Chapter 104
[User “World’s Cutest Girl” admired your bold remarks and tipped you 20 universal coins.]
[User “Pure of Heart and Few Desires” praised your rare self-awareness and tipped you 20 universal coins.]
[User “Scarecrow’s Straw” maliciously informed you that your precautions are useless.]
[User “Pure Love Warrior” reminded you that you really should watch your ahole, and tipped you 20 universal coins.]
[User “One Life, One Love” hopes you’ll livestream checking your ahole.]
Yu Zhi ignored the barrage. Lowering his eyes, he looked again at the twisted handwriting on the security door.
He Hanhai had entered at the same time as them. Logically, he couldn’t have left a warning.
Was it left by the ability users who led the team into the temporary resettlement area before the instance began?
Yu Zhi asked bluntly, “Did the team of ability users who brought people into the temporary resettlement area leave before the instance started?”
Lu Liming shook his head. “No idea. There were too many people—I didn’t notice.”
Doctor Qi pondered for a moment, then shook his head as well. “I’m not sure either. Old Shang didn’t mention whether they came or not.”
Yu Zhi gave an “oh,” took out his phone, powered it on, aimed it at the writing on the security door, and snapped two photos.
Seeing this, Doctor Qi asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the writing?”
Yu Zhi ate a biscuit. “Not sure.”
Not sure—meant there might be a problem.
[User “Cyber Bodhisattva” is curious about your thoughts.]
[User “Strongest King” is looking forward to your plan.]
Not only the livestream viewers—even Doctor Qi and Lu Liming stared at Yu Zhi expectantly, not understanding his implication.
Yu Zhi blinked and explained, “Right now we can’t determine what that sentence means, or who left it.”
“No point overthinking.”
Lu Liming echoed, “Brother Yu’s right. No matter what kind of ‘eye’ it is, better to be careful.”
“Let’s go in and take a look first.” Yu Zhi turned on his phone flashlight and stepped into Unit One.
The corridor was silent—deathly silent. Not the slightest sound. Even the soft rubber soles of their sneakers against the floor tiles sounded unusually clear.
The beam illuminated the pitch-black hallway. It was an old residential building without an elevator. Each floor of Unit One had two apartments. The walls were peeling and yellowed, the stair railings rusted and mottled. The building was old, but not messy.
The first floor was for storage—no one lived there, and there was nothing inside. Yu Zhi glanced at it and headed straight for the second floor.
Going upstairs, he saw at a glance that both doors on the second floor were open.
Yu Zhi stopped at Room 201 and glanced at Lu Liming. Understanding immediately, Lu Liming went to check 202.
201 was a two-bedroom, one-living-room layout. The space wasn’t large. Perhaps because the area was slated for demolition, aside from basic furniture like tables, chairs, and beds, there was nothing extra inside.
At a glance, there was no one inside, and nothing abnormal.
“201 is empty. No contaminants either,” he said softly.
“202’s the same,” Lu Liming replied.
As Yu Zhi walked out, his steps paused when he caught sight of the peephole on the security door.
A peephole… how was that not considered an eye?
He looked at it and poked it with his gun.
With a soft “tap,” Lu Liming and Doctor Qi outside the door both looked over. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just checking the peephole.”
He pulled the door slightly and leaned in to look through it. He expected to see the corridor—but instead, without warning, he saw Lu Liming’s face magnified several times, distorted and warped, his black eyes staring straight at him.
Yu Zhi’s hand jerked in fright—he almost fired.
Before he could speak, Lu Liming quickly stepped back, pressing a hand to his chest, still shaken. “Looking from outside in, Brother Yu, your eyes are pretty scary too.”
Yu Zhi: “…You’re no better.”
Lu Liming: “So what are we?”
Yu Zhi: “All uniquely sharp-eyed.”
Doctor Qi: “…”
Yu Zhi left 201 and headed upstairs. “Let’s check the upper floors.”
Lu Liming answered and followed. After a couple of steps, he heard the security door behind them close.
He turned back. His gaze unconsciously landed on the peephole again, and he recalled the image of Yu Zhi’s eyes he’d just seen through it.
Yu Zhi’s eyes were clearly defined black and white. His pupils were slightly larger than average—jet black. At the time, there was no particular emotion in them, but when seen alone, those eyes gave off an inexplicable sense of oppression.
Lu Liming’s heart rate still hadn’t returned to normal. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Yu Zhi—but he was a little afraid that someone—or something—was behind that door, watching him through the peephole.
Reason told him 201 was empty. But once the door was closed, people tended to trust what their senses directly perceived. Unable to see inside, his mind began to wander uncontrollably.
Shivering, Lu Liming hurried to Yu Zhi’s side, grabbed two unfinished biscuits from his hand, and stuffed them into his mouth to steady himself.
Yu Zhi glanced at him, noticing something off. “What’s wrong?”
After chewing and swallowing, Lu Liming let out a slow breath. “Nothing. Just scared myself.”
They went up to the third floor. The doors there were open as well. The three quickly checked and continued to the fourth.
Same situation on the fourth. On the fifth, the door wasn’t locked—left slightly ajar.
Yu Zhi scanned quickly, left 501, and glanced at the time on his phone.
They had been in the contamination zone for over ten minutes.
Aside from the strange message downstairs, they hadn’t seen any sign of contaminants. No people. No corpses. No blood.
Yu Zhi pressed his lips together, his nerves gradually tightening.
More importantly, Fu Suxi had made no move at all.
Why was there no sound?
Why no explosives? No slashing with that broken blade?
Surely he wasn’t trapped somewhere?
Yu Zhi cursed inwardly and strode toward the sixth floor. After two steps, he realized Lu Liming hadn’t followed.
He stopped the door from closing, pulled it fully open, then turned and continued upstairs.
On the sixth floor, both apartment doors were closed.
At 601, all three smelled the scent of blood drifting from inside—mixed faintly with perfume. The combination of fragrance and stench was nauseating.
Lu Liming paused and subconsciously looked at the peephole.
His expression shifted slightly. Muttering to Yu Zhi, he said, “Why’s the door closed this time? Brother Yu, do you think someone—or a contaminant—is behind it, watching us through the peephole?”
Yu Zhi tilted his head at him. Seeing the faint worry on his face—not joking—he frowned almost imperceptibly.
This was a contamination zone. The more one let their thoughts run wild, the easier it was to be mentally contaminated.
“Are you scared?”
Lu Liming answered honestly, “A little. Not exactly scared… just this weird, uncomfortable feeling of being watched.”
Hearing that, even Doctor Qi glanced at the peephole. He hadn’t felt anything before, but now, inexplicably, he began to feel something similar.
Yu Zhi grabbed Lu Liming’s hand that was holding the gun and aimed the barrel at the peephole. “Still there?”
Lu Liming slowly straightened his back. “Doesn’t feel as bad now.”
Yu Zhi tugged at the door. It was locked. He knocked.
“Anyone inside?”
No response.
“Any contaminants?”
“Any contamination source?”
Still no response.
Yu Zhi said to Lu Liming, “Shoot the lock. Let’s go in.”
Lu Liming fired twice at the lock. It shook, then fell to the floor.
The moment the door opened, the stench of blood and perfume rushed out, so strong Yu Zhi could barely keep his eyes open.
Squinting, he looked inside—and saw a horrifying scene.
The apartment was splattered with blood and bits of flesh everywhere—on chairs, tables, the floor, the ceiling. It was as if someone had exploded alive inside the room. It made one’s scalp prickle and spine chill.
Yu Zhi tightened his grip on his gun. Lu Liming and Doctor Qi’s expressions also turned grave.
The three moved in cautiously, checking each room.
“Nothing on my side,” Yu Zhi said.
“Same here,” Doctor Qi replied.
“Over here—” Lu Liming paused, then suddenly blurted, “Holy shit, this is—”
Yu Zhi hurried over. Lu Liming was staring fixedly at a pair of fluorescent green soccer shoes.
“Is there something wrong with them?” Doctor Qi asked.
Lu Liming clicked his tongue in admiration. “These are from a star player. I remember only a hundred pairs were released worldwide. I even went to the U.S. to grab a pair back then.”
Doctor Qi fell silent for a moment. “I thought you found something important.”
Lu Liming pointed at the shoes. “Isn’t this important enough? That player might even be dead now. If so, this pair’s a limited edition forever…”
Seeing his attention shift away from the peephole, Yu Zhi said nothing and instead scanned the living room.
Besides a few pieces of furniture, there were two suitcases—open, clothes inside splattered with blood. On the table were two bowls of instant noodles, the swollen noodles also soaked in blood.
Two people had lived here—a man and a woman.
Both were dead. Obliterated. Clearly not by human hands.
Lu Liming set the shoes back carefully. Turning, he noticed Yu Zhi’s grim expression. “Brother Yu, what’s wrong?”
Yu Zhi nodded, then shook his head. After a pause, he said slowly, “In a contamination zone, as long as the source isn’t destroyed, contaminants keep appearing. In previous instances, people were contaminated and turned into contaminants.”
“So why didn’t the people in this apartment become contaminants? Why did they die so miserably instead?”
The door had been locked—meaning no other ability users had entered.
Their deaths were tied to only one thing—contamination.
Yu Zhi’s lashes trembled slightly. “I’m wondering… whether they couldn’t withstand the contamination.”
Lu Liming and Doctor Qi’s faces grew even worse.
Lu Liming took a deep breath, stammering slightly, “Does that mean the rule in this contamination zone is that once you’re contaminated, you die?”
“Impossible,” Yu Zhi shook his head. “The system said: if the contamination source isn’t destroyed, contaminants will continuously emerge.”
“If contaminants die, they can’t keep emerging endlessly.”
Lu Liming’s brain struggled to process. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Yu Zhi analyzed calmly, “The contamination source in the temporary resettlement area appeared too suddenly.”
“Since the Bureau designated this place as a temporary resettlement area, it means the location itself wasn’t problematic. Everyone who moved in was thoroughly examined—physically they should’ve been fine.”
“So either the contamination source formed naturally, or it was created by Meteorite Biotech through experimentation.”
Doctor Qi’s face turned ugly. “Meteorite Biotech brought the contamination source in here?”
“No, no,” Lu Liming interrupted. “Master Qi, you’re only hearing half of it. Brother Yu just said he suspects the residents couldn’t withstand the contamination.”
“What he means is that people from Meteorite Biotech entered the temporary resettlement area and, in a short time, turned some unlucky person into a contamination source?”
Yu Zhi’s expression remained calm. “Yes.”
“I suspect they’ve already mastered a method to skillfully manufacture contamination sources.”
As his words fell, all three simultaneously recalled the blood-curdling screams from the temporary resettlement area before the instance began.
Lu Liming swallowed nervously. The feeling of being watched—which had briefly disappeared because of the limited-edition soccer shoes—rose again.
This time it was stronger.
Not imagination.
He could clearly feel a gaze on his back.
Something was staring at him.
Cold sweat broke out across his back. Carefully, he turned his head to look at the fluorescent green soccer shoes on the floor.
“B-Brother Yu… Were the toes of those shoes just now facing us?”
“Did they… move?”
