Demon Apartment - Chapter 24 - The New Blood Letter

Mo Yuan glanced at his wristwatch, a custom-made Rolex that he had long relied on for its precision, with a time deviation of less than 0.05 seconds. This meticulousness was a reflection of his character.

Since the Blood Letter began, he had lost contact with Zhao Long. Every call he made was met with the message, “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable.” No one would turn off their phone during a Blood Letter execution, especially when everyone carried multiple power banks to ensure their devices were charged. This could only mean one thing: interference from the Blood Letter.

Without further insight into the Blood Letter execution, if the group was wiped out, he wouldn’t know the specifics. Mo Yuan was responsible for overseeing and documenting all Blood Letter tasks, holding regular monthly meetings to discuss patterns and potential paths to survival. Analyzing Blood Letter cases had become a crucial method for residents to improve their survival rates. This time, the involvement of Zhao Long, who was on his third Blood Letter instruction, had caught the attention of the residents.

Now, an hour had passed since the Blood Letter task began. Still, every call resulted in the same “unavailable” message.

Although it was the middle of the night, many residents were likely still awake. Before midnight, a large number of them had gathered at Mo Yuan’s place, armed with coffee, tea, sunflower seeds, and peanuts, ready to stay up all night to connect with the Blood Letter frontline. They aimed to provide real-time support to Zhao Long and the others, hoping to gather firsthand information that could enhance their own survival strategies in future Blood Letters. Once the connection was lost, everyone gradually returned to their homes, as staying up all night was exhausting.

After everyone left, they didn’t bother cleaning up the mess of sunflower seed shells and peanut shells on the table, and Mo Yuan wasn’t in the mood to tidy up either. He decided to wait until the Blood Letter ended.

He picked up a new Lipton tea bag and added some water to his cup. But then, he suddenly felt that familiar burning sensation in his heart!

His hand slipped, spilling hot water outside the cup. Ignoring the mess, he turned his attention to the stark white wall in front of him.

As soon as the burning sensation hit, blood began to seep from the wall, forming words. Once the blood formed complete words, it defied gravity, refusing to drip further.

Mo Yuan quickly set down the electric kettle and turned on the light, focusing on the slowly forming Blood Letter!

This was his fifth Blood Letter instruction! The fifth Blood Letter marked a turning point. From the sixth Blood Letter onward, once a resident completed the task, the Apartment would instantly teleport them back to the lobby on the first floor. Once inside the Apartment, the Evil Spirit could no longer pursue them, and any curse would automatically dissipate. After leaving the Apartment, the Evil Spirit would never harm them again. Past Blood Letter records even included instances where residents brought an Evil Spirit into the Apartment, only for it to be consumed by the building itself.

Surviving this Blood Letter would significantly increase future survival rates!

“Between 00:00 and 02:00 on January 7, 2020, on the Qing Mountain Ring Expressway section in K City, protect four people…”

Mo Yuan carefully read the Blood Letter instructions. Once the words were fully formed, he took a photo of them with his phone. Then, he entered his bedroom, where his color printer had already started printing photos. Every resident’s home was equipped with a color printer connected to a computer.

He picked up the printed photos. The Blood Letter instructions mentioned that the four people in these photos were the ones he needed to protect this time.

“This is the first time I’ve encountered a Blood Letter instruction requiring the protection of others,” Mo Yuan thought, surprised by the task. “Although many people are asleep now, the burning pain in their hearts will surely wake them.”

He immediately opened WeChat on his phone to check the group chat and see which residents were selected for this Blood Letter.

“This Blood Letter instruction will add another case to the fifth Blood Letter records. If I can survive this…”

…

An hour had passed since the Blood Letter instructions began.

The exploration of Building 3 was nearly complete. They had searched the second and first floors thoroughly. In the end… they found nothing.

“Should we go back to the fifth floor? Or just stay on the first floor?” Ge Qi suggested. “If we stay on the first floor, we can run out as soon as the Blood Letter ends. But on the fifth floor, if the stairway gets blocked, we’re…”

Dong Xie offered another perspective: “But if we’re on the first floor, when we need to escape, we’ll have to run upstairs. Climbing up is always more exhausting than going down, and if we’re even a bit slow, the consequences could be dire. It would also severely drain our stamina.”

Ge Qi paused, realizing Dong Xie’s point made sense.

“So, are you suggesting we go back to the fifth floor?”

“How about a compromise, like the third floor?” Zhao Long suggested.

“No, please, not the third floor,” Ge Qi shivered at the thought, still haunted by Feng Yu’s dying screams.

At this moment, Dong Ning leaned against the wall, putting on a headband to keep her bangs up. Whenever she wore a headband, it was like she was entering a meditative state, indicating she was deep in thought. Dong Xie knew better than to disturb her.

Ge Qi pulled out a cigarette, ready to light it, but Dong Xie grabbed his hand.

“Don’t smoke. It’ll disturb Ah Ning’s thinking. She might notice something we’ve missed.”

Ge Qi reluctantly put the cigarette down, glancing at Dong Ning, who was deep in thought against the wall. For a heavy smoker, resisting the urge to smoke was torturous, especially in such a high-stress and fearful situation.

However, Dong Xie didn’t realize that Dong Ning was less in deep thought and more engaged in a mental battle of risk assessment. Often, the hardest part of a Blood Letter wasn’t escaping but making decisions. A single wrong choice could lead to death. Many paths to survival remained unexplored not because people were too foolish to see them, but because they were too afraid to try. It was only when they were cornered that they dared to act, but the Evil Spirit’s attacks were swift, often leaving residents full of regret.

Thus, the survival experience from Blood Letter instructions was about learning to assess risks. Balancing risk avoidance and risk-taking was crucial!