"What's making you unfortable?" Qin Nuo asked.

  "Those two ghosts have sensed my presend are hostile towards me," the Blood-Eyed Ghost replied in a deep voice.

  As Qin Nuo pondered, a little girl suddenly spoke up, "Big brother, it seems like there's something inside you. My mom and dad asked if they should help you get it out and squash it?"

  Qin Nuo's expression ged slightly, and he said, "It's my friend. Please tell your parents there's no need."

  "Oh." The little girl nodded obediently.

  After a seemingly endless dinner, Qin Nuo finally left the room, feeling relieved.

  The Blood-Eyed Ghost was also unfortable; Qin Nuo could feel his right hand tehe eime.

  "Don't go into that room again. The way those two ghosts looked at me was like they were eyeing prey!" the Blood-Eyed Ghost said in a deep voice.

  "'t you take them on?"

  "Do you think a rat beat a cat?"

  "Not even close!" The Blood-Eyed Ghost was a bit resentful, feeling dragged into such a dangerous pce just for a meal.

  Qin Nuo remained silent.

  "gratutions to the Host for pleting the D-level instance mission. Additional scores will be calcuted upoing the instance!"

  "Ding, gratutions to the Host for acquiring a mai—Room 401 seems to hold some clues. Why not take a look? There might be ued rewards!"

  Room 401?

  Qin Nuo suddenly realized.

  Among the residents on the fourth floor, from rooms oo six, it seemed only room 401 was left, and he had never seen ahere.

  Because he had never seen the door open.

  Qin Nuo had ohought it was a ste room, not rented out.

  After p for a moment, Qin Nuo ged dire and stood in front of room 401, gently knog on the door.

  No response. Qin Nuo knocked again, and the door opened on its own.

  It wasn't locked.

  The creaking sound of the door echoed in the deathly silent room.

  Ihere was almost nothing, the space was small, with the living room and bedroom birash everywhere, and sour, yellowed clothes piled on the bed.

  A short-haired girl, around 18 years old, sat on the floor, wearing a torn and dirty school uniform.

  "Hello?" Qin Nuo called out.

  The girl turned around, not with a terrifying ghost face, but rather a pretty appearah a suny.

  However,

  Her hair was messy, drool ran down her mouth, and she sucked her fingers. Upon seeing Qin Nuo, she wasn't scared but giggled foolishly.

  "An idiot," Qin Nuo realized.

  He hadn't expected this.

  How could the old ndlord allow a mentally challenged girl to live in a room?

  Granddaughter?

  Qin Nuo didn't dwell on it. He was curious about the clue pointing to room 401, which must be hiding something.

  Qin Nuo started searg around, while the girl on the floor just watched him walk bad forth with a silly smile.

  Finally, in a drawer, Qin Nuo found a diary.

  The diary beloo the girl, named Xia Xinlu. She seemed to have been a vibrant uy student, with a photo attached.

  In the photo, Xia Xinlu was pletely different from now, very , with a sweet smile, clearly normal.

  Reading someone else's diary is uhical, so Qin Nuo gestured to Xia Xinlu on the floor. She just kept smiling foolishly, which he took as sent.

  He opehe diary.

  The early entries were about muhings like a te period, a crush on a senior, participating in a speech test... just normal diary entries.

  Later, the girl left school for an internship aed this Bloodstained Apartment.

  The early entries were fine, but ter the tone ged drastically.

  "Juh, saw on the news a virus is spreading, try to go out less, remember to wear a mask when going out, be brave Lulu, don't fear difficulties!"

  "Juh, heard there's a patient in our apartment too, don't know if it's true, but it's causing panid the ndlord won't let anyone leave the apartment, afraid of spreading it to more people."

  "Juh, they are demons! Devils, why are they doing this? I want to call the police!"

  Qin Nuo frowned as he read. What happehat day? What did Xia Xinlu see?

  Qin Nuo turo the page, eager to find out.

  But the page wasn't a diary entry.

  Instead, it was filled with a whole page of red "I'm sorry," densely packed, with what seemed to be blood or red ink, making his scalp tingle.

  Flipping through the rest, there were no more entries.

  This clue held a lot of information and seemed quite eerie.

  Had something major happened in the Bloodstained Apartment before?

  There was a the door.

  It was the little girl from room 402, pushing the door open with some food in her hands.

  She was surprised to see Qin Nuo, "Oh, big brother, why are you here?"

  Qin Nuo discreetly hid the diary in his clothes and turo say, "I saw room 401's door open, so I came in to take a look."

  "Who is this girl?" Qin Nuo asked.

  "Her name is Xia Xinlu. She used to live here, but after her parents died in a car act, she became like this, and no oakes care of her."

  "I felt sorry for her, so I've been taking care of her," the little girl said.

  "I see." Qin Nuo hen said, "I won't disturb you then, carry on with what you were doing."

  With that, Qin Nuo put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the door.

  "Wait a mihe little girl suddenly called out to Qin Nuo.

  Qin Nuo paused and turo ask, "What's up?"

  "Big brother, I don't know your ."

  "Just call me Brother Nuo."

  "Okay, Brother Nuo, my name is Liu Meng, but you call me Little Meng," Liu Meng said with a smile.

  After leaving room 401, Qin Nuo returo his room, took out Xia Xinlu's diary, and tio study it, hoping to find more useful clues.

  And indeed, after a night's effort, Qin Nuo found a crucial clue.

  From the previous diary entries, Qin Nuo could firm that Xia Xinlu lived alone.

  Whether during uy or her internship.

  She was an orphan.

  But Liu Meng told him that Xia Xinlu's parents died in a car act!

  The diary was written for herself, Xia Xinlu wouldn't lie, so the liar could only be Liu Meng.

  Why would Liu Meng lie to him?

  Or was she c something up?

  Without a doubt, that girl from room 402 was the biggest suspect so far.

  But without solid evidence, he couldn't jump to clusions.

  However, in Qin Nuo's mind, he was already wary of that girl.

  The day was the fifth day of the game.

  There were five days left until the instanded.

  The pyers were all focused on the instaasks, hoping to get a high score wheing the instance.

  Qin Nuo had already pleted five instaasks and wasn't ied in tinuing with them. Instead, he focused on iigating the mai.

  In the first-floor lobby.

  Qin Nuo and the old ndlord were pying chess.

  However, one was bored, and the other was deep in thought, pletely different vibes.

  "Checkmate! Old man, you let me win!"

  After the old ndlord pondered for a full ten minutes, he finally made the st move.

  Qin Nuo also made the final move without hesitation, ending the long chess game.

  But this time, losing the game, the old ndlord wasn't angry or upset. Instead, he stroked his beard and showed a smug smile.

  "Even though I lost, this time you only beat me by a small margin!"

  Qin Nuo ughed along, "Yes, as they say, after three days, one must look at a person with new eyes."

  "Last time, I had you down to just yeneral, and now you still have so many pieces left. I almost lost this time."

  "Old man, your chess skills have improved by leaps and bounds!" Qin Nuo said with a look of admiration.

  These words made the old ndlord even more pleased, his beard almost flying up.

  Iy, Qin Nuo could have won ten moves ago if he wao.

  And he could still have defeated the old ndlord pletely, making him question life.

  But,

  In life, one must have high emotional intelligence.

  Was this game really about chess?

  No!

  It was about humaionships.

  "Old man, I ask you something?" Seeing that the time was right, Qin Nuo suddenly said.

  "I knew you had ulterior motives for suddenly pying chess with me."

  "But I'm in a good mood, so go ahead," the old ndlord said, pig up his old pipe.

  "Do you know the girl in room 401?"

  "Yes, she's a pitiful child. A few years ago, her parents died in a car act, and she became like this, and that girl from room 402 has been taking care of her since."

  "Why do you ask?" the old man asked casually, taking a puff from his pipe.

  Qin Nuo's expression turned a bit serious.

  The old ndlord's tone was the same as Liu Meng's!

  Could it be that Liu Meng didn't lie?

  JOSOLUNA