Chapter 12: List of Tenants

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"Yes."

Linghu Shiyu’s mouth faltered twice, but she couldn’t finish her sentence because Zhou Ke had already spoken what she wanted to say.

Her mouth remained half-open, stunned to the point of forgetting to close it.

Her mind was filled with one question: How did this reckless boy know? Could it be some sort of mind-reading truth?

“Pretty lady, how do you know?” Louis asked on behalf of Linghu Shiyu.

Zhou Ke didn’t answer immediately. He walked to the door, closing the alloy gate, aligning the large bloodstains on the door edge with those on the frame.

“Look at this,” he pointed to the bloodstains and the wear marks caused by pressure. “The bespectacled brother wasn’t beheaded; he was crushed to death by this door.”

As he spoke, vivid images surfaced in everyone’s minds: the glasses-wearing man’s head outside the door, his body inside, his neck forcibly snapped by the alloy door, blood and flesh scattered in a brutal scene.

“What does this mean? Is the doorbell ghost so sick of us dying that it’s changing death methods every day?” Li Hua seemed to be playing devil’s advocate but was actually setting the stage for Zhou Ke to continue.

After all these years, the two old classmates could tell with a glance whether the other wanted a spicy chicken burger or a grilled chicken burger.

“This means that the bespectacled brother once stuck his head out the door, so it got caught,” Zhou Ke’s eyes flickered among the group. “In other words, someone trustworthy tried to coax him outside last night.”

After a brief pause, Louis shrugged in objection, “That’s strange. There shouldn’t be many people among us who trust each other.”

Indeed, apart from Zhou Ke and Li Hua, they barely knew one another.

“That’s not necessarily true. Many times, trust doesn’t require deep friendship; strong evidence can do the same.”

“For example, someone outside the door saying: ‘Someone has broken the rules. Only those staying inside the room will die. You must come out quickly!’”

Zhou Ke raised his voice dramatically, performing poorly, causing everyone to twitch at the corners of their mouths.

“Then the [mole] walks safely outside while those inside the door are 99% likely to fall for it,” Linghu Shiyu, who had been cut off, finally caught up.

“So you mean the [mole] isn’t attacked by the doorbell ghost, or knows how to avoid the evil spirit’s rules? That’s really not cool at all.”

Though Louis appeared burly, he was quite sharp—not the type to devise plans, but good at assessing situations.

Seeing the moment was right, Linghu Shiyu pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pants pocket. “I found this in room 5.”

If it weren’t for today’s further casualties making the situation precarious, she had planned not to reveal the clue yet.

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After all, the [mole] was among the five of them.

Revealing it now was like stirring up a hornet’s nest; not revealing it meant another tenant besides herself was about to be deceived.

Seeing the clue, the group gathered around.

But unlike before, they kept subtle distances, each wary of the others.

Five pairs of lowered eyes silently scrutinized one another.

The first to voice doubts were Zhou Ke and Linghu Shiyu, then Louis with few words but self-absorbed, Chen Minqun in a bad mood, and the unremarkable Li Hua.

Each was both innocent and suspicious.

“I knew it,” Zhou Ke sighed helplessly. “Peace among people really is the most fragile luxury in the world.”

Fortunately, the current checkpoint didn’t demand too much teamwork.

Zhou Ke looked up at the paper Linghu Shiyu held. At the top was a bold heading—Tenant List.

Below it were six lines of personnel information so heavily scribbled over that nothing could be discerned.

There was nothing else.

They flipped through the paper repeatedly but found no other useful clues.

“Lady warrior, what’s the meaning of this?” Li Hua imitated Zhou Ke’s way of addressing Linghu Shiyu, puzzled.

She didn’t care about such trivialities. Her face somber, she traced her finger down the paper until it reached a blank seventh line. “There are only six lines.”

“What does that mean?! Can you make yourself clear instead of being a riddle person? Is this funny?!” Having endured too many terrifying events these past days, Chen Minqun lost control of her emotions.

Normally, someone would comfort or indulge her.

But now, everyone was too preoccupied with themselves; no one cared about someone who couldn’t contribute.

“There are only six tenant entries,” Zhou Ke spoke again, eyes once more fixed on him. “That means there are six tenants in total, but including the two already dead, we are seven people.”

So, who was the extra person?

A question leapt simultaneously into everyone’s minds, a shadowy figure without a visible face looming in the darkness as if constantly watching them.

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That feeling of distrust was like being alone in a desolate wilderness, filling one with dread.

“I’m sure everyone’s emotions are complicated, but unfortunately, we don’t have the time or energy to root out the [mole] now,” Linghu Shiyu withdrew the tenant list and looked toward the darkening sky outside, her meaning unspoken.

Their remaining time today was limited.

“Let’s stick to yesterday’s plan: search room 2 thoroughly and see if there’s anything useful.”

Though she appeared young, presumably a senior high school student, Linghu Shiyu showed remarkable leadership.

People like her were rare.

Just as Zhou Ke was silently admiring her, Linghu Shiyu came over and patted his shoulder loudly:

“You don’t need to search. Just stand here and watch, to prevent anyone from secretly hiding clues.”

Zhou Ke realized that the “lady warrior” deliberately said this aloud in front of everyone, giving the [mole] a warning not to act rashly.

“Got it, lady warrior.” Zhou Ke naturally didn’t refuse; for him, slacking off was a blessing.

Having nothing better to do, he began counting his blinks.

When he reached 85, Li Hua suddenly exclaimed, “Damn, who puts a landline phone on the nightstand?”

Zhou Ke’s interest piqued immediately.

He recalled the check-in notice had a rule: “5. If you encounter any problems, consult the landlord. The landlord’s words are absolutely true and trustworthy.”

Trapped on this floor with no way out, their best chance to contact the outside world was through remote communication.

Unfortunately, Mr. Zhou had already checked and found his phone hadn’t come with him into the “Gate of the Golden Sheep.” The others’ situations weren’t much different.

Even if they had brought phones, given the absence of the “father of the telephone,” Alexander Bell’s truth, whether communication would work smoothly was still a major question.

“I knew it, it was waiting for me here all along.” Zhou Ke approached the nightstand.

He first saw a piece of cardboard inside, printed with “07777-,” the rest obscured by a rotting, shriveled eyeball stuck to it.