Chapter 30: The House That Hunts (Part III)

Another mission to be completed before dawn. Are pollutants more active in the middle of the night?

Zhu Ning had not yet finished her theoretical courses, so she proceeded by trial and error, cross-referencing what she had already learned. The graveyard post eventually displayed an address, and she convinced the "Big Wave" landlady downstairs to drive her there.

The landlady, who was already well-acquainted with her, rode her motorcycle to the destination and sped off without saying a word.

Before her stood a residential complex with a sign at the entrance reading: "Rome City."

Many complexes, in a desperate bid to sound upscale, gave themselves bizarre names; Zhu Ning had once seen one called "The Grand Palace." The developer here truly lacked taste. The building density was extreme, with structures packed so tightly together that they created an overwhelming sense of suffocation.

There were security guards at the gate, and the complex was still inhabited, with exhausted office workers dragging themselves home after a long day.

Since receiving the genetic agent, Zhu Ning’s five senses had been heightened. After listening for a moment, she realized Rome City was incredibly noisy, housing thousands of families. Using a bomb was out of the question unless she wanted to send the entire complex to the grave with her.

Zhu Ning had no intention of bothering the guards. Catching them off guard, she vaulted over the wall and jumped inside.

The post stated it was on the 13th floor of Building 22.

Zhu Ning took the stairwell. Having been consistently beaten by the Demon Hunter over the past two days, her stamina was excellent; she climbed to the 13th floor with lightning speed, not even breaking a sweat.

Genetic agents—the light of humanity.

Zhu Ning entered the 13th floor. Each floor had only two units, which, compared to the "Hive" slum, could be considered a luxury residence.

Just as described in the graveyard post, there were two units. One was a normal home, featuring the standard dark red security door commonly seen everywhere, with withered mugwort leaves from the Dragon Boat Festival still hanging on it.

The unit directly opposite, however, looked sinister. Its forest-green door might have once looked fresh, but after years of neglect, it was coated in a layer of grime, appearing deathly and stagnant.

Zhu Ning flipped over the wooden sign hanging on the door. Sure enough, it read: "A Cozy Home."

Someone had flipped the sign over. There were mottled marks on the forest-green door; Zhu Ning brushed against them, and they smeared off.

What was this? Blood?

There had been no sound from Huang Yaro since she entered. Was she still alive?

The graveyard post had no timestamp, so Zhu Ning couldn't determine the era in which these events occurred. Was it decades ago, like the hotpot restaurant owner? Or was it recent? Why didn't it show a specific time?

The post described it as a "house that hunts people." This house usually occupied the unit opposite its target. So, what was the situation with the people in this opposite unit?

Zhu Ning hesitated, then decided not to enter the "Cozy Home" just yet. She intended to ask the neighbors first.

She stopped before the red door. There seemed to be someone inside; through the thin door panel, she could hear the rhythm of someone breathing. Someone was pressed against the door, listening to the commotion outside, peering through a distorted peephole. They were only a wall away from Zhu Ning, their breathing ragged with tension.

*Scritch, scritch...*

Zhu Ning knocked. "Is anyone home?"

She could feel the person inside tense up instantly, as if they were trying to stop themselves from breathing.

Zhu Ning continued, "I know someone is home. Could I ask a few questions? I won't take much of your time."

Silence. The person inside remained mute.

***

Zhu Ning considered just breaking the door down.

Perhaps the person was observing her appearance—she was wearing a full-body black protective suit and carrying a massive backpack; any normal person would likely mistake her for a criminal.

After about a minute, the person inside finally spoke, their voice trembling: "Are you... official?"

Official? Zhu Ning thought about the Cleaning Center and considered it an official institution. "Yes."

"Are you here to arrest me?"

Arrest him?

Zhu Ning felt the situation growing increasingly strange. Before she could clarify, the door was suddenly flung open.

A bearded, disheveled man stood behind it, his eyes bloodshot. He immediately blurted out, "Hurry up and arrest me! I can't take it anymore. Take me to prison! I'd rather go to jail!"

Zhu Ning: "?"

Who actually *wanted* to go to jail? Still, this man was alive; he was not a pollutant.

Zhu Ning acted with the patience of a social worker delivering relief. "Tell me about it slowly."

"Alright, I'll tell you slowly." The man seemed shocked that someone actually wanted to help him; his entire body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Should we go inside first?" Zhu Ning suggested.

The man seemed dazed, agreeing to whatever she said. "Yes, yes, come in. Come in and we'll talk."

They entered but left the door ajar, allowing Zhu Ning to clearly hear any movement in the hallway.

The apartment was a mess. The table was piled high with beer bottles and cigarette butts. The kitchen sink was overflowing with unwashed dishes; even without entering the kitchen, Zhu Ning could smell the stench of rot.

This wasn't the house where Huang Yaro had last lived. Zhu Ning surveyed the room and didn't sit on the sofa, instead standing to the side, maintaining a professional demeanor.

"Let's start with an introduction?"

"My name is Ding Chaojie, and I..." The disheveled man was too nervous, his legs bouncing uncontrollably. He seemed to find it difficult to say. "I'm a thief."

A thief? So direct?

Security in the wasteland was poor, and petty theft and robbery were rampant; the authorities were overwhelmed every year.

Ding Chaojie continued, "I broke into this house that day, intending to swipe a few things and leave, but after looking around, I realized no one seemed to be here."

"I have a lot of experience. I could tell at a glance that the owner hadn't been home for a long time. The place was abandoned. I thought, since I didn't have a place to stay, I’d just move in."

Ding Chaojie’s leg kept bouncing. "At first, there was nothing strange. The owner must have paid the utilities in advance, because the power and water stayed on for the whole month I lived here. I really started to treat it like my own home, even moving my luggage and furniture in."

"The day I moved, I invited some friends over—people from the streets. They even congratulated me on my 'housewarming.'"

When he mentioned the housewarming, Ding Chaojie offered a bitter smile. It wasn't a congratulation; in hindsight, it was a curse.

Zhu Ning raised an eyebrow. She thought she knew what was coming.

"I have a neighbor across the hall. His door is green, like you saw when you came in."

Zhu Ning nodded. "I saw it."

"I didn't pay much attention to it at first. But after I officially moved in, I felt something was wrong. There was always noise behind that green door."

"At first, it was a woman crying. I thought it was just a couple fighting, so I ignored it. Later, I realized I’d been living here for two months and had never actually seen what my neighbor looked like."

"But I didn't think much of it until one night when I was woken up. That family was incredibly noisy. It sounded like someone was hitting a punching bag inside. Every time they threw a punch, my apartment would shake. I couldn't take it anymore, so I went to ask them to keep it down."

"I knocked, but no one answered. I was in a foul mood from the noise, so I knocked really hard."

"But the harder I knocked, the heavier the punches became, as if they were picking a fight with me. My temper flared, so I looked through the peephole. And then, and then..."

Ding Chaojie suddenly looked up. "I saw an eye inside."

There was an eye staring back at him—blood-red, with not a trace of white to be seen.

Ding Chaojie said, "Usually, you can't see what's inside from the other side of a peephole. Not only could I see it, but the eye... it looked alive."

Ding Chaojie could feel a blast of heat, as if it weren't a peephole, but a scorching eyeball pressed directly against his own.

"I was terrified and ran away on the spot," Ding Chaojie repeated. "I ran away that very day."

"For the next few days, there were noises behind the green door. Someone was doing something in there, and the movements kept getting louder. I didn't dare knock again, but I couldn't report it either. After all, I wasn't the real owner of this house. If they found out, I'd go to jail."

"So I thought, it’s not my house anyway, why not just move? I had nothing to lose, I’d just abandon the apartment." Ding Chaojie clenched his fists, seemingly trapped in a horrific memory. "That’s when I realized that running away was even more terrifying."

Zhu Ning asked, "It targeted you?"

"Yes!" Ding Chaojie cursed. "Dammit, it targeted me! Every time I moved, it followed. After my first move, I was shocked—I thought I was hallucinating."

Ding Chaojie had moved, but the next morning he woke up to find the door across from his was green again. It had followed him.

"I didn't believe in the supernatural, so I kept moving. No matter where I went, it followed. Later, I even moved into a building with no neighbors."

"It was one of those buildings where the elevator opens to only one unit. I thought, 'I don't even have a neighbor now, let's see where you can open a door.' But the next morning, I woke up and found it embedded in the wall across from mine."

"Dammit, it dug into the wall! And every day it’s so loud. Every day someone is punching in there, every day my floor vibrates. I’m going crazy, I—"

Ding Chaojie pulled at his hair, tugging hard. "I'm losing my mind. It keeps following me, following me, following me..."

"I know I did wrong. This is God's punishment for me. Save me, please save me! Take me to jail, lock me up!"

Zhu Ning was silent.

The target in the graveyard post was Huang Yaro; now, the victim was Ding Chaojie. The house had found itself a new owner and began its hunt.

There were at least two known victims, and she didn't know how many others there were.

Furthermore, Ding Chaojie hadn't even entered the green door; he had entered the unit opposite it. Was this house bound to the one across the hall?

Zhu Ning asked, "How many times have you moved since this started?"

Ding Chaojie replied, "This is the fourth."

The fourth move, and the green door was still there. That proved the green door was the core. The apartment Ding Chaojie was in now wasn't the one where Huang Yaro disappeared; he had likely moved through many others. The graveyard post had simply provided the latest address.

Zhu Ning asked, "Have you ever tried opening the green door?"

Ding Chaojie answered, "I've thought about it, but I don't dare. I feel like if I go in, I’ll never come out."

"But..." Ding Chaojie licked his dry lips. "I want to go in more and more. I clearly don't want to, but the urge keeps growing. I don't know if you understand."

Zhu Ning replied, "I think I do."

Reason told Ding Chaojie not to enter, but once a person is spiritually contaminated, their reason is compromised. Ding Chaojie was being subjected to a constant, irresistible pull toward the green door.