My name is Zargo Yun

The next morning, Zoe woke up from her dreams to find Penny sitting right by her bed, staring intently at her.

She instantly became alert and pushed Penny away with a swift motion. "Next time, don't get so close. I might think you're trying to assassinate me. Who's gonna be blamed if I punch you?"

"...Do I even look capable of that?" Penny replied, her face showing signs of fatigue and dark circles under her eyes. "I just admire you. How can you sleep so soundly in such a creepy place?"

"If you don't sleep, are you planning to stay awake until dawn? Lack of sleep means lack of positive energy. When the ghosts come looking for you at night, you'll be done for even faster."

Penny quickly covered her ears, "Can you stop mentioning death? Isn't it taboo?"

"What's there to be taboo about?" Zoe said nonchalantly. She threw on a jacket, got up, and after a quick wash, headed downstairs.

It seemed she was the only one who had a good night's sleep, as everyone else had already gathered on the first floor. The man in black was seated near the staircase. As she descended, he looked up and their eyes met. He gave a silent, knowing smile.

Zoe wasn't sure why he was smiling and frankly, she didn't care much. She scanned the room, counting heads. Just as she suspected, only eight people remained. The tall man, who was about 6'4" and had been loud the previous night, was nowhere to be seen.

Penny looked uneasy. "We're one person short. Has anyone seen him? Did he oversleep or...?"

"He's probably dead," the girl from the couple interjected.

"How do you know? Did you hear something last night?"

The girl replied coldly, "We're all on the third floor. That guy was staying right next to us. You all heard the ghost singing last night, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, especially the three newcomers who looked particularly pale, clearly having had a restless night.

The girl continued, "During the singing, we heard noises from next door. First, the sound of a door opening, then..."

"Then what?"

"Then the sound of flesh being chopped and bones being broken. Over and over, like slaughtering a pig."

The description sent chills down everyone's spine.

The man in black, leaning against the stair railing, clapped his hands in amusement. "Such a vivid description. Quite the imagery."

The timid newcomer girl was trembling, looking like she was about to cry. She kept repeating, "What do we do? What do we do..."

"What can you do? Think crying will solve it?" The boyfriend from the couple snapped. "Since we're all here, let's go upstairs and check it out!"

His girlfriend immediately agreed.

Zoe emerged from the kitchen holding two buns and handed one to Penny. "There's nothing else but these."

"It's good enough that we have something to eat," Penny sighed, accepting the bun. "They were just saying they want to go upstairs and check."

"Alright, let's go."

Before heading upstairs, everyone grabbed a bun from the kitchen to stave off their hunger. Only the nerdy guy with glasses refused to eat.

"Who made these buns? There's no one in this house. I won't eat it. What if it's tainted?"

His logic wasn't flawed, but in a world like this, such theories wouldn't help you survive.

The couple looked at him disdainfully. The boyfriend scoffed, "Then don't eat. Let's see if you starve."

Everyone lined up and reached the third floor, arriving at the room where the tall man had stayed. The door was closed, with no signs of any disturbance. But Zoe, with her heightened senses, detected a faint smell of blood.

She frowned and kicked the door open.

"Ah—!!!"

Upon seeing the scene inside, the newcomer girl screamed, stumbling back and almost fainting.

The room was a horror show. Strangely, there was no body, but it was evident that a gruesome event had taken place. Blood splatters covered the walls, bed, table, and even the ceiling. The floor was littered with bits of flesh and bone fragments, suggesting the tall man had been brutally dismembered.

Penny clutched Zoe's arm, trembling, and pointed, "Miss Faye, what... what are those round things?"

Following her gaze, Zoe saw two murky, glassy orbs near the table's edge. After a moment's contemplation, she solemnly replied, "They're probably eyeballs."

Penny turned and ran to the bathroom to vomit.

The couple looked disturbed but managed to keep their composure. After a brief look, they left hand in hand. The nerdy guy had already fled, while the blonde newcomer managed to suppress his nausea. He also dragged away the trembling girl.

Soon, only Zoe and the mysterious man in black remained in the corridor.

They stood in silence until the man in black extended his hand with a smile. "Let's get acquainted. My name is Zargo Yun."

Zoe hesitated for a moment but eventually shook his hand. "Zoe Faye."

"Nice name," Zargo said, his smile deepening. He leaned in closer, whispering, "Now that we know each other, shouldn't we discuss some serious matters?"