章 9: The Secret of the Storage Room
Rule C, third rule: [If intense knocking comes from the storage room, do not open it.]
The knocking from the storage room grew more frantic, as if something inside was desperate to break out. Zhou Bai took a step back, suppressing his curiosity, and turned to walk back to the living room. The black dog was curled up in a ball. Zhou Bai wrapped it in his clothes, trying to offer warmth to ease its fear, and placed it on the sofa. The dog immediately moved closer to Zhou Bai, leaning against him and whimpering softly.
Zhou Bai took a candy from the coffee table, unwrapped it, and offered it to the dog. The dog licked it a few times before taking it into its mouth. At that moment, the system's mechanical voice sounded in Zhou Bai's mind.
[Congratulations, host. Father's affection +20.]
[You have gained an additional chance to identify an error.]
Father? Zhou Bai had suspected, but receiving confirmation from the system still sent shockwaves through him. The black dog was actually his father. Before he could fully process this, the system's voice continued.
[Rule C, third rule, is incorrect.]
Another shock hit Zhou Bai. He quickly looked towards the storage room.
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The knocking from inside the storage room hadn't stopped. Zhou Bai took a deep breath, walked to the storage room door, and placed his hand on the doorknob. The viewers were once again terrified by Zhou Bai's actions.
—"What is Zhou Bai doing?"
—"No way, is he really going to open the storage room door?"
—"Did he forget the rules?"
Zhou Bai turned the doorknob. Surprisingly, the door wasn't locked and opened easily. As he opened the door, the knocking stopped, and silence returned. The storage room was nearly empty, except for a refrigerator in the center, plugged in and running, looking out of place.
Zhou Bai walked up to the refrigerator and opened the door. One glance was enough.
"Snap!"
He quickly shut the refrigerator door, covering his mouth to stifle the urge to vomit.
"Whoosh~"
Someone stood behind Zhou Bai, close enough to feel their breath on his ear. Zhou Bai shivered and stepped back, turning to see his father's wrinkled face right in front of him. Zhou Bai stared at "it," his heart pounding in the eerie silence. His father smiled and stepped closer.
"Buzz!"
Zhou Bai's mind was tightly wound, his heart racing. He had a premonition that the storyline of this scenario was right in front of him. The viewers were equally tense, barely daring to breathe.
"When did I give myself away?" Zhou Bai asked.
"Two nights ago."
"Oh?"
His father's old, withered face tilted in confusion. On Zhou Bai's first night in the horror world, "it" had said, "Come over and have some fruit with your parents," while his mother had said, "Watch some TV with me." The difference was that his father referred to "parents," while his mother referred to herself alone. Over the past two days, Zhou Bai had noticed that neither his wife nor his mother interacted directly with his father. This suggested they might not even see "it," likely due to the effects of the pills they were taking.
"It" had overlooked this detail when speaking two nights ago. "Father" remained silent for a moment, then burst into laughter. Suddenly, his father's face disintegrated, revealing the face of a woman identical to the one outside the window every night and the one in the refrigerator.
Zhou Bai's mind raced with questions. Why was her body in the refrigerator? Who killed her? Why did she become "it"? The answers seemed just out of reach, almost ready to piece together the scenario's storyline.
The eerie silence was palpable as Zhou Bai and the red-dressed woman stared at each other. Behind him was a corpse, and in front was the eerie "it." Maintaining composure in such a situation was nearly impossible. The viewers felt the tension, their hearts racing.
Breaking the silence, a phone rang. The red-dressed woman watched Zhou Bai intently, as did the viewers.
—"This phone call feels like something out of a horror movie."
—"I've got goosebumps."
—"Are there any rules about phone calls? Should he answer it?"
The phone rang insistently. Zhou Bai glanced at "it," then walked past "it" to answer the phone.
"Hello, who is this?" Zhou Bai asked.
A professional-sounding woman replied, "Is this Mr. Zhou Bai?"
"Yes, it's me."
"This is the 'Effective Pharmaceuticals' company. Your wife, Li Li, works for us."
Zhou Bai recalled Rule C, second rule: [If you receive a call from your wife's company, ask which department is calling. If they say it's the R&D department, hang up immediately.]
He became alert. "Sorry to interrupt, but which department are you from?"
After a moment of static and beeping, the woman's voice returned. "I'm from the sales department."
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