Floor 4, no abnormalities, pass.
Floor 5.
Xu Xi looked up at the sky in silence, momentarily at a loss for words.
That gigantic needle up there, so huge that its pointed tip was twice as thick as his entire body... was that for real???
And the colossal needle was descending at a speed visible to the naked eye.
No matter where he stood, that needle seemed to be aimed directly at him.
No need to say more, he turned and ran.
This floor's cycle was similar to the one flooded with blood water; he needed to run out of the street before the giant needle descended upon his head.
Drowning he could accept, but being crushed to death by a needle that big? No thanks.
Fortunately, the fruit knife on him had enhanced his physical fitness. For cycles like this that only required fast running, he could now pass through them with ease.
'Congratulations, your judgment is correct.'
'Thin, pointy, ouchy.'
Seeing this floor's slogan, some ideas couldn't help but form in Xu Xi's mind.
Breathing pelts, cats being snatched away, needles falling from the sky...
Could it be... cat traffickers engaged in abduction?
Floor 6, no abnormalities, pass.
Floor 7.
This cycle still appeared to have no abnormalities.
Xu Xi walked down the street. Just as he thought this floor was still a normal cycle, faint footsteps suddenly began to sound from behind him. Although not obvious, in such a quiet environment, he still heard them.
He tilted his head slightly, but his peripheral vision didn't catch any suspicious figures.
Stopping in his tracks, Xu Xi whirled around abruptly.
Yet, there was no one behind him.
Simultaneously, the footsteps also vanished.
...How was this any different from the classic footsteps in horror movies?
Next, if he just turned his head again, would he discover an eerie shadow standing face-to-face right in front of him, ready to press right up against his face?
Alright, no.
Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief. However, he had only taken a few steps when the footsteps behind him appeared again.
"..."
Xu Xi slowly pulled out that fruit knife. Using the faint light reflected off the blade, he quietly observed the commotion behind him.
The blade vaguely reflected the scene behind him.
But it was still empty. No one.
The footsteps seemed to materialize out of thin air.
Right at that moment, he suddenly sensed a shadow abruptly falling upon him from above.
A large net enveloped him, followed immediately by a towel soaked with a strange smell.
Before his mouth and nose were covered and he passed out, Xu Xi's peripheral vision caught a figure gradually materializing behind him.
——
【Fuck, why are these floors so damn creepy?】
【They all seem related to cats?】
【Seriously, that giant hand and that needle earlier almost triggered my megalophobia.】
【Master Xu Xi's movement is still so precise.】
【The master: It's in the bag, bro.】
【Holy shit, did you guys hear something?】
【What? Don't scare me, I'm taking a dump alone right now.】
【To the one above, careful a hand reaches out from the toilet and pokes your ass.】
【Fuck you, get the hell out of here!】
【Ahhhhh! It's footsteps! There are extra footsteps behind the master!】
【Wtf, there's no one! Where are these footsteps coming from??】
【I'm not shitting anymore, fuck this!】
【!!! Master, dodge!】
【Holy shit holy shit holy shit】
The live stream comments watched helplessly as a large net enveloped the young man from head to toe, yet he showed no reaction at all.
They were so anxious they wished they could jump into the screen.
【What to do, what to do, is the master going to fall here?!】
【Don't panic, doesn't he still have that fruit knife? It's not a hopeless situation yet.】
【But Master Xu Xi looks like he didn't react at all; the fruit knife is just held in his hand.】
【Boss, cut the net! I haven't followed you for long yet, don't die on me!】
【I'm so anxious, I'm so anxious! Master, move!!】
【Sorry, even though the situation is urgent, I can't help but ask, what accent was that comment earlier?】
The comments were in chaos. Just as they were getting unbearably anxious, an even worse scene unfolded.
A human figure gradually materialized behind the young man. That figure held a towel in its hand and was just about to press it against the young man's face.
It's over!
That was the first thought that popped into the netizens' minds.
But the next moment, the situation took a dramatic turn.
As if he had anticipated it all along, the young man grabbed the figure's arm with one hand, while his other hand, holding the fruit knife, stabbed backward into the figure's body.
All they heard was the figure let out a piercing shriek, then its body turned into ash and dissipated into the air.
Watching the young man casually shake off the fruit knife and then leisurely begin cutting the net, the netizens were stunned for a moment before erupting with a barrage of comments.
【Master, you've changed, you even fooled us???】
【Well, well, well, I have to say, well done. So Master Xu Xi fell for it on purpose.】
【The figure: I was set up.】
【That fruit knife is a prop, right?! It has to be!】
【I knew it! With Master Xu Xi's intelligence, there's no way he'd fall so easily. Him setting a trap on purpose makes sense.】
【What else can I say? I'm tired of repeating 'the master is awesome' four words.】
【I actually doubted him. Who the hell do I think I am, wuwuwu.】
——
Xu Xi struggled to cut the net ropes, sighing quietly in his heart.
Just a little more, and he would have had to be gassed again.
Does every reload have to be timed so damn perfectly?
What would be so bad about being a little earlier?
This large net woven from rope was quite sturdy. Xu Xi used the fruit knife to cut for a long time before finally creating a gap big enough for him to crawl out.
Once free from the net, without a word, he headed straight for the alley.
'Congratulations, your judgment is correct.'
'It is a cage, and also an abyss.'
Seeing this, Xu Xi felt even more certain about his judgment.
Rope nets and knockout drugs—it all looked exactly like something cat traffickers would specially prepare.
Floor 6, no abnormalities, pass.
Floor 7.
From a distance, Xu Xi saw a dark, huddled figure in the middle of the road.
Recalling the black cat that had given him the little bell, he quickened his pace towards it.
However, when he got closer for a look...
...it was the corpse of a black cat.
The black cat lay limp on the ground, its body horrifically crushed and sunken in. It was clearly the result of being run over by a speeding car, and it had likely been run over more than once.
Xu Xi could recognize it; it was the cat from the earlier cycles.
A familiar little bell hung around the black cat's neck, but now the bell was shattered and broken, stained with splotches of blood, making it look particularly jarring.
Curling his fingers slightly, Xu Xi pressed his lips together and gently moved the black cat's corpse to the side of the road.
This floor made him question his earlier judgment.
The black cat's two hind legs were obviously deliberately broken, and it was specifically thrown into the middle of the road.
It was hard to believe someone wasn't doing this on purpose.
Even the speeding car might not have been an accident.
Moreover, the black cat from the first story appeared in the third story... there must be a connection somewhere.
On the wall of the alley:
'Congratulations, your judgment is correct.'
'Its death took away her last shred of hope.'
Floor 8, no abnormalities, pass.
Floor 9.
Pitiful, intermittent cat cries echoed through the silent street.
As Xu Xi passed by a residential building, a black shadow suddenly plummeted and landed right at his feet.