On this day, Li once again came to Ziye's house.
She always kept her room meticulously clean, the floor always spotless.
This was rare, as most people didn't have the time or inclination to do so.
When Li entered the house, Ziye was wearing black-rimmed glasses, seemingly looking over something.
“Miss ... are you looking at something?”
“Yes, organizing notes and news from previous years.” Ziye said as she motioned Li to enter the living room, “Would you like some tea?”
“No,thanks. Speaking of which, are you settling in alright?”
“So far so good...” Ziye sat down after gesturing for Li to take a seat, "After investigating, it seems that... almost every time the apartment assigns a blood word, evil spirits and ghosts appear. However... I've discovered that a significant proportion of them have no origin or cause."
“Yes..."
"And there's no pattern, they seem to just aimlessly terrify and kill you one by one." Ziye took off her glasses, “But it seems that those who survive are able to gradually grasp the ‘way out’ of the blood word. The hidden ‘way out’ is the key."
"Yes..." Li nodded, “The ‘way out’ is crucial, but it's hard to discern any patterns. It's something that Yuan and the others have been researching..."
"Yes, I've combined two important examples to discuss with you. Specifically..."
At this point, her expression suddenly changed, and she covered her left chest with her hand!
Then she slammed her fist against the sofa, her face contorted in pain…
A burning sensation in her heart!
The first blood word was already issued, and so quickly?
Li immediately turned back to look at the wall…
A great deal of blood began to flow from the wall, forming characters…
“This…” Ziye gradually felt the pain subside, she looked at the wall and muttered, "This is... the blood word instruction?"
The blood word on the wall read: “On August 16th – 20th,2024, go to the western suburbs, to a Western-style villa located on the left side of Zhuo Feng Road. The villa’s courtyard has three maple trees. A special reminder: after entering the villa, the ghost will transform into something seemingly normal inside the villa, making it impossible for you to notice. Those who can identify the ghost's transformation will be able to leave the villa before the deadline."
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Ziye's burning sensation had stopped, but her forehead was covered in beads of sweat.
The blood word then disappeared, as if absorbed into the wall.
At the same time, three other people received the same blood word instruction.
One of them was Oda Saki, who lived on the fourth floor.
"A haunted house? Find the ghost's transformation and you can leave?" She looked at the blood word, her brow furrowed.
Something… seemed off about this…
The other two were Yuan and Wen from room 502.
This blood word, with its unique condition, was extremely concerning.
Yuan was especially uneasy, after experiencing five blood words, he knew that such a unique condition must inevitably hide some terrifying phenomenon.
However… in the downstairs lobby, Yuan and the other three were extremely stunned to see Ziye!
"How... how is that possible!" Yuan exclaimed in disbelief, "You just moved into the apartment, this is your first time encountering a blood word. I've experienced five blood words, and Oda Saki and Wen have each done four! How… how did you..."
This was too much of a difference!
Nothing like this had ever happened before!
"Yes..." Oda Saki was also bewildered, "That's incredible… impossible. You… are you truly encountering the blood word for the first time?"
But there was no doubt about it.
Ziye had taken over Ye's apartment.
However, Ziye didn't react much, saying, “It’s unclear whether this is good or bad luck. Perhaps I have something unique about me…"
While she appeared calm, Li noticed her pupils moving nervously.
Upon arriving at Yuan's home, Yuan said, "This is truly unexpected… It's incredibly rare for a resident to receive a blood word instruction on their first day. Even the long-term residents have never told me of such a precedent."
Typically, individuals with different blood word execution indexes would participate in the same blood word instruction, but the differences are usually not too large.
For example, someone encountering their second blood word might be assigned with someone experiencing their third, or someone experiencing their fourth might be assigned with someone experiencing their fifth... but to have someone experiencing their first blood word instruction assigned with a senior resident who has encountered six…
This was too abnormal.
Who is she? Why is the apartment treating her differently?
Yuan, Ziye, Oda Saki, and the others sat together, discussing their plans for the day.
“I don't know why I receive these special treatments either,” Ziye said calmly, "However, this blood word instruction has a potential danger. Have you all noticed this?"
“Danger?” Yuan asked, confused, "What danger?"
“Identifying the ghost’s transformation allows you to return to the apartment early. That’s an excellent condition, which means you have a better chance of survival. But is that really the case?”
Yuan didn't understand what Ziye meant, but Li immediately understood.
She said to her, “Miss , you’re saying… that this is actually more dangerous for us, right? Because being able to leave early means you’ve found the ghost… Usually, we try to avoid contact with ghosts, but now the apartment is forcing us to confront them.”
"That's definitely one point. But it's not the only thing." Ziye pointed to the wall, “The blood word instruction is very vague. What does ‘identify’ mean? What form will the ghost’s transformation take?
Maybe a potted plant, maybe a painting, maybe a puddle of water… and who knows if it can change form? Does ‘identifying’ mean perceiving it as a ghost or guessing it’s a ghost?