The sight of cockroaches and rats crawling around is psychologically unsettling.

Shekh took back his phone and got off the bed: "There are still flies on it, they've already laid eggs, we need to block the drain."

Shi Jinzhe's teaching results are beginning to show promise. Sher knows that these organisms, because of their small size, large numbers, and hiding in hard-to-find corners and sewers, are the spreaders of many viruses.

The lights were off in the room. She easily bypassed the coffee table, boxes, and other obstacles, heading straight for the bathroom.

Shi Jinzhe followed behind her, walking a little slower, not because it was too dark to see, but because he was afraid of stepping on that elusive little poisonous snake.

He put on gloves, poured in the insect repellent, then stuffed clay into the drain, and finally sealed it.

He poured high concentrations of insect repellent into the toilet and sink, placed a controllable ultraviolet lamp inside, closed the door, and sealed the gaps with clay to isolate the odor and radiation.

The kitchen drainpipe was installed in the same way, since they didn't cook anyway, and the contamination from the medicine wouldn't have any effect. The sliding door was closed, and the gaps were sealed with clay.

After doing all that, he knocked on the walls on both sides of the apartment.

"What is the purpose of this?" Sheh imitated him, tapping the wall. The wall she tapped made a crisp sound with a slight echo.

“You knocked down a decorative wall; this kind of wall can be removed.”

"You want to tear down the wall to build protective measures?"

Schech walked around the room while knocking, and after knocking on a wall that made a dull sound.

She tapped again, but there was no echo, unlike the other clear sounds.

Schech asked, "If the voice is different, does that mean it has another use?"

They are both walls, yet they produce two different sounds; they must have different functions.

Shi Jinzhe explained to her, "Yes, this is called a load-bearing wall. It can't be demolished. Tomorrow we'll break through the 504 wall to make a passageway that people can walk through."

"You want to keep an extra room as a backup, just in case."

“Yes,” he found that Sheikh was really good at applying what she learned to other situations; as long as you gave her a piece of thread, she could twist it into a complete ball of yarn.

He never hesitated to praise progress, saying things like, "You learn things very quickly, and you will definitely be a very wise person in the future."

“It’s a snake,” Sheikh corrected him.

Shi Jinzhe chuckled, "Good, you will be a very wise snake."

It was late at night, and although there were very few residents left in the building, they decided to postpone the demolition until tomorrow in order to avoid attracting attention.

Day 9.

The man and the snake woke up early.

Schech sat by the window counting the number of people leaving the apartment.

She knew exactly how many people lived in each apartment on each floor of the building.

Seeing that it was past eight o'clock, Shi Jinzhe fed her the last spoonful of milk in his hand: "There are still a few left to leave."

"Twelve of them, and they're not in good condition. The person in charge is among them."

She understood immediately. He put down the bowl in his hand and said, "Then let's get started."

Their room number is 505. The wall between 505 and 504 is not a load-bearing wall and can be demolished.

Shi Jinzhe drew a rectangle based on the size of the bathroom door, and then Scheher eroded away the middle part.

The wall plaster fell in a flurry, melting large stones into dust and debris. Shi Jinzhe stood aside to clear away small stones and broken bricks to prevent them from making noise as they hit the ground.

A neat passageway was quickly opened up. The resident of 504 had already moved out, and the room only contained basic furniture.

He used tools to remove the bathroom door from 504 and reinstall it on the wall. The wall wasn't very smooth, so it took him a bit of effort.

After doing all this, he checked twice to make sure the door could open and close normally.

If it weren't for the difficulty in dealing with the security door, he originally wanted to remove it, but now he has to settle for second best.

After disinfecting 504, I put on the ultraviolet lamp, closed the door, and went back to 505.

Shekh's tail draped over the edge of the sofa as he busied himself checking the bathroom and kitchen.

Her head turned back and forth as Shi Jinzhe walked: "You seem to be very good at these things."

"I didn't know how before, but life requires it, so I learned."

"Is it to beat the game?"

"Some are, some aren't." Shi Jinzhe cleaned up the medicine residue in the bathroom. There were no rats, but there were several dead cockroaches.

"Could you tell me more about this game?"

Shekh was dragged along to two games by him in a daze, and finally asked the question.

Shi Jinzhe is barely reliable at the moment. She has only told him that she doesn't remember many things, but as for the game, Shekh doesn't really know anything about it either.

She didn't know why she was inside the stone statue, only vaguely remembering that the maze and palace should have been hers.

"Wait a moment." Shi Jinzhe washed his hands, pulled up a chair and sat down not far from her. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything you know."

Shi Jinzhe then recounted everything in detail.

Listening to his explanation, Shekh understood why he had asked him if he was a special prop.

"But the system in my head says 'Welcome players'."

"The system told me that you are a special item," Shi Jinzhe immediately shifted the blame.

Regardless of whether Shekh's identity is an item, a player, or a dungeon boss, he definitely cannot leave this hexagonal teammate now.

"The reason I first asked you for help was because the system said you were an item, and without you, it would be difficult for me to continue playing."

"If you die, where will I go? The items will drop, will I drop too?"

"I don't know," Shi Jin said sincerely, hoping that such a possibility wouldn't exist; he hadn't lived enough yet.

Shekh was about to ask more questions when a sudden downpour began outside the window.

Large raindrops pounded on the glass, and the ground quickly became misty. The water droplets on the window were blown by the sea breeze, meandering and slanting eastward.

"The sea breeze blows from the west." Her tone was somewhat displeased; the wind and rain were too strong, and the fishy smell mixed in was much stronger than on the ground.

"It's almost the tenth day, and the dungeon is about to enter a new phase." Shi Jinzhe took out an orange for her, peeled it, and handed it to her. "This will smell better."

Sher swallowed the fruit, peel and all, and felt it did indeed feel more refreshing.

"...You can't eat the skin, but if you put it in the room, it will smell better."

"You can peel another one." She spread her hands, gesturing to Shi Jin, "Peel one."

Time is running out and there's nothing I can do. I'm so smart, how come I always forget that some things have to be peeled before I can eat them?

"Do you think all the water pouring down from the sky comes from the sea?"

"Yes, and with this rain, the entire Azure Island will be polluted."

Shekh looked at the heavy rain, his voice drowned out by the fierce wind outside, "I hope all the snakes that have returned to the mountains will survive."