Chapter 46: Shattering the Nightmare
The furnishings in apartment 710 were drastically different from those downstairs, filled with antique mahogany furniture, a typical Chinese style. The tables and chairs were polished and gleaming, the cushions and pillows elegant and classical, different areas separated by embroidered screens.
It also had a chilling, Chinese-style horror vibe.
A wedding photo of a newlywed couple hung on the wall. Both were dressed in red, the man’s face blurred like a mosaic, the woman wearing an exquisite embroidered xiu he fu, her face hidden by a red veil, her features also indistinguishable.
“This is creepy…” Qiaoqiao rubbed her arms, which had goosebumps, and shared the clues she had gathered. “Right, the old man in 308 said the police came to the apartment complex a few times, but they only mediated verbally and then left. The neighbors also said it was just a family dispute, nothing to make a fuss about.”
“That old man lived alone, his greatest wish was for his children to visit him. He said he once encountered the woman from 710 downstairs, squatting there and crying. He felt sorry for her and invited her to his apartment to sit for a while, and the two often interacted afterwards, exchanging gifts and fruits.”
After spending hours in the apartment complex, Qiaoqiao was no longer surprised by the ghostly identities of the NPCs. Now, recounting their stories, she showed no fear, only sympathy and regret. “But then, the accident happened. One day, the old man accidentally fell at home and wasn’t discovered by his son until a week later, by then he was long gone…”
These residents, men and women, old and young, all different, yet all shared the same fate, dying unexpectedly with regrets, their stories all pointing to the same person, the woman in 710.
Xi Leng listened silently, then after a while, tentatively deduced: “Do you remember the clue about the dream? Now we can confirm whose dream this is, it’s the woman in 710’s dream. These residents in the dream are all people who showed her kindness. The woman kept them in her dream, waiting for someone to help them fulfill their wishes…”
“Oh, no wonder, no wonder you thought the masked man chasing us was her husband.” Qiaoqiao suddenly realized. “The woman couldn’t escape him even in her dreams, and he even turned into such a terrifying figure…”
“Mm-hmm.” Xi Leng lowered his eyes slightly, unconsciously rubbing his fingers. “Because she couldn’t control her fear, she’s trapped in this nightmare, tormented repeatedly.”
“If it could be controlled…” Min Zhi suddenly interjected, “it wouldn’t be called a dream.”
Xi Leng froze slightly, looking up.
Min Zhi, calm and composed, his dark eyes gleaming like black jade.
A sudden burst of static, and Luo Jiayan’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, asking where they were.
Five minutes later, the five guests gathered, working together to search for clues in apartment 710.
A two-bedroom apartment, with a living room, a master bedroom, and a second bedroom decorated as a child’s room.
Logically, the master bedroom should contain the most information. This was also Qiaoqiao and Luo Jiayan’s first choice, Jiang Songnan stayed in the living room to guard against the possibly returning masked man, while Xi Leng and Min Zhi went to the second bedroom.
“I remember Nannan from 507 said this couple didn’t have any children.” Xi Leng hadn’t forgotten this seemingly insignificant detail.
“That’s right.” Min Zhi, facing the wall covered in certificates, continued, “Judging by these awards, this child is at least in elementary school, her name is Mengmeng. Come to think of it, we still don’t know the woman’s name, do we?”
“Earlier in the elevator, the property manager said it was 2014.” Xi Leng understood what he meant and nodded. “But this is a dream, dreams have no logic of time, we’ve already seen people and things from different times here.”
Min Zhi smiled slightly, turned around, found a diary, and handed it to Xi Leng: “Here, your area of expertise.”
For the MVP title, Xi Leng naturally wouldn’t refuse. Thinking that since Min Zhi found the clue, he said: “Let’s read it together.”
“Okay.”
Min Zhi seemed to have been waiting for these words, immediately leaning closer, his shoulder against Xi Leng’s, seemingly oblivious, lowering his head to look at the diary, their hair also touching.
Xi Leng turned his head slightly while flipping through the diary, a strand of Min Zhi’s short black hair brushing against his cheek, a slight tickle. He composed himself and continued turning the pages.
Each diary entry was only three to five sentences long, the childish and clumsy pencil handwriting revealing a little girl’s beautiful fantasies about the future.
Excellent academic achievements, a perfect dream job, and a happy marriage.
She dreamed of a man, like the Monkey King in “A Chinese Odyssey,” riding on colorful clouds to marry her, bringing her an eternal romance.
Min Zhi, unable to keep his mouth shut, said: “Wasn’t the Monkey King quite fickle? This little girl didn’t finish watching the movie, did she?”
“…” Xi Leng was silent for a moment, glancing at the two cameramen not far away, kindly reminding his god of fortune, “You should ask Sheng Jiao to edit this out later.”
Min Zhi was unfazed, his outrageous words continuing: “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being romantic, the problem is the scumbag who tramples on their sincere feelings.”
“Even if it’s just a fantasy from a movie, shouldn’t you at least finish watching it?”
Xi Leng rubbed his temples, he finally understood why this person kept getting into scandals, yet his fans remained so loyal.
Min Zhi raised an eyebrow and smiled, his mischievous side seemingly activated, amused by Xi Leng’s speechless expression.
Then he spoke again.
“No wonder they say heterosexuals are scary lately.”
His voice was so low and soft, it perfectly escaped the microphone’s range. Xi Leng even suspected he only heard it because of the vibration of their hair and bone conduction, transmitted from their touching shoulders.
Xi Leng: “…”
“Turn the page.” Min Zhi, as if nothing had happened, said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Xi Leng could only cooperate and turn the page.
The smile in Min Zhi’s eyes deepened, not even looking at the page he just asked Xi Leng to turn.
Xi Leng, however, kept his eyes on the diary, reading the content carefully and summarizing: “Mengmeng had a very happy family, both parents were intellectuals, a well-matched couple who married for love, they doted on their only daughter.”
Xi Leng looked up, accidentally meeting those deep eyes, pausing for a moment before continuing: “…This way, Mengmeng might be the female protagonist as a child.”
Just then, Qiaoqiao, having found something, rushed over excitedly: “We found it… the woman’s name is Mengmeng, the man’s name is Ahao! They got married in 2009, and Mengmeng quit her job to become a housewife at Ahao’s suggestion…”
Qiaoqiao clenched her fists angrily: “It was indeed domestic violence, Mengmeng called the police a few times, but it was always treated as a family dispute and mediated. Ahao wasn’t punished at all, and every time the police left, he would beat and abuse Mengmeng even more.”
Jiang Songnan, having finished searching the living room, also came over: “I found a locked door behind the cabinet, we need to find the key.”
Luo Jiayan: “Then I’ll go check the master bedroom again!”
Having been distracted by his conversation with Min Zhi, Xi Leng hadn’t finished searching the second bedroom.
Xi Leng looked around the room, suddenly stopping by the bed, his gaze falling on a teddy bear half-covered by the blanket.
This kind of stuffed toy held special meaning for children, and horror films particularly loved using them.
Xi Leng took the teddy bear out from under the blanket.
Min Zhi, seeing this, asked a strange question: “Are you taking that too?”
Xi Leng paused for a moment: “…No.”
He turned the teddy bear over and touched its round head.
A rough, hand-sewn seam appeared where the head and body connected.
He pulled with both hands, his expression indifferent, and the teddy bear’s head popped off.
Qiaoqiao instinctively let out a surprised “ah!”
Xi Leng rummaged through the stuffing, and as expected, found a key.
“Found it.”
With the masked man possibly returning to 710 at any moment like a ticking time bomb, the five didn’t dare to waste any time, immediately taking the key to open the door Jiang Songnan found.
Xi Leng inserted the key and opened the door, a thick darkness rushing towards them, carrying a cold and eerie aura.
The five, poised and ready, froze.
Xi Leng went in first to scout, through a dark, narrow passage, then pushed open a wooden door, looking down into an even deeper darkness, a sign emitting a faint green glow, like a beacon in the night, guiding the way.
EXIT.
Xi Leng quickly returned, informing the others: “It’s a staircase going down.”
The program team had put in considerable effort, cleverly connecting rooms 709 and 609.
And within the hidden space in 710, there was another staircase, leading to an unknown area.
Xi Leng, with his rich experience in renting apartments, said with certainty: “Apartment buildings like this, with ten units per floor, usually don’t have only one staircase. This should be a fire escape, leading to the first floor.”
“Then does that mean…” Luo Jiayan gulped, his voice filled with a mix of nervousness and hope, “we can escape?”
Xi Leng didn’t answer, frowning slightly.
Min Zhi voiced his thoughts: “We haven’t found the key to the gate on the first floor yet, there’s also an exit there.”
“I’ll go take a look.” Xi Leng said, suddenly turning and going to the main door, cautiously opening it a crack and peeking outside.
Then he returned, informing the others: “I saw the masked man, he’s guarding the elevator.”
The current situation was tricky.
The easiest way out was undoubtedly the staircase in front of them, but with the masked man guarding the elevator, the fire escape was likely a bad ending. If they wanted to get the key and leave through the elevator on the first floor, they would have to confront him directly, and someone would inevitably have to be sacrificed.
Qiaoqiao glanced at the clock a few times and reminded them anxiously: “Less than half an hour left.”
Xi Leng suddenly asked Min Zhi beside him: “Did you thoroughly search the prison cell in 709?”
“No.” Min Zhi said. “We were locked in the bedroom, we only searched the mannequin and the bed.”
Luo Jiayan, who had also been to 709, added: “We didn’t go to the other room, but there’s a small glass window on the door, just like in Ren’ai Mental Hospital. I saw the masked man enter that room, it’s probably his break room.”
He felt like a piece of the puzzle was missing.
“I want to go take a look, and also look for the key.” Xi Leng said. “If I find the key, I’ll throw it down through the vent, you guys wait in 609. Pay attention to the time, if you don’t get the key, come back and go downstairs from here.”
After Xi Leng laid out the plan, they started to move, only Jiang Songnan remained unmoved.
“I want to go down from here, after all, I’m the one who found it.” Jiang Songnan stood at the dark entrance of the staircase, his red hair flamboyant. “Without the clue item, it’s definitely not a perfect ending, but who knows, whether it’s a happy ending or a bad ending.”
That was true.
“You guys have fun, I’m leaving.”
After leaving these demoralizing words, Jiang Songnan turned and left, disappearing in a flash.
“I think we should still look for the key.” Luo Jiayan looked at Xi Leng trustingly. “Then…”
“Don’t worry, wait here.” Xi Leng said. “I’ll go out and distract him first.”
Xi Leng resolutely left 710, just as he was about to close the door, he suddenly felt a resistance.
He turned around.
It was Min Zhi again.
Min Zhi stepped out, saying matter-of-factly: “Four people splitting into two groups, we should go in pairs, right?”
The moment they appeared in the corridor, they were spotted by the masked man at the other end. It was too late to retreat.
The two pretended to run towards the stairs, their backs sprayed with green paint.
Then they stopped, waiting for the masked man to handcuff them. The masked man scanned his fingerprint and took them to room 709 next door.
So, unless they were caught, they wouldn’t be able to enter 709, which had a fingerprint lock.
Xi Leng’s confidence soared. There must be important clues or items here.
They crossed the living room and arrived at the prison cell where Min Zhi and Luo Jiayan found the “corpse.”
Through the glass window on the door, they could clearly see the masked man guarding the living room outside, pacing back and forth in front of another room.
The two waited patiently for ten minutes.
With only twenty minutes left until the end of the game, the masked man finally lost his patience and went out to hunt again.
The two entered the masked man’s break room, their first target being the key.
Perhaps considering that people locked in prison cells would only think about escaping, the program team didn’t hide the key very well.
A large bunch of keys hung in the cabinet. Unsure which one would unlock the gate on the first floor, Xi Leng first took them all, then found a backpack, filled it with heavy objects, attached the keys, and threw it down the vent next door.
His actions were clearly to prevent the keys from being too light and not sliding down to 609 below.
Min Zhi, who had been carefully observing him, asked keenly: “You’re not going down?”
Xi Leng: “Mm-hmm, I just decided.”
“Why?”
“Look at this room…”
Xi Leng only said this simple sentence.
Min Zhi’s gaze had already fallen on the water guns hanging on the wall.
“One, two, three… five spare water guns.” Min Zhi paused, his expression changing slightly. “What a coincidence, exactly five water guns?”
“The residents in the dream all had unfulfilled wishes.” Xi Leng walked over and said, “Then what about Mengmeng? She’s the owner of the dream, she must also have an unfulfilled wish, just like the other residents.”
“And her wish is the deepest, the strongest.”
After saying that, Xi Leng took a water gun from the wall, aimed it at the ground, and gently pulled the trigger, spraying some thick green liquid.
With just a few simple words and actions, Min Zhi instantly understood.
They were going to fight back against the masked man.
Min Zhi also took a water gun: “But he’s fully armed, I don’t know if the water gun will be effective.”
Xi Leng had also considered this and was about to speak.
The walkie-talkie in his pocket buzzed. He took it out and heard Luo Jiayan’s voice: “Ah Zhao, we got the key, we’re going downstairs…”
Luo Jiayan and Qiaoqiao gave them a real-time update of their situation.
“Eh?” Luo Jiayan exclaimed. “It opened with the first key we tried.”
The sound of the metal gate opening reached the two upstairs.
Qiaoqiao said excitedly: “The door is open!”
“Wait.” Xi Leng vaguely sensed something was wrong. “Don’t go out yet…”
Static—
The walkie-talkie signal was cut off.
In the silence, Xi Leng’s frown deepened. Min Zhi said at the right moment: “After going out, the signal was probably cut off by the program team, to prevent them from telling us what’s outside.”
The unconventional Jiang Songnan hadn’t contacted them through the walkie-talkie either, which proved this point.
“If fighting back against the masked man is the last task,” Min Zhi said, “then even if they don’t get the perfect ending, they should at least get the happy ending.”
Xi Leng hummed in agreement, there were more pressing matters at hand, so he didn’t dwell on it.
“I have a plan.” Xi Leng first left the break room, returning to the prison cell where they were held, saying as he walked, “One of us escapes, then gets caught again. The other waits here, ambushes the masked man when he’s unlocking the handcuffs, removes his mask, and shoots him.”
A very simple and feasible plan.
Being shot by the water gun required them to freeze, but it didn’t cause any real harm. This was the rule set by the program team, they would take advantage of this rule, one luring the enemy, the other ambushing, without anyone having to truly sacrifice themselves.
Xi Leng turned and asked: “Then… who goes out?”
“Of course you stay here. Haven’t you played games before? The reward for defeating the boss is the highest.” Min Zhi’s sharp eyes curved slightly upwards, his teasing tone evident, deliberately calling him, “MVP.”
Xi Leng: “…”
“I’ve escaped once, I’m more experienced.”
Min Zhi, acting decisively, immediately removed the vent cover, bending down and putting his long legs inside.
Before letting go and sliding down, he didn’t forget to look back and say to Xi Leng: “Remember to avenge me.”
Xi Leng paused for a moment, playing along professionally: “Mm-hmm.”
Min Zhi smiled contentedly and left.
Xi Leng didn’t replace the vent cover, creating the illusion that they had both escaped, silently hiding behind the overturned single bed.
While avoiding pursuit, Min Zhi even contacted him once through the walkie-talkie, telling him to run, clearly just a smokescreen for the masked man, the real message for him being: Almost there.
A few seconds later, the walkie-talkie disconnected, and Min Zhi was caught.
Xi Leng held his breath, waiting for the masked man to bring Min Zhi back.
Creak—
The masked man opened the door, dragging Min Zhi inside by the chain, his movements rough, even his actions of unlocking the handcuffs slightly violent.
But Min Zhi had just been shot and couldn’t move according to the rules, so the masked man was at ease, lowering his head to find the keyhole.
The mask protected his face but also significantly reduced his field of vision.
He had to lower his head just to unlock the handcuffs.
At this moment, Xi Leng silently appeared behind him, without hesitation, snatching the water gun tucked under his arm and tossing it aside.
The sudden attack startled the masked man, but Xi Leng didn’t give him a chance to turn around, his other arm wrapping around his neck, easily removing the mask.
After the handcuffs were unlocked, they were allowed to move freely.
Xi Leng’s timing was perfect. Min Zhi, regaining his freedom, picked up the water gun, eliminating the masked man’s last chance to fight back.
To be precise, the terrifying masked man was just a thin, ordinary-looking middle-aged man, with no trace of menace or intimidation. Even Qiaoqiao, the only girl, could probably take him on.
He even had a receding hairline.
It was hard to imagine that this was the imposing masked man who had scared them so much, the one represented by the devil mask on the map.
The nightmare of the woman he abused, giving him a powerful disguise.
The real him, utterly defenseless.
He was nothing.
He collapsed on the floor like a dying dog, looking up at the young man standing above him, his pale and gaunt face filled with disbelief, and the overwhelming fear of the sudden shift in power.
Min Zhi was also surprised by the masked man’s true appearance. He was about to say something when he saw Xi Leng’s serious expression, his long black hair covering his delicate features, a hint of darkness in the deep shadows.
It reminded him of the photo on his father’s phone, a teenager with hair covering his eyes, exuding an unapproachable aura.
Min Zhi quietly closed his mouth, silently accompanying him.
Xi Leng stood over the “masked man,” holding the black gun, aiming it at the man’s sweating face, his eyes as cold as stars.
The man didn’t have time to run, to beg, or even to recover from his shock.
Splat!
The young man, his gaze cold and indifferent, pulled the trigger without hesitation!
Forcefully shattering the nightmare.
