Chapter 24: Anomaly

The old man’s words made Duya straighten up involuntarily.

He had only asked casually, yet the other party actually knew something.

Since that was the case, he immediately became serious and asked directly, “Where did you see her? Can you tell me?”

In response to Duya’s pressing question, the old man looked at him with his murky eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice, “The Other Shore Flower Hotel on the east side of town.”

Another hotel?

Hearing this answer, Duya fell into thought.

It seemed that to find the answer, he had to enter that hotel.

The main quest, the information given by the old man, even the source of all this—everything pointed to that hotel…

Duya looked at the old man’s face.

He sensed no hostility or threat from him.

He might indeed be a monster, but judging by the current situation, he probably wouldn’t harm Bulanni.

Yet before the reset, Duya had clearly seen this old man feasting on Bulanni’s corpse.

The time now was noon, 12 o’clock—no change in time…

But the outcome was completely different.

Something must have caused this old man’s temperament to change drastically, making him attack his own granddaughter without hesitation.

At that thought, Duya immediately suspected Paoying.

It was true that before the reset, he had heard Paoying’s mocking laughter.

Combined with the old man’s words, it seemed all suspicion pointed to Paoying.

But… was it really Paoying’s doing?

Just then, Duya’s system suddenly beeped.

The side quest displayed had already changed.

“Visit Bulanni’s Home (Completed)”

Then a new quest appeared.

“You have alarmed ■■■!”

“Escape from Bulanni’s home as quickly as possible.”

The moment this quest appeared, Duya felt every hair on his body stand on end.

Then, all the text in the system turned into eerie gibberish and completely vanished before Duya’s eyes.

“Bang! Bang!”

Violent knocking came from all directions.

The terrifying force made the entire house tremble.

Duya braced one hand against the wall and reached out the other to keep Bulanni from falling to the floor.

Just as he placed his hand on Bulanni’s shoulder, his palm felt a very wrong texture.

He turned his head, and his pupils shrank sharply.

Countless mushrooms were sprouting from her eyes, mouth, nose, everywhere.

Her skin had also turned into that bluish‑gray texture.

The old man on the bed had completely transformed into a mushroom creature, fused to the mattress.

The sudden drastic change startled Duya, but it didn’t rob him of his ability to think calmly.

He looked toward the bedroom door and moved as far away as possible from the two who had already turned into mushrooms.

“Thump! Thump! Thump!!”

Wave after wave of violent (furious) knocking.

The already fragile room now showed faint cracks.

Even stranger, Duya seemed to hear voices calling from outside.

“Open the door! Open the door!!”

Though the voices were somewhat distorted, Duya still recognized them.

The ones speaking outside were none other than Bulanni and her grandfather…

Their voices intertwined, shifting from initial rage to final calm, like emotionless machines.

“Open the door…”

Though the voice grew calmer, the force behind the knocking only increased.

Duya knew he had to leave this place immediately.

He had no idea what was outside.

He reached for the dagger hidden in his clothes, ready to fight.

But when his hand went into his pocket, he found only a pile of powder.

The knife he had brought was gone.

Such an eerie phenomenon made Duya take a deep breath.

Without exaggeration, the situation had spiraled beyond his expectations.

He looked toward the window, but it was firmly nailed shut with wooden boards.

Even the light that entered the room became twisted and dim.

The incessant murmuring and knocking spread a nauseating dizziness rapidly through his brain.

Duya’s willpower was relatively strong; he endured the discomfort in his head and strode quickly toward the window.

He knew that panicking would be pointless.

Monstrosities and enemies wouldn’t show sympathy just because you were scared.

What he needed to do now was find a way to escape.

Duya hurried to the window, looked at the boards nailed tightly over it, and took a deep breath.

He didn’t know what the monster outside the door was, but opening it would likely mean death.

The only option now was to smash through the window and flee.

“Open the door… Big brother, please open the door…”

The voices outside continued incessantly, mixed with the endless knocking, creating a chilling effect.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!”

The room was struck again and again.

Duya slammed his shoulder against the boarded window repeatedly.

He was strong.

After several rounds, he could clearly feel the nails loosening.

But the bedroom door was also about to give way.

“Crack!”

The wooden bedroom door now had a large hole.

Blood kept flowing out of the hole, and the smell of dust and blood spread rapidly.

In an instant, the whole bedroom turned into a bloody slaughterhouse.

“Big brother, open the door…”

“Open the door…”

The monsters outside kept pounding.

Their voices seemed to speak directly into Duya’s ears.

Amid the distorted sounds, Duya felt his vision blur.

Through the broken hole, he vaguely saw two twisted figures—one large, one small—standing at the doorway, murmuring and wailing incessantly.

“Bang!”

The bedroom door was completely deformed, ready to burst open at any moment.

Duya felt his mental strength failing.

With his last bit of energy, he smashed the window boards completely open.

As the boards gave way, he flipped over the windowsill and escaped into the outside world.

The sunny morning had become shrouded in thick fog.

Duya glanced back at the room, which was now twisting and warping.

He didn’t dare hesitate and ran.

The dense fog blocked the sun, but Duya could still rely on memory to run toward Fuyeli’s house.

At least that place was still a safe zone.

The fog around him gradually lifted, and everything seemed to calm down.

Duya felt tired, so he decided to stop and rest.

But just as he stopped, Bulanni’s voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

“Big brother… where are you going?”