For example, what happened to the boy’s injuries? What did those slogans mean?
The answers to those questions could only be sought in later loops.
Floor 10, nothing unusual, pass.
Floor 11.
Xu Xi paused.
The boy was sitting again at the entrance of Sunny Day Department Store, his wounds looking even worse.
He kept his head down, his facial expression hard to make out.
On the department store’s second floor, the warm yellow lights were still conspicuous.
Only this time there was no silhouette at the window; instead, muffled laughter drifted out.
As in the previous loops, the boy paid no attention and ignored the outside world.
Xu Xi, however, noticed the boy’s hands clenched so tightly and his body trembling faintly.
Congratulations, your judgment is correct.
Struggling in the midst of breaking, where love and hate intertwine.
Floor 12.
The boy was gone from the department store entrance.
The second-floor lights were still on, with no silhouette and no laughter.
Apart from the lit window, the whole street was so quiet that Xu Xi could hear his own footsteps clearly.
As he neared the Sunny Day Department Store doorway, a sharp female scream filled with terror and fear suddenly rang out: “Ah—”
The scream cut off in an instant.
At the same time, the second-floor window was splashed with shocking blood.
Seeing this, Xu Xi felt a chill in his chest.
Someone was murdered...?
Congratulations, your judgment is correct.
If you walk by the river long enough, your shoes will get wet, yet the flower of courage still blooms within cowardice.
Seeing that slogan, for some reason Xu Xi first thought of the boy who always kept his head lowered and bore wounds.
The first half of the line likely described the Cheongsam Woman; she must have encountered a tough opponent during a deal.
The second half... could it be that the boy was the killer?
Floor 13, nothing unusual, pass.
Floor 14.
A police car was parked at the Sunny Day Department Store entrance.
The bloodstains on the second-floor window had disappeared; inside came the sound of a woman sobbing softly.
Xu Xi walked to the police car and noticed a newspaper on the front passenger seat.
The door was unlocked, so he opened it, took out the newspaper, and skimmed it quickly.
It reported that police had recently cracked down on a gambling den, arresting over two hundred people involved in gambling; among them, one person’s household was also tied to a homicide.
The victim was a 38-year-old man surnamed Li, who had a violent conflict with Tao’s mother Yang before his death, ultimately having his throat slashed with a kitchen knife by Tao.
Investigations confirmed that both Li and Yang had been involved in illegal activities related to prostitution and gambling, and Yang had even instigated and lured others into committing crimes.
In the end, Yang was sentenced to less than three years in prison, and because Li had threatened Yang’s life during the conflict, Tao’s actions constituted self-defense and he was acquitted.
Xu Xi fell silent for a moment, then put the newspaper back.
Seeing the line about instigating and luring crimes confirmed his guess.
The Supermarket Owner’s gambling involvement had been partly guided by the Cheongsam Woman.
Obviously, the Supermarket Owner had not resisted the temptation.
Congratulations, your judgment is correct.
Under justice, there is both sorrow and redemption.
Floor 15.
Xu Xi obtained a second photograph.
In the photo, the Cheongsam Woman was tightly holding the boy, looking down at her son with a gentle smile, while the boy looked up at the camera and shyly smiled.
Congratulations, your judgment is correct.
After judgment, might it also be a new beginning?
When Xu Xi noticed the street sign’s floor number change back to 0, he knew the second story had ended.
He had thought subsequent loops would clarify how the boy had been injured, but that detail didn’t come up again.
It seemed he was about to witness the third story.
Both the first and second stories had ended after fifteen-floor loops, so this one would likely be similar.
He just did not know how many stories remained.
Xu Xi felt his patience held up reasonably well, but repeating the same street over and over was getting tiresome.
Adjusting his mindset, he lifted his leg and continued.
Floor 0, base floor, pass immediately.
Floor 1.
No sooner had Xu Xi come out of the narrow alley than he was hit by a crushing blow.
The entire street and the sky above seemed covered by a veil of mysterious blood-red gauze, the color vivid like congealed blood, bloody and oppressive.
Even the halos from the street lamps were dyed that same blood color.
The smooth cement road had vanished, replaced by a mass of mixed pelts — some black, some white, some yellow, some spotted — from unknown animals.
These furs covered the entire street, and even wrapped the buildings on both sides.
They breathed, rising and falling with each inhale and exhale.
Xu Xi stood rigid; he could feel the furs beneath his feet writhing and even warm.
Fortunately, the furs were only visually nauseating and grotesque; they had no intent to attack.
Goosebumps ran up Xu Xi’s arms as he crossed the street, finally making it through unharmed.
Congratulations, your judgment is correct.
Licking wounds alone in the dark, they long to be saved.
They?
Referring to the owners of those pelts?
Xu Xi didn’t ponder long and moved on to Floor 2.
Nothing unusual, pass.
Floor 3.
Xu Xi’s first impression: so many cats.
Aside from the street still being blood-red, the pelts had vanished without a trace.
Nearly dozens of cats were scattered across the street, their meows rising and falling.
None of the cats looked well; every one of them was injured to varying degrees.
Xu Xi’s arrival put them on high alert.
Before either side could act further, a howling wind came from above.
Looking up, several large hands reached down, clawing toward him and the cats.
???
Xu Xi didn’t dare waste a second and bolted for the alley at the end.
After being grabbed by the large hands twice, he discovered the same technique to evade them as in the thorn layer earlier.
Trying again, he ran along an S-shaped path to the end of the street.
Before entering the alley, Xu Xi glanced back instinctively.
More cats were being seized by those giant hands, struggling with pitiful mews.
Their cries were sharp and helpless.
Xu Xi pressed his lips together and, in the end, turned and stepped into the alley.
He could have scooped up the previous black cat he found, but he couldn't save these cats on this floor.
Even if he could reload more times.
Congratulations, your judgment is correct.
Pointing the butcher’s blade at weaker lives, does that make one any less weak?