Gu Xiang Kai had been clutching his cigarette pack the whole time. He only let go once Xiao Min left, leaving the box crumpled.
It was clear that Gu Xiang Kai had been gambling as well.
Nan Yue had a new impression of Gu Xiang Kai. He seemed irritable and reckless, someone who solved problems with his fists, but he was actually quite meticulous and willing to risk everything.
"I owe you one."
Gu Xiang Kai held an unlit cigarette in his mouth, grinding the filter with his teeth. He knew very well that Nan Yue was the main reason he was the first to escape danger.
He had been doing missions for a long time and had seen both the selfish and the selfless, but Nan Yue was special. She didn't care about being a saint; she just helped because she was capable and it was convenient.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Nan Yue nodded with a smile, accepting the favor graciously.
"By the way, I found a clue in the newspaper yesterday. I was going to tell that neighbor, but I didn't expect him to be gone."
Gu Xiang Kai crumpled the cigarette and threw it away. It seemed the clue he found was meant for Chi He.
"There's a girl in the apartment who worked the night shift. One day she didn't come back. Later, it was discovered she was likely killed by a serial rapist and murderer. Her body was never found."
"Yeah, it was probably Zhao Ming. I saw Granny Zhao's daughter in the small woods."
Gu Xiang Kai gave a soft snort. "So you've already figured it out."
For Nan Yue, the newspaper wasn't the only way to clear the mission. Even without those clues, she could have deduced the truth.
Gu Xiang Kai wasn't interested in Lu Li's situation. He wasn't the type of scavenger who cared if others survived; he only cared about Nan Yue because he owed her.
"What about yours?"
Nan Yue lowered her eyes and squeezed her hands. "I already have a lead on mine."
"Then should we have the Apartment Manager intervene when she gets back?"
Nan Yue was silent for a moment. "No, I want to try something else."
Gu Xiang Kai clicked his tongue. "You know involving the Apartment Manager is the safest way, right?"
Nan Yue looked up and smiled. "I know, but if my theory is right, I'll get more personal points."
Gu Xiang Kai looked at Nan Yue's radiant smile. It was a standard, gentle expression, yet he could somehow sense her hidden pride.
It turned out her submissive exterior was a facade; she was actually quite a cocky person.
Gu Xiang Kai touched his earring. This made her seem more likeable. Someone with talent should be proud; being humble would just be doing a disservice to one's own skills.
"I've checked all the newspapers in my room. There are no clues for Lu Li."
Nan Yue carefully recalled every detail of the mission. "But I've noticed a pattern."
Gu Xiang Kai chimed in, "There are no irrelevant people in this mission."
The two exchanged a look, both having a rough idea about Lu Li's objective.
The relationships within the apartment were now clear. Aside from Zhang Ping, who died too early for them to know what happened to her, the other neighbors seemed deeply intertwined.
The wife Li Ge dismembered was Qingqing's best friend. The girl Zhao Ming killed was Granny Zhao's daughter...
They seemed bound by the apartment, unable to find their true enemies. The scavengers entering the mission were seemingly asked to build good relationships with the tenants, but in reality, they were meant to uncover the disputes between them and align themselves with the right ones.
In this context, the little girl on Lu Li's floor seemed out of place.
"Anyway, if that girl doesn't belong to Xiao Min or Uncle Song, there's only one other possibility."
Gu Xiang Kai stretched out his long legs and slumped onto the sofa. "The bus driver and that woman who knits."
Nan Yue thought about the age gap between Uncle Song and Xiao Min, and her lip twitched. "I think the bus driver is more likely."
Of course, all sorts of strange things happened in this apartment, so Uncle Song and Xiao Min weren't entirely impossible.
The reason the bus driver seemed more likely was that Xiao Min and Uncle Song already had their own roles. If it wasn't the bus driver, then he and the woman would be redundant.
"She's probably deduced it too."
Gu Xiang Kai's eyelids drooped. "When we went to find Xiao Min earlier, I heard the doorbell ring."
Nan Yue frowned. "She went by herself? She should know she needs the Apartment Manager to intervene."
"She's scared."
Nan Yue fell silent instantly. She knew Gu Xiang Kai was right.
She couldn't fully experience the terror of these neighbors, but the others could. It was precisely because of that terror that people kept dying.
The little girl was likely one of the most terrifying entities for women in this mission. Being followed by her like a ghost every day had pushed Lu Li's mental state to its limit.
Now that she had figured out the logic, she naturally wouldn't let go of any leads. Otherwise, Lu Li would likely find it hard to survive the night.
The Tenant Rules had played a word game with them. You could only check out after five days, which made many scavengers think they actually had five days.
But if Nan Yue wasn't mistaken, all the danger in this mission was concentrated at night. This meant the most dangerous time they would face was actually the fourth night.
Which was tonight.
Lu Li was an experienced scavenger and very smart; she had surely realized this trick, which was why she was in such a hurry.
"But going to find the driver on her own..."
Nan Yue was a bit worried. Lu Li definitely wouldn't choose a risky path like her; she was just too desperate to ensure her choice was correct.
There were no clues in the newspapers. She worried that if it wasn't the driver, it would only provoke the little girl further, so she wanted to confirm first.
Gu Xiang Kai was clearly uninterested. "Life and death are up to fate."
...
Lu Li's heart was racing as she rushed to the second floor. She had realized that no one was irrelevant when Nan Yue was organizing the mission clues.
As smart as she was, she immediately understood that the driver and that woman were very likely the girl's parents.
She hesitated. Time was running out. Should she just go straight to the Apartment Manager?
Just then, the corridor lights suddenly went out.
Lu Li instinctively called out, but the filaments had burned out; there was no response.
The corridor was pitch black, with only the green emergency exit sign flickering. Unease began to spread through Lu Li's heart.
"Big sister..."
The girl's ethereal voice echoed in the corridor, sounding eerie.
Lu Li froze completely. It took a long time to build up the courage to look back.
A few steps away, the little girl stood behind her.
She looked the same as when they first met, wearing a red puff-sleeve dress with her twin tails neatly tied by two red bows.
She was clutching a bunny doll that looked dirty and wet, its fur matted together.
Her little face was pale, standing out vividly in the darkness. It didn't even look like a normal human skin tone.
"Big sister, did you help me find my mommy and daddy?"
Lu Li swallowed hard and took a wary step back. "I have a lead. I'll find them very soon."
There was no joy on the girl's face. Instead, she stared straight at her without blinking.
Rate on N.U.
