I'm afraid of non-human beings

In the dead of night, when murder and arson were committed.

When Lin You sneaked out, she solemnly swore that she would never do anything wrong.

The daytime of the third day passed peacefully, everyone had their own thoughts, they were supposed to be together by chance, so there was no need to talk about unreserved trust.The doubts that had been tacitly two days ago were completely on the surface, and Lin You did not intend to participate in this kind of superficial peace, and her action time was completely set at midnight.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help feeling sorry for her banned illustration book again.

How bold she is, how productive the illustrated book is, Lin You thinks that if her ability is still good, it will be no problem to vacate this apartment.

After all, if each door corresponds to a non-human resident, it is simply a new type of wealth code.

But if the intensity is as touching as the one she kicked down the stairs, then it's a matter of debate.

While thinking absently, Lin You sneaked into the corridor not far away, and knocked on Yin Sheng's door.

Three long and one short, this is the signal they agreed on earlier, and it will not alarm An Yuchen on the same floor.She clearly explained the benefits and risks of night operations that she personally experienced. Based on this, whether to act together is a personal choice—since there is a chance to break the situation, of course he chose the former.

Not long after, there were subtle footsteps from inside the door.The door was opened a crack, and the person inside breathed a sigh of relief after confirming who had come, and walked out wearing his iconic peaked cap.

"Now?"

Yin Sheng pressed the brim of his hat nervously, "Where are we going?"

"Let's look up from the bottom first," Lin You said casually, "I went to the upper floor yesterday."

There's no harm in wandering around anyway.

They are more fully prepared today than yesterday... Although it was just a little, Yin Sheng dug out a small flashlight from the closet at the bottom of the box, which was barely able to play a role in lighting.But that's good too, lest the more intense light attract something else.

The two of them listened attentively to the sound of chains that could instantly alert people, and went down to the second floor step by step—and then to the first floor. Across the clear boundary line between light and dark, the hall looked peaceful as usual. difference.Because of this, they gave up the idea of ​​going in, and decided to walk around the corridor that was not too long or too short.

It has to be said that having light is much better than her acting in the dark.When she almost tripped over the broom that was lying on the ground, Lin You couldn't help but think of it, and she didn't know who had finished digging through the tool room and didn't put it back properly.

She stepped over under Yin Sheng's hasty reminder, and the latter raised the small flashlight to change direction and continue to illuminate forward.

"Hush." ​​Lin You suddenly said.

Yin Sheng: "Huh?"

"Wait, wait, don't go over there," she said repeatedly, "Go back a little bit, the place you just took photos—yes, it's here."

Yin Sheng followed her instructions in a daze, but when the thin circle of light was really fixed on the corner of the wall, he was also taken aback unconsciously.

"This……"

"It's hard to say," Lin You walked over and squatted down, "But the handwriting should be the same."

There is a thumb-sized stick figure drawn in the same style as a matchstick.

Looking at the shape, it should be...sheep?

"It feels a little weird."

Yin Sheng frowned, "There seems to be something beside me?"

The light of the flashlight moved to the side again, and they really saw that it was almost right next to the sheep, and there was another one that was exactly the same, and there were more.

One, two, three... nine.

After lighting up the ninth pattern, there was only a large blank space left on the wall behind, but it looked a little different from the first eight sheep.

The pointed ears, and the sharp teeth sticking out of the mouth...

Lin You: "..."

Yin Sheng: "..."

"I think it's a wolf," she said solemnly.

Yin Sheng: "Wolf and sheep?"

"Who knows," Lin You blinked, "Is this here during the day?"

"No."

Yin Sheng's tone was still confused just now, but now he firmly shook his head, "I have checked it carefully before, besides, such a long string must have been discovered long ago."

"I see," Lin You muttered, "By the way, are they really 'ten little black men'?"

Yin Sheng said "Huh".

Lin You: "Hmm..."

"Is there such a possibility," she said, "that nursery rhyme is just a cover on the surface, but in fact there is another set of rules for its operation, for example—"

Among them were wolves.

"However," Yin Sheng tilted his head inexplicably, "the number of people doesn't match, and this doesn't look like a werewolf."

Lin You: "Yes."

Together with the two deceased, there were ten people here, but there were only nine patterns, which couldn't match eight sheep and a wolf.

"Maybe it's an existence outside the rules?" She said casually.

at this time--

"Who is there?"

A male voice suddenly sounded not far away, followed by the light that swung over—much brighter than theirs. Lin You and Yin Sheng squinted their eyes uncomfortably at the same time, and only then could they see the backlight clearly. Two figures stood, and then, the slender one opened his mouth.

"Hey," she said in surprise, "is it you?"

After confirming that they were both human beings, the other party quickly turned on the emergency lights. Lin You caught a glimpse of the reflection of the glasses, coupled with the voice just now, and also understood the identities of the two.

She glanced at Yin Sheng almost invisibly, got up and walked over there first, "Coincidentally, good evening."

"Good evening."

Zhou Jingjing hesitated to respond to her, as if she felt that this could not be described well, "You guys—uh, this is what everyone wants to do together?"

When he met someone he was not so familiar with, Yin Sheng's language function immediately degraded again. After he followed up, he just nodded cautiously, and his demeanor was as stiff as wishing he could pull down the brim of his hat to cover his face.

"I couldn't find any clues during the day, so I had to venture out at night." Lin You said generously, "What about you?"

"I also met her by chance."

Yu Chu dimmed the light of the flashlight a little, "We've met each other, why don't we just be together? It's easy to take care of if there are many people."

"By the way," he asked casually, "did you find anything there just now?"

"Okay." Lin You replied, "I can't tell if I found out, it's just that someone left the broom indiscriminately. Fortunately, I didn't really trip and fall."

The two of them were nothing more than concern and advice to pay attention to safety. She smiled and said it was okay, and then asked: "We just got down and our eyes are smeared. Where are you going?"

Yu Chu and Zhou Jingjing looked at each other, "We want to stop by and have a look, and then go to the second floor."

Yin Sheng: "Second floor?"

"That's right, I just discovered this." Zhou Jingjing said first, "At first glance, these apartment rooms don't look much different, but the handle of one of them is rusted."

Lin You understood, "Is it one of the doors that cannot be opened?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't want to come out in the middle of the night. I'll try the suspicious ones first and see if there's no problem."

She seemed to have planned it long ago, and didn't mind sharing the clue—after all, going it alone often means dying—and she took them upstairs and walked around them familiarly.When he came to the door, Lin You took the flashlight from Yin Sheng and turned it on. As expected, there were a few spots of rust on the handle, which was obviously much older than other doors.

Zhou Jingjing tentatively touched it.

"Click."

The door was opened smoothly, although it was expected, she still sighed in surprise, and then stepped in carefully.

Lin You was still thinking about the tenant, but looking at it now, the room is much cleaner than the one she broke into yesterday.

As soon as you enter the door, there are tables and chairs leaning against the wall. Opposite is the old but still clean sofa and low coffee table. Next to it is an old-fashioned TV. Yu Chu tried to walk over and press the button, but he couldn’t see it. It turned on, and it was already scrapped.

Although there is a thin layer of dust, the overall furnishings are not messy. The only thing worth criticizing is that the wallpaper on the wall is so old that it is curled up.Lin You squatted halfway to look at the most upturned piece next to the TV, and flipped its corner, seeing Yu Chu rummaging through the old newspapers on the table to pick it up.

"This is social news from many years ago," he shone with a flashlight. "Looking at the page, it seemed to be quite topical at the time."

"For example, this hoarder..."

Lin You's heart skipped a beat.

She turned her head, "What hoarding addiction?"

"It is said that a person picked up things at home all day long and made the stench, and the neighbors around him complained and ignored them. As a result, a fire broke out one day. The whereabouts of this person were unknown. He broke into his house and found a A female corpse... Oh yes, there are other reports about this fire, several floors were burned, and there was a family of four who did not escape."

Zhou Jingjing: "Why does this kind of report appear here so...won't it?"

"It's true." Yin Sheng said suddenly.

He stood at the door staring at the upturned wallpaper.

Lin You understood what he was looking at almost immediately, because this was what she wanted to do, she pinched the edge of the upturned wallpaper, and then lifted it up vigorously——

The camouflage under the wallpaper reveals its true colors.

A large mass of scorched black stained the wall, and the smoky part was far more than the area she opened, as if the tragedy at that time could still be vaguely seen.

"So," Yu Chu suppressed his voice, "We are really here..."

Lin You was still staring at the scorched wall, faintly feeling that something was strung together.

"Have you ever heard of that movie?" she said, "The Remnant."

"That Japanese movie?"

Zhou Jingjing frowned, "I've heard the name before."

"'Defilement' is equivalent to a curse that will expand pollution. Some people think that its source is resentment, some people think it is not, but one thing is certain... any room may be polluted, and then stay in it forever , and will follow people who have been exposed to it like a shadow, creating new pollution."

She shrugged. "I just think it's kind of like the status quo."

Although they are all in the ten-day countdown to death, it doesn't matter whether it is polluted or not.

"It's possible, but..." Zhou Jingjing slapped her nose with her hand, "Have you smelled it, the smell from the moment you entered the door?"

Lin You raised his eyebrows, Yin Sheng asked back as if muttering to himself, Yu Chu also stopped what he was doing, straightened up and took a deep breath.

Muddy.

Burnt burnt feeling.

Then, they all saw it.

Right in front of Yu Chu's flashlight, in the shadow cast by the sofa, something was slowly taking shape, forming a coke-like human figure, with all fours on the ground, looking up towards them.

And behind it, the lumpy shadow is still expanding.

--A family of four.

Realizing this, thousands of words were blocked in his throat, and became a single word that Yu Chu shouted: "Run!"

Lin You was the furthest from the door, but she had long been worried, and she didn't stand too far away.The eyes of her and Yin Sheng who was next to the door briefly met in mid-air, and the latter received the signal, turned around and rushed out of the door.

He made room for others to escape.There was a lot of chaos in the darkness, and no one could see what was standing in front of it. In the thicker and thicker smell, it seemed that even the temperature of the air was also rising. For a moment, only the overturning of tables and chairs could be heard. Noisy, when Lin You really got to the door, he discovered the fatal thing.

The overturned chair fell right in the direction of the door, directly blocking the half-open door closed, but this was not a problem, Lin You kicked the wooden chair away without hesitation, and grabbed the handle——

Can't open.

Lin You twisted the doorknob twice more.

She was pretty sure it was locked from the outside.

--who is it?

It is impossible for a normal person to have the key here. Lin You took a deep breath, and her brain was spinning rapidly.But now is obviously not the right time to think about this kind of thing again. She turned her head and saw the coke formed by the four shadows looking over.

If she couldn't get out, she would never be able to verify her conjecture.

All she held was the small flashlight, but what it could do was to illuminate the faces of the charred corpses even more unevenly.With limited things at hand, Lin You glanced at the chair legs that she had just kicked aside, silently estimating the distance between them.

The one at the head was crawling towards her rapidly.

Just in that moment.

It suddenly lost all support and melted on the floor like a tide.

The unidentified object that was aggressively attacking just now raised its head towards the midair, opened its mouth wide, let out a silent wail, and returned to a pool of shadows one after another, flowing past, until it disappeared in the shadow of "that person" standing not far away .

"A curse of this degree..."

The evil god sneered.

Nyarlathotep raised his eyes with great interest, and met her gaze, "Maybe, it should be long time no see?"