Demon Apartment - Chapter 23 - Dong Xie's Conjecture

Dong Xie almost reflexively threw the photo album away!

“No… it can’t be! The photo wasn’t like this just now!”

Beside him, Dong Ning and Ge Qi both showed terrified expressions, especially Ge Qi, who had already experienced the terror of the Blood Letter, was stammering, “You… you… are you sure? What was it like just now?”

Dong Xie stared fiercely at the album on the ground, while Zhao Long, the gatekeeper, also noticed something was amiss here.

“What have you found?”

Dong Xie was in agony, but he looked up at the blood on the ceiling, made up his mind, walked over, squatted down, and illuminated the photo with a candle.

At that moment, the photo looked extremely eerie. The evil spirit in the picture, with a deathly pale face, had a complexion resembling Toshio Saeki, the evil spirit from the Japanese horror film The Grudge. Its face seemed completely pressed against the iron door, as if it were intently watching a bride standing outside. The spirit’s clothing was tattered and unremarkable.

Then, Dong Ning and Ge Qi also came over to look at the photo.

“This is…” Looking at the photo, Ge Qi didn’t even dare to touch it with his hand. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise him if the evil spirit in the photo crawled out.

At this moment, Dong Xie had a thought. Perhaps, this photo was not a clue on the path to survival at all, but purely to frighten them, the residents, into greater fear?

As for Dong Ning, she forced herself to calm down and said, looking at the photo, “It looks like, whether it’s that old lady or this photo, along with Feng Yu’s death, all are reminding us that the fourth floor is extremely dangerous. And indeed, it is strange. If the fourth floor is so dangerous, why hint at it in various ways? Why does the apartment let us know this?”

Dong Xie also found it very puzzling. If they had not known about the danger of the fourth floor beforehand, they might have gone there in search of a path to survival. But now… what is going on?

Dong Ning lifted her hand and brushed her bangs aside, pondering the current situation…

“Right now, if we think about it the other way around, we can completely rule out that the fourth floor is a path to survival. So why deliberately keep us away from the fourth floor?”

Then, she suddenly thought of something.

“The fourth floor might indeed not be a path to survival, but perhaps the key clue to the path to survival is hidden on the fourth floor! That means, going to the fourth floor is dangerous, but it might also be a case of survival after a desperate situation! But if you go to the fourth floor possessed by an evil spirit, you won’t be able to find the clue to survival and will quickly be killed!”

Dong Ning’s conjecture was absolutely shocking.

All along, both Dong Xie and Dong Ning had harbored thoughts of checking out the fourth floor. Even Dong Xie had considered the possibility that the fourth floor could be a path to survival. But if what Dong Ning suggested was true, could the fourth floor indeed be related to the path to survival?

They left the room, and Dong Xie, holding the album, said to Zhao Long, “Zhao Long, it now seems that all the clues are continuously instilling in us the notion that the fourth floor is extremely dangerous and not to go there. But… Ah Ning’s conjecture is that perhaps the fourth floor holds the key clue to the path to survival.”

“Are we really going to the fourth floor?”

Zhao Long’s face also turned grim.

But then he shook his head and said, “We haven’t explored the lower floors yet, let’s not jump to conclusions too quickly. Whatever the case, from the current situation, going to the fourth floor would probably be a path of death.”

At this moment, everyone looked at each other.

In fact, Zhao Long’s words voiced everyone’s thoughts. Especially after seeing that photo, combined with Feng Yu’s terribly agonizing scream before his death. Even though they knew that the clue to survival might be on the fourth floor, they still dared not go. It was a fear deeply rooted in their psyche; people often lose their rationality in the face of fear.

At this moment, Dong Xie felt more and more that this was probably the real purpose of that photo. To hinder them… from going to the fourth floor!

“Ah Ning,” Dong Xie was still apprehensive, looking at Dong Ning, he said, “It hasn’t been an hour since the Blood Letter started, we still have time…”

“No… our having time depends on whether the next sacrifice won’t be you or me.”

Dong Ning’s words suddenly tightened Dong Xie’s heart.

As it stood, the chance of either of them being next in line was 50%! The order of sacrifice among the residents did not distinguish between old and new; death was completely egalitarian before them.

Feng Yu was dead, but how long would it be until the next sacrifice? An hour? Forty-five minutes? Half an hour? No one could guess.

“Though I understand your concerns,” Dong Ning looked at the album in his hands, “We can go down and explore further, but I still think that the fourth floor might contain the clue to the path to survival.”

Time mercilessly ticked by.

With every passing minute, everyone felt the Grim Reaper’s footsteps draw nearer.

The search on the third floor was quickly concluded, and apart from that photo, they found nothing. So, they went down to the second floor.

Now, being a whole floor away from the fourth floor, they felt somewhat relieved.

At this moment, Dong Xie’s mind kept echoing Ah Ning’s words. As she said, he might not have much time left. Nobody knew if in the next moment, he too would be possessed by an evil spirit, then lose his soul and voluntarily take the elevator to the fourth floor…

Just then, Dong Xie suddenly thought of something unsettling.

“Ah Ning, I just thought of something about Feng Yu’s death…”

Dong Ning looked at Dong Xie, asking, “What about Feng Yu’s death?”

“At that moment, within just one or two seconds, Feng Yu appeared outside, then took the elevator downstairs. Since the evil spirit on the fourth floor has such terrifying power to teleport him instantly, why not just move him directly to the fourth floor? Why go through all that trouble? Does this mean the evil spirit’s teleportation has a distance limit, or does it mean that if we had tried to stop it, we could have actually saved Feng Yu?”

“My guess is due to the apartment’s restrictions. A distance limit is possible, and if so, it would be a vertical distance limit, as from a vertical perspective, we were right above on the fifth floor, just a stone’s throw from the fourth floor below. Couldn’t he have been moved down there?”

“Then, Ah Ning, do you mean it’s my second possibility?”

“Yes, it’s possible.”

“Also, Ah Ning, Feng Yu screamed so violently when he died, which shows he was definitely conscious at the time of his death, not in a state of possession by an evil spirit.”

Ge Qi interjected, “Isn’t it unsurprising? They wanted Feng Yu to die full of fear and pain, so they let him remain conscious, right?”

“That’s also possible, but could it be because the state of possession by an evil spirit has a ‘time limit’?”