Su Qi kneeled so abruptly that he didn't even have time to react, and his first thought was that this brother must have practiced this motion, as it was executed seamlessly.
He didn't lower his knife and was about to speak.
At that moment,
the footsteps and ringing in the corridor became increasingly prominent.
Tentacle Man's face was ashen, filled with fear and anxiety. He struggled to make a "shushing" gesture with his tentacles, signaling Su Qi desperately not to make a sound.
It was as if the owner of the footsteps outside might skin them alive.
Su Qi didn't make any sudden moves; he too sensed a dangerous aura.
He still wasn't sure about the worldview of this world, but judging from the tentacled man in the room, there was definitely a presence of strength beyond ordinary people, no longer just the Killing Demon type from the town.
Soon.
The footsteps and the ringing gently faded.
Tentacle Man finally heaved a sigh of relief, then looked at Su Qi, only to become tense again.
Because Su Qi's knife was still positioned at his throat. Although his smile seemed harmless, his tone carried an icy indifference as if saying, "If you don't explain, I might just make my move," "So, can you explain to me now what exactly is going on?"
Tentacle Man, trembling, said, "Didn't you read the apartment notice when you moved in?"
"Such as?"
"The apartment manager prepares food on the first floor. The ringing bell signifies a call for all residents to gather in the dining hall on the first floor to eat. Moreover, the apartment manager dislikes people seeing its face, so it returns to its own dwelling on the third floor during meal times."
"What happens if someone sees it?" Su Qi asked with a hint of curiosity.
"The previous tenant of Room Five didn't make it back to his room in time, and then I never saw him again—next thing, you moved in."
Su Qi mused, "So it seems you saved me just now? Thanks for that."
"Don't mention it," Tentacle Man replied with a tearless sob, but could you please put the knife down while you're saying thank you?
At that moment,
the sound of a door opening came from outside, and footsteps resumed one after another in the corridor.
"It's time to go eat," Tentacle Man hurriedly said, "The apartment notice is on the first floor, you can go and take a look."
Su Qi stowed the knife in his Item Slot. Inside an "instance," retrieving something from the Item Slot didn't conjure it out of thin air—it automatically connected to various pockets or linings of the clothing, making the items accessible from a spot invisible to others.
The same logic applied to storage.
After the door opened,
they saw a bandaged monster, its body wrapped entirely in bandages with only one eye peeking out from a gap. It showed no reaction to Tentacle Man but upon spotting Su Qi next to him, the monster's eye suddenly widened, displaying extreme madness and greed.
It didn't say a word.
Then headed towards the staircase down to the first floor.
Su Qi observed the "It wants to eat you" above the bandaged monster's head and, without changing his expression, followed Tentacle Man down to the first floor.
Tentacle Man whispered, "Be careful, don't mess with the others, they are... very terrifying."
There were six tenants in total.
Two of them had already taken their seats.
One was a woman with Split Mouth, whose body was sewn with various threads, and her eyes gray and lifeless.
The other tenant was Swollen Man, whose back was covered in clusters of abnormal growths resembling abscesses.
The last one,
arriving last, wore a long robe that covered their face, but one could vaguely see their body was rotten, emitting a foul stench, much like a corpse.
This guy seemed to live in Room Six, the one closest to the third floor.
The commonality among them was evident the moment Su Qi appeared.
Their gazes all converged on him, expressing astonishment at first and then a greedy desire.
"They all want to eat you."
Okay.
Everyone's purpose is aligned and simple.
Tentacle Man sat down with his head bowed, trembling, not daring to speak in front of these abnormalities.
But Su Qi pulled out a chair, did not sit, and facing the many greedy eyes that looked down on him as if they were ants, he smiled, "Everyone, look at me, I have something to announce."
"I am the new resident, Su Buxian, and am happy to be neighbors with all of you. I have many usual hobbies and hope to get along well with everyone."
Su Qi's words elicited a few low chuckles from the abnormalities, their expressions appearing to mock.
Happy to be neighbors and interact, huh.
Only Corpse Man kept his head down, emitting a hoarse voice, "Let's eat first, otherwise it will get cold."
The food in front of each person at the table was covered with a lid, with a knife and fork placed beside it.
Su Qi lifted the cover, and the food inside was beyond his expectations.
The aroma of red wine wafted through the sauce, poured over half a steak, which surprisingly seemed appetizing.
The others, as if starved, were the first to begin eating.
Bandaged Monster held the knife and fork, cutting the steak forcefully, making a squeaky sound, his gaze firmly fixed on Su Qi.
It was as if he was not cutting that piece of meat, but Su Qi himself.
Split Mouth Woman opened her mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth, chewing on the steak with the sound of chewing wax, also staring intently at Su Qi, as if he was about to take him as a dish.
Swollen Man and Corpse Man did not look towards Su Qi, just ate somewhat voraciously.
Tentacle Man, however, was quite inconspicuous, even refusing to make a sound while eating.
Su Qi picked up the knife and fork and cut the steak.
This was a normal piece of meat, but rather special, as a system message popped up.
"After eating, your spiritual power will decrease by 1, but you will gain a special ability."
"Note: Death occurs (return to login space to recover) when spiritual power reaches zero."
Decrease by 1?
Su Qi looked at his 85 points of spiritual power, no big problem.
After eating.
Spiritual power indeed decreased by one, but at the same time, Su Qi felt a strange and peculiar strength beginning to activate.
An itchy, bizarre eye slowly appeared in the middle of his palm.
"You have gained a temporary ability: Palm Eye."
"When activated, it will emit a blinding light."
"Great... useless ability."
When the others saw the eyeball appear in Su Qi's palm, none of them showed a strange expression; instead, their looks were cold, as if mocking.
Su Qi noticed this.
He had a guess.
At this moment.
Everyone else finished eating, and Corpse Man spoke in a raspy voice, "Whose turn is it for the duty today…"
Tentacle Man shuddered, frightened, lifting his tentacles, "Me…"
"Then it's up to you," Corpse Man revealed an ugly smile, terrifyingly terrifying, "I hope you don't become the next person to disappear."
Corpse Man stood up, under Su Qi's somewhat strange gaze, stepped on the stairs, and returned to his room on the second floor.
The others gradually departed as well, all turning back to look at Su Qi once more, not hiding their greedy eyes.
Soon.
Only Tentacle Man, busy collecting plates, and...
Su Qi, reading the apartment's notice board, were left.