Chapter 0004 Room 4
The woman in red flashed past the corner of the stairs and I only saw a blurry silhouette.
Are there any women who dare to rent a house here?
I stretched my neck in surprise to look over there. The woman had already gone upstairs. Just as my eyes found a corner of the old staircase, I was stopped by an old and hoarse voice.
"What do you do?" His throat sounded like it had been rubbed by sand, and the sound was very uncomfortable.
Behind the old cash register, in the dark where the light couldn't reach, there was a hunched figure sitting, seemingly sizing me up.
"Hello, uncle. I'm here to rent a house." I forced a smile and walked over, and saw a face so old that I couldn't tell its age.
It was indeed the old man standing behind the door with a kitchen knife in the morning.
I felt a little nervous, wondering if the old man would recognize me.
"Rent for a few days?" The old man stared at me cloudyly, with no expression on his wrinkled face.
"Can I stay here for a day first, and then renew the lease if it suits me?" I asked cautiously, with only less than two hundred yuan in my pocket.
"Forty a day, pay first."
Slightly relieved, I took out forty dollars and put it on the counter.
"Can I choose my own room?"
"OK."
The old man slowly stood up, took the money, took a bunch of keys from the mottled wall, then walked to the stairs and waved at me with his dry hand.
I followed them and found that the short-term rental rooms should be on the second floor.
The first floor still retains the appearance of a steamed bun shop, with worn-out dining tables arranged in a row, and things like chopstick holders and paper towels on them, as if people are always coming to eat there.
The floor was made of black cement, the walls were mottled and peeling, and there was a sour smell in the air. The entire shop was illuminated by only one dim light bulb, and it was dark everywhere.
Leading to the second floor is an old wooden staircase. It has not been maintained for who knows how long. The wooden boards have rotted and some of the steps are even broken.
It makes a creaking sound when you step on it.
I followed the old man carefully and went to the second floor.
In front of me was a dim and narrow corridor with several rooms on both sides of the corridor.
A quick glance at the house numbers showed me that Room 4 was at the end of the corridor.
"I'll just live in this room." I said casually.
"Room 4 is occupied, you can choose something else." When the old man heard that I chose Room 4, he didn't show any surprise, but just shook his head.
"Someone?" I was shocked.
Someone died in Room 4 less than a week ago, and yet someone dared to move in?
Could it be the woman in red that I saw when I entered the door?
After thinking for a while, I chose Room 3, which is closest to Room 4.
The old man opened the door, left the key to me, and went downstairs slowly.
I walked in, turned on the light, and looked around the small room.
There was a musty smell in the air, the walls were painted snow-white, the floor was covered with white tiles, and it glowed coldly under the dim light. The room was bleakly white, but the window frames were red.
Although it was a bit weird, it was clean enough and had a mini bathroom and all the necessary furniture.
Compared with today's prices, the price for forty-one days is really low. No wonder there are always people renting the house even after a murder case happened.
Perhaps for some people, being poor is more terrifying than death.
However, I didn't really come here to rent a house, so after the old man came downstairs, I left the room.
There is less than an hour left before the live broadcast starts, and I have to convince the woman in red in Room 4 to switch rooms with me as soon as possible.
At the end of the corridor, at the door of Room 4.
There was no light coming through the crack in the door, and not a single sound coming from the room.
"Is he asleep already?"
I stood at the door in confusion, looked at the countdown of the live broadcast, and knocked on the door reluctantly.
Boom boom boom——
The dull knock on the door echoed softly in the corridor, but no one responded in the room.
In the middle of the night, a strange boy knocked on the door. I could understand the woman's vigilance .
"Hello, I'm the tenant of room 3 next door. I mean no harm, I just want to ask you for a favor."
I stated my purpose in a friendly manner and knocked on the door several times, but Room 4 was still quiet and no lights were on.
"You don't want to pay attention to me, or are you asleep?"
I frowned. No matter how soundly he was sleeping, he should have been woken up by me. No matter how unwilling he was to pay attention to me, he should have responded to me.
A horrible guess came to my mind.
"She couldn't be...dead..."
Thinking of this, I couldn't remain calm anymore. I grabbed the door handle and knocked hard. If the door didn't open, I would go find the old man.
"Hey, are you still there..."
Unexpectedly, with a click, the door opened.
I was stunned.
There seemed to be a hint of blood smell floating out through the crack in the door.
My heart tightened instantly.
The room was pitch black, and the dim light from the corridor could not shine into it. Only a small area at the doorway could be seen.
The white floor tiles glowed coldly, with no traces of blood.
My heart was pounding, I mustered up my courage and pushed open the half-open door.
Squeak, creak, creak——
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and shone it inside.
Under the cold white light, there is a pale white room with the same layout as Room 3.
But to my surprise, there was no one in the room, the quilt was neatly folded, and there was not a single wrinkle on the sheets, as if no one had stayed there.
"anyone there?"
I took out the Swiss knife I had prepared in advance, put it behind my back, held my cell phone in my other hand, and walked carefully into Room 4 under the light of the flashlight.
There was no other sound in the room except my cautious and light footsteps. I pointed my phone towards the bathroom.
The frosted glass door was ajar, and it was blurry inside, so I couldn't tell whether there was anyone there.
Instead of rushing over, I found the switch and turned on the light first.
The dim light dispelled some of the darkness, but the situation in the bathroom was still unclear.
"anyone there?"
Holding the Swiss knife tightly, I plucked up my courage and walked over and carefully pushed the door open.
The white tiles cast a distorted image of my figure, and the tiny bathroom was empty.
Where have the people gone?
I saw the woman in red go upstairs with my own eyes, and the old man also said that someone lived in Room 4, so why was there no one in the room?
Did he go out?
But she and I went upstairs one after the other and didn't meet each other in the middle. And from what I observed, the only way downstairs was the old staircase, which means she didn't go downstairs.
Where are the people?
Never mind. There's only half an hour left before the live broadcast starts. Even though everything is weird, I'm still going to stay.
If that woman comes back, I'll give her the key to Room 3.
I don't care what she thinks of me.
Close the door and lock it.
I put away the Swiss Army knife and looked around the room.
Compared to Room 3, the walls here have been freshly painted and the bed sheets and quilts are also new, but traces of blood can still be seen through the gaps in the floor tiles.
The window couldn't be opened. I didn't know if it was broken or nailed shut.
If danger occurs, the only escape route is the door.
I shuddered at the thought of spending a whole night in this room where so many women had died tragically.
With a bitter sigh, I sat on the bed and turned on my large black-screen phone.
"There are 10 minutes left before the live broadcast begins. Do you want to start the live broadcast?"
Without further hesitation, I pressed yes.
