Apartment from Hell Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1 – The Sinister Apartment
Li Yin suddenly opens his eyes.
His heart hurts intolerably, as though it is being burned in an inferno.
It is here…again?
This time, is it my turn?
Li Yin props himself up and switches on the bedside lamp. At this point, the intense pain of his heart is finally slightly relieved.
He gets off the bed and puts on his slippers. After that, he walks out of the bedroom and arrives at the living room outside, switching on the light.
He sees that thing.
On the snow white wall in the living room, a line of words written in fresh blood suddenly appears. If ordinary people see this extremely creepy scene at this moment in the middle of the night, they will be scared soulless.
But Li Yin barely responds.
“It is my turn again… ”
He carefully inspects the line of words.
“From June 7th to July 7th, Year 2010, head to the Village of Tranquil Water by X city’s cityside and live there for this entire month.”
This line of creepy blood words blurs immediately after Li Yin finishes reading it. It seems like the wall is absorbing the blood. Gradually, it…disappears.
The Village of Tranquil Water…
Li Yin memorizes this name.
Although he wants to go back to bed, it is impossible to fall asleep again. So instead, he turns on the living room lights, makes himself a cup of tea and starts to drink it. He has no habit of smoking so tea is a subst.i.tute. Perhaps coffee will achieve a better effect. But Li Yin always feels that savoring the aroma of the tea is the easiest way to calm his mood.
Looking at the reflection of his face on the surface of the tea, Li Yin grasps the cup tightly.
It has been… almost one year since he moved into this apartment.
Although one year cannot be considered long, to Li Yin it feels like countless years have already pa.s.sed.
The next day, when the early morning sun just begins to rise, Li Yin who curled up by the dining table wakes up.
He fell asleep wearing only a thin pajama, covered with only a single fur blanket which might cause him to catch a cold.
The tea leftover in the teacup in front of the table is already completely cold.
He checks the wall clock in the living room. It is already… 6 a.m..
Li Yin rubs his eyes, before was.h.i.+ng up and dressing neatly. Afterwards, he makes himself breakfast by frying an egg that he slips between two slices of bread he bought yesterday and applying a small dash of salad sauce. This will be it for today’s breakfast.
Li Yin is actually very proficient at cooking. Because he has lived alone for a long time, it is necessary to learn how to cook. After so long, he has naturally learned a variety of delicious cuisines.
Biting into the homemade sandwich and then taking out the milk from the microwave, Li Yin flips opens up his planner. He begins to make plans for the next month – the month of June.
He is an web novelist. As he is quite well-known on the internet, he is already currently in a writing contract with a company. So normally, he only needs to write at home to receive pay for his ma.n.u.script to earn a living.
“It won’t really be a problem.” Biting into his sandwich, he says to himself, “I’ll be fine as long as I bring my notes with me in June and post new chapters of my novel. Yeah…it’s just that anything can happen during that time.”
He puts down the calendar down, then chews the bread and fried egg inside of his mouth. His hands clench tightly into fists.
I must stay alive… I must come back here alive!
After putting on his clothes, he walks out of his room, but does not lock the door.
His room number on the 4th floor, room 404, is very inauspicious. But he was not the one who could make the decision on which room he wanted.
He comes down to the 1st floor of the apartment. There are no residents on the 1st floor. It is instead a huge reception room similar to that of a hotel. There are sofas and chairs placed everywhere in the reception room for people to rest.
There are 3 people sitting on one of the sofas.
Seeing Li Yin coming towards them, those three people stand up simultaneously.
One is a bespectacled tall man wearing a suit, the other is a fresh-faced young boy wearing a hat, and the last one is a young lady in a green western-styled dress with a very cute and pretty face.
“You guys… Did that line of b.l.o.o.d.y words appear on your walls as well?” Li Yin contemplates for a second, and asks.
Those three people all nod coincidentally.
They are all residents of this apartment.
“So it is like that. Then at least this time, I will have 3 teammates.” Li Yin feels a bit relieved, and sits down with them.
The 4 of them have equally serious expressions.
“Li Yin… ” Looking very worried, the pretty young lady in green says, “Will we really… be okay? This time, we need to stay for a whole month? And it’s at a rural village that is far away from city? ”
“Yeah,” the bespectacled man in the suit says: “I checked the map. The boundary of X city is backed by huge mountains. It is very desolate and remote. Not even the Hope Crew (1) can make contact with them. It is a truly primitive rural mountain village.”
“China has far too many villages.” Li Yin remains resolute. “Of such poor and primitive villages so disparate from the cities, there are definitely not just a few. Don’t think too much. Anyway, this isn’t the first time.”
“But…I’m still very…” The bespectacled young man in the suit seems to want to say something more but he is stopped by the boy in the hat.
The atmosphere once again descends abruptly into silence.
Another long period of time pa.s.ses without anyone showing up. Probably, the b.l.o.o.d.y words that materialised on the walls of the house only appeared in front of the four of them.
“It’s almost seven.” Li Yin looks at his watch and says, “The three of you can head to work first. I’ll continue to wait here. If there are new members, I’ll call you guys.”
Li Yin’s calmness and acuity help them feel secure. So one by one, these 3 people stand up and leave the apartment.
Just then, Li Yin is already accessing on the internet on his phone, but he still cannot find any information on this place called the Village of Tranquil Water. But since it was already said that it is at the borders of X city, they will find it eventually.
If they cannot find it only depending on these clues, then the b.l.o.o.d.y words will provide instructions towards a more precise address.