602 Man-Eating Apartment

Chapter 11

As Zhao Lirui stated, she lived opposite apartment 602 in building 6 of Buyun Garden, and apartment 604 in building 7. In her bedroom, Su Yang saw a high-powered telescope pointed directly at the living room window of apartment 602.

Zhao Lirui blushed as she watched Su Yang fiddling with the binoculars. "Alright, stop doing that. Have a cup of hot tea."

As Su Yang took the hot tea, he asked, "How did you know I entered 602 in the early morning? I thought you were observing the main entrance."

"Hey, how could I possibly monitor 24 hours a day? I've thought about it. If someone wants to enter 602, it only takes a minute if they have a key. But once they're inside, they'll definitely need light. So, I can determine if someone has entered by simply observing whether the curtains are open or if there's a flashlight beam coming from inside."

"You're really smart," Su Yang exclaimed.

“That’s called being smart,” Zhao Lirui said, a blush creeping across her face. “If I could really hypnotize you, wouldn’t I become a genius?”

Su Yang chuckled, "The world is not lacking in geniuses, but rather in eyes that can recognize them."

"You're such a chatterbox!" Zhao Lirui chuckled and scolded, then said seriously, "But I still want to remind you that I only know a little bit about hypnosis, and I know even less about the kind of hypnosis you mentioned earlier where consciousness is 'implanted'. I only know that anti-hypnosis is very risky, and it's possible that the conflict between two consciousnesses could lead to your mental breakdown. You should think carefully about the consequences."

"Don't worry, I won't sue you for operating without a license," Su Yang joked, glancing around at the same time. "So, how should we begin?"

Zhao Lirui said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I don't have any professional props here, so you can lie on my bed."

Su Yang chuckled, "You get such good treatment?"

Zhao Lirui glared at her, "She's so nervous, and you're still trying to take advantage of her?"

Su Yang clicked his tongue, obediently got into bed, and turned to ask, "Do you want to take off your clothes?"

"Pah, what nonsense are you thinking?" Zhao Lirui snapped. "Lie down now and follow my instructions."

Seeing that Zhao Lirui was really angry, Su Yang didn't dare to provoke her anymore. He lay quietly in bed, feeling a unique feminine fragrance wafting towards him. His heart fluttered, and a long-lost sense of happiness surged over him like a tide, almost overwhelming him.

"What's wrong? You were buzzing like a fly just now, and now you've suddenly become mute? You weren't asleep, were you?"

Su Yang forced a smile, "No. I'm just waiting for you, Master, to give the instruction to hypnotize me."

Zhao Lirui turned on the stereo next to her and put in a guzheng CD. The music poured out like a gentle stream, filling the entire room. Su Yang listened quietly, his heart gradually being moved: there were so many beautiful things in life worth cherishing and longing for.

Zhao Lirui watched with satisfaction as Su Yang's expression calmed down. She moved a chair, sat on the edge of the bed, turned on the DV camera, pointed it at Su Yang, and prepared to record the entire hypnosis process. Then, in a gentle voice, she said to Su Yang, "Okay, from now on you must follow my instructions completely. I hope you can relax and cooperate."

Su Yang looked at Zhao Lirui with complete trust.

"Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath, a very deep breath, let fresh air enter your body, and energize every cell. Then exhale forcefully, imagining you expel all the carbon dioxide from your body, and also expel all fatigue, tension, sadness, and other unpleasant emotions, until your whole body begins to relax. You can imagine you are lying on a calm lake, gently drifting, drifting... You feel very comfortable, every nerve in your body begins to relax... It's like a pair of hands gently massaging your whole body, your brain begins to relax... your neck begins to relax... your chest... your lower abdomen... your shoulders begin to relax... and your left hand, your right hand... Yes, just straighten naturally, relax, please keep your deep breathing, you will feel more relaxed and more comfortable... Now it's your left leg... your right leg... Okay, your whole body is relaxed."

Zhao Lirui wiped the sweat from her forehead. She observed that Su Yang's expression had become peaceful, his breathing had gradually become lighter, and his arms, wrists, and fingers were relaxed in a natural state. He had entered a mild hypnotic state.

Zhao Lirui knew that Su Yang's inner conflict was too deep, and that deep hypnosis was necessary to uncover the repressed parts of his subconscious.

"Now imagine you're standing at the bottom of a staircase, ready to go down. There are ten steps. With each step, your body will feel lighter and more comfortable, and your mind will feel more peaceful and serene. Now, follow my instructions: Go down to the first step, and your body and mind will feel more relaxed... Continue down to the second step, and you'll feel increasingly peaceful... Continue down to the third step, and your body will begin to feel light... Continue down to the fourth step, and you'll feel your body ascending... Then the fifth step... You'll delve deeper into your subconscious... Continue down to the sixth step, and all the pressure and constraints will disappear. You'll fly freely... The seventh step... You'll feel an unprecedented sense of comfort and enjoyment... Reach the eighth step, and you've returned to your spiritual home, finding complete safety and tranquility... Go down to the ninth step, and you're about to reach a deep, hypnotic state of relaxation... You reach the last step, the tenth step, and you are the universe, and the universe is you... You're about to enter the basement, into the depths of your soul, to explore the power of your entire universe... Tell me how you feel right now."

Apartment 602, the Man-Eating Apartment, Part Fourteen (3)

Su Yang spoke softly and with immense joy, "I feel so comfortable. I've entered a space filled with soft white light, and I feel so relaxed..."

Zhao Lirui breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that at least so far she had succeeded in bringing Su Yang into his subconscious.

She leaned closer to his ear in a gentler voice and whispered, “Now I will slowly count from one to ten. Your subconscious will automatically guide you back to a certain time in the past, to an event that had a key impact on you. When I count to ten, whatever you see or think, please describe it in detail. After you describe it, you will let go of the burden in your heart and enter into true peace and tranquility.”

"One...two...three..." When Zhao Lirui counted to ten, she noticed that Su Yang's entire eyeballs began to move rapidly, and the muscles in his face twitched. Zhao Lirui immediately tensed up; she knew that Su Yang was encountering obstacles in entering his subconscious and was unable to break through.

"Su Yang, tell me quickly, what exactly did you see?"

"It's such a dark room... Someone has a knife... Ah, don't cut off my head, it hurts so much..." Suddenly, Su Yang's whole body began to struggle violently, thrashing about like a fish that had fallen onto a deck. His temples throbbed wildly, as if someone was pressing down on his brain, preventing him from going any further into his subconscious.

“Su Yang… Su Yang…” Zhao Lirui panicked. Her teacher had never discussed such a violent reaction in her classes. Seeing Su Yang's pain, her heart ached, and she felt helpless. “Waaah…” Zhao Lirui burst into tears. “Su Yang, don’t scare me! Wake up, wake up!” She shook Su Yang’s body desperately, but only felt his body grow stiffer and stiffer, his facial expression more and more distorted, especially his eyes, which were wide open and empty, almost bulging out of their sockets.

Zhao Lirui stood up in horror, "He's going to die..." For a moment, her brain felt like it had been struck by lightning, a tingling numbness followed by a blank. She stared blankly at Su Yang's painful struggle on the bed.

White foam flowed from Su Yang's mouth.

Suddenly, Zhao Lirui heard a meow outside the window, pulling her back to reality. She instinctively looked out the window and saw the black cat standing on the windowsill, staring at Su Yang through the glass.

Suddenly, it was as if Su Yang had cleared the blockage in his brain, and he calmed down, his expression gradually softening.

Zhao Lirui rushed to the bedside with joy, shaking Su Yang's arm and crying tears of happiness, "That's wonderful, that's wonderful, you're finally better. Tell me, what did you see?"

"The black cat... meowed once... and the head disappeared." Su Yang said intermittently, drooling.

"The head is gone..." Zhao Lirui repeated Su Yang's last words, her heart pounding violently. She continued to shake Su Yang in terror, "Tell me quickly, did you take the head? Did you kill someone?"

But Su Yang remained as if dead, showing no further reaction.

Zhao Lirui stared blankly at Su Yang, her mind a jumble of confusion. Since Su Yang could say "the head is missing" in his dream, it meant he had at least witnessed the murder scene. However, judging from his reaction, there should be a force desperately preventing him from returning to the scene. What was that force? Was it Zhu Su's ghostly aura, or…

When Zhao Lirui looked back out the window, she found that the black cat had vanished without a trace. She rushed to the window, opened it, and leaned out. Outside, there was nothing but bare walls. "How did it come here, and how did it leave?" Zhao Lirui felt like she was about to collapse. The more she thought about it, the more bizarre it seemed, something that shouldn't happen in the human world.

She hurriedly closed the window and drew the curtains, fearing that something ominous might enter the room. Sitting in the chair, her chest heaved rapidly, unable to calm down for a long time. "There's nothing to be afraid of, nothing to be afraid of," she desperately told herself. "It's just a black cat, a cat, a small beast, a human's plaything."

After finally managing to suppress the panic in her heart, Zhao Lirui stood up and poured herself a glass of water, only to find that her whole body was still trembling uncontrollably, and she even spilled most of the water she poured.

After taking a sip of water, Zhao Lirui felt much more relaxed. She turned to look at Su Yang and found him fast asleep, with a few white bubbles still clinging to his lips from before he fell asleep. She took out a tissue and gently wiped away the bubbles.

Zhao Lirui sat in the chair, watching Su Yang sleep soundly, a strange feeling stirring within her. This man before her, just hours before, was a stranger, yet now he slept peacefully in her bed. Perhaps in his dreams, he considered this place his home—a safe, warm home—completely forgetting his past hardships and ignoring her worries, her tears, and her anxieties. Isn't everyone searching for this sense of belonging in life, to unload all burdens and simply sleep soundly and peacefully, including herself?

Zhao Lirui stared blankly, lost in thought, forgetting the time and all her previous fears.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Yang's body trembled. Zhao Lirui snapped out of her daze and realized that she had fallen asleep in the chair without realizing it. What bothered her even more was that she had been tightly holding Su Yang's hand in her sleep. She hurriedly let go and looked up at the alarm clock on the bedside table; it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

Su Yang slowly opened his eyes. He had clearly experienced a brief period of amnesia, unsure of his surroundings, until he saw Zhao Lirui's beautiful face and came to his senses. Embarrassed, he threw back the covers, stretched his arm (which was numb from sleeping so soundly), and asked Zhao Lirui, "What time is it? It was just hypnosis, how did I fall asleep?"

Zhao Lirui held the alarm clock up to him.

Apartment 602, the Man-Eating Apartment, Part Fourteen (4)

Su Yang scratched his head, even more embarrassed: "I slept for so long? But I haven't slept this soundly in a long time." He suddenly remembered the purpose of lying down on the bed and quickly asked: "By the way, did you successfully hypnotize me before? Did you find out if I killed anyone?"

Zhao Lirui shook her head solemnly, "Your subconscious is too repressed, it's impossible to access. The way you looked back then almost scared me to death."

"What's wrong?" A hint of disappointment flashed across Su Yang's face, but at the same time, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "So that means they haven't found out whether I killed anyone or not, right?"

"That's about right."

"Almost? Then where is the difference?"

Zhao Lirui hesitated for a moment, then took the DV camera that had long since stopped working and handed it to Su Yang, saying, "Watch it yourself."

Su Yang's palms were sweating as he slowly flipped through the DV recordings, watching him go from initial calm to later struggles and finally to tranquility. He also saw Zhao Lirui crying for his impending death and then bursting into laughter after his recovery, his heart filled with a mix of emotions.

After a long silence, Su Yang looked up at Zhao Lirui and asked, "What do you think I meant by the 'dark room,' 'knife,' 'cat meowing,' and the last sentence, 'the head is missing,' during the hypnosis? Does it mean that even if I didn't kill anyone, I was at least at the crime scene?"

Zhao Lirui said cautiously, "You could think that way, but it doesn't mean you've killed anyone. You're more like an observer."

"Why do you say that?" Su Yang's eyes flashed with a sharp, aggressive light. "How can you conclude that I didn't kill anyone?"

Zhao Lirui shook her head frantically, "I don't know, it's just a gut feeling. Please don't ask me anything more. I don't know anything, I know even less than you do."

Su Yang fell silent, but the twitching at the corner of his mouth revealed the intense inner turmoil he was experiencing. Zhao Lirui somewhat regretted recording the hypnosis process; otherwise, she could have omitted some key words and lied, saying the hypnosis had completely failed.

Su Yang continued flipping through the DV footage in a daze. When he saw the part where the man was struggling, he felt a chill run down his spine. The expression on his face in that video was so terrifying that he could almost feel the excruciating pain he was experiencing. "It's a good thing it happened unconsciously. If it were in real life, I'd rather be dead."

He suddenly remembered something, "By the way, what measures did you take to calm me down so quickly?"

Zhao Lirui hesitated, but finally told the truth, "I didn't do anything. It was that black cat that meowed outside the window. I'm still wondering how that black cat climbed onto the windowsill and then slipped away. Did it grow wings?"

“Black cat… meowing…” Su Yang was once again plunged into a state of emotional turmoil. He vaguely felt that the series of murders surrounding 602 were all inextricably linked to the black cat. In fact, it could be said that at each crime scene, besides him, the black cat was also an observer. However, the exact nature of this relationship was like a tangled mess, impossible to unravel, driving his thoughts into a dead end.

Seeing that Su Yang was in a daze, Zhao Lirui couldn't help but feel worried. She walked to Su Yang's side, put her hand on Su Yang's shoulder, and said softly, "No matter what others think of you, I believe you are innocent."

Su Yang glanced gratefully at Zhao Lirui and said, "Actually, whether I killed someone or not doesn't matter, because those are all things of the past. For me now, seeking peace of mind in the present and happiness in the future is what's worth paying attention to." He shrugged self-deprecatingly, "Of course, maybe I'll be arrested and imprisoned for murder tomorrow. But that's precisely why I should enjoy my current freedom even more."

Zhao Lirui smiled with relief, "It's best that you think this way. So, what are your plans for the future?"

"The biggest plan right now is..." Su Yang deliberately drew out his words, "to fill our stomachs. Aren't you hungry?"

Zhao Lirui touched her stomach and chuckled, "Now that you mention it, I really am hungry. What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you."

"Forget it, it's too much trouble. Let's just go out and get something to eat," Su Yang suggested.

“Okay, then you treat me.” Zhao Lirui smiled playfully. “I’m going to change my clothes.”

Su Yang smiled helplessly, "You women are such a hassle."

"Tch, women dress up for those who appreciate them. I'm just trying to make you look more attractive, and you're still so ungrateful? You really don't understand romance."

Su Yang shook his head. Fortunately, Zhao Lirui only changed her clothes and didn't put on makeup, so she was done in ten minutes. Su Yang watched as Zhao Lirui came out in a flowing white dress, and his eyes lit up. "You look so pure and innocent in this outfit, like a schoolgirl."

"Hey, what do you mean? She's a student, a second-year graduate student in the Department of Psychology at Jinan University. What do you mean by 'look like'? It's like I'm trying to act young," Zhao Lirui said, feigning anger.

Su Yang then realized that although they had known each other for most of the day, he hadn't asked Zhao Lirui about her true identity yet, so he quickly smiled apologetically and said, "That's right, that's right, I was blind. You not only look like a pure and innocent college student, but you also resemble her in spirit."

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean by 'similar'? I told you, she's a student." Zhao Lirui pouted.

Su Yang stopped arguing, simply smiling at Zhao Lirui. He noticed that although she feigned displeasure, her eyes were full of smiles. Their eyes met, and they understood each other's feelings, a sweet sensation welling up inside them.

Apartment 602, the Man-Eating Apartment, Chapter 15 (1)

The two of them went out side by side, found a small restaurant in the neighborhood, and ordered three stir-fries.

At the next table, five or six people were drinking heavily, chatting animatedly about gossip and local gossip.

"Hey, I have to say, that 602 apartment is really creepy. It was haunted again last night, all that banging and clanging, I didn't sleep a wink all night. Damn it, this is no place for a human to live. If it keeps going like this, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later. Do you guys have any ideas on how to scare away that evil spirit?"

Upon hearing that it was related to their actions the previous night, Su Yang and Zhao Lirui exchanged a smile and listened intently.

"What exactly is going on?"

"I don't know what's wrong with that ghost, or what kind of unclean thing went in. Anyway, the people living downstairs all night long heard things being smashed and stomping upstairs, and even a woman's scream. In the middle of the night, my wife was so scared that she huddled under the covers and didn't dare to move."

"A woman's scream? Has the female ghost finally been dealt with, or has another murder occurred? Amitabha, please don't let anything else happen, otherwise living in this community will give us a heart attack sooner or later."

"Aren't they all scared enough by now? Let alone the residents, how many people in the whole community still have their lights on after midnight? They all lock their doors tightly, and even if they can't sleep, they don't dare to go anywhere."

"That's right, that's right," the group echoed.

"But brother, what you just mentioned reminds me of something scary. Lately, I keep feeling like someone's walking around on the roof in the middle of the night, and I even hear marbles rolling around. I asked my upstairs neighbor, and he swore it wasn't him, and he doesn't even have kids, so how could he be playing marbles these days? He also said he heard marbles coming from upstairs too. So we went up to ask him, and guess what happened upstairs? When he heard our question, his face turned pale with fright. He said he heard the same sound, but he's on the top floor, and the next floor is the roof. Could someone be playing marbles on the roof in the middle of the night? Isn't that weird?"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone at the table changed their expressions, saying that they had heard the same thing.

"What's going on?" one of them asked, trembling. "Is the whole neighborhood a haunted house?"

“I’ve heard,” one of them said mysteriously, “that ghosts live in every building, and once they’re in, they can’t get out. So when they’re bored, they play marbles, walk around, move furniture, and do other things to pass the time. What you’re hearing must be the sounds of ghosts at night.”

Everyone exclaimed in surprise, asking all at once, "Really? What should we do?"

The man lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Generally speaking, ghosts and humans coexist peacefully. Only those who die violently, like Zhu Su, become vengeful ghosts to seek revenge. So everyone should stay away from 602 in the future and try not to pass by that door, especially after midnight. Otherwise, you might be dragged in and become a scapegoat."

The group of people were terrified, and the person who claimed to live downstairs in apartment 602 looked particularly distressed.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these unlucky things anymore, let's drink!" someone tried to smooth things over. So the group started drinking and playing drinking games again.

Su Yang's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that when he lived in apartment 604 of Shangling Apartment, he once heard a particularly noisy sound upstairs at night. Could it really be the sound of ghosts?