"Inspiration... I do have some, to be honest. I am a horror story writer, and the characteristics of such novels are to list a bunch of rules, telling you what you shouldn’t do. Of course, you also need to write in that eerie sense."
"Actually, these kinds of novels aren’t particularly terrifying. The horror created by words is quite limited... But I’m not sure if it’s because I’m too tired; I’ve started to experience some hallucinations. When writing stories at night, I always feel like many eyes are watching me."
"I’m thinking, maybe it’s really as you said, a feng shui problem? My friend, you’ve come at the perfect time. Help me take a look! I feel like sleeping, but I can’t sleep."
"No... Or maybe I don’t want to sleep?"
Wen Xishu started to fakely inspect the room’s layout. The setup of 14-1 was almost identical to his 14-2.
The difference is that Wen Xishu’s room was in its initial state, while this writer, Yin Junchi’s room, had some personal items scattered in the living room, like photo albums, creative books, ashtrays, tissues, notebooks, and a phone.
From the phone and notebook, it seemed the writer’s income wasn’t low.
Wen Xishu discovered that checking the other person’s room didn’t consume his action points, as it was considered part of "interacting with neighbors."
So, this game actually has a certain degree of freedom and technicality. Whether or not one can reasonably enter the other person’s room for inspection, to what extent one can inspect, and how to avoid causing offense, all depend on personal skill.
To extend the inspection time, Wen Xishu said:
"This room is indeed a bit sinister... Be honest with me, have you encountered anything strange recently? Did anyone advise you not to come here before you arrived?"
"These things look expensive. With your income, you shouldn’t need to envy those living here."
"Why did you come here? Simply because of the high cost-performance ratio?"
Yin Junchi shook his head:
"The main reason is that my updates are too slow. My editor and readers are urging me. Then I made a post asking if there were any suitable small black rooms for updating."
"And there really was one. You may not believe it, but the person who direct messaged me was a notable figure in Jicheng, from Sanqiu Group’s official Weibo account, saying they had prepared a room that could stimulate my inspiration."
Wen Xishu’s expression changed slightly. This guy had a high status. He wasn’t just any regular novelist; he was a bestselling author, and he had been invited in.
Wen Xishu felt this person might provide a lot of clues:
"The arrangement of some things in this room indeed has issues. I may need to check further. Don’t worry, I promise immediate results. By the way, is it convenient to know your pen name?"
Whether immediate results are possible or not, the words need to be said first. Worst case scenario, he can come up with something later. After all, the other person seems somewhat inclined to believe, giving Wen Xishu lots of room to maneuver.
Yin Junchi said:
"My pen name is Three Days Two Dead Bananas."
"Good name, comparable to Yoshihiro Togashi’s pen name. Though I haven’t heard of it, I’m sure your updates must be... quite sharp. By the way, does anyone else live in this room?"
"No, no, I’m very averse to having others around during my creative process."
Wen Xishu nodded, acknowledging the situation.
Based on known information, people from seven households have died, breaking seven families, but the text doesn’t imply complete annihilation of the seven families.
However, in Yin Junchi’s case, it’s only him. This means that this man will face a disaster in seven days.
"It’s a pity we don’t know the cause of death. Although this person currently seems to have mental issues, being overly excited with dark circles under his eyes, typical of insomnia, it’s definitely not to the point of dying."
Wen Xishu, combining various clues in his mind, said:
"You said you have auditory and visual hallucinations. I see the arrangement of items in this room could easily attract something. Tell me about these hallucinations and auditory experiences, and I’ll see if I can find some clues."
Yin Junchi replied:
"That would be great. I’ll tell you now."
Actually, Wen Xishu hadn’t found anything particularly noteworthy, so very likely, Yin Junchi’s problems stemmed from himself.
The writer seemed to have no suspicion towards Wen Xishu.
In his view, those who were allowed into this place were screened by Sanqiu Group, and would hardly have malicious intents.
Yin Junchi began to describe his hallucinations and auditory experiences.
Wen Xishu listened silently.
...
...
Wen Xishu already started to gather information related to the main quest.
In comparison, the other four people had respective situations.
Wen Xiangge was a very enthusiastic person, although in Bunker, he was always promoting the teachings of Xishu Divine Teaching, urging people to find peace and tranquility from Xishu.
But he wasn’t stupid; he knew he couldn’t operate that way in Three Towers, as he couldn’t bring these followers back to Bunker.
The focus wasn’t on promoting the teachings but on building relationships and slowly breaking down the other’s psychological defenses to help them understand the preciousness of life anew.
This approach, Wen Xiangge was very skilled at.
Therefore, he didn’t immediately choose to interact with neighbors at first but started with making some delicious meals. The fridge in the kitchen had seasonal vegetables and fruits in the fresh-keeping layer. In the freezer layer, there was mutton and beef.
Although Bunker’s supplies were randomly obtained from Three Towers, quite a few people mastered culinary skills, earning a living through processing and preparing the supplies.
Wen Xiangge had this ability. He was grateful to anyone who could bring sixth-grade supplies because with these supplies, no one would go hungry for a while. The abundance of ingredients allowed the honing of food processing techniques.