[You want me to speak?]
[If you're asking me, this mediation is completely unnecessary. What you should be doing is revoking this couple's parental rights and sending this child to a foster home. In her current state, anywhere would be better than staying with her family.]
[Young man, don't get agitated. Let's talk things through. They're a perfectly fine family of four, why would you send their child to a foster home?]
[Perfectly fine? Have you seen the injuries on her body? Do you know how badly she's been beaten?]
[She's my kid, it's none of your damn business how I hit her! With that stupid look on her face... what, you still not convinced? Glare at me again, I dare you! I'll beat you to death!]
[Don't get agitated, don't get agitated. Let's all talk this out calmly.]
[You wanna fight, huh? Then come on! You think I'm scared of you, you old bastard!]
[Hey, hey, hey, calm down you two—]
[Aaaah! Murder! He's killing him!]
[Someone help! Pull this young man off! Hey, stop hitting him, there are cameras here, you have to stop!]
[Hahaha, if you don't kill me today, I'll show up at your parents' workplace tomorrow wrapped in bandages! Hahaha, let's see what you can do then!]
The sounds on the tape devolved from calm to chaos in the span of just a few sentences.
The man's crude and vulgar curses, the woman's hysterical screams, the young man's furious roars, and the sounds of chairs being knocked over and people grappling and brawling all blended into a cacophony, making it impossible to discern anything of value.
But these sounds didn't last long. Eventually, all the voices quieted down, only to start up again. This time, it was the voice of the young man from before, and another, middle-aged man.
[You've been out of the house for less than a month, and you're already causing trouble at the police station, even fighting in the mediation room? Are you trying to completely disgrace me?]
[...I know, but that family, those two are not fit to be parents. You don't know how they treat that girl.]
[Right, I don't know. So you know. And what can you do about it?]
[I just couldn't stand by and watch... How can there be parents like that? They starved their own daughter for a whole day and night. She has needle marks on her arm. In the middle of the night, they threw her out into the hallway wearing only a thin shirt when it was only 6 degrees Celsius outside. Is that something a human being would do...?]
[Alright, alright. Son, I know you're a warm-hearted person, but I never thought you'd go this far, causing a scene at the police station for someone you don't even know. Did you know that after you injured that guy in the mediation room, he's just been holed up in the hospital? He's demanding one check-up after another. I reckon this won't be over until he's extorted tens or even hundreds of thousands from our family.]
[How can you give him money...?]
[You hit him first. The audio and video recordings, everyone there, they all saw it. The medical report confirms he's really injured; you broke his arm, and you did it at the police station. Do you have any idea that if this is handled seriously, not only will you go to jail, but my job will also be affected? It's better to spend some money now to make this go away. If he waits until he's recovered a bit and then causes a scene at my workplace, it'll be even harder to deal with. What do you want me to do? Abandon this family? Stop supporting your sister, your grandparents, your other grandparents, and go play the hero with you to take that guy out?]
[...Dad, I'm sorry.]
[It's fine. I know you're a kind kid. You weren't in the wrong here. It's just that some people are scum, and people like us, with families and responsibilities, we really can't afford to get tangled up with them. How about this: I'll ask a connection to get you a spot on the municipal rescue team. It's tough work, but you're a kid who can handle hardship. Work hard there for a few years, maybe you'll become a squad leader or something. Saving lives and accumulating good karma suits you.]
[But that child... can nothing really be done for her...?]
[How? What can you do? Stop thinking about it. By the way, I've already had someone terminate the lease for that apartment. All your furniture and things have been packed up and brought back, so you don't need to go back there. Next time you move out, make sure to properly check the surroundings first.]
[...I understand.]
It seemed to be a conversation between a father and son, a heartfelt talk between the young man and his father.
One could almost see the scene.
On a cold, bleak night, the young man opens his door to find a little girl shivering in the hallway. He brings her into his home, wraps her in a blanket, and gives her snacks and hot tea.
The next day, her parents discover this and furiously confront him. Unwilling to allow anyone to be kind to their child, they get into a fierce argument with the young man. Still just a big kid, fresh out in the world, he is provoked into a fight and ends up being the one in the wrong. In the end, disheartened, he leaves.
After that, no one ever opened their door for that girl again.
Until one day, while carrying out a flood rescue and evacuation, the now much more mature young man returned to that place and saw that apartment building once more.
[The flood crest is coming earlier than expected! The Shirakawa Apartments haven't finished evacuating! We're the closest rescue team! All able-bodied brothers, follow me!]
He had returned to that place.
He went to the third floor, organizing the evacuation room by room, until he reached the door of 304.
He wondered what the girl was like now. He knew her life would have remained just as difficult after he left, but he believed that, ultimately, even a vicious tiger won't eat its own cubs. She should have at least been able to keep on living until she grew up, with the hope of escaping her parents and finding a life of her own.
Before he opened that door, before he couldn't find the child, that's what he had thought.
When faced with the couple's evasive gazes and non-answers, he hadn't completely given up on that idea.
As he followed the unsettling odor into the kitchen, heading toward the bathroom, only to be blocked and told that it was a place he [couldn't go], he still hadn't fully abandoned that fantasy.
But in the end, he saw the truth. He saw what had happened.
[This candy is for your little brother.]
[It's not for you.]
[You eat it and I'll beat you to death!]
[I'll teach you to be greedy! I'll teach you to be a glutton! I'll teach you!]
[Let's see you try to sneak food now.]
Mom was really angry that day.
The debt collectors had come again and trashed the house.
The lock on the front door was broken, and there was a hole chopped in the kitchen door.
Mom said there was no money to fix it for now, so we'd have to make do. Then Dad yelled at her and beat her again.
She was unhappy all day, her face dark and sullen.
But I was so hungry.
Yesterday, I was punished again and wasn't allowed to eat.
I ate candy once at big brother's house. It was so sweet, so delicious.
If I only eat one piece, she probably won't find out.
As I reached for it, I realized my mother hadn't left. She was just waiting for me to take it.
First came the scolding, then the beating.
Just like before.
But Mom was still angry.
She started poking me with the needle again, just like she used to.
It hurt.
But she was still angry, her anger hadn't faded.
Then she said she would make it so I could never sneak food again.
Hummm—
The sound of the kettle boiling.
Scalding water poured down.
The needle and thread passed through, dripping tears of blood.
Pain.
It hurts so much.
It really, really hurts.
My whole body hurts, my mouth hurts, my throat hurts, it hurts, it hurts...
Mom said I deserved to be punished and locked me in the bathroom.
I have no strength. It hurts.
It got dark outside. It hurts, it hurts.
It got light outside, then dark again, then light again.
I still have no strength, my head is dizzy, and it still hurts so much.
I want to stand up, but I can't.
It got dark outside again.
Dad came in once, then closed the door again.
He forgot to lock the door. I'm supposed to stay inside for my punishment, but it hurts so much, and I'm so hungry and dizzy.
Is big brother home?
Does big brother have food at his house?
I haven't seen big brother in so long. Did he leave? Is he still here?
I want to go knock on big brother's door.
Big brother...
Are you there, big brother...
I can't remember where big brother's door is...
...
...
...Beasts.
...You two are beasts!
You goddamn animals... I'm going to kill you right now!
Captain, stop! Don't do this!
The flood waters won't reach the third floor. Let's restrain them and get them out of here first.
Don't disturb the scene! Take them away and then call the police. Don't do it here.
She's my kid! So what if I killed her?!
You animal, I'll kill you!
Murder! Murder! Aaaaah!—
Captain, calm down! Calm down! This won't solve anything! Let's get them out first! The flood is almost here, we'll be too late if we don't go now!
What are you doing? Trying to grab me? Get off! Don't touch me!
Let go! This is assault! Assault!
Just take them away! These two... forget it. Captain, let's go. We'll come back after the flood passes.
...
That was years ago.
I never imagined that someone could do such things to their own flesh and blood, to their own child.
I was born into an ordinary family. I always believed that most people are normal, that abnormal people are just a minority. But seeing such a minority just once filled me with an uncontrollable rage, and yet... I was so powerless. I didn't know what I could do. I could only wishfully believe, deceive myself into thinking that everything could get better.
But the final truth was far more cruel than I ever imagined.
And this still isn't over.
Whether those beasts have received the punishment they deserve in this endless, repeating cycle, I'm not sure. They should have retained their consciousness, just like me. But I can't tell anymore. Maybe they couldn't bear the torment and went completely mad, or maybe they died right at the beginning. I hope it's the former, and honestly, even if it is, I don't think their punishment is enough. They deserve it.
But that child doesn't.
And neither do the innocent people who have been dragged into this apartment.
This apartment becoming what it is today has nothing to do with that child. She didn't do this.
Someone, something, orchestrated all of this from behind the scenes. This apartment's transformation is the result of some power intentionally guiding it.
I've managed to see some residual fragments from the child's memories, but the relevant information is still too scarce. I don't even know what kind of thing it was, only that it once existed within the apartment, watching everything unfold. Only at the very last moment did it reveal its presence, leading everything to where it is today.
That child still cannot rest in peace.
My comrades, their obsessions have also been manipulated, trapping them in the seventh-day death loop, unable to leave.
And there are all those ordinary people with their own families, their own lives. They're thrown into this place like meat fed to a wild beast, left to die struggling.
It's as if something is being cultivated.
Using the deaths and pain of these people, using the memories and despair of a child who cannot find peace, it repeats this cycle over and over, devouring more lives to nurture something.
This shouldn't be happening.
No matter what the goal of the one who planned all this is, I will never accept it. I will resist to the very end.
It seems my identity holds some special meaning for that child. I haven't completely turned into what my comrades have become. I still remember what happened, and I can still think normally. I believe I am an exception, a variable, an existence that the mastermind did not anticipate.
So I will do everything in my power to change this.
It's just that...
I don't seem to be able to make contact with the child's presence.
This apartment seems to be metamorphosing.
The child's very existence is imprisoned. In this apartment as it is now, there is no way for her to find release.
Am I missing something?
I can clearly see her memories, feel her pain.
But I cannot see her obsession. I cannot see what it is she truly desires.
I think, perhaps, I will still fail in the end.
I suppose I am bound to fail.
Just as I was unable to save her once before, the result will be the same this time.
But you are different, Mr. Gao Hai.
The apartment you are in has completed its metamorphosis. Her existence has been liberated. The time has come when she can finally be brought to rest.
The 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor... no, the three floors are actually one and the same.
She never left the 3rd floor before she died. On the third day, she crawled out of her home. She crawled through the entire 3rd-floor hallway, knocking on every single door, trying to find me, hoping that I would open the door for her like last time, let her in, let her hide in that safe little bedroom, close the door, and then close the main door outside, so she wouldn't have to hear the noisy sounds from outside anymore.
Her range of activity was actually only the 3rd floor. The 1st and 2nd floors existed only in her imagination; they weren't real. That's why 104 is 204 is 304. Spatially, every room is actually in a state of superposition, but they are forcibly divided into three parts because the apartment's rules are based on her memories.
Right now, you cannot reach 309 because she never found the 309 in her heart. Even if you were to actually reach a room with the number 309 on it, you wouldn't be able to enter. This is because you are now acting within the scope of her obsession.
But it doesn't matter anymore. Because you have received the message on this tape, which contains the last shred of my obsession, as well as the obsessions of everyone who once struggled to survive in this apartment. Having listened to this information, you will surely be able to find that place.
Fulfill this wish. Let her find peace.
By doing so, you will also surely be able to escape this place and utterly destroy this bloody apartment.
But please, you must be quick. The horror story generated by her obsession is a monster devoid of emotion or reason. It will not pity you, nor will it show mercy just because you want to save the girl.
From now on, the contamination will only accelerate. There isn't much time left. You and your companions must find that place as fast as you can. Before everything collapses, find that door and open it once more.
I will also do everything I can, with the last of my strength, to help you.
I wish you the best of luck, Mr. Gao Hai.
My name is Xusheng.
...
...
Something seemed to have appeared in his palm.
He looked down, opened his hand, and there lay a slightly rusted key with the number 309 on it.
The entire Shirakawa Apartments had plunged into complete darkness. Night had fallen on the third day, and the final countdown of less than two hours had begun.
Gao Hai could no longer hear the voice of the man named Xusheng.
The cassette player in the living room was still running, but it had long since gone silent, having played everything it could.
But it was enough.
Gao Hai got to his feet.
It's time to go.
He had intended to say this to Maki and Kaguya beside him.
But when he actually tried to speak, he found he couldn't say a word.
Pain.
An intense pain spread across his mouth.
________________________________________
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