Chapter 19 Getting Started
"Don't try to fool me. What's this world inside the door? Are you putting on a show or trying to scam people out of money?" The roaring man was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, dressed richly. The Patek Philippe watch on his wrist indicated his considerable wealth. Perhaps it was precisely because of his wealthy background that he was completely unable to accept this seemingly unnatural situation.
"I absolutely won't believe this. I'm leaving right now," the man said. "Don't try to stop me!"
Next to the man, a frail girl was weeping sadly, seemingly frightened by the scene. The remaining people's faces were either blank or indifferent. Another young man sneered, "If you want to leave, just leave. You speak as if no one will stop you."
The middle-aged man sneered and actually turned around and left the house.
Aside from the lone building before him, all other structures were shrouded in darkness, as if a thick fog had enveloped the entire world. The middle-aged man was incredibly brave, walking into the black fog without even looking back. Lin Qiushi was just about to lament his temper when, less than a minute later, the middle-aged man's miserable cries echoed from the fog.
Then, a figure staggered out of the black fog. The figure was covered in blood, and his appearance and features could not be seen clearly. One could only judge from his height and build that this person was the one who had just run into the black fog.
"You're lucky." A tall, royal lady standing in the crowd said indifferently, "You're not dead."
Lin Qiushi cast his gaze upon this queen. She was tall, with beautiful long, slightly curled black hair, a delicate face, and a cold expression. Because she was standing in the crowd, Lin Qiushi couldn't see her clearly. It wasn't until she took two steps outside that Lin Qiushi noticed her clothing—exactly the same as Ruan Nanzhu's before she entered.
"Shit!" Lin Qiushi instantly understood what was going on. He cursed several times in his mind, but maintained a bewildered expression on his face.
"Where the hell is this place?" The little girl who had been crying cried even harder after seeing this scene. "I'm so scared..."
"The world of the door." The disguised Ruan Nanzhu said, "My name is Zhu Meng. This is my second time coming in. How about you?"
"I'm Yu Linlin." Lin Qiushi randomly came up with a name. "This is my second time."
"Oh." Ruan Nanzhu nodded and said gently, "Don't cry. Although it's scary here, you can get out alive. What's your name?"
The girl sobbed, "My name is Xu Xiaocheng." She had probably started crying since she walked in, and her eyes were now red and swollen. "It's so scary here."
The others also introduced themselves one after another. Including the middle-aged man outside, there were seven people in total, three of whom were newcomers. Xu Xiaocheng and another young boy were both new to the place. Xu Xiaocheng was crying, while the other young boy's face was blue and he looked like he might faint at any moment.
Ruan Nanzhu played a leading role in the team. Like Xiong Qi in the previous dungeon, he briefly explained what everyone needed to do and suggested going into the building to take a look at the situation.
"What about him?" The old man had a man and a woman. The woman was an ordinary-looking young girl named Tang Yaoyao. When she introduced herself, she said that this was her third time entering the door. She pointed at the middle-aged man who had fled back in a panic, covered in blood. "Are you leaving him alone?"
Ruan Nanzhu glanced at the middle-aged man and said in a very cold manner: "I don't care. If you want to care, then you can."
"Okay, then never mind." Tang Yaoyao nodded.
The middle-aged man was breathing heavily. Seeing that everyone was about to leave, he hurriedly followed. His eyes were filled with fear, and no one knew what he saw in the thick fog.
This was an old apartment building with only one rickety old elevator. The elevator could only carry five people at a time, so they had to split into two groups. Everyone wanted to go with the veteran Ruan Nanzhu, so they got stuck at the elevator door.
Seeing this, Ruan Nanzhu said gently, "How about this? I'll take a few veterans up there to check out the situation. You guys wait downstairs, and I'll take the elevator down to pick you up later."
"Okay." Xu Xiaocheng, who had been crying the whole time, finally stopped crying and looked at Ruan Nanzhu pitifully. "Sister, you must come down. I'm so scared."
"Yes, I will." Ruan Nanzhu responded.
So Lin Qiushi, Ruan Nanzhu, and the remaining two veterans, the four of them entered the elevator together.
This elevator was obviously beyond its service life. There were all kinds of graffiti all around it, including advertisements, swear words and some patterns with unknown meanings.
The elevator numbers are from one to fourteen. Ruan Nanzhu originally wanted to check each floor one by one, but found that none of the numbers from one to thirteen could be pressed, only the number fourteen could be lit.
"We can only go to the fourteenth floor." Ruan Nanzhu said, "Let's go."
Lin Qiushi nodded.
According to Ruan Nanzhu, the difficulty of this book should not be high, and he also said that he accepted the job, but did not explain what the job meant.
The elevator rose slowly, making a creaking sound.
None of the four spoke, their expressions almost solemn. When the elevator door opened, Lin Qiushi instinctively took a step back, fearing something might appear at the doorway. But nothing appeared. All that lay before Lin Qiushi was an old corridor. At the end of the corridor was a half-open door. The sound of a television could be heard from inside, suggesting the residents were watching something.
Ruan Nanzhu looked calm as he walked straight to the door and knocked.
"You're here." A middle-aged woman appeared behind the door. She was wearing an apron and seemed to be busy cooking. Seeing the four people outside, she smiled and said, "Come in."
Ruan Nanzhu stepped into the house.
Lin Qiushi and Tang Yaoyao followed him in.
This is an old house with three bedrooms and two living rooms. It looks quite spacious. Although the house looks old, it can be seen that it has been cleaned very carefully. There is not a trace of dust even in the more remote places.
Lin Qiushi walked to the center of the living room and saw the old television set that was making noises. An animated film was playing on the TV, making a rather noisy humming sound.
But what caught Lin Qiushi's attention was not the TV, but the three little girls sitting on the sofa in front of the TV.
They looked exactly the same. Besides their looks, their clothes and hairstyles were identical. When they saw the four strangers, they simply shifted their gazes, seemingly showing no interest in them at all.
"These are my daughters," the middle-aged woman said. "Thank you for coming to their birthday in seven days."
Because of his experience at the previous door, Lin Qiushi immediately grasped the key point of the woman's words. It seemed that attending a birthday party seven days later was the purpose of their coming to this door.
Lin Qiushi breathed a sigh of relief after knowing the purpose. Attending a birthday party was much better than making a coffin.
After the woman finished speaking, she said she was going to cook, then gave them a few keys and told them that they could live in the houses next door.
Ruan Nanzhu put the key in his arms and asked them to wait upstairs for a while while he went downstairs to pick up the newcomers.
Lin Qiushi and Tang Yaoyao nodded and watched Ruan Nanzhu enter the elevator again.
"Is this your second time coming in?" Tang Yaoyao asked.
Lin Qiushi nodded. He observed the triplets in the room and thought of the three sisters in the story of Philxia Bird.
Seeing that Lin Qiushi was distracted, Tang Yaoyao fell silent and quietly watched the TV program.
A few minutes later, Ruan Nanzhu brought up the remaining newcomers, but unexpectedly, the middle-aged man covered in blood was among them.
Perhaps because he had suffered severe stimulation in the black fog, the middle-aged man now looked very absent-minded. The blood on his face had dried up and turned into an unpleasant black color.
"The conditions have been met," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Stay here for seven days and attend the triplets' birthdays." He placed the key the middle-aged woman had given him in his hand. "Here are four keys, each for one of the four rooms. Take your pick."
"Can't we live together?" Newcomer Xu Xiaocheng, though no longer crying, still trembled, whispered, "If there were enough people, we wouldn't have to be afraid."
Ruan Nanzhu glanced at her without saying a word. He took the key and went to the nearest room, then inserted the key in.
With a slight creak, the door in front of me opened.
"Why is this room like this?" Xu Xiaocheng was shocked when she saw the scene behind the house. This room was not the normal room she had imagined. It was just a single room with only one door and window, and a wooden bed in the middle. At first glance, it looked like a neatly arranged coffin.
"The house is too small. We can't live together." Ruan Nanzhu said, "Let's divide it."
"I want to go with you." Xu Xiaocheng raised her hand directly, "Sister, let me go with you. I'm too scared."
She said this, but Ruan Nanzhu ignored her. Instead, she glanced at Lin Qiushi and pointed at him: "You come with me."
Lin Qiushi: "Me, me?"
Ruan Nanzhu: “Yeah.”
When the others heard this, they all looked at him with envy...
Lin Qiushi: “…” Stop glaring at me, this is not worth envying, okay!
The author has something to say: Others: Lin Qiushi, you are so lucky.
The person outside who knew the truth: Brother Ruan, you are so lucky.
Lin Qiushi shed tears of sorrow.
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