Chapter 73 Appears Again

If there is one thing that makes this apartment different from other places, it is the mirrors that can be found everywhere.

Whether in the hallway, on the floor, or on the ceiling, one could see their reflection in countless mirrors with just a turn of the head. Even the floor-to-ceiling windows in the dining room, which should have offered views of the outside, were fitted with bright mirrors—two-way mirrors.

The thought that people outside could see them made people feel like they were being spied on, which was very uncomfortable.

The apartment building had thirty-four floors in total. They went to the other floors for a quick inspection and found that nearly every floor was occupied. While the number of people was small, the building was certainly not empty. Ruan Nanzhu also inquired about what had happened in the building two years prior, but discovered that most of the residents had moved in recently and were unaware of the fire.

After running around outside for a day, they obtained very little information. They only knew that a mother and son died in the fire.

"Why a mother and son?" Lin Qiushi thought carefully and felt something was amiss. "Aren't they a family of three traveling here? Where's the father?"

"Father's body hasn't been found anyway," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Perhaps he holds the breakthrough we're looking for."

It was getting dark now, and the setting sun cast a golden glow on the mirrored exterior of the apartment.

"But where can we find him?" Lin Qiushi frowned. "It seems like no one in this building knows him."

Ruan Nanzhu shook his head, indicating that he hadn't figured it out yet.

The city gradually becomes quiet at night.

The bustling streets were deserted and pitch black, with no one visible in sight.

Lin Qiushi stood at the window, looking out. In truth, only then did he feel that the world they were in was within a door, because the world outside his door couldn't possibly be this quiet at night. Even in the dead of night, the sound of passing vehicles could be heard in the city center. The streets were always filled with pedestrians, yet the strange silence outside at this moment gave him a deeply uncomfortable feeling.

Ruan Nanzhu and Cheng Yixie had both finished washing up and had already climbed into bed.

Lin Qiushi walked into the bathroom and planned to wash up briefly.

He turned on the hot water and poured the hot water over himself with a towel. There were many mirrors in the bathroom, hanging in front, behind, and to the sides of Lin Qiushi. The mirrors were blurred by the smoke. Lin Qiushi lowered his head and covered his face with the towel soaked in hot water.

The only sound in the restroom was the gurgling of water. Lin Qiushi lowered his head, suddenly feeling something was amiss. It was a strange feeling. He didn't see anything unusual, but his intuition was sounding the alarm. Lin Qiushi paused slightly, observing his surroundings with his peripheral vision.

A few seconds later, Lin Qiushi discovered something was wrong - he lowered his head, but the person in the mirror in front of him remained upright, looking at him quietly with a face that looked exactly like his.

Lin Qiushi understood. He took the towel in his hand, wrung it out while walking outside. When he reached the bathroom door, he glanced at the mirror over there again, only to find that the mirror had returned to normal and was doing the same thing as him.

Lin Qiushi cursed softly.

"What's wrong?" Ruan Nanzhu looked up at him.

Lin Qiushi said, "Mirror..." He closed the bathroom door. "What I saw in the mirror just now is different from who I am in real life."

Ruan Nanzhu asked, "Different? Are you okay?"

"It's okay," Lin Qiushi said. "I pretended not to see it and came out." He said, "I don't feel well."

If possible, he would like to smash all the mirrors in the house, but they don't know whether smashing the mirrors will trigger death, so to be on the safe side, they can only grit their teeth and keep them.

"What should I do?" Lin Qiushi lowered his head and looked at his feet. "I haven't washed my feet yet..."

Ruan Nanzhu blinked, looked at him and smiled, then opened her bed: "It's okay, come up, I don't dislike you."

Lin Qiushi: “…”

Cheng Yixie stood by and watched with a calm expression, pretending that he didn't see the gay couple.

However, just as Lin Qiushi was struggling with whether he should go in and wash his feet again, a fierce quarrel broke out outside the house, accompanied by the sound of a mirror breaking.

Lin Qiushi walked to the door and looked out through the peephole, only to find that there was a problem with the new person brought by Sister Xia.

"I don't want to go in, don't pull me in, there is a monster in the mirror!!" The one who screamed was a young girl. She shouted angrily at another girl standing next to her, "Don't touch me, I want to find Sister Xia! If you want to sleep, sleep in there by yourself! I don't want to sleep with you!" When she spoke, she saw a mirror beside her, and she smashed it with her hand. The mirror shattered and the sharp lenses fell to the ground.

The girl walked to the other side of the corridor, raised her hand and knocked on the door. She saw that this door should be where Sister Xia lived.

After a moment, the door opened.

"Sister Xia, I don't want to live in my room anymore." The girl said, "There's a ghost in my room!"

Because of the angle, Lin Qiushi couldn't see Sister Xia's expression, but he could hear her voice. Her tone was not very pleasant, even sounding quite cold. "If you don't live in your room, where else can you live? My house can only accommodate two people."

"I can sleep on the sofa instead of on the bed..." the girl begged.

"Sofa?" Sister Xia refused rudely. "Didn't you hear what that person said when you were assigning the rooms? Each room has a fixed number of occupants and can't be increased at will. If you move in and trigger the death condition, wouldn't everyone in the room be in trouble?" She probably felt that her tone was a bit too much, so she deliberately softened her voice. "There are many terrifying places in this world. You have to learn to get used to them. Tell me, what did you see?"

The girl said aggrievedly: "I saw that the me in the mirror made different movements from me..."

Lin Qiushi was stunned when he heard this, thinking that he seemed to have encountered a similar situation just now.

"Different movements?" Sister Xia said, "Did you see it wrong..."

"I'm not seeing things!" The girl was a little angry at Sister Xia's perfunctory response. "Sister Xia, can't you find a way to help me? I don't want to go into that room anymore!"

"How about this," Sister Xia said, "Since you said the problem was with the mirror, why don't you just smash all the mirrors? That way you won't have to be afraid."

The girl said: "But..."

Sister Xia interrupted her: "Otherwise, I have no other choice."

The girl fell silent. At this moment, no matter how slow she was, she would have noticed that the person she called Sister Xia was not acting right. She had only passed through two doors before, and she met this woman named Sister Xia on the website. Sister Xia claimed that she could help her jump directly to the ninth door, so she followed Sister Xia in. However, after entering, she found herself completely confused, and Sister Xia did not protect them as promised.

"I understand." The girl muttered and saw Sister Xia close the door directly.

She looked helpless and turned around to return to her room with the other girl. A moment later, Lin Qiushi faintly heard the sound of shattering glass coming from their room—it seemed that the girl had followed Sister Xia's instructions and shattered all the mirrors in the room.

Lin Qiushi told Ruan Nanzhu and Cheng Yixie what he saw and heard.

"This Sister Xia is quite clever." Ruan Nanzhu's voice sounded a little cold. "Use the people you brought with you to test it."

Lin Qiushi sighed softly. Indeed, if smashing the mirror was okay, then they could have just smashed it. If smashing the mirror was okay, then Sister Xia wouldn't have suffered any loss. It seemed that bringing so many new people in was, as Ruan Nanzhu had said, a risk to their lives.

As the sky gradually darkened, the smell of burning things began to fill the air again.

Cheng Yixie has a very sensitive sense of smell. After smelling this smell, he began to cough softly. He had no choice but to cover his mouth and nose with a wet towel.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu had not originally planned to go out and see, but just as they were lying in bed, forcing themselves to sleep, there was another noise in the corridor. This time it was a woman's miserable scream, and the scream came from the room where the girl who had smashed the mirror just now was.

"Ahhh——" The shrill screams were particularly harsh in the silent night. Lin Qiushi saw through the peephole that the girl was struggling to run out of her house. Her expression was extremely painful, and she stumbled as if she would fall to the ground and never get up again.

Ruan Nanzhu appeared behind Lin Qiushi. He reached out and gently pressed the door handle, opening the door a crack.

The gap allowed them to see outside more clearly. Ruan Nanzhu looked through the gap at the mirror on the ceiling of the corridor, then let out a soft click of the tongue.

Lin Qiushi followed Ruan Nanzhu's gaze and saw the scene in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror was completely wrapped in red flames. Her body was charred and carbonized bit by bit, but she was still struggling. The scene was extremely terrifying.

Lin Qiushi even smelled the odor of burnt meat.

"Ahhh, ahhhh..." She finally fell down. If you just look at it, you will find that there is no scar on her body, but only through the mirror can you know what kind of painful torture she has experienced.

Just when Lin Qiushi thought that everything was over, his hand was grabbed by Ruan Nanzhu. Ruan Nanzhu raised his chin slightly, indicating Lin Qiushi to look in a certain direction.

Lin Qiushi looked in that direction and discovered that, at some point, a person identical to the burned girl had appeared in the mirror opposite her. They had the same appearance and clothing, but the smile on their face was strange and stiff. The person in the mirror looked at the burned person outside and actually slowly reached out their hands. Those hands reached out from the mirror, grasped the girl's wrists, and then slowly pulled the girl's charred body into the mirror.

This scene was so horrifying that Lin Qiushi even held his breath.

Ruan Nanzhu reached out and slowly closed the door in front of them. His scorching breath was right next to Lin Qiushi's ear, and his voice was tinged with a hint of laughter: "Are you scared?"

Lin Qiushi turned his head and said, "No." He paused for a moment and sighed, "Fortunately, I didn't smash the mirror."

It seems that mirrors really cannot be smashed, and once they are smashed, there will be serious consequences.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "The house at the end of the corridor is on fire again."

Lin Qiushi was stunned: "The one from last night?"

"Yes." Ruan Nanzhu said, "But this time it's a little different."

Lin Qiushi was only focused on the girl in front of him and didn't pay attention to what was happening at the end of the corridor.

"There's an extra room where the fire is over there," Ruan Nanzhu said. "The fire is spreading towards here."

He grabbed Lin Qiushi's wrist and pulled him back into the room, allowing Cheng Yixie, who was leaning against the bed, to hear their conversation. "Our room's location isn't very good. If the fire continues to spread this way, it'll soon reach us."

"Change rooms?" Cheng Yixie suggested.

"I'm not sure if we can change it," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I'll ask the waiter tomorrow. It's okay if he doesn't give us the room card." He laughed. "Although the electronic lock is a bit troublesome, it's not impossible to open it."

Hearing his confident tone, Lin Qiushi suddenly felt a deep admiration for him.

"Okay, let's go to sleep first." Ruan Nanzhu checked his watch. "It's already this late. If we keep going any longer, it'll be dawn." He looked at Lin Qiushi. "Want to join me?"

Lin Qiushi declined Ruan Nanzhu's offer and decided to sleep on the sofa. Of course, before going to bed, he mustered up the courage to go to the bathroom again and carefully washed his feet. This time, nothing strange happened in the mirror.

The second half of the night was very peaceful and nothing unexpected happened.

Early the next morning, Lin Qiushi had just opened his eyes in a daze when he saw Ruan Nanzhu had already changed his clothes and was ready to go out.

"So early?" Lin Qiushi glanced at the time. It was only around six o'clock, and the sky was just getting light. It was already three o'clock in the morning when they went to bed yesterday, and Ruan Nanzhu only slept for three hours.

"Something's up." Ruan Nanzhu said softly, "I'll go alone, you guys go back to sleep."

Lin Qiushi looked towards the bed. Cheng Yixie was a child after all, and was soundly asleep. He hadn't been woken up by the noise. He lowered his voice and said, "Wait a minute, I'll join you."

"No need." Ruan Nanzhu said, "It's not a dangerous thing." After he said this, he walked to the door, opened it quietly, and went out directly.

Lin Qiushi looked at his back and couldn't fall asleep again. He sat up from the bed and was extra careful when changing clothes because he was afraid of waking up Cheng Yixie.

By the time Lin Qiushi changed his clothes and went out, Ruan Nanzhu had long disappeared. Lin Qiushi thought about it and simply went to the restaurant on the second floor.

The restaurant was still quite empty, but there were two or three people seated there. Lin Qiushi noticed that Luo Qianshui, who had been at odds with Ruan Nanzhu the day before, was sitting in the corner. She looked a little anxious, checking her watch frequently, as if she was waiting for someone.

Lin Qiushi grabbed some things and found a table. His first reaction after sitting down was to check his watch. He was surprised to realize that his reaction was similar to Luo Qianshui's. He burst out laughing, then controlled himself and took out his phone to continue playing Sudoku.

About ten minutes later, two figures appeared at the door of the restaurant.

Luo Qianshui stood up from a distance and happily called out to the door, "Brother—Luo Qianshan is here." Behind Luo Qianshan, another person was walking in. It was Ruan Nanzhu, the person Lin Qiushi was waiting for.

Luo Qianshan walked to Luo Qianshui's side. Although the two of them lowered their voices, Lin Qiushi could still hear their conversation clearly.

Luo Qianshui asked: "Brother, have you changed it?"

Luo Qianshan said: "It has been changed."

"Which one?" Luo Qianshui asked, "The one at the back?"

"No." Luo Qianshan said, "He was a little faster than me. I only moved to the second to last room."

Luo Qianshui cursed softly, and from the words she used, it was obvious that she was scolding a girl. She said, "Can't you be a little tougher?"

Luo Qianshan said with helplessness: "I am tough."

Luo Qianshui: "Then?"

Luo Qianshan: "Not as hard as her."

Luo Qianshui: “…”

The girl, tougher than Luo Qianshan, leisurely walked over to Lin Qiushi and sat down. In a good mood, she picked up a hard-boiled egg and began to peel it. Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu and asked, "Did you go and change your room card?"

Ruan Nanzhu pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Lin Qiushi: "Yes."

Lin Qiushi took the room card and saw that the number on it was the one at the innermost part of the corridor, which was the farthest away from the burning room.

"That's probably the deadline," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Leave this place before the corridor burns down." He opened his mouth, his white, even teeth leaving a beautiful tooth mark on the boiled egg. "That Luo Qianshan is quite skilled."

Lin Qiushi was stunned: "You two had a fight?"

Ruan Nanzhu said calmly, "Yeah."

If this happened in the world outside, people might have to say ladies first, but when it comes to matters of life and death, there is no such thing as priority. After Luo Qianshan made sure that Ruan Nanzhu got the best room number, he attacked him.

If Ruan Nanzhu was really a girl, she might have been bullied, but he was not, so he beat Luo Qianshan back without mercy.

Lin Qiushi could tell from Ruan Nanzhu's expression that he had definitely not suffered any loss. He said, "It seems like these siblings are quite impressive."

Ruan Nanzhu swallowed the boiled egg and asked, "Are you as good as me?"

Lin Qiushi: "No, no, no, you are the best."

Ruan Nanzhu then nodded in satisfaction.

It was almost half past seven, the sky outside had already brightened, and people living on the 34th floor were entering the restaurant one after another.

Lin Qiushi saw Cheng Yixie.

Cheng Yixie walked over to them, sat down, and said in a somewhat annoyed tone, "Why didn't you call me?"

"Children should get more sleep," Ruan Nanzhu said, "and you won't be able to help much if you get up."

Cheng Yixie was silent.

Lin Qiushi said, "What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you."

"No need." Cheng Yixie rejected Lin Qiushi's kindness, stood up and went to get the food himself.

Ruan Nanzhu looked at his back and sighed softly.

Lin Qiushi asked, "How old were you when you first came in?"

Ruan Nanzhu counted on his fingers: "I can't remember clearly, maybe eighteen or nineteen."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiushi thought to himself that it took Ruan Nanzhu six or seven years to get from the first door to the tenth door. He didn't know what he had experienced during these six or seven years.

Cheng Yixie took the food and returned to the table. Lin Qiushi was about to say something to him when he noticed someone walking in from the doorway. When he was sure he wasn't seeing things, his expression froze for a few seconds.

The person who came in was a girl with ordinary clothes and ordinary looks, everything about her was very ordinary. She had a smile on her face and walked to the place where the food was placed and began to choose breakfast. At first glance, there was nothing eye-catching about her - if Lin Qiushi had not seen those scenes through the crack in the door yesterday, he might have thought that the person in front of him was just an ordinary person.

That's right, she was the girl who smashed the mirror last night, was burned alive, and was then pulled in by the person in the mirror. At this moment, she appeared in front of everyone in her entirety, as if everything that happened last night was just an illusion in a dream.

Ruan Nanzhu also saw her, and his expression became a little serious.

The girl took the food, walked to Sister Xia's table with a smile, and started eating.

Lin Qiushi noticed that the girl she lived with was beginning to look uncomfortable, even frightened. Finally, the girl lost control and, after a moment's hesitation, rushed out of the restaurant. The others at the table seemed unaware of what had happened to the girl the previous night, and so they didn't show any repulsion—they didn't even realize the girl had changed.

"She used her right hand to smash the mirror last night." Ruan Nanzhu said.

Lin Qiushi was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Ruan Nanzhu meant. He looked at the girl again and found that the hand holding the chopsticks had indeed become her left hand.

"Is it the person in the mirror who has appeared?" Lin Qiushi suddenly felt that the food in his mouth was a little hard to swallow.

"That's probably it." Ruan Nanzhu propped up his chin and casually lifted a strand of hair from his ear. He said, "Luckily I didn't smash the mirror, otherwise... maybe there would be two of me today." When he said this, he actually smiled subtly. "It seems quite interesting when I think about it carefully."

Lin Qiushi: "..." What are you laughing at? Why is your smile so strange?

Cheng Yixie frowned and said unhappily, "She stinks."

Ruan Nanzhu: "It stinks?"

Cheng Yixie: "Yes, a burnt smell." He put down the food in his hand, as if his appetite was seriously affected by the smell, and there was some confusion on his face.

Ruan Nanzhu asked him, "What's wrong?"

"I feel like I smelled this scent on the first day," said Cheng Yixie.

"The first day? The first night?" Lin Qiushi thought about what happened last night.

Cheng Yixie shook his head, his brows furrowed tightly. He opened his lips slightly and said something that neither Lin Qiushi nor Ruan Nanzhu had expected. He said, "No, it wasn't the first night, but the first day in the hall."

Ruan Nanzhu's expression was stern: "Hall?!"

Cheng Yixie nodded: "Yes, the smell is very light. I thought I smelled it wrongly." He seemed to have thought of something and was about to say it, but Ruan Nanzhu made a gesture of silence, indicating that he should not say what he guessed.

Even though he didn't allow it to be said, Lin Qiushi understood the meaning of Cheng Yixie's words. It meant that there might have been people burned to death mixed in with the crowd in the hall on the first day—perhaps even more than one. Thinking of this, Lin Qiushi couldn't help but lick his dry lips, and a sentence popped into his mind: Use people as a mirror...