Chapter 10

Expressionless, the man pulled the knife free. Blood spurted out, and Jiang Mingran fell.

The man stepped inside, surveyed the apartment, and looked at Shao Lan.

With multiple shattered bones throughout his body, Shao Lan was incapable of resisting.

The man crouched before him. In the dim light, Shao Lan could see his gaunt, hollowed cheeks and the dark circles and wrinkles beneath his eyes. His face was a picture of utter gloom and exhaustion.

He looked at Shao Lan. “Where is she?”

Instead of answering, Shao Lan asked, “Who?”

Before the word was fully out, the man raised his knife and drove it hard into Shao Lan’s shoulder.

He twisted the handle in the flesh. Blood splashed onto his face as he murmured numbly, “Is she dead?”

Shao Lan spat out a mouthful of blood. Through clenched teeth, he said, “Go downstairs now. You might still save her.”

He wanted to get the man away. But the man only paused, as though considering something. “Save her?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s far too late for that.”

He pulled out the knife, raised it high, and thrust it toward Shao Lan’s heart.

The blow would be fatal. Shao Lan had no strength left to stop it. He could only watch the cold gleam descend.

In a flash, a figure lunged at the man from behind.

Jiang Mingran.

Dying, he’d hauled himself off the floor and used the last of his strength to tackle the man.

The man’s head hit the floor. His grip loosened, sending the knife flying.

Flat on the floor, Shao Lan dragged himself toward it, inch by inch.

Jiang Mingran gripped the man’s throat. Blood kept pouring from his mouth, but he wouldn’t let go.

With all his strength, the man kicked Jiang Mingran off, turned, and pinned him down. He drove a hard punch into his face.

“You…”

The man opened his mouth. Blood spilled out.

He looked down and saw a knife tip protruding from his chest.

Shao Lan pulled the knife free. The man collapsed like a torn sack spurting blood.

“Hey…”

Shao Lan pushed the body aside, exposing Jiang Mingran’s blood-smeared face.

He looked at Shao Lan. Blood welled from his mouth with every word. “Is there… is there still a way?”

This time, they’d barely managed to get rid of the woman, and it had cost them death and terrible injuries.

Then a fake policeman had appeared, just as intent on killing them.

What kind of game was this? Was there really a way to survive?

Despair and fear gripped Jiang Mingran’s heart. He stared into Shao Lan’s eyes.

“There is,” Shao Lan said. “Trust me. There has to be.”

Jiang Mingran nodded. Then his pupils slowly dilated, his eyes losing focus.

He was dead.

That last bit of strength had only been his final rally before death.

Shao Lan slumped to the floor. His strength was spent, too. His vision blurred, while the sounds around him grew louder and more confused. Footsteps came from the corridor.

“Report! Something on the thirteenth floor! Possible crime scene!”

“Blood in the corridor!”

With difficulty, Shao Lan propped himself up and turned his head to listen.

He wasn’t hallucinating. The police had really arrived.

With the last of his strength, he pulled the security door open and collapsed.

…

“Report! Crime scene is apartment 1301. Three dead, one injured!”

“Suspect not found!”

Blood loss had blurred Shao Lan’s sight so badly that all he could make out were figures in white coats moving in front of him.

“Sir, stay awake! Can you hear me?”

He’d been saved. Medical staff were checking his injuries, preparing to lift him onto a stretcher.

But…

He turned his head. Not far away, white lines had been drawn on the floor. Jiang Mingran’s body lay in their center.

If the medical staff took him away now, Shao Lan would live. But the loop would end, and Jiang Mingran and Uncle Bing would be left here forever.

Just minutes ago, Jiang Mingran had promised that if Shao Lan died, he’d kill himself to give them another loop.

The truth was, Shao Lan hadn’t entirely believed him.

People were selfish. There was only one loop left. If you could survive this one, why gamble your life on the next?

And it was so dangerous. This time there’d been a fake policeman who hadn’t appeared before. Who knew what else would turn up next time? Who could guarantee survival?

All he had to do was lie still. The doctors would take him away, and the loop would end.

But…

Shao Lan picked up the knife from the floor and drove it into his own chest.

“Sir!”

The people around him rushed over. Shao Lan twisted the handle, then used the last of his strength to pull the knife out.

Blood sprayed. As his consciousness drifted, he closed his eyes.

The scattered clues in his mind slowly came together, a river shimmering with light. He only had to follow its current to reach the truth at its end.

The diary. The married couple. The woman’s belly. The fake policeman who’d suddenly appeared.

Writing down the number. Never making the call. Pieces of bodies found all over the city. The sound of a door opening and closing.

And the rule carved into the floor: “Owls are birds skilled at disguise. Do not trust the owl.”

Wait. So that was it.

That was it…

So that was it!

…

Drip. Drip.

Jiang Mingran opened his eyes to the sound of water.

He lay on the camp bed in the small bedroom. Everything before him was familiar.

The funeral altar. Just one goldfish left. The owl clock.

It was 3:58 a.m. They had one last chance.

If they failed to escape again, what awaited them was death for real.

Jiang Mingran slapped his head hard, trying to keep himself alert.

One last chance. Be careful. Think through every step. No mistakes…

“Jiang Mingran! Get a knife from the kitchen!”

A shout suddenly came from outside.

He froze.

It was Shao Lan’s voice.

What was he doing? Had Shao Lan started fighting the monster head-on? How could they possibly beat that thing?

His legs moved faster than his mind. He was still dazed, but already sprinting out.

He grabbed a knife and rushed to the living room. The person struggling with Shao Lan wasn’t the monster. It was a man in an old jacket.

The fake policeman who’d appeared at the end of the last loop!

Shao Lan had an arm around his neck from behind. The man struggled like a cornered animal, kicking over the living room table and scattering clutter across the floor.

Jiang Mingran hurried toward them. Something caught his foot, pitching him forward. He was about to land flat on his face.

At the last instant, he threw the knife. “Lan!”

With one arm still locked around the man, Shao Lan reached up with his other hand, caught the handle firmly, and laid the blade across the man’s throat.

“Don’t move.” Shao Lan looked calmly ahead. “Move, and I’ll kill him.”

Jiang Mingran scrambled awkwardly up from the scattered junk. The other bedroom door opened, too. Uncle Bing held the doorframe as he and Jiang Mingran stared in shock at what faced Shao Lan.

The bathroom door slowly opened. The monstrous woman stood inside.