"These codes aren't rooms... they're people!"
"They could also be animals! Or objects! Whatever! In any case, they're all very special things, just like the little guy who loves nursery rhymes and can spit fire that the janitor just mentioned!" Chen Xiao had barely thought of this when he immediately confirmed this idea because this conjecture had appeared in his mind countless times already.
Though it would be forgotten again, it still left some trace, however faint.
"So, what am I about to face that requires me to come here every day, and then have my memory erased after each visit?"
Thinking this, Chen Xiao had already arrived in front of a door. Written on the door was: "D-391".
"Don't move!" a guard said, walking over to the touchscreen beside the door, "Beep beep beep beep~" entering a series of passcodes before swiping a magnetic card.
Afterward, the door opened.
"Alright, go in!" another guard standing behind Chen Xiao said, giving him a shove into the room!
—————
With the sound of the door closing, Chen Xiao was now standing inside the room labeled "D-391".
Contrary to his expectations, there was nothing bizarre or insane or incomprehensible here. Instead, the room had been converted into something very ordinary, resembling the inside of an old residential apartment, complete with bookshelves, a recliner, a refrigerator, a stove, and other household appliances.
In the center of the room was a wooden table and chairs. At the table sat an old man, with a pot of tea beside him.
He was... reading the newspaper!
Over 60 years of age, obese, thinning hair, farsighted, with a nose reddened by alcohol, a chronic smoker, slovenly, a meat lover, with liver issues, diabetic, and hadn't seen the sun in nearly a week.
Chen Xiao needed only a glance to know all this, so his frown deepened because the man before him was just an ordinary old man, no different from the elderly fellows taking their morning strolls in the park. Nothing special at all!
Yet, it was this very ordinary-looking man that made Chen Xiao feel a slight sense of tension.
This was the residual memories warning him that the person in front of him was dangerous...
Chen Xiao, to use an example, was the kind of person who could play Russian roulette and have a blast doing it.
So what on earth could this man do to Chen Xiao that would make him feel a fear greater than death?
At that moment, the old man finished reading his newspaper and glanced at Chen Xiao, still standing by the door.
"You're here?" he said.
The way he said those two words was so casual, as if a family member had just returned from buying groceries in the morning, but Chen Xiao gleaned a very important piece of information: this old man... could communicate.
"Yes," he replied indifferently.
The old man put down his newspaper, took a look at Chen Xiao, and then gestured with his eyes to the seat opposite the table as if to say, "Hurry up and sit, don't be so formal!"
Chen Xiao didn't move, his sense of looming danger making him all the more cautious. At this moment, he had already carefully surveyed the surroundings. Indeed, it seemed just like what it appeared to be, except for a surveillance camera in the corner, which was a bit out of place, it was a very ordinary room.
Seeing that Chen Xiao didn't move, the old man couldn't help showing an expression of utter helplessness.
"Ah! It's the same thing every day, and then you'll ask a bunch of questions, right? Alright, go ahead and ask!" the old man said. He then added, "That monitor is broken; it only has an image. As long as you don't hit me, you can pretend it doesn't exist!"
Chen Xiao was taken aback, surprised that he could actually ask questions, and it seemed this old man and he had talked quite a bit. And what about that broken monitor, aren't they going to fix it?
"What do I usually ask?" Chen Xiao asked.
The old man took a sip of tea and answered, "Nothing much, just who this place is, who I am, what I've done to you, and so on!" While saying this, he muttered under his breath, "Having to answer the same questions every day is really annoying."
Chen Xiao wasn't just stunned this time; he was shocked!
Were such questions permissible? No need for any rhetorical tactics? So direct it was almost absurd! Moreover, these were very crucial questions. Are you really going to answer them for me? His thoughts were complex, feeling as if he had overcome great difficulties to reach the final boss, only to have the boss promptly commit suicide.
But from this old man's words, Chen Xiao got not only good news but also bad news.
The good news was, it seemed the old man didn't object to answering his questions, and they could be very direct. It didn't look like he was the type to withhold answers or forbid certain questions.
The bad news was, in such overt questioning and answering, he must have learned a lot of information, but he hadn't left anything for his future self... meaning knowing all this was useless?
Regardless, at least now he could learn the whole story of what was happening.
So Chen Xiao said flatly, "Let's hear it."
The old man straightened up, as if he were about to tell a story to a child.
"Firstly, I don't know where this is, but it's a place where people from all over the world look for strange things or creatures, like me, and then lock them up."
Chen Xiao showed no emotion, just listening quietly.
"As for me, about 10 years ago, I started to feel constantly hungry. No matter how much I ate, it was never enough"