On September 21, the end of summer, there was finally a hint of coolness in the night. Summer fans turned off the three-level energy-consuming air conditioner and opened the window. A stream of humid and hot air mixed with a little cool breeze hit her face. superior.
Xia Mi also wanted to continue turning on the air conditioner, but the electricity bill in the apartment she rented was too expensive. The commercial electricity bill of 1.51 yuan was really unaffordable for her as a newly graduated college student.
It would be extremely hot if the air conditioner was not turned on during the day, but it was bearable at night.
Xia Mi returned to her desk and continued working on her "Collection of Real Exam Questions for Civil Servants in All Provinces from 2014 to 2024".
The employment situation in the past two years was not good, and Xia Mi failed to find an ideal job. She simply decided not to find a job, but to retain her status as a fresh graduate and concentrate on taking the public examination.
It was a difficult decision, and although Xia Mi had the support of her parents, she was still under a lot of pressure.
She rented a single apartment near a public examination training institution, went to training classes on weekends, and worked part-time during the day to earn some living expenses.
Of course her family was willing to give her living expenses, but Xia Mi felt uneasy with the money, so she didn't ask for it. Instead, she used the living expenses she had saved, New Year's money and the salary she saved during her senior internship to pay three months' rent. The expenses are met by doing odd jobs.
Make your own money to support yourself. Summer fans try to save their living expenses as much as possible. If they can open the windows, they will never turn on the air conditioner!
One year, Xia Mi gave herself one year to concentrate on taking the public examination. If she couldn't do it within one year, she would give up this path completely.
She set her alarm clock, worked on the questions strictly according to the exam time, and concentrated on completing a set of real test papers.
Xia Mi's concentration was so strong that she was able to block out the surrounding sounds while doing the questions. When the alarm clock rang for the end of the exam, she heard the constant "buzzing" sound of mosquitoes in her ears.
She put down the test paper and looked at the dragonfly-sized mosquito flying around her.
This mosquito is so big that summer fans can see its steel needle-like mouthparts. It is so big that summer fans suspect that this is not a mosquito, but a monster.
"The bugs in the south are big." Xia Mi said without changing his face.
Xia Mi is from the north and went to college in a southern city. When she first saw a southern cockroach pouting at her face, she was so frightened that she almost jumped out of the window. She shook her chair to express that she and the cockroach could only live together. one.
Now, seeing this exaggeratedly large mosquito, summer fans can already lift up their slippers without any hesitation, and swat them at them with lightning speed.
Xia Mi is the school badminton champion. She has sharp eyesight, quick and accurate movements, and can accurately swat mosquitoes on the wall.
After successfully succeeding, Xia Mi picked up the slipper and was surprised to find that the mosquito was not dead. Its mouthparts, which were two centimeters long, penetrated the bottom of the slipper, got stuck in the slipper and struggled, making a huge "buzzing" sound when its wings flapped.
"Not dead yet? Are you a mosquito?" Xia Mi asked.
The mosquito couldn't understand her words and was trying to break free from the grip of the slipper.
Xia Mi was confused for a moment, always thinking that this thing was not a mosquito, but thinking about the size comparison between southern cockroaches and northern cockroaches, she thought that this thing might be a mosquito.
Before the mosquito could break free from the shackles of her slippers, she lifted her shoe and slapped it hard on the ground several times. The mosquito finally died unwillingly, leaving a pool of bright red blood.
"Fortunately, I didn't hit it on the wall. Otherwise, if there was such a big blood stain on the wall, the landlord would have to find a reason to deduct my deposit." Xia Mi said thankfully.
She cleaned up the mosquito corpses and the blood stains on the ground, checked the holes in the screen window, and glued the holes with large transparent glue to prevent any more large mosquitoes from getting in.
After completing this trivial matter, Xia Mi returned to her seat and graded her test paper based on the answers. When she saw the score of 83 points in the test, Xia Mi showed a satisfied smile.
This is already a very high score!
Today I only simulated one of the practical tests, and I will do the application tomorrow.
After finishing her work, it was already 10:30 in the evening. Xia Mi stretched herself, opened her laptop, and randomly found a horror puzzle game, planning to play it before going to bed to relieve stress.
She chose a free mini-game called "Honey's Apartment". The purpose of the game was to escape from a scary apartment. She controlled a game character named "Little Mi" and played it for less than three minutes before Little Mi died.
The cause of death was poisoning.
"Xiao Mi" had a puncture-like wound on his neck, which was suspected to be injection poisoning.
Xia Mi looked at the pinhole displayed on the computer screen, and inexplicably thought of the mosquito before, and always felt that it was a mosquito bite.
"Why am I still making random associations?" Xia Mi shook her head and shook off the weird thoughts.
She restarted the game and immediately checked the "little fan"'s neck. Seeing that there was no wound on the neck at this time, she wrapped a scarf around his neck and avoided death for the first time.
She controlled "Little Fan" and played for a while. After dying three times on the task of "go to the rooftop to find weapons for self-defense", she simply turned off the computer and planned to play again tomorrow.
There are no weapons at all on the rooftop. Every time he goes to the top floor, the "little fan" will be besieged on the rooftop by the monsters in the apartment. Either he is forced to jump to his death, or he is bitten to death by the monster, and he cannot find a way out.
However, "finding weapons on the rooftop" is a task that must be completed and cannot be avoided at all.
Xia Mi guessed that she still had some hidden tasks that she had not completed, so she could not find the weapons on the rooftop, which might require her to find the details from scratch.
However, it is already 11:30 in the evening. This game is a bit difficult. I don’t know how long it will take if I continue playing. Xia Mi has to go to the written examination class tomorrow and must go to bed before 12 o'clock. She decides to play again tomorrow night.
Turning off the lights and lying on the bed, Xia Mi thought about the confused future, feeling a little uneasy and unable to fall asleep.
She opened WeChat, looked up the chat history with her boyfriend, and sighed slightly in her heart.
The most recent chat record between her and her boyfriend was two months ago. The last message was that her boyfriend said that the aunt at work introduced him to a blind date. The woman was also in the system and had good conditions.
Xia Mi replied: [See you if you want. 】
The boyfriend never replied.
My boyfriend was admitted to the civil service exam a year ago. When he first passed the exam, the two of them chatted quite intensively. After the boyfriend went to work, they gradually lost contact.
The conversation between the two also changed from thoughtful words to simple "Have you eaten today?" "Did you eat?" "What did you eat?" "Where did you eat in the canteen?" In the end, they had no common language.
When I was in school, I always heard that "the first sword you strike ashore is to kill the person you love first." At that time, Xia Mi only thought it was a joke, but now he is the one who is beheaded. Although he has persuaded himself to face the reality, he still feels unwilling to do so.
It's not that she is unwilling to change her boyfriend's heart, but that she is unwilling to fall behind others and that she has accomplished nothing so far.
"Sleep, get up early tomorrow to study, and you will definitely pass the exam!" Xia Mi secretly made up her mind, closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.
Xia Mi managed to fall asleep by listening to political information. As soon as she fell asleep, there was a huge banging sound from the ceiling, waking up Xia Mi.
The couple upstairs quarreled again.
The apartment that Xia Mi rents is relatively mixed. There is a couple living together upstairs. When the relationship is good, the two people are inseparable. The sound insulation of the apartment is not good. Xia Mi often hears the lingering sounds upstairs at two or three o'clock in the middle of the night. , which made her very embarrassed.
And when two people are not in a good relationship, they will quarrel loudly and throw bowls. Xia Mi will vaguely hear the woman shouting "I have paid so much for you...", and the man saying "You force me to death", in short Similar quarrels.
However, the noise was a bit fierce today. In the past, a bowl was thrown at most, but today it seemed like something heavy was hit, and the floor shook.
The sound of "Duangduang" came, as if someone was hammering the ground with a heavy object. When Xia Mi had already begun to consider whether to call the police, the sound stopped.
Xia Mi listened carefully, and seemed to hear the girls' low cries and the boys' comforting voices. She guessed that they might have reconciled, and then she felt relieved.
She was just about to get ready to sleep again when a loud and crisp slap came from the next door, and the ugly cry of a boy whose voice was changing, like a duck.
Xia is fascinated by 703, and 704 next door is a mother and son. It is said that their hometown is in the town, and they don’t know how their children attended the city’s junior high school.
The mother accompanies her child to study alone, but the boy's grades don't seem to be good. Summer fans can often hear the mother's hysterical yelling and cursing, but rarely hear the child's voice.
"Hey, it's difficult for everyone." Xia Mi let out a long sigh.
She and the people in the apartment are all living beings living in a big city. They have their own hardships and reasons why they cannot leave the big city. Xia Mi didn't want to hear it so clearly, so she got up and closed the window to prevent the sound from next door coming from the window.
For this reason, she is even willing to turn on the air conditioner, even if it increases her cost of living.
As soon as she closed the window, Xia Mi heard a heavy knock on the thin wooden door of the apartment.
She was slightly shocked.
As a young girl living alone, she has always been very alert.
And it's already past midnight, so even if you're not alert enough, you'll still be startled by a knock on the door late at night.
Xia Mi did not respond to the knock on the door, but squatted down, reached under the bed, and took out an outdoor mountain axe.
This was a housewarming gift from her boyfriend when she first moved into this apartment.
At that time, her boyfriend sent her a message saying he had a surprise for her. She happily opened the package and saw the ax with a total length of 90 centimeters and a weight of 2.5 kilograms. She felt very complicated.
She searched on the shopping software and found that the ax cost more than 200 yuan, which was quite expensive and could be considered a good housewarming gift.
The boyfriend also sent a message: [I know you are strong and can swing an axe, so I chose the longest, heaviest and most expensive model for you. 】
Between scolding him and accepting it happily, Xia Mi chose to accept it happily.
After all, it's your boyfriend's wish, so it's okay to keep it and smash a walnut.
At this moment, Xia Mi was extremely grateful to her boyfriend who was about to break up.
The ax represents safety amid the heavy knocking on the door late at night.
Xia Mi put on her sneakers, held the ax firmly, and stood quietly behind the door.
If someone dared to break in, she would pick up the ax without hesitation.
The knocking on the door stopped after five minutes. Xia Mi listened carefully and did not hear the footsteps, only the sound of something dragging on the ground.
Then, she heard a knock on the door from 702 next door.
There are three boys living in a shared apartment in 702. They are also students who have graduated from college and stayed in the city. A few friends share a single apartment, so they can save living costs by squeezing in.
No matter who the bad guys are, the three boys can still protect themselves to some extent.
Xia Mi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took out her cell phone to prepare to call the police.
Someone knocks on the door late at night. This is by no means an unusual incident. You must call the police.
However, there was no signal on the mobile phone, and the police call could not be made anyway.
Xia Mi dialed the phone over and over again, while paying close attention to the sounds outside the door, and heard the chewing sound that made her tremble.
What happened next door?
Xia Mi felt a deep sense of uneasiness in her heart, and she began to consider the possibility of jumping out of the window and escaping.
She lives on the seventh floor. If she could step on the air conditioner, she might be able to climb down through the window.
Xia Mi opened the window hesitantly and saw that it was pitch black outside, and even the city lights could not be seen.
The entire building was covered in fog, and it was hard to see outside, as if the community was isolated from the world.
Everything is so abnormal.
Xia Mi realized that whether he jumped out of the window or rushed out the door, it was a very bad decision.
"Am I dreaming? Could it be that I played too many games at night and dreamed about the contents of the horror game?" Xia Mi knocked her head.
If she could wake up, she vowed never to play scary games before going to bed again.
It's a pity that she didn't wake herself up, and her head hurt because she hit it too hard.
She thought for a moment, turned on the flashlight on her phone, and looked out the window, trying to see clearly what was going on outside.
This weak light could not penetrate the darkness at all, and Xia Mi could not see anything.
When she was about to turn off the flashlight in frustration, her phone vibrated slightly and a text message was sent.
She clicked on the message and saw that it was a message from an extremely unfamiliar number: [The apartment in Xingfuli is very dangerous, please leave as soon as possible! 】
Xia Mi didn't know who was on the other side, but this message was her life-saving straw. She quickly replied to the message: [I also want to leave, but there seems to be something outside the door, and I dare not go out. 】
The other person quickly sent another message: [Can you receive my message? 】
Xia Mi: [I got it, I got it! 】
Unknown number: [I sent a message to all the mobile phone numbers in the entire apartment. Only you can receive it and reply to my message. 】
Xia Mi: [Are you from inside the apartment or outside the apartment? 】
Unknown number: [I'm outside the apartment, just downstairs from you. 】
Xia Mi looked down, it was still pitch black, there was flowing turbid black mist downstairs, and she couldn't see anything.
She edited the message: [If I jump off the building now, can you catch me downstairs...]
Before the message was finished, another message came from an unknown number: [There is no time to explain. If we delay any longer, the entire apartment building will be swallowed up by "turbidity". I know your name is Xia Mi. Only you can receive my message. Please cooperate with me to save all residents in this apartment. 】
Xia Mi deleted what she had typed before and re-edited the message: [I don’t know who you are, but do you think too highly of me? I’m just a recent graduate...]
Before she sent it, another message from an unknown number came: [If we can successfully save the residents of the entire building, I will apply to the leader to satisfy your legitimate wishes as much as possible. 】
Xia Mi paused. Familiar words such as "rescue residents", "leadership", "application" and "legal" activated the public examination knowledge in her mind.
This familiar way of wording led her to make some reasonable guesses.
Xia Mi quickly edited the message: [Which legal wish of mine can you fulfill? Give an example. 】
Unknown number: [Xia Mi, a fresh graduate from the university in 2024, is studying in the XX civil service written examination class, and is fully preparing for the national civil service examination at the end of this year. If your legitimate wish is to take the public examination, as long as you can cooperate with me to save the residents of Xingfuli Apartment, you will have a special recruitment quota. 】
At this moment, the doubt, fear, and panic in Xia Mi's heart were instantly knocked away, and endless courage and strength arose in her heart.
She held the ax in her hand and swung it twice like a bat. The sharp ax made a sound of breaking through the air.
Anyway, she was trapped in this weird apartment building, facing unknown dangers.
Both sides are dead, so it's better to give it a try and maybe figure it out.
She passionately sent a message: [I am willing to sacrifice my life and blood for the people! 】
Unknown number: [...You don’t need to shed your blood, your safety is also important. Survival is victory. 】
(End of chapter)
The author said: The article is open. There are 200 red envelopes for comments on this chapter. I love everyone