Nightmare Onslaught - Chapter 7 - A Family of Four

Jiang Cheng had visited the second floor yesterday, just as the pure girl described.

The boy’s and girl’s bedrooms were easy to distinguish. One was filled with all kinds of stuffed toys, while the other had posters of various military weapons covering the walls, along with military magazines strewn across the desk-a space brimming with the vibe of a military enthusiast.

The two groups shifted their gazes toward Jiang Cheng and the pure girl.

“This family’s atmosphere doesn’t seem very harmonious. We found a lot of broken plates and cups in the garbage bin, some with traces of blood on them,” Jiang Cheng explained.

The pure girl added, “There are also marks on the wooden staircase railing. We think they could be nail scratches left by someone clawing at it.”

This was a clue too significant to overlook. The group headed to the staircase, and following the pure girl’s guidance, they indeed found some scratches caused by friction.

The strong man stepped forward, brushing his hand over the marks with a grim expression. “Yeah, these are definitely scratch marks.”

A family of four, tense relationships, shattered dishes, scratch marks, and a girl seemingly held captive…

No matter how you pieced it together, it all pointed to a tragic story of familial abuse.

There must have been a girl here who suffered terribly.

“So, what should we do next?” the male clerk mumbled nervously. “Should we rescue this poor girl?”

“Whatever happened here is already in the past. We can’t change what’s done,” the woman with a mole replied. “Our goal is to find the truth and complete the task.”

“But haven’t we already figured out the truth?” he asked tentatively.

The strong man, growing more impatient, snapped, “Figured out? Figured out what? How was the girl abused? Who participated in the abuse? Is the girl even alive now? We don’t know any of that-how are we supposed to finish the task?”

The male clerk recoiled in fear, silent under the strong man’s outburst.

The pure girl glanced at him with a hint of pity. He was too weak and not particularly sharp; surviving these tasks would be a tough challenge for him. Even if he managed to scrape by this time, there was no guarantee for the next.

Gurgle…

All eyes turned toward the source of the sound. The fatty sheepishly held his stomach, looking embarrassed. “Uh…”

“Forget it,” the strong man waved it off. “We’ve searched most of the first floor anyway. Let’s take a break and prepare some food.” After a busy morning, even he began to feel a bit hungry.

Just as the group got ready to cook, a voice came from behind them. “We haven’t checked that place yet,” Jiang Cheng pointed toward the bathroom where the middle-aged man’s body lay. “I think there might be some clues there.”

The moment he spoke, a heavy silence fell over the group. Everyone instantly knew what Jiang Cheng was suggesting, but convincing themselves to actually search that place was no easy task.

After all, someone had already died in that bathroom, and who could say if entering it again would violate some sort of deadly taboo?

When dividing up the search areas, everyone tacitly avoided it.

In the end, reason triumphed over fear. The Strong Man took a deep breath and said, “He’s right. There’s a good chance that there are clues hidden in there. Sure, it’s risky, but if we can’t solve the task, we’re all dead anyway.”

The Woman with a mole, uncharacteristically, didn’t argue. It was clear that she, too, understood the stakes. Still, she sneered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “So, who’s going in?”

Jiang Cheng chimed in, “Who’s been to the bathroom on the first floor?”

Everyone raised their hands.

Jiang Cheng counted the hands and continued, “That means everyone here might have already triggered some kind of death taboo. So going in isn’t just about finding clues-it’s about saving your own life.”

The pure girl frowned and asked, “But we can’t all go in together, can we?”

The Strong Man rubbed the stubble on his chin and nodded. “The space in there is too small. If something happens, a group that large wouldn’t even be able to move properly.”

“Exactly,” Jiang Cheng agreed. “I think two people should be enough.”

“So, who’s volunteering to go in?” The Male Clerk, who had been timidly standing in the back, suddenly burst out, his voice trembling.

The group fell silent.

“Fine, let’s draw lots. That way, it’s fair for everyone,” Jiang Cheng suggested, spreading his hands.

“Fine!”

“Agreed.”

After some brief preparations, Jiang Cheng brought out a few slips of paper, two of which were noticeably shorter. Right in front of everyone, he rolled the slips into tiny scrolls and placed them one by one in his palm. “Whoever draws the short ones goes in. Sound good?”

“That sounds fair,” the Fatty said, though his gaze lingered on the little paper scrolls in Jiang Cheng’s hand as he gulped nervously. “But… why are there only five slips? Aren’t there six of us?”

The others noticed this as well and turned to Jiang Cheng with puzzled expressions.

“Because I’m not drawing,” Jiang Cheng said casually.

Everyone froze for a moment, and then their faces turned angry. The Strong Man shouted, “Why the hell don’t you have to draw?”

“Because I haven’t been to the bathroom,” Jiang Cheng explained.

“You’ve been here for a whole day and night,” the Male Clerk snapped, as if finally finding a way to vent his frustration. His voice rose hysterically as he yelled, “And you’ve had so much water! How could you not have gone to the bathroom? You’re just trying to weasel out of this! Just send him in alone!”

The Woman with a mole glared at Jiang Cheng, her expression dark as she let out a cold laugh. “Trying to pull a stunt like this here will cost you dearly.”

“I understand,” Jiang Cheng replied calmly, his expression unchanged. “But I really haven’t been to the bathroom. I can prove it.”

He raised his hand and pointed in a direction, probably towards the windowsill. At that moment, a gust of wind blew in, lifting a corner of the curtain and revealing two mineral water bottles placed behind it.

One bottle was full, while the other was half-filled, both displaying a light yellow color that definitely wasn’t the typical color of normal mineral water.

They shimmered with an alluring glow in the morning light.

“What is this…” the Male Clerk’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Uh-huh,” Jiang Cheng nodded, slightly embarrassed to admit their assumptions, “I thought the bathroom was pretty dark, so I…”

The Strong Man looked at Jiang Cheng with a complicated expression, “…”

Then the Woman with a mole “…”

The Male Clerk “…”

The Pure Girl “…”

Fatty exclaimed, “You really are a clever little trickster!”

Since Jiang Cheng hadn’t been in the bathroom, no one felt it was right to say anything more. The remaining five decided to draw lots, while Jiang Cheng stretched his neck to watch.

In the end, the Strong Man and the Male Clerk were chosen as the lucky ones.

Once the two pulled open the bathroom door, they found that the middle-aged man’s body was missing.

The bathroom wasn’t very large; there was no way to hide an adult’s body in there.

“This isn’t the world we come from,” the Woman behind them suddenly said. “It’s normal for strange things to happen here; just get used to it.”

Just as she said, the Strong Man’s face showed no signs of surprise, while the Male Clerk was left distraught, tearfully clinging to the doorway until the Strong Man kicked him inside.

The rest waited outside.

The search was conducted very efficiently. In less than five minutes, the two emerged, the Strong Man holding a piece of white tissue paper.

First, they closed the bathroom door, then everyone gathered in the living room. The Strong Man unfolded the tissue, revealing a strand of hair inside.

“I found this in the bathtub. It wasn’t there yesterday.”

The Strong Man was very cautious, not even touching the hair with his hands.

The hair was long, clearly belonging to a woman.