’s happening. Honestly, just staying on the fifth floor for five hours, how could that be survival? I don’t believe avoiding the fourth floor is enough to survive. We’re not the kind of protagonists in horror movies who insist on breaking taboos. Not going to the fourth floor isn’t that hard to do, right?”

Zhao Long wasn’t an idiot; he knew Dong Xie made sense. But knowing didn’t change the fact that a single misstep in a Blood Letter Task meant death! Everyone only had one life, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Even the ten wishes granted by the Blood Letter couldn’t bring back the dead! In such a situation, he prioritized caution and wouldn’t take risks lightly. There was still too little information to draw conclusions.

“Now… the Blood Letter Task has just begun. Maybe there’s another way to find the Path to Survival.”

Zhao Long had his own considerations. It wasn’t the final moment yet, and caution was still paramount.

Feng Yu glanced at Dong Xie again and suddenly said, “I think… just staying like this isn’t a solution. Why don’t we organize a group to check the lower floors? Of course, excluding the fourth floor. Otherwise…”

At that moment, Dong Xie and Dong Ning realized why Feng Yu agreed with him. He wanted someone else to go down and scout for him!

Everyone wanted to stay in a safe zone while others did the dangerous work. But the world wasn’t that kind.

“I’ll think about it… For now, we can’t split up. If anyone ends up alone, they might get attacked!”

Eventually, they opened the door and returned to their original room.

Everyone was conflicted, unsure of the best course of action. Dong Xie’s mind was filled with the image of that terrifying eye…

Later, Ge Qi found some candles in the kitchen.

He brought them back and was about to light them with the lighter when the flame suddenly went out!

Ge Qi was scared out of his wits and quickly reignited the lighter. This time, the flame reappeared, and he hurriedly lit the candles.

“Phew… that’s better… huh?”

Then, Ge Qi’s eyes widened in horror!