Chapter 4 Room 4
The woman in red flashed past the corner of the stairs, and I only saw a blurry back.
Are there any women who dare to rent a house here?
I stretched my neck and looked over in surprise. The woman had already gone upstairs. When my eyes reached the corner of the old stairs, I was stopped by an old and hoarse voice.
"What are you doing?" His voice felt like it had been rubbed by sand, and it sounded very uncomfortable.
Behind the old cash register, in a dark place where the light could not reach, sat a rickety figure, seeming to be sizing me up.
"Hello, uncle, I'm here to rent a house." I forced a smile and walked over, and saw an old face that showed no age.
Sure enough, it was the old man standing behind the door in the morning holding a kitchen knife.
I felt a little nervous, wondering if the old man would recognize me.
"How many days are you renting?" The old man stared at me with a confused look, no expression on his wrinkled face.
"Can I stay here for a day and then renew the lease?" I asked cautiously with less than two hundred yuan in my pocket.
"Forty a day, pay first."
Sighing with relief, I took out forty dollars and put them on the counter.
"Can I choose my own room?"
"OK."
The old man stood up slowly, collected the money, took down a bunch of keys from the mottled wall, then walked to the stairs and waved at me with his withered hands.
I followed up and found that the short-term rental houses should all be on the second floor.
The first floor still maintains the appearance of a bun shop, with old dining tables placed one after another, with chopstick tubes and paper towels on them, as if people have been coming to eat.
The floor was black concrete, the walls were peeling off, and there was a sour smell in the air. The entire shop was illuminated by only a dim light bulb, and everything was dark.
There is an old wooden staircase leading to the second floor. It has not been maintained for an unknown period of time. The wooden boards have rotted and some steps are even broken.
As soon as you step on it, it makes a crunching sound.
I carefully followed the old man to the second floor.
In front of him was a dark and narrow corridor with several rooms on both sides of the corridor.
After a cursory glance at the house number, I discovered that room No. 4 was at the end of the corridor.
"I'll just stay in this room." I said, pretending to be relaxed.
"There's someone in room 4. You can choose something else." When he heard that I chose room 4, the old man didn't show the slightest surprise and just shook his head.
"Is there anyone?" I was shocked.
It's been less than a week since someone died in Room 4, but someone dares to live in it?
Could it be the woman in red that I saw when I entered the door?
After thinking for a while, I chose Room 3, which was closest to Room 4.
The old man opened the door, left me the key, and walked downstairs slowly.
I entered the door, turned on the light, and looked at this small room.
There is a musty smell in the air, the walls are painted white, and the floor is covered with white floor tiles, which glow coldly under the dim light. The room is completely white, but the window frames are red.
Although it's a bit weird, it's fairly clean, has a mini bathroom, and has a lot of furniture.
Compared with today's prices, the price of forty-one days is really very cheap. No wonder there are always people renting a house after a murder.
Perhaps for some people, poverty is more terrifying than death.
However, I didn't really come to rent a room. After the old man came downstairs, I left the room.
There is less than an hour until the live broadcast starts, and I need to convince the woman in red in Room 4 to switch rooms with me as soon as possible.
At the end of the corridor, at the door of Room 4.
There was no light coming from the crack in the door, and there was no sound in the room.
"Have you fallen asleep already?"
I stood at the door confused, watched the countdown on the live broadcast, and then knocked on the door.
Dong dong dong——
The dull knock on the door echoed softly in the corridor, but no one in the room responded.
In the middle of the night, a strange boy knocked on the door. I could understand the woman's vigilance.
"Hello, I'm the tenant of Room 3 next door. I don't mean any harm, I just want to ask you for a favor."
I expressed my intention in a friendly manner and knocked on the door several times. Room 4 was still quiet and no lights came on.
"You don't want to pay attention to me, or are you still asleep?"
I frowned. No matter how fast I slept, I should have woken me up. No matter how unwilling I was, I should have responded.
A terrifying guess came to mind.
"Isn't she already dead?"
Thinking of this, I couldn't calm down anymore. I grabbed the door handle and knocked hard. If I couldn't open the door again, I was going to find the old man.
"Hey, are you still there?"
Unexpectedly, with a click, the door opened.
I was stunned.
There seemed to be a trace of blood wafting out from the crack in the door.
My heart tightened instantly.
The room was pitch dark, and the dim lights from the corridor couldn't shine in. Only the doorway could be seen.
The white floor tiles glowed with cold light and there was no blood stain.
With my heart pounding, I mustered up the courage to push open the half-open door.
Creaking——
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and looked into it.
Under the cold white light, there is a pale white room with the same layout as Room 3.
But what surprised me was that there was no one in the room at all, the quilt was folded neatly, and there were no wrinkles on the sheets, as if no one was staying at all.
"anyone there?"
I took out the Swiss knife I had prepared in advance and put it behind my back. I held my cell phone in my other hand and carefully walked into Room 4 under the light of a flashlight.
Except for my cautious footsteps, there was no other sound in the room. I pointed my phone towards the bathroom.
The door made of frosted glass was ajar, and it was unclear whether there was anyone inside.
Instead of rushing over, I found the switch and turned on the light first.
The dim light dissipated some of the darkness, but the situation in the bathroom was still unclear.
"anyone there?"
Holding the Swiss knife tightly, I bravely walked over and carefully opened the door.
The white tiles distorted my figure, and the mini bathroom was empty.
Where have people gone?
I saw the woman in red going upstairs with my own eyes. The old man also said that someone was staying in room 4. Why was there no one in the room?
Did he go out?
But she and I went upstairs front and back and didn't bump into each other on the way. According to my observation, the only way downstairs was the old staircase, which meant that she didn't go downstairs.
Where are people?
Forget it, I can’t worry about that much, there’s only half an hour left before the live broadcast starts, and even though everything is weird, I’m still going to stay.
If that woman comes back, I will give her the key to Room 3.
I don't care what she thinks of me.
Close the door and lock it.
I put away the Swiss knife and looked around the room.
Compared with Room 3, the walls here are newly painted, and the sheets and bedding are also new, but traces of blood can still be seen through the gaps in the floor tiles.
The window couldn't be pushed open. I don't know if it was broken or nailed shut.
If danger occurs, the only escape is through the door.
I shuddered at the thought of spending a whole night in this room where many women had died tragically.
With a bitter sigh, I sat on the bed and turned on my large black screen phone.
"There are 10 minutes left before the live broadcast starts. Do you want to start the live broadcast?"
Without further hesitation, I pressed yes.