Hummm—
The ground was trembling.
Cracks split across the walls.
Dust and fragments of stone fell from the ceiling.
The Shirakawa Apartments seemed to be gradually collapsing.
Now that everything had been made clear, it was as if the final cage, the final chains, had shattered, and everything that existed here began to career toward an irreversible end.
"Wh-what's happening here?!"
Green's eyes widened as he looked around, discovering that the room had at some point filled with a pile of dilapidated furniture and a corpse that had rotted away to nothing but bones and a few scraps of tissue. At the same time, more standing water appeared, and moss grew on the walls, as if everything from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors had been jumbled together.
"Outside... I think I hear something?"
Sun Dajun looked nervously toward the main door. He heard some ominous sounds—he couldn't say exactly what they were, but they were deeply unsettling.
"Hey, wait, why you watch a cassette player with no sound? Very strange, eh?"
Mameier hadn't noticed anything else; he was just puzzled as to why Gao Hai and the other two were sitting in front of a silent cassette player for so long.
As for Miwa Maeda, she was already screaming in terror again, but since they had put a soundproof mask on her beforehand, her screams weren't too loud.
Apart from Gao Hai, Kaguya, and Maki, it was clear that the others had not heard the sound from the cassette player. The device hadn't truly played a tape; it had merely served as a medium to reveal certain information, and the condition for receiving this information was the extent of one's knowledge of the [truth].
"I heard a lot, but it feels like it stopped halfway through. Hai-kun, could what you heard be different from what we did?"
Maki hadn't heard Xusheng's final words to Gao Hai, but from the others' reactions, she quickly realized that the content received could differ from person to person. She immediately turned to Gao Hai, wanting to see his reaction.
"Yeah, it's time to go. Everyone... has to go. This is the last... chance. Maki, give me... that toy. I have to be the one to take her back."
Gao Hai, taking a deep breath, had already turned his head to face the main door.
Rumble—
The apartment's tremors were growing more severe.
He took the doll, which in everyone else's eyes was just a tattered toy, but in Gao Hai's sight was a small child, covered in wounds and stained with mud.
Although the stitches on his mouth had been cut, the pain still assailed him without cease.
The burns on his body were also constantly worsening, as if he were being executed right now, having boiling water poured over him once more.
But none of that was worth worrying about.
Now was the time to end it all and leave this godforsaken place.
Creeak—
Gao Hai stepped out of the room, striding forward.
He wasn't wearing the Rescue Team uniform, yet a faint image of one materialized around him, helping to suppress the curse on his body.
The shattered ruins had become even more twisted than before. The floors began to collapse, and all sorts of furniture were piled together in a jumble, like a processing plant for abandoned trash.
The ground trembled continuously.
One after another, doors could be seen—some floating in mid-air, some set into walls, others lying flat on the ground. All the doors with numbers starting with a '1' showed severe signs of water damage; all doors starting with a '2' had something knocking from behind them; and all doors starting with a '3' were shattered, their locks broken and unable to be closed again.
Gao Hai knew that none of these were the door he was looking for.
He could already feel the door's location.
He already knew which way he needed to go.
"Don't fall behind. This is the last chance."
He picked up his pace, moving quickly forward.
All kinds of sounds echoed through the ruins.
Those pristine porcelain dolls frolicked in the broken rubble. When they saw Gao Hai's group running through the ruins, they stopped and giggled, pointing and wanting to chase after them, only to halt at the edge of the filth and sewage that covered the ground.
Those footsteps wandered ceaselessly through the ruins, passing door after door. They paused briefly as Gao Hai and the others passed, but then, for some reason, they ignored them and headed off in a single direction.
The roars of the [Parents] could be heard in the distance.
Maki turned her head and saw the man and woman rushing toward them at high speed, only to have their path blocked by the footsteps.
Time to pay up, time to pay up.]
I don't have any money, let me pass! I don't have any money for you!]
Pay up, pay up, pay up—]
The two sides seemed to be locked in a stalemate.
The knocking anomaly and the girl's parents, due to a conflict in their operational logic, seemed to have temporarily ignored the group.
Those children, are they afraid of getting their clothes dirty? Because they exist as the 'other families' clean children' from the girl's memory, they will never allow themselves to get dirty under any circumstances?
For these anomalies to be hindered by flaws in their own mechanics at this very moment... is someone helping them?
Maki hadn't heard the final words that Gao Hai had heard.
But she had a vague guess as to the only person who could possibly be helping them now.
Splash—splash—
More and more water began to impede their progress.
From the sky, or rather the ceiling, more and more drops of water began to fall, as if it were raining.
Gao Hai, at the very front, kept moving forward.
His mouth had been forcibly stitched shut by the power of the curse.
On his body, the burns had begun to spread again, a tide that even the power of the Rescue Team uniform could barely hold back.
The pain grew more and more intense.
His body seemed to be losing strength bit by bit.
He felt as if he were trapped in a box, unable to move.
As if he had been locked in the bathroom for a long time, hungry and in pain, only able to struggle and crawl on the floor.
As if he had been stuffed into a hole in the bathroom wall, packed in, squeezed into a space as small as a little box, and left to sink into darkness.
No, that won't happen.
This isn't how this story should end.
Enduring such agony, Gao Hai just took a deep breath, resisting the pain with his own will, and continued to press forward.
That door will open.
The door that has carried a promise from so many years ago until now will surely open again at this moment.
He could already see a faint light ahead.
He could see that the door was right in front of him.
Thump—
Sun Dajun was gasping for breath, unable to run much further.
Seeing this, Mameier didn't hesitate to support him, helping him continue forward.
Nearby, Miwa Maeda was also running out of stamina and starting to falter.
But Green didn't even bother to look at the woman; he was only focused on keeping up with the three at the front.
Gao Hai was in no condition to notice any of this, or rather, even if he did, he couldn't do anything about it. With his body and will at their absolute limit, if he were to stop even for a moment, he might never be able to move again. Caught in a tug-of-war between the curse and his obsession, he could only focus all his attention on the door he was about to reach.
Maki and Kaguya were in a similar situation. As the curse's power eroded them, boiling water was beginning to materialize on their bodies, though their mouths hadn't been stitched shut like Gao Hai's. To fight the pain, they could only quicken their pace, with no spare capacity to worry about anyone else.
The darkness of the Shirakawa Apartments was gradually receding.
The closer they got to the end, the more time seemed to accelerate, as if something didn't want to see them achieve victory and was trying to stop them at the last moment.
But in the end, Gao Hai reached the door.
An ordinary, unremarkable, old security door with a few rust spots.
It was just a door, with a sign that simply read [309].
Gao Hai stopped.
He reached out and knocked gently on the door.
Just like that child, who had struggled and crawled to that door at the very end, reached out her hand, and knocked softly upon it.
Hey, whose kid are you? Why are you out in the hallway all by yourself so late?]
A young man with a boyish face opened the door, a toothbrush in his mouth. He looked down curiously at the girl standing in the hallway.
Are you okay? Come in and sit for a while. Don't worry, big brother isn't a bad person.]
Want some candy? Big brother got these from a classmate's wedding banquet. Man, oh man, people these days are just different. I haven't even figured out what job I want, and other people are already getting married.]
You have to chew the gummy candies, but don't eat so fast, you might choke. Here, have some hot tea. Sorry I don't have any drinks that kids like.]
The laughing young man led the girl into the room, had her sit at a table in the small bedroom, turned on the heater for her, and brought her candy and tea.
Whose kid are you? I'm a new tenant here. My name is Lin Xusheng, you can just call me Brother Xusheng.]
You're welcome to come over and play anytime, though it doesn't look like I have anything for a kid to play with here.]
Haha, am I different from other people? Really? Haha, maybe I'm just good at getting along with kids. My dad always says I have the temper of a child.]
The young man sat in the warm room, laughing and chatting casually, a gentle expression on his face.
Hmm? Someone's knocking. Is that your mom and dad? Ah, you don't want to go out and see them?]
These injuries... you hide in here for now. It's okay, I'll go talk to your parents. I won't let them hit you. I won't let them in.]
Who treats a child like that? I'm going to stick my nose in this today. Don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe here with me.]
And the person who left her in the room, who went out alone to argue with her mom and dad, and finally got into a fight with them.
Big brother...
Are you home, big brother...
Big brother... big brother...
...
I'm here.
Of course I am.
I told you, you're always welcome here.
...
Behind the slowly opening door was that familiar room.
Gao Hai slowly stepped inside, walking forward.
The door to the small bedroom also opened, revealing the little table inside, and the candy and hot tea placed upon it.
It was as if that day had come again.
She walked into this small room, and big brother closed the door, staying outside to argue and then fight with her mom and dad, never letting anyone come and open this door.
She stayed in this warm little room, very safe, very comfortable, with nothing to fear. She wouldn't be scolded or beaten.
It's okay, you can stay as long as you want.
You can even think of this as your new home.
She could almost hear big brother saying these words.
No, big brother really is here. He has always been in this place, I just couldn't see him.
Finally, I can see him. Finally, I can see big brother.
Um, can I really stay here?
Of course you can.
Can I have more candy? The candy is so yummy.
You can have as much as you want. But maybe not right now, since you've eaten it all, haha. I'll buy some more for you later.
You won't scold me or hit me? Everyone says I'm a disgusting, dirty kid.
What dirty kid? Who's spouting such nonsense? Don't listen to people like that. You won't be scolded or hit here.
Then can I stay a little longer? Just a little while.
Stay as long as you like. Don't be so formal. Do I look like a formal person to you? Hahaha—
...
A white light shone from within the small bedroom door.
"...This is it. Go through here, and you can... leave this place. This apartment's... core has collapsed. This place will soon... be completely destroyed. We have to... leave as quickly as possible."
Gao Hai, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion, spoke with difficulty. With the core's collapse, the stitches on his mouth had vanished, but the wounds remained, making his speech broken. The burns on his body were the same; though they wouldn't spread further, the existing injuries couldn't heal immediately.
"Hai-kun, are you okay?"
Maki, also enduring the pain of burns, knelt down to help Gao Hai up. Nearby, Kaguya caught her breath, staring in amazement at the open door before them.
This door, located inside 309, which should have led to a small bedroom, was now shining with a white light, making it impossible to see where it led. But just by standing in front of it, Kaguya could feel a warmth emanating from within, along with an unprecedented sense of security.
"Is... is this it? The emergency exit?!"
Green, the first to catch up, swallowed hard. He wanted to enter immediately, but was also afraid to.
"This is it. Once we go in, we can lea— Huh?!"
Gao Hai, supported by Maki, gasped for air and stood up again. Just as he was about to step through the door while speaking, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Hisss—
Boiling water suddenly cascaded down.
Unable to dodge in time, Green was instantly doused. He howled in agony and rolled on the ground. Then, stitch marks began to appear out of thin air on his body. As he twitched and struggled violently, his body was twisted and grotesquely sewn into a sphere, rolling on the ground, bleeding and unable to move.
She's my kid, I'll treat her however the hell I want...]
Amidst a sinister voice, a man with torn clothes and a bent arm, looking as if he had just walked out of a mediation room, appeared from the side of the room. He grinned, his mouth full of blood.
Looks like we have rats in the house again...]
From the other side, the woman carrying the kettle, her expression as sullen as death itself, also emerged.
They seemed to fear the door and didn't dare to approach it.
But they also stood in front of everyone present, intending to sever their final path to survival and prevent their escape.
________________________________________
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