Chapter 59, the new apartment dungeon begins.

Blood.

In the pitch black, you can't see anything, yet you feel like you're soaking in a pool of blood.

I can't breathe.

"ha…"

Almost the instant you opened your eyes, you turned around and sat up, clutching your heart and gulping in air.

The phantom pain of suffocation was so intense that you scratched and picked at the flesh on your neck for a long time before finally returning to normal.

This time, the feeling upon waking was more intense than any before, and the first thought that popped into your mind was: Am I home?

Ha, of course not.

You clutched two boxes tightly in your hands, containing the mist canister and the crown you had obtained earlier. Thankfully, the items did indeed follow.

Sunlight streamed through the white curtains, illuminating the entire room. A slightly warm breeze blew in from the half-open window, filling the room with a scent that seemed to be a mixture of air freshener and the aroma of food.

You look up and see the small ceiling light hanging quietly above you.

This is... a very small, square room.

Your bed is against the wall, and your desk is at the head of the bed. The tea in your mug is still steaming. You pick it up, and the aroma of tea fills the air. You glance at it a few times—the clear tea, the tender green leaves—and you're so thirsty that you drink it down in a few gulps without thinking.

Just right, not too hot to eat.

After resting on the edge of the bed for a while, you got up and started rummaging through the desk.

Although the desktop is not large, it is divided into neat and orderly sections.

On the table is a language textbook—Japanese.

So, is this time in Japan? A chill ran down your spine as many Japanese horror movies that haunted your childhood flashed through your mind.

However, the view was level with the window, and outside the window was a bright and sunny day with lush greenery. Perhaps because the neighbors also had their windows open for ventilation, you could hear laughter and chatter in various languages.

Well, at least the place I live in now is quite harmonious.

After calming yourself down, you lowered your head and continued looking at the table.

I flipped through the language textbook. This book was almost new, with notes only on the first dozen or so pages. The few flower-related characters you could recognize in the flower-themed dictionaries next to it also proved that "you" were still a beginner in Japanese.

There's also a stylish little desk lamp next to it—any bigger and your desk won't have any space left—it's funny, this is your third instance country, but it's the first time you've had a desk lamp.

The only remaining space is on the shelf above the desk. There are a few simple storage boxes on it, each with a handwritten label that says "Study Materials", "Daily Necessities", "Spare Appliances", etc.

However, neither the school's certificate, residence card, nor bank account information could be found here.

The small drawer under the desk contained a jumble of odds and ends, resembling various small figurines you might recognize or not from a gashapon machine. Opening another layer revealed a pile of scrap paper, which upon closer inspection appeared to be lecture notes and exam papers from the start of the semester. You flipped through a few pages, but the hiragana and katakana characters marked in red pen gave you a headache, so you gave up.

Buried beneath these documents were the opened letters, mostly bills and coupons from various supermarkets and shopping malls. You glanced at them all and then closed the cabinet door behind you.

Where else can I store my belongings?

Your wardrobe is at the foot of the bed. Open the lower storage compartment of the wardrobe, and you'll find a storage bag with a cute cat pattern inside.

This bag was originally used to vacuum-seal soft items like clothes to pack more into suitcases, but now it's being used as a dust bag for clothes and for storage, and it works quite well.

However, inside were only neatly folded underwear, outerwear, pants, and socks, and many small items that you might have mixed up were carefully tidied up by the "you" before.

Although Japan probably doesn't have a rule about checking dorm rooms, you still kept a close eye on things. While searching, you didn't mess things up, and you even took photos, remembering how they were categorized and arranged. It's not that you're a careless person who's making a fuss; it's just that after experiencing two countries and making many friends, you really felt that this place was so clean and tidy that it didn't seem like you were living in a chaotic and disorganized country.

You close the closet door and turn your gaze back to the bed.

You woke up fully clothed in bed, with neatly folded bedding at the foot of the narrow, small single bed.

Perhaps under the bed?

There were no handles either. You crouched down to examine the seemingly solid, low bed frame, pressed down with your hand, and a narrow cabinet actually popped out from inside.

Two under-bed cabinets: one side holds spare bedding, and the other side finally lets you find the documents you need for keeping the child.

Your residence card contains your name, date of birth, nationality, and photograph, as well as your residential address and visa type. Like your previous residence card, it is a very important form of identification.

Your student ID is right next to you; it's a plastic card with the name and emblem of the Japanese Language Institute printed on it, along with your student ID and photo.

So you're in the county seat of the northern county, where there's a very good university, and you're a language student at that university.

Next to the original passport is a photocopy, which looks like "you" made a copy and kept it here for backup because you were worried about losing your passport.

A health insurance card is required, but the bankbook is still a bit of a surprise. You haven't seen one like it in years, but after checking the bills, you realize it was specifically opened to pay tuition and rent, which is quite interesting.

You flipped through the documents, confirmed they were correct, and then reassembled them. Just as you were about to close the folder, your eyes caught sight of a slightly yellowed admission letter—an official email from the school. The letter detailed the enrollment date, course schedule, and important information about living in Japan.

After you've installed everything, open the little green book and type in "Language Academy".

The most popular post was "Don't come to the language school, you'll become unhappy!"

Ah…this…

Previously, searches for "Deguo" and "Yingguo" yielded mostly tips on local life or discussions about social culture, but now most of the results are complaints about classmates and schools.

You recall the course schedule you just saw while looking through it. For the past month, except for weekends, you've had language classes almost every day, which means you'll be with your classmates and teachers almost every day.

This is completely different from the previous dungeon life. If most of these classmates are outsiders, you can't say whether it's good or bad.

After noting down some of the unique Japanese etiquette for interacting with teachers and classmates, you waited for a while, but still couldn't find the student union's chat group.

That's strange.

The search results say that language institutes are a type of student visa similar to but different from preparatory courses. For example, your current status is to study at a language institute for the purpose of continuing your studies, but many people just come here to study the language for a few months and then go home.

Is that why there's no student union? That's different from what you found on the Little Green Book.

Fortunately, it's still early today, so let's follow the living requirements issued by the school to the admissions office for now, and see if we can find an outsider to ask about the rules later.

You live in a student apartment. I heard that most student apartments in Japan are for international students, so you're likely to run into outsiders quite often.

You turned around and looked around the entire dormitory room, and thought it was pretty good.

You always see people complaining that Japanese houses are small everywhere, but you think that apart from some cute home furnishings, the houses are actually quite big.

The rental agreement states that the room is only 6 square meters, but it feels just right to you, much more comfortable than your small apartment in Japan. Is this some kind of space-saving magic in Japan?

The wooden floor underfoot had a warm sheen, and its light-colored natural wood grain made everything appear brighter and more spacious. The walls of the room were probably painted pink after "you" moved in; the paint was a bit uneven, and in some places, the original wall underneath was visible.

You rubbed it with your hand, not paying much attention.

A ukiyo-e tapestry hangs on the wall in a corner next to your bed, adding a lot of color to the whole room.

Hmm, I want to lift it up and take a look.

…If you don’t know the general rules, it’s best not to have any unnecessary curiosity.

You move the small folding chair next to the desk, pick up the clothes rack in the corner, on which hang freshly washed clothes to dry in the shade. So that's where the fragrance in the room comes from.

Two pairs of shoes were placed on the shoe rack near the entrance: one pair of sneakers and the other pair of black leather shoes, probably for formal occasions.

A hook hung on the wall in the entryway, with a coat and a handbag on it. Inside the bag were a coin purse, a bottle of water, and a folding umbrella.

You stood up and stretched your stiff shoulders, then turned to look at the small alarm clock by the bed, its second hand ticking quietly.

You wandered aimlessly around the room a few more times, rummaged through things, and then your stomach started growling. You opened the refrigerator; maybe you should eat something first.

Opening the refrigerator hidden under the counter releases a blast of cool air. But what truly refreshes you is the "dismal" state of the interior:

A small bag of carrots, half a relatively fresh head of cabbage (looking fairly fresh), a small piece of pumpkin, a package of tofu cut into four pieces (one piece already eaten, still relatively fresh), and a pitifully small onion. According to the packaging, these are all specialty vegetables developed by the Agricultural College of Taipei University, but…

Feeding chickens this much food would be considered animal cruelty!

Maybe there's something edible in the freezer?

There was only one small box of discounted chicken breast, about the size of my palm, frozen solid like an ice block. I considered defrosting it in the microwave, but I was worried about cooking such a small piece. So I just let it thaw in some running warm water for now; maybe I can eat it tonight.

Looking at the vegetables piled up, you stared at them with wide eyes, and finally found a packet of udon noodles in the corner. At least with a staple food, you could fill your stomach.

I lit the small gas stove, put the pot on it, and poured in a little olive oil to sauté the onions.

Fried onions smell delicious, but they're really bland when used to stir-fry vegetables.

Add water, salt, a little soy sauce for flavor, a spoonful of miso paste, pour in hot water, and just stew it all in one pot. Before long, the pot boiled, the noodles were cooked, and the vegetables were tender. Let's just make do with this.

However, to your surprise, you get full very quickly.

Actually, you're not full. Your tongue and stomach are thinking about eating more—after all, you're someone who can easily eat several bowls of rice and large amounts of meat—but your brain keeps sending signals that you're full.

It's a feeling where your stomach is still half empty, but you can't chew properly, or even if you chew it, it gets stuck in your throat and you can't swallow it.

You thought you could skip a meal, but then you suddenly realized that if you continued like this for ten days or half a month, could you still survive?

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Author's Note: Happy New Year! My New Year's wish is to update daily, hehe~ Wishing all the moms a smooth and happy life! Tiger is getting ready to go out for dinner and then watch the fireworks!