Escape from the Thriller World – Chapter 6
by Little PandaVolume One: The Old Corpse in the Mountain Village
The Ugliness of Human Nature
“Driven by human nature, survival in desperate situations.”
The four of them followed the directions on their phones back to the tong lau. Ning Lan stood before the building, which looked like a densely packed beehive, giving a sense of oppressive tightness when viewed from below.
Xu Sanduo, the security captain at the entrance of the tong lau, eyed the unfamiliar young people and said, “Where are you from? Non-residents of the tong lau are not allowed inside.”
Xu Sanduo, dressed in a bright green security uniform, wore a red badge on his chest, had a pager (bbζΊ, an outdated communication device) on his waist, and held an old-fashioned “brick” mobile phone (refers to the bulky early mobile phones).
Xu Sanduo awkwardly tugged at his loose belt as he stepped out of the security booth to scrutinize them.
His appearance was not that of a security captain, but rather resembled a street thug (refers to someone who is rough or uncultured).
Ning Lan and Shen Qingyou stood aside, intending to watch how things unfolded.
(LP: Been mistranslating Shen Qingyou’s name all this time, changed it, I’m sorry!)
The two often disagreed, but they had a tacit understanding when it came to staying calm.
Watanabe Keiko stepped forward politely and said, “We are friends of Ah B, who lives on the 18th floor, here to visit him.”
Watanabe Keiko approached gracefully, her eyes filled with affectionate glances, and she flirtatiously batted her eyelashes at Xu Sanduo.
Xu Sanduo trembled as he took a few steps back, clutching his brick mobile phone and urging them to leave quickly, saying, “Ah B, that rascal, who knows where he’s gone off to. Only his grandfather is at home now, so you better go!”
Watanabe Keiko’s attempt at using a “beauty trap” (a tactic where one uses charm or allure to achieve a goal) did not work; Xu Sanduo wasn’t buying it.
Xie Wu noticed a cigarette in Xu Sanduo’s shirt pocket. He pulled out his own pack of cigarettes from his pocket, approached Xu Sanduo to make peace, and said, “Come on, brother, don’t be like this. Can’t you just bend the rules a little?”
Xu Sanduo accepted Xie Wu’s cigarette, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to let you in, brother, but the tong lau has been restless lately.”
At night, the tong lau often emitted some sort of rustling noises, and the security team had been searching for weeks without figuring anything out.
Xu Sanduo was also puzzled about the residents on the 18th floor.
The only young man in the house disappeared without a trace, leaving the grandmother anxiously waiting for Ah B to return, day after day, until she eventually died in her own home.
Curious, Xie Wu asked, “What exactly happened in the tong lau? Can you tell us, brother?”
Xu Sanduo pulled a match from his waistband, lit a cigarette, and said, “The tong lau used to be an unfinished building, later bought and renovated by a big boss from Hong Kong. Some strange things have happened there.”
Ning Lan caught onto the key point and asked, “What kind of strange things?”
Xu Sanduo, exhaling smoke as he recalled the unfinished building, felt a chill down his spine and abruptly shooed them away.
“You all better leave and stop interrupting my work!” Xu Sanduo extinguished his cigarette, refusing to continue the conversation.
After being turned away by the security captain Xu Sanduo, the four of them returned to the Pawnshop No. 8 transit station, looking for another way to enter the tong lau.
In this eerie game world, the Pawnshop No. 8 is relatively safe, but it doesn’t rule out the possibility of that “ghost” intruding.
The bartender NPC appeared again, using an iPad to let them order dishes one by one, saying, “At the Pawnshop No. 8, you can indulge to replenish the player’s energy.”
Xie Wu unhesitatingly ordered five or six Sichuan dishes, while Shen Qingyou, having little appetite, just ordered a bowl of ice jelly at the bar before returning to her room.
Xie Wu is from Dazhou, Sichuan, and loves Sichuan cuisine. He drives a taxi in his county, and there’s not a single alley in Dazhou that he doesn’t know.
His daughter is studying education at Chongqing Normal University, and he feels a lot of pressure every month to send her living expenses.
Raising a college graduate nowadays isn’t easy. Her monthly expenses are nearly several thousand, and Xie Wu dotes on his daughter, often sending her extra money.
Looking at Watanabe Keiko’s figure, Xie Wu murmured, “She really looks like my daughter⦔
Ning Lan chose a few Cantonese dishes, while Watanabe Keiko opted for Japanese sashimi.
The three of them sat at the bar table on the first floor, waiting for the NPC to serve their meals. Ning Lan rested her arm on the table, recording the day’s findings in her notebook.
Watanabe Keiko, with a sense of style, took the vase from the bar and added a few fresh flowers, holding a pair of scissors and snipping away with a “snip-snip” sound.
Watanabe Keiko was born into a scholarly family in Japan, and she not only knows judo but also has skills in floral arrangement.
She placed the trimmed bouquet into the vase and said, “It looks much more pleasing this way.”
The bartender NPC silently placed the tray on the table and withdrew without a word.
Xie Wu used a knife to cut into a piece of spicy fish belly, dipped his fork into some hot sauce, and tasted it, saying, “Miss Watanabe Keiko, you really have an interest.”
Watanabe Keiko smiled sweetly and said, “You’re too kind, Brother Xie Wu. As you Chinese say, it’s just ‘practice makes perfect’.”
Watanabe Keiko glanced at the salmon sashimi she ordered, dipped it in wasabi, and sensuously licked it with her tongue, deliberately moving closer and swaying her body towards Xie Wu.
Ning Lan coughed twice, took a few bites of Chaoshan seafood porridge, and said, “You two carry on, I’ll head upstairs first.”
Ning Lan pondered that Watanabe Keiko seemed intentionally close to Xie Wu, likely trying to win him over.
Ning Lan looked down at the two who had already begun some further “interaction.”
Shaking her head, Ning Lan remarked, “Driven by human nature, survival in desperate situations.”
In this survival horror game, Watanabe Keiko had set her sights on Xie Wu, a strong man who might be able to help her.
Watanabe Keiko watched Ning Lan walk away, knowing that this moment alone was now hers with Xie Wu, and she wouldn’t let the opportunity slip by.
With an “oh dear,” she collapsed softly into Xie Wu’s arms, her small hand brushing over the spot where he had been bitten by a zombie, and said, “Brother Xie Wu, you’re hurt. Come to my room tonight, and I’ll help you treat the wound.”
Xie Wu, not exactly a paragon of virtue, embraced Watanabe Keiko’s waist and said, “Little darling, I’ll do whatever you say.”
Teased by Xie Wu, the two fed each other affectionately, like a couple deeply in love.
Watanabe Keiko picked up a piece of tuna sashimi from the plate and placed it in Xie Wu’s mouth, saying, “Brother Xie Wu, try this. It’s tuna sashimi from Hokkaido, Japan.”
When ordering, Watanabe Keiko had specifically requested the NPC to source fresh tuna from Hokkaido, Japan, aiming to achieve the highest level of flavor from the ingredients.
The Japanese have high standards for ingredients, and Watanabe Keiko, being someone who pursues quality in life, was no exception.
Xie Wu, caught up in the pleasure Watanabe Keiko brought him, seemed to have completely forgotten about his real-life daughter in college who was waiting for him to earn her living expenses.
Xie Wu caressed Watanabe Keiko’s smooth skin with a silly grin, while Watanabe Keiko gazed at him with affectionate eyes, seeing the fierce tiger in front of her taking the bait.
In her heart, she was merely seeking some solace from loneliness within this game instance.
Before finishing his meal, Xie Wu hastily wiped his mouth with a napkin and carried Watanabe Keiko upstairs to the second floor, intending to engage in physical intimacy with her.
Watanabe Keiko playfully hit him and said, “Brother Xie Wu, put me down, I want to get down.”
Xie Wu patted her on the buttocks and said, “Stop pretending to be innocent. Haven’t there been enough AVs (adult videos) featuring Japanese women? Serve your Master Xie!”
The sound of the shower came from the bathroom in the second-floor room, where Watanabe Keiko helped Xie Wu undress, and they proceeded to be intimate in the bathtub.
The soundproofing between the rooms seemed inadequate, as indecent noises came from the adjacent room. Ning Lan shook her head and took out wired earphones from her bag to plug into her ears.
In broad daylight, these two still had the mind to engage in such activities within a horror game instance.
Even with the earphones in, Ning Lan couldn’t completely block out the sounds of the couple next door indulging in their physical desires.
From the next room came the sound of Watanabe Keiko’s soft moans.
Watanabe Keiko giggled and said, “Brother Xie Wu, do you think I look like your daughter?”
Xie Wu appeared to be an honest taxi driver, but he harbored a secret he couldn’t speak of: he wanted to see his daughter as his wife.
This twisted thought had taken root in his mind six months after his ex-wife divorced him, yet the harsh reality prevented him from acting on it.
Outwardly, he was a dedicated father, but whenever he saw his daughter’s maturing body, he couldn’t resist the urge to touch her.
Comforting Watanabe Keiko in his arms, Xie Wu said, “Keiko is very much like my daughter. You have eyes that speakβ¦ and a cherry-like little mouth⦔
The dormant beast within Xie Wu awakened, and today he could finally fulfill that twisted desire.
Watanabe Keiko’s lips moved as she asked, “Should Keiko call you Brother Xie Wu?”
Xie Wu’s animalistic behavior found satisfaction with Watanabe Keiko, as he pressed her, compelling her to help him release his desires, while Watanabe Keiko’s mouth emitted continuous moans.
Xie Wu slapped her repeatedly, and Watanabe Keiko, complying with him, continued to make those sounds.
With a wicked grin, Xie Wu said, “This is truly thrilling!”
When his ex-wife left him, he lost all hope in women!
His ex-wife despised him for being poor, saying he was just a lousy taxi driver who would never amount to anything in this lifetime.
Xie Wu couldn’t help but curse aloud, and Watanabe Keiko responded with “mmm mmm mmm.”
Ning Lan, living next door, couldn’t stand the torment of their demonic sounds, so she chose to leave the Pawnshop No. 8 alone.
With her backpack on, Ning Lan walked alone to the front of the tong lau, her lips curling into a smile, as if she had already figured out how to get inside.
Security Captain Xu Sanduo noticed her coming again and, wanting to send her away, said, “You really don’t give up, do you? I’ve already told you that you can’t get in!”
Ning Lan pulled out a few Hong Kong dollars and handed them to Xu Sanduo, saying, “Could you do me a favor and introduce me to the landlord of the tong lau? I’m looking to rent a room.”
Only a fool wouldn’t take easy money, so Xu Sanduo accepted Ning Lan’s money with a chuckle.
These Hong Kong dollars were exchanged from an NPC, as they needed to adapt to the times, and money was essential.
Xu Sanduo folded the bills and nodded, saying, “The landlord of the tong lau is Master Wei Jinye. If you’re serious about renting a room, wait until 8 PM. He comes back once every evening.”
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