Demon Apartment - Novelbike

Zhao Long recalled that compared to the photo Dong Xie had found, this one had much higher resolution. The one Dong Xie found was in a dimly lit hallway, and the Evil Spirit clinging to the iron door had a ghastly pale face, with features so twisted that it was impossible to discern any wrinkles or age. Judging by the style of clothing, which was quite old-fashioned and worn, it didn’t really match the tastes of younger people. Besides, the landlord had mentioned before that most residents here were solitary elderly people.

This wasn’t surprising, given how remote the area was. There were no subways, no bus stations, and even finding a grocery store was difficult. The apartments were quite outdated, so there weren’t many people willing to buy or rent here. Young people working in the city would likely choose to rent closer to the city center. This place was over two hours’ drive from S City, and they had left early to avoid bad road conditions, ensuring they arrived by ten last night.

From this, Zhao Long deduced that the old man holding the black cat was likely another solitary elder.

He brought the photo closer, thankful for the high resolution, likely taken with a smart camera or phone by the landlord’s son. Despite the distance, he could tell the old man was male, and not only the clothes but the pants and shoes also seemed patched. In the background, not far away, stood Building 3.

Ge Qi saw Zhao Long inspecting a photo with the candle and, though he had been cursing Zhao Long earlier, now showed a look of surprise. Could Zhao Long have found a clue to the path to survival?

Great! Only an hour had passed since the Blood Letter Task began; maybe there was still time to find the path to survival! He quickly changed his mind and decided to guard the door diligently.

“Zhao Long, what’s in that photo? Let me see too!”

Ge Qi wanted to go in and take a look but feared that if he entered, the door behind him might close automatically. In past blood letter records, once this happened, no method could reopen the door.

“Wait, I’ll show you later. For now, keep quiet!”

Even though Zhao Long brought the photo very close, the old man’s face remained unclear. Besides the distance, the shadow of the tree behind the old man obscured much of the sunlight, making his body blend into the shadow.

“If this is the Evil Spirit…”

Zhao Long continued to examine the other photos, though none were set in this community. He scrutinized them carefully, hoping not to miss any vital clues.

Unfortunately, no new clues emerged from the other photos.

Thinking it over, Zhao Long removed the crucial photo from its frame to check for a date. Sadly, there was none.

“Let’s see if there are more clues.”

He opened the drawers below, searching through them. Most contained miscellaneous items and some blood pressure medication, likely kept by the landlord.

“Hmm?”

In the last drawer, Zhao Long found a calendar. Oddly, it was a 2009 calendar, even though it was now the end of 2019! And it was remarkably well-preserved for something so old.

“What’s this?”

Many dates on the calendar were circled in red with annotations.

“Hospital follow-up… wife’s birthday… elder son’s birthday… younger son’s birthday… elder son visiting… younger son visiting…”

Following that were calendars from 2010, 2011… The landlord had preserved calendars from 2009 to the present, each noting the days his sons visited. Both sons only visited once a year, during the New Year, and even then, there were years when neither came. Sometimes, they didn’t visit for two or three years, only coming when the landlord’s wife passed away.

“The photo shows them in summer clothes, and during New Year, they wouldn’t wear short sleeves, especially since both elders weren’t in good health. It’s unlikely they’d wear such light clothing in January or February.” Zhao Long analyzed, “The only other time both sons visited, besides New Year, was once… The photo must have been taken that day.”

The photo was taken three years before the landlord’s wife passed away, which was six years ago, in 2013.

After searching the room and finding no more clues, Zhao Long went to the door and said to Ge Qi, “Good, I thought you might run.”

“The photo, let me see…”

“Let’s all take a look.”

At the door, Zhao Long showed the photo to Dong Xie and Dong Ning. “Compare this with the photo you found earlier.”

Zhao Long pointed to the old man holding the black cat under the tree. Dong Xie and Dong Ning looked closely.

“The clothes…” Dong Ning immediately noticed the issue, and Dong Xie quickly took out the photo for comparison.

The Evil Spirit’s terrifying figure was still chilling. Comparing the clothes, they were identical, even the pants, and it was certain they weren’t just similar clothes, as the patches were in the exact same places.

“And these calendars. From them, I can roughly deduce the photo’s date, three years before the landlord’s wife died.”

Dong Xie examined the calendars closely and suddenly thought of something.

“You mean… the photo was taken in 2013?”

“Yes…”

Hearing this, Dong Ning also realized something.

Then, almost in unison, Dong Xie and Dong Ning said, “2009!”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Long was puzzled.

“The photo we found was taken on December 30, 2009! Ten years ago!” Dong Xie pointed to the photo with the Evil Spirit. “If the new photo was taken in 2013, then… the old man in this photo was already an Evil Spirit!”

Everyone’s faces changed dramatically at this revelation!

“Are there any other photos?” Dong Ning asked Zhao Long. “Is this the only one?”

“Yes, the others are just family photos of the landlord’s family. I didn’t find anything unusual.”

“Bring them out for us to see! Maybe there are more clues!”

Zhao Long returned to the room and brought out the other frames.

He handed them to Dong Xie and Dong Ning, who each took two photos to examine.

In the candlelight, Dong Xie saw that in every photo, not far behind the people, was the old man holding the black cat!

“No!” Zhao Long’s face turned pale. “Just now… just now when I looked, he wasn’t there!”