A Happy Home

On the fourth day, an abnormal, almost malicious "vitality" broke the deathly silence of the past few days.

The leaden gloom that had lingered for several days mysteriously dissipated, and the pale, cold sunlight shone down like a searchlight, casting overly clear, angular spots of light through the windowpane onto the dusty floor.

Instead of bringing warmth, the light made the shadows in the corners of the room appear even darker and more intense.

What's even more unsettling is the sound.

Outside the window, the sounds of children playing and laughing could be heard.

The laughter was crisp and cheerful, the rhythmic thud of the ball hitting the ground mingled with the sounds of running footsteps and childish shouts, creating a vibrant and lively scene. This sound was so "normal," so "beautiful," forming a stark contrast to the suffocating despair and decay within the "Happy Home."

It's like a slender yet resilient thread, wrapping around the nerves of each candidate on the verge of collapse, gently teasing them, and luring them to the brink of destruction.

Even Kobayashi, whose mind was almost numb, seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, slowly propping himself up from the bed. A faint flame called "desire" ignited in his cloudy eyes as he stared intently at the window that separated the inside and outside worlds.

Old Wang's throat tightened, and he forced himself to stay alert, but his gaze drifted uncontrollably to the window. The long-lost "normal" scenery eroded his will like poison.

Even Ah-Qiang, lying next door on the verge of death, seemed to hear this seductive voice. He made an ambiguous, urgent "hoho" sound in his throat, and his withered fingers twitched slightly.

Xiaomei practically lunged towards the window.

She peered greedily through the glass out—lush green grass (the green was almost unnaturally vibrant), clean streets, and several blurry little figures in brightly colored clothes chasing and playing in the distance. All of this contrasted sharply with the filthy, oppressive, death-filled cage she inhabited, creating a scene of heaven and hell.

A genuine smile, filled with anticipation and longing, appeared on her face for the first time in days, as if she had seen a glimmer of hope for escape.

Just then, "Mom's" voice, like a leech, came again from the depths of the corridor, gentle yet chilling: "Children, the weather is so 'nice' today..."

Her tone carried a false sense of pleasure, "But you're all too 'weak,' you can't be exposed to drafts, and you definitely can't go out to play." Her voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an undeniable warning, "Stay in your room obediently, and once you're 'well'... you can do whatever you want."

"When you're fully recovered?" These words, like a cold iron clamp, instantly tightened around everyone's hearts. Here, "fully recovered" might never come.

The flame in Xiaolin's eyes died out. He slumped back onto the bed and pulled the covers over his head. Old Wang pinched his thigh hard, forcing himself to turn around and face away from the window. Aqiang let out a desperate whimper and stopped moving.

But Xiaomei is different.

The fear and depression of the past few days, along with her almost pathological longing for the "outside world," combined with her subconscious distorted obsession with livestream traffic (she always felt that the "blandness" of the past few days would cause her to lose viewers), swelled her rebellious and wishful thinking to the extreme.

"Just opening the window... to let in some fresh air... it's not going out... Mom's in the kitchen... she won't know..." she murmured to herself, as if casting a hypnotic spell on herself, her trembling hand slowly reaching for the window latch.

In the live stream chat, the number of comments surged instantly, filled with an ominous premonition:

【Don't open the window! Xiaomei, don't open the window!】

[It all looks so fake outside! This is definitely a trap!]

The rules only say not to go out, but they didn't say not to open windows, right? (Trying to take a chance)

[Don't mislead me, upstairs! This is clearly a trap! Mom specifically emphasized that!]

[Oh no, Xiaomei's eyes are weird, she's really going to get herself into trouble!]

Under the watchful eyes (through the camera) of countless people, some terrified and others trying to dissuade her, Xiaomei bit her lower lip and, with all her might, pushed open the window that seemed as heavy as a thousand pounds!

"Squeak—"

The window rubbed against the frame, making a screeching sound.

Just as the window opened a narrow crack—

A vision of hell suddenly descends!

The "bright" sunlight outside the window was like thick, still-uncongealed blood splashed on by an invisible giant hand, instantly turning into a nauseating crimson. The whole world was stained with the color of blood, sticky and dripping.

The originally clear and cheerful laughter of children was twisted and deformed at the same moment, as if countless records were broken and scraped at the same time, turning into screams and wails that filled the sky and earth.

The sound was filled with endless pain, resentment, and despair, as if thousands of souls were being torn apart at the same time, frantically assaulting the eardrums and reaching the depths of the soul!

What's even more terrifying is—

A withered, charred arm, as if burned by a raging fire and reduced to skin and bones, pierced through the crack in the window with a chilling, foul stench of rotting flesh and grave soil, moving faster than the eye could perceive! Its five fingers spread wide, its sharp, black nails like poisoned daggers, aimed directly at Xiaomei's face, which was inches away!

The skin on that arm was taut, covered with twisted, writhing black lines that emanated the purest death and malice!

"ah--!!!"

Xiao Mei's screams were heart-wrenching, her pupils shrank to two pinpoint black dots, and extreme fear seemed to freeze the blood in her body instantly! The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything, and she unleashed unprecedented strength, slamming her shoulder hard against the window!

"Bang!!!"

With a loud bang, the window slammed shut!

"Snap!"

The sickening crack of bone breaking was clearly audible! The withered, black arm was snapped off by the heavy window frame! No blood flowed from the break, only a black, viscous substance, like tar, slowly seeped out.

The severed arm trapped outside the window twitched and spasmed violently like a fish out of water, its dark fingernails scratching and scraping frantically at the glass and wooden window frame, making a creaking noise that made your scalp tingle, filled with resentment and violence!

Xiao Mei collapsed to the ground, her whole body soaked in cold sweat, as if she had just been pulled out of the water.

Her heart pounded wildly, almost leaping out of her throat. She gasped for breath, but all she felt was icy despair. She stared in terror at the still-shaking window, the blinding blood outside, the incessant wailing of ghosts. The last trace of color drained from her face, leaving only a deeper, more profound fear of surviving a catastrophe.

She finally understood that the window did not connect to hope, but to a deeper and more terrifying abyss!

Throughout the entire process, Shi Mo never looked towards the window.

He didn't even change the position he was in, leaning against the headboard.

Without him noticing, he held an old book in his hand, its cover blurred and seemingly weathered by time, taken from the bookshelf in his room. He lowered his eyes, his slender fingers casually turning a yellowed page.

The sunlight outside the window suddenly turned blood red, the cheers turned into screams, a withered hand broke through the window, Xiao Mei screamed and closed the window, the severed hand scratched wildly... This series of terrifying changes that happened in the blink of an eye, enough to drive anyone crazy, seemed to have failed to attract even the slightest bit of his attention.

After a brief silence, the live stream descended into complete chaos and frenzy:

【Aaaaaaah! (So scared she's incoherent)】

[Blood! It's all blood! The outside is a sea of ​​blood!]

That laughter...that wasn't a child's laughter at all! It was the laughter of a demon! It was the laughter of a vengeful spirit!

[A hand! That hand! It's still moving! It's grabbing! (Panic)]

Xiao Mei was almost arrested! Just a hair's breadth away!

[(Trembling) Shi Mo... Shi Mo, he...]

He's still reading?! He's fucking reading?!

From beginning to end! He didn't even turn his head slightly! He didn't even lift his eyelids!

This goes beyond mere composure! This is... inhuman indifference!

He definitely knew! He must have known all along that opening the window would cause this!

[We don't understand the world of these big shots... but this reaction is terrifying!]

I'm increasingly finding him scarier than any ghost out there! (Honestly)

The sound of "Mom's" footsteps grew closer, accompanied by her half-hearted "concerned" inquiry: "What's wrong? What was that sound? Xiaomei, are you alright?"

Xiao Mei, slumped on the ground, listened to her "mother's" hypocritical voice, looked out the window at the severed hand still frantically scratching and the pervasive bloodstains, and finally, her gaze fell on the silver-haired man who seemed to be detached from the whole thing and whose breathing rate had not changed at all.

A chilling sensation, even more piercing than the evil spirits outside the window, like a cold, venomous snake, shot from her tailbone all the way to the top of her head, leaving her body ice-cold.

The horror of this instance far exceeded her imagination.

And that man named Shi Mo... his very existence is the greatest horror.