Tentacle Man limped down the corridor, his facial expression uncertain, "Do you really want to go to the source of collapse?"
"It's an extremely dangerous place, filled with completely polluted abnormalities; no living creature dares to approach it."
"I know, I took a detour to the city center yesterday," Su Qi knew the dangers there even better, "That's why I've come to collaborate with you."
Tentacle Man: "..."
All the previous guests were monsters, each one crazy and abnormal; yet, even so, they were all extremely fearful of the outside world.
Finally, there came a normal Su Qi.
But it turned out... he was the most abnormal of all, showing interest in the source of collapse and possessed a must-go attitude.
Tentacle Man sighed and walked to the door of the apartment's storage room: "I understand, I'll help you with all my strength."
"But, can you really let me communicate with my daughter?"
Su Qi replied, "I never deceive anyone."
"Bullshit, you just said you had released all the pollutants back..." Tentacle Man's face veins bulged, his limping was due to being too severely impacted, almost collapsing.
Su Qi: "....."
He said lightly,
"Relax, put your heart into your pelvis."
He hadn't lied to him, when he was on the third floor, he had seen information on the little girl.
It displayed.
[The lingering soul trapped in this polluted world unable to be freed; place an old item she used in the attic and draw a pentagram, you might discover her wishes.]
Su Qi speculated.
This was a side mission of exploring the third floor.
Without much thought, it was clear the wishes were related to her father, either to resolve his emotional conflicts or to free her.
Then he would gain her assistance, gradually uncover the identity of the manager, reveal the truth, engage in a massive battle, finally reform the crazed Tentacle Man, witness a father-daughter reunion, tearfully... and roll the movie's end credits.
The general process for ordinary players to clear the game would be like this, otherwise, they couldn't contend with Tentacle Man.
Unfortunately.
Su Qi didn't follow the process.
When Tentacle Man opened the storage room, a terrifying presence emanated, the air seemed much colder, sending shivers down one's spine.
He said in a deep voice,
"I'm not a good person, but I never kill indiscriminately. Over the last two years, I've provided each guest with food and shelter. Only when a guest breaks the rules or becomes completely polluted do I dispose of them."
"And the parts generated from their pollution are preserved as pollutants."
Su Qi looked around, the storage room had numerous glass jars, all filled with various pollutants, containing some residual power from their original owners.
"If you want to head toward the source of collapse, consider two things; one is how to approach the source without collapsing, and second, how to avoid those huge abnormalities." Tentacle Man looked at Su Qi, "The first, you've evidently solved, but the second... can only rely on me."
Tentacle Man adjusted his glasses, his demeanor not crazed, a hint of intelligence shining through, "Based on my two years of research and experiments, I've almost completely understood the pollutants and abnormalities."
"The power they contain is bizarre, like a virus; even if the host dies, they don't immediately dissipate. Once they gather together, they become extremely powerful."
Tentacle Man offered Su Qi two options:
"Your Palm Eye might not be a combat ability, but it's very effective against the abnormalities. If you could absorb these pollutants, you might grow to an extremely powerful state, perhaps creating a gap in time to reach the source of collapse."
"Of course, you know the side effects too; you'll turn into one of those monstrous creatures and lose your sanity."
Su Qi decisively passed: "The second option?"
"That would be creating an abnormality using all the pollutants I've collected, something terrifying, that could create an opportunity for you to approach."
Su Qi's eyes flickered, assessing its feasibility, he quickly nodded, "We can give it a try."
The two struck a deal and began to make plans.
In the following days.
Tentacle Man remained in the storeroom, constantly beginning new experiments.
Su Qi wasn't idle either. He went out to extensively collect various abnormal bodies, aiming to preserve the remaining 70 points of spiritual power.
He only left the house once a day, and his time outside was controlled to be within fifteen minutes, timed precisely to return to the apartment by the clock.
This way, his spiritual power remained entirely unspent.
Meanwhile, Swollen Man and Split Mouth Woman had not yet died, being held captive by Tentacle Man with toxins.
Although their bodies were immobile, their consciousness was exceptionally clear.
They had never imagined that Tentacle Man was actually the most terrifying manager in the apartment complex.
And the young man beside them, who was considered highly desirable, not only played with them at will but also did not spare the manager, all while chatting and laughing.
Now, in their eyes, there was no madness left, only deep fear when they looked at Su Qi.
The fifth day.
The Pollution Entity finally took shape and could carry out certain autonomous movements after Tentacle Man injected a large amount of neurohormones.
The sixth day.
He gradually started incorporating a large amount of pollutants and various abnormal flesh as energy.
The seventh day.
Su Qi activated the exclamation mark, allowing Tentacle Man and his daughter to have a conversation.
After the first ten minutes where Su Qi asked a few questions, he left the rest of the time to Tentacle Man.
The eighth day.
The Pollution Entity turned out to be larger than imagined; it couldn't completely fit in the entire first floor of the apartment, but Tentacle Man was not satisfied. What he wanted was speed, the ability to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
At the same time, Su Qi discovered something—the other party did not slack off at work after contacting his daughter but became even more diligent and determined.
What had happened during the time he was not on the third floor?
The ninth day.
There was nothing problematic with the Pollution Entity any longer, and Tentacle Man immediately began to modify Split Mouth Woman and Swollen Man.
By the tenth day, everything was ready.
Su Qi also saw that one of his main mission objectives, surviving for ten days, had been marked as complete, and he could teleport out of the instance at any moment.
"I am getting ready to leave," Su Qi said with a smile, extending his hand to Tentacle Man. "I won't be coming back this time. These past few days have indeed been hard."
Tentacle Man also extended his tentacle, but instead of reaching for Su Qi's hand, he picked up the backpack from the ground and slung it over his shoulder.
Su Qi paused, then shook his head, "You don't need to do this; I am not like you, and our cooperation ends today."
He could complete the task alone at any time and leave the instance.
But it was different for Tentacle Man; if he died, he would really be dead.
However,
Tentacle Man's expression remained very calm, as though he had already made his decision.
"I have two reasons I must go. One is this Pollution Entity, which I can only control within a hundred meters' radius."
"Secondly... over the past days, I have spoken with my daughter numerous times; she is in a lot of pain and is very scared. This polluted world has imprisoned her, and she wants to be freed."
Su Qi looked at him, slightly surprised. "Such a realization? You've come to terms with it?"
This Tentacle Man was a bona fide daddy's girl—a psychologically dark version.
"How could I bear it!" Tentacle Man's eyes reddened, his voice raspy, "It's just..."
"When I was creating the Pollution Entity, I seemed to foresee a wrong ending—I am afraid of myself, whether I truly want to relieve my daughter from this pain or selfishly keep her in this world to suffer."
"And what's most important is..." Tentacle Man, trembling, lifted his head:
"My daughter is crying out to me for help!"
"I couldn't save her on the operating table back then; how could I bear to watch her in pain now?"
He gritted his teeth, grabbed Su Qi by the shoulders, his face showing unprecedented determination: "So no matter what, I must go."