Cheat Awakening

{ It's waiting for you to knock on the door... }

Great, what else could I ask for? A pervert is waiting for me to knock on the door in the middle of the night in a dark, creepy building so he can invite me inside his room and fulfil his evil wishes... Why am I jinxing myself? This place is corrupting my thoughts. Is this the polluting about which { ? } was trying to warn me?

Myne joked to distract his thoughts from getting astray and maintain his sobriety. Although he had already gone through a lot of hardship, especially related to dark and creepy things which is also the main reason he was still able to maintain his calmness, otherwise, given his pitiful courage toward ghosts and other scary things, he would have already started having a panic attack.

The whole apartment exuded a weird atmosphere, and the tenants living in it were clearly not simple people. Before figuring out what was going on, Myne decided not to do too many unnecessary things.

Just as Myne was trying to guess the evil intention of the guy inside room no. 9, suddenly the sound of a bell ringing sounded in his ear.

The sound was like a copper ball shaking. Myne turned his head and found that the sound was coming from the stairs at the end of the corridor, and someone or something was coming up. The sound of footsteps was heavy, like wet shoes stepping on wooden boards.

The rhythmic sound echoed in the deep corridor.

Myne prepared himself. Even an idiot can think in his situation that whatever was going to happen when he faced the owner of the footsteps wasn't a friendly greeting.

But the next moment, something happened that Myne had never expected.

The door of room no. 9 suddenly opened, and a black tentacle stretched out, wrapped around his waist at lightning speed, and pulled him inside.

Everything happened so quickly that Myne didn't react until he was pulled inside the dark room, and the door behind him was slammed shut.

But after coming back to his senses, Myne nervously grabbed the tentacle, which didn't look very powerful and was ready to tear it apart and free himself when he heard the sound of the owner of the tentacle.

"Don't mess around, I mean no harm."

The voice of the other party wasn't pleasant to the ears. It sounded heavy and hoarse, not giving the slightest bit of a feeling of trust, so Myne didn't listen and squeezed the tentacle hard. Maybe feeling the pain, the guy pulled it back, and Myne hurriedly made distance from him and began to observe him with caution.

This guy with the tentacle turned out to be a human being. A thin uncle, probably in his forties, with long, dishevelled hair covering his pale face, unwashed for God knows how long, untrimmed beard, and bloodshot eyes. He also wore a pair of glasses and looked gentle, giving the vibe of a harmless scholar. He wore dirty black pants and a shirt, with a half-tattered robe to hide his tentacle, which grew from behind his back.

Seeing Myne's tough, ready-to-fight attitude, the tentacle uncle suddenly started trembling. His already pale face turned grim, and he knelt without any hesitation.

"Don't... Don't... Don't kill me!"

This time, an animated question mark appeared on Myne's head. He couldn't understand why the other party knelt before him doing anything, he didn't even start threatening. Compared to his scary tentacles, and swing left and right, not only did he look normal, but he also didn't have a living weapon grown behind him.

It was hard for him to understand why the other party was giving him such a high level of respect and even started begging. It was clearly not in the script, catching Myne off guard.

Although the tentacle uncle's reaction was a bit off-script, Myne wouldn't be naive enough to let down his guard. Instead, he became even more vigilant, trying to guess his evil thoughts.

Just as Myne was about to speak, the footsteps outside became more and more obvious.

The tentacle uncle's face was extremely pale hearing the sound. He was scared and nervous and was trembling. He stretched out his tentacles and made a hushing gesture with difficulty, telling Myne not to make any sound. It was as if the owner of the footsteps outside would eat them alive if they were found.

Myne did not act rashly, as he also sensed a dangerous aura. If he had his skills, he might have already started rampaging in this building, let alone taking every step with caution, but now he had to be honest and not mess around.

He still didn't know what kind of place he was in, but judging from the uncle with tentacles before him and that pervert who crawled out from the toilet, he was at least in a world that had nothing to do with the word 'Ordinary'.

Soon, the footsteps and the ringing of the bell slowly faded away.

The tentacle uncle breathed a sigh of relief, then met Myne's doubtful eyes and became nervous again.

Myne, holding a sharp, iron object about 20 centimetres long, pressed its pointy tip against the tentacle uncle's neck. Though his smile seemed harmless, his tone was cold and indifferent, as if he would kill him if he didn't explain. "So, can you explain to me what's going on here?"

The tentacle man trembled slightly under the pressure of the iron object and hurriedly said, "Didn't you read the apartment notice when you moved in?"

Was he referring to the notice with the hidden trap? Myne had some suspicions, but he pretended ignorance and asked with raised eyebrows, "For example?"

"The landlord prepares food on the ground floor. When the bell rings, it notifies all residents to gather in the dining room on the ground floor for dinner. The landlord dislikes seeing others' faces, so he returns to his own residence on the third floor during mealtimes."

"Oh, and what happens if you see his face?" Myne inquired with a hint of curiosity.

"The last occupant of Room 8 didn't have time to return to his room. I only saw him wandering around the corridor, looking for some clues, before he vanished. Then, you moved in," The tentacle uncle spoke calmly as if the disappearance of residents due to rule violations wasn't a big deal.

Why does everyone here feel like a psychopath? And since you're so cowardly, why the f*ck are you still staying here? But at least now I understand why someone would leave behind a valuable watch with unknown but magical effects.

It wasn't that the other party was too generous, but he didn't have time to take it before becoming someone's food, Myne couldn't help but complain. However, since it was a good deal for him, he didn't think much about it and focused his attention back on the tentacle uncle.

"So, it seems that you were the one who saved me just now? Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." The tentacle uncle wanted to cry but had no tears.

Since you feel grateful, then could you please put down the sharp object in your hand when you say thank you?

As the tentacle uncle finished speaking, the sound of a door opening was heard outside, followed by footsteps in the corridor—one after another. Because the building was eerily quiet, the noises were particularly noticeable.

"It's time to go out for dinner," the tentacle uncle said quickly while getting up. "The apartment notice is on the ground floor, you can go and take a look. We have to go; we don't have much time."

Myne put the sharp metal object he had pulled out from the wall into his pant pocket and moved away from the tentacle uncle.

"So, it seems you were the one who saved me just now? Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," The tentacle uncle wanted to cry but had no tears.

"Since you're grateful," The tentacle uncle continued, "could you please put the sharp object down when you say thank you?"

As the tentacle uncle finished speaking, the sound of a door opening people speaking, followed by footsteps, which were particularly noticeable due to the building's quietness can be heard from outside.

"It's time to go out for dinner," The tentacle uncle said quickly, getting up. "The apartment notice is on the ground floor. You can read it there. We have to go; we don't have much time."

Myne put the sharp metal object he had retrieved from the wall in his pants pocket and moved away from the tentacle uncle.

He then gives a quick look at the tentacle uncle's room. It was exactly like his own, except for the presence of strange chemicals in jars and various documents and books written in an unknown language scattered all over the floor. Clearly, cleanliness wasn't the tentacle uncle's strong suit.

The door opened, and they both walked outside. Since only two of them lived on the second floor, it wasn't as lively as the floor below.

As they descended the stairs, Myne saw a strange man covered in bandages emerging from Room 4, with only one eye visible through a gap. He didn't react to the tentacle uncle but, upon noticing Myne beside him, his eyes widened, revealing an extremely crazy and greedy look, along with a hint of rage.

Because the landlord's rules held significant authority, and no one who valued their life wanted to trifle with them. So, no matter how much the bandaged guy longed to pounce on Myne like a hungry beast and devour him, it had to restrain himself. Otherwise, Myne might be able to escape, but it would undoubtedly suffer a fate similar to the previous occupant whom Myne had replaced.

Myne and the tentacle uncle ignored the bandaged guy, who continued to stare at them without moving and proceeded towards the stairs leading to the ground floor. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

As they walked, Myne looked at the { ? } above the bandage guy's head.

{ It wants to eat you! }

{ It is extremely angry with you because you ran away and didn't respect its hard work. }

{ It was laughing because it made your room a complete mess out of sheer rage and is wondering what kind of wonderful expression you'll have when you return. }

{ It is surprising that you teamed up with the 'loser.' }

Well, at least his judgment of the tentacle uncle is quite accurate, Myne thought as he read the last sentence before shifting his gaze away from the bandaged guy.

Now he understood why the other party had such strong killing intent toward him. It turned out that it was the one who went through great trouble—even eating shit for him—just to give him a welcome greeting, but he had run away before it could even get out of the bathroom.

As for why he said that it judged the tentacle uncle perfectly? Myne looked at the { ? } floating above the tentacle uncle, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twist.

{ He was wondering what kind of doll he should make today. }

{ He thinks pink is better than blue. }

{ He is scared because today is his turn to go out and get ingredients and is trying to divert his thoughts by thinking about random things to avoid having a panic attack. }

{ He thinks you are scary despite being a normal person. }

'This uncle still plays with dolls and likes pink?' Myne ignored the last two sentences. The first two were more than enough for him to label the tentacle uncle as a weirdo. The bandaged guy didn't know the tentacle uncle's inner thoughts otherwise he thought that calling him a loser was a compliment for him.