The weapon by the pillow

Chapter 59 Disobedient Eyelids

"Listen," Cheng Tan lowered his voice, quickly deploying the plan, "We can't be scattered. Use this hole in the wall and the door to 402 as leverage. Li Kai, Shadow, you two are on this side of the wall hole, guarding the entrance to the mezzanine and the escape route to 403. Lynx, Teacher Wu, you two are on either side inside the door to 402; if anyone comes in from the outside, ambush them immediately. Lin Qian, A Zhe, Xiao Fei, you three are in the center of the room, against the wall, supporting each other. I..."

He looked at his empty hands, then bent down and picked up a rusty paper cutter from the side of his feet.

"I'm on the move. Everyone remember, if they come in and there are fewer of them, we'll try to control them. If there are more of them or they're armed, don't fight them head-on. Retreat to 403 immediately, block the hole in the wall, and wait for the police. Our primary goal is self-preservation and stalling for time, not to fight to the death. It's... to survive!"

The seven people nodded solemnly and took their places.

As the flashlight beam dimmed, the faint light became everyone's only source of warmth.

The room fell silent again, filled with waiting.

Cheng Tan gripped the paper cutter tightly, his ears perked up, catching every subtle sound.

The sound from downstairs? No.

Sounds outside the door? No.

The sounds outside the window? Only rain.

But the intuition that danger was approaching grew stronger and stronger.

Like the smell of ozone that permeates the air before a storm.

coming.

He could sense the approaching danger.

The "director," or the "actor" he sent, is about to make his appearance.

These eight "clumsy actors" will risk their lives in a final... counterattack.

Time slipped towards 3:45 a.m.

However, Cheng Tan felt his eyelids drooping in waves.

The nosebleed is getting worse!

He faintly heard a very faint sound:

"squeak"

Like a mouse squeak, it flashed by the closest point to Li Kai.

"Who!" Li Kai seemed to have heard it too, and waved the pliers in his hand in the air.

But they found nothing.

Just then, Lin Qian suddenly said, "I'm getting a nosebleed too!"

"Me too!"

"I also……"

Several people cried out in terror.

"Everyone, quickly find some cloth to cover your mouth and nose... We might be... poisoned!" Cheng Tan felt his eyelids getting heavy. He leaned against the wall and said with difficulty, while tearing off a piece of cloth himself.

But at that very moment, right across from him, a person stood up.

"I am guilty!"

It was Li Kai. He shone the flashlight into his face, revealing a hideous and distorted face covered in blood.

Everyone was stunned.

"Li Kai... what are you doing!" Shadow shouted, but it had no effect. Li Kai continued speaking.

"I... am the murderer!"

His words surprised everyone once again.

"It was me who arranged this scene and brought everyone here for this ceremony... to commemorate my sister!"

"It was me, thirteen years ago... who neglected her and was indifferent to her when she needed me most, which led to her death!"

"It was me who, after our mother died, neglected the bond between sisters, repeatedly verbally abusing her, forcing her to leave the warmth of our family, and ultimately being bullied and humiliated by others..."

"I'm the culprit... I'm the murderer!! The murderer..."

"It was me... who killed my sister, my own sister!"

……

"Something's wrong! He's acting strangely... He's in danger! Shadow, quick, grab her and shut him up!" Cheng Tan's eyelids were heavy with sleep. He struggled to raise his hand and shouted with all his might.

But out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the shadow beside him... seemed to be standing up as well!

"We...we've been poisoned!"

What's even more frightening is the change in the field of vision.

The room was spinning, it was twisting.

The beams of the flashlights were no longer straight beams; they flowed and spread like melted butter, elongating, shattering, and piecing together everyone's shadows into bizarre shapes.

The stains on the wall seemed to come alive, winding and crawling like black vines.

Li Kai's face, contorted with excitement and tears, appeared magnified and shrank in the swaying light, like an image in a funhouse mirror.

"I am guilty... I am... the murderer..."

Li Kai's voice also changed, sometimes sharp and piercing, sometimes low and roaring like a beast, crashing back and forth in Cheng Tan's distorted hearing.

He swung the pliers wildly in his hand, the metallic glint drawing strange arcs.

"Li Kai! Calm down! Put the pliers down!" But as he spoke, a struggling expression appeared on Shadow's face, and veins bulged on his forehead, as if he was using great willpower to fight against something.

There were also dark red marks under his nose.

Not just them.

Cheng Tan rolled his eyes. He saw Lynx leaning against the doorframe, choking himself, his eyes wide open, making strange noises in his throat; Wu Wenbin slumped on the ground, his hands covering his head, his body curled up like a shrimp, trembling violently; A Zhe and Xiao Fei were gripping each other's arms, their eyes unfocused; Lin Qian was leaning against the wall, one hand covering her nose, the other hand digging into the wall so hard that her nails broke and bled, she bit her lip tightly, trying to stay awake.

Mass poisoning!

This is no ordinary poison!

The other side has made their move!

This is something that can affect the nervous system, create hallucinations, amplify emotions, and even induce self-destructive tendencies!

Amidst extreme dizziness and confusion, Cheng Tan managed to squeeze out a sliver of clarity from his mind.

The smell...that sweet, fishy smell!

It has been there since the entrance to the mezzanine was discovered, initially very faint.

Later, when they were pretending to make Liu Li's "accusations," everyone became emotional, their breathing became rapid, and they inhaled even more... Later, they retreated to the border between 403 and 402 to set up defenses... The concentration unknowingly reached the critical point!

Where is the source? The mezzanine? Behind the secret door they pried open? Or... the entire room's ventilation system?

"Ventilation... vent..." Cheng Tan uttered hoarsely, raising his arm, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and pointing to the corner of the ceiling—where there was a rusty square iron vent.

That's not an ordinary ventilation opening! In these old buildings, many ventilation ducts have long been abandoned and blocked, but this one...

"Stop...it..." Cheng Tan felt his tongue begin to go numb.

"I killed her! It was me! I used an ice pick... an electrical wire... a wrench... I used everything! I hate her! I hate that she was so clean! I hate that she wouldn't rot with me! I'm the murderer—!"

Li Kai's confession has become detached from reality, mixed with distorted hallucinations and deep-seated guilt, turning into a frenzied rambling.

The lynx began banging its head against the door, making a loud thud, muttering, "Let me out... I'm innocent... I just came here to explore... Don't kill me... Don't kill me..."

Wu Wenbin lay prostrate on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to the air: "Dad... I was wrong... I shouldn't have read your diary... I shouldn't have come looking for you... Please forgive me... Please forgive me..."

Ah Zhe and Xiao Fei hugged each other, crying their hearts out and becoming incoherent.

In the dim light, Cheng Tan saw a face.

A woman's face, a dead man's face, flickered before him:

Are you...surprised?